I do not own anything. Thank you for reading, please enjoy.

Haruhi awoke to the sound of cans rattling. Despite her overwhelming desire to fall back asleep, she cracked her eyes open to see Tetsuya wandering around the crowded room, cleaning up the mess from the night before. She held a small smile as the night before her came back to her memory. She slowly got up, trying her best not to awake the sleeping boys around her. Tetsuya caught movement out the side of his vision, and turned to face her, a small smile on his lips as well.

"I see you are awake, hopefully not because of me." He said, throwing away another can. "I know these guys can party, if you need more sleep, feel free."

"No," Haruhi said quietly, "I would like to help, if that's ok?" She questioned, reaching for one of the unused bags to the side. He nodded his head and went back to picking up. They stayed silent, out of respect for the others sleeping, and crept around until everything was back in it's place. He gestured towards the back door, and Haruhi nodded in acknowledgement. Once outside, they threw their bags in the trash cans. She sighed heavily, still not quite awake. Tetsuya chuckled a bit.

"You get used to it with these guys." He said, pointing towards the door. "They are a rowdy bunch, but they are my family." He said, humor in his voice and a wistful smile gracing his features. Haruhi nodded, a small laugh of her own breaking through.

"I don't mind at all. I haven't felt this good in a while." She responded, her eyes on the door. "A family" she sighed to herself in content. Her gaze drifted back to Tetsuya, who hadn't looked away. He watched Haruhi a moment more, before leaning against the wall. Haruhi copied his movements, and they both relaxed.

"It's almost funny how much alcohol those guys can consume," Tetsuya laughed. "You know, back in my youth we couldn't even drink that. We had to hope that someone we shared with had been drunk enough for the effect to be passed."

"In your youth?" Haruhi questioned, confusion lacing her words. "How old are you? My dad looks way older than you, and he drinks all the time." She finished, a slight shiver going through her, as she remembered some drunken nights. Tetsuya looked at her a bit concerned but didn't press it.

"You know, I think I have lost count. Somewhere around 300, but I can't be certain. After I met Ritsu, I just didn't feel the need to worry about things like that." He responded watching in interest as she processed his words.

"Did you say 300?" She barely whispered. "How? I thought our lifespans were the same as humans?" Her eyes wide, she took in his form again. Tetsuya fought not to laugh at her bewildered expression.

"We live much longer than them. We just usually get hunted down before we reach far into our age. It's a sad truth," He spoke, sadness in his voice, "but we have a rather long life either way." He looked at her, amused at her ignorance of her own race, though his eyes held a tinge of the sadness he was trying to hide.

"That's amazing." Haruhi breathed, looking down at her feet. "My parents never talk about it much, so I only assumed. It's not even in the books I read about our kind. They just have weird theories about us in the books at school." She sighed looking back up at Tetsuya to see his face darken.

"Those are human books, Haruhi." He growled out, before sighing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that to come out like that." He sighed again noticing the flinch in her body as he tried to find the words to say. "Your parents probably didn't know either, honestly, unless one of them is as old as some of us." He said, gesturing again to the door. Her eyes widened again at this.

"Are all of you that old?" she almost shouted, feeling excitement at this. He chuckled softly at her reaction.

"Most of us, yes. Ritsu just reached his 116th birthday." His eyes shimmered with happiness. "All the rest of us are between his age and mine, though there are a few young ones, such as yourself. Puzzlement crossed her face, stopping him from continuing.

"I thought you didn't count birthdays anymore? Or is that just your own?" She asked, tilting her head slightly. He ruffled her hair, and looked towards the sky.

"I don't count my own, since I met Ritsu. The day I met him, my life started over, and I have no need for a number." He held a sad smile. "That was so long ago now, but it's not my story to tell." He looked back to Haruhi, his smile growing soft. "How old are you anyway?" He asked, looking her over. She blushed slightly, embarrassed at her youth.

"I'm fifteen." She said quietly, almost willing him not to laugh.

"Wow, you're the youngest vamp I've seen for a long time." He chuckled again. "And the first girl I've seen in a while as well." She jumped at his words, and inched away. To this he out right laughed. "You don't have to be scared. I figured you were hiding it, though I must say, that is a wise choice."

"How did you know?" She asked, her voice a bit shaky. "Does Ritsu know too?" She questioned looking to the door, before turning back to the boy in front of her, holding his gaze, her own eyes sharp, her arms twitching as if to fight. He took in her stance, but said nothing of it. "She is really scared." He thought.

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't know, as he referred to you as "HE" all night, though some of the others might. You have a very distinct scent. Your blood just smells nice. There's nothing you can do to hide that." He chuckled a bit at himself.

"What do you mean? How can you smell my blood?" She asked, nervous.

"Well, can't you smell mine?" He asked, his humor gone, and curiosity crept into his tone. She shook her head a bit, afraid to break his gaze. He sighed. "Try." She gave him a questioning look, and he laughed. "Just try." She nodded slowly, and relaxed herself a bit before inhaling deeply through her nose. She could smell a faint scent of warm honey. She looked at him curiously again.

"Warm honey?" She asked, trying to sort out the weird feeling in her chest.

"Is that what I smell like?" He laughed, slowly taking a step towards her. She took a step back, but was stuck against a wall. He stopped just a step in front of her, she let out a low growl unintentionally, and he chuckled, but didn't move. She made eye contact with him, and was shocked to see him so calm.

"Wh..what?" She asked, cursing herself for stuttering like an idiot. He just stared in her eyes for a moment, before taking a step back. She let out the breathe that she had been holding, and brought her hand to her chest.

"You know once we go through our "awakening" it gets worse." He said, his eyes tinged in warning.

"Awakening?" She asked, again cursing her ignorance. He sighed.

"It's like... it's like what puberty is for humans." He said, nodding in satisfaction with his answer. "We go through a change in our youth, helping us adapt. Our senses heighten, our mind is sharper, sometimes we even get "gifts" from our ancestors, though it is rare." He said, a finger to his chin in thought.

"Gifts?" Haruhi asked, before she could stop herself. He looked at her for a moment, before continuing.

"Well yes, you could say that. Things like mind reading, healing others, inhuman speed, powers that no human would ever have. They are abilities that some of the firsts had. But our bloodlines became so muddy, and now only a few of us are given the gifts, as punishment." He sighed. Haruhi looked amazed. She had read some of the old books in the library about these abilities being used against humans, causing them to start the "extermination".

"But," He started, pulling her from her thoughts. "With all of this, we still have the burden of needing blood to survive." He shook his head a bit, before looking up at her again. "Therefore, when the awakening happens, the first thing we notice is the smell of the blood around us." He put his hands in his pockets and continued. "Most of the smells won't bother us. They will just give a defining scent to another person." He paused unsure how to continue. "Others... other smells, they almost feel like they are calling us. We feel drawn to them, almost like obsession." He stopped again, scratching the side of his nose. "It's a hard sensation to describe, but I guess you could say, it's kind of how we find our mates." He said quietly, a small blush on his face, from having to tell this to a girl.

She stood speechless for a moment. She remembered feeling something like this a few days prior. The loss of control on her body from the faint scent of something. She looked away, trying to keep her mind focused.

"When does this "awakening" thing happen?" She asked curious of how much time she had left. He finally made eye contact again with a smile.

"Everyone is different, but it should be soon." His smile shrank a bit, "Just be careful." With that, he headed to the door, only to have it open suddenly. Haruhi jumped at this, and she heard Ritsu's laughter.

"Sorry," He mumbled, looking at them both. "I was wondering where you'd headed off to." He gave a smile to his friends. "I was wondering if you wanted some breakfast?" Tetsuya nodded enthusiastically, feeling famished. Haruhi, however was hesitant. She followed them in, and noticed many of her new friends from the night before drinking from blood bags. She could smell the delicious fumes wafting towards the door as it swung closed behind them. She felt her mouth begin to water and pinched her nose. She looked over at Ritsu and Tetsuya as they grabbed their own share. Ritsu noticed she had stopped around the counter and gave her an odd look.

"Aren't you gonna eat?" He questioned, bringing one of the bags to her. She took a step back, which caused him to stop. "Why is this guy..." He thought to himself before it clicked. "You don't eat human blood?" He asked, almost in disbelief. Haruhi just nodded, doing her best not to give in to the new temptation.

He sighed and placed the bag down, approaching her again. "Uh.." He started, looking to Tetsuya for backup, but it seems even Tetsuya was baffled by this. He sighed and scratched the back of his neck.

"It's fine," she struggled to remain calm. "Um.. I'm just gonna go to the restroom." She glanced behind her and saw the door to the bathroom. She looked back to Ritsu and gave a small smile. He just nodded, still unable to wrap his head around this turn out. "It seems small factions are still using the pigs blood." He sighed to himself. Haruhi took off to the restroom, and locked the door, while Ritsu joined the others in "breakfast".

"That's a harsh way to live." Tetsuya said, as Ritsu joined him. "No wonder she's so under-developed." He mumbled to himself. Ritsu gave a questioning look.

"What do you mean "she"?" He asked, rounding on his friend. "Haruhi's just a small guy, no need to make fun of him." He gave a sharp glare at his friend. Tetsuya just burst into laughter.

"Yes, yes, I guess you're right." He tried to stifle down his chuckles. "Maybe you should go check to see if "he's" alright?" He suggested, amusement playing on his lips. "He did seem a little off, but he might be feeling weak." He added, waiting on Ritsu's response. Ritsu just shrugged it off, and headed to the door. "This should be interesting." Tetsuya smirked, watching his friend walk into his trap.

"Oi, Haruhi." He knocked loudly on the door, only to have it open a bit. He looked in just to catch Haruhi adjusting her wrap. She looked up and their eyes locked for a brief moment before he slammed the door shut. His face was almost as red as his hair, and he heard Tetsuya burst into laughter again. Ritsu began shaking in embarrassment. "What. The. Fuck." He thought. He tried to get the image out of his mind, but it was burned into memory. Haruhi had breasts. Like a girl. But that didn't make sense. "Haruhi's a girl." His mind scolded, but he tried to push it away. "There's no way." He tried to argue back, but he couldn't. He'd seen it. "They look so soft." He blushed again, and for a moment the blood in his body didn't know which way to rush, as he thought about it again, then scolded himself, "What am I thinking?!" He tried to piece together his brain, but was failing miserably.

Haruhi didn't have time to cover herself in time as the door popped open. "I locked that!" Her mind screamed. Her embarrassment only grew as she realized Ritsu had seen her. She looked down at her chest, and her face flushed deeper. "Fuck." She thought, scrambling to get the damn wrap around her. She sighed heavily. "It's not like it's that big a deal." She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. "Tetsuya already knew, and..." She worried her lip, "We're both vampires." She sighed again. Slowly she approached the door, and opened it. Just outside, she saw a very red faced Ritsu, who seemed to be having some internal struggle. She opened the door a little further to see Tetsuya doubled over in laughter. She could already guess what just happened, and tried to quell her anger. It probably hadn't been intentional for him to actually "see" anything, but was Tetsuya's way of telling Ritsu the truth. She shot a deadly glare over to the laughing man, which only caused him to laugh harder. She looked at Ritsu sympathetically, and reached out to him, only to pull her arm back. "What am I supposed to say?" her mind asked, as she tried to find someway to explain. Ritsu saw her from the corner of his eye, and his blush grew deeper as his eyes went from her face to her chest.

"Hhh-Haruhi?" He asked, his voice cracking.

"Mmm?" She responded, not really wanting to prolong her embarrassment. She looked to the side, and rubbed at her forearms.

"Why, um. Why didn't you say you were a girl?" He asked, "I mean, maybe I shouldn't have assumed." He stopped, feeling unsure of his own words. She looked at him with a sad smile.

"My dad." Was all she responded with. He gave a questioning look, but was stopped from speaking when Tetsuya took over.

"A smart man." was all he said, before giving a smirk to Ritsu. "How many other girls have you seen these last fifty years?" He questioned, causing Ritsu to blink in shock. "Tetsuya's right!?" He thought, remembering only a few. He looked at Haruhi again, then to Tetsuya.

"I'm sorry." Tetsuya said, amusement in his voice, but no remorse. He looked at Haruhi, who had yet to look up from the floor. His smile fell just a bit, but he still felt he did what was best. She gave a small nod of acknowledgement, but nothing more. Ritsu sighed. "I'm going to get him back for this." He thought, before giving Haruhi a pat on her shoulders.

"It's ok though, we won't hurt you here." He said, his voice laced with his promise. Again Haruhi just nodded, but pulled away from his hands.

"It's fine really. It's not like it matters either way." She sighed, "Besides, what you see me as isn't as important as our friendship." She finally made eye contact, and Ritsu gulped. Her brown eyes were full of worry, sadness, and fear. "What is she afraid of?" He thought. He didn't say anything for a bit, and he noticed the fear only growing. Tetsuya nudged him, and sighed.

"Our friendship won't change Haruhi," Tetsuya remarked, hoping Ritsu caught the hint. "Besides, I knew from the beginning." He gave a warm smile, and she returned it, before turning back to Ritsu.

"Yea, girl or not, you still put up a good fight." Ritsu shrugged, finally understanding what was happening. "Haruhi doesn't have any friends, and she thought we would push her away now." He sighed, as sad as it was though, it still made things more complicated. She didn't notice his smile drop, but smiled at him in relief.

Tetsuya sensed something deeper from Ritsu but figured he'd find out later. All three stood quietly for a moment before Haruhi broke the silence.

"Well, as fun as everything has been, I really should get home soon. I need to um... eat." She said quietly as her stomach grumbled. The two in front of her nodded and laughed, causing her to blush. She gave them each a smile, before heading out the back door. Tetsuya and Ritsu both let out a long sigh, before Ritsu punched Tetsuya hard in the arm.

"Hey!" Tetsuya smirked. "You had to find out sometime." His smirk turned evil as Ritsu's face flushed again. "Interesting." He thought as he wandered over to the rest of the gang.

The air felt nice on her skin as she walked home. The street didn't look so bad during the daytime, which eased her worries as she was too exhausted to fight. She didn't really look at where she was going, lost in her own head. She found herself at home before she realized and sighed. She really didn't feel like going in there. For some reason lately she just didn't want to go home, but her stomach told her she needed to get inside. She ran a hand through her hair before climbing up the steps. She rested her forehead on the door before unlocking it, finding herself struggling. "Did I not eat enough yesterday?" She thought as she got inside. She looked around and saw the mess that her dad had left. Groaning she went into the kitchen, only to see the fridge empty. Growling in frustration she slammed it shut, cursing under her breathe. "Every fucking time." She sighed. She decided it would be best to just lay down for a while, hoping that her dad was going to pick up some more soon.

Haruhi woke up to the door closing and grumbled to herself. She really didn't feel too great. Sighing she pulled herself out of bed, and out into the hall, where her father caught sight of her. He was still fuming from his phone call last night. She could feel something was off, and the air was tense, but at that moment the only thing she could think of was eating. She was coming back to her room with a thermos when her father stopped her. He was sitting at the table in the living area, anger clear in his posture.

"Haruhi, we need to talk." He huffed, he was having a hard time holding it together.

"Can't we do this later dad?" She asked, her annoyance enraging him further.

"No." He snapped, pointing to the seat across from him. "Sit. Now." he half yelled. This startled Haruhi, and she obeyed hesitantly, setting her long awaited food to the side as she kept eye contact with her father.

"What is it?" She asked, her voice sounding smaller than she would've liked.

"I had an interesting phone call yesterday." He started, watching her for any signs. Her eyes widened a fraction, but not enough to give anything away. Her mind was racing, "Who could've gotten our number." Then she stopped, "No, I shouldn't worry about it, it's not like anyone.." Her thoughts were interuppted as Ranka continued.

"A Kyoya Ootori called me, from the club you are in." She broke eye contact, and clenched her fists. "What?!" Her mind screamed. She felt a tremble in her fingers, but squeezed them tighter to ignore it. "He told me you are in a host club." Her father continued, his expression growing darker. "You know," He said, leaning forward on his elbows, "When he first said it, I didn't believe it." He added, his voice still calm. "Why would my Haruhi, so smart for her age, join a host club?" He continued, his voice struggling to keep composure. "Then he informed me the it was willingly." He voice rose a bit, and Haruhi flinched when his hands slammed on the table. "ARE YOU TRYING TO GET CAUGHT?" He yelled, his eyes now a deep crimson red. He growled in frustration and stood up, pacing the room. "You've got to be kidding right?" He stopped to see if she had any words to defend herself. She sighed and looked away.

"I attacked one of them, what else was I supposed to do?" She asked quietly, not expecting her father to pick her up by the front of her shirt.

"What else are you supposed to do?!" He yelled, shaking her slightly, "You're supposed to walk away, Haruhi, or haven't you learned that lesson?!" He bellowed dropping her to the floor. She coughed a bit and shakily stood up, not backing down.

"It's just a club and they all think I'm a guy!" she shouted back, frustrated that this conversation was even happening. She was furious, her father never acted like this. What the hell was going on? "I just sit there and talk to girls all day, you'd think that you'd like that since you want me to act like a boy anyways!" She added, not seeing the problem. Her father's face reddened and he got in her face.

"You don't get it do you?" He yelled, bearing his fangs. "You are leaving that club. So many things can go wrong! What if they find out you're a girl?" He asked, grabbing her shirt again. "What if you mess up again Haruhi?" He continued. "You remember what happened last time don't you?" He yelled, once again dropping her from his hold. She gasped, and tears came to her eyes.

"That won't happen!" She screamed, fists balled. "How dare you!" She continued, tears freely falling.

"How dare I?" He yelled back, he grabbed the thermos on the table and threw it at the wall. "It's your fault!" He shocked himself, but the words came spilling out.

"You never think! You just do as you please! I would've thought that after she died, you would learn, you would be careful! And now this?!" He yelled, no longer in control of his mouth. The look of hurt on her face just infuriated him. He knew he should've kept it to himself, but he couldn't. In his mind, it was her fault. If she had just been careful, had just listened to her mother, she wouldn't have been dragged away. She wouldn't have been taken, and Kotoko wouldn't have died.

Haruhi tried to choke down the sobs rumbling out of her throat, but she just couldn't.

"I knew you thought that!" She yelled, "It's not my fault!" She screamed, pulling at her hair. "I was a child!" Her father would hear none of it.

"Are you still a child?! Aren't you aware enough Haruhi?" He yelled back, "You're just reckless! You are doing the same thing again!" He continued, "This, this "host club" will stop! You obviously aren't smart enough to see it for yourself. You are supposed to be invisible and stay that way!" His voice was becoming hoarse, but he didn't care.

"I will not." She said softly. Her body was shaking.

"Excuse me?!" he shouted, coming closer to her.

"I will not." She spoke again, louder. "I will not be invisible anymore." She looked at her father in the eye, and her determination made him angry.

"Why are you doing this?!" he shouted again. "Wasn't your mother's life enough?" This time, he didn't hold back. In his mind, he now had to force her to see his way. Startled by what he said, Haruhi visibly shook.

"This time, it will be my own life." She said firmly. To this he slapped her, hard. Her body wasn't prepared, and she fell, slamming the side of her head into the table they were fighting around. Haruhi didn't even make a sound as the crack echoed through the room. Blood dripped from her wound as freely as the tears had been falling from her eyes just moments before. Ranka went into shock. He stood there and stared at her, and then his hand. He hadn't intended to hit her that hard, but he was so angry. Couldn't she see he was trying to protect her? He fell to his knees beside her, and cautiously touched her arm. He moved her face to see the wound and was surprised to see the angry gash still openly spewing her blood. He panicked. Why wasn't it clotting? This was bad. Had she not been eating enough. Then it dawned on him. He looked over at the thermos now lodged in their wall and then back at his unconscious daughter. "What have I done?" He asked out loud, before holding onto her and crying. He pulled his shirt off and trying applying pressure to the wound, but her blood soaked through it quickly. He couldn't take her to the hospital, he just had to wait and hope that it would stop. He sobbed, and carried her to her room, gently lying her on the bed. "I'm sorry Haruhi," He choked, "I'm so sorry." He got up and walked from the room. At this point he just had to wait for her to wake up.

At some point that night, Haruhi began to move. She felt cold and heavy. "That's not a good sign," She sighed to herself. Part of her just wanted to stay there in the darkness of her mind. Wouldn't that be for the best anyways? Even though she wanted to give in, her body refused her. She found herself blinking her eyes open slowly, wincing in pain as the left side was noticeably more difficult to open. She started to remember what had happened, but she couldn't come up with any tears. Her whole mind felt numb, "If only my body felt as numb as the rest of me." She thought, wincing again in pain. Her head felt heavy, and her left eye was partially swollen. She looked down at the rest of her body. She looked oddly pale, and almost fragile against her sheets. She had to will herself to move, before she was finally able to climb out of her bed. "The floor seems warmer than my body." She joked to herself, wondering just how much blood she had lost. She looked at her bed and noticed a large stain of red where her head had been. She grimaced, and turned away. She looked in the hall and saw her fathers door open, though he was asleep on his bed, wearing different clothes than before, no doubt. She looked away in disgust, making her way to the kitchen. She pulled out three thermos containers. "Fuck it." She thought, as she downed them all. Her head became slightly lighter, but not enough to make an improvement on her current demeanor. She touched the side of her face and flinched, it was so swollen, she was sure there was a bruise. She knew she was too weak to go walking this night, and sighed. She could really use Ritsu right now, then again, she didn't want to explain it to him. Her body reminded her of its aches, and she resigned to going back to her room. This time she slid the door closed and locked it. She didn't want to be bothered by the man she called her father. She placed her forehead against the door, and began to cry. She turned and slid to the floor, sobbing. She knew her father had blamed her, but she didn't want to hear it from him. He had been so cold and distant, constantly gone, replacing her with other people. She knew, but it didn't hurt any less. But she resolved herself to no longer care. She didn't want to be a prisoner to this anymore. What's the point of living, if you're living in a cage? She fell asleep against her door, willing for the morning to take it's time.