Okay! I've done it! Here is the rewritten first chapter and I'm working on the second right now. They're both going to be a bit longer and more descriptive, but let me know if I changed anything too much. I tried to keep Kohaku in character, so hopefully it works out okay ^^

Man, my mom would seriously lecture me if she knew I was here. I couldn't help but think this as I stood in line at the bookstore. I could barely believe what I was doing myself! I mean, here I am going on twenty years old and I'm standing in line waiting to pay for manga of all things. My mother has told me a thousand times how I was too old for these 'backward books', but I couldn't help it! I've been hooked on them ever since our TV company gifted us with the channel Funimation and an anime called Ouran High School Host Club was on. I'd completely fallen in love with the show and every character had my eyes transfixed to the screen no matter how many times I'd seen it. Even now, I had been sitting in an hour-long line waiting to pay for the stack of their books I had in my arms. Of course, I wouldn't have to wait so long if my boss had just given me my paycheck sooner. Dang closeout sale.

"Next."

Stepping up to the counter, I paid with a neutral expression on my face despite the looks the cashier was giving me. Apparently, books with the words 'Host Club' weren't exactly the proper material for someone with my age and face. That's right. Lucky little me, being born a girl, was wonderfully blessed with more masculine features than the petit figure my sisters had. Practically crushed my mother's soul when I told her I was never going to wear the dresses she wanted me to.

I sighed at the thought as I left the store, pulling out my ipod and took my red and black skull candy headphones off my neck, and placing them over my ears. Searching through my song list for a song that would get my mind off things, I didn't notice the scrambling men in the construction site ahead of me. The familiar tune of 'C'mon' by Panic! At The Disco & Fun filled my ears.

"It's getting late, and I

Cannot seem to find my way home tonight

Feels like I am falling down a rabbit hole

Falling for forever, wonderfully wandering alone"

I chuckled to myself, earning odd looks from passerbys as my thoughts were taken over by my imagination. Being an avid writer, I seemed to do that a lot with songs and lyrics. These first few lines in particular had me wondering about Alice in Wonderland and what it would be like to fall down a hole unexpectedly, entering a new world entirely created out of madness.

"If I should die tonight

May I first just say I'm sorry

For I, never felt like anybody

I am a man of many hats although I

Never mastered anything"

These lines, on the other hand, had my thoughts whirling and slapping me in the face. Truthfully, I'd never done anything with my twenty years of existence and I felt as though, if I did die, I have never been anyone. Just a shadow blending in with everyone else I suppose. My mind began to take a more negative turn as I continued to walk along and I was soon wondering if I was good at anything. 'Man of many hats' yet, I've 'Never mastered anything' The truth of these words astounds me.

Looking back at the bag in my arm, I frowned. I'd been in college for over a year now, taking language after language, but none of them have ever stuck. I've never mastered any of them. Korean, Japanese, French...Not fluent enough to be any use, but my mother wants me to be an interpreter.

"Che, fat chance."

"Try not to mistake what you have with what you hate

It could leave, it could leave, come the morning

Celebrate the night

It's the fall before the climb"

"And yet, even this song has a silver lining."

My depressing thoughts dissipated and I was soon singing along until something knocked me to the ground, the manga books thrown around me. Vision was gone in an instant, followed by feeling, then my sense of hearing but not before I heard a few last lines of the song.

"So c'mon, c'mon, with everything falling down around me

I'd like to believe in all the possibilities"

If I could've, I would've laughed at the irony. Possibilities, huh...Seems Alice may have just fallen into Wonderland after all. Hopefully, it's a bit less mad than the actual story.

"Well, this can't be good."

I was rubbing the back of my neck as I glanced around the elaborately decorated grassy field I was in. Pristine rose bushes were neatly trimmed on one side of me while the edge of a marble fountain peaked out from behind a tree nearby. Putting my hand down, I stood up only for something to race up my pants and under my baggy jersey jacket.

"Ow! Get out from under there!"

I reached down my jacket and pulled out a pure white ferret that had been clawing its way up my chest. You can't be serious...And here I thought I died or something. Nope. I just woke up in who knows where with a ferret climbing up me. Although, he is kinda cute. You did die. You were hit in the head by a falling bag of cement. It was an instant death. No pain...And don't call me cute!

I threw the ferret from me, not hard enough to hurt it or anything, but hey, IT TALKED! Then, I fell back down to the ground and scrambled back into a tree pointing at it with my mouth hanging open.

"Y-You talked!"

Yes. Now shut up and listen. You can call me whatever you feel comfortable with since I will be guiding you on this…journey. But, you will only be able to hear my thoughts if there is something I feel like telling you. Understand? I nodded, trying to wrap my head around the situation I was currently in.

I'm dead...I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I died. Holy crap. And now this-this thing-I'm not a thing!-is going to help me? Okay. Relax. At least I have help. He's better than nothing, I guess. What's more important, is where the heck am I? Standing up, I brushed off my baggy cargo shorts and picked up the ferret, holding it in front of my face as I smirked.

"I think I'll call you...Fu-kun. Since you're so negative~" (AN: Fu apparently can stand for the word negative according to google translate)

He scratched me across the nose and I yelped, a tear resting in the corner of my eye. With a scowl, I plopped him on my shoulders and decided to look for something reflective to see if I was bleeding. Luckily, I remembered the fountain from earlier and headed over towards it, sitting on the edge and glancing over into the water. Sure enough, there were three beautiful lines going across my nose and I also noticed that I was younger by a good couple of years. What really shocked me though, was my now white-silver hair.

"Fu-kun! What happened to my hair?"

You did die and taking you to this realm has some side effects. Including reduced age, primary language changing, change in hair and/or eye color, and the possibility of near or far sightedness. I scowled even more as the ferret hopped off of me and onto the fountain's edge, when I spotted something bright yellow out of the corner of my eye. I stood up, ignoring Fu-kun for the time being, and called out to the auburn headed stranger only for them to run off, leaving a bag and a bunch of books soaking in the fountain water. I couldn't quite place where I'd seen this happen before, but I felt pretty bad about just standing here and letting someone's personal belongings get ruined.

Not to mention letting the culprit get away. Shut up. No one asked you. Frowning a bit, I plucked him off the edge and tossed him in the water laughing as he came out sopping wet.

"Not so high and mighty now, eh grumpy?"

Of course, the next moment he got, he jumped at me and attacked me. By the time I got him off, a few more scratches had joined my face as well as my hands and he was soon sunning himself on the fountain. And here I thought ferrets liked water. Only on our own terms. I do not appreciate being tossed into a filthy fountain. I rolled my eyes and placed my jersey jacket next to him, while pulling up the sleeves of my pants and wadding in the water to pull out whosever books these were. Part way through, I heard someone shout from one of the windows and paused in my work to glance up.

"Ah! I'm sorry! You don't have to do that, I'll be right there!"

A familiar brown haired, doe eyed girl dashed away from the window and I turned to Fu-kun in shock. It was then that I realized what had happened. I died and somehow ended up in Ouran High School Host Club. My obvious shock was interrupted when Haruhi ran up and began profusely apologizing.

"I'm so sorry. You really don't have to do this. I can take care of it."

Blinking out of my trance, I waved nonchalantly at her over my shoulder and continued to pull things out of the water.

"Nah, it's fine. I don't mind helpin' out."

She sighed and rolled up her own sleeves before joining me in the retrieval of her things. Stopping only once to see what she had left to find, she must have realized something.

"You're not from around here, are you?...And what happened to your face?"

I stopped what I was doing and gave her an odd look, which probably scared her, because she began apologizing again.

"Ah! I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to! I-I just-"

"Relax! Fu-kun decided to be a grump so I tossed him in the pond to get him off his high horse. Needless to say, he didn't really like that and personally extracted his revenge on my face."

I scratched my nose, a bad habit I got from a friend of mine, and when she asked who Fu-kun was I pointed to the still wet ferret who was stretched out on the fountain's edge sunbathing and she sweat dropped, shaking her head with a small smile at the sight. After informing me that all we needed to find now was her wallet, Haruhi and I returned to the search without noticing someone coming over until he hit Haruhi on top of her head.

"Hey, peasant! What a nice hobby you have. Skipping club activity and playing in the water?"

I smirked to myself, instantly recognizing the rambunctious blonde but continued to search through the waters as Haruhi and him had a chat. It was then that the rustle of clothes got me to look up and I froze when I spotted the one and only Tamaki Suoh taking off his shirt and splashing in the water by Haruhi. Water soaked my head from his splash and as it dripped onto my slight flushed face, I managed to compose myself. Don't go ruining the plot. Tamaki is already Haruhi's. Grinning when Tamaki pinched Haruhi's cheeks, I hoped to get them to remember that they weren't the only two in the fountain.

"Hey now, no need to splash! I'm already soaked as it is!"

Tamaki immediately paused in his fondling and realized that there was another person watching this whole charade.

"Oh? Haruhi, who is this?"

"This is…um, actually I don't think I've gotten your name. I'm Haruhi Fujioka and this is Tamaki Suoh."

She gestured to Tamaki, a slight flustered look on her face, and I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. I was never really good with people. Not only that, but I need a new name too. Can't just go with my old one since I'm in Japan now.

"I'm…Kohaku Nishimura…Nice to meet you, Suoh-san, Fujioka-san."

I smiled slightly when a flash of white jumped on my face and shoved me back into the water. Sputtering, I looked up to see Fu-kun smirking from the fountain's edge and Haruhi holding back a chuckle. I sighed and brushed back my dripping wet hair before gesturing to the ferret.

"And that little monster would be Fu-kun."

Tamaki's eyes widened as he stared completely astounded at my little white slinky. I, on the other hand, was more concerned about my sopping wet clothes and as I gazed down at them, I noticed something dark under the water at my feet. Picking it up, I shook some of the water off of it and called Haruhi.

"Hey, is this your wallet Haruhi?"

"That's it! Thanks for your help, Nishimura-san."

"Please, Kohaku is fine."

"Well then, Kohaku-san, please come with us so we can have your clothes cleaned as thanks for helping my darling Haruhi-kun!"

I suddenly thought of something as Tamaki posed, pointing his finger in the air, and we all got out of the fountain. This should be fun. Bowing deeply, with my hand over my heart, I spoke.

"If that is what you wish to do…Your Majesty."

Sure enough, Tamaki practically glowed with pride and he grabbed Haruhi's shoulders yelling loudly, as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Did you hear that? He called me a king!"

I tried not to laugh behind my fist and Tamaki pranced around in front of us, before dashing off to the clubroom to tell everyone what I had said. Grabbing my jacket and wrapping poor Fu-kun in it, I walked over to where Haruhi waited for me with a frown on her face.

"Why did you do that? He's going to be bugging me all day now!"

"Sorry, Haruhi-kun. I couldn't help it. He seemed like the kind of guy who would get excited if I did that."

She gave me a suspicious look and I just smiled, shrugging my shoulders when her face softened with curiosity.

"Kohaku-san, why did you act all shy around Tamaki?"

"Oh…Well, I'm not good with people. I tend to avoid them if I can."

"Really? Why? You seem fine with me."

I went quiet for a moment, petting Fu-kun while trying to think of how to put my feelings into words.

"I'm not sure really. I mean…I had friends, but they just didn't seem like friends. They never called or invited me places. Most didn't even remember my birthday. In fact, I think I even had one that totally ditched me when I had a project that was due the next day. I actually had to do the whole thing over again and present it by myself…Heh, I guess I just don't trust people as easily as I used to. Never letting them in to get to know me, kind of thing. I'm not a psychologist, but I'm sure the reason I do that is because I think I'll be betrayed again so I don't even bother trying. You were somehow naturally easy for me to talk to for some reason, I guess. Know what I mean?"

I turned around to her after realizing that she'd stopped walking. She had her head down, her bangs covering her face, so I leaned forward to try and check on her.

"Haruhi?"

When she raised her head, she looked about ready to cry causing my eyes to widen in disbelief and shock as she finally spoke.

"You shouldn't be so negative. If you try, I'm sure you'll make some good friends. After all, you seem like a great person so far and if you want, I can be your first friend."

She smiled and I slowly began to smile back at her, before ruffling her hair. She reminded me of myself when I was younger...well, younger than I am now. Ew, I made myself feel old. I used to be quite like her actually. I was very cynical and straightforward even my own siblings noticed how much I resembled her character in the anime. Only now it's not an anime. It's my life.

"Thanks, Haruhi-kun. Now come on! We don't want Tamaki to come after us!"

I bent down to the ground and told her to hop on, but she just gave me this look. You know, the one where people think you have two heads?

"What? You don't seem like the athletic type so I was going to give you a ride. You don't want it?"

"N-No, not really."

Smirking evilly, I got and idea. I stood up, grabbed her arm, and flung her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Then, I started running to the third music room, luckily not getting lost thanks to Haruhi's grumbled directions.

"Do you really have to do this?"

"Absolutely! Besides, I want to see Tamaki's face when I bring you in like this!"

She began yelling at me, but it was too late and I kicked the doors to the music room open.

"Tamaki-san! You forgot something~"

"Ah! What are you doing to Haruhi-kun? Put him down this instant!"

I shrugged, putting her down where Tamaki tackled her in a hug. It was then that the other host club members came over, the twins speaking first.

"Who is this, my lord?"

"Looks like another commoner."

"With odd hair."

They began plucking at the wet strands of my white hair and I struggled to step away as they asked question after question before I could answer.

"Is it dyed?"

"I don't think so, Kaoru."

"I think you're right, Hikaru, but how did it get this color?"

"I think..."

"...it makes him look..."

"...like an old man!"

They grinned devilishly to each other before laughing loudly. I flushed a bit in embarrassment, but Tamaki intervened with a dramatic pose.

"That, is no mere commoner! Kohaku-san is the man who helped Haruhi-kun recover his things and he called me King!"

They all looked at me disbelievingly and I quickly put up a bored expression, picking at my fingernails. It was hard fighting the smirk that would give away my next statement.

"I don't remember calling you that, Tamaki-san."

"B-But! You said—"

"Why on Earth would I call you a king? You certainly don't act like one."

I raised an eyebrow as Tamaki quickly ran off to a corner to grow mushrooms, at which I grinned as the twins came over and laughed until they put their arms across my shoulders.

"Ack!"

"You're wet!"

I looked at them both, a bit more confident than earlier, with a raised eyebrow.

"What? You two didn't notice that when you were playing with my wet hair? Besides, Tamaki-san promised me something to wear until my clothes were clean as thanks for helping Haruhi-kun."

The twins shrugged, bored at this point I'm sure and a bouncy little blonde came over as Glasses headed to the back room; most likely to get me the clothes and possibly a towel.

"Neh, Ko-kun? What's in there?"

It was Honey and he was currently pointing at my bundled up jacket, with Mori coming over to stand behind him. Smiling, I reached into the bundle and pulled out Fu-kun, who looked less than pleased about being forced to leave his warm haven. Honey's eyes quickly widened and he tugged on Mori's jacket, excitedly.

"Look Takashi! It's a f-f—"

"A ferret."

I couldn't believe how deep his voice sounded, but I tried to not let it get to me as Honey continued speaking.

"Yeah! A ferret! What's his name, Ko-kun?"

He reminds me of my little sisters…only not nearly as evil.

"Fu-kun, since he can be quite negative sometimes."

To prove his point, Fu-kun went to scratch me again so I held him out of range by his scruff. I scowled, but then noticed Honey laughing with a big smile on his face.

"He doesn't like you very much, Ko-kun."

"He's just mad 'cause I tossed him in the fountain for scratching me…um…"

"Oh! I'm Mitsukuni Haninozuka, but you can call me Honey, and this is Takashi Morinozuka, but you can call him Mori!"

"Nice to meet you, Honey-san, Mori-san. I'm Kohaku Nishimura and…actually, could you two do me a favor?" Kneeling down to Honey's level, I mentally chuckled as he got all excited and nodded so fast I thought he'd get whiplash. "Could you take care of Fu-kun and dry him off, while I go change?"

"Uh-huh! I can do that, Ko-kun!"

Nodding, I'd just spotted Kyoya returning with a towel and a bag. Thanking him, I wrapped Fu-kun in the towel and handed him off to Honey knowing that he was in good hands. I then turned to go to the dressing rooms only to find Kyoya standing before me; the glare on his glasses telling me he meant business.

"C-Can I help you, um..."

"Kyoya Ootori, and I have a question for you, sir."

I stuttered, uncomfortable with him for obvious reasons. "W-What?"

"Might I ask what you were doing on campus? You're obviously not a student here, judging by your clothes, and it's not often we get visitors here at Ouran Academy."

So that's what he was after. Should've known, typical Ootori. Wants to know all the answers, but what do I tell him? You'll be attending here, starting next week. Just make something up. I turned to Fu-kun and glared as he was getting pampered, before turning back to Kyoya.

"I was checking out the campus since…I'll be attending this school starting next week…Achoo!"

I sneezed off to the side, rubbing my nose and looking back at him to discover a small smirk.

"You should go get changed, Nishimura-san. Wouldn't want you to catch a cold before you could even begin to attend Ouran, now do we?"

Shaking my head from side to side quickly, I dashed to the changing rooms and closed the door behind me as I released the breath I didn't know I was holding. Geeze, he's scarier in person. I seriously have to work on my people skills. Looking in the bag that was given to me, I found the typical boy's uniform and began to strip. Oddly enough, I was wearing tight bandages to cover my chest and boxer shorts. Okay, that's a bit weird, but whatever. Then, inside my pants pocket I found my ipod, some headphones, and a small piece of paper with an address on it. Mine, I hope. Wouldn't want to end up at someone else's house.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by loud knocks on the door and the twins yelling for me to hurry up. Worried that they would somehow force their way in, I yanked on my pants, tie, and the white button up shirt and buttoned up the first few buttons to cover up the bandages before scrambling out the door; the periwinkle coat draped over my arm. Immediately, I noticed how quiet whispering going around the room and looked up to find several blushing girls as well as shocked hosts. Blinking a few times in confusion, I turned to the twins.

"What? Did I tie my tie wrong or somethin'? I thought it was okay."

I glanced down at my tie with worry, pulling a hand through my wet hair and hearing many of the girls scream.

"Kyah! He's so cool!"

"Look at his hair! It's even more beautiful when wet!"

"Is he joining the host club? That would be so cool!"

I blushed a bit at their compliments, earning more, when I then walked over to where Honey and Mori had Fu-kun. The little pest was really soaking up all the attention Honey was giving him and I wondered how many personalities Fu-kun had. He's always so cranky with me, but with Honey he's acting like a little angel.

"Ko-kun, do you want to eat some cake with us?"

Looking down at the short senior, I thought about it for a moment. I do really like cake, but Kyoya might use this against me somehow if I don't pay for it.

"I don't have to pay for it, do I?"

"Nope! I'll pay for it if you want, Ko-kun!"

I nodded and thanked Honey as I sat between him and Mori, who handed the most amazing looking chocolate marble cake I'd ever seen. Picking up the fork, I ate a bite of the cake with a slight moan of pleasure. Sweet Jesus. I must've died and gone to heaven. This cake is Godly!

"You really like cake, don't you, Ko-kun."

I grinned as the fork hung from my mouth, before reaching for another bite. I got the fork maybe halfway to my mouth, when I opened my eyes and noticed the trio of girls sitting across from us, looking at me with hearts in their eyes and blushes on their cheeks. Looking down at the cake on the fork and back to them, I realized I was being rude and quickly shove the bite in my mouth and swallowed, opening my mouth to apologize.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm being rude."

They began getting even more flustered, waving their hands back and forth, as I stared down at my cake mentally scolding it for it's deliciousness.

"N-No! It's okay!"

"Yeah! We understand!"

I nervously smiled, their blushes growing, just as the sound of breaking china echoed across the room followed by a scream. Right! I completely forgot about Ayanokoji! She's the one who I saw at the fountain! Politely excusing myself from the table, I hurried over to where Haruhi was now sitting; partially soaked from the water the twins had dumped on her and Ayanokoji. I helped Haruhi up and Ayanokoji began yelling about the host club having no proof, so I turned towards her with a hand to my chin in fake thought.

"Actually, I was right by the fountain that Haruhi's stuff was in and I did see a young lady with auburn hair running off."

I regretted looking over at her and flinched at the glare she was giving me. Geeze, I don't even go here yet and I've already made an enemy. It wasn't long before Tamaki had her thrown out and I smiled to myself as I remembered what happened next.

"Now you have to get a thousand customers!"

Her face was priceless and I sniggered behind my fist until I noticed the look Kyoya was giving me. Paling, I turned away from him and swiftly scooped up Fu-kun in a desperate hope to escape before I could get dragged into a debt. Unfortunately, I remembered that I couldn't leave before changing out of the borrowed clothes I was wearing and my clothes just so happened to be in Haruhi's changing room. Well, crap. Guess I have no choice, but I might as well make this a bit more fun. Smiling to myself, I started to make my way over to the changing room but was intercepted by the Shadow King.

"I apologize, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave now, Nishimura-san."

"Oh, I know. I just need to get my clothes and change, then I'll leave."

I mentally chuckled as he pushed up his glasses while trying to find a way to keep me from finding out Haruhi's secret.

"We'll send your clothes to your house if you give me your address, as long as you return the uniform."

I pretended to consider the offer for a second, watching as he glared at the slight upturn of my lips.

"I'd rather not. Knowing me, I'd somehow manage to screw up this uniform and end up owing you. I wouldn't want that. Besides, I just need my clothes. Its just Haruhi in there, so there's nothing to worry about, right?"

I smiled seemingly innocently and began walking back over to the changing room, when the twins came up and wrapped their arms around my shoulders and waist. They spun me around, dragging me the other direction, and started trying to distract me in a more forceful manner than Kyoya.

"You don't need those things."

"Yeah, they're just rags anyway."

Struggling to keep from running away from the twins, I forced myself be continue the confident front I had.

"To you, they may be. As the saying goes though, 'one man's trash another man's treasure.' Although…" I shouldn't do this, but they don't know the real me so who cares? "I would throw those things away if I could stay with the two of you~"

Both twins paled, their grips growing slack, and I took that chance to slip out from under their arms and continue my journey to retrieve my clothes just as Tamaki opened the curtain with a handful of towels. Needless to say, he froze whilst I moved past him and picked up my clothes that were in a bag on the floor, giving Haruhi a wave.
"Sorry about this, Haruhi-chan. I just need my clothes."
I waltzed out of the changing room, patting Tamaki on the shoulder, before heading to another changing room next to hers where I changed. It was nice having my own space to change for once. I'm used to not having my own personal space with four sisters and a brother. Stepping out, I couldn't help but have a nice laugh at Tamaki's face.

"Wow, Tamaki-san. I don't even go here and I figured it out before you."

Haruhi turned to me with a questioning look.

"How did you find out, Kohaku-san?"

"I carried you here, remember? You're pretty good at hiding it, but I know someone better."

She tilted her head to the side like a confused puppy and I quickly pulled her into a hug. She's just too cute when she does that! Suddenly, the twins who were giving me odd looks pulled her away.

"You're gay, aren't you?"

Looks like they are upset about what I pulled with them earlier. Oh well. Haruhi smacked them both upside the head, about ready to scold them, but I felt like it didn't matter so I stopped her.

"It's okay, Haruhi-chan. I don't mind." I shrugged my shoulders and then remembered the paper in my pocket and how I have no idea how to get to my house. Hating what I was about to do, I pulled out the paper and tried to hand it over to Kyoya. "You think you could give me directions back to my house?"

Pushing up his glasses, I grew concerned for my safety as he smirked connivingly.

"You don't know where your own house is?"

I pulled the paper back out of his reach, stepping back slowly so as to not encourage the beast in front of me to pounce.

"U-Um…you know what? I think I'll just go and figure it out myself."

I spun around on my heel, only to get caught by Mori, who tucked me under his arm, Fu-kun ditching my neck for his shoulder.

"We can't let you go just yet, Nishimura-san. After all, it wouldn't be right for us to let you leave without explaining the consequences of your actions."

"C-Consequences?"

It was my turn to pale and I began struggling against Mori's tightening grip, until I remembered how pointless it was and just fell limp. They all seemed a bit surprised when I did this and Honey came over with his bunny, looking concerned.

"Are you okay, Ko-kun? We just don't want you telling everyone about Haru-chan 'cause then she won't be able to stay and have cake with us."

Nodding slowly, Mori stood me back up, leaving a hand on my shoulder should I try to run again. I felt shameful and embarrassed as I stared at the ground; nervousness creeping in as I wondered what Kyoya was planning. I just hope it's just chores or something. I don't like dealing with people so sticking me as a host would scare the crap out of me.

"Now that we have your attention, in order to keep you from telling anyone about this we need to keep an eye on you. Therefore, you will now be a host."

"I can't."

His glassed flashed and I flinched, scratching my nose and glancing at Haruhi for help. Luckily, she was willing to help me and stepped forward, placing a hand on my arm.

"Kyoya-senpai, Kohaku-san has a hard time meeting new people and dealing with people in general. Couldn't he just—"

"I don't see how that's a problem."

"I-I'll do anything else! Just…I really don't like talking to people."

I fidgeted and chewed my bottom lip, but Kyoya wasn't budging and, although they looked concerned about me, none of the others were willing to go against him.

"No."

"But Kyoya-senpai—"

"It…It's okay, Haruhi-chan. I-I'll try to figure something out."

I didn't want Haruhi getting into trouble because of my stubbornness and inability to cope with my insecurities, so I took Fu-kun off of Mori and left to figure out where my house was. I didn't even notice when I started running or when my frustration caught up with me and I began punching an alley wall, tears falling down my face from pain and anger while not knowing where I was or how to get home. Home. That's the key word, it isn't it? Fu-kun poked his head out of my jacket and nuzzled my chin in an attempt to cheer me up, but my thought had already began to drift back towards my family and how they were dealing with the fact that I had died. Mom's probably bawling. Dad's trying to act tough with my brother, while my younger sisters don't even know what happened. It's going to be hard for my mom to watch everyone on her own, now that I'm not there to help watch over my younger siblings…I need to get my mind off of this. I need to do something. Play piano, hit something…sing…

Now, I don't think I'm an amazing singer. My siblings always tell me I suck, but my mother never complains and my 'friends' actually get excited when I sing. Might as well though. No one's here to listen anyway. I pulled out my ipod and turned to the perfect song: 'Secrets' by One Republic. I was immediately pulled in by the melodic cello and began belting my heart out.
"I need another story
Something to get off my chest
My life gets kinda boring
Need something that I can confess
'Til all my sleeves are stained red
From all the truth that I've said
Come by it honestly I swear
Thought you saw me wink, no
I've been on the brink, so
Tell me what you want to hear
Something that will light those years
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away
This time, don't need another perfect lie
Don't care if critics ever jump in line
I'm gonna give all my secrets away
My God, amazing how we got this far
It's like we're chasing all those stars
Who's driving shiny big black cars
And everyday I see the news
All the problems that we could solve
And when a situation rises
Just write it into an album
Send it straight to gold
I don't really like my flow, no, so
Tell me what you want to hear
Something that will light those years
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away
This time, don't need another perfect lie
Don't care if critics ever jump in line
I'm gonna give all my secrets away
Oh, got no reason, got no shame
Got no family I can blame
Just don't let me disappear"
I started crying at this point and couldn't finish the song as the tears tracked down my face. Fu-kun licked them away and I smiled crookedly.

"I know, I know. I need to get my butt in gear and find someone to give me directions so I can get…home."

Standing up, I brushed myself off and wiped the tears away, thankful that my face didn't puff up like others did when they cried. Scratching Fu-kun's chin, I left the alley and managed to find a kind lady who gave me directions on how to get to my new house. Low and behold, my house was actually an apartment…right next door to Haruhi's.

"Lucky me."