Ch. 1 Death

AN-There is a wonderful little AMV on YouTube called "Kyoya the Shadow King-Be Prepared." It's to the Lion King's song "Be Prepared." The plot is that Kyoya leads the other host club members in an insurrection against Tamaki. I loved this idea and started to form a way for this to actually happen. It became AU, since Tamaki actually did leave for France. More of this will be covered in later chapters. Well here it goes. (BTW I don't own Ouran, but that would be pretty sweet if I did.)

The nurses wandered by, trying to avoid the grim faced young men in the private waiting room. The entire staff had been surprised that five people had been allowed to wait in the hospital for a single person, after all the hospital was almost overcrowded with people due to that train accident. That surprise went away as soon as they learned that the one young man was none other than Kyoya Oototori, the son of the family that owned the hospital.

The men in question seemed oblivious to the flurry of movement outside the doorway to their private waiting room. It was really an office which a doctor had been evicted out of upon their arrival, but that was just a technicality. They all waited in silence, each following his own tormenting line of thoughts. None of them dared to speak.

Their summer break had just begun; it wasn't supposed to start out this way. This hell had started the night before, though most of them hadn't realized it. Haruhi and her father, Ranka, were leaving for a weeklong vacation. After leaving the station though, their train had been in a horrible accident. Most of them didn't know all the details, they were too afraid to know everything. Kyoya had known first. It was due to the fact that he always kept tabs on Haruhi and that his hospital was the closest to the crash site and accepting the most patients from the wreckage. He had alerted Mori and Honey first. The three of them combined to tell the twins, knowing it would take all three to keep the twins from killing someone.

When they reached the hospital, the doctors told them that that Ranka was fading fast. Before they could be stopped the five rushed into the ICU. They were at Ranka's side in seconds. The man didn't open his eyes, but he must have known they were there from the commotion they were causing. He reached out and clasped Kyoya's hand.

"Protect Haruhi." After uttering his final request the Fujioka patriarch had died.

In their shocked state, the Host Club members had been easy to force out of the ICU. They had been brought to the office turned waiting room. There they had waited all through the remainder of the night and the early morning. The twins were curled into each other on one side of the couch, while Honey sat on Mori's lap at the other end. Kyoya had perched himself on the edge of the desk, to restless to fully sit.

"Hey," Karou spoke up, summoning Kyoya out of his reverie, "did you tell him yet?"

By the way everyone had stiffened at the word "him" it was obvious they all knew who the red headed twin was talking about. Months had passed since Tamaki had left them for France, but his name still seemed to be a taboo for the host club members. They had all been hurt and angered by their king's departure, and their anger had grown when he didn't respond to any of their attempts to contact him.

"There was no answer; I haven't bothered to place a second call yet. If he truly cares he'll call." Kyoya answered calmly. Mori noted that though Kyoya sounded calm, his voice lacked its usual purpose. Their Shadow King and recognized leader was just as sad and terrified as the rest of them.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," a nurse spoke as she entered their small space, "Miss Fujioka is finally stabilized. She suffered from some internal injury, but we've managed to stop any internal bleeding and set her broken rib. Bedsides that, she had a few external cuts from what we believe was broken glass. We removed all the pieces we could find, but some may grow out over time. She is still asleep, but one family member would be allowed to come see her."

"WHAT?!" exploded Hikaru. Kyoya had been wondering when he would snap from all this stress. It surprised him that it took a full recount of Haruhi's condition and a reminder that Ranka was dead to finally make the twin break. "She doesn't have any family now! Her dad is dead! Whats wrong with you? You..."

"Hikaru," Karou whispered softly. This was enough to stop Hikaru's tirade. He collapsed into his brothers arms with tears streaming down his face.

Kyoya looked to the nurse, who looked terrified. He couldn't let her leave like this. "I'm sorry for my friend's outburst. What he was trying to say was that all of us should be there when we tell Haruhi about her father."

"It might not be best to tell her so soon. Grief usually slows the healing process."

"But Haru-chan is smart. We can't lie to her, that wouldn't be nice. And she'll figure it out if we don't say anything about Ranka-sempai." Honey's explanation, coupled with those large doe eyes leaking out tears was enough to break any female heart. Lucky for them, the nurse was female.

"I-I'll go speak to the doctor. Surely we can arrange something."

Soon after she left, there was yelling in the hallway. "Surely this isn't a response to our request." With that, Kyoya went out into the hallway to see what was causing the stir, followed by the other four hosts.

There in the hallway stood the tall red haired Kasanoda, yelling at the hospital personal who were trying to block him. "I don't care about protocol! Just tell me if she's alight, dammit! We go to school together, that has to mean something." Upon seeing the hosts at the other end of the hallway, he shouted, "Takashi! They won't let me by. I just came to check on Haruhi, is she alright?" Mori nodded, which kept the other man from verbally abusing the doctors anymore.

"Its alright," Kyoya told the doctors sending them away with a flick of his wrist. "He just came to check on a friend of ours. We'll explain everything to him." With that all the personal ran off, not wanting to face either this red haired gangster or the Ootoroi heir. The group sheparded Kasanoda into their waiting room before speaking up again.

"What are you doing here Cassanova?" the twins hissed out at the same time, their eyes glowing menacingly. Kyoya sighed; he really didn't need those two becoming territorial just now. Kasanoda had become closer with the group after Tamaki's departure, though they usually only saw him during the Host Club hours.

"I-I came to check on Haruhi. The crash is all over the news, and the train was headed for the same place she told me she was going to for vacation. They haven't released the names of those who were in the crash, so I came here to see if she was on that train, but they wouldn't tell me anything. They kept saying that the information was for family only." He looked around the room at all the glum faces, "I guess she was on that train."

"She was," Kyoya pinched the bridge of his nose, trying his best to make it look like he was just pushing up his glasses, "Her father died right after we got here, and she was just released from ICU. We're petitioning to be allowed to see her."

"Was that her only family?"

"No," Karou said steadily. "She has us," Hikaru finished his twin's thought.

Kasanoda didn't seem to understand, but he knew there some things about the hosts that he would never understand. "I there anything I can do?"

"You should go find a get well give Cassanova-chan," Honey spoke up. "Get her a get well gift and make yourself look rested. When she can have visitors, we'll let you know first and you can bring her gift to her!"

"That is a good idea," Casanoda decided, completely taken in by Honey's false chipperness. "You guys promise you'll let me know as soon as I can come back to see her?"

All nodded as he left. He was soon replaced by the nurse, who was now accompanied by a doctor.

"I understand that all of you gentlemen want to see Miss Fujioka," the doctor said, sizing them up stoically, "but I'm afraid we can't change the hospital rules, not even for you Mr. Ootori. You all should just go home and..."

"No," Kyoya said icily. "Mr. Fujioka's last request was that we look after his daughter, and I am going to honor my friend and do as he asked." With his final word, his glasses flashed dangerously. "I will be leading a survey of the hospital once the chaos caused by this crash has calmed down. I will need to make sure that all staff acted professionally, understanding when to use bureaucracy and when to bend rules in order to help as many patients as possible. Any who failed to take responsibility and just blamed rules or something of the such when denying a way to help the patient will be released no doubt."

By now the doctor was in a cold sweat. He knew something like this might happen when he agreed to be the one to tell Ootori that rules were rules. But screw it; if this kid wanted to see his friend, he was going to let him. Denying one visit wasn't worth his job. "Of course, Miss Sato here will show you to your friend's room. I trust all of you will be calm and not do anything to compromise the patient's health."

Kyoya merely smirked. "Of course."

Kyoya had been too many hospital rooms and he had seen patients that were nearly unrecognizable due to the extent of their injuries. But nothing could prepare him for seeing Haruhi in a hospital bed. When they walked into the room, her eyes were shut and she appeared to be asleep. She looked so small and fragile surrounded by the large and sterile machines helping keep her alive. When he saw her like that, his heart clenched. He hadn't expected to be so affected by seeing Haruhi like that, what was wrong with him? When he looked at the other hosts, he saw they were faring no better. Karou had grabbed Hikaru's hand the moment the entered the room. He had done it both to keep his brother from having another outburst and to keep himself from doing the same thing. Honey had climbed into Mori's arms and tears were building up in his eyes. The blonde was holding them back though. He wouldn't let Haruhi see him cry.

They sat around her as she opened her eyes. She tried to give them a smile but failed. "Senpai?" she asked weakly.

Kyoya leaned forward to hear her.

"They won't tell me anything about my father." She looked so sad and helpless. The twins reached out and grasped her right hand, and Kyoya followed their lead and grasped her left. No matter how hard he tried though, he couldn't bring himself to tell her the horrible news. She looked so broken already; he didn't think Haruhi could hold up under anything else.

"My father is dead, isn't Senpai?" His eyes widened. So she had already figured it out.

"We're sorry Haruhi. He died right after we got to the hospital."

Haruhi nodded, her eyes staring off into an empty corner. Her eyes were becoming watery and she no longer seemed aware of her friends. She was the last of her family now; she was all alone. It was Honey who brought her back the reality.

"We're here for you though Haru-chan. We're the Host Club and we take care of each other." Mori nodded in agreement.

"He's right Haruhi. We'll stay here with you," the twins chorused in. "After all, we would be pretty pathetic if you don't watch after our favorite plaything."

Kyoya spared the other hosts one of his rare smiles. "They are right Haruhi. True hosts will stick together, through thick or thin."

Haruhi nodded weakly. Her eyes began to flutter shut. The five continued to sit around her in silence as she fell asleep. They sat there for almost an hour before the doctor came in.

"You all don't need to stay. The medication she is currently on will keep her asleep for most the day. And it looks like some of you could use some sleep as well."

For the first time the hosts truly looked at each other. Kyoya and Mori had been awake when the news of the crash came out, so they had dark circles under their eyes. The others were in no better shape, lighter circles were under the eyes of the other three, who had probably only fallen asleep for an hour before being woken with the news. All of their clothes were wrinkled, and their hair unkept. And Honey's gurgling stomach reminded them that none of them had eaten all day and it was now early afternoon.

As they looked at each other though, there was an unspoken agreement-They were not going to leave Haruhi in the hospital by herself.

"We'll take shifts," Kyoya spoke for the entire group. "This lets everyone else go home to refresh while some stay with Haruhi." They all nodded in consent at this. "I'll stay here first. Honey and Mori you will come back in two hours. Hitatchins, you will come two hours after that. We can eat dinner here and figure out a night schedule then."

"Why do we have to wait till last?!" The twins grumbled angrily.

"You live farthest from the hospital," Mori explained. The silent figure's first words since coming to the hospital silenced the twins.

After a few good-byes, the four left Kyoya alone with Haruhi. He checked his watch and saw that it was ten past one. He sighed. He was tired, strained, sad because of their loss of Ranka, relieved that Haruhi was going to survive. He didn't know what to think anymore. He sat down next to Haruhi and watched her sleeping form. He brushed her bangs out of her face. As he lowered his head to the mattress, he whispered, "I'll protect you Haruhi." With that, he fell asleep, his mind was too strained and worn down to resist the promise of a few minutes of blessed sleep.

End of the begining-woot.

AN- Yes, I killed Ranka. I love his character, but to make this plot work he couldn't be in the plot and I needed to write him out somehow. If it makes all the Ranka fans reading this happy, his death was because he played the hero and protected Haruhi in the crash. Its why his injuries were severe enough to kill him, while Haruhi walked away with a broken rib, a little internal bleeding and a few cuts.