Disclaimer: Nope. Hasn't changed.

Nee-chan, this is for you. Hope you like it.

Tamaki slid down to rest against the door, pulling out his cell phone at the same time. "Kyoya? I need your help."

"My my, the great Host Club King asking for my help? It must be pretty important." Tamaki quickly filled his best friend in, but nearly shrieked in anxiety. Kyoya was still the cool guy, even when Haruhi could be facing imminent doom.

Jumping to his feet, Tamaki hung up on Kyoya and ran down the concrete stairs to the landlord's apartment. He knocked furiously, only to be greeted by a cranky old woman. "Please ma'am, I need to get into the Fujioka residence. I heard my girlfriend scream and she hasn't answered the door again after I talked to her." So he exaggerated a bit. If it got him into the apartment, he didn't care what he had to do.

The lady glared at him, but soundlessly handed him the key to Haruhi's apartment. It concerned him that she gave it up so willingly to a stranger, and he made a mental note to relocate her to a place with better security. Or security at all.

The lock stuck slightly, but with a little force the door creaked open. It was still brightly lit, but it was deathly quiet. Even his soft footfalls seemed too loud.

He turned the corner and went down the hallway to her room, but the darkness seemed to swallow him. "Haruhi? I know you don't want to see me, but would you at least let me know you're okay?" There was no answer, so Tamaki turned on her light, only to find her sheets wrinkled and empty. He cursed loudly, but turned off the light and went to the kitchen.

That too was empty, and he went to wait for Kyoya in the living room. It was abnormally cold, but he didn't think anything of it. Until he saw the shattered glass. There was bracelet in the glass, one that he'd given Haruhi on their first anniversary. Seeing it made him smile – she hadn't completely erased him from her life. But it meant that something had happened. His mind imagined the worst, but he was slightly calmed when he saw that there was no blood. Haruhi still wasn't there though, and when he looked down at the street, he didn't see anyone.

There was a knock on the door, and when Tamaki opened it, he rushed into his best friend's arms. "Kyoya, I heard a scream and I got the key from the lady and I came in here and I checked everywhere for Haruhi but she's not here and then I went to the living room to wait for you and found all this glass and –"

"Tamaki," Kyoya interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

The Host Club king pouted, but said nothing more.

Kyoya heaved a sigh and gestured for his private police force to scan the apartment, but the search turned up nothing. Tamaki's assumption had been more or less the correct. Haruhi hadn't suddenly disappeared. Someone had kidnapped her – the glass was broken in, not out, and her scream had implied she wasn't expecting the visitor.

There was nothing that could be said to console Tamaki. Even if they hadn't spoken in a year, he was still in love with the girl, and he was broken without her. Had been since she left. Kyoya sighed again, and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Tamaki, you need to pull yourself together. Sitting here sulking won't do her any good, and you're only getting in the way." Kyoya's blunt words weren't softened at all, but it was exactly what Tamaki needed. He nodded and pushed himself to his feet.

"Kyoya, call the others. We're going on a hunt."

Haruhi opened her eyes, but only saw darkness. A rough, wool cloth covered her eyes, and a similar one was stuffed into her mouth. She went to take out the gag and untie the blindfold, but her hands met resistance. So she was blind, mute, and restrained. Great.

The sharp crack of a slap echoed in the room. "You little fool. I didn't want a tiny, flat-chested girl! I wanted the woman who made Suoh weak!"

"B-b-but sir, this is who was in the apartment. And Suoh showed up, so it has to be her!" A weak, trembling voice, obviously a younger male, attempted to defend his actions to the leader.

There was a cold silence, then the sound of another slap. The man spoke then, the icy tenor of his voice sent shivers down her spine. "Suoh was there, and you let him get away?"

She heard a whimper, but it was quickly silenced. She shifted, but hit a coin that was on the ground. It scraped across the ground, accidentally bringing attention to her. "Oh, the brat's awake, is she?" A calloused hand brushed her cheek before tangling it in her hair and wrenching her head up at a painful angle, making her cry out. It was still muffled by the gag, however, and it seemed to displease the man. He yanked the cloth from her mouth, and she gasped for air, trying to get rid of the woolly taste. "So you're Suoh's little whore. I have to say, I'm rather disappointed. I'd expected someone a little, well… more."

His words made her want to lash out at him, but she wisely held her tongue. The man grunted, but released her hair, shoving her against the wall. She hit it with a thud, and the impact jarred her enough that a small whimper escaped her lips. She slumped to the ground, hurting and humiliated, but refused to cry.

She thought of the Host Club, and how she'd probably never get to see any of them again. But one face stood out from the rest. The blonde hair and violet eyes flashed behind her eyelids, and she ached with the pain of longing. She wanted him to hold her in his arms again and kiss away her fears. It was then that she realized the mistake she'd made, and found herself wishing more than anything that he would sweep in and save the day.

A single tear rolled down her face.

Yeah, right.

A sharp knock on the door jerked Tamaki back to reality. He jumped to his feet, shaking the thought of the worst-case scenario from his mind, and yanked open the door to see the Host Club. A relieved sigh left his mouth, and he raked a shaking hand through his already messy hair, leaving it standing on end.

"Thanks you guys, for coming so quickly." They came in one-by-one like a funeral procession, and even the twins were dead silent. All of them felt the pain of her absence –. The club was back together, but the token female was missing.

Kyoya was the first to break the silence. "We have a decent suspect list, but we haven't been able to narrow it down." He was the only one who seemed unaffected – even Mori was quieter than usual, a great feat for him.

Hikaru spoke up for the first time since they'd arrived. "Boss, it's all your fault. They only took her after you showed up again. Everything was perfectly fine until you came back." There was more pain in his voice than anger, and at any other time his wordsthey would've started a fight with the blonde. But Tamaki felt far too guilty to retaliate, even without Hikaru assigning blamestating the words.

He ran his fingershand through his hair again. "You don't think I know that?" He sighed, dropping his hand from the silky blonde strands. "I know it's my fault. If I hadn't gotten involved with her to begin with, if I'd kept my distance…" There was no need for him to finish his sentence – they all knew what he was trying to say. But none of them blamed him, not really. Not even Hikaru. He just needed someone to blame. And Tamaki was an easy target.

Hunny sat beside Tamaki and rested his head against his shoulder. "It's alright Tama-chan. None of knew this would happen. Not you, not Hika-chan. We'll get her back. Promise."

A weak smile spread across Tamaki's face as he patted the older boy's head gently. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Hunny-senpai."

It was then that the Host Club realized how much their king had changed. Kyoya even noticed that his mood had darkened even further in the short time since he'd first arrived – there was absolutely no hope in him. He was no longer the happy-go-lucky guy that he'd been before. Haruhi leaving him a year ago had taken all the fight from him. It was only a matter of time before she wouldn't be able to pull him back from his hypothetical cliff.

Time passed as Haruhi sat slumped against the wall, bound and blindfolded. Her captors hadn't thought to provide her with food or water – though they themselves had eaten a couple convenience store rice ball fetched by the lackey – and she was feeling the beginnings of a headache.

Her eyes began to slide closed behind her blindfold, though she'd tried so hard to stay awake to gather information. She didn't know where she was or why they wanted her (only that they had something against Tamaki) so she needed to stay awake as long as possible. But they were infuriatingly quiet.

A hard knock sounded on a door, and she heard the two quickly cross the floor, but in opposite directions. One of them kneeled down beside her and quickly stuffed a silk handkerchief into her unwilling mouth. "I know," a soft voice sympathized with her – the younger one then, "that it isn't terribly comfortable. But it'll keep the boss happy and he won't hurt either of us." He reached for her hand, surprising her with the softness of his palm, and led her from the cool tiled room into what she expected was a bedroom.

Her thoughts were confirmed when the boy pulled her under the bed with him. "I don't want to hurt you, I really don't, but I'll have to if you move or make a sound." She nodded against him and hoped Tamaki would find her. As much as she hated to feel like the damsels in distress she'd always ridiculed as a child, she wouldn't be able to escape on her own, and it killed her to admit it. But as she curled up in the dark to the chest of a man she'd never seen, and one who'd kidnapped her, no less, she couldn't help but think back to the night she left – the reason he wouldn't come for her.

Haruhi sat on the window bench, looking out into the night sky. Raindrops hit the glass and ran down the clear glass. They mirrored the tears on her face, but she wouldn't let anyone see them. Not that there was anyone there. It was just her and her tears.

It was well past midnight, and still he hadn't come home. The thought of it made her tears run even faster, but not even that would lessen the pain she felt. She knew she was being weak, and cursed herself for trusting someone so much. Especially someone like Tamaki, whose flirting ways were as easy to him as breathing.

A soft click echoed across the room as the front door unlocked, and padded feetfootsteps crept into the room. She knew he hoped she was asleep, that they'd be able to deal with this problem in the morning, but she also knew she wouldn't be able to sleep until they'd talked things over. It was the way their fights were, and she knew from experience that they'd get their words out, even if they woke their neighbors up at two in the morning.

She wasn't facing him, but he knew she was awake. There was too much stress for her to be asleep, like she was ready to break at any moment. He swallowed the sigh that wanted to come out, and waited for her to saw something.

Time seemed to stretch, the seconds turning to minutes and then hours, but they both knew it hadn't been that long.

Tamaki was the first to break the silence. "I'm sorry. I know we had dinner plans, and that I stood you up, but please, just hear me out before you yell at me."

Shaking her head, Haruhi unfolded herself from the window seat and turned to him. "I know what you were doing Tamaki, and I don't blame you for it." He looked up at her, shocked but happy, only to see the silent tears streaming down her face. "How can I, when I knew this was inevitable, that you would somehow find a way to leave me. I just didn't expect –" she paused to take in a shaking breath, "that it would be because you were with someone else."

There were no words that could be said, but Tamaki tried anyway. "That's not what it was, Haruhi. We're just old friends that happened to run into each other. I just lost track of time, that's all. I didn't mean to stand you up."

Her eyes smoldered at his words. "You didn't mean to stand me up? I waited for hours for you at the restaurant, and you didn't answer your phone at all. I was worried sick, and you didn't mean to stand me up? Her voice rose in intensity, and Tamaki visibly flinched at her words, but stayed silent this time.

Haruhi didn't say anything and merely let him stand there. "I'm sorry, Haruhi." He was finally able to force the words from his rebellious mouth, but he never would have been able to say the right words. Haruhi's tears fell even harder, and he could hear tiny sobs that she tried so desperately to hide.

The blonde got down on one knee and held open a small little box. "I had this all planned out. There were going to be a thousand candles, each one surrounded by roses, and have the staff play on their violins. The entire night was going to be perfect and romantic, and there was no way you could've said no. But I messed up, and didn't even call. But I love you, Haruhi, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

A resounding smack could be heard throughout the apartment. "Do you honestly believe so little of me? That you can simply buy my love and forgiveness, or do you think that's just what every girl wants. I don't want some pathetic excuse for a proposal, or a man who would think that was good enough, one who stood me up the night he was going to propose?" Her voice had gotten louder, and could be heard through the paper thin walls.

Tamaki opened his mouth to speak, but they were interrupted by a knock on the door – the Host Club. Hunny rubbed his eyes sleepily, yet still looked like he could take on an army of Green Berets. "We thought we heard shouting. Are you two okay?"

She shook her head. "Just get him out of here. I can't stand to see him." She took in a deep breath before continuing. And I'll have all my stuff packed up and gone by morning – you won't have to worry about me interfering with your plans. She shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair.

The club hauled him over to the wall across from the apartment and propped him up against it. True to her word, Haruhi began to pack up boxes before taking them out to the car. It helped clear her mind, but she still didn't want to see Tamaki. She refused to be seen as someone who could be walked all over, and just let it happen.

She was gone by morning, leaving behind only a torn up photograph of the two of them on their first date.

Footsteps echoes throughout the house, until they rested right in front of the bed. The man who they belonged to shifted a bit before turning back to the older man. "And you said you live here alone?"

Haruhi froze. She wanted to scream, to kick the bedpost, to do something to let Tamaki know she was there. But she was still bound and gagged, and the boy was holding onto her tightly. He walked away without a second look at the bed.

Same thing as always, read and review please!