OHSHC - Between the Lines

[Chicogal]

Tamaki chuckled. "Yeah, I guess. He's a good guy," he replied, stopping his finger at one spot and circling. Dopamine was on a high in his brain, and he couldn't help his good-natured happiness. In general, he was a good-natured man. Never cruel, nor cowardly. A gentleman to the last breath. Of course, a gentleman always obliged a lady, and by the sound of her breathing, he was obliging her very well.


He pressed his lips against hers again, fingers trailing down to the bottom of her shirt and resting there. It was a silent question.


~~~


Asuka spent the journey back feeling a little awkward. She was careful not to get too close, to be congenial but not overly friendly. He might be good to have as a friend, but not anything more. As she stepped off the bus, she hesitated at his question.


"Oh... Okay. Yes please;" she finally decided. If anything, they'd gone through a large ordeal together. As they began walking, her eyes roved the houses on the street. Together, stable; unlike her Uncle's mess of timber. Thinking about that whole situation, she glanced up at Mori. "I don't have any way to contact you," she sudden realised.

 

[animeloulou]

~Haruhi~


Haruhi was glad that her words had calmed Tamaki down. The worst thing they needed was a full-blown argument between the members of the Host Club.


Then his lips were on hers again, his hands moving down and resting on a place that in Haruhi's mind could only mean one thing. She wasn't the nervous girl that she was during the time of the Host Club.


She nodded slowly, hoping that he would understand.


~Mori~


Asuka was right. Since they had met, the two of them had never exchanged numbers, they had no need to. Pulling out his mobile, he gave it to Asuka, gesturing for hers.


"I'll put my number in yours and vice versa?"


He was lucky that she had asked for a way to contact and be contacted. He wanted to stay in contact, if only as friends.


@Chicogal

 

[Chicogal]

A thrill ran through Tamaki's veins, mixed with strange teenage nervousness. He'd never thought that this would happen, but here they were. He rose, taking her in his arms and kissing her again.


"I love you," he whispered against her lips.


~Timeskip~


A little while later, he laid awake in her bed, legs entwined with hers and his arms around her body. He pressed his face into Haruhi's hair, slowly inhaling her scent. His eyes were closed with bliss. He'd had some nights with strange women, and with his ex-fiancee. They'd never had a connection like this, though. There was something so different about this, something that wasn't missing anymore.


~~~


Asuka nodded, pulling out her cellphone. She handed it to him - it was rather battered in comparison to his shiny one. She entered her number, feeling a pit of dread in her stomach. In a different life, they could have had something. But she'd never be good enough for someone like him, anyway. Saving her name to his contacts, she handed it back to him.


"Thank you for coming with me. And for keeping me safe," she said, bowing slightly to him in respect. "I enjoyed your company."

 

[animeloulou]

~Haruhi~


Haruhi was beaming, glowing even. She had done it before, but it was nothing in comparison to what had just happened.


She could feel Tamaki's presence around her but she was just too happy to speak. Something had changed between them, for the better.


~Mori~


Saving his number on her phone, Mori handed it back with a small smile.


"I enjoyed your company too. I hope we see each other soon."


He bowed slightly before patting her head softly. He tried to ignore the feeling of dread that was creeping up within him. They could contact each other whenever, right? This wasn't goodbye, right?


"Now, don't you be getting into any more accidents..!"


@Chicogal

 

[Chicogal]

Tamaki laid there for a while, just absorbing her beauty. And then, he shifted, moving off the bed and pulling on his underwear. He made his way out of the room and returned a short while later with a tray, two cups sitting on it. He placed it on Haruhi's bedside table, before slipping back into bed beside her again. "I brought you tea," he murmured.


~~~


Asuka felt a lump in her throat as he patted her head. That feeling was so dear to her now. She felt safe by her side, she knew that. And she never wanted to let that feeling go. But it was time to face reality, and she nodded her head.


"Of course," she murmured, eyes downcast. She had a ridiculous urge to hug him and... oh. Asuka didn't know why this feeling of sadness was rising within her. It was wrong! She suddenly, quickly, hugged him around the middle before quickly letting go. She looked to his eyes for a moment, before saying another quick, "Good-bye," and walking back to her apartment door.

 

[animeloulou]

~Haruhi~


Haruhi felt the bed creak as Tamaki got out of it, causing her to drop back to reality. Why was he leaving? Was he not satisfied? Did he realise that he had made a horrible mistake?


Oh, he just went to the kitchen to make tea. Whew~


~Mori~


Mori wanted to make Asuka turn around just one more time, if only to see her smile again. However, before he could do so, she had already entered her apartment.


Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, he made his way back to his house, only somewhat ready to face the music.


@Chicogal

 

[Chicogal]

((...


~Timeskip~


It had been a couple of months since Asuka had seen Mori. And he was in her mind in some way, every single day. Usually she wondered how he was doing. Sometimes she thought about how she slept next to his side that night, his warmth and comforting scent drifting over her. She'd never met a man who'd had that effect over her.


Her life had changed dramatically over the months since. A week after she got back, three men had come to her front door. They'd told her in no uncertain terms that her father had been a part of their mafia. That he'd promised her services if he died before his own service-debt was repaid. She'd always wondered why it had been in his will that she would take training in some fighting, but she'd assumed it was for her own safety. Her mother had always been suspiciously quiet about the subject. Her father had condemned her to being an active part of their mafia for a few months. And if she didn't do it, she would be murdered.


Asuka had been taken into the mafia and put to task on various small jobs. Making the political opposition look weaker, helping in burglaries, shutting down television broadcasts. Japan had been put into a mild state of confusion, unsure of what would happen next. The opposition wanted to forcefully shut down the mafia at any cost, and her father's mafia would not allow that to happen. Over the months, she had become more skilled, but more twisted inside. She hated this - the violence and threats. It was made so clear to her that one step out of line would get herself and her mother murdered. Her jobs had gotten larger. The stakes had gotten higher and higher.


Today was the day that she'd been entrusted with one of the largest jobs - she was going to be part of the task team that would take out the bodyguards. It was just a scare tactic; nothing to harm the figure yet. The political figure would be giving a speech to the people today. She was dressed in normal casual clothing, hair tucked up into a baseball cap. She wore brown contact lenses to disguise her green eyes. Overall, she did not look quite like the girl she used to be - she was gaunt in the face from worry and stress, although her body was strong as it had to be. She chattered away nonsense to what looked like some friends of hers. They wandered over to the first few bodyguards laughing.


Then she said something, and that was the signal. They darted out, and Asuka went for the left one. She usually took on the smallest, but they were all pretty big. Swiping out his feet from under him, she grunted as his punch glanced off her jaw. She slammed her shoulder into his crotch, a pang of empathy running through her chest. She hated this. She absolutely hated it. But today, they were holding her mother hostage. And who were they to have a bit of pain, when her mother could be tortured at any moment? She was the same girl on the inside - unlucky, clumsy, and gentle. But she'd been forced to change her behaviour in order to survive.

 

[animeloulou]

As the political figure began to speak to the nation of Japan, Mori stared out into the crowd, his eyes peeled for any unusual behaviour.


His father was right. Over the past few months, he had put himself through a grueling training regime, ultimately leading him to the invitation of the position of one of the government's elite league of bodyguards. At the beginning, he wasn't exactly thrilled about the tasks given to him, merely doing his job for the ideal of loyalty that he had grown up with.


Then things began serious. The dispute between the government and the underground mafia had escalated extremely since the days of 2-minute news bulletins. Now, they were all anyone could talk about.


Oh, how he missed the simpler time of the Host Club, Honey, Haruhi and Asuka...


After that trip to her Uncle's cottage, he never did hear from her again. He would have contacted her first, it was just that life got in the way...


He was dropped back to reality by the emergency signal from one of his team. They were being targeted and before he could help, he was attacked.


He wasn't the national kendo champion and a skilled martial artist for nothing, but this one was good themselves, getting some cheap and some good shots at him, causing him to fall to the ground. Instinctively, his mind began to whir, pulling the person's baseball cap off. Better the devil you know, right?


He froze.


That face.


So familiar.


Contact lenses to hide her beautiful olive green eyes.


"Asuka..."


@Chicogal

 

[Chicogal]

((I left the person she was attacking intentionally ambiguous, as I wasn't sure if you'd want Mori to fall to her ;p wasn't wanting to godmod lol))


Asuka felt the baseball cap being taken off her head, a spark of fear lighting in her chest. Heavy brown hair fell out, whipping around her waist as she jumped to her feet. They knew her identity, so she had to-


Mori.


Her heart stopped for a moment. He was looking at her with those dark brown eyes, expression as unreadable as ever as he spoke her name. But there was some degree of emotion present as their gazes met. And she knew now. They had once shared a space in a collapsing house, while an earthquake rocked them and she whimpered in her sleep. It would never happen again. They were enemies now, and the gap between them was now a canyon.


But his face, his irresistible face. Asuka faltered.


"I..."


That was her moment of weakness, and it costed her dearly. Another bodyguard landed a blow on her head, and she fell, head making an audible crack as she landed on the floor. The other mafia fighters were taking on him now, and one was advancing on Mori.

 

[animeloulou]

Mori was in utter shock. Why the hell was the clumsy, inconspicuous Asuka in the midst of all this madness? It just didn't add up.


Then she was on the ground, the sound of her head making contact with the concrete reverberating through his mind. Another one of the attackers focused their attention on him, swinging some sort of blunt object toward him.


If this was a normal day, he would have knocked the object out of that person's hands and tackled them to the ground, restraining them. However, this wasn't a normal day.


So, as he fell to the ground, he wished for things to be different. He didn't know the full story with Asuka, just that things had somehow gone horribly, horribly wrong...


@Chicogal

 

[Chicogal]

Vision swimming madly in and out of blackness, Asuka saw a figure land on the ground beside her. She moaned as she tried to get up, the world spinning around her as she fell back down onto her face. A soft hiss and a sob escaped her. Blood was running down her temples and she couldn't think at all. Mori...? Mori on the floor? It couldn't be. A dream... All a dream... And then dreams took over.


Over the next few hours, she awoke and slipped away again many times over. There was shouting. Then darkness. The sound of a car. She whimpered and groaned, trying to speak but too muddled to make sense. Something was stuffed into her mouth when she tried to move her arms and found them tied, her voice hoarse with a cut-off scream. Someone kicked her and she laid still again, soft cries emanating until darkness took her away once more.


When she finally awoke properly, her vision was blurry at first. She was sitting, propped up against a wall in a cell. It was no police cell; even in this state she knew that. When she moved her lips, she found them dry and crusted with blood. Her hands were no longer tied, and they shook as she felt her face. Just dried blood, but as she moved them to the source... A gasp escaped her, and she immediately left the spot alone. Asuka's brown hair was matted around the wound on the side of her head, and she was extremely light-headed.


Where... where was she?

 

[animeloulou]

Mori's thoughts were hazy. He wasn't sure if it was all just a dream, a nightmare or a mixture of the two. Nothing seemed to make sense.


After what seemed to be hours, he finally had enough strength to open his eyes, his survival instincts kicking in. He seemed to be in a cell of some sort. Most likely not a police cell because they wouldn't let a bodyguard be placed into one.


Checking his body, the wound from where he was struck down seemed to be calming down now, only bleeding slightly. Glancing around the room quickly, his gaze landed on a girl with a wound like his and the ability to make his heart race.


"A-Asuka... Are you okay..?"


@Chicogal

 

[Chicogal]

Asuka heard her name being called, and it hurt her head to even think about who it could be. Deep voice... Smooth, not rough... She flopped her head to the other side against the wall to look, green eyes faltering at the tall figure on the ground. They'd taken her contacts out during the ride, in order to identify her. At least she didn't need them for vision.


Was she okay? At the complete and utter ridiculousness of the entire situation, her lips turned upward in a mock-smile, a short laugh escaping her. It only lasted for a moment, before Asuka winced again and choked back a cry. She probably had a concussion. She closed her eyes, just trying to keep herself from hyperventilating or crying. Unlike Mori, she wasn't tough or very skilled. She was like a farmer who had been drafted into the army. Not really loyal the cause, and faltering.


"No?" she whimpered. "Mori?" She used his nickname, not even thinking about it. Nausea was starting to rumble in her stomach, and she opened her eyes again to see if there was a sink anywhere. Or a bucket. Or something...

 

[animeloulou]

Mori's sight began to slowly steady, the vision of Asuka getting clearer with each passing moment. What he saw was a ghost of the person that Mori once knew. This girl was broken, trying desperately, in Mori's eyes, to be someone she wasn't. But why?


His attention shifted back to Asuka, who had seemed to respond before her gaze shifted quickly, her eyes darting around at a rapid pace.


It took a moment before the penny dropped for him. Using all the strength that he could muster, he dragged himself over to her, pulling her body around until she was faced in the direction of the corner of the cell.


"It's okay. I-I've got you. L-Let it out..."


@Chicogal

 

[Chicogal]

Asuka barely responded to his touch, as opposed to how she used to feel. All of the other stimulation was too much to concentrate on that - the pain, her jumbled thoughts, the nausea creeping up her throat.


She heaved into the corner, barely anything coming up. She'd been too nervous before the mission to eat anything. Asuka just spat up some bile and water, before collapsing back and unintentionally onto Mori. She was just so disorientated.


"Where... where are we?"she breathed softly, blinking slowly. It wasn't good to lose consciousness again after a head injury. She couldn't remember why. But now she could understand why people did it despite that. Her hands formed fists. "L-... long time."

 

[animeloulou]

Mori was silent as Asuka let whatever was inside come out. His mind was racing with all of the questions that were whirring through his brain.


He caught her weight somewhat easily as she fell back onto his body. She seemed to be disorientated, probably due to concussion. Her voice sounded distorted, maybe due to his over-played memories of her or else due to his probable concussion.


"I... I don't know. Maybe there was some third-party involved. Whatever the case, we're getting out of here. Together."


@Chicogal

 

[Chicogal]

Asuka nodded slowly, knowing she had to be stronger than this. But somehow, she almost didn't want to be. It would be so easy to just float away here, in Mori's arms... It was strange. He was the enemy, and yet, here they were. Like nothing had changed.


At that moment, the door to the cell clanged open and three men came inside. One set down two plates of plain bread and two bottles of water. They greeted them, before explaining. They were against both Asuka's father's mafia and the current political power. They were intending to take over. And they were to be questioned later. The door clanged shut behind them as they walked back out, the sound of the lock an ominous echo.


"That's it then," she murmured. "I... Are you okay?"

 

[animeloulou]

Mori couldn't shake the mixture of feelings of dread and uneasiness from his mind as he listened to the men. So, he was right. A third-party was involved. Did his people know? Was he being kept in the dark? He wasn't sure. All he knew was that they needed to get out, fast.


At Asuka's question, he glanced back down at her, nodding quickly. Realistically, he probably had a concussion among other bumps and bruises, but whatever the situation, she was still Asuka, the girl who cuddled up to him in her Uncle's destroyed cottage.


"I'm fine. Nothing for you to be worried about."


@Chicogal

 

[Chicogal]

Asuka blinked gently, not wanting to move too much. She eyed the water and bread, but... oh. She still felt sick. It was... it was all in her head... Confused thoughts were running through it at a mile a minute, and she screwed up her face as she tried to stop them. To just be clear. Breathing slightly heavily with the effort of holding it together, she slowly tried to sit up by herself.


Asuka wobbled, but eventually managed to turn around and face Mori. "Owie," she muttered childishly, putting a hand to her head again. They now sat across from eachother, a very small space between them. In this state and situation... she wanted to be close to him. Mori represented safety in this terrible place.

 

[animeloulou]

"Why?"


The word rolled off Mori's lips softly, coming out as a question as he stared down at the cold, hard concrete floor.


"How the hell did you get mixed up in all of this? What happened to the waitress that I knew and lov... Whatever happened, I can help you! Just please don't try and do everything yourself!"


Maybe it was the concussion but Mori couldn't hide his thoughts. Asuka shouldn't be fighting this fight.


@Chicogal

 

[Chicogal]

Asuka's head still ached, and Mori's quick-fire words took a couple of seconds for her to process. She looked up at him, reading his expression with a little difficulty. He was... angry with her. No. More frustrated, a little sad. She gave her head a small shake, but immediately regretted the motion.


"The mafia have a hand in... everything," she mumbled. "My father, he... sold me." Her eyes flickered away from Mori. "They threatened my mother, and took me away, I... didn't even have a chance to do anything. Do you think I was there out of choice?"

 

[animeloulou]

Mori stayed silent as Asuka spoke, struck dumb by the sheer extent of what could have happened to her during those few months that they were apart.


Once she had finished, he raised his head, casting his gaze in the direction of her fragile figure.


"I never said that! I... I just want the old Asuka back, the one who made me a better person. I don't want you to become a shell, a mindless minion for those..."


He gestured toward the other side of the cell door.


"...those monsters! You're not alone. Please know that..."


@Chicogal

 

[Chicogal]

((You asked for drama, I give you drama...))


Mori was speaking, but Asuka couldn't figure out his words. She was absorbed in other thoughts. Her father had sold her. Like a slave. A bartering chip. Knowing entirely the connotations of services being sold. Of how cruel the mafia were. He'd known, and he'd done it anyway, to his little girl. His little girl...


A tear rolled down her cheek, then another. She drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them, pressing her face into the fabric. "He sold me," her voice warbled. "You're not listening, he sold me, he sold my services, and they- they-"

 

[animeloulou]

Mori watched Asuka as she curled up her knees to her chest, as if she was trying to make herself as small as possible. As if she wanted to disappear.


So he crawled over to where she sat, her body hunched over as she pressed her face to her knees, making the words she spoke muffled. He strained to hear the words.


What was she sayi-





His mind landed on its own idea of the continuation of her explanation and Mori froze.


No.


Oh God no...





He wrapped his arms around her body to desperately try to comfort her.


"I-I'm so sorry..."


He realised something as the tears fell from his eyes.


No words would ever be enough to comfort her.


@Chicogal

 

[Chicogal]

Asuka flinched at his embrace. Despite her concussion, that reaction was now built into her. After all, her body was telling her - go away! You're going to be hurt again!


She stared out over his shoulders, tears starting to fall from her eyes as well. She felt dirty. And used. They'd train her, threaten, she'd go to bed with aching muscles and new bruises. Then one of them would come. If she was unlucky, more than that. You don't want to see your mother killed, do you? You don't want to die, they'd purr, forcing her down until she collapsed and they could have their way.


She just stayed still as he hugged her, not even feeling like reciprocating. Her arms were too heavy and what was the point, anyway? He might just end up hurting her anyway.