A/n: REVISED. I apologize for any grammatical errors and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 8

It was quiet in the apartment as Hani stared at Ranka, trying to decipher what the look in the older man's eyes meant. He found himself taking a step back as he frowned in confusion and asked, "The others?"

Ranka shook his head, "She only asked for you."

Hani wondered if Ranka understood exactly what he was implying, because the very suggestion of it frightened him. He retreated another step, his back hitting the front door as he shakily whispered, "Why?"

Ranka lifted his chin slightly as he studied the young man who his daughter had feelings for. He was an incredibly intuitive man and it was quite obvious that the boys of Ouran's Host Club loved his daughter, but there was only one she wanted. He knew that most fathers wouldn't even entertain the idea of leaving their daughter alone with a boy, but Ranka wasn't like most fathers. He had promised to give Haruhi what she needed to feel safe and if that was Hani, then he would gift wrap the boy if he had to. It helped though, that he trusted Hani completely to not disrespect his daughter in any way.

He could see that Hani loved his daughter and though the boy was obviously broken, Ranka approved of Haruhi's choice. Hani had proved himself to be a friend and protector; he stood beside Haruhi and didn't judge her when she needed to borrow his strength. He didn't cower when she screamed and tried to push him away, rather he stood and let her rage all the while waiting to catch her should she fall. Hani was exactly what Haruhi needed and Ranka knew love well enough to stand aside and let the boy love his daughter. The problem that lay before them now though, was that it seemed Hani was afraid of the possibility that Haruhi might love him the way he loved her.

Hani's reaction to the idea that Haruhi could care about him as someone more than a friend was not comforting—the boy looked genuinely terrified. Though he wanted to give his daughter everything she asked for, he was sure that she wouldn't want Hani if he was forced.

Ranka frowned down at Hani, his voice rough in his reply, "I won't put my daughter in a position where she is vulnerable just because you want clarification. If you want to run then go and I will call Kyoya instead, but know this—if you run you aren't allowed to change your mind. I won't let you hurt her."

Hani's eyes shot up as he growled out, "I'm not running."

Ranka's brow lifted, "The look in your eyes a moment ago said something very different."

Hani shook his head as he pushed away from the door and whispered tightly, "You wouldn't understand."

The older man crossed his arms in front of his chest and whispered back mockingly, "Try me."

When Hani remained silent Ranka nodded with a sardonic smile on his face, "Okay, how about I take a shot at it then. You are in love with my daughter Mitsukuni. You are so deeply in love with her that it is quite obvious that you have felt for her long before she was abducted. When you are finally given the opportunity to build something with her you can't help but fear that she doesn't love you back, or worse—she does love you, but for all the wrong reasons. Tell me Hani, do you think my daughter so weak as to not be able to understand what she feels? Do you think that I would even bother speaking to you about this if I wasn't sure about how you feel about her?"

Ranka looked towards Haruhi's door with a sad look in his eyes, "She's different now Hani, but even though she is not the same doesn't mean she isn't capable of knowing the difference between love and dependency. You insult her by even thinking that she isn't strong enough to differentiate between the two, so perhaps it is you who has confused your feelings. Are you the kind of person who needs to be needed Mitsukuni? Are you perhaps the kind of person who will fix what you think is broken only to walk away when you no longer feel needed? If that is case, then you should know that my daughter doesn't need you to heal her. She doesn't need a damn hero, because my Haruhi is going to be her own savior with or without you."

Hani stared at the man who accused him of not loving Haruhi, wondering how Ranka could think such a thing of him. Couldn't he see that Hani didn't deserve Haruhi, even if by some miracle she did want him? He wasn't a good person; he wasn't the same boy who cried freely over frivolous things and buried his feelings in strawberry cake. He had tortured a man and his only real regret was that he hadn't killed the son of a bitch himself. He was not the kind of man that Haruhi should have by her side. She deserved someone like Tamaki; she deserved someone who would shine brilliantly in the dark and that wasn't him. Still, despite his reservations and his beliefs, he couldn't allow Ranka to disparage what he felt for Haruhi.

He tried to calm himself enough to rebuke Ranka's assumptions about his feelings, but still there was an iciness in his tone when he finally spoke, "I won't let even you, Mr. Fujioka, belittle what I feel for your daughter. I am young, but I'm not as naïve as you might like to think. I won't deny loving Haruhi, it's not something I can easily hide—but she deserves much more than someone like me."

Ranka growled out, "Don't hide behind that excuse young man, especially when it is utter bullshit. My daughter deserves the boy who would move heaven and earth to make sure she is safe. She deserves the boy who did what others couldn't to ensure that the world had one less monster to worry about. Most of all Mitsukuni, Haruhi deserves someone who loves and respects her. You already love her, so how about you respect her enough to let her make her own decision whether or not you feel you deserve her."

Hani turned away from Ranka and dragged his hand through his sleep tousled hair and closed his tired eyes. Ranka's angry stare began to soften. "You need to get it out Hani, even if it's just the tip of an obviously enormous iceberg, you need to talk about it."

It was hard to watch as Hani tried to find the right words to explain his fears and even harder to hear the truth in them, but Ranka listened and never once judged him for what he felt.

"I don't want to become the crutch she needs to get her through the day. She never looked twice at me before Ranka, so why shouldn't I question if what you say she feels for me isn't dependency? I have loved your daughter for so long I forgot what it feels like to not look at her and wish she were mine. It might be selfish, but I want her to love me because she just can't help herself—I can't accept her loving me only because she needs me to keep going."

The broken boy turned and stared out the window, his body trembling with all the emotions he kept so tightly bound inside of him. "Take a good look at me Ranka—I'm falling apart. The last thing I ever want to do is hurt Haruhi and I'm scared that I'm just too fucked up to be what she needs. I don't understand how the hell you could possibly want someone like me for someone as precious as her."

His nearly golden eyes looked back up at Ranka, they were glistening with raw emotion as he softly spoke in a way that indicated that it was himself he was talking to, "They all love her, but I can't imagine any of them loving her even half as much as I do. She is trying so hard to get better and she doesn't need someone as broken as I am; I won't risk her because I was too selfish to let her go."

Ranka was in awe at the depth of Hani's emotions; the poor boy seemed to need his daughter just as much as she needed him. Though maybe not naïve, Hani was still a boy in need of guidance. "There is an American writer who said something once that I feel holds true for all things in this world, but I think in this moment, it holds especially true for you and my Haruhi. She said, 'When the Japanese mend broken objects they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold, because they believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful.' I believe that you and Haruhi are each other's gold—you will only make one another more beautiful."

Ranka sighed sadly, "I want Haruhi to be wanted; I won't place her in the care of someone who had to be forced. You need to realize that while the others love Haruhi too it wasn't them she asked for, it was you. If this was about dependency then honestly, there is a boy or two in your group of friends who wouldn't mind her using them as her crutch. Instead, she chose you—she chose the one who stands beside her and lets her build herself up with her own strength. As for what you deserve, well let's just say we have opposing views on that matter as well."

Hani watched silently as Ranka slid his arms into the sleeves of his long faux fur coat and opened the front door, "I have to go to work. I don't want to leave her alone, so if you decide to leave then can you call Kyoya and wait for him before you go…oh, one more thing. Do you trust that another would move Heaven and earth as completely as you would for her? Do you believe that there is another out there that would have done what you did to make sure she was safe? If the answer is yes, then I hope she finds that person someday. If the answer is no and you still decide to leave—then you have denied Haruhi what she deserves. Good night Hani."

With that Ranka walked out, shutting the door quietly behind him with a smile and leaving Hani alone with Haruhi. Hani didn't know what to do. He wanted to be with Haruhi, the very thought of her being with another brought forth a jealousy and possessiveness he could hardly justify. He knew he had to make a choice—he considered what Ranka had asked him before he left and before he knew it he was standing in front of Haruhi's door. He very carefully opened it so as not to disturb her and his breath caught when his eyes fell to the bed.

The moonlight shone through the window, illuminating Haruhi's tiny form in an ethereal glow. She was sleeping, her hands curled beneath her cheek and her lips parted as she breathed softly through her mouth. Hani traced her face with his eyes, admiring the delicacy of her features. She really was beautiful.

He watched as her brow furrowed disrupting the peacefulness of her face and without a second thought he sat on her bed beside her. He reached down and ran the pad of his thumb over the apple of her cheek watching as her face relaxed once more. His fingers slid up to run through her hair, but then he curled them into a fist and drew his hand away from her, fighting off the need to draw her into his arms. He raised up one knee and rested his arm lazily against it, tilting his head back so that his neck rested on the smooth curve of the wooden headboard. He shouldn't touch her without her permission, no matter how innocent it was.

Hani smiled at the ceiling, noticing for the first time that it was decorated with glow in the dark stars. It was unexpected, but Hani liked them. She was still a teenage girl beneath her seriousness and sensibility. He was so different from who he was when he had realized he cared for her in a way that was beyond the scope of friendship. While Hani had always fought for what he wanted, he could only see his heartbreak on the horizon when every time she looked at him she saw someone akin to a sibling. He would never put her in a position in which she would feel uncomfortable, so he had decided to love her from a distance. If he had been given any reason to believe that she might feel the same then, he wouldn't have hesitated—she would never have doubted what he felt for her. It was different now—he was so different from the boy he was before, he was scared that Haruhi would be disappointed in her choice in the end. When Kimura had taken Haruhi, they all had dealt with their grief and anger in their own ways, but Hani's path had been much darker than theirs. He didn't understand how Haruhi could possibly want him—if she really knew what he had become when she was taken would she feel the same?

"Hani?"

Hani jerked in surprise and looked down into Haruhi's big brown eyes as she whispered, "You came."

He swallowed the knot in his throat and he knew then that no matter how much he felt he didn't deserve her, he would never willingly leave her. "Of course."

He closed his eyes and held his breath when she wrapped her arm around his thigh to use him like a pillow, "Hani, if I ask you something will you promise to tell me the truth?"

Hani looked down at her and knew exactly what she wanted to ask him, "I promise."

"Am I in some kind of danger? Is there someone following me?"

Hani frowned at the hollowness of her voice, "Haruhi—Haruhi look at me."

Her despondent big brown eyes looked up at him and seemed almost as empty as her voice. God, how Hani wished he could lie to her. "You don't have to ask me to confirm what you already know. We're going to do everything we can to find out who it is. I promise you I won't let them hurt you Haruhi; I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."

Haruhi buried her face in his outer thigh, "I know."

It was quiet for a while and for a bit Hani thought that Haruhi had fallen back to sleep until she whispered, "Thank you for coming Hani."

Hani closed his eyes and took in a deep slow breath. He wouldn't run, he wasn't capable of leaving her, "Always."

~oOo~

"I'm confused."

Kaede looked up from her notes, her brow raising in question at the pretty girl sitting across from her. She placed her clipboard down on the table beside her and gave Haruhi her undivided attention.

"What has you so confused?"

Haruhi frowned and bit her bottom lip, nibbling at it in her anxiety before releasing it with a sigh, "The thought of being in a relationship scares me—the physical aspect of it at least. I don't think I'm in the best place to try to be in any kind of relationship other than a friendly one, but even though I know it's a bad idea right now, I have feelings for one of my best friends. I don't know what to do."

Kaede nodded, "How long have you felt this way about your friend?"

Haruhi blushed and looked down, "A long time. I realized I was attracted to him months before…before everything happened. He treated me like a little sister though and I didn't want anything to change, but now things are different; he is different. He looks at me and what I see in his eyes scares me, but it also makes my heart race and I want him to always look at me that way. I don't want that look to go away because I am too frightened to take a chance."

Kaede smiled, "First let me say, if he can't wait for you then he isn't worth your time. As for you being scared of a physical relationship, that is normal after what you experienced. A relationship is a big step and it is one that you should be sure you want to take, it is a decision that should be made because you are ready and not because you are scared he might change his mind."

Haruhi turned away, her body stiffened as she whispered, "It hurts—I remember how painful it was…every time. After what he did, I don't know if I'll…I don't know if I can ever be ready to take that kind of step. I'm scared that if I am ever ready to let someone that close, all I will be able to see and feel is him."

Haruhi had spoken of her captivity, but not of the sexual abuse and as much as Kaede wanted to reach out and pull Haruhi into her arms she resisted. She tilted her head and bent a little to catch Haruhi's eye, "I need for you to understand that the pain you experienced initially was enhanced by cruelty and afterwards was purposely inflicted. That is not how it should be Haruhi—he took from you something that was meant to be given of your own free will to someone who you love and trust. It is important that when you decide to move forward in a relationship, that it is a choice made with no pressure or doubts attached. There is something that I want you to remind yourself of Haruhi; Kimura was a rapist, he forced himself on you against your will. He was evil in one of its purest forms and what he did to you was monstrous—and while he did take something precious from you, there is something he left behind. He didn't take away your ability to choose who will be the first person you will love enough to freely give yourself to. There are many firsts you have yet to experience Haruhi and when you decide you are ready, I hope you will see it as I do. I hope you will see that while Kimura took from you physically, what he couldn't take from you is still yours to give to another."

Haruhi wiped away a tear, her eyes shining with hope as she said, "I don't know if anything will happen between Hani and I, but he looks at me in the same way my dad looked at my mom. I won't take that step until I am sure I am ready, but the one thing I am positive of is that Hani would never hurt me. He won't let my fear drive him away…and even if he isn't the person I move forward with I will never forget what you said."

Kaede smiled, "It's the truth Haruhi and this Hani seems pretty amazing."

"All my friends are…but he is special."

~oOo~

Haruhi felt eyes on her as she was walking to the cafeteria, with a twin on either side of her like guard dogs. She could feel the same presence that had been following her for the last few weeks and she instinctively reached out for the twin's hands. They both looked over at her and read the look on her face. Kaoru stayed by her side while Hikaru loudly claimed to have left something in the classroom and veered off to the right.

Kaoru gave her hand a comforting squeeze and whispered, "You're safe Haruhi."

Haruhi was scared, but she took comfort in the fact that whoever was watching her had made a mistake. There was no way for them to get into the school without one of the cameras catching them, if they didn't belong here then the boys would know. The only other option was that her stalker did belong in the academy, which would make them a student or a member of the faculty.

Kaoru let go of her hand and continued to talk to her, "Hikaru is going to message the others."

Though her heart was racing and she was fighting to keep her composure, she didn't flinch when she felt an arm wrap around her waist. Hani's boyishly handsome face was soft and smiling despite the hardness in his eyes, "Kaoru is going to take care of you. Don't panic Haruhi, even if we don't get the bastard today we will keep you safe. Do you trust me?"

Haruhi didn't hesitate, "Yes."

"Good, now don't be stubborn and have lunch on me."

He dug in his wallet and put a wad of bills in her hand. "Something fancy."

He kissed the crown of her head and left her with Kaoru. He turned towards his cousin who stood at least a head taller than the majority of the rest of the students and silently watched. Mori spoke softly, barely discernible beneath the chatter around them. "Kyoya is checking the surveillance footage, Tamaki is a floor above us to keep a bird's eye view on everybody. Hikaru is checking for possible hiding places."

Hani frowned, "I think it's a student…actually I'm pretty damn positive of it."

"Someone we know?"

"Most likely. We can't let her out of our sight Takashi, I promised her she would be safe."

Mori stared down at his cousin, "Mitsukuni, we can't always be with her."

Hani growled, "We sure as hell will try until we find out who the fuck was stupid enough to target her."

It was quiet as the large hall began to clear and when they were nearly alone, Mori sighed, "You love her."

"Yes, but so do you."

The taller boy shifted uncomfortably, "I do not deny it, but I don't love her like you do."

"You would go crazy if you loved her like I do," he quickly changed the subject, "Not a damn thing. I wonder if any of the others found something."

An hour later and Haruhi was about to burst. She needed to use the restroom and no matter how much the boys wanted to be with her at all times they couldn't follow her there. Everyone was in class, there were cameras everywhere and all she would have to do was scream and someone would come running.

It didn't stop the twins from freaking out when she raised her hand and asked to be excused. She turned to Hikaru first and whispered, "I'll be fine. I'll be right back."

She had to hold out her hand in a stop motion to keep the boys from following her, but despite her bravado she practically ran to the restroom. It was ridiculous that she was terrified to even go to the damn toilet and through her fear she felt anger. She didn't deserve this.

She quickly finished her business and began to wash her hands when she heard a familiar voice echo off the restroom walls, "Hello Fujioka."

A/n: This is honestly my favorite chapter so far and it took me two days to write it. I wanted Ranka's and Hani's conversation to be the focal point, but then the conversation with Kaede and Haruhi just happened and it became just as important. Kaede's response to Haruhi is what took so long; it was like when you have a word on the tip of your tongue, but it won't come out. I knew what I was thinking, but I didn't know how to properly write it down. Let me know what you think!

Also, the quote that Ranka is referring to was by Barbara Bloom.

Thank you.

~Inari