I Need a Hero

7

Tani's POV

I layed on the bed in the basement, body curled into the fetal position, with only a thin sheet covering me. My whole body ached. It had been a week and a half since Father had carried me down here. I was too weak to really move from my spot on the bed, so he left me unteathered, keeping the door locked. Every other day, if he remembered, Father would bring me a dry piece of toast, and a glass of water. I was dehydrated, yet I still managed to find tears to cry every time I saw him.

I had not seen my brothers in this time, and the seperation was killing me. I had felt their pain, every time Father hurt either of them. I knew they felt mine, too. I could hear Tomo crying sometimes, and Taro trying to comfort him. They didn't realize our bedroom was right above the basement.

Click. The door unlocked. He was back, meaning Taro and Tomo would be at school, prrobably. I hardly recognized day from night anymore. There was no real way to tell, from the basement.

...

Tomo's POV

I winced slightly, and it wad the only outward expression I had nade all morning. I felt the pain again. Tani... he was hurting her again... We had only just been let out for lunch. I couldn't help the tear that slipped down my face. Or the one that followed it. Taro pulled me aside, into the maze in the courtyard. He hugged me, and the flood gates opened. I cried into his shoulder.

"Shhh," he soothed. "Tani is strong. She will be ok."

"She's not ok. I can tell," I sobbed quietly. Father was right. I am sensitive, but if you hurt the ones closest to someone, and they are powerless to stop it, who wouldn't cry?

Taro sighed. "I know," he admitted. "You're right. She isn't ok. But what can we do?"

"We need to help her," I wispered, picking up my head from his shoulder. "We need to rescue-"

"How?" Taro cut me off, wispering harshly. "I want her safe, too, but how? We are nothing to him. He trained us, he knows all our moves. He knows our weaknesses, and how to defeat us. He knows if he hurts one of us bad enough, we all go down. Don't you get it, Tomo? There's nothing we can do!"

My eyes took on a defiance I didn't know I had. "Maybe we can't help her," I answered. "But I can think of five or six people who just might."

"Who?" Taro questioned, eyes hard.

"Our friends," I said simply. Taro's face went blank, as if the idea of having friends had never crossed his mind. "The Host Club. They really like Tani, at least, if not us. They always ask if we're ok, if she's ok, if there's anything they can do. Taro, we have to try. Tani can't hold out forever. She needs help."

Taro sighed. "Ok," he relented. "We'll talk to them, but we should go now. We can't wait until after school."

...

Taro's POV

I can't believe Tomo talked me into this. The Host Club would never help us. They had nothing to gain from it, and all I had really done was yell at them and push them away, especially this past week. But... they did like Tani. Maybe they would help. For her.

We walked into music room three, ignoring the rose petals flying past us. I walked straight up to Tamaki, with Tomo behind me, his eyes a little puffy from crying. He looked up at us in wonder. Probably confused as to why we would come near this place. I had told him to leave me alone, in not-so-kind words, just this morning.

"Tamaki-senpai," I said quietly, a lone tear trickling down my face. I felt weaker than ever before. "We need your help."

The girls stared at Tomo and I, but at the snap of Tamaki's fingers, they were rushed out by the rest of the Host Club. The hosts gathered around my brother and I. I grasped Tomo's hand tightly in mine, as Tani's pain returned, reminding me why we were here.

"It's Tani," I said, struggling to force the words into the open. Then, they poured out like a tidal wave. "She's in trouble. Our father, he- he has her locked in the basement. For the past two weeks. He... he hurts her... everyday. He hurts us, too." I was crying. Tomo had his arms around me.

"How does he hurt you?" Kyoya asked.

"He hits us. Or kicks us, burns us, drowns us, whatever he thinks will be entertaining, I guess," I heard Tomo answering. He sounded so bitter. It was unusual for him, but this was a serious matter. "He knows if he hurts one of us, he hurts all of us. He says he's training us, to take over the gang he runs. That when we're eighteen, he'll choose one of us to take his place. But he... he rapes Tani." His last words came out choked, and I knew he too was crying again. I pulled him even closer to me, afraid that if I let go, he would be in the basement, too.

When I finally looked up, I saw the Hitachiin twins were holding hands as well. Tamaki was almost in tears, and Hunny was crying. Even Mori had an air of sadness around him.

"My family has a private police force," Kyoya said. "I will call them, and they will arrest your Father. Mori-senpai, Hunny-senpai, go with Taro and Tomo to their house. Tani will need to see them, if she is to trust anyone. Tamaki, you call for an ambulance, then tell your Father why we have left school early."

"What should I do?" Haruhi asked.

"Go with Tamaki, or else the baka will take too long," Kyoya answered immediately.

...

Tani's POV

I cowered under my father's hard gaze. He already had his shirt off, and that alone struck a chord of fear in me. He had made me lie on my stomach. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him removing his leather belt. He folded it in half, and raised it high. I flinched even before it touched me. The pain was detrimental, as the belt lashed across unhealed wounds already there. I cried into the mattress I layed upon. Then, after the sixth lash, I heard a loud banging coming from upstairs. From the front door. Father let out a grunt of annoyance. He came over to me and leaned down, covering me with the bed sheet and kissing my temple.

"You are mine, sweetheart," he wispered in my ear. "You belong to me. No matter where you try to run, I will always find you."

Then he walked away. In the next few minutes, I heard lots of incomprehensible yelling, running footsteps, and, finally, the lock on my door being undone. The door swung opne, revealing Taro and Tomo, school bags still over their shoulders. Behind them stood Hunny and Mori, backs to the door, silently standing guard.

My brothers ran to my side, hugging me close to them, gently kissing the top of my head. I cried into Tomo's chest, as Taro pulled his long black hoodie out of his bag. It was long enough to cover me. He helped me put it on, then carefully picked me up, carrying me up and out of the basement, Tomo right behind him. And, behind Tomo, walked a grim Mori and a mellowed out Hunny.

"I am so sorry, Tani," he wispered to me. "I know you'll say it's not my fault, but I can't help feeling like it is." I remained silent, laying my head on his chest. I fell asleep listening to his heartbeat.