She had never felt so helpless as she felt this very moment. He knew. That scumbag Kasanoda knew. How could she let this happen?

She was convinced that he would tell his father about her and that they could use this against her family. All this time, every clan was convinced that her father, the Black Dog of the Inuzuma clan, had sired a male heir. No one was supposed to know that she was a female! She sat on her bed just holding her knees to her chest, being careful with her arm.

She hadn't shown up to school for a week. As far as the school knew, she was bedridden with sickness, a lie she was able to convince her doctor to go along with and had sent a note to the administration.

The Host Club was constantly calling her house phone, asking if she was ok. She only answered Fujioka's questions, lying to him, saying that she had gotten into a brawl with some punks and had gotten a bit banged up. She felt horrible for lying to her friend, but she just couldn't face Kasanoda. Not right now.

She was scared.

She didn't get up whenever someone knocked on her door. She stopped answering any calls. Her table was full of presents from girls she had entertained at the club, as well as a few commoner remedies that Tamaki was convinced would speed up her 'recovery'. It went on like this for a whole week.

Until the day her door opened out of nowhere.

She stood up from her bed, the knife she hid under her pillow in her hand, ready to face down the intruder. That is, until she saw Fujioka and the landlady coming in. "F-Fujioka? What are you doin here?"

Haruhi looked Yatsu over and sighed in relief. "We were worried. You wouldn't answer your calls or whenever we came over, you wouldn't answer the door. I had to convince your landlady that you might be in danger."

Yatsumi turned to her landlord and apologized, "I'm so sorry, I appreciate the concern and I never wanted to worry anyone, but I am fine."

"Well, I'm relieved to hear that. You have good friends Inuzuma-kun."

The older woman smiled and excused herself, leaving Yatsu and Haruhi alone.

Yatsumi couldn't look at her friend in the face. She didn't what to say and she felt bad for lying to Haruhi. She kept silent, not sure how to begin. So Fujioka made the first move.

"So, do you live here by yourself? Don't you have anyone to keep you company?"

Yatsumi's fists clenched. She wouldn't be alone if it wasn't for them. "No... Everyone... Everyone is out there, fighting right now. I'm the only one here. My old man forbid me from helping them out..."

Haruhi sat on the bed, a somber look on their face. "Well, why not come to school? That way, we can hang out. You can have people to talk to."

"I don't want to talk. They're not my real friends. I don't need anyone."

Haruhi shook her head, "That can't be true. I know it's annoying sometimes, but most of the people at Ouran are good people."

Yatsumi just huffed, "Good people... People just use others to further their goals. Just like Tamaki asked me to join to get his 'perfect' host club. Just like that Kasanoda pretended to be my friend for information..."

"That's not true. Everyone needs a friend. Don't you ever get, you know, lonely?"

The room suddenly chilled over with tension.

"Lonely?" Yatsumi turned around, her whole demeanor changing and even Haruhi was a bit shocked at the sudden turn. "Who cares how I feel? My whole family is out there, fighting for their lives, their honor, all because those damn Kasanodas decided to turn on one of our own! I don't care how lonely I get! I can't go back when I know that bastard is in that school, in MY class! He tricked me, Fujioka! He... He made me think we were friends. If I knew... If I knew who he was..." She felt the dampness going down her cheeks. When did she start crying? Why was she crying?

She wiped her cheeks of the tears and turned away from her only friend. "I need to be strong. I am Yatsu Inuzuma, child of Akito Inuzuma. I am the Inuzuma heir and the future of my clan. I..."

She stopped by the picture of her with her family, everyone happy and smiling. And her heart throbbed, a sudden feeling of longing engulfing her. "I just want to go home..."

Haruhi approached Yatsu, reaching out to place on hand on their shoulder. "Hey, listen. I know you miss them. And, I'm sure they miss you too. But, you don't have to try to hide your feelings. You can talk to me anytime. We're friends, right?"

Yatsumi slowly nodded. She turned and hugged Fujioka tightly, just needing the support they were offering. Haruhi awkwardly hugged back, stepping away after a couple of minutes. "My dad is going to work a double-shift tomorrow and said I was allowed to invite a friend over for a movie night. If you want, you can come over."

"Yeah. I'd like that."

After a bit of talking, Yatsumi walked Fujioka to the door and confirmed their plans. She locked the door, feeling alot better after letting some feelings out to her friend. She agreed to go back to school on Monday, and she promised herself that Kasanoda wasn't going to make her feel weak anymore. She settled down to sleep, a bit more relaxed than she had ever been.

~X~

Haruhi left Yatsu's place and started walking. She pulled out her phone and started to make a call.

"Hey Casanova, I was wondering if you had plans for tomorrow..."