Neira: Sorry for not updating! Life has just been stressful and busy, but I'm still writing! In addition, I'm sorry that it is not as long as my other stories, but I tried. Anyway, I cried a bit while writing this, hopefully you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own OHSHC.

Chapter 14: Suki

"Aki," Haruhi greeted, leaning over slightly to look over the boy's shoulder.

"Aki?" The boy questioned, turning around.

"What of it?" I asked, narrowing my eyes and crossing my arms.

"Heh, imitating as always…" The boy nervously laughed. I blink, alarmed. The boy knows me? Who is he? Don't tell….he's with them….. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at the boy, making him sweatdrop.

"Aki, this is Arai. Remember him? He used to go to the same middle school as us," Haruhi cut in.

"Oh!" I said suddenly, hitting my fist to my palm. So he wasn't a part of….oopsy. I must've scared him a bit there. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine," Arai said, scratching his head. He was such an easy-going guy. If my memory served me correctly, then he was also one of many that tried to confess to Haruhi. Too bad she was dense. Besides it won't work out. I would have been in the way of their dating if they did, especially if you included my past. I am probably the only variable, besides Haruhi's denseness, that will get in the way with any sort of romantic relationship with her. The only way for the relationship of any sort to bloom, the person has to either accept me fully, past and all, or get rid of me somehow, but that won't happen in a long run since I am a selfish person. I don't like sharing Haruhi. It's like the feeling of someone else calling your best friend their best friend-you just want to stab them in the face!

"We haven't seen you since graduation," Haruhi said as the three of us sat at one of the table within the pension. The guys were a few table away, probably listening on us. I'm not sure.

"Yeah, the both of you cut all your hair off. That's such a shame," Arai commented.

"I don't think so. I mean, since I cut it, it had been easier to manage." I didn't say anything. I simply looked to the side, a bit bored. Arai and Haruhi may be friends, but I wasn't. I simply followed Haruhi everywhere in middle school. You see, instead of going to high school like I'm suppose to, I took classes online. The reason why was because I was still distrustful back then and wouldn't leave Haruh's side. So as a bargain, I would either be homeschooled or take online course in exchange for being able to follow Haruhi around in middle school. That was why Arai knows of me despite being in different school years. That and the fact that I'm a bit famous in middle school for being a bodyguard of Haruhi.

"So how's Ouran been treating you? You've keep in touch with anyone in middle school anymore?"

"Yeah, a little. Kazumi still calls me. What about you?"

"Yeah, the same. So these guys are all in a club with you?" he asked, turning to the guys.

"Host club," Haruhi confirmed sadly.

"Oh…is that so?"

"Hey Haruhi, Aki, don't you think you should be working?" Hikaru called out, shaking his empty drink. "You shouldn't be slacking off!"

"Misuzu said that we can take a break," Haruhi sweatdropped. I cocked my head. Hikaru sounded unreasonably annoyed. Before I could think on it, I heard some tearing noise and turned to see Tamaki crouching on a bed of shredded paper, shredding his books into strips. I sweatdropped, just what was he doing?

"Hey, quit making more garbage I had to take out," Haruhi said once she'd taken notice of Tamaki's action.

"It's not garbage," Tamaki said dully, "I'm making a hamster home."

"But senpai, you don't have a hamster."

"I'm not your senpai," he glanced to the side at us, "I'm just an acquaintance of yours."

Arai coughed, concealing a chuckle. "Well, who knew you Ouran guys are so funny. You know, for such a prestigious school. I have always imagined it as a whole different world."

"It's a different world alright," Haruhi said.

"To be honest with you, Fujioka," Arai turned to Haruhi, indicating which Fujioka he was addressing to, "I was kind of worried you were going to have a hard time for going to such an elite school. I'm glad to see you are doing well."

Haruhi smiled in thank which got Arai to get flustered, "I mean, it's not like I'm the only one worried about you." He scratched his head in embarrassment, "Lots of people were."

"I'm just saying," Hikaru suddenly said loudly, "it's obvious this guy had a thing for Haruhi. It's sickening to watch him try to flirt." This made Arai looked down disheartened which made me mad. There was no need for Hikaru to insult him like that. I admit, I did sort of gave him the cold shoulder in middle school, but that was because I was like that in general. I'm better now and I could see that he was genuinely a nice person. Besides, I don't think he was trying to flirt with Haruhi at all. Well, that or I'm just clueless to what flirting looked like. I lived a life where I had no love experience. You can't really blame me for not knowing what flirting feels or looked like.

"Hikaru, what's wrong with you! Quit acting such a jerk!" Haruhi shouted, standing up from her seat.

"Hey, it's no big deal," Arai being the good man he was, tried to calm the fire, "He's right. I did have a thing for you once." Tamaki and the twin turned to him, surprised. "But who cares, you have already turned me down, right?"

"Huh?!" Honey and Tamaki exclaimed, including Haruhi, the lady herself.

"Why do you look so surprised?" Kyoya questioned.

"Well, I didn't know."

"She is oblivious to things like this," I elaborated, "You don't know how many confessions she unknowingly rejected during her time in middle school."

"Ah, a natural heartbreaker," Kyoya said.

"Heartbreaker, heartbreaker!" Honey chanted.

"I'm guessing you were a bit of a heartbreaker as well?"

"Heh, not really," I said, doing a half shrug, "I was closed off the last couple of years and gave everyone the cold shoulder. Whenever someone come up to confess to me, I simply ignored them like they didn't existed. I admit it was a bit cruel for me to do that, but it was too early for me."

"Too early?"

I simply looked down, ignoring the eyes of my friends as I recalled how early and raw it was for me during my time in middle school, following Haruhi. I had just gotten adopted by the Fujiokas and was trying to heal from my wounds. Back then, I work vigorously to adapt and become a regular, 'normal' citizen of society. It was hard since I was completely new to society's expectations. I would get confused on a lot of concepts I wasn't familiar with. For example, at first, I didn't understand the reasoning behind saying simple phrases like "thank you" or "please" since we didn't need such phrases where I came from. It was survive-or-die world, having those words were simply useless for us. There was no such thing as gratitude within that world.

"You have to fill us in on this story, Arai," Tamaki said, snapping me out of my brooding, "Now when did this happen?"

Arai sheepishly started to fill the guys in on how it happened. I think I recall that day pretty clearly. It happened around a year ago, in the summer time, during Haruhi's 3rd and last year in middle school. The confession went basically like this: Arai confronted Haruhi about her choice of high school, Arai decided to support her, Arai confessed that he wanted the two of them go to the same school together, and Haruhi stupidly misunderstood the whole situation.

Now that I think about it, I just want to facepalm from Haruhi's denseness. That memory was just too painful to recall now.

Where was I during that time of Arai's confession? Watching from the corner like the creep I am since I just got back from doing something and found the two of them together.

"Haruhi," Kyoya said as everyone was giving her a disbelieving look on their face. I sighed and did nothing since she sorts of had this coming. Not like I was any better, but I was a least blunt on my emotions and how I was not interested in anyone beside Haruhi.

Suddenly, next thing I knew it, I saw Haruhi in some sort of interrogation scene with Kyoya, Honey and Mori, dressed in police uniforms. The three of them looked nice in them actually, especially Mori. I blushed from that thought.

"You broke this innocent man's heart, juts to get a laugh for some sick joke?" Kyoya questioned.

"This is pretty serious, huh," Honey told Mori in a serious tone while Haruhi mumbled in the background, trying to defend her innocent.

"Mhm," Mori nodded.

I blinked and jumped slightly, noticing that everything was back to normal. I was really confused on what have happened. Did I imagine everything? More importantly, did I just fantasy about Mori in a police uniform?! My face burst, steam emitting from it. No, no, no! I did not just fantasized Mori in a police costume!

"You ok," Mori asked, startling me.

"Y-Yes," I stammered, looking away.

"I'm so sorry," Haruhi pronounced to Arai, bowing.

"What? So you're turning me down again a whole year later?" Arai said, pointing to himself. He laughed slightly, "Don't worry Fujioka, I'm over it already. You didn't realize what I meant so that means you weren't interested." Arai dazed off a though he was remembering something. "But you know, I was always drawn to that faraway look in your eyes and the way you would look the person in the eye when you talked to them. I liked that about you, I'd always though you were special."

Amazed, Tamaki came forward and grabbed Arai's hands. "You think that much with my little girl? Don't worry, I won't ever forget your gallantry."

Since that moment the guys, excluding the twins, had decided to join us. They started to ask Arai questions about life in middle school with Haruhi and I. I tried blocking the conversation. I was not in a great mood to think about it.

At one point, Tamaki called the twins over, but Hikaru strongly denied. In fact, he went as far as insulting Arai. Tension quickly rose to the point that Haruhi got mad and slapped Hikaru. I'd admitted, I was a bit surprised. Haruhi was not the type of person to go slapping people. Of course, this lead to Hikaru fleeing to his room with Kaoru trailing behind him.

I can sympathize with him a bit. My world was not as small as theirs, but it was small nonetheless. I mean, I didn't understand a lot about the world until Haruhi took me in and opened my eyes to everything.

After the twins left, they left behind a thin layer of awkward silence. I could tell that the others were unsure on what to do next. I sighed before standing up.

"Haruhi, I'm going to take a nap in your room, alright?"

"Oh, alright then."

I gave a small nod before heading up the stairs, not even going to bother with saying goodbye to anyone. Once I disappearing from everyone's view, I hid behind a wall. I decided to listen in on their talk, seeing if anyone was going to talk about me. They did.

"Cold as always," Arai sighed after I left, "But she seemed less cold this time."

"What was Aki like?" Honey asked.

"Well," Arai started, "she was cold, very stern and silent. The first time she appeared was around 2nd year of middle school. It was strange for everyone to see her there since she was a couple of years older than us. We would always see her following around Fujioka like a solemn shadow. She gave the cold shoulder to everyone and not once did we ever saw her smile."

"Not once?" Tamaki asked, eyebrows furrowed.

Arai frowned, "I'm not sure. Many people haven't seen her smile, but there were rumors that she did. They only appear around Haruhi though and rare to find so people simply wrote those rumors off as hallucinations."

"Strange since that doesn't sound like her at all," Kyoya commented.

"Yeah," Honey agreed.

"I think it's because of you guys," Arai admitted.

"What do you mean?" Tamaki asked. None of the guys noticed how silent Haruhi was.

"From what I've seen, she seemed more open towards you guys compared to how she was during middle school. Maybe it was because she doesn't like us."

"That's not it at all," Haruhi softly piped up, bring the attention to her. "You got to understand, she hasn't gotten the greatest past, but she holds no hate for anyone at school. Even I admit that despite my involvement and help, I wasn't the one who broke her icy exterior and made her what she was today."

"What? You're tell me that you are not the one responsible?"

"No, it was Suki."

I felt my eyes widen. Suki, how long was it since I last saw her. I felt a pang through my heart. Suki…

"Suki?" The guys chirped.

Haruhi nodded before taking out her phone. After a few push of the buttons, she turned her phone around and showed around a picture of a cute girl. The child seemed to be 5 years old with deep purple, almost black, hair that reaches her shoulder blades and blue eyes. Within the picture the girl wore a black and white sailor dress, a hot and a black kitty-cat backpack. (A/N: There should be a picture on my profile).

"This is Suki," Haruhi introduced.

"S-She's SO ADORABLE!" Tamaki gushed.

"Yeah…" Haruhi said softly with a small smile, surprising Tamaki. Usually Haruhi would have scolded him or something for his behaviour, but instead she smiled. From my spot behind the wall, I could see his face lit up into flames. I scowled, but stayed silent.

"Who is she, Haru-chan?" Honey asked, staring at the picture.

"She was the one who broke Aki's exterior. She was the major factor in making Aki who she is today."

"Well, where is she then. I got to thank the princess for helping my daughter," Tamaki said, excitedly.

Immediately Haruhi grew silent. Quickly, Tamaki sobered once he noticed Haruhi's expression. A small frown marred her face. "She's gone," Haruhi almost whispered.

The guys softly gasped. "What do you mean, she's gone," Honey asked.

"She was a sick child. She had an incurable illness and she died a year ago. Aki was there when she took her last breath. Since then, Aki had been working hard to become more friendly and nice to everyone. It was thanks to Suki that Aki made a rapid improvement." Haruhi told softly.

This brought a solemn silence into the room. I decided then to stop listening and headed toward Haruhi's room where I immediately flopped onto her bed. I snuggled into the bed, breathing in Haruhi's scent.

Suki…

She was a bright girl. I remembered the first time I met her. It was because of her that I found the orphanage where she grew up in.

Flashback

I was taking a walk to get away from the house. I was still trying to get used to having a family at that time. It was getting to much for me though and so, I needed to take a break from everything. Despite the fact I could finally leave behind my past, I just couldn't. I am alive and I'm living with the Fujiokas, but am I truly living? I know I made everyone uncomfortable and I tried to get better, but it felt pointless. I still get confused on different rules my new life has and it was starting to frustrates me. I am forever grateful to Haruhi for despite all of my mistakes and failures, she still was there for me. It felt strange and a part of me was humiliated with the fact that someone younger me had to take care of me, but Haruhi never judged me. I was still troubled though.

It was during my musing that I found myself getting attacked by a horde of dogs. It was a range of big dogs to little dogs as they all attacked me with licks and friendly nudges.

"H-Hey! Get off of me!" I shouted, trying to push the dogs away. I didn't push too hard though, because despite my annoyance, I cared for animals. Unlike humans, they are true with their feelings and they always stand by you.

After a few minutes, I managed to get some room for me to sit up. That was when I noticed a girl standing a foot away from, gaping at me. Noticing that I was looking at her, she shut her mouth and grinned widely. "You're amazing, Onee-chan!"

Flashback Ends

Since then I would find her following me around like a little duckling. She was so energetic, always seemed to be bouncy around and never standing in one place. She was an orphan like me and stayed at the orphanage that I now volunteer at. She would always talk to me and despite getting no reply from me, she was never discouraged. She would tell me about her favorite color, food, hobbies, likes and dislikes-everything. At first, I was annoyed, but it soon turned into endearment. Eventually I found out about her illness and I felt awful, but Suki would always smile. She only had a few short time to live, but she was always smiling. She would always dream. Her dream was to be a veterinarian and help all the, and I quote, "fluffy animals".

I felt tears burning up in my eyes. Now, she couldn't. I could remember her last day as though it was yesterday for me.

Flashback

I ran. I pushed myself to go faster. The woman on the phone was wrong, she had got to be wrong! I ignored all the angry shouts as I barged my way passed people. I sprint through the clean, white tiles of the hallway, passing nurses, doctors, and patients. I was only concentrate on one place, one place where she was at, waiting for me.

Finding the room, I slammed the door open, panting at the doorway. There in a hospital bed lied Suki. She looked so small and pale, lying on a bed too large for her. I ignored the doctor and Koi-san who stood by the bed and rushed over to Suki.

"Aki," Suki greeted, giving me a pained smile. I bit my cheek as I stared blankly at her. She weakly lifted up her had, and I automatically gripped it. She looked so fragile. My heart pounded against my chest. I felt choked. This couldn't be happening, not her.

"Ne, Onee-chan, does dreams come true?" Suki asked weakly.

"Of course, anything is possible if you try," or at least that was what Haruhi told me.

"Then, I'll be able to become an animal doctor and save the fluffy animals?"

I bit my bottom lip, looking up at the doctor. He solemnly shook his head. I felt my heart broke into little pieces. I felt a burning sensation behind my eyes and I turned to Suki. She was looking so hopefully at me, I felt awful lying to her.

"Of course, sweetie," I tried to smile, but it felt like a grimace.

Suki smiled before her eyes slowly closed and her hands slipped out of mine, never to move again.

That was the last time I ever saw her. And for the first time in a long time, I cried. I broke into tears pulling her body against mine. I felt my throat burn as sobbed escaped from them. Life was so cruel to take this sweet child away and leaving people like me alive.

It was then that I vowed to do better in my life and to live for the both of us. I would live in remembrance of the little girl who would always smile so sweetly.

Flashback Ends

A few tears fell down and hit the pillow. The pain and heartbreak was still there. I would never forget her for she played a large role in my life. It hurts. She was gone.

I didn't want to think anymore. I don't want to think of the past. I don't want to think about the pain. I don't want think about anything.

When? I wondered. When will the pain end? When can I finally let go and be free from my burden?

I curled inward, making myself as small as possible, as I fell into a restless snooze.

Neira: Gosh, that made me tear up. Anyway, I'll try to update! Please be patient with me!