OMG. I only just noticed that it's been over a year since I last updated. I feel so tiny. ._. There's a line in the story that jumps out at me when I think about this, guess which. Anyway, I've managed to complete a few chapters ( yay! ) all of which are of unorganized lengths so please don't mind it. All that's left for me to do is edit them. I edit my chapters as I upload them, so please forgive me if they take longer than you expect. That reminds me! I'm looking for a beta reader. Preferably someone who's in the GMT+8 timezone or somewhere close, because it really sucks if I have to stay up past midnight just to hear what you think of my story. If anyone's interested, please email me or send me a message. (:
I usually edit my own stories but the problem is that doing that gives me less time to write them and to let the plot bunnies grow into healthy rabbits that I can, uh, play with. So please, if you can beta read for me, then let me know! The only requirements that I have are (GMT+8) - debatable, really, and you should be able to tell me where my mistakes are. I rely a lot on personal views of my reader, that's why I rely on reviews so much *cough*hinthint*cough*
This chapter is a bit different, firstly because it's super short for me, and secondly, because I only wrote one scene. I decided that since it's such an emotional scene, I didn't want to mess it up with other things, for fear that it might seem a bit sloppy.
R&R! It's one of the only reasons I keep posting (albeit extremely belatedly)
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"You could have just come over and said hi," Haruhi muttered when she walked into the room carrying a first aid kit.
The person lying haphazardly on the couch facing the door snorted derisively, not even bothering to lift the arm that they had over their eyes.
"Sure, go up and talk to the target of the person you're tailing. Guaranteed way of making sure the job's done." Raven retorted. "I might as well go up to him and say; 'Look here dude, that girl you want to assassinate? She's my boss, so I can't let you.'"
Putting the first aid kit down on the table with a little more force than necessary, Haruhi spun around to glare at the other girl, "Well then, the least you could have done was let me know! We thought you were tailing us."
"It's not my fault the lot of you are paranoid!" She replied tensely.
"You're one to speak, you don't dare leave the house without at least five knives on you!" Haruhi shot back with a snort of her own. She turned back to the kit and started laying the things she required out on the table.
"Take off your shirt," she threw over her shoulder at Yuri who had pulled up a high back chair and was sitting in it, looking extremely pale, clutching the piece of cloth that had been hastily pressed to the side of his arm to stem the flow of blood.
The latter grimaced slightly, knowing from past experiences that doing what she ordered was harder than it seemed. He struggled out of it, managing to get one arm out and tugged it over his head before he gave up. He was even more pale now, and the Host Club members who were scattered around the room watched him apprehensively, unsure if they should offer help.
Raven just rolled her eyes at him, completely unperturbed by the obvious pain he was in. She opened her mouth to say something when a very loud bang echoed through the mansion. She shut her mouth as she sat up, shoulders tense as though expecting an attacker to run in through the door.
Now, figuratively speaking, the person who came hurtling through the door wasn't a criminal. But then, well, he did molest Kyoya.
"Yuri! What the hell happened to you! I get a call saying something about a kidnapping, and almost being shot, and then knife-throwing?" Ace exclaimed when he caught sight of the blood-drained face that stared at him in shock. He rushed over to Yuri and caught sight of the cloth that he had pressed to his arm, noticing the blood stain on it. "YOU WENT TO A FRICKIN' FUN FAIR FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?"
Yuri didn't get a chance to explain, as he was cut off by Haruhi who had an opened bottle of medicine in one hand and a bunch of alcohol swabs in the other.
"It's a flesh wound, Ace, you don't have to scream the roof off this place over that," she said, narrowed eyes locking with Ace's own that were wide with fear and worry.
Ace swung around to stab a finger accusingly at Raven who had relaxed a bit but was now frowning in annoyance at the intrusion.
"It's got to be you! Every time there's knife throwing involved, you have to be around. What the hell were you thinking, flinging a knife at him so casually?" He exploded, his voice rising with each word.
Raven clicked her tongue in annoyance, "I wasn't aiming for him, moron. I was aiming for the guy behind him that he was too stupid to notice who was about to stab him in the back." She snapped back at him. "Now sit down and be quiet, he doesn't need loud people to shout on his behalf to feel better."
Ace conceded when he saw that Yuri really was exhausted. He stalked over to another couch and flung himself in it, glowering at Raven the whole time. The said girl ignored his glare, and instead watched with mild interest as Haruhi carefully pried Yuri's hand away and took away the cloth. She then helped him out of the shirt gently, making sure not to move his arm too much. Even so, he was sweating by the time it was over and was more pale if that was possible.
"Are you sure that it's just a flesh wound? He shouldn't be in that much pain if it was," Ace piped up anxiously, torn between glaring hatefully at Raven and jumping forward to give Haruhi a hand. Not bothering to reply, Haruhi bent closer and studied the wound a bit and the look on her face when she straightened wasn't very assuring.
"The knife cut deeper than I though. I'll clean off the dried blood and see if it needs stitching," she told Yuri as she picked up an alcohol swab. In reply, all she got was a curt nod, and Yuri leaned back against the seat slightly, closing his eyes. Haruhi began gently dabbing at the wound, making sure not to press too hard.
"Ne, Takashi, Haru-chan's doing a really good job, don'tcha think?" Honey asked, finally breaking the silence that had shrouded the six hosts during the whole episode. Mori nodded slightly, his eyes still trained on Haruhi.
"I wonder if she's done this before," Tamaki said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. The twins who were seated on his left shrugged their indifference.
"I wonder how she manages to keep five knives on her," Hikaru murmured to his brother, his voice so low that no one but the six of them could hear it.
Kaoru grinned in reply and he turned towards Tamaki, "Milord, why don't you go find out?"
"W-W-What? Why do I have to go?" The King spluttered, his eyes wide.
Kaoru shrugged, "You're the King, and the most charming of us all, you've said so yourself."
Blushing furiously, Tamaki stammered something that sounded vaguely Japanese before he stuffed his fist into his mouth to stop himself.
The twins, enjoying the slightly uplifted mood, shared a small high five and started to tease their King even more.
"She carries two knifes in thigh holsters on both legs, two more are in the soles of her shoes that she made customized to fit them, and one more in the small of her back."
The silent stares that followed his words didn't faze Kyoya who just looked back at the five gaping mouths mildly. He cocked an eyebrow in askance.
"H-How'd you know all that?" This time it was Hikaru's turn to splutter.
Kyoya leveled him a look. "I know everything."
The other five exchanged glances, completely unsure of what to make of that statement. Haruhi clicking her tongue caught their attention and all six turned towards her, ending the conversation.
"The wound's much too deep. I'm going to have to stitch it back up," she told an exhausted looking Yuri. Again, he nodded in reply, finding that that was the extent of activity his current state allowed him. He settled back again, his eyes drifting shut.
"You should have been able to aim better, it's not like the guy was too far away from you," this time Haruhi's words were directed towards Raven who looked immensely bored.
"It's not my fault he has to move so much, I told you I wasn't aiming for him." She retorted, angry that she was being blamed.
"I know you weren't aiming for him, but that doesn't mean you couldn't have aimed better!" Haruhi exclaimed, finally showing how upset she was. She picked up a needle that she had prepared, and carefully threaded it with a special bio-degradable thread.
"Well, gee, I'm sorry if half a year living in bloody Iceland has made my aim soft! There isn't exactly a lot of things to throw knifes at there, never mind that it's too cold to go out in the first place!" She shot back hotly.
"Stop using such pathetic excuses. You went there on a mission that you signed yourself on! I told you you'd hate it there but you left anyway!" Haruhi stabbed the needle accusingly at her.
"Quit telling me that already, I know you think I was dumb to go!" Raven shouted at her, rising to her feet.
"Quit blaming others for your mistakes!" Haruhi shouted back, equally wound up.
They glared at each other for what seemed like eons, both refusing to back down. Finally, as the tension in the room grew until it was almost unbearable, Raven spun around and stormed out. The slamming of the door echoed in the silence she had left behind and made the others jump.
"That was mean." Haruhi started and looked down at Yuri who was watching her through half-lidded eyes. Instead of replying, she turned away and picked up another alcohol swab and dabbed at his wound gently before she began to stitch it.
"She needed it," she finally replied as she made meticulous stitches.
"It was still pretty harsh," Ace drawled from his seat. The Hosts looked at him in surprise. When Raven had left the room, the other man had suddenly become relaxed, even spreading himself more comfortably on the couch he was on. He now had a slight smirk playing about his lips. The Hosts wondered if he really disliked Raven that much that he would be happy that she was so upset.
Haruhi sighed as she made the last of the stitches. With a small pair of scissors, she cut the end of the thread and rummaged in the first aid kit, finally pulling out a square of bandage and some tape. Carefully arranging the bandage over Yuri's wound, she taped the thing firmly and then stood up with a satisfied smile.
Moving over to his other side, she helped him limp over to the couch that had only just been vacated. He leaned back against the soft leather gratefully and shut his eyes.
"I know it was," she finally addressed Ace's earlier comment. "But she's been in denial for so long that maybe this will get her back on her feet."
"Still," Ace said thoughtfully, "calling me and making me come in here to shout at her was a bit too much, don't you think?"
Haruhi shook her head. "We fight all the time," she explained. "The only way it'd really get through that thick skull of hers is if Yuri's best friend smashed through it."
As Ace nodded thoughtfully at her explanation, the Hosts stared at the other three in the room like they were aliens. As though in class, Hikaru raised his hand and waited for Haruhi to turn and look at him.
"What are you guys talking about?" he asked curiously, his question garnering supportive nods from the others who shared his sentiments.
"You were acting all along?" Tamaki added his own question. Ace nodded while Haruhi shook her head.
At the confused looks of the others, Haruhi explained with a sigh.
"I wasn't acting when I was yelling at her, but Ace was."
Ace nodded along enthusiastically, "Yea, I mean, I knew that Yuri was going to be fine. But Haruhi called me earlier and told me what happened and then told me to come over and be a drama queen."
He grinned at the bemused looks he received. "See, Raven has this strange complication," he began.
"She has trouble showing emotion," Haruhi cut in. "And although she loves Yuri and I, she always puts her job in front of people, and that means that she sometimes makes decisions that are really stupid just so she can prove to us that she's capable."
Humming in agreement, Ace picked up from where she left off, "Throwing the knife at him was one of those stupid things. She wanted to show that she was better, but she reacted too fast, thus messing up her aim."
"Now she's going to be really nice to me for a month," Yuri moaned, making the others jump. His voice was hoarse and Haruhi rushed to get him a glass of water. As he drank, Ace grinned mischievously at his best friend.
"I'm sure you enjoy it, after all, the last time she was nice to you, you – " Yuri groaned and covered his eyes with his free hand, cutting off what Ace was going to say.
"I'll die," he whined piteously.
"Nah, you'll just have really fit legs from all the running you'll be doing," Haruhi joined in the teasing.
Yuri's second groan had everyone laughing, and the tension in the room was completely dissipated.
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A/N: It's been so long that I've actually put the ideas in my head into words that I can't help feeling a bit lost for words during the whole process of writing this. Especially since it has more drama in it than humor. I hope you'll enjoy it, and please read my message at the top!