Write Me a Love Story (OHSHC)

XXII: The Last Manuscript

February 24

I walked just inside the doorway of music room 3 and leaned against the pristine white doorpost. I gazed in on what had been my after-school home for... A long time. I took a sweeping, bittersweet look around. Something told me that once I left, I wouldn't be back for a while.

I chose not to sigh as I walked inside.

Tamaki was sitting a little ways away from the door, leafing through a book, but he snapped it shut and stood up as soon as he heard me approaching him.

"Kaiyo." We stood three feet away from each other in complete silence. After a moment, Tamaki opened his arms, and I stepped forward and fell into them. His arms wrapped around me, and I hugged him tightly.

"I'm really going to miss you, Senpai," I told him, squeezing him a little tighter. For as many times as this crazy goofball annoyed me and came up with the strangest ideas to pull me into, I would miss every second of his antics.

"I'll miss you as well, Kaiyo. And it looks like I'm not the only one." As soon as he said that, I promptly felt a tug on my jacket. I turned around and both Honey and Mori were standing behind me. Honey stretched his little arms up toward me, and I promptly bent down to give him a hug.

"Honey-senpai.... Eat all the strawberry cake in the world for me, okay?" I said as I pulled away. He nodded at me and smiled a little sadly as I stood up.

"Mori-senpai." I left it at that, not knowing what to say to him even though he meant much more to me than I could explain. He surprised me by pulling me into a brief hug, and it took me a second to hug him back.

"I'll miss you," I said after he let go.

"I will too, Kaiyo," He echoed, still stoic in tone but smiling softly down at me.

"Is it true?" A voice demanded from the doorway. I turned- Haruhi had arrived. "Are you really leaving?" She asked. I nodded sadly, walking over to her as she came inside.

"It's true. It's for the best," I informed her. Haruhi gave me a hug, her big brown eyes squeezed shut for a second before opening again.

"Make sure you come back and visit. We're all still your friends, Kaiyo," She reminded me. I definitely needed to hear that.

"Once I'm ready," I promised quietly. "Once I'm ready, I'll come back. Until then, I'll see you in math class." I poked Haruhi's shoulder, eliciting a laugh from her despite the sad look on her face.

"It's true?" I heard again, in a masculine voice this time. Hikaru and Kaoru walked over to us. "I thought Tamaki was kidding." Kaoru said. I shook my head.

"So you're really going, huh?" Hikaru asked, and I nodded in response. He ran over and gave me a quick hug, Kaoru doing the same.

"It's not going to be the same without you always writing in the corner, Kaiyo." I scoffed, laughing afterward.

"Thanks, Kaoru." Following the silence afterward, I remembered the stack of paper in my hand.

"Is Kyouya here?" I asked them all. They shrugged, but Tamaki replied,

"Yeah. He's in the back, doing whatever."

"Good." I replied, holding the papers out to him. "Will you give this to him, please?" I asked. He took it from me gently, looking over the first page.

"Your last manuscript," He observed, and I nodded. The entire group stayed quiet for about thirty seconds before we fell back into a collective hug.

"I'm really, really going to miss you guys," I said as I pulled away. I shouldered my bag securely on my back, and they all walked with me toward the door. There were no words left to say- we were all speaking with our faces (even Mori, very slightly). I took a step out of the club, walking about five yards away before turning around. They were all standing there- Hikaru, Kaoru, Haruhi, Mori, Honey, and Tamaki- with sad smiles. I waved, and they all waved back. I tried to block out the anger and the sadness and the hurt that was threatening to make me run back to the room, back to the host club. I had to fight it. Kyouya hadn't given me a choice. I turned back around to face what was in front of me, and I walked away without looking back.

*

"So that's it? She's really gone, we're just letting her leave?" Kaoru asked as he and the others watched Kaiyoka round a corner and disappear.

"I guess so." Haruhi sounded unsure. "Does anyone even know what happened? I mean, we were all there when Kyouya said he would stop talking to her, but he didn't tell us why," She pointed out. All eyes turned toward the president, and he sighed.

"I don't even know the full story. All I know is that Kyouya stopped talking to her, and she thinks that she's not needed anymore. Which is a fair point only if you consider that none of us know anything about writing," Tamaki qualified. "Only Kyouya ever read the pre-published stuff, and since he refuses to speak to her and acts like she doesn't exist, she felt that it was best for her to leave. Because, as she said, 'she's taking up time and money by being here if she's not doing anything'."

"But she is doing something," Honey pointed out, and Tamaki sighed frustratedly.

"Kyouya made her think that she has no other purpose in this club other than to write stories. She doesn't even realize how indispensable she's become," He told his senior. The other hosts took this information in, not knowing what to think or say. And, as if it were comedically timed, Kyouya walked out of the other room in the back of the music room, approaching his group of friends- minus Kaiyoka.

Before he could say anything, Tamaki walked over to him and handed Kyouya the stack of papers Kaiyoka had given him.

"What's this?" Kyouya asked. He didn't see his blonde friend glaring at him, because he was looking at the papers in his hand.

"Read it and find out. That's your job," Tamaki replied with just the slightest bit of hostility. He then turned back to the rest of the hosts. "Get ready for the day, guys. Our goal is to make these girls happy. Don't let what happened today get in the way of that. Okay?" They all nodded, taking their president's little speech to heart for once as they rushed to their places. They needed it.

Kyouya stood in the back, adjusting his glasses and listening to Tamaki with one ear, as per usual. He was wondering what could have possibly happened to all of the hosts - except for him - that prompted such a speech.