Lost Lamb

She was crying. She was crying so hard. Curled up in as tight a ball as she could make, waiting for news. Praying to any Gods who would listen that they grant her a miracle. She had been numb when she received the call from her father's work. She had been emotionless the entire bus ride to the hospital. But when the doctor told her that it didn't look good, that the gunshot had pierced a lung and they were doing all they could to stabilize him, she broke.

It was in the wee hours of the morning that she finally stopped crying. What good did it do? She sat on that plastic hospital chair, staring blankly at the door. She stayed in that near-comatose state for two more hours when something snapped her out of her reverie.

"What is the matter, little one?" A voice. Kind, but foreign. A hand lightly touched her shoulder. Nothing to scare her, only to let her know someone was there. Her eyes followed the hand up the arm to the face of a slim, tall man with icy blue eyes and silver hair that fell into his face. He was smiling at her. Trying to encourage her to smile back. There was nothing to smile about. Her eyes, always so expressive, would not hide the sorrow, the hopelessness that she felt. The smile fell from the man's face and he became serious. "Why are you here?"

How did she answer that? This man was a stranger. A foreigner. He had no right to know her business. It was rude of him to pry. She opened her mouth to say so when instead she responded tonelessly, "I'm waiting for news of my dad."

The man grew solemn. "I see. Well, in the meantime, how about I offer you breakfast?"

He sure was forward. She supposed that was just the kind of openness he was used to in his own country. Wherever that was. She still couldn't pinpoint his accent, not that she was trying too hard. Instead of telling him that she'd rather wait where she was, her mouth replied, "Sure, I guess." It was as if there was some disconnect between her brain and the offending object that kept her accepting his company. She gave her name and number to the receptionist and was told that when there was news, she would be the first to hear of it.

The two walked in silence to the cafeteria where he bought her a light breakfast and she nibbled on it. The food was tasteless and hard to swallow. Nevertheless, she still bowed and thanked him for his generosity in the same monotoned voice she had been using. He waved it off like it was nothing, introducing himself to her and telling her of how he was here to visit his husband who had fractured his ankle.

"You are welcome to come along and visit with me if you like. I'm sure Yuri would enjoy the companionship. Or I can walk you back to your waiting area."

He was pleasant company. Easy going. Not exuberant. He was willing to extend a caring hand out to her just because. No merit involved. Did it matter where she waited for her dad? She would still be waiting regardless. "I don't want to be alone." The words slipped out before she could really think about it, barely above a whisper. The man heard it anyway and smiled understandingly.

"In that case, little one, for now you can come with me to meet my Yuri and we shall wait with you."

He gently guided her along, leaving his name and hers at the nurse's station to contact with news of her father. Then he led her into a room with two beds, though only one was occupied. The person in the bed was a Japanese male with deep brown eyes and spikey black hair. His leg was raised in a brace. He looked so bored but the moment he saw the silver-haired man, his face lit up. When his eyes spotted her, he grew confused. Anyone would.

"She was waiting all by herself for news of her father. I told her we could wait with her," the silver-haired man was quick to defend.

"Viktor, how do you know she was alone? You can't just go off kidnapping young girls!"

"I didn't!"

"I came willingly. He didn't kidnap me. I have no one else here. I'm sorry. I'll go now." She turned around with every intention of walking away. It was stupid of her to follow that foreign stranger around like a lost puppy, but that's what she felt like at the moment. The tears started again.

"See, Yuri? I would never do something like that! Haruhi, you don't have to go. Yuri wasn't trying to push you out, he was just concerned." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "I don't always think things through, especially when it comes to Japanese customs."

"Yeah, I'm sorry if I made you feel unwelcome, but Viktor isn't really used to how private we Japanese can be. He sees a sad person, he tries to cheer them up. If you don't want to be alone, we will sit with you. If you want to talk about what happened, we are here to listen. I'm certainly not going anywhere yet. If you just want to sit in silence, we can do that too, can't we, Viktor?"

"I can be quiet if I want to," the silver-haired man responded indignantly, earning him a sobbing chuckle out of the girl.

She turned back around and headed for the nearest chair. Shoulders shaking, she brokenly began telling these two complete strangers about the phone call she had received at 12:30 the previous night.

"Haruhi? Haruhi, are you there?"

"Yes, Okimi-san, it's me. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, you poor thing!" The cross-dresser cried dramatically, "It's your father. There was a brawl just now and someone pulled out a gun! Your father, he tried to step in and defuse the situation, but the guy shot him point blank! He's already on the way to the Shinjuku Center. Call a cab and get there as soon as you can. I have to stay here with the police and clean up. Good luck sweetie and let me know how it goes!"

It was such a short conversation, but one that had changed everything. She didn't think. It didn't occur to her to call one of her friends for a ride. She just hopped on the bus and headed for her destination and had been here since. She felt a gentle hand rubbing her back, trying to comfort her.

"I see. And what about your mother. Do you want one of us to call her for you?" She shook her head and gazed up at this kind, foreign stranger with tears still falling down her cheeks.

"She died when I was five." He knelt down in front of her and held her close. Once again, it wasn't a frightening hold. Only one meant to help her. She found herself leaning into it, accepting the comfort it provided.

"Oh, little lamb, no wonder you are so worried about your father," he cooed. Normally she would balk at such a term of endearment but for some reason this time, she allowed it to soothe her. Perhaps she really was tired of shouldering everything on her own. She glanced up at the man on the bed, Yuri. He was staring at his knees and she realized how it must look, her weeping in the arms of his husband. She started to pull out of the embrace when her phone began to ring.

Her shaking hands pulled it out of her pocket and she held her breath. She tried to answer it but her trembling fingers kept missing the right button. The silver-haired man laid steady hands over hers and slipped the phone from her hand into his own. He pressed the 'accept' button and held it to her ear for her.

"He-hello?" She greeted shakily.

"Miss Fujioka, it's Doctor Shimizu. If you could meet me in front of room 258, I will tell you what has happened with your father." Her body stilled. Her head nodded, forgetting the response couldn't be seen over the phone. Her mouth opened and closed again, trying to get the words out. She was petrified of what she would hear. The silver-haired man brought the phone to his ear.

"Hello, this is a…friend… of Haruhi's."

"It's a relief to hear she's not alone anymore." The doctor repeated the instructions and received assurance from Viktor that the two of them were on their way.

Hanging up the phone, he knelt in front of her again. "I know I told the doctor we would both be there. Please, little lamb, do you want me to go with you?"

"Don't you want to stay with your husband?" She whispered. He glanced back at the bedridden man with a loving smile.

"Oh little lamb, as happy as I would be to spend the whole day at my Yuri's side, I think you need someone with you more."

"She's worried about me?! Sweetie, you take Viktor with you. If you want, I could even get a wheel chair and go with you as well." The black-haired man smiled kindly.

"You need to rest, don't you?" She had yet to say she wanted to go by herself, something the two intuitive men were quick to pick up on.

"Haruhi, from the short time I've talked to you, it seems like you look after other people a lot. Am I right? You don't know me at all and yet you're more worried about my well-being than your own. For now, let us look after you."

Viktor appeared next to the bed carting a wheel chair. He carefully helped his injured husband to the seat. He wheeled the chair to the door and they both stood by, waiting on her.

"Come now, little lamb, we shall all go hear the news together." She stood up and took slow, measured steps, almost forcing herself to walk. A little while ago, she was so eager for any kind of news she'd forgotten how to blink. Now it felt like as long as she didn't hear the news, she couldn't be disappointed, couldn't be heartbroken. She didn't see the two men exchange a glance. She walked beside Yuri's wheelchair while Viktor pushed him.

She became caught up in her own mind, panicking. What was she going to do if her dad died? She wasn't quite old enough to emancipate herself, nor would she be able to hold down a job while going to Ouran. She would be swept up into an overcrowded, underfunded orphanage. No one would want her because she was too old. She'd lose everything she had worked for. If her dad was alive, how was she supposed to pay their bills? If he couldn't work, they couldn't survive. She'd still have to leave Ouran and get a job. She started chewing on her nails.

She hadn't noticed when Yuri grabbed her other hand. He'd seen the look of panic on her face. He felt it rolling off of her in waves. Still knowing nothing about the random young girl his husband had taken an interest in, he wanted to give her as much comfort as possible. He didn't think he would handle it well if he had lost even one of his parents, whereas this mystery girl seemed to be on the verge of losing both. But what could they do about it? She was a young girl on the brink of unimaginable sorrow and they were strangers to her. Strangers whom she had decided to cling to since she was alone here. Did she have any family? Friends? They approached the doctor outside the expressed room. He had to tug on her hand in order to get her attention. It appeared she would have walked right past if he hadn't kept her from it.

"Miss Fujioka, unfortunately what I have to say isn't going to be easy to hear." Haruhi gasped and bit her lip, struggling not to break again before the doctor had a chance to tell her anything. Yuri squeezed her hand. Viktor grabbed her shoulder and pulled her in close to him in case he had to catch her if she fell.

He always hated this part of the job. Having to crush the hope and optimism of loved ones. It never got any easier and for a girl as young as her to have already lost one parent, it was almost impossible for him to take away her other one. Yet despite it all, he was still relieved that she at least had someone here with her, unlike last night.

"I'm afraid your father isn't likely to make it. The damage to his lung is just too extensive. He has already been resuscitated three times while in the operating room. At this point it's just a waiting game until his lungs give out, followed by his heart. In my professional opinion, I would say he has a week at best. We have fixed him up to the best of our abilities and he is coherent enough for you to talk to but if he goes into cardiac arrest a fourth time, I've told my people not to bring him back. I won't have a patient suffer. I suggest you go in and make the most of it. Gentlemen, I hope you plan to be around for her. She's going to need as much support as she can get." He walked off, leaving the three to themselves.

"I'm alone. I'm all that's left now. I'm going to be shipped off to an orphanage and no one will want me anymore. I'm too old to be wanted. I'll be a burden on everybody. I can't go to school anymore. If I tell them why, they'll just sweep me up and make me pay for it later. I don't know what to do. I…I…" She gripped the sides of her head trying to block out the voices that were drowning her. She hadn't even realized she had spoken aloud. She certainly hadn't meant to. Her breaths became rapid and shaky. Tears poured from her eyes. Viktor, seeing she was breaking, held her close. He turned her around and hugged her tightly, stroking her hair as Yuri rubbed her back soothingly.

"Look at me, little lamb," Viktor said as he pulled away. Haruhi sniffed and he wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I do not know what your future holds in store for you. But I do know your father is in there fighting to see you, to talk to you. You shouldn't be wasting the opportunity you have worrying about what comes next. Perhaps you and your father can figure it out together, but you'll never know standing out here." She sniffled again and nodded.

"You're right," she whispered. "thank you." She turned towards the door and placed her hand upon the handle. But she couldn't seem to turn it. No matter how strong her will, her hand would not push down the metal bar. She whimpered as the tears started again. Why wouldn't the stupid door open?! A paler hand slid over hers.

"Do you want us to come in there with you, little lamb?" She nodded and felt the pressure on her hand as he pressed the knob down and pushed the door open.

There lay her father with tubes coming from what looked like every place possible. His face was gaunt and scrunched up in pain. His heart monitor beeped sporadically, and his breathing was nothing more than shallow gasps. The doctor gave him a week? Her father didn't look like he would make it through the night! She lost her courage again as his eyes fluttered tiredly. His normally sparkling, lively eyes were lackluster and empty. When they met hers, she saw a flash of his usual spark before it was gone. They swept over her unexpected companions and widened briefly before dulling again.

"Dad," she whispered, before Yuri prodded her forward. She stumbled but Viktor was there to steady her. She walked unsteadily towards his side that didn't have an IV only to find an oxygen tank there. She sat in the chair and held his hand. "Dad." Viktor pushed Yuri to the foot of the bed. The two watched in silence, aware that they were intruding on a moment between the father and daughter but unwilling to leave as they had been asked to stay.

"Hush now, my beautiful baby girl. Please don't cry over me." He spoke softly, his voice muffled further by the oxygen mask over his face. The three visitors watched as the fog appeared and disappeared.

"What am I supposed to do, dad? Tell me," Haruhi choked. "You're going to die and I'm going to be left alone. You'll finally be with mom again but I'm still going to be here. I don't exactly feel like dancing a jig at the moment."

"There it is. That's my Haruhi. That there is exactly how I know you will be fine. Even as much as you're hurting right now, you can still find it in you to make me laugh. And you're not as alone as you think. What about your Host Club friends? They'll be there for you. I'm surprised they aren't here now. Let me guess, you haven't told them yet, have you?" She shook her head. "And what about these two you brought with you? They seem to be here for you too." She shook her head again and explained what had happened that morning. As she made introductions, she realized she didn't know either of their last names. Actually, she didn't know anything besides their first names.

"They're only still here because I asked them to be," she finished. Ranka blinked at her.

"In that case," he turned to the two men at the foot of his bed, "thank you for taking care of my daughter. She is all I have left in this world and it's a comfort to know she hasn't been alone the entire time."

Viktor brushed off his gratitude. "I happened to be in the right place at the right time."

"Haruhi, dear, why don't you go outside and call the Club. You know they would want to be here." She started to panic. She didn't want to leave his side. She wanted to be there as long as he was. "Don't worry, baby girl, I'll still be here when you get back. I promise." She gripped his hand tightly one more time before going to do as he bid. Glancing at the early hour, she knew she could get the Host Club all there with one phone call. It just took the right Host.

"Now then," Ranka started as soon as the door had closed behind his daughter. He knew she would be in a hurry to come back so he didn't have much time to waste. "Viktor and Yuri Nikiforov, please come closer." He watched them blink in surprise as they did so. "Yes, I know who you are, though my daughter does not. The bar I work at, we watch figure skating all the time. Yesterday was the Japanese Nationals Men's free skate. That's why Yuri is here, correct?" They both nodded, still shocked. "Regardless, there is one thing I must ask you both before she comes back. It is not a question that requires an immediate answer. Take some time to think about it first."

"We'll do our best to help, Ranka-san," Yuri supplied. Ranka smiled at him before scrunching his face and hands in pain. The monitor skipped a few beats before he was able to relax again.

"As you can see," he gasped through shallow breaths, "I don't know if I'm going to even make it through the week. Haruhi doesn't have any family left besides me. Her mother was an only child and so was I. Our parents both died before she was born. She has a group of remarkable friends but they're only boys and are not capable of knowing or understanding what it is she will need in the coming days. Their families are always unavailable, even to them.

"My Haruhi is fiercely independent and doesn't like to turn to anybody for help. Not me, not her friends, no one. She tries to bear the weight of everything on her own tiny shoulders. But she turned to you. She asked both of you to stay with her. She willingly sought comfort from both of you. Two complete strangers, when she wouldn't even call on her closest friends. All her life, I have never seen her do that. That tells me something. It tells me that you two are the best option I've got to make sure she has someone she can rely on to take care of her.

"With that in mind, I ask that you allow me to place her in your immediate custody at the time of my death. I know it is a lot to ask. You don't really know us, and we don't really know you. But from what I've seen and heard, I believe her unexpected reliance on you two transcends that barrier. Understand that it is as hard for me to ask this of you as it will be for you to accept. That little girl is my whole world. I do everything for her. She has been my rock since my wife died. The only thing keeping me from following my wife into the grave. If I know she is provided for, protected, and cared for, only then can I die happy. As I said, I do not expect an answer right away and I should still be around for a few days. So please, think about it."

"We will," Yuri said quickly before his husband could jump in and agree to the man's request. He wanted to agree as much as he knew Viktor did, but Ranka-san was right. This was not a decision to be made on the spot. The two of them really needed to think about whether or not they would be best for Haruhi. Ranka looked relieved anyway.

"Thank you. I think I'm going to take a nap now. Please let my daughter know that I want her to go home and rest."

"We will. Sleep and rest well." Viktor clasped the man's hand before quietly wheeling his husband out of the room.

"Tamaki-senpai! Put me down!" Yuri and Viktor looked around to see Haruhi being spun around wildly in the arms of a blond teenager surrounded by five other boys who were at the present attempting to avoid her flailing limbs.

"Live with me and I'll dote on you hand and foot, my beautiful daughter!" The two husbands looked at each other, confused. As far as they knew her only father was currently laying near death in the room behind them.

"You're not my dad and my dad's not dead yet! For all we know, he might still make a full recovery!" They watched her pinch his hand and when he dropped her in response, they watched her keep her balance and stay standing.

"Actually, Haruhi," said the shorter of the two black-haired boys, "I've talked to Ranka's doctor and looked over his charts myself. I don't know what kind of false hope you were given to think he might recover from his injuries, but you should quench it now before you're hurt even worse and you should start thinking about where you might want to go."

"Ky-kyouya-senpai…" she whispered, sinking to the ground, holding herself, "why…"

"Wow, senpai, that was pretty harsh," stated the pair of twins.

"We know you're a cold-hearted shadow king for a reason," one of the twins said.

"But don't you think you went a little too far?" The other one finished.

"I'm only trying to save her pain in the long run. I can't help it if the truth is what it is," the black-haired teen, Kyouya, replied.

"Takashi, is Haru-chan going to be homeless?" The smallest of the group looked up at the tallest black-haired boy.

"She can always come live with us," the twins spoke again leering at the tall blond.

"I'll never let my precious girl live with the likes of you two devil twins!" the taller blond, Tamaki, shouted. This started an argument among the group of boys as to who she would live with while the poor girl they were talking about merely slumped on the floor struggling to keep herself together.

The two husbands glanced at each other again. Viktor was furious! Yuri was appalled. Now they understood what Haruhi's father had meant when he'd said her friends wouldn't know what she needed. Her father, who was at that moment lying in bed, creeping ever closer to his End, and they were fighting over her like a pack of rabid wolves!

Viktor stepped forward and knelt beside her, instantly killing the voices of the boys. When he lightly touched her shoulder to get her attention, she jumped, gazing at him with fearful eyes that relaxed with recognition. She looked back to see Yuri and breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Your father is sleeping right now, little lamb. He told us to let you know he wants you to go home for a little while and rest yourself. Do you want me to take you there after I bring my Yuri back to his room? Or you could come with me to my exhibition and distract yourself for a little while. We will come back later when your father has woken up." She nodded, starting to stand and though he wasn't sure which question she was answering, he helped her up and guided her gently back to his partner.

"Haruhi, where are you going?!" The blond, Tamaki yelled.

"I believe I have made that quite clear," Viktor spoke up on her behalf without glancing behind him. "Though if you did not hear me or you did not understand me, might I suggest using this opportunity to get your ears and head checked out." This earned the silver-haired man a tiny chuckle from the girl as she imagined how her senpai reacted to that. From the bafflement dancing in Yuri's eyes, she figured her thoughts weren't far off. The wheelchair-bound man grasped one of her hands in both of his.

"I know you're probably tired, but could you please go with Viktor? He's going to need someone to cheer him on from the sidelines and since I can't be there this time, I'd like it if you were. It'll give you something to talk to your dad about when you get back." Well, after all they'd done for her, that felt like the least she could do for him. She returned his smile and nodded.

"So let me get this straight, Haruhi," the girl turned around to see Kyouya staring at her with glasses glared over. "you called this idiot and told him to get all of us here, this early in the morning, only for us to find out when we get here that your father is asleep and you're leaving to go off with some strange man and now we're supposed to…do what, exactly"

Viktor felt the girl get angry. Hell, he felt angry for her. These were the friends her father had spoken of so highly? He had to talk to Yuri and soon. He did not want this poor girl living with any of them if this was indicative of how they behaved regularly. Angry as she felt, she spoke quietly.

"I don't really care what you do, senpai. I called you all here because my dad wanted me to. Because for some reason he still thinks you guys are gods among men! Not that he knows anything more than what you show him. So you know what, stay and wait for him to wake up, go home, yell at each other, I don't care. I am going home for a little while because I've been here since about one this morning."

She turned around and stormed off down the hall. Viktor had to hurry with Yuri's wheelchair to catch up. "Haruhi, are you ok?"

She looked up to see his ice blue eyes filled with worry, mirrored by his husband. "I'm fine. Or at least I will be. And if you don't mind, I think I will go to the exhibition. I know if I actually go home, they'll barge in as soon as you leave. I would like to change though, so if we could at least stop there, I'd really appreciate it."

"Of course. I'd love it if you came to the exhibition, little lamb." She breathed a sigh of relief.