Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club.

The Scar

Kai smiled bitterly. "Not pretty enough for your club anymore, Suoh?" He didn't know why he was so harsh toward the boy. Maybe because he had been caught being the less-than-perfect person that he usually kept under wraps.

Tamaki looked truly hurt by the comment, but he brushed it aside. Assuming his most demanding, kingly voice, he repeated, "Takara, what happened to your face?"

Kai shrugged and turned toward the punching bag, taking a swing at it as if it had wronged him somehow. "I would have thought that was obvious." It had been partly his fault, of course. He had a sharp tongue and the kind of wit that could be taken the wrong way under the wrong circumstances. While it charmed the girls at school, it made his father think he was being nothing but a selfish, disrespectful teenager. It didn't help that the facts provided by his mother and sister were distorted to incriminate him and full of holes.

Tamaki sighed, his voice slipping into a slight whine. "You're not being very helpful, K…"

"And what business is it of yours?" Kai snapped, whirling around to face his 'guest.' Couldn't the idiot see that he didn't want his friendship? Couldn't he tell that they weren't close, and he had no right to pry into his personal life?

Tamaki took half a step back. After staring at him for what felt like forever, he smiled that idiotic understanding smile of his. "It is my business because I care about all of the peasants who serve under me!" he declared.

Kai stared in amazement for a moment before shouting, "Get out! Don't I have to deal with you enough at school?"

Tamaki laughed and pushed up the hatch. "Captain on deck, all hands prepare to set sail!" he called as he disappeared. Kai could hear Mr. Kaneshiro chuckling just before the hatch fell back into place.

Kai let out a low growl and took another swing at the punching bag. You won't be ruling anything much longer, Suoh.

And yet, he felt something stir within that whispered that maybe, just maybe, he was happy someone cared enough to invade his privacy. He would never admit it, though.

-o-O-o-

When Kai entered the host club that afternoon, his glare wasn't quite as hard as usual when Tamaki sprang forward to greet him.

The group didn't say anything about his new bruise, and he supposed he had Tamaki to thank for that. Why did that boy have to be so nice? Didn't he know he was supposed to be his enemy?

Honey was twitching with the desire to fly to Kai and hug him, but Mori was keeping the small boy in check. The tall, dark young man knew Kai wouldn't appreciate Honey's affections.

Not long after he arrived, the girls started coming in. Kai sat at his designated area and waited.

"Kai! What happened?" Sugar cried.

"Oh no! Does it hurt?" Sweetheart gasped.

"Are you alright?" asked Gorgeous.

Kai smirked a little. "I'm fine. It's just a bruise."

"But… but…" added a black-haired girl he called Darling. She didn't seem too bright, if a little… overambitious. "That's terrible!" She reached a hand toward his face, but stopped herself from actually making contact.

Kai chuckled. "You should see the other guys."

They all sighed, most likely daydreaming about him fighting off a mob of men shirtless.

"Tell us what happened, Kai!"

Through the sea of concerned faces, he saw a shy, brown-haired girl with her hands clasped together on her lap, her eyes staring at her fingers as if she could think of nothing more interesting. Kai smirked for a moment, recognizing her as Beautiful, the bad-poetry deliverer. It seemed odd that she was here when she was obviously so disinterested and uncomfortable. But quickly, he turned his attention back to the others.

"I was taking a late walk last night, and I came across some thugs surrounding a little girl. Looked like they were going to kidnap her or something. Couldn't let that happen, could I?"

They sucked in their breath, and he didn't hear it come back out.

"Obviously, I had to protect her. Lucky for me, they didn't seem to have had much practice. They only landed one punch on me. The kid lived close by, so I walked her home. She was really shaken up. Had a few words with her father."

"Aww!" The giant squeal of approval rose up in a wave, washing over him and leaving his ears begging for mercy.

"Oh, it looks so painful, Kai!"

"Don't worry about me, Gorgeous. Your company makes the pain go away."

"I'm so glad," Gorgeous sighed.

"Do I help, Kai?" asked Darling.

Kai brushed a strand of hair out of the girl's face. "Your presence eases the pain in my jaw, but the pain in my heart doubles with the grief of knowing we'll have to part ways soon."

Darling blushed and struggled for words that never seemed to come.

On the other side of the room, Kaoru and Hikaru were talking to Tamaki.

"I think that's cheating, boss," Kaoru said.

"Yeah. Girls can't help but dote on injured boys."

Tamaki shrugged. "A host knows how to use every aspect of their being to bring happiness. For Kai, today that bruise just happens to be part of his being."

"That doesn't sound right, boss," Hikaru snickered.

"And I don't know that he's bringing 'happiness.'"

"Of course he is! Girl's tender hearts love to have someone to care for!"

"I honestly don't think he cares," said Hikaru.

"I don't get why he's even here. I mean, Kyoya will keep him as long as he's making money, but really, boss, what do we know about him? It's kind of obvious he hates it here," Kaoru said.

Tamaki blinked in surprise. "You think so?"

-o-O-o-

Days and weeks passed, and Kai continued his journey in the land of music room number three. And no matter how well he did in that time, he still had not gained the trust of one Kyoya Otori. Another thing he hadn't done was dress in costume.

The second part was about to change.

Why they had to dress like men from the future, Kai would never understand. But Tamaki had wished it, so it would be done.

"Suoh…" Kai started, his back to the group of guys as he switched shirts. "What is this?"

"Don't say you hate it, Kai, it'll make daddy very upset," Tamaki lamented dramatically.

"Excuse me?" Kai growled.

The twins stepped over. "Ignore him. He likes to think of himself as a father figure."

Kai looked annoyed, but decided to keep his mouth shut about that subject for the moment. "It doesn't even fit, you idiot!"

Tamaki laughed. "Silly Kai, it's supposed to be open like that," he said, grasping the larger boy's shoulder to spin him around.

Kai resisted the tug. "Why am I the only one?"

"Because it fits your image," Kaoru said.

"Why, are you… shy?" Hikaru prodded, grinning impishly.

"I won't wear this, Suoh," Kai said stiffly.

"But…" Tamaki began, his face dropping. "…why?"

Finally, Kai spun around. The futuristic silver vest didn't show more than a two-inch strip of skin down the front, but it was enough to let them see why he was so unwavering in his determination not to wear the costume.

An ugly scar marred the skin of his abdomen in one spot. It looked suspiciously like what would come from a bullet wound.

"Oooooh," the twins said, as if they had uncovered a great secret. "What did you do?"

Kai opened his mouth, furious, but was distracted by seeing Tamaki whispering to Mori. The tall young man nodded.

-o-O-o-

Mori and Kai had switched costume tops at Tamaki's request, and the rest of the time had gone by quickly. While this usually would have been a relief for Kai, he had the feeling that the hosts weren't going to let him get away without pestering him for a story to go with his scar.

He was correct.

"So what happened, Takara?" Hikaru questioned, leaning an elbow on Kai's shoulder.

"Did you get in trouble with the law?" Kaoru asked, leaning on the other side.

"Why would someone shoot you?" Hikaru continued.

"People are cruel, untrustworthy creatures! They enjoy causing pain," Kai snapped, slinging his bag over his shoulder roughly.

"Hey, man, don't go crazy, we were only asking," Hikaru said, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Yah, we totally get that," Kaoru added, imitating the action.

Kai shook his head and shoved his anger aside, stalking to the door. He heard one pair of footsteps behind him. He stopped an inch from the door, waiting for the person to speak.

"What really happened, Kai?" It was Tamaki. He spoke softly and kindly, unlike the twins, who spoke as if looking for something to blackmail him with.

Kai turned his head just enough to see that the blonde boy was the only one close enough to hear.

"Someone was angry with a doctor." His voice was soft. "He had a gun, and tried to shoot a little girl." No sooner was the last word out of Kai's mouth than the door was open and he was gone.