Tamaki Suoh lies alone in a small room. His eyes are closed as if he were sleeping and his wrinkled, old face is creased into a smile. He is dreaming of a time he had loved, the one before the war had come to Japan.
Tamaki is walking along a path in a garden that is very well taken care of. It is part of the Ouran High School complex.
Tamaki Suoh moves in his sleep and stretches out his arms as if to a lover.
A young girl with short hair stands in front of him and falls into his hug.
"What have you been doing Haruhi?" Tamaki asks the girl.
"Waiting for you," she replies. "Let's go see the others, love."
Tamaki lets go of the girl, but she grabs his hand and they continue walking along the path.
Tamaki Suoh laughs aloud and wiggles precariously close to the edge of the bed.
"Hikaru, Kaoru!" he calls and waves.
"Tamaki!" Two identical orange-haired men in their early twenties wave back.
Haruhi pulls him towards them and they walk together, the two youthful men telling jokes and playing small pranks.
Tamaki Suoh moves slightly and his head slips off the pillow.
A tall man stands in front of them, his back to the group. They walk up to him and Tamaki taps his shoulder gently. The man turns, but doesn't say anything.
For some reason Tamaki feels a little uncomfortable.
"Hello, Mori," he says. "Where is Hani?" Noticing the absence of the small blond that was always with Mori.
Mori shrugs and the group continues walking along the path, a little quieter.
Tamaki Suoh jumps and falls off the bed. He doesn't wake up.
"Hani!"
A short, blond man in his late forties or early fifties runs toward the group. He has a long scar across his face and it contorts his face, making him look angry.
Mori catches his arm as he comes and the man nods and clutches a pink bunny that he is holding to his side.
Tamaki Suoh whispers, "Kyoya" in his sleep.
"Kyoya," Tamaki whispers, not believing his friend can be standing on the path in front of him.
Kyoya turns and pushes up his glasses. He writes down something in his notebook and moves toward Tamaki in an almost menacing way.
Tamaki steps back, but the group around him pushes him forward. The skin on their faces stretches until it is so thin Tamaki can see the way the bones are fitted in their heads. Their mouths slowly turn into insane grins and they laugh.
The Tamaki Suoh on the bed screams.
The Host Club presses against Tamaki, pushing him to the middle of the circle their bodies make.
"Look what you did to us," says the scar-faced man and holds his bunny to his chest.
"What? What did I do?" Tamaki asks, looking desperately for a way to run.
"You abandoned us," answers Kyoya. "You left us to be killed so you could stay alive."
"Yes," Haruhi says. "And do you want to see how we died?"
"No! No!" Tamaki Suoh thrashes around wildly. His grey hair falls across his eyes messily.
Tamaki is sitting in a restaurant and eating. He is laughing together with a friend. He looks at his watch and tells his friend that he has to go because he has to study for some tests.
This is a lie. The truth is Haruhi is waiting for him in her house where they had agreed to meet. Tamaki had wanted Haruhi to come with him to the restaurant, but she refused, saying it was too dangerous.
He stands up and grabs his purse. Suddenly there is a loud, metallic "Boom!" right in his ear. The restaurant flies apart. He is thrown up into the air. Now he is falling, falling…
He is back on the path in Ouran High School. Haruhi is standing very close to him. He feels pain in his arm and looks down. Haruhi has made a long scratch down it. He looks back up at her, wanting to ask, "Why did you do this?", but she has vanished. The rest of the Host Club forms a tighter circle around him.
Tamaki Suoh starts crying in his sleep. In the back of his mind he wishes he could wake up, but he does not know this.
The twins hold on to his arms and smile at each other. Their skull-like faces make the smiles seem crazed.
Tamaki Suoh gasps heavily and his dog enters the room. The dog tries to wake him up, but the old man is stuck in his dream.
Tamaki is sitting in a train car next to Kaoru. The train car is filled with people and many are standing. He is going to the "commoners beach" in the "commoner way" along with rest of the Host Club (who were in other cars because the train was so full) except Hikaru. He said that he was too busy, but Tamaki didn't really believe him.
Kaoru stands up. "Come on, Tamaki," he says excitedly. "Our stop is the next one. See, it says it right here on this map…"
Kaoru takes out a strange map and Tamaki bends down to look at it. Out of the corner of his eye he sees someone hugging himself gently.
'These commoners are so funny', he has time to think before the world is filled with sound and pieces of train flying towards his chest.
Tamaki Suoh screams and his head bangs against the floor. His dog barks, but he still doesn't wake up.
He is again on the path with the Host Club around him. The pressure leaves his arms and he sees that the twins have vanished, leaving two scratches on his upper arm.
Before he has time to run away, though, Mori steps close to him, his height making Tamaki seem very short, and grasps Tamaki's shoulder.
Tamaki is in a garden party. He didn't want to come, especially since Hani was not invited, but could not find an excuse to stay away. Mori was supposed to have come, but he had gotten sick suddenly.
He is standing by the bushes and some woman are stealing glances at him. Despite his age he is not married and hasn't even got a girlfriend.
He feels a tap on his shoulder and turns around. Instead of the simpering woman he had expected to see a black-masked man stands in front of him with a knife.
Tamaki just has time to see the knife coming towards him before he falls into unconsciousness. Later, he wakes up in a white room on a bed with all sorts of machines connected to him.
A doctor is talking to his mother. He is saying, "I'm afraid your son will die. He was stabbed in the lungs and has almost no chance of survival."
He is on the path again, a deep scratch on his shoulder the only memento Mori leaves.
Tamaki Suoh shivers and screams again, weaker this time. He looks older than ever before.
Hani laughs crazily, the scar on his face standing out against his tan.
"Do you remember how I got this scar, Tamaki? Do you remember?" He laughs again and steps so close to Tamaki that Tamaki can feel his breath.
"I remember, Hani," Tamaki whispers. "You don't have to tell me."
However, he is now standing on a busy street, waiting for Hani to come. A school is nearby and children are coming out of it laughing, joking and sharing secrets.
A woman standing next to him takes out a gun. He pays no attention until she starts shooting. She is shooting at the children and they are being hit. The ones that were not shot are running and screaming, trying to get away.
"No!" he shouts out loud. In a flash he is on the woman, fighting her, trying to make her stop shooting. All his memories of Mori run through his head and he knows he can't let as many people be killed here, like they were killed in the garden party.
The woman takes out a knife and slashes at his cheek. In the shock of being hurt he lets go of her and falls onto the sidewalk. He sees the butt of the gun coming towards him, ready to crash into his forehead and he knows he cannot stop it.
Tamaki Suoh whimpers quietly. He cuddles into his blankets, shivering. His dog stops trying to wake him and lies down, occasionally giving the old man a lick on the forehead.
Tamaki is left on the path only with Kyoya. He has a new scratch, this one across his cheek.
Kyoya looks up from his notebook and Tamaki knows it is no use to try to run away.
"Come with me," says Kyoya.
Tamaki Suoh nods. Tears stream down his wrinkled face, but he doesn't wake up.
Tamaki is standing next to a cliff. Above him is an airplane. Its flying is erratic, and it seems to be zig-zagging across the sky. Suddenly it bursts into a bright, bright light. Underneath it suitcases and people are falling out.
He sees Kyoya and Kyoya screams at him. Most of the words are unintelligible, but Tamaki hears two words. "…join me…!"
He nods and
The old man steps out of the closed window. A piece of broken glass leaves a long scratch across his hip. His dog stares after him and barks and barks.
Man Found Dead Underneath Window
Suoh Tamaki has been found dead underneath his bedroom window. The window was broken and Suoh has 6 deep scratches on his body. There is no sign of an intruder and suicide is suspected.
Suoh had an unstable mind, especially after the last of his good friends died in a suspected hijacking. (Continued on page 23)
(May the memory of those killed in terrorist attacks be blessed.
Write about either running or walking-High School Never Ends Challenge)