Me: Cruel Kao-chan.

Hikaru: I know, right? How am I the childish one?

Me: Go figures.

Kaoru: *glares*

Me: *shrugs* don't make me pull out a naginata, idiot.

Kaoru: *gulps* Sorry…

Me: Thought so.

Haruhi: Man, my body hurts…

Me: *Glares at Kaoru full-on*

Kaoru: *Shrinks*

Me: Haru-chan is too tired to do the normal honors for me. So I will. I do not own OHSHC nor its characters or its plot line. I do own this fanfic's plotline and OC's invented.

oooooo

[Next day]

Haruhi felt like a ton. Like it was raining bricks on her body.

The spot beside her was empty, so he must've left when she was in deep sleep.

She groaned and made a painful attempt to move a limb but failed two seconds later, when she found out there is no way in the world she can get her tired body to move.

She then became saddened when she realized how she ended up in this battered state.

Kaoru…did he wake up? Did he snap out of his beastly nature?

She knew she was drawn to him, but that new leash of nature scared her to the bone.

Then the door swung open to reveal her motherly maid, Mizumi.

"Surprise! Rise and shine sleepy head! Breakfast in bed, isn't that wonderful?" Mizumi looked so cheerful she could have roses and daisies dancing in the background.

Haruhi sweat-dropped but nodded when she heard her tummy growl. Sitting up with a lot of pain shooting through her back, she managed to smooth out her midnight blue nightdress and blue quilts. When it looked just about proper in her view, she allowed Mizumi to serve the breakfast.

Mizumi grimaced when she placed the breakfast in Haruhi's lap and winced when she heard Haruhi cry out in pain when she had to shift a little to get comfortable.

Oh she wished she could kill her master for this.

Mizumi bit her lip from saying foul stuff about Kaoru in front of Haruhi, because she knew very well that the little girl wouldn't be happy one bit about it.

"Eat up, sunshine," Mizumi chirped to hide her overwhelming feelings.

Haruhi contemplated if she wanted to. She could see mixed feelings behind Mizumi's worried ones, and instantly knew that the whole mansion was tense after yesterday's event in the long hallway.

Haruhi wanted to say something, but decided to keep quiet. In silence that dragged afterwards, she slowly chewed her scrambled eggs, bacon, jam/toast, sausage links and her orange juice.

After finishing everything, Mizumi smiled at Haruhi, giving a couple of praises of being a 'good girl' for finishing her breakfast, before bidding a quick goodbye and leaving her room with the trolley.

Haruhi sighed. She was still in a sitting position. Slowly, and painfully might she add, she used the palms of her hands to scoot herself down into the depths of the comfy mattress and sea of blue quilts.

The pain wasn't as excruciating, because as she ate her breakfast, her wounds healed up enough not to break open and profusely bleed her to death, so someone must've healed her in her thick sleep.

I wonder who healed me… Haruhi thought, oh well.

And with that, Haruhi went into a deep slumber filled of her terrifying dreams of her past.

A few hours after the girl fell asleep, the door creaked open.

The person who opened it was none other than Kaoru.

He opened the door, and seeing her in such deep sleep made him want to smile, but then frowned when he stepped closer and saw her face contorted in severe pain. He frowned at this and mentally kicked himself for expecting her to be perfectly fine the next day.

Taking a seat on a chair beside her bedside, through pained eyes, he examined her face.

She was obviously drenched, her hair pooled around like a halo, and the scratches on her cheeks throbbed and pulsed, but didn't bleed.

Kaoru hitched in a breath, and obviously fought back the urge to hug her tightly and cry. He hurt her beyond repair and she still loves him very much. He never met a creature like this.

And deep down in his heart, it made him very happy, to meet a girl who will still love him and still comfort him even when he snaps into his inner monster.

He lifted out a hand and shakily stroked her porcelain face, defaced by the scars he slashed out on her flawless cheeks.

He couldn't bear this anymore. He could just cry and let his ego of being a man wash away with his tears.

Instead he decided to speed up her healing process once more, and brought his right wrist to his mouth and bit. When blood started streaming, he opened Haruhi's mouth and she snapped awake.

Haruhi started to panic, but Kaoru rubbed her forehead in a gentle manner, that when she looked at him, she had no reason to fight him.

Even when he had a bloody wrist. Her first thoughts when she saw him with a bleeding hand was First Aid, but why have a First Aid kit in the mansion when vampires can heal themselves by licking themselves like dogs? Oh the irony.

Haruhi somewhat relaxed and very unwillingly, let Kaoru continue his actions.

Kaoru, being granted permission, bit his hand once more to rejuvenate the flow of blood, and held it towards her mouth. Haruhi was starting to panic. Why is she being offered blood? She isn't a vampire who has thirst.

Haruhi tilted her head towards his face, and stopped.

He was reassuring her this was all right.

You're safe, Haruhi.

Far from harm's reach.

No one can hurt you now, now and forever.

A soft hand caressed the back of Haruhi's head as she snapped to reality. When she opened her mouth in shock, a wrist gently pushed itself against her mouth, and she froze when she felt blood seep past her lips and into her throat.

Slowly, and painfully, Haruhi winced as she went into a sitting position, careful not to disturb whatever he was doing with a straight face.

The hand that was at the back of her head started to massage her in the right places where her head was throbbing painfully in her sleep.

Her eyes opened wide and watered. All though she had two years of constant pampering by Azumi and Mizumi, this was different. This was…this was the gentlest touch she craved. This was the same kind of gentle touch that her mother would use when she had nightmares and couldn't go to sleep, when she was little.

Tears dripped down, and splashed on the bedsheets, and Haruhi, despite all the pain that was searing in her body, leaned into the touch. It was so comforting.

After a few minutes, Kaoru took his wrist away and licked his wrist clean of the bite marks. Then looking at Haruhi, he continued to massage her neck in a constant rhythm.

Then he moved his hand to her cheek and shakily outlined her scars with a thumb as if she were a glass vase. Haruhi was so comforted by this fragile comfort, she leaned her cheek into his palm.

She leaned into his touches and closed her eyes.

It had been a long time since someone had comforted her like that.

Kaoru shuddered. Although he enjoyed touching her cheeks, what if she thought he was cold at touch? Isn't that what humans normally fantasize vampires to be? Cold to the touch?

He was off-set when Haruhi sighed softly and leaned into his touch happily, and mumbled, "So warm…"

His heart almost stopped right then and there.

Every girl he met in his life was a noble vampire. They would just love him for looks, pureblood status, the royal name, and wealth. They hated his heart, and thought that he was just something to use, something to drain all the materialistic gains out of, and then throw in one corner when they are done. They never loved him, deep down inside.

She just opened him.

Something warm and wet started dripping down his cheeks, and before he had time to register what it was, a soft hand came forward and gently wiped away his agony.

"You're crying," she stated the obvious. Sometimes Haruhi could have a comical hardness to her blunt personality. But this time, she had a ring of understanding and a soft cushioning with her statement.

Kaoru's eyes shot open in surprise when he looked up to see Haruhi's warm brown eyes were smiling at him.

He realized his hand had dropped to his side from numbness and shock when she gladly leaned in to his touches. His tears wouldn't stop when she started wiping them away, and he knew his general pride of being a 'man who never cries' was washing away with the tears, but he didn't care.

He couldn't bottle himself forever.

"Don't cry," Haruhi comforted, and now started using both of her hands to wipe away the salty tears.

When the tears didn't stop, Haruhi leaned forward and wrapped both of her hands around his neck and pulled him in a gentle hug.

Kaoru, shocked at first, melted into her simple embrace, and wrapped his hands around her waist, accepting her gesture of comfort. It was greatly appreciated at a time like this, after all.

oooooo

Outside the door, in the hallway, stood Azumi and Hikaru, leaned against the walls.

Azumi shook her head, "She undoubtedly has a heart of gold."

Hikaru rubbed his forehead as if Azumi struck him hard, "And now we have a bigger problem than this."

"Yeah," Azumi's face twisted in disgust, "They're going to visit again, aren't they?"

"You're missing the clue," Hikaru chided his wife.

"No, I am not; the narcissist lord and blond midget are hand-in-hand with that dark plan aren't they?" Azumi scowled.

"King of Spade and Queen of Spade, what does he think he is doing, going on a shopping spree?" Hikaru shook his head in anger. He never liked the king narcissi in the first place.

"Seriously," Azumi shook her head, "c'mon, let's get ready. Get this hell-hole over with."

"Now, now, now, you can't hate me that much, now can you?" a sickening velvet voice crept up on them.

"Gah! You aren't supposed to be here in 5 hours!" Azumi clutched her rapidly beating heart.

"Better to come earlier than late!" a little blondie snickered along with his wife, Reiko.

"Come to think about it, where is Kyoya and Mori?" Hikaru scratched his head to occupy his hands which itched to strangle Tamaki.

Tamaki dramatically sighed, and brought a hand to his forehead and mourned, "Mori had kendo practice and Kyoya thought that a simple tea would be a waste of his 'valuable' time!"

"Quit being sunny, moron, we all know you have a black heart," a vein throbbed on Azumi's forehead.

"Where is that sparrow I met the last time I came here?" Tamaki promptly ignored Azumi and turned to Hikaru for an answer.

"Critical condition, milord, and if you like her, then you should leave her alone," Hikaru sneered.

"Ah, so your good-for-nothing brother harmed her? Another reason why I should have Haruhi for myself," Tamaki glared Hikaru right down to the bone.

Hikaru gulped and didn't know how to counter that until Azumi stepped up for him with a disapproving 'tsk' coming from her mouth.

"You have a wife, demon. Don't tell me you plan to have a love affair and keep it all a secret from Ayame?" Azumi raised an eyebrow. Yes it was her, the girl with straight hair and glasses and scholar-like appearance who hated Tamaki down to the bone before he proposed and married her.

"I might just break off the marriage and marry that little lark if I like her enough," Tamaki smirked.

"You wouldn't dare…" Azumi's fists balled up. She was very good friends with Ayame.

"Frankly I am downright serious. Ayame just glares at me all the time," Tamaki slumped his shoulders like he deserved pity rather than hate.

"Are we forgotten, or what?" came a childish whiny voice came from behind Tamaki, and they all turned towards Hunny in his fake innocence and Reika who was holding a voodoo doll identical to Hunny, as her husband was her property.

Always acting like the blond midget is her possession. I knew if he married her, he would be tainted, but he wouldn't listen, Hikaru shook his head, missing the normally flowery and cheery cake loving kid.

"Now that we are here, you aren't going to kick us out, now are you?" Tamaki sneered in amusement, to see Azumi's next movement.

Azumi started to get worried why she lost all connections to her hands and when she looked down she realized she clenched them too long. Painfully unclenching her hands, she muttered, "I wish I could."

How the hell did they get in? Surely the parents would disapprove of rude barging in? Azumi shook her head in dismay.

They were here and weren't going until they got tea and juicy fake information, at least in her view.

Time to prepare for doom, Azumi and Hikaru thought at the same time.

oooooo

After the tea was over, and lots of brash comments from Azumi, the three snobby intruders left feeling they have been 'cruelly' treated, but Azumi didn't care one little bit. She hated them down to the core, and that was final.

"Hmph, they're out of my sight," Azumi shoved the tea cups and saucers and plates in Mizumi's hands to wash. She dusted her skirt in a proper manner and slumped down on a plush velvet couch and acted as if the whole incident never happened.

Hikaru sweat-dropped and sat next to his wife in a reluctant manner.

Azumi snapped her head towards Hikaru and grimaced, "I think Tamaki is going to do something so dangerous, just by the looks of his face."

"Tell me something I don't know," Hikaru sarcastically chuckled.

Azumi glared to shut him up, and when Hikaru flinched, she continued and rambled, "I know he is going to make an attempt to make Haruhi swoon for him, but what I am worried about is how he is going to do it and what measures he is going to take to get what he wants."

Hikaru then understood where this was going. This supposed 'plan' Tamaki is coming up with could break apart Haruhi and Kaoru. This could shatter their happiness. He started to panic. Just when his brother is starting to feel warmth and happiness, that evil minion had to come and take interest in the girl. Maybe they should've been married before Tamaki came. Then he would have no choice than to shut his mouth up and swallow his pride.

"And this isn't going to be a fun ride," Azumi looked at Hikaru, "you knew that didn't you? The moment he took interest in Haruhi is when all the troubles began."

Hikaru knew she was right.

"And we need to know his motives behind this. I don't know how Ayame is going to take this," Hikaru morosely shook his head.

Ayame, no matter how studious she seemed, was very faithful at heart. She is in love with Tamaki though she seems cold and reserved. She is kind-hearted and treats Azumi, Hikaru, and Kaoru like brothers and sisters. She makes periodic visits and makes sure their family is doing well, and if they need any favors done, she readily volunteers to get the job done.

So how can a pure person like her take this shock?

Tamaki loves Haruhi, do you think that will be easy to spill to her? Not likely.

Hikaru sighed in frustration and rubbed his forehead.

Azumi sighed. She then decided to go up the stairs. She stood up to go up the stairs, when Hikaru stopped her.

"Where are you going?" he asked her, slightly worn out.

"To neverland," Azumi snorted in a sarcastic way.

When Hikaru stiffened, she sighed and said, "Just kidding. I meant Haruhi's room.

He relaxed and Azumi glided up the winding staircase up to Haruhi's room.

When she came inside, she melted. Kaoru was sleeping right next to Haruhi, who was in his arms. As much as she would love to pull Kaoru by the ear, she didn't want to disturb the picture-perfect dream.

Azumi chuckled softly and whispered, "Next time, close the door, dummy."

With that she clicked the door shut and went into her own room.

She opened the door and didn't bother changing into her nightgown at the least. Tucking the little cover underneath her chin, she thought about her sister, whose innocent life was taken away by Kyoya.

What if Haruhi suffers the same fate?

That can never happen.

They need to do something.