(Episode 7)

"I'll go with you!" Haruhi shouted at Mori's back. But as she tried to run after him, strange creatures seemed to appear out of nowhere. Immediately regretting her decision to follow him, she let out a yelp at the sight of a group of snakes and turned, only to cry out at the movement of some gross looking beetles.

Turning around, Mori's deep voice resounded through the forest, "Haruhi."

He wasn't the kind of man to speak unnecessarily. His shadow cast over Haruhi and she suddenly felt very small and weak. Gazing up at his broad form, she only had a moment to contemplate what he might have been thinking before he hoisted her up into his arms. Well, his arm anyway. The strong senior didn't seem to need to use more than one arm to keep her close.

That's the first time he called me by my name, Haruhi realized kind of pleased. A slow blush crept up her face and she tilted to look at his strong features. His jaw was clenched in determination and he began to continue forward along the path. She knew he'd only picked her up to protect her from the apparent dangers of this Ootori artificial jungle but she couldn't help but be a little happy in his grasp. Maybe being small and weak isn't bad sometimes, she reflected.

After a few moments of trudging forward, Haruhi sighed and let her head rest against Mori's shoulder. He didn't seem to notice or mind. With her head against him, she gazed across his pale chest and reveled in how smooth it was. Overcome with a desire to touch him, she slowly raised her right hand and settled it at the dip between his collar bones. From there, she traced her fingers along his chest, meandering along the way. When she reached the end of this bone she laid her palm flat and dipped down his lean pectoral muscle. As she did, Haruhi grazed his nipple and felt his breath catch under her.

Stopping abruptly, he looked down at her amazed. Over the years he'd had a fair collection of female admirers but he had never been this personal with a woman before. It hadn't really occurred to him to be concerned about being close to Haruhi, as he deemed her to be a good friend and someone to watch over – similar to Mitsukuni, though not to the same degree. She was pointedly avoiding looking up at him right now, as she was extremely embarrassed by her thoughtless actions. Strangely, she failed to notice that her hand still remained stretched out across his chest.

Unable to ignore such an intimate moment, Mori continued to stare down at her questioningly. When she began to stutter an apology he reached out with his free hand to raise her chin. This effectively shut her up and caused him to be able to peer into her deep brown eyes. The blush that had thickened upon her face triggered a strange grumble in Mori's abdomen – though he wasn't quite sure he knew what that meant. Never the less, all he could think of at that moment was the heat upon his torso and how unbearably cute Haruhi looked. He realized quite suddenly that although he had seen her blush before, he'd never been the cause of it. To be honest, the idea made him slightly light headed. And perhaps that's why he gave in to the somewhat foreign desire to suddenly kiss her.

It was gentle. For some reason, Haruhi hadn't expected him to be capable of such tenderness. With his hand still holding her chin in place, she melted into the sweet feeling of his soft lips upon hers. In her surprise, she had parted her lips slightly and therefore could taste Mori as if he belonged to her. Just before releasing her, his tongue reached out to flick her bottom lip, causing her to release a meek moan. As he pulled away, her mind screamed at her for doing something so humiliating. She raised her hand to cover her embarrassed mouth and stared up at Mori with wide eyes. A small smirk crept to the edges of his mouth but was immediately covered when he heard a rustle of trees up ahead. Turning his attention to the path before them, Mori resumed his search for his beloved Mitsukuni. With a small sigh, Haruhi focused on the tingling of her lips and glanced out at her hand forgotten upon his chest. Her first kiss with Mori and all she could wonder was whether she would ever experience that again.