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“I wish Dad hadn’t drank the last of the coffee,” Haruhi grumbled to herself on her way to the supermarket. Ranka had used the last bit of the coffee while Haruhi was at school and forgot to tell her until after dinner. She never went anywhere this late, but coffee was an absolutely necessity and the supermarket didn’t open early enough for her to go before school in the morning. Drastic times called for drastic measures.
The supermarket was almost empty. Still, Haruhi found herself worriedly glancing over her shoulder now and then. You never know what could happen this late at night. Haruhi found herself wishing someone had accompanied her, then chided herself on being frightened. It would just take a moment, she told herself, and then she would be home safe.
Haruhi paid for the coffee and headed outside, hurrying her step to get home faster. She didn’t hear the quiet footfalls behind her until she was halfway home. When she looked over her shoulder again, the street was deserted except for a man a little distance behind her. She turned around and started walking faster, heart pounding.
However, Haruhi’s pursuer saw that he had been noticed and picked up his pace as well. Haruhi panicked and ran, but she wasn’t fast enough. The man caught up to her and grabbed her arm.
“Give me your wallet,” he snarled, his grip painfully tight.
“Let me go!” Haruhi protested, trying to pull away.
“Don’t make me get violent! Give it to me, now!”
“Please,” Haruhi half-pleaded, knowing it wouldn’t do any good. She noticed another figure coming down the street, and sudden hope flared up inside her.
“Help!” she cried, as loud as she could. “Help, please, I’m being robbed!”
The figure ran up to them, grabbing the thief by the shoulder and flinging him onto the ground. The robber tried to fight him off, but was no match for his opponent. He quickly gave up and ran off. At last Haruhi saw her rescuer’s face. She gasped.
“Mori-senpai? What on earth are you doing here?”
Mori held up a shopping bag of his own, filled with candy. “Candy for Mitsukuni,” he explained. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Thank you, senpai—” Haruhi tried to talk, but the shock of the danger she had been in caught up to her, and she almost couldn’t stand. She sagged and started shaking.
Mori led her to a nearby store that was closed for the night and sat her on the steps, looking at her with concern. “I’ll stay until you feel safe and walk you home.”
“Thank you, senpai.” Haruhi sank down and buried her face in her hands. She was still shaking. A few tears that she couldn’t stop leaked between her fingers as she realized how lucky she’d been.
“Haruhi?” Mori touched her shoulder gently, and she hastily scrubbed her eyes as she looked up at him.
“I’m sorry, Mori-senpai, I didn’t mean to cause you trouble. It was my fault, I should’ve been more careful—"
She froze in surprise as Mori sat down and unexpectedly pulled her into his arms, guiding her face into his chest.
“You should be more careful,” he said with a sigh. “But it’s okay now.”
Something about the way he held her made Haruhi cry harder, and she couldn’t stop even though it didn’t take long for her tears to soak Mori’s shirt. It was all so sudden, and yet it was strangely comforting. Mori’s arms were warm around her, and she instinctively leaned further into him, burying her face in his chest. He tentatively began to rock her back and forth with slow movements. Haruhi suspected that these tactics were learned from years of comforting Honey when he got upset. It was soothing, and while the rocking almost worked, she just couldn’t seem to calm down.
Mori, realizing Haruhi was still upset, said, “Let me know if you want me to stop.” Before Haruhi could ask what he meant, he did the last thing she expected—he began singing softly.
“Come stop your crying, it will be all right...just take my hand and hold it tight…I will protect you from all around you…I will be here, don’t you cry…”
His deep voice came from just above her ear, and Haruhi froze for a moment, then relaxed in his arms. She closed her eyes, letting the last few tears fall, and wrapped her arms around him.
“My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm…this bond between us can’t be broken…I will be here, don’t you cry… and you’ll be in my heart… yes, you’ll be in my heart…from this day on, now and forevermore…”
Haruhi had stopped crying completely and sat wrapped in Mori’s embrace. She felt his head shift, and then something warm pressed the top of her head. She froze in astonishment—had he just kissed her? Her whole body tensed, but Mori rubbed smooth circles on her back until she relaxed, and Haruhi filed the maybe-kiss in her mind for further thought.
They sat still for a while, neither really wanting to move. Still, it was a school night, and Mori unwillingly broke the silence.
“Think you can walk home?” he asked, and Haruhi was briefly saddened that the moment couldn’t last. She softly sighed to herself and nodded. He stood up and offered her his arm. She took it, finally smiling.
“Thank you, Mori-senpai,” she said, really meaning it this time. He smiled in response with a gleam in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before. They set out down the sidewalk toward Haruhi’s home. Mori had to slow his pace a little for her to keep up, but he didn’t mind. In fact, he wanted to go a little slower so that he could stay with her longer. He liked the way Haruhi had felt in his arms.
Mori continued to hum the song he’d been singing as they walked along. Haruhi, slightly embarrassed that she had caused so much trouble and knowing her father would freak out when she got home, couldn’t look him in the eye. Still, Mori’s arm was warm and muscular underneath her fingers, and she felt safe and happy.
“Mori-senpai?”
“Hm?”
“You’re a kind person.”
He looked startled for a moment, then his face relaxed into a gentle smile. He placed his hand on her head for a moment and let it fall. When Haruhi shyly touched his hand, Mori took hers and held it.
They walked on, hands entwined, as Mori’s humming created a soft barrier against the night. He whispered a few more words of the song, letting the breeze carry them away.
“You’ll be here in my heart, always…”