author's note ..

This is the result of a write-off with a friend, with a random pairing and lyric as the prompt. It was timed, so, probably isn't as good as it could have been.

Kingdom Hearts and Ouran High School Host Club are not mine.

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larxene x haruhi

( better late than not at all. )

& - - - »

"You're late."

It was a statement Haruhi had been waiting for, if not by different person entirely. Following normal routine, the girl had taken her time finding her way to the music room after class, not particularly excited to spend another afternoon entertaining rich girls with too much time and affection on their hands. Normally, Tamaki or Kyoya would linger by the door until she arrived, fake parental figures jumping at the chance to scold their child returning after curfew. "Haruhi!" Tamaki would yell, clinging to his 'daughter' with an inhumane grip; "You had me worried sick, you crazy, rebelling girl! I thought you had gotten lost! I thought you were kidnapped! I very nearly called Mr. Tachibana to search for you!" This would last until Kyoya slipped by with a clever statement ( "You, too, were five minutes late, Tamaki"; "This happened yesterday. Is your brain too small to remember?" ), usually ending with something dark enough to send the Host Club back to their duties ( "The guests are waiting. Need I remind you that our profits rely on the clock? Tick, tock." ).

The voice she heard today was the opposite of Tamaki's: it was sleek, yet prickly, like glass thrown on the floor simply for the pleasure of hearing it break. Haruhi hesitated, leaving her hand on the doorknob without fully closing the door, quickly assuming that it was one of her scheduled guests. Formulating some semi-charming reply in her head, Haruhi was somewhat surprised when she glanced over her shoulder and was met with electric blue eyes, every bit as stunning as they were terrifying.

This woman was out of place, too sharp and too dark for the rich-looking music room. Angles and curves fell together from her head to her toes, complimenting each other rather than contradicting. Her hair stood jagged atop her head, like bug feelers or lightning bolts, and her boots tap-taped on the floor with playful impatience as Haruhi blinked stupidly. She was not a guest -- she was not even a student in the school, as her black trench coat broke Ouran's dress code. She didn't belong. Is she one of Tamaki's relatives? Haruhi wondered, picking out the subtle similarities between the two -- and then the silence in the room became overwhelming, and she noticed the utter lack of a Host Club and guests.

". . . Huh?" She sputtered, leaving the door open slightly, but walking further into the room. All Host Club material had been abandoned; they were never this late. "Where're the others?"

The woman laughed something hysterical -- it vaguely resembled nails scratching at a chalk board. Even as she threw her head back, her eyes were open, watching her with feral-like amusement. "Gone, girl," She said, sauntering a little closer, hands on her hips. Instinctively, Haruhi recoiled. How did she know she wasn't a boy? Maybe she was from Roberia. Despite the awkward tension, Haruhi sighed.

"Stupid Tamaki," She murmured in a way that she thought the woman couldn't hear; "He didn't tell me . . ."

"Oh!" The blonde interrupted, so quick that Haruhi almost jumped. "Tamaki, Tamaki . . . that rings a bell! I think he screamed the loudest."

Were it not for that ugly grin toying with her lips, Haruhi would have taken it as nothing out of the ordinary. Tamaki screamed all the time. "Excuse me?"

"I told you you were late. What a shame; you missed all the fun." She paused, and pressed a leather-covered finger to her lips, considering. "Then again, maybe this will be more fun . . ."

"Fun?" Haruhi glanced back toward the door, suddenly wishing she hadn't strayed so far away. "Sorry, but if I don't find them . . ."

"No, no, I think you misunderstood me. They're gone, doll -- they're dead. Erased." Her words hung in the air, thick, dizzying; they made Haruhi's wide eyes only wider, as if waiting for the punch line in a long-winded joke. She didn't believe her. She wasn't that naïve. She wasn't that stupid. ( Or maybe, in the end, she just wasn't that smart. )

"My name is Larxene," The electric-eyed woman said when Haruhi found that she couldn't open her mouth, "And I'm here to be your Revolution."

The room seemed to spin so fast, Haruhi was afraid she might fall off.

Eventually, she did.