<Recap:>

If there is a god......
Please don't make me go.
Please

<End of Recap>

Max's POV

"What?" I ask not really interested in the topic the Twins just announced.

"The beach?", Haruhi asked.

"Of course! The beach", the Twins said. Haruhi was at a desk with books and papers, studying. I was just there to keep her company and help her at her request.

"But why?", she asked.

"Don't you remember what you said?", Hikaru asked.

"You said you'd like to go to a real beach", Kaoru said.

"Did I say that?", she asked.

"Yes, Haruhi", The Twins and I said in unison and then moved aside to reveal a room full of mannequins with different swimsuits on. "Here's the fun part." They stood next to a light pink two-piece. The top had plenty of ruffles, or layers.

"We brought some swimsuits for you to choose from", Hikaru said. "Pretty cute, don't you think?"

"She isn't a Barbie doll you know......" I mumble.

"Not that one!", Honey said. Honey lifted up a one-piece with three different blues on it. "I think that this swimsuit would look much cuter on Haru-chan."

"I don't think you get it, Honey-senpai", the Twins said. Honey was confused. Most or all of the other hosts were looking at the swimsuits as well. The Twins lifted Haruhi up.

"Just look. This uniform barely hides the fact that she's as flat as a cutting board", Hikaru said.

"A one-piece suit like that would only upset her because it draws attention to her lacking feminine physique", Kaoru said.

"That's why we carefully selected this two-piece suit, see? The ruffles help hide the fact that she's so flat-chested", they said.

"Rude much?" I say as I knock the Twins upside the head and they rub their heads in pain.

"You punks had better quit sexually harassing my little girl! I've had enough of you!", Tamaki said. He had swung at the Twins with a bat as if he were a professional baseball player.

"That means we're not going to the beach?", they asked. Tamaki rested his bat on his shoulder.

"Who said that we're not going?

"Really?", the Twins asked. "So you wanna go after all?"

"Can Usa-chan come, too?", Honey asked.

"I have no problem with that", Kyoya said as he wrote in his notebook. Mori nodded.

"Huh?", Haruhi asked. "We're really going to go?" Tamaki smiled at her.

"Why not?", he asked. "Let's go to the beach."

"Well count me out." I say packing up my things.

"What?!" Tamaki shrieks running to me. "But if we go, you have to come Max!!!"

"I said I'm not going." I ignore his puppy eyes and begin to walk out of the room.

"Please Max-chan. Come with us to the beach." I look down to see Honey clinging to my leg with a pleading look on his face.

"No." I grab the back of his jacket and lift him off my leg and set him down, dejected. The Twins each put an arm around my shoulder and stop me.

"Come on Max-" Hikaru starts.

"-Don't be such a downer." Kaoru finishes.

"I'm not being a downer. I don't want to go to the beach." I shake them off and walk out the door, but before I could close it, Kyoya spoke.

"I'll cut 10% of Haruhi's debt." Kyoya smirked since he remembered why I joined this stupid club in the first place.

"Make it 15%." I turn around and look at Kyoya.

"Done."

"Fine. I'll go to the stupid beach."

"Yay! Max-chan is coming with us!!!" Honey cheers and jumps on my back.

I bet I'm going to regret this.

~Magical Time Skip~

"So, why'd we come to Okinawa?", the Twins asked.

"Because Kyoya's family has a private beach here", Tamaki replied

"It's beautiful, isn't it?", Honey asked.

"Yeah", Mori replied.

"But why couldn't we have gone--", the Twins started.

"--to the Caribbean?", Hikaru asked.

"Or even Figi?", Kaoru asked.

"Do you think commoners like Haruhi and Max have a passport?", Kyoya asked.

"You do realize that I can hear what you're saying, right?", Haruhi asked.

"Ignore them. They're nothing but rich jerks." I say patting her shoulder and she sent me a thankful smile.

~Magical Time Skip~

"It's so beautiful", a girl said as she sat on a rock surrounded by water with Tamaki. "Tamaki, being alone here and looking out at the sea is like a dream."

"It's no dream. It's real", Tamaki said as he looked at her. "But, if I could have my way my princess, I would be in your dreams every night."

"Oh, Tamaki", she said as she blushed lightly.

"Hey! Take it easy, Hikaru!", Kaoru said as he ran after the ball.

"I'm sorry! I'll get it!", he called and ran after him while reaching out for him. Kaoru laughed. "Wait for me, Kaoru!"

"It's not my fault!", he called behind him. "The ball is rolling away!" The girls sighed dreamily as the Twins ran around laughing. Haruhi sat on a blanket under an umbrella, looking at the long line of girls waiting for their turn alone with Tamaki.

"Why?", she asked herself.

"Her alone time with Tamaki is up. Next lady, please proceed", Kyoya said.

"This sucks. I thought going to the beach was a day off", she said and looked over at Honey and Mori dancing or stretching with two girls.

"Um, Haruhi?", a girl asked as she approached with two other girls.  "Aren't you going to go swimming with us?"

"No, I like looking at the sea from a safe distance", she replied.

"Well, if you're not going to swim, would you mind if we sat here and talked with you?", another girl asked. Haruhi smiled.

"But why? You girls should go swim. You've got cute swimsuits on, why not show them off?", she asked them. The girls blushed, smiled, and sighed dreamily.

I was standing by myself perched up on a rock watching the other hosts. I wasn't wearing my bandage that covered my scars. I'm so flat chested I don't need to worry. But even so, I'm still wearing a t-shirt and shorts. I see some girls staring at me, trying to decide if they want to come talk to me or leave me in my natural state to admire. I look over at the Twins who were walking towards me.

"I can't believe he fooled us", Hikaru said as he picked up the ball.

"Who would've thought he'd bring the ladies with us", Kaoru said.

"I certainly didn't expect it", Hikaru commented.

"You were invited on this all expenses paid vacation for a reason. And that is to keep our clients entertained", Kyoya said as he sat in a chair at a shaded table while Honey ran by chasing a girl.

"We know. But with the ladies here--", Hikaru began.

"--Haruhi can't change into her swimsuit", Kaoru finished.

"Plus Max refuses to show a little skin around any girls." Hikaru says referring over to my spot on the rock.

"Don't worry. I've got it all under control. My little angel shouldn't be prancing around in a swimsuit. At least, not in front of two perverts like you, and I do agree with you about Max. He should show some skin to get the ladies going.", Tamaki said from his chair that sat in the sun. He started to daydream. "It'll happen just like that! The greatest day of my life! I don't know if I can handle it!" Tamaki squirmed in his chair with a huge smile and a red face. A few girls came up with worried faces as the Twins just sat back and relaxed in a couple of chairs.

"What's the matter with Tamaki? Is he having a seizure?", one girl asked.

"I wouldn't worry about it", Hikaru said.

"He gets like this occasionally", Kaoru said. I jump down from my rock and walk over to the girls.

"Just ignore him girls. He can't help but daydream about beautiful ladies like you." I say looking at them with a small smile. To be honest I was just using Tamaki's stupidity and profited from it. The girls squealed and some fainted. I sighed and looked over at Haruhi.

"Haru-chan!", Honey called to Haruhi as she walked down the beach. "Wanna go hellfish hunting?"

"I think you're trying to say 'shellfish' hunting", she said. "But this doesn't seem to be that kind of beach, Honey-senpai. You're not going to find many shellfish--" She stopped when she saw his small bucket full of shellfish. She looked at her feet and saw shellfish everywhere. "WHAT THE HELL?! NO WAY!!" Mori looked at her and then up at the rocks behind him. He climbed up and looked over them to see Kyoya with a truck and his police force unloading buckets after buckets of shellfish.

"Mori-senpai", Kyoya said. "My family's private police force stopped by. They wanted to make it up to Honey-senpai for attacking him at the water park. So they brought shellfish."

"Amazing! Look how many we've got!", Honey exclaimed as he looked at three bens and variously sized buckets piled high with shellfish.

"We're gonna have some fancy side dishes tonight!", Haruhi said and smiled.

"My my. Certainly looks like their enjoying themselves. All is right with the world", Tamaki said as Mori climbed down beside him.

"In your world." I snap at him, not happy to be here.

"What's your deal with the beach anyways?" Tamaki asks looking frustrated.

"That's none of your business. Stay out of my life." I glare at him when Haruhi yelled over at us.

"Senpai! Max!", Haruhi called. "Dinner is gonna be awesome! It's a major haul!" Tamaki put his hands on his cheeks and blushed.

"Oh, I'm just so proud! Look at my little girl!", he said.

"She isn't your daughter." I mumble.

"IT'S A MAJOR HAUL! IT'S A MAJOR HAUL! DINNER IS GONNA BE AWESOME! IT'LL BE A REAL TREAT!", Haruhi said. Tamaki picked up at crab.

"Tell me, Haruhi. Isn't this crab crab-tivating", Tamaki said as he looked at the crab in his hands. Haruhi looked up at him and laughed. I facepalmed and hid my teeny smile.

"Oh, yeah", she said. He blushed lightly.

"You're so cute", he said.

"CENTIPEDE!!", the girls that had gathered screamed and ran away, along with the Twins and Honey. Tamaki watched them with teary eyes as Haruhi turned around, picked up the bug, and threw it over a rock.

"SNAKE!!" A girl screamed pointing at a little snake with a triangle shaped head. I simply picked it up and took it over to a secluded area and set it back down. Then I walked away back to the group to leave it alone.

"Hey, Haruhi", the Twins said as they suddenly appeared by her again.

"Now, I know most girls aren't really the bug loving type and I certainly didn't think that you were, but--", Hikaru started.

"--don't you think you could've been easier on that little guy?", Kaoru asked.

"Oh, come on, it's not dead. It takes a lot more than that to kill a bug", she said as the girls returned, talking about how great Haruhi was to them. The Twins and Haruhi turned around and the Twins went over to Tamaki, but along the way, they grabbed my wrist and dragged me along.

"Well, isn't that just great", Hikaru said.

"Haruhi's not normal. I thought girls were afraid of bugs", Kaoru said.

"I'm sure she's afraid of something", Tamaki said. A lightbulb seemed to go off in the Twins' heads.

"Don't you dare-" I was cut off as the Twins smirk and speak up.

"Hey, Boss, listen up!", they said and Tamaki turned to them. "We just thought of a new game to play that could be a lot of fun. What do you say? It's called the 'Who can find out Haruhi's weaknesses?' game! So, think you're up to it?"

"Have you two lost your minds?" I groan.

"But that game sounds terrible!", he said and sweat dropped. The Twins started to walk away.

"Eh, I guess you're right. Besides, she'd only share her weakness with someone she is really close to", Hikaru said. Tamaki's jaw dropped.

"What are the rules?!", he called at them. The Twins stopped and looked at him.

Kill me now. That idiot fell right into their trap. Now they'll get their way.

"Now, that's more like it", they said.

"The deadline is sunset tomorrow", Hikaru said.

"Whoever finds out her weakness first wins", Kaoru added.

"And I have the perfect prize for the game's lucky winner", Kyoya said and held up pictures of Haruhi. Tamaki stared at the pictures and followed them everywhere Kyoya moved them.

"We wanna play, too!", Honey said as he and Mori appeared.

"I guess that means we're all competing", Kyoya said.

"WHERE DID YOU GET THOSE PICTURES OF HARUHI?!?!", Tamaki shouted.

"Hey, wait a minute. Where did you get those pictures, Kyo-chan?", Honey asked.

"I have my sources", he replied. "How about we just leave it at that for the moment?"

"Stalker." I remark before going over to help Haruhi pick up her shellfish.

~Magical Time Skip~

"This is the place", Hikaru said at the entrance of a cave as he entered with his brother, Haruhi, a couple of girls, and I. "It's the most haunted spot in all of Okinawa. The locals don't even come out here."

"They say that the only time you can even find this cave is at low tide", Kaoru added. "Evidently, many people have died down here from drowning and their souls still linger. Taking revenge on anyone who happens to come inside."

"Look!", Hikaru said. There was an unusual figure with glowing pinkish purple eyes. The girls screamed as the figure laughed evilly. Then, a hand grabbed Haruhi's shoulder. She looked behind her at Tamaki, who was holding the end of the arm the fake hand was on.

"What's going on?", she asked. "Are you trying to freak me out?" Tamaki didn't know what to say.

"What's wrong with you? I thought everyone was afraid of ghosts", Kaoru said, holding the fake figure.

"But I've never seen a real one", she said.

"Plus, who'd be scared of something as fake as this?" I say poking Kaoru in the forehead and he frowned.

~Magical Time Skip~

"Haru-chan!", Honey called from Kyoya's private police force's truck. "Would you come over here?"

"What the...?", she asked. "Are you sure it's okay to drive a truck like this in the sand?" She climbed up to where Honey was.

"Well, we're ready whenever you are, private police people. Please lower the door", Honey said.

"Yes, sir", they said, saluted, and close the door. Everyone sat in silence for bit.

"IT'S DARK AND SCARY IN HERE! I FEEL LIKE I CAN'T BREATHE! SOMEBODY LET ME OUT! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! AHHH!!", Honey screamed.

I sighed and broke the lock on the door and opened it. Honey-Senpai jumped out of the truck and into my arms. I held him and rubbed his back a bit before setting him down. While I did that, Haruhi looked at me confused as to why I did that.

~Magical Time Skip~

Haruhi stared at the sharp point of the harpoon less than a foot away from her face. "Uh, Mori, you're my Senpai. Not a Sentai",she said.

Haruhi and I walk away from that scene and she sits down on the beach. She motioned for me to sit down and I did.

"So why has everyone been acting weirdly?"

"Oh that. They're just stupid. So Haruhi, what are you scared of most?"

I ask casually and she looks over at me.

"Promise not to tell?"

"Unless it's an emergency."

"Okay then. I'm scared of thunder." She looks down. "It's always been scary since I've had to deal with it alone."

"You're not alone anymore. You've got the host club." I say hoping to cheer her up. "And thanks for telling me."

"I trust you. Plus.....I wanted somebody to know."

~Magical Time Skip~

"This game's harder than I thought it'd be", Hikaru said. The sun was setting by this time and the Twins were sitting on a stone wall.

"No joke. I'm totally bored with it already", Kaoru said.

"What kind of heroine is she? She's gotta be afraid of something, right?", Hikaru asked as he looked at Haruhi walking in the water. Tamaki laughed triumphantly. They turned around to face him. "What's up, Boss?"

"What are you doing?", Kaoru asked. Tamaki showed them a small bucket full of snakes.

"I found some rat snakes. Surely she'll freak out when she sees these!", he said.

"Anyone would think those are creepy, so it isn't really a weakness", Hikaru said.

"Hold on...", Kaoru said as he looked at the snakes. "I thought there weren't any rat snakes in Okinawa."

Haruhi comtinued her hunt for shellfish while I sat on a rock and watched her from afar, when three girls from before called out on top of a rock. "Look up here Haruhi!", one called.

"What's up?", another called.

"The breeze up here feels great!", the other said.

"It's dangerous! Be careful!", Haruhi called to them.

"This feels so good", one girl said to the others. The others agreed.

"Hey, there are chicks up there, man!", someone said. The girls turned around. "Aren't we lucky?" He threw his beer can to the side. "You ladies wanna hang out with a couple of locals?"

This is bad. I've got to get there.

"No, thanks", one girl said. "Please, just leave us alone." One guy grabbed her wrist. I jump off my rock and run towards the plateau.

"Aw, come on. We just wanna show you girls how to have a good time", he said.

"This is a private beach. You guys are not allowed to be here", another girl said. The other guy went to the other two girls and wrapped his arms around them from behind and they screamed.

"Private? Does that mean we're alone?", he asked. Suddenly, the first guy was hit with a bunch of shellfish, let go of the girl, and turned around.

"Why don't you quit bothering them? Weren't you jerks listening? You better just leave 'em alone", Haruhi said.

"Haruhi!", the first girl said happily. The guy glared at Haruhi.

"You little runt!", he said.

"Haruhi!" I call and push her behind me.

"Max!" The second girl called happily.

"Let them go or else you're gonna have a bad time." I crack my knuckles as the guy puts his fists up.

"THOSE AREN'T RAT SNAKES!! THOSE ARE POISONOUS HABU SNAKES!!", the Twins said as they ran.

"What do I do with them?!", he asked while holding the bucket away from him, running, and crying. Suddenly, a girl ran up to the three.

"Help! Tamaki!", she said. "It's Haruhi!" Tamaki seemed to forget all about the snakes he was holding when that was said.

A punch was thrown at my face but I dodged and lifted the guy up by the stomach with one hand and began spinning him before dropping him. I look over to see Haruhi and the other guy.

"What are ya going to do now, loser?", the guy asked as he held Haruhi by her shirt collar and backed her to the edge of a rock over the ocean.

"Don't hurt him!", one girl said.

"Now, don't you try and act all tough you little sissy boy!", the other guy said.

"I got an idea, kid. How'd you like to take a dip?", he asked.

"Haruhi!", I called. I heard Tamaki yell the same.

"Hope he can swim!", the guy said as he got ready to push Haruhi off the edge of the rock. I grabbed Haruhi and switched places with her and held up my arm to block his push, but he kicked my legs causing me to lose balance. The rock crumbled below me and I fell backwards after breaking the guy's hand.

That's when the fear kicked in.

That day.

My biggest mistake.

My first one.

The one that changed my life forever.

My back crashed against the water and it seemed like one year ago all over again.

I can swim but I'm panicking.

It's dark.

It's suffocating.

I can't see anything.

How?

How am I supposed to protect someone like this?!

How?!

The ocean.......

It's my only fear.

My only weakness.

Because it makes me vulnerable. The boss' daughter died because I couldn't protect her.

I......

I didn't make a mistake that day.

I failed.

I......

Failed.

I'm a failure.

~Tamaki and Haruhi as Max fell~

"Max!!!" Haruhi shouted.

Tamaki ran and jumped in after him.

Tamaki's POV

Max......

Please be safe!

I don't know how but.....

Despite your hatred towards me.....

Despite your gender......

You've woven your way into my heart.....

I can't lose you!

~Magical Time Skip~

Max's POV

Tamaki walked up to the beach from the water with me in his arms. "Max-chan!", Honey called. I was ashamed of myself for putting myself in this position. Tears were silently running down my face, but I didn't want any of them to see.

"Boss!", Hikaru called.

"Where'd they go?", Tamaki asked as he made it to shore.

"We took their ID cards and respectfully asked them to leave", Kyoya answered. "The girls all went back to the hotel and I called a doctor. He should be arriving here any minute now."

"Thank you", Tamaki said.

"I'm fine. I don't need a doctor", I said as Tamaki put me down.

"What were you thinking?", Tamaki asked. "You know, you're not like Honey-senpai. You're not a martial arts master." He grabbed my shoulders. "Why did you confront them? What made you think you would stand a chance? You against two of them?"

"What?! I'm just as capable as Honey-Senpai, maybe even more so! I can fight just as well as him!" I argued clenching my fists.

"That's no excuse, you idiot!", Tamaki said angrily.

"Look, I'm sorry you had to come and save me, Tamaki. But last time I checked I didn't ask for your help!", I said angrily.

"You obviously did considering you didn't come to the surface! Plus that's not the point--"

"JUST BECAUSE I AM A GIRL DOESN'T MEAN I'M INCAPABLE!! I know my life is a mistake, that I'm a failure! But that doesn't give you any right to ridicule me!"

He let go of my shoulders.

"Y-You're a girl?", he asked shocked. I heard the others gasp and mumble in surprise.

"Yes. And if that means I can't be a member of this club then thank the lord! I'm done trying! I'm done! I thought I could be myself around all of you, but I've just done the opposite! So I'm not speaking to any of you until this trip is over! And after that, I'm quitting the Host Club! I've got better things to do than waste my time." I storm past the shocked members and go back to the hotel.

I refuse!
Who does Tamaki think he is?!
I'm done with his club!