Here's another chapter! I rather like this one! (Is it weird to say I like my own chapter?) Read, review, and as always my darlings, enjoy.
"My name is Haruhi, sir. I'm sorry to disturb you. I was told I could interview you, sir. It's for the school paper." Haruhi choked.
"Interview?" The older man muttered, his tone low and tired. There were bags beneath his bloodshot eyes.
"Yes, sir. I'm doing a piece on successful business practices." Haruhi continued. She could feel a thin sheen of sweat on her brow.
His bloodshot blue eyes narrowed. "For what school?"
"Ouran, sir." Haruhi replied hastily, giving Mr. Harding a polite bow.
"Oh. I see. Why don't you come inside, Haruhi?" The man said with a small smile. He opened the door wide and invited her in. Haruhi hesitated.
Something in her gut was telling her not to enter that room. No, she wouldn't enter; she would instead turn him down and get into the elevator. She would run out of this building as that naïve little secretary asked her how Mr. Harding was doing. She would leave and never look back. She would find another way to help Kaoru; she would get information using Kyoya and his resources. She would keep away from danger; she would keep out of the trouble she knew was waiting for her in that room.
She walked into the office.
Kaoru breathed heavily, but quietly. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest he could see his shirt move with the pulse. His throat was so dry he thought he might choke.
He sat behind a tall pile of boxes, his sweaty back pressed against the cardboard. Fish sat beside him, his nose still leaking a steady flow of red blood. As Kaoru watched, Fish looked at him and shook his head. Kaoru didn't understand what that meant morosely, as if he were saying sorry.
He began to whisper, "What-"
Then he heard the footsteps. They were faint at first, but they grew steadily louder. They were slower than Kaoru would have expected. He had thought that the person that had attacked Fish, whoever he was, would be in hotter pursuit.
Although the person was taking longer to reach their location, the slowness of those footsteps frightened Kaoru even more. They sounded deliberate; purposeful. Kaoru shivered and goose bumps erupted across his flesh.
There was a pause in the footsteps. Kaoru could hear Fish's shaky breaths layering over his own.
Then the footsteps began again, this time even slower than before. Kaoru could tell that the man was almost at the warehouse entrance. The man would surely have his eyes set on the it by now. Kaoru turned to Fish, his nerves on end, and asked in a hushed whisper,
"Did he punch you in the nose?"
Fish shook his head, his eyes wide.
"He clipped it."
"With what?"
The footsteps stopped again and Fish held up a trembling finger to his lips, signaling Kaoru to shut up. Fish was scared, very scared. His face was pasty and sweat was beading at his temples.
Kaoru shut his eyes tight, grimacing.
The man had reached the doorway. That was why he had stopped. His breathing filled the room. It was loud, and deep. The man sounded at ease. He began to walk around the front of the warehouse, his shoes skimming the concrete. Kaoru could hear his pants swishing with each step.
The man sighed.
"Come out, you two. If you make this easy for me, I won't make this painful for you. Just come out."
The voice was steady and reasonable. There was patience in the man's tone. Patience.
Fish and Kaoru looked at each other. Desperation shone in both of their eyes.
"You said he's trying to kill us?" Kaoru whispered, speaking so quietly he barely even spoke the words.
Fish nodded his head once. An affirmation.
"You're sure?"
Another nod.
"Come on, boys. I'm not looking for a fight, here. Just come on out and we can handle this like respectable individuals. I need to speak with you."
Kaoru looked at Fish with raised eyebrows, half convinced to get up from behind the boxes. He even started to move, but Fish grabbed his arm and shook his head furiously. He mouthed "No."
Kaoru swallowed hard.
The man began to move closer, nearing the spot where they were hiding. He seemed to be looking behind rows of stacked boxes, searching. He did so very slowly and very carefully.
"Come on kiddies, I'm on a schedule."
The voice was louder now, and Kaoru could hear that the footsteps were very close. He could imagine the man was just around the corner, about to walk behind their very stack of musty cardboard boxes. He would round the corner, he would see these two sitting there like scared rats, and he would-
What? Kill us? How can we be sure?
Those treading feet were so close now, so very close. The sound of rubber soles skimming across concrete was loud in Kaoru's ears. Fish's eyes were closes, and his lips were thin.
Kaoru looked to their right.
One of the long walls of stacked boxes leading through the warehouse was right there, right beside them. There was only a short gap between the pile they were behind and the wall of boxes. The Hitachiin wondered if they could crawl deeper into the warehouse without making a sound, and without being seen. He looked back to Fish and pointed to their right, toward the boxes. Fish shook his head. Kaoru pointed again and grabbed Fish by the arm, trying to make him understand. This was their only chance.
Fish looked down for a moment, thinking. When his eyes met Kaoru's once again, they were determined. Fish nodded.
Kaoru began to crawl. He moved very slowly, very quietly, his muscles stiff and shaky. He attempted to keep his breathing as shallow and slight as possible, but the effort was making him woozy. The footsteps had ceased for a few minutes, but that only put Kaoru on edge.
He heard the man shift his feet, and Kaoru jumped. He took a deep breath and continued forward until he reached the gap in the boxes. He looked over his shoulder. Fish was right behind him.
Kaoru had no idea where the man was looking. He had no idea if that man would see him when he crawled past the cover of the boxes and on to the next. But he had to try, he had to try to get out of this place.
He began forward, moving as quickly as possible while still remaining quiet, and when he was halfway to the cover of the boxes, he glances over his shoulder, searching for a glimpse of the man that was searching for them.
Kaoru saw him immediately. His back was to them, and that fact gave Kaoru a slight sliver of ease. The man was on the shorter side, with a stocky build, and he had dark, short cropped hair. His clothes were casual, but neat. Then Kaoru looked a little further down at the object in the man's hand, and he nearly screamed.
It wasn't a gun.
It wasn't a knife, even.
It was a hammer.
"You would have no clue to the day, I'm having young lady, but I suppose you've been sent from the heavens to brighten it up."
Haruhi gave Mr. Harding a large smile. "It's my pleasure to help you out, sir." She sat in a large leather chair, one of two that sat side by side in front of Mr. Harding's enormous polished oak desk. It was stained a very dark brown, and it shone so perfectly that it reflected Haruhi's face. Mr. Harding sat behind this said desk, smiling happily and straitening his foot long name plaque which simply read "HARDING" in gold lettering.
Haruhi received the impression that this man was full of himself, but not in an undeserving way.
She read intelligence in his eyes. She also read it in his room. The room was large, and very airy, yet it was also filled with things an educated mind desires to keep around. There were four bookcases around the room, each filled with works of both fiction and non-fiction. Their spines were worn, as if every single book had been read over and over.
Awards and plaques shone on the walls, as did pictures of Harding shaking hands with prominent figures. Hanging behind his desk, Harding's college diploma was encased in glass. He had graduated from Harvard with a degree in business. Mr. Harding had accomplished much in life. Haruhi wondered if he had earned the money he had, or if it had been given to him, just like so many of the students at Ouran.
He was proud of himself, and he enjoyed flaunting it.
"So." Mr. Harding began, "How will this begin?"
"I'll just ask some questions. I see you attended Harvard. That is an incredibly good school in the United States. Do you believe what you learned there helped get you to where you are today?" Haruhi asked. She was surprised with herself.
That was a pretty good question. He might actually believe I'm the real deal.
"Ah, yes. You're right, it is an excellent school. The best. But did it help me get where I am today…? I'm not so sure of that. What got me here is my cleverness and my earnest. And my will to succeed. That piece of paper is just proof that I take tests well."
He chuckled, and Haruhi smiled genuinely.
"So it was useless? Then why did you spend that money for no reason? I hear that higher education is extremely expensive in America, especially at such a prominent school."
Harding's eyes narrowed a bit and the smile fell from his face. "That's an interesting question from a girl that attends Ouran High School. I wouldn't think money would concern you."
"Well, it's a curiosity of mine." Haruhi said, her voice trembling slightly.
Harding stared. He stood and began to walk toward the enormous wall of windows to their left.
"What's your last name, Haruhi?" He asked, his back to her. A chill wracked her body, and she stood very slowly from her chair, trying to keep from making any noise. She didn't want to be in this room anymore. She was frightened. The mood of the room had much too quickly changed from calm to hostile, even if the hostility was well masked.
Haruhi began walking toward the door. When she was halfway there, she said, "What are you doing Mr. Harding?"
Without turning to face her, he asked, "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean."
Mr. Harding turned around. There was a small smile on his face. It was a smile of contempt.
"I'd like you to leave, now, Haruhi. I'm a busy man, and my son is unwell."
Haruhi stood there, staring hard into Mr. Harding's knowing blue eyes. Then she turned, her nerves on edge, and left the room.
The door closed loudly behind her, and she jumped. Her footsteps clacked across the marble floor as she half ran to the elevators. She began to press the down button repeatedly, her head whipping to the office door every few seconds.
The elevator was a floor down, rising up to meet her. She held the button down with one finger, egging the machine to work more quickly.
The office door handle began to turn.
Haruhi's throat felt like it was closing up. She attempted to swallow, but she couldn't do it. A thin layer of perspiration was appearing at her temples as she listened the loud noise of the elevator as it rose much too slowly to take her to safety.
He told me to leave he told me to leave he won't hurt me right? He wanted me to go away, why come back out to get me?
Her heart was beating in her throat. Maybe that's why she couldn't swallow.
The office door began to creak open, and Haruhi heard the elevator car arrive at her level. Her eyes were trained on the crease between those two chrome sections. The doors weren't opening, though. Why weren't they opening?
"Oh, and Haruhi, darling?"
Haruhi's breath hitched and she looked toward the office. Mr. Harding was standing there in the doorway, the door half open in front of him.
The elevator doors slid open.
"Say hello to Kaoru, for me."
Well, that's that. Happy late 4th of July everybody! Thanks for reading this story!