Circumstance

Chapter 2
Intentions

No one was moving; no one was saying anything. Even the Hitachiin twins were uncharacteristically silent, their moods dampened by the sudden turn of events.

Morinozuka Takashi was staring down at his hands as silent as ever as he tried to bore holes in his flesh. The seconds were ticking by slowly, and the tension was uncomfortably thick in the room.

Thirty minutes ago, he had come racing down the hallways, soaked to the bone and flinging water in every direction as his shoes sloshed against the tiled floor. The rest of the Host Club members had followed him by tracking the wet footprints down the white corridors, discarding their umbrellas and excusing themselves for causing a slight scene.

And now, Takashi was sitting outside in the waiting room, nervously tapping his feet in hopes of getting rid of the anxiety churning in his stomach. The sound echoed through the air due to the lack of bodies occupying the empty space partially because the room was closed off to the general public, and partially because only a few servants had been brought along for the occasion.

Takashi hadn't even known that he tapped his feet when he was stressed out until now. Bad habits had never shown up before because something or another had required his attention. Things like school, kendo practice, the Host Club, watching over Mitsukuni…

…Dammit. He had been such an idiot!

He should have been more careful. He should have been more alert. Mitsukuni had literally been standing next to him at an arm's length. Why hadn't he pushed him away when he had the chance…?

He punched the wall next to him and was unfazed when the plaster gave away. A growl was building up at the bottom of his throat, and more than anything else, this made Takashi blink in surprise, made him shake awake from whatever he had been thinking about.

He unclenched his fists, noting that they were white and slightly bruised, yet numb.

He had forgotten his own strength for a brief instant. His hands hadn't even registered the pain that was supposed to have alerted his brain of his destructive actions. Of course, that would be due to all of his training – training that hadn't helped save his cousin…

A slight pressure on his arm interrupted his train of thought.

"Mori-sempai," Haruhi said tentatively, drawing her hand back after getting his attention. Takashi looked down towards the freshman, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Please calm down, Mori-sempai. The doctors are doing all that they can."

He nodded, indicating that he understood and appreciated her concern. She took that as a sign to leave him alone for the time being and joined the others across the room. And although everyone was distressed about their Hunny-sempai, they couldn't help but be worried (and even a little terrified) of the normally calm Morinozuka.

Stupid car. Stupid rain. Stupid road. He swore that he was somehow going to find a way to control the weather so that nothing like this could ever happen again. Either that, or he was going to make sure that every car company upped their standards for their braking systems.

Takashi imagined what Mitsukuni would look like afterwards – his small, child-like body hooked up to the ICU – and he flinched.

…Just what sort of person was he that he couldn't even protect his best friend?

He should have done something more; he berated himself for being so stupid. Yet at the same time, he knew that no one could have seen this coming; no one could have prevented anything like this from happening.

Because Haninozuka Mitsukuni was currently in the Emergency Room after being whisked to the hospital via an ambulance, and no one knew if he would make it out alive. Takashi was trying his hardest not to go insane from the anxiety as he sat in the waiting room with the rest of the Host club.

Because it didn't matter if you were filthy rich enough to buy just about anything in the world, were ridiculously good-looking, or held the national kendo or judo championship – it didn't make a difference in the afterlife. Takashi would have given up his inheritance if he could – his eyes, his right arm, his soul if he had to – right now to see his cousin alive and well.

Because in real life, accidents happen, and cars don't take anything into consideration when they skid and crash into people on a rainy day, going over a hundred kilometers an hour.

Fin.