A/N: HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE! Yay, Kyoya didn't kill the twins, but don't worry, he will pay them back. He knows how to wait for the most opportune time. As my bff used to say, she may not get paybacks today or tomorrow, but she will get you back when you least expect it and that can mean a year from now. LOL. I hope you like the next chapter, and please review if you can.
Chapter 41 – Garden Chatter
As the afternoon wore on, Hunny and Haruhi just spent time together. He was worried about her and how she was handling everything, especially given the news they had just received. She was worried about the toll this was going to take on his life, not to mention the impact on her friends lives.
They were interrupted after a couple of hours by Chika searching out his brother. He was not quite able to look Hunny in the eye, but he had to at least attempt to face his brother since he had to teach classes with him. Clearing his throat when he found the couple walking out of the media room, Chika asked, "Mitsukuni, are you almost ready to leave? We are supposed to leave for the dojo in about 15 minutes." Cringing, he couldn't help but see Hunny in that awful pink dress right now.
Looking at his watch, Hunny muttered, "Crap, I completely forgot about that!" He turned towards Haruhi with a troubled expression. He knew he needed to go to the dojo, but he was torn because he didn't want to leave Haruhi right now, not after what Kyoya told them.
Giving her boyfriend a reassuring smile, Haruhi said, "Go with your brother, and I will be here when you get back. I have some things to think about anyway." Reaching up, she gave him a small kiss and whispered, "Have fun."
"Are you sure Haru-Chan?" Hunny questioned her. He didn't really feel comfortable just leaving her, but he still had an obligation to his family and his work.
"I am sure that life doesn't stop just because some lunatic decides to make our lives difficult. You need to go and I will be here when you get home. I promise," Haruhi stated softly.
Hunny knew that she was right, but it was not easy to leave her, still it had to be done. Nodding, he turned to his brother, "Let me get changed and then I will be ready to go."
"Hai!" Chika responded and then left the couple standing there as fast as he could. He really needed to get the picture that was burned into his head out of his brain.
When his brother walked away, Hunny pulled Haruhi towards his bedroom and into the room. As soon as the door was closed, he asked, "Are you sure you are ok with me leaving?"
"Yah, I need to think about a couple of things and you still have responsibilities. True?" Haruhi grinned.
Forcing a chuckled, Hunny replied, "True. I just worry about you. Sue me."
"I know you do, but I am safer here than almost anywhere. I will be ok."
"Ok, ok. I am going to go. I will have my cell phone on me, so if anything happens…"
"I know exactly where to reach you," Haruhi smirked.
"Someone is being cheeky today," Hunny joked as he moved towards his closet.
Rolling her eyes, Haruhi giggled a little, "I learned from the best. In fact, I think I know five professionals at it. The only exception when it comes to the original hosts would be Mori."
Hunny was in the closet getting dressed and therefore his voice was a little muffled when he barked, "I think you might be right." When he was done changing, he walked out into his bedroom to find Haruhi sitting on his couch waiting on him. Dropping his body next to hers, he stated, "I shouldn't be gone more than a few hours."
"Sounds good and please don't be too concerned. I am staying in a fortress right now and no one can get to me without permission. Not even Tamaki. Now, you need to go and have fun, but don't hurt your brother too much. I will see you after you are done, deal?"
Smiling, Hunny cupped one of her cheeks and leaned in for a kiss. When he pulled back panting, he leaned his forehead against hers and whispered, "Deal Haru-Chan." Hunny stood up and helped Haruhi to her feet before grabbing her hand and leading her out of his bedroom.
When the couple got back into the living room, Chika was waiting for them and Haruhi picked up on the younger man's nervousness, "Is something wrong Chika?"
"N-N-No, w-why would you ask that?" Chika inquired.
"Well because you can barely spare your brother a glance, you are turning red, and you are stuttering. Need I say more?" Haruhi ticked off the reasons on her fingers.
"NO! It's just that I can't look at him without seeing him in that damn pink marshmallow dress!" Chika bellowed.
Hunny groaned; he knew that this was going to come back and bite him in the ass, "Sorry Chika-Chan. I wish I could wipe that out of your memory banks, and mine, but I can't. So let's move past this. I only did it for Haru-Chan anyway. I can't believe they used my girlfriend to get me in a dress!"
Haruhi started to laugh, "I can't believe that you didn't think they wouldn't do that. This is Hikaru and Kaoru we are talking about. They are devious and will use any means necessary to get what they want. Remember the curse doll?"
"How could I forget? Those two wreaked havoc on the club for a week! Ok, you know what… it's done and we are moving on. Are you ready to go Chika-Chan?" When his brother nodded and started moving towards the door, Hunny gave Haruhi a brief kiss and whispered, "I will be back later, but if you need me, call me."
"I will," Haruhi beamed. She was still laughing at the dress, his disbelief, and everything in between. It felt good to find humor when so many things were going wrong. She watched as Hunny left with Chika and decided now was a good time to take a walk and just let her mind wander. She needed to think and try to come up with solutions to the many problems that plagued her.
Taking a deep breath, Haruhi walked out the back door and made her way towards the gardens. She remembered when she used to come visit before, she always loved the gardens of the Haninozuka estate. They were peaceful and always gave her a sense of tranquility. Finding a bench in front of the koi pond, she sat down and looked upon the fish that were swimming to and fro seemingly without a care in the world. At that moment, she wished that she were the koi.
Haruhi wasn't sure how long she had sat there staring at the fish before she heard footsteps behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she was surprised to see Yorihisa Haninozuka, Hunny's father. She stood up quickly and bowed, "Hello Haninozuka-sama!"
Smiling at the small girl in front of him, Yorihisa addressed her, "Good afternoon Haruhi-Chan. It is a peaceful spot; is it not?"
"Hai, it is. I don't remember the koi pond the last time I was here though," Haruhi thought out loud as she offered the patriarch a small smile.
Walking up to the side of the pond and gazing at the swimming fish, he responded after a few moments, "It wasn't. My wife had it put in only a year ago. She said that I needed something to look at that would keep me calm. I told her meditation and the gardens did that, but she didn't really listen to me. I think it was her excuse to put the pond in. I can't complain though. I come here a lot to think and just commune with nature. They are relaxing to watch."
Gazing up at the man standing before her, she said, "Yes, they are. Did you need me to go?" She wondered if he was there for some quiet time, and the last thing she wanted to do was intrude. He was already letting she and her father stay at his house, she could only imagine the upheaval it was causing for him.
"No, please have a seat," he gestured to the bench she had previously occupied.
"Thank you, sir," Haruhi spoke quietly as she retook her seat.
"How are you handling everything?"
Sighing, Haruhi grimaced, "I guess about as well as anyone can. It is hard to think about my friends being in danger, or my father in jeopardy. I am sure I would be worse if I didn't have a safe place to stay. Thank you for letting my father and I stay here."
Yorihisa waived her words off, "You are always welcome here Haruhi-Chan, and if we can help with security, then we will. You have always been a good friend to Mitsukuni, and he has always valued you in his life."
"I haven't always been a good friend," Haruhi mumbled.
Chuckling, the older man turned to face her, "Yes, you have. You had your reasons for leaving and I know it wasn't easy for you, but Mitsukuni never gave up on you or your friendship. He used the lessons you taught him since the day he met you, in his life on a daily basis. You probably influenced him more than almost anyone else. Thankfully, more than Tamaki Suoh. I will say one thing for Suoh though; he was right about strength and happiness. It took me a while to learn that, but I did."
"I am glad you did."
"Me too, just as I am glad you fell back into Mitsukuni's life, quite literally from what I understand," Yorihisa laughed.
Haruhi giggled at the memory.
It seemed like a lifetime ago, but it hadn't been that long, "Yes, I heard his voice and walked over to him so that I could say hello. I wasn't sure he would want to see me, but I had to see him. Before I could make it to him, I slipped on a wet floor."
Smiling, the patriarch continued, "He ached to see you again. He wouldn't really say anything to us, but we could tell. Something in him was lost when he let you go. He went through the motions, but the light just didn't shine as bright. I didn't think I would miss that part of my son as much as I did, but when it was gone, I wanted nothing more than to bring it back. I don't say this to make you feel bad or guilty for leaving. You needed to; Mitsukuni agreed with your actions." When he saw the stunned look appear on her face, he pressed on, "It is true. He admired you for being able to stick up for yourself and doing what you needed to do for you. Sometimes we have to make our own decision and learn from them. The hosts didn't exactly give you an easy time of it, so I applaud you for making a hard decision like you did."
"Even if it turned out to be the wrong decision and led to a lot of the trouble we are in now?"
Sighing, he turned back towards the fish, "I have a feeling that if you would have chosen the host club that night, we would still be standing here like we are. My understanding is that he was possessive from the start and wouldn't have let you go, even if you wanted to be free. Mitsukuni had a bad feeling about him the first time he met him, but he never told you what those feelings were. He decided to observe from a distance because it was your life to live. We all have decisions we have to make, some are harder than others. Hard decisions like the one you had to make are never black and white. You chose Yasu over the host club and it brought you down a hard path, but your friends learned that they could not control you, and that they needed to value you and your friendship. You learned that you are a strong person and can stand up for yourself and in a pinch, you can defend yourself. If you had stayed, the control would have still been there and they may not appreciate you as much as they currently do. You wouldn't have lost almost two years, but you may have lost more than just time. As much as we want everything to be black and white, it just isn't. Do you see the fish swimming around? It seems as if they do not have a clear path in mind, no worries in the world, but if you watch them closely… You will notice that when someone steps close to the edge, they congregate because they know there is a chance they will get some food. They make their decisions about where they will swim and what they will do as far as mates and food every day. It is about survival. You have to make the same decisions in order to survive. Survival is not only about food and shelter, but about mental balance also. That is why in martial arts it is about the mind, body, and spirit."
"I never looked at it like that," Haruhi expressed softly thinking about what he had just said.
"Most people don't. I will say this, from what I know, they all missed you when you were separated. A part of them regretted their actions towards you and longed to make amends, but unfortunately they all come from very prideful families and that trait has been passed down through the generations. My wife and I tried to convince Mitsukuni to find you and seek you out, but he was afraid of what Yasu would do to you. The day he ran into you, he had just left a meeting with a private investigator to find you. He called the hunt off when he found you in the café."
"I didn't know that."
"It is true. He decided that he was done without knowing what happened and needed you in his life in whatever capacity you were willing to grant him. He has loved you for a long time. We tried to set him up with an arranged marriage, but we knew it would not work. You were always there, an unseen ghost in his life. When we heard that he found you, we were ecstatic; and when we heard about the trouble that was happening, we could think of nothing more than to offer our services and our home. Mitsukuni would not have wanted you anywhere else. You belong with him, well as long as you want to be at his side. I don't want to pressure you into anything. He does love you though, and has for a long time."
Giggling, Haruhi smirked, "No pressure at all. Thank you for letting me to be in his life. I know that I don't come from the most prestigious background…"
Yorihisa interrupted her, "Stop. You have proven time and time again that you are honorable and trustworthy. You were a good friend to my son and fiercely protective of the people you love. You have a warrior's spirit and that is what mattered to us. Once we got to know you, your background never mattered to us. You acted nobler than many upper class people I know. As long as you care and love my son, I can ask for nothing more."
Haruhi smiled, "I do love him. I am not saying that I want to marry him tomorrow or anything like that, but I do care about him and love him more than I ever thought I would, or could for that matter."
"Then I am happy that you are at his side."
"Thank you."
"I should thank you. Since you have been back, the light is once again shining brightly in Mitsukuni. Regardless of what happens in the future, you have the backing of the Haninozuka family. I know that this is not an easy time with Yasu wandering free and making threats against you and your friends, but know that you have a lot of friends that care about you and will do anything to make sure you are protected. They are not taking this lightly and they will not let you go again. I know this is not over by a long shot, but you are welcome here until you are free of that maniac. You need to also remember that whatever you are going through right now, it is a lot easier to deal with when you have friends and people that support you than it would be if you were alone. You are not alone in this and you will never be alone. If you ever need anything, or have a question, you can come to me or my wife. You are part of this family and have been ever since you first accepted our son as your friend. You stitched yourself further into our family when you were able to befriend Yasuchika and helped set him on his own path. You have given this family more than we can ever repay. Thank you."
"What?! I was just there to listen and support them. As for the rest, thank you. I am learning that maybe alone is not the best way to go through the hard things in life," Haruhi stated as she stared at the fish and watched as a frenzy started when Yorihisa threw some food into the pond. He was right.
"I will leave you to your thoughts now and we will see you at dinner," Yorihisa uttered and bowed.
Upon hearing the older man's words, Haruhi looked up and saw the patriarch of the Haninozuka family bowing at her and she hastily stood up and returned the bow, "Yes, Haninozuka-sama. Thank you again for the talk, and well for everything else too."
"You are most welcome. Good bye," Yorihisa smiled fondly as he walked off leaving the girl to her thoughts for now.
When he was gone, Haruhi plopped down on the bench, "That was the longest and most enlightening conversation I have ever had with that man since I have known Mitsukuni."
It didn't take long before she let her mind wander and she was once again lost to her thoughts. Haruhi stayed out in the garden until the breeze started to get a little chillier and then moved to her room in the house, where she grabbed Usa-Chan and laid down on the bed. Soon she was fast asleep and slipped into a dream world starring her favorite bunny loving man.