Love Hurts 5 Ways (OUTDATED STORY) Chapter 15: The Unexpected, a Fushigi Yuugi + Ouran High School Host Club Crossover fanfic

ATTENTION READERS: This is the Beta version of LH5W, if you want to read the official, updated version of the story, you'll have to go over to DeviantArt. com and head on over to my page. My username is Aloubell. You can also get there by going to my fanfiction. net profile which provides a link over there.
In any case, this Beta version is basically the rough draft of LH5W, my first attempt at it. Much of the plot points from this version will be the same in the official version, but there are significant and consistent characterization changes, a few (but very important) plot differences, expansion of past ideas, and overall better quality in storytelling.

All of this will be done over on DeviantArt. I no longer will write the story in traditional prose nor submit/update it here to fanfiction. net. The Beta version will remain here, just know that it isn't the 100% official story.
The official version will be written in a lazy prose mixed with play-writing elements (you'll get what I mean when you see it).
This is the new format for the story from now on.
So please head on over there if you're interested in updates to the story! Thank you for stopping by =D

-Aloe

PLEASE NOTE: The official version is being written somewhat out of order. The official version will start on chapter 46, the place where the Beta version left off. The official version will go on to complete the last chapters of Season 2. Once those are done, I will redo the story over again from Chapter 1 which will be the official version.

Having said that, if you choose to continue on reading, I hope you enjoy the Beta version and look forward to the official!

"Kiss kiss fall in love!"

The remaining week of summer went by pretty smoothly—compared to everything that happened when I first arrived here. It was still weird that I had a boyfriend, but I was really happy—a bit awkward, but happy. Considering everything was so new to me, it was slightly hard to tell if it was real happiness and bliss—something told me that it wasn't quite that—but I was willing to work to make it that way.

Hikaru and I had gone out on our first date a few days ago to a movie—it took a while for the rest of the Host Club to listen to Haruhi and me about giving Hikaru and me some space. Unfortunately, the little sneaks still stuck around in places that they thought were clever. In the movie theater, Tamaki thought it was such a big deal about Hikaru and I dating that he thought it was a good idea to hire people to put a piano in the movie theater. With the intention of "serenading our love" he started to play right as the movie began. All of the girls in there pretty much squealed, but their boyfriends didn't seem too happy about it. So before they had the chance to jack him up, I grabbed the guy by the ear and forced him to sit down—causing him to be in his "emo state" for the rest of the movie. The other Hosts knew better, so just kept watch on Hikaru and I during the movie. It was a bit odd having the Hosts there, but I guess they've grown on me too much to kick them out.

Every time I recalled that night at the twins' party, my heart beats rapidly. The fact that I was the one who kissed him—which was totally out of my character by the way—he returned it and said that his life would be miserable if I weren't around. Before, I didn't tell anyone about this whole wish thing (still technically didn't say anything), but saying what I could felt good. So knowing that he wants me to stay gives me an even bigger reason to.

Perhaps this was it. Maybe…my wish was finally granted!

"It's plain to see

When I'm with you,

My heart almost skips a beat.

What is this thing I feel?

Could it be paranoia?"

Knowing that I had such good friend in Kaoru—and better yet, a boyfriend in Hikaru—my life, for once, wasn't sucking.

Looking out my window, I noticed the spot where I had first entered the world. I was so upset leaving Kyo and being stuck in a world where twin annoyances dominated my life. Now…things are different. And I haven't even seen those damn shadow things since then. Maybe things are taking a turn for the better.

"I'm so oblivious to love.

But what else could this feeling be?

Ready or not,

I know in my heart

It doesn't matter."

Tomorrow school would start up again and that, on normal terms, would mean wearing that God-awful, girly, fru-fru, sorry-excuse-for-a-girls'-uniform. Luckily, though, things went a tad differently at Ouran. At the end of summer and on the first day back, a grand festival welcoming all students back to classes was put on where students and parents all come to enjoy festivities put on by the school and its clubs. Yup clubs. Meaning, of course, the Host Club will be there making everyone's life that much better (I was being sarcastic by the way. However, coming from Tamaki's lips, he would have been dead serious).

"It's so clear to me now,

You're always on my mind.

Could it be that you're the one?

Maybe you're my love!"

Hearing my door quietly swing open, I pretended as if I didn't notice. A pair of hands covered my eyes while I was playing helpless.

"You know, you suck at sneaking." I told them.

Hikaru made a fake groaning sound. "Damn. I should know better than to sneak up on a witch." Turning around, I faced my boyfriends' bright face. Boyfriend. Huh, that sounds good no matter how many times I say it!

I smirked while giving him a scary look. "I thought we were past the whole 'witch' thing, boyfriend?"

He stepped away in comedic fear, hands up and all. "Well, girlfriend, I thought it would be entertaining." Putting on a softer smile, he extended his arm behind my head and brought me in for a hug. Feeling my body warm up, my muscles started to relax. As we released, I looked down in embarrassment, after seeing him smile again. "You know, you're cute when you get worked up like that." There was a pause before he spoke again. "Get mad again."

On an impulse, I pushed him on his chest before turning to the side with my arms crossed. "No way you weirdo!" My face was probably extremely red from what he asked of me. He noticed and laughed a bit.

"It was a joke! You still need to loosen up a bit more there, Aki." Taking my hand, he reached into his pocket with the other.

"I need you here with me

So I can give you my best

Sakura kiss.

And if your heart grows strong

Then it's meant to be!"

I gasped when he brought out a small velvet bag, tied with a white ribbon and inserted it onto my hand.

"Open it up!" He said with excitement.

Hands shaking with curiosity, I pulled the string and reached into the sack. Feeling what I think I felt, my hand froze…before pulling it out. In my hand was the most beautiful bracelet I had ever seen. Its circumference was completely surrounded by silver and shimmering diamonds…REAL DIAMONDS! And there was a unique flower made of silver lined with smaller diamonds.

"Holy crap Hikaru! This thing must have cost a fortune!"

"Don't you like it?" He asked.

Talking quickly, I assured him. "Of course I like it. I love it! Are you kidding me? This is the best thing anyone has ever given me, like ever! I can't believe you've given me something like this!"

Taking it from me, he held my hand up to put the bracelet on. Lifting my arm wrist up to the sunlight, light reflected from the diamonds and onto the walls of the room. Completely mesmerized by the gift, I caught sight of Hikaru smiling in my peripheral vision.

"I'm glad you like it! You know, it took forever to think of the right design."

Eyes widening, I managed to tear my eyes from the bracelet. "You…you made this? For me?"

"Well, all I did was make sure that you received something just as unique as yo—" Wrapping my arms around him made him cut off his sentence.

"Thank-you Hikaru. Thank-you so much for this. I really do love it."

"So I'm not worry now,

I know that my future is

Safe in your hands.

Love is in the spring, and

We'll let it blossom,

We'll see what happens with us!" Holding onto the microphone stand with both hands, I scanned the crowd. Noticing Hikaru looking up at me from the crowd of girls around him, he gave me a smile that was meant only for me. Feeling a tingling sensation throughout my body, I ended in confidence.

"Maybe you're my love!"

At that last word of the song, the audience filled with students and parents started to cheer with excitement—and the girls definitely screamed the loudest, no doubt.

It was the day of the festival and the Host Club, without my consent, booked me as the opening event. Seeing how excited everyone was about it, it was hard to say no. Singing in front of a crowd still wasn't my favorite thing in the world—in fact it made me nervous, embarrassed, and downright uncomfortable. But…something about it felt so right. And as long as I didn't focus on all of the eyes watching me, it wasn't so bad. Besides, it was against my character to chicken out of doing something that I could do pretty well. I told myself that if I was going to sing, I'd look confident doing it.

Walking off of the stage, I adjusted my tight skirt. All of the Hosts were wearing caterer attire, consisting of long-sleeved white-collar shirts with thin, red bow ties, black vests, and black dress pants—in my case a skirt. Tamaki wanted us to present ourselves properly to everyone, especially the parents. Well I suppose it's better than cosplaying as something stupid, I told myself.

A group of girls and some adults walked over to me.

"Aki! You sounded amazing up there!"

"You should become a pop idol!"

"I'd definitely come to every one of your concerts!"

Laughing nervously, I shook my head. "Thanks for saying so, but I don't think that I could make it as some big pop sensation. Singing is more like a hobby. I'm glad you enjoyed the performance, though."

They squealed again. "She's so modest!" One of the girls grabbed an important looking, older, middle-aged man from in back of her. "Father, this is Akimoto Tsubaki. She's in the Host Club that I've told you so much about."

The man extended his hand out for me to shake. Complying, his seemingly-hardened face managed to crack a grin. "Ah, Akimoto, my daughter has told me a lot about you and your club."

"Is that so? Positive things I hope."

"Indeed. At first, I was appalled to know that she was around a group of teenage men—even if they were part of the most wealthy children in Japan. When I discovered that a young lady such as yourself was there to keep those boys in check, it made me feel a sense of relief." A bunch of the parents behind him whispered and nodded in agreement. "It's good to know that you and your Host Club has been there to assist in making my daughter happy."

"N-no problem." I bowed quickly. "Glad to do it, sir." Addressing the rest of the group I said, "It was a pleasure having all of your daughters around. They definitely make things more interesting." Interesting meaning that they couldn't stay out of trouble if their lives depended on it…and it usually did.

Somehow, the girls took this as a compliment, making them completely swoon. As the parents attempted to calm their daughters, I managed to walk away slowly and away from the crowd.

Sighing, I noticed the twins and headed in their direction. For the occasion, they had both straightened and styled their hair making them look more sophisticated. Stopping dead in my tracks, I made sure that I didn't get mixed up in their act.

I spoke too soon.

"Hikaru, now that you're with Aki, does this mean that you and I are…are—" He turned his back to his brother.

"Of course not Kaoru. Don't even say that!" Putting his hands on Kaoru's shoulders, he turned him around drastically.

Kaoru looked away, with tears in his eyes. "But Hikaru. Aki is the center of your life now. I've been cast aside." Facing him, he cried out, "But it's okay! I want you to be happy. Just know that I'll always love you." I rolled my eyes. Again, I'd give them more credit if they didn't use fake tears.

Looking at the crowd around them, I was shocked to discover that everyone, including the parents, were completely hypnotized by their "heartbreaking" performance.

Hikaru lifted up Kaoru' s face to his. "My dear Kaoru, as your older brother, I could never leave you. I'd never want to leave you. I care about Aki, but the bond between you and I could never be broken. So don't you ever think otherwise."

"Oh, Hikaru…"

While I stood there grimacing at the performance, a voice came from behind me. "How goes things Aki-senpai?"

"Well Haruhi, I'm just standing here watching my boyfriend play with his boyfriend and potentially turning our clients against me for 'tearing them apart'. You know, same old, same old."

She chuckled a bit at that. "Senpai, you know it's just an act. I know it's…weird, but don't let it bother you."

"Oh, Haruhi. It's bothered me waaaay before he and I started dating." Facing her, I changed the subject. "I'm surprised you were able to get away so easily."

She shrugged. "It wasn't that hard. I'm just happy to see everyone else having a good time here. Seeing them like this definitely makes it worth it to be a Host."

"I suppose." Scanning the area, I groaned. "But now, everyone has multiplied because of the parents—making our job more of a hassle."

"Well I don't think so. We just keep doing the things we do. I don't see a reason to put any extra strain on ourselves. Besides, as long as we leave a good impression, everything should be fine."

"I guess." I sure hope nothing goes wrong. I just want to get through this day so that all of this trouble will be over.

Not too far away, a huge group of people began to center themselves in one area. Haruhi and I looked at each other in confusion until we finally decided to investigate. Before we even reached the source of the commotion, we hear him loud and clear.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Host Club is truly honored to have you all here enjoying yourselves. There is nothing else we live for than to make you all happy!" Tamaki's voice exclaimed. The girls, while blushing and with smiles on their faces looked to Tamaki—who was holding a rose in his hand, all prince-like—as he spoke. "Noting fills my heart with joy even more to be able to see all of your shining faces." Kneeling in front of a woman—who appeared to be one of the girls' mothers—and held her hand. "Milady, your beauty is what shines my day. Now I know that your daughter gets her magnificence from the exquisiteness that is standing right before me."

"Oh…how charming…" The woman said. She too had a complete look of admiration as Tamaki successfully wooed her.

"Please would you accept my rose, young lady? Even its uniqueness doesn't even come close to your perfection." Holding up the flower, Tamaki flashed an irresistible smile—the woman looked as if she was going to faint.

Taking the rose, the woman seemed to be too swooned for words.

A girl finally spoke up. "See mother, didn't I say that Prince Tamaki was wonderful?"

Haruhi and I just sighed from the whole thing. What amazes me is that he can draw that kind of attention so easily. By some cosmic force, the king himself seemed to sense our presence from the outside border of his fans.

"Aki! Haruhi! How are my daughter and sister on this fine day?" Pretending not to hear him, we both looked away. Don't draw attention to me you moron! I got away from the crowd for a reason. Tamaki managed to get the crowd to turn their heads and face us. Almost immediately, the crowd was in an uproar as they all realized that three Hosts were in one place. "Now, now everyone, us Hosts would love to spend time with all of you…and we shall. But now," He presented me with his hand, "I must come through on a promise with a friend. My dear Aki, in this atmosphere of friendship and joy, allow me to play the piano in honor of your newfound relationship with Hikaru—"

"No way. I told you not to do that." My voice had a stoic tone to it as I ignored the gawking from everyone else.

"But Aki, I know you'll love it…"

"You're embarrassing her Senpai." Haruhi warned.

"You even think about taking out that piano and I will smash it in half." As I said that, Tamaki retreated to his corner of depression.

At the same time, girls started shouting things like how I was so "Sweet and spicy". Face flushing, I coughed and looked away from them as they surrounded me. You'd think that a lot more of them would be concerned that I had just put Tamaki to shame. This just comes to show you that he's in that corner so often that even they are aware—and used—to it. Kind of tells you something, doesn't it?

Some of the parents looked slightly apprehensive at the scene.

"My word! Is that charming young man okay?"

Haruhi turned to them with a look of indifference. "Yeah, he's just an idiot. Nothing to worry about."

Just then, the whole floor of the building started so settle down and get quiet. As the crowd began to part, a small old, yet intimidating woman in a dull-earth toned kimono walked in the middle towards Tamaki, Haruhi and I. Behind her, stood Chairman Suoh and a very pretty girl I didn't recognize. She looked around our age, had a little longer than shoulder-length dirty-blonde hair and blue eyes that were as vibrant as the blue sky complimented with bright red lipstick. I didn't know why, but something about her gave me the urge to punch her real hard (oh come on, like you guys have never felt like that about someone you just met). Shaking off the feeling, I stood there staring at the three approaching us.

Seeing me in her way, the old lady spoke with a cold, striking voice. "Can you not see that I am walking through here, girl? Get out of the way." Umm…can you add a "please" to that?

"Excuse me miss," Haruhi began to say in an inviting voice, "but if there is something you would like us to get you—"

"What I would like is to get to my grandson that is disgracefully hunched over in the corner. So I will ask that you let me through!" Grandson? That's Tamaki's grandmother?

A while ago, I learned that Tamaki was the child of Chairman Suoh and a woman he met in France. They both loved each other very much and eventually had Tamaki. Since the woman was a mistress of the chairman, Tamaki's grandmother, Shizue Suoh, never accepted her or her son. So, for years, Tamaki lived in France with his mother, while his father got to see him only a portion of the time, since he had a business to run here in Japan. Eventually, Lady Suoh agreed to let Tamaki live in Japan with his father (to become and heir) on the terms of him never being able to see his mother again. Thinking that it would be a great opportunity for Tamaki, his mother agreed, which lead to him coming to Japan. Tamaki definitely fascinated me after I learned this about him. He was such a happy-go-lucky guy who loved making people smile, despite the fact that he was forced away from his mother. I never could understand the reasons for his personality—although I think I did prefer a happy and hyper Tamaki over a hateful and lonely one.

Seeing his evil grandmother for the first time made me despise her even more. The more she talked the more of a reason I had to knock her block off. This lady made Taiitsukun seem like a harmless puppy!

Pretending to be cheery, I told her, "I'd be happy to let you through if you asked just a little bit nicer." Giving a hateful smirk, I caught sight of a small twitch from her eye. The crowd gasped in shock.

Noticing that I wouldn't budge, her face scrunched in anger. "Why you insolent little brat. You will do what I tell you to!" Narrowing my eyes at her, I was ready to attack, regardless of her being an old woman. "With those demonic red eyes of yours…Don't you dare look at me like that. Do you know who I am?"

Do you know who I am? "Enlighten me."

Seeing her nostrils flare with fury, she yelled out, "Security!"

"Now, now grandmother," Tamaki must have recovered from his emo corner, because at that moment, he was on the side of me with an arm around my shoulders. With a genuine smile on his face, he added, "There's no reason to call security over here. I must sincerely apologize for my friend Aki here."

"Friend?" His grandmother had a look of disgust on her face. "You mean to tell me that you associate yourself with people like this?"

"You have nothing to worry about Grandmother. Aki is usually a very nice, mature, yet headstrong young woman. She was just worked up is all." He turned his head around to look at Haruhi. "Hey Haruhi, would you and Aki mind leaving me so that I could spend some time with my grandmother?"

"Umm…sure Senpai," she reluctantly said.

"Are you sure about that Tamaki? I mean, I could—"

"No, no. I haven't seen my dear grandmother in a while, so you can understand why I'd like to be with her." No I can't. "So…please?"

"But—" Out of nowhere, Kyouya came out of the crowd and grabbed my arm, pulling me away from the scene. "Kyouya, what're you—"

"Come along Akimoto—you too, Haruhi." He commanded.

"And who is this Tamaki?" Lady Suoh asked.

While still holding onto my arms, Kyouya gave a slight bow to her accommodated with a respectable smile. "I am Kyouya Ootori, Lady Suoh."

"Ootori? Ah yes, now that name sounds familiar. It's a bit of relief to know that Tamaki is surrounded by those with merit," She glanced over at me, "as opposed to scum anyone can find on the streets." Feeling a surge of anger, I began to launch out at the hag when suddenly, the hand of Takashi grabbed my other arm.

"Let's go Aki." Takashi, with a bit more force than Kyouya started to escort me away. Feeling that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to one, make a scene, and two, beat an old lady to a pulp, I walked along with him and Kyouya—growling.

"Now that the trash is out, will someone turn off that fan? It's getting too breezy in here."

Tamaki bowed sincerely. "Right away grandmother." That…is not a fan.

"Okay, tell me that I'm not the only one who hates that woman." The other Hosts and I stood around an indoor fountain after leaving Tamaki to be with the hag—I mean, his grandmother.

"You're not alone, Aki-chan. I hate her too." Wow, and Mitsukuni doesn't hate anyone. How whack is this woman?

"I don't understand, why doesn't Tamaki-senpai just tell her how he really feels? I get that they're related, but…it's not fair." Haruhi scanned all of our faces to look for an answer.

"She never treats Tama-chan with any respect—not to mention the people around her."

"Yeah, I sort of experienced that firsthand."

Shaking her head, Haruhi still had a puzzled look. "Why is she like that?"

"Because she's a hateful hag." Clenching my fists, I tried to get the words of that woman out of my head. "Call me scum huh? If Kyouya and Takashi didn't come along, she'd probably be in the emergency room right about now."

Hikaru bumped into me as he talked. "Yeah, Kyouya-senpai, why didn't you just let Aki teach that woman a lesson?"

Kaoru agreed. "I woulda paid anything to see that."

Adjusting his glasses Kyouya faced us. "It would have been a big mistake. Shizue Suoh is the head of the Suoh family. If something happened, Akimoto, as well as the rest of us and our families would have suffered some kind of consequence. It's not worth it."

Standing up from the fountains' edge, I crossed my arms. "Worth what? I'm worth literally nothing in this world. What's that old woman going to do? Fire my father from his company? Put my family into bankruptcy? Unless she finds a way to somehow get to my dimension, I don't think that—" Cutting myself off, I realized what I had said and turned to face the faces of my shocked friends.

"Wha—what did you say?" Kyouya asked shakily.

Playing innocent, I asked back, "About what?"

"You just said something about dimensions—"

"No I didn't!" Crap, crap, crap!

"Yes you—"

"Hello my fellow Host Club members!" Tamaki's voice rang. I breathed a sigh of relief. Saved by the idiot! I love your timing so much right now Tamaki. The pretty girl who was with Lady Suoh earlier stood right next to him.

Quickly changing the subject, I asked, "So, Tamaki, who's your new friend?"

"Huh? Oh! This is Éclair Tonnerre—she's a part of a very prestigious family in France. Grandmother asked me to show her around." He introduced us. "Éclair, these are cousins Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka." They waved to her. "Brothers Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin."

At the same time, they greeted, "Yo."

"This is Kyouya Ootori."

Bowing he replied, "I'm charmed to meet you milady."

Before Tamaki could introduce the rest of us, Éclair spoke up first with a very evident French accent. "Hmm…Haninozuka, Morinozuka, Hitachiin, and Ootori—all very important names here in Japan, and I right Tamaki-dear?"

"Of course."

"Well, you sure know how to pick your companions, I'll give you credit for that."

Tamaki laughed slightly. "Yes, well they are all great friends of mine. But there are two more important people that you just have to meet." Bringing Haruhi in front of him, he smiled brightly. "This is Haruhi Fujioka."

"Umm…Hi! It's nice to meet you." Haruhi said with intended interest.

"Fujioka…" Éclair thought for a moment. "I'm afraid I don't recognize that name. What branch is it under?"

Haruhi opened her mouth to answer, but Tamaki did it for her with an amused laugh. "No, no, no, Haruhi isn't a part of any branch. He's a commoner you see."

"Gee…thanks senpai," Haruhi said under her breath.

Tamaki didn't seem to catch it while he kept smiling. Éclair eyed Haruhi as her only response to what Tamaki had told her was, "You don't say." It may have been my imagination, but I swear I saw Éclair give Haruhi a real nasty look.

"Last but not least is my good friend, Akimoto Tsubaki."

"Ah, yes, you're the one with the attitude." Smirking, she flipped her hair. "Word of advice, Miss Akimoto, you should learn to either, think before you speak, or bite your tongue before it gets you into trouble."

Giving a fake smile, I replied with a bitter tone, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mademoiselle Éclair—unless it's Madame 'cause, you know, you may have some husband out there that no one knows about…or two." Laughing unpleasantly, I added, "But I'm sure that's not the case."

Catching my glare, she locked eyes with me as well—making me discover just how sharp and conniving she really was. "Charming. You know, it's comments like that that could get someone into trouble. A real lady would choose her words carefully. You keep up with that, and you'll never get a man."

Reaching back for Hikaru's hand, I brought him forward. "I already have a man." Bitch.

"That's right, she's spoken for!" Hikaru confidently told her.

She scoffed, "Pity. Well you know what they say, 'all good things must eventually come to an end'."

Feeling my body shake in total rage, both Hikaru and I attempted to shoot ourselves out at her. Unfortunately, Kyouya, Mitsukuni, Takashi, and Kaoru predicted our movements and held us down.

Éclair yawned. "I grow bored with this Tamaki-dear. Take me to the piano room so that you can play for me."

Giving her a genuine smile, he agreed. "As you wish, princess." He faced us as he started to walk away. "I'll catch up with you guys later, okay?"

When the two were finally out of sight, the guys holding us back finally loosened up, releasing Hikaru and I. Not only was I extremely pissed at the hag and little rich bitch, but I was sort of mad at Tamaki. I couldn't believe that he'd just sit there and let that girl talk to me like that. What happened do defending your friends? I sort of understand not wanting to hit a girl because of him being a gentleman and all—he's actually the sweetest guy I've ever met—but come on! He could have at least told her off. That guy is way too nice for his own good—it's no wonder why his grandmother acts like that to him: he won't do anything about it! He focuses too much on making others happy rather than his own happiness. It's good to be generous, but he'll never be truly happy if he doesn't fight for what's right for him. Judging by the reactions of the rest of the Host Club, they agree as well.

Come on Tamaki, just give me the word, and I will risk exposure to beat the crap out of them.

To be honest, I really wasn't used to people talking to me directly like that. Even if people said something mean about me, they never did it to my face—in my world, they knew better. Hearing Éclair have the nerve to speak to me like that nearly made me explode. I knew perfectly well that this wasn't my world and people didn't know what to expect from me. Nonetheless, I was hoping that my eyes would speak for themselves. Having fierce, near-scarlet eyes—especially when I'm mad—usually made intimidation extremely easy for me. The fact that Éclair was totally unfazed totally surprised me. On the other hand, if I did scare her, she did an excellent job at hiding it.

Growling to myself, Kaoru put his hand on my shoulder sympathetically. "Someone like that isn't worth the trouble." He must have felt the vibrations from my body because he added, "People aren't like that from birth. There may be a reason why—"

"I don't care the reason! Those two don't have a right to talk to any of us like that—especially Tamaki."

"She may not be a pleasant person, but she's crucial to business." Kyouya inspected his clip board without making eye-contact with any of us. You could totally tell that he was quite bothered as well. Ah…so he does have a soul. "We shouldn't let our personal opinions interfere with what needs to be done. Just let it go guys—you particularly, Akimoto."

Quickly exhaling through my nose, I reluctantly agreed. "Whatever." Perhaps they aren't worth the trouble. My powers aren't meant to be used on stuck-up humans. It'd be a waste of energy.

Kyouya spoke up again. "It's almost time for the next portion of the festival. We should all go get ready so that we make sure to keep on schedule." Everyone nodded slowly as they began to collectively walk in one direction.

When I took a step forward, my body suddenly froze. I tried to move, but nothing seemed to work. What the—? A part of my mind wanted to think that maybe the shadow creatures were attacking, but no chilling sensation filled my body. It wasn't them. Besides, in the past, they never made me suddenly stop like this. Attempting to call out for my friends, my voice didn't seem to reach them—or anyone else. The world around me started to move slower and slower, eventually fading to black nothingness. Fear instantly stroke my heart when I realized what might have been going on. Fighting back my tears, I managed to push forward, falling to the ground.

"Let's go, child. It's time to move on." Taiitsukun's at the time, unpleasant voice rang out in the void.

"No…no…no…no…" I kept repeating.

"You can't stay here any longer. Get up."

"N-no…I can't leave…" Body shaking, I wouldn't allow myself to get up and submit to her commands.

"Akimoto, you must listen to me. I'm not giving you a choice—"

"I won't leave!" Even in the dark void, a fierce, strong wind started to blow, making Taiitsukun struggle to keep herself in the air. Without a second thought, I summoned my wand to my hand, instantly preparing for an attack. "Jupiter Oak Evolution!" Thousands of small, sharp glowing green leaves appeared around me, every single one conducting a strong jolt of electricity. Pointing my wand towards Taiitsukun, I spin the tip in a circle, causing the leaves to group up and head towards her in a wide trail.

"You dare attack me child?" When the leaves hit her, a bright light flashed, dissolving each leaf. As I gasped, she scowled. "You have no idea who you're up against!" Under my feet, the ground started to crack with a bright red light shining through. Quickly levitating upwards, the ground broke causing a stream of light to shoot up at me, a giant hand forming, attempting to catch me.

Adrenaline high, I breathed heavily while trying to escape the hand. Seeing it inching closer, I pointed my wand downs at it. "Saisu!" The crescent-shaped blast of wind shot out and sliced the hand completely down the middle. Right when I thought that it was destroyed, both halves of the hand appeared on both of my sides and clamped me, completely binding my whole upper body. Slamming me back into the ground, my body cried out from the pain.

Taiitsukun floated closer to me. Still feeling enraged, I concentrated a whole bunch of my energy, causing my body to be completely consumed by Wind. Expanding the Wind outward, the hand steadily started to lose its grip. As the severe Wind Sphere grew, I struggled to push my arms up so that I could face Taiitsukun. My body ached the longer I persisted on using my power. Keeping my balance on one hand, my arm slowly lifted up, wand extended.

"Akimoto, stop this futile attempt," she said with her face unfazed.

Tears, streaming down my face, I screamed, "No, I won't! Ly Breim!" A wave of blue tinted wind shot out at Taiitsukun. With her arm out, a clear barrier materialized, only seen when the chilling temperature from the attack froze the barrier. Feeling a severe drop in energy, while keeping Wind around me, the red glowing hand regained its strength and pressed down harder, causing me to completely smash into the ground once more.

Trying to use Wind again, the old woman interrupted. "You are a fool. You cannot keep going at this rate—otherwise you'll kill yourself." Ignoring her words, I attempted with all of my might to overcome the arm—but at this moment, my concentration was so messed up, as well as my flow of energy, that I couldn't beat it. "Haven't you figured it out yet? Before when you tried doing that high level spell at the beach, you toppled over and coughed up blood. Not only were you not ready to use something that advanced, but you had gone past your limit. You need to learn about the correlation between magic and your body. Your energy is a part of you. If you use it too much without rest, it could significantly damage your body—inside and out. Gone unchecked, you may even die."

Continuing to cry, I processed her words, but refused to acknowledge them. I let go of the wand and let it roll away from me. "I-I don't understand…I didn't have any visions—there was nothing there to tell me that I couldn't stay. Everything seemed so right…so why?" My face was completely covered in tears, blurring my vision.

"Don't ask questions. Now isn't the time." Taiitsukun sounded unusually calm. In fact, there was a slight softness in her voice…or was that guilt? My judgment was completely clouded by misery. "You must come with me Akimoto. This place…" She shook her head. "You just can't stay here."

"Y-you said," I tried to make words form between the hiccups, "Y-you said that if I was able to get my wish granted, I could stay in the world that it happened in. You said that…you said that, didn't you?" She nodded slowly while looking away. "Well then…I want to stay…in this world. This world has a school full of people who like me, it has the Host Club, and it has Hikaru. I'm…I'm in love with—"

"No!" Taiitsukun yelled, "Don't say it! If you say that you're in love with someone, then you'll end up staying in that world. You can't stay in this world Akimoto…you just can't…"

"But I do…I lo…lov…" For some reason, I couldn't say those words. I really wanted to—more than anything. What was stopping me? Feeling the weight of the hand lighten as it disappeared, I sat up stopping the flow of tears. Raising my wrist to my face, I slightly smiled when I saw the bracelet. My voice went serious. "Let me go back."

"Akimot—"

"Let me go back to say good-bye! You're not giving me a damn reason as to why I can't stay, so the least you could do is let me go back and say good-bye!"

Thinking it over, she finally sighed. "Very well. Make it quick."

The moment I blinked, I opened my eyes to find that I was back at the festival, standing in the same exact place I was before. The only difference was that some time had already gone by—looking out of a large window, it was clear that the sun was already setting.

"Aki? Are you okay?" Shaking myself out of shock, I looked to see that a small group of fan-girls were staring at me with concerned looks on their faces.

Knowing what I had to do, I moved past the girls and dashed toward the club room. Avoiding all of the guests was tough—trying to keep a low-profile was slightly harder—but I managed to reach the room successfully. Gasping in surprise, I found that the room was sealed off with yellow caution tape. In the middle of the door was a note: The Ouran Academy Host Club has been dissolved. Music Room 3 will be closed until further notice.

What? Putting my ear up to the door, I tried to listen for any voices inside. Nothing. How can the Host Club be no more? It doesn't make any sense! What happened when I was gone? In a flash of red, I laid eyes on the underground parking structure that was under the school. Blinking hard, I was out of the vision, and knew where to go.

Running down the stairs to the parking structure, I stopped dead in my tracks. All over the ground was a bunch of unconscious policemen. As questions played in my head, a familiar voice called out to me.

"Aki-chan, over here!" Looking ahead, I saw Mitsukuni, Takashi, and Kyouya in the center of all of the knocked out guys. Well, that would explain how these guys got their butts handed back to them. "Where were you this whole time?"

Running up to them, I told them that that was a bit hard to explain then asked Kyouya what was going on. He explained, "Tamaki became engaged to Lady Éclair and denounced the Host Club dissolved."

I was shocked. "What? Why the hell would he do something like that? And what's with the fight that happened here?"

"We're not completely sure as to why Tama-chan would do this, especially when he loved the Host Club so much. But considering that girl is from France, this whole thing may end up being about Tama-chan's mom." Mitsukuni said.

"You think?"

"Again, we're not completely sure. But we do know that Lady Éclair is on the way to the airport with Tamaki as we speak," Kyouya looked around the area, "This happened because my family police wouldn't allow us to chase after them. Turns out that the Tonnerre family sneakily bought out mine to make sure that we wouldn't interfere with the union of Tamaki and Lady Éclair."

Scanning around, I asked, "Where are Hikaru, Kaoru, and Haruhi?"

"They chased after Tama-chan!"

"Akimoto, you can fly, right? I suggest you go after them. They may require your assistance."

"Right!" I'm not going to allow the club to break up! Heading towards the exit, I turned back to them with a sad look on my face. "Don't ever change you guys…" I had said that at a semi-low volume to make it difficult for them to hear.

"What was that?"

Shaking my head, I told them, "Nothing."

Launching myself into the sky, I bolted in the direction of the airport. The Host Club is important to Tamaki—it's important to all of us. Even with me gone, I don't even want to think of this place without a Host Club, it's not right! Each one of us—them—have a reason for being a part of it. I won't be able to live with myself knowing that I left things like this!

Flying as fast as I could along a long road, my eyes eventually caught sight of something.

"Hikaru! Kaoru!" Sitting in a vegetable patch, Kaoru looked like he was comforting Hikaru. As my voice finally reached them, they both looked to the sound and gave a smile of relief. On a shaky landing, I ran towards them and slid on the ground, ending up next to them. Hikaru was holding his arm. "Oh my gosh! Hikaru, what happened to you?"

"It's nothing serious—I may have just fractured a bone."

"How?"

"Don't worry about it." With his good hand, he reached out to hold mine. "When I couldn't find you , I thought that you had left us."

"Yeah, you really scared us Aki. Thinking how the Host Club was over and you were gone…it was too much." Please don't say things like that. It makes it harder to accept that I'm leaving. Hearing those two say those things really made me smile, but knowing that I was leaving these two and the others made my smile instantly fade.

Trying not to stay on topic, I asked, "Where's Haruhi?"

"She went on ahead after the boss."

"By herself?" They nodded. She's gonna need my help. Glancing at the twins, their golden eyes inspected me with a look of concern. My eyes started to gloss over with tears. I so very much wish that I could spend my last moments here with you two. But I know that I have to make sure that your happiness lasts for a lifetime—meaning that I have to make sure that the Host Club is safe.

"Aki?"

Keeping in the tears, I reached for Hikaru's head and brought him in for a kiss. His lips were so warm and inviting, and I could even feel him trying to intensify the experience. Knowing that I couldn't stay long, I broke the kiss. We looked each other in the eye, but I couldn't help but look away. It was just too much. Turning to Kaoru, I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

Before they could say anything, I quickly stood up and tried my best to give a reassuring smile. "Don't you two worry—I promise to get Haruhi and Tamaki back. The Host Club won't be ending on my watch!"

"Aki—"

"There's no time to lose!" Shooting myself into the sky, I flew even further down the road. Thank you guys so much…for everything.

As I flew, the ocean started to come into view—along with an extensive bridge. The majestic setting sun reflected onto the water, causing a magical visual effect. There wasn't any time to sit back and appreciate nature—I had a job to accomplish. About a mile or two ahead, I was sure that I saw Haruhi in a horse-drawn carriage, riding rapidly after Tamaki, who was riding in a bright crimson convertible sitting next to Éclair. Haruhi was riding dangerously fast. If she did any risky maneuvers, something bad could happen. I had to hurry.

Tapping into extra energy, my speed quickly increased as wind swiftly whipped past my hair and body. Even with my efforts, I didn't seem to be catching up to them fast enough. So I pushed it even harder. In no time, my energy emitted so far out, that the water—which was about half a mile down—started to split in the line that I was flying in.

To my horror, Haruhi's carriage began to shake dangerously as she reached out for Tamaki. She started to lose control of the device and swerved hazardously. The side of the carriage hit the barrier of the bridge, causing Haruhi to be thrown out of her seat and over the side of the bridge, plummeting straight to the water—which was, again, a very lethal distance away. I knew that if I didn't go faster, Haruhi could be hurt seriously, or worse. Summoning up all of the energy I could, I ignored the burning of my body as a striking white tail of energy completely engulfed me.

Tamaki stood up in the car as Éclair help onto his arm. Bitch, if you don't let go…He had said something to her before launching himself out towards Haruhi. The red convertible continued to drive on as the two plummeted down. Extending both of my arms, I prayed that I would reach them in time. As the ocean raced towards them, Tamaki tucked Haruhi and shielded her head to make sure that she wouldn't be harmed by the impact. Only a few feet left. Giving one more boost of energy…

I closed my eyes, and not a second later, they were both in my arms.

"It's good to see that you two are okay," Kaoru told Haruhi and Tamaki. The rest of the Host Club managed to catch up a while ago and all met at the small beach at the end of the bridge.

"Tama-chan! Don't do that again!"

"I'm really sorry for making all of you worry." Tamaki laughed while rubbing his neck embarrassedly.

Haruhi sighed. "You idiot. If there is something so precious to you, don't be willing to give it up so easily and forget your own happiness." Seeing his ashamed face, she smiled. "It's good to have you back Senpai."

"You're harshly right as always Haruhi."

The twins put their elbows on Haruhi's shoulders. "You know, there's still a fun festival going on back at Ouran."

"And I'm sure the ladies would love to hear that the Host Club is back on."

"So can we get going now?" They both said at the same time. An unexpected jolt of movement from Haruhi caused Hikaru to yell out in pain from his fractured arm.

Kyouya pushed his glasses up. "You should make sure to get that looked at when we get back, Hikaru."

"Sure thing Kyouya-senpai."

"By the way Haruhi," She faced Kyouya, "how did you two survive the fall anyway? Neither of you even got wet."

She thought about it for a while as the others looked in interest. "You know…It's weird, but I can't really remember."

Kyouya raised an eyebrow, "What a strange phenomenon this is."

She scratched her cheek. "I feel like I should know…but something is clouding my memory."

I smiled as tears raced down my cheek.

Hikaru looked curiously around and at my direction only to return to focusing on his friends. "Who knows? Maybe the Host Club has a guardian angel." They all seemed to smile at his words.

At that, I waked away into the wilderness behind them—not able to stay around them any longer. Walking about twenty paces, my legs finally gave out, causing me to fall to my knees and bawl into my hands.

In a flash of light my wand and spell book appeared in front of me. Through eyes full of tears, I wondered why they were there—I didn't summon them. Suddenly, they both broke into millions of tiny sparkling silver pieces. What the? Reaching out for them, my hand just went through as the fragments danced around and circled me. Each and every pore on my body opened up, making me feel as if my whole body was breathing. The silvery dust circled even faster and slowly disappeared as an odd sensation consumed me. Seeing my wand and spell book vanish before my eyes totally shocked me.

Even more tears began to flow. Wand…my wand is gone…why? My mind was completely overwhelmed by all the things going on as I lifted my shaky hands to my face. Why is everything so messed up? I was happy…so happy…now my wand and my friends are gone….why?

The voice of Taiitsukun came up from behind me as the world faded to black. "I now recognize you, Akimoto Tsubaki, as a Master."

~*Taiitsukun's Memory*~

"Is she going to leave that world soon?" Asked an unknown voice.

Taiitsukun hesitated. "I don't feel right about doing that to her. She seems so happy. I even looked into the future—she lived happily in that world with the one she loves."

"She doesn't know what she wants. Not yet. You know as well as I do why she cannot stay there."

Taiitsukun desperately raised her voice. "I know but…She hasn't had any visions—not only that, but she isn't replacing anyone. You know the policy, if the girl isn't taking the place of anyone, then she has both the permission and the reason to stay." She cleared her throat. "Besides, she and the young man she was with could make their love stronger over time."

"But it isn't enough! You know that it isn't enough. From the time she met him, you and I both know that the spark she needed wasn't there—at all. Akimoto may be happy in that world, but it's not her destiny. I let her have those visions for a reason: so that she could use her better judgement and guide her in the right direction. There is better out there for her and the universe, and we cannot deprive them both."

Sighing, Taiitsukun looked through a portal at Aki having fun with her friends. "This will devastate her. She believes she found her place."

"She's young, she'll learn." The unknown person's voice softened. "The girl seems to have grown on you Taiitsukun." She gave a loud "humph!" instead of a proper response. "Because of her past, she is different than all of the others and there is no turning back on that."

"Perhaps you're right, this needs to be done. Akimoto must discover all of the Pieces of Heart as well as the spark in order for us to win this battle." Taiitsukun never got used to seeing the young girls she trained unhappy. It was never easy tearing them away from what they thought was making them happy. She felt almost like the Grim Reaper escorting the souls of the dead away from their loved ones. She knew that if she had gone about her job a different way, maybe things wouldn't have gotten as bad as they had—but they did. And she needed to do something about it before the universe ended up being shrouded in darkness.

"Just make sure that she doesn't know all of the details until later. Allow her to continue to discover some things on her own. The time will come when all is revealed."

"Very well then," Taiitsukun's voice regained its usual aggressiveness, "let's get this over with!"

The song used at the beginning was "Sakura Kiss", the opening for Ouran High School Host Club anime. This certain version was sung by Cristina Vee and is not the official English opening version (the Funimation one is).

-Aloe

Having said that, if you choose to continue on reading, I hope you enjoy the Beta version and look forward to the official!