In the midst of daisys.
Kaoru watched the flowers grow in their garden. It was two beautiful roses, entangled at the rooth. He watered them, and took care of them so they could grow and bloom. But he knew that they would eventually separate and after blooming they woud die.
Or maybe one would live...maybe the other not finding the strengh to survive alone would die, while the other would continue on his garden forgetting about the dead rose completely.
Kaoru coughed and tried to breathe properly. He could feel the blood on his throat and soon he would cough blood too, like expected. At least he chose a peaceful place to be when it happened.
He closed his eyes and tried to distract himself. To free his mind from everything that was sad and painful. But he couldn't keep his eyes off those beautiful roses in front of him. They were so unique. In the midst of daisys there they were, born in the wrong place, missunderstood.
His eyes went wide as one they slowly, because of the wind, started to separate their leafs, and everythign that kept them together. Kaoru chuckled and coughed some more, this time putting a tissue in front of his mouth, not wanting to stain that beautiful garden with his blood. He did not expect his situation to be so serious...he thought he was anemic or something, not dying.
He didn't know pneumonia was fatal either. He guessed that the coughs were because of a flu and the two times he fainted was because he had denied to eat a couple of times - well, a little bit more than a couple. He didn't even imagine that his brother did not notice his illness or paleness and would leave him to die alone, while he would go on a date with precious Haruhi. His mother and father wnated to be there but he chose to be alone, he would face the end with no tears, not his, not anyone else's.
He was different from everyone, liek the flowers in fornt of him. And he would face the end differently.
He shook his head. The reason why he decided not to die on the hospital on the first place was because he wanted to die happy on a beautiful place, leaving all that bothers him behind. He even had a huge fight with Kyouya about dying alone. He looked hurt for the first time. Remembering him of his friend and how he was the one, out of all people, there for him. But that was making him feel sad - and he would not die sad. He decided to focus on the roses again.
They were already separated. He wondered if he was hallucinating, because these flowers were growing way too fast. But they were keepng his mind busy so he ignored the amazing flower progress.
He looked at the sky, it was a bit cloudy and looked like it would get colder later. Not like he was going to be awake to feel the cold or see the clouds. So he didn't mind. He looked at the whole backyard garden in front of him. It was more like a park than a garden.
All flowers were especifically separated. Left last row violets, right last row there were yellow roses, front row on the left side, white roses, front row on the right side yellow daisys...everything was where it was supposed to be...except for them.
The red rose that as on the right side did not blossom yet, but the petals were falling. It would die before it could live. Before it could blossom and make people smile at it's beauty, before it got a chance to see what that garden was all about.
It would not know what it was that made them so different from the others and why the red rose on the left side wanted to be like the others so much. But Kaoru had the feeling that the rose chose not to know. That it prefered not to know. It would be a partially happy existence.
It brought him the peace he needed to go away. To forget all about love and pain...and Hikaru and Haruhi.
The wind came and a few more petals fell from the flower. Kaoru started coughing madly, blood dripping from his mouth. His body jerked forward without his consent and he lost his balance. He fell on the flowers next to the red rose he had been watching.
Blood was still coming out of his mouth. It was near the time. He was laying carelessly on the floor, one hand in front of the red rose. Like the rose he had been separated from the person he cared the most. He was forced to survive and live amongst the others but found no strengh to do so. The other flower did find strengh to be a rose and yet be beautiful amongst the daisys.
But Kaoru would never be able to live amongst the others without his other red rose. He would rather die in a peacefull death. It has been painful so far. It was hard to breathe and all of his muscles were sore. But he didn't care.
He wondered if the other rose would survive...would it be able to face all the daisys on it's own? Would it be able to continue to be different from the others around it? Would the other rose survive without the one he was entangled with in the first place?
He didn't know for sure. But he knew that the other was much stronger, for it faced the new and unknown alone and it did not crumble, it was not dying like the rose on the right side...
Kaoru looked up at the sky, the clouds were partially gone. But it was still a bit cold.
He looked at the garden and smiled. There was so much bto be known, so many places to go, people to see. And he would someday...maybe in another life. For now he would settle for peace.
For now he would watch the beautiful red rose and wait. He regreted nothing of his life, he lived the best way he could. He had guided his brother so far and this was as far as he could go. He would be there to make up for Kaoru's absence, he would live the happy life he was meant to. Kaoru would happily watch over him. And he knew Hikaru knew that. Everything was just as it was meant to be.
Kaoru felt his eyes start to get heavy, suddenly there was no pain at all. Breathing again he was surprised it did not hurt. Before it all turned into a blur he watched the last petal of the floor fall slowly into his hand. By the time the petal reached his hand, Kaoru's eyes were out of focus, his breathing had stopped and the blood was coming out of his mouth.
Kyouya entered the house with a concerned look on his face. They were not supposed to be back yet. He didn't know exactly what to feel. Happy that maybe he would catch Kaoru still alive? Sad that he would have not accomplished his friend's last wish?
The Hiitachin's parents entered slowly also, a look of grief was in their face, kaoru's mom almost crying.
Hikaru entedre laughing with Haruhi, blind at the things that were happening around him. Even though Kaoru taught him to see the signs he missed very important ones. He watched his brother lead his way into death but never did a thing. Because he never truly saw his brother.
And now he would never see him again.
"Kaoru!!" Hikaru started screaming, calling for his brother with a big smile on his face. He just had a great date with haruhi. Kyouya did not want to ruin everything by annoucing Kaoru's death. Obviously he was already gone otherwise he would have answered. Kyouya put his cold composure back and swallowed whatever emotion he felt.
"Hikaru why don't you stay at Haruhi's house today? Kaoru was not feeling very well this morning remember? It won't be good if you get in the doctor's way." He said, his voice barely abova a whisper. Hikaru's face turned from happy to suspicious.
"All the more reason for me to stay with him!" Hikaru said and smiled. Kyuoya had to hide his eyes behind his glasses. It was too late to worry about him. Too late to spend time with him.
"Maybe you could persuade your son, I will go check on Kaoru." Kyuouya said to the Hiitachins, who nodded and stayed talking to Hikaru and Haruhi while Kyouya looked for Kaoru.
The rest of the Host Club was there too and they could sense somethign was wrong. They were trying to get Hikaru out of the mansion but Hikaru just got more and more pissed off.
Kyouya finally reached the destination where Kaoru was. It took him sometime to figure out where Kaoru would choose to die btu he found him.
His body was pale, limp and cold laying on the grass, around him there was a bunch of daisys. His eyes were still open. they showed joy and peace, finally rest. In his hand there was a red petal of a rose. He noticed another rose right beside the dead one.
He couldn't help but cry. He was dead...turth he hoped he could break the promisse and see Kaoru one last time. He did not know why he cared so much about this fake family but losing a "son" was killing him.
He had died for such a stupid disease. Pneumonia. With the money they had he could have gotten healed in a blink of an eye. But he delayed the visit to the hospital. he locked in his room lied to his brother - who believed he only had a flu - and closed himself.
hikaru still did not know how serious his brother's illness was. Kaoru had said he prefered to advance his death and kill himself than to have Hikaru by his side only because he pitied him.
Kyouya was so absorbed in his own thoughts and worries he did not even notice he was crying. He noticed even less the screaming red head behind him.
Hikaru screamed with all of his lungs. He called his brother's name, he asked for Tamaki and Mori to release him and let him be by his brother's side, let him punch Kyouya for not saying anything. He screamed that no, it could not be true. Kaoru could not be dead.
After struggling so much he got tired and fell to his knees, crying. So did everyone else. Mrs. Hiitachin put Kaoru's head in her lap and stroked his hair, like he was still alive. his father was standing observing him, tears slipping and falling on Kaoru's face.
Hikaru crawled next to Kaoru and held his brother tightly holdgin his waist. He whispered the same phrase over and over again.
"Take me with you Kaoru...don't leave me here, please don't do this." He continued whispering. No one stopped him. For brother's so united like Kaoru and Hikaru it was a expected reaction.
After - with a lot of fighting and yelling - they got Hikaru to let go of his brother's body they explained what happened.
He was enraged first. Not understanding why his brother would do such a thing. But he accepted afterwards.
They all discussed about the funeral and how it should be done. The funeral was short and filled with tears and sorrow. hikaru insisted on buying a space beside his brother for him. so the day he died he would be beside the one he loved.
A couple of months later the garden was back to normal. All the flowers that were crashed or stained by Kaoru's and his blood were removed and replaced by new ones. The remains of the dead red rose were removed also.
No one believed a flower could live for such a long time. But after surviving aloen in the midst of daisys for such a long time...the rose began to die. Petals slowly falling, one, than two, three, and soon there were four per day.
On a cloudy afternoon the spot beside Kaoru was used. There was no more out of place flower in the garden. Both of their petals were thrown above the coffins, inside the graves.
the garden would never be the same. For they had knwon beauty beyond what they imagined. Two roses that told a story of a lifetime. Two souls that couldn't live apart, two red roses in the midst of daisys.