Kyoya Ootori stood in his office staring out the window that overlooked the garden. Memories still played in his head as he looked at the wedding ring on his finger. It had been over ten years since the birth of their son Asahi. The birth had been difficult and ultimately cost his dear Haruhi her life. Akane had cried for months afterwards and nothing could console her. Then one day she stopped crying. He remembered the day so well. He thought he saw his wife that day in their little girl. Ranka had commented that Haruhi had been the same. That was years ago and today was Akanes' sixteenth birthday.

As he was turning around a servant came in. Ootori-Sama Mistress Akane is do you wish to see here before her party tonight?" she asked. "Yes, please send her here." The maid nodded and left. A few minutes later his daughter walked in. "You wanted to see me dad?" she asked. "Akane have a seat." Sitting down she looked at him as he grabbed a letter off his desk. "Your mother wrote this for you to open on your sixteenth birthday. I'm not sure of the contents, but it had your name on it." He gave his daughter the letter, kissed her forehead, and left.

Akane looked at the Envelope and saw Haruhis' writing. It said To my daughter on her 16th birthday. Smiling she opened the envelope to read it.

Dear Akane,

How fast you have grown. Today you turn five and as I think about my life so far, I couldn't be happier. Even thought about how different my life would be without you or your father and I simply couldn't imagine it. As you will soon discover when a child of a major company turns sixteen decisions are made by the parents about who they will marry. Your father and I discussed many times what to do with the decision. After you were born many offers came in. We knew we couldn't keep you safe forever, so we told everyone a decision had been made. This may have been an error on our part, but we wanted you to be free to choose who you want. My gift to you is the freedom to love. Find the one person you care for most and makes you happy. I want to see you happy and if that means falling in love with a commoner as I once was so be it. On your birthday today, I know that the stress of being the heir to a company may prove to be too much, but never forget we love you and always will. I can't wait to see what you can accomplish on your own.

Love,

Mom

Tears stained the letter as she stood up. There was someone she loved at school, but because she thought she was engaged she turned down her own feelings. Running down the hall she saw her dad speaking with Uncle Tamaki. His son Kaito was with him. He may have been a year younger than her, but she loved him. "Dad…" he turned to her and smiled. Wrapping her arms around him she hugged him. "Thank you. Both of you," she said. "Akane…" She felt her dad wrap his arms around her. Sighing she smiled as tears wouldn't stop. Her father loved her, she knew that, but since her mother had died he had been so sad. She knew that her eyes were just like her moms and looked similar to her, but her father had been hurt the most. He loved Haruhi so much, but she was ripped away from the family. As Akane grew up she knew her father was a busy man. As such she didn't see much of him after the birth of her brother Asahi.

Tamaki cleared his throat alerting both of them he was still there. They both blushed as they had forgot about him. Tamaki laughed at how much Akane acted like both her parents. "Happy Birthday Akane!" said Tamaki. "Thank you, Uncle. I'm happy you made it back in time," she said smiling through her tears. "Now what kind of person if I miss the princess' birthday." "Tamaki," said Kyoya warningly before he cracked a grin. The two close for as long as Akane could remember and it never seemed to change. Laughing the two excused themselves before leaving Kaito and Akane alone.

Kaito blushed before giving Akane a box. "Here I know it is before the party, but I wanted you to have it," he said quickly. Opening it she saw it was a heart shaped necklace with diamonds. "It's beautiful, thank you Kaito." She hugged him and smiled. The boy who had long since annoyed her but was now her best friend. Looking into the purple eyes that looked exactly like his fathers' she opened her mouth, but closed it turning red. She wanted to tell him, but how many times had she turned down Kaito. The boy practically admitted time and again he loved her.

"Kaito will you come to the garden with me?" she asked. He nodded and walked with her outside. The warm spring air brushed against their faces. "Kaito do you remember when I turned you down every time you asked me out?" she asked. He tensed but nodded. Akane knew this was going to be a touché subject. "Well I want you to know the reason I did is I was under the impression a fiancé had been chosen for me and I didn't have a choice. My mother had written me a letter for my sixteenth birthday explaining that it was a lie. She gave me one final give. Her gift to me was love and to find happiness. I'm not sure if that means much, but I want to go out with you. I've loved you for a long time and refuse to let anyone tell me otherwise. The only reason I went along with it in the first place was because I loved my mother so much I wanted to honor her memory, but it turns out her plan all along was to give me the freedom to choose," she said.

Akane wasn't sure if he would still want to go out with her but wanted to give it a try. The next moment Kaito was kissing her on the lips and she smiled happily. "I'm so happy Akane!" he said as they broke apart and hugged her. Meanwhile Tamaki and Kyoya were watching them from above in his office. "Well it seems my son and your daughter just admitted their feelings. You know Kyoya it was actually getting annoying how much her talked about her." Kyoya laughed and looked at his best friend. "He's a lot like you Tamaki. When he loves someone, he goes overboard. Haruhi had written that letter when Akane turned five and I know she never told me the contents, but I had my suspicions. It seems they were correct." Tamaki looked at Kyoya and smiled. "You know we could let this slip to the twins and their girls I'm sure they would love to torture them," said Tamaki. Kyoya looked at his friend and smiled. "I guess being on the same team as the twins wouldn't hurt for once.

Suddenly a little boy with Brown hair and brown eyes came in. "Dad…" he turned to see his son in the elementary uniform come in with another child a little girl about eight looking almost identical except for her hair was slightly lighter. "Asahi and Haru. I'm glad you both are home." They ran up as the men picked up their children. "You know Kyoya, your son is just like you," said Renge walking in. "Renge, I can't help it if my children are just as stubborn as me. It is a quality that will be helpful to them in the future. Just then she noticed Kaito and Akane in the garden. "Yes! This is great!" The two shared a look before looking at Renge. "Tamaki darling, we must embarrass our children!" The hearts in the woman's eyes scare both men. They knew how she was over the years, but her love for matchmaking was the scariest of all.

It wasn't long before the two came back to the house only to be greeted by Kyoya, Renge, and Tamaki. The two turned red and let go of each others hand. "You know there is no escaping it now Akane. You are going to be the center of torture along with Kaito," said Kyoya as Renge dragged Akane off while Tamaki to his son Kaito. Shaking his head, he smiled serenely. "Some things will never change Haruhi." Walking off to get the rest of the part preparations ready he opened his black notebook. If he had been aware he would have felt Haruhis' presence, there. She was never one to miss a birthday or special event. Smiling she was glad the host club had stayed lively and it seems that the two children she was the mother to were going to be alright. She worried about Kyoya, but it seems he was fine too. A decade had passed and yet she knew they were all going to be fine. Smiling she disappeared to join her own mother. Her job was done, and she knew the family would always be happy.

That night Akane and Kaito danced together as Kyoya danced with Ranka. Smiling she was happy. Life wasn't perfect but surrounded by her family and friends she wouldn't have it any other way.