Ouran- Spirit Minded No. 2

"AAAAAH!"

Tamaki sprang up in bed, his eyes darting around in all different directions.  His body was shaking a bit; being hit by a truck would do that to you after all.

But wait, if he'd just been standing in front of a truck… how did he get in his room?

Tamaki examined his surroundings.  He was lying his bed, the same one he slept in every night.  Same walls, same nightstand, same enormous window with the sun streaming in and Antoinette was clearly visible, asleep in the corner just as she always had.  This was his room, alright.

Now Tamaki was confused.

'How did I end up here?' he asked himself.  'The last thing I remember was…'

He shivered a bit, he'd rather not remember staring at those headlights.  

'Okay, just stay calm and think, what did I do before that?  Wait…'

A light bulb went off in Tamaki's head, one that made him sigh in relief.  

"That's right," he said aloud. "I dozed off in the car yesterday.  I must've fallen asleep and dreamed up the traffic jam and that truck.  That means I'm okay.  Thank Goodness…"

Tamaki laughed, a weight lifting off his stomach as he looked out at the morning sun.  It looked a bit more beautiful all of a sudden, reminding him how lucky he was to be alive to see it every morning.  He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he thought back to what he'd been doing the night before.  He shrugged his shoulders, he'd just have to apologize to Haruhi in School that day, hopefully she wasn't still too angry.  

Tamaki sat up, and suddenly realized that he'd been laying on top off his blankets rather than under them.  He also noticed something even more peculiar.

"I'm still in my uniform?"

He ran a hand down his Ouran jacket.  

'Well, I guess I can't expect the maids to undress me, but they could've at least taken my shoes off.'

He gently kicked his shoe covered feet forward as he thought this.  After a few more seconds, he shrugged and stood up, figuring it wasn't that big of a deal.  He took a moment to stretch his arms and marvel at how refreshed he felt, having gotten so much sleep the night before.

The night before…

"OH MY GOD, I MISSED THE DINNER!!"  

His screaming rang across the room and woke Antoinette, who was on her feet and barking in the blink of an eye.  This forced Tamaki to forget about his faux pas for a moment so he could calm her down before the servants were disturbed and came to see what was wrong.

"Sh, relax Antoinette," he approached the dog quickly.  "It's okay, I'm right here, it's okay."

That wasn't calming her down, in fact, she seemed to bark louder the closer he got to her.

"Antoinette, what's wrong?" Tamaki asked, reaching a hand out to pet her.

He immediately pulled it back when the dog made like she would bite him and barked louder than ever in his direction.  Tamaki backed away, both confused and saddened by his beloved pet's behavior.  What could he possibly have done to make her so angry?

Before he could ponder this further, the bedroom door burst open and in came Shima with an angry look on her face.

"Hush, Antoinette,"  The elderly maid harshly snapped at the dog.   "What in Heavens name are you barking at?"  

"Shima," Tamaki addressed the women, whose back was to him.  "Did you remember to have her fed last night?  I know I was asleep bu- wait, where are you going?"

Shima, it seemed, had given up trying to quiet the still barking Antoinette, and left the room without even acknowledging her young Master.  Tamaki could only follow her out and try again once again to get her attention.

"Shima, didn't you hear me?" He called out as she descended the staircase.

He was distracted from her though, when he realized just whom she was approached.  His father, Yuzuru Suoh, stood in the doorway waiting for her.  They began talking about something Tamaki couldn't make out, so he climbed down the stairs himself and moved closer to them.

"…is making a lot of noise." He heard his father say, most likely about Antoinette.

"She's quieting down a bit now," Shima answered.  "I think whatever was bothering her is probably gone now."

Yuzuru nodded, "I trust you've been keeping his room clean?"

"Of course," Shima answered.  "We've followed your instructions to the letter."

Tamaki listened to the conversation in silence, wondering why his father was asking Shima about this.  Did he think the servants weren't doing their jobs properly?  He had been over yesterday morning, did he not like what he'd seen?

"Father," Tamaki spoke up, stepping past Shima so nothing would block him from his father.  "The staff is doing a perfectly good job.  There's no reason for you to be concerned."

Yuzuru sighed, a sad look on his face for some reason, "See to it then that you continue."

Shima bowed in response as Yuzuru turned to leave.

"I'd stay longer," he called over his shoulder.  "But the school day is about to start.  It wouldn't do for the Principal to be late."

"Late?" Tamaki repeated to himself.  

He glanced over at the grandfather clock by the opposite wall.  It was 7:20.  His first class started in fifteen minutes.

"I'M LATE?!"  Tamaki freaked out for the second time.  "Shima, why didn't you wake me?!"

He dashed outside, not waiting for an answer.  He stepped across the threshold and stopped short.  Toshiro wasn't there, and the only car in sight was his fathers.

"Wha… father, do you know where Toshiro is?" Tamaki called to his father.

Yuzuru Suoh looked at Tamaki, or rather, at the area where Tamaki was standing.  For some reason, Tamaki didn't think his father even realized he was there, but that was ridiculous.  Tamaki was in plain sight after all.

He stood rigid for a few moments, looking into his father's eyes and wondering what he should do next.  Then a thought struck him.

"Am I going with you this morning?"

It had happened a few times before.  Sometimes Yuzuru would drive to the Second estate before school started and escort his son to the campus.  He only did this if there was something important to be discussed.  The last time had been a few days after the School Festival.  Yuzuru had spent the whole trip speaking sternly to his son about disobeying his Grandmother's wishes and how he was now on thinner ice than ever with her.  Tamaki took it well, of course.  He'd known just by looking at his father that there was no substance behind his words.  The older man's eyes were smiling; he was proud of his son, even if he'd never say it.

This time, however, Yuzuru gave no response to his son's question.  His eyes moved just above Tamaki's head, looking at something behind the boy.  Then he closed his eyes and slid into the car.  Tamaki, though still confused, could only take his father's lack of answers as a yes and quickly got into the limousine himself just before the Chauffeur closed behind him.  It wasn't like he had another way of getting to school anyway.

The car ride was surprisingly quiet.  Tamaki had expected his father to say something by now, but Yuzuru had been staring aimlessly out the window for several minutes now.  Tamaki, for his part, sat twiddling his thumbs and wondering why his father had wanted his company if he wasn't going to say anything.

"Father," Tamaki said when he finally grew tired of the silence.  "I know you must be angry with me about last night.  Grandmother was very upset, wasn't she?"

Yuzuru didn't answer, which made Tamaki nervous.  He must've been in a lot of trouble.

"Please let her know how sorry I am," he continued.  "I would never intentionally snub her.  I don't even know why I slept for so long…"

He trailed off slowly when he realized his father still hadn't moved from his spot.  Tamaki stared incredulously at the middle aged man.  Was he ignoring him?  

"Look, I know you're angry, but giving me the silent treatment isn't going to solve anything!"  Tamaki cried, raising his voice a bit.

Still nothing.

At this point, Tamaki was quite affronted, and decided that if his father wanted to play this game, he'd be happy to play along.  The remainder of the drive was conducted in silence, with Tamaki doing everything in his power to keep his eyes on the window and nowhere near his father (and he definitely didn't glance over several times to see if his father had moved at all).

**
Tamaki stepped out of the car, yelping as the Chauffeur almost closed the door before he was all the way out.  Tamaki would have taken a moment to inform the driver of this slight, but the large clock in the courtyard was ringing, signaling the start of class.

Tamaki ran past his still silent father, throwing a quick goodbye over his shoulder and passing several students on his way to class.

When he reached Homeroom, he found the door was still open.  Without another thought, he ran inside, but stopped short when he realized he was now standing in front of his teacher and his classmates, and probably looked like a mess from all the running.

Mortified, Tamaki turned around and bowed to the teacher.

"Sensei, forgive me," he said in a respectful tone.  "I did not mean to be late, I just… huh?"

Tamaki blinked, having just noticed that his teacher hadn't looked up from the papers she was grading.  Tamaki stared at her in confusion for a few seconds.

"Sensei?" he called out to her.

No response.  

A chill went up Tamaki's spine.

'What is wrong with everyone today?' he asked himself.  'First Antoinette, then Shima, my own father, and now my teacher is ignoring me too.  What is happening here?'

**
Tamaki Suoh Inner Mind Theatre

The aliens were invading earth, they had destroyed all the major cities.  Slaughtered the military.  The world had descended to complete Chaos.

"MUHAHAHAHAHA!!  We are now controlling your brains, puny humans!  MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"  laughed the aliens.

"We are being controlled by the aliens," droned the brainwashed human population.

**
Tamaki blinked.

"No, that's just silly, aliens don't have mind control powers" he said to himself.  "Unless the ninjas have something to do with it!  But wait, ninjas don't have mind powers either… but what if they do?!"

Tamaki screamed in fear, waving his arms over his head like a maniac.  He  eventually came to his senses and realized he'd just made a fool of himself in front of all his classmates.

Or at least he would have had they actually acknowledged what just happened.

Pointless theories aside, this was getting scary.  Tamaki slowly walked to his desk, arms crossed defensively, looking around at his classmate's whose noses were all in their work.  They didn't even flinch when he passed them by, despite his loud footsteps.

This wasn't right.  Normally, at least five of his (female) classmates would've come to greet him the second he walked through the door.  Even if he was late, they'd at least acknowledge him with a smile or a nod.  Suddenly being ignored like this… well, it was certainly new to Tamaki.

He shakily sat down at his desk.  

'Stay calm,' he told himself. 'Just stay calm, there has to be a logical explanation for all this.  I just have to… wait, Kyoya!  He'll know what's going on!'

He almost whirled around without thinking, but stopped himself.  Kyoya didn't like to be disturbed in the middle of class.  The last time Tamaki made that mistake, he'd been too scared to look Kyoya in the eye for three days afterwards.  Still, his confusion over being ignored managed to outweigh the fear of his best friend's wrath.

Slowly, Tamaki rotated in his seat, until he was facing his best and oldest friend.  

"Psst," he hissed. "Kyoya…"

Kyoya didn't look up from his work.

Tamaki fought down another batch of nerves and tried again.

"Kyoya," he said louder. "Kyoya, listen to me, something weird is happening.  Nobody will talk to me, it's like I'm not even here.  Even my father was doing it!"

The other boy lifted his head a bit as he turned his notebook to a new page.  Once he had, he was right back to taking notes and not once did he seem to hear what his friend was saying.

That teared it.

Tamaki practically leapt out of his seat, fear and confusion taking a back seat to his growing anger and frustration.

"Kyoya, as President of the Host Club and your superior officer, I demand that you answer me RIGHT NOW!"

He didn't even care about disturbing class at this point, it wasn't like they were paying him any attention anyway.  

"Dammit, Kyoya," Tamaki nearly shouted. "Answer me!"

He raised a fist, determined to get a reaction out of his friend no matter what.

"I said," he repeated, rarely seen anger laced in his words as he reared his fist back. "ANSWER ME!"

He swung.  He didn't want to hit Kyoya, but this quiet game was becoming to much for him.  His fear and anger were growing every time someone ignored him.  He needed to know what was going on, and he needed someone to help him.  It seemed to happen very slowly.  Tamaki's fist came closer and closer to the apathetic Kyoya.  Finally, his fist reached Kyoya's head.

And went right through it.

The self proclaimed King's reaction was instantaneous and, given the circumstances, fairly reasonable.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

Tamaki leapt backwards, moving through three desks along the way.  When he stopped, he was at the opposite end of the room, by the windows.  He breathed heavily… wait, was he even breathing?

His hand clutched at his heart and Tamaki blanched.  No heartbeat.  

Suddenly, everything made sense.

Antoinette's barking, everyone ignoring him… no they weren't ignoring him, they couldn't hear him, or see him.

That truck, it wasn't a dream.  It really happened.

Tamaki Suoh really was…

"Dead." The word fell out of Tamaki's mouth before he could stop it.  He stood frozen for who knew how long, letting it sink in.

He was dead…

"BUT I CAN'T BE DEAD!" He screamed. "I- I'm too young to die!  What'll happen to the Host Club?!  What about Haruhi?!  Those demon twins will get to her!  And what about my mother?  She wouldn't survive if something happened to me!  I SIMPLY CAN NOT BE DEAD!!"

He ran back to his desk (careful not to move through any to get there) and leaned right in Kyoya's face.

"Come on, Kyoya, say something!  Anything!  Call me a dumbass, tell me to shut up, just talk to me, please!"

Kyoya gave no reaction at all.

His mind racing, Tamaki began sprinting around the room, crying frantically the whole way, desperate for someone, anyone to hear and see him.

"Shizuka-hime!" he stopped in front of his regular's desk.  "You can see me right?  Right?  You know I'm here!"

She didn't respond.

"What about you Ayame?" he rounded on the girl one desk over.  "Can't you see me?"

Ayame adjusted her glasses, glanced at the clock, and continued to write notes.  Not once but she spare Tamaki a glance.

"DOESN'T ANYBODY SEE OR HEAR ME?!"  

A boy two desks away looked up in Tamaki's direction.  He gasped, hope rising within him.  

The boy faced forward and raised his hand.

"Excuse me, Sensei?" he said politely.  "Can we please close the windows, it's a little drafty in here."

"Alright, Tsukuda-san," said the teacher, who then turned her attention to a girl in the second row who sat right next to the open windows.

"Kita-san, please close the windows."

"Of course, Sensei," the girl said as she stood up.

Behind her, Tamaki could only stand there, unnoticed by everyone.  In any other situation, he would have crawled into his corner by now to sulk, but this… this went beyond the Corner of Woe.  This was…

Death.

Yes, he couldn't deny it anymore.  What had just happened proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt.  He was dead.  He'd been hit by a truck while trying to cross the street.  He was dead and he was a ghost, that was it.

Tamaki's mouth was open, but no words came out as he aimlessly ambled out of the classroom and down the hall.  He didn't know where he was going, but it didn't really matter anyway.

Because he was dead.

**
The streets were very busy.  Another traffic jam, it seemed.  Tamaki didn't pay it any mind though.  He'd been walking for several blocks now.  Since he was no longer solid, he could simply move through any obstacles in his way, so he just walked in a straight line all the way into commoner territory.

'What's going to happen to everyone?' he wondered aloud for perhaps the tenth time.  'The Host Club, will they disband?  What about my mother, and Haruhi?'

Haruhi…

What would she do without her daddy to protect her?

What would Kyoya do?  And the twins?  And Hunny and Mori?

'All of us would be completely lost without you!'

Tamaki stopped.  He'd almost forgotten those words Haruhi said to him on the bridge.  Right before they'd gone over into the river below.  Together.

'No,' he said to himself. 'They can make it, they have each other.  They have…

I'm dead.'

Those words struck him hard.  In spite of everything, he hadn't really let that sink in until right at that moment.  His life had ended.  He'd never eat, sleep, feel cold or warm or anything else, ever again.  He'd never see his mother again.  He'd never see Haruhi's bored look or the cute little smile she only let show on certain occasions.

He'd never graduate from Ouran.  He'd never make peace with his Grandmother.  He'd never see France again.  He'd never hold Haruhi in his arms again.  What if a thunderstorm came, who would protect her?

Tamaki slumped over onto the curb.  People were literally walking through him, but he couldn't care less.  If he could cry, he would've, but it seemed he'd lost that ability along with everything else he'd ever known or loved.

He was a ghost now, walking the earth alone until who knows when.  The people around him walked by and didn't even know he was there.  A man was crossing the street with some groceries, a woman sat at an outdoor café and talked on a cell phone; a little girl on the other side of the street was looking at some flowers.  Business as usual, not a single glance at the miserable ghost.  

Tamaki pulled his legs closer to him.  He would've leaned against the wall behind him, but he was afraid he'd fall right through it if he tried, not that it would've matter.  He absently watched the passers-by, every now and then looking back at that little girl and wondering where her parents might be.  It seemed odd that a girl that young would be left on her own.

Then she lifted her head and looked right at him.

At first, Tamaki was unsure of that.  He turned around, expecting to see something or someone behind him that had caught the child's interest, but there was nothing.  Looking back, he found that her eyes were still on him, and that she'd tilted her head to one side in a childish way and brought her thumb up to her mouth.

Tamaki had no idea what to make of this.  Could this girl have some sort of ghost seeing ability?  Or was he just imagining it?  

Tentatively, Tamaki raised a hand and gave a slow wave.  His eyes widened as the girl broke into a grin and began running towards him.  His joy at finally being seen, however, was cut short when he realized the girl was about to run into heavy traffic.

"Wait!" he called out, but she was already in the street.

Tamaki could then only watch as the small girl phased through several cars as well as a lamp post before she finally stopped in front of him.

"Hi, Mister!" she said in a high, cheerful voice.  "Are you invisible too?"

Shocked, Tamaki didn't answer right away.

"Wha- invisible?"  Was all he could say when he did.

"Uh-huh," the girl said with a nod. "I've been invisible since forever!  And I can do this!"

She ran back to the lamp post and stuck her arm through it.

"See, isn't that cool?"

Tamaki looked at her arm, which was now jutting out the other end of the pole.

"…how long did you say you've been- invisible for?" he choked a bit on the word 'invisible'.

The girl blinked, "I dunno, a long time."

Tamaki stared at her, unsure what to make of this.  He could see the girl didn't fully understand what had happened to her, he didn't understand it himself, actually.  After all, she was so young…

"My name is Tamaki," he said, forcing a smile.  "What's your name, little one?"

"I'm Naru!" she answered. "And I'm not little!  I'm almost four!"

She held up four fingers for visual reference, and Tamaki felt something catch in his throat.

Only four and already…

It seemed some people had it even worse than him.