AN: Uwa…another chapter. They're short, I know, but it's made up for the speed of the updates I guess. Hope you're enjoying the story so far. I know it's making myself cry…and that's sad and pathetic to me because it's coming out of MY head!!! –sweat drops- anyways, happy reading…erm…happy…ehehehe…you understand, right?

-Fate's Hand-

Fate is a cruel being. It's there during the worst times of your life and when you think all is coming to an end. It binds you and traps you down, sauntering you a metal board and then tosses you into the sea of the unknown. Bumping into people and experiences leave cuts and scrapes, but everyone always wishes and prays that they'll keep on falling into the clear areas. Eventually, fate's sea will end up dark and cold like the coffin and grave.

But sometimes, when a happenstance would occur, people automatically point the finger at the initial problem. "Oh, you had an accident because you woke up on the wrong side of the bed!" or "you're doing drugs because of the people you hang out with!"

But that isn't always the case. Maybe it's because they didn't fasten their seatbelt or maybe it was because the family was going through a divorce? Whatever the reason, people always point a finger in Fate's face and yells, "I HATE YOU!" exactly in those big bold, capital letters. But aren't liars hated in society too? Yes. Because frankly, Fate does play a major role in everyone's lives. It'd be lying if said that it wasn't.

"Fujioka-san, I'm afraid I have to bring you bad news…"

It was a paramedic. Immediately, she had thought why one would be in her room, but when explained into detail, she covered her ears and nodded. As soon as the paramedic left, she let out a deafening scream and fainted.

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"Did you hear…?"

"I know, it's so sad…"

"First he's diagnosed with cancer and now his father…"

Kyouya's head turned to the females with great interest.

"Excuse me, ladies, would you mind if you included me into the subject?"
"Oh, Kyouya-sempai..! You didn't hear…?"

"Obviously I haven't."

"Fujioka-kun's father was stabbed to death this morning…"

Out of sheer dumb luck, his phone rang before he got a chance to digest the tidbit of information that was forced down his throat.

"Mom, I'm going to skip school today to visit Haruhi! Are you coming? The others are already-"

"I'm coming…Tamaki…?"
"Yes?"

"Ranka-san is dead…"

This time it was Tamaki's turn to go silent on the phone. There was a silent 'no' and the line was disconnected. Kyouya pushed his glasses up further on the bridge of his nose.

"Where are you going, Sempai?"

Without another word, the third Ootori son sprinted off to the front of the school as fast as he could, trying to dial Ranka's cell phone number but received a message stating that it wasn't open. He ground his teeth and tried to call the hospital but received another computer telling him to 'please hold while a secretary gets to your call' and hung up right away.

"Shit…shit, shit ,shit, SHIT!"

He yelled, arriving to the front and wiping the sweat from his forehead. He saw the limo pulling up to the curb, the door flinging open.

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Haruhi had barred her door shut. Her IV drip had long run dry and she refused to eat. The same lines ran through her head. 'Incredibly drunk,' 'carried these photos on him,' '38 stab wounds,' 'must have been a past boyfriend that he dumped.'

Doctors tried getting into her room but she had her bed, dresser, and all the chairs barring everything shut as well as all the locks locked and windows shut tight with the curtains drawn with a chair under the door handle to prevent it from jiggling. She was staring at photos of her entire family at the park when her mother was alive. They were all smiling and that was what hurt Haruhi the most. What was her father thinking during his final moments? The door was being tested again. She held on tighter to Usa-chan and tried to will them away like some sort of genie. The rattling of the door stopped. Then came a voice.

"Haruhi…it's me…it's Tamaki."

"GO AWAY!"

She screamed, covering her ears. She didn't want to listen to their words of comfort. She didn't need that now—no…she didn't want that now.

"Haruhi, you're going to have to open the door sooner or later…"

Kaoru's voice now. She held her arms and held her knees closer to her chest while in the corner. It was true, but she didn't want to. The paramedic explained everything that happened to her father and went into detail. How Ryoji walked outside with one of his customers and how a masked figure had ran up to him and stabbed him 38 times. His death wasn't instant and he had died inside the ambulance crying out his daughter's name. There was no face to match the attacker and no other evidence than his height and that he had been completely clad in black.

This was some kind of sick joke…someone was playing a sick joke. There was no way all of this could be happening in the same week…what next…? Her apartment burn down? Tax collectors take possession of their assets? Better yet, she knew what was going to happen…her father's funeral. Funerals weren't cheap either and she knew that she didn't have that kind of money, never mind her hospital bills…

Nothing was going to be right.

She buried her face deep inside her knees and tried to block everything out but it all came swimming back to her. Grief consumed her. It swallowed her whole without a second thought of anything else.

Her head lifted up as she heard silence from the other side of the door now. Slowly, she crept towards the door. She was curious why they stopped. She pressed her ear against the door and listened, biting her lip.

"…a way in."

"…could wait until she opens the door…"

Something scuttled outside that sounded like it belonged to a trolley. She went back to her window and opened the curtains, looking at the afternoon sky and then turned her gaze to the mountains. She opened the window and rested her elbows on the ledge.

"HARUHIIIII!"

She jumped and looked down, seeing Hikaru and Kaoru.

"YOU KNOW WE'RE TRYING TO HELP YOU, SO OPEN THE DOOR!"

Kaoru shouted after his brother, Hikaru nodding.

"COME ON! THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR, RIGHT!? I TOLD YOU ALREADY, DIDN'T I!? WEEEELLL!? DIDN'T I!?"

Haruhi covered her mouth as tears slid down her face. Hikaru and Kaoru waved to her, giving her the thumbs up.

"OPEN THE DOOR! WE'RE COMING UP!"

They both shouted to her, running inside the doors again before she had time to answer. They were right…if something would happen to them, she'd be there for them, why was she making herself an exception? She went over to the bed and proceeded to push it out of the way with the chairs. There was a knock on the door again.

"Haruhi, is it unlocked?"

She tried pushing the dresser this time but found herself drained of energy. She tried pushing harder but it didn't budge. Staring at her hands, she felt more tears slide down her face. Was she really growing that weak? It must have been because the drugs were beginning to wear out…

"Are you okay?"

Kyouya asked now, she buried her face in her hands. She took a few breaths and raised her head.

"I have encountered a problem…"

She spoke in a trembling voice. She tried moving the dresser again to no avail.

"What's wrong!? You're not hurt, are you!?"

She almost laughed at Tamaki's question. I think having cancer was being a little more than hurt…! She slid to the floor and sighed. Was all this worth it…?

"Haruhi…!"
"I can't move the dresser…"

She could hear a few snorts of laughter from behind the door but then it stopped.

"Wait…you're serious!?"

Hikaru shouted, Haruhi nodded, forgetting that they weren't able to see her.

"Haruhi, I need you to stand back."

Mori was speaking this time. She blinked a few times. Stand back…? What was he-

She let out a strange scream as a fist flew through the top of the door, belonging to Mori. Her heart was beating fast as both his hands proceeded to make the hole as big as he could. He stuck his face in to see Haruhi on the floor. His eyes narrowed as he struggled to reach the corner of the dresser. He punched the side of the hole a few more times and cleared the wood from the way a bit more. With only one hand, he heaved the dresser out of the way. Haruhi's face blanched at the sight. It was truly the most frightening experience of her life. The door was then unlocked and Hani ran in, crying loudly as he wrapped his arms around Haruhi's neck, crying loudly. It took all she had not to cry as she lay a hand on his head, bringing him closer to her in a tight hug. The doctors rushed in to take her vital signs and quickly put her back on her medication, everyone watching. She hated it…

"We're sorry…when we heard the news of your father…"

Kyouya, for the first time, stopped talking as a bulge formed in his throat. As much as he hated to admit it, he was pretty close to Ryoji. Haruhi didn't speak. She allowed herself to be put in bed as soon as the room was arranged, but her mouth didn't move.

"Fujoka-san…can I talk alone to you in private?"

The doctor asked her, Haruhi shook her head.

"Just tell me…it can't get worse anymore…"

"If you insist…Fujioka-san, you do realize that with your father deceased, you no longer have a relative who can give you a bone marrow transplant."

She covered her mouth with one hand and let more tears slide down her face. Hani's sobs grew as he held on to Takashi whom had a nurse attending to the damage done to his hands.

"Unless you have a living relative elsewhere…?"

She shook her head no again. The doctor let out a sigh and shook his head.

"You're still a minor too, no doubt…social services will be here this evening in that case."

She shook her head and covered her eyes, crying. The host club stared at the doctor who was trying to soothe Haruhi by rubbing small circles on her back.

"Your father's funeral home will call the front desk to ask us to pass on the message to you when they will be holding the ceremony. We're sorry for your loss…"

Hani hugged Haruhi again, bawling. How could everything happen so fast in such a short amount of time…?

"As for now, the head doctor will make the decision calls for you and your well being until you have an appointed guardian. Best of luck, Fujioka Haruhi-san."

With that, he took his leave, coming back only to stick up newspaper where the hole was. How could every bad thing possible happen to her? Cruel, cruel, fate again…it was laughing at her…mocking her…

Kaoru opened his bag and pulled out a wig.

"We were supposed to give this to cheer you up today…but I have a feeling it won't work…"

He said, placing it delicately on her head and fixing it up so she looked a little healthier. Tamaki, through all this, couldn't speak. He was too much in shock. Hikaru and Kaoru seemed to be the one who was holding up better than the rest of them. Even Mori overreacted by making that hole in the door. They could have just gotten a hammer and unhinged the door while unlocking the door with the master key and removed the entire door. If the host club couldn't stand just watching all this happen, how could Haruhi manage herself when it was happening to her?

"Haruhi, we didn't want to tell you, but we're all getting tested for our bone marrow to see if it'll match yours…"

Kaoru spoke in the softest voice he had, holding her cheek. She reached her arms out to him and hugged him, muttering 'thank you' all the while.

"So just take things one step at a time, alright? We're going to be here for you until you beat this thing."

Hikaru spoke now, fixing her hair. Her head bobbed up and down as she went to hug him as well. Such a tiny girl forced to go through such great forces…

"I n-need to make a p-phone call."

She spoke through hiccups, Tamaki immediately took out his cell phone and held it out to her.
"Call whoever you like for as long as you like!"

"Idiot, we're not allowed those in here."

"I don't care."

He replied to Haruhi, a determined look on his face. With trembling hands, she took it from him and began to dial a few numbers. Her breath came in small hiccups as everyone in the room fell silent.

"Good afternoon, Sonoda Misuzu speaking."

Haruhi tried her best to keep her voice from faltering.

"M-Misuzu-san, it's Haruhi…"

"Oh, Haruhi! How is everything!? What are you and your friends up to?! Better yet, what gives me the pleasure to receive a call from you?"

"I need your help…can you please come to the Ootori hospital…?"

"Eh, what's happening? Are you alright!? I'll be right there! I'll be there as fast as I can! Please wait for me!"

"Okay…you need to come to the sixth floor and just ask for my name, alright…?"

"Haruhi, whatever it is…"

"Yeah…I understand…thanks, Misuzu-san…"

She hung up the phone and handed it back to Tamaki, her eyes cast downwards as Kyouya was the first to speak.

"What are you going to do…?"

"I'm going to ask if Misuzu-san can adopt me..."

Those were harsh words coming out of her mouth but she didn't know how else to put it. After all, how many times to you get to say that in your life? Better yet, how many times have you heard that in a serious speaking manner?

"That's actually not a bad idea seeing as in he's the closest friend of the family's you have." Kyouya said, making Haruhi nod.

"Do you want anything to eat?"

Hani asked, trying to wipe his eyes. She shook her head no.

"You guys go can go eat, alright?"

"No way!"

Tamaki yelled but his belly was already growling. He blushed but stood firm.

"I'm not going to leave Haruhi's side until Misuzu-san shows up."

Haruhi smiled through another bout of tears and wiped them away, her smile faltering. After all, how long can you keep up a smile like that when you're in so much pain?

"Thanks guys…"

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AN: …this is getting depressing even for me…I need to lighten the mood somehow next chapter…-hides face in pillow- I have no idea how, but I'm going to do it within the next few chapters! Read and review please and thank you. =)