Whelp, hello.

Please pardon any typos or point them out if you find them, I had to write this on my phone due to wrist problems.

Waves crashed onto the beach and water kissed my toes as I stood there, staring out over the ocean. I was in another swimsuit—this one was so deep a purple it looked black—and once again, all I wanted to do was wrap myself in a towel or bury myself in the sun-warmed sand. But this time, it was ten times worse.

Tamaki was to my left, performing host club duties on a large rock. I rolled my eyes at the long line of girls and at Kyoya who was trying to keep them orderly. Blushes were on all of their faces, making it look like they were getting sunburned.

On my right, Honey and Mori were doing something; I didn't know what it was. Seemed kind of like a yoga, kind of like a fighting type thing. Haruhi was just behind me, safely away from the water, sitting on a towel under an umbrella. But girls were starting to flock towards her in groups of three or four.

Yes, host club activities had been moved to a beach in Okinawa.

There were so many people there, so many to see my scars and everything wrong with me.

I gritted my teeth as I turned away from the ocean and walked to Haruhi. I could feel people's eyes on me, roaming every bit of exposed skin on my body. And it didn't help that boys—boys—had decided to tag along with the girls. No, that made it so much worse.

" Sachiko, " Haruhi said as I sat down next to her and brought my knees to my chest, " You didn't have to come. "

" I haven't been to a beach before. And I didn't think the customers would follow us here. " I grumbled as I buried my head in between my knees. I was actually kind of excited, since none of the host club seemed to care about my scars and I could go to a beach and have fun.

" Sachiko-san, " A boy approached me. I looked up at him, my wavy hair falling in front of my face. "Do you want to go swimming with me? "

" I'm sorry. I still haven't fully recovered from the accident. " I paired the words with a sweet smile, and his face tinged pink.

" It's okay, I understand. " And then he walked away, occasionally looking over his shoulder at me. I put my head back on my knees and squeezed my eyes shut. If I couldn't see them, they couldn't see me. That was my mentality in that moment, and I would stick with it for the rest of the day.

" Let's just walk down the beach. " Haruhi said, standing and holding a hand down to me. I took it and stood, feeling a slight ache in my left hip. It had ached off and on since I woke up that morning, reminding me that I was still injured. Reminding me of the hospital. Which reminded me of Kyoya and the old lady that said she had seen my mother when she was a teenager.

I pushed those thoughts away and squinted at the sun glaring off of the ocean.

" Haru-chan! " Honey said, waving at her. He was next to a bunch of large, grey rocks, with a bucket of shellfish beside of him. I looked at it with disinterest as I tagged along next to Haruhi, until we were surrounded my shellfish ourselves. I was alarmed by their sudden appearance, nearly jumping onto Haruhi's back.

" Let's go hellfish hunting! " He exclaimed, eyes wide as he looked at all the shellfish around. I raised an eyebrow at his choice of words, but Haruhi let it slide and just crouched down next to him. I followed suit, wrapping my arms around my knees.

" You have a lot here, " I said, smiling. There really was a lot that he had managed to fit into one bucket, and for some reason, the more he put into buckets the more that appeared. I heard a uniform marching sound, looked up, and saw Mori looking over the rocks. It looked simple enough to climb.

So that was what I did. I left Haruhi and Honey, climbing up the rocks and scraping my toes not the rough surface. I have no calluses on my hands or feet so they were baby soft, and being rubbed raw, but eventually I reached the top and looked over the ridge with Mori on my right.

There was a truck. There was Kyoya. There was a private force of armed men passing buckets of shellfish down a line. That had to have been where all the shellfish were coming from, because it was highly unlikely that all the shellfish Honey had caught had been there naturally.

" Ah, Sachiko-san, Mori-senpai. " Kyoya said, looking up at us with a clipboard in his hand. " The Ootori private police force wanted to make up for their earlier offense on Honey-senpai, so I'm letting them do this. "

I had heard about what happened. And I had heard about how Honey dropped in on them and kicked ass for offending and attacking his friends.

I thought my mind was still trying to process it. That little, cute, adorable person could take out an entire police force single-handed. Single-handed. I told my dad I would learn how to fight to defend myself, but he said I needed to find someone that I could train with. Well, if I asked nicely enough, I thought I had just found the person to do that.

If I could have just worked up the courage to walk up and say, " Hey, I need to learn how to defend myself in case anyone else tries to assassinate me. I kind of have a kingdom waiting for me, so your help would be much appreciated. Please and thank you. "

Except, there was no way I would have asked like that.

" That's nice of them. " I said, still peering over the ridge of rocks at the people down below. They were maybe a few meters away—the fall wouldn't kill me. I looked over my shoulder at Haruhi and found tubs of fish in front of her and Honey. They were both smiling widely, proud of what they had found.

Or what they were given. But, hey, I wouldn't crash their mood.

On my way back down the rocks, I scraped my foot and nearly fell twice. Mori stayed next to me despite my protests that he could just use his agility to just jump down, ready to catch leif I actually did fall. I did not want to fall, bust my skull open and then go into another coma. One for a lifetime is good enough for me, thank you very much.

" Senpai! " Haruhi shouted, waving at Tamaki who had a small smile on his face as he looked at the very happy Haruhi. " We caught a big haul for tonight's supper! "

She looks adorable, I thought as I dropped down into the sand near Tamaki. I hissed through my teeth as my left foot burned, but I ignored it.

" You did? Oh, I'm just so proud. Look at my little girl. " Tamaki put both hands on either cheek and had a light blush covering his cheeks. Or maybe it was a sunburn. Either way, I walked the three steps over and flicked him in the head.

" She's not your little girl. "

He put a hand on his head and huffed, " Well then how else would I feel so protective over her? So proud of her? So— "

" I don't know. Maybe you— "

Mori put a hand on my mouth, silencing me before I could get the words, Maybe you like her, out. I glared at him and he just shook his head. I turned back to scold Tamaki only to find he had approached Haruhi, and was currently holding a crab out in front of him.

I moved Mori's hand off of my mouth, " Why'd you do that? Shouldn't he confront his feelings? "

" Not yet. It would ruin the balance in the club. " His voice was deep, matching his towering appearance. I couldn't help but agree with him, but the fact that Tamaki considered Haruhi his daughter was just deeply disturbing for me because I knew her father. Our father.

I walked closer only to hear girls screaming.

" Cen—"

" ti—"

" pede! "

And with that they took off screaming. I looked closer and saw a small little bug on the crab, and Tamaki had a steady stream of tears running down his face. I laughed as Haruhi just picked the centipede up and threw it towards the rocks. When I had first arrived five years ago, we played in the small patch of grass behind the complex—against my will, I might add—and there were all kinds of bugs. Being the princess I was, I was a little squeamish. Haruhi quickly got me over that. Bugs didn't bother me anymore.

The twins appeared next to her. I paid attention to the way they acted, trying to differentiate Hikaru and Kaoru. I did, after all, have to spend an entire weekend with Kaoru, so I might as well start practicing to be able to tell the difference between them.

" Hey, Haruhi… " The one wearing black and red swimming trunks said, " As much as it pains me to think you're a kindhearted, bug-loving girl— "

" —couldn't you have at least set that thing free a little more gently? "The other one finished. He was wearing purple and black swimming trunks.

" It'll take more than that to kill it. "

I looked at the twin's expressions, weighing and gauging them. As much as they like to act the same, they have to be different in some way. It was impossible to imitate someone completely. Even if they had been living together their entire lives.

The girls, sensing the bug was gone, came back. " Haruhi-kun, you're so manly. "

I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my smile, but that did nothing to muffle the laughing.

The three, Haruhi, Hikaru, and Kaoru, turned around.

Kaoru was in the purple swimming shorts. I decided that as tears spilled from my eyes because I was laughing so hard. Haruhi, a man? The idea was so ludicrous, but I could see where the girls were coming from. She looked like a boy in the clothes she was wearing with her hair cut that short. She wasn't scared of things most girls were scared of.

Our dad was feminine, his daughter tomboyish. I grinned. I liked the way they broke gender roles.

" Are you going to be okay? " Kyoya said, amusement in his voice as he watched me clutch my sides from laughing so hard. I jumped, raising my arms to defend myself before I realized it was just him.

" Where'd you come from? " I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. The girls were still fawning over how manly Haruhi was. I chuckled.

He opened his mouth to respond but Tamaki and the twins walked over while Haruhi was distracted with the girls. They seemed to be scheming, and I did not like the looks of it.

" We just thought of a fun game, " Kaoru said. I frowned, but Kyoya just kept his face blank. I could still tell he was mildly interested though. The twins' games were either fun, disastrous, emotionally scarring, or all of them combined.

" We call it, " Hikaru said.

" The 'Who can find Haruhi's Weakness' game! " They said in unison and I felt my stomach drop. I knew what Haruhi was scared off and what her weaknesses were, but I didn't want these twins to turn this into a game! It didn't see fair to my sister who would be subjected to all kinds of torments for the sake of the twins' amusement.

" No, no, no, no. " I said, shaking my head. " That's a horrible game. It would be so mean to Haruhi! "

But Tamaki was off in dreamland, the twins were grinning evilly, and Kyoya was thinking about it. Actually considering it.

" What are the rules? " Kyoya asked, pushing the pen against his lip. It was distracting, so I decided to scowl at him. Not just for what he did, but for what he said. How could they have actually been considering this?

" The deadline is tomorrow at sunset. Whoever finds out her weakness first, wins. "

Kaoru glanced in my direction, then looked back at Tamaki and Kyoya.

" I'm not playing this awful, dreadful, unfair game. Besides, I would win. " I crossed my arms over my chest and stomped away. I wouldn't tell Haruhi. I didn't think it would matter if she knew or not. There was simply one thing she was afraid of: thunderstorms. They were actually kind of scary for me too, but I knew my fear was irrational. For example, I was more scared of falling from a high height than I was bugs. Simply because bugs—well, some bugs—couldn't kill me. Falling from a high height had more of a chance of ending my life.

" Fine then, " They said, raising their voices so I could hear them. But the four separated, heading their own ways with their own devious plans to find out Haruhi's fear.

I would just stay near Haruhi and protect her from everything.

But what if they manage to find my fear too?

My thoughts were interrupted when Kaoru grabbed my arm. I turned and faced him, finding his brother standing next to him. They hooked their arms around my shoulders and steered me towards an umbrella.

" Sachiko-san. "

" We're friends, right? "

" You'd help your friends out if they needed your help, wouldn't you? "

" I'm not helping you cheat. " I deadpanned. I knew where they were going with what they said, and I was not going to help them. Besides, I still owed Kaoru that weekend; that was the most I would be doing for him. For either of them. Because it was common sense that wherever one twin was the other often followed.

" Aww, please? " They leaned closer.

" No. "

The one on my left, Hikaru, put his hand on my cheek and turned my face towards him. " Sachiko-san… " His eyes didn't leave mine.

I heard some girls squeal, saw some guys glare.

" I said no, Hikaru. " He looked surprised when I said his name, and I prayed I didn't get them mixed up. Kaoru seemed the least bit surprised as well, but shook it off and replaced it with a frown.

They stopped walking, their arms leaving my shoulders. i walked the few meters to a towel and sat on it, with a beach umbrella above me. I was glad to be back int eh shade, safe and sound and away from madness, but the feeling didn't last long. I barely had time to blink before people were surrounding and asking questions. Some of the girls were actually mad at me for shrugging the twins' attention off like I did.

Some guys were trying to get my attention. I smiled at all of them, wanting to wrap myself in the towel and pretend this day wasn't happening. No one said anything about my scars that covered my body from head to toe, but I could feel their gazes lingering on them. It made me sick.

" Sachiko-san, " One of the guys said. He had brown hair and brown eyes. Easy on the eyes but not too extraordinary. " Do you have a boyfriend? "

Lie and get asked who it is. Tell the truth and be bugged every day for the rest of the school year. I could barely make friends—much less be able to get a boyfriend. Besides, I didn't even think I was capable of feeling that emotion because none these guys made my heart race or my stomach erupt into butterflies.

Wait, why was this guy so bold? Who in their right mind would have asked me about that?

" No. "

The guys' face lit up. Even a few of the girls seemed to perk up. Each and everyone one of them acted like they would be the one to stand by my side. Getting a boyfriend would be too problematic for me, considering what I had to do, the near death experiences, and fear for those I care about.

"Are you looking?"

No, I thought, but I could practically hear Kyoya's voice in my head: Keep up the mystery, give them hope. If you keep stringing them along, they'll keep requesting you and the club will make more money.

And Haruhi's debt would be decreased.

I sighed, "I'm waiting."

They looked confused. " For what? " A majority of them called out at the same time, briefly reminding me of the twins. I smiled right at them.

"For the right person to sweep me off of my feet." I felt ridiculous saying it since it wasn't true, but each of their faces became filled with hope and determination, and I wondered how much money I just made the host club. And how much annoyance I had just brought upon myself.

I found it weird, how many people were around me just because I was in the host club. I could guarantee that I would not be as popular if Tamaki hadn't made me going the host club. Haruhi and I would probably have been those two commoners that no one wanted to talk to. But, we caught the attention of the esteemed host club, and it was like everyone forgot we weren't rich.

Kyoya sat down at a table near me, writing in his note book. Tamaki sat down on the lounging chair next to him, hands behind his head, eyes closed.

"Would you date one of us?"

I cast a glance over at Kyoya. I knew he had heard them, because his eyes had flickered up from his notebook and landed on me. After a split second of waiting for his response, yes or no, and getting nothing, I turned my attention back to the people around me. If I said no, they would have left all dejected like and stopped requesting me. If I said yes, I would be thoroughly irritated all the time with people constantly trying to win me over.

"Maybe." I said, a false smile spreading across my face. Not a yes, but not a no.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the twins leading a group of girls into a cave. They were ushering Haruhi forward with an evil glint in their eyes and I rolled mine. It was going to take a lot more than a dark place like that to scare Haruhi.

§

I was sitting with the twins on a rock wall, watching the sun set. Most of the customers had left, finally giving us some peace and a chance to relax rather than have to deal with false identities so they might have found me intriguing. We were in a villa like area with bushes and trees around some buildings. Tamaki was hovering near a tree, a bucket in his hands. I cringed when I thought about what he might do with it.

" Hey, Sachiko-San, " Hikaru, who was on my right, said. "What are you afraid of?"

"Nothing." I said as I looked at Haruhi walking down the beach. I did not want to give them anything to use against me or prank me with. Of course, I wasn't necessarily lying either. There were only a couple of things that could scare me.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow from his spot next to Hikaru. "Nothing?"

I shook my head.

"Is it something with the Fujiokas? Haruhi isn't scared of anything either."

I chuckled as Tamaki suddenly exclaimed, making us turn our heads towards him. My face paled at the sight of the snakes in his bucket and even more so when I recognized them as habu snakes, venomous. Poisonous. Deadly.

"These oughta scare her." He said as he looked to me for what seemed to be confirmation. I shrugged, knowing they wouldn't but not willing to tell him that. That would have just oven him time to think of something else to torture Haruhi with.

"Anyone would find those unpleasant. " Hikaru said.

"That's not a weakness."

I pursed my lips as Tamaki dejectedly put down the bucket, his face falling. I didn't know why they were so keen on figuring out what her weakness was, but my bet was they had put a prize on it. When I turned back to look at the ocean, I couldn't find Haruhi anywhere. My heart lurched as I scanned it and then the area around us, making sure she hadn't approached us, and then I noticed the giant rock or what seemed to be a cliff face, jutting out over the ocean. There were people on top of there: three girls, two guys, and...

Haruhi.

"Guys... " I said. Honey and Mori were making their way towards us, and Kyoya was with them.

"Hmm? "

I gestured to the area that was dozens of meters above the ocean.

" Haruhi is up there. "

Just as I said that, a girl came running down the beach towards us. Tamaki put the bucket of snakes down roughly, causing it to tip over and snakes went slithering everywhere. I would have moved away if it weren't for the words that came out of the girls mouth when she reached us.

" Tamaki-sama! " She clasped her hands at her chest, " It's Haruhi-kun! "

I stood up to take off running, but Tamaki was already pushing past. He was a faster runner than I was, but unlike the other day with Honey, I did my best to keep up with him. How stupid did Haruhi have to be to go up there? What had happened to get her up there? Was she unharmed? Was my sister okay?

Just as I got a few meters from the spot, a hand grabbed my wrist causing me to stop and causing pain to flare in my shoulder. I glared at Kyoya, who didn't even seem to be putting any effort in to keeping me back.

"Let. Me. Go. " I growled. Tamaki was so far ahead now, climbing the rock. I had to get there. Haruhi. Haruhi.

" No. "

" Dammit Kyoya! " I yelled, jerking and pulled against his grip. But he held strong and I couldn't move. I looked up at Haruhi who was near the edge, some guy pushing her closer and closer and closer—

And she was falling.

" Haruhi! " I screamed, my throat tightening.

Tamaki dove right off the cliff, right towards Haruhi as she plunged into the water headfirst. I whirled towards Kyoya, who was watching, wide-eyed but still relatively calm compared to me.

" If she is hurt Kyoya…. " I said, my voice lethally quiet as my jaw ticked. He understood the threat because he nodded, but I wasn't finished. " You know my past, what I've lost. If I want to make sure my sister doesn't get hurt, you will not stop me. "

Mori and Honey were climbing the rock and Tamaki was still underwater. I watched for any disturbance in the waves, any sign that they could be surfacing, but I found none. I swallowed back panicked tears. I didn't want Haruhi to be hurt. I didn't want anyone near me to be hurt.

Kyoya pulled his phone out and called what I was assuming—and hoping—was a doctor. The twins were taking care of the girls, telling them to go back to their hotels. And then… There. Right there, Tamaki's head surfaced and Haruhi was in his arms. She looked unconscious from this distance, but there was no way to make sure. Kyoya hung up his phone and put it in the pockets of his swimming trunks.

Everyone gathered around Kyoya and I—who still had a vise like grip on my wrist—and could do nothing but watch as Tamaki walked onto the beach.

"Where are they?" He asked as Mori placed a dry, white towel on Haruhi.

"We've kept their I.D.'s and respectfully asked them to leave. The girls went back to the hotel." Kyoya said. My eyes were glued on Haruhi who looked so frail, so much like the girl she was, in Tamaki's arms. I wanted to kill her for doing something so stupid but I wanted to cry with relief that she was alive. " I've called a doctor who should be here shortly. "

"I'm fine. " Haruhi said, getting out of Tamaki's grip. " I don't need a doctor."

Tamaki's head was cast downward at a slight angle, causing his wet, blond hair to fall into his face. " Are you one of those? Actually a martial arts master like Honey-senpai?"

Haruhi looked up at him, is slightly wide. Tamaki put his hands on her shoulders. "How could you think that you, a girl, by yourself could do anything against those boys?"

Tamaki was voicing everything that was in my mind. Everything I wanted to yell at Haruhi.

" It had nothing to do with being a boy or a girl. I was just there and didn't have anytime to think about— "

" Haruhi! " I raised my voice, making an effort to keep it steady." I thought you were smarter than this. It doesn't matter if you didn't have time to think. Your braveness is great and all, but you are hurt. You should've told one of the hosts instead of trying to handle this yourself!"

" I apologize to Tamaki-senpai for making him come after me like that but I can't understand any other reason you have to be mad at me. " Haruhi said, glancing at me over her shoulder before turning her attention back to Tamaki.

" You are a girl!" Tamaki said. He wasn't just angry or upset; he was pissed. " Think about that before you act! Sachiko-san was right—you could have came to one of us! "

"I haven't done anything wrong!" She raised her voice slightly. Tamaki's hands left her shoulders.

" You haven't? Then you go right ahead. " He started to walk away, towards the house we were staying in. " I'm not speaking to you again until you admit you were wrong. "

The other hosts just stood there, but I jerked my wrist out of Kyoya's grip—which had weakened considerably—and threw my arms around Haruhi, releasing a shaky breath. She was cold and wet, but she was unharmed and okay and alive. I felt like crying. My mind had gone to the darkest of places, imagining situations far worse than this one.

After a few seconds of me taking deep breaths to calm myself down, I finally managed to get a sentence out that wasn't breathy and panicked.

"Dad is going to kill you when he finds out about this. "

But she simply laughed it off, as if she hadn't just been pushed off a cliff.

Heyo I'm back soon. This whole episode was supposed to be a single chapter, but it would have been over 10,000 words long. As much as I love writing, I do not think I can write that much within the next couple of days without getting writers block.

Just realized that I write two 3,000-5,000 word chapters each week. That's nice.

{ review responses }

HitachinWeasley~Thank youuuu! I hope you liked this chapter.

lillyannp~ I have a plan. Don't worry.

Dobby908~ Thank you! I think it's moving a bit slow, but there are things I have to do. ( look forward to chapter 16 )

{ end of review responses }

I have a plan to update once a week, and once I finish my school ( in a couple of weeks ) twice a week. So I was thinking Mondays or Tuesdays.

Also, I felt this chapter could have had more description or something. But I've edited it for a while now and I'm scared to change anything for fear of taking another week to update. So this was it, and I really hope you all liked it.

I'm going to sleep now, goodnight! Look forward to the next chapter and thank you for reading!