A/N: Oh boy. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. You guys really have no idea how long I've been waiting to write this story. It's not going to be like my other Ouran fics. As you can tell by the summary, this one's going to be a lot darker. Not too dark, but dark enough. I thought now would be as good a time as ever to write a post-apocalyptic fic. :D

This story has been completely planned out and will be 32 chapters long, including this prologue and an epilogue. I have the next three chapters pre-written, and will continue to update once Commoner Club is complete. The next chapter of Commoner Club is in-progress and will be posted within the next two days.

Until then, I hope you enjoy the prologue of Fragments.

Haruhi almost doesn't believe Tamaki when he says he didn't know it would rain today.

Almost, because he says it in that loud, dramatic way of his and she's still getting used to the knowledge that this is real and not just an act to try and manipulate her emotions. He cries in the corner for a good ten minutes, while the others decide they don't care, and all it really means is they have the carnival to themselves today. Besides, it's only drizzling.

So they have their chauffeurs break out the raincoats (and of course they carry several changes of clothes just in case), tossing extras at Tamaki and Haruhi before heading off in different directions. Haruhi last sees Hikaru and Kaoru approaching the Ferris Wheel and Hunny-senpai dragging Mori-senpai over to some games, pointing at the wall of stuffed animals offered up as prizes. Kyoya sits at a table near the refreshment booth that has an umbrella over it. He's not very interested in carnivals.

This leaves her alone with Tamaki, as he continues to sniffle like the child she often feels he's never stopped being.

"Come on, Senpai," she says a dozen times before he finally listens. "I told you, it's okay. I'm not angry. Let's just go and have a good time, alright?"

Something about that statement, innocuous it may be, sends him shooting for the opposite extreme. He springs to his feet, grabs her and holds her close. Haruhi kicks her feet out, but can't work herself free, even as Tamaki points dramatically at the carnival grounds.

"You're absolutely right, Haruhi! We're here for a day of fun and nothing will get in our way!"

And he's off. Dragging Haruhi along, his first stop is the concession stand, much to Haruhi's lack of surprise. She's even less amazed when her over-excited Senpai orders two of everything on the menu. She has to change the order when Tamaki's not looking, requesting only a milkshake for herself and taking a few things off his order as well so he won't have to spend the night with his head in the toilet.

Tamaki doesn't notice when the food is ready. He eats what he has without a single complaint, gushing about how wonderful it is and proclaiming the workers to be the absolute best chefs in the world. Haruhi can only roll her eyes and sip on her shake, a smile playing at her lips.

The others wander over soon after, covered in copious amounts of classic carnival gear. Hunny-senpai, walking beside Mori-senpai instead of resting on his back for once, proudly sports a red balloon hat, the head of which looks sort of like a giraffe. There's a cone of half eaten cotton candy in one hand and disposable ramen bowl in the other. Mori-senpai's arms are over loaded with his and Hunny's hard earned prizes. A giant stuffed tiger at the very top obstructs his face from view, yet he moves with all the grace and ease of the martial arts master he is.

Hikaru and Kaoru have gotten their faces painted, a cat and a dog respectively. They take great pleasure in sneaking up on Tamaki and loudly meowing/barking in his ear. He jumps ten feet in the air with a shriek, half eaten riceballs flying everywhere as the twins break down in laughter. Kyoya is the only one with no food or souvenirs, but Haruhi expected no less. At the very least, he doesn't seem as bored as when they first arrived, and when he goes to break up the impending fight, he does so with minimal annoyance.

"Come on guys, don't fight," Hunny-senpai says brightly, before inserting half the remaining cotton candy into his mouth. "Let's just have fun!"

"This is fun," the twins respond over Tamaki's enraged screams.

"THOSE TWINS HAVE GONE FAR ENOUGH!"

Kyoya is not moved.

"Really? I can think of a few worse things than spilled commoner food. You're overreacting, Tamaki."

"I am not!" Tamaki says indignantly. "How can you say that when I am only trying to appreciate the lives of Haruhi's people."

"My people?" Haruhi wonders aloud.

Kyoya sighs. "I suppose we can stay an extra hour for dinner."

It has the desired effect. In an instant, Tamaki's face has returned to it's proper color and his is cheering and crushing Kyoya in a hug that leaves him gasping. Tamaki doesn't notice and spins Kyoya around in his exuberance before letting go. The twins stand huddled together, watching the scene.

"How does he get so excited over the simplest stuff," Hikaru says.

"That's the Boss for you," Kaoru answers.

Haruhi tunes them out as they continue to whisper. She takes a moment to watch her friends, Tamaki has just started an argument with Hunny-senpai over what ride they should try next. Tamaki starts off firm in his reasoning for choosing the roller coaster, but Hunny-senpai's stance is quickly becoming threatening. Haruhi doesn't believe he will really attack Tamaki over the merry-go-round, but Tamaki sure does. He is already starting to sweat under Hunny-senpai's hooded gaze. Haruhi then spots something in the distance.

"How about we get a picture?"

Everyone goes quiet, and presumably looks where she is pointing. Then Hikaru speaks up.

"Sure, sounds okay to me."

"If it doesn't take too long," Kyoya says.

"Come on, Takashi!" Hunny-senpai is already pulling his cousin with him to the booth. "Let's go, everyone, we're getting our pictures taken!"

The rest of the group catches up quickly. Surprisingly, it's Tamaki and Haruhi taking up the rear. With even Kyoya more than five feet ahead of them, the two walk side by side, and Haruhi can't help but notice the look on her upperclassmen's face. His smile is contagious, she can't stop from returning it.

"I knew today would be a wonderful day," Tamaki says, inhaling the fresh air through his nose. "What about you, Haruhi?"

There is a pause as Haruhi contemplates her answer. She almost stops walking, but manages to keep up with him.

"I didn't give it much thought," she admits softly before looking up at him. "But I am glad I came."

Tamaki's face, if possible, lights up even more. Haruhi half-expects him to pull her into yet another hug, but if he does have the urge, he isn't acting on it. They arrive just as Kyoya is paying the photographer for a set of group photos. The twins stand on one side next to a bench, Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai are on the other. Kyoya takes the middle, and Tamaki and Haruhi find a place in front of them. Mori-senpai pulls Hunny-senpai into his arms so he can be seen, and the twins each have one hand on Haruhi's back in a decidedly friendly matter. This doesn't stop Tamaki from glaring at them, nor Haruhi from rolling her eyes. They don't move a muscle when the photographer calls for them to look up at him. They must look rather close knit, or else just really weird. Haruhi considers this as the man prepares his camera, but it's right before the picture is taken, in that split second before the light will flash and blind her.

It's right then that Tamaki shifts his weight to his left leg, and his hand comes to brush hers. Haruhi freezes up, her heart making a single, heavy thump that she can't explain. She casts a glance at Tamaki, but he doesn't seem to notice. She looks back at the lens, and feels the warm hands on her shoulder, hears the sound of Hunny's laughter and Mori's breathing, sees Kyoya out the corner of her eye looking strangely at peace with himself, feels a tingling in her fingers where Tamaki had touched them that is actually kind of nice.

There is no other place Haruhi rather be than right here.

She smiles.

CLICK

It's quiet.

Everything is quiet tonight.

Quiet and calm exactly the way she likes it.

With her hand running absently down cold, sleek metal, and her back pressed against the splintering wall, she's about as comfortable as she possibly can be and alert enough to see that nothing and no one is approaching. This makes her happier than necessary, and that's saying something. Her old shotgun is nice to hold on to, but not so fun to use. She remembers the first day she got it. It had been scary, but also kind of invigorating. She finally had a chance to fight back, to feel stronger. She could even learn to hunt. None of those things had been kept from her, even when her father tried to object. She went about her business because she was an adult now and she knew that she wouldn't always have the people in their building to protect her.

The world they were living in now… it wasn't the same as the one she grew up in.

Not by a longshot.

And when things change so drastically, so quickly, even Haruhi Fujioka knows that it's time to get off your ass and start adjusting.

So that's what she did.

"Haruhi?"

She doesn't jump at the voice, she already knows it well. She'd been expecting him for ten minutes now, and can't help feeling a bit annoyed in spite of the worn out look to him.

"Evening, Fujiwa-san," she says, getting to her feet.

He smiles sadly. "I think you mean good morning."

"Oh… yeah, I guess so."

Fujiwa nods, and the awkward pause that comes after goes straight for Haruhi's nerves and makes her want to melt away into the wall before she says something she shouldn't.

"How's Mariko?" She asks politely. "Is she feeling better?"

He sighs, and Haruhi hopes he isn't going to ask her to leave or just refuse to answer. Haruhi cares for Mariko's health as much as anyone else in the Building, even though they have never spent much time getting to know each other. She's always been sickly, even before all of this. How she survived The End is anyone's guess. She isn't gone yet, so she must be made of tougher stuff than people give credit for.

As it was, she appeared to have taken a turn for the worse last week. The Building was up in arms doing everything they could for her, which wasn't really much. With no doctors around aside from a former Registered Nurse, and no more Doctor's offices to go to, Mariko-san had been sicker and in more pain than ever before. It makes Haruhi feeling like crying, both for Mariko and her husband.

"She said she felt better today, but…"

His hands and shoulders start to shake, and he doesn't go on until he's regained control of himself.

"Mariko… she tends to lie about her pain because she thinks she's bothering people. I don't know why she would- but-"

A soft sob escapes him. It's the only one Haruhi hears, but she imagines he's crying enough on the inside. She stepped forward and place a soft hand on Fujiwa's back.

"Listen," she says. "This is a really difficult time for you and you must be exhausted from worrying so much and taking care of Mariko. If you don't think you can perform lookout duties tonight, I don't mind staying a while longer."

"Oh no," he says, snapping to attention. "No, I couldn't do that to you, Haruhi. You've been out here for hours, I'm surprised you're not dead on your feet."

'I am,' she thinks, and wisely keeps to herself.

"If you're really sure," she says. "Because if you're not-"

"Go Haruhi." He leaves no room for argument. He even guides her in the direction of the door. "Go and sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

As she's stepping over the threshold, Haruhi turns back around and smiles.

"It is morning," she says.

Fujiwa doesn't laugh, but Haruhi didn't expect him to. He doesn't do anything but stare out the window, but Haruhi hopes her little attempt at raising his spirits at least reminded him that he wasn't alone in this. No matter what happened to Mariko, he would always have a family here.

She stops in front of her door, just short of pushing it open. It was like someone had just come up from behind her and smacked her in the head with a mallet.

She sees them again.

Their faces in her mind, faces she hasn't seen since that horrible day.

That day when the entire world began to collapse.

In the aftermath of The End, no one really knew what had happened.

It had been quick and it had been painful, and most likely numerous elements went into it, coming together at the wrong moment and plunging the world into chaos. As the years went by, they all mostly stopped thinking about it. It no longer mattered how, the important thing was to stay alive today and tomorrow.

For Haruhi, there were other important things, or people, really. Six of them.

It had been ten years since Haruhi Fujioka last saw the members of the Host Club. She had lost them that day and never found them again. One by one they all disappeared before her eyes, lost in a crowd of terrified rioters who had no care for anything but their own safety. The last to go was Tamaki, his violet eyes filled with an unspeakable fear. His mouth formed an 'O' as he was pulled away from her, locked in a scream she couldn't hear as he was dragged off.

Thinking about it, even a decade later, created terrible pains in Haruhi's chest.

Her door slides open, and Haruhi steps on three creaky floorboards in a row on the way to her bed. The walls in her cramped room are bare and murky brown, as is the ceiling. A small oil lamp sits on the coffee table. She rarely uses it unless it's an emergency. The moon and the stars provide just enough light for her to find her bed, and that's all she needs.

Dropping her shotgun by the door, she pulls off her tattered, dark brown jacket and tosses it haphazardly to the floor. She can just hang it up in the morning or something. She kicks off her boots as well, leaving her clothed in form fitting black pants and an equally dark tank top. She runs a hand through boy cut brown hair. She keeps it short so it doesn't get in her way when she's working or at target practice. Though she won't admit it out loud, Haruhi also keeps it as a reminder.

When she looks in the mirror, she sees a face aged ten years. Her features are matured, her eyes darker with bags underneath. She has never been a very large or curvy girl, but she appears to have gotten skinnier, her muscles defined from tireless work

There is no mirror in Haruhi's room, and so right now, she can't see any of this. With a heavy sigh, she collapses on the bed. The mattress is lumpy in places, but ultimately comfortable; it's her pillows that pose the problem. After using them for so long, they have gone flat and saggy. Haruhi doesn't bother trying to fluff them anymore. She makes do as best as she can, the way she's always done ever since she was a child.

As she stares at the opposite wall, her chest slowly rising and falling and creating a feeling of calm within her, Haruhi's mind begins to wander. She does this every night, and she always finds herself back in the same place. With Hikaru and Kaoru and Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai and Kyoya-Senpai and Tamaki-senpai. She sees herself standing for that group photo at the carnival with their goofy faces all around her. She can feel the smile on her face, and the contentment she had carried in the pit of her stomach. If only she'd known back then what was going to happen in just a few short months.

That soon, she would be separated from all of them, with no idea where they were or even if they were alive. That this question would have her staying up until all hours of the night coming up with theories that varied in plausibility. That the lack of answers would eventually lead to silent tears running down her cheeks until she was finally lulled to sleep by sheer exhaustion.

Haruhi closes her eyes tight, though she doesn't feel anything wet. She sees them again, their fear filled faces that would be her last impression of them. Two seconds later, they would all disappear into the abyss.

First Kaoru, then Hikaru, then Hunny and Mori, then Kyoya, and when it was down to just her and Tamaki…

'Hold on to me, hold on tight!'

"I can't… I just-'

'Haruhi!'

'Senpai! Where are you? SENPAI?'

Her eyes snap open.

A gasp is half formed in her throat.

She feels cold moisture running down her cheeks.

She puts her head in her hands.

It's going to be one of those nights.