All Is Not Well With Haruhi Fujioka
- Those of you that haven't read the manga, especially up to around chapter 55 and 56, turn back now. You wouldn't understand, and there will be all sorts of spoilers running around in here. And I know Haruhi's kinda OOC, but, that's the point. "All Is Not Well With Haruhi Fujioka", after all. Ufufufufufu...anyway, I hope you like this:D
Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran High School Host Club, and as far as I known, Kotoko never actually met Anne-Sophie.
"Anne-Sophie?" Ryoji Fujioka was brushing his hair when Haruhi started talking. He was tired and had had a strange dream the previous night so he wasn't really paying attention. But, then suddenly, he perked up when he heard the name Anne-Sophie. "Anne-Sophie Grantaine?"
Haruhi starred at her father, shocked. 'She couldn't have possible been my real mother!? That wouldn't work! I remember my mother! She wasn't blonde! AND I CAN'T POSSIBLY BE TAMAKI-SENPAI'S SISTER! Maybe she was Dad's lover...but Dad wouldn't do that. He loved Mom much too much...I CAN'T BE TAMAKI-SENPAI'S SISTER!'
As Haruhi had a strangely out of character conversation with herself inside her head, Ryoji explained to her that Anne-Sophie had the same name as a woman Kotoko had met when studying abroad in France. "Why do you mention her?" Ryoji said, poking Haruhi's shoulder, pulling her back into the world of (sort of) sanity.
Haruhi sighed and regained herself before saying, "She's T-T-T..." Suddenly, she couldn't talk and she felt feverish again. She couldn't be sick again! She was feeling perfect this morning when she woke up! She couldn't possibly stay home from school again...yesterday she was just being weak. Today, she had to go to school! No matter how feverish she was! But...why did thinking of Tamaki make her feel feverish?
As she was pondering this, Ryoji poked her shoulder again. "Ha-ru-hi. She is...?"
"Ah!" Haruhi had once again lost herself in the world of (almost) insanity. 'What's wrong with me?' she wondered before sighing again. "She's Tama..." Here, she had to stop and take a deep breath. "Tamaki-senpai's mother," she managed to say before flinging her hand to her warm face.
Ryoji scrutinized Haruhi's expression before frowning. 'She couldn't possibly be...' He had this odd idea that maybe Haruhi was...falling in love with Tamaki. 'That blonde idiot. If she is falling on love with him, I won't let him get away with it!' Ryoji had unconciously started growling.
This time it was Haruhi that would pull Ryoji back into the world of (sort of) sanity. Concerned for her father, she placed her hand on Ryoji's shoulder. "Dad...Dad, why does that make you upset?"
Ryoji stopped growling and looked up at Haruhi. "Oh, no. I was thinking of something else. But...his mother and your mother's Anne-Sophie couldn't possibly be the same person...that would be too..."
Haruhi's eyes had softened and she was starring at a amber ring left by a coffee cup on the table. "That is, you mean. That is too amazing..." she said dreamily, tracing her finger gracefully around the circle. Then, she looked up back at her father. "What did Mom tell you about Anne-Sophie?"
For some reason, Haruhi's interest in Anne-Sophie made him angry again. But, he pushed it aside and folded his arms on the table. "Well," he began, placing his chin on his hands. "She said that she was breathtakingly beautiful. She always asked Kotoko silly questions like if she had a kotatsu at home or if she had ever been to Kyoto. Whenever Kotoko talked about Anne-Sophie, she always had this dreamy look on her face. As if Anne-Sophie was an enchantress, or something. Anne-Sophie taught Kotoko how to play the piano...or tried to at least. But, all she ever ended up learning was how to play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", with her right hand. Kotoko played it whenever we went somewhere with a piano. It was so simple but so beautiful. She said it was the opposite of when Anne-Sophie played the piano. She said Anne-Sophie playing the piano was like an angel playing the piano. Like an angel of music, or "ange de musique" she would say. Kotoko said that Anne-Sophie made her feel stupid when they were speaking to one another in French and she made her feel like genius when she was speaking in Japanese."
Then, suddenly, he stopped talking. 'Haruhi isn't paying attention!' he cried in his head, seeing that Haruhi was dazed out.
But, in actuality, she was paying very careful attention. It just seemed like she wasn't paying attention because she was thinking so deeply about when her father told her. She was thinking things like, 'They must be the same Anne-Sophie. Breathtakingly beautiful...' or 'I wonder how I look when I talk about Tamaki-senpai...' or 'I wonder if Tamaki-senpai could teach me how to play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.' or 'I wonder how I'd feel if Tamaki-senpai spoke to me in French...'. All the thoughts she was thinking were, in essence, about Tamaki. But, it didn't seem to bother her. It didn't bother her that her father was referring to her mother as Kotoko either. It just meant he still loved her alot. When Ryoji stopped talking, she suddenly looked up, broke from her trance. "Dad, why'd you stop talking?"
The look on her face was priceless and Ryoji had to resist the urge to glomp her. "Oh, no reason. My nose just tickled..." he said before giggling nervously. "Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah! So, your mother said she was so disappointed when she had to leave France and her dearest Anne-Sophie that her grades started to go down. Thankfully, it was the end of her senior year, and she would be recieving her degree in only two weeks. So, she decided that she'd concentrate on the next two weeks, and then think of Anne-Sophie afterward. When the time came for her to graduate, she did so with a 4.0 grade point average, like she had planned and then she went home to see her mother. Her mother said that she had recieved a package while she was at school. It turned out, the package was a piano from Anne-Sophie and letter from her too, that said she'd "come to Japan if Kotoko-chan didn't cheer up!" is exactly how she had said it. It was around that time that I met your mother."
Haruhi sighed. 'Her grades started to go down, huh?' For some reason, this fact bothered her. But, she shook it off. "How'd you two meet again? I forgot exactly how it went..."
"Oh, it was amazing!" Ryoji exclaimed.
Haruhi couldn't help but grin. She had never once in her life been the romantic type. She had never been the kind of girl who liked the idea of romance. But, for some reason, she absolutely loved to hear the story of how her parents met. It was the most beautiful and romantic thing she had ever heard in her whole life and it made her feel happy and warm. It felt like her mother was there, holding Haruhi in her arms, helping Ryoji tell the story.
But, then Haruhi noticed something strange this time. As Ryoji began telling the story of how he met "his most lovely Kotoko", Haruhi didn't feel her mother holding her. She felt as if her mother was there...but she wasn't holding her. Someone else was. It felt like someone else. Someone gentler and more delicate. Someone she didn't know...but knew so much about. "Dad, did Anne-Sophie ever actually come to Japan?" she suddenly interuppted her father.
"Ah, no, she didn't. Because Kotoko cheered up. She always said it was my fault that she got happier and Anne-Sophie didn't have to come to Japan..." He sighed. "But, she always said that she never regretted being happy. She was funny like that..."
Haruhi sighed too. But then, she had another question. "But, why didn't Anne-Sophie come anyway?"
Ryoji's eyes widened and he looked down at his bright red high heels. "Ah, well...she fell in love."
And now it was time for Haruhi's eyes to widen. "The Chairman..." she whispered quietly.
"Your mother disliked that man. The man Anne-Sophie fell in love with. He made her cry. She thought he was terrible, leaving poor Anne-Sophie in France and only visiting sometimes..."
Suddenly, Haruhi got angry. "It wasn't his fault!" she screamed. "It was his stupid mother's fault!"
Ryoji was shocked. How would she know anything about this?
"That stupid old lady doesn't deserve to live!" she demanded, pounding her shaking fists on the table. "I hate her!"
Ryoji nearly fainted. Never had Haruhi ever said that word. Never had his little Haruhi uttered the word "hate". It was not a something that applied to Haruhi's life. Haruhi disliked things, but, she just didn't think about it and that was that. She had never hated anything or anyone. Ever. Why would she suddenly?
"If I had known she'd made Mom cry before, I would have hurt her when I had the chance!" Haruhi was unusually outraged. What was she talking about? When she had the chance? Ryoji was befuddled.
"Haruhi, Haruhi, please, calm down and explain this to me calmly..." he said as softly and gently as he could. He had never seen her so upset. How had this all even started anyway? What had Haruhi been talking about again?
Haruhi realized what she was doing and collapsed to her knees. Tears started streaming down her face. "I...I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to yell at you..."
"No! Haruhi, don't feel guilty! You weren't yelling at me! You were just yelling!" He raced to be by her side and to gently hold her shoulders. "Be calm, Haruhi. Now, explain to me what exactly you meant."
Haruhi took in a long, deep breath through her nose and heeved out another breath through her mouth. She did this another three times before the tears stopped.
"Tamaki's grandmother...I saw her once. At the Ouran Festival. She...she was so cruel to Tamaki. And she was so cruel to the Chairman. I was so upset with her...even though I barely knew her. It's a feeling I've never felt before. It was a evil feeling and...I just didn't want to think of it ever again. But, it's hard not to. Especially when Tamaki smiles so happily. It makes me wonder if I could do that if I was him. And then you said about Mommy crying and...Daddy, I'm sorry," she pleaded, clinging to Ryoji's pink blouse.
This needy, child-like side of Haruhi was...it was kind of enjoyable, but it was mostly scary. Because it wasn't Haruhi. It was someone else. It was someone else who wanted to be Haruhi but couldn't bring herself to do it because she was too dependent upon others. Ryoji was scared of Haruhi right now. But, he hugged her and comforted still. "Don...don't be sorry, dear. You did nothing. Do you want to stay home from school today?"
Haruhi lifted her head off of Ryoji's shoulder and shook her head. "No, I need to go to school. Since I was out sick yesterday..." she wheezed. It was hard for her to speak. Her throat was filled with phlegm and mucus from crying. "Wait!" she suddenly yelled. She hopped up off the floor and ran to door. She hurriedly put on her shoes and turned quickly to look at her father. "I'm really sorry, Dad. I gotta go to school. I'll talk to you later."
When Haruhi stepped outside, it was raining. And with the rain, the other person washed away and what was left was Haruhi. Except, it wasn't all Haruhi. Not all of her common sense was there. She didn't bother to go back inside and get an umbrella, or a jacket, at least. She just kept walking. She decided she'd probably dry off in the train and not be quite so soaking wet when she got to school. The Host Club probably had a back up uniform. But...what about her underwear? Oh, she didn't want to think about anything anymore. She just wanted to get to school and think about school.
But, before she stopped thinking about anything, she had to wonder one last thing. "What there's a lightning storm?" She stopped where she stood on the sidewalk, and clutched her bag tightly. Her eyes became dark and downcast and she looked as if though she may have been crying. "Oh, I'm just being silly!" she suddenly declared, laughing ridiculously. All was not well with Haruhi Fujioka.
-----
"Tamaki?" Yuzuru Suoh was sitting in his office at Ouran Academy, filling out a crossword when he noticed his son starring at the carpeted floor. "Is something the matter?"
Tamaki sighed. "Haruhi was out sick yesterday."
Yuzuru konked Tamaki on the head. "I'm the Chairman, Tamaki. Don't you think I knew that?"
Tears welled up in Tamaki's eyes. "Dad, that as mean!" he demanded. "Besides, that's not the only thing! She was out sick, and before that...she had been avoiding me. Am I a scary person, Daddy?"
"No, no, no. She must be just be confused," Yuzuru concluded, smiling cheerfully at his son.
"Eh? Confused? Because I lied to her and the Host Club about going to France?" Tamaki asked, feeling quite confused.
Yuzuru chuckled. "There's probably another reason..." he whispered to himself.
"Eh? What was that?" Tamaki said, swearing he heard Yuzuru say something.
But, Yuzuru shook his head. "Nothing, son. Nothing. Say, son. Fujioka-san's mother. Would you happen to know her name?"
Tamaki looked at his father with a puzzled look on his face. "Well, yeah, but, why?"
"I'm just curious. I've never heard anything about her. Why is that?" Yuzuru inquired, resting his elbows on his desk and placing his chin on his clasped-together hands.
Tamaki looked down at the floor. "Haruhi said her name is Kotoko. She was brilliant lawyer and the picture of her I saw was very beautiful. Haruhi resembles her very much. But...she's dead now."
"Would you happen to know her maiden name, by any chance?" Yuzuru asked, poking Tamaki's shoulder.
Tamaki blinked. "You're awfully curious about this. No, I have no clue what her maiden name is."
This curiousity about Kotoko was making Tamaki nervous. Was his dad planning something strange? Was he gonna do something to Haruhi? What on earth was is motive!?
"I may have met her before," Yuzuru said, finally answering Tamaki's questions. "Your mother knew a young woman named Kotoko. But, her name was Narita, not Fujioka. Of course, she was still in college when they met. That women disliked me very much. She said I was evil, for leaving you and Anne-Sophie in France by yourselves. I didn't resent her for it, though. She didn't known it wasn't my choice. Anne-Sophie refused to tell her. Even when Kotoko cried...I met Kotoko once, actually. Someone sued me once. The press sued me, actually. One of them was hiding under my car and I ran over his arm. So, he sued me. Anne-Sophie asked Kotoko to be my lawyer, even though I already had a very capable lawyer. The first thing that woman said to me was, "I'm doing this for Anne-chan. Not for you." Fujioka-san reminds me of her very much."
Tamaki had this strange look on his face. The look was somewhere between a "Dreamy, Dazed" look and a "Holy Cow, My Mother and Haruhi's Mother Knew Each Other!" look. The latter is hard to explain. Just as Tamaki was going to say something, Haruhi walked into the room.
-----
Haruhi had walked to the train in the rain and walked from the train to school in the rain and when she finally got to school, sopping wet, she felt like an idiot. A soaking wet idiot. She decided that she'd go see the Chairman. He was a good man. He'd probably fix her up. 'And maybe, I could accidentally bring up Anne-Sophie...' she thought slyly to herself. During her train ride, she decided that from now on, she was curious about Anne-Sophie. Because she had been her mother's friend.
She reached the Chairman's office, and walked in, soaking wet, to see that the Chairman wasn't alone. "T-Tamaki-senpai!" she squeaked before diving behind a chair. "Don't come near me!" she hollered.
-----
"Haruhi...why are you so wet? You're gonna get another cold," he said, getting up and walking over to her. "Why are you avoiding me?"
Haruhi looked up at Tamaki and squealed. "I don't want you to get sick!" she demanded, looking back down at the floor. "So...go away! Or you'll get sick!"
Tamaki frowned. "Haruhi, I won't get sick. But you will if you don't get changed," he demanded, picking her up off the floor.
"S-senpai! Please!" she hollered, beating her tiny balled up fist on his chest.
Yuzuru chuckled as Tamaki set Haruhi down on the floor, wrapped her up in his raincoat and then a throw blanket, and sat her down at the chair in front of Yuzuru's desk.
"I'll go get you some clothes," he said, before leaving the room.
Haruhi sighed. "I feel feverish again..." Haruhi complained quietly to herself. Then, she looked up at the Chairman. "Chairman-san. I'm sorry to cause a commotion. I wasn't thinking clearly this morning and I didn't bring my umbrella. I'm really sorry..." For some reason, this morning, she had an odd tendency to say "I'm sorry," to everyone she saw. Even on the train, she said "I'm sorry" really loudly if she accidentally ran into someone. All was not well with Haruhi Fujioka.
-----
"To be honest, Haruhi looked so cute when she was yelling at me," Tamaki admitted to himself, as he made his way back to the Chairman's office holding a spare uniform and some towels.
'In wet clothes...' he added in his head before he started blushing like crazy. "Agh, you pervert!" he hollered at himself, the uniform and towels flying out of his arms and all over the floor.
"Damnit..." he muttered to himself before collapsing to his knees.
----
Haruhi wanted to talk to Yuzuru about Anne-Sophie, but she didn't know how to go about it without seeming rude or pushy.
So, it remained silent for quite some time. Until Yuzuru stood up. "Excuse me, Fujioka-san," he said, before going through a door on the left side of the room.
Haruhi wondered what was behind the door. She was thinking of several far-fetched ideas when finally, her (recently weak) common sense decided it was just his bathroom, since there were no other doors around.
Then, she felt a feeling in her lower belly and she realized...she had to go the bathroom too! But, what it Tamaki came back!? He'd freak out! Oh, but she had to go really bad. So, she got up from the chair, blanket and all and wobbled her drenched self over to the door. Her arm snaked its way out of the blanket and reached the doorknob. She turned it and pushed the door open very carefully. She was scared that perhaps Tamaki would be right behind the door and she didn't want to smack him in the face with the door. Thankfully, he wasn't there and so she walked out into the hallway and down towards the bathroom.
She had almost reached the bathroom, it was just around the corner when suddenly..."T-T-T-Tamaki-senpai!?"
----
"H-H-H-Haruhi!?" was all Tamaki could say in reply.
There was an awkward silence before Tamaki decided that he'd just give Haruhi the uniform and towels and go back to the office. "Here..." he said quietly, handing her the uniform and towels.
"T-thank you, senpai," Haruhi said, taking the uniform and towels and holding them to her chest.
'Haruhi's so cute...' Tamaki thought with a dreamy look on his face. 'In wet clothes...' he thought again before screaming and bolting down the hallway.
"Uh...see you later," Haruhi called much too quietly for him to hear her. Once he disappeared around the corner, she went into the bathroom.
She was still astounded by the bathroom's there. Instead of simple stalls, there were seperate "toilet rooms", is what she called them. They all had floor-to-ceiling doors and walls between them, with actual doorknobs and locks. And the sinks were actually made of marble. How had they managed that? Once she finished marvelling over the bathroom, she went inside a toilet room and took care of her business. She undressed, hung her underwear on the hook on the door, and dried herself off. Then, she wrapped herself in the towel, sat on the toilet (which actually had a cover!), and sat there for a moment, peacefully, while she waited for her underwear to dry. Tamaki had quite thoughfully given her a pair of boxers (His?) but, she thought it would be awkward to wear them. For one, what if they were his? (His!?) That would be too weird! To wear something that had actually touched him...there. Haruhi's face turned red and she had to slap herself to stop thinking of it. And then also, they were obviously too big. Too big underwear was never good. It would probably come out the top of her pants and, even though she tucked in her shirt, it would still bother her.
In the time it took her to decide whether or not she should wear the boxers (The answer was again, "No!") her underwear had dried. Well, her bra was still damp. "But, classes have already started!" she hollered, realizing what time it was. And then, she turned to her left. And there was the answer to all her problems. "Powder!" she yelled gleefully. "Thank goodness!" She snatched it off the shelf and put some on her bra. "It will be drier this way," she explained to herself. It was rose-scented talcum powder. It was quite a pleasing smell, and it felt nice too. She'd have to watch out during Host Club later on. Her customers might be unusually drawn to her, because she herself couldn't help but sniff the air every so often.
"Now, what to do with these clothes?" she asked aloud. She wrapped the clothes in the towels, and lifted it all up in a big bundle. "I guess I'll just bring it to the Chairman. I have to go back there to get my bag, anyway."
----
As Haruhi was walking back to the Chairman's office, something fell out of the bundle in her arms. "Oh, the boxers," she said. "It was awfully sweet of him to give them to me, but really." She sighed, and put them back in the bundle. A few steps later, they fell out again. Haruhi sighed (again) and picked them back up. Back in the bundle and back on her way. A few steps after that, and they felt out again. Haruhi didn't know what to do. They just kept falling out. She tried to hold it in her hand, but, it was awkward and she couldn't hold the rest of the bundle right. 'Now what?' She stood there with the rest of the stuff in her arms, while the boxers sat on the floor, starring at her. And suddenly, her face turned red. "Not there!" she screamed, the rest of the bundle flying out of her arms. For some reason...she had actually thought of putting the boxers on her head.
As she was picking up everything else (She wasn't in the right mind that morning and so she didn't think to pick the boxers up first and hang one of the towels over her shoulder, or something like that.) she realized that even though she had said "Not there!", she'd have to put it there if she wanted to make it to the Chairman's office by the end of the day. So, on the went. "I feel like an idiot..." she moaned, before she started walking again.
