Disclaimer: Ouran belongs to Bisco Hatori. I can only claim for the plotline part.

The Ghost of You

If only. Those must be the two saddest words in the world.

-- Mercedes Lackey --

Chapter 2

Haruhi had had enough listening to people telling her how her life was like a fairytale. She knew perfectly it was not. It would never be.

There was a big difference between fairytale and real life. In real life, nobody, not even her, had the privileges to turn back time to undone things that they had done no matter how much they wanted it or how much sacrifice they were willing to give to obtain it.

She also understood only too well that it was only in fairytales where every story would have a perfect happy ending. That no matter how difficult life was, everything would be alright in the end.

If only it was as simple as that.

If only.

She had repeated those two words much too often lately.

If only she knew that things would have turned up this way, she would have done many more things for him.

If only she was given more time, she would have kept her bluntness to herself; so that he would never be hurt because of her words.

And if only she could see him again, she would have told him how she truly felt about him. That she no longer needed his assurance of how he felt about her.

It was not important at all.

It probably never was since the very beginning.

She should have known it right from the start. Yet she only realised it when it was far too late.

Because no matter what the answers were, her feeling would remain the same: that she was in love with him. It was as simple as that.

And probably because of its simplicity, it was even more painful for her to remember some memories where trivial things seemed utterly important but now it no longer held any values.

--

There were far too many newspapers and tabloids scattered all over the living room of Haruhi's tiny apartment. They were telling the same stories of the engagement between Kyouya Ootori, the recently chosen heir of the Ootori Zaibatsu with the commoner girl named Haruhi Fujioka. Some even blatantly wrote that their wedding would be 'The Wedding of the Century,' with all the top-notch fashion designers, photographers and wedding planners were more than ready to provide their services without any fee for they knew that they would obtain worldwide publication by doing that.

Haruhi did not know when those reporters took her pictures, with or without Kyouya. Nonetheless, they had managed to make her felt exposed, fragile and oddly insecure. But it was nothing as compared to how she hated all the articles that kept on mentioning her as a modern Cinderella who was very lucky to live a fairytale life.

"Don't you feel at the very least disturbed to know that no newspaper or tabloid that doesn't have any pictures of us or our stories, Kyouya?" Haruhi grumbled as she slammed the tabloid she just read on the table with more force than needed which made some of Kyouya's documents flew to the opposite direction. She could feel her blood shot up by the time she read the articles inside that particular tabloid which gave its own version of speculations on how she managed to tie down one of the most eligible bachelors in Japan.

"Since when do you care about small and insignificant details, Haruhi?" asked Kyouya without looking at her. He still fully concentrated on typing some important memos for the next general meeting that would be conducted in couple of days later. It was quite hard for him to type with his legs crossed under the low dining table as Haruhi's living room was using tatami instead of the modern European style like his own house.

But lately they had been quarrelling more often than usual after the news about their engagement broke out, in which most of the times resulted in Haruhi avoiding him for days. Besides, considering Haruhi's pigheadedness, it was good enough if he could see her at all. Therefore, asking her to go to his mansion was definitely out of the question. It was lucky enough for him to have Ranka on his side, as most of the times he would be the one who helped him setting up coincidental meetings with his daughter just like that day.

Haruhi sighed. It was just like Kyouya to give her such reply. "It was not small and insignificant for me, Kyouya. You should have known me better that I do not like things to blow out of proportion like this."

Kyouya stopped typing at once. He knew he just gave Haruhi a very wrong answer at the worst timing possible. There was a second of hesitation before Kyouya looked at Haruhi with wariness etched on his perfect complexion. He was definitely not in the mood for another pointless row with her.

"How can you be so sure that you love me, Kyouya? What makes you think that way?" The question was straightforward and asked in a matter-of-factly tone, as though not more important than a newscaster reciting the weather forecast for the day.

Kyouya could not believe his ears. How she even dared to ask him such question when the whole world had witnessed how much she meant for him.

Kyouya pushed his glasses to the brink of his nose before he said, "Why do you have to ask that question now, Haruhi?"

Haruhi sighed and rubbed her temple in a vain attempt to chase away her migraine which seemed to worsen after reading all the news about her and all kinds of speculations that followed them.

"I am not so sure either why I have to fuss over such thing. But it really bugs me lately for not knowing the real answer of why you chose me instead of some girls who are more suitable for you." She said, finally decided to ask the question that was haunting her ever since she saw her pictures on the newspaper.

"How can you know that they are more suitable than you?" Kyouya raised his eyebrow. There was a hint of amusement mixed with hurt veiled carefully behind his onyx eyes.

"They are rich." Haruhi replied simply. Her big amber eyes were twinkling as she looked deeply at Kyouya's onyx ones.

Kyouya scowled. There were nobody else besides her ever dared to stared at him that way. She was probably the only girl who saw him as Kyouya instead of an Ootori. It amused him and at the same time annoying the hell out of him.

"Well, my riches are more than enough for the two of us."

It was probably due to her migraine that Haruhi missed the sarcasms in Kyouya's answer. Therefore, she merely pursed her lips as she spoke quietly, "They have more merits than me."

"Merits have many facets, Haruhi. Probably you just have not realised what your merits are for me yet," answered Kyouya patiently. Experiences had taught him the hard way that patience was the only solution to settle arguments with his fiancée.

"What is that? My plebeian background, I assume?" Haruhi blurted out without thinking. She had wanted to say something smarter than that but her brains failed her for once.

Haruhi could feel her heart beat strangely faster than usual as she heard Kyouya say, "I can always continue my live even without you, Haruhi. But one thing I can be sure of; I will never be the same Kyouya Ootori who can be contented with just being me. Is that answer good enough for you?"

Yet it took only a second for her to feel thoroughly like a moron as she heard Kyouya snickered.

"You're a jerk, Kyouya Ootori. How can you lie to me over such thing?" Haruhi frowned as she crossed her arms over her chest defensively. She was angry not to mention quite embarrassed to believe with what that guy had said just like some rabid fan girls that she knew the guy had all along.

There was a faint smirk on Kyouya's flawless face as he leaned forward as though he was trying to steal a kiss from her; probably to make up for his words. But Haruhi was too quick for him as she noticed what he was trying to do and avoided him at the right moment.

Kyouya only looked at Haruhi's back as the girl was pretending to be busily arranging the newspaper and tabloids scattered around them. There was a hint of a smile in his flawless face as he spoke quietly to himself, "If only it was a lie, Haruhi."

--

"Have you finished looking at me, Haruhi? Or should I give you more time to gawk? I must admit that I do not mind even the least." Kyouya's icy voice could be heard once again from the empty hallway. He looked effortlessly handsome like usual in his white attire as he gazed at the petite girl before him.

Haruhi felt her mouth suddenly dry. "Are you really... Kyouya?"

A faint smirk resurfaced from Kyouya's handsome figure. It was as though he was waiting for the girl to ask the question.

"I guess based on the way you gawked at me just now, your subconscious mind did not have any inclinations to think otherwise. But to make things simpler for you, yes, I am Kyouya."

"But how can it be? Are you really recovered, Kyouya?" Haruhi hesitated. It was really difficult for her to believe that the guy was really standing in front of her after what had happened at his ward earlier that afternoon.

Yet before Kyouya had the chance to say anything, Haruhi's thin lips curved into a smile as though a sudden understanding hit her and mused to herself, "It's amazing. I must tell everyone that you're finally awake. Fuyumi-Neechan has been crying for you a lot, I think it's better for me to call her now."

She tried to reach the doorknob of her small apartment and missed to see the sadness that suddenly resurfaced in those pair of onyx eyes before her after she completed her sentences.

"Ah... and Tamaki-Sempai. He will be ecstatic when he hears this news. You do not know how worried he was all the while you're in the hospital."

Kyouya frowned. It was difficult to comprehend his feelings at the moment. Yet upon hearing the name of his best friend's brought back the previous scene between him and Haruhi. And a twinge of unexplainable jealousy was bubbling inside him for some reasons.

"I am afraid things are not as simple as what you think, Haruhi." Kyouya's voice seemed colder than before when he spoke.

"What do you mean, Kyouya?"

Before Haruhi could hear her answer, the door of her apartment swung open.

"Haru-Chan, you're back. Did you meet Tamaki in the hospital? He went here earlier to look for you," Ranka said as he looked at his daughter's thin face in apparent worries.

Haruhi did not pay much attention to what her father said and merely replied distractedly, "Ah... Yes, I met him and he sent me home."

"That blonde guy can be useful at times like these. So where's he? I thought I've heard your voice so I came out to check," asked Ranka as he took a glance around the empty hallway. Yet there was no sign of that blonde guy anywhere near the vicinity.

"He went home straightaway after he dropped me off, Dad. Besides, that's not the point. Look who's just back," said Haruhi quickly, there was a bright smile etched on her beautiful face.

Ranka coughed as he almost forgot how to breathe upon looking at his daughter face. He had not seen Haruhi crack even the faintest smile ever since what had happened with Kyouya. Yet he was worried when he looked at the direction that Haruhi pointed out.

"Who are you talking about, Haruhi?" Ranka asked carefully as he studied the expression of his only daughter.

Haruhi stared at her father in disbelief. She could not believe that her father apparently still had the mood to joke around with her. Kyouya was standing so close with her, so it was impossible for him not to see that guy standing there.

"Of course it's Kyouya, Dad. Stop joking around. It's not funny anymore."

Ranka eyes widened as he heard what Haruhi just said. He felt a sinking feeling as he observed his daughter's pale face. She had changed too much in such short span of time and yet there was nothing he could do to return back things as they were used to be.

"Dad..."

Haruhi did not like the way her father stared at her after she finished her sentence. There was too much incomprehensible understanding in his eyes that made her feel like she was still a little girl.

Yet it was nothing compared to what she heard next from no other than Kyouya himself.

"Forget it, Haruhi. This is what I was trying to say to you earlier. Aside from you, nobody else is able to see me."

--

For a second Haruhi's mind went blank. She must have heard wrongly of what Kyouya just said. That was just not right. She could never accept such excuse. It was so absurd and yet she could feel the dreadful pang prickled her heart as she failed to think any single reasons why Kyouya had to lie to her.

"What do you mean nobody else can see you, Kyouya?" Haruhi asked, her voice sounded distant and her throat was burning. She bit her lower lip as though preventing herself from crying. She had felt her eyes grow hotter and she did not want to make it worse by breaking down in front of him. Her pride would never allow that to happen, especially now that he looked perfectly healthy and unharmed. It was plainly wrong.

Ranka tried to reach his daughter's shoulder only to be shoved off unconsciously by her. It seemed that Haruhi was not talking to him but to the open space next to her, in which she thought she was talking to Kyouya.

Tamaki had called him earlier and told him what had happened inside Akito's office along with the incident in Kyouya's room which followed soon after that. He would have thought that Tamaki was only exaggerating things as usual if only he did not see the way Haruhi behaved at the moment. She must have been deeply hurt that she chose to live in denial rather than admitting the fact that Kyouya was still in comatose instead.

"Haruhi..."

Something in Ranka's hoarse voice had brought back Haruhi's attention to him.

"Dad..." She did not have the chance to finish her sentence as Ranka pulled her closer and gave her a tight hug.

"Let's get inside quickly, Haruhi. It's freezing outside, I have made your favourite stew. Your body is so cold. You should eat now or you will catch cold again like last week."

Haruhi let herself being dragged by her father as she felt all her strength had been drained from her body.

Yet before the front door closed, from the corner of her eyes she could still see Kyouya stood still next to the railing of the hallway with an unreadable expression illustrated on his flawless face.

-- to be continued --

A/N: Sorry for the long update guys. I have been too busy writing 'Looking for the Perfect Nanny' and 'the Probability is Zero' that I do not have enough time to write a new chapter for this story. I can only promise you that I will write the next chapter faster than this if you still want to know how the story goes.

Which story of mine do you think I should update first?

I feel so productive I can do anything at the moment, LOL. Probably it's simply because I just tried the Detox Water Therapy earlier this evening with my best friend. It really works especially after attending a long not to mention dreadful training from 9am to 6pm today (and will continue tomorrow at the same timing).

Thanks a lot for your generous supports and reviews:

aquitaineg, Terry-May, Black Firelight, anonymous, cowgirlkitten2000, iruka92, Lady Of Light 4 the elves, Evenstar Phoenix, Dark Angel of Pain and Chaos, Sleeping Rain, Night Beauty, BlackBlaze, CyanideTearsx3, wiwionly, dawn, SnowCharms, pink will never be red, Kyou-Fan, DevilHeart13, Xan, Anne, Kalachuchi, obsessive me, take-alook-at-my-deadly-fangs, ColourfulKyouya-SenpaiMaybeNot, MischievousPuck.