Hi! I'm sorry this took so long! This chapter is quite long to make up for it!

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I do not own Ouran!

Chapter 19 – The Truth

I couldn't cry. I couldn't scream. I couldn't even speak. There was nothing I could do at all to change what had happened.

It had been a year ago when my parents had left on their long deserved holiday. They'd always been super hard workers, barely even taking a day of sick leave.

"Bye, mother," I had said cheerfully as we waved them off from our private airport. "Bye father. Come home soon, okay?"

They had said their goodbyes quickly, before hurrying off to catch their flight. The noise of the plane as it took off deafened every other sound in the area, but I still noticed Kameko staring after that tiny speck that was my parents for ten minutes after.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Aren't we going home now?"

"Hmm?" Kameko mumbled. "Oh, yes, of course. It's just sad to see them go, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I agreed softly.

We held hands and retreated from the air strip. Staring after my sister worriedly, I wondered what was on her mind. Her dark hair was greasy and her clothes were crumpled and stained. In fact, she'd been acting weirdly for a week.

"But they're coming back, right?" I demanded slowly.

Smiling, she had reassured me that they were definitely coming home, but they just needed a really long holiday from all the stress.

"After all," Kameko explained, "being the CEO of a major company must be a challenge, right?"

"Right," I agreed happily. "C'mon, let's go eat some onigiri at home together!"

Smiling for the first time in weeks, Kameko took my hand.

"Yeah, that sounds great," she decided.

What had they been thinking as they boarded that plane? Had they known, even then, that that would be the last time they would ever see their daughters?

"Miyoko?"

I could hear Kaoru's voice, interrupting the swift flow of my memories.

"Miyoko?" he asked urgently, "Are you alright?"

Looking up, I remembered that I was still in my room with Kaoru rather than that airport a year ago. Shakily, I pulle

d my tangled hair out of my face and discovered my wet eyelashes and damp cheeks. I had been crying. In fact, I was still crying. Tears dripped from my eyelids continuously and landed onto the soft bed below me, saturating my bed sheets. Why had they done this to me? I may not have been the kindest person in the world, but surely they loved me anyway? Why had they left? They must have had a choice. Was I merely a small inconvenience in their lives that they could just resolve and abandon?

"Why did they do it?" I whispered through my tears.

I made eye-contact with Kaoru for the first time since he had told me. To my surprise, his eyes were glistening as well.

"I don't know," he said helplessly with a sad smile. "I'm sorry."

Although I was still weeping uncontrollably, his comforting smile made my world lift slightly. Instead of rock bottom, it was now maybe nine tenths of the way down. This might not have been much, but it was something.

One thing still bothered me. Why did Kaoru know about it? How could have discovered something this major about me that I didn't know myself? It

"Who told you?" I asked, hanging on the last glimmer of hope left – maybe someone had lied to him?

"Kyoya." Kaoru replied grimly. "He knows everything."

This was true. He knew what my favourite foods were before I'd even met him. If Kyoya had told Kaoru, then there was no denying that my parents had indeed abandoned us.

"Where are you going?" he asked as I stood up suddenly.

"There's something I have to do." I said vaguely.

Kameko must have known.

Ever since my parents had left, she had become increasingly overprotective of me. Also, she'd been worrying for hours over our money. She had never seemed as lively after they left, but I thought that she was just missing them while they were away. It all made sense.

I was running, faster than I had ever run before in my life. The dark corridor whizzed past me as I passed as if I was in a speeding underground train. I wasn't even sure which direction I was running; all I knew was that I had to find the kitchen. Kameko was probably in there cooking dinner for the three of us, only now I knew why. With our parents gone, we must have run out of money to pay the servants. I needed her. There were so many questions that I had to ask. Why had our parents left? Where were they now? Most importantly, why hadn't she told me about it?

Kameko was washing dishes when I burst into the kitchen, my face bright red and puffing from the effort of running.

"What is it, Miyoko?" she asked, looking confused. As she took in my disheveled appearance and tear stained face, her smile vanished. "What's happened?"

"Why did you lie to me?" I cried, my voice so loud that she jumped back in surprise. "Why didn't you just tell me what happened?"

"What do you mean Kaiya?" she asked alarmingly, "What have I done?"

It annoyed me that she didn't understand straight away.

"Mum and Dad!" I shouted, "Why didn't you tell me that they'd abandoned us?"

She looked shocked.

"How did you – "

"Never mind how!" I interrupted, "Just tell me what happened."

No longer yelling, I stared at her. I just wanted to know now, desperately. I was too numb to be mad at her. Smiling sadly, she sat down on the kitchen bench. She looked so tired that it was as if she'd gained ten years of age in ten seconds.

"I'm sorry that I never told you," she apologized softly. "I couldn't bring myself to do that to you. I know it was wrong – "

"Yes it was." I agreed.

"– but you would have been so upset if I did, Miyoko," she continued.

"I'll forgive you if you tell me now," I compromised.

"Fine," she confirmed, her voice catching on the words. "I'll tell you."

Kameko took a deep breath and began.

"A few months before they left, I overheard them talking in the study at night on my way to the bathroom. They sounded quite stressed so I eavesdropped," she explained, grinning guiltily through her tears. "They were talking about their recent plans to bring down the Suoh Corporation."

Tamaki's family company, I realized.

"They were cheats, Miyoko," she said bluntly. "They'd already embezzled a heap of other major companies such as the Hitachiin's secretly. The Suohs were just the next step."

I'd always thought my parents to be kind people who respected and obeyed the law. What kid doesn't?

"The plan was to create false bills and cheat the company because they would have to pay more, see?" she continued.

"Why did that mean that they had to leave?" I asked, confused.

"There was a leak." Kameko explained. "The Suoh received a tip off about the plan, so mother and father fled the country. That's why they left."

There were so many questions that I needed to ask her. Had they wanted to leave? Did they have a choice?

"We weren't important to them, Miyoko." Kameko said grimly, as if reading my mind. "As well as the country, they also abandoned the company. We've been surviving on the remainders of the fortune that they left behind. It's starting to run out now, and I can't earn much money while I'm at university! Part time doesn't pay much."

I hugged her tightly as I sobbed. After a few moments, I let go. I still couldn't believe that this was happening.

"So how do you know anyway?" she asked curiously.

Her eyes were finally dry, but I was still crying. It was all too much to take in. But as shocked and numb as I was, I couldn't bring myself to be really angry at Kameko. I was annoyed, but she was all I had now.

"Umm… Kaoru -" I began sheepishly.

"I told her."

Kameko and I turned around. Kaoru was standing at the entrance to the kitchen. It was obvious that he'd been listening all along.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "You did what I was afraid to do But how did you know?"

Kaoru looked at me.

"Kyoya," I said.

Kameko frowned.

Please tell me if it makes sense! I'm not very smart so I don't know if I got the embezzlement thing right…

Next chapter will have more comedy in it! This one's pretty much completely depressing… oh well.