Chapter 4 - Cooking Up Trouble

When Haruhi got home that night Sai was sitting at the kitchen table alone with supper prepared. "You look lonely," the young girl giggled.

"I guess you could say that," Sai grinned. "Hungry?" Haruhi sat delicately next to the larger teen. "Hectic day?" Sai asked, taking in Haruhi's ragged appearance.

Haruhi slurped on her noodles content. "You have no idea. I missed all of my afternoon classes to search for Yuki." She sat her bowl soundlessly on the table. "She sure knows how to hide." Haruhi shook her head solemnly.

The ninja sighed. "Yeah, but that's one of the plus sides of being a vampire." His smile never left his pale lips.

"Vampire?'

"Vampire," Sai nodded. "You seriously didn't know that."

Haruhi shook her head. "Guess I just didn't really think about it?"

Her companion chuckled. "Vampires are very sneaking and powerful enough to hide themselves, even Yuki… if she tries hard enough."

The girl mouthed a soundless "oh." "Do all heroes have to have special powers, like that?"

The other teen shook his dark head. "Not really… I can think of several who didn't have special powers."

"Really?" Haruhi asked quietly staring at her now empty ramen bowl.

Sai picked up the dirty dishes. "Get some sleep, Haru-chan. I bet you're exhausted."

The brunette smiled gently at the boy. "Thanks, Sai. You're a great friend." Sai shot her a gentle, genuine smile. Then following the boy's advice Haruhi went to her room to collapse on her neatly made bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

~*(G)*~

A loud bang stirred her from her slumber. "Sai! Wake up! Come on Sai I know you can hear me!" At the mention of the quiet ninja Haruhi perked up.

What's wrong?! She darted into the living room still in her clothes from earlier, and on the floor in the doorway leading into the hall was Sai. The pale teen was sprawled carelessly on the floor his arms spread every which way. He appeared to be in a peaceful sleep. "Haru-chan, oh dear Ra! Do you know what happened? He's not waking up?"

Haruhi glanced at Yugi who was kneeling over the black headed boy. "No," Haruhi said breathlessly, "the last time I saw him he was cleaning the dishes." She bit her lip nervously. "How? Why?"

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this before." Yugi pulled out his cell phone. "Yuki and Kyo are on there way. They've got Nurse Joy with them." He went to lift Sai. "Could you give me a hand?"

Nodding silently, Haruhi helped the small boy lift Sai and carry him to their raggedy couch. "I'll go get Kaname… maybe he has some answers." Yugi darted off to Kaname's classroom.

Sitting alone with the unconscious boy, Haruhi gently lifted his eyelids to reveal his eyes. What the heck? Her heart stopped for a split second. Where the boy's dark eyes normally were was a solid wall of gray. They looked as though a thin film was covering them and keeping light and life from seeping into him.

Quickly she let the lids drop again. That's just… oh my… I…

A knock on the door interrupted her from her thoughts. She got up and smoothed out her rumpled clothes. Before she could open the door, however, Yuki burst through. "Sai-kun!" she cried. Swiftly the dark-haired boy was gathered into the small girl's arms.

"How's he doing?" Nurse Joy asked Haruhi. A decent sized emergency kit was balanced gracefully in her petite hands.

Haruhi shook her head. "Not so good. He's breathing steadily and his heart beat seems normal, but he's not responding." She swallowed nervously. "And I would check out his eyes? They're freaky."

The pink haired woman followed Haruhi's advice. She leaned over and gently pried Yuki off of Sai. "Oh my!" she gasped. "I-I've never seen anything like this before." She checked his vitals to verify Haruhi's statement. "Good he has vitals."

"That's a relief," Yuki replied all too seriously. Haruhi leaned against the wall, exhausted despite the fact she had just woken up. This all seems to be some sort of sick joke. I was just talking to him, and he seemed perfectly well. What could have gone wrong in such a short period of time? It has to be a joke! Any minute he's gonna wake up and they'll yell… "Gotcha!" Please let it be a joke…

She glanced over to Kyo who was standing quietly next to her. He was pale in the face and his sharp canines protruded slightly from between his lips. "He looks like Tohru, huh Nurse?" Nurse Joy nodded solemnly.

"Tohru?" Haruhi asked.

Yuki nodded. "Yeah she's Kyo's 'friend,' at this the young girl giggled and Kyo smacked her solidly on the back of the head. "They found her like this in the stables this morning. Must be related?"

A few seconds later Yugi and Kaname walked into the room. Yuki quickly jumped up to cling to her brother. "Is there anything you can do, Nurse Joy?" Kaname asked flatly.

"No," she paused, "he must me quite a bit to you guys." She smiled sweetly.

Yugi chuckled. "Nah!" Haruhi elbowed the young man. "… I mean, of course!" He beamed. "He's the best cook in our dorm!" Rubbing the back of his head the short boy laughed heartily.

Then he burst into tears. "Who's gonna make food for me now?" He wrapped his arms securely around Kaname's waist.

Rip! With one quick motion, Yugi's found himself face first in the shaggy carpet. "Is that really why you're upset?" Kaname asked, clearly annoyed. "How could you be so selfish?"

The smaller boy stood to his feet. "Hey, don't even go there, Mr. I'm-so-superior-than-thou!" Yugi pouted and placed his fists firmly on his hips.

Kaname raised his hands in mock defeat. "Just for that, you're in charge of food from now on." The brunette lowered his hands and headed quietly back to his room.

"Is he always so temperamental," Haruhi asked softly. She looked at the unconscious Sai. "He will come back, won't he?" she motioned toward the ninja.

The nurse gave a weary sigh. "It's hard to say really. If his case is like the Honda girl's then," she paused, "well… we're not really sure what's going to happen." Her eyes peered deeply into Haruhi's. "Could you and Yugi help me get him to the nurse's station?"

Both of the nodded solemnly. They then lifted Sai's limp body gently off of the ratty couch and packed his slowly out the door. Once they got to the station they ran into a young nurse-in-training. "Joy-sama! I ran the x-rays on Tohru-chan like you said to and you'll never guess what I found!"

Yugi and Haruhi exchanged hard looks. "Boys, I'd like you to meet Ruby. She's been working as my aid."

Ruby placed her hands against her face. "Yes… many, many things have happened to land me in such a situation." She gently swayed back and forth.

"Now if you would lay the boy over there," she motioned to a starch white cot sitting on the far side of the room.

They laid Sai softly down and their ears perked up to listen to the conversation halfway across the room. "Show me what you found, Ruby," Nurse Joy snapped her gloves on her delicate hands.

"Sure thing!" She pulled her over to the x-ray she had put up to display. "Do you see it? It's right there!" Haruhi looked slightly over her shoulder and Yugi tilted back slightly. They both stared at the x-ray on the wall.

Nurse Joy nodded. "Yes, but what is that thing?" Ruby gave a hearty shrug. "Have you checked the girl's eyes?"

The dark headed apprentice gave her a confused look. "No, why do ask, Joy-sama?"

"The boy we just brought in had a gray film over his eyes. We believe that he is the second victim of a phenomenon." Nurse Joy leaned over Tohru's unconscious body which laid near the x-ray display to check her eyes. "It's just as I feared! Ruby," she looked up at the dark-haired teen, "we have a major situation on our hands."

Yugi dug his nails into Haruhi's arm. "We'd better leave, Yugi," Haruhi said as she got to her feet. She winced as she pulled Yugi's fingernails out of her skin.

The younger girl pulled Yugi out of the infirmary, both of them walked in awkward silence back to their dorm room. Suddenly Yugi broke the silence, "Do you think Sai will be okay?"

Haruhi shot him a warm smile. "Of course! Now we need to get some sleep." Yugi nodded numbly in agreement. Haruhi watched the discouraged boy head to his bedroom. "I'm sure hope Sai pulls through at least." She went back to her room and fell into a fitful sleep.

~*(G)*~

Haruhi was floating in a pitch black sky. She couldn't see anything for miles. "Yugi!" she screamed into the nothingness. "Sai! Anyone!"

A force suddenly pulled the brunette forward. She felt as though she was being sucked through a straw like orange soda. When she finally stopped she found herself hovering over a group of dark-clad hooded strangers.

The deed has been done, my lord," the tall one said. His voice was deep and commanding. "The third victim should be discovered at any moment."

Another figure chuckled darkly. This one sat above the rest on a kingly throne. His red eyes shone brightly through the room. "Very good. Does anyone suspect what is going on?"

"No, sir," a thin figure chirped in. "Once the third victim is found and the students our informed chaos will consume the school." This figure stood immediately to the right of the red-eyed one with bright blue eyes.

The king shadow leaned back casually. "Excellent! This will allow us to continue our work discretely." He raised his hand nonchalantly. "You are dismissed!"

As suddenly as she had been sucked in, Haruhi felt herself being sucked back through the straw. When she opened her eyes the sun was blinding her. She glanced around the room skeptically.

"It - it was just a dream?" She slowly ran her hand through her messy locks. "B-but it all seemed so real. Th-these people," she shivered at the memory. "I need to tell somebody, but…"

Yugi burst into her room, a hand shielding his eyes. "Did you hear the news, Haru-chan?" The tri-haired boy appeared breathless and scared.

Haruhi shook her softly. "No, what news?" She stared intently at her friend.

"There's been another victim!"

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