Of Respect and Friendship
Chapter Four
Haruhi wiped her forehead and looked up at the bright August sun. She couldn't believe how fast time was flying by. She had already been married for a month now. The honeymoon lasted one very relaxing week in which she and Takashi spent most of their time traveling around between the islands, relaxing and getting to know more about eachother.
Haruhi felt it ended all too quickly because before she knew it, she and Takashi were moving into their new apartment located about halfway between Mori's College and the Ouran campus. They then spent the next week painting and setting up their new home and before either of them knew it they were starting classes again. Haruhi was just finishing her first day back.
She was thankful that club activities didn't start until the next week of school because at the moment all she wanted to do was go home and relax before starting dinner. But just as Haruhi was thinking about how nice taking a napping on their new couch would be, a long black limo pulled up next to her, and an all too familiar voiced beckoned to her.
"Hello Haruhi, beautiful day, isn't it?" said the cool and collected voice of her glasses wearing 'friend'.
"Hello, Kyoya-senpai" Haruhi said respectfully trying to keep a level voice. The thought 'What is he doing here?' kept repeating in her mind. She was starting to feel nervous knowing that the Heir of the Ohtori family normally would never stop at getting what he wanted. She didn't thing he was above abduction.
"Get in Haruhi, why don't I give you a ride."
"I really shouldn't"
"Haruhi, I am sure that it would be okay with Ranka if you were a little late. Or wait, now that your married I am sure Mori-senpei would be fine with it also."
That sentence caused her to stop dead in her tracks. The secret of their marriage was out, and with the secret went another layer of protection. She saw no other alternative and turn to face him slowly 'how did he know?'
But in the back of her mind this wasn't so unexpected. If anyone was to find out she thought it would have been Kyoya. He had kept tabs on all of them when they were in school together, what would the difference of being out of school be.
"I can tell that you didn't think I knew about you're new husband. I was shocked, but I am sure Tamaki will be surprised too when he finds out. Well maybe I should call up Tamaki and invite him to join us. I am sure he would fly all the way back from France to see you again. You are after all his precious daughter, but I really do wonder what he will do when he finds out you are married?"
Haruhi frowned at the mention on Tamaki's name. That was something she couldn't deal with at the moment. She knew that the second he found out that she was married he would board the first plan he could and fly back to Japan to see her. That confrontation was something she wanted to avoid at all costs. So she nodded to Kyoya, silently admitted defeat and got into the limo, if anyone was going to play dirty it was him.
"Thank you for the ride home Kyoya-senpei" she said, deciding that if she was going to get through this talk with him, she might as well be polite and try to start it off on the right foot.
"Oh we aren't going to your home. We are going to see my father."
The ride there was silent. Haruhi wished she could somehow reach Takashi but she knew it was impossible. She tried not to make eye contact with the young man sitting across from her so she focused on the happy world moving outside the car window. She wished at that moment she could be one of those people they were driving by, people who never heard of the Host Club.
When they finally arrived at Kyoya's father's office building it proved to be the tallest building Haruhi had ever seen. She and Kyoya were led by two men in black suit to a large silver elevator and taken up to the top floor. She glanced at Kyoya before they got off at the penthouse level, he quickly blinked and walked past her as if she wasn't there but she could have swore that she heard him whisper to her.
"Follow my lead."
She stared after him for a moment, and then rushed to catch up and walk next to him. Together they entered one of the largest rooms she had ever seen. It wasn't that it was really the largest, because she knew that there were room in the Morinozuka family house that were larger. Yet what made this room appear so large was that the walls were all windows, and gave the illusion that there were no walls and that it was just floor and sky. Haruhi almost felt that if she walked up to one and put out a hand that there would be nothing there, but at the moment she was too scared to even step forward out of the door way. Even though Kyoya's father had just asked to her to come sit across from him. She couldn't decided if the fear she was feeling was from the wall-less appearance of the room or the conversation that was about to happen in the room.
She took a deep breath and nervously walked forward to sat in the seat offered to her the next to her dark haired friend and across from his father.
"Hello Fujioka Haruhi, well I guess its Morinozuka Haruhi now, is it not?" The elder man greeted her in an even tone.
Haruhi felt herself swallow hard and nodded.
"Well congratulations" said the man across from her, "marriage is a big step, it is a life altering decision. One that is especially difficult for someone as young as you to make on your own."
This was not what Haruhi was expecting to hear, she glanced quickly at Kyoya to see his reaction but his face was schooled to an expert degree.
"Well," Haruhi started. "We all have decisions to make," Haruhi decided to leave her answer open ended.
"Yes, yes indeed we all do, but I have noticed that decisions, life altering decisions like marriage, are not always a good decision, when made by the young. Especially because young people tend to be less rational and they don't think about the other interests at stake."
"Other interests sir?" she asked in what she hope sounded like a clueless voice.
"Oh Mrs. Morinozuka, there is no need to play dumb. I am aware that you know of that little bet that Mr. Souh and I have made. And I am here to offer you a little piece of the pie."
Haruhi felt shocked to discover that he knew that she knew about the bet. It must have shown on her face too because she heard him chuckle.
"Of course I know. I know everything that happens in my house, thanks to a system of cameras covering my whole estate. I saw on video that you and the cousins Morinozuka and Haninozuka were at my library door at the time when the bet was made. I also know that a month later you are married to a man two years older then you. Who happens to be a member of the Haninozuka dojo, where they are known for the excellent marital arts, and your new husband happens to be a national champion in Kendo."
He paused, leaning closer to Haruhi to continue.
"It is not hard to figure out that you did not marry him for love. You are married him for protection, protection from me. That seems a little hypocritical Mrs. Morinozuka, escaping a marriage with another marriage, refusing to be used but by doing so using your own friend."
He paused and shook his head, watching Haruhi reaction to his last statement, hoping to get a reaction out of her, but he got none.
"But now I am offering you a different kind of protection." continued Mr. Ohtori. "If you divorce Morinozuka and marry my youngest son Kyoya you will have financial protection, and entrance to the best law schools and law firms in the entire world because you will carry my family's name. While it is true that Morinozuka is a wealthy family tied to many different industries it still does not have the power that the Ohtori name does."
Haruhi sat there, looking back at the man in front of her, at a complete loss of what to say. For a girl who someday hoped to be a lawyer, she was frozen at the moment. She was searching, for something, anything to say in her defense, while it was true that she wasn't marrying for love, she couldn't very well say that. It would make her point moot. She also wanted to defend herself that she wasn't using her friend, but she also knew that what ever she said would be twisted and used against her.
Then she heard the young man next to her clear his throat, which caused her to jump. She had completely forgotten that Kyoya was sitting next to her.
"Father, I believe you have some of your facts wrong" said the shadow king pulling a folder out from under his arm. One Haruhi had not noticed it there before.
"Is that so my son? Please enlighten me to my mistake." said the older gentlemen smiling a smile that carried the air of a threat.
"With all due respect father, I have been studying all of the members of the host club for the last three years. I have files and notes and statistical facts on all of them. I know every relationship they have had and I know every person who they wanted to have a relationship with and everyone who wanted to have a relationship with them."
At this Haruhi started at Kyoya. Had he really been taking those kinds of notes on all of them? Herself included? This scared Haruhi, it scared her more than she would have thought. He was always taking note on them that she knew but to that extent of those notes, she never would have guessed.
He passed three sheets across the table to his father and then continued.
"The first sheet you see it Morinozuka's interest in the women around him, you as you can see the Haruhi margin is exponentially larger then any of the girls that he ever hosted."
Haruhi blinked 'of course my ratio is higher' she thought to herself 'he could never really tolerate any of the girls who came to the host club'
"The second sheet there is Haruhi's interest sheets. Her peaceful interactions ratio with Morinozuka is off the charts compared to the other five handsome men she interacted with."
Another though entered in Haruhi mind 'that's because he is the only one who gave me any peace. Everyone else was disrupting me'.
Mr. Ohtori interrupted at this moment. "Kyoya why are you not the top?"
"Well father," said that young man with a little cough "my interactions with Haruhi, normally amounted in the raising the amount of Haruhi's debt to she owed to the club, unnecessarily.
Haruhi smiled at that comment 'so he was adding unnecessarily to my debt'
"What is this third sheet Kyoya? This is a list of dates"
"Yes, that is exactly what it is father. It is a list of all the times that Morinozuka and Miss Fujioka spent together after he graduated. As you can see it is quite a long list."
At this Haruhi looked at Kyoya, she had not spent any time alone with Takashi after his graduation. She had seen him quite a bit but the rest of the club was always there. 'Is he lying to his father for me?'
"As you can see father, it is my belief, according to my extensive research, that Haruhi and Mori were nursing feelings for each other. Then when they over heared your bet with Mr. Souh it actually pushed them closer." He paused to push up his glasses.
"But father you should not see this as a lost, because as Haruhi married for love to someone else, neither you nor Mr. Souh could have won this bet. Really, if either of you would have won it would destroy the relations between both of our companies. Plus father, even though I consider Haruhi a friend, I don't believe she is worth the trouble that would come with winning or losing this bet.
The older Ohtori leaned back in his chair, the light from the window reflecting in his glasses, causing it to seem as if he had no eyes at all.
"It seems Kyoya, that if you are correct in your calculations I would be making an error to continue with this bet. You are very right though, a commoner is no reason to destroy a very prosperous business deal."
He turned his eyeless sights upon Haruhi. "But I must warn you Morinozuka Haruhi, that Souh is a man with a temper, while at one moment he spouts sonnets and quips of romance; he has a quick sharp French temper. He, at the moment, doesn't know that you have already married, but it won't take long until he is knocking on your door. He might try different measures to reach his goal. So take this as a friendly warning. You are both dismissed."
With that Kyoya stood and Haruhi followed his lead. They did not speak again until they were both sitting in the limo.
"Kyoya-senpei, you lied to your father."
"No I didn't." Countered her friend.
"Yes you did, I did not spend all the time with Takashi, at least not alone, I spent that time with him and the rest of the club.
"I know but I never said you were alone with him, both of you assumed that was what I meant."
"Well then, I guess you are right and you didn't lie to him."
"No Haruhi, I didn't lie to him about your time with Takashi but I did lie about something else. I told him you weren't worth losing the Souh business over, and that was what I lied about. You are very special Haruhi, even if you don't see it. You caused all of us in the host club to change, and to change for the better, just because you saw all of us as unique and good individuals. You taught us all something, something that no one else could have shown us. Kaoru and Hikaru both learned that there was more to life than each other; Tamaki learned how to have a female friend. With Huni-senpei, you treated him as a person and not a doll or something cute to be dotted on, and with me, you showed me that I have the ability to be a good person, occasionally, even when there are no merits involved."
Haruhi looked her friend in the face, trying to search his eyes for the truth.
"Kyoya, are there merits now?"
He smirked at her and raised his eyebrows at hearing her address him with just his first name. "Honestly? Yes"
"What are you hoping to gain from me?" the young woman asked angered that her friend was once again trying to use her for merits.
"Your trust, and your friendship, and maybe you legal abilities after you get out of law school" he added on jokingly.
"Kyoya, you have always had my trust" she said, there was honestly in her voice that not even he could bend to suit his purposes.
As if the topic was too much for him he quickly changed the subject. "I think it is for that best that you married Mori-senpei. Out of all of us, I believe he needs the most help."
"What do you mean, I have been married to him for the past month and nothing seems wrong with him. I think I would have noticed by now."
"He never really shows anything though, does he? And that is where the problem lies. His whole life he was taught to be silent and trained to be completely emotionless. In his family showing emotion is a weakness and he was trained not to show them since he was a child. There are things in his past that he has never talked about and most likely never will, but it good from him to have someone there just incase he does. His background folder is as thick as yours Haruhi. What he needs is someone to show him how to feel, but Haruhi, at the moment we are outside your house. And I am sure that your husband is worried about where you have been."
The next thing Haruhi knew was that her door was being opened by Kyoya's driver; she mindlessly climbed out and walked to her apartment complex door. She rode the elevator to her floor while her mind was on auto pilot, thinking about what Kyoya had told her. She was so distracted that when she walked into her apartment she walked right past the man on her mind.
He was sitting at the table a cup of tea in front of him, and his eyes closed, breathing deeply. He heard her enter the apartment and walk past him, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Haruhi" he said softly.
She turned quickly surprised to see him sitting behind her. "Takashi? Oh you scared me" she started, her voice dying out when she saw the emotionless look on his face.
"You need to check in with me." His deep voice said in almost a deadpan tone.
"What?" she asked rather surprised at where this topic came from.
He looked at her, his eyes staring deep into hers, as if he was trying to send his thoughts into her head without saying them.
"You can not be gone out this late without letting me know where you are. You are two hours late, and I know there are no clubs this week."
"Takashi please," she started desperately, realizing that he must have been worried about her. "I can explain why I am so late."
He looked at her with a calm gaze waiting for her to continue.
"Kyoya picked me up from school today."
One of Mori's eyebrows rose slightly at this. 'He really doesn't show much emotion' Haruhi thought to herself.
"He took me to meet his father."
Haruhi looked at his passive exterior with no idea what was really happening inside his body, his chest at that moment decided to freeze. His heart hurt in a way that he didn't know that could be possible.
"But we should be thankful to him, because he convinced his father to give up the pursuit of me. He was trying to bribe me with some of the top law schools to get me to divorce you" she said with a hint of disgust in her voice.
Takashi felt like smiling at that. He knew that Haruhi wanted to get into law school on her own abilities not because of the names of her wealthy friends.
Haruhi sighed; looking more tired than Takashi had ever seen her before, sitting down across from him.
"Kyoya convinced him that I am not worth destroying a very promising business deal over. So luckily for us we are in the clear from the Ohtori's. "
They sat in silence for a moment, as Haruhi closed her eyes, thinking of the nap she wanted to take over two hours ago. She was about to get up and leave when the silence between when was uncharacteristically broken by Takashi.
"He is wrong."
Haruhi gave him a puzzled look, not understanding what he meant. Her mind had drifted to many other thoughts.
"You are worth it; you are worth getting upset over losing, and losing every business deal over." He took a long sip of the tea in front of him before continuing.
"None the less, Haruhi, I would prefer if you checked in with me before you were out late. Even better, how about I walk you home from school from now on?"
"What?" Haruhi said angrily, maybe it was because she was tired, or maybe it was because she felt like she had been controlled and lead around enough for one day. What ever the reason was she felt her normally endless temper, get shorter and shorter every moment.
"I never checked in with my own father, I refused to let my own father walk me home from school. Takashi I have always been able to take care of myself, I do not need to be treated like a child, especially now that I am a married woman."
"Haruhi, I have no intention of treating you like a child. But just because one of the two powerful families that were after you is gone, does not mean that we should lower our defenses. If you are out late, and I have no idea where you are, I will assume the worst has happened to you."
He paused and looked down into his cup
"Haruhi, I was really worried about you."
The young women looked at the man sitting across from her, who was avoiding her eye by staring at his teacup, almost ashamed that he had admitted a weakness.
"I am sorry Takashi; I guess I never thought about that." she admitted sheepishly. The truth was she hadn't thought about how her being gone would affect him. She made a mental note of working on thinking more about his feelings before continuing on. "I am so used to coming home to an empty home at all hours that I guess it never crossed my mind that you were here and worried about me."
"Haruhi, you are mine to care for and protect. I promise that you will never come home to an empty house again." He said quietly. His face had gone from expressionless to a promising smile.
Haruhi reached out across the table to take his hand. Her tiny hand fit rather nicely in his larger ones, she squeezed his hand gently. She stood, and announced that she was going to take a nap, but instead of going and laying on the couch or in their bed she first walked over and gave her husband a kiss on the cheek. Then she exited quietly smiling back at him, making a mental note that when her husband was upset about something, he hid all of his emotions, trying to be a blank slate. She smiled at the progress they were already making.