STORY INFO:

This story is meant to explore Kaoru's struggles that are prominent throughout the series. Therefore, it is not entirely OC-centric, and you'll find that the perspectives shift between Kaoru and my OC equally. This story is also a slight AU because it follows the Ouran Timeline but exists alongside it without ever interfering with canon events and will continue well after.

This is also my take at a gentle romance with minimal drama and no love rivals (despite what it may seem to be in the first few chapters). My OC is NOT involved with the host club using typical tropes (Host Club Maid OC, Crossing-dressing OC, etc). She is simply a client and has a minor role. While she has a certain quick-wit of her own, the point of this story was to try pairing Kaoru with someone who has a keen perspective, is mature, and someone with parallel issues to his own.

Fair warning, this story is a slow burn. Kaoru and my OC have brief interactions until Chapter 4, when their lives finally entwine. The reason for this slow build was to provide you with a story from friends to lovers and to not interfere with the canonical events of Kaoru liking Haruhi.

Special thanks to Lura Elsworth, author of the beautifully written KyoyaxOC titled Our Entwined Lives, for collaborating with me on the general plot of this story and helping me create my characters and background.

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Between Freedom and Loyalty

Chapter 1: If Our Eyes Saw Souls

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"You mean to tell me…" The young woman grunted as she pulled the large cart of towering boxes up another stair "…that this academy and all of its patrons combined have enough money and power to overthrow an entire government..." She tiredly pulled the trolley up another step, wheezing, "…but we can't afford to fix a tiny elevator?"

After pulling the trolley up another step, the young student decided that she needed a break. Sighing, she leaned on the trolley to take a breather. However, as she did so, she felt the cart shift and heard a resonating pop!

"Whoa!" she cried, steadying the cart as it became unbalanced. When she investigated what was going on, she saw that a tire had popped off the right side of the trolley, leaving it unsteady. With a roll of her eyes, she groaned. "Oh no, go ahead. Lose another tire. It's not like it's inconvenient at all."

There was a moment of silence…and then…

Pop!

…

And this is where our tale begins, with an unfortunate girl going through a series of unfortunate events. To the students casually strolling past the young woman, these events are very little surprising and justly deserved. After all, it is here in the elite private school of Ouran Academy that it is considered rather unfortunate to be born both female and the eldest of three. It is even worse when the youngest just happens to be born a male and therefore inherits the company by default.

As a result, you can expect a lonely life in the academy, for no one will find your company to be of any relevance. It is already set in stone that you are to be the one who will never amount to anything once the younger two make their mark on society. It is a curse that no one would dare wish on any other.

Unfortunately, the universe seems to have a crude sense of humor because Miyamura Akiko was, indeed, the eldest of three. To make matters worse, she was not even the only daughter, which might have warranted her some chance at establishing some sort of fortune.

If you were to ask anyone else in the Academy about her, they would, at first, haven't the slightest idea of who you were speaking of, for that is how irrelevant Akiko's companionship was. And once you were to ask again and they finally got their simplistic brains working again, then they would say, "Oh, that's Miyamura Miyuki's half-sister, Akiko-san—or something or other. She's the daughter of Miyamura Sousuke, the renowned Biomedical Engineer."

And they probably couldn't tell you more than that. Though, they might be able to tell you quite a bit about her half-sister, who was currently off who-knows-where on the school grounds.

Actually, scratch that.

Akiko knew exactly where her sister was. Although she should have been here struggling to pull up a fully stocked trolley up an entire three flights of stairs, she was more than likely off in pursuit of the third son of the Ootori family, as per usual. "Free-spirited," they called it. Or "chasing her dreams," others would say.

While Akiko called it "wasting her breath" and "pursuing a task that would require a sacrifice to Satan." Except, Miyuki couldn't exactly give a sacrifice to Satan if she was in pursuit of the aforementioned Satan, who was called Ootori Kyoya on his good days…

Akiko glanced down at her wrist-watch and noted the time. She had exactly fifteen minutes to get the trolley up to the 3rd-floor music room before the start of club activities. "Kyoya-kun is going to kill me." She struggled out, beginning her climb up the stairs once again.

In her rush, she did not think rationally about the position in which she was pulling the cart up the steps. Any person with any tiny bit of sense would have known that the safest way to get a cart up the steps would have been from the front of the cart, where the tires were missing. That way they could make sure that they would not lose the contents of the cart. However, Akiko was too preoccupied with imagining the torture she would have to endure from Kyoya to care about which position she was pulling the cart from. It wasn't until Akiko noticed that the cart was becoming immensely light compared to when she first started. At first, she assumed that she had just gotten it sliding up the steps at the right angle. But it wasn't until she heard a symphony of loud crashes that she noticed, to her horror, that the contents of the cart were currently rolling down the stairs.

Her shoulders deflated like a worn balloon, and she blew a tuff of her ebony hair out of her face. "Kyoya-kun is so going to kill me."

She knew that she had already said that before…

...but it seemed worth repeating.

.

.

"Mama!"

His loud, hysterical shrill echoed across the music room as the doors to the nearby prep-room burst open.

Across the room, nimble fingers twitched slightly on their position on top of a keyboard, the owner hiding his annoyed expression behind the brim of his glasses. "What is it now, Tamaki?" Kyoya asked, not even bothering to remove his gaze from the screen of his laptop.

Tamaki's face was pale and fear-stricken. "I walked into the preparation room in order to get the supplies for the club's activities only to find…that all the desserts have gone missing!" He pulled at the ends of his hair. "And on top of that, the lights in the room wouldn't turn on, and the door suddenly closed on me while I was in there! It must be the work of ghosts, I tell you! Ghosts!"

"Tamaki…" Kyoya began "…do you ever get tired of living in a constant haze of stupidity?"

An arrow shot through Tamaki's heart at Kyoya's words, but he did not let that deter him. He ran towards Kyoya, slamming his hands onto the table and causing Kyoya's laptop to shut close. "I'm telling you it has to be ghosts! Can't you feel it?!" He trembled, wrapping his arms around his torso. "The chill from the unrestful spirits is all around us! We have made them angry, and they have taken all of our precious desserts, closed our doors, and are leaving us here to starve! It had to be that weirdo Nekozawa's doing from the last time he was in here during Halloween!"

"Tamaki, Halloween was months ago. It's February." Kyoya was unimpressed. "And it's only chilly in here because you must have accidentally turned the knob for the air conditioning instead of reaching for the light switch when you entered the prep-room. Have you already forgotten that you have done so before on numerous occasions?" Seeing that he wasn't going to be able to get any more work done with Tamaki's hands on his laptop, Kyoya pulled out his black notebook and began jotting down the upcoming finances for the host club.

"That can't be true! It has to be ghosts! How else do you explain the lights not turning on?!" Tamaki persisted.

"The lights didn't turn on because you broke them this morning during your feeble attempt at kick-the-can, remember?"

"And what about the door closing on me while I was inside, huh? What about that?!"

"The door closed on you because you were so scared trying to run out of the room that you ran into the wall and the sudden shake caused the doors to close," Kyoya explained simply. "Now, will you please stop being such a pest?"

"But there are signs, Kyoya! Signs!"

"Ghosts, huh? Now, that's one I haven't heard in a while," Haruhi pointed out, announcing her appearance in the music room.

Kyoya, ignoring a sulking Tamaki, turned to acknowledge the brown-haired crossdresser. "Ah, Haruhi, good—you're earlier than usual." He gestured over to a corner by the window that was located across the room. "Could you please set up a large table by the corner over there? We are going to need it since we can't be using the prep-room until the lights are repaired. And be sure to put a tablecloth on it," he ordered simply.

"Uh…sure thing."

As Haruhi walked over to one of the tables, attempting to drag it along, a high-pitched giggle caught her attention. When she looked up from her task, Honey had just come into the room along with Mori and was sitting daintily on his shoulders. "Haru-chan! You're here early—isn't she, Takashi?"

Mori nodded briefly. "Yeah." Upon noticing the young girl struggling to move one of the large tables, he set down Honey and made his way over, easily lifting the table with one hand.

Haruhi smiled kindly, causing a strange gleam to appear in Mori's eyes. "Ah, thank you, Mori-senpai. Kyoya-senpai would like the table over there." She pointed to a corner of the room and picked up a lace tablecloth that was neatly folded on one of the chairs.

She paused in her movements, looking over to Tamaki, who was currently crying in a separate corner, mumbling to himself. "How long is he planning on staying like that?" she thought tiredly. She was called out of her thoughts by a small tug on her sleeve.

She glanced down only to see large, caramel colored eyes staring curiously at her. "Haru-chan, what's wrong with Tama-chan?" Honey asked, flowers surrounding his entire being as he spoke.

Haruhi sighed, setting the cloth neatly on the table. "Tamaki-senpai was saying something about ghosts and about how the desserts have gone missing." She froze, slapping her hands over her mouth as she just realized the severity of what she had said.

Honey-senpai's smile slowly started to falter. "You mean…there is no cake?" he squeaked, his eyes starting to water.

Haruhi waved her hands frantically in front of her senior, trying to calm his waterworks. "Uh, Honey-senpai! Don't cry!" She patted down her uniform, scurrying to find anything to console the small teen. "Here, I have some candy!" She placed the small box into his hands.

Honey sniffled, wiping his nose with his free hand. He looked down into his hand where she had placed the small box of candy and paused, noticing that it was a pack of sugar-free gum that was no doubt a free give away from a supermarket sale. He dropped the candy and started balling, running towards Mori, who effortlessly caught him. "Takashi! There are no sweets!" he cried, burying his face into Morinozuka's uniform. "And Tama-chan says there is a ghost here!"

"Ooh, a ghost, you say?"

Haruhi groaned as she felt two arms sling over her shoulders, each one belonging to different owners. She cast a sidelong glare at each of the culprits. The twins placed a hand on their hips and let a sly smirk creep across their features. "We have heard of the ghost before. After all, why do you think this music room was abandoned?" the twins spoke in unison, looking over at Tamaki to see that he had cupped his ears to listen in on their story—against his better judgment.

"You two, don't encourage Tamaki," Kyoya warned.

Ignoring his demands, they learned in closer to Haruhi, whispering in her ear. "They say," Kaoru began, "that, years ago, a third-year student was sneaking around in the preparation room after her music class had ended. Apparently, she was waiting for a boy to come and join her."

"However," Hikaru took over, "he never came. And when she heard someone enter the room, she was startled and accidentally knocked over a large bookcase."

Haruhi gulped uneasily listening to their story. "And the bookcase fell on top of her, causing her head to take a deadly blow to the floor."

"It is rumored," they spoke in unison, "that her ghost haunts this music room, attacking or harassing anyone you love…all because she didn't get her chance at love herself."

Haruhi laughed uneasily. "Right." She waved off their arms. "After that clock tower ghost prank you both pulled on Halloween, I doubt anyone would believe you—Ah!" She screamed as she was nearly tackled to the floor as a pair of arms wrapped around her securely, holding her close to a firm chest.

"No need to fear, my dear Haruhi! Despite my love for you, I won't let them take you from me!" Tamaki bellowed, shaking Haruhi in his grasp and causing a vein to pop out of her temple in annoyance.

The twins gaped at Tamaki's words. "Is he finally admitting his feelings for her?" they whispered to each other, shocked.

"Don't worry! My fatherly love will protect you! Those ghosts will not lay a finger on my beloved daughter!" Tamaki yelled gallantly, clenching his fist into the air.

"Oh," the twins deadpanned, "so that's what he meant."

"Tamaki-senpai," Haruhi seethed, trying to pry his hands off of her. "There is no such thing as a ghost haunting the club room! Now, get off!"

"Tama-chan, where are you touching Haru-chan?"

"Gah! Don't touch my lower back! Get your hands away from there!"

.

.

Amber orbs watched vigilantly as Haruhi reprimanded their senior. Nothing had changed in the last few months since Haruhi had been forced to join the host club. Just like they had bickered back and forth on the first day they had met, they continued to argue even now—well, it mostly consisted of Haruhi shooting half-hearted barbs and heated reproofs while Tamaki took the full blow of them all. But Kaoru knew without a doubt it was simply the way Haruhi subtly and unconsciously told Tamaki that she cared deeply for him. In the same way, Tamaki's constant and ridiculous outbursts for Haruhi's safety were just proclamations of his love for her. No matter how many little spats they had or even whatever they may have been about, it was obvious to everyone in the club—except, of course, them—of their unwavering devotion and budding love for one another.

Kaoru knew that their love, when finally admitted to one another, would flourish into something completely wondrous—and he was awed by it. He couldn't help but be left in awe by it. Tamaki deserved such a love like the one Haruhi could possibly provide, and Haruhi deserved the same.

Despite their vast differences from each other, they were perfectly compatible. Impulsive and selfless, Tamaki would instantly rush to the aid of anyone in need. He may have been an idiot, but he was one of the most loving idiots that Kaoru knew. Haruhi, in contrast, was perceptive and easygoing, and Kaoru knew, from his experience from seeing her father, that she was fully capable of handling any kind of nonsense Tamaki would put her through – and she may even stop a few of his insane ideas.

But he knew it would be a long time before anything were to happen. Tamaki had set up boundaries between everyone, or "a magic spell," as Kaoru liked to call it – specifically to avoid a situation like that. Kaoru couldn't help but wonder if it were because perhaps Tamaki was afraid of ruining something so beautiful—this family idea he worked so ardently to make up—if he pursued a relationship with Haruhi. But he also knew that those boundaries were dwindling.

"And the sad part is, even though he is trying to stop it, this 'family' idea that he is trying to carry on…has already started falling apart."

Kaoru glanced out of the corner of his eye, noting the way Hikaru had both his hands placed on Haruhi's shoulders, pulling her away from Tamaki, who was heatedly yelling about how he was some "shady twin" trying to take advantage of his daughter. Kaoru averted his gaze to Haruhi, who was now reprimanding the boss once again and noted the way she had a small gleam in her eyes – a small gleam that was only present when she would speak to Tamaki. He envied Tamaki for it.

He didn't know when it had happened – when he fell for Haruhi. But what he did know is that he had fallen hard. She was different to the twins. She didn't fawn over them, didn't spoil them, didn't sugar-coat anything, and most importantly, she didn't ignore that they were also individuals. She recognized them not as a set of twins but as individual people with different personalities and desires. Kaoru thought that perhaps her perceptiveness was what caused him to develop feelings for her—well, that caused them both to develop feelings for her. He knew of Hikaru's feelings, even if Hikaru was oblivious to them himself. Kaoru had spent years watching Hikaru, so he recognized the attraction fairly easily.

However, Kaoru knew Hikaru wouldn't make a move on Haruhi yet. He was slow when it came to romance and was hardly the selfless type. At times, he was often driven by his jealousy and would probably unintentionally hurt Haruhi as well. And Kaoru also knew that he wouldn't pursue Haruhi anytime in the near future because of his brother's feelings for her. Although Haruhi was important to him, Hikaru was more so. He had always known that Hikaru's happiness came before his own—and he never desired to try and prove otherwise.

Kaoru frowned, closing his eyes to take a deep, calming breath before he plastered on a façade of a smile to join in on his brother's antics.

Out of all the people Kaoru's heart could have chosen to love, it had decided on a young woman with hardly enough room in her own heart, to love a young man like him.

.

.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your incoherent delusions, Tamaki…" Kyoya's voice stopped all quarreling as everyone turned their attention to the shadow king "…but there are no sweets because our last club activity had more customers than usual, seeing as it was the time when Honey-senpai recovered from his cavity." He snapped his notebook shut, tucking it under his arm. "Also, Akiko-chan is probably just running late with her delivery."

Haruhi was surprised. "You seem pretty relaxed about that, Kyoya-senpai, considering that club activities are about to start in less than five minutes, and there are no sweets for our guests."

Kyoya smirked, lifting up his glasses as they gleamed. "Well, of course. I get a discount for every time the delivery is late."

"Of course. Why did I even bother asking?"

"Although…" Kyoya's smirk fell as he looked back at the clock inquisitively "…this is the first time Akiko-chan has ever been late with a delivery before."

Haruhi noticed the sudden change in his demeanor, catching the distant look in his eyes and recognizing it easily. "He's concerned," she thought.

Tamaki peeked over Haruhi's shoulder creepily, causing her to snap out of her internal musings and scream. "It is the work of ghosts, I tell you! They have already gotten to my dear Miyamura-hime!"

Haruhi slapped Tamaki upside the head. "Give it a rest, senpai!" she screamed, causing Tamaki to gasp and recede into his emo corner once again. Haruhi pinched the bridge of her nose, regaining her composure and looked back at Kyoya. "Um, Kyoya-senpai, if you don't mind me asking, just who exactly is Miyamura Akiko?"

"Ah, right. You and the twins are always particularly late for club activities, so you three have yet to meet her," Kyoya recalled. "Well, she is a classmate of mine—as well as Tamaki. She has been delivering many confectioneries since the opening of the host club, due to some arrangements we have with each other."

Haruhi gave Kyoya a suspicious glare. "You're not keeping her trapped in host club events because of some debt, are you?"

Kyoya feigned hurt. "My, my, Haruhi. Now, why would I do something so cruel to one of our prospective clients?" Haruhi looked at him with a straight face.

"It's quite the contrary, actually. This arrangement was desired and approved by both of our fathers. It was…well, one of the terms, per say, for me being able to freely partake in the host club without any interference from my own father. Her father is the CEO and Chief Biomedical Engineer of one of the most leading companies for medical machinery and research, and he has had direct negotiations with the Ootori family for years, after all. This arrangement was necessary."

"And Aki-chan's step-mother makes the best cakes!" Honey chimed, jumping into Haruhi's arms.

"And there is also that small detail," Kyoya added indifferently with the wave of his hand.

"Their cakes are so yummy and delicious that I often have her step-mother make them for me for my special cake night!" Honey exclaimed happily, crawling out of Haruhi's arms and back into Mori's.

Haruhi glanced back at the twins. "You two are awfully quiet about this," she observed.

They lifted up their arms, shrugging carelessly. "Even if we had heard about the woman..."

"…it wouldn't matter to us."

.

.

"It must be wonderful, Miyuki, to spend your days frolicking around and being completely useless," is what she wanted to say when Akiko caught up to her younger sister at the steps of the 3rd floor. But she didn't. As the one destined to be the least accomplished, she had no right to speak out against her sister. Although there were times where Akiko didn't accept her fate without a fight. There was, after all, quite a good amount of bickering and hair-pulling between the two when they were growing up.

Thank goodness that Miyuki had turned around on her own accord because Akiko honestly did not trust her own tongue if she were to be the one to speak first. "My goodness! What happened?" she shouted in despair, her blonde eyebrows knitting together as they usually did when she was cross. "Ootori-senpai is not going to be happy with me. What did you do, Onee-chan?"

Akiko wiped her sweat with her yellow sleeve. "What do you mean? It's not like I planned for this crisis to happen. My schedule was already packed, thank you very much."

Her younger sister whipped her curly blonde hair over her shoulder and stood with her hand on her hip. "Are you trying to tell me that you didn't do that?" She pointed to the cart.

"Did I intentionally pop the tires off? Of course not. Even I'm not that desperate to avoid Kyoya-kun."

"Not that!" Miyuki corrected. "That! You ruined the sweater that I told you to hold on to!" She pointed to a nearby white cardigan that had been placed under the cart to help Akiko slide it up the steps easily.

Akiko turned nonchalantly and admired her craftsmanship. "Oh, that. Yeah. I did do that." She admitted with the flick of her wrist. "I mean, I figured since you did run off and leave me here on my own that I could make use of you somehow. Your sweater seemed to fulfill my needs adequately."

Miyuki laughed in a way that showed she was not at all pleased. "Isn't it a miracle that is my least favorite sweater?" she brushed it off and helped her sister by plucking off a large stack of boxes off of the cart. This was, after all, how she apologized. Regardless, Akiko was thankful that a quarrel did not break out, because Miyuki could be awfully strong-minded at times.

"It's your fault for not just making the bodyguards do this when we stepped off the delivery truck. Or when you found out that the cart was broken, you could have just informed my mother that making the delivery is impossible. She would not have been angry with you."

Akiko's rich, royal blue eyes surveyed the area for the familiar music room number three. "I think you forget that she is your mother, Miyuki. She would not be angry with you. I, however, am resigned to living as an old maid. She doesn't need to warrant me any mercy."

Miyuki rolled her dull green eyes. "Oh, pish posh. My mother loves you just the same."

Akiko had opened her mouth to speak but found that she could not argue with her sister's point. Akiko had no memory of her own mother, for she had been lost to an illness shortly after her birth. Her father rarely spoke of her, and Akiko soon understood that their marriage had been arranged. So it was no wonder that all he knew about her mother was that "she was a good woman."

He had gone on to marry a young, pretty blonde delivery woman from a small pastry shop that would often deliver to his office, which soon led Akiko to believe that she had been a mistress at one point. Because Miyuki, her half-sister, is only a few months younger, yet she hadn't met her or her mother or known about their expected marriage until she was four years old. But she did not mind it at all. Reina, Miyuki's mother, raised her as if she were her own child. Being the daughter of another woman, this would have made Akiko appear to be a thorn in her step-mother's side, scorned for her different looks, but this was far from reality, for Reina considered her step-daughter to be very agreeable. Although, it was Miyuki that everyone had considered to be the most beautiful, which is mainly due to the fact that she inherited her mother's golden tresses and dull green eyes. Nonetheless, Reina was not one to pick favorites and treated all her children as equals...well, mostly.

She was called out of her internal musings when the cart slipped out of her grasp and nearly fell forward. Gasping, she barely saved it. "Miyuki, it would be easier if you just steadied the other end of the cart," she reasoned.

When she was rewarded with an unsettling silence, she peered around the tower of boxes only to find that her sister was nowhere in sight. "She probably ran off to see Kyoya-kun."

A frown settled on her face. "Of course. Kyoya-kun coddles her by order of his father because she is to inherit the lower branch of the company. And what of me?" she asked the cart of boxes. "He skins me alive because I am to inherit a small pâtisserie. What a lucky fellow. If he cared for sweets, I would have poisoned the cakes by now."

.

.

In the music room, Tamaki continued to argue vigorously with the twins as he cradled Haruhi in his grasp. Haruhi had long since given up trying to fight off Tamaki and just let the twins continue to taunt him.

"It doesn't matter what you guys say. I know for a fact that there are ghosts involved! And I know everything there is to know about ghosts; it is one of the many interesting things about me." Tamaki hugged a limp Haruhi to his chest victoriously.

"Please," Kaoru began, "it has been two years since you first came to this school and met us…"

"…We know that there is nothing interesting about you," Hikaru finished.

Tamaki let go of Haruhi, clutching a hand to his chest and gasping. "How dare you! There are many interesting things about me. Go on—ask me!"

"Okay…when are you going away? That is probably the only interesting thing we care about," they spoke lackadaisically.

"Mommy!" Tamaki cried, running over to Kyoya in a fit of tears. "The twins are saying hurtful things again!"

"No more than usual, Tamaki." Kyoya sighed exasperatedly, standing up to walk over to the other club members. He looked at the clock mounted on the club room wall, but before he could give orders to the club members, the doors to the music room opened with a mighty force.

"Ootori-senpai! I've arrived with the delivery!"

Kyoya barely had time to process what was happening before he collided with a petite woman carrying a large stack of boxes. Using his surprisingly quick reflexes, he steadied the boxes and the woman, who gazed at him in wonder. "Thank you, Ootori-senpai!"

Kyoya tensed immediately when he felt her arms wrap around him for a grateful hug. His gray eyes tried and failed to suppress his agitation with the petite woman clinging to him.

She had long, blonde hair that cascaded down her lower back in ringlets and bright almond-shaped green eyes. Her skin was fair and her frame was small. The young woman stood only up to Kyoya's chest. She had a pleasant, child-like face where her enthusiastic character was ever present.

Everyone witnessing the event taking place gasped, horror-struck.

"She touched Kyoya-senpai!"

"That woman is dead!"

The twins screamed, hiding behind a rather frightened Haruhi. They all ran behind a nearby couch, peering over in anticipation on how they assumed their shadow king would act next.

Kyoya coughed into his fist, regaining his cool demeanor. His usual host smile spread across his face as he gently nudged the woman off of him and took her hand into his own. "Ah, Miyuki-hime, it is such a pleasure to see you again. Am I to assume that you have arrived with the desserts for today?" he inquired charmingly.

"Huh? He isn't going to let the exorcist force pop out?" The twins asked, mild disappointment evident in their tone.

Haruhi observed the scene closely, only able to come to one conclusion, "She must be a regular client of his. Now that I think about it, I have seen her face before. She's been in the host club almost every day." She looked back at the twins. "She is in the same year as us, but she is in a different class. What was her name, again?"

"Miyamura Miyuki," Tamaki spoke up suddenly, walking to Haruhi's side. "She is Miyamura Akiko's half-sister."

Haruhi looked around the room curiously, noting no other female presence in the room. "Then, where is Miyamura-senpai?"

"Yes," Kyoya inquired respectfully, "where is your sister, Miyuki-san?"

Miyuki went pale, taking back her hand from Kyoya and placing it over her mouth. "Oh no! I must have left her behind because I was in a rush to see you, Ootori-senpai!"

"She's painfully honest..." Haruhi sweat-dropped, leaving the couple and walking over to the door to see if their guest was near.

She stepped out of the room cautiously, looking every which way and spotting no one. "Huh…I guess she is not here yet—whoa!" Haruhi shrilled as she turned the corner of the hallway and ran head-on into a person carrying a large tower of boxes.

Haruhi fell to the floor with a loud thud, shielding her head from the boxes raining down on her. Soon, the hallway grew quiet as the boxes stopped clattering onto the floor.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," a soothing voice reached Haruhi's ears. "Are you injured?"

Haruhi opened one eye, struggling to see through her bangs. There in front of her was a young woman of above-average height and build who, even when kneeling, held a regal and poised stature. She had an amiable face and, while not the most enthralling, she had many pleasing characteristics of her own. Her fair face was long and slender, despite her mildly stout physique, with large, knowledgeable royal blue eyes framed by thick ebony lashes. She had short midnight-black hair that floated just above her shoulders with long, wispy bangs that suitably framed one side of her face.

Despite her relatively simplistic beauty, it was her voice that caught Haruhi's attention the most. It was kind yet stern, and it gave her a nostalgic feeling. It reminded her of her mother's voice—a loving yet authoritative voice that subtly demanded to be heard.

"Excuse me?" the voice interrupted Haruhi's thoughts, causing the female host to blush deeply.

"Uh, yes! I'm the one who should be saying sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going," Haruhi apologized, standing up quickly and holding out her hand to assist the young woman, as a proper host should.

She fidgeted under the young girl's gaze, unsettled by the calculating look she was receiving. It was as if she had seen right through her façade. Even if she had, the young woman decided not to voice it. She just smiled and accepted Haruhi's offer. "It's alright. Don't worry about it. I could hardly see where I was going in the first place, so it was bound to happen eventually."

"Haruhi!" Tamaki appeared out of the club room, followed by the other hosts. He zipped past the young woman, causing her yellow dress to flutter about, and made his way to the female host. "Are you alright?! What happened?!"

Akiko keenly observed the young host, noting the way Tamaki seemed so protective of him. "Fujioka Haruhi—the exceptional honor student that passed the scholarship exam with flying colors," Akiko thought curiously. "So, he's a host?"

She examined Haruhi closely, noticing how the young host's gestures were very odd for a male. There was something a little…too gentle and feminine about her face that bothered the young woman immensely. And upon seeing how the other male hosts interacted with their junior, especially males who she had known to be rather harsh and indifferent with other men, she slowly began to suspect that maybe there was more to Fujioka than met the eye. However, give that the boy was wearing a male uniform, she decided against voicing her conclusions. How embarrassing would it be if she were to bluntly and proudly state her opinion and be wrong about it? She would save her observations for a later date and carefully discuss the matter with Kyoya in the future…

"We ran into each other," she finally addressed the hysterical blond.

He halted in his screaming and turned to acknowledge the female student. His expression lit up brightly. "Oh, Miyamura-hime! It's a pleasure to see you aga—wait. Why are there boxes all over the floor?"

"I believe those would be our desserts," Kyoya concluded, reaching Akiko's side.

As soon as Akiko took notice of Kyoya, she instinctively covered her head, half expecting him to smack her with his notebook. "Why are you shielding yourself?" he asked, with an amused glint in his eyes.

"It's a conditioned reflex."

Deciding that she was safe from Kyoya's punishment, for now, she reached down to pick up a box of sweets and assess the damage that had been done. Much to her dismay, the frosting of the cupcakes had smeared all over the top of the box. There was no way that she could present these cupcakes to the guests of the host club.

Kyoya peered over her shoulder, fixing his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news, Akiko-chan, but these desserts look absolutely revolting."

"It doesn't sound like you hate to be the bearer of bad news…" she mumbled, closing the box with a loud thud!

Charmed by the comment, Kyoya continued to pester her. "I also recall that these confectionaries were due in the club room a little over thirty minutes ago. Where were you?"

"Thirty minutes, huh? You know, that's sooo long ago, Kyoya-kun, I don't remember."

Kyoya hummed. "Well, I suppose that it is a good thing your memory is so short-term. It would be troublesome if you remembered that I deducted thirty percent off of your total earnings for today. Twenty, for the tardiness. And ten for the ruined sweets that I consider void. At least your forgetfulness will make it less likely for you to hold a grudge, don't you think?"

His smile was so sly that Akiko wondered how he mastered charming women when he was the epitome of evil. "You despise me, don't you?" she grumbled.

"If I gave your presence anymore thought, I might." Akiko winced when he tapped her head roughly with the edge of his closed notebook.

At the other end of the hallway, Haninozuka rushed to pick up the boxes. He opened a box cautiously and exclaimed, "These sweets are okay! Yay!" He quickly started stacking the remaining boxes, along with Mori's help and brought them into the club room just as the clock tower chimed, signifying the beginning of club hours.

Haruhi bent over, picking up some of the remaining boxes of the sweets that had messed up. She grabbed a stack and averted her attention to the young woman chatting idly with Kyoya. To her surprise, she noticed the way Kyoya listened to the woman's story intently, shooting her a half-hearted reprimand and smacking her head lightly with his notebook before opening it and jotting down additional notes. His behavior greatly changed from the act he had displayed to the woman's sister earlier. "They seem to be well acquainted with each other. Well, enough for her to know the real Kyoya-senpai. I can't help but wonder why Miyuki-san doesn't know then?" she pondered, snapping out of her daze when Akiko walked up to her and plucked the boxes softly from her hands.

"Allow me to help toss those out." She smiled warmly, walking side by side with Haruhi.

Haruhi relaxed, falling into step with her long strides. After remaining in silence for a while, Haruhi began to understand why Kyoya felt comfortable enough to let loose around the woman. She had a calm, playful air, unlike her coquettish sister. Deciding to break the silence, she said, "Again, I'm really sorry about all this. A lot of the desserts were ruined. It must have been a lot of hard work and effort gone to waste. I can understand if you were upset with me."

Akiko broke into a lovely peal of laughter, which confused Haruhi enormously. She liked her apologies to be taken seriously. "I'm not upset at all. In fact, a lot of the desserts were already ruined before you even crashed into me. I should thank you; you gave me an excellent cover-up for the destroyed sweets."

"You're awfully easy going about this. Won't your family be upset about the lack of profit?" Haruhi persisted.

Akiko responded with a lackadaisical wave of her hand. "Perhaps. But my sister shares some responsibility in all this, so they might be a little more forgiving. They always are…toward her." This seemed to make her thoughts trail for a moment before she answered. "I'd like to think it is all about perspective as well. I could focus on the fact that it took nearly all night to make these many sweets and how a good half of them are ruined, but I don't see the appeal in destroying myself for a peace of mind that I will never receive."

Haruhi admired her words. "That's very optimistic of you."

Akiko laughed, but this time the muscles in her face were tight and there was a dullness in her tone that wasn't present before. "That is one way to look at it. Optimism is just a form of control over your state of mind. And sometimes, in our world at least, being able to control your perspective and emotions…is about the only amount of control that you have." She paused, snapping out of her reverie. "But I am rambling on now. Ignore me." She waved dismissively, tossing the ruined boxes into a nearby trashcan once they entered the room.

Before Haruhi could question her as to what she meant, Kyoya called out from his seat next to Miyuki. "You have clients waiting, Haruhi." He smiled charmingly, though behind a venomous aura. "But, of course, we can always add onto your quota if you wish to stay there chatting, hm? And Akiko-chan, if you are planning to continue being a hindrance, I can always notify your mother about the mistake you made today?"

Both girls scowled deeply, slouching their shoulders. "He's the spawn of Satan," Haruhi mumbled under her breath, earning a light laugh from Akiko.

"No—I'm pretty sure he is Satan."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I'm coming, I'm coming." Haruhi nodded respectfully to Akiko. "Please, excuse me, Miyamura-senpai. It was a pleasure to meet you."

"And you as well," Akiko was genuine, giving her a deep bow before watching the young host walk off to her table where her clients were eagerly waiting.

Kaoru and Hikaru were the last ones to enter the music room, trying to remain inconspicuous as they eavesdropped on Haruhi's conversation with the newcomer. Hikaru was the least intrigued of the two, not particularly caring about Akiko or her sister's sudden arrival. However, the woman's name continued to prod the corners of Kaoru's mind.

"Ready to go to our table and get this over with, Kaoru?" Hikaru asked lazily, looking up from his fingers, in which he was examining, only to find his brother making his way over to the young woman's side. "Kaoru?"

Hikaru effortlessly caught up, shooting his brother an odd look before Kaoru stopped in front of the woman, resting a hand on his hip. "So, your step-mother is Miyamura Reina, right?"

Hikaru perked up upon hearing this new information, becoming curious. "You mean, the owner of that small pâtisserie chain all over Japan?"

Akiko looked at the two and nodded apprehensively. "Yes, she is."

"So that is why her name sounded so familiar!" Kaoru started excitedly as they both linked arms.

"Your step-mother is the one that always provides catering for our mom's fashion shows!" they ended simultaneously.

Akiko brightened, staring at the twins in recognition. "You must be the Hitachiin twins. Reina talks frequently of you two. Although, I'm not sure which one is which," she admitted apologetically with a small bow of her head.

A Cheshire grin spread across each of the twins' faces. They glanced towards each other and nodded simultaneously, slinging their arms over Akiko's neck and ignoring the way she stiffened uncomfortably. "Then, would you like to play the 'Which One Is Hikaru?' game and take a wild guess?" They each leaned in seductively, enjoying the way Akiko became squeamish in their grasp. "And since it's your first time, if you win, we'll give you a special treat."

"I'm afraid not," Akiko firmly rejected, slipping out of their clutches and holding her hands up in front of her complacently. "I know that I would certainly get it wrong." She looked at the two and smiled solemnly. "Also, I'd hate to disappoint you like that."

There was an eerie silence until Hikaru groaned. "Boo, that's no fun." He craned his head back, bored and proceeded to walk away. "Well, when you're ready to play, come to our table, Miyamura-hime. See you! Come on, Kaoru." He waved his hand indifferently, seemingly oblivious to the severity of what Akiko had said.

But Kaoru caught it—and he would be lying if he didn't admit that she had unknowingly piqued his interest. They had many clients who rejected to partake in the 'Which One Is Hikaru? Game' before, but they had never had someone reject to play it for that particular reason. Honestly, he was slightly irked by it. Perhaps because of what she had said was true; they were still disappointed whenever someone would get it wrong.

Although the game used to have a more twisted meaning behind it when they were younger and just recently turned into a way to entertain guests, there was still a small spark of hope that one client—or anybody, really—would get it right without guessing. Many clients had often suggested that both Hikaru and Kaoru should change their appearances again so that it would be easier to tell them apart—like they had done before when they were pretending to quarrel with each other to mess with Haruhi. However, that would mess up the point of the game. They knew they could simply change each other's appearances to be told apart, but that's not what they actually wanted.

Kaoru had always wondered why they were so contradicting; they wanted to be told apart yet didn't want to be told apart. Eventually, he was finally able to figure it out, and this also helped him figure out the meaning of their game. They deeply desired for someone, like Haruhi, to be able to see past the similarities in their appearances and be able to see their innermost beings. They eagerly wanted to meet someone who could see their souls rather than their identical appearances. Yet, at the same time, they were frightened of when the moment would arrive where someone, aside from Haruhi, would be able to easily tell them apart.

Kaoru cast a sidelong glance at Hikaru, who was merrily chatting away with one of their guests. However, Kaoru could see that, although his appearance was jovial, his smile never quite reached his eyes.

"I don't think we are quite ready for more people to be able to enter into our world. At the same time, we are also not ready to step out into theirs—we don't want to be disappointed by the eyes of others that can only see our outward shells," he thought sadly.

"Um, are you alright?"

Kaoru blinked, being called back to reality only to see alluring blue eyes gazing into his intently. He stepped back quickly, putting distance between the two of them.

"Ah, sorry," he laughed uneasily, blushing out of embarrassment. "I'm just fine."

"Are you sure?" she persisted, walking closer to him and reaching out to touch his face. "Your face is awfully red. I can check to see if you have a fe—"

"Ootori-senpai, that is so neat!"

Akiko was interrupted by the loud chortle from her half-sister, who seemed to find something Kyoya was doing on his laptop rather interesting. Akiko stopped her fingers that were millimeters from Kaoru's face slowly curled into a loose fist and fell limply at her side.

The concerned expression on her face fell as she forgot what she was previously saying and was sidetracked by her sister's laugh. Kaoru examined the way Akiko looked down at the floor as if having some internal struggle. He noted how she took a deep, reassuring breath before directing her attention to her sister, who was enraptured by whatever was going on at Kyoya's table.

It was then that he saw it, the way her jaw set tightly as she gazed at the couple across the room. He was also able to witness the dimming of her once bright eyes as her sister's laugh rang against both of their eardrums.

"Akiko-nee chan!" Akiko stiffened when she heard her name being called. "Come over here! You have to see this!"

A thin, ghostly smile spread across her lips. She bowed respectfully to Kaoru, her voice small, "Please, excuse me. It was a pleasure to meet you, Hitachiin-san." She began to walk away and then looked back at Kaoru before grinning. "Perhaps we can play that game of yours at a more…reasonable time."

Unable to come up with a response, Kaoru nodded, frowning as he watched her make her way over to Kyoya. His frown only seemed to deepen when the people present at the table, including Kyoya, could not read the small changes in her appearance.

"If only eyes could see a person's soul instead of appearances…" he reminded himself calmly.

"Hey, Kaoru! Hurry up!" Hikaru shouted, causing Kaoru to snap his head towards his twin's direction.

He walked towards the group hesitantly, almost wishing that club activities had never started. The clapping of their guests' hands resonated throughout his head. Hikaru walked up to him, setting a matching gray cap on top of his head to effectively cover which way each of them parted their hair.

Hikaru halted his actions, noticing that his brother was strangely quiet. "Are you alright?" Hikaru asked, fixing the cap on his head.

Kaoru smiled reassuringly, effectively deceiving his brother. "Yeah, I'm fine."

When his brother turned around, Kaoru closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to recuperate himself again. He plastered a weak grin on his face, taking his position next to his twin. However, behind his smile, he couldn't help but notice that the ache inside of him seemed to be growing—and it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

"Now, then," they spoke excitedly in union, "let's play the 'Which One Is Hikaru?' game!"

…

"If only eyes could see a person's soul instead of merely focusing on appearances…

…then maybe their world wouldn't be so difficult to experience."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter!