"Why is this so hard?" he thought to himself as he was listening to music and browsing the Internet for ideas. Hikaru bobbed his head to the beat, this making him look like he was somewhat cradling himself. Suddenly, he smiled as a song came on that reminded him of Haruhi.
Hikaru's eyes shifted back and forth before he looked up. "That's it!" he stood up at his desk.
"What's it?" Karou asked from the bathroom; he was brushing his teeth.
"I know what I'm going to get Haruhi for her birthday!" he grinned, more proud of himself than anything. Hikaru sat back down and went to order the item online.
The day of Haruhi's birthday came within a week's time. The original host club group gathered to celebrate eighteen years with their dear friend. They laughed and told stories of now and old times. Each gave Haruhi their gifts...all but Hikaru.
The day came to an end, and as Haruhi was leaving with all her new gifts, Hikaru called out to her. He ran up to her side. "Hey."
"Uh, hey?" Haruhi looked at him oddly. "What's wrong?"
"Here," Hikaru smiled and handed her a small box. "Don't open it until you get home."
She took the red box before smiling back up at him. "Thank you, Hikaru."
"You're welcome," he said with gentle eyes.
Haruhi got home quickly, since they held her party at the park. That, and it was getting dark at just three o' clock. She put her new things down at the door and quickly went to find a place to hide as thunder began to rumble. As she ducked under the table, Hikaru's gift fell out of her pocket.
When Haruhi went to reach for it, another rumble crashed through the air. She held back her scream. Quickly now, she reached for the box. The lid was lifted to a white iPod. Underneath was a note: "It's all charged up and ready when you are."
"That's odd," she tilted her head. She took the headphone and put them in her ears. "At least this will drown out some of the thunder." Haruhi played with it until she found how to turn it on, then played some more to find out how it works. Why on Earth Hikaru didn't leave the directions with it was beyond her. But, this gift made her smile. Now, every time there was a storm, she wouldn't feel alone. Hikaru was here with her, in the words of songs.
