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Stalked by Evil

I've always taken note of her; those huge, brown eyes that watching everything with a calm detachment, that petite, innocent figure, hidden, unfortunately, by a male's uniform, and that short, russet hair that permanently smelt of strawberries. Even though I watched everyone – everything - she was a particular interest of mine. And I knew why: because I loved her from the very instant she stumbled into the third music room. I never thought I'd be one to fall in love at first sight. Hell, I never thought I'd be one to fall in love at all. But yet, here we are. But I was smart enough to know that a girl like her could never love somebody like me. The pure cannot love the tainted, and tainted I was. Instead, over the months I watched, examined, recorded and watched some more. I observed her every move, to be precise. And somehow I had to content myself with the fact that it had to be enough, it was the closest I could be. But it wasn't. It would never be enough with her.

Of course I'd help those pitiful losers I called my friends become closer to her; I can see they love her as much as I do. Every single one of them; Hikaru being selfish and juvenile, Kaoru standing in the wings like a coward, Huni-sempai shamelessly throwing himself at her, and Mori-sempai trying, in vain, to melt her heart with his cooler-than-ice gaze and mysteriousness. And then, of course, there was Tamaki. I don't think anything else has ever hit him as hard as his love for her had. I don't think he knew it was even possible. Though I'd never admit it aloud, he probably loves her more than I do.

Yes, I helped them make their way into her heart, but only because I knew I could outsmart them later. She would never love me, of course, but surely I was better than them. Hikaru was mean and selfish, Kaoru was always in his shadow, Huni can hardly be counted as a man, and Mori had the personality of a boiled potato. At least you can eat potatoes. And, as for Tamaki, well, he's too tormented or stupid to realise his feelings, and she'd never admit to having feelings for him; it's too embarrassing. So that simply leaves me: the cream of the crop. I should even be compared to them.

No.

I hate this. I hate myself.

I hate the way I look down on these people, my own friends. I know they are good to me. They've done nothing to earn my scorn. I this just proves that they're better than me.

But I can't ignore the voice in my head.

The voice that tells me they're not worth my time. The voice that tells me I am above everybody. The voice that tells me that I need to do anything to get Haruhi.

The other side of me, the…evil side of me.

He almost obliterated it.

My closest friend, he saved me and only he has come close to demolishing this darkness within me. But he didn't, not completely. Not thoroughly. He failed. And now he is the one I hate the most.

I can't end it. I can't block it out, or shut it up, or suppress it. It is an everlasting torment that drives me into insanity, gripping at my mind and trying to steal control. Sometimes, most of the time, I win, but some days it drags me down into dark oblivion where a feel like I can't escape. And sometimes I don't even want to. I don't want to escape. I don't want to fight.

But I must fight. I must fight it with every ounce of my essence. For her, the one person who only makes it worse.

Worse. So much worse, to the extent that I can barely contain it, myself, anymore. But I must resist her. If I pursue her any further I will lose myself and she will get hurt. I would never forgive myself if that happened. No, I must show self-control.

The craving escaped once, when we were at the beach. I lost control. I lost control for a single moment and it almost ruined me. It almost ruined her.

And at that time she was thinking about him.

Please save me.

Anybody save me.

I will end up hurting them.

Him.

Her.

Today I follow her home. She hasn't notice me, she doesn't suspect anything. Nobody does. They assume that I am loyal to that idiot. Ha!

Loyal? Loyalty is for the naïve population and dogs. I am an Ootori, and an Ootori is only loyal to himself. And an Ootori does not give up easily. We get what we want one way or another.

And she is the only thing I want.

She took small, elegant steps, probably without even realizing it, and was daydreaming about something. Probably food. Or him. How I hate him. He gets everything he wants out of life without having to ask for it. He's not like me. He doesn't have to deceive, he doesn't have to scheme, he doesn't have to take notes or act or take advantage. He hasn't had to do anything that I've had to do to get where I am today.

And where am I today?

I am the third son. I am organizing a host club. I am stalking. How...dishonorable. Pathetic, even. He could never understand the ordeals I've been through. The pain, the suffering, the unrecognized feats, and the feats that are so insignificant that it wouldn't even matter if anyone did recognize them.

He knows nothing but he acts like he does.

My breathing became more labored, like my throat had constricted. I don't know why. Frustration, maybe? Jealousy? An number of silly human emotions.

And I could hear a voice.

My better half telling me not to do this. But I don't care, not anymore.

She looks uneasy. Maybe she's noticed, so I tell my driver to take me back to the house, which he obeys without question or comment. He obviously didn't approve of my little detour. He's probably going to tell father.

What do I care?

I don't.

I sit in the ominous darkness of my room. Lights off, shades drawn. This is what my life had come too, feeling the need to make the world as black as my own heart.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Today was particularly bad. Everything about her; her eyes, he smile, she body, her laugh, her scent, her aura, everything dives me to insanity. How am I supposed to keep in control when I ache for her so badly?

The simple answer? I can't.

I feel the beginnings of hot, searing tears begin to prick my eyes, threatening to make their escape.

And then she is there. Standing in my room, right in front of me, as lovely as ever, tormenting me. The scent of strawberries is so strong that, for a second, I actually believe she is real, and I reach for her. But, of course, she fades away.

It almost makes me believe in ghosts; a special kind of ghost that is made for my own personal suffering. But I know that ghosts don't exist, not for the innocent and pure like Haruhi anyway. Maybe they come from the evil ones though.

This is all her fault. I was fine, perfectly calm and in control, before she came into our lives with her charming cluelessness and affronting innocence.

I love her. I love her too much.

But I don't just love her anymore. I want her. So badly that every time I think about it a small, flickering flame is light underneath my heart that makes it burn and ache with passion.

But I do not control that side of me.

And I can feel myself slipping. Slipping at a torturously slow pace, like sands in an hourglass. Grain by grain, my mind being clouded and darkened. I can feel it coming, but I can't stop it. And I'm not sure that I wanted to. I am tired of fighting. I just want it to be over.

It will be over, right?

My last minutes.

My last seconds.

Haruhi…forgive me. I am weak.

I've been following her much more often now. Almost every day after school I drive behind her as she walks home. I need to be near her. Just to see her, that's all. She draws me to her like a moth to light. She doesn't know the effect she has. She doesn't know a thing. She's so clueless, so helpless, and so deliciously, decadently innocent. It makes me crazy.

I've noticed some little patterns in her lifestyle, such as the fact that she goes to the supermarket on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Unless, of course, there is a sale on, then she'll rush down there like a mad bull. I don't quite understand her yet. But oh Kami, do I intend to.

I even sometimes watch her though her window. It's truly amazing, and a testimony to her naivety, that she can't see me. Most nights she is alone. She told us she does not get lonely, she told us that she is fine by herself but at night, when nobody's home, she will sit in front of her mother's shine and talk for hours. I have even seen a small tear escape once.

Don't worry, love, you won't be lonely forever.

But I know what it is about.

It's his fault.

He makes her like this.

She's confused about her feelings towards him. Somewhere in her heart she knows its love, but she's trying to deny it, trying to lose it, trying to get on with her life. She does not want to love him. She wants to finish her schooling career and become a lawyer. She has no time for love, for him.

Perfect.

I don't need you time, Haruhi. I don't even need you're love. I'm past that now; I'm not that naïve anymore.

Love is just an illusion, a simple trick that your heart plays on you.

Good thing I don't have one of those anymore.

She knows.

She knows someone has been following her. Every afternoon. It was careless of me to underestimate her so, but at least she doesn't suspect me.

I know she knows because I can see her slipping. The bags underneath her eyes, the anxious glances over her shoulder, the way she flinches as if she's been singed whenever anybody touches her. Shre turns off the lights in her apartment now. She does everything in the dark. She's afraid of who's watching. She's slipping through the cracks a torturously slow pace.

She can feel me in the halls at Ouran, and she says close to the Twins.

She can feel me on the streets, and she stays near the main roads.

She can feel me in her home, and she locks the doors.

She can feel me in her dreams, and she doesn't sleep. Not anymore.

She's losing her mind. The thought makes me smile.

I also overheard her talking him. I rarely go to school anymore, and when I do make sure to stay away from the Club. They don't see me anymore and I make a point of not running into them. She told him how scared she was (very bravely, I might add) and that she simply didn't know what to do anymore. She said that she didn't know how to go on living as she was. And she said that she could feel something following her. He said he'd shadow her home and make sure that nobody was watching her. But, of course, Tamaki finds no stalker, I'm too smart to get caught this late in the game, and Haruhi begins to believe it was all in her head, a trick of her imagination. She herself begins to wonder if she has lost her mind.

Perfect.

What better time to strike than when your prey questions their own sanity.

I watch her with her clients, shamelessly concealing her gender. But it's not a secret to everyone.

Better say goodbye to your friend, girls, I think, giddy with pleasure; she's not going to be hosting much longer.

Tonight is the night. It has to be. I don't think I can wait any longer.

I want her more and more every second. It's a burning, sweltering desire that threatens to consume my entire being, more than it already has, unless it is quenched.

Every minute without her is agony. Pure, unadulterated torture.

She will be mine.

Tonight.

Tonight.

It's now 7:05 pm and I'm waiting on the street outside of her apartment block. Simply waiting. The sky is overcast and dreary, like it's predicting what is going to happen. It's mocking her. Ha, pathetic girl, having the elements make fun of her so easily. Of course, some would say that they're mocking me.

But I know better.

Nobody mocks me. Nothing mocks me. They don't dare it. And besides, there is nothing to ridicule; everything will go my way tonight, I can feel it.

And if it doesn't, somebody will get hurt.

The sun has just gone down and it still overcast, but now completely black. Even if not for the weather it would still be a moonless night. No light to help her cause. Her father is working tonight and she has just turned on all the lights. Now is the time.

I fiddle with the apartment blocks electricity box for a moment and now everything is set. I walk up the old stairs very slowly and silently, careful not to alert the neighbours of my presence. Although it is not crucial that I am quiet, it still helps. It makes it more fun. My breathing has become short and quick, the anticipation seeping into every part of my cold body. I make it to her door and look through the window, being extra cautious that she doesn't see me. She is studying quietly, but glancing at her watch every minute or so. Maybe she is expecting someone? For her sake, I certainly hope not. It would wreck everything. But, then again, someone like her wouldn't be the type to invite people over. She's probably just got something cooking in the oven.

My body floods with excitement and the slightest state of euphoria, although an Ootori would never show such a thing. As I am about to knock on the door I hear someone behind me and the jangling of keys.

"O-Ootori Kyouya?"

My heart skips a beat as I turn. The person knows me. She called my name. My plans are ruined. The panic surges through me, but then simply overcome it. Why should this ruin my plans? This is not a derailment, just a slight detour.

It's Mei.

Haruhi undoubtedly told her about the 'stalker', and she is standing there in a ridiculously short mini-skirt, despite the merciless weather, spinning keys in one hand and cradling some sort of shoujo magazine in the other.

But the eyes. Her eyes, usually confidently calm, are unbelievably huge with absolute terror.

"I-It…can't…"

I pause and look at for what I know is an unusually long time, not saying a word. She doesn't say anything either. I'm not sure if she knows how anymore.

I begin to untie the rope from a nearby hanging plant. Keh, pathetic commoners, they can't even afford to have steel chains to hold up their plants. But this has come in handy.

Mei doesn't move. She doesn't even make an attempt. She is frozen into place at the sight of me, her legs betraying her survival instinct.

Before they begin to work again, I advance.

Haruhi sat quietly in her living room, studying. The storm clouds outside made her anxious. This was definitely not the day for thunder.

And she was beginning to get worried; her friend Mei was supposed to be visiting her that even, and it was getting late, but she still hadn't arrived.

Maybe something has happened? She thought, but immediately shook the thought from her head. Being in the Host Club for so long had clouded her mind and drained it of logic; first she thought someone was following, which was just preposterous, and now she was, once again, assuming the worst.

Those noises outside, they were just her imagination.

Her legs started to ache, the result of sitting in the same position for over an hour, so she decided to move around a little before Mei arrived. As she got up, the lights flickered ever so slightly.

She shrugged it off. The electricity in their apartment block could be better, and there was a storm brewing.

However, as she took a few more of her dainty steps, the lights turned off completely for a few moments.

There was a sound. It was a small, almost inaudible sound, like a slight rap on the window or a creak of the house. The kind of sound that you hear on a rainy night, tucked warm and safely inside your bed, and you can't be sure whether or not you even heard it, but it makes your blood go cold and your body stop completely. And there was a shadow. A dark, shadowing figure scuttling out of view so quickly that Haruhi wasn't sure it was even there. She spun on her heels to the place where she thought she saw the form go.

"Is somebody there?"

She sounded brave, but her heart knew better.

There was no reply, and the lights began to flicker again. They began to make her anxious.

And then there was the shadow. It was circling her. The lights made it impossible to make it out, but it was spinning around her rapidly.

She knew this was not her imagination.

Her sweat turned to blood and her body turned frozen in pure fear.

And then the light went out.

And they held.

One.

She breathed in and out heavily, compensating for the blood that was rushing from her head.

Two.

She heard a sound, a very soft sound.

Three.

She heard a breath that did not come from her own lungs.

Four.

She sucked in the air around her and held it in, not daring to breathe anymore. Not daring to move.

Five.

And then the lights came on finally and brightened up the room. There was no shadow to be seen.

But before Haruhi could even wonder if it was a dream, before she could even exhale, she felt a hot breath slowly trickle down her neck and unto her should.

And then came a voice, a male voice. A familiar voice. It spoke in an almost unbearable whisper.

"I see you."

Haruhi emitted a blood-curdling scream. The kind of scream that destroys the voice box of the screamer and the ear drums of any unfortunate enough to hear it. The kind of horrific shriek that an animal makes when it believes it is going to die.

Logic leaving her, she ran further into her apartment, only to be stopped by the dead-end of her hallway, cut off by a closet. He was still behind her. She could feel him. And then that voice again.

"I can still see you."

Like a cornered animal, her panic went into overdrive, desperate of an escape. She opened the closet.

"…Mei?"

Haruhi let out another soul-piercing scream, only it had been drained of most of its terror. In its place was hopelessness.

Mei was not moving, nor would she ever again. Her head lolled to her collarbone, and her neck was attached to a rope that suspended her whole body mid-air.

The funny part was that a closet full of blood and gore, with

Mei's limbs scattered arbitrarily would have been less disturbing than the cold, heartless scene before her.

Murders in cold-blood always are.

Haruhi felt as if she was going to vomit; only her body wouldn't allow it. She couldn't believe what was happening. For an instant she was utterly convinced she was dreaming.

But her senses came to her. What was happening was real. Mei was dead. She was cornered. A sense of bleak hopelessness overcame her. The person was capable of murder. She wasn't going to get out alive.

With the same flood came a rush of bravery. If she was going to die, she was going to die with dignity.

Maybe it could even have a silver lining. Maybe she could finally see her mother.

Acceptance.

So she turned on her heel to face her fears. Her fear.

No.

…

No.

"K-Kyouya…"

Her voice broke. He couldn't be there. It was impossible. She almost wanted to reach out and touch him to make sure he was real. For the second time that night she was convinced she was dreaming.

But everything was too real; the moistened air, the faint sound of rolling thunder somewhere in the distance, the thunderous pounding of her own heart, the pain it felt, and every small detail about him that she was sure her brain couldn't have known.

She looked into the grey eyes of her senior that were now wild. No, not even wild. Feral. Inhuman. And the crooked smile. A crooked smile much like the one Tamaki-senpai sported, only it filled her heart with terror instead of making it melt.

She opened her mouth to speak, to scream, but the ability had completely left her.

He couldn't be there. It was impossible.

And then Kyouya's smile widened so that his teeth were exposed, "Don't scream anymore, my love, all I want is you."

He slammed her against Mei's coffin roughly, which only seemed to please him more. His hands bound her wrists against the closet door so that she couldn't move more than inch. To her credit, Haruhi didn't scream, and she did not cry. She was the picture of bravery.

Until he released her wrists and his hands made their way slowly down to her shirt, unbuttoning it.

When she put two and two together, when she realized exactly what he wanted, she was drained of ever emotion except angry. Pure rage.

Kyouya, too fixated on her difficult buttons, didn't notice when she pulled her phone out of her pocked. He didn't notice her swiftly dialling the numbers or the soft ringing. He didn't even notice Tamaki's faint voice, asking if anyone was there.

He did, however, noticed when Haruhi screamed in his ear, "TAMAKI-SENPAI! HELP! PL-"

She was cut off by Kyouya grabbing her cell and tightening his fist around it.

She looked him square in the eyes and saw the insanity, the fury, and knew she had done the worst possible thing.

She could've sworn the she actually saw him snap.

That was just before he hit her in the temple with the very cell phone she had tried to use to call help.

He hit her again and again, until there was a dent in the side of her head and a small puddle of blood slowly pooling around her head where she lay on the floor, not moving.

She'd never move again.

They'd never be whole again.

He'd never be able to move on with his life.

It was a crippling blow to the Host Club; they all loved Haruhi in one way or another, some more than others. As if it wasn't tragic enough, it was also the second death that had happened within their club.

Nobody had even begun to get over the death of Ootori Kyouya when Haruhi had been killed.

He was found, only two weeks before, lying lifeless in his room, an empty bottle of sleeping pills on one side of his body and what looked to be a suicide note on the other. However, the only thing written on the note was Haruhi's name. She, of course, blamed herself, and you could see in the following weeks how much his death had affected her sanity. She stuck close by people but never spoke to them. She flinched at every touch. She spent her time in darkness. And she never slept.

The remaining members understood that feeling before too long; they had to live with both of their tragic, untimely deaths.

They never found the person responsible for the murder of Fujioka Haruhi.

It was like he disappeared into thin air, just like a ghost.

The End.

Song inspiration: Snow White Queen – Evanescence

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