A/N: Well Kasanoda is involved and that just means Yasu is in that much more trouble. Do you think that they will catch them or is Yasu able to get away? We will see. Right now Kyoya is on his way to Hunny's house to question Haruhi and the twins are still there. The shadow king may get his revenge after all. They will survive… I mean I did promise no murdering of the twins. Enjoy and please review!
Chapter 40 – Question and Answer
The four former hosts finished their lunch and were sitting in the living room visiting with each other. Hunny was getting teased about the pink monstrosity he had put on just to make his girlfriend smile, and now he was wondering why he even did that. There are a million different ways he could have made her feel better that did not involve putting on a dress he wore in high school. Now Hunny had to contend with the memories, but he found out that the twins took a picture and forwarded it to her. He wondered if Kyoya could help him erase it from all technology on the planet in addition to the twins' minds. Scratch that, the minds of all of his family since he was sure it was ingrained into all three of their brains. "No, I did it for her and if it cheered her up, then it was worth it. I still want it erased though," Hunny thought to himself.
Grabbing Hunny's hand, Haruhi giggled, "Don't worry, I am sure everyone will forget about it eventually and the twins said they would delete the picture. Isn't that right Hikaru, Kaoru?"
"That's right!" Hikaru stated.
Kaoru chuckled, "We did say we would delete it from our phones!"
Hunny looked up at the twins and gazed at them for a minute. There was something that he was trying to work through on their words. Then his eyes grew as it dawned on him… they said they would delete it from their phones, but that did not mean that they would delete it from everything else. If they sent it to their email or something, that was their email, not their phones. "Damn sneaky mischievous twins!" Hunny laughed in his head. He had to give them credit, only they could twist words around to get their way, but he had been around them too long not to know how they played with their friends. Smirking he said, "I want it deleted from anything and everything you two own: email, computers, text, phone, backup, everything."
The twins looked at each other and suddenly looked a little deflated, "What about Haruhi?"
"She can keep her copy. The only reason I put on the dress was for her. She is just not allowed to share with anyone else. Besides I love her, I can't say the same for you," Hunny grinned.
Looking at each other again, they turned back towards Hunny and said, "We want to make a deal."
Before Hunny could respond, one of the maids walked in and informed Hunny that Kyoya was on his way to the main house, he had just passed through the gate. Hunny nodded to let her know he heard and then was about to respond to the twins when he noticed they had visibly paled and appeared to be very cagey. "What did they do to Kyo-Chan this time?" Hunny wondered to himself. Knowing he now had the upper hand, he inquired, "What kind of deal did you want to make? You know I think I will ask Kyo-Chan what it would take to make sure that picture disappeared forever."
Both Hikaru and Kaoru gulped and started looking around for a place to hide. Haruhi noticed their strange behavior and commented on it, "What is wrong with you two? Did you do something to Kyoya?"
"Hunny, we promise to get rid of the picture and let Haruhi have the only copy in the universe," Hikaru started.
"But you have to protect us from the Shadow King!" Kaoru finished.
They yelled simultaneously, "HE IS GOING TO KILL US!"
Haruhi started to laugh, "What did you do to him?"
"Hunny's dress wasn't the only one we pulled out," Kaoru mumbled.
"You didn't?!" Hunny exclaimed.
"We did," the twins muttered dejectedly.
Both Hunny and Haruhi started to laugh. The couple knew that the twins were in for it if Kyoya got to them, and since he was probably pulling up and getting out of the car by now, they were dead. "I have to assume that you were not in your right minds when you sent Kyoya his dress. What were you thinking?" Haruhi chuckled.
"I think that is what the problem is Haru-Chan, they weren't thinking," Hunny teased them.
"We get it. We were stupid. Will you help us or not?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked, well more like begged since they were down on their knees with their hands gripped together in front of their hearts in a prayer like fashion.
"The picture goes away?" Hunny asked.
"Yes!" The twins yelled together.
"I cannot promise anything since it is Kyo-Chan we are talking about, but I will make sure he does nothing to you while you are here," Hunny stated. He was smart enough to know that there was no way to make sure Kyoya never did anything to those two trouble makers, the best thing he could do was to protect them while they were at his house.
"We understand! Thank you Hunny!" shouted Hikaru and Kaoru.
"Why are you thanking him?" Kyoya inquired from the entrance to the living room. The light was glinting off of his glasses giving him a menacing type presence, "I have a bone to pick with you two!"
Screaming and jumping up off of the floor, the twins dove behind the couch that Hunny and Haruhi were occupying. Crying out, "We're sorry Kyoya!"
Kyoya adjusted his glasses and smirked, it seemed as if it may be his lucky day after all: information on Yasu and the twins were present at Hunny's house when he arrived. Looking at Hunny and Haruhi, the only other two in the room that were not ducking for cover, and he noticed Haruhi looked on the verge of laughing while Hunny was looking like he was getting payback. Kyoya could only wonder what the twins did to the former loli shota of the host club. Rolling his eyes at the trouble the twins were probably causing, Kyoya sneered, "What did you two do or do I even want to know? I will deal with you two later."
"What are you doing here Kyo-Chan?" Hunny asked giggling. He was getting a real kick out of the reaction the twins were having to Kyoya merely walking through the door.
Lifting an eyebrow, the shadow king answered, "I have just come from a meeting with Kasanoda and one of his employees. I wanted to talk to you two and ask Haruhi some questions."
Hikaru jumped up from behind the couch and stated nervously, "Well it seems like you two are busy."
"Yah, so we will leave you to your business," Kaoru declared.
"It was nice seeing you Kyoya. Don't be a stranger. We will see you guys later. BYE!" The twins finished together as they inched closer and closer to the door. When they said their last word, they rushed through the door and out to their car, wanting to put as much distance as possible between them and the shadow king. They knew they were in trouble in regards to the dress, but they just couldn't resist and had a really good laugh when they packaged it off and sent it off to "mommy".
As soon as the front door closed, the three remaining friends laughed, although Kyoya's was a bit more subdued and malicious. The sight of the twins making a break for it and running away fearful that their lives were in danger (well they probably were) was hilarious and Hunny was amazed Hikaru and Kaoru didn't put holes in the walls and doors like in the cartoons. That thought caused another round of laughter, especially when he told everyone else.
When everyone had control of themselves again, Kyoya pushed his glasses up and started, "Well, now that those two are gone, I met with an employee of Ritsu Kasanoda's. He was a childhood friend of Yasu's." Hearing Haruhi gasp, he looked towards her and saw Hunny immediately pull her into his arms. He looked directly at the couple from his perch on the couch opposite them and he knew that this meeting was going to be difficult at best.
"What happened Kyo-Chan?" Hunny inquired.
Gone was the mirth present just moments before, replaced by a seriousness that Kyoya knew could be deadly. The Haninozuka heir was not someone to be taken lightly no matter how much cake he ate or cute things he liked to keep around, and Kyoya knew that first hand. He had seen Hunny take out a whole squadron of Ootori men multiple times without batting an eye. He was trained to be deadly and Mitsukuni Haninozuka would do anything to defend those he loved. Clearing his throat, Kyoya replied, "Yasu contacted him in order to get two guns and information. The employee immediately called Kasanoda and he contacted me since I asked for his help in trying to locate Yasu. You can guess what the guns were for, but the information he wanted was not about Haruhi or her schedule. He wanted information on all of the hosts minus Haruhi. My guess is that he already has all of the information he thinks he needs on her."
"Did he say what kind of information he was asking for?" Hunny asked.
"He wants any information that his contact can find on us. I assume he is trying to find our weaknesses in order to get to us. Before you ask, the phone number was blocked, so we don't know where he was calling from or the phone number he is using. We are going to set up phone taps and tracing software on the employee's phone so that when Yasu does call in again, we can attempt to find him that way," Kyoya stated as calmly as possible, but on the inside he was anything but calm. He was irritated that he couldn't find Yasu and now he finds out that the maniac is looking to score a couple of weapons. As many guards as he placed on his friends, there were still some things that could not be stopped and could pose a serious danger: bullets were one of them.
"So you are telling me that Kasanoda is going to supply him with all of that?" Haruhi shouted. She knew she sounded a bit hysterical, but finding out that your ex was attempting to get some guns would do that to you.
Kyoya pushed his glasses up once again, "No, we are going to come up with a plan, but I needed to tell you what I found out. If you will remember Kasanoda is our friend and is on our side. The employee told Yasu that it would take three days to get him the requested products."
Exhaling, Haruhi looked up at Kyoya and said with tears floating in her eyes, "I know. I'm sorry. I am just really worried about all of you and now that I know Yasu is trying to get some guns, it makes this all the more dangerous."
"Haruhi listen to me. He is not going to get away with all of this. He has Tokyo PD looking for him, my people looking for him, and Kasanoda has put the word out about him. He will be caught, but we have to wait and be smart until then," Kyoya attempted to reason with her.
"Maybe I should have stayed gone," Haruhi mumbled as she frowned.
Hunny wasn't sure if Kyoya had heard what Haruhi said, but he did and he didn't like it. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he spoke earnestly trying to make her understand, "Haruhi, it doesn't matter if you stayed gone or not. Yasu has it in his head that you left him and attacked him because of us. I have a feeling that even if you were not friends with us, he would still be out to get us. So this is not on you. He is a fucking maniac and certifiably crazy. That is not you; that is on him. It is actually best that you did come back into our lives because now we can protect you and each other. We are prepared and ready for him. If you were not here, we would have been blindsided. Okay?"
Tears started to slowly fall down Haruhi's cheeks as she listened to everything that Hunny verbalized. He was right, but she still wondered if there was more that she could have done, could do in order to protect her friends. Nodding, she stated, "I know, but I can't help but feel like I brought this on all of us."
Pulling her into his arms to embrace her, Hunny wanted to do anything he could to reassure her, "It isn't your fault. Like I said, he is a complete and utter lunatic. Right Kyo-Chan?"
"From what I have seen, I would have to agree with Hunny. This isn't your fault Haruhi. Yasu was possessive from the start and from what information that I have been able to gather, it began before you met him. He wanted what he wanted and thought he deserved it long before he moved to your apartment complex. I do have some questions for you though," Kyoya answered bluntly. He concurred with Hunny, this was not her fault and the sooner she got it through her thick skull, the better for everyone since it meant she was less likely to do something stupid, like taking matters into her own hands as she has done in the past.
Turning to Kyoya, Haruhi nodded and replied, "I will give you whatever information I have, but I think you know what I know." Settling into Hunny's side, she knew that she needed her boyfriend's comfort right now. Belatedly she wished the carefree atmosphere from earlier was permeating the room once again.
"Arata, Kasanoda's employee, was childhood friends with Yasu. He said that he always tried to get his way and could charm people into doing things for him. We know this is true because his cousin is living proof of it. Arata is not among the many that have succumbed to the charisma of Yasu, but he did do some favors for him that were minor and he thought of were no real consequence, including an engagement ring and necklace. We know that he proposed to you, but did he ever give you a necklace?"
"Yah, it was after he caught me calling the twins. He felt bad for how he reacted and gave me a necklace to make it up to me, but it was also the same one that he broke the night I got away from him. He ripped it off of my neck," Haruhi explained.
"Did you ever hear of any of your friends or any guys that you know being beaten up or intimidated?" Kyoya pressed on.
"No, but several guys that used to talk or study with me stopped communicating with me suddenly and wouldn't even look at me; they gave me a very wide berth. A few transferred to other schools or programs. I was required to work on projects with a male partner a few times and after Yasu came into my life, they would request a transfer to another partner or drop the class all together. I thought it was weird, but no one would tell me what was going on. Why?" Haruhi questioned in return.
"I believe that Yasu was making sure you were not around any guys. Arata admitted that Yasu had called him in the past to help him with minor things, and that included handling guys who were intimidating and bullying his girlfriend at the time. This was only one to two years ago. I don't think they were really given a choice," Kyoya answered. He wasn't sure how Haruhi was going to take this latest news, and was worried that she would blame herself again.
Kyoya was right, Haruhi was blaming herself, but instead of beating herself up again, she became indignant, "He did what? He messed with my education and my schooling because he was jealous. He hurt others' futures and education because he was jealous, and now we are preparing for his attempt at killing or hurting all of you!"
"That is Haruhi for you. She never does what you expect and right now she looks like she is ready to murder someone with her bare hands, and only minutes ago she was crying," Kyoya thought to himself. Smirking, he said, "It appears that is the case."
"I can't believe he did that! It wasn't fair to all of those guys and it isn't fair what he is doing to us now! What is the plan?" Haruhi exclaimed trying to take control of her emotions.
"I haven't talked to Kasanoda yet, but as soon as we have a plan I will inform you," Kyoya answered.
"Can't you give him guns that won't shoot?" Haruhi pondered out loud.
Pushing his glasses up, the shadow king considered what Haruhi said and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well there have been times when guns can't or don't fire, or the ammo has been tampered with and therefore it will not discharge properly; at least it won't kill the person being shot at. Can we do something like that to Yasu?" Haruhi explained and stood up to pace with finger on chin. She was thinking about what they could do to control the situation and make sure no one died.
"I guess it is something we can look into, but if we rig the gun, there is a possibility that he is going to thoroughly examine the weapon. If he knows a lot about guns, he may be able to spot the 'defect'. We could tamper with the ammo, but he could always get more from a real shop and then it would be real bullets. They are things to consider though and I will discuss it with Kasanoda and my weapons expert," Kyoya pronounced as he watched Haruhi pacing in front of the window.
Hunny was also observing his girlfriend and knew that she was lost to her thoughts. She had that same look on her face many times when they were in host club together. Haruhi was doing some serious thinking.
"Are you going to make sure someone is at the drop with Arata?" Haruhi asked throwing another question out there.
"Yes, I planned on it. I want to make sure all bases are covered, so we will probably have more than one person at the drop site," Kyoya said.
"Yasu is smart and he knows how to escape capture. Don't underestimate him. His mother is really nice, she might be able to help you, but she is a bit delusional herself. I tried to tell her about Yasu hitting me and she told me that I must have been mistaken. When I showed her the bruises on my arm, she said that I did it to myself or that I shouldn't have made him mad," Haruhi continued.
Both men wondered if Haruhi realized what she was saying any longer because she just admitted to trying to tell his mother what happened, and his mother put it back on Haruhi. Kyoya and Hunny both wanted to teach the older woman a lesson, but they would leave her for later; their priority is Yasu.
"I am actually assigning someone to watch her house since Arata told us almost the exact same thing, minus the hitting part," Kyoya uttered as he scrutinized his friend. When he was done studying her, he turned his eyes towards Hunny and internally flinched (the shadow king does not flinch physically). Dark Hunny was very present with his hands fisted at his sides to the point where the knuckles were white, and Kyoya could see he was grinding his teeth. Shaking his head, Kyoya tried to calm his former senpai down, "Hunny, we need to stay calm so that we can catch this guy."
Snapping his head up to look at Kyoya, Hunny breathed in deeply and exhaled very slowly several times before the dark aura started to dissipate. After he felt calmer and less likely to kill someone, Hunny spoke up, "You are right Kyo-Chan. We need to keep our heads right now."
Haruhi frowned at the two men in the room with her and tilted her head to the side. It was almost as if she just remembered that she was not alone. Walking back over to the couch, she sat back down and took Hunny's hand in hers. Looking back towards Kyoya, she stated, "Yasu can't be trusted. We have to make sure we don't underestimate him. I don't know everything he is capable of, but I do know that he is a really good actor and manipulator."
"We are aware, but it is something to keep in mind. Thank you for your help," Kyoya said as he stood up to take his leave.
"I will do what I can in order to catch him and to keep my friends safe," Haruhi declared ferociously.
Giving her a small genuine smile, Kyoya nodded, "I am going to take my leave then. I have a few things I need to do before I call Kasanoda tonight. Tell your father I said hello." He was amazed that after everything she had been through, she still had her fighting spirit and her sense of justice. If Yasu was just after her, it would be one thing, but to interfere with others' lives and education the way he had, she needed to defend the innocent.
"I will Kyoya. Thank you," Haruhi smiled back. It was small and a little sad, but it was there.
"I will walk you to the door Kyo-Chan," Hunny got up off of the couch and followed his friend. When they were outside, he spoke softly, "I worry about her. She is really taking this hard. I know it isn't an easy situation, but she feels like she is to blame."
"I know Hunny and if I could spare her, I would, but she holds answers that we can't get anywhere else," Kyoya explained.
"I know Kyo-Chan. Just do what you can to catch him as fast as possible."
"I am. Until then, we may want to look for alternatives in regards to her attending school and her internship. I believe that the work she is doing for me can work towards her internship, but her schooling that is a different matter. I don't know how much she will fight against staying home, but it may need to be considered at least for a short period of time."
"I will see what I can do and talk to her. Let me know about the internship. If she can get that done through you, it is that much better for her. Besides the Ootori name carries more weight than that place she is now."
"I agree. I will let you know tomorrow. Good bye Hunny."
"Good bye Kyo-Chan," Hunny waived to his friend and then walked back into the house. Making his way to the living room, he noticed Haruhi was still on the couch where he left her, but she seemed to be muttering herself and thinking again. Leaning against the wall by the entrance to the room, Hunny inquired, "What are you thinking about?"
Startled, Haruhi looked up and shook her head, "Everything about this whole situation I guess. It just bothers me that with all of these people looking, no one can find him. That tells me he either has connections or is smarter than we think he is, or both. It all points to two things: nothing is as it seems and this isn't going to be as easy as it seems."
Pushing himself away from the wall, Hunny made his way across the room and pulled his girlfriend into his arms as he sat beside her, "I agree Haru-Chan, but we are prepared and we know what to expect from him to this point. Okay?"
"Okay," Haruhi agreed as she listened to his heart beating. It was good and strong and steady, and it was hers. She would do anything she needed to in order to protect it and the ones that belonged to her friends. They were her family and she would ensure none of them suffered at the hands of Yasu Sato.