A/N: I decided to continue this story for two reasons. It didn't quite seem finished to me, and this is my therapy. I want to thank everyone that read, reviewed, followed, and favored this story. Your support and understanding means more to me than you will ever know. Enjoy the new chapter.

Chapter 2 – Living, Fighting, Winning

Haruhi gave a hard look at her reflection in the mirror. Treatment had been hard on her mentally, emotionally, and physically. Now standing there in nothing but her panties, she could see how cancer and the subsequent treatment had ravaged her body. Two scars covered her chest where her breasts once sat, her ribs stuck out prominently as if she hadn't had a meal for a long time – although, she eats as often as she can, and makes sure to eat something every day – her skin had gone from ivory with a flushed undertone to an almost pale grey, and her hair had all fallen out.

At first, she tried to continue her studies while she underwent treatment for the dreaded disease, but she quickly found that it was not feasible to do what she needed to for her and to keep up with her studies; therefore, Kyoya helped her submit for a leave of absence. School would be waiting for her when she was strong enough. It was one of the things had kept her going, given her hope. She wanted to become a lawyer – it was her dream, and dreams were important. Making plans for an uncertain future was important, and although there were times when she didn't think she would survive, would make it through the poison that was injected into her body, and knowing she had a dream helped her to fight.

It wasn't the only thing that kept her going though. Her friends and father were there with her every step of the way. They encouraged her and supported her, and when she needed them the most, they held her up and carried her when she couldn't carry herself – physically and figuratively. That is not to say they jumped into the pool with both feet in the beginning. It had been a shock and there were a lot of tears shed. Thinking back on it all now, she wanted to laugh a little. They were so awkward and unsure. Tamaki had warned everyone not to mention the "C" word around her. The twins made her clothes to cheer her up shortly after her mastectomy, but they hadn't accounted for a change in her measurements. She started to tear up at the loss, Tamaki got onto the twins, Hikaru and Kaoru apologized profusely and were embarrassed and saddened on her behalf, Hunny offered her cake, Mori patted her head, and Kyoya…to everyone's surprise, he pulled her in for a hug and told her that she would get through this because she was a fighter. Of course he also told her, "If you do not fight and do everything you can, you debt will be so great that it will take you at least a hundred lifetimes to pay it off." Through her tears, she had laughed, and eventually, so did everyone else.

More than once, she had wanted to give up and give in, to stop the treatments, to end it, but her friends wouldn't allow her to pack it in just yet. When she was at her most depressed and her father could not reach her, Ranka would call her friends, and no matter what they were doing, no matter if they were in the middle of something, it would all be dropped and they would rush to her side. They took turns accompanying her to her treatments in the beginning, but that didn't last for long. Tamaki would cry when they stuck her and got depressed himself when he thought about what was being infused into her veins. The twins couldn't sit still very long and it hurt them to see their friend going through something like that, to deal with the aftermath of her chemo treatments. When she would get sick, they struggled to help her. And she couldn't blame them. Hunny had much of the same reaction as Hikaru and Kaoru, except when she got sick, he got sick as well. In the end, only Kyoya and Mori were able to help her on days she had chemo, but the others were there for her any other time.

Of course, they were hesitant around her. Unsure of what was okay to say and what wasn't. They watched their words and speech around her, but they couldn't stop the sad look in their eyes. Sometimes she thought they pitied her. Maybe they did because she wasn't the game girl that accidently walked into music room three years ago. They now treated her like glass. No more tug-o-war, no more fighting around her, and no more putting her body in danger. She was the china shop, and they had evolved to act like gentlemen instead of bulls. Was it weird that she wanted them to act like they once had?

She lifted her hand to her bald head. Once upon a time her hair matched that of her mother's. It wasn't that she was proud of her hair or flaunted it like some girls she knew, but it had been a connection with the mother she lost when she was young. The twins had gotten her a brown haired wig, but it wasn't the same thing. She wanted her hair, her own hair…her mother's hair. When it grew back, would it be the same brown it once was, or would it change? She had read and heard about several cases of hair changing after it fell out. Sometimes it was curlier, sometimes softer, and sometimes a different color. She didn't want it to be different, and was almost scared of what it would look like when it finally grew back.

Tears filled her eyes as she looked at herself, taking in everything, making note of the many changes of her body. She knew she needed to get dressed and ready to go because she had a doctor appointment and Kyoya and her father would be there soon to pick her up – her father had had to run up to the bar for a couple of hours – but she couldn't seem motivate herself. This was the first time in almost a year that she had taken a good hard look at herself, and she hated what she saw. In the past, she never cared what she looked like, however, today she cared. Cancer had stolen from her, and she hated it. Hated cancer, hated treatment, hated how she looked, hated how everything made her feel, and hated the looks of pity from some of her friends and others!

Maybe it wasn't that others felt pity towards her, but she pitied herself. Before she got sick, before a lump had been found, she never really cared what people thought of her or her appearance. And to a degree she still didn't care about others' opinions, however, she disliked the way she looked right now. She didn't care who the person was, when they went through everything she had and looked in the mirror to see their reflection, they would care how different their body had become. It felt as if she was in an alien body.

"Haruhi, are you ready to go?" Kyoya called from the other room after letting himself into the apartment.

Wiping away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks, she responded, "Not yet. I'll be out in a minute."

"Take your time." He could hear a small warble in her voice, which told him she had been crying. On more than one occasion he wished he could wave a magic wand and make the cancer disappear, to make everything as it once was, but he couldn't. Even some things were beyond his control. The audacious girl he had met in high school had changed. Her cheeks were no longer rosy, she had lost her hair and weight, and the sparkle in her eyes had started to dim, and yet, if one looked close enough, the glimmer was still there. She may be a shell of the person she once was, but he knew she would come back eventually and be a stronger more powerful woman…and he couldn't wait.

She threw on a t-shirt and jeans before walking out of her room and finding her friend sitting in the living room drinking some water, "Sorry about that Kyoya-senpai."

Hearing someone walking towards him, he tilted his head upwards and smiled, "Not to worry. I arrived a little earlier than we discussed. How are you feeling?" He could see how red her eyes were and the crust the saltwater had left on her lashes.

"I'm fine. Just ready for some good news," she stated softly as she sat next to him at the coffee table. She had finally finished the second round of chemo and today was the day she found out if they had gotten rid of the cancer, or if she still had a fight on her hands. Mentally, she wasn't sure she could go on. Oh she knew she would have to, but it was a daily challenge. There were cases that were more extreme than hers, people who were in situations where they were fighting an uphill battle, and she applauded them for their fight. Hers had been caught early, but she had been stage 2. Some people found the cancer when they were stage 3 or 4, so she had been lucky in a sense, but that didn't mean the fighting and the treatments hadn't taken their toll.

"I know you are, but remember that no matter what happens, you are not alone."

"I know, senpai. I don't think I would have been able to get through it if it hadn't been for you and the others."

His lips curled into another small smile, "You would have. You are one of the strongest and single minded people I know. You would have approached this with determination, just as you did, and you would have fought it with gusto."

"I don't know."

"Trust me."

She couldn't help but snicker, "Oh the almighty Shadow King once again knows everything."

"Of course. Do you expect anything less of me?"

"Not at all, senpai. Not at all."

Once her father arrived from the bar, the trio got into Kyoya's waiting car and drove to the hospital. All three were nervous, although, no one said that aloud. Holding their breath, they waited for the verdict to be handed down from the doctor, "The latest labs show…" The doctor paused and peered at his patient, a smile on his face, "You are in remission."

A collective sigh echoed through the room from everyone releasing their pent up air at the same time.

"Does that mean I'm cured?" Haruhi questioned as she squeezed Kyoya's hand. She wondered if she had heard correctly.

"We're going to have to monitor you closely in order to make sure everything stays as it is, but it means you are in remission and the cancer has been beaten." When he had to tell Haruhi the bad news almost a year ago, he had been on the verge of tears, and the appearance of Kyoya Ootori had been a shock, but today, the doctor wanted to weep for joy at the good news he was able to give his patient.

Unable to contain them, happy tears filled her eyes and flowed down her cheeks. Today was a good day.

Later that day, they would spread the news to her other friends and they would celebrate, and in a few months, she would once again pick up the torch and follow through on her dream. She survived and she would live each day as if it was a blessing and give thanks that she still lived.