A/N Sorry about the wait! Hope you enjoy, even though it's still familiarizing you with Hana. Next chapter she and Kyoya meet, so please, don't kill me!

Chapter 2-

The rest of the week was a little too dull to comment about. Hana settled into her classes fine; she was the quiet, invisible honor student. She and Haruhi spoke a few more times, and she learned that along with Hikaru, Kaoru and a few others, Haruhi was part of the infamous Host Club.

Hana had a special type of hatred for them. Whenever she went into the bathroom, there was a girl sobbing over the Host Club, with her friends attempting to comfort her. Apparently the self-appointed leader, Tamaki Suoh, or the King as he had them calling him, had nearly hit her because she'd spilt some tea on Haruhi. Hana had walked past, eyes narrowing in anger. Just who did the Host Club think they were!?

Nonetheless, today was Sunday, and Hana had planned on studying, then going to work. But the days plans had changed, due to the adorable, eight-year old, brunette staring up at her with wide eyes. Her sister, Sakura.

"Sis" she pleaded, "Please play with me. Can we go to the park?"

"Sakura" Hana sighed, "I can't, today I have to study..." Her voice trailed off when Sakura widened her eyes, letting Hana see her golden brown orbs. She sighed again, "Fine, but only for half an hour, okay?"

"Yay!" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

"You're eight years old" Hana reminded Sakura, "So why do you still act like you're five?"

"Cause it's fun!" She cheered, "I'm going to the park!"

"Not in your pajamas, you aren't" Hana smirked, the pointed to the room she and her sister shared, "Go get dressed"

"Kay!" She sang, following Hana's pointed finger into the bedroom. Hana inwardly shook her head. She wouldn't be able to study at the park, especially if she was taking her sister. Sakura was an energetic little girl; if you took her eyes off of her for one second, she'd be in all sorts of trouble.

Sakura came out of the bedroom as Hana put on her contacts on and untied her hair. At Sakura's questioning look, she said, "I'm going to work after we go to the park, and my hair takes forever to get straight" she grimaced as she pulled a brush through her tangled hair. She had to look the part to keep her job as a waitress.

"But isn't work not for hours, sis?" Sakura asked, "And I thought we were only going for half an hour?"

"Yes, we are" Hana answered, "But like I said, my hair takes a while to get into place, and I need to get comfortable with my hair down and no glasses"

"Oh, okay" Sakura didn't sound like she understood, but had given up asking because the prospect of the park was too exciting to miss, "So, are we going?"

"Yeah, let's go" Hana smiled at her younger sister.

They walked to the nearby park; it only took twenty minutes. Considering that walking with Sakura meant frequent stops, this was an achievement.

When they reached the park Sakura ran straight to the sandpit, "Let's build a sandcastle!" She exclaimed, tugging Hana's sleeve, "C'mon Hana! You're so slow!"

Hana decided to just enjoy the visit. Silly as she felt, being a sixteen year old playing with someone half her age, acting moody and grumpy wasn't going to change the fact that she was here. Besides, being grumpy would ruin Sakura's happiness, and Sakura's optimism and cheerfulness was what made Hana do what she had to do. Hana filled in for their absentee mother and did her best to replace their father, and that was all for Sakura.

Speaking of her absentee mother... She hadn't been herself recently. Their mother worked very hard for them, both Sakura and Hana knew that, but recently she'd begun to look even more tired. Hana had been making sure their mother had been eating and sleeping well, so the only factor left could be stress. But why was her mother stressful? Hana wondered and wondered, but couldn't think of anything. Shouldn't her mother should be relaxed? Her eldest daughter had managed to get a scholarship at a rich school, and didn't that show that Hana was responsible and could one day get a well-paying job?

"Ha-na!" Sakura sang her name, "Stop day dreaming! We need to make the sandcastle!"

"You're right; sorry Sakura" Hana apologized, and started moving sand into a pile of which she hoped looked reminiscent of a castle. Sakura seemed pleased, so she must've been doing something right.

"Is that you Hana?" A familiar voice inquired. Hana whipped around to see Haruhi's smiling face, "Oh, it is! I didn't recognize you with your hair like that!"

"Haruhi..?" Hana wondered, then shook her head and held up a hand, befuddled, "I'm sorry; I'm going to ask a personal question. Do you or do you not cross-dress?"

Haruhi was wearing a dress, which she tugged at self-consciously, "Which gender do you think I am?"

"Female"

Haruhi's eyes widened, "You're right; good guess! As for the reason why, I don't usually cross-dress; just at school. Here, let me tell you the whole story, but first, who's this cutie?"

"I'm Sakura" Sakura introduced, smiling cheerily, "Will you help us make sandcastles?"

"Sure!" Haruhi grinned.

While they messed around in the sandpit, Haruhi told her the story about why she cross-dressed. Apparently, the Host Club had forced her into it after she'd broken an expensive vase- rich people, they'd both sighed- and had long since paid the debt but still worked there for the money, and for the company(which Hana doubted was fun, but Haruhi insisted that the company and friendship of the Host Club was great). Apparently while it wasn't the most ideal job, it was entertaining, and Haruhi had made good friends in the club, and was dating the self-proclaimed king, Tamaki Suoh.

"Can I play, too?" A shy girl with long purple hair walked over to them. She looked to be about Sakura's age, "It looks fun"

"I'm Sakura. What's your name?" Sakura asked.

"Tomoyo"

"Tomoyo, will you help us make sandcastles?"

"Okay" she agreed, giving a hesitant smile, then began to sit next to Sakura and help with the rather large sandcastle they'd created. Haruhi and Hana made eye contact and both smiled. It was too adorable for words.

"Oh, by the way" Haruhi said, sounding guilty, "I told Tamaki that I'd be coming here today; if I didn't, he'd probably worry"

"Sounds clingy. What's the problem?"

"Wherever I go, for some reason, the Host Club follows"

Hana closed her eyes and exhaled, "Oh, great... Anyway, it doesn't mater. Sakura and I will be going soon; we only were going to stay for half an hour"

"Aawww, sis, can we stay longer?" Sakura pleaded, "I just met Tomoyo!"

"No" Hana said sternly, "I have to study, and then I have to work"

"Okay" Sakura accepted glumly.

"Hey Hana, sorry for asking, but why is your hair down?" Haruhi inquired, "I'm so familiar with it being in braids. And where'd your glasses go?"

"Sis likes to look pretty for her job, right sis?" Sakura chimed, and Hana groaned.

"That makes it sound like my job is indecent. No, it's just waitressing, but a nerdy girl doesn't attract customers" Hana explained, "After all, it's business"

"You remind me of someone" Haruhi said, smirking, "He's really selfish, greedy, but has his moments where he can be kind. He rarely does anything that doesn't benefit him"

"Sounds nothing like me" Hana frowned, "Since me and Sakura aren't exactly wealthy, I've had to sacrifice a lot. If I'm selfish, it's so I can keep my family alive"

"You still remind me of him" Haruhi said, then shook her head, as if shaking the thought away, "Anyway guys, I think the sandcastle is just about done. How about I take a photo of everyone, and the we go on the slide?"

"Sure!" Tomoyo beamed. She'd really come out of her shell after spending some time with Sakura.

"You get in the picture too" Hana scolded, wagging her finger at Haruhi, then walked over to one of the mothers, "Excuse me, but would you mind taking a picture of us?"

"That's fine. Also, if you didn't notice, I'm Tomoyo's mother. Thank you for taking care of her; sometimes it seems she's so shy she can't make any friends" the woman smiled, and now that she'd said it, Hana realized she did resemble Tomoyo.

"Don't worry about it. Having Tomoyo around was really fun!" Hana replied, "She was a little shy, but she came out of her shell in no time"

"That's good to hear" the woman said, obviously relieved.

They all posed around the sandcastle, Sakura and Tomoyo in the front, both doing the peace sign with one hand, their free hands linked. Hana and Haruhi kneeled at the back, Haruhi slinging an arm around Hana's shoulder.

"Three, two one" Tomoyo's mother said, using Haruhi's smart phone (a present from the Host Club) as a camera, "Say cheese!"

"Cheese!" Sakura and Tomoyo chorused, and Hana and Haruhi stayed silent. They'd outgrown the whole, 'Cheese!' Thing. The woman took a few photos then handed the phone back to Haruhi. After looking at the photos and evaluating them, Haruhi put her phone away. Sakura and Tomoyo ran off to the next thing they wanted to do and Hana and Haruhi ran after them, laughing at their enthusiasm.

"Sakura, we have to go" Hana called, after Sakura and Tomoyo had done nearly everything in the park. An hour had passed, "We've stayed for way too long"

"Okay, sis" Sakura said, then turned and hugged Tomoyo. Hana smiled fondly at her younger sister, who was much more sociable and trusting than Hana could ever be, "Bye Tomoyo! Let's play again soon!"

"Yeah!" Tomoyo said, then broke off the hug and turned to her mother, "Please mummy?"

"I'm sure we can arrange something" the mother said, looking at Hana who nodded her approval.

"Our mother is very busy, so Sakura could do with an, 'Auntie'"

Tomoyo's mother knew what Hana was implying. In short, Hana wanted her to be a mother figure in Sakura's life, "Of course! How about next Saturday? Sakura can come over to our place an play, wouldn't you like that Tomoyo?"

"Thank you mummy!"

"I'm surprised the Host Club hadn't shown up yet" Haruhi said, glancing around, "It's weird"

"It's a miracle if you ask me" Hana muttered, then grasped Sakura's hand, "Anyway, we're going now. Bye Haruhi"

They all said their final good-byes and Hana started to walk with Sakura back to their apartment, listening to Sakura chatter the entire way. She'd needed today, Hana reflected. It had been hard trying to adapt to the new school and stress had been beating her down. But after seeing her sisters smiling face Hana felt refreshed. She'd do anything for her little sister.

A few days later

"Oh, it looks like Haruhi forgot her phone" Kyoya noted. It was the end of the school day and he had been managing the days money whilst the others cleaned, "Tamaki, would you give it to her?"

"Hmm? Oh, sure" Tamaki said, grabbing the phone. His finger accidentally pushed the power button, turning on the phone, "Who is this?"

"Who is who?" Kyoya asked, half-paying attention.

"There are three other people with Haruhi in her background photo. It looks pretty recent, too"

"Maybe Haruhi just found some friends" Kaoru suggested, "What's the big deal? It would explain why she's been going home earlier, too"

"Haruhi finally has some female friends!" Tamaki exclaimed, "This is amazing! Now she can finally talk about her feelings to them..."

He continued to ramble utter nonsense that Kyoya didn't bother himself with listening. Instead, Kyoya grabbed the phone and looked at the photo himself, "Tamaki, two of these girls look like they're seven years old. The only one who looks relatively Haruhi's age is this one"

"She looks familiar" Hikaru commented, peering over Kyoya's shoulder, "I swear I've seen her before... Nah, I'd remember someone that good-looking"

"Hikaru, don't hit on Haruhi's friend!" Tamaki ordered, "We don't want to scare her away, especially since I want to meet her!"

"Now that would most definitely scare her away" Kyoya commented dryly, "But he's right, I want to meet her as well"

A/N Hope you enjoyed! Look forward to the next chapter, Kyoya meets Hana! Finally, am I right? :D I'll post it as soon as I can!