Author's Note: I would like to clarify something: some people think this is a pairing story. (Which one, I do not know). Others think this is a HaruhixHostClub story. To tell the truth, I never intended for any pairing, and everything has ended up the way it is just because. I wanted to show that Haruhi has become important to everyone because there was no Host Club and this is an AU. I apoligize if some people are disappointed because while I definitely think there are "moments" with Haruhi and another, there will never really be "romance."

If anyone does want a pairing, let me know and I will consider it. After all, this depends on the next direction that the story takes.

Warning: This chapter has minor gore and yes, character death. It should be pretty obvious as to who it is though. The violence is not that bad, and I'm not planning for this to be the norm. I think this chapter will probably be the most "violent" one in the whole fic. I don't think I need to change the rating to an M, therefore, with this reasoning. If anyone feels that the rating should be changed, let me know.

"Now, hold your arm up," he said, "and fire!"

Haruhi pressed the trigger, and she felt the recoil of the gun as her arm was pushed back. The bullet missed the target completely.

She, Hunny, and Mori were now in the target training room, where targets and practice guns were set up. She was amazed at how well facilitated they were, but realized that it was probably because of their money.

"I've kept the loud sound for a reason," Hunny said, "because you don't want any bystanders being heroic or anything. The sound will keep them away, and trust me – everyone will be scared of you."

"I see, so as long as I'm within a foot, the aim doesn't have to be great, right?"

Hunny looked at Mori and then at her. "Yes, but still Haru-chan…"

"Don't worry about me, Hunny-senpai," she replied. "I'll be fine."

In the end, it was decided that a gun was to be installed beforehand in the location of which Haruhi was to meet Kuze. Hikaru's wild suggestion of a spiked anthrax note had to be tossed simply because. How were they going to find anthrax on such a short notice? It was irrational of him propose such an idea, as Tamaki later put it.

Kaoru found out the location from the informer. It was a restaurant called Iccho, a place that Hikaru had heard of and he described it as "a quiet family-run place where everyone minds their own business."

It was perfect, he noted, for this operation.

Hunny was going to hide the gun, and it was determined that it was going to hid behind one of the toilet in the women's restroom. The details were simple, almost easy: she was to talk and get comfortable with Kuze. In the middle then, she was to excuse herself to the restroom.

"And come out blasting," Hikaru added.

"Remember, twice in the head," Kaoru mentioned, holding up two fingers, " just to make sure."

"My daughter's innocence!" Tamaki cried. "Lost! Haruhi, don't do it! I can do it for you!"

"Kuze wouldn't let you within a mile of him," she replied. "I can do it."

"Haruhi! It's horrible that the world should come to this! That my dear girl will have to…will have to…" He couldn't finish, but everyone knew it. Haruhi was going to kill someone. The idea was something inconceivable, yet it was their decision.

But, she reasoned, it was someone bad who tried to hurt others and was willing to go to the distance to get what he wanted. They had to agree when they heard her say that, though it was with resignation and reluctance.

"So have some faith in me, Tamaki-senpai," Haruhi said. She cocked the gun and shot again, this time hitting the outermost ring of the target.

"Good job, Haruhi!" Hunny clapped his hands. "And that target was twenty feet away, too!"

Haruhi gave a weak smile. After three days of training, she had managed to hit something.

"So what are you going to do after you shoot him?" Hikaru asked her. Tamaki inched towards her.

"I…leave?"

"Exactly," he said. "Walk out, but don't run. Don't look anyone in the eye, but don't look away either. Mori-senpai will be outside waiting for you so you can get away fast. Man," Hikaru shook his head, "everyone's gonna be scared shitless of you."

"Er, thanks." Haruhi took off the goggles she wore for safety and set it aside. "What time is it?"

"It's ten to eight. You're supposed to meet Kuze at eight-thirty in front of the Grand Theatre. He and his driver will pick you up there."

"Anything else I need to know?"

"Yes," Tamaki said, and he put his hands on her shoulder. "That we believe in you, and we know that we can put our lives in your oh-so-small hands."

"Yeah," Hikaru added, "we know you can do it."

"What will happen afterwards?" Haruhi put on her coat.

"Why," Tamaki's eyes glazed over, "it'll be war."

"War?"

"Yes, that is unless Kyouya can find some way to get us out. Kuze has quite a large group of supporters, and I am sure they won't be pleased to have him dead."

"What will happen to me?"

"Hiding," Kaoru said. "It's a good thing that you have a low-profile. It might be months, maybe a year because you can come out again. But you'll always be with us."

"I see." She looked down.

Am I doing the right thing...

"I guess I'll be going," she said.

...to take the life of another?

"Wait, Haruhi!" Hikaru came after her, but he seemed hesitant about something. Finally, he wrapped his arms around her. "You can do it," he whispered in her ear.

"I know," she whispered back. "But I need to go now."

He let her go just as Tamaki began complaining, so Haruhi gave him a hug as well. It set off a chain of events, and she ended up giving everyone a hug.

And then, she left.

And they could only hope that she was going to be okay.

Tamaki turned towards the others. "Now, let's get ready. As soon as Haruhi is done, our work begins. Hikaru – are the newspaper reporters lined up?"

Hikaru nodded. "I'll start feeding them information as soon as things break. Everyone in the city is going to find out about this dirty narcotics guy."

"Good. We're going to make sure that something like this never, never happens again."

--

Kuze was punctual it turned out.

He arrived precisely at eight-thirty, and she was glad for this because it was getting increasingly windy.

It was a small discreet sedan. The front door opened, and she could see Kuze's eyes glinting in the back seat.

She ventured forward, and she sat down on the seating next to a driver that she did not recognize. "Togoin Makoto," Kuze said by way of explanation.

Nodding, she wondered if this was violating the rights they had set upon because the informer had never mentioned another person with them. If anything, it made her job a lot harder if she had to deal with two. She decided not to think about it.

"Fujioka-san," Kuze continued, "I hope we can sort out our differences tonight. This sort of thing should have never happened. It's terrible, really."

"I hope so too," she said to him, "but first, I want your guarantee that there are no more attempts on Ohtori-san's life."

"There won't be. I swear on the lives of my family members." Kuze gave a chuckle, and she tensed immediately. "But Fujioka-san, don't you see? I am the hunted one here. Your opinion of me is too high. Just keep an open mind though. Not like that Hitachiin – it's impossible to talk business with a hothead like him."

No, she thought. It was too suspicious, and it sounded too good to be true. He was making no promise. She realized that this meeting was only to postpone things for another day or two. When Kuze got the next chance, he was going to strike again. Another reason why she needed to take him down now.

The ride was quiet for the rest of the way, and finally it stopped in front of a small restaurant.

She stepped out, and expected Togoin Makoto to as well, but thankfully, he did not. He remained in the car, and she entered the building with Kuze.

Inside, Kuze asked for a table for two. He refused the offer for a booth, and the two took a seat at a table in the center.

The restaurant was relatively empty, with only one other table occupied. Haruhi wondered if they had been installed there by Kuze, but realized that it didn't matter.

After the menus were handed to them, Kuze clasped his hands together and leaned forward. His voice was low as he began. "First of all, I need you to understand that what happened between me and Ohtori was strictly business. I hold a great amount of respect for him, and would gladly take an opportunity for work for him. But he has an old fashioned way of thinking despite his youth, and he stands in the way of revolutionary changes. The business I am in is cutting edge, and it's worth millions.

"He's blocking my way. Sure, yes, he says, 'Go ahead, it's your business,' but we both know that it's unrealistic. We cannot go our separate ways without getting involved somehow. It's impossible.

"What Ohtori is telling me is that he doesn't like my business, and he refuses to let me operate. I am a man who respects himself, and I will allow no one – not even Ohtori – to get in my way.

"I propose a peace, a truce of sorts until he is ready to take part in the negotiations. Meanwhile, I need to make a living. I now ask not for the Ohtori Group's cooperation, but for their silence."

Haruhi listened, and she replied, "Tell me more about how you propose to start your business, what part my Group will play, and how much profit we can make."

"You want the whole proposition in detail then?" Kuze asked gravely.

She nodded, understanding the situation that she was in. Then she made a wincing face, something that Kuze noticed instantly. "Is there something wrong?" he said.

"I apologize," she said, "but could you please excuse me while I go to the restroom?"

Kuze looked to the other table. He didn't like it. His sensors were extremely acute, and he was fast. He was nervous for no reason at all, even when the man at the other table there shook his head as if in confirmation that there was no person in the restroom.

He gave Haruhi one last look before allowing her to go in. "Don't take too long," he warned. She left the table feeling relieved, but a wave of nerves came crashing soon thereafter.

She actually had to use the toilet, and she reached behind the seat to find a gun taped there. Hunny, as always, had done his job well.

His gentle reminders that the gun was irretraceable eliminated some of her worries, and she washed her hands again in the sink.

For good measure, she splashed a handful of water on her face, and she watched it trickle downwards as she stared at herself in the mirror.

She almost didn't recognize herself, the image that she saw.

And then she was ready. With one last breath, she hid the gun inside her coat pocket, and she left the restroom. As she sat down at the table, she apologized for the wait.

Kuze did not seem to mind. He continued talking.

Hikaru had told her to "come out blasting," but Haruhi could not do that. She couldn't bring herself to. She had decided that it would be wiser to listen to Kuze some more.

He talked and talked, but Haruhi wasn't registering any of it. His words went over her head, and blood was pounding in her heart. She was nodding absentmindedly. She could hear her heart and her head. And her head was being clear, very clear.

It was telling her to do it.

No, not yet.

Do it. Do it.

No!

The waiter appeared to take their order, and Kuze stopped. He looked to her to state her order, but she gapped.

Do it!

And she did.

She whipped out the gun, and nearly jumped up while shoving the table away with her left hand. The gun came within a foot of Kuze's head when she fired. Kuze with his fast reflexes had already begun to turn, but Haruhi, younger, managed to be faster.

The bullet caught him square between his eye and ear, and the explosion caused a huge gout of blood to spill out. Skull fragments hit the petrified waiter's jacket.

Though inexperienced, she knew that one bullet had been enough. As Kuze's head turned back towards hers, she had seen the last flicker of light in his eyes die out.

It seemed like the air was full of pink mist. She was overwhelmed by it all, and was only moments away from throwing up, but she kept her composure.

Instinctively, she dropped the gun, but it seemed like no one else heard. Their eyes – the waiter, the man at the other table – were on her.

She did as Hikaru had told her, and she walked out of the restaurant as fast as she could. Mori was outside waiting for her. She noticed that the car in which she and Kuze had come in was gone.

When she entered the passenger's seat, he asked, "Did you do it?"

"Yes, yes." Her voice was high-pitched, and without knowing it, her hands were shaking. She was struggling to put on her safety belt. Mori helped her.

"Are you sure?" He didn't want to ask, but it was all procedure.

"I-I…saw his brains."

Haruhi was quiet for the long drive back, and Mori, soft-spoken by nature, did not try to initiate a conversation.

It wasn't until she got back to the mansion, darted up to her room, and locked the door that she began to cry.

--

The day after the murder of Kuze Takeshi, officials from his business came to the Ohtori Group with a statement asking for them to give up the murderer.

They were told that the affair did not concern them.

That night, a grenade hit a smaller compound of the mansion by an unknown man in a driving by Jeep.

Two men from the Ohtori Group were killed later as they ate their dinner peacefully in a bar.

And it became official.

The first war in fifteen years had begun.

How was it? I hope it wasn't corny and that it was clear to readers what happened, why it happened and that everyone is still in character. This chapter was really, really hard to write because I had no idea how Haruhi would act in such a tense situation. She's been through so much, and she must be going crazy right now. I can hardly blame her for her actions; it must be terrifying.

Reviews are appreciated and loved. I will try my best to answer any question anyone may have.