Chapter 2: When I Couldn't Speak
It was lunchtime, but I really didn't feel like eating. I situated myself at an empty table in the main library, tossing my bag and a textbook on top of it as I plopped into a chair. There was only one more class in the day, and I was determined to get through it. Just one more class, and then I could go home. But as I opened my textbook to the correct page, I suddenly remembered another obligation: the host club.
Trying not to lose heart, I told myself, Okay, it's just one more thing I have to get through. One more class, then the host club, and then I can go home.
My body, however, did not agree with my mind's forced positivity, and my head fell limply into my textbook.
Crap, the realistic part of my brain thought. Another class plus host club? I can't even lift my head out of this book, let alone go through all of that.
As I mustered the willpower to sit back up, the silence of the library was broken by the sound of hurried footsteps coming in my direction from behind. Hoping that whoever it was would leave me alone, I slowly lifted my head out of the textbook. As I let my eyes refocus on the text, I absently noted that the footsteps slowed down. My eyes lazily skimmed the pages, not really taking in a single word.
The owner of the footsteps walked past me, but I didn't bother to look up until he stopped and then sat across from me at the table.
I looked up to see Mori staring back at me expectantly, and I almost felt bad for not looking up before that. I opened my mouth to greet him, but I frowned at my forgetfulness when nothing came out.
"Hello, Haruhi," he said with concern.
It always caught me slightly off guard when he spoke to me, especially when he said my name, and especially now that he sounded worried. I realized that the rushed footsteps must have been him walking fast at seeing my head fall into my textbook, and then he must have slowed down when I sat up. I must have worried him...
"Tired?" he asked.
I shook my head. I didn't need to worry him any more than I already had.
"Sick?" he asked, and I shook my head again, but more slowly this time.
"Haruhi," he said, sounding almost like a concerned yet reproachful parent.
I sighed and reached into my schoolbag with resignation, pulling out a blank sheet of paper. I picked up my pen and scribbled a message across the paper.
I'm fine, Mori-senpai, thank you.
I handed it to him and watched his eyes flit over the words. He then reached across the table and gently took my pen from my hand, using it to write a response on the paper, as if he couldn't just say his response out loud.
He slid the paper across the table, and it read, Why aren't you speaking?
As I surveyed the words, I realized that I had never seen his handwriting before. I had expected it to be a lot neater for some reason...
I pulled another pen in a different color out of my bag and wrote lazily, Lost my voice.
He rotated the paper and wrote in his Mori-scrawl: Why are you at school?
I sighed for what must have been the hundredth time that day. Not bothering to rotate the paper again, I reached forward and wrote, I'm fine, really. Just a little tired and can't talk.
He read the upside-down words and then slowly wrote, So... you lied?
I frowned up at him.
What?
You lied about not being tired.
Oh. That, I wrote, regretting trying to hide anything from him. I'm sorry, Mori-senpai. I just really need to be at school. I'm tired and a little sluggish, and my voice is gone, but I'm well enough to get through my classes, which is all that matters. I can't afford to miss any important material. I can't risk-
Before I could finish, Mori interrupted my rambling explanation by placing a hand over the paper and dragging it across the table away from me.
"Let's go," he said aloud, surprising me once again with the suddenness of his voice.
"What?" I mouthed at him.
He didn't reply. Instead, he closed my textbook and placed it in my bag, along with the two pens we had been corresponding with. After another glance at me, he took the bag in one hand and proceeded to walk away without me.
When I didn't get up and follow him, he looked back to me and said, "Do you need me to carry you?"
My eyes widened, and I shook my head, getting up to follow him. I didn't know where he was going, but I figured it was better to follow him on foot than to be carried by him throughout the school in the middle of the day.
When I saw that we were approaching the nurse's office, I turned on my heel and started walking back the way we had come, not wanting him to get me sent home. Mori caught me by the shoulder, however, and steered me back toward the door. There was no use trying to evade his hold after that point.
As he guided me into the large room, one of many nurses practically glided over to us. I assumed she was the head nurse from the slight difference in her uniform from the others and her air of authority. She smiled widely, only taking a moment to glance at Mori's hand on my shoulder before speaking.
"Morinozuka-san, it is a pleasure to see you," she said cheerfully, just short of gushing. "Don't tell me that for the first time in three years at this school you're actually sick?"
"It is Fujioka-kun that is not feeling well, Oono-san," Mori voiced.
"Ah, Fujioka-kun, the scholarship student?" she asked, now surveying me closely.
When I nodded, Nurse Oono said, "Oh, how delightful to meet you, Fujioka-kun! I've been wanting to get a look at you. Welcome to Ouran, dear, and congratulations on getting such a rare scholarship. You're the first commoner at this school, you know. I'm excited to see how you can possibly succeed among the children of Japan's elite, but it seems that you are off to a good start, being a friend of Morinozuka-san."
For the first time that day, I was actually glad that my voice was gone so that I did not have to say thank you to the nurse in spite of her backhanded compliments.
"He's at the top of his class," Mori supplied politely, making a subtle smile appear on my face.
"Oh, what a miraculous achievement! You keep it up, young man, and I'm sure you'll rise above the ranks of poverty and the lower class in no time."
I gave her a wry smile while clenching my fist behind my back. Mori must have seen it, because he gave my shoulder a comforting squeeze before speaking again.
He said, "He has lost his voice. Could you please take a look at him?"
"Ah, so that's why you are here, Morinozuka-san, to speak for Fujioka-kun."
My ears perked at this statement, my eyes moving from boredly staring at the ground to scrutinizing the face of Nurse Oono.
"That is so very kind and considerate of you, Morinozuka-san. I will look at him right away. Please feel free to sit here in the waiting area while I personally take Fujioka-kun to an examination room. I will do my best to be swift so that you will not have to worry for too long."
"I appreciate that very much, Oono-san. Thank you," Mori said, sounding more like a host than ever. He finally released my shoulder and then gave the nurse a slight bow before turning to sit in one of the plush waiting chairs.
As Nurse Oono led me away from Mori and into a small, yet flamboyant examination room, I thought about how novel it was that Mori-senpai, of all people, was speaking for me.
Nurse Oono started going through the normal check-up procedures, taking my blood pressure and my temperature. She was notably less chatty and much more professional when dealing with me one-on-one.
She then asked me a string of questions: "Is your throat dry? Is it sore? Have you had difficulty swallowing?"
I nodded for each question, the overwhelming tired feeling rushing back to me.
"Are you a singer, by any chance?"
I might have laughed if I could have, but I just shook my head.
She nodded knowingly and wrote something down on a clipboard. She then motioned for me to follow her out of the room, and I cautiously hopped down off the examination table, wondering why she didn't tell me what she had written down.
When Mori saw us approaching, he stood and strode over to meet us.
"Well, Morinozuka-san," she said to him as if I weren't right there or as if I was Mori's child who would not understand what she was saying, "his blood pressure is high, and his temperature is through the roof. His throat appears to be quite swollen. Fever is obvious, but the fever is most likely a symptom of something greater, perhaps laryngitis. He should go straight home-"
At this my eyes narrowed, and my shoulders slumped. Going straight home was exactly what I was trying to avoid.
"...and go straight to bed. I suggest taking a couple of Ibuprofen and having hot soup and some sort of herbal tea to open up the throat some. Also, if he has a humidifier, it should be placed in his room and left on for the night. If the symptoms get a lot worse this evening or have not improved after a good night's rest, I recommend going straight to the doctor for a more thorough diagnosis and perhaps a prescription of some sort."
Mori nodded with every suggestion while I thought, Where is she even getting all this nonsense? I'm fine. Should a school nurse even be saying such things? The nurses at my old schools would just take our temperatures and then ask if we wanted to go home, to which I would say no, because a slight fever is not equivalent to being on a deathbed. Then I would be sent back to class, and the teacher who had made me go to the nurse in the first place would just frown at me and keep on teaching. And then I would get through the day just fine...
Mori's hand was back on my shoulder, and I realized that I had tuned Nurse Oono out and had spaced out with my own thoughts. I had missed the latter part of her and Mori's conversation, but I figured it must not have been too important.
"Thank you, Oono-san," Mori said, ending the conversation as he started to steer me toward the door.
I bowed to Nurse Oono quickly and then let Mori push me forward, trying to ignore the lightheaded sensation that came after standing upright again.
The hallway was filled with students who were making their way to their next classes, and just watching the flurry of bodies and hearing all the noise they made caused my head to throb.
"Takashi! Haru-chan!" Honey's painfully high-pitched voice yelled as he ran toward us with outstretched arms.
I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact of his hug, only to open my eyes and see Mori's arm outstretched, a hand on Honey's head to block him from tackling me. Honey's legs were still going even though he wasn't moving forward, but he finally stopped when he closed his arms for the hug and there was nothing there.
"Takashi?" he asked sadly as Mori removed his hand, clutching his Usa-chan.
"Haruhi is sick, Mitsukuni. I'm taking her home."
My "What?" of protest was never heard.
The emotion in Honey's eyes immediately transformed as he looked up at Mori.
"Okay!" he said with a smile, his eyes glimmering with complete trust, understanding, and an adoration that made my heart constrict.
Honey threw a tight hug around Mori's legs and then handed Usa-chan to him.
"That's for Haru-chan until she gets better, okay? I have to get to class now! Feel better soon, Haru-chan!" he yelled as he waved and skipped toward his next class.
"Would you like to hold Usa-chan?" Mori asked when Honey had gone out of sight.
I looked up at him, stuck in a sort of awe-like state, and before I knew what I was doing, my head was going up and down in a slow nod.
With Usa-chan in my arms, we proceeded toward the front entrance. I rested my chin tiredly on top of the bunny's soft head, resigned to being taken home. My mind reeled over the significance of having the toy in my arms, as well as the significance of Mori leaving school just to take me home.
A car was already waiting outside for us. The ride home was absolutely silent, as would be expected, but I didn't mind. I rested the back of my head against the cool leather seat and tried not to think too hard about anything in particular.
I woke with a start as he was carrying me up the stairs to my apartment. He only glanced at my face before looking away again. Inside the apartment, he sat me on the couch and placed Usa-chan in a sitting position next to me. He put my bag on the floor near my feet and then walked over to the telephone, picking up a notepad on which I had written some telephone numbers. I watched warily as he dialed one of the numbers from the paper.
"Ranka-san? It's Mori-"
I realized that he was calling my father at work, and from the loud squealing noise I heard on the other end, Dad was pretty excited about it. I assumed Mori would ask Dad to come home and take care of me. I had half a mind to try and stop him, but the notion went away. It is futile to try and stop Mori from doing something he is set on doing.
I didn't listen to exactly what Mori was saying but instead listened to the timbre of his voice, how it just barely went up and down but never went on continuously for too long. In those moments as I sunk into the couch, I was glad that he had done all that he had- that he had pulled me out of school and taken me home. I knew he only wanted what was best for me, and I was grateful for it. I closed my eyes again, only opening them a few minutes later when I heard the click of the phone being set down.
Mori sat on the edge of the couch in front of Usa-chan and said, "I explained everything to him. He's going to stop at the store to pick up a few things for you and then come straight home. I should be getting back to school now."
I suddenly remembered that I would be missing the host club, and as if he knew from reading the look in my eyes, Mori said, "Don't worry about host club, I'll explain it to them."
There he goes again, speaking for me...
I clumsily reached down toward my bag, pulling out a pen and a wrinkled sheet of paper and setting it on the table before me.
My hazy mind tried to come up with a coherent sentence to write to thank him, but all I could think of was how lovely his voice was and how it made me happy to hear it.
He looked away as I started to write. I wrote painstakingly slow, conquering each letter individually.
When I was halfway done with my first sentence, he glanced over, and I felt him stiffen beside me.
I realized that all I had written so far was "I love you," and I hastily added "-r voice."
I felt him relax at seeing the rest, and I resisted the urge to hit myself in the head. I added a caret symbol between "love" and "your" and wrote "hearing" underneath it so that the sentence sounded a little less stupid. A little.
I then added, "Thank you for speaking on my behalf," and I set the pen down, not trusting myself to write anything more.
I watched his face, and after a moment of surveying the paper, he gave a small smile, which was enough to make my heart calm. He stood up to leave, but then he bent down and wrote something quick on the paper. When he finished, he straightened and gave me a small nod before disappearing through my apartment door.
When he was gone, I reached for the paper.
He had circled "I love you" and written "too" after it.
I grabbed Usa-chan and sat him in my lap, and we both stared at the paper for a long time.
Mori is cuteness. :)
How'd you like the nurse? Oh no! It's Nurse Oono! XD
So... this fic is based around a certain song. It may be clearer which song it is with the addition of more chapters... but the first reviewer to correctly guess the song will get a mention. :D
-Skye