The second time she awoke it wasn't to such pleasant circumstances. She could see various different lights- flashes- going off above her head. She squinted as she opened her eyes and glared at the source of it. Above her stood both twins with flashing cameras. Their smirks and chuckles disappeared when they could see she was awake. Before she could snap they quickly yelled in unison, "Kyouya put us up to it!"
She sat up quickly and looked around the room for Kyouya, who was relaxing on one of the couches, head buried in his notebook and smiling a smug smile. She sighed out of frustration, not catching the attention of any of the others. She knew that she wouldn't be able to get the cameras away from the twins without waking Tamaki, so she reluctantly let her anger slip from her mind.
"Hey, Hunny-senpai, could you hand me my cell phone? It's in my bag over there," she said, pointing to a wall to the right. She watched Hunny rummage through her bag and happily hand it to her.
"Here you go Haru-chan~"
She wondered how he could be so awake so early in the morning before she realized it wasn't in fact as early as she had thought. Almost 11 o'clock. And she'd also noticed the dozens of texts and calls from her father. She resolved to turn the ringer on the phone after she got out of school every day.
Before she could dial the phone to call him, her phone began to violently vibrate with his picture on the screen. She picked it up on the first ring.
"Haruhi?! Where are you and why haven't you been answering my calls, are you safe, no one kidnapped you did they?! Daddy's coming to get your right now!"
"Dad, Dad, calm down-"
"Don't tell me to calm down young lady; you've been missing all night long!"
"I'm fine, I swear- I'll be home in an hou-"
"I'm already heading out the door; just tell me where you are!" She sighed, knowing his response would be drastic.
"I fell asleep at Tamaki-senpai's house… all the hosts are here…"
She pulled her phone away from her ear as he began frantically yelling in concern. She could hear the twins mutter "maybe that wasn't the best idea" before she mentally sighed once again. When the yelling stopped she put her phone back to her head and quietly said "Dad?"
But the line had gone dead.
Only seconds later did the French doors to the living room violently open. Her father stood up tall fully equipped with a baseball bat, ready to hit anyone who got in the way of his precious daughter. When he spotted her seconds later she was immediately picked up off her spot on the couch. Thankfully, she thought, Tamaki's still sleeping.
"You were SLEEPING with him?!"
"Yes, and just sleeping! We fell asleep watching a movie!"
"Shhhhhhhh!" Hunny whispered with a finger over his mouth, tucking both Usa-chan and Kuma-chan in with Tamaki. "Don't wake him up…! Tama-chan's still not feeling very good."
Haruhi wiggled out of her father's grasp and made her way to the other side of the couch. With her hand rested on his forehead she thought to herself "And he has another fever too…"
Kyouya began speaking to Ranka, calming him down slightly and explaining the situation in greater detail. Ranka was still quite mad, but no longer infuriated. Truthfully he was relieved to know she was just with her host friends and that her life wasn't in any danger. He began hugging her again when she walked back over to him, now with her bag and school blazer.
"I'll personally notify you if something like this happens again," Kyouya said, holding Ranka's hand in an assuring way.
"I just wish you would've thought of that last night Kyouya, and quite honestly I'd prefer that it never happen again."
Moments later his stomach growled loudly, and he laughed to hide his slight embarrassment.
"Did you eat last night Dad?"
"No, I was busy worrying about you."
"Let's go get something to eat then. We haven't done that in a while."
"Wait, Haruhi, you're leaving?" The twins asked, and she nodded.
"I'll see you guys at school tomorrow," she said with a smile and a small wave goodbye.
As she walked out of Tamaki's manor her smile began to fade and her father instantly noticed. She sat down in the passenger seat of her father's car and he drove to an okonomiyaki shop near their apartment. As she got out of the car she tucked the rest of her dress shirt in and took off her tie in an effort to make herself look more presentable.
As their orders were filled and their food was made the two hardly talked. Haruhi had ordered a small cup of tea and she sat at her seat, quietly sipping it. She had sat staring at her teacup for a while, and her father sat across from her worrying about what might be on her mind.
"Haruhi?"
"Hmm?" She looked up at him and sat her teacup down.
"You've been so upset lately… I don't know what happened, and you don't talk to me. Would you please tell me what's on your mind?..."
While nodding Haruhi remained quiet for a few moments. She couldn't look at her father when she decided to speak.
"I… I found out recently that… Tamaki, he…" she took a deep breath and continued somberly. "He was diagnosed with leukemia recently."
Her response was nothing that her father expected. His eyes widened and he let out very small gasp. Her hands were clutched in tight fists and rested on her lap, and she let a tear roll down her face. Her father got up from his seat and wrapped his arms around her tightly in a comforting way. She let herself cry quietly with her head on his chest and he did his best to consol and comfort her.
She cried and cried and didn't care who saw. Since she had found out about his condition she hadn't let herself cry; she was trying her absolute best to stay strong for Tamaki, but she found it increasingly difficult to keep her feelings inside. It was another form of leukemia that took her mother away from her when she was young. The thought of losing Tamaki now killed her inside.
It took everything out of her to stop herself from crying. She wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve, but didn't move away from her father.
"Do you need a tissue…?" Her father asked quietly. She shook her head no, though her father got a few out of his purse anyway. She wiped her eyes and quietly blew her nose, but other than that she didn't move. She hid her face again, feeling almost all the eyes in the room on her and it made her feel uncomfortable.
With sadness in Ranka's eyes he slowly pulled away from his daughter, waning to look her in the eyes. She didn't want to look up, and knowing she wouldn't he said softly, "Haruhi, look at me…"
She tilted her head upwards but didn't say a word.
"I don't want you to never have to feel like you have to keep everything to yourself like you always have… I'm here for you Haruhi, just like I always have been." She nodded in response.
"You don't need to feel like you're alone in this, you're not—you have me, and all of your other friends-"
"I don't want them to see me like this Dad…"
"I know, I know."
She rubbed her eyes once. "But I knew what you meant." She tried to smile but couldn't manage to. Ranka leaned down and lovingly kissed her forehead.
"But he's going to need you too." She leaned down and put her head on his chest again, nodding very slightly.
"I know."
"More than he ever has before."
"What if he…"
"Don't think like that. He'll make it. You can't be thinking like that Haruhi."
She nodded again. "Alright."
