Home *OHSHC* (Complete)

Heroes

A/N: Abuse trigger warning. I felt the need to put that in for this chapter. Read at your own risk.

Also, Pink_YAY this chapter is for you! 

                     After Nozomi and the twins arrived at the house that night, Kaoru pulled her into her bedroom instantly. He calls her out on the lie she'd told Hikaru and she drops her gaze guiltily. She dismisses the incident, telling him that it was nothing, but he persists, begging her to let him help her. A few moments of silent contemplation later, she stops fiddling with the hem of her sweater and blurts out what had happened between her and Michiko. His fists tighten at his sides as he listens to her story. As her story finishes, she's surprised by him pulling her into a hug. His hand gently runs through her hair as she stands frozen.
"Don't listen to her, not a single word. We care about you, all of us. You're not a stray or anything like that. You're our best friend, don't ever forget that."
"K-Kaoru... You're being mushy and passionate again." She mutters into his shoulder.
"What? You want me to sleep with you? Nozomi, you're so forward." He purrs, smirking at her blush.
"And now you're being nauseating again. Good job."
She pulls away from him and rolls her eyes.
"It got you to laugh so I'm doing my job. Now, the real question is, movie night or video games?"
"Movies!" She cheers.
"Hikaru! Prepare the tv!"
                        Three movies later, Nozomi is half-asleep on Kaoru's shoulder with her legs draped across Hikaru's lap and a bowl of popcorn on her own lap. Her head flops over to face the tv again and flinches as a decapitated head flies toward the screen. She glances over at Hikaru then up at Kaoru, feeling completely awake and overwhelmed. She sits up suddenly and sighs. Hikaru pauses the tv and they both ask if she's alright. She nods before quietly saying something that'd been on her mind for a while now.
"I-I want to explain to you two why it bothered me so much being thought of as a pet, if that's alright."
"Sure, you know you can tell us anything."
"But- in telling you this, you will know where I came from and I'm afraid of what you guys will think..."
"And you know that we won't judge you for whatever it is." Kaoru reassures, rubbing her back.
"Okay. Just no pity or I will hurt both of you."
The twins nod and turn to face her as she takes a deep breath.
"My parents, they weren't very good people. As I'd said before, I never had a bed or a room. As far back as I can remember, I stayed in a tiny spare bathroom. My bed was a dog kennel. I had a towel as a blanket and pillow. They left me alone all the time, I was never allowed out. Once every three days, they gave me food in an old dog bowl. If I cried or made too much noise, they would beat me viciously..." She trails off and chokes back a sob. "At the age of five, I knew in my heart, that I just wanted to die. I had no hope for life. I knew that I would eventually die in that little room, treated like an abused pet... That's why I felt so badly about being thought of as a pet, because I grew up as one. I still don't know what I did, why my parents hated me so badly, but it hurt more than anything."
She wipes away at the stream of tears on her face before realizing that the twins were hugging her from both sides.
"Nozomi, we had no idea..."
"No pity." She mutters with a small laugh.
"How did you escape?"
"They left one evening, out to eat or something like that. While they were gone, a man broke into the house. I was too afraid to make noise as I heard him rummaging through the house. I didn't know what was going on. I guess he saw a door locked from the outside and thought there was something valuable inside. Little did he know when he picked the lock he'd find me. I was scrawny, pale, and sickly looking, dressed in a very stained shirt and underwear. I remember looking up at him, even through the fear, and asking him a simple question. 'Are you here to kill me and set me free?'. He looked taken aback and asked why I was locked in there. I told him that was where they wanted me to live and his jaw dropped. He left the room and returned with his bag full of food and whatever money he'd found. He wrapped me in the towel and picked me up before taking me out of the house. He broke into the library and left me there, telling me that I was free and to do something great with my life. I was eight. That started my life on the streets."
"So, a criminal feared for the life of a child and kidnapped you to keep you alive?"
"Pretty much. Sounds crazy, but I owe that man my life."
"You had your own personal super hero. How fitting."
"Yeah, yeah. Enough emotional baggage, let's get back to the movie." She mutters, facing the tv again.
As she loses herself in the movie, Hikaru and Kaoru share sad looks over her head.
                              The following afternoon, Nozomi arrives at the Host Club, worried about Michiko and the other girls. When she opens the club doors, her worry melts away as she dissolves into laughter. They'd picked a good theme in her opinion. Tamaki runs up and spins her around in a circle, dressed as Superman. Honey waves to her from his cake table dressed as the Flash, making her giggle. Mori was dressed as the Green Lantern while Kyoya is the Green Arrow. The twins come over to her, dressed as a hero and a villain: Batman and the Joker. Haruhi is Aquaman simply because the boys couldn't dress her as a girl. Tamaki and the twins had picked Nozomi's outfit and she honestly wasn't too surprised to find a Superwoman costume waiting for her. She comes out of the room from changing and blushes immediately at the stares some of the boys were giving her. Tamaki snaps out of it first, his face blood red and proclaims that her costume was too revealing and she should change back into her normal clothes.
"Nozomi-chan and Tama-chan match!" Honey cheers and she suddenly notices it.
The twins sidle up next to her and begin to rub their cheeks against hers, smearing Kaoru's make up onto her face.
"We think she looks absolutely delicious. We can't wait for her to come home with us tonight." They purr, teasing Tamaki. Nozomi's face reddens deeply at their statement and lightly smacks their cheeks.
                              Tamaki rushes over and pulls her away, muttering something under his breath about demon twins. He stops by his Ouran blazer and pulls a cloth handkerchief out of the pocket. He leans in and carefully wipes the makeup off her cheek, his fingers gently brushing her face. She stares at his face as he works, her eyes tracing every detail and the speckles of blue and violet that make up his eyes. He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and smiles.
"I think I've got it all. Now you're perfect again." He tells her, his voice low and smooth.
A shiver runs down her spine as another blush crosses her face.
"Uhm, Boss, we're starting now." Kaoru's voice carries over, sounding tense.
Tamaki backs away quickly and clears his throat before making his way over to the couch. Nozomi walks over to the doors and counts from three before opening them. The group chorus their 'welcome' and they offer to 'save' their princesses. Nozomi rolls her eyes and resists the urge to gag as the groups branch off to entertain. She can feel Michiko's glare on her back but she pushes it aside, repeating Kaoru's words in her head and begins to serve snacks and teas. She survived years of abuse and living on the streets, she can handle a jealous princess. 


A/N: My original plan was to have the movie night and the hero day be two separate chapters, but I feel like maybe it works? It shows two types of heroes in her life, the man who saved her and the hosts. I dunno, maybe it works? I think it balances sad and happy. Also, I have to thank Pink_YAY for her idea to have a "Superhero" day. I also had to throw in some 'Nomaki' fluff to conflict with 'Kazomi'. :3 On a serious note, thoughts on her backstory? I dreamed about it and it was harder to put into words than I'd thought.