"Well…" Tamaki said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Well…" Haruhi said, doing the same.
They avoided eye contact and sat in silence waiting for the other to speak.
"Well I guess..." They said in unison. "Sorry. You go ahead. No, it's fine." A smile turned the corners of Haruhi's mouth. Laughing, she said, "I guess you'd better go."
"Yeah," Tamaki replied, clearing his throat. He turned around and opened the door, but before he could step outside, Haruhi spoke. "Um, Sempai? Well…Tamaki."
Tamaki's heart jumped again. He turned to face Haruhi's modest smile. Quietly she said, "Thanks." The sight of Haruhi's meek expression made Tamaki want to stay in her house forever. He wanted to come home with her every day, to laugh with her every day, to make her dinner, to drink her tea, to hear her voice…to kiss her goodnight. It made sense. Any daddy would want to do these things. Wouldn't they?
Tamaki smiled as he walked out the door and reluctantly descended the stairs. Haruhi smiled, too, as she watched him wait on the sidewalk, fishing for his cell phone. He really is a good guy, she thought.
A small movement on the street corner caught Tamaki's eye. He brushed it aside; it was probably nothing important. Eventually his natural curiosity got the better of him. He squinted into the shadows, straining to find the source of the sound. A tall figure stepped out of the shadows, taking Tamaki by surprise. The figure approached him hurriedly. Being the well-mannered high-class boy he was, Tamaki tipped his head and smiled, bidding the figure a silent "good day." The face of the boy was finally close enough for Tamaki to see the harsh expression it wore.
The corners of Tamaki's mouth dropped and his eyebrows furrowed. "Can I help you, sir?"
The boy smirked. He was at least six inches taller than Tamaki, and visibly bulkier. His hair was cut short and his face was stained with dirt and malice. "I have a feeling you can," he said, almost laughing. Without hesitation, the boy's fist hammered hard into Tamaki's stomach, hurling him onto the concrete.
Coughing and sputtering, Tamaki looked up at the boy and said, "What do you want?" The boy dug his heel into Tamaki's chest, knocking the wind out of him again.
"Where's your limo, rich boy?" The boy cackled, stomping on Tamaki's chest again.
"Please…stop," Tamaki said through gasps of air. "Just tell me what you want."
"Why don't you get up and fight, you rich little snob?" The goon's grubby fingers were clasped around Tamaki's shirt collar, pulling him to his feet.
"I don't want to fight you." Tamaki said, his tone severe.
"Figures," the boy said. "I didn't expect much from a pansy rich kid like you. Oh well," he said, mocking disappointment. "Guess this is gonna be easy. How boring." The boy's fist smacked into Tamaki's eye. Blood filled his eye like tears, and soon he could only see red. "Hey," the assailant growled, "you must be a friend of that faggy tranny. I saw you come out of he-she-it's house. No wonder you won't put up a fight. I bet you're a pussy, too."
"Don't you dare talk about Ranka like that," Tamaki said, anger building in his voice.
"Oh, so that abomination has a name?" The boy jeered. "Or what? You gonna strap me to a chair and do my makeup?"
"Listen," Tamaki shouted, "If you have a problem with Haruhi's dad, then why are you taking it out on me?! You're nothing but a coward!"
The boy laughed, "Oh, don't worry. I wail on that daughter of his plenty."
Tamaki broke free from the boy's grasp and pinned him to a telephone pole, wrapping his fingers around the boy's neck. He whispered, his voice shuttering with anger, "If you lay one finger on Haruhi, I swear I will kill you myself."
The boy smirked and gasped through the choking, "Well, well, well. Looks like lover-boy can fight after all. Does little missy know how you feel? Who's the coward now, me or you?" These words took Tamaki by surprise. He loosened his grip on the boy's neck long enough for him to take advantage of the situation. Before Tamaki knew what happened, he was again overpowered by the grinning thug. "Well, that was fun while it lasted," he said through gritted teeth, "but I'm already bored. Just give me your money, and then I might walk away. Or I might just wail on you some m…" He was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder.
He let go of Tamaki and spun around. "What do you…?" a blow to the face cut him off and sent him flying toward the ground. His already crooked nose was now cracked and mangled and covered with blood. His once anger-soiled face now wore a peaceful, unconscious expression. Haruhi's bloody fist recoiled and she stood proudly and boldly. Tamaki stared at his assailant's unconscious body in shock. "Haruhi…"