Authors Note: Sorry that this is taking so long to finish. Mori-senpai turned out a little hard to write, at least in the way that I needed him to come across, but I hope that those of you who read this will agree that he is portrayed in an acceptable manner. It would help to have read the two stories before this in order to best understand some of the conversation that will occur with Mori-senpai, and to understand why, in my story, he is not out of character. One more part after this, then a while new chapter :)
Thank you all for reading, and I hope that this does not dissapoint. The rest of Mistaken Assumptions should be up this afternoon. Its the good poart about working a weekend in a lab, I suppose. You have time to let the muse come out, in all those silly incubation times and everything.
The morning ride was very silent. Haruhi played with the charm on the necklace. Her free hand clutched usa-chan to her abdomen. Chika and Satoshi watched Haruhi silently, noting the gravity of her expression.
"It will go well, Haruhi-senpai. Don't worry about it." Satoshi smiled at Haruhi. "Taka told me that he was going to apologize for offending you with his comment. He ignored Mitskuni's warning, and he is very sorry for distressing you."
"But I slapped him. I was wrong. He has nothing to apologize for."
Satoshi did not answer, but glanced at Chika. They both knew that when Takashi saw the necklace, he would be apologizing a great deal to Haruhi.
As they neared the school Haruhi placed usa-chan in her bag.
"I apologize, Chika-chan, if I upset you by having usa-chan out. Hunny-senpai wanted to make sure that I did not have nightmares last night."
"Hmm." Chika did not answer as the car stopped before Ouran. He moved from the car, holding the door open for Haruhi. They were earlier than the rest of the student body. It was odd for Kyoya to call such an early morning meeting unless it was important, and they had not had a meeting of this nature for many months.
"Maybe they won't notice." Haruhi moved towards the school building and Satoshi shared another glance with Chika. They would notice. And someone would comment. Kyoya had called them last night and told them that Kenji was still upset with Haruhi, having discovered Sakura's attendance at the Host Club yesterday, and warned that there might be trouble. They would not leave until they were sure that Haruhi was safe.
When the three entered the third music room only Kyoya was there. He sat in a chair, typing on his laptop, and after glancing up, with a slight nod to Satoshi and Chika, he focused once again on his typing. Haruhi placed usa-chan on the chair that she knew Hunny would occupy, and sat down on a couch, Satoshi and Chika settling near the doors.
"Morning." Tamaki burst into the room, all smiled. "Haruhi, my beautiful daughter, how was your evening? Were they boys nice to you?" Takamki moved towards her with a smile. "If they harmed by precious daughter I will—"
Tamaki stopped as he heard the doors open, and the twins chime "Good morning Chika, Satoshi." In unison they moved towards the couch, smirking as Tamaki slowly turned towards the door, his face paling. Satoshi smiled and waved, and Chika glared. Soon Tamaki was in the corner, sulking that his daughter preferred the company of middle school boys to his own company. The twins settled on the couch, on either side of Haruhi, their arms along the back of the couch. Each had a hand resting on her shoulder. The door opened again and Hunny bound in, followed by Mori. Hunny settled onto the chair, pulling usa-chan into his lap with a large smile towards Haruhi, and Mori settled on the couch near Hunny, his gaze everywhere but on Haruhi.
"Since we are all here, I will begin this meeting. We are here this morning—" Kyoya paused as a knock sounded on the door and a figure slipped inside.
"Sakura-chan." Haruhi stood and moved towards the girl, who held a small wrapped present in her hands.
"I wanted to give this to you, Haruhi-kun. It is in thanks for all you have done to help me prepare for the engagement ceremony. And I wanted to apologize for all the trouble I have been."
"It was no trouble, Sakura." Haruhi took the present and bowed to Sakura, forgetting that the necklace would swing forward with the movement. As the chain rustled and as the men realized what the necklace was Tamaki and the twins paled, while Mori stood abruptly.
"Haruhi is that?" Tamaki's voice was soft.
"A necklace" Hikaru asked and Kaoura completed. "Of protection?"
"Haruhi…" Mori's voice was quiet.
Haruhi straightened, ignoring the men who stared at her in horror, as they began to piece together the puzzle of yesterday's tardiness, and the presence of Chika and Satoshi. "I am glad that I was able—"
"I told you to stay away for Sakura. She is mine." The doors to the Host Club burst open and Kenji burst in. He stopped as he saw Sakura standing in front of Haruhi, and noticed Chika and Satoshi's presence beside him.
"S-Sakura, I did not know that you were here." Kenji stuttered and Haruhi moved away from the couple, sensing an argument to come.
"How dare you." Sakura spun on Kenji. "I was coming to the Host Club so that I could practice for the tea ceremony. You mother and grandmother will expect nothing less than perfection from me." Sakura advanced towards Kenji, and Haruhi moved slowly towards the door. If her guess was correct the fact that Kenji had attacked her yesterday would come up shortly, and she did not want to be in the room when the Host Club found out. Conveniently Satoshi and Chika were keeping one door open, and were still guarding the door.
Satoshi nodded slightly towards Haruhi as she moved closer to them.
"But Sakura, all you would ever talk about is Haruhi-kun, and the Host Club. I was jealous."
"All you do is kendo. Sometime I think that kendo is all you really love, not me. I have been working very hard to prepare for this engagement ceremony." Tears began to flow from Sakura's eyes. "All I wanted to do was impress you and your family. And all you can do in response is –" Sakura stopped, choking on her sobs, and Haruhi slipped out of the room. Only Kyoya noticed, as all others were focused on the argument, trying to finish piecing the puzzle together.
"I am sorry Sakura, I—"
"Stop." Sakura managed to compose herself enough to speak. "I am not sure that I want to marry a man who used violence to solve his insecurities. You should have talked to me about it, but instead you tried to beat up Haruhi."
"NANI?" Tamaki and the twins stood, rushing towards Kenji and Sakura.
"You mean Haruhi-kun didn't tell you?" Sakura turned towards the three young men, who stood gaping at her.
Kenji shifted nervously. This would get unpleasant in a moment.
"Haruhi…" Mori looked for the young woman and frowned when he noticed that she was not in the room, and that Satoshi and Chika were near the doors. Without a word he rushed out the door, and the doors closed behind him.
Kyoya smiled, and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"I think it would be in the interest of all involved to sit down and have a nice discussion. There are something that Kenji will need to know about his actions towards Haruhi, and the repercussions that it will have."
"Where is Haruhi?" The twins asked in unison as they noticed that Haruhi was missing from the room, the once open doors now closed. Chika and Satoshi leaned against the door, and both looked menacing and intimidating.
"And Mori?" Tamaki mused.
"Haruhi-senpai stepped out for a moment. It is nothing for you to worry about." Chika smiled. "I think the business at hand is more important. After all, Kenji did attack your precious Haruhi, did he not?" Chika smoothly diverted Tamaki's attention back towards Kenji.
"Kaa-san, what are we going to do about this? He attacked my precious Haruhi!" Tamaki wailed and flung himself onto the chair next to Kyoya, dejected.
"Haruhi…" Hikaru stared at the doors, making a move to follow.
"Hikaru, everything is under control." Kyoya's voice cut into the silence like a knife, and Hikaru stiffened.
"You knew?" Hikaru whirled on Kyoya.
"If you had paid attention yesterday you would have noticed that Haruhi winced when you and Kaoru wrapped your arms around Haruhi's waist." The twins had the grace to look ashamed. They hadn't noticed haruhi wince. So wrapped up were they in habit and routine that they did not pay attention to the actions of the one they cared about. That had gotten Hikaru in trouble once already, on his date with Haruhi. Kaoru was usually better at paying attention to things, but it seemed that even he had erred yesterday. Kyoya glanced up over his glasses. "Sit, all of you." It was a moment later that everyone was seated.
"Kenji, what you did to Haruhi is not something that can be forgiven with just an apology. What you did to Haruhi brings dishonor to your family." Kyoya paused. "What you don't realize is that Haruhi Fujioka is a girl."
Kenji paled and swayed, as if he was going to faint.
Sakura nodded with a happy smile.
"Okaa-san, what have you done?" Tamaki wailed, the twins echoing his horror.
Hunny merely smiled, and ate his morning breakfast strawberry cake.
Having successfully slipped out of the room Haruhi moved towards a deserted area of the school. She did not want to chance a meeting with the members of the Host Club until she was in class, where they could not make an issue of it.
She not surprised, however, to hear heavy footsteps running down the hall after her. She gasped as she was swept up into a pair of strong arm, and eeped as she felts herself moving towards the ground. She didn't hit the ground, but instead, when she dared to open her eyes again, was settled in the lap of someone, her back pulled firmly back against their chest, their arms around her, careful of her side, their head buried in her shoulder.
She tired to free her self from the grasp, but the arms tightened, and the individual spoke.
"Gomenasai, Haruhi." The voice was the barest whisper, a tickle against her skin, but Haruhi heard it none the less.
"Mori-senpai." Haruhi stopped trying to get up, and settled her hands on the arms that clutched her tightly, engulfing her small frame. Despite the firmness of the grip the hold was gentle.
"I shouldn't have hit you yesterday." Her voice was soft and her grip tightened on his arms. "I was upset. If Satoshi and Chika had not been there, I don't know how much worse it would have gotten." Haruhi sighed. "I was angry that you would think something so far from the reality of the situation."
The grip tightened at her words.
"I should not have allowed this to happen." Mori's voice was muffled, his head had not moved from its place on her shoulder. "Mitskuni tried to warn me yesterday, but I ignored him. Mitskuni knew what had happened, but I did not notice. I was upset and blind." Mori raised his head from Haruhi's shoulder, and she noted that he rested his cheek against hers.
"It isn't your fault, Mori-senpai." Haruhi turned her head to look at Mori, watching him as she spoke. "There is no way that you could have know what Kenji was planning to do. You protect Mitskuni, you watch over him. I am just lucky that Satoshi-chan and Chika-chan were there to stop things before they got too bad." Haruhi smiled a little. "It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would today, so it is nothing to worry about." Haruhi noticed that as she spoke, Mori's face stayed immobile, but his eyes became clouded with emotion, much as they had the time Hunny-senpai claimed to hate Mori during the entire cavity incident.
"Mitskuni is not the only one I desire to protect." Mori's voice deepened, thick with emotion and Haruhi stared at him, her eyes blinking slowly, trying to see into him, to see what he meant by his words.
"Mori-senapi…" Haruhi's voice was soft, but her eyes were filled with confusion. He glanced at her with a frown. She did not understand. She could see into people, she could understand so many things, but she could not see that which pertained to herself.
"Sakura, you do not seem surprised to find out that Haruhi is female." Kyoya glanced at the woman with interest and she smiled.
"If it were not for the fact that I knew the scholarship student was a female, there are certain things about Haruhi that lead one to think that she is not a he. It doesn't hurt that Tamaki-senapi is always yelling about his precious daughter when the twins do something. If he is not more careful some of the club members might take notice as well." Sakura glanced at Tamaki who sat frozen in place, his jaw slack.
Kyoya nodded solemnly. "It is a serious problem we have."
"Haruhi is always in the most feminine of costumes as well. It makes sense, when you think about it, but most the girls don't think about it. That was part of the reason I chose Haruhi to help me with the tea ceremony. I thought that if Kenji would take the chance to meet Haruhi, instead of jumping to conclusions, he would come to the conclusion that Haruhi was not a threat. I did not expect him to sense that she was a female, but to see that she was not trying to win my affections in the least." Sakura glared as Kenji. "It appears that I was wrong. I am ashamed to acknowledge that the man I am to be engaged to had the audacity and misfortune to take his rage and jealousy out on a female. It is my fault, I came here knowing his temper." Sakura bowed low in the chair that she occupied. "I am to blame for this, I will accept any punishment you place upon me."
"It is not you that we are upset with." Kyoya glanced at Kenji, who paled. "It was not you who chose to attack a girl."
"Forgive me." Mori's voice was thick with emotion.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Mori-senapi. I was the one who hit you." Haruhi looked at Mori in confusion, her eyes wide.
"Forgive me." His voice was soft, and he turned his head towards Haruhi's, allowing his lips to brush against hers in a gentle kiss. "I should have been there to protect you." He spoke against her lips, then pressed his lips to hers again. He did not tighten his grip on her body, he wished to allow her to be able to escape if she so wished. Breaking the gentle kiss he locked his gaze with her shocked one, noting the slight blush that covered her cheeks. "I wish to protect you as well as Mitskuni. I failed you. Forgive me." He leaned forwards so his forehead rested against hers, and allowed his hands to fall so they settled around her waist, holding her in a tenderly intimate embrace. The blush on her cheeks intensified, and she looked at Mori, something in her gaze that he had not yet seen.
"I think that I slapped you because I was upset. Upset about being attacked, and upset that you would think that I would…could…that…" Haruhi stopped as Mori pulled her against him in a tight embrace, shifting the girl so she sat across his lap, so she could more easily face him, instead of having her back to him.
"Shh…" He placed a gentle finger against her lips. "I was inexcusable. I will not fail again. You will let me?" Mori held in a breath as Haruhi gently smiled, nodding.
"I will let you, Mori-senpai."
"Takashi." He corrected with a smile.
"But then they will know."
He frowned. "Do you mind?"
"No, but Tamaki and the twins will—"
"I will protect you. Do you not trust me to do this?"
Haruhi wrapped her arms around Mori's neck, drawing him close so her cheek rested against his, her voice a whisper in his ear.
"I trust you, Takashi."
A blush colored his cheeks.
"I trust you, but I do not wish to hurt them." Haruhi sighed.
Mori nodded. "You are mine to protect."
Haruhi giggled, pulling back slightly so she could look Mori in the eye.
"Hunny-senpai wont mind?"
Mori shook his head, a blush coloring his cheeks. "Mitskuni thinks that it is time that I found someone else that I would be willing to protect." Mori smiled at Haruhi. "He has thought as much since the time I called you cute, and he suggested I needed a nap."
Haruhi cocked her head to one side, looking at Mori, before gasping in surprise.
"You weren't really tired?"
Mori shook his head, and Haruhi smiled.
"If you were sleepy more often, I wouldn't mind." Haruhi stood and Mori rose smoothly beside her, noticing that Haruhi clenched her hands behind her back, suddenly apprehensive about something.
"Mori-senpai…" He frowned as she used his title "If I am yours to protect what does that mean?"
"I think that will be sufficient, do you not, Sakura-chan?" Kyoya glanced at the young woman, who stared at him. Tamaki and the twins also stared, surprised at Kyoya's suggestion.
Sakura did not answer immediately, and Kyoya smiled. This was working out well to his advantage.
"There might be some complications to that plan, Kyoya-senpai." Satoshi spoke up, moving nearer to the crowd.
Kyoya leveled a gaze at Satoshi and nodded. "I anticipate that, but in the end I feel that this is the best solution to the problem. I know that Sakura and Kenji will both treat these delicate matters as a matter of utmost secrecy, and it will allow Kenji to restore his honor in the eyes of Sakura, as well as apologize to Haruhi.
"I am sure you know what it best, Kyoya-senpai." Chika chimed into the conversation.
"Tomorrow then, during Host Club?"
Kenji nodded. "It will be as you wish."
"You are mine to protect. I will not let harm come to you. I will watch over you." Mori watched Haruhi's reaction to his words, and he frowned as he saw her face become overshadowed with doubts.
"I am to be like Honey-senpai then." Haruhi shook her head. "I was silly to think that it meant, that you mean…' Haruhi turned from Mori and started walking down the hallway. Mori stared after her for a moment, before realization flickered across his face.
In an instant Haruhi found herself pressed against the wall, Mori's body surrounding her, his presence overwhelming her, keeping her pressed to the wall, in place.
"I will not share you with them. You are mine." Mori's voice was a husky whisper, and he pressed his lips to her. This time, he allowed the passion to flow forth. Before, it seemed that his polite intentions had not conveyed the feelings and emotions that he wished to convey to her. In saying he would protect her he was conveying so much more than just the desire to protect. He would make sure that this time she would understand.
When he broke the kiss he was breathless, and Haruhi was flushed. "Do you know now why I would protect you, why I would claim that you are mine to protect?" Mori's voice was still deep and filled with emotion, and Haruhi nodded, slowly.
"I am honored, Takashi."
"I only protect those that I care about. Remember that." Mori captured his lips again in an intense kiss, and Haruhi was glad that he had her pinned to the wall, or else she felt that she would have collapsed, her knees weak. Mori moved his mouth, brushing it against Haruhi's cheek in a gentle kiss, moving his mouth so he could whisper in her ear. "I want to get to know you better, Fujioka Haruhi. I want you to get to know me." He kissed her again, his lips lingering against hers. "All I know is that I desire to protect you. I wish to explore this desire."
Haruhi smiled, gently. "I will let you, Taka-kun." Haruhi smiled against Mori's lips as she twisted Satoshi's nickname for him to her own uses, and pressed her lips against his in a final kiss, before wiggling free from his grasp.
"We should go. They will come searching for us soon, and it would not due to have to defend my honor to the others. Despite knowing your character Tamaki might think you have taken advantage of his poor abused daughter." Haruhi grinned at Mori, grabbing his hand and pulling him after her. She noted that she needed to use nicknames for him more often as they left him unbalanced.
"I took nothing that was unwillingly given." Mori retorted and Haruhi smiled at him.
"I know this, and you know this, but you know how useless it is to talk sense into Tamaki when he has an idea in his head. Especially when it related to me" Haruhi's lips twisted into a mocking smile, and glanced at her watch. "Classes start soon. It is likely that nothing will come of it."
"Hmm." Mori followed Haruhi through the hallways, and he was glad that she did not release his hand until they came to a stop before the music room doors.
"Shall we?" She motioned to the doors, which he opened, and the two stepped inside.