Home *OHSHC* (Complete)

Missing You

A/N: So this is my longest chapter so far, at 2083 words! Holy poo. That's a lot for my usual stuff. I typically break it off before then, but I've been wanting to make longer chapters so it works! 

                       It's been two weeks since Nozomi disappeared outside of Ouran Academy, and the customers of the Host Club have noticed a shift in the mood of the beloved club room. They knew it had something to do with the girl Hikaru and Kaoru had talked about, but none of the girls truly cared to learn more. The club members themselves spent all of their free time in search of the elusive girl but turned up empty at every attempt. It was if she had disappeared into thin air, but they knew with her knowledge of the inner streets, it was very possible.
                       The Host Club bids farewell to the final customer of the day before closing the doors to the room. Tamaki turns to address his friends, laying out a game plan for today's search. Everyone listens diligently, but the desperation and hopelessness has taken hold of them all. It is hard to find someone that doesn't want to be found. As Tamaki delves into his orders, Kyoya interrupts him after adjusting his glasses.
"Tamaki, at some point you will have to accept that she doesn't want to be found and doesn't want help. She's from the streets and that's what she knows. What else do you expect to happen? She can't live with one of you all forever and she certainly can't afford to go here. She doesn't have a place here."
Everyone remains silent for a moment until Kaoru shatters it.
"Shut up! No she can't afford to go here, but she will always have an open door with us. She doesn't have to come back, even if I want her to, I just want to apologize to her. If you open your mouth about her again, I will pummel you!"
Kyoya glares at the young Hitachiin but stays silent, choosing to continue writing in his notebook. Tamaki bites back a response of his own and finishes their plan before they, with the exception of Kyoya, head out to look for the girl.
                            On the streets, they split into pairs and begin to ask the pedestrians and shopkeepers if they had seen her. They were to contact the others immediately if they got a lead. An hour later, things seemed even bleaker until Honey called the others. The coffee shop he and Mori had gone into had a lead. The cashier said he'd seen her in there earlier in the morning getting coffee for the librarians. They agree to meet in front of the library on the outskirts of the town and they'd ask the librarians about her. The library was a modern, sleek building with a large wall of windows surrounding the second floor reading area. The main floor was solid to deter break-ins. Tamaki and Haruhi are the last to join the group and they all stare up at the building, hoping that the older women would be able to help them. With a deep breath, Tamaki leads the way and holds the door open for the others to file in. A bell chimes overhead as they are greeted by the warm musty smell of the library. With the exception of Haruhi, none of them had ever been inside a library so five sets of eyes studied the endless sea of bookshelves surrounding them. They approach the desk and smile politely at the very short and frail lady sitting in front of them. Her features were almost lost in the gentle folds of her face, but her smile lines were very evident. She had to be in her late nineties, if they had to guess.
"Excuse me Miss, we were wondering if you've seen a friend of ours?" Haruhi asks since no one else spoke.
"Who are you looking for Miss Haruhi? You haven't been in for a while." The lady coos, grinning down at the girl.
"Her name is Nozomi Utagawa. She has silver hair and light blue eyes, she lives on the streets. We're worried about her and the coffee shop said she was getting coffee for you today."
"Ah, yes. Nozomi has been volunteering with us for about two weeks now. She may still be here restocking the books on the third floor. She may have left for the day already, though. I'm not sure."
"Thank you so much!"
                       Resisting the urge to run to the elevator, the group walks to the back of the building to head to the third floor. The elevator ride is silent but the hope is almost tangible. Two weeks of searching and she'd been at the library most of the time. The doors ping open and they step out onto the floor.
"Why are there so many floors in the library Haru-chan?" Honey asks in a whisper.
"This library covers most of the biggest languages used throughout the world for international travelers and scholars. This floor is dedicated to English books."
"So, how are we going to look for her?" Hikaru asks, glancing at his nervous brother.
"Someone will stay to watch the elevator, everyone else will stick together and we'll search a section at a time. That'll be the easiest."
Mori leans against the wall beside the elevator to confirm him staying behind and the rest head off into the dimly lit area. After searching through three sections, all containing six aisles of bookshelves a piece, they begin to feel the harsh reality that they may not find her today. Hikaru glances up to find his brother rooted in one spot, staring down an aisle with wide eyes.
"Kaoru found her." He whispers and it draws everyone's attention. They split into two groups and move to block the aisle.
Kaoru notices Tamaki, Haruhi, and Honey come to stand at the far end of the aisle, but Nozomi hasn't noticed any of them yet. Her hair is down, the pieces framing her face pulled back into a braid. Her clothing is the same as what she wore when she left them, but it still looks clean and unstained, along with the rest of her. She must've gotten help from the librarians. Her head is down, scanning a stack of books on the cart beside the step ladder. She grabs the stack and climbs up to put them in their proper places. One slips from the top and she curses quietly before moving to get down and pick it back up. The book is held up beside her and she raises an eyebrow but thanks the patron without hesitation.
"You're welcome." Kaoru whispers, staring up at her.
                                   She freezes and glances down before the rest of the books tumble to the carpet. Nozomi quickly abandons the ladder and moves to walk out of the aisle but stops when she finds both exits blocked. Hands on her hips, she turns back to Kaoru with a challenging glare.
"What are you doing here? Did you bring a leash for your pet?" She hisses.
Kaoru flinches and sighs. "We've been looking for you for two weeks straight. We were worried about you! I'm sorry for what Hikaru and I said, if I could just explain-"
"I don't want to hear explanations, Kaoru. I was stupid and let fear override my common sense. I trusted someone other than myself. Main rule of survival: Trust no one. Lesson learned."
She moves to go past him but he blocks the aisle with his body. She pushes against him but her body is still weaker than he is and his determination is unwavering. She stops and backs away, huffing in frustration.
"What happened to your neck?" Kaoru asks suddenly, noticing a pattern of purple bruises decorating her skin.
Her hand immediately moves to it and she shakes her head.
"What? Does it make your charity case look better or worse depending on the pets condition?"
"Stop it Nozomi! I don't think of you as a pet. Just let me explain."
"No! I don't want to hear it. I was doing fine without you guys and I'll continue to do fine. Also, you shouldn't trap pets, it makes them nervous."
"Nozomi-chan! Please listen to Kao-chan! He wants to apologize. We've been so sad since you left. Just hear him out, please!" Honey calls out, the pout evident in his voice. "It's not like you can climb over the bookshelves or anything."
Her eyes move from Honey's sad face to the ladder, then to Kaoru before thoroughly surprising them all. She races to the top step and gracefully flips over the shelf, landing in front of the main aisle starting the next section. Kaoru and the others break out of the initial shock and take off after her, but she's disappeared again.
"Split up and look for her."
 They all begin to search the aisles again with a newfound effort. They know she can't leave without being caught by Mori, so now it's a matter of finding where she has hidden herself.
                                Haruhi reaches the area of the bathrooms and notices the light for the men's bathroom is off from the crack under the door, but the women's is lit up. She slips into the bathroom while the others aren't looking and rounds the corner. Nozomi is curled up on the countertop between the sinks, her head resting on her knees. Despite knowing she was in the room, Haruhi was still startled when she saw her at first. Nozomi's head lifts from her knees and her crystal eyes land on Haruhi, her unease very evident.
"I'm not going to tell them you're in here, if that's what you're worried about. Since you won't listen to Kaoru, I'm going to just speak. It's not in his defense or anything like that. If you listen, that's up to you. I'll say my piece and if you want me to leave afterward, I never saw you and that'll be the end of it, okay?"
Nozomi thinks it over for a moment before slowly nodding her head, relaxing only slightly.
"I heard what was said that day in the Host Club. The guys are admittedly idiots and rarely ever mean anything they say while they're in that room. As crazy as it sounds, the twins were trying to help you. I know from experience that those spoiled little rich girls are psychotic. They are obsessed with the Hosts and aren't beneath hurting someone that they see as a threat. When I first became a host, even thinking I was a boy, I had girls after me because Tamaki paid attention to me." She explains to the silver haired girl. "They didn't want to risk you becoming a target so they had to find a way to appease the girls before they met you. If they saw you as someone that they saved and were taking care of, they wouldn't have seen you as a threat and it would've been fine. They apparently couldn't word it properly and it came out sounding like you were a pet. It was the furthest from their intentions I swear." She pauses as she notices Nozomi staring at her intently, her eyes trying desperately to discern the truth from any lies.
"We have been searching for you for two weeks straight. Kaoru was the most upset that I've ever seen him, and he just wanted to apologize to you even if you didn't want to come back with them. If you didn't mean anything to the Host Club, trust me, they wouldn't have bothered. I would recommend giving them a second chance because deep deep down, they're pretty great people, but that's up to you."
"You aren't lying to me, are you?" Nozomi asks after a brief silence.
"What reason would I have? I just wanted to tell you my viewpoint."
"Are you afraid of thunderstorms?"
Haruhi raises a brow, taken aback at the sudden question but nods her head.
"I saw you the night Tamaki helped me. It was storming and I was underneath a tree at the downtown park. A girl was running through the streets in the rain and a man dressed as a woman was chasing her, yelling out 'Haruhi'. It was you, wasn't it?"
Haruhi blushes and nods. "Yeah, that was my dad following me. I was going to bring him an umbrella but the storm started way before I'd expected."
"So, I guess we should go out there and face the boys before they destroy my hard work."
Nozomi slides off the countertop and smooths out her clothing before heading toward the door.