(A/n: The song above is called Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift. I'll let you all know when to play the song. I hope you enjoy this chapter!)
{69; A Shattering Announcement and A Disassembled Club...}
Haruhi wheeled the serving trolley around the room, assisting anyone who craves for any desserts or tea. Concurrently, the Hitachiin twins, Mori, Honey, and Y/n stood together, conversing about Tamaki's absence while Kyoya sat at a small, circular table away from them with his fingers pressing down on certain keys on the keyboard of his laptop.
"Tama-Chan isn't coming back, is he?" Honey queried, sitting on a chair.
The auburn haired twins slid closer towards Honey. Hikaru had his arm positioned on top of his brother's head as he began to speak. "So does he really plan to spend-"
"-the entire fair escorting some stranger?" Kaoru finalized in a dull tone.
"Seems like it." Y/n presumed, crossing her arms over her chest as she stood behind Honey, her back leaning against the wall.
The five individuals recalled the moment when Tamaki accompanied the chestnut-brown haired female out of the central salon building due to the obligation that was forced upon him by his grandmother.
"Éclair, right? Or something like that." Hikaru mentioned briefly, no longer using his brother's head as an armrest.
"Who is she to him? That's the mystery." Kaoru wondered.
"I could tell you." A familiar voice appeared from behind the six high schoolers. The twins, Mori, Honey, and Y/n directed their attention to the voice and caught sight of Renge, who was clothed in a long, heavenly pink dress.
"Oh, Renge?" The twins mumbled in acknowledgment.
"Éclair Tonnerre, she's the youngest daughter of the renowned French Tonnerre family." Renge explained earnestly, unlike her usual loud and outspoken conduct. "They descend from royalty."
"Indeed, the family has quite a history." Kyoya confirmed and glanced at Renge from the corner of his eye. "Their wealth is something of a legend among financial heavyweights. In fact, just being associated with them makes you part of a very elite group. They also own Grand Tonnerre, a firm that's been buying up a lot of businesses in Japan lately. Of course that doesn't explain why Lady Éclair has come here to visit Tamaki."
Y/n displayed an impassive definition on her facial features, glancing down at her shoes as she contemplated the information that Kyoya has shared. 'Royalty, huh?' Y/n reflected the mighty word, suddenly noticing an entity from the corner of her eye, causing her to turn her attention towards the unannounced presence.
Standing a few steps away was Haruhi, who remained motionless with her back faced towards the group of high schoolers, undeniably overhearing Kyoya's insight.
The shoulder length, brown haired girl moderately frowned, being aware that something was bothering her sister. And she knew exactly what it was. 'Oh, Haruhi...'
- - - -
The Fujioka siblings were presently concluding their second formal attire for the day, making them the only ones existing in music room three's changing room.
The second outfit consisted of a matching white tuxedo with tailcoats and metal-grey dress pants. Just like the first apparel, Y/n wore a metal-grey skirt instead of the pants that her sister and the five other Host Club members were wearing.
Y/n straightened out her tailcoat before glancing over at Haruhi, who was securing her red tie while being absorbed in her thoughts.
Y/n transferred herself to stand in front of her sister, making the short haired female direct her gaze that was concentrated on the floor up to Y/n. "Are you okay? You seem a bit out of it." The wavy haired female denoted in a subdued tone.
Haruhi showed a small and short nod of her head. "Yeah, I'm fine." She said in a reserved tone of voice, displaying a false and unconvincing smile on her lips.
Y/n rolled her eyes and quietly scoffed. "Haruhi, you and I both know that something is bothering you. We're sisters--even though we don't really have the same characteristics, we're still twins. I won't pry on it, but if you need to clear your head and talk to someone you can always talk to me. I'll listen."
Haruhi glimpsed down for a moment before looking back up at her sister. This time she had a miniature, gentle smile on her lips, staring at Y/n appreciatively. "Thank you, Y/n." She expressed and her smile faltered. "But I'm fine."
Y/n closed her eyes, releasing a slight sigh of defeat. "Alright..."
Suddenly, the sound of the doors opening to music room three was perceived as well as a mature, feminine voice.
"In here?" The female enunciated her question.
"Well, it is a music room after all." A familiar male's voice sounded throughout the room.
The two sisters looked at each other with awareness. 'That voice...' Y/n's pondering trailed off as she and her sister slowly turned around to face the door. 'It's Tamaki-Senpai...'
At that moment, a mellow and graceful tune of music resonated in the main area of the territory. The enchanting melody emanated from a grand piano.
Y/n and Haruhi walked towards the doors of the changing room, the melody that was being represented on the instrument was something that the two sisters have heard more than once. The first time Y/n witnessed Tamaki play the piano was when he had an elementary school student, Shiro Takaoji, as his accomplice. And the second time was back at Karuizawa when Tamaki demonstrated the piano to endeavor a win for himself in the refreshing competition the hosts were maintaining.
Haruhi leaned her back against the door, making it let out a quiet noise, while Y/n stood in front of the door beside her sister.
"So this is the room where you and that precious little Host Club of yours hold court, is it?" The sophisticated, feminine voice sounded throughout the room once again after hearing the sudden noise that came from the door, soon being recognized as Éclair Tonnerre. "I must admit it was impressive seeing you all in action earlier. You must be very close."
"Naturally." Tamaki responded with a serene, closed eyed smile on his face as his fingers continued to press certain piano keys. "You know what they say, 'the family that plays together stays together'."
"Family? What a sentimental notion. I believe here in Japan they refer to that as 'playing house'." Éclair indicated, not earning a response from the blond haired male. Éclair took that as a sign to continue speaking. "You're so whimsical, Tamaki. I bet they fall all over themselves trying to keep up with you. Especially that one in the glasses. The one that got slapped by his father."
The tune that was coming from the piano came to a stop, meaning that what Éclair said has affected Tamaki.
Y/n glanced over at Haruhi, who returned the gesture, soon showing each other a knowing look as they nodded their heads in a wordless agreement.
Y/n took a hold of one of the door handles while Haruhi placed her hand on the other one. In unison, they firmly pushed their hands down, making the doors let out a click.
Éclair and Tamaki turned their attention to the sudden sound of the doors. "Who is it?" The chestnut-brown haired female demanded evenly.
Haruhi and Y/n steadily opened the doors, revealing themselves to the young woman sitting on the red couch and the president of the Host Club who was positioned on the piano stool.
"Oh, Haruhi, Y/n." Tamaki began, rising up from the piano bench. "What are you two doing?"
"We just came back to change outfits." Haruhi apprised as she and Y/n closed the doors after walking away from the doorway. "You were the one who wanted us to change costumes at least three times a day."
The siblings discontinued their movements as the wavy haired female directed her gaze to Tamaki's violet orbs, her eyebrows faintly furrowing. "Why aren't you wearing your second outfit for today? You should be doing this Ouran Fair ceremony with the members of your club."
Haruhi soundlessly accorded with her sister's statement. "Look, everyone's upset with you for disappearing on us like that." Haruhi mentioned, staring at the blond haired male with an unsparing gaze. "Like what Y/n said, you should be with your club." She finalized, making the targeted male flinch at the two sisters' glare, issuing an inaudible exclamation.
Éclair was resting her arms on the top portion of the backrest that was attached to the couch, vaguely turning her body to face the two sisters due to them being behind her as she inspected them through her opera binoculars. "My apologies, I'm afraid he belongs to me for the time being." She stated with a smirk on her lips, letting out a small mocking and satisfying chuckle while removing the binoculars from her eyes. "Forgive me for asking, but do I detect a hint of jealousy?"
Haruhi's eyes slightly widened as she became dumbfounded at the female's sneering question. Meanwhile, Y/n deadpanned as her eyebrow moderately twitched. 'No, not jealous. Just a bit annoyed that Tamaki-Senpai and other people, mostly the others, planned this whole event in the central salon building and he's not even there to carry out his part in this ceremony with his friends.' Y/n reckoned with an indistinct glower in her brown eyes.
A delightful blush appeared on his cheeks as his violet eyes exhibited naïvety, awing the Fujioka siblings. "Oh Haruhi, Y/n! So is it true?" He advanced closer to the couch as he spoke. "Is it true?" He halted his activity before squirming gleefully. "You're actually jealous?"
Éclair once again held her binoculars up to her eyes while witnessing Tamaki's excitement. She separated her opera glasses from her face as she expressed a definition of slight surprise.
The two sisters proceeded towards the doors of music room three, causing Haruhi to unlatch one of them as she and Y/n glanced back at the blond haired male with a deadpanned expression.
"No. I'm not jealous." Y/n claimed candidly, now exiting the room.
"Sorry, but no." Haruhi denied, holding up her arms in a shrug. "I guess we'll be leaving now. Some of us have work to do."
With that being said, Haruhi turned around and walked away from the doorway, strolling down the hallway of Ouran Academy with her sister beside her.
"Hey, wait a second! Haruhi!" Tamaki called out but the two girls ignored his plea, the door to the music room coming to a close on its own. It didn't seem like Tamaki was going to pursue after them, so they didn't look back.
The two brown haired sisters silently made their way back to the central salon building, opening the doors once they arrived. Once they entered the room, they began to walk down the small amount of steps as some individuals became wonderstruck at the sisters' appearance--however, Y/n and Haruhi didn't seem fazed as they maintained a blank expression on their faces.
"Ah!" Renge admired with her hands clasped together in front of her chest.
"How dashing!"
"Oh my!"
"Haru-Chan and Y/n-Chan look great!" Honey acclaimed in a buoyant demeanor.
"They do." Mori smiled faintly at the two girls once they finished walking down the stair steps.
Kyoya was settled at a table as he occupied himself with his laptop. He ceased his fingers from pressing down on any keys that were provided on the keyboard of his laptop, glancing at the two girls. But his brownish-grey eyes were mainly directed towards the shoulder length, brown haired female.
"Not bad." Hikaru commented once the two girls neared a table that he and his brother were situated at, making the Fujioka siblings pause their movements. "So where did the boss go?"
"He was looking forward to this the most." Kaoru asserted.
Haruhi looked at the twins with a deadpanned expression. "Our King is lounging in music room three. He's entertaining Lady Éclair." She conveyed while Y/n moved to stand near Hikaru and Kaoru.
The youngest Hitachiin brother smirked in amusement while Hikaru held a blunt countenance on his face. "Well, well, well." He mumbled.
"It sounds like someone's a little jealous." Kaoru teased, making Honey and Mori appear behind the auburn haired twins and Y/n and hum while nodding their head in accordance.
"Like I said." Haruhi began, turning herself away from the five individuals. "I'm not."
The twins, Honey, and Mori tilted their heads to the side. "Like you said?" They quizzed.
Haruhi angled her head downwards to an extent, glancing down at the floor. "Look I... I just think that he's being even more irresponsible than usual today. You said it yourself, Kyoya-Senpai. He's impulsive."
"True, he certainly is." Kyoya validated. "But in this instance he's obeying the whims of his grandmother."
Haruhi's eyes slightly widened, but her orbs soon relaxed once she thought back to when she first saw the encounter between Tamaki and his grandmother. She turned around to stare at the five individuals that were a few feet behind her. "Um, you know, now that I think about it, Tamaki-Senpai's grandmother seemed really cold towards him earlier. Is there some special reason for that?"
Kyoya glanced back at the short haired female from the corner of his eye while Mori and Honey looked at each other in a deliberated manner.
"Well, everyone else knows about it." Hikaru said, resting his arms on a table, moving his hand to cradle his head.
"See, Tamaki-Senpai is illegitimate." Kaoru stated with his chin positioned on the top of his hand.
Y/n and Haruhi's brown eyes enlarged at those words. Gradually, people began to evacuate the central building salon, enabling the Fujioka siblings to sit on the edge of the fountain as Mori, Honey, and the twins stood in front of them while Kyoya sat on a red couch.
"Twenty some-odd years ago, the Suoh Family patriarch died at a young age." Hikaru began to explain. "For political reasons, Chairman Yuzuru was rushed into a marriage at the behest of his mother to a woman of her choosing. That's how he became head of the family. But several years later, the chairman fell passionately in love with a beautiful young woman he met in Paris."
"Not long after, Tama-Chan was born." Honey further stated.
"The boss' grandmother vehemently objected. Because of her poor health, living in Japan proved too difficult for Senpai's mother, and so she raised him in France until he was fourteen." Kaoru carried on with the narrative. "His childhood seems to have been a happy one. But as time wore on, the family business on his mother's side went belly up, and when they were forced into debt-"
"-the boss' grandmother, worried about there being no heir to carry on the family name, came up with a proposal." Hikaru vocalized, notifying the two sisters of what the proposition was--the terms were that Tamaki would move to Japan with his grandmother without the blond haired male's mother coming along with them with the addition of not contacting one another. In return, Tamaki's mother would be provided with the healthcare and money she needs to live comfortably for the rest of her days.
"Wow." Y/n and Haruhi mumbled quietly, being rather speechless of the information.
"The current patriarch may be Chairman Yuzuru Suoh technically but for the time being, all of the family's assets remain under the control of Tamaki's grandmother." Kyoya added, the room now being completely empty except for the seven Host Club members. The blue sky was now a hue of orange due to the setting sun. "What's more with his mother's health being so frail. Tamaki understood the grim prospects facing her if she were left to live in debt. So..." Kyoya trailed off before continuing on with his words. "Not long afterward either out of anguish or just plain guilt of her having bartered her son away for financial security. Tamaki's mother left France in shame and went into hiding. Her current whereabouts are unknown. To this day he's never seen her again. Not once."
Y/n and Haruhi both looked down sorrowfully. Hearing the circumstances of how Tamaki is unable to ever see his mother again reminded the two Fujioka sisters of the day they had to say their final goodbyes to their mother.
And how they could never see her... Ever again.
•Flashback•
Two five year old girls stood on either side of their father, both of them holding his hand as the three individuals stood outside a sizable, black chapel.
The girl with straight, long, brown hair was wearing a black, long sleeved dress with white sleeve cuffs. The other young girl that had wavy brown hair that reached down to the middle of her back was also wearing a black dress but the hem of the attire had black lace.
"So. We won't get to see mommy anymore?" The young girl with straight hair asked her father.
Their father didn't respond--he couldn't. All he did was tighten his hold on his children's hand, not only consoling himself but his two young girls as well.
The girl with wavy hair stared up at the black building in front of them, her brown eyes beginning to gloss with her own tears. "Mommy..." She mumbled inaudibly, looking down at the ground while a tear escaped her eye and coursed down her cheek. 'Please don't leave us, mommy... Please.'
•End of Flashback•
Y/n gulped the small amount of saliva she had in her mouth, attempting to moisten her dry, clenching throat. 'Who would have ever thought that Tamaki-Senpai would go through such a thing. If I were him, I would've never forgiven my grandmother so easily. I probably never would have.' Y/n thought, soon noticing her sister's interconnected hands slightly tighten on her lap.
Y/n moved her hand slowly, placing it on Haruhi's interlocked hands.
"It's easy to feel sorry for him." Kyoya began, getting up from the couch he was previously sitting on with his hands in his pockets, making the two sisters turn their heads to look at him. "But the hardships that he endured as a child helped mold him into the person he is today. He'll be fine. The Host Club is his refuge, which means when all is said and done." The second year male turned around to face the two sisters, a small, genuine smile on his lips. "He still has us."
Y/n and Haruhi glanced at the four individuals that stood in front of them, one by one they saw that each of them had a soft smile on their faces. The brown haired siblings looked at one another, Haruhi untangling her hands and moving one of them to interlock her fingers with Y/n's. The two females smiled delicately at each other before displaying their small smiles to their companions.
The two sisters were now standing together with the twins, Honey, and Mori while Kyoya positioned himself beside the wavy haired female.
At that moment in time, the doors to the central salon building opened, granting a bright orange light to seep in from the gap. Everyone directed their attention towards the doorway, revealing Tamaki and Éclair standing at the top of the stairs.
Honey smiled radiantly at the sudden presence of the violet eyed male. "Tama-Chan!"
Tamaki stayed motionless beside the chestnut-brown haired female, his facial features showing no sign of emotion. "Everyone, I have an important announcement." He initiated in a solemn and composed tone of voice. "As of today, Lady Éclair Tonnerre and I are officially engaged. Furthermore, the Host Club will be permanently dissolved after the Ouran Fair. That is all."
Y/n's eyes widened, enduring a very familiar ache in her chest. 'W-What?' She thought in disbelief, moderately unsteady. 'After the fair, the club will be...disbanded forever?'
- - - -
(A/n: Play the song now! Sorry that you have to scroll all the way up to play the song..)
The sun was no longer present in the sky, being replaced by the full moon as well as the starless night as the Fujioka siblings consumed their dinner in their apartment, but it's not like they ate much of their meal anyway, not uttering a single word to one another.
Shortly after supper and cleaning the dishes, Haruhi dismissed herself to her and her sister's shared bedroom, deciding on going to bed.
Y/n respected her sister's choice and decided to give Haruhi some time alone--practically everyone needed some time to process the announcement Tamaki informed to them earlier that day.
The wavy haired female settled on taking a shower to try and distract herself from earlier this evening's events. But of course, most people's thoughts are more explicit while one's in the shower since they're alone and have no one around them to interrupt their cogitations. It's just them, their contemplations, and the warm water that's spraying out of the shower head.
- - - -
The shoulder length, brown haired girl stood below the shower head, looking down at her feet as she felt the warm water journey down her head to her bare body.
She was already done cleansing herself but she just stayed under the shower head, thinking back to Tamaki's pronouncement.
'Why? It can't end this way, right?'
Y/n felt her eyes burn as she sensed liquid seep out of her eyes slowly, the water from the shower and her own tears merging together.
"Why am I crying...?" Her voice cracked as she questioned herself quietly, moving away from the shower head while placing her hands over her eyes. "Stop crying, damn it." She gritted her teeth, leaning her back against the shower wall. "It can't really be coming to an end... It just can't."
No matter how many times she's wiped her eyes with her hands to stop the tears from pouring, they continued to overflow her brown orbs, flowing down her cheeks as if it were a waterfall.
The Host Club can't close down after the Ouran Fair. Tamaki's shattering news can't actually make the Host Club shatter apart, can it? Even though the club would disassemble, Y/n would continue to see everyone, right?
Everything has to come to an end eventually, so why? Why was Y/n crying like she was losing something forever? Like everyone she cared about was going to disappear from her life and abandon her? Why?
'That club... That club means so much to me. It helped Haruhi and I in ways that everything else wouldn't.' Y/n admitted inwardly as she proceeded to silently weep.
The Host Club was a place where unusual things occurred. That club was more than entertaining young women who have too much time on their hands; that club brought people--who were current members of the club--together and ultimately became a family. A family that Haruhi and Y/n are a part of.
Nevertheless, Y/n didn't feel this way at first due to her and her sister being forced into being members of the club for accidentally breaking a vase, but the club maintained this sort of comfort that always brought warmth to Y/n's heart.
The Host Club was safe and sound...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I'm not crying. You're crying.
I honestly felt sort of emotional while writing this chapter, starting from when I wrote the flashback of Haruhi and Y/n's mother's funeral all the way to the last sentence of the chapter.
My throat just tightened and felt dry. But damn, I bet that if I read the last part of the chapter with the music, I would've ended up sobbing for sure...
Thank you so much for reading!
"See you then!"
Posted on: July 13th, 2021.
Edited on: November 7th, 2021.