((This is my Ouran High School Host Club story. I don't know if I'm gonna keep it going or not. So I'll let the Mori fans decide! Yes, I am a major fan of Mori-sexiness! Thus I am doing this wonderful story. If you want me to keep going, then review. REVIEW, I SAY!))
Chapter 1: Escape
Lightning shattered the dark skies, brieflly exposing the night-scene to the human eye. But no one was awake to see a small shadowed person making their way inside the most prestigious high school in the country of Japan. Kind of makes you wonder... why is security so lax?
Water droplets fell from the trees and sparkled like diamonds all over the campass of Ouran Academy. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and there was not a cloud in the sky. But Takashi Morinozuka was not at peace. He had this feeling that something was wrong. His youthful cousin, Mitsukuni Haninozuka, kept inquiring the reason for his moodiness but he honestly didn't know. They had an early club meeting so perhaps their club president, Tamaki Suoh, had something even more outlandish than usual planned. But even still, that wouldn't get him so riled up.
They headed to the third music room and entered to find a very messy environment and a very unhappy vice president. Kyoya Ohtori wore a deep frown on his normally passive face. Takashi could see the numbers flipping through his brain as he calculated the amount of money it would cost to steam-clean the soiled rugs and rain-drenched sofas as well as the loss of business due to them not being able to host in the room.
As the other members of the club entered, their reactions veried. Tamaki kept tearing up at the mere possibility of somebody wanting to ruin the Host Club family. Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin thought it was an excellent prank that was played on their "milord". Mitsukuni was childishly wondering if someone had left the window open and locked up, forgetting to close it. Kyoya was the only one with the key and did not take kindly to that suggestion. Haruhi Fujioka, the secretly female member of their club, pointed out muddy footprints to discredit Mitsukuni's theory.
As the "silent samurai" of their group, Takashi easily followed the scattered footprints and was lead to the back room. He slowly opened the door and his dark, narrow eyes widened at the almost depressing sight.
The dishevelled body of a young girl lay on one of their spare couches. Her long dark hair was matted and knotted, messily framing her thin face. She was dressed in rags that seemed to barely fit her curled-up form. Her top, for lack of a better description, had ridden up her torso, exposing her too-flat stomach, jutted out ribs that showed off her malnutrition, and scars. Dozens of them laced together on that exposed slice of dirty pale flesh, some old, some new and lightly bleeding. Rope bound her thin wrists tightly and rop burns were on hte ankles of her bare feet.
Takashi could look no longer. He slowly shut the door and left the music room. His destination was the closest nurse's office to ransack all of their medical supplies. Perhaps he should have told the others about the nameless girl, warned them to stay away until he returned. But his mind was too focused on helping her, saving her from whoever- no, whatever did that to her. The demon who hurt her like that was no man, not fit to be called human. He bit back a wave of hatred and disgust as he entered the nurse's office and began his plight of pillaging.
"What's going on, Hunny-sempai? Mori-sempai never leaves your side," the Hitachiin twins asked. They have seen it all- the Host King Tamaki making a girl into a host; demon lords #1, 2, and 3; and now, Mori taking independent action without without a prompt from Hunny.
Haruhi seemed a little more concerned than her fellow first-years. "Did you see the look on his face? It was like he was on a mission or going to get revenge for some heinous act..."
"Wah! Mommy-dearest! Is our beloved Mori-sempai going to become an outlaw?" The French/Japanese Tamaki latched onto Kyoya with tears of woe.
But the "Cool-type" just pushed him off and, instead, turned his sights to their sempai. "Hunny-sempai, did Mori-sempai wake up in a testy mood of some kind?"
"Yeah... Takashi was kinda restless but when I asked him what was wrong, he said it was nothing," the small senior said, looking sad.
"Well, I know one thing for sure," Hikaru announced with a feral gleam in his eye. Kaoru, on the same mind-set as his twin, completed the statement. "Whatever upset Mori-sempai is behind that door." They both pointed to the spare room and rushed over, yanking it open.
The door banged loudly against the wall and the terrible twins shouted, "Perpetrater descovered! Mori-sempai must be getting the security guards!"
Takashi had gathered all that he could find in his arms and stood at the door to the music room the Host Club inhabited. He heard the twins yell something muffled through the door and could only guess what was happening at that very moment. He did not want to go into that room but... she needed help. Unconsciously, her body called out to him. Such a strange phrase but never a truer word spoken. He felt an almost territorial need to save her from anybody, including his friends. So he entered the room as calmly as could be and was faced with a scene that could have counted as laughable if not for the circumstances.
At the sound of the yells, the young lady bolted off of the couch. Pain wracked her body but what brought on the fear was the words "security guards". She was no fool. Her hands were bound, she was injured, and the only exit was blocked by boys with the same face. Chances were minimal at best but she could not go back. Only death awaited her there. At least they didn't look like fighters.
As the twins approached her, she did what she had to do. Dodging their grabby hands, she managed to get to the door. But the feeling of survival left her fragile body and her large amber eyes widened. Four other young men were in the main room. Their stances were menacing to her and she knew she was going to be sent back.
'But not without a fight,' she promised herself. She rushed at the taller of the bloondes, figuring he would be the easiest to take down. Oh, how wrong she was.
In a swift motion, she found herself nestled in his arms. The purple-eyed male was showering her with soft words of her beauty, calling her a wild goddess. "But you are hurt. I didn't think one could get so hurt sneaking into out- OWWIE!"
A knee to the groin sure shut him up. As he writhed on the ground, the girl looked at her opponents.
A short brunette with eyes as large as hers. If it wasn't for the boy's uniform, she would have sworn that that he was a she. At any rate, that boy-girl seemed to pose no threat.
A dark-haired male with glasses rated a little higher on her danger-scale. But only if he would stop writing in his little black book.
The twins with the flaming-orange hair and eyes of melted gold... were wincing in pain, adverting their eyes from the fallen boy's form. Going back and forth between giggles and groans, she figured they would keep their distance.
But the smallest blond scared her. His huge brown eyes were narrowed coldly, body poised like a fighting master. As he growled out about not hurting his friends, she resgistarred him as the final nail in her coffin.
She didn't back down, though. There was no begging for mercy. Whatever punishment the childish boy could whip out would be nothing compared to what she'd already been through.
Suddenly, light turned to dark and she found herself staring at the sky blue cloth of the male uniform's jacket. Looking up higher and higher still, she saw what appeared to be a giant with short dark hair. But that was all she could see. There was no way to tell if the man was friend or foe.
Takashi stood against Mitsukuni for the first time in... forever. He knew his cousin could have seriously hurt the already heavily-injured female so he had to protect her. He had to.
The cousins locked eyes for a few moments before Hunny nodded. "Can I help?" An almost mature air came from the baby-face host and Mori relaxed visably.
"Water and washcloth..."
That was all he said and Mitsukuni dragged Haruhi with him to get the needed items. Takashi turned his eyes to the twins.
"Clothes..."
They exchanged looks and shrugged. "She could do with a shower and hair cut too..." As always, Hikaru and Kaoru had to have the last remark.
But they had a point. Luckily, there were showers connected to the third music room- just some of the perks of being the Host Club and having a president like Tamaki Suoh.
Takashi put the medical supplies on a nearby table and held out his hand to the nameless girl.
She looked at it then up at his face before gently putting both hands in his one large hand. He realized that they were still bound. Looking around, he found a pair of scissors and led the way to the counter. Then he grabbed them and proceeded to cut the rope, softly reassuring her when he noticed an increase in nervousness.
Soon the offending rope was removed and the rope-burns were exposed to the ever-vigilant Kyoya and over-emotional Tamaki, who just recovered from getting racked.
"Oh my! What happened? That looks so painful!" the Host King cried out.
But she didn't respond. Her eyes were locked on Takashi. Her heart thundered inside her chest as amber clashed with steel-grey. The young woman appeared to be considering whether he was trustworthy or not.
"Mori-sempai, the clothes are ready." Those obnoxious twins were back and she immediately tensed up. Eye contact broken, she turned to watch what they would do next.
Hikaru blinked at her and whispered something to Kaoru. The younger twin then took the dress and slowly approached Takashi and the nameless female. "It should fit. We can kinda tell about what size you are. I'm Kaoru Hitachiin and that's my brother, Hikaru. What's your name?"
The only response he got was a slight nod and her turning away from him. He was slightly upset but it wasn't like he blamed her. Hikaru could get kinda intense.
In fact, the aforementioned twin was more vocal about his anger. "Hey, don't be so rude! Kaoru only wants to know your name!"
A wet washcloth was thrown over the hot-headed twin's head. Mitsukuni carried a bowl of water with a different cloth inside. "Hikaru, be nice. If she doesn't wanna say her name, she doesn't have to. We can just give her a really cute nickname instead!" A field of flowers surrounded the small boy, drawing her attention towards them once more.
The twins stared at her for a moment for a long moment before commenting.
"Those bags under her eyes make her look like a raccoon..."
"But that's Haruhi's nickname, Kaoru. She almost looks like a sack of bones. What about Bones?"
"Nah, that's just stupid. She's really thin... most girls would kill for her size. Maybe we should call her Model?"
"No way! That's lame!"
"Artemis..."
Everyone looked at Mori as if he'd grown a third head. Haruhi slowly approached her sempai and looked at the mute with a soft smile. "Why Artemis?"
"Tamaki called her a wild goddess..."
Hunny gave an excited squeal. "I get it! That's the perfect name for her!"
Kyoya nodded in agreement. Perfect, indeed...
The Host King, however, didn't get it. "What are you talking about?"
The boy-lolita sighed. How was it that their king didn't know? "Artemis is a Greek goddess who's known for being at ease with nature. She's a protecter... but this Artemis looks like she got beaten real bad..."
At the word "beaten", she gave a slight gasp. One of her cuts had gotten touched by the stiff material of her clothes. Takashi gently raised the hem of her shirt before turning his eyes to his young-looking cousin. "Water..."
He nodded with a sad smiole and rushed on over. That smile turned upside-down in a milisecond of seeing the deep slashes in her back. "Those look so painful..."
The tall young man nodded as he carefully started to clean the wounds one-handed. But before anyone could assist, the girl slowly removed her shirt. It was an action they didn't expect and they all adverted their eyes.
Only Takashi looked at her, eyes wide at Artemis' bold move. His hand, however, had stopped working the blood- and dirt-covered wounds, resulting in her looking back at him with those amber eyes. What he saw in them was confusion.
Artemis didn't understand. Did she do something wrong? Was he not pleased that she removed the difficult shirt? Didn't it hinder the cleaning process? Perhaps it was her body he didn't approve of...
His eyes were widened in shock but that was her only clue as to what he was thinking. No annoyed eyebrow twitch. No red face of embarrassment. Not even a slack jaw as he thought of something to say. Why didn't he say anything more than quiet one-word sentances? It honestly frustrated her that this man was so mysterious. What did he want? Why was he helping her? Did he plan to gain her trust and betray her when it suited his fancy?
The silent man didn't seem like the cruel type but she couldn't be sure. A pretty face wasn't always kind.
She turned away from the tall male and looked at the others. Or their backs. They all turned away, droplets of blood on the dirty floor. It appeared as though the twins and taller blond were holding their noses. The small blond pressed the pink rabbit's stomach over his eyes. The megane boy was still scribbling in the black book... wasn't he writing a bit faster than before? The sliver of face that she could see seemed pink to her. And the boy-girl was clutching at 'his' chest in an embarrassed-depressed fashion. So 'he' must really be a she. There was no doubt in her mind now.
Pain travelled up her spin and she flinched, not uttering a squeak. Long ago, she would have let it slip and a harsher beating would follow. She learned not to speak ever. The rate, however, hadn't been fast enough to save her body. She would wear those scars for the rest of her life.
"Sorry..." His voice was deep and smooth, the quiet tone serving to relax her. She nodded softly, almost wishing he would speak again. But of course, if wishes were food, there would be no world hunger. He continued to clean for another 10 minutes before clearing his throat. "Shower..."
Artemis nodded, looking around for the way to the showers. The only girl got over her lack of assets and grabbed the dress, calling out, "This way. I'll help you wash your back. I'm Haruhi."
The two ladies went to the shower room, leaving the boys to chat amongst themselves.
Tamaki cleaned up his bloodied nose before making a simple comment. "I- she-... that was awkward..."
The twins nodded, cleaned up as well. "But at least she can fill a bikini without frills."
Tamaki screeched about the indecency of the devils, calling them perverts before going into a daydream about Haruhi and Artemis playing at the beach in cute swimsuit.
Kyoya rolled his eyes. "She has at least 53 scars on her torso, some of them directed at her breasts and a few going below the belt."
"You saw all that before you turned away, Kyo-chan?" Hunny asked innocently.
The vice-president cleared his throat, seemingly embarrassed . "I have been trained to notice many things in short instances."
"Really? " Hikaru's face held an evil grin. "What was her bra size?"
"... it would be about a 34-C, judging by her ribcage."
Mori glared at the inquisitive younger male. His chest was swelling with anger. He didn't like the idea of the injured girl being on display for any of his friends. A little possessive on his part but he couldn't help it.
Mitsukuni obviously noticed his cousin's moodiness and changed the topic. "Some of her boo-boos were still bleeding. She's been getting hurt for a long time. I guess last night was the last straw. But why would she want?"
"There's only one explaination!" Tamaki declaared, thrusting his right pointer-finger into the air. "She is a slave that is escaping from her evil master!"
"..." Everyone was thinking the same thing- their king was being over-dramatic as usual.
The shower room door slammed open and the boys spotted Haruhi trying to stop a frightened Artemis.
She was fresh from the shower, her pale flesh illuminous against the thigh-length black dress. Tons of wraps covered her body to help the fresh wounds heal. More old scars were present now that the dirt was washed away.
She tried to pull her burned wrist out of the female's grasp, desperate to get away. Her amber eyes shimmered with the natural fight-or-flight instinct.
Takashi was surprised that Artemis wasn't hurting Haruhi. After what she did to Tamaki, he almost expected it. But all that occured was her trying to pull away.
The samurai couldn't believe that the idiot king was actually right. First time for everything...
Going over to the girls, he said softly, "It's okay..."
Almost immediately, the young woman froze. She turned her eyes to him and slowly relaxed. Something about him made her believe he would never hurt her.
"So I was right? I got it right?" Tamaki was estatic. "You're a runaway slave?"
Artemis flinched at his choice of words and Haruhi scolded him, driving him to his "corner of woe".
"Can we cut her hair now?" Hikaru moaned in boredome. Kaoru sighed. "It's bothering us and we have to give her SOME style."
Hunny giggled. "She'll look really cute, right, Takashi?"
The giant man nodded. "Ah."
The twins grinned at the prospect of doing something fun. They quickly dragged the slave girl into a chair and wrapped a sheet around her thin shoulders. "So what shall it be, Hikaru? She looks good with long hair..."
"True. We don't want to go too short but the damaged ends might force us to cut it short. Let's just-" Hikaru said, Kaoru finishing, "- cut the split ends go from there."
They gave each other a thumbs-up and grabbed their scissors, hacking away at the now-clean hair.
Artemis kept her eyes shut, mostly too afraid to look or to move. Their words sounded nice but she couldn't trust them. One of them hated her for being rude and while that wasn't her intention, even if she could explain, would they listen?
As soon as the hair cut began, it was over and the twins were finishing up with the final touches. They produced a mirror and she was grateful for that. Being kept in the dark was not her favorite thing but the end result made her blush.
Was that really her? When was the last time she'd even looked in a mirror? Bathing had become more like a punishment- the water too cold and the soap too harsh on her flesh. Had her hair always had that shine to it? It certainly felt a great deal lighter now that it was layered and falling against her mid-back in waves.
Artemis turned to Hikaru and Kaoru with wonder in her eyes. If they didn't like her, why did they make her look so... so beautiful? She was surprised that she had hair left.
The twins seemed to identify the look and rolled their eyes. "You expected us to do something bad? That's stupid. We're artists. If we made you look bad, it'd reflect on us."
The young woman blinked. That was the nicer boy, Kaoru. His voice was softer that Hikaru's.
"Yeah. Besides there's other ways of getting even. And if you keep us entertained, you'll never have to deal with our revenge." Yep, definately Hikaru. He seemed bored of her already.
Before anymore could be said, Kyoya cleared his throat. "Excuse me. The clean-up crew will be working all night to clean this mess up. I suggest we all go home and get a good night's rest. We will have to work double-time to make up for our lack of business and the cleaning bill. Our... guest will stay with Mori-sempai for the moment until we figure out what to do with her."
The demon dopplegangers tried to argue but his glasses flashed as he made his point. "She seems to be more comfortable with our wild type and he's already agreed."
Artemis blinked. Wild type? What did that mean? Oh well, the twins backed off with identical pouts. At least she had a place to stay. Now all she had to do was be useful. The young man called Mori would do nicely as a master. Hopefully once she showed off her obediance and skills, he would accept her as his slave and protect her from her abusive ex-master.
((Okay, that's all for now. I have a little bit more written down before this story is totally at my beck and call. So wish me luck and review this new story!