Title: Invisible
Written by: WraithR249 & Yue Guang Kuroneko
Pairing: KyouyaxHaruhi
Rating: K (for now)

Invisible
By WraithR249
(and co-written by Yue Guang Kuroneko)

--

Haruhi walked home slowly. Her eyes were red and her spirits were at an all-time low.

Lovely how he matters this much to me, she thought sarcastically, staring down at the concrete blankly.

She had never felt so alone since she had entered Ouran. She was reluctant to admit it, but for the sake of being honest with herself (since she was on a roll anyway), it comforted her to be able to rely on her family of hosts.

There was Hunny-senpai, who was always cheerful and uplifting, like a cute little brother. There was Mori-senpai, who stayed calm, and knew exactly what to do when the situation was dire, like a reliable older brother. There were the twins, who would keep her entertained when she grew tired of the same mundane things. There was Tamaki who—well, he always reminded her that things could always get worse, more like a puppy rather than the father he insists on being.

And then… there was him. He was never without a plan, and nothing escaped his meticulously thorough notes. Had he ever been caught off guard before in his life?

Haruhi relished in his unexpected, warm smiles and she felt herself despairing that she might not see one ever again.

May I please forget about him now, she begged herself, before I go completely insane?

Her legs stopped walking of their own accord, and she was surprised to find herself at home.

Sighing, she plugged the key into the doorknob and turned it quietly, silently praying that her father was not at home to see her in such a pathetic state.

Apparently, luck was not on her side today because her father was sitting on the couch, and he saw his daughter in the doorway. He could immediately tell that she had cried her eyes dry, and she was cradling her arms sadly.

"Oh, Haruhi," he whispered, rushing over to her and covering his mouth. "Oh, no."

"I'm home," she whispered feebly in reply.

"What happened?" he murmured worriedly.

Haruhi closed her eyes. It's impossible. It would not work between the two of us. His painful words echoed in her head. She closed her eyes tighter.

"He said no," she told him simply.

Her father held her at arms length. "He just said… no? I find that hard to believe," he said, his tone rising.

"He said more than that, but I don't want to talk about it. Dad, please," she begged him. "Just let it go. I want to forget about him."

"But, Haruhi-" he began, but she pulled away from him and walked into her room, ignoring him.

Fujioka Ranka sighed heavily, watching his daughter suffer. It reminded him of what a hard time he had when Kotoko had first turned him down.

--

Haruhi stood in the middle of her room, fighting the tears that were threatening to spill. Why did it hurt so much to have this happen?

She wished that she could go back to when she didn't care about the Host Club and its insane members. She wished that she wouldn't feel lonely without them, because she didn't care for them.

It hurt her that things might not be the same between her and all of the members of the Host Club if they found out, but she realized that he would never tell the others about her confession. For some reason, her relief was little, and she briefly wondered why.

Inside of her heart, she knew the answer. She loved all of the members of the Host Club, and each of them truly left their mark on her heart, but it wasn't losing them she was worried about. She knew the mysterious, unreadable face that she didn't want to let go of. She was afraid of things changing between them, between the one she lo-

"I do not love him," she told herself firmly.

Her own voice sounded hollow and desperate in her own ears. She wasn't convinced.

I need to focus on something else and forget about him, she reasoned with herself. He's not a big deal. Just take the hit and move on. If you don't, you'll go crazy.

A soft knock sounded on her door. "Haruhi…? Dearest, please talk to me about it. If you don't, you'll go crazy."

Clenching her fists, she opened up angrily. "Dad, I don't know what to say. There's nothing to discuss."

"Fine, but let me tell you something. Your daddy isn't exactly the smartest man alive, but he knows a lot about love… and if you don't express how you feel and what's on your mind, things will just get harder for you… and you won't find any answers," he responded, a hint of smugness in his voice.

Haruhi rolled her eyes. If he wanted to try that approach, she would let him try. He would get out once he saw that it wasn't working.

"Fine," she ushered him in. He was giggling despite the dismal circumstances.

He sat attentively on the floor, and she repeated the conversation that she had with him. When she had finished her story, she sighed.

"So tell daddy," he cooed. "Tell daddy how you feel about things."

"I feel miserable and I don't want to think about him anymore," she muttered.

"What do you think about the way he feels?" he asked, tapping his chin.

"He's an idiot," she retorted, frowning at the impossibility of her statement.

"Well, don't you think it's strange?" he asked her, putting his hands on his knees.

"What's so strange about him rejecting me?" she cried, throwing her arms up in the air in exasperation.

He looked directly into her eyes, halting her anger with his serious gaze. "It's strange because he rejected you… when he obviously cares about you."

The anger in her eyes dissipated, and she stared at the mature, serious face of her father. Had he always been like this?

Suddenly, she was filled with a deep sadness, and a sob almost escaped her throat.

"Am I that repulsive?" she wondered aloud. This didn't fail to reduce her father to giggles.

"Oh, Haruhi ahaha!" he laughed, clutching his stomach as he rolled on her bed in laughter.

She could feel the fire of her irritation returning, but she pushed it back down into her stomach. She wanted answers more than she wanted to smack her father upside his head.

Luckily she could get both.

"Ow…! Was that necessary! Be nice to daddy…!"

She put her hands on her hips. "Well, maybe you could help me instead of ridiculing me! Now if you don't mind, I would appreciate you explaining the inner workings of this man's mind, since you seem to be so familiar with it!"

Immediately sitting up, and rubbing his chin, he thought carefully. "Well, I'm not sure why he would say that it would ruin your life. Much of what he told you seems like an excuse to me."

"Such as?" she asked impatiently. An excuse? Why wasn't she able to pick this up? She waited to hear what her father had to say.

"Think about it, Haruhi," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "He said that it would be the end of your involvement in the Host Club. Does that make sense?"

"Well," she said thoughtfully, "I did bring in quite a bit of profit, and I still have a debt to repay, so yes, it does."

Her father shook her head. "It is not like you two are going to go around the school kissing. Should you be involved in a relationship, both of you would keep it very discreet. A secret kept between you and Kyouya… I can almost guarantee that the secret would never be leaked, and that your involvement in the Host Club would not end."

Haruhi looked surprised. She was suddenly glad that a certain valedictorian kept her father up to date. It seemed like her father knew about what would compromise her involvement in the club… and even much about Kyouya.

"And what are these complications that he was referring to…?"

She looked back at her father. "I'm not sure what he meant. I assumed that he meant it would cause complications within his family… I don't think his father would approve of me…"

Ranka shook his head. "No, Haruhi, he would not approve… but you are not keeping things in perspective."

Haruhi was not keeping things in perspective, and yet her father was. Love must turn the entire world upside down, she thought sardonically. She was about to look outside for pigs flying.

"He is already the youngest son of the Ootori family, and his father expects much of him. Yes, his father would look down on him courting a girl such as yourself," he said with a hint of distaste. "However, Kyouya-kun is a brilliant boy. Both you and I know that he is a very intelligent, cunning businessman. He will either succeed or fail to impress his father."

"But doesn't that mean…" she began to protest.

"My dear, he is the top student of his class, and likely all of Ouran. If this does not impress his father, will he be forsaken because his personal life is blemished with the likes of you?"

Haruhi froze. His father didn't care that he was the top of his class? Kyouya would probably have to conquer the world in order to impress his father. Perhaps he would not care much about who he was seeing…

"But that is too big of an assumption to make," she pointed out to her father.

"He simply said there were complications. What is too big of an assumption to make is that he was speaking about his family."

Haruhi sighed, leaning back onto her floor. She wished she could go back in time, calm herself down, and ask the black haired boy some constructive questions.

"But either way, it still sounds like an excuse to me."

Haruhi sat up, and puffed her chest out.

"That's true. I want some answers from him."

She allowed herself to think about him, and she imagined his cold, emotionless stare as a response to her investigation.

Her confidence deflated a little, but she was still determined.

I want some answers, Ootori Kyouya, she whispered to herself confidently. I am the only one who can say that this relationship will ruin my life, and I will not let you make my decisions for me.

--

Authors' Notes:

-WraithR269: pumps fist into the air She's gonna go get him! She's gonna gonna gonna go get him! But, dear readers, as we all know very well… she will soon find that he is not easy prey! Either fluff or angst follows this chapter… who knows what it will be? (hint: I don't yet, whatever I feel like XP)

-Yue Guang Kuroneko: I…had such a hard time editing this. -sigh- I must be lacking skills if I can't edit right. I hope you all enjoyed this though…go Haruhi! Get Kyouya to fall in love with you! –squee- Thank you all for reading and sticking to this (and if you're a Kimi no Koe fan, thank you for reading that too xD) and we'll see you next chapter!