The days passed and Sakura came back to the Host Club, visiting with the twins. They soon became close friends, the girls, jealous of her just a bit. No guest has ever been so close to a Host, so they had good reason to be. But Sakura was still happy and so were the Hitachiins. Every day, the trio would meet up in the garden and walk together to their cars, talking and laughing amongst themselves at the end of the day. It became a daily routine.
One day, however, she didn't come.
The Hitachiins shrugged it off. Everyone had their sick days. But once she was gone for four whole days, they became concerned, especially Kaoru.
"Where's Sakura?" he would ask, glancing around the garden. She was always there before them, usually under the cherry tree that sat in the middle of the garden. The only thing under the tree those pass few days were now fallen cherry blossoms.
Hikaru watched his brother carefully, never seeing him act like this to anyone except Haruhi and Hikaru, himself. "Dunno. Did you try calling her?"
He shook his head, still not looking at his twin. "Don't have her number."
"I thought she gave it to you the other day. Here." Hikaru handed him his own cell, the dial town already ringing. Kaoru took it eagerly.
"Hello?" A soft voice finally answered after a few more rings.
"Sakura?"
"No, this is her aunt. May I ask who this is?" The woman already seemed suspicious.
"Kaoru Hitachiin, ma'am. I'm a friend of Sakura Shissa's. May I speak with her please?"
Silence followed. He almost thought she hung up on him.
"If you really must speak with her, come to the hospital. She's not allowed-" But the younger male already snapped the phone shut and gave it back to his brother.
"We've got to go!" he exclaimed as he grabbed his brother's arm and ran for the car.
The older one was a bit confused. "Wh-What? Why?"
"She's in the hospital!"
The younger twin left his brother behind as he raced inside, nearly flying over the front desk. "I'm here to see Sakura Shissa," he panted.
The secretary looked at him, slightly confused and surprised. "I'm sorry, but we don't have a Sakura Shissa here. Could you have meant Zeil Shissa?" She typed the name into her computer and skimmed his information. "Says here he is the father of Sakura Beliza Shissa."
He sighed in relief, knowing she was alright, but was now worried for her asked as Hikaru came up behind him.
The secretary smiled and stood, leaning over the desk and looking down the hall.
"Room 49, third one on your left."
"Thank you," Hikaru nodded, walking down the hall with his twin. "So, she's alright?" he whispered.
The other nodded slowly. "But it's her father."
"What's wrong with him?"
Unable to answer the question, he opened the door to find out for himself, peeking inside.
"Daddy! Can't you let me win at least once?" That familiar voice giggled inside, joined by someone else's deeper laughter.
"I'm just playing the game, honey."
At first, the boys regretted interrupting, but cautiously stepped in. "Excuse us," they said softly.
The father and daughter looked to their visitors. Sakura blushed slightly, smiling at the two. "Daddy, these are my friends, the Hitachiins, Hikaru and Kaoru." She motioned to each twin as she said their names, and correctly, to their surprise.
The boys bowed slightly in respect. "A pleasure to meet you, Shissa, Sir."
The man chuckled a little. "Relax, boys. Come in, come in. My daughter told me all about you two. Especially you, Kaoru."
Hikaru smiled, looking to his surprised sibling. "M-Me, Sir?"
"Yes, and please, both of you, call me Zeil. Now come and join us in our game of Chinese checkers."
Although hesitant, the two joined their game, soon relaxing and enjoying themselves. The group chattered and laughed for an hour or so. Everyone was enjoying this time together.
Soon, though, Mrs. Shissa, whose name was Yuna, came to pick up her daughter and peck her husband on the cheek. The twins decided to head home as well, seeing the late time. But as Hikaru and Kaoru were leaving, Zeil caught the younger one's wrist.
"Kaoru, right?" he chuckled a little as he released him to pat the chair beside his bed. "I want to talk to you before you leave. It'll only be a moment."
The twin hesitated a moment, but say. He feared he had done something wrong. "Yes, Zeil, Sir?"
The man struggled a bit to sit up, chuckling a little. "Please, just Zeil." As quickly as his happy tone came, however, a more solemn one took its place. "But I want to talk to you about my daughter, Sakura. I'm not going to be around much longer. She thinks I'm in here because of a heart attack." He sighed softly, looking down. "That's not exactly true. Yes, I've been having heart problems since I was born, but now… The doctors can't do anything."
Kaoru knew he was now so serious, there was no turning back. "May I ask why you're in the hospital then, Zeil?"
All was silent for a moment, with only the sound of the monitor's beeping.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
"Cardiomyopathy. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy," he said softly, a blank stare on his face. "Too keep things simple, my heart isn't in the right shape, changing my blood flow for the worse." The teen saw one tear fall from the man's chin.
"I'm a goner by the end of the week, maybe sooner."
The boy was speechless. What was he supposed to say? What could he say? The man could die tonight for all he knew!
"I'm very sorry, Zeil," was all he could say, his voice cracking a bit.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The man sighed once again as he lie down, gently grabbing the twin's shoulder. "That's why I need you to take good care of my daughter when I leave the world, alright? Other than her mother, you and your brother will be the only people she'll have left." His grip tightened on Kaoru's shoulder and the monitor's beeping sounds suddenly raced.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Death! Death! Death!
"Shissa, Sir!"
His voice was strained and barely a whisper, but the Hitachiin was able to catch it before being removed by doctors.
"Tell Sakura that Daddy loves her."
And that was it. His last words.
Kaoru rode home with his brother silently after his removal, not telling him until that night before they went to bed. Hikaru wanted to call Sakura, saying she had the right to know, but his sibling stopped him.
"Let her be happy her father's alive for one more night."
The other stared for a moment, then nodded silently. For Sakura, her father was still alive in that hospital bed for one last night.
Even though he left hours ago.