Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran… sadly… good for you guys, but sad for me…
AN: I'm so sorry this is up a little late… As I was saying, I already have chapter 13-17 done, it's just a matter of getting them posted. From now on, I'll be adding a new chapter after 5 reviews for every chapter :) Sorry for any delay…
Here's chapter 13 :) Enjoy
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The Portrait of Haruhi Fujioka
Written by: Amnoying Ammii
Chapter 13: A Tale of Tales…
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"Kotani…? What's wrong?"
Kotani ignored his grandfather and stormed to his bedroom.
Hikaru blinked. What's wrong with him?
He knocked on the door. There was no answer, so he decided to go in. "Kotani… What's wrong?" he repeated.
"Nothing… Go away."
Hikaru grinned and jogged over to his grandson. For a 66 year old guy, he was still pretty spry. He jumped on the bed beside Kotani, frightening the poor, unfortunate child who had him as a grandfather. Hikaru giggled at the boy and sat up. "Why are you so jumpy?" he asked.
"It's Shuichi…" Kotani gave in. "Maii liked him…"
"What's wrong with that? There are plenty fish in the sea!"
"But I like Maii!" Kotani yelled. "She's pretty, she's smart – she's PERFECT!"
Hikaru put an arm around Kotani. "Listen here, sonny: I have a story for you…
"There was once a pauper… she was a smart little person, and was finally let into the large kingdom of rich princes and princesses. She was a beautiful young little girl, but decided in cross-dressing, taking after her father, but that was only for the time being.
"After a lot of hassle, she left one of the noisy rooms in the castle and found an abandoned room – which turned out not to be abandoned at all. Inside were 6 handsome men, all about her age, the oldest ones being only 2 years older then her.
"They were confused, the boys, as to why a young lad would go to them. The girl was also confused because they were talking about nonsense…
"Well, they used her. They made her do chores; go to the shops, etc. At the start, only the smartest one, the prince, had known she was female, but everybody learnt about her secret eventually, except the king for another week or so. He was a slow, sad person…
"After many months spent together, the pauper was loved by all – but mostly by the king and the prince. They weren't related in any way, but were the best of friends since the king had come from France.
"But because of this young girl, the bond in their friendship became even weaker. By the end of the paupers 5th month in the kingdom, they barely even looked at each other.
"And then…" Hikaru paused.
"Go on," Kotani urged, interest rising in his voice. Even at 17, he was still such a child at heart.
Hikaru smiled and nodded. "Right… Well, the prince… He was the first one to propose to the pauper. Yes, propose: A prince and a pauper were to be wed after 2 years.
"The king didn't like it. Not one bit. So he did the worst thing man is known to do…
"He made her go against her fiancée and sleep with him instead.
"Horrible… completely horrible… Nobody knew, of course, since the king had threatened her so many times that if she had said anything to anyone about their relationship, he'd stop the wedding she was going to have with the prince."
"That's like rape!" Kotani blurted out unbelievingly.
"It's exactly like rape," Hikaru nodded. "And it continued for months. Nobody, not even the smartest person on the planet, the prince, knew about what was happening. Their secret was so tightly locked between themselves', it was only until the prince caught them out. He didn't say anything at first, but after 3 days, he confronted her. He told her to meet him later in the castle and she went.
"He told her everything he knew about what she and the king were doing.
"And then he asked whether she loved him or the king more…"
"She chose the king…?" Kotani asked.
He nodded. "Do you know why?"
"Because of the threats," Kotani answered.
"Right; she loved the prince more than that foolish king, but she was too afraid to say anything.
"It was almost the end of the year, and many secrets were revealed. In February the next year, on the 14th—"
"Valentines Day," Kotani noted.
"Yes, Valentines Day," Hikaru nodded. "Well, on Valentines day, the prince went crazy with rage and killed the pauper…"
Kotani gapped. "No way…!"
"It's true. He wasn't exiled or killed, but he was punished – punished with life. He had to live the rest of his life with the memory of the girl on his heart forever…"
"Why not just kill himself?" Kotani asked.
"Firstly, he was a believer of the ancient spirits – he believed that if one killed themselves, they'd be condemned to a Hell Land, and will be punished for the rest of eternity. And secondly… he fell in love again…"
"That was quick…"
"It was purposefully, though. He didn't want the girl to terrorize his dreams anymore. So he loved… He had kids… And guess what – he still lived, strong and healthy."
Kotani blinked. "That story sounds familiar… you're not talking about that host club thing, are you?"
Hikaru nodded. "Precisely."
"So that's what really happened?"
"Yes."
"How do you know about it?"
"I was part of the host club."
Kotani blinked. "You were part of that horror?"
Hikaru nodded grimly. "So was Shuichi's great grandfather, and Maii's grandfather – they were the king and the prince…"
"Who was who?"
"Tamaki was the King. Kyouya, the prince…"
"Why didn't you stop talking to Grandpa Kyouya then?" If he killed that girl, why didn't you do something to him?"
"Because… I loved Haruhi as well… More then just a friend… I wanted to marry her if she had declined Kyouya. But it wasn't Kyouya's fault; though Kaoru still believes it half is, I don't – not anymore, anyway… He had gone crazy – do you really blame him?"
"It was grandpa Tamaki's plan all the way from the start," Kotani said, looking to the floor understandingly. "I got it now…"
"So, I suggest you don't try to break the two of them up with your selfishness… That's Kyouya's great-grandson, and his powers are still strong within his family line."
Kotani nodded. "If you can forgive Grandpa Kyouya for killing the girl you loved, I guess I can forgive Shuichi for going out with the girl I love too…"
"Remember, there are plenty fish in the sea. You just have to find the shark," Hikaru giggled, walking out of the room.
He went to his own room and smiled at the ghost of Haruhi as she sat on the edge of his bed.
"He's fine now," Hikaru said. "I told him everything – except about your pregnancy… I still find that hard to believe."
"Well, only Mori found out. Thankyou Hikaru… You've saved me some time now." Haruhi stood. "You do know your life is almost over, right?" Haruhi cringed at having to tell him such bad news at such a young age.
"I know. It's obvious – I never should have taken up smoking after your death…"
"You've grown quite handsome, you know," she smiled at his understanding. She walked towards him and held his head with her cold, dead hands. She kissed him on the forehead. "Thankyou for being here for him… He'd never have gotten through the years without your help. And your grandson's quite a devil – he reminds me of someone…" She put a finger on her chin in a thinking pose.
Hikaru laughed. "Yes, he does remind me of someone too. Who could it be?"
Haruhi grinned. "Well, I should be going. I have a lot to do."
"It's good to see you're happy," Hikaru waved to her.
"I'm a busy, busy old rat. It's good to see you've forgotten about me and moved on – no sarcasm intended, by the way," she added quickly. "Bye Hikaru. Take good care of yourself, and use up the last of your life now before it's too late… Dare to make a difference…"
He nodded. "Okay."
And she was gone.
He sighed and sat on the edge of his bed. It was good to see she was doing so well, even in death. It was good just to see her again…
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Hope you liked that chapter :) Um… I think I have a mistake… I think in the newspaper article I had some date on it, but I don't know if it was the right one on this…
Anyway, yeah, that was that chapter :)
Next chapter:
Chapter 14: The Broken Hearts, Part 3
Chapter 15: Getting older
Chapter 16: Beads of love
And Chapter 17: Broken Hearts, Part 4
:) I'll be putting them up a week at a time, though, coz I'll be wanting at least 5 reviews for every chapter… XD
Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter :) ily much
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PEACE OUT
luv amnoying ammii
STAY COOL EVERYONE
MWAHZ to all reviewers
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