^_^ I got this idea earlier when I was working on the second part of Dark Waltz. I had been on a friend's profile and saw this poem, and this story idea came to mind.
The poem is from the Virgina Tech shooting, so I made a similar situation for Ouran. You may see this as slight AU if you wish.
Watch out for Character Death. Other than that, enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club.
Try Not To Cry
Everybody assumed that it was just going to be another old day at the prestigious Ouran Academy. Nobody expected what would happen later that day. It not only would shock the students with what happened, but also scar the High School for the rest of Ouran's days, not to mention hurt countless families.
Mommy...Johnny brought a gun to school,
He told his friends that it was cool,
It started during an assembly that the whole High School had been required to go to. He… He just walked on stage in the middle of the assembly and pulled it out of his uniform jacket. At first everyone thought he was kidding, but when a shot went in the ceiling, everybody was deathly afraid.
Why was he doing this?
And when he pulled the trigger back,
It shot with a great, huge crack.
"Senpai!" One of the kids had shouted out. "Don't do this!" And the gun was turned on the kid. His eyes were merciless, hers were frightened, yet she remained calm.
"Don't do this!" She repeated, and a crack echoed through the room. She saw red as she fell to the floor.
Mommy, I was a good girl, I did what I was told,
I went to school, I got straight A's, I even got the gold!
Panic ensued, and it was obvious that everybody wanted to run right then and there. But they didn't. They didn't know how he'd react. He'd already shot one student- how many more would go before help got there? Was help going to get there?
One student was trying to get up to go after the fallen student, but others were restraining him. The gun turned on him.
"Sit down." The boy snapped, and he was yanked back into his seat.
When I went to school that day,
I never said good-bye.
I'm sorry that I had to go, But Mommy, please don't cry.
A student was on his cell phone. It was obvious that he was trying to get help- or perhaps, he had already gotten a hold of help? Nobody knew. The only thing anybody really knew was that before they realized it, the cell phone was on the floor, and the boy was cradling his hand, a scowl set on his face.
They were lucky that he wasn't dead. And the message was set quite clearly. No cell phone use or the next person would die.
When Johnny shot the gun, he hit me and another,
And all because Johnny, got the gun from his brother.
One kid had the audacity to try and leap on stage and get the gun himself.
Needless to say, the boy was dead.
Mommy, please tell Daddy; That I love him very much,
And please tell Zack; my boyfriend; That it wasn't just a crush.
One hysterical girl stood up, crying and furiously resisting her friend's attempts to sit her back down. She broke free and ran to the dead boy, bawling her eyes. The boy with the gun shouted at her to stop her pathetic crying, but she didn't- she couldn't. She loved him too much.
Another crack rang out, and she was the second one officially dead. Just how she would've wanted, a few said later, after the ordeal. (They were set to be married, and she loved him too much to be without him.)
And tell my little sister; That she is the only one now,
And tell my dear sweet grandmother; I'll be waiting for her now
The boy was extremely irritated now. He turned to one kid wearing a cloak and told him to take the 'F-ing' thing off or else. He refused, proclaiming the boy would be cursed if he did anything.
And the third body fell to the floor, along with a small cat hand puppet.
And tell my wonderful friends; That they always were the best
Mommy, I'm not the first, I'm no better than the rest
"Stop this!" Another demanded while the superintendent ordered him to sit down. "What did we ever do to you?!"
The gun whirled to the boy. It trained itself on the boy as the reply was spoken.
"What didn't you do?"
And the gun cracked and the boy was pushed aside as the bullet implanted itself in his shoulder.
Mommy, tell my teachers; I won't show up for class,
And never to forget this, And please don't let this pass
One kid starts crying, and the gun is trained on the crying kid. The shooter eyes the kid with taste.
"What's a little kid like you doing in the high school?" He snaps. The kid only keeps crying, and the gun goes off again.
The bullet embeds itself into the chair.
Mommy, why'd it have to be me? No one, though. deserves this.
But mommy, it's not fair, I left without a kiss.
Within ten minutes, the death toll is ten. No one knows why this is being done, but no one wants to ask. They already knew what would happen if they dared to ask.
But no one needed to.
Because after another five minutes, police come storming in.
And Mommy tell the doctors; I know that they really did try
I think I even saw one doctor, trying not to cry.
Eight more are dead by the end, with at least five seriously wounded. Ambulances are waiting outside, and there is no argument over which goes first, there is no stampede for the door to escape.
The shooter is dead, not counted among the toll.
Mommy, I'm slowly dying, with a bullet in my chest,
But Mommy please remember, I'm in heaven with the rest
The boy who saved the girl is sent out first, no one stopping a mirror image of him running after the men taking him out, despite the scratches on his face from where the bullet grazed him.
When I heard that great, big crack, I ran as fast as I could
please listen to me if you would,
The boy the superintendent tried to stop from talking went next, paramedics worrying that the bullet may have clipped his lung. After him at least three more are sent. Several kids wish they hadn't gone to school that day.
I wanted to go to college, I wanted to try things that were new
I guess I'm not going with Daddy, On that trip to the new zoo
The dead are released next, different cops and such covering the eighteen kids. The eighteen children who had once been sons or daughters; fiancés; cousins; brothers or sisters. The kids who had tried to help them all, or the kids who had just gotten in the way.
I wanted to get married, I wanted to have a kid,
I wanted to be an actress, I really wanted to live.
The girls were released after that. Class 1-A through Class 1-D, then the second and third classes in the same order. The boys were released in the same manner, all of the kids rushing out to either see their families who were all waiting impatiently to see their children alive, or to see the paramedics.
Needless to say, eighteen families had not gotten that joy of seeing their child alive after such an ordeal.
But Mommy I must go now, The time is getting late,
Mommy, tell my Zack, I'm sorry I to cancel the date.
He who had called for help had a broken wrist, something he thought was a nuisance. Others thought it was heroic because he had managed to get them all help with only receiving a broken wrist. There was only one other thing that he had found a nuisance, and that was the fact that they had two of the club out of commission for who knows how long.
I love you Mommy, I always have, I know you know it's true
And Mommy all I need to say is, "Mommy, I love you"
At least they had been placed in the same room, though both Hikaru and Tamaki had fussed. Tamaki had fussed that he 'shouldn't have to put up with that devilish twin' while Hikaru had protested, 'Kaoru doesn't need to suffer through sharing the same room as him'
Haruhi had yelled at them to be quiet because Kaoru was still out, and that they should both be thankful that none of them were dead. However, all of them agreed quietly that a black cast definitely suited Kyoya.
Kyoya replied with a calm,
"Mommy heard that." And Kaoru mumbled a quiet,
"Mommy heard what?" As he struggled to sit up as Hikaru flocked to his twin's side.
"Oh nothing," Kyoya chimed, his left hand adjusting his glasses a bit clumsily.
"Thanks for saving me," Haruhi told Kaoru, standing next to Hikaru.
"It was… nothing." Kaoru told her, a small smile fleeting across his face. "I couldn't… let our… toy get hurt… now could I?" And tears bloomed against Haruhi's will in her eyes.
"Are Kao-Chan and Tama-Chan going to be alright Kyo-Chan?" Hani was tugging at Kyoya's sleeve, Mori behind him. Hani was hugging Usa-Chan tightly to his chest, eyes flickering from Kyoya to Mori.
"They'll be fine." Kyoya replied. "The only thing wrong with Kaoru is that he lost a lot of blood. That and the bullet came close to hitting a major blood vessel. Tamaki lost a lot of blood as well, but not nearly as much as Kaoru. Tamaki, however, had his lung clipped by the bullet, however small the clip had been. All in all, it could've been a lot worse." Hani nodded before smiling up at Kyoya.
"Kyo-Chan saved Tama-Chan though!" Hani smiled happily. "If Kyo-Chan hadn't pushed Tama-Chan away, Tama-Chan wouldn't be here right now!" Kyoya nodded.
"That is true, Hani." Kyoya agreed. "The same goes with you. If Mori-senpai hadn't pulled you out of your chair, you could've been hurt." Hani nodded.
They all knew the severity of the situation and how lucky they had been.
If not for Kaoru, Haruhi could have died, and if not for the Host Club all sitting together, Hikaru could've died trying to get to his brother. If not for Kyoya and Mori, Tamaki and Hani could have both been dead, possibly.
Among the dead were Nekozawa, Suzushima, Kanako, and the class representative of 1-A.
"Excuse me sirs," A nurse's voice piped up from the doorway. "Visiting hours are over. We must ask you to leave." She gave them a smile as she disappeared from the doorway.
"No doubt school will be closed tomorrow," Kyoya was already saying as Hikaru opened his mouth to protest. "In order to compensate for the families who lost their children. You will be able to visit Kaoru tomorrow Hikaru."
And Kyoya left the room. Outside the room Kyoya paused. He knew that however calm they were acting in front of Kaoru and Tamaki, there was one fact that all of them knew for sure. And that was the nightmares would haunt them for a while.
"Bye guys."
"Bye Tama-Chan, Kao-Chan! Get well soon!"
Hikaru was the last one to leave. Before he could go, Tamaki stopped him.
"Hikaru." There was no need to worry about disrupting Kaoru- he was already out.
"Yeah, milord?" Hikaru asked. Tamaki gave him a small smile.
"You really care for Kaoru, don't you?" It was an innocent question and the deeper meaning was only known to Tamaki as Hikaru completely missed. But still, Hikaru gave his own small smile to his sleeping mirror across the room from him.
"Yeah… I do." Hikaru told Tamaki. "See you tomorrow milord."
As Hikaru left, Tamaki cast a glance over to Kaoru.
"I don't think he realizes just how much you like him Kaoru." Tamaki lay back on his bed, not noticing as Kaoru fidgeted a bit, having heard the whole exchange.
"I know," Was the quiet mumble in reply as the two fell asleep.
In the Courtyard of the School, underneath the fountain, there is a plaque to remind the kids of those who were lost that fateful day. It states:
In Memory of,
~~Owari~~
So, how was it? It wasn't dreadfully horrible, was it?
At first, when I was writing this I had toyed with several ideas. The first was that I'd keep it vague and that no names would be mentioned. The other was that I'd make the shooter one of the Host Club. Needless to say, they both were shot down. I also had thought about killing one of the Host Club, but I didn't have the heart.
Please read and review, and tell me what you think!
~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~
Notice as of 1/1- Do you guys want me to make another version of this for one of the ideas I mentioned? You can PM me about it if you want.