Hello there! How long has it been since I posted? Well, my parent stole my laptop, so I haven't been using it for the past two days (Don't ask why she took it. She probably does this for fun…) Right now, I'm working on my Dinosaur, a computer we've had since the early 90's, but it has Microsoft and works well enough so YAY. As for this story, I suppose you could say that it is dedicated to .Syrup. She left a nice and constructive comment and so I visited her page. I found out she was from CANADA (I have a thing for Canadians XD) and thought I should do something for her, just for that. After reading her page, I discovered that she liked gore and even put a (WHOO!) next to it, and I haven't written any kind of… serious and violent-ish stuff, so I'm trying it out. Since she left the comment on an Ouran story, I assumed she liked Ouran, and I could NOT pass up the chance of turning our Host Club evil. (ELEMENTARY, WATSON.)

And here's my first attempt at a sort of dark story.

~Otaku ^_^;

Secrets themselves are a paradox. The definition of a secret? Something that is kept from the knowledge of any but the initiated or privileged. However, the way most of us use it is something that we know, but the rest of the world has no clue of. A secret is something only the privileged can know. If you are the only one with this thought planted in your mind, then that is exactly what it is. A thought. Maybe an idea. Perhaps even a truth. But none of the above is a secret.

Ouran was no exception. Everybody here had their truths, and some people even had their secrets. The school was so proper. The halls were so clean and the students were all so beautiful… But this place was full of ugly truths and even uglier secrets. By a long shot, you could almost say that no one held a secret more gruesome than that of the Ouran High School Host Club.

Haruhi Fujioka was the scholarship student of Ouran. And when I say the, I do mean, the only one. Haruhi was the latest member of the Host Club. He was getting rather popular too, receiving almost as many customers as Tamaki nowadays. To name just one of the Host Club's secrets, Haruhi Fujioka was actually a girl. Haruhi wasn't really attracted to girls; this was just something she did to pay off debt to the Host Club for a vase she broke. But if she were to admit to anything, she was beginning to enjoy her time as a host. But I suppose Haruhi was not an initiated or privileged host, because she knew nothing of the club's biggest secret.

It's almost like a rule now. Everything that is classified will one day be discovered by someone, somehow. Haruhi's gender was information that no one ought to know, so of course, people managed to find out sooner or later. But somehow, whenever a person did, they had a habit of not getting around to telling others, of not making it their own secrets. Somehow, these people would even… disappear. In a snap, they found out, and in a snap they knew nothing at all.

The Host Club was known for being prestigious. They were their own best friends. Only people as high up and attractive as they were managed to get into this club, or even talk to these admirable boys. This fact rang true except in one case. The case of Nekozawa Umehito. While it was true, Nekozawa did look fairly attractive under the dark cloak and wig, the club usually only gave a second glance at those who were beautiful and embraced it. But Nekozawa hid his good looks away, and the boys of the club still treated him as an old friend, maybe even a member.

Yet another secret of the Host Club.

Nekozawa was head and chief of the Dark Arts club. Certain… qualities that he had attained were useful to the Hosts. They were useful to the avoidance of their secrets becoming public. Nekozawa was the best after all; he had been practicing his whole life. It was all Tamaki's idea, he didn't really like doing things the violent way…

o-o-o-o

Hotaru Shizumi drew herself up as best she could, walking with Takashi Morinozuka at her side. The two of them were walking with Nekozawa through one of the many tunnels he had discovered and established in, around and under the school. In her hands, she cradled a semi-automatic pistol, Hikaru's personal favorite. She tried her best not to let the sadness and anger show in her eyes as she obediently followed the dark figure through the passageway.

Hotaru was a lucky one. She had discovered the Host Club's secret almost automatically. It seemed like a natural reaction upon seeing Haruhi to mumble, "Isn't that a girl..?" In any normal case, she would be gone. Ridden of for good if the twins got their way. But Mori stood at her defense, and without the aide of Nekozawa's… merchandise, they couldn't do much against him. Hotaru could have told the secret if she wanted to, but she knew how dangerous that was. Now she was tangled in some sort of treacherous web the hosts had weaved. Had she told anyone, not only would she probably be permanently removed, she was putting Mori at risk too. The boy only had but so much authority over the club, Tamaki was the head. Of course, that may have just been an appearance, for it was obvious that the Hitachiin Boys pulled all the strings.

As for Nekozawa… he wasn't just in on Dark Arts. He had ties into the Black Market too. Achieving drugs and weapons that may be necessary to the club was something they couldn't pass up. Nekozawa? Oh he knew the secret too, and that was the only reason he did this. He did not have some strange undying loyalty to the host club. He was saving his own life by doing their bidding. He was just another one of the twin's puppets in their little Pinocchio act. Not to mention his sister. After the… adventure she had had with the hosts, they knew enough to establish a fear for her safety as well in Nekozawa's heart. So the shame of doing this sort of thing never struck him. He always blocked it out by thinking I am helping Kirimi. I am helping Kirimi. I am stopping them from hurting her. Nothing will happen to her if I do this…" and for the most part, it seemed to work.

The other girl had already been taken care of. It was Tamaki's way of acting like he was the good guy and he had done nothing wrong. Nekozawa was used for this too. The guns and drugs were only used as last circumstances. Nekozawa had mastered all kinds of things, one of his best works being hypnotism. He wasn't at the highest level available, so it didn't always work, which was why they had plan B, the arms that the Hitachiins were so fond of. While professionals used psychic and hypnotic abilities to help people remember events or past lives, Nekozawa did the opposite and made them forget. Tying a student down, Nekozawa could hypnotize most high-schoolers. Those that he couldn't had a higher level of intelligence, more resistance. Maybe the best thing to call them was stubborn. The first girl was not stubborn and quickly succumbed to Umehito's magic, barely putting up a fight. Her friend on the other hand, would have to be removed.

Nekozawa held the candelabra up to signal Mori and Hotaru to stop. Looking around him, they saw the girl, tied and gagged sitting on the floor. Fear and awareness of her surroundings filled her eyes. Hikaru and Kaoru emerged from the shadows, smiling in a dark way that made Hotaru almost feel… scared. The Devilish type. Hotaru wondered if Tamaki had known they were like this all along. Had he known that they were natural born killers at heart?

Kaoru took a few soft steps towards her, holding his hand out. Hotaru looked at that hand. It was as pale and dainty as it had been upstairs. When he was playing his part with his brother… when he had caught those two girls… It was as delicate as it had been when they injected that poor girl, as they tied her up and laughed. Something that looked so fragile and weak was out of place when matched with the laughter in his eyes. The coldness in his smile. Without a question or remark, she handed the pistol to Kaoru, who calmly walked over to the girl and bent over her. Smiling, he began to speak.

"Poor little girl… You must regret being such a big fan of Haruhi… Don't worry sweetheart, that feeling of remorse will be gone soon. And you won't feel a thing."

Hikaru walked behind the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder as he looked into Kaoru's eyes. "You'll remove the gag right before I pull it. I'd love to hear this lovely young woman scream." He commanded his younger brother, grinning as he took the gun from Kaoru's hands.

"On my mark…" Hikaru aimed the gun, close to her head but not so close that Kaoru couldn't tug the restraint in time.

"Get set…" Kaoru placed a hand on the knot tying the gag, ready to pull it.

"Go." Hikaru smiled and at exactly the moment he pulled the trigger, Kaoru pulled at the knot.

The girl gave a bloody murder, monster movie worthy shout right before the bullet shoved it's way into her temple and she went quiet.

Hikaru licked the muzzle of the shotgun, groveling in the taste of blood and gunpowder, mixed with the smell of smoke. Kaoru pushed the girl to the side and began to walk away. Nekozawa began to perform an unnecessary removal of evil spirits. Mori put a protective hand on Hotaru's shoulder, knowing that she was feeling fear right now. Not so much at the gun as at Hikaru's reaction. Walking past her, Kaoru dropped the gun into Hotaru's hands, not even glancing at her. Those hands that were once so delicate and weak were now showered in blood. The blood of someone completely innocent. But she said nothing of it as she turned and followed them back down the tunnel. Hotaru tried to understand once more how this worked. How each host was tied in…

Haruhi Fujioka. She was the cause of all this. It was because of her that innocent students were being murdered. They were having their memories taken away. But she couldn't be blamed. She was none the wiser to what this club had been up to. Haruhi was too good at heart. She wasn't a murderer, and she wouldn't let something like this continue. Even if it was for her own good. No, no. That was what the twins wanted Hotaru and even Tamaki to believe, that it was good for Haruhi. The real reason they wouldn't tell her was because she would ruin the twin's fun. They did not like to have their games stopped at the whim of someone else. Right now, she was probably upstairs, continuing her life as she normally would.

Mitsukuni Haninozuka. Completely innocent. He had nothing to do with this. He was the oldest but the most childish. A homicide would be too much for him. Certainly, he could keep a secret. He probably wouldn't tell a soul, but he may unintentionally give it all away. He would lose that immature demeanor. His actions would speak for him, and cause snooping in the Host Club's affairs. He was probably enjoying one of his favorite cakes, or some strange candy he enjoyed.

Kyoya Ootori. If he was a victim of any of the seven deadly sins, it was greed. Money seemed to be all that was on this boy's mind. If the discovery of Haruhi's gender took profits down, he wouldn't let it happen. There was no such thing as a desperate measure when it came to the money the club made. To put it simply, if money did not come in then he would do whatever necessary to bring it back. Murder was not a problem with him. If he didn't get the blood on his hands, he didn't see himself as the one to blame. He was probably standing lookout over Haruhi and Hunny, making sure that they didn't come across any suspicions, providing filler answers to their questions.

The Hitachiins were probably farther ahead in the tunnel. She could hear their happy voices. They laughed and giggled about how this homicide went right. About how fun it all was. She even heard Hikaru's lecturing tone towards Kaoru, probably giving him pointers on how to perfect the art of murder. They were certainly, as always, plotting how the next execution would play out.

As for Mori… she didn't want to know where he stood on this. She was afraid of what he might say; if it turned out she didn't know Mori at all. Perhaps he wasn't the gentle person that she thought he was… Did knowing really even matter?

Tamaki Suoh… Feigning his innocence and righteousness. Pushing out thoughts of sorrow and grief. Suoh was a lover, not a killer. But maybe being a lover could turn you into a killer… Haruhi was Tamaki's beloved. He valued her over anything else. It didn't matter that he was son of the chairman; he thought that he had nothing without Haruhi Fujioka at his side. That was the only reason this plan went through. He wasn't evil he was just… desperate. No one would take Haruhi away. He didn't want to see her change after being revealed. He didn't want to see that sadness on her face when the rest of the school rejected her. When the rumors about what really happened started. He wasn't certain about any of this but… he didn't want to take the chance and he wasn't going to. The other students didn't matter. Haruhi was the only one of any importance to him. Now? He was probably laughing and smiling with her, thinking I couldn't feel like this anymore if people knew anything. She would never be the same.

It was strange and disturbing how talented the Hitachiins were at feeding people such believable lies.

o-o-o-o

Hotaru parted from Mori as she stepped into the storage room for all the weapons the brothers had used. Shotguns, rifles… pills, spiked drinks, liquids marked with skulls and crossbones or poison. They filled the shelves in a sickening sort of way. Setting the pistol onto the two hooks she had retrieved it from, Hotaru finally managed to let out a sad sigh she had been holding in. She could have cried. She would have cried. But that would mean she had lost. She had fallen into this formation of murderers. That was something she would not do.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Hotaru turned around quickly. Standing there as he usually would on any other day, was Kaoru Hitachiin. The 'delicate' one. The thought that he showed himself as so sweet and gentle angered Hotaru. But, like she usually did with the hosts, she did not voice an opinion, and let things continue.

"Twenty-Five." Kaoru mumbled, looking Hotaru directly in the eyes.

"Twenty-Five what?" She asked, fully knowing that Kaoru expected the question.

"Murders. Twenty-Five murders and thirty-seven mind swipes you have seen. That is sixty-two disappearances you have encountered. But every time we finish, you come in here with the saddest eyes like you want to cry. Why don't you Hotaru, why don't you cry?"

Hotaru stiffened. She remembered what she had thought just seconds ago, but didn't dare repeat it. "Murder is something you don't just get used to, Kao-chan." She said the name in such a bitter and distasteful way that the word felt disgusting in her mouth. "It is something that you are born into. I, however, was not."

Kaoru smiled. It wasn't that demonic grin he had used back during the killing. It was the smile you saw on an average teenaged boy. Stepping forward, he placed a hand on Hotaru's head, rubbing her hair in a friendly way. "You really should try getting used to it, Hotaru. It's wrong to believe that someone is born into murder. It's often just something that peaks interest. Whether or not they advance in this… hobby is a choice. Hikaru chose to, not me. And as usual, I follow orders. It really isn't as bad as you think it is, you should try it some time." He lifted his hand and shoved it back in his pocket, still smiling.

A sense of rage filled Hotaru. It was bad enough that he had said she was wrong, he was suggesting that she commit murder. How long could she really keep this secret? The length of time had probably just been shortened. As proof, she hacked up the largest amount of saliva she could and spat at Kaoru's feet.

"I'm not stupid, Kaoru, you should know that. Believe me, I won't buy into your lies." She called, already walking from the door, and lifting a hand as if to wave.

Kaoru's smile grew. "I swear Hikaru, she has it in her. She's got that same murderous spirit as you. She just needs to let it out in a useful way." Laughing, he turned off the lights and headed back upstairs. Back into his normal life.

It was all as if nothing had happened.

I love making Kaoru seem worse than Hikaru. It's just something I like to do XDI know… I fail… there is now sadness seeping into my demeanor. I did this in one day as fast as possible. I don't want my dad finding out I wrote a story about murder! XD Meh. Even if it's bad, review review review! Tell me if you liked it or hated it, and DEFINITELY give me some constructive advice on writing… seriousness. Because we all KNOW that this really isn't my profession. Uh… what else should I say? Oh, I PROMISE I will get back to my other stuff when my parent bothers to GIVE ME BACK MY LAPTOP. Ciao!

~Otaku _;;