Title: Endless Story
Written by: Yue Guang Kuroneko
Pairing: KyouyaxHaruhi
Rating: eto...PG
Written for: myself, actually. I became inspired (finally, after 4-5 months) after listening to "Endless Story" by Yuna Ito.
Dedicated to: Rii-chan. I don't know what I would do without you, Rii-chan! Thank you for always being there for me and making me smile, you crazy woman. :
Warning: Beware of OOCness and just general suckage!
Summary: Three years after Kyouya had left Haruhi in Japan, ending their relationship, he returns to Japan to find Haruhi missing. After searching for her, he finds her working in her own law firm in California in the United States. Can love rekindle between two people with two separate lives? Or will the story of their love end? KyouyaxHaruhi

Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran or any of its characters. They belong only to the great Bisco Hatori-sama (and BONES)...if I did, did you seriously think I would be writing fanfiction like a madwoman?

Endless Story

By, Yue Guang Kuroneko

--

Chapter One:

Loving someone
Is so much like sorrow.
Everything's overflowing,
So much that it hurts…
("Mienai Hoshi" by Mika Nakashima)

It was the first time in a long time she felt this way. It wasn't to say that she's never felt heart-wrenching sorrow before—but it's been a while since her mother's death and she never had any reason to feel like the world has ended.

Fujioka Haruhi was never the type to dwell upon the misfortunes of her life. She accepted them readily and moved on with her life, thinking of those hardships as steps that may help her in the future. Near or far didn't matter to her—she thought of them as experience that enriched her life and her mind. But never in her life did she think that she was going to suffer from heartbreak. Yes, that's right. Heartbreak. What a pathetic existence she was living. She was the same as the rest of the women on the planet—bemoaning over a man she entrusted her heart to, only to find herself weeping over the loss of his warmth, his love. She was a stupid woman. A stupid, stupid woman.

But as she thought this, angrily wiping her tears away, she found that it was probably the most natural to cry over him as any woman would do if they lost the person they loved. Why was that? It was because he was the only man on earth who made her feel like a woman. He invoked so many different sorts of feelings and emotions inside of her. He made her feel like a woman, like an equal, like a wife, like a lover, like a bird. He made her laugh, shake her fist at him in anger, cry. When it came to Ootori Kyouya, her entire being was in the palm of his hands and she belonged utterly and completely to him.

She had no doubts whatsoever that she will see him again—the same man he was the last time she saw him at the airport. He wouldn't have changed. He would still be well-kept, cunning, and professional. He would still wear those glasses that hid his dark eyes from betraying any emotion and that smirk—god, that smirk. He was the only man on earth who could drive her completely insane because he was the only man on earth she could never completely understand.

"Ms. Fujioka?"

Haruhi gazed up from her thoughts and her eyes focused on the American woman smiling at her through the door.

"Yes, Jeanne?" she sat up, straightening her spine and shuffling a few sheets of paper around as if she had been working when she had been interrupted.

"There's a call for you from a foreigner." Jeanne, her secretary, motioned towards the phone on her desk. "He's on line two."

"Thank you," Haruhi nodded to the blond haired woman as she picked up the phone. "Haruhi Fujioka speaking."

"HARUHI!" a loud, boisterous, and very familiar voice squealed into the phone. "DADDY MISSED YOU!"

"Tamaki-senpai," Haruhi sighed as she took a glance at the clock on her laptop. "You called me two hours ago."

"I did?" Suou Tamaki sounded a bit lost. "Oh, yes, I did! I missed you anyway! So how is my daughter doing? Have you been sleeping well? Eating well? Exercising?"

"Everything is fine," Haruhi said patiently. "Is there something specific you wanted?"

Tamaki was silent for a long moment. Usually, when she asked him this question, he would answer with a hearty laugh and say: "Does a father need a reason to call his daughter?" but today was different. She wasn't quite sure she liked this change; rather, she preferred his usual answer than this thoughtful, silent one.

"It's really none of my business," Tamaki began seriously. "But has Kyouya contacted you at all lately?"

At the sound of his name, Haruhi's heart leapt. It wasn't one of those jump-out-of-the-heart leaps, but it was definitely not a normal heartbeat and she silently scolded it for acting foolishly.

"No," Haruhi managed to say without any emotion. She was finished with him—why would he contact her now of all times? "Why do you ask, Tamaki-senpai?"

Tamaki was silent once more before Haruhi heard talking in the background and the voice changed.

"Haruhi," it was Kaoru, Haruhi was sure of it. "I don't want you to feel alarmed or feel the need to run when you hear this…"

Haruhi raised an eyebrow and said nothing. However, as Kaoru made no indication that he was going any further, she said quietly, "When I hear what?"

There was more shuffling in the background and this time, Hikaru was on the phone.

"The stupid bas—,"

She could tell the phone was wrenched out of the man's grasp and this time, protesting could be heard over the receiver. After a few moments of arguing on their part, Kaoru was back on the phone, clearing his throat quite loudly.

"Well, you see, Haruhi," Kaoru began. "Kyouya is—,"

"Ms. Fujioka! There is someone here to see you!" Jeanne called out to her.

"Look, Kaoru—I have to go," Haruhi said as she stood, straightening her suit. "You can tell me about it later. Tell everyone I'm sorry to leave in such a hurry. Good bye."

Haruhi didn't bother to hear Kaoru's word of protest or any other sounds their group had made in the background. She had placed the phone back down, disconnecting the call. She gazed quickly at the time, mentally noting that her next client was an hour early. Perhaps her client was desperate to file that divorce?

Heading for the door, she began to sense something different about her office. The air was stifling and the silhouette of the client behind her door was definitely not her expected client. Her client was a short, petite, pleasant woman. This person was a tall, powerful man.

"How may I help you?" she asked in fluent English as she opened the door. She stopped once her eyes were connected with his.

Oh God, She thought to herself as she found herself drowning in familiar liquid steel eyes.

"Good afternoon," that damn smirk adorned his handsome face once more. "I'm here to speak with Haruhi Fujioka."

"Yes, that's me," she forced her voice to remain polite and friendly. "And you are…?"

Haruhi didn't need an introduction from him to know who he was. Anyone would remember those eyes from behind those annoying glasses. Anyone would recall that playful smirk that only made him look to be the devil himself. Anyone would know that this man was Ootori Kyouya.

--

Ootori Kyouya was pleased with himself. He had finally—finally—tracked down Haruhi's law firm. It took him months to do so—a ridiculous amount of wasted time. How could he have underestimated her intelligence? If Fujioka Haruhi did not want to be found, under any normal circumstances, she will not be found.

When she opened the door, he could see that she changed. Her previously boyish haircut had time to grow out nicely like any woman would want it, but it seemed she rather liked that haircut and kept to keeping her hair short. However, it was much more stylish (it was probably the Hitachiins doing) and it was obvious to anyone that she was a woman.

At that thought, Kyouya subconsciously clenched his fists. He won't ask for her forgiveness. It wasn't as if he didn't want her forgiveness, in fact, if he had the opportunity, he would get down on his knees and beg for it—but he knew that her pride wouldn't allow him to.

She did not need him in her life—he knew that all too well. Her blossoming law firm and reputation proved to him of that, Fujioka Haruhi worked independently as she lived independently. When he left her, she didn't shed a tear nor say a single word of protest. At that point of time, he thought that she would be fine on her own and that he, too, could return to whom he was before—to whom he had been raised to be. But as he attempted to settle down in England due to a change of business of the Ootori Corporation, he found himself losing focus.

All he could think about was Haruhi. How she managed to bring out a part of him that he never knew existed. She brought a man inside of him—one that wanted to love her, to protect her from everything. It was rare for him to feel that way. After all, protecting someone other than himself was unheard of until she stumbled upon the Third Music Room and broke a very expensive Rune vase.

In the end, he returned to Japan—as a man, not as a son—in search of Haruhi, only to find that she had disappeared. It was only then did he realize that he had been a fool to believe that his careless good-bye did not hurt her.

Well, he thought to himself as he gazed down at her. It's a bit too late for regrets.

"My name is Kyouya Ootori," he bowed slightly in greeting, his English slightly less accented than hers. "I…have something to ask of you."

Kyouya unconsciously held his breath as her dark-honey eyes studied him for a moment. He was always enchanted with them—they were deep and meaningful. They could see through what others could not. It was she who saw the lonely, helpless, anxious boy he was before and helped him to revert into a man who couldn't live his life without her.

How cliché.

"Ms. Fujioka…?" Haruhi's secretary seemed to have prompted her to finalize her decision.

"Yes," she replied quietly. "Of course. Please come in."

Haruhi opened the door wide enough for him to step through and she stepped out of his way. Once he entered, he noted to himself that her office was flawless. It was much like his own, except his lacked what hers did not. He wasn't quite sure what it was that his was missing, but he didn't spend any more time admiring her office or dwelling upon the thought.

"Please sit," Haruhi said in English formally. She walked to her mahogany desk after closing the door behind him—the desk was similar to his, he noticed—and sat in a leather chair across from him. "What is it you need to speak to me about?"

"Haruhi," Kyouya began. He paused slightly, deciding not to reveal the true intent of his visit just yet. After all…there will be plenty of opportunities for him to do so in the near future. "I am in need of a lawyer."

"What for?" she asked in a business-like manner, pulling out documents as if preparing for a case already.

Kyouya chose not to answer that question just yet and instead answered her unspoken one: Why me?

"You're the only one qualified to do the job, Haruhi."

When he left Haruhi back in Japan a few years ago, telling not to wait for him (and a few harsh words after that), he was so sure that everything would go his way. However, his elder brothers became overconfident in themselves and their abilities that they made slight mistakes that impacted his own mission in England. This shook the Ootori Corporation greatly and they lost a good number of important shares, including a huge chunk that was incorporated with the English businesses Kyouya had been in charge of.

His father, Ootori Yoshio, confirmed to them at that point that they have one, and only one, chance to bring back the power of the Corporation—and the son who helped the greatest would become heir.

The elder brother distanced himself from them, wanting to prove to their father that oldest was the wisest choice. But the second brother, Ootori Akito, became close to Kyouya. It was probably Fuyumi's doing not that he thought about it, but he was secretly grateful of her meddling.

Akito had followed their elder brother most of his life and did what ever it was that their father told him. He married a woman named Asakura Reiko and for the first six months, Akito told him, everything had been fine. However, soon after that, money began to disappear rapidly from the adjoined bank account and he found documents of illegal activity stashed away in their bedroom. He had her investigated and found that she was not the 'princess' their family thought of her to be.

Haruhi stopped rummaging through her papers and gazed at him, as if analyzing his intents.

"Please, Haruhi," Kyouya attempted once more, clenching his fists, biting down his pride. "I need your help."

It was as if those words were magical. Haruhi seemed to have relaxed slightly and said to him quietly, "Let me hear your case."

--

Author's Note: I have returned, everyone! Kind of. I've been gone for around 4-5 months because of writers block. Truth be told, I'm slightly stuck on this one too, but I suppose it's better than the other ones I tried to write. I hope everyone enjoys Endless Story as much as they enjoyed Kimi no Koe and Touch of Serenity, even if this one isn't as great as those.

Please note that most of my references are from the manga, not the anime. Yes, the anime is awesome; yes, I love the anime to bits, but I find the manga a bit more reliable, since it's by Hatori Bisco-sensei and not by BONES.

- "Fujioka Haruhi" This is written in the Japanese form. Last name and then first name. This is used in the narrative and is used when implying that the characters are speaking Japanese.
- "Kyouya" I spell Kyouya with a 'u' and if you have a problem with it, I'm terribly sorry...just pretend it's not there...or something
- "Tamaki-senpai" The suffix -senpai is used for those higher than you. For example, an 8th grader would call an 11th grader "-senpai"
- "Haruhi Fujioka speaking" Here Haruhi is speaking in English, therefore using the Western way of first name and then last name.
- "Asakura Reiko" Original character. Won't show up very much, but will be mentioned from time to time.

Feedback is really appreciated. Constructive criticism is also appreciated. Mean flames are retaliated with my evil dust kitties and their water furballs...so don't try them. You'll regret it. Really.

Thank you for reading!