A/N: Hello all! So, I was tossing around ideas and what not in my dorm room, you know talking about favorite characters and which ones would make great relatives and what relative positions and…poof! I came up with more story ideas! ^_^'' Don't worry, I'm not stopping any of my other stories (as far as I know at this point in time). I will update as inspiration and time allow. I'm also currently in a Creative Writing class that I'm finding really easy…..I can't tell if that's a good or bad thing yet. Also! If there are a number of mistakes, my apologies! I'm trying to catch them all, but I am sick and my clogged sinuses are making it sudo hard to focus. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter One: For your own safety and my sanity, you're staying with me:

"What's the matter? Can't you stand up for yourself?" He sneered as he kicked her back.

She winced, but didn't cry out. She should have been able to take care of herself. Still, she couldn't bring herself to fight back. It hurt everywhere. She should've known better than to speak up. It always ended the same.

"What's wrong? Nothing to say now? Not going to question me?" He spat hitting her face.

She winced as her head snapped to the side. She knew there would be a bruise. Tears welled up, but she pushed them back. They wouldn't help.

"Gomen," she whispered. "I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to upset you."

He snorted.

"Of course you didn't. You're not smart enough to know what you're doing. You're just a stupid little girl."

She gritted her teeth and said nothing.

"Hn. Come now, be a good girl friend and give me a kiss goodbye."

She nodded and managed to sit on her knees. He bent down and gave her a rough kiss. She gave him a small smile and saved goodbye as he turned to leave.

"Remember, no one finds out about this. You belong to me," he said.

"I know," she whispered, then she was alone.

She sat in the room for a while in silence. It took most of her will to keep from collapsing. She took a shaky breath and wiped the fresh tears from her eyes. Crying never solved anything. She pulled her phone from her pocket and hit her third speed dial. It rang a few times before a familiar voice said hello. She smiled and tried not to sniff as she wiped her eyes.

"Hey. Um…c-can you pick me up?" She asked.

For a while there was silence.

"Stay put."

She smiled and a sniffle slipped out.

"Thanks. I really owe you."

She stayed put, waiting. It was only about five minutes before the door opened. She smiled at the man before her. He was tall with black hair and eyes. He still sported the blue school blazer. His face was stoic, but she knew he was concerned.

"Emiko," he said.

"Takashi I…" she began.

He quickly crossed the room and embraced her. The tears began falling harder and she winced slightly in pain. Still, he didn't judge her. He was just happy she was okay…relatively speaking.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice coated with tears. "I'm so, so sorry."

She closed her eyes and finally gave into her pain and injuries. There was no more need to worry. Takashi always took care of her and he always would. As long as he was there, she could relax.

When she opened her eyes again, Emiko was staring at a ceiling. Slowly, she sat up, texting to make sure there was too much pain.

"You should rest."

She turned quickly to see Takashi walking in with a try. She smiled softly.

"I'm okay, Mori," she replied hoping the nick name would help soften him up.

His responding stare told her luck was not on her side. She sighed and leaned back in the bed. She loved her cousin dearly, but she knew she was in trouble. He set the tray next to her on the table. On it was a couple of covered dishes, eating utensils, a cup of tea, and a first-aid kit. Gently, he began her check up. He cleaned the small cuts on her arms and wrapped her wrist with an ace bandage. She winced slightly. The fight was worse than she had realized. He checked her cheek and she flinched. She was lucky it wasn't swelling, but it was still fairly sensitive.

"What was it this time?" He asked.

"I…I told him he couldn't stop me from seeing relatives. People would get suspicious. He…didn't take it well."

Mori remained silent. He handed her the tray, silently telling her to eat.

"Mitskuni is worried."

She quietly nibbled on the rice. She didn't want to think about her other cousin. It had been a while since she had seen him. She missed him, but it wasn't logical at the time to visit him. Mitskuni was very protective of her and in her current situation…it would only worry and anger him. She hated being a burden.

"He hasn't seen you for a while. He thinks you're in trouble."

"Have you told him?"

"No."

Silence stretched again as she nibbled at the food. She didn't eat much, much to Mori's disapproval. Her appetite had decreased over the past two months. He wondered how much emotional and mental abuse she was receiving. His lips turned downward toward a frown. She was being changed and she didn't have the courage to stop it.

"Emiko…"

"I know, Takashi, but what can I do? Mitskuni would be furious if he knew. I tried breaking it off with Ben, but I can't! No matter what I do, he's always there!"

She felt the tears begin to well up once more. Ben had been her boyfriend for nearly two months. He had been charming the first week, then his true colors shone through. He was cruel and malicious. If she did as he said, everything was fine. If he got even the slightest hint of disobedience, she was punished. She tried to break it off once before and ended up in a hospital bed for a week. It wasn't like her to sit and take whatever was dished out. Like all of the members of the Haninozuka family, she knew how to fight and fight well. True, her favorites tended more toward weapon based defense, still she knew enough martial arts to stand on her own. She could still remember the first time Ben had lashed out at her.

Emiko had been chatting with Mitskuni in the school court yard. She was suppose to meet up with her beloved boyfriend, Ben, but got sidetracked when Mitskuni crossed her path. He was one of her favorite cousins and she was always more than happy to spare some time to visit with him. That particular visit, he was trying to convince her to stop by for cake at the club he was in then hit the dojo afterward. She held his favorite bunny, Usa-chan, in her lap playing with the ears.

"Emiko!"

She looked up and her smile grew wider seeing her boyfriend. She was so eager to introduce her cousin she didn't even take in her boyfriend's expression. She eagerly jumped to her feet, letting Usa-chan hang loosely at her side.

"Ben! Hunny, this is the guy I've been telling you so much about! This is…"

"Emiko where have you been? Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting?" Ben shouted, clearly angry.

Emiko's smile faded slightly as she tucked a stray blonde hair behind her ear. Her brown eyes moving toward her boyfriend, away from her cousin and holding nothing but confusion. What was so wrong with being a little late?

"Ben, I'm sorry I was just…."

Slap!

The sound echoed as her head snapped to the left from the force of his hand hitting her cheek. The pain flooded immediately but she didn't move. Usa-chan slowly slipped from her hand as she stood there stunned and wide-eyed.

"How dare you try and defy me?" Ben shouted, his anger seeming to grow with each passing word. "Why couldn't you just do as you're told?"

He hit her again leaving her just as stunned. Her hand slowly worked its way up until it was resting on her injured cheek. What just happened?

"Hey! You can't hit her like that!" Mitskuni shouted jumping to his feet to defend his cousin.

"Yeah? And what are you gonna do about it kid?" Ben taunted shoved Mitskuni back slightly.

"I mean it. Leave her alone."

Ben only laughed and went to shove the boy again. Emiko came back to her senses enough in order to quickly wrap her arms around her cousin and stop him from lashing out.

"Mitskuni, don't," she whispered. "It's my fault. There's no need to start a fight."

"Emi-chan, you…"

"It's my fault," she repeated softly giving him a tight squeeze. "Just let it go."

Mitskuni fell silent and hung his head, his bangs covered his eyes. To anyone who knew him, it was a sign that he was thoroughly upset. In this case, he was more than a little angry. He didn't like the idea of someone getting away with hurting his cousin. Still, she was insistent that he let it slide. So he simply hung his head and said nothing.

"Yeah, let it go, kid. This is no place for children," Ben sneered.

Emiko gave her cousin another squeeze and shook her head.

"Ben, please. I'm sorry. Don't take it out on Mitskuni. I'm the one in the wrong. I'll take responsibility for my action. I'm sorry."

"Hn. You'd better be. Come on, we're leaving," Ben snapped, grabbing her wrist.

"Uh…right," she whispered.

As Ben started dragging her away, Mitskuni reached up and snatched her hand, tugging her back. She staggered slightly a bit off balance. She turned to her cousin wide-eyed and unsure.

"Emi-chan can't go with you," Mitskuni said tugging on her arm.

"Oh yeah? And why not?" Ben snarled.

"Emi-chan promised to come visit me today. I found her today to remind her," the blonde boy continued.

Emiko blinked a few times trying to follow her cousin's logic. She knew she would be in trouble, but it would also be foolish of her to try and avoid her cousin. It was an inevitable confrontation.

"Emiko?" Ben snarled impatiently waiting for an answer.

"G-gomen, Ben," she stammered, keeping her head bent. "I did promise Mitskuni. He is family and family does have to come first. I kind of forgot with everything else. We'll have to reschedule our date for another time."

He squeezed her wrist tightly before finally relinquishing it.

"Fine, but you had better be prepared to make this up to me," he spat.

"I will," she whispered.

Once Ben was a good way away, Mitskuni displayed his dislike of her boyfriend and expressed that he wasn't so sure if it was safe for her to be around him. She had thanked her cousin for his concern, but assured him everything would be alright.

That had been so long ago. Now she was lying in bed at Takashi's house injured and unsure of how to proceed. How could she explain to Mitskuni that she still tried to fix things with Ben? That she tried to be strong and take on the battle herself? No matter how it ended, she would be scolded and carefully watched. She wiped at her eyes and looked up at her other cousin.

"Takashi, what do I do now?" She asked, praying he would be able to give her some insight to the problem and give her an epiphany of what needed to be done.

For a long time, he was silent as he studied her. She needed help and it was hard for her to ask for it in so many words. She didn't need to be babied, but she still needed some direction and care. At long last, Takashi sighed and stood. He gently patted her head as a sign of affection before turning to leave.

"For your safety and my sanity, you should attend Ouran from now on," he said. "Mitskuni and I will care for you. You just need to let us. I'll call the school."

He offered a small smile then finally left again. Emiko sat the tray back on the bedside table and leaned back against the pillows.

"Thank you…Takashi," she whispered as the tears began to flow.

She rolled over and buried her face in the familiar pillows and sheets and at long last released all her pain and frustration before finally being able to rest once more.

And that is the first chapter. ^_^ Reviews are lovely though not required….but they may put up more inspiration. ;-) I do check my traffic on a somewhat regular basis. I look forward to seeing where this one goes. Ja-ne!