"Sure, is today okay?"
I sat on my bed, listening to Haruhi's reply. "Yeah, today's fine," she paused, "I think you should know though, my dad is probably going to harass us the entire time." She sighed. I laughed before replying. "It's fine! Your dad is awesome! Okay, so I'll come over at....?" I trailed off. "2:00 is fine with me." "Alrighty then, see you at two!" I grinned and snapped my phone closed. I looked across the room to the digital clock on my desk. The bold red letters engraved the large 11:00 AM into my eyes. I turned and sighed. What am I supposed to do? I whined to myself, believing that the time would never pass. I stood and walked over to my bookcase. My fingers lightly running across the hard spins of the books. I stood, examining the titles of many beloved stories. Though, none held interest, and soon I was walking swiftly down the slim staircase. I stopped at the last stair, contemplating what to do to make the sunny Saturday morning go more quickly. I walked into the living room and quickly spotted Eiji sitting on the couch, Dai sitting contently on his lap. Eiji was playing Mario Kart with Ichigo, who was sitting on the floor by his feet. "Morning guys," I said. I plopped down onto the couch. I watched the game for a bit -long enough to watch Eiji get hit by a red turtle shell- before turning over the side of the couch to grab my knitting needles and some yarn. I looked at the finished material hanging off the needles before grabbing the working yarn and got to work. (('Working yarn' is the yarn connected to the ball of yarn...))
After what seemed to be hours of constant knitting, and the battle cries of Eiji and Ichigo, it was time to head off. I quickly wrapped the yarn back up and put it in it's place before standing. I stretched, then leaned down so that I could whisper in Eiji's ear. "I'm going to Haruhi's for a while, take care of Ichigo, alright?" I whispered before standing up straight. "Alright! Well, take care of your brother while I'm gone Ichigo," I declared loudly. I hugged her quickly before turning and walking quickly to the front door.
The walk to Haruhi's was full of sunshine and beautiful birdsong. I was grinning widely by the time I reached Haruhi's apartment. I ran up the stairs two at a time, then proceeded to run to the end of the walkway. I skidded to a halt at her front door and as I was about to knock it swung open. Ranka came running out, his arms flailing around excitedly. He wrapped his arms around me tightly, cooing stupid things about helping his Haruhi become more feminine or something of the like. "Good afternoon Ranka!" I exclaimed with a grin. Ranka opened his mouth to reply, but closed it when Haruhi came out. She shot him a look full of annoyance and tiredness, which caused Ranka to cease hugging me. "Hi Haruhi!" I exclaimed before hugging the petite girl tightly. "Hi there Yuki-senpai," Haruhi responded warmly. I released her from the hug and smiled. "Shall we?" I asked, grabbing her arm before she could respond and pulling her inside.
*~-----~*
The room was warm, and crowded. Bodies against bodies, moving in rhythm to the loud pop music blaring out of the speakers. The heat and dancing made the room humid, which was the cause of Yuki's rhythmic swipe across her forehead. She was sweating, and she felt tired. Had she drank anything? Something that would cause the dizziness and confusion that surrounded her. She couldn't remember.
She did remember being here -wherever here was- with someone. Who was it? She paused in her efforts to break past the mob of warm bodies surrounding her. She racked her brain, looking for something, anything, that would help explain the situation she was currently in.
HARUHI. That's who she was with. Where was she now? Yuki spun around, looking in all directions. She paused mid-spin when she saw a bunch of short brown locks swaying about fifteen feet away from her. She stopped and turned completely toward it. She smiled and, in a sudden burst of determination and hopefulness, began elbowing her way past the teens in her way. Her mind blanked from everything other than the girl in front of her. Finally, after what seemed to be hours of pushing, shoving, and getting stepped on, she reached the girl with the short brown hair. "Haruhi! I found you!" She bellowed above the impossibly loud music. She grinned and reached a hand out to the girl, her hand landing on her shoulder. She spun the girl and swooped in to hug her. But, it wasn't Haruhi. Haruhi had warm, golden brown eyes, but this girl, whoever she was, had darker, colder eyes. And, upon closer inspection, her hair was darker and even a bit longer than Haruhi's. She looked down at the small girl, examining her dark eyes that stared at her through thin glasses and her flushed cheeks. "Who are you?" Yuki asked, confusion and sadness so evident in her voice the girl became alarmed at her state of being. "Wha- What? What do you mean? I can't--" The girl was cut of when Yuki, in a swift and angry movement, grabbed her by the shoulders and backed her into the wall. "Who are you?! Where is Haruhi?!" Yuki bellowed in the frightened girls face.
The girl gave a small shriek and lowered her eyes. "Stop please! I don't know where she is! Yuki!" The girls voice was small, fragile. And in Yuki's anger, she misinterpreted her plea for help as mocking. Soon her face was red from anger, as well as the increasing heat. "How do you know my name?! What am I doing here?! WHERE IS HARUHI?!" Yuki stared down at her small frame as she stuttered out an answer, looking like a mouse about to be eaten by a cat. "I-I... I go to school w-w-with you. I-I-I, I'm a member of the H-Host Club. Please, d-d-don't hurt m-me! I don't know where H-H-Haruhi-kun is!" The girl continued to plea. Yuki, who in her irrational state didn't believe a word she was saying. She raised her arm up, intending to hit the girl if it meant finding out what was going on.
Her arm came flying through the air quickly, and as it fell, the girl could only watch it in horror. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the pain, but the slap never came. She opened her eyes to see none other than Takashi Morinozuka holding Yuki back. She was facing him and his arms were wrapped around her, constricting her. She could barely move, but she still lashed out. Punching and kicking and screaming out for Haruhi. She continued for several minutes, all the while Takashi stood hard as a rock, occasionally whispering something to her in his deep voice. Eventually, Yuki collapsed in his arms and began sobbing. Takashi, to her surprise, lifted Yuki easily and turned to leave. "Follow me," he demanded in a strong voice. The girl, still trying to calm down, nodded numbly and followed the tall boy across the dance floor and out of the club.
*~-----~*
"What's your name?"
The girl looked up, she had previously been staring at her hands, and observed the older boy in front of her. He was a Host, as well as a third year and Honey-senpai's cousin. She had seen him often at the school, but never once had she seen him look like he did now. He was sitting on the edge of a small bed, one belonging to him she presumed, and he was carefully watching Yuki, who was curled up in the pale blue covers. That wasn't what surprised her though. What surprised her, was his eyes. They were practically pouring out emotion. Worry, anxiety, sadness, compassion. Never once had she seen any of these emotions come from the boy in front of her.
"Tanaka Kiyomi."
Her answer was short, she didn't necessarily feel like friendly chit-chat after almost being slapped by a flaming haired second year. Takashi nodded, his eyes fixed on her face, searching for something. However, he soon turned his attention back to the sleeping Yuki. "I'm sorry that happened Tanaka-san." His head hung, giving her the comfort of knowing his apology was sincere. "It's fine," she replied timidly. "For now."
((I hope this chapter was long enough for you guys! I tried really hard to make it good, so comments will be GREATLY appreciated! X3 Now, I know this chapter is wayyyy beyond late, but I finally introduced the new character. I'd been thinking how to add her in for a while, but this suddenly came to me and I though, why the hell not? Anyway, I hope you guys like it! I promise to update soon!))
