A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I was very flattered when I got some emails stating that people were going to start following my story. If you think the chapters are too short then please include it in your review, and I will try my hardest.

A/Np.s: Please be honest when answering this question: Do you think Ranka sounds more like a drunk black/redneck man? (no offense intended as, I am black and currently living in the south)

A/N p.s.s: Ignore any mistakes I make about life in Japan or about life in a Japanese classroom. I'm just going by the anime since I haven't read the manga ^^; sorry!

Chapter 2

Walking through the busy streets of Japan was something Haruhi never thought she would get used to. The honk of passing cars, the unintelligible chatter into cell phones. After a couple of months living here, she found it to be very helpful in calming down after an argument. As she lugged home two heavy grocery bags of beer for her father, she couldn't help but think over all that happened.

"Damnit, Haruhi!" yelled Ranka as he stumbled through the door. He was always like this after his shift at the tranny bar. Drunk and livid. Haruhi couldn't always tell what sets him off, but she is never hesitant in trying to fix the problem. "I thought I told you to have this apartment cleaned, dinner on the table, and have a beer in my hand the moment I walk in! Do you think I'm going to work for fun? Do you think I like my job?" Haruhi didn't know what to say. She never did, when he was like this. It was as if her real father had abandoned her and left this drunken monster in his place.

"D-d-dad," she fearfully stammered struggling to find the right words, "I thought maybe, you shouldn't drink so much right now. You already got a ticket for trying to drive a-and the neighbors keep c-complai-" Whap. Haruhi was cut off by the sound of leather hitting flesh. Her vision blurred as hot tears slid down the swelling red mark that was her cheek.

"I asked you a question, Haruhi! How do you think I feel when I come home to a worthless daughter like you? You spend all your time at that fancy academy of yours that you starting to think you're too good for me. You think you're too good to even be near me."

"Dad, I-" Whap. Haruhi clutched her arm gingerly, as if holding a wounded animal.

"Your mom went to one of those fancy schools you go to. She had herself a real nice job, working as a lawyer. She started making more money than me, started staying out later. She started thinking she was better than me too. Guess how she ended up? You know where that fancy Ouran Academy's going to get you, Haruhi? Answer me, girl!" Haruhi sunk to her knees silent sobs racking her entire body. Ranka suddenly switched to a loving more nurturing tone. He sank to the floor next to his daughter and began stroking her back. "That school's going to kill you, sweetheart. Just like all that working did to your mother. I don't want to lose the only family I have left. Just remember your place and walk back down to the supermarket, baby." Haruhi was almost out of the door, when a firm hand grasped her shoulder. Ranka's head was bowed, his long auburn hair shielding his eyes. His voice just above a whisper. "I only do it because I have to, sweetie." With that, Haruhi was out the door.

Walking through the colossal doors of Ouran Academy, Haruhi could already feel the criticizing gazes of the wealthy classmates surrounding her. As she stare down at the floor in front of her she wished for the umpteenth time that the roles were reversed. She hoped that one day they would come to the sudden realization that some people have to work to get the grades that they do. If they would stop looking down upon people, if they were to get off their throne just once, then maybe they would see that they are blessed with the money, and social stature their parents posses. Hearing them brag about what they were doing, or getting. Listening to them complain about what they don't have, or how bad the service is at their house. It gave Haruhi a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Fugioka, Haruhi?" droned a very bored sounding voice, snapping Haruhi out of her mental rant. She slowly looked up from her desk, her eyes followed the voice to the front of the room. It was the class representative, a boy she never bothered to learn the name of. "Fugioka, do you or don't you? It's a simple question." When she didn't reply right away, his tone softened a bit, "The rest of the class voted yes. Is that your choice as well?" She gave a slight nod and dropped her gaze back to her lap. It was like that whenever anything was voted upon. She just went with what the majority of the class said, so as not to upset anyone. On the off chance that she was called to vote before the majority of the class, she just went with what the Hitachiins said. They were so popular that they were always called first, so the rest of the class would know what to pick. That kind of mindlessness is exactly how Haruhi tried not to act at her old school. As luck would have it, she didn't need to worry about who was setting the trends, because when Haruhi looked in the mirror she saw the face everyone looked up to.

Before she moved, Haruhi was quite the free spirit. Her closet was filled with clothes in every color of the rainbow, unlike the small closet she had now, barley containing a few pairs of sweats her father forced her to buy.

"I've never really wanted a girl." he said the day they were packing her clothes away. Haruhi then proceeded to unpack her bulging suitcases, unsure what to do with the clothes. When presenting the dilemma to her friends, Snow gave her a wonderful idea.

"Why don't you give us your clothes for now, and if you ever come back, or get more closet space of something, we'll send them to you." If you ever come back. Those words repeated in Haruhi's head everyday she'd lived in Japan. She prayed each day that her life would return to normal, and that she would be able to go back home. Back home to her cheerleading, to her swimming and basketball teams, to her trumpet, and piano. She wanted to sing in another Christmas pageant. She missed being acknowledged in the halls, missed being with her friends at the mall. They way Snow helped her with algebra. The way Belinda refused to believe life was anything other than sunshine and rainbows, never doubting or accusing others. She missed being told to pose for Nicolette's pictures for her "Four Seasons" project. Haruhi wanted to see her dad the way he used to be.

"Is he ok?" asked Kaoru, worriedly. "I think he's been staring into that sandwhich for at least half the lunch period. Should we ask if he's ok?" Hikaru slowly turned his head in the direction of the foreign student, analyzing him.

"Nah. I think he's just depressed about that sorry lunch his mom packed him." replied Hikaru, leading to a roar of laughter from the crowd of first years surrounding them. "Let's just leave him alone, what do you care anyway, Kaoru? Got a soft spot for commoners, do you?" Kaoru brushed off his twin's playful teasing, changing the subject.

Haruhi was finally got her wish after living in fear of her father. She was invisible.

Haruhi threw her ruined lunch into the trash. She wasn't really in the mood for a tear flavored PB&J right now. She turned towards the direction of the library, checking her watch. Good thing lunch is my last period, she thought, I'll just head to one of the libraries and work on my research paper until I have to go home and make Dad his dinner. Haruhi headed to the library nearest her, in search of a book on mitosis and meiosis. She was surprised to find it filled with students, laughing and goofing around. She wove around the well dressed crowd , running into the librarian.

"Excuse me ma'am," she said shyly, "do you have any books on cells?" At first the librarian laughed, as if it were a joke. Then she looked Haruhi up and down, noting the lack of a uniform.

"Why, they're in the second library, sweetheart.", her tone was gentle and slow as if talking to a young child. "Do you need me to show you where it is? This is quite a large academy, after all."

"No thank you" Haruhi replied as she turned to leave. Upon entering the second library, she discovered it to be just as, noisy as the first, if not noisier. Damn rich people, she thought, can't they do anything besides goof off all day. Did the ever stop to think that it might disturb those of us who actually have to work to make something of ourselves. She sighed, looking out of a colossal window towards the sky. Can you see this from heaven, Mom? Do you see the kind of world you abandoned me in? She stopped herself from blaming her mother before she regretted it. She should've been grateful to be going to such an exceptional school. She had a father that loved her…sometimes. At least nobody seemed to notice her, which was better than being picked on in her book. Haruhi held her head a little higher as she mulled over all the good things in her life. Now, I've just got to find an empty room to study in, she thought. Haruhi was so lost in her thoughts, she almost walked right by the first seemingly quiet room she'd seen all day. She hesitated in front of the door, listening. No chatter. No obnoxious laughter. It was almost too good to be true.

"'Music Room 3'" she said aloud, looking at the sign above the door. She slowly reached towards the knob, not wanting to interrupt anybody's private music lessons. When she opened the door she was greeted by rose petals in the face, and the people she would soon call her saviors.