Chapter 1: Crumbs

Rin had never seen such an odd array of boys in his lifetime. It was really unusual to see all of them put their reputations as modest sons of the Japanese aristocracy on the line for the sake of a smile. It didn't make much sense to Rin, but then again being rich as a whole was an entirely new experience to him, so who was he to judge?

Rin entered the room almost unable to hide the discomfort he felt from all the smiling faces and skin being shown. It reminded him of some of the kinder men on the streets… except more refined. The people of the streets always seemed to find an optimistic viewpoint no matter what the circumstances. Rin had once seen a homeless man being held at gunpoint by a police officer. The cop was yelling at him to pay for some item that he'd stolen, or something, but even so… the man simply smiled and said, "I apologize, officer," he said bowing overly-deep to spite the cop, "but I have no money to pay this fine." That man died almost instantly from a bullet wound in his head, and even in his demise a smile was glued upon the old man's face.

Before leaving, Rin had heard the officer mutter to himself, "Filthy slime. Why don't we just shoot them all?" He had almost ran up to that man to give him a piece of his mind, but no before remembering the gun in his belt. He cowered and ran to the other side of the street, pretending like he hadn't seen anything. That scene had haunted him for his entire life on the streets, but now he had a chance to forget, and he took it with no hesitation. Life was good, right?

He must have come in late, since the girls were already seated next to their favorite host, listening to the romantic stories that flew out of their mouths. He decided that for a while, Rin would just sit and watch as the other hosts would regal their guests and try figure out what he would say. Rin was probably the most awkward person that he, himself, knew. He would always be trying to come up with something better to say. Then he might end up ranting on about something nerdy, like Star Wars or something. Rin was really scared that he would end up being a lot less charismatic than most the fangirls thought, so he tried to shift his focus to his notebook. He shifted lightly in his seat and began to draw a girl, she had long hair and a ponytail. Her eyes were black and her tears wiped the dirt from her face; she had very little clothes on. You could see the snow falling from behind her, and her shivering arms wrapped around her. A tear run down Rin's cheek. The one thing he missed from that life was on this page, and he would never see her again.

Suddenly, Suo-sempai was behind him, looking at the page he had just scribbled on, "My dear son, you are a Picasso with a pencil," Rin did not understand this, but he didn't say anything, "I have decided what host you are to be," I looked at him as he continued, "Rin shall be the "Lost" type. He lost his true love and now searches desperately for someone to fill the void in his heart. Although he still believes that "the one" is waiting for him, he is careful so as not to let his heart break again." Rin stood up and left the room.

In the bathroom, Rin leans against the wall. How does such an idiot know so much? How is he so smart when he can hardly spell his own name? Rin contemplated this question for a minute before being noticing that Honey, a third-year followed him in. Honey had blonde hair like Tamaki, but his eyes were brown, and he had this aura about him that made one believe that he was in middle school. Haninozuka-sempai, or Honey, as most affectionately refer to him as, was a shoe-in for the Boy-Lolita type, but his big, innocent brown eyes had more wisdom in them than you might first imagine.

Honey looked at Rin, taking in every detail of his face; Rin only looked back at the elder classmate. The most intelligent thing that had ever been uttered may have come out of that boy's mouth that day. He said, "Hi, Rin-chan. I saw that you left and I wanted to see what was wrong. When Tama-chan told me, I came right away. I just wanted to tell you about this book I read once. It said, 'Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.' That's my motto, to always find something good in a harsh situation." Rin did not stop looking at Honey, but Honey smiled and said, "C'mon! Let's go eat some cake."

On their way back to Music Room #3, Rin looked down at Honey and asked, "Honey-sempai, who said that thing about smiling."

"Dr. Suess." Rin almost laughed at the absurdity of the notion and then, realizing just how profound the words really were, he stifled it. Rin walked silently into the room. He had a smile on his face and would have faced a bullet with that same expression plastered onto his face. Surprising how much a Boy-Lolita could say. He had basically turned the table in 9 words. Rin knew that something was wrong if he was so susceptible to change that just a few words could put a genuine smile on his face.

Suo-sempai hugged him as if he had been gone for years, the other hardly acknowledged him, except for Morinuzuka-sempai though. Mori-sempai looked at him with a stare so icy that even Kasanoda might have been scared just then. Then he looked down, as if ashamed. Rin did not understand Mori-sempai. He had decided to talk to him later on.

Takashi Morinozuka POV

It has been 3 day since Rin joined the Host Club. Three days since Mitskuni followed him out of the Music Room. I haven't seen him in three days, not like I used to. That Rin has stolen Mitskuni from me. He was the one reason why—I shouldn't say things like that. It's wrong. Mitskuni isn't mine. He is only my friend. Rin did not take him from me. Mitskuni went followed him willingly. What if I chased Mitskuni away? What if this my fault?

Back to Narrator Person POV

It was raining and all the customers left early so as not to get too wet. Rin knew that today was the day he needed to talk to Mori-sempai. Three days without Honey has really done a toll on him. He was already poking at some mushrooms in one corner of the room.

He walked over to Mori-sempai, who only looked up at him vehemently, and sat down, "Mori-sempai, what have I done?" Mori stayed silent, "I promise that I did no willing act against you, and to my knowledge, Honey loves you just the same as he did when you were his shadow." Mori's expression changes to that of sadness and guilt. Rin notices this, and answers his silent self-accusation accordingly, "It isn't your fault that Honey hangs out with me sometimes, Mori-sempai. You shouldn't beat yourself up because he talks to other people; just like he wouldn't beat himself up if you were the one talking to me. Plus, Mori-sempai, Honey isn't the only person in this room worth talking to."

Mori took this hint. He looked at Rin for the first time since the bathroom incident. This time though there was a smile edging at his lips instead of a grimace, "Ok," he said, and that was all he needed to say. They both stepped away from the fungal ridden corner, and walked toward their tables.

The storm had ended and now, at the end of the day, Rin saw the light beyond the clouds. The sun set on a cool, cloudless sky.