The Angel Clad in White

A/N: Okay this is my first Ouran fanfic attempt so I hope it will suffice. ^^ I am pretty new to the anime/manga but from the first 5 minutes totally fell in love with it, so I just had to write a story about it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club. It belongs to Bisco Hatori.

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Chapter 1: Dead End Down Memory Lane

The last thing she could remember was slowly falling asleep against the soft grains of sand; the gentle breeze rippling her hair. The air was so tranquil she couldn't help but drift off into a slumber. Everything around her started to merge together and her vision turned to black...

The same breeze flowing through her hair awoke her. She opened her eyes expecting to see a peaceful sky but instead the heavens were filled with a startling thunder. Raindrops reflected off the water and settled into the translucent depths. Her hair was plastered to her forehead and her clothing clung tightly to her figure. Forcing her eyes shut she desperately tried to will herself out of the nightmare. It did no good.

Groaning she tried to sit up, but she was suddenly pulled back to the hard surface. There was a thick rope fastened around her stomach, preventing her from any significant movements. "What the-?" A roar shook from the sky and she screamed out, trying shield herself. Each time the electric blasts rocked her she cried aloud and shrunk into herself, her knuckles white as they clasped the bone of her knees. It was so close to her this time...

The fiery bolts struck the increasingly ravaging waves with precision and force and the shivering hidden girl felt helpless. She was scared of thunder. "How could I not have known that?" She whispered as a single tear slid down her face.

The noise gradually subsided and she carefully uncurled herself still breathing heavily and grasped at the knot trying to undo it. She pulled at the rope, sometimes feeling it gently loosen within her fingers, but every time she made any progress it seemed to re-tighten. Her patience and determination was lost after several futile attempts and she sank back into a comfortable position. She lifted her arms and rested them against her forehead. "What the hell is going on?"

It had to be a nightmare, it just had to be. That was the only explanation that made any sense. She closed her eyes once again and just listened; listened for a sign that she did not belong there. But none came. Whistling in her ear was just the empty slap of the sleep-inducing waves; the storm appeared to have completely stopped. 'Wait a second' Her eyes flew open. "Waves?" She had been completely oblivious before and she noticed now for the first time that she was in a wooden boat. Twisting her head she tried to survey her surroundings. Water... only the sea for miles around.

"I-I'm tied to a boat in the middle of the sea...?" No matter how many times she repeated it, it still held no notion. She supposed the continuous drone of her voice just helped to calm her nerves. But in reality... she was tied to a boat in the middle of the sea, and she was freaking out of her mind; but she coped with it the only way she knew how... silently. She wanted to deny the feeling of dread but as her precarious situation dawned on her, questions arose: How did she get like this? Would help come, and if so who would save her? She felt fear stab at her heart as she realised that she could not answer them... She really had to think; how could this have happened?

"..." Like a ton of bricks it hit her and she tried to form a word, any word, to make the situation seem less heinous. But she couldn't summon the speech. Her body felt unexpectedly heavy and she gripped her bindings with all the strength she could muster. Finally the numbness was over; she was able to force a single word through her hoarse throat. "No..."

She had no idea who she was. No memories of her past...

The thought gave her a head rush. She felt a desire to hold onto something to steady herself and though she was not falling she felt dizzy. She had no name, no past and no current solution to this unfortunate incident. She just wanted nothing more than to just vanish; to deny it. She couldn't face the truth just yet; there just were not enough positive aspects to it. She would wait out here, in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean, and wait for someone to rescue, no, to stumble upon her. As much as the situation called for it, she was not going to be recognised as the damsel in distress.

"So now all I've got to do is wait?" She questioned no one in particular, maybe herself, but she didn't get an answer. Sighing she lowered her head and tried to get as comfortable as possible in her restraints. She fixed her gaze upwards and spoke to the midnight sky. "Mom, I hope you're doing ok in heaven. Things aren't going so well down here; I'm not sure if I'll get through this... M-maybe I'll see you again soon" She released a weak laugh though the joke wasn't funny. "But I miss you Mom, keep me company tonight." She closed her eyes and entered her dreams. She had no nightmares. Not that night.

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A vision in white approached her as she awakened and at first, with the dripping golden locks of hair, white billowing shirt and with her seemingly impossible salvation, he reminded her very much of an angel. Her head was throbbing intensely as she stared at the image of perfection striding ever closer. The brightness began to sting at her eyes and she found herself wearily closing them, forcing out all sunlight. She felt his movements as the waves he pushed forward licked the side of the boat. Dizziness enveloped her and she began to drown in the blackness. She heard the angel call out, "Haruhi!" a name perhaps? Her name?

All sound started to fade and she thought that perhaps that it was only a dream. But then a strong hand cupped her face and with a quick slash her limp body was released and taken into his embrace. "I found you." Pain suddenly seized her and as she screamed out she lost consciousness, falling against the angels broad shoulders. Was this really the end? She knew nothing after that.

He stared down at her weak form and buried his head into her salty hair, breathing in the scent. Her clothes were soaked and her hair, usually silky, was matted. She had screamed and seemed to have passed out again; so he had searched for the cause of this outburst and had discovered a reddening sprain on her ankle. There was no conceivable reason to ever leave her like this. He gathered her up in his arms and began to wade towards the shore, keeping his line of vision on the golden grains of sand ahead. She weighed almost nothing and he barely felt her presence as a burden. She fit perfectly, her head nestled in the crook of his arm, just like she belonged.

As he lowered her down onto the ground sand became embedded within her hair and just added to the tangled mess. It clung to her and gently exfoliated her softened skin. The angel collapsed beside her, finally relenting under the exhaustion and crawled up to meet her face. He lifted a hand and traced her jaw line with his thumb, repeating the action several times and she in return murmured in her sleep and unconsciously raised a hand to brush against his chest. He became rigid at her touch and raised his body to stand. He felt a spray of sand upon his legs and looked up to see someone run up beside him to halt and stare, unsettled by the girls shaken state. "Is she...?"
"She's alive."

The boy with sandy hair stood in silence and his shoulders seemed to slump. "So, she's just asleep?" He began rubbing his hands together, relieving his anxiety. "That's good..." As the angel leant down to inspect the quiescent girl the sound of crunching underfoot reached his ears and he turned to see the sandy haired boy running away towards the whitewashed buildings. He did not follow, as he said only to himself, "he'll get over it." With that he whipped out his mobile phone, shook the water out and efficiently dialled the numbers. It picked up after only one tone. "Kyoya, I need a favour."

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The heat against her forehead intensified and she groggily moaned batting her hands around in front of her as if that would banish the morning brightness. Opening her eyes against the fray of the luminous outdoors she noticed that she seemed to be in a large room. The sunlight entered through the immense windows, from which she suspected the entire beach was visible, and was then framed by beautiful baroque pillars. She could see the elaborate furnishings adorned throughout the chamber and had to wonder, what place was this? It all seemed very superfluous to her. Each item that resided here was significantly detailed way beyond its need and even the curtains, which could have been light and airy, were heavy, dragging on the floor and were held back from the windows by hooks made of gold. She had no doubt that if the curtains would be allowed to fall they would drench the room in darkness even on the brightest day.

The bed she currently rested in was a white wood stunningly carved on the headboard and on the legs leaving almost no space for constructional practicality. The pillows were satin and there were a great many of them in assortments of different colours and sizes. Some were outlined with tiny jewels; others were attached with tassels, heavy with thick luxurious thread. The quilt itself under which she was positioned was simple in comparison, garnished with no jewels or beads but instead a simple design was printed onto the airy fabric. It was not stuffed with feathers, as the pillows but was in fact just a thin blanket.

Due to the faded colour and creases she could tell it had been much-loved and used within its life-time but it didn't belong in the eloquent room; of that she was certain and she could almost feel an air of hostility radiating from the other items in the room. Although the design of the furniture was simply beautiful it seemed cold somehow and she suddenly felt that along with the blanket, she didn't belong. She sighed, running her eyes down the blanket trying to figure out why she was here in this room. But as she neared the edge of the bed her gaze stumbled across a strong hand, smoothing the pleats in the quilt that her movements had created.

He was blonde, she noticed, and his hair a far cry from the usual radiance was tangled together in a pleated mess. Though it still shined it looked as if he hadn't taken the time to care for it in days. He had an angular jaw and a slim nose and his eyes, usually hidden by his lustrous mop of hair, were slim and contained all emotions his face could not express. Sometimes he looked as if he struggled between three or four different emotions at once. But now these violet orbs were turned towards her and staring into them she suddenly recognised him as the angel who had freed her the day before. If it had not all been a dream...

She took the few moments while he stared at her worriedly to study what he was wearing. It was casual to say the least but still held airs of elegance and she somehow knew it had not come cheaply. He wore loose jeans stonewashed a deep blue and the same white shirt he had donned the day before except this time he had on a red shirt underneath. The top gathered slightly as he extended an arm to brush her hair from her eyes. "Don't worry, we are safe now." Was he talking about yesterday...? Seeing her dazed expression the angel perched upon the bed smiled reassuringly.
"Are you feeling alright?" He asked.

She leant forward, balancing her arms upon her knees and ignored his question. "I'm sorry, but where exactly am I?"

His startled expression worried her for a second but he soon laughed it off. "You mean to say you do not remember this place?" He smiled again.

His optimism confused her. She had no idea of who the person was before her but he seemed to know her quite well. She wondered if he had any idea of what had happened to her. "I've been here before?"

"Why yes many times, you do not own a passport remember!" Then she pondered why whether or not she owned a passport had anything to do with the situation. Hugging her knees tighter and keeping silent, she stared down at the sheets. She had no idea what to say in response to such a statement but she briefly thought whether or not to enlighten the young man a little.

"Aww!"She was suddenly enveloped into a deep hug. "You look so cute when you're confused!" She was practically suffocating, pressed against the warm body as the white shirt wrapped around her. Groaning she decided to let him wallow for a while.

Eventually he released her and registered her extremely annoyed expression. "Haruhi...?"

Her head suddenly snapped round to face his. "Is that my name?"

"W-what?"

"Is it? I heard you call that before."

His sweat-dropped and he found himself just staring into her eyes incapable of speech.

"Is that my name?" She asked again unnerving him slightly. She stared him down, noting his expression did not contain any of the vivaciousness it had before.

"Wh-what are you saying?"

She drew in breath. He had wallowed enough and the present was as good a time as any to admit to the angel and to herself the truth of what she feared. She shrugged as nonchalantly as ever and said "I guess I'm saying I have amnesia. At least I think I do."

The words grated against his skull. It couldn't be true... He blinked. Then he blinked again. And then he exploded. "YOU HAVE AMNESIA!!! HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM ABOUT THIS?" He waved his arms about in an exuberant mass of tears. "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? DID THAT BASTARD KNOW ABOUT THIS?" She leant down in the bed watching his display with partial interest. 'What bastard...?' She thought.

Suddenly he froze, pausing his antics and turned gradually with robotic movements to face her, tears still streaming silently down his face. He didn't understand at all. How could she seem so unfazed by this? The girl before him had amnesia and she was just sitting there on the bed while he cried enough for them both. What the hell was wrong with her? How did he get stuck with such an indifferent heroine? Then, shaking his head he abandoned all previous thoughts and began to question her. "What's the last thing you can remember?" He chose his words carefully. "What do you currently know about your life, do you remember m-" He shook his head again, evidently calmer than before. "Do you remember what happened before the moment you awoke in this room?"

"Hmm..." She raised a finger to her lips and adopted a concentrated expression. "I- I remember being on a boat, I was tied to it. Then I saw... an angel?" She waved the idea away and laughed. "No that's ridiculous, that can't be true, right?"She tilted her head and smiled.

She dismissed the slight blush on his cheeks as he extended himself up to his full height and brushed his hair back from his face. He stared at a distant poignant memory, smiling into the distance and began his animated speech. "You poor child, you have been through so much just in these past few days, to think of losing one's memory, oh it is completely unimaginable, and the thought of what might have happened if I had not been there to rescue your tortured soul! It bears no meaning! Yes I was the angel clad in white you so clearly admire. I was the sunshine when your sky was filled with thunder!" He pumped his fist up in the air with enthusiasm, "Don't you worry my dear! Daddy will protect you!"

He kept the stance for a few minutes, looking quite the protagonist he thought himself to be, while she still sat on the bed, fuming. "YOU ARE NOT MY DAD SO QUIT IT ALREADY!" she growled downsizing him. He toppled to the floor dramatically and the tears started. "Oh how could you say that to someone who cares for you so dearly! Have I not brought up the way a loving father should? I protected you with my life!" He brought his knees up and clasped his arms around them proceeding to sulk, muttering: "I see you require lessons in etiquette young lady... That is not the proper way to address a savoir like moi!" A dark aura surrounded him and she sighed, wondering how she could have thought that a baka like this was in any form an angel.

"How would you know I am not your father anyway, did you not say you have no memories pre-dating yesterday? I adore and protect you like any father would!" He swung around to grasp her wrists and bring his face level with hers. "Are you saying... are you saying that while you have forgotten everything else, you... you remember me? He was giggling like a small child and 'happy' tears were streaming down his face. "You remember me!"
"NO!" With the palm of her hands she pushed his face away in aggravation. "No, I do not remember you, and I'm not stupid! You're obviously around my age so how the hell could you be my father!" She found it hard not to slap his annoyingly handsome face. "What a moron!"

His arms were still outstretched from where they had previously cupped her face, which in return was still hot from the memory. Watching his devastated expression she thought that perhaps she had been a little harsh. "Did we know each-other well before...?" She touched his hand gently and it shot from underneath hers to rub the back of his neck, and he seemed to quickly make a decision before again turning to her and laughing nervously.
"No, not at all I'm afraid." He paced the room, turned and repeated the pattern. "When I saw you for the first time yesterday, oh it was as if an angel had appeared-" She flinched, blushing at his word describing her. "-before me, and I thanked the heavens for I am now blessed with your company my darling." He sat down on the bed again leaned forward and chastely placed a finger upon her lips. His compulsive tendency to show-off aggravated her but had also inadvertently caused her chest to tighten. But for now she ignored the feeling.
"Don't try and confuse me!" she yelled, slapping his hand away. "Do you know me or not?" She gazed at him, tawny eyes questioning him and with a sigh he relented and bowed his head.

"No." It was an unusually short sentence for the guy standing before her. Though she had only known him for a couple of hours, as far as she knew, he had already expressed his most annoying habits to her. He seemed so easy to comprehend, the sort of person who wore his emotions on his sleeve. She used to think she was perceptive; but as he spoke this single word she realised there was a lot more to the angel than what he wore on his sleeve. He was hiding something from her... Of that she was certain.

"No?"

"We don't know each-other."

"But... my name... How did you know...?"

He clasped his hand to his head, closed his eyes and twirled round on his heel, not wanting to meet her gaze. It was a while before he spoke and for a minute she heard a small sniffling sound... perhaps... emitting from his corner. "In honest truth..." he said "When I saw you that day in the water you reminded me of a girl I once knew." He had turned back to face her now and she could see that the skin surrounding his eyes was red and sore as if he had rubbed it with sandpaper. "Haruhi is in fact not your real name. I was just at the time, shocked..." and then he added in a whisper "you look so much like her..."

Again she saw another side to this strange eccentric person. Underneath the idiotic mannerisms he was really just a simple guy with a tragedy in his past. And to deal with it, he laughed he joked, he was overprotective... And now she realised that when he had saved her, taken her into his arms and looked deeply into her eyes he was thinking about...her. She was just a replacement for this girl he had somehow lost, by whatever means. She assumed that when he had talked about the passport and how happy he was when he thought she had remembered him, he was talking to this other girl. She felt almost betrayed, that just because she had lost her own past she had to be a replacement for someone else. No. But why did that name seem so familiar?

"So what do I call you then?" She asked. 'He must have a name' she thought, she couldn't keep referring to him as 'angel' it just didn't seem to fit anymore.

He was suddenly snapped out of the trance he had been staring into for the last few minutes and babbled out an answer. "Oh, y-you want my name?" She didn't want to know what he had been thinking about.

"Yes, that would be helpful."

He stared at her for a moment, as if he was unsure whether to comply. "It's uh, Tamaki. But you can call me your senpai" His hand had returned to rub the back of his neck nervously as if he needed approval.

She repeated the name, letting each syllable roll off her tongue with precision. "Ta-ma-ki..." She recognised it, of that she was sure. But was it just a common name? She lifted her gaze to quickly analyse it before bringing her face back to level with his. She smiled and tilted her head to the side. "That's a nice name!"

He immediately flushed crimson and within a second had leapt forward to devour her in a huge hug. "That was soooo cute! I'm lucky to have such an amazing daughter!" She rolled her eyes and sighed. He had started with the whole ridiculous father-daughter thing again. But... A thought suddenly struck her and she looked up into his wailing face. ...Daughter...? Could it be something had happened to this girl he had loved so much; something bad. He had spoken of how they looked alike and also of protection. Could it possibly be that as he had been unable to protect this girl and as they looked alike, didn't want to risk the same happening again? Was this the reason for his over-protective nature? As she saw all this in his mask of tears she admired him slightly and decided that she would let him protect her, just for a little while.

"Tamaki?"

"Mmmm?" The hug had formed into a tight embrace and he stood with his head nestled into the crook of her neck and his long arms crookedly wrapped around her petite frame.

"You can call me that if you want, Haruhi I mean. I feel familiarity with it, if it's ok with you, it can be my temporary name."

"..."

He suddenly zipped back to the corner of the room, pulling half of the bed covers with him, exposing her. She barely got time to register his expression before she noticed a new breeze of fresh air whip around her legs she felt extremely uncomfortable. A huge blush spread across her cheek as she realised that underneath the covers she donned a white nightdress adorned with girly frills; and as Tamaki, the baka, saw her picking at the lace he flushed a deep red. Having gotten over his temporary depression rather quickly he held his hands out in front of him and waved them in a defensive manner. "I-I uh... you were all wet and you could have caught hypothermia! I s-swear I kept my eyes closed the entire time!" The waving increased and he started to whine uncontrollably. "I was doing it to protect you!"

She took one look and rolled her eyes. "You are one kind of pervert senpai." Once again he retreated to his corner of woe in a huddled mess. She wondered how someone could go through this many mood swings in little over 5 minutes. She threw off the covers and swung her legs over the side of bed with her hands outstretched in order to touch his shoulder. "Look senpai I'm sorry- ARGH!" She fell to the floor cradling her leg in agonising pain. A hot searing pain flooded through her left ankle which felt numb to the touch. Tamaki was now towering over her, a look of horror evident on his face. "Oh I am sorry, it seems I forgot to mention it before..." His voice trailed off and he leant down to gently scoop her up, careful not to bash her leg. She struggled and twisted in his arms, all the while trying to examine her apparent injury. He tightened his hold on her, "stop struggling..." She took no notice and continued. "STOP STRUGGLING!" She stopped. She turned to face him and saw that he was eyeing her with a glare. "HARUHI!" He released her onto the bed and she flung the covers back around herself at once. Was he talking to her...? "Just let me explain ok?" She nodded. "When I found you, I discovered your ankle was sprained. The hospital was too far away so I brought you here instead" She wondered why he would go to this trouble for a girl he barely knew. And then she remembered. "A friend of mine is medically experienced so he fixed you up." She noticed that indeed her left ankle was bandaged quite heavily. "You will need to take it easy for the next few weeks, doctor's orders!" He combined the last sentence with a weak laugh, but she knew it was just a cover.

"You called me Haruhi..."

He nodded. "Yes, I believe that's what you asked for." He walked over to the doorframe and placed him arm up against it, caressing the wooden structure. "Princess..." Turning back to look at her he smiled once more, "Get some rest ok?" Then a second later the room was plunged into darkness as he flicked the light switch and walked out.

She turned on her side, cringing slightly at the pain emitting from her ankle, and just listened to his footsteps. They grew quieter but then they stopped and with each lightly treaded step, became louder. She felt the ground almost vibrate beneath her as he stopped once again outside the door. But when they started again the sound was only minimal as it signalled him walking away once again. She felt the distance between them grow wider and sighed. Why did she feel so safe with him...? Why did she recognise his name so easily? She finally fell asleep stretched out across the heavily pillowed bed as the questions filled her mind. Perhaps they would be answered tomorrow.

But whatever happened, Tamaki was still an idiot.

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A/N: I'm not sure if all the chapters will be as long as this but I wanted to just set up a lot of unanswered questions here. Sorry If the characters are a little OC, first story excuse ^^. And if any of you were confused about the fact she remembered her mother, don't worry it will be explained in time. I'd really appreciate some nice reviews. So please R&R it will give me motivation to write the next chapter, where I think I'll be introducing Kyoya. Anyway tell me what you think so far!