Chapter Eleven: What Happened, Happened

Now

Haruhi hadn't seen Karou or Kyoya since they'd been admitted into the hospital. She'd spent most of her time with Mori and Honey, who were both equally unsure about how to feel after the events that had transpired. Despite being out of danger, Haruhi's nerves still felt electric and she assumed Mori and Honey felt similar. Yet, despite spending most of the day together, the trio rarely talked to one another; each of them had their own thoughts to get lost in.

While Haruhi stared out the window of the room and Honey played with a new bunny that his cousin Satoshi had given him, Mori broke the silence with three words.

"Thank you, Haruhi."

Honey looked up from the stuffed animal and nodded in agreement, as his signature sweet smile crawled onto his face.
"Yes, thank you, Haru-chan! I don't think we said that yet, huh, Takashi?" Mori nodded in affirmation while Haruhi stared at them in confusion.

"For what?"

"You saved us Haru-chan," Honey exclaimed. His voice seemed so bright and cheery even though Haruhi could see that his eyes were still puffy and red-rimmed from crying. Haruhi felt herself blush at his words. Saved them she had...but not all of them. It was a bittersweet ending, but perhaps more bitter than sweet. Or maybe just sour, since the whole ordeal had left a sour, acrid taste in her mouth. She found her mind drifting back to Tamaki's last moments and each time it replayed it never lessened the sound of bones crunching as they hit cement.

She missed that lovable, blond idiot. His sweet smile, his voice. She hoped she wouldn't forget what he sounded like too soon, or forget how he smelled. She didn't want to forget him at all. She stood up quickly. She needed to do something to avert the dark path her thoughts were headed down.

"I'm going to see if Kyoya will talk to me. His sister has kept telling me he wants to be alone." She had to find something to do with her time. She refused to just sit and wallow, she didn't want grief to consume her; it could be a vicious monster and she didn't need to succumb to depression.

"Tell him I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what, Mori?" she asked. She sat back down onto the edge of the bed and grasped her friend's large hand. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

Mori kept his gaze averted. "They wanted to take Mitskuni. I protected him but not Kyoya. So they took him instead." Haruhi felt an icy shiver on her insides as her brain processed Mori's words. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but her assumption of what could have happened to Kyoya made her blood run cold. She really hoped that her assumption was just that, an assumption.

There was no sign of Fuyumi anywhere in sight to shoo her away and the door to Kyoya's room was open. So perhaps he'd be open to having some visitors. She poked her head inside the room and squinted at the low-level lighting. Kyoya sat in the hospital bed and stared blankly up at the ceiling.

"Hey." She wasn't sure what else she could say in greeting. There was a moment of silence as his gaze shifted towards the door and he stared at her.

"…Hey."

She edged herself farther into the room but remained by the door in case he decided to kick her out. "Do you mind if I come in?" Kyoya stared at her for a moment longer before sluggishly shrugging.
"I don't really care."
She'd take that as a yes then.

She entered the room and wrapped her arms around Kyoya without permission and pulled him close. She was so glad to see that he was okay, more or less. If her mind was an utter mess after witnessing what happened to Tamaki, she could only wonder what was going on in Kyoya's mind knowing that his best friend was dead.

"Please don't touch me," he said. His voice was soft but it held a seriousness in it that Haruhi couldn't ignore. She pulled away as though she had been stung and immediately muttered an apology.

"I'm sorry. Are you in pain?" she asked. In her happiness at seeing her friend in one piece, she hadn't taken into account that he might be suffering from injuries, whether visible or not.

"No, not anymore at least."

"What happened Kyoya?" she asked. She didn't want to be pushy, she hated being pushy but Kyoya was a tight-lipped individual at the best of times. "Why don't you want to see any of us?" There was brief silence between the two. Haruhi held her breath, hoping for an answer.

Kyoya sighed heavily, shakily. He turned toward her and his eyes met hers and the two of them stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity. Although he had not given a reply to her question, his voice wasn't needed. His eyes said it all. The longer Haruhi stared into his dark eyes, the more pain she could see. Mixed in with the pain, there was shame, humiliation. It ran deep, she wondered how he managed to contain it within himself. If she were in his position, she would have positively dissolved into a puddle of tears by now.

Wanting to comfort him, she reached for his hand, which he quickly withdrew before she could touch him.
"What happened, happened. It can't be changed." He averted his gaze from hers, cutting her off from seeing the vast expanse of his pain. His voice was cold. Haruhi drew away slightly, unsure of what to think. Were her assumptions correct? What she believed happened to Kyoya actually had happened to him?

"Please, don't shut me out," she said, almost begging. "Mori, Honey, me, Karou, we all have to support one another. Don't feel ashamed for what happened, it wasn't your fault."

"It doesn't matter who's at fault," he growled, his hands clenched into fists. "I just want to be alone with my thoughts right now. Can't you understand that, Haruhi? I know you're not thick-skulled like some people…" His words trailed off and a hand clenched into a fist and he pressed it against his mouth. He stared straight ahead and Haruhi could see tears in his eyes.

"Please leave," he said, his voice thick with tears. His breathing had become uneasy, and she now saw tears that tears had started to race down his cheeks. Haruhi felt an invisible hand clench tightly around her heart as she watched her friend, who was normally so controlled and composed, dissolve into utter heartbreak. Seeing that she hadn't moved, Kyoya repeated his words, yelling them this time. She muttered an apology and raced out of the room and closed the door quietly behind her.

Haruhi returned to Mori's room, suddenly feeling drained of any energy she had had. Honey was still there, seated on the edge of the bed while Mori had moved into the stiff-backed armchair that sat next to the bed, his leg propped up upon another chair on a mountain of pillows.
"Did you see him?" Mori asked.
Stiffly, Haruhi nodded and recited what had transpired between her and Kyoya. When she had finished talking, she saw Mori's hands turn to fists as he clenched at the bedsheets in anger. Or guilt?

"Mori, it's not your fault. You didn't know they were going to do that to him." The tall young man shook his head in denial.

"I knew what they wanted when they attempted to take Mitskuni. He's small, he's vulnerable looking. Any creep would think he's easy pickings." Haruhi couldn't remember the last time Mori had said so much in one go. But he made a point. If she were in his position, she would have probably made the same assumption. All these assumptions and no conclusions. She wished that more definite, pleasant things would happen to them. They'd dealt with so much bad within the last week or so, she wished that something good would happen to them. They deserved as much, right?

The remainder of her time with Mori and Honey was rather silent. Her father had called to see how she was fairing and if she'd be coming home anytime soon. Haruhi frowned upon seeing the time on her phone; that couldn't have possibly been the correct time. She'd been at the hospital for about eight hours in just one day, and yet, the entire day seemed to have blinked away in a matter of seconds. She needed to get her head on straight or perhaps sleep off some of the shock that she still felt.

They had just finished dinner and a nurse had come to tell her and Honey that visiting hours would end soon. Honey pouted and complained about how he wanted to stay with Mori, while Haruhi tried to comfort him that they would see their tall, silent friend tomorrow. She was just about ready to leave with Honey in tow when she heard a subtle, quiet knock at the door drew their attention. At the door stood Kyoya, who seemed rather unsure about his sudden presence in the room.

"Kyoya!" Honey cried as he jumped off the bed in excitement.

Haruhi placed a hand on Honey's shoulder to keep him from jumping up to hug Kyoya. Honey pouted but complied and sat back down on Mori's bed. The three of them stared at Kyoya for a moment, who stood awkwardly in the threshold of the door, still dressed in a hospital gown and surgical pants.

"Are you okay?" Mori asked. His dark eyes held genuine concern and sparkled with unshed tears. Haruhi wondered how this was affecting him. He'd been shot in the knee and he had a guilty conscience about what had happened with his friend. Kyoya pushed his glasses up a bit farther on his nose and gave one stern nod

"Karou will need us," he muttered as he redirected his attention to the three of them. He gave Haruhi a knowing sideglance. "We do need to stick together after all."

A/N: Hello, everyone! Sorry in advance if there are any spelling errors. I am so terribly sorry for such a long wait for the next update. Life has been very hectic and I have had other stories that I've been writing taking up my spare time as well. But I do not want to abandon this story, it is seriously one of my favorites I have written. I hope you enjoyed this, and if you did, please let me know what you thought. If what happened to Kyoya wasn't clear enough for you now, it will be in a future chapter...Anyway, next chapter I am hoping (fingers crossed) will be finished within the next month and posted then. No promises though. Also, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has commented or liked or favorited this story, it is all appreciated and your comments make me smile and keep me inspired to write and finish this story.

~dendragon14