D/C: I don't own OHSHC.

I was reading the OHSHC manga the other day and I was suddenly struck by the desire to write a twins x Haruhi fic...yes, again. I can't get enough of those. So I had my characters, but I really didn't have a plot or anything, and I just sat staring at my laptop until finally, Ghost Whisperer boomed in the background and I got my idea! I just borrowed the concept of being able to talk to ghosts, that's all. Hehe. Anyway, this seemed like a good plot to pass, so...enjoy!!

One Last Time

Chapter 1:

"Why are you the only one I can't see, okasa?

I mean, okasa...I would like to see you, too.

Just for once. One last time, please."

-

Ouran High School was one of the largest, most prestigious schools in Japan. Its campus building was huge and looked nothing like a school, but more like a castle. The inside of said "castle" was as huge and beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside, with marble staircases and crystal chandeliers and stained glass windows and vast hall rooms. The "castle" grounds were picturesque, with green courtyards and bubbling fountains and pretty rose bushes.

The students who attended this high school were rich and came from a long line of respectable families, royal families, esteemed politicians and wealthy businessmen. In this marvelous place that was Ouran High School, special student Haruhi Fujioka felt out of place. Not only was her family quite anonymous, but she was also rather poor...or in other words, a "commoner". Not to mention the fact that she couldn't afford the school's creamy yellow uniform, and had to show up in her regular clothes every day - that made it very difficult for her not to attract attention.

However, not even one person spared her the briefest of looks today. Everyone was rushing towards music room number 3; they all had a look of utmost distress on their faces, a lot of girls were in tears, the boys looked absolutely shocked. Haruhi wasn't even slightly curious; she felt a sense of detachment to this school, and only cared about going to her classes and returning home once the final bell rang.

But when she tried to move away from the crowds, they just pushed her back and dragged her along with them. She struggled to break free of the masses, but in vain. Ultimately, she found herself near the front of the crowd, right next to the music room's door. A red-haired boy was standing across from her, dressed from head to toe in chain mail; he really looked out of place amongst all the other students who were merely wearing their regular uniforms. She stared at him, and he stared back at her, as if trying to determine whether she was looking at him or at someone else. It would be difficult for him to figure that out because she was wearing a pair of thick glasses.

Someone grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and pulled her back as a couple of medics rushed towards the music room, pushing a stretcher in front of them. As the medics entered, everyone collected around the door, trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening inside. Haruhi didn't move; she continued to stare at the redhead in the chain mail, and he continued to stare back at her, looking completely unfazed by the excitable students.

The students shrank back as the medics came out of the room a couple of minutes later. The stretcher was now bearing a redhead wearing chainmail. His eyes were closed, and he looked as if he were in a deep slumber. Another redhead in chainmail rang alongside the stretcher. Tears were streaming down this boy's cheeks, and he was screaming, repeating a name over and over again.

"Kaoru! Kaoru! Kaoru!!"

Four other boys wearing knight armor followed closely at his heels - one of them was bawling, and the other was speaking urgently on his phone. Haruhi frowned - was this the notorious Host Club? She switched her attention back to the boy who had been staring at her. He was now regarding the crying boy with a sad expression. His whole face was contorted into an expression of pain. Haruhi didn't like this; she didn't like this at all. She started to back away, but the boy's honey-colored eyes caught her like a deer in headlights.

"Shit," she whispered, quickly averting her gaze. She turned and started to wrestle her way through the crowds. "Excuse me, excuse me. Coming through, coming through!"

No-one was cooperating, and it took her several minutes to become free, and she dashed down the corridor. She cast a look over her shoulder to make sure the boy wasn't following her, and was glad to see that he wasn't. But she had to get out of here; she had to leave before he found her.

Haruhi Fujioka was a special student because she was intelligent and scored the top grades in her elementary school, which entitled her to a full scholarship at Ouran High School. However, she was also special in the sense that she was able to see dead people.

She hadn't always been able to see them. They say that when you go through a perilous experience, your perception of things amplifies. Haruhi was six years old when she and her mother were caught in a car accident. Haruhi had come out with a broken leg, but her mother, who had protected her daughter with her body, had died on the way to the hospital. During her brief stay at the hospital, she started seeing people others couldn't see. She listened to them when no-one else did. When she started talking to them, her father was quick to take her back home.

But from that day on, Haruhi had been able to see and communicate with ghosts and spirits. She didn't tell anyone other than her father, and even he wasn't quick to believe her. He also made her swear that she wouldn't tell anyone, and she never did. But the dead people always found her; they know she can see them and they come to her for help. Haruhi was generally not interested in offering any help to the spirits, and she always made it clear to them...however, they always kept coming. Day and night, they kept popping in her house, asking her to help them.

That boy back there had seen her, and had known that she could see him. She wanted to kick herself - why did she always have to stare at the dead people? Why couldn't she just look away?

Haruhi didn't want that boy on her case, especially since he was probably a rich, whiny brat. The "commoner" ghosts were bad enough, and she hated to imagine what a rich "ghost" was like. She was hoping that she'd be able to lose him in her neighborhood; she doubted he'd be able to find his way around that place. She usually went home walking, but she felt like she would have a better chance of losing the kid if she were to hail a cab.

And so she did. She fidgeted nervously all the way home, always twisting around in her seat to look out the window. There was no sign of the boy so far, but that didn't stop her from being extremely restless.

Upon arriving home, she quickly paid the cab fair and stumbled out of the car. She looked around frantically as she dashed up the staircase that led to her apartment. Her hands shook badly as she tried to unlock the door, causing her to drop the keys several times. It didn't help that a ghost decided to surprise her at that moment.

"Haruhi-kun..." he whispered eerily.

"Gah!" she cried, spinning around so quickly that she tripped on her own two feet. She crashed to the floor, landing on her bum. "Itai..."

"Haruhi-kun, I need your help," he whined, hovering close to her.

The iciness of the aura around him sent a shiver up her spine, and she gritted her teeth. "Morita-san, I keep telling you to move on; I can't help you," she snapped, picking up her keys and scrambling off of the floor. This time she successfully managed to unlock the door. "I'm rather busy today, so please leave me alone."

She walked inside and slammed the door shut. She was just starting to slip out of her shoes when she felt the icy presence hovering behind her. But of course, closed doors couldn't block out ghosts...and it's not like they ever had the decency to knock, anyway.

"Please, Haruhi-kun, I have to apologize to my wife for yelling at her before leaving to work," he said. "Can you imagine how horrible it is to live with the knowledge that the last thing I said to her was 'Leave me alone, bitch!'? Huh? Can you?"

Haruhi had to struggle to keep herself from saying that he really wasn't entitled to use the word "live". She glared at him instead. "Look, if you're going to beat yourself up about it, then you shouldn't have yelled at her in the first place!" she snapped. "Now leave me the hell alone!"

The ghost actually pouted, but he did turn and leave now. Haruhi heaved a weary sigh and staggered over to her kitchen counter. She stood over the sink, turned the tap on and splashed her face with water. It was exhausting, trying to deal with ghosts - it always left her feeling rather drained. She poured herself a glass of milk and trudged to the living room. Settling down at the kotatsu, she switched the TV on and started flicking between the channels.

As she sipped her milk, she found her mind involuntarily drifting back to music room number 3. The face of that redhead filled her mind and she wondered vaguely about the way he'd died. He was still so young, and he was in the school, so that ruled out the possibilities of car accidents and the like. Then she remembered the other redhead, the dead boy's twin...his screams rang in her ear, and she couldn't begin to block them out.

Despite herself, she wondered where the dead twin was. Maybe they'd managed to revive him? Maybe they had jolted him back to life? Haruhi highly doubted it, but still...for the other twin's sake. She smacked her forehead; why was she even thinking about them? This was not like her. She folded her arms across the kotatsu and rested her head against them, and it wasn't long before she'd drifted off to sleep.

She wasn't sure for how long she'd slept, but she certainly didn't like the way she was woken up.

"You!"

Haruhi jumped, knocking over her glass and spilling the milk all over the surface of the kotatsu. She felt an icy presence close to her and she gritted her teeth; maybe if she ignored this ghost they'll leave her alone. However, she had jumped in surprise.

"Wow, something just pricked me and I spilled the milk," she murmured, picking up the now-empty glass. "I'd better clean this up."

Trying to appear as casual as possible, she got up to her feet and started for the kitchen, but her way was cut short by the ghost. She had planned to walk right through him, but she froze in her tracks when she saw who it was. The redhead in the chainmail. Now that he was standing right in front of her, she could see that he was a head taller than her. She wanted to look at him, but she didn't wish to risk him knowing that she can see him.

"I know you can see me," he said hoarsely, his bottom lip quivering. "I saw you staring at me back at Ouran."

So much for ignoring him, she thought. She placed a hand on her hip. "So?" she said irritably.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, kami-sama," he whispered. He tried to grip her shoulders, but his hands went right through her. While an icy sensation passed through her, the boy's eyes welled with tears. "Please, you have to help me."

"I'm sorry, but I don't offer services to the dead," she replied, trying to walk past him.

"No! You have to! You have to!" he pleaded.

"Look, I'm sorry you died, but move on at your own pace and leave me alone, will you?" she snapped.

He clutched his head. His knees sagged. "Not me. I could care less about what happens to me," he croaked, and she frowned at him; this was the first time a ghost said that to her. "But please, I'm begging you; don't let my brother die. Hikaru...he's going to kill himself. You have to stop him!"

-

A/N: Well...erm, I really don't know what to say; this story seriously came out of nowhere, and before I knew it, I had one complete chapter. Since I'm feeling quite enthusiastic about this, I reckon I'll be updating often. Anyway, I'd love to hear your opinions - please review! :3

- S. N. B.