Hello! So, this is my first (published) fanfiction! I tried my best to keep them in character, but a romance fanfiction with Kyoya as a main won't always be completely IN character. Win some, loose some. :/ Please, polite critics will always be welcomed to comment, but flamers will not be taken into consideration. Thanks! - Winds of Dusk

*Slap, slap, slap!* Haruhi's bare feet slapped the pavement as she ran down the street of the suburbs she lived in. Condo by condo, house by house, she saw all of them rush by at the pace she was running, all so bland in their similarity.

She was dressed only in a loose, blue tank-top and some thin, white lounge pants. It was a December night and very small sprinkles of snowflakes were falling on her face, melting and mingling with her newly-born tears. She had no inkling as to how long she had been running or where she was headed, but she knew that she had to get away.

She had to get away from everything. All of the constant work, repaying debt, part-time jobs, mixed feelings for different people; all of it was so much to carry. She was currently too stressed and it affected her grades. She was failing at her classes. She would never be as great as her mother. She was breaking her promise to her, and that sent her over the edge.

Pushed to her limit and defeated by her mind, she stumbled to a stop and sat down on the cold concrete, her back supported by the wall of the bridge she was on. She brought her knees up to her head and put her arms around her legs. She waited as the nipping cold came back to her body, filling in the places the heat from running left as it seeped out of her body. The cold creeped in more, making her start to shiver.

Hello, mom? Are you there? I have got a riddle for you. If you cry and no one is around to hear it, do you still make a sound? Yes, mother. I thought that Dad would have been looking for me by now. I thought that someone would care. Maybe not. Not a soul appears to rescue this damsel. She is left in her never-ending sleep, a long awaited kiss gone AWOL.

There is now a mixture of rain and snow falling and it chills me to the bone, but truly, I don't feel a thing. I am too cold to feel. There is no frantic searching, no heartfelt reunions, no hurried 'sorry's through tears. No one cares. See that, mom? Maybe it isn't stress that has reached me. Maybe reality has. I have never been one to turn cold and heartless. Am I really myself anymore? She puts her head back against the wall and looks up at the dark clouds above. What have I become?

*Beep Beep* "Ranka?" The young man thought out loud to himself. He picked up his vibrating cell phone and answered it. "Ranka? It is unlike you to call me unexpectedly, especially this late." Teary voices and hurried pleads were all he heard. He clenched his teeth as the news set in. You have got to be joking… All was silent on the other line as rage seethed in him. "I'll go." Was all he said before he lost his cool and threw his cell phone against the wall, shattering it.

He paid little attention to it as he grabbed his coat and stormed outside. Haruhi…. He made it to his private car and shooed away the driver who gasped in astonishment. He never drove. He knew the basics of driving at least, and he had a job to do. …you are an idiot! He raged in his head as he peeled out of the driveway and towards Haruhi's town.

*Screech* is the sound Kyoya's car made as it turned corners, suffering from his unrelenting foot pedal. Condo by condo, house by house, he saw all of them rush by at the fast speed of the car, all so bland in their similarity. He was dressed only in an old pair of jeans and a white, long sleeve, button-up shirt with his black leather jacket.

It was a December night and very small sprinkles of snowflakes were falling on his windshield, melting and mingling with the newly-falling rain. He had no inkling as to how long she had been running or where she was headed, but he knew that he had to get there as soon as possible. She was probably soaked and freezing.

"Idiot..." He muttered. He drove and drove not thinking of anything but getting there. Endless roads and endless miles. Too many passed before he came to a bridge. There was a teenage girl, small and fragile, sitting on the edge, shaking. There she is! He slammed on the brakes in the middle of the road, screeching to a halt and causing the cars behind him to honk their horns. Her eyes snapped open, those deep chocolate irises wide, and her head snapped up at the sudden onslaught of sound.

His headlights were shining in her eyes, so she squinted and seemed alarmed when she saw his silhouette get out of the car and walk to her. It was not until she could see who he was that something clicked. "K-kyoya-s-sempai-i…" She whispered, trembling. He took off his jacket and held it out to her with one cold sentence. "Get in."

The car ride back to Haruhi's house was torture. Kyoya kept his eyes plastered to the road, the streetlamps and dashboard lights making a glare on his glasses that successfully hid any emotion he could be showing. Haruhi kept her head turned towards the side window, not looking at anything but seeing everything. The air around them was tense with questions; many would never find an answer good enough to suit either of the two.

Haruhi eventually relaxed a bit and gave into the lure of her thoughts. What game is he playing? What is he getting at? Kyoya-sempai is not the type to rescue the damsel. He is more like the dragon guarding the castl-. Wait. Guarding…. Why would I think that Kyoya-sempai would be trying to keep my prince away…

She was about to get a clue when Kyoya decided it would be okay to go the speed of light over a speed bump. Luckily, Haruhi held on enough so that no bruises were earned. After this, Haruhi thought it would be appropriate to sneak a glance at Kyoya-sempai. He was stiff, but was not strangling the steering wheel, either. It was his normal disposition. Serious, yet sarcastic Kyoya. But, he scared her.

Kyoya-sempai, against popular belief, shows emotion often. Of course, he doesn't openly gasp or laugh out loud, but he shows it in small motions. Whether he raises an eyebrow, freezes in the middle of a task for a few seconds, hides his eyes behind his glasses because they speak his heart, or shows a blatantly fake smile to mask anger, he shows it. But, not tonight, that is. He had nothing on his face. His facial features were limp and unresponsive, refusing to submit to feelings. Even if he wanted to, his face would stay like that, muscles to stubborn to work. He was grim, and that terrified her.

Haruhi was then invisibly pushed sideways by force of motion as Kyoya-sempai pulled into Haruhi's driveway. HALLELUJA! When the car came to a stop, Kyoya turned to give a long glance to Haruhi. She stared straight at her feet. She was frozen in his stare. Frozen by confusion.

This was not like his normal stares of malicious intent or sarcasm. This stare was different. This stare held almost nothing. But, even the Shadow King's armor had a few chips, and this glare held just a miniscule amount of…was that…relief? Relief? Since when did he have a problem to be relieved from in the first place? He is probably relieved to have me out of his car and his jacket… Oh! His jacket! Right! Haruhi quickly slipped her arms out of the jacket sleeves and set in on the center console.

"Well…thank you, Kyoya-sempai…" Haruhi said awkwardly as she reached for the door handle.

"Wait."

Haruhi turned around and looked at Kyoya, surprised at him acknowledging her.

"Yes?"

He seemed surprised at what he said; like he was unaware he said it aloud until she answered him. He broke his stare and looked at the steering wheel.

"What were you thinking?" He asked, voice confident, unwavering, and a bit ticked off.

The question hit her like a ton of bricks, resulting in her gaping at him. Haruhi saw him start to smirk, barely, but it was still there. No. I won't let him have the ace.

"Why do you ask?" She retorts back, curiosity in her voice.

His smirk grows ever so slightly as he turns to her, a glare caught in his glasses.

"Why do YOU ask?" Let the games begin.

"Because it is out of character for you to care about me."

Now it is her turn to smirk. Not for long.

"Who inferred that I cared? I have a right to know why I had to search for your idiot butt all over town. It was a major annoyance." Kyoya said, a twinge of amusement in his voice.

"Excuse me, but I didn't ask you to get involved."

"Your heart-broken father did. Whose fault is it that he was like that in the first place?"

That hit her hard and Kyoya knew it. Good. Humiliation does not fly with him.

"If he cared he wouldn't send someone so indifferent to be a hero." She retorted, trying in vain to come up with something that is witty enough to butt heads with him.

"Hero?" He scoffed, sending a whole new wave of anger through Haruhi. "What was I saving you from, stupidity?"

"Sorry, it just looked like you were enjoying yourself, strutting around like that in front of the others. Darn, if only you had a theme-song. I guess your public act wasn't complete, huh? The merit you could have gained was lost?"

His jaw clenched. Haruhi: 1, Kyoya: 1,000,000,000. It is a start.

"Oh, no. Don't worry. You're going to replace my lost merit. Maybe I'll just add a pinch more to your debt to me."

Threats. So this is what we've come to.

"Of course you would. Why? Is it because you don't want me to leave the host club? Are you keeping me in this debt just so you can keep me close to you?" Haruhi taunted.

Wait… Haruhi thought, reality dawning. So he can keep me…in the castle…

"Don't flatter yourself, dog."

"Wow, it's been a while since I was known as 'dog'. What? I'm not good enough for 'piglet' anymore? Ouch." Haruhi said, feigning a grimace as her hand shot to her heart.

"What, the heartworm meds didn't work?"

She shot a glare his way, only to receive one herself.

"Why are you still here?" She spat, getting angrier by the second.

"Oh, I'm sorry, princess. Wasn't I the one who just brought you home? I didn't have to do this you know!"

"Then why DID you?"

"It will give me an advantage to keep on your father's good side, considering the circumstances!"

"What ARE the circumstances? If you could let me know what's going on here, that'd be GREAT!"

"What's going on here is that you are too suicidal to be trusted!"

"SUICIDAL? I WAS SITTING ON A BRIDGE, NOT JUMPING OFF IT!"

"Really? Did you ever consider the fact that ANYONE could have PICKED YOU UP? You could have been hit by a car! YOU IDIOT! THINK SOME, WILL YOU?"

They were both screaming at each other's throats in the car, a full blown fight in process. Haruhi's eyes went wide as the glare went out of Kyoya's glasses and she witnessed raw emotion. His eyes were intense and debilitating, showing anger and fear.

Noticing her surprise, he sighed and turned to face the steering wheel again. "You could have been hurt-"

"Not that you would care."

He gasped quietly and turned to her instinctively, his face going from 'caught-off-guard' to angry.

"What, now you want my attention? Make up your mind." He spat as he caught Haruhi off-guard in turn.

"..No! That is NOT what I meant!"

"Well, it is what you said."

"Let us not forget what you said. 'You could have been hurt! No, Haruhi! I don't care, but don't do something like that! Anyone could have hurt you! I rushed over here like a madman in my car and was scared out of my wits because I think that your father can help me, like he can even be to my advantage!' It seems that you're the one who wants my attention." She mimicked him with a much deeper voice than he had.

He seemed shocked for second, then he smirked light-heartedly, catching Haruhi off-guard yet again. "So, it's true…desperate ears DO hear differently than what was said."

"Wha…" Haruhi couldn't find the words to say. She was mute with rage. She finally managed to choke something out. "DESPERATE?!"

Kyoya just chuckled.

"Go inside…before you get yourself abducted."

He gave her a gentle shove towards the door. He just stared at him for a second, astonished. Then, she gave a gentle smile, all rage somehow abolished in his words.

"Thanks, Kyoya-sempai. Have a good night."

"Goodnight, Haruhi."

Haruhi then opened up the door, gave him one last smile, and went inside her home, leaving Kyoya left to go. Before he left, though, after Haruhi went inside, he smirked to himself, her words on replay in his head. "Let us not forget what you said. 'You could have been hurt! No, Haruhi! I don't care, but don't do something like that! Anyone could have hurt you! I rushed over here like a mad-man in my car and was scared out of my wits because I think that your father can help me, like he can even be to my advantage!' It seems that you're the one who wants my attention./Of course you would. Why? Is it because you don't want me to leave the host club? Are you keeping me in this debt just so you can keep me close to you?"

"That's an interesting notion, in its own way…"

Haruhi, after she went inside and Kyoya drove away, leaned against the front door, confused. She finally realized that Kyoya was the only host that could take away her stress, make her forget about what was ruthlessly taxing her, the only one that could make her truly angry, yet happy at the same time.

Maybe Kyoya-sempai is really a guy in a dragon disguise, keeping the princes away from the princess because he is still building up the courage to show the princess who he is. He just has to stall, keep her in the castle, because he doesn't know how to explain himself quite yet….

Ranka continued to stare out the window long after Kyoya left. He chuckled as he turned around to face his empty bedroom. He had to. A year of preparation lead up to this very moment. He firmly braced himself and….

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! *fangirl squee*"