"Haruhi?" one of the customers asked in her direction. "Are you doing something different with your hair? It looks like it's really getting longer."*
Haruhi smiled politely at her. "I am, I'm actually going to grow it out."
The customers looked pleasantly surprised, and Haruhi had managed to catch the attention of many of the others in the room, including the other hosts. "Really~?" one customer asked. Haruhi nodded.
"Not too long though, I want to grow it out just long enough to where I can donate it."
"Donate it?" The twins asked, moving to her sides.
"If it gets long enough a company will be able to make a wig out of it for a child who's lost their hair to cancer-related alopecia."
Some of the customers had let out a quiet gasp. "I didn't know there were companies like that, but it sounds wonderful~" one said.
"I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost all my hair…!" another said, looking at the ends of her locks.
"A lot of people are like that," Haruhi said. "So if I can donate some of my hair to help someone have hair I'm more than happy to grow it out." She let out a nice smile, which appeared somewhat apologetic. "I just hope you ladies don't mind some of the awkward stages my hair will go through as it's growing."
"No no, not at all!" They exclaimed. "I actually think you would look very beautiful with long hair!"
As Tamaki listened to Haruhi he hadn't realized that he had been mostly ignoring his current customer. While she was listening too, the customer turned back to Tamaki when the other girls started speaking to Haruhi and dominating the conversation. "I think it's really sweet what Haruhi's doing to his hair," she said, hoping to gain his attention. "Don't you?"
Tamaki nodded before looking back at his customer. "It is…"
Sensing the sad tone in his voice she turned her body towards him and looked him in the eyes. "Do you know someone with cancer, Tamaki?"
He nodded softly. "I do Madame, I do."
"Oh, Tamaki, I'm so sorry to hear that…"
She could tell he didn't want to continue the conversation, so she turned her attention to his hair. "Oh, but Tamaki?"
"Yes?"
"Why exactly is your hair purple?"
He laughed, trying to quickly and calmly think of a feasible explanation, and when he couldn't think of anything he desperately hoped she would buy his bluff.
"Well Madame, I was saving unicorns in a field of flowers last night from dragons and when I did the unicorns had given me the gift of purple hair."
While his current customer stared blankly at him as if silently asking him "What the hell?", some of the other customers clapped and squealed. "Did you really do that~?!" they exclaimed happily.
"O-Of course I did!"
Haruhi, hearing his rather loud response, had a very similar reaction to the one his current customer had. He's really off his game today, she thought to herself. Though I guess I wouldn't know how to explain purple hair either… but it certainly wouldn't be like that.
"I think the boss has finally lost it," the twins said, looking to each other and shrugging.
"Hey, I have not!" Tamaki yelled. "It's your fault anyway!" The twins held up their hands defensively, and some of the girls giggled understanding that it was probably just a prank.
This is getting to be too much for me today.
Thankfully for Haruhi the usual Host Club antics were ending soon. The fuss about Tamaki's hair had subsided only slightly, and it seemed his popularity had skyrocketed in only a matter of minutes. Once her customers had left her for Tamaki she decided she would eat a piece of cake with Hunny.
"Haru-chan, we have lots of strawberry cake today~" he said smiling and taking a bite out of his third piece of cake.
"Mmhmm, it tastes pretty good."
"You hardly ever eat cake during the club though, are you feeling okay?"
She nodded. "I woke up late today and forgot my lunch at home."
"How come you didn't buy a lunch?"
"I've got to use my money to buy groceries this week, I can't spend it all on a single meal…"
"I could've bout you a lunch Haru-chan!"
Feeling Kyouya's smug glance at her she simply smiled and politely replied to Hunny, "Thanks, but I knew there would be plenty of food here after school, so I didn't mind waiting."
"Oh, well if you're sure~" he smiled and finished off his cake.
Moments later Haruhi could hear loud clapping in Tamaki's direction. He sat down on top of the tables, and while it didn't help his hight at all it made him the center of attention.
"Everyone, I have some very important new regarding the Host Club and myself," he said loudly enough for everyone to hear. All of the customers in the room turned to look at him, a few curiously whispering to the others.
"Is the Host Club ending Tamaki…?" one said.
"No no darling, it's not ending. I however will no longer be seeing regular customers…" he paused for a moment and took a quiet deep breath. "I'll actually be taking a leave from school as well. I was diagnosed with leukemia recently, and I'm afraid I simply won't be well enough to come in every day once I begin my treatments."
Every customer in the room had seemed to be in a state of shock. The room was silent and so tense it almost hurt Haruhi to breathe. She placed her hand on top of his for a bit of support. He held onto it loosely, waiting for the girl's reactions.
He had seen a few of them begin to cry. Others looked incredibly worried. But the majority were simply stunned—they hadn't had the slightest idea that something so wrong had been on his mind the entire time everyone was laughing and joking, carrying on happily all afternoon. Some of the customers had swarmed around him, almost as if they were trying to comfort him.
Chills had gone down Tamaki's spine, and goose bumps graced his skin. He spoke quietly, mentally willing himself to stay calm. "I-I'll be away for a few weeks at first, and I'm almost certain that I'll have to repeat this school year..." he said. "But I've already decided that I will come in whenever I feel I am well enough. I don't want the Host Club ending.
"Tamaki, you don't need to worry about us… Y-You just need to focus on getting better…!" The customers sniffled and cried. Tamaki knew from the start that their reactions would be like this; he tried to prepare himself beforehand, but he didn't think it would be this difficult. He got off the table and gave comforting hugs to the guests that were really upset. He was just as upset and afraid as his customers, but he knew that right now simply wasn't the place to display it.
Even Renge was upset and openly showed it. No one had actually told her of Tamaki's condition; they weren't sure how she would respond. She cried along with the rest of the customers, blotting her tears away from her face with a tissue. Some of the other customers offered Tamaki their condolences and prayers. The hosts didn't' mind allowing them to stay longer than the Host Club ran, and they all had personally made sure the girls had stopped crying before they left.
Tamaki, sitting down on one of the couches, quietly sipped a cup of coffe. An air of sadness loomed around him, and he didn't try and smile. He looked into his coffee cup, staring at his reflection. He took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, a way for his mind to clear out negativity.
"I start my chemotherapy tomorrow," he said. "I'll have to stay in the hospital when it starts."
Hunny sat down next to Tamaki on the couch. He leaned against Tamaki's side, and eventually looked up at his face. "We're gonna visit all the time," Hunny said. "Whenever we can—but Usa-chan gets to stay with you."
"Hmm?"
Hunny nodded. "Usa-chan's gonna stay with you and keep you company!"
"Hunny you don't have to do that, really," he said, looking down at his shorter friend.
"Nu-uhh, I want to," he said, holding Usa-chan out to him. "Just make sure you take really really really good care of him, and in return he'll make sure to keep you super happy."
Tamaki smiled softly and took Usa-chan from Hunny's arms. "Thank you Hunny; I promise to take really really really good care of him." Hunny replied by smiling brightly.
"Takashi bout you something," he said and turned to his cousin. "Do you have it with you?"
Mori nodded and got a large square book out of his book bag. "It's a scrapbook," he said. "So we can mark your recovery on paper."
"We already put the first couple pictures in there!" the twins happily exclaimed.
"Of what, my hair?" Tamaki questioned, opening the scrapbook. Instantly his face turned red and he quickly flipped through the pages wondering just how many of the pictures there were of Haruhi and him cuddling in their sleep on his couch.
"I hope you're not selling these pictures," Haruhi said in a threatening way. "And I hope my father won't see them either."
"Oh don't worry Haruhi," Kyouya said. "These pictures are strictly personal. Only we've seen them."
Haruhi sighed but sat down next to Tamaki on the couch. "There's lots of room for new pictures, too," she said.
"And we intend to take a ton," the twins said. Tamaki smiled. "And it should give you something to do while you're in the hospital. If you're feeling up to it and all."
"And it's not just for us, you can put pictures of new friends in there too, just make sure you don't forget about us—well, Usa-chan wouldn't let you anyway."
"I won't, I won't!" Tamaki exclaimed. "I promise!"
"Good!" Hunny hugged Tamaki and Usa-chan with a smile on his face. "'Cause we're never gonna forget about you either."
Haruhi sat in her father's car, messing with the thread of her knee-lengthed sundress. The radio played softly and she focused on it as much as she could. Her father hummed along to the song as he normally did when he drove. She yawned and lifted her head to look out the window, and she saw the large garden of flowers in front of an incredibly large hospital. It was one of the biggest hospitals in the country, and arguably one of the best. She had never actually seen it in person, and for a moment she was struck with awe.
"What time do you want me to pick you up sweetie?"
"I'll call you," Haruhi said. "I'll stay for a pretty long time though. You could go back to work if you need to."
"No, I'll just be running some errands. Do you need anything from the grocery store while I'm out?"
Haruhi got out a small note from her purse and handed it to him. "I was going to go tomorrow, but if you want to get some of that now," she said.
He nodded. "I will." Ranka kissed his daughter's cheek and watched her get out of the car. "You know where you're going, right?"
Haruhi nodded with a soft smile. "'Got the room number right here," she said, patting her purse. "I'll see you later dad."
Her father waited until she walked inside before he drove away. Haruhi asked a receptionist where she could start looking for Tamaki's room, but was thankful when another nurse told her she would direct Haruhi to the room.
She stood at the door for a moment, trying to listen in to the voices in his room. The walls and doors were thick and everything was so muffled she couldn't actually hear what was being said. She wasn't sure whether or not she should enter the room not knowing if the person with Tamaki was a doctor or nurse. She decided to enter anyway, and the doctor didn't stop his conversation with Tamaki to pay her any attention.
"And have you and your family already decided whether or not you want to go ahead with sperm banking?"
Haruhi wasn't exactly sure whether she should leave the room or stay. "E-Eh, yes, I've already taken care of that," Tamaki said, his expression poorly hiding his embarrassment. Haruhi allowed herself to blush slightly at the topic, but tried to force it away as fast as she could. She saw Kyouya sitting in a doctor's stool paying attention to everything the doctor said and writing it down in a notebook. She sat down on the edge of one of the reclining chairs, setting her purse on the floor. She turned to Tamaki and the doctor; as the doctor noticed her presence, he ended the conversation quickly.
"Good, good, do you have any paperwork for it?"**
Tamaki nodded. "My father should, yes. He's in the cafeteria at the moment."
The doctor nodded in understanding. "Alright. As long as you don't have any further questions we can begin your treatment within the hour." The doctor turned to Haruhi and Kyouya, asking them the question, "Neither of you are sick, are you?"**
"No, we're not." Kyouya said, answering for the both of them. "And we haven't been for months."
"Excellent." He turned his attention back to Tamaki. "A nurse will be in shortly to prepare you for your chemo."
"Thank you," Tamaki said, and watched the doctor walk out of the room. He turned towards Haruhi, and with Usa-chan in his lap he rested his head on his, hugging the stuffed bunny. "I'm sorry you had to walk in and hear… that."
"Don't be," she responded. "I should've knocked first. …And it's not like it's a taboo topic, I knew you'd be asked it before chemo, I didn't mean to interrupt."
"I think between you and Kyouya you know more about this disease than I ever will," he said.
"Well, I have done my research. How's Usa-chan? Hunny wanted me to ask," she said. Tamaki laughed light-heartedly for a moment.
"He's doing fine, he is pretty good company. Though I'm afraid Kuma-chan will get jealous of him pretty fast. He's vicious."
"Just be sure to give him just as much attention then," she added. "He'll be fine."
"I wouldn't get either of them too comfortable though," Kyouya said.
"I won't," Tamaki said with a nod. "I don't plan to be here any longer than I need to be."
And he smiled, a hopeful and afraid smile, but ready to conquer whatever came in his way.
I apologize for the late update—I could have updated the past two Sundays, but I didn't want to end on anything upsetting (again). After this chapter it'll start to lighten up (or at least I plan for it to); I'll be out of the state for the weekend, which is why I am updating on Friday instead of Sunday, but I feel like I will have a lot of free time to write while I'm in the car so if all goes well I might be able to get something up on Sunday night as well.
*Fun Fact: the entire idea of this story was based off of my friend's (Victoria62015) incredibly long hair that she wanted to donate. We decided we wanted to plan a story where a character grew their hair out for charity, and we came to the conclusion pretty fast that we wanted it to be Haruhi. The entire idea for Wilting Roses was planned around her growing her hair and donating it! She's got a pretty wonderful Ouran story too (Butterfly Child), and if you haven't read it yet you should definitely go check it out!
**Keep in mind that I am not a doctor, and I do not have any medical degrees. I research as much as I possibly can (like, I've put in at least a dozen hours into researching for this story so far), but because I can't actually speak with a doctor I have to sometimes make things up or just guess at what might actually happen.