Chapter Text
Haruhi almost doesn't believe Tamaki when he says he didn't know it would rain.
Almost, because he howls it in that dramatic way of his and she's still getting used to the knowledge that this is real and not just an act to try and manipulate her emotions. He cries in the corner for ten minutes, while everyone else decides they don't care. All it means is that they have the carnival to themselves. Plus, it's only drizzling.
So they have their chauffeurs break out the raincoats (and of course, they carry several changes of clothes just in case), toss extras at Tamaki and Haruhi, and break off in different directions. Haruhi last sees Hikaru and Kaoru approaching the Ferris Wheel and Hunny-senpai dragging Mori-senpai over to some games, pointing at the wall of stuffed animal prizes. Kyoya sits at a table near the refreshment booth. He's not that interested in carnivals.
This leaves her alone with Tamaki sniffling like the child she often thinks he's never stopped being.
"Come on, Senpai," she says. "I told you, it's okay. I'm not angry. Let's just go and have a good time, all right?"
It's incredible how one innocuous statement can switch him from one extreme to another. He springs to his feet and grabs her in a spine-crushing hug. Haruhi kicks her feet out, but can't work herself free, even as Tamaki points dramatically at the carnival grounds.
"You're absolutely right, Haruhi! We're here for a day of fun and nothing will get in our way!"
Their first stop is the concession stand, much to Haruhi's lack of surprise. She's even less amazed when her over-excited Senpai orders two of everything on the menu. She has to change the order when Tamaki's not looking, requesting only a milkshake for herself and taking a few things off his order as well so he doesn't spend the night with his head in the toilet.
Tamaki doesn't notice when the food is ready. He eats what he has without complaint, gushing about how wonderful it is and proclaiming the workers to be the absolute best chefs in the world. Haruhi can only roll her eyes and sip on her shake, a smile on her lips.
The rest of the Host Club wanders over covered in copious amounts of classic carnival gear. Hunny-senpai sports a red balloon hat, the head of which looks sort of like a giraffe. He has cotton candy in one hand and a disposable ramen bowl in the other. Mori-senpai's arms are overloaded with his and Hunny's hard-earned prizes. A giant stuffed tiger obstructs his face from view, yet he moves with all the grace and ease of the martial arts master he is.
Hikaru and Kaoru have had their faces painted, a cat and a dog respectively. They take great pleasure in sneaking up on Tamaki and meowing and barking in his ear. Tamaki jumps ten feet in the air, half-eaten riceballs flying everywhere as the twins break down laughing. Kyoya is the only one with no food or souvenirs, but Haruhi expected no less. At the very least, he doesn't seem as bored as when they first arrived, and when he goes to break up the impending fight, he does so with minimal annoyance.
"Come on guys, don't fight," Hunny-senpai says brightly, before inserting half the remaining cotton candy into his mouth. "Let's just have fun!"
"This is fun," the twins respond over Tamaki's enraged screams.
"THOSE TWINS HAVE GONE FAR ENOUGH!"
Kyoya is unmoved. "Really? I can think of a few worse things than spilled commoner food. You're overreacting, Tamaki."
"I am not!" Tamaki says indignantly. "How can you say that when I am only trying to appreciate the lives of Haruhi's people."
"My people?" Haruhi wonders out loud.
Kyoya sighs. "I suppose we can stay an extra hour for dinner."
It has the desired effect. In an instant, Tamaki has regained his color and is crushing Kyoya in a hug that leaves him gasping.
"How does he get so excited over the simplest stuff," Hikaru says.
"That's the Boss for you," Kaoru answers.
Haruhi tunes them out as they continue to whisper. She takes a moment to watch her friends, Tamaki has just started an argument with Hunny-senpai over what ride they should try next. Tamaki starts firm about the roller coaster, but then Hunny-senpai hardens his eyes and his stance. He probably won't attack Tamaki over the merry-go-round, but given his level of skill, Haruhi can't blame Tamaki for sweating.
"How about we get a picture?" she asks.
Everyone goes quiet, considering the idea. Then Hikaru says, "Sure, sounds good to me."
"If it doesn't take too long," Kyoya says.
"Come on, Takashi!" Hunny-senpai is already pulling his cousin to the photo booth. "Come on, everyone, we're getting our picture taken!"
The rest of the group catches up quickly. Surprisingly, it's Tamaki and Haruhi taking up the rear. With even Kyoya more than five feet ahead of them, the two walk side by side, and Haruhi can't help but notice the contagious smile on her upperclassmen's face.
"I knew today would be a wonderful day," Tamaki says, inhaling the wet, dewy air through his nose. "What about you, Haruhi?"
"Well, it has been a lot of fun," she says. "Maybe we can do it again next weekend."
"Of course we will!" Tamaki cries. "Every single weekend from now on until the end of graduation!"
He's so excited, that Haruhi decides not to remind him that the carnival will be gone by the end of the month.
They arrive just as Kyoya is paying the photographer for a set of group photos. The twins stand on one side next to a bench, and Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai take the other side. Kyoya slots himself between Mori and Hikaru, leaving Tamaki and Haruhi to find a place in the foreground.
Mori-senpai pulls Hunny-senpai onto his shoulders and the twins each have one hand on Haruhi's back. Tamaki glares at them but doesn't say anything. No one moves a muscle when the photographer calls for them to look at the camera. They must look rather close-knit, or else just kind of weird.
As the photographer prepares the shot, Tamaki shifts his weight to his left leg, and his hand brushes Haruhi's. She freezes up, her heart beating out a heavy thump she can't explain. She casts a glance at Tamaki, but he doesn't seem to notice. She looks back at the lens, and feels the warm hands on her shoulder, hears the sound of Hunny's laughter and Mori's breathing, sees Kyoya out the corner of her eye looking strangely at peace, feels a tingling in her fingers where Tamaki had touched them. A wish blooms in her chest that he might do it again, and with it comes a single, undeniable truth.
There is no place in the world Haruhi would rather be than right here.
She smiles.
CLICK
It's quiet.
Everything is quiet tonight.
Quiet and calm exactly the way she likes it.
With her hand absently running down cold, sleek metal, and her back pressed against the splintering wall, she's about as comfortable as possible and alert enough to see that nothing and no one is coming.
She runs her fingers down her old shotgun. It is nice to hold on to, but not so fun to use. She remembers the first day she got it. It was scary, but also kind of invigorating. She finally had a chance to fight back, to feel strong. She could even learn to hunt. None of those things had been kept from her, even when her father tried to object. She had to learn because she was an adult now and she wouldn't always have their friends in the building to protect her.
The world they lived in… wasn't the same as the one she grew up with. Not by a long shot.
And when things change so drastically, so quickly, even Haruhi Fujioka knows that it's time to get off your ass and adjust.
So that's what she did.
"Haruhi?"
She doesn't jump at the voice. She's been expecting him for ten minutes, and as exhausted as he looks, she can't help a twinge of annoyance that he's so late.
"Evening, Fujiwa-san," she says, standing.
He smiles. "I think you mean good morning."
He nods at the rising sun. It bathes the grass in a coat of burnt orange. Has it been there all this time? Tracking time is not an easy task these days, but Haruhi was pretty sure she could mark the hours.
"Oh, I guess so," she says, licking her lips. "How's Mariko? Any change?"
He sighs, and Haruhi hopes he isn't going to shut her out. She cares for Mariko's health as much as anyone else in the Building, even though they have never spent much time together. Mariko has always been sickly, even before all of this. How she survived The End is anyone's guess. A decade later, she's still hanging on, made of tougher stuff than anyone gave her credit for.
This last week, though, she'd taken a turn for the worse. The Building was up in arms doing everything they could to help her, which wasn't much. With no doctors around aside from a former RN, Mariko-san had been in more pain than ever before. It makes Haruhi want to cry for the woman and her husband.
"She said she felt better today, but…" Fujiwa's shoulders shake. "She tends to lie about her pain because she thinks she's bothering people. I wish she would just be honest with me."
A muffled sob escapes him. It's the only one Haruhi hears, but she knows that inside, he's screaming.
"Listen," she says, touching his arm. "I know the last few days have been rough on you. If you don't think you can perform lookout duties, I don't mind staying a while longer."
"Oh no," he says, snapping to attention. "No, I couldn't do that to you, Haruhi. You've been out here for hours, I'm surprised you're not dead on your feet."
'I am,' she thinks.
"If you're sure," she says. "Because if you're not-"
"Go Haruhi." His tone leaves no room for argument. He even guides her to the back door. "Go and sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
As she steps over the threshold, Haruhi turns her head. "It is morning."
Fujiwa doesn't laugh. He doesn't do anything but stare at the sky, but Haruhi hopes her attempt at raising his spirits reminds him that he's not alone. No matter what happened to Mariko, he'll always have a family.
Tiptoeing down the hall, Haruhi makes it to her door without waking anyone up. She's about to push it open when she freezes. Like someone had come up behind her and smacked her over the head with a board. Maybe it was what she said to Fujawa, or maybe it was just the lack of sleep.
Whatever the case, she sees them again. Faces in her mind's eye. Faces she hadn't seen since that horrible day when the world collapsed.
In the aftermath of The End, no one knew what had happened. It had been quick and it had been painful. A thousand causes converging at once and plunging the world into chaos. As the years went by, they all stopped thinking about it. It no longer mattered how they lost the world. The important thing now was today and tomorrow.
Unless you were Haruhi, and then there were other important things. Six important things.
It had been ten years since Haruhi Fujioka last saw the members of the Host Club. She had lost them that day and never found them again. One by one they disappeared before her eyes, lost in a crowd of rioters who had no care for anything but their safety. The last to go was Tamaki, his violet eyes filled with unspeakable fear. His mouth an 'O' as they were pulled apart, locked in a scream she never heard but couldn't forget.
Her door slides open, and Haruhi steps on three creaky floorboards in a row on the way to her bed. The walls in her cramped room are bare and murky brown. A small oil lamp sits on the coffee table. She rarely uses it unless it's an emergency. The moon and the stars provide more than enough light for her to find her bed.
Dropping her shotgun by the dresser, she pulls off her tattered brown jacket and tosses it on the floor. She kicks off her boots, leaving her clothed in form-fitting black pants and a musty tank top. She runs a hand through her mop of brown hair. She keeps it short so it doesn't get in her way when she's working or at target practice. Though she won't admit it out loud, Haruhi also keeps it as a reminder.
When she looks in the mirror, she sees a face aged ten years. Her features are mature, her eyes darker with bags underneath. She has never been large or curvy, but it's noticeable how skinny she is. Her muscles lean, but defined from tireless work. With a heavy sigh, she collapses on the bed. The mattress is lumpy in places, but ultimately comfortable; it's her pillows that are the problem. After using them for so long, they've gone flat and saggy. Haruhi doesn't bother trying to fluff them anymore. It's pointless and just wastes time she could be spending sleeping.
As she stares at the wall, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm, Haruhi's mind wanders. She does this every night, and she always finds herself back in the same place. With Hikaru and Kaoru and Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai and Kyoya-Senpai and Tamaki-senpai. She sees herself standing for that photo at the carnival with all their goofy faces around her. She feels the smile on her face. The contentment she had carried in her heart. If only she'd known back then what would happen in just a few short months.
That soon, she would be separated from them, with no idea if they were alive or dead. That this question would have her staying up at all hours of the night rationalizing their survival or trying to accept their possible deaths. That the lack of answers would lead to tears running down her cheeks until the pain finally lulled her to sleep.
Haruhi closes her bone-dry eyes tight. She sees them again, their terrified faces that would be her last impression of them. Right before they disappeared into the abyss.
First Kaoru, then Hikaru, then Hunny and Mori, then Kyoya, and when it was down to just her and Tamaki…
'Hold on to me, hold on tight!'
"I can't… I just-'
'Haruhi!'
'Senpai! Where are you? SENPAI?'
Her eyes snap open, a gasp on her tongue.
Cold moisture runs down her cheeks.
It's going to be one of those nights.