Conquering Fears

by:buddhistbabe

(this is my first fic ever so please let me know what you think)

AN: In Honor of Halloween I am re-editing this story. Also for my reader who have been waiting for more, I have Two stories in the mental works.

Notice: I do not own Ouran High School host club.

'How did I end up here?' thought Haruhi to herself as she was dragged though the crowd, a twin pulling on each of her arms, leading her into a public Halloween fair.

'Not even an hour ago I was safe at home. I really need to stop answering the door.' She opened the door after hearing a knock and before she knew what happened they had pulled her out and dragged her to their limo.

'There are more important things I could be doing right now; this is just a children's holiday. I really should be studying.' She though bitterly.

Haruhi was now in her second year at Ouran High School, still top of her class, and still a member of the Host club, even though her debt was paid off. Everyone thought for sure that once her debt was gone that she would be too, but she remained. She stayed for a couple reasons; one being that she found she actually enjoyed spending time with the other members, on occasion. And the other reason was she knew that if she didn't return she would never get any learning done because Tamaki would try to make it a point to see her as much as humanly possible, even if that meant interrupting her class, and her study time would then become nonexistent.

Tonight, though, as she was reminded over and over again, was special for the club. 'Well at least it's special to everyone else in the club.' She thought darkly to herself.

Tonight was Halloween, and the club was going to a commoner Halloween fair. Also tonight was a special because it was the first time the whole host club was meeting again. Hunny and Mori were off at college now, and while Tamaki had found two new hosts, the club wasn't quite the same. They were the reason she didn't put up more of a fight about coming, she didn't see much of Hunny and Mori and personally Haruhi missed them both, they were the two host who caused her the least amount of trouble.

What Haruhi did put up a fight for was the fact that the Hitachin brothers took it upon themselves to dress Haruhi for the evening. She tried to explain to them that adults normally did not dress up for Halloween but they would not hear anything about it. They insisted that she wear a costume, for everyone else would be too and they didn't want her to stick out.

"Come on Haruhi we're already running late" said Kaoru pulling a reluctant Haruhi behind him

"Whose fault is that? If you two would have just left me alone and let me wear what I was wearing we wouldn't be late" Countered Haruhi logically.

"Well if you would have just tired on your costume without fighting us we would have been here on time" stated Hikaru slyly "so don't blame this one on us."

The three of them walked among the crowds of laughing people in all kinds of costumes standing around booths and stalls. Haruhi could smell the cider and feel the cool breeze of fall. On the inside she was thankful to be out, but of course she would never let the twins know that. She caught sight of the rest of the group ahead under a tree, and they rushed over. Upon first sight Haruhi was shocked. The group looked crazier then normal. It was true that at the Host club they wore crazy costumes but normally their costumes were dressed to a theme, tonight everyone was dressed differently.

Tamaki dressed in a renaissance styled French prince outfit made up of silks in purple and gold. Next to him stood Kyouya, looking as cunning as ever dressed as a pirate. He had on a black lace up shirt with black pants tucked into knee high pirate boots with a tricorn hat and sword. The twins, not to be out done, were cowboys from the Wild West. Both sporting Leather cowboy boots imported from Texas, with leather vests and cowboys hats. It was apparent to anyone looking close enough that these boys had spent a lot of money on their costumes.

Haruhi stood there feeling out of place and as normal, when anyone had the chance to dress her up, they put her in something very girly. The twins dressed her up in American 1950's clothing. They told her she was dressed to go to a 'Sock Hop', and she silently cursed their recent obsession with American Cinema. She had on a pale pink poodle skirt with layers of crinoline underneath it that fell to her knees, the rest of her legs were bare expect for white Bobbie socks and black and white patent leather shoes. She was also wearing a white blouse and matching light pink cardigan, with a string of real white pearls around her neck and a white purse over her shoulder. The twins had even gone so far as to get a brown wig styled in a flipped out curly hair style of the 1950s. The only part Haruhi liked where the shoes.

She looked around noted that Mori and Hunny were not there yet. 'It is not like them to be late' she thought to herself, glancing at her watch. 'The sooner they get here the sooner we can leave'

But no sooner then she thought that, she saw them approach and couldn't help but smile. Walking towards them was a man in a white tee shirt, leather jacket, and jeans with a large bunny sitting on his shoulders, waving violently and shouting to them.

"Tama-Chan!! Kyoya-chan!! Sorry we are late but I over slept during my nap" shouted the bunny known as Hunny.

"That's okay Hunny-senpei" Tamaki stated with a regal bow to the new comers. "Are you ready for a night of tricks and treats?"

"CANDY!" Bubbled the bunny as he jumped with joy.

"Tricks!" Said Kaoru and Hikaru together, their eyes shining in a way Haruhi didn't like. She felt bad for all of the people here tonight knowing they were to be the twin's victims.

"I am so excited Haruhi" said Tamaki as he pulled her into a hug. "Tonight, together we will be learning about wonders of commoner culture."

"Senpei, I am here to enjoy myself, and so I do not plan on spending the evening with you" Haruhi said innocently, not meaning to hurt his feelings.

He paled and sat down by the tree mumbling to himself, looking put out.

"Tamaki" said Kyouya wisely with the intention of cheering up his friend. "Isn't that booth over there the water rifle game you were telling me about that commoners play?"

No sooner had those words escaped his lips, when Tamaki grabs the shadow kings wrist and dragged him away from the group.

Haruhi watched the two leave, smiling to herself that Kyouya really was in control of the club at all times, she turned to ask what the rest of them would be doing to find the twins whispering with their heads together.

'I thought they were working on letting other people into their world' Haruhi thought.

As if they were mind reads they both looked at her with planning eyes.

"Hey Haruhi, you want to come with us for a bit?"

"No" She said flat out. "I don't want to be a part of any of your tricks. Plus I came tonight to see Hunny and Mori-senpei, not scare people.

"But Haruhi" they wined together. "Halloween is about scaring people."

"No, plus I see you both all the time. I would really like to catch up with Hunny and Mori"

"Fine Haruhi" Said Hikaru stubbornly. "But you are the one missing out."

The three remaining club members watched the twins dart out into the crowd and disappear. Haruhi sighed deeply and turned to face the two college men she was standing with.

She finally got a good look at the both of them, standing next to each other. Haruhi noted that Hunny was getting taller. 'Soon he won't be able to ride on Mori-senpei's shoulders' she thought with a smile. The Blonde man was taller but still had the same cute innocent smiling face. She noticed that people were looking and him and smiling. Girls were whispering to each other and she was sure she heard the word "cute" being passed around.

'Would they still say that after they had seen him fight?'

She turned her gaze to the taller of her two friends. Mori looked very much the same, same strong stance and concealing face as ever. She was glad that they were still the same, it was a comfort that her friends weren't changing to the point where she wouldn't recognize them.

"So" she said regaining control of her thoughts. "What do you both want to do?"

"Eat some candy!" laughed Hunny.

Haruhi smiled a soft smile, feeling her self sigh ever so softly. She was hoping he would say something else but knew he wouldn't. Haruhi had never been a fan of sweets, and during the host club she would eat the sweets offered to her but she only did it out of sheer politeness to Hunny. She was hoping that she wouldn't have to eat any candy tonight, but she knew she wouldn't have the heart to turn down anything he offered.

"Mitsukuni, Haruhi doesn't like sweets" said the giant softly.

"WHAT!?! But Haruhi, you ate sweets last year!?"

"She did that out of respect to you"

"Huh?" just that you love sweets so much, and you were always so exited to share, I could never say no

Haruhi smiled awkwardly.

"I am sorry Hunny, its, and hurt for feelings. Please forgive me for deceiving you.

"Well" Said Hunny tapping his chin. "I forgive you but only if you call me Mitsukuni from now on, we are friends Haruhi, you should be able to tell me what you like and don't and you shouldn't feel the need to call me senpei."

"I guess you are right" She said smiling at her friend.

"How about I eat my candy while you two" he said like a commander formulating a battle plan, and point at them, "go do the corn maze."

Haruhi looked up a Mori, he stood there looking at Hunny unquestioningly, but for a moment she thought she saw him raise and eyebrow in a questioning look, but decided that she was imagining it when looked at him again.

"Will you be alright alone Hu.. Mitsukuni?"

"I am not alone, I have bun-bun with me" he said innocently pulling his stuff friend out from behind his back. "I will be here when you are done."

With that he sat down underneath the tree and started to eat the candy in the Halloween bag he was carrying. That was his final word and with that Mori turned and walked away, only pausing to let Haruhi catch up.

'This isn't how I was planning to have the evening go'

She and Mori made their way silently across the fair grounds looking at the booths and shops as the made their way to the maze.

"Mori-senpei?" she asked causing him to turn his gray eyed gaze to her, in that moment; she forgot how deep his eyes really were.

"Takashi"

"Excuse me?" she said startled. She was so distracted by his gaze that she didn't hear what he said.

"Takashi, Mitsukuni was right, there is no need for formalities with friends" his deep voice rumbled.

"Oh, okay. Takashi, what do you normally do on Halloween?"

Mori looked away from her and thought a moment before speaking. To Haruhi it seemed like he was planning out what he was going to say.

Normally" he started slowly, "My class would host a tea or a party of some kind that would happen tonight. I did not always attend because sometimes my family would be hosting fancy dinner parties."

He paused a moment.

"I wish I could have come to something more like this. I never liked those formal dinners. I hated just standing there being idle, at a place like this there is a lot to do, and see and in Mitsukuni's world, taste. "

Haruhi looked at him, and felt like for once she was seeing a new side to him. She realized she was staring when he looked down at her and asked what she normally did on Halloween.

"When I was little I would come to a fair like this with my father, he would take the night off of work and I would dress up and we would come for the evening. But as I got older I found it impractical, there was no point in dad taking an evening off work for such a silly holiday."

"Silly holiday?"

"What you don't think so? A time where everyone dresses up and pretends to be something they aren't? Where tons of candy is consumed and all sorts of work goes into one costume so you can be scared? I find it a little pointless."

"But isn't that the point?

"What?"

"To take a break from everyday and enjoy one night of fun and fears? Some people look forward to this day all year round because it is different. It gives people the chance to step out of their shells with confidence and be different for one evening."

"You have really thought about his haven't you" Haruhi asked amazed

"I really have" Takashi smiled down at her.

Conversation came easily to the two of them the rest of the walk to the maze. Haruhi told Mori about the clubs activities this year and he told her about his college classes. They approached the maze and Takashi took Haruhi's hand saying that he didn't want to get separated from her in the maze. She wondered at the blush that she felt creeping up her cheeks at such a common action.

'The twins are always holding my hands, and I never blush with them'

Soon the two of them were very lost in the maze. Haruhi was laughing at the fact that neither of them remembered which way they came from, while Mori just smiled along with her.

"Takashi"

He looked at her in surprise, remembering that he asked her to call him by name, but he never remembered his name sounding so good.

"Yes?"

"Are you afraid of anything?"

He looked at her for a moment as if weighing the options of telling her or not, he finally nodded, saying nothing.

She looked at him puzzled, he had been so open with her until then, and she almost watched him rebuilding the wall around him.

"I am sorry" she apologized quickly. "I never meant to offend you."

"No Haruhi, you didn't offended me, it is just very silly and irrational."

"Well, Takashi. I believe all fear have some level of irrationality in them. I mean, I am afraid of lighting, because my mother died during a storm. There is no real need to be scared, but I am, and every time I see the lighting and hear the thunder I am transported back to that night. I mean, its not going to happen again, its over, but I am still scared. I think that's pretty irrational and silly.

"I don't think so" he said squeezing her hand a little.

"I am afraid of… clowns" he admitted softly, expecting to hear her laugh at him at his foolish fear.

"A lot of people are afraid of clowns, Takashi." She said comfortingly squeezing his hand back softly.

"There is something about people who hide their face like that, that causes me not to trust them. When Mitsukuni was little he has a clown at one of his birthdays. He was so loud and I didn't know what to do, I didn't know how to react to him. All of the other kids were laughing, but I couldn't see who he was, and I didn't think that I should be joining in. I was just scared and I felt helpless, I hate feeling helpless.

During this Mori was looking off as if reliving the day, as the two of them strolled closer and closer to the exit of the maze.

"Takashi, you were little, I am sure if you saw a clown now you would know how to act. You are not helpless; you are the least helpless man I know. But its kind of comforting to know that even you have a fear, if someone as calm and rational as you can have a fear I don't feel so silly about mine" She said smiling honestly up to him. She could have sworn his cheeks got a little pinker but she couldn't tell for sure being how dark it was.

'he looks very nice when he blushes'

All of a sudden, they were out of the maze, and looking out at the sea of people.

"We MADE IT" Haruhi said excitedly throwing her arms around her friend in a hug of victory. She felt his arms wrap around her in return, and for a quick moment she could feel how warm he was and smell the leather of his jacket and the clean scent of his body.

Almost as soon as the hug happened it was over, and Haruhi smiled up at the normally quiet Takashi.

"well we had better go fine Mitsukuni" she said after a moment, and Takashi nodded.

Together they set off for the meeting spot where they had left the young college student. Haruhi soon noticed that now that she wasn't protected by the walls of the maze that it was colder then it was when they went in. She felt an involuntary shiver run through her and she wrapped her arms around her. A moment later she felt a heavy weight fall on her shoulders. She looked of to see that Takashi had taken off his leather jacket and had draped it around her shoulders.

She looked up at her friend, seeing him standing there in a white tee shirt and jeans smiling down at her. "Thank you Takashi but won't you be cold?"

"No I will be fine; I was just wearing it for the look."

Haruhi could now feel the warmth and smell the scent of the hug from a moment before and she felt very content. She could not help but question herself at her reaction to the offer of his coat.

'Tamaki has given you his shirts and jackets many times and you have never acted like this before' she chastised her self. 'Maybe I am getting sick or something?'

The pair found their way back to the tree, but they found no one underneath it. Haruhi quickly glanced up at Mori to see him sighing softly to himself.

"Should we go find him? Do you think he is okay?" she asked him quickly.

"Yes I am sure he is okay, I would feel it if he weren't. I am sure he just ran out of candy and went to get more." He stated calmly.

Haruhi was shocked at his peaceful response, last time he and Hunny got separated at the water park he was a mess until they found him, but now he seemed so…okay with the fact that is cousin was missing.

"Are you sure you are okay?"

"Oh yes," Mori said calmly. "Mitsukuni has a tendency to forget things he has promised when there is candy involved. But if you would like we can look for him and look at the rest of the booths at the fair, I am sure he is at one of them. Its just a matter of finding the right one"

He smiled down at her.

She looked down quickly to hide the blush she could feel rising in her check, and nodded. He slipped his hand into hers and led her out into the sea of costumes and children.

Soon they were both so distracted at what was going on at the booths that they forgot that they were looking for Hunny. They were sharing the different foods offered, and looking at the shops and laughing at the children running around them.

One booth that they stopped at was a game where you throw a ball and try to knock down that cans and if you do it you win a prize. To Haruhi's surprise Mori wanted to give it a try. The man handed him 3 balls and explained if he knocked the pyramid down with one throw he won a prize.

"Would you like me to win something for you Haruhi?" Mori asked her softly.

"But you haven't played yet"

"Playing for someone makes me play better. Would you like one?

"Alright" she said questioningly, feeling rather awkward.

And sure enough, on Mori's first throw, he had knocked down all the cans, he turned and smiled his soft smile at her. He was committing to memory the cute look of surprise she had on her face. He was handed a teddy bear, which he then offered to Haruhi, the smile never leaving his face.

"Are you sure you don't want to give it to Mitsukuni? You know how he loves stuffed animals."

"I am sure, Mitsukuni has more stuffed animals then he knows what to do with. Plus I won this for you. I thought about how I would like to win you one and then I did." He admitted rather reluctantly.

"Well thank you very much Takashi" she said taking the bear from him and laughing. "I promise I will keep it safe."

The two of them turned and started walking away from the booth when Haruhi felt a sharp push on her right side. Haruhi was thrown off balance and her purse was pulled off her shoulder as she fell. Luckily she was caught by Mori, who was looking down at her with concern. She looked up quickly and saw a man in a clown suit running away with her bag.

"He stole my purse." Shouted Haruhi pointing after the man, she tried to stand but then fell in pain. She had twisted her ankle; she knew she wasn't going to be able to chase after him. She turned to look at Takashi, but he wasn't there. She looked around and she just caught a glimpse of her tall friend's white shirt as he chased after the clown who stole her purse.

Mori ran without thinking, he knew Haruhi was hurt, he saw her twist her ankle as she fell. He was too busy watching her to see the man take her purse. He needed to get it back for her. From all the years of kendo practice he had not even broken a sweat yet, and he could see he was gaining on the man despite his head start.

The pair rushed through the crowd, the clown looked back and saw he was being followed, and tried to lose his pursuer in the crowd. Mori worked his way carefully between people. He was moving so quickly that people did not even know he passed them.

Soon they were out of the crowd and out of the fair area. Mori could see the clown running for a side street. He knew that if he lost sight of the thief he would lose him and Haruhi's Purse. He ran faster, closing the gap. In the back of his mind he noted the ironic aspect of him chasing down a man in a clown suit.

When Mori got within reach, he jumped delivering a powerful kick to man's back causing him to stumble and drop the purse.

The clown recovered and took off running again, leaving Mori and the purse behind. The Stoic gentleman watched the man run away before he picked up the white purse and carried it back to its owner.

When Mori arrived back to where Haruhi was, he saw that she was now sitting beneath a tree, with her eyes closed, breathing deeply.

"Haruhi?" he asked softly, she opened her eyes startled. She never heard him return to her.

"Are you okay?" he continued.

"Yes, I twisted my ankle while falling but I am fine. How are you? Are you okay?"

"Yes I have something for you" He produced the purse from behind his back.

"You got it! Thank you so much Takashi. I was worried about you, I looked up and you were gone. You have to be more careful, he could have had a weapon. You could have been hurt" ranted Haruhi as the quiet man in front of her helped her up, listening to her talk.

He knew that she would soon come to the end of her rant. He wasn't expecting what happened next though. Her small arms wrapped around his middle and she rested her head on his chest. He looked down at her, thankful she couldn't see his bashful expression.

"Next time, please be more careful. I was worried." She muttered into his chest.

"I promise" he said putting his arms around her small frame, still covered in his leather jacket.

When she finally pulled away from him he was shocked to see the bright light shining in her eyes.

"Well on the bright side, you knew how to react to that situation right away, so obviously you have conquered your fear" she chuckled at him optimistically.

"Not quite," he whispered leaning his face in close to hears. "I have another fear, one that has been haunting since last year, and because you have been helping me conquer my fears I figure I might as well tell you this one too."

He took a deep breath, stealing his will and calming his beating heart.

"I have been afraid that you would react badly to this…" he trailed off as he leaned in and kissed her.

At first Haruhi didn't know what to do. This was her first kiss with a boy, not just any boy, this was Mori, Takashi.

She found herself kissing him back. When the kiss ended Haruhi saw his flushed cheeks and something along the lines of fear in his eyes.

She smiled up at him, and grabbed his hand.

"That is nothing to be afraid of" she said standing on her tip toes, kissing his cheek. "That was also an irrational fear."

End

thank you for reading my first ever fan fic, please leave me feedback and if you are interested in being my beta for my epicly long Haruhi/Mori Story please let me know. THANK YOU

edited:10/30/07 Thank you again for reading my story