Calla Lilies and the Host Club
None of them thought the Host Club would have ended like this. They assumed it would have been a bittersweet disbanding after they all graduated, or Tamaki passing his kingship onto a worthy first year. But none of them even imagined it ending like this; with Haruhi's horse-drawn carriage tumbling and screeching, her frail body flung over the edge of the bridge into the rough waters below. She had given her life trying to keep them all together; which, ironically, caused them all to resent the very idea of that cursed music room where Haruhi first walked into their lives.
The funeral itself was relatively small. It was only the members of the Host Club, Haruhi's father, Ranka, and a couple of friends from middle school. The hosts had front row seats as their seventh member was slowly lowed into the ground. They all stayed by Haruhi's side long after the funeral itself was over; the soft perfume of the calla lilies decorating her grave drifting past them like the scent of painful memories rather left forgotten. Soon, one by one, each host left for their respective homes with little more than a word spoken to each other.
Ranka, Haruhi's father, left long before any of the hosts.
"Girls, it's time for lunch!" Ranka called in a hoarse and pained, yet somehow content whisper, smiling a bit tiredly at the two photographs propped up on the chairs around the kitchen table. "I made a stew pot, plenty for all of us!" he continued, his eyes darting from the photo of his wife to the photo of his daughter, expecting some form of response. He sighed quietly, his scraggly beard swishing back and forth slightly. He looked over at the front door that he hadn't opened since the funeral; his friends brought him food and necessities out of pity. "After all, I couldn't leave my girls," he whispered slowly, a slightly manic grin cracking his already chapped lips. Haruhi's father fed the pictures lovingly; the filth of himself and his home even more evident with every passing day he refused to leave his family.
Kyoya was the first host to leave Haruhi's grave.
It seemed like Kyoya never had any money to spend on himself. He knew why, but he really could not have cared less at this point. After Haruhi's death, he simply stopped trying; his family, father included, soon cut their losses and stopped sending him money. Which, in turn, led Kyoya to alcoholism. To quench his ever-present thirst for the magic drink that dulled the pain, he was required to get a job. The only one he would get was as a cashier at Burger World; the very same fast-food restraunt he ad Haruhi had eaten at during the expo. "It seems like just yesterday, her and I were sitting and talking. Now she's gone," Kyoya slurred to himself in his dingy, dimly lit apartment, nursing a Jack Daniels bottle with barely a few sips left. His body swayed slightly as he looked up at the wall in front of his ratty, stained couch; up at the picture of Haruhi affixed there. With a shatter, the now empty bottle fell to the floor and exploded into a million shimmering shards. The former businessman sobbed quietly to himself in the dark before the amount of alcohol in his bloodstream lulled him to sleep.
Honey and Mori left the grave adorned with flowers together; shortly following Kyoya.
"Takashi, come on. We have to go to the Kendo meeting and meet our new students," Honey called down the hallway, slipping his coat on with a barely audible sigh. "Yeah," Mori called back in an equally blank tone, emerging out into the foyer and slipping his coat on also. Shortly after, the two left and began their long walk to the meeting. Not a friendly word was, or has been, spoken between the two since the day Haruhi left. Along with their beloved seventh host, Mori and Honey's joy also died that day. That was the day everything ended for them; they no longer called each other by their cute nicknames. They simply referred to each other as Takashi or Mitskuni. All of Honey's stuffed animals were donated to a children's charity and he went on a diet consisting nothing of fruits, vegetables, and water. Usu-chan, Honey's most beloved stuffed bunny, lay collecting dust under a bed; forgotten. "We're here," Mori said in monotone, the deadness of his eyes reflected in the glass door leading into the Kendo building. "Yeah," Honey sighed, his breath spiraling upward in the cold winter air, casting his eyes downward as he held the door open for Mori. He wondered, sometimes, if he had forgotten how to be happy. H couldn't remember what Usu-chan felt like. Mori, on the other hand, had nothing to wonder about. He already knew he had forgotten how to be happy.
Hikaru and Kaoru also left together; several hours after Honey and Mori.
Kaoru didn't know how it came to this; his twin brother packing his bags in blind fury, roaring obscenities with angry tears coating his cheeks. Kaoru stood off to the side, crying silently. Suddenly, Hikaru came at him with more venom in his voice than ever; he screamed hoarsely "IT'S YOUR FAULT! YOU'RE THE REASON SHE'S DEAD!" and the back of his hand connected with Kaoru's cheek with a deafening slap. Kaoru stumbled a bit, holding his throbbing cheek and sobbing quietly. Obviously, it wasn't anyone's fault; what happened to Haruhi. No one could be logically blamed; though Hikaru took comfort in the idea of all of this being someone's fault. And he lived with the perfect target for all of his blame. Still shouting obscenities and accusations, Hikaru zipped up his suitcase and shoved his feet into his boots. "Where will you go?" Kaoru whispered brokenly, his heart breaking at the idea of not being with his brother. "AS FAR AWAY FROM YOU AS POSSIBLE!" Hikaru roared, his face red with rage as he slammed the door behind him, a picture of he and Kaoru hanging on the wall falling and shattering into a million pieces. Kaoru followed the picture's lead.
Tamaki, ever faithful, stayed perched by Haruhi's grave well past the first lights of dawn.
He was lost. He was nothing without Haruhi. "My little girl…" he sobbed quietly into his hands, reflecting back on that day when his one true love left the world. It took all of his willpower not to stop them; stop them from burying his Haruhi. And now he was all alone. "Why did you leave me?..." Tamaki cried out in the darkness, his weak hands trembling. He looked at himself in the mirror on the wall; the loss of his Haruhi clearly affecting his eating habits. His ribs were straining against his skin, his wrists terribly bony, and his cheeks hollowed out. He was nothing anymore. And then…Tamaki realized something. He didn't know how he didn't realize it sooner. He looked about him earnestly, searching for the one thing that would let him see Haruhi again. Tamaki reached for the sleeping pills on his bedside table, his fingers shaking slightly as he screwed the cap off the bottle. With a moment of slight hesitation, Tamaki emptied the bottle into his mouth. Tamaki lay down weakly on his back, tears of pure agony trailing down his cheeks. "I'm coming to se you Haruhi…daddy's coming…" Tamaki choked out quietly as the excessive amount of pills began to take affect; his weak and emaciated body seizing up, his eyes rolling back into his head. Within five minutes, Tamaki breathed his final breath and left to go be with his Haruhi.
After Tamaki's death, what remained of the Host Club all gathered together again. Much like Haruhi's funeral, the boys stayed at the gravesite long after the sun went down.
Hikaru left first. He would continue his abusive ways until his wife would finally get the courage to leave him. Then he would continue his life terribly alone, hopping from girlfriend to girlfriend; always looking for someone to blame.
Kaoru left a bit after Hikaru. After living an average and mediocre life for quite a number of years, Kaoru would finally go back to school and become a psychotherapist, determined to help those like his brother's many victims; determined to help those like he was when he lived with his brother.
Honey and Mori, or rather Mitskuni and Takashi, left reluctantly; hesitant to leave Kyoya on his own. As a team, Mitskuni and Takashi would work their way up the martial-arts ladder, and would soon become world-famous. Mitskuni's diet would become even more strict, and Usu-chan would continue to collect dust and rot under his bed. Takashi would simply follow Mitskuni. They both would live strict lives with no room for happiness.
And then there was Kyoya, whom stayed by Tamaki's grave for hours. Kyoya's alcoholism would soon spiral out of control, and would lead to sever liver failure in the future. After which, the four remaining members would attend another funeral. None of them would stay longer than necessary; they would leave as soon as Kyoya's grave was lowered into the ground. Only Kaoru would stay behind just a bit longer to leave fresh calla lilies on each of the three hosts' graves. After which the lilies would never be replaced again, and would soon fade away just as the Host Club had.