Chapter Two

The next day was even harder for Hikaru. Not only was his brother dying, but the girl he's in love with is dating one of his best friends. He hung his head low as he walked through the hallways of Ouran Academy. He didn't even care if he ran into anybody. Unfortunately, he did. It was Haruhi again.

"Sorry, Haruhi. I'm just out of it today." Haruhi smiled. "It's ok," she said. Her smile suddenly faded. "Is Hikaru out sick again?" Hikaru bit his lip to prevent himself from crying. He didn't want anyone to know Kaoru was dying. "Uh, yeah. He's very sick." "Well let's hope he gets better soon," Haruhi said with a happy tone.

Hikaru's lip started to quiver. "Hikaru, what's wrong?" Haruhi asked. Hikaru didn't answer. Tears slowly rolled down his cheeks. "Hikaru, are you ok? Why are you crying?" Hikaru fell to his knees, tears now flowing out of his eyes like a river. Haruhi knelt down next to him, rubbing his back for comfort.

"Hikaru, what's wrong? You don't usally freak out when Kaoru's out sick. Is... is it more serious than a simple cold?" Hikaru nodded. His sobs grew louder, and people were starting to stare. "Is he gonna be alright?" Hikaru slowly shook his head. He slowly lifted his head, wiping the tears away. "He..." Hikaru finally said. "He went into the hospital when I left the Host Club. W-when we got to the hospital, the doctor told me he has a terrible case of pneumonia, and he only has three days left to live."

Haruhi gasped as Hikaru began crying again. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry to hear that!" Haruhi hugged Hikaru as he cried. "Haruhi!" shouted a voice. Haruhi looked up to see Tamaki walking towards her. Her face turned bright red.

Tamaki smiled when he saw her, but that smile soon faded when he looked down at Hikaru. "Haruhi, what's wrong with Hikaru?" Tamaki asked with a concerned tone in his voice. Haruhi looked at Hikaru. "Can I tell him?" she asked. He nodded. Haruhi looked back up at Tamaki as she spoke. "Kaoru went into the hospital yesterday. He has pneumonia and he only has a few days left to live."

Tamaki's eyes widened. He placed a hand on Hikaru and said, "This must be hard for you. He's your brother, so I understand how upset you are." Hikaru stood up and wiped the last of the tears away. "Thanks, Tamaki-sempi. It'll be a while before I'm used to Kaoru being gone, but I'll be fine." "Do you mind if I tell the Host Club?" Hikaru shook his head. "No, I don't mind. They need to know to." Tamaki waved goodbye as he walked away with Haruhi.

Hikaru slowly walked to class, bumping into people from time to time. The thought of Kaoru dying, and the thought that he can never be with Haruhi, kept him from concentrating. During class, he couldn't pay attention. He she a tear whenever he thought about Kaoru.

Hikaru ended up bursting into tears in one of his classes. "Hikaru Hitachiin!" the teacher snapped. "This is no time to be crying, you baby!" Haruhi slammed her hands down on her desk and shot up. "His brother is dying! I think he has the right to cry whenever he feels the need!"

The whole class gasped at what Haruhi said. "Oh boo hoo, everyon goes through tragedy. There's no need to cry about it! Now sit down!" Haruhi slammed her fist into the desk. "No, I will not sit down!" she yelled. "When someone you're close to is dying, you have yhe right to cry!" The teacher was red with anger. "SIT DOWN RIGHT NOW MS. FUJIOKA!"

The class gasped again. "Haruhi, you're a girl!?" asked on of the girls. Haruhi's face grew bright red with embarrassment. She glared at the teacher, then stormed out of the classroom. She slammed open the door to the music room, throwing her bag across the room. Tamaki was there, playing the piano. He quickly looked up to see his girlfriend yelling and grabbing her hair.

"Haruhi?" he said. "What's wrong? Did something happen during class?" Haruhi nodded vigerously. "You remember how we told all my teachers to refer to me as a guy even when they know I'm a girl?" Tamaki nodded. "Well, my math teacher was yelling at Hikaru, so I was yelling at her, and she called me Ms. Fujioka... MS.! I already had one girl ask me if I was a girl before I ran out of the classroom!"

Tamaki gasped. "Haruhi. Does...does this mean you have to..." Haruhi nodded. "Yeah... I have to leave the Host Club." Tamaki got up from the piano bench, walked over to Haruhi, and hugged her. Tears started rolling down her cheeks. "Oh, Haruhi," Tamaki said quietly. "Is there anything I can do so you don't have to leave?"

Haruhi shook her head. "Word'll get out fast, and I won't get any more requests. I'll have to find some other way to pay off the debt." Tamaki chuckled a little bit. "You don't need to worry about paying off the debt. You already have." Haruhi looked at Tamaki, confused. "What do you mean?" A smile spread across Tamaki's face. "You agreed to be my beautiful girlfriend, and even thought you're priceless to me, you were worth enough to pay off the debt."

Although Haruhi was blushing at Tamaki's compliment, she wasn't smiling. She knew she would still ahve to leave. "Do you still have that spare girl's uniform?" "Yeah." "Can I use it? Since people are gonna find out that I'm a girl, I should dress in a girl's uniform." Tamaki nodded once, then went into the closet to get the spare uniform. Haruhi took the uniform, then went into the changing room to change.

It took all of five minutes for Haruhi to change. She even folded her old uniform into a nice, neat pile. Tamaki sat outside the changing room patiently, waiting for Haruhi. When Haruhi pulled the curtain, Tamaki's face turned bright red (just like when her found out Haruhi was a girl). "Haruhi, you look beautiful." Haruhi smiled. She quickly kissed Tamaki on the cheek, grabbed her bag, then went back to class.

Hikaru was the last one to show up at the Host Club. When he walked into the music room, everyone was sitting down except for Haruhi and Tamaki. "Oh, Hikaru!" Tamaki exclaimed. "Sit. Haruhi and I have a couple of important announcements." Hikaru sighed. He knew what Tamaki was going to say, and he was pretty sure he knew what Haruhi had to say.

"Ok, now that everyone is here, Haruhi has something to say." Haruhi took a deep breath before speaking. "Today is my last day in the Host Club. Due to recent events, I have to leave." Honey jumped up from his seat and clinged to Haruhi's leg.

"But you can't leave, Haru-chan! We love you here!" Haruhi knelt down and hugged Honey. "I know Honey-sempi, but I have no choice. I have to leave." "What happened, Haruhi?" Kyoya asked. "One of my teachers addressed me as a girl, and I ran out of the classroom."

Honey let go of Haruhi's leg and wiped away a tear in his eye. "You're not going to forget us, are you Haru-chan?" Haruhi smiled. "Of course not, Honey-sempi. I'll still be coming to visit. Maybe even as a guest."

Tamaki smiled for a second. "Now I have something I have to say." Hikaru could feel the tears forming. He covered his face with his hands so no one could see that he was about to cry. "We're losing more than one member of the Host Club," Tamaki said. "Our dear Kaoru is in the hospital... and he only has a couple days left to live."

Everyone gasped and looked at Hikaru, who was now crying and not noticing everyone was watching. Honey walked up to Hikaru and tugged on his sleeve. "Hika-cahn. Does... does this mean Kaoru-chan won't be with us anymore?" Honey's lip started to quiver.

Hikaru nodded. "Yeah, Honey-sempi." Honey burst out into tears. Haruhi picked him up and held him as he cried. "I know, Honey-sempi. We'll all miss Kaoru very much." Tamaki patted Honey on the head. "We should all take some time to calm down before our guests arrive."

Haruhi set Honey back down on the ground. "Well I guess I better go now." "No, Haru-chan!" Honey shouted, grabbing onto her arm. "Please stay!" Haruhi sighed. "I'm sorry Honey-sempi. But I can't." Mori tried picking Honey up, but he refused to let go.

"Mitsukuni. Let go!" he said. "No! No! Takashi, let go of me!" Haruhi loosened frome Honey's grip. "I'm sorry Honey-sempi!" She opened the door and left. She could hear Honey crying and yelling, "Haru-chan!" It broke her heart to hear him so upset.