"People don't seem to know you or appreciate your value until you're gone."
No one spoke. No one said anything as the ambulance took Akari Ayuzawa away on a stretcher, a white cloth hiding her body from view. She was going to be put to the morgue, and later a funeral home.
Tamaki was making preparations for it on the phone currently, being the only one who could still talk and think properly. He was truly the strongest one out of them all... and yet, maybe he was the saddest. A mother he could not have contact with, living in France with a weak constitution. He knew that he couldn't have any form of contact with her at all less his Grandmother stop giving her treatment and keeping her alive and well, but not a day went by that he didn't think about her, imagine her smile... her warm blue eyes.
When he had found out about Alex's sickly condition, he was automatically reminded of his mother and her own weak immune system. When he heard that Alex couldn't be cured, he was so scared... what if his mother became immune to the treatment? He didn't know if he could handle it... when they all thought Alex had died it was as if the world had become grey, and he became all too aware of Haruhi who was clinging onto him frightfully.
He could only imagine the kind of the pain girl must have been going through... faking smiles every day, acting like everything was alright when it clearly wasn't. Tamaki knew what that was like, but he learned to live with the fact that his mother was sickly. Nothing would be gained from mourning. Tamaki knew that better than anyone. And yet still... to know she was going through that much pain...
He didn't want to prologue Alex's life if it was just going put her through her more agony... but then that girl appeared out of nowhere. Screaming about saving her, Alex crying out for her to let her die and leave her alone. Alex didn't want that girl...Akari... to do anything. Alex had accepted her cruel fate and was going to just let herself die. But Akari...
Tamaki, as seen with the Zuka Club, isn't very big on lesbians or gays, but will accept them so long as they're not rude like, once again, the Zuka Club. He found zero productivity as he believed God had created males and female for a reason, and that reason stemmed from the myth of Adam and Eve. He, though dense as he was most of the time, knew what Akari was going to tell Alex before she looked at Kyoya.
He saw the sad hurt in her eyes, along with the acceptance of that of someone in an unrequited love. As long as their loved one could be happy... they'd give up everything. Akari was exactly like those girl in the romance dramas he watches, sacrificing herself for the one she loves-who just so happened to be Alex. Akari loved Alex, and merely wished for her happiness...
Which is why, even though Alex had lied to him and the rest of his "family", he was going to forgive her.
Tamaki was just that kind of person. However... he had a feeling Haruhi was going to be a different story. She appeared the most angry about all this. But, perhaps one of the reasons Tamaki was going to forgive Alex so easily is that... she reminds him of his mother who's all the way back in France. Alex was a lot like Tamaki himself, especially during the first few months they knew each other.
Alex was so warm and caring... cheerful and always smiling. Just like his mother. He, oddly, found himself accepting the relationship between her and his best friend. Normally Tamaki would be throwing a fit about losing his "daughter", but she wasn't really his "daughter", was she? Haruhi was his "daughter", but...
...everything was spiraling out of control. It was making him realize things that he never had before. Things that made him feel like a complete idiot.
What "father" would want to marry his "daughter"?
After hearing Kyoya's confession, seeing how he acted with her and stayed by her bedside constantly, after seeing how he clung and hovered over her after Akari gave her life to save her... and after seeing Haruhi's crying face...
"Yes... next week. I'll send you the money from my bank account. Thank you." Tamaki hung up the phone and sighed, running a hand through his bands thoughtfully before leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
I can't believe I'm in love with Haruhi... he was more than certain that was what it was by now. These past few months have been a terrible pain... but these last few days have been the worst he's ever been through. To have watched someone die in front of his very own eyes... he was never going to forget it. In fact, he doubted anyone would.
And after hearing Alex's explanation... it made sense as to why she had always had this "otherworldly" feel about her. It wasn't... something big or something small... it was just a strange feeling he had when he first saw her. He never knew what to make of it until then. He always thought that it was because she had been a hero and saved Kaoru's life, because she was a foreigner, but now... now he knew.
Alex was from a different world entirely. Dimension, she put it.
He wondered how everything was going to turn out from then on. Would the rest of the club accept her like he and Kyoya, or would they shun her... like she had been so fearful of since the beginning? He remembered her running out Nekozawa's Black Magic club screaming and crying. He remembered picking her up and holding her against him, the girl kicking and screaming and demanding him to let her go as he "hated' her.
The girl couldn't have been more wrong. No one hated her. In fact, they all cared very much about her. It's just... with everything that's been happening...
"Mother..." He began quietly, opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling. He wondered if she could hear him all the way from France, but knew it was a foolish thought, "Do you think they'll forgive her?" There was no answer.
Haruhi was pissed. Not about the fact that Alex was from a different dimension, but that she had lied. Haruhi could care less about where Alex came from; in fact, Alex could have came from Egypt or Europe or-or she could be an alien! She technically was an alien anyway, but who is to say exactly other worlds don't exist? Granted Haruhi herself said that there was only one world, but how else was she supposed to react in that situation?
Haruhi was terrified at everything that had happened. It was no surprise she'd be mad at Alex for lying. But she couldn't hate the girl for it... like she said, if she had told them where she came from when they first met Haruhi would have called the police and stuck her in an asylum. It was so far-fetched it was nearly impossible to believe...
...but it was the only thing that made sense in all this chaos. How her arm was working, how that girl appeared out of thin air-why Akari had vanished instead of being found dead with her family. It made sense as to why Alex was suddenly breathing, walking, acting like a completely healthy human being.
Haruhi had no idea if she could forgive Alex for lying or not, but she did understand her reasons for it. If she was in the same situation, being taken away from her life by some higher being... by a God... and into a whole different world, she probably would have done the same thing. Alex had been completely logical, but actually...
The entire time... Alex had been doing nothing but telling them that she was "dead". That she had been taken away from her life. Haruhi just figured that meant that because her parents died, she hated God. She hated living and the she wished she was dead. But Alex had said countless times that she wasn't from there. Haruhi felt like a total idiot for never noticing... but how could she? She was convinced that Alex had amnesia or something from how she always talked about how she "wasn't from there". It was said in the papers that she was kidnapped, but... that wasn't the real story, was it?
The true story, the honest story has just been unveiled... The real story was about a young teen taken from her world, forced to blend in and find her own path in the strange world. That girl, who had lost everything, had gained everything... only to lose the one who gave her her second chance at life, who has just given her her final chance to survive.
Akari... sacrificed herself. To save Alex. Haruhi couldn't seem to process it. She closed her eyes and hung her head, shaking it slowly.
"No... she was just a client for the Pension. I didn't know her, but I knew she was sick. She was resting here at the Pension because she wanted to have her final days in a nice place, and she had heard that there was a man who could play the piano beautifully. That's all I really know about her other than her name."
"And what would her name be, Miss Fujioka?"
Haruhi opened her eyes, staring at him in his own. "Her name is Akari Ayuzawa."
Going with the story Kyoya and Haruhi had come up with, the interrogation with the cops went by smoothly. There was whispering about Akari as they carried her out, the cops apparently completely flabbergasted. Akari Ayuzawa's disappearance had been settled as a cold case, the girl unable to be found anywhere. It was assumed once that Alex was Akari at the very beginning by the bloodtesting, but those results had later changed. Their blood was very similar, but not quite the same.
She was assumed a cousin of Akari's and the police let Alex go without anymore words, Hikaru only able to watch as the girl left the lobby. She trailed up the stairs completely silent, her hair covering her face.
Alex being alive... it was a miracle. It was even more of a miracle that she appeared completely healthy, as if she didn't loose twenty pounds, as if she hadn't stopped eating, as if she hadn't... hadn't been sick at all...
As if she were still completely and totally normal. The girl he had been speaking to months ago... before she started getting sick. Before she was bedridden.
Hikaru had conflicting emotions.
He didn't know if he should feel betrayed and hurt and hate her, or if he should let his relief take over and go against his better judgement. After all, she had lied to him about where she came from... and that girl who was carried away on a stretcher...
Who was she? Why did she... why did she look so much like Alex? Hikaru wanted to know. He wanted to know why everything was kept from him and his brother. Because out of all of the Hosts, he thought they deserved to know the most. They're her brothers, aren't they? So why did she hide everything?
Why did she keep it a secret even though... even though they let her so close to their hearts?
"Hikaru..." Kaoru reached out his hand and placed it on his brother's shoulder, before wrapping his arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. He closed his eyes, "I don't know what to do either. Do you think... do you think she ever really thought of us as brothers?" She never said anything of that sort; Alex only said that she didn't want them to hate her. Kaoru wanted to know so badly... that was the only thing he was worried about at the moment.
It didn't matter where she came from or who she used to be; all that mattered to him is if the girl he considered family loved him as a brother or not. The betrayal they felt when they were little was so much that it caused them both to become twisted... made them cold and cruel. They met Alex and made her their "toy" because they wanted entertainment... because she was a challenge that seemed not to break. But over time he and his brother gradually came to really love her as though she was their sibling, as if they were blood-related.
But to know that she hid this from them hurt... it pierced them deep. It was understandable why she did it; Kaoru probably wouldn't have believed her if he didn't see her and Akari swap their health conditions. He wasn't sure how else to explain it. Akari went from completely healthy to fatally sick, and Alex sick to healthy. It was unbelievable.
It confused Hikaru to no end how all of this was happening. He got back to the Pension with Akiko and there was a dead body in the middle of the lobby, resting on a couch. Then Tamaki had them get changed out of their wet clothes while Kyoya attended to Akiko and made her a splint out of the kit he always carried around because of Alex's habit of hurting herself all the time. Then there was Alex's brief explanation that didn't really explain anything...
Was it magic or what? Did magic even exist? Hikaru had no idea. He just wanted to know.
The gaping hole inside of his chest ached, as if it didn't know what to do with itself anymore after Alex's sudden recovery and her shocking betrayal. Why would she have lied to them? Granted if she told the truth at first they definitely would have stuck her in the loony bin, but to know she hid it from them all this time? Surely she'd have trusted them enough by now! Why did they have to find out like that!? What's the whole story anyway? She just got transported by some god or whatever?
The hell is up with that? He wanted the real story. Now.
Hikaru froze when he heard Kyoya's voice on the other side of the door, his hand resting just above the doorhandle.
Mitsukuni wasn't really all that mad. He was more startled than anything, but growing up in a family of martial artists and practicing in the dojo his whole life taught him to not only discipline himself mentally, but spiritually as well. Mitsukuni also did have a slight belief in the Supernatural, and the explanation Alex had given did make sense to him.
"Equivalent Exchange" that girl had said. From his thoughts on it he assumed it meant that one has to give something to receive something in return, which helped the theory he had forming in his mind. The reason why Alex's arm was suddenly so functional all those months back was because Akari had given her own arm. She then gave her healthy disposition and immune system to Alex, taking any and all sickness and pain away from her and thus causing her death...
When Mitsukuni had saw Alex on the Inn bed in her room that day, his heart had dropped into his stomach. She was a very dear friend to him and to have thought that he would have lost her... he remembered the day at Kyoya's family resort when they were both washed away by the current and he had to use CPR on her to awaken her. He was so scared. He would have turned the resort to shreds to find some professional medical help if it meant she could have lived. But she woke up and his world brightened again.
Only once again to lose her on the beach. She had a very bad habit of getting herself badly hurt and more often then not she ended up with a sprained ankle or twisted wrist and Kyoya was left to patch her up again. Alex was always getting herself hurt and in bad situations and to think that she was actually dying...
When she had first gotten sick he told Takashi to think nothing of it, he and the male figuring it was just a simple cold. Later he figured it was the flu seeing how long it was taking for her to recover, but she was merely getting paler each day. He started to get worried.
He knew his cousin was concerned as well. He saw Mori casting glances at her sometimes, wondering if she was about to fall over or if she would have a fainting spell due to her sickness.
But he had never imagined it to be so dire. He lost his hold on his precious Usa-Chan and something let loose inside of him. His childish facade broke for a few minutes and that was all it took for him to rush to her room and break down crying. Alex... Now, with everything that had just transpired, she was probably in an even worse condition.
Physical pain was something extremely horrible, the emotional pain only adding to it. But the mental pain one feels... she had just recovered from her physical dilemma, and now she was here left emotionally and mentally damaged, most likely believing Akari's sacrifice a "death on her hands". He could only wonder how she was going to get through this, but he knew that she would need all the support of her friends.
It's only a matter of if they would all help her or not. He was for certain of Takashi and himself, along with Tamaki and Kyoya, but Haruhi and the twins...
The twins he was worried about most. They had been twisted beyond belief by a betrayal once in their life. This is a betrayal just as bad to them. Having been told they would never be told apart, and now to be told by someone who could tell them apart that she's been lying to them all along...
"Poor Hika-Chan and Kao-Chan... they must be really hurt." Mitsukuni whispered, staring at the pink bunny he was holding tightly in his arms. Takashi's eyes trailed down his cousin, before nodding slowly in agreement.
"Yeah..." There was a long and tense silence, an almost suffocating atmosphere surrounding them before Mori said, firm in his belief, "They'll forgive her in the end. Alex... is not one you can so easily hate."
Mitsukuni looked almost surprised at his cousin's words, having not expected him to say so much, before he gave a teary-eyed smile. "Yeah, you're right! Hika-Chan and Kao-Chan, and Lexi-Chan are all family! And family always forgives one another! Isn't that right, Usa-Chan?" He gave a tiny giggle in an attempt to lighten the mood, holding his stuffed friend in front of him. "Yeah, I think so too! Takashi is right."
"Y-You don't get it! You don't get it, you don't get it; I killed her, I killed her-she didn't listen to me even though I told her not to which makes it my fault!" Alex jabbed a finger to her chest, staring up at Kyoya with huge eyes, ready to break down at any given moment. She was already crying silently, tears streaming down her face without her making a single sob. She just yelled at him, trying to get him to understand. "I-I killed her, Kyoya! Why don't you get that? The-The Police were just downstairs a-and they questioned me and-and you don't know how hard it trying not to-to..." She sniffled and bit her bottom lip, trembling. She wrapped her arms around herself.
"I-It's so scary..." She had never been more frightened. "T-To see her... To see her like that when she was just so...healthy a moment ago. I-I don't understand it... Why would she do that? Why would she kill herself for me!?" She let out an agonized screamed, scratching at her head furiously and ruffling her blood-soaked hair. Her nearly-white shirt was stained with red. "I-I never did anything for her! I'm a murderer, damn it!"
"Alex, you know that isn't true."
"Yes, it is! I-I killed her!" She let out a small sound when Kyoya reached forward and grabbed her roughly by the shoulders, staring her in the eyes intensely. "I-It's all my fault..." She whimpered, her voice faltering at the look in his eyes.
"It is not. Akari merely wanted to help you; she would not want you grieving over her like this." He remembered seeing her hover beside Alex's bedside, he remembered the transparent figure whispering to him that everything was going to be alright in the end. He may not personally know Akari, but he knows enough to realize that Akari would not want Alex mourning over her death and blaming herself. "Akari sacrificed herself for you because she wanted to you to live," and while he may not know all the details about the "exchange" that went on, he knows enough. Alex was going to die, and to prevent that Akari had given her life. Her health. Her being. "Because she wanted you to be happy."
That seemed to resonate with Alex, the girl going still in his arms. "She..." Akari did say that. "Y-Yeah, but... I-"
"You did not kill her. It was a sacrifice, not a murder." She lowered her head at his words, repeating them over in her head. Alex... didn't kill her? "Now quit being a moron and crying about how things should have happened. She wouldn't want you to let her death be in vain. Besides, as long as you don't forget her I'm sure it'll be fine."
Alex's head shot up and she stared at him with wide eyes. She inhaled sharply and asked, "What did you say?" Kyoya blinked.
"I said-"
"No, no, I heard what you said! I-I meant..." Kyoya's eyebrow twitched, feeling annoyance prick at him but he could help but admit he loved having Alex back with him. "Not to forget her... Kyoya?"
"What?"
"...I think... I know what she-what she was going to say now..."
Kyoya paused, before saying, "You think she was going to tell you not to forget about her?" Alex nodded slowly, sniffling before letting out a tiny hiccup.
"Y-Yeah... She-She wanted me to promise not to forget something. I-It makes sense... I-I'm the only who knows who she really is, r-right?" Akari... why? Why me? Alex was never going to stop pondering that. Why save me? She was just another girl... there were many people out there so much more deserving of life than she and yet...
"Alex..."
"I-I'm fine. I-I just... I just..." She squeezed her eyes shut, everyone's faces flashing in her mind. "E-Everyone's going to hate me... H-Hikaru and Kaoru are gonna disown me, T-Tamaki's gonna kick me out of the club... H-Haruhi and A-Akiko are... e-everyone's gonna hate me!" She choked back a sob, hands covering her face as she tried to get the tears to stop. "I-I can't face them again... I-I can't do this..."
How was she going to react when everyone started to prod her for more answers? What if they just ignore her completely? Alex wasn't going to be able to handle it. She could do Akari the one favor to not forget her, but... Alex may just be forgotten herself.
And just where the hell is the bathroom? The police wouldn't let her go while they were interrogating her, and she also didn't remember the way as her memory was slightly foggy...
"It hurts when you try to make things right, but all they can see in you is wrong."
ALEX LIVES! I know you all are gonna hate me for makin' you think she was gonna die, but... I'm a happy-ending kinda person.
The worst part is over and the story is coming to a close. Don't ask me how many chapters are left, 'cause I honestly don't know. I make this up for the most part as I go along. XD I just know it's not gonna last much longer.
But Mitsukuni, Takashi, and Tamaki are chill. Kyoya is definitely chill. Haruhi's a bit conflicted and Hikaru just wants to know what the hell is goin' on. Kaoru's a bit on the fearful side of whether their relationship with Alex is real or not, and Akiko... well, we're find out soon, won't we? (Raised eyebrows) And I know at least ONE OF YOU are thinking 'You brought up Kyoya buying a ring for Alex; is he ever gonna propose"?
I plan on it. Dunno when though. But you all can stop eating your ice cream and cuddling you stuffed animals and real-live animals (looks at the cat trying to walk on keyboard) because the worst part is over! (Throws confetti before screaming in realization it was an important drawing) Akari is dead though, so that's saddening. I always cry writing a character death. Actually, scratch that, I cry at everything and anything sad. Lost count of how many times I balled my eyes out during Fairy Tail. Started rewatching Inuyasha (An anime I rarely cried at when I was little) and I started balling in the episode with the soul piper and the ghost girl Mayu. It was sadder than I remembered... BUT BACK TO THE POINT!
Takashi... I'm slightly torn. He strikes me as the kind of guy who would bottle up his feelings until he's alone, because he's that kinda guy who's strong for everyone else. So I may not ever actually type his sadness, unless it's through maybe a few short words. He might have a big part in a future chapter, but I dunno. We'll find out when we get there.