Like Tears In The Rain

CRASH. SMASH. CRACK. Once again, the twins were having a real/fake fight that, thankfully, wasn’t started by Haruhi this time, and throwing various pieces of furniture and expensive china everywhere to be broken and later cleaned up by the one who didn’t start their fight. All the guests had left, which only left doing some minimal clean-up and locking up for the day before they could all go home. But of course, just when she’s going to run out the door, the twidiots start getting into a fight, and the good manners instilled in her by her father forced her to try to clean some of it up.

Goddamn rich people.

Haruhi sighed, making her way to the broom closet while Huni, Mori, Tamaki, and Kyoya all watched in awe at the building mountain of broken and trashed items from around Music Room Number Three. Like a soldier, she stood at attention, waiting for them to snap out of it and start their twincest bullshit act so she could clean up quickly and go home. Dad had a rare day off today and wanted to watch American “chick flicks” and eat green tea ice cream. It was a tradition with them when they both had time to spend, and Haruhi hadn’t had a night like that in almost two months, so she was anxious to go home.

She still owed the Host Club about four million yen, give or take five hundred thousand. Kyoya gave her weekly updates on her slowly dwindling debt total, taking much too much personal satisfaction at her disheartened looks that one week’s worth of work only took off between twenty-five thousand and forty thousand yen. At this rate it would take four more years before she could pay it all off!

Tearing her gaze away from the twins who were getting too close to making out for her comfort, she began to sweep up the dust and debris, small grey clouds puffing up occasionally as she dumped the plaster from where a stool had managed to hit the ceiling and rip out a piece.

Somebody tapped her shoulder. Bracing herself, Haruhi looked over her shoulder and groaned at Tamaki’s incredulous look as she did actual manual labor. I swear, if anybody mentions the word commoner, there will be blood. And lots of it.

“Haruhi,” he squeaked, his face going ashen, his hands shaking. “What- what exactly are you doing?” He looked so lost, so confused, so... idiotic. Big change from every single day, it was not.

Haruhi turned back to her work, irritation already building. She really, really didn’t want to deal with Tamaki, the twins, or Kyoya at the moment, just finish and get out. “I’m cleaning up Kaoru and Hikaru’s mess. Again.”

Tamaki laughed, a high-pitched nervous sound that was grating on her ears. She could actually feel her blood pressure rising, her whole body tensing, and she wish she could just get the hell out of there and go home already. “But Haruhi, we have cleaning staff that will take care of that in the morning, there’s no need-”

“I feel that there is a need, so I’m doing it. Leave me alone,” she snapped, face still turned towards her work. Tamaki seemed momentarily taken aback by the coldness of her words, more used to sarcasm and dry wit than open hostility from his favorite cross-dresser. He perked up a little when the twins sashayed their way towards them, taking in the entire scene with a critical eye. They scratched their heads for a moment, watching her clean up their mess carefully and meticulously.

“Hey Boss, what’s she doing? I’ve only ever seen the maids do that before.” She was sure that was Kaoru since his voice was slightly higher. Her grip tightened on the dustpan, her bangs falling to shield her eyes.

“Well Hikaru... or Kaoru, whichever you are, I think that this is some kind of a commoner code of chivalry that dictates-”

“That’s ENOUGH!” Everyone froze, their eyes wide as Haruhi threw down the broom and dustpan, fisting her hands at her side, her whole body trembling. “I’m sick of everyday being belittled and called a commoner and treated like I’m some other kind of species! I can’t take it anymore!”

Mori, in a corner drinking a bottle of water before he and Huni went to martial arts training with Huni draped over his shoulders, turned sharply at Haruhi’s outcry. Huni, before chattering excitedly, now froze, sliding down Mori’s back in confusion. Kyoya glanced up from his calculator, expression blank as always when not in the presence of a customer.

Tamaki looked like he was close to tears. He reached out one elegant hand towards her. “But Haruhi-”

“Don’t ‘Haruhi’ me, Tamaki, you’re the worst of them!” She slapped his hand away, eyes flashing and cheeks red in rage. “Calling me your daughter, and having incestuous homosexual twins licking my face and Satan himself laughing because I can’t pay off my debt fast enough, I just can’t take it!” She stomped over to her bag, only to have a large foot step on the strap. Looking up, Kyoya bore his eyes into hers, glasses flashing dangerously.

“There is still the matter of your debt, Fujioka Haruhi. You owe more than half of the eight million yen still.” His voice was cold, a tone that no doubt put anyone whom it was directed at in their place. Anyone, that is, except Haruhi. She refused to be cowed by anyone anymore.

Narrowing her eyes up at him, she yanked her bag, causing him to stumble slightly and widen his eyes in disbelief. “I’ll find some other way, anything has to be better than this.” She spat, standing up and quickly striding to the door, only to have her way blocked again by a large body carrying a small boy, who was clutching his stuffed rabbit and already had big fat tears rolling down his cheeks.

“B-b-but Haruhi, you don’t r-r-really want to l-l-leave, do you?” Huni’s big brown eyes tore at her heartstrings. Honestly, not everyone here was so bad, but enough was enough. She was tired of feeling like a nobody by these boys, like her “ways of poverty” were an entirely new culture they had to learn. Her homework was suffering, she couldn’t spend as much time with her dad when she had so little already, and she could never just go out on her own without being tailed and then acting as the tour guide to the world of commoners. Enough was enough.

“I have to go, Huni. I’m sorry.” Amazingly enough, she managed to push past the brick wall that was Mori and ran out the double doors, sprinting down the hall and taking the staircase two steps at a time down. She didn’t even realize she was crying until she felt the cold air of the season hit her wet cheeks.

###

Tamaki stared at the door, still partially open from Haruhi’s escape. His mind was trying to process all that had just transpired. Had they all really made Haruhi feel like such an outsider? Had they- did he make her feel like less than all she really was, less than all the great things that made Haruhi, Haruhi? If truth be told, he didn’t believe that any of them deserved her, not even himself in his most egotistical moments. He envied her for being able to seamlessly go from their high society club to her simple but warm life with her father. He envied her for having the love of her family, when their elegant world was so cold and empty, a void that no amount of rich foods or mansions could fill. She mentioned her cousin coming in for a visit soon. Idly he wondered if she ever mentioned him or the Club to this cousin at all.

The twins quickly broke him out of his shocked reverie, speaking again in unison even though they’d had a break from that after Haruhi proved she could tell them apart. “What are we gonna do, Boss??? How are we gonna get her back??? How do we get her to forgive us?!?!?!” Their arms flailed and they ran in circles about the room, crying and moaning about their poor, long lost Haruhi. Huni was crying as well, clutching Usa-chan while on the floor, legs splayed out like a small child having a tantrum, which in essence, he was. Mori displayed no emotion, leaning against the doorjamb of the entrance doors, arms crossed over his expansive chest.

“Actually, I’m quite interested as well in how you plan to get her back,” Kyoya closed his laptop with a definitive snap, eyes darting over to their fearless leader. “It is, after all, your fault that she ran out of here. How big of an idiot are you? She’s made it very clear that she is uncomfortable, angry even, at being referred to as a ‘commoner’.” His eyes narrowed, showing Tamaki his true displeasure over the situation.

Tamaki took offense to this. “I’m not the only one who did it! Probably the only one who didn’t talk about commoners was Mori, but he doesn’t talk at all!”

“She seemed in a hurry to get out before the twins fought,” Mori said quietly, his eyes peering out the expansive windows. It had grown dark rather quickly, and torrents of rain fell from the sky. All the boys wondered if maybe God was crying because they disappointed Him, by hurting one of their truest friends.

Mori’s words struck a chord in the back of Kyoya’s mind. “Ryoji did mention last week he had today off from his place of employment,” he placed a finger against his chin in pensive thought. “I suppose she was trying to get home to spend time with him, and the antics of they-who-should-not-be-allowed-to-speak set her back.” Kaoru and Hikaru had the good sense to look ashamed, and not the normal fake shame, but a good, quality shame.

“And I made her play fort with me and Usa-chan,” Huni said quietly, “She was really tense and-”

CRASH. A huge bolt of lightning struck outside, startling all the boys. As the light began to fade, in that one millisecond, every boy in that room had the exact same thought.

It’s a lightning storm and Haruhi’s out in it.

Hikaru was the first to react, bolting out the doors and down the stairs. Tamaki made to follow, but Kyoya grabbed his arm and shook his head. “She’s really angry at you right now, Tamaki. Hikaru will make sure she gets home, he’ll call when he finds her.” Tamaki hesitated but nodded in agreement, blue eyes dark and troubled.

Mori, now standing in front of the windows, watched another flash of lightning strike the city.

Something is not right.

###

Haruhi tried to scream when another lightning bolt hit, but the thick meaty hand clasped around her throat was barely letting any air through. She shook violently when another flash of lightning lit up the faces of the gang in the alley, dirty and eyes cold.

She had been running, blinded by tears so that when she felt calmer she realized she was in a completely unknown neighborhood, nothing was familiar. She wandered the streets, clutching her bag, until the rain began to fall in heavy, freezing sheets. She ran, trying to find cover, when the first lightning struck only a few miles away, making her trip and scream. Her ankle was twisted badly, she could feel it trying to swell, but she struggled to her feet and kept hobbling, trying to find some shelter. It was then that a large, dirty hand covered her mouth and dragged her into the alley. Before she could even look at them, she was hit hard in the eye and stomach, making her wheeze and gasp as her breath left her and pain settled in its wake.

Now she had been slammed into a brick wall, her throat almost completely closed as the one who appeared to be the leader of the mangy gang snarled at her. “You go to that fancy-fuckin’ school, right? You must have some cash on you, so where is it?”

“I d-don’t have-” Haruhi tried to gasp, but the thug tightened his grip, closing off her throat completely.

“Boss, he ain’t got nuthin’ in his bag except a few hundred yen,” one of the lackeys whined, “What kind of rich-ass prep bastard is he?”

“Well, he may not have much on him, but I bet mommy and daddy would pay a fat wad o’ cash to get his pretty little head back.” He leered at her, giving her a disgusted once-over. “You are a pretty boy, ain’t ya? Probably a fuckin’ faggot, too.”

“Boss, you gonna wanna see this.” the hand left Haruhi’s throat, dropping her onto the cold, freezing cement. She clutched the bruised skin, taking in short, frantic gulps of air. She’d been only moments away from passing out from oxygen deprivation. Her bruised eye was beginning to swell, she could feel it, it would only be a matter of time before it closed.

“A fuckin’ scholarship student?! This little bastard is worthless? Ah, hell naw,” the leader bellowed, snatching up Haruhi and throwing her violently onto a pile of metal at the dead end of the alley. A large sharp piece sank into her shoulder blade, making her scream and blood soak the back of her school jacket. She tried to pull herself off the metal but it only hurt more, making her gasp and tears come to her eyes. One of the thugs threw her bag at her feet, and she slowly raised her gaze to that of her tormentor.

He smirked, what few teeth he had left flashing dangerously. He pulled something out of his pocket and raised it, making her tremble when a flash of lightning revealed it as a pistol. “Well, if we ain’t gonna get no money for this little pig, let’s put ‘im down,” he cocked the gun, making Haruhi try to weakly pull herself away, her good eye wide with terror. “Night, night, faggot.”

###

Hikaru managed to track down Haruhi after showing her picture to some shopkeepers who pointed him to a lower income neighborhood, a good mile from where Haruhi lived. He was confused why she’d come here, as far as he knew she’d never been here before. He kept calling her name, trying to yell above the booming of thunder. He was about to call Kyoya to try to track her down with the GPS on the cell phone they forced on her when he heard it.

BANG.

It was unmistakable, a gunshot, and very close by. Hikaru’s heart was in his mouth as he raced towards the sound, a dark alley next to a sleazy looking bar. He heard some scuffling but the alley was empty when he entered it. It was dark, incredibly so, and he was about to leave after not seeing anything out of the ordinary when another flash of lightning made something catch his eye near his foot, something dark. He almost retched when he finally realized what it was.

He was standing in a pool of blood, his sneaker splattered with it. It came from a stream that led farther back into the alley. He pulled out his cell phone, turning on it’s flashlight mode and ran towards the end of the alley near a large pile of metal. And there she was, Haruhi, a bullet wound just under her right breast, blood oozing out, staining her crisp blazer. Hikaru tried to pick her up but when she seemed to be stuck on something he looked behind her and had to turn quickly and force down the vomit rising in his throat. It was there, on the bottom of her left shoulder, impaled a good five or six inches on some rusted metal that looked like it came from a construction site, more blood pooling under her.

Hikaru pulled out his phone, hands shaking so hard he almost couldn’t flip it open, and frantically dialed for an ambulance.

“Emergency services, what’s your emergency?” A woman’s voice rang out calmly on the receiver, giving Hikaru a moment of surrealism before he shook his head and focused.

“My classmate, she’s been shot and- and they hit her, and it looks like they threw her really hard into some kind of metal spike, it’s in her back, I can’t,” he choked on a sob, gasping for the breath to continue, “I can’t get her off it.”

“Ok son, please take a breath and tell me what the nearest street sign says.”

“I can’t leave her!”

“We can’t get there if we don’t know where you are.”

Hikaru clambered to his feet and with a quick glance at the bleeding girl, ran out the alley and down the street, slipping on a patch of sleet. He found an intersection only fifty yards from where they were, at Daisuke and 8th St, between Hatsunoma’s Pool Hall and Jun’s Laundromat.

“Ok, the ambulance will be there in five minutes, has she been sitting in the rain?”

“Yeah- yeah, I think so,” Hikaru panted, sprinting right back to Haruhi’s side. He pulled off his jacket as instructed and used it to put pressure on the bullet hole, hoping desperately it would give her just a few more minutes so the ambulance would come. It was then he noticed that her skin was pale, and her lips turning a slight shade of blue. He gasped.

“Her lips are blue!”

“Is her skin pale?”

“Really pale, I’ve never seen her like this!”

“Ok, I need you to listen to me: put two fingers against the side of her neck, tell me if her heartbeat is strong or if it’s slowing, check it against yours if you need to.”

Hikaru did as instructed, wincing when he touched her ice-cold skin. “Her skin’s freezing, but there’s a pulse, it’s really slow though, hard to find.”

“Ok Hikaru, the ambulance is almost there, just hang on for another minute, ok?”

Hikaru let the tears fall, one hand clutching the phone in a shaky grip. The operator continued to coach him, keeping him focused on trying to stop the bleeding he could get to. Finally the ambulance arrived, backing into the alley until they were ten feet from the wounded girl. The two paramedics jumped out and gently coaxed Hikaru away, examining the metal imbedded in Haruhi’s back.

“Ok, it didn’t hit anything vital or her spinal cord, so no worries about paralysis,” the female paramedic assured him, “We can go ahead and pull her off this thing, Hiro.”

The man nodded, kneeling down behind Haruhi, one hand braced on her shoulder while the woman held her shoulders so she wouldn’t move around and hurt herself. In one quick move, the male paramedic pulled the metal out while the woman pulled Haruhi forward. She screamed, then blacked out.

“Oh God, Haruhi!” Hikaru tried to run back to her side but the man kept him back.

“Just stay back for a minute kid, ok? She’s fine, she’s alive and breathing, it was too much for her. Jun, let’s get her inside,” the two transferred Haruhi onto a stretcher and lifted her into the back, where another woman began inserting IV needles and taking her blood pressure. Hiro ushered a shaking Hikaru inside, advising him to call someone close to the girl. He didn’t know the number to Haruhi’s father, but Kyoya did.

Kyoya picked up on the first ring. “So you found her? I assume you-”

“She was shot!” Hikaru choked out, starting when the paramedic put her hand on his arm and gently advised him to stay calm. “She’s all beat up and bruised and she was- she was stuck on a piece of metal, it was in her back, I couldn’t-” Hikaru choked, tears mixing with the rainwater dripping down his face, “It wouldn’t come out.”

There was a long pause. Then, “I’ll get the ambulance to our hospital, we’ll be there right after you, don’t leave her side for a second!” Click.

Hikaru closed the phone slowly, lifting his bloodshot eyes. Haruhi was soaking wet, incredibly pale, and even more fragile looking than before. The gauze was already soaked through, deep red saturating the fibers. He clutched her hand, his whole body shaking as he watched her with deep desperation.

Please don’t die, Haruhi.

###

Kyoya snapped his phone shut, trying not to sink into a shocked daze and grabbed his blazer, walking back into the music room. Four sets of eyes looked at him questioningly, then with panic when they saw his blank expression. “Apparently someone attacked her, she was bruised badly around her eye and throat, thrown into a pile of garbage where a spike drove into her back, and then shot,” he whispered, throwing on his blazer. No one spoke, not one word. “I’m sending them to my family’s hospital, we’ll call Ryoji on the way. I would suggest-” he choked suddenly, his shoulders sagging. “I would suggest you call your families, we’ll be at the hospital for a while.”

Please don’t die, Haruhi.

###

Two police cars pulled up to the curb of the Ootori Medical Group Private Hospital. In a matter of moments all five boys were running to the front desk on the first floor, dripping wet and panting. The nurse blinked in surprise at the sudden increase of water until she recognized Kyoya and stood up like a soldier.

“Ootori-san, please forgive me, I was-”

“Fujioka Haruhi, just came in an ambulance, where is she?” He panted, a drop of water falling off his nose to the counter. The nurse typed frantically, her brown eyes scanning the screen quickly.

“Fujioka Haruhi is in emergency care, the young man that was with her is in the waiting room-”

“We need to see her, now!” Tamaki’s voice was harsh, ragged, nothing like his usual sweet and silky self. He hadn’t spoken since Kyoya told them what happened, none of them had. His eyes weren’t his signature romantic sky blue, now they were a cold steel grey, intense and unyielding. The nurse was startled for a moment, but then gave them a sad, warm smile.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, sir.”

“I don’t care what you can do, I’m not asking!” Tamaki slammed his fist

“Sir, please, I understand how-”

“You don’t understand shit!” Tamaki growled, making to storm away before someone grabbed his arm. He looked behind him and glared down at the same nurse.

“I understand more than you’ll ever know,” she said softly, and in her soft brown eyes, Tamaki could see the pain that only came with losing a loved one. She did understand the terror running through him right now, flowing in all their veins, and she had seen the worst possible outcome. He pulled his arm away slowly, all intent to barge in the operating room gone. “But please listen. If you all are there, hovering, yelling, demanding, the doctors can’t do their job. They need to focus all their concentration on her. Your friend was becoming hypothermic when she came here, her pulse dangerously low, and she lost a lot of blood from the gunshot wound and the puncture in her back, not to mention the beating and strangulation she endured. She is in critical condition, all the best doctors available are in that room right now. If you really want to help, you can give blood, she’s going to need a lot of it. Who here is B negative?” Huni and Kaoru raised their hands. “Ok, you two go to the labs, I think your twin is in there giving some as well. Call your parents, get some dry clothes, and I’ll bring you all some coffee.” She patted Tamaki’s arm, giving him another warm smile. “Not even the best medicine is effective unless there are people behind you, fighting with you. Being here is the best thing you all can do. I’ll go get you some towels,” she pointed the donors to the lab and the others to the waiting room, watching them slump and trudge off in a daze. Her smile faltered as she remembered herself not that long ago, feeling the same way, watching her sister covered in blood being wheeled to the operating room. She remembered the nine hours of terror she and her mother endured, and the pain of her soul ripping when the doctor told them she had hemorrhaged to death.

Please don’t make these boys suffer like I did. They’re all so young... so young.

A/N: And here’s chapter 1 of a story I’ve been planning for months! The next chapter will introduce a new and vital character to the story. Review if you liked it, loved it, or hated it, just review!