The Truth (Noemie and Mori)

Ronan was trying to find this Morinozuka guy, although he had only seen him in passing, he knew that Noemie had strong feelings for him and since he had found out what had happened between them and why, he was trying to fix things between them. Honestly Noemie was so cute sometimes but he doubted that she really needed to push the guy away, he was a Morinozuka...that meant that he could most likely protect her better than anyone else.

Although he had to say he was more than a little bit anxious to go and find this 'Host Club', why would he want to come across completely gay by entering? All he could do was hope that he would be able to catch them on a quiet day, or when they weren't open, a quiet word with Mori would be needed, he wasn't airing Noemie's problems in front of everyone, she'd hate him forever. Most likely she'd hate him now still.

Sighing a little bit as he approached the music room that Noemie had told him she had first found the Host Club in, he wondered if they guy would even see her, because to be honest he had the feeling that he didn't like him very much. Ronan could guess why though. Mori seemed to feel as close to Noemie as she did to him, and so, seeing him with her would make him a little jealous if he still did have those feelings for her.

With that, he opened the door and peeked his head around the frame, the club room was empty apart from the members of the Host Club, who all looked up when he entered the room, geez he hoped he wasn't interrupting something important, they all looked like they'd enjoy nothing better than to see him turn around and spontaneously combust on the spot.

"Hello, I want to request a word with Morinozuka-sempai." he stated, stepping into the club room "It will only take a moment, but I assure you it is of great importance."

Mori had been listening to some cock and bull story from the twins about how they were now fighting because no one could tell them apart. He knew the two of them well enough that they weren't actually going to be fighting at all. They were probably only doing this to boost their approval ratings amongst the customers. It was a shallow and, honestly, stupid, thing in his mind. He didn't think there was any point in this at all.

Sighing a little bit, he looked out the window. He was thinking about her again. He was thinking about Noemie as he so often did, especially since their rather large falling out at the onsen. Honestly he didn't even know what he was supposed to have done. Had he gone too fast? Asked too many questions? He just didn't know. Hunni and Kyoya seemed to notice his downer and Hunni stepped forwards,

"Hey Mori-kun you want to hold Usa-chan?" he suggested, holding the cute bunny up to his bigger cousin, "You could hug him."

Mori, who was in no mood for the obviously half-assed attempt to get him to lighten up enough to play his part, simple frowned before replying,

"No."

Saving them from more awkwardness, the door opened and a boy around their age entered the room. He was set to ignore the new arrival too when he asked for him by name and said that it was important. Standing up from his chair, he waved away the concerns of the other hosts and before gesturing for the other teen to follow him into a smaller room off to the side. Leaning against the wall, he looked at the other man firmly,

"What is so important?" he asked quietly, "Who are you? How do you know me?"

Ronan wanted to scream already, god he hated guys who didn't speak, it meant that he ended up rambling like an idiot at them. He didn't want to ramble like an idiot now, he needed to tell this guy exactly what Noemie had told him, and make sure that he was going to go and help her, because right now, she needed help and they both knew it, but, she'd not listened to him and had gone to the big competition anyway. It was the big price tag that had drew her to it, it would be a perfect last scam for her.

It was also completely idiotic and wreckless, there were so many bad guys there! All the criminal underlords and their best poker players, they would know she was swindling, and even if they had no proof they would harm her anyway and take the money. They were just those sorts of guys!

Following Mori when he took them into a side room, he sighed softly, so, he hadn't seen him around with Noemie then? He supposed that they had been keeping away from Mori as much as possible so, he wasn't really surprised. Ronan supposed now was the time to tell him everything, he didn't seem in the mood for dithering or pleasant introductions.

"I'm Ronan Schiffer, Noemie's friend from Switzerland." he stated stiffly "I'm here because she's in danger, and she was too goddamn stubborn to ask you for help, she told me what she said to you at the hot springs, and I know right now you probably don't trust her, and you definately won't trust me but just hear me out for a few minutes okay?" Ronan asked.

When he heard no objections to him continuing he did so, sighing softly he ran his hands through his hair;

"Well, Noemie's family recently lost a lot of money in the stock market, they were almost close to bankrupcy and because of that she's gotten herself into something stupid. Basically, Noemie is a swindler, she's a mentalist and knows how to read and manipulate people, since she attended school here she has been embarking on ventures to gain more money for her family..." he explained casting his gaze down to the floor.

"Some of those events are illegal, including underground poker games. I know you won't believe this but, Noemie only said those things to you, because she didn't want you or your family to be hurt by what she was doing in her spare time, not only the underground card games but loan frauds and online banking scams...I guess that's where I came in to help." he continued, resting his hands on his hips.

"So, basically, tonight is the culmination of the poker championship, there's a big game in town tonight, I told her not to go but she ignored me, Noemie is going to get hurt tonight you don't do something about it. She's stupid and wreckless for those she loves, but, that includes you Mori...I don't think I've seen her talk about someone the way she talks about you." Ronan grinned softly "Kinda makes me wish I had a boyfriend just like you, but thats never going to happen. So...will you help me?"

Mori had seen this other man with Noemie around the school and whenever he had seen her on the streets in the city. This man spent more time with her than anyone else. Was she no good for him too? Or was it just Mori she couldn't be around? Either way he knew more than a bit about the other teen,

"I know who you are Ronan Schiffer." he told the other teenager stiffly, his voice deep and dangerous with his anger and confusion, "She's in danger? Explain to me why she is in danger and I will decide if I can help her. I don't want her to be in danger..."

He listened silently when Ronan started to explain the financial situation that Noemie's family had found themselves in. It was a tragedy that such a thing could befall anyone but most of the time it didn't then lead to swindling and manipulation. A dark thought crossed through his mind. Just how good was she at manipulating people? Had she ever done it to him and he had not been able to notice? He liked to think not but there wasn't any proof either way.

Mori sighed a little bit when he heard the reasons why she had turned him away at the hot springs. Honestly did she really think that her being friends with him would bring scandel to his family? People had died in their dojos. That was a scandel. He sighed a little bit and shook his head,

"She thought that us being friends would hurt my family?" he asked, disbelieving and annoyed, "I see."

He raised an eyebrow at the comment about Ronan getting a boyfriend like him but moved over to the lockers that were kept in this room. Opening his, he removed a long oak wooden box. Opening it slowly, he withdrew a long, sheathed, katana from the box before putting the box away again. Slinging the katana over his shoulder, he turned to Ronan with burning fire in his eyes,

"Where do we go?" he asked bluntly, "I have to save my woman."

Noemie was sitting on a large round table of people playing poker, she was doing quite well at this game, she was managing to keep herself in the game but just enough, she didn't want to be winning big right now otherwise they would start to get suspicious. So, she was just taking her time making small time bets, winning and losing chips like a normal player would do.

Although, she could see that the others around the table didn't trust her, to be honest she wouldn't trust herself either. An 18 year old kid playing poker in a league this high with men double her age? It seemed way off even to her, and she hadn't been able to escape advances tonight either, apparently she looked 'just too cute' whenever she lost a hand. Of course, she was pouting and being sad on purpose but...it was weird to hear men so old say that.

It was getting to the time where the final draw was taking place, everyone was putting their chips in the middle, a big winner takes all kind of thing, and Noemie readied herself for the hardest bit of mentalist work she had done all evening, she needed to focus so hard but then make sure she didn't look like she was focusing hard. It made her head hurt. It was already pounding so badly before they'd even started the game.

***

A few minutes later, Noemie had won the game, and a big grin spread on her lips, of course, the men around her all pretended to aimiably cheer her on, but, they had very different things in mind when the competition let out, Noemie was prepared for that, and although she only had her driver with her, if she made it to the car she would be able to get home just fine she thought.

Getting up out of her seat, she didn't let her guard down as she recieved the money for all of the chips in a steel briefcase. Smiling softly she took the case, and tried to get out of there as fast as she could, this darn dress she was wearing slowed her down, it was tight fitting and showed her figure, but the slit didn't allow much room to walk at all!

It was as she left the club and made her way to the street the car was parked on, that she heard the chuckling begin, gasping softly she saw that her driver had already been knocked unconcious by a group of thugs, and they were drawing ever closer to her. One of them took up her arm in his large, and rough hand, yanking her closer to him so that he could inspect her face.

"Check it out Mirai, I never knew that the boss would have us mess with such a cutie!" he joked, and Noemie tried harder to get out of his grip but he only laughed and brought up a hand to slap her hard around the face "Now, you behave, stop struggling and hand over the money, and maybe that sweet little face of yours won't get beat up too bad."

"I can't believe a little brat like this managed to swindle the boss's top player!" another thug snorted, and came closer to Noemie, who merely stayed silent, not giving the thugs any ammunition, her cheek stung viciously and she wasn't looking forwards to the next punch "I guess not all of her is so little though," he chuckled and reached out to try and cop a feel of her, at this point Noemie cried out for help and was greeted by another slap.

Mori and Ronan had made good time getting to the place, even though they had to stop a few times to avoid having to explain why Mori was running around with an actual sword. As they got closer and closer to the club Ronan ended up falling behind when Mori, with a sense of urgency that he couldn't exactly place, began to sprint down the road towards the club. Honestly he had no idea how he knew but he just knew that she was in trouble, that he had to get there sooner otherwise something awful was going to happen to her and he would not allowed that to happen.

When he heard a strangled cry for help he knew that his instincts had been correct and he charged down into the alleyway, shoulder barging one of the thugs into a brick wall. There was a sickening sound of bones breaking and the man began to sob like a little child. Mori didn't blame him. That much force tended to break more than one rib.

Seeing that one of the two remaining thugs had a grip around Noemie and the other one was trying to grope her, Mori growled darkly and draw the sword slowly. It was a fear tactic, to show both men that he had the potential to kill both of them in the blink of an eye. The one who had groped her chickened out, turning tail and running like a bitch. The one holding Noemie gritted his teeth,

"Back off you freak!" he growled, "Or I'll break her neck! I swear! I'll do it!"

Before the man could blink Mori was on him, slamming the hilt of his sword into the man's nose, breaking it in a spray of blood. When the man let got of Noemie, Mori dropped the sword to the ground and grabbed the man by the throat with both hands, slamming his back against a wall as he choked the life out of the man in his silent rage. As the man gasped and struggled, Mori brought him down to eye level,

"You tell your friends... the next time anyone comes anywhere near her..." he whispered quietly, his voice rumbling and threatening, "I will cut your heads off and mount them on pikes. Clear?"

The man nodded, as well as he could with Mori's hands on his throat. Growling, Mori threw the man out onto the street and the man pulled himself to his feet before helping the man with broken ribs up. Together the two of them made their escape quickly. Waiting until they were far enough away, Mori's serious facade broke down and he rushed over to Noemie, hugging her tightly to him,

"I was so worried..." he whispered, his voice soft and gentle now, "I thought I might have lost you..."

Noemie didn't know what was going on when she saw one of the men being thrown into the wall of the nearby building, she knew that it was just a huge amount of force that made him actually crack his ribs...to be honest, she was just amazed that the guy was still alive, if he had been in a different angle then it could have been his spine instead of his ribs.

Snapping herself out of her daze when the man holding her tightened his grip she gasped softly and tried to get her hand under his grasp so that it wouldn't be so tight on her neck, but she couldn't, instead she merely felt the pressure leave completely when the protector she had was taking care of the other man. Dazed and confused she brought her eyes up to see...Mori!

Her heart slammed in her chest and a blush rose to her cheeks, oh Mori...he came to save her! That must mean that he still cares for her as much as she did for him, she thought, as she let herself look at him for a heartbeat before she found herself in his arms, being held to his chest. Winding her hands in his hair she hugged herself to him, she felt so safe with him here, Noemie didn't know what she would have done if he hadn't have come to save her.

"Mori...Mori thank you so much." she whispered softly, tears welling up and spilling down her cheeks, holding herself closer to him she sobbed onto his chest "Mori I'm so sorry I said such horrible things to you, I was so awful to you, I didn't want to...and it was so hard but I thought...I thought...iit was best, I didn't want you to be dragged into this with me."

Raising a shakey hand to rub at her eyes she thought she must look a complete state to Mori, her eyes red and puffy from crying, her body shaking, and her dress was more than likely ripped as well. But, she was just so glad she was safe, and that Mori had come to save her.

"I was so scared Mori..." Noemie admitted, her eyes still sparkling with tears.

Mori was holding Noemie in his arms tightly and he had no intention of every letting her go again. She was safe with him and he wanted her to be safe more than he wanted anything else. If she was safe then he could make her happy and if he could make her happy then everything would work out alright for them in the end. But right now he was being selfish, he was holding her so tightly and so closely because he loved her so passionately that he couldn't do anything but now that he knew that she was safe again. He would have to thank Ronan for telling him about this, for giving him the chance to save her,

"Shush... you don't ever have to thank me for protecting you. It's my duty and my pleasure." he assured her quietly, wiping away some of the tears that were now rolling down her cheeks. Seeing that she was beginning to apologise he kissed her passionately on the lips, dipping her low as the kiss continued. He wasn't just kissing her, he was trying to kiss away all of her worries and replace them with the simple assurance that he loved her. Breaking the kiss, he slowly brought her back up and smiled faintly, "None of that matters now that you're with me again."

She was wearing what must have once been a beautiful dress but right now it was torn and frayed at the bottom and one of her straps were snapped. Running his fingers through her hair, he rested his forehead against hers so that she could look at him,

"You don't have to be scared of them anymore..." he told her quietly, "This won't ever happen again because I've got you... I've got you and I'm never letting go again."

This neighbourhood was no place for her to be. She was too vulnerable and it would be filled with memories of fear and violence for her. Deciding, he scooped her up in his arms, carrying her easiler bridal style. Ronan burst onto the scene and Mori just gestured with his head,

"Grab my sword please."

With that he smiled lightly down at Noemie as he carried her gently away from the alleyway. He was cradling her in his arms. She was his one true love and he would see her protected from any and all evils in this world,

"Come on..." he whispered gently, "Let's get you inside somewhere. I think there is a hotel two streets over... you need to rest."

Noemie felt better the longer that Mori was holding her, but right now she wanted to be able to be as far away from here as she could be, she wanted to be with Mori and talk everything through, to be honest with him and see if he still loved her even though he knew everything about her. Honestly she felt like scum, for what she had been doing for the past months, she hated what she had to do, but, she had done it, and now, she would never have to do it again.

The more he held her and comforted her, the less Noemie shook, and she gently felt herself calming down completely, at least enough to stop crying so much so the tears that Mori wiped away weren't going to be replaced by fresh ones, she had been so strong the past few weeks, Noemie just couldn't hold it in any more after what had happened.

"But Mori I cou-" she began, before he pulled her in for a kiss, dipping her down, moving her lips against Mori's she returned the kiss happily, just so glad he still seemed to love her and perhaps they could move past what happened. As soon as Mori pulled away, she sighed happily and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly "You know...I forgot what I was going to say..." Noemie hummed distractedly.

When she heard that none of it mattered now, she gawped up at Mori for a few moments, and she smiled softly up at him; "Do you mean that...really? Can I...can I have another chance to be with you?" she asked, hardly daring to believe it.

Ronan?! Her thoughts switched to the friend that must have told Mori where she was going to be, although, she didn't think he would have come with Mori. Smiling softly at him, he merely smiled softly back, rolled his eyes at Mori and panted softly while he picked up the mans sword; "Great now I get to look like the psycho killer."

Noemie laid her head on his chest, her hand was still clamped around the briefcase tightly, she never let go of it, and it hung down as she was carried, the thought of a hotel sounded great right now, and she wanted to rest up, maybe have a bath if the hotel had one. Nodding her head softly, she stayed silent, and merely cuddled herself closer to Mori.

Mori could tell that Noemie hadn't been expecting the kiss and she hadn't been expecting his forgiveness quite so quickly. But the way he saw it, the damage had already been done. The best way to move past it was just for one of them (him) to just let go of the pain it had caused him so that they could focus on having a relationship like they both wanted. The kiss was apparently good enough to even mess up what she was going to say, which made him smirk faintly,

"Really?" he teased her ever so lightly, "Well then it must not have been very important. Best to forget it."

He smiled a little bit wider when she asked if she could actually have another chance with him. To be honest he wasn't sure that this wasn't still her first chance to be with him. He had completely forgiven her for whatever she had said and done to him after all. All he wanted was for her to be happy and safe with him. Being with her would also bring the loving feeling for himself too,

"You can indeed." he told her with a soft smile as he looked down into her eyes. He loved her eyes, they were so unique. His smile wamred, "You never have to worry, you'll never run out of chances to be with me. Not ever."

Seeing and hearing Ronan complain about the whole thing, Mori rolled his eyes a little bit. He was the one who had almost snapped a guy's spine by ramming him into a wall and he was the one who had just beaten two people to a bloody pulp. If anyone was going to be looking like a serial killer it was him. He had blood on his hands from where it had dripped down when choking the last man,

"You'll be fine." he told her with a small smile, "Not like you'll get stopped by police around here."

Carrying Noemie and her briefcase the short distance to the hotel, which was actually a decent hotel chain even if it wasn't as expensive as exclusive as it could have been. The receptionist carefully ignored the state of their dress with Mori (paying with card) book two rooms, upgraded both to business class and then added a generous tip for her. Accepting one room key, he left the other for Ronan before getting into the lift. As they arrived at their room, Mori wiggled a little bit until he was able to open it while still holding Noemie. He nodded to Ronan, who was muttering about them sharing a room.

Effortlessly carrying Noemie into the room as the door closed and locked, Mori laid her down gently on the bed before laying down on it beside her. He smirled a little bit,

"I think it has a bath too." he commented idly, "But I hope being here can relax you."

Noemie smiled happily to herself as he carried her into the suite, she was so glad that she was going to be able to be safe, she felt so secure with Mori, and if he wouldn't have come to help her she would have been dead or god knows where right about now. So, she didn't think about that much, apart from realising just how grateful she should be to him, and she was grateful, beyond words.

Running her hands up and down his chest she sighed softly, it felt so good to be able to be safe, and to have another chance with Mori, although she didn't think she would need all the chances that he had told her that he would give. One more would do. She knew that he must have a lot of questions, but for right now, she was just so happy to hear his voice again, she had missed it so much.

When he lay down on the bed beside her, Noemie's heart fluttered softly, he was so strong...so brave. Adrenaline was still flooding through her and she leant forwards capturing his lips in a passionate kiss, slipping her tongue into his mouth to deepen the kiss and make the sensations all the more pleasurable;

"I missed you, Mori-sempai." she admitted shyly, as she broke away "I'm so happy that you will allow me to have another chance to show you I deserve your love."

At the mention of a bath Noemie smiled lightly and wanted to get up from the bed, but, didn't want to be alone, even to cross the hall for the bathroom, she was just scared and needlessly paranoid she supposed, then again it was kind of understandable, or so she hoped.

"Just being with you relaxes me Mori..." she smiled shyly "Are you hurt? You weren't hurt when you...saved me were you? Come here...I'll help get that blood off your hands."

Smiling softly, Noemie began to run a sink of warm water, keeping herself busy stopped her from dwelling too long on what had happened; "I guess...you might have some questions."

Mori was so glad that they were inside a locked hotel room now. Honestly he had been half expecting to be attacked on their way back. A group of thugs like that had bosses and those bosses tended to have more thgus to throw at a problem than that. Of course that was from his very limited knowledge of such activities, being a rich boy himself.

When she kissed him passionately he happily kissed her back, having missed this contact even though they had only had kisses such as this one on one other occassion. Moaning lightly into the kiss, his tongue played against hers until she broke the kiss,

"And I missed you... Noe-chan." he whispered back to her. He tutted a little bit and gently stroked her cheek when she put herself down, "You've always deserved my love Noe-chan, it never changed."

He could tell that she liked the idea of a bath but liked the idea of just laying here with him relaxing a little bit more. That was fine by him. After all the bath was hardly big enough for him to join her. And he wanted to be closer to her. There was an annoying, irrational, fear that she would somehow disappear if he left her alone for longer than a few minutes. Hopefully that would leave when they were sure that they were 100% safe but he wouldn't hold his breath for that,

"I feel the same way." he told her with a smile before shaking his head a little bit, "Don't worry I'm not hurt in the slightest. I'm perfectly fine."

Following her to the sink as she began to run the water, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested her chin gently on her shoulder as the sink filled with water,

"A few." he admitted, whispering into her ear, "One that seems more urgent. Why didn't you ask me for help? Either financially or in protecting you?"

Noemie blushed softly and made a small noise of pleasure when Mori moaned, his voice was already so deep that the sound made her feel like she could actually physically feel his moan running through her. It was a great feeling and she hoped she would be able to make him moan a lot more than this in the future, although, she did wonder if he was quite ready to be with her in a situation like at the hot springs, Noemie was aware she must have hurt him so badly then...

"You think so?" she asked softly "I always tried to be brave and strong for you, I took on more jobs after we had the Onsen trip, so that I could be with you again faster, I was so tired, and I fell behind in my studies but, to me it was worth it, because it meant I could be with you sooner."

Hearing that he was fine, made her feel reassured, her face was still stinging a little bit from the harsh slaps, and it was strange but she felt like she could almost still feel that perverts touch on her breast from where he had groped her. The thought of what happened made her heart pound in fear again, she hoped that was the last she heard from these people, but, she doubted it would be.

"You're so brave, Mori-sempai." she whispered adoringly as she used a flannel to get the blood off Mori's hands, the water turning pink as she rang it out occassionally "Like my very own prince charming, riding in to protect me from harm...although, you wont have to do it again for a long time I hope." she laughed softly, her first laugh since they;d been at the Onsen together, it was strained, but, still a laugh.

As he pressed himself against her back, she turned her head to nuzzle against his own, and his question, although troublesome, made sense to ask.

"I couldn't, and wouldn't impose on you and your family financially..." she whispered softly "We barely knew each other when it happened and I couldn't look you in the face if I was in your debt for that much money, I'd feel so guilty...and...I didn't ask you for help because I didn't want you to know what I did. I didn't want you to be dissappointed and leave me...or, to think that I would try and swindle you about something to do with us!" she explained "I...I just thought it was for the best."

Mori's cheeks flushed a little bit when he realised that he had moaned into the kiss but he had honestly been unable to help himself, the kiss had just felt so good after being denied such pleasure for what felt like so long. He wasn't embarrassed that he had moaned (this was his Noe-chan after all) but it did seem to work to make himself more worked up like it did for her,

"Oh Noemie..." he whispered quietly, kissing her gently on the lips, "You shouldn't have worked yourself so hard... I would have waited for you. No matter how long it took I would have been waiting for you."

Although he was fine, that wasn't really the issue here for Mori. The issue, as far as he saw it, was how Noemie was. He gently touched her cheek, examining it. She was going to have a few bruises from their rough handling (that was a given) but she should actually be alright in the end considering none of them had hit her hard enough to do more damage to her high and delicate cheek bones,

"I'm not a brave person Noe-chan... I just can't stand to know that my precious people are in danger." he told her softly, looking up at her as he mentioned his precious people, "You are the person most precious to me Noemie Akenbauer. I will protect you from now on."

He held her to him gently, enjoying the way she lightly nuzzled against him. Smiling happily, he did the same, nuzzling her cheek with his own from behind even though their conversation had become much more serious,

"It wouldn't have been imposing... my family takes care of it's friends." he whispered in return before sighing a little bit. It seemed that her pride had played a role in her decision. He smiled faintly, "I know you thought it was for the best Noemie. And maybe it still is... but if you continue I will be by your side at all times. I promised to protect you and I always will."