A/N: Hello my darlings! Let's hop right back into it!
I don't own Ouran.
It was after class and I was running over to where the 1st years had class. Takashi had thankfully given me a map so I wasn't lost this time. I spotted Haruhi still sitting in her classroom, finishing up some notes. I casually walked in and took a seat next to her.
"So, I heard you got into a fight with the host club." Haruhi looked up at me, surprised. I guess she hadn't seen me walk in. Oh poor, clueless Haruhi.
"I don't know if you could call it a fight. I just got annoyed."
"The whole club is worried that you won't come host today."
"I was actually thinking of skipping. I have a lot of work I need to catch up on." She said lazily, like it didn't really matter.
"No! You can't leave me alone with the emotional wreck called Tamaki! Last night he called and would not shut up about how worried he was that you were going to quit the club." I played the guilt card with pleasure. Sometimes I am a bit of a sadist I suppose, but it is for a good cause. Haruhi seemed to be internally debating whether she would come or not so I shot her the best puppy dog eyes I could. Still, she wasn't completely convinced, so I took a page out of Hunny's book and gave her the teary-eyed combo. She slumped in defeat and I cheered.
"Yay! Come on!" I dragged her out of her seat and rushed to the club. I could not wait to see how this all panned out.
"Wren!" Haruhi pulled on me to get me to stop. She was very out of breath.
"Are you alright Haruhi?" She continued gasping and held out her hand in a wait a minute gesture.
"You're... going the... wrong way." I looked around and realized that I had no idea where we were.
"Umm... Whoops?" I smiled sheepishly, hoping she wasn't mad. Haruhi chucked and shook her head before grabbing my arm.
"It's this way." She led me in an entirely different direction. She led me to the correct door and I opened it for her.
"Right this way, Milady." I refrained from giggling and put on my best Kyoya voice. Haruhi looked at me weirdly and I winked at her. I followed in after her, hearing the club members singing 'ouran' horribly. And then, their costumes were revealed. Everyone except Takashi was wearing dresses and terribly gaudy makeup. I stopped myself from laughing and made my way over to Takashi. The Lobelia girls began to yell at Tamaki for 'mocking them' but of course Tamaki didn't have such intentions. He's just an idiot.
I went over to Takashi, who didn't partake in the crossdressing because there was no dress that would fit him, he was just too tall.
"You look quite handsome." I complemented, taking in his regal suit and tambourine.
"I'm glad I didn't have to wear a dress." He confessed and I giggled.
"That makes two of us." My hand accidentally brushed up against his and I pulled away as if burned.
"Oh, sorr-" My apology was cut short by Takashi grasping my hand.
"It's okay." He smiled down at me and I gazed back at him, a bit flustered. The tender moment was cut short because of my uncontrollable laughter. The twins and Hunny were chasing Haruhi and telling her to call them big sis. I was crying it was so funny. Even Takashi cracked a smile. The day finally ended with Haruhi telling the hosts that she never intended to leave and everybody left in good spirits.
The next morning I woke up earlier than usual. I was excited because today was my first day of work. Asuma had said I could teach karate at first and then go from there. He is having me take half of the students Takashi trains, all ages. Today will be my trial day, and if everything goes well I can start working for real. I can't wait! I decided to go meet Takashi in the dojo since I knew he was getting his morning workout in. I was pleased to have been greeted with the sight of him shirtless.
"Mornin' Takashi!" Said person looked up, eyes slightly widening before going back to normal in no time at all.
"Good morning." I bounded up to him.
"Guess what." I said, grinning like a fool. He raised his eyebrow at me.
"Today is the day I start teaching karate!" I shouted with glee, bouncing slightly.
"Ah." He said as he remembered.
"Soo... I was wondering if you would spare with me real quick." I gazed at him pleadingly. "Will you?"
"Sure." Takashi smiled at my antics and I gave a loud whoop while punching the air.
"Awesome, let's do it!" We got on the mat, not bothering with gi, and bowed to each other.
"Ready?" He asked and I nodded, feeling all pumped up. "Alright, begin." We were both observing each other's stances, checking for weak spots and calculating our move. His stance was flawless once again, and I knew I would have to do something out of the ordinary to catch him off guard. So, I rushed at him. I saw him preparing to go for my base, and when he extended his arm I grabbed it and used it to flip over him, pushing him downwards. He recovered quickly and tried to get me while I was unprepared, but I quickly got out of his range. We continued until it seemed to become a test of stamina, a test I knew I wouldn't pass. I was beginning to show signs of exhaustion, and that's when Takashi took his chance. He feinted before stepping on my foot, which caused me to fall down because I was already moving backwards. Startled, I grabbed ahold of Takashi's arm and dragged him down with me. He caught himself with his arms, so I wasn't crushed, but I became increasingly aware that I was under him and he still wasn't wearing a shirt.
"Whoops, sorry. I didn't mean to make you fall too. That was a good move, but I cannot believe I fell for it." I was rambling and I knew it, but I needed to stay distracted before my mind goes in weird directions. Takashi was really warm and he was staring at me, which wasn't helping my state of mind. After what seemed like forever (it was really only a few seconds) he stood up and reached out his hand to help me up as well. I accepted the offer, still a bit embarrassed.
"That was a good match." Takashi broke the silence first, saving us from impending awkwardness.
"Yeah, it really was. Though I want a rematch!" I had finally calmed down thankfully.
"Sure, whenever you are up to it. You should probably work on your stamina first though." He commented. I suppose it was his teacher side coming out.
"Yeah, I used to work out and stuff all the time, but I stopped doing it regularly and never got back into it again."
"You are free to use the equipment we have here, if you want." He offered, gesturing to their fully equipped gym.
"I will definitely take you up on that." I looked up at the clock that was right above the door and saw that it was almost time for school.
"Crap, we have to get ready, we are going to be late!" We hurried to take showers and get dressed. We barely made it to the limo in time. Hunny glanced at us questioningly.
"What took you guys so long?"
"We were sparring and we lost track of time." I explained, a bit out of breath from all the running I had to do.
"Oh, I didn't know you could fight Wren! That's so cool!" He bubbled, excited to have a new sparring buddy I suppose. Takashi filled me in on the whole 'Hunny is a so powerful he could single handedly start World War 3' thing.
"Yep, I've been training for years!" The rest of the car ride was filled with talk of my experience with different fighting styles, and it seemed like we had gotten to school rather swiftly. The rest of the day flew by and eventually it was time for work. I pulled on the gi that Takashi had said was mine and joined the small group that was forming on the mat next to where Takashi would be teaching his students. I stood in front of the, I paused to count them, 15 students I was charged with. There were mostly ages 10-13, but I had a few five year olds and a small group of 16 year olds.
"Alright class, starting today I will be your new karate teacher. I hope we can all get along and work hard! Now, can I have you all separate into groups. I want 5 and 6 year olds in one group, 7-9 year olds in another, 10-14 year olds in the next and every one else in the last group." Everyone shuffled into their new positions and I noticed the snobby, disapproving look on the older boys faces. I also noticed that there were only a few girls in the class. "Now, I want you all to tell me you names when I point at you." They all told me their names in succession, the 16 year olds acting arrogant about it. Oh, I am going to teach them a little respect if anything. I began instructing every group separately by giving them a move to practice and then moving on to the next group. Hopefully they can get this stuff down quickly so we can start sparring, but everything depends on their work ethic. I only had one major problem in the lesson. One of the teenagers, the leader of the arrogant group I'm assuming, decided to question my authority.
"How did you even become a teacher, were they that short staffed?" The boy said snottily when I told him to widen his stance.
"No, I got the job because of my skill, now do the drill again." The boy, I think his name was Hiro, snorted rudely.
"Yeah right, I bet I could beat you with my eyes closed."
"Hiro, you're interrupting the entire class." He stopped me there.
"Spar with me. If you win, I will obey you without question, but if I win, you have to quit."
"Is everything alright Wren?" Takashi had heard the commotion and came to see what was wrong.
"Yep, but could I ask you to oversee our match Takashi?" I was not about to let some bratty teen question my authority and my skill. Takashi agreed to my request and we got into position. Immediately I could tell that this would be an easy win. Hiro' s legs weren't spaced out properly, leaving him unbalanced. He rushed at me and tried a weak punch to my stomach, followed by a poorly executed kick. I blocked the punch and grabbed his leg, knocking him to the floor. He quickly got up and tried to punch me again, this time at a faster pace. I blocked all of them and when I got fed up I grabbed his arm and flipped him, leaving him to gasp like a fish out of water on the ground.
"The match is over, Wren wins." I thanked Takashi and I saw Hiro's friends helping him up.
"It seems like that is all the time we have for today, and I expect to see more hard work from you all tomorrow. Have a nice night." Everyone said their goodbyes and I waited outside to see the students off and talk to parents. I was just finishing up when I heard noises coming from the nearby alleyway. I decided to sneak a peek and suddenly I was attacked. Six teens all jumped out at me, and I recognized some from my class, one being Hiro. I fought them easily, but one of them pulled a knife while I wasn't looking and sliced my stomach. It wasn't a deep cut, but it was enough for Hiro to take advantage of my shock and push me to the ground. Two of his goonies held my arms and legs down while Hiro sat on my stomach.
"Not so tough now, are you?" He grabbed a knife and slowly pushed it into my side, covering my mouth so I couldn't scream.
"What happened to your skill, huh?" He was grinning like a maniac, and when I tried to break free from him, he plunged the knife almost completely into my side. I screamed in pain, but it was muffled by his hand. I bit his fingers and jerked up, freeing my arms and legs. I pushed Hiro off and stood up heavily, the knife still embedded in me. I was about to make my escape, but another one of the grabbed me from behind, causing the knife to go into my flesh completely. I screamed once more, this time unrestrained. I began fighting with an intense desperation I hadn't felt before. I got though three of them before almost collapsing from the pain. I was beginning to black out when I saw a tall figure strike the rest of them down. I heard my name through a certain fogginess that seemed to be engulfing my entire body. The voice became clearer and I opened my eyes.
"Wren, where is it,what's wrong?" Takashi's voice was filled with concern and fear. I frowned at that second emotion and tried to calm him down.
"It's okay, I'm fine." I mumbled, still on the edge of blacking out. I saw his eyes go wide as he saw the knife stuck inside me.
"You are most certainly not okay Wren. We need to get you to a hospital."
"No hospital! Hospitals are bad." My voice was slurred and my defense, fricken solid reasoning there. Takashi ignored me and lifted me up, bridal style. I whimper involuntarily and he winced. Takashi's parents were coming towards us hurriedly and I heard Takashi tell them to call an ambulance. They did so and I grumbled immaturely.
"I said no hospitals. I'm fine, this is nothing!"I was beginning to regain hold of my mind, kind of.
"Wren, you have a knife in your side! Don't tell me you don't need a hospital." Takashi sounded tired and worried, and I instantly felt terrible.
"I'm sorry." I whispered and Takashi gazed down at me softly.
"It's okay, it wasn't your fault." The ambulance arrived shortly after Takashi reassured me and I was moved from the comfort of his arms to a stupid gurney. I saw Takashi, Kira, Asuma and Satoshi, who looked incredibly frightened, pile into the spacious back of the truck. I reached over to ruffled his hair.
"Don't worry Mini-Mori, this is nothing." He seemed to calm down a little bit, but the fear was still there. The paramedic in the truck began examining me, and that's when my intense fear of hospitals came back. I never really had to worry about going back to one, but now the reality is there is no way I can avoid it. My breathing became rapid and it felt as if my heart was going to explode. Flashbacks of the long nights spent at the hospital and my sister thrashing about in the dead of the night, screaming, assaulted my memories. The hospital attendants is the car were saying something about my heart rate and I knew I was scaring those who were watching me. I shut my eyes tightly and tried to push the fear down, but it was a losing battle. Suddenly, I felt a warm hand grasp my shaking one and squeeze, and my panic slowly washed away. All Takashi had to do was take my hand for me to get over one of my biggest fears. My heart rate slowed down and I heard a collective sigh of relief. We arrived at the hospital and they ushered me into one of the operating rooms. The pain that had been ripping through my body was seeping away, and before I knew it, I was asleep.
I woke up to something bumping into my bed, which cause my side to flare up with pain. I sluggishly opened my eyes to see quite a few worried faces. Takashi was leaning towards me, examining my face.
"She's awake." He said, relieved.
"Good, she should be fine from now on. That was the biggest hurdle." I glanced at the haggard faces of Takashi's family before asking stupidly,"What happened?" Satoshi began crying and I reached over to comfort him, only to wince as pain filled my body. "Aww, don't cry little buddy, everything's alright." I sat up with some struggle and hugged the poor fella. "Shh, it's okay." Satoshi pulled away after a moment and rubbed his eyes. Takashi came over and nudged me back into a lying position.
"Don't sit up, you'll reopen your wound." The prior night's events returned to my mind.
"Oh, yeah." Kira stood up and approached me.
"How are you feeling honey?" She looked like she had been crying.
"I'm fine, I'm so sorry I worried you." I said, feeling terrible for making her and Satoshi sad.
"It's okay, everything's okay now." Asuma said while standing up.
We'll give you two some alone time now." Everyone except Takashi walked out and I slumped into the bed, still ridiculously tired.
"Takashi, are you alright?" He was still sitting on the edge of the bed, but he had buried his head in his hands.
"They didn't know if you were going to make it or not." He said unevenly. My eyes widened in shock.
"What?" Was all I could say.
"The doctor's said that it was up to you if you lived or not. They didn't know if you could survive after losing so much blood and having surgery done on you."
"I'm sorry." I must have sounded like a broken record by now, but I truly meant it.
"I thought I was going to lose you Wren." He whispered and I pulled at his hand.
"It would take a lot more than that to do me in!" I told him, "Besides, I'm fine now, so let's not worry about it anymore, kay?" He nodded and finally looked at me. I showed him the biggest grin I could muster and his eyes lit up a bit. I pulled him towards me and wrapped my arms around him. We stayed intertwined for the longest time, but we were content. After a while Takashi got up and said that he was going to find a doctor to check on me.
"Wait!" I yelled involuntarily. He glanced back at me.
"Um, well, uh, p-please don't leave!" I exclaimed, my voice creeping with fear.
"What's wrong Wren?" Damn, I didn't mean to worry him again, but if he leaves I'll have another panic attack.
"We'll, you see... I'm terrified of hospitals actually." I confessed.
"So that's why your heart rate went up in the ambulance."
"Yeah, I get really bad panic attacks."
"Can... can I ask why?" Takashi looked like he regretted asking and went to apologize, but I stopped him.
"It's fine, it's just my sister was hospitalized for a long time, and with my parents always fighting and my sister always screaming in pain, my young brain began to see hospitals as my worst nightmare. What really made me so afraid of them though was that my parents forced me to stay in the same room as my sister, so I saw her horrific death with my own 8 year old eyes." I had started trembling without realizing it during my narration and Takashi bent down to hug me again.
"I'm sorry I asked." He said mournfully.
"It's okay, I wanted you to know." I told him it was okay if he went to go get a doctor real quick. He nodded and kissed my forehead before hurrying out. I was dazed at the gesture. My entire body felt warm and fuzzy and I didn't panic whatsoever while Takashi was gone. I was also pretty sure I had a huge goofy smile on my face. Takashi came back with the doctor, who checked my cut and rebandaged it.
"Everything seems to be healing nicely, you should be out of here within a week." I nodded and thanked him. After he left I let out a small sigh.
"A week huh..." I mumbled, unsure of how I would survive. I mean, Takashi has school.
"I'll stay with you." Takashi stated.
"No, you have school. I'm not going to allow you to miss." I told him determinately.
"I've already told Mr. Suoh I'm missing tomorrow, and then it's the weekend."
"Fine, but that's all you can take off, got it mister?" I shook my finger at him and he chuckled. Then, Takashi's phone rang. He answered and I heard the host clubs worried voices fill the room as Takashi put it on speaker phone.
"Why wasn't anyone home for dinner?" That was Hunny.
"My precious daughter, is she okay?" Tamaki wailed.
"We heard that Wren got sent to the hospital, is everything alright?" Haruhi had taken control of the phone.
"Me, taken to the hospital, pfft, as if." I answered, trying to calm them down.
"Wren?" Kaoru asked, only to have his twin interrupt him.
"Kyoya said that you were admitted into his hospital with a stab wound!" Hikaru yelled.
"It's not as bad as it sounds, I'm fine, I promise."
"We'll see if that's true ourselves!" Hikaru said, and I heard a few yeahs. I turned off speaker phone and whispered to Takashi,
"I don't think I can handle them tonight." I really just wanted to rest. I looked at the clock and it was nearly 1am, and my eyes were blinking sleepily. Takashi nodded and brought the phone to his ear.
"Not tonight." He sounded tired too. "She needs rest." I heard sounds of disappointment, but it sounded as if they would respect Takashi's wishes, albeit reluctantly. Takashi snapped the phone shut and began stroking my hair.
"Get some rest." He whispered and I yawned.
"You too. You should go home and get some proper rest. I'll be fine." He shook his head. I sighed and scooted over, ignoring the pain it caused. I patted the space next to me, of which there was a sufficient amount considering the hospital bed was nearly the size of a queen sized bed. Takashi raised a single brow and I patted the space again.
"You're going to get some rest one way or another." Takashi slowly lowered himself onto the bed. He had laid down facing me, so I gazed into his tired eyes. "Please sleep, okay?" I asked, needing his promise.
"Okay." I smiled at tentatively took his hand and snuggled closer. Takashi closed the gap by moving slightly closer and I could hear his heart beating. I fell asleep to the rhythmic sound, a small smile on both of our faces as we drifted off.
A/N: And another chapter done! So updates are not going to be as often because I'm still getting used to my new job and I am also trying to write the rest of the story so I always have chapters ready for you guys. I just wrote the chapter where Wren and Takashi finally tell each other how they feel and I'm so excited for y'all to read it so get ready :) Love you guys!
-Ptera