(Removed from account, and recently returned, sorry about that!)

The soft sound of a heart monitor, following each slow chime of my heart. I can barely see the ceiling, it feels like the lights are blinding me, despite how much they've been dimmed per my request. My breathing is hard and heavy. I don't even have the strength to cry anymore, despite how hard I remember sobbing on the way here. I can feel my hand being squeezed, so hard that it feels like it's going to be broken. But I can't bring myself to pull away or ask to be let go. I turn my head just a bit and star at the redhead of hair that belongs to my father. His forehead is pressed against the mattress and his shoulders are trembling. He looks so broken. I wish I could reach out and touch him. But I can barely seem to move.

"Haruhi," he says, as I struggle to keep my eyes open. "Please, I know it hurts. I'm so sorry. Daddy would take it away if he could. But you have to be strong okay?" A sob broke past him as he struggled to speak. "Just keep fighting. Don't you leave daddy..." I feel like he was talking more to himself then he was to me. I had been drifting in and out of consciousness this entire time, and since I wasn't answering, I get the feeling he thinks I couldn't hear him. I couldn't speak to him yet, I could barely get enough breath to stay conscious, let alone speak. So all I could was listen to him.

"Please Haruhi, daddy's begging you. I can't lose you too..."

Ouran's Academy for Special Needs. Just the name Ouran seemed to make other schools shy away. It was an academy that only the richest of the rich could even hope to glance at. The headmaster, after being inspired and humbled by the struggles of his own disabled wife, had built this school with the hopes of providing the best possible schooling and accommodations for other students with special needs. This high school had the best of equipment, family and private doctors and nurses, with the best understanding of what these students needs were, and classes that were structured around the students physical and mental capabilities, in order to give each and every student the best possible experience. they even offered home-schooling programs for students who spent a majority of their time in hospitals, and different forms of physical, cognitive, and emotional therapy. At the moment, there were still some big projects in the making, such as creating live-in accommodations for potential overseas students, amongst other ideas.

One of these projects was their scholarship program. Which was just how Miss. Haruhi Fujioka managed to enter this school. The headmaster himself had been wanting to reach out to other special needs programs, and invite students for less well-off communities to join their school. Help and caring he felt, should not have to be limited to students from wealthy families.

But when he had tried to expand his admission to those who were not from wealthy families, there was often a lot of backlashes. The wealthy families protested allowing such commoners into the school. Not after the wealthy families had worked so hard to get to where they were today, and paid so much to get their students into the school. It felt unfair to allow commoner students into the school. In order to quell the anger, for the time being, the headmaster had quieted down and kept his policies that same. But that didn't stop him from creating the Ouran scholarship, with the hopes of reaching out to the brightest of commoners and bringing them into the school.

Which is how Haruhi found herself wandering the school, searching for a place to study. She could still remember the day she received the letter regarding her acceptance into Ouran's Academy for Special Needs. Her father had cried and hugged her, as Haruhi silently praised herself for her own accomplishments. It had taken a boat-load of studying, but it was all very much worth it. It was one of the best high schools out there, and she was more than excited to give it a try. But, at the moment, she was starting to wonder whether or not she made the right decision...

This library was crowded. That library was crowded. The study room was full. And for goodness sakes, why was it all so noisy? She would have thought there were have been some sort of volume limit, but of course not. There was no way she could study at this rate. She had to admit, she knew it was still early April, the beginning of the school year. But she still wanted to start off on the right foot in term of schooling. In order to keep her scholarship, she had to be at the top of her game in each subject. And she refused to take it easy simply because she made it in. But at this rate, she felt like she would have to save her studying for home.

After determining that these places wouldn't do for studying, she crossed the hall of the school, and then across the lobby. She had checked everywhere down here. So she may as well take a peek at the second floor. At the bottom of the stairs, she paused. Gripping the handrail, she stared up towards the top. She knew there was an elevator close by she could use instead. Big enough for a few wheelchairs or walkers. But the stairs were still here for any students who could or wanted to use them. Already feeling out of breath, Haruhi could feel her chest begging her to use the elevator. But, she didn't really feel right about it. She didn't NEED the elevator. She could climb the stairs. Just...just so long as she rested for a little bit afterward, that was all. She could do this.

Haruhi had been born with an undetected Ventricular Septal Defect. In other words, a hole in her heart. The doctors had detected a murmur in her heart when she was born, but it was passed off as an innocent heart murmur, common in newborns. But this murmur was one that continued on and on as she grew up. She was often short of breath and felt what she described as, 'pain in her heart' when she was too little to call it anything else. She grew slowly, and her physical activity was minimal due to the pain that came with it. She was supposed to be examined once again when she turned three, hoping to be given a diagnosis, or some sort of treatment. But, the family hit a large roadblock.

The death of Haruhi's mother. Having been a healthy and happy woman, Kotoko was expected to live a nice, long time. So when she was suddenly in a car accident and killed, both husband and daughter were shaken to the core. So for a little while, nothing progressed. Things were stagnant as they tried to deal with Kotoko's death. Haruhi's murmur was forgotten, and things couldn't get any worse.

Then, just as they were starting to finally recover, and accept what happened, was when the world came crashing down one last time. At the age of four, Haruhi woke up in the night, running a fever. Shortly after that, she stopped eating. She had night sweats and never left her bed. Then finally, she had such shortness of breath, that it felt like a horse was resting on her chest. Rushed to the hospital, she was diagnosed with Endocarditis, an infection of the heart from the previously untreated hole. That night, the small girl had nearly died. While she was grateful to have survived in the end, she was left with irreversible muscle damage to the heart and heart failure. She had to live with this now and was not expected to live much longer if it continued to get worse.

But here she was now, 15 years old and still alive. She would admit, it was still hard sometimes. Shortness of breath, frequent hospitalization, and the looming knowledge that a heart transplant was likely in the future. That is, if it were even slightly affordable. But as expected, it was simply too much money to even consider. So for now, she lived with her disability the best she was able to and made the best life she was able to for herself.

After taking a moment, Haruhi took a breath, and pushed her ways up the stairs, gripping tightly to the handrail to keep herself going. She did her best to rely on the handrail and press as much of her weight against it as she could so she could go up. Once she reached the landing, she took a moment to rest again, before pulling herself up to the second flight. Once she was finally at the top, she slightly sat on the top of the stairs and placed her head between her legs. Her head was starting to spin from the lack of oxygen and the effort it took to simply ascend the stairs. But she was okay. she knew she was okay. This didn't scare her anymore. It was simply the way it was.

She moved one of her shaky hands to remove her thick glasses and set them to the side so they did not slip off her face. Hugging her knees, Haruhi took some deep breaths through her mouth, and then out her nose, slowly and deeply. Just as she always did. She waited for her head to stop hurting and her breath to come normally. The words of her father rang in her head. If she couldn't catch her breath still after ten minutes or longer, or her chest hurt her so badly that she couldn't breathe at all, then find a nurse, call her father, or call the hospital. These were his words of 'wisdom' that seemed to be drilled into her head every morning before school. She knew he cared. But, she was a bit tired of hearing it every single morning.

Once she felt a bit more able, she slowly pulled herself to her feet and took one last breath, slipping her glasses back onto her face. Then, she continued her journey to find the proper study place. As she searched, there was one room that truly seemed to catch her attention. Music Room #3. Well...it wasn't the most ideal study room. But so long as it was quiet, it would be fine for her. She approached the door and gently pushed it open. "Pardon me..." she said, simply making sure that she truly as alone as she thought she was.

The moment she opened the door, she was bombarded with rose petals drifting with the small breeze that came when the door gave way. "Welcome~" came a chorus of voices, each of which belongs to a boy. Once the flowers had stopped coming, Haruhi was able to get a better look. Standing before her (Well, five standing, one sitting) was six, handsome boys, smiling patiently at her as they awaited her response. For a moment, Haruhi's mouth simply gapped like a fish as she tried to figure out what to say. Finally, she turned back to the door.

"Um, sorry to bother you," she said quickly. "Wrong room."

"Hold on a second, I know you!" one of the boys proclaimed. "She's in the same class as I am!" Haruhi turned to look over her shoulder, feeling a bit nervous. One of the orange haired twins was pointing at her, his brows raised.

"Oh? Is he an acquaintance of yours?" This time, the speaker was a second-year boy. His dark hair matched the color of the black dust mask he wore over his mouth and nose.

"I wouldn't really say that. He's a pretty quiet guy, really keeps to himself y' know? I don't really hear much from him."

"Mm. I'd think you'd be a bit more appreciative, being a classmate of the honor student," the taller boy joked with a shrug.

"Honor student! That's Haruhi?!" At the outburst from who she could only assume was the leader, Haruhi quickly turned back to the door, trying to open it back up. She could hear a soft rattling before she could feel someone coming closer. Finally braving a look over her shoulder, she came face to face with a blonde male with violet eyes. He was just about eye-level with her, as he sat in a wheelchair, propelling himself towards her. "Haruhi! It's a pleasure to welcome you to Ouran!" he said. "My name is Tamaki Suoh. But I'm quite sure you've already heard of me," he winked. "And it's an even bigger pleasure to welcome you to the Host Club~"

"I'm sorry but...the what?" Haruhi whimpered.

"The Host Club!" he repeated, placing an arm around her as his other arm swept over his group. "I'm so proud of you honor student! A commoner entering our secret treasure trove of wealthy students. And not only that but coming out as so openly gay, that he may enter the host club with no qualms!"

"Openly what?" Did Tamaki think she was a boy?!

"Now then, what's your type cutie?" Tamaki asked with a wink.

"Wait, hold on now! You've got it all wrong!" Haruhi insisted. "This was just a mistake, I'm only looking for somewhere to study!"

"Study huh? Why don't you do that at home?" Tamaki asked. Ugh.

"Look please just-!" She didn't get to finish the sentence, when a small student suddenly pounced on her, embracing her tightly.

"Wow, Haru-chan! So you're kinda like a superhero huh? Super smart and super brave too!"

"I...I wouldn't really say that" She took a brief moment to stare at these boys. Something was telling her that she would be seeing a lot of them from now on.

She knew the twins. Or one, of them anyways. Hikaoru Hitachiin. Haruhi hadn't had the chance to get to know him very well, because they didn't talk a lot. She wasn't aware he had a twin though. Glancing at his other twin, she could see the similarities quite vividly. The same orange hair and hazel eyes, the same height, weight, and facial structure. But there were a few big differences. Hikaoru had his uniform on, of course. But his twin was missing his uniform jacket, instead sporting the long-sleeved, white shirt that typically went underneath instead. He also had a tablet strapped to his waist, carrying it in the way one would carry a messenger bag, with a strap around his left shoulder, attached to a tablet. Haruhi wasn't positive as to why he had the tablet, but she could only assume it was because he was either unable to or barely able to speak. She didn't know.

The glasses boy was one that she didn't know either. Taller than the twins, intelligent eyes, and a piercing gaze that didn't leave Haruhi. The dust mask that covered his face made her think he could be immunocompromised in some way. She wasn't sure.

The tallest boy was also staring at her. Tan skin, dark hair, and a strong jaw. He seemed gentle, despite his tall stature. She would like to get to know him a bit better sometime. Finally, the small boy in her arms. He looked no older than 6. But since he was wearing the uniform, she could only assume he was a high schooler as well. He was smiling up at her without a care in the world, almost making her cringe. She set him down on the ground and sighed.

"Listen, I just wanted to find a place to study. I'm not interested in this Host Club, or whatever it is," she sighed.

"Oh come now, dear Haruhi! There's nothing to be ashamed of!" Tamaki insisted, pushing his chair a bit closer to her. "Our club is meant for everyone, male or female! We all want to make you feel welcomed! It would be an honor to have the honor student come to play with us~" He reached out, and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Mm, you seem a little pale. What say you? Would you like to rest, on my lap~?

Haruhi visibly shuddered and took a few steps back. "N-no no! I'd really rather not!" Taking a few steps too far, her back collided with a small pillar, which held a large, blue vase. Whirling around, she leaned forward and tried to grab the vase before it fell. But, with a loud shattering sound, it hit the ground and broke. She stared at the pieces for a moment, her body trembling, before slowly looking up at the others. They were watching her with surprise, with the glasses boy approaching and examining the pieces. "I uh...I'm sorry," Haruhi managed to say past her trembling lips.

"Well well Haruhi. Seems you've broken a rather expensive vase," the glasses boy sighed, making Haruhi stiffen up.

"I'll...I'll pay you back. I promise," Haruhi managed to say.

"How? It seems you couldn't even afford the uniform," Kyoya pointed out, raising a brow. Well then...

"Well Haruhi, not all hope is lost!" Tamaki chuckled. "Have you ever heard the saying, when in Rome, do as the Romans do?" he asked with a smirk. "If you can't pay with money, then you can simply pay with your body. Haruhi, until you can pay off your debt, you shall be the Host Club's dog~"

Dog...a dog? An errand boy. The Scape Goat. A...a servant basically.

Maybe this school wasn't the best investment after all.

This story has been in mind for quite a while, and I've finally decided to go forward with it. An AU with the Ouran High School being a school for students with special needs, both physical and mental. I'm doing every last bit of research that I can before moving forward, and I'm using the experiences of both myself and of others to help me write. Because I also have a disability. I am also majoring in Special and elementary education at my university. It will likely take some time before the next chapter comes out, so before then, I'd like to ask for help.

If you or someone else you know has a disability and would like to help, please send me a PM. I'd love to hear from you and hear about your experience so that I can make sure things are properly written.
Also, please understand this. I am not writing to romanticize or downplay disability or chronic illness. This is a story meant for two things. Representation, and understanding. In the media, disability and illness are underrepresented as I've come to realize. And when I see people write about the same types of experiences I've had or creating headcanons with a character they or I can relate to, it makes me happy. I write this story with the same intent. If you are reading this, and do not have a disability, or do not know anyone with one, then this is meant for you to walk a mile in their shoes, and see what's it's like for us.

I truly hope you enjoy this story, and if you have any ideas regarding plot or any form of constructive criticism, then please let me know. PMs and comments are greatly encouraged and appreciated. Thank you very much for reading~