Never Alone

He had been a good friend, up till the very moment before she had died. Hunny, in some ways, reminded her desperately of him. Especially in his perceptiveness, they both seemed to figure things out she never thought they would (Things that they never should have). Which is why she shouldn't have been surprised when they sat down for (tea and) cake one day, the first thing he said to her was this:

"You're supposed to be dead, aren't you?"

And she (never being one to lie to her friends) saying back, quite on instinct, a curt response of:

"As are you."

I walked the halls of Yori's house with practiced ease, pausing only once to ask a maid whether the other guests had arrived yet. They had, I was the only one left. My footsteps echoed behind me, masking the already almost silent footsteps which followed. I swung open the brown doors to see the six other club members smiling at me. "Welcome Haru-chan!"

I looked upon the inhabitants of the room. It seemed all our parents had had the same idea of dressing us up formally. Hana and Katashi were wearing traditional kimono, and sat on a small couch drinking tea. Sebastian and Koji both wore black dress pants with suspenders and white dress shirts, though they lacked ties. Koishi was dressed similar to Katashi, but wore a Hakama as well, which Katashi had either not brought or shed at some point. Yori stood out in a blue blazer and wearing a black tie with a single purple stripe running across it. His black dress pant just barely hung over the tongue of his dress shoes and the outfit displayed his height.

The others turned to me and smiled as well. "I've never actually been in this room before, what do you use if for?" They would practice dancing

"Hm? Oh, this is where we would be taught to dance. We don't really use it now that all of us know how." His younger siblings. They had lived

"I never actually learned to dance." Most everyone in our social group had learned to dance for soirees, I was an exception

Koji bolted up from his spot with Sebastian, "Really Haruhi? I can teach you!" ever the one to help.

"It's fine, I don't even really need to learn."

"That's ridiculous, dancing is a means to an end. Someone of your standing should understand this, if you stand off to the side at parties and turn down all the requests sent your way your business will fail do to the lack of allies." Sebastian briefly rubbed his temples, he'd had headaches of increasing frequently as of late, so he'd scheduled an optometrists appointment in a week to see if he needed glasses as he suspected.

I shrugged "Dad never bothered teaching me. Something about needing to approve anyone who dare come that close to me anyways." My father was a kind, if not a little eccentric, man. He had an eye for fashion which shone through today in particular as he'd insisted I 'wear something pretty' though he'd also felt the shade of yellow should be altered before she wear it a second time, perhaps make it a pailer yellow.

"I'll teach you Haru-chan! Then next time we're at a party you can dance with all of us!"

"...Alright." I ignored the protests from Koji that he could do it instead.

Hana stood and extended a hand to Katashi, who gladly accepted it. Koji Insisted Sebastian dance with him, and after much badgering he let out an exasperated sigh and took Koji's hand, insisting that this wouldn't be allowed unless he led. Kioshi simply sat and smiled as he watched them all partner up. Yori had gingerly taken my hand and slipped his hand to my waist.

There was no music, and all of us seemed to have our own ideas of what we were dancing to. Hana and Katashi were doing something reminiscent of a tango, waltz, amd figure skating, all thrown together. They would constantly switch leads and despite not being what one would usually associate with the word grace, the two moved with a certain fluidity (and when Hana managed to lift him neither of them stumbled at all as she smoothly put him down and he did the same to her).

Sebastian was apathetically leading an absolutely ecstatic Koji through what Yori explained to be a foxtrot. Their movements were languid and despite Sebastian's lack of smile, each of his steps was in perfect sync with those of Koji. Koji had is eyes closed and seemed to be soaking in the feeling.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea." I'd told Yori

He had smiled warmly upon me "I'll try to go slow. It's a lot of fun once you get the hang of it!"

Then he had begun to move, and I did my best to follow with him. Our dance was clumsy and filled with winces, despite his constant guidance. At some point my feet remembered what they'd done last time (sans the stepping on Yori) and managed to follow his stiffly. He seemed to notice this and, ever the daring one, attempted to dip me (perhaps he had been a little to optimistic). The next thing I knew we were falling to the ground, and all the other astronomy club members stopped to laugh, Koji and Kioshi offering us each hands of assistance.

Just as we stood, the double doors had flown open. A man came inside, a man with a face covered by a black hood. He pulled out a gun and pointed straight at me.

A hitman.

I was going to be killed.

It happened sometimes, being the heirs to very important companies had it's downfalls. Kidnapped, held for ransom, hated due to our riches, people getting close to us do to our money, and even death.

And die we did.

All of us.

They'd seen it happen, they were a liability.

Therefore,

they were targets.

After the death of her son, Ume Kinoshita flew into a depression so deep that she did not leave her bedroom for a month. When she did, she immediately donated her gigantic home to the Ouran School District, knowing that her Yori spent many an hour researching things with Haruhi. She had done this under the condition that the school uniforms consist of a blue blazer and a black tie with purple stripe. Upon learning of this, Ryoji Fujioka suggested a poofy yellow dress for the female uniform.

The request was accepted.

The woman moved herself and her remaining children to the countryside where she hired private tutors for each of them, even insisting they take extra classes on astronomy. The day after the party held on her second sons 18th birthday (where he was the first of her children to reach adulthood) she jumped off the nearest bridge and killed herself.

Her son took on her company.

Her children mourned the many souls they'd lost.

"You don't have long." She nodded her head "I asked Reiko-Chan as soon as I figured it out. She told me you had six months to live."

"I'm not alive. Not really."

"You could be, Haru-chan let's find a way! We can finally be together like we should've been!"

"Hunny," Because she knew this was indeed Hunny, even if he had developed some inkling of what had once been "I'm not meant to be here. In two months I'll be going back, and there's nothing you can do." Haruhi took in a shaky breath "I think she loves you, Reiko, and she's a wonderfully sweet girl. You should be with her, or at least someone who hasn't been dead nearly forty years."

"Haru-chan, I couldn't be with Reiko-chan, because I don't love her. I want to be able to stay with you. I love you Haru-chan, and I want to stay with you."

"Hunny... you aren't him." She blinked away the wetness coating her eyes "You aren't him, no matter what you once were, because he's dead just like me. You don't need to tell yourself that you're him and try to convince yourself his feeling are yours."

"I'm not Yorifusa," She vaguely thought of how he would never have called himself that "and I'm glad I'm not. I'm me, and Mitsukuni is the one who got to spend this time with you. I was lucky enough to love you all on my own."

"I only have two months left, that's hardly have any time at all."

"Well then, we'll just have to eat enough cake in this two months to last a lifetime!" He smiled and took her hand

Two months

"Oh, and Haru-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"You should just call me by my name, we've only got so much time to be slow about it!"

"Alright then."

Two months, and then she would be gone from his life once again.

1 Month

"It has side effects."

"What does Haru-chan?"

"Being in this world without being reincarnated, I have memories I shouldn't. Yours are probably also because you've spent so much time around me."

"What kind of stuff do you remember?"

"Everything."

It hadn't been the first time they'd fallen in love. Those two had been lucky enough to be reincarnated in similar, if not the same, time for a total of 13 lives together, as well as when Haruhi had been brought back without reincarnation.

An interesting fact about rebirth, it's all about intent. When a person stands at a point which is neither the far nor near shore, they become the deepest parts of themselves. Your body is shed and leaves behind something distinctly you, not quite mind, but not solely spirit either. This essence that remains, and within that essence is a collection of a person's truest wishes, the things you wanted the most. Located within that is a final want, which need be neither spoken nor acknowledged to exist. It simply is. This wish, and the less important ones to some extent, is what helps determine what your next life will be like. For example;

When Hana Yoshida died, she wished first and foremost to be able so stay with the boy she loved, known in that life as Katashi. She also had a strong want to have been able to stay with the friends she collected, though not quite as potent.

Katashi Ikeda's wishes were much the same. Thus, with both souls in agreement, they were reborn as twins over 20 years later so that they might love each other and be together for every moment. After all, they were together, even if never in a romantic sense. Hence their souls were content and allowed themselves to forget and move on.

The soul of Sebastian Atkinson who had finally made friends, and had no intention of losing the, had less of a wish and more of a command. It demanded they be reunited.

Koji Okada was quite similar. He had found people who had loved him unconditionally, something his parents should've but did not. He had sworn that if he had had more time, all he would've wanted was to return the favor tenfold. This would've been much more difficult if he didn't learn to love at a young age, so in his next life he was born in something forged completely out of love, and despite all the hardships it caused him, he learned it's beauty anyway.

Kioshi Miura had wished to be stronger. He wished to be able to protect those he had failed to protect. Of course, he couldn't have protected them without their presence, so he wished to be reunited with his friends as well. He was reborn strong in both a physical and non-physical manner.

Yorifusa Kinoshita had wished with almost the entirety of his being to see his friends again, and that their lives be better than the last. Though a small remaining part of him had also wished to be smaller and younger looking, as he was often told he looked to be quite the adult, and a few people had thought he was Haruhi's uncle of some sort.

All the souls wished to be together, so they were. In fact, they formed another club, though this one was for a very different purpose than that of their former selves.

Generally, this was how reincarnation worked. A few tendencies from past lives sprinkled on top, and their soul searches out an available fetus to use as a vessel. Generally being the keyword. There is always an exception. In this case, it just happened to be Haruhi Fujioka.

If a person's next self is based off of the self perceived faults of the previous one, than such thoughts need to be had. Occasionally, a soul was so self centered that it perceived no faults and had no wishes. This soul would then be sent to the far shore, where it's truest faults would be melted away, leaving what was practically a new soul to be funneled into the next developing body. Haruhi was not one of these people either.

No, Haruhi Fujioka would never have reincarnated because she had wished only for the good fortune of her friends. She wished with such vehemence that each of her wants was granted. She willed Hana and Katashi to find love not only with each other, but with many others to be able to stay with as friends. She willed Sebastian to open up to someone who would support him fully. She willed Koji to find plentifull happiness in his next life. She willed Kioshi to become that which he had truly wanted. She willed with every part of her very being, essence and body alike, that Yori lived. That he might live and loved as a person of his kind demeanor deserved. She willed her friends to have many riches of many kind in their next life.

She thought nothing of herself.

This was not supposed to happen, after all, humans were self serving creatures. With no other solution in sight, Haruhi's essence was thrown into the far shore with the others who found no fault in themselves. Though not before all the things she willed were brought to be. Her wish for Yori to live had brought him back the fastest, and her wish for many riches upon her friends left them to be reborn rich once more, though these were not exactly the riches she had had in mind.

The soul which had been unjustly thrown to the far shore had no faults to be purged, so something far more valuable was taken in their stead. Her memories. Her entire sense of self really. It sapped away at all of the things that made her human, as this in itself is was fault. Eventually she was left as a confused shell, drifting about the far shore. When called back to the world she had once been in, two self repair mechanisms kicked in. 1) Restore as much memory as possible. Which meant some of her long past lives would be unearthed. 2) Fill in the gaps. The memories that could not be returned were instead replaced with new ones.

In short, she was not the Haruhi Fujioka she once was, nor would she ever be again.

"We've been through this before."

"Been through what before Haru-chan?"

"I've known you in multiple lives. I've loved versions of you 14 times including this one and the last. Everytime one of us died the other followed not too late after."

"I guess we're just meant to be, huh?"

"It's not a good thing. There must be some sort of reason behind it, some defect."

"Does it really matter?"

"What?"

"They got to live 12 lives together where they had the privilege to love each other. You were lucky enough to have Yori love you, and I'm lucky enough to have you love me. If it is a defect then it's a beautiful one."

"They hurt because of it, I don't understand why they allowed it to happen again so many times."

"Maybe they were fine with hurting, as long as the reason why was someone they really loved."

When Haruhi thought about it, she knew he was right. She'd spend the rest of eternity being eaten away at on the far shore for an extra week to love Mitsukuni.

5 Minutes

"You shouldn't cry Mitsukuni, it's not a big deal." Haruhi shrugged and looked away

"Not a big deal?" Hunny pulled her into a tight embrace "Haru-chan, it is a massive deal. You're going away again. You're going to be all alone!" The 'I'm going to be all alone' of the statement was left unspoken

"No, I won't. I've got too many memories of you and all the friends I made. How could I be alone when I have the memory of Reiko painting my nails black to keep me company. I've got all of you in me now, and I'll never be alone again." It was a fine way to go, in the arms of the man she loved, basking in the words of another she had loved. She knew she had to leave, but if she was going to do it, she was going out in the way she chose.

3 Minutes

"Tama-chan's going to be so sad without his daughter. Hika-chan and Kao-chan will be lonely again without you." Please don't go

"Tell them that I really did care."

1 and a Half Minutes

"I'm going to see you again Haru-chan, I promise, you'll have more than just memories to keep you company."

"Where I'm going is a place I never want you to be."

"You don't deserve it..."

"There's a lot I've gotten I don't deserve."

He kissed her.

The clock chimed on the hour.

Her body went limp in his arms.

It is said that 6 boys who were heirs to some of the richest companies in the world broke on the day Haruhi Fujioka had died. There was little of her left in the world, as far as it was concerned she was a nobody. So why were all these handsome boys with mountains of money acting as if the world had stopped spinning. Many a gossip magazine made claims on the nature of the girls relationship with the heirs, and each were shot down with a righteous fury. The club the boys had been in closed temporarily, much to the female population of Ouran's ire.

Surprisingly enough, despite the scandal of what Haruhi must have done to bring an Ootori to a silence perceived as mourning, the world noticed that Hunny's reaction was different from the rest. Kyouya had coped and showed his care by arranging a perfect funeral, with roses placed all about. Tamaki played piano pieces so beautifully tragic that they brought tears to peoples eyes. The Hitachiin twins had designed a dress to be buried in, and it is rumoured they did her makeup and hair all on their own, handling the girls body with the utmost tenderness and care. Mori had kept his head tilted down, his faces apathy shifting to something more solemn.

The Haninozuka heir, however, had not left the girls side. Photographs were shown depicting him holding her corpses hand as the hitachiins had styled her hair, one where he had insisted upon painting her nails black himself so she might remember some of those she loved by, even one where he gazed loving at her opened opened casket before taking her hand one final time and seeming to whisper in her ear before walking to his seat at the wake.

Some claim to have heard what he'd said, though accounts vary. Mr. Kanazuki, who had been standing by the girl's body the entirety of the time, once remarked that 'The Haninozuka boy reminded Haruhi of her beauty even in death', leading many to believe the whisper was a comment on the girls looks. Umehito Nekozawa, who had been standing behind the boy in line, had casually dropped

"Those two had such a gothic romance, He would come for her even in death." Causing speculations that it had been a declaration of love, promising that he would fight for her return.

When asked what had been said, Haninozuka himself had smiled and replied "I just wanted to remind Haru-chan to wait up for me."

...Which had lead to accusations of him being suicidal.

He did not kill himself though, and after a short while the world did as the world does and forgot all about it, turning instead to who american actresses were dating. However, the boy could not forget, and instead grew into a man who still loved a girl long past. He died relatively young in his late 30's of unknown cause, leaving behind no heir and passing on the family name to his younger brother instead. Upon his death, the world was suddenly reminded of Haruhi Fujioka.

"He died of a broken heart," They would say, "and when he opened his eyes again, he was met with his former love, hand held out for him to take."

These people were wrong. When what had once been Mitsukuni Haninozuka opened her eyes again, she was first met with bright lights.

Haruhi Fujioka was not the Haruhi she had once been, nor would she ever be again. This was a fact. So when she was gone, it was practically an entirely new person who went. When she went, it was really a death.

This time, when she died, Haruhi had only one thought on her mind. This thought was a wish. A wish to be with Mitsukuni Haninozuka yet again. So she was reborn again 60 years later, approximately 6 months before he had been.

Of course, when reborn, she was not a she. He was born Nobu Yamamoto, a boy who wouldn't date a girl until he was 17 under the claim that he was waiting. What for, no one knew.

When Hisa Ishikawa was born, she did not cry. This caused great alarms for both the doctors and parents, but when they looked down, a smiling baby girl was staring back up at them. Hisa knew that she was going that in this life, she had been granted an opportunity to reunite with the person she had loved most. For the death and consequent wish of Mitsukuni Haninozuka was a mirror image of that of Haruhi Fujioka.

With infantile amnesia came the loss of this knowledge, but the warm tingling notion that something was out there waiting for her remained.

Nobu was transferring to a new school in his third year, something that made his mother feel very guilty. Nobu didn't mind though, when he looked at the picture of Ouran Academy, a school that had stood for over 100 years, he felt a tingle of something stir in his stomach.

He was late to the entrance ceremony.

It hadn't really been his fault, his mother had to head to the company early and the other cars driving camera was out, meaning he had to run to school.

When he finally did show up, he found himself not alone. He turned his head to see a small girl with long blond hair and bangs sitting in a tree. The slight breeze blew a cherry blossom onto slice of cake she'd been eating and she gave a pout before wiping it away. This girl was Hisa. They locked eyes almost expectantly, and something seemed to click.

"My name is Yamamoto Nobu, and I just thought you'd like to know there's a wonderful bakery down the street." The girl smiled brightly and ate all her cake at once before jumping down

"My name is Ishikawa Hisa, and I've been to that bakery, I love their strawberry cake."

"Hisa-chan?"

"Yes?"

"I could go really for a snack, and I did bring my wallet."

The two skipped the entrance ceremony in favor of what was unofficially the first of many dates.

IT'S DONE!

As in done done.

As in I'm not adding more.

BUT WAIT!

I LIED!

I'm considering writing a bunch of one shots, one for each of their lives they lived that were only mentioned, as well as some extras for the stuff I purposely left open for you to imagine. I would make it one story full of one one-shot per chapter. So tell me if you'd all be interested. Believe it or not, I secretly live for reviews, and I'd rather not have to deal with the whole far shore reincarnation thing just yet, (seems like a hassall) so please keep me alive and tell me what you thought.

I chose way too many names starting with 'K' which actually made the flashback scene kind of a pain to write (my apologies if any of the names seemed to have gotten mixed, please tell me if they did and I'll fix it).

I can totally see the twins dancing like Hana and Katashi did with their friends (mostly, the twins are a little different still because different people)

I know I'm going to get some hate for having his mother kill herself, but I genuinely believe this is a conceivable reaction. She made sure her other children were well set in life (being the caring mother she was) but really a person doesn't get over losing a close loved one like that. Everyone handles things differently, and while she may have tried other things, as the author I have the right to say that, in the end, this is what she did.

I had to make the chapter title all one word so it would fit (because god forbid I come up with a reasonably lengthed title).

-Lucas_Gilbert

P.S.-Just about 4,500 glorious words in this chapter alone (but that's like 9,500 words over all because these chapters are Never Alone ;D)!