…. Never have I ever updated this quickly before.
it must be thanks to my beta :D (love you chikista~)
"Hold still!"
"Kaoru this isn't going to work!"
"It'll work if. You. Hold. STILL!... There."
Hikaru glared at his brother, folding his arms over his chest.
The night before his younger twin had come home from school.
The night before his secret… well it wasn't really a secret considering he'd kept it for less than 24 hours… had been revealed.
And after Kaoru's initial mental break down- 'WHAT?' 'HOW?' 'SHOULD I BE ONE TO?' 'THIS IS INSANE!'... They had spent the entire night wide-awake, trying to formulate a plan. There planes had never failed before but…
What they had so far was less than promising.
And they needed to leave for school soon.
"Maybe you should stay home today…" Kaoru trailed off. Now that he got a good look at his own handy work… his brother was right, this wasn't going to work.
Hikaru was wearing a turtleneck, pulled as high as he possibly could. Black leather gloves covered his hands and a gray ski cap was pulled over his flaming orange hair and ears, a pair of bulky sunglasses hid his yellow socket eyes.
They may have been able to pull it off with that…
If it weren't for his now blood red skin, which, upon further inspection, Kaoru had discovered really was scaly.
They had done their best to hide it, smearing three whole bottles of their mother's cover up over his face.
He looked… almost normal… Almost.
However his skin looked… glompy, uneven, so that it was blatantly obvious he was wearing some kind of makeup.
"Ugh!" Hikaru pulled the gray ski cap off of his head, slamming it onto the floor. "I told you this wasn't going to work!" his foot said hello to the wall. "Even if no one noticed the make-up they're gonna ask about the friken' hat! And what about my uniform? I just decided not to where it today? Yea right!"
Kaoru let out a long sigh, trying to talk sense to his brother.
"Hikaru calm down… you don't have to go to school today ok…" Kaoru bit his lip. He was the more reasonable of the twins. He usually didn't have any problem calming his brother down. "I'll go, get your homework and we'll figure something ou-"
"No!" Hikaru kicked the wall again, leaving a decent sized chip in the paint. "It's no good! Mom and dad will start asking questions! Damn it, damn it, damn it why the hell did it have to be me! Why not some stupid commoner or something! Not like they got anything to worry about! Damn it, damn it-"
"Hikaru!" Kaoru grabbed his brother by the shoulders. "Hikaru we'll work this out together ok? I promise nothing bad's gonna happen."
He could tell by the look on the older twin's face he didn't believe it.
"Let's just go." Hikaru grabbed his hat off the floor. "If we can get through today maybe we've got a shot." He pulled the cap back down over his ears, adjusting the over sized sunglasses to make sure nothing behind them could be seen.
Kaoru offered a smile; nodding and grabbing there book bags off the floor.
The twins took off down the stairs, disappearing out the door before the maids could even dream of offering them breakfast.
-XXXX-
Lub-dub
Right punch
Lub-dub
Left punch,
Lub-dub
Low block
Lub-dub
Ridge hands,
Lub-dub
High block,
Lub-dub
Stop round house kick
Lub-dub
Break leg.
Mitsukuni Haninozuka glided easily through the steps of his kata*. Performing each movement in the choreographed pattern with precision only a few grand masters had achieved. The steady 'lub dub' sound produced by his own heart beating slowly in his ears.
No movement wasted, nothing over exaggerated, and no strength diminished so as not to harm any partner in his way.
He loved katas for the soul reason he didn't need to hold back. He could punch, kick, anything as hard as he wanted and there would be no repercussions.
Of course…. those stories about him beating up all those green berets… where myths, but it was funny when everyone thought it was true. Because despite his persona, Mitsukuni wasn't quite as innocent and adorable as he lead most to believe.
Not that he'd ever admit that to anyone other than Takashi. It was their little secret.
Said black haired teen was to his left, moving through the steps of his kata in perfect sync with Honey's own.
They were a pair.
A match.
An awkward pair yes, but as close as brothers, certainly closer to each other than they where to there own 'birth brothers'.
He loved Chika dearly but at times…. Well…. He was…. Chika. And Mori…
They weren't quite like the twins: they were far to different in appearance and character to ever convince anyone of that. But they complimented each other. Where Mori was strong Honey was weak and vice versa.
They finished the kata together, bowing lowly to the shrine in front of which they practiced each morning, both teens hurrying inside to change quickly for school.
"Takashi?" Honey hopped up onto the older teen's shoulders, his bun-bun draped over his head.
"Yea?" Mori ducked as they entered the car, low enough so that Honey wouldn't hit his head.
"Did you notice Kao-chan was acting funny yesterday?" Honey tilted his head to the side as he climbed down Mori's arm, buckling his seatbelt as the limousine pulled out of their driveway.
Mori grunted, nodding in agreement.
"I hope Hika-chan's okay." Honey pressed his face to the window, watching as the rural trees of their estate faded into the distance and they entered into the crowed center of town on their way to Ouran. "Him and Kao-chan need each other you know… it'd be real bad if something bad happened to Hika-chan."
Takashi nodded silently, glancing out his own window.
He didn't even flinch when a hunk of rotten fruit connected with the window.
"FILTHY MUTY LOVERS!" The shout was loud enough for them to hear, even through the thick walls of their car.
The Haninozuka and Morinozuka families where infamous throughout Japan for their martial arts. They had been for centuries. However they had dominated the news recently for an entirely different reason.
Both families where active supporters of mutant rights.
Most high-level families- those of whom even included the families of other members of the host club- were strong supporters of mutant registration in Japan, many also contributed to the Ootari family's search for a 'cure'.
Perhaps it was their tradition. Throughout the history of the Morinozuka's and the Haninozuka's, they had strongly believed and taught to except any natural advantage they may be given with open arms, be it size, speed- or, in this modern age, powers.
And if one was to accept those traits in themselves they must also accept them in everyone. Besides…
Mutants made amazing sparing partners. Honey would know, he had actually taught several mutants in a self-defense clinic he'd run in Tokyo. Though they hadn't been able to even come close to beating him, no one had ever beaten him, their powers had made them unpredictable, tricky opponents, and as much as it broke Honeys heart to admit…
Potentially dangerous.
The blond glanced up at his cousin, smiling slightly and turning to look back out the window.
But was there really anything wrong with that?
*Kata- a marshal arts term used to describe a series of pre-choreographed movements used to practice technique.
-XXXX-
"Hey Kaoru, Hika- why are you dressed like that?"
Both twins froze, turning slowly to face the brown haired cross-dresser running towards them.
"No reason…" They spoke in unison, glancing at each other nervously.
Haruhi wasn't buying it.
"Seriously Hikaru, why are you dressed like that?" She leaned up to get a good look at his face. "And is that make-up?"
"No it isn't!" They jumped back simultaneously Kaoru taking up a position in front of Hikaru.
"He wasn't feeling well again so-"
"I dressed down so I can sleep in the nurse's office. Duh." Hikaru rolled his eyes, sounding just as egotistical and self-assured as ever before.
Haruhi's face scrunched up cutely and she stepped past the younger Hitachiin, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at Hikaru.
"Oh really? Then what's with the make-up? The hat? How about the sunglasses? Gloves?"
"I'm cold. There's a glare from the windows. I got a rash. Now get out of my way class is going to start." Hikaru, stuck up his nose, shouldering past her and grabbing Kaoru by the wrist, earning a few fangirlish squeals from nearby host club attendants.
"Hmh." Haruhi watched them go, a bead of sweat forming on her brow as Hikaru dragging Kaoru behind him. "He is so lying."
And one way or the other… she would get the truth out of them. Because… though it did hurt her pride to admit… she didn't know what was going on.
-XXXXX-
"Ootari-san, may I speak with you?"
Kyoya paused in the doorway of his classroom, turning to face his genetics teacher with a false smile on his face.
"Of course Ms. Chikaku," he adjusted his glasses out of habit, walking back towards the woman's desk. "May I help you?"
"Yes, actually I was wondering if you could clarify some information regarding your father's involvement with the mutant issue." She nodded, motioning towards her laptop.
Kyoya wasn't sure why he stiffened at the word mutant.
"I plan on doing a lesson regarding the passing on of mutant traits from father to off spring and thought perhaps some background knowledge may stimulate the class." She nodded, brushing a single stray hair back behind her ear.
"Of course Ms. Chikaku," Kyoya nodded, that phony smile still in place. "Though I'm sure I'd be telling you the same thing you can hear on the news. My father's company is actively searching for a cure in order to free mutants of the curse of their X gene."
It was a normal enough sale pitch… so why did something about it sound… wrong?
"And you are in close competition with the American enterprise Worthington industries regarding this, yes?" she was typing something on her computer.
"I'm not at liberty to say." Kyoya pushed his glasses up his nose. "May I go Ms. Chikaku? I would very much like to get something to eat before lunch recess is over."
She nodded, smiling up at him. "Of course Kyoya, though I would like to hear more about this soon. Perhaps you could talk to the class about-"
"Thank you Ms. Chikaku." Kyoya bowed deeply, turning quickly and exiting the room before she could see the slightest frown that was tugging at his lips.
Why would his genetics teacher want to know about his father's stand on mutants?
More importantly why was it bothering him? As far as mutants were concerned it didn't matter to him one-way or the other. He didn't know any…. At least not as far as he knew...
The more he thought about it the more that feeling inside him grew and the less hungry he became.
He let his legs carry him where they wanted, walking slowly, but with increasing urgency to the top floor of the south wing, almost sprinting when he neared the end of the north hallway.
Kyoya threw open the doors to music room three, his breathing coming with the slight rising and falling of his chest.
He didn't turn on the lights, didn't open the curtains to let the sun poor in through the clear glass.
He just closed the door, letting the darkness envelop him like a curtain, the churning feeling of uncertainty leaving him in an instant.
Blessed peace.
He was and Ootari, third son or not he was still an Ootari. He knew who he was. He knew where he stood and where his father stood and he knew that it was what was best.
So why was he doubting himself?
Ootari Kyoya did not doubt himself.
He doubted others… but not himself. He had faith in his own intelligence.
Kyoya took a seat on one of music room three's many couches, carefully removing his little black book from beneath his arm and began writing.
He chose to ignore the fact that he could see just fine, despite the darkness that surrounded him.
-XXXX-
School had never been so stressful.
The Hitachiin twins had spent their day running from class to class, barely managing to dodge anyone they knew, which proved to be increasingly hard, especially when it came to avoiding Haruhi and other kids from there class.
Kaoru thought he might cry for shear joy when the bell finally rang.
Almost there.
Almost there.
They where so close he could taste it! They just had to get home and-
"Hika-chan! Kao-chan!"
Damn you, you adorable, bunny-hugging, cake loving bas-
"Heeeey!" Honey ran up to them, Usa-chan in his arms and a grin plastered on his face so wide and adorable they could almost see the little flowers that should have been floating around him. Mori stood close behind the blond teen, an unreadable look on his face.
"Come on Hika-chan! Kao-chan! Tama-chan says we're going on a field trip today to see a commoner's restaurant! I'm gonna eat so much cake-"
"We're not going."
Kaoru bit his lip, glancing at his older twin out of the corner of his eye.
Honey looked up at him, lower lip trembling and fat tears forming in the corner of his eyes.
"Y-you're n-not c-c-coming?" He whimpered, sniveling pathetically and squeezing his bunny tighter.
"Sorry Honi-sempi." Kaoru stepped in, really not wanting to see the older student cry. "See Hikaru's not feeling so well-"
"And we've got a lot of homework." Hikaru grabbed hold of his brother's wrist, pulling him along with him. "We're going home."
"Nonsense!" Tamaki came running down the hall, tackling them both to the ground, knocking Hikaru's sunglasses off his face. "I've convinced Haruhi to come with us!" Said cross-dresser was standing behind him with an exasperated look on her face. "She's going-"
"Damn you bastard!" Hikaru scrabbled to grab his sunglass, a panicked look on his face and his eyes squeezed tightly shut.
"-To show us something called a 'candy store'! Doesn't that sound-"
"BORING!" The twins jumped to their feet, their usual attitudes finally shining through, if only to cover their nervousness. "We're gonna find something more enter-"
"Grab them!" Tamaki screamed, pointing at the twins as though he where commanding an army.
"Wha-" Neither Hitachiin had time to react, they where both grabbed, each thrown kicking and screaming over Mori's shoulder and lifted effortlessly into the back seat of the Suou heir's limousine.
"Driver… To the commoner's market!" The host king shouted dramatically, pointing towards the sky.
"Yes Suou-sama." The limousine pulled out of the school parking lot before the twins could even dream of jumping out.
Damn it, damn it, damn it! Didn't Tamaki watch the news? Didn't he know the kind of things that where going on in the commoner's market?
Kaoru himself was only vaguely familiar with the protests, but he remembered over hearing just how severe they were from some of his fellow students.
Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad!
Okay, okay… They could do this. How long could the boss possibly stay entertained in a commoner's market, right? He had to get bored some time… or better yet he and Hikaru could just slip away when the boss was occupied with Haruhi or something shiny. It'd be fine, just fine, they could-…
Oh no.
Haruhi was staring intensely at Hikaru, her head tilted slightly to the side.
She was going to figure it out!
Not good, not good, not good.
Hikaru was staring out the window, a bored look on his face, hat pulled low over his ears.
A flash of blood red caught his eyes.
Damn, even worse.
Kaoru reached over to his brother, carefully pulling up the collar of his turtle neck to hide the patch of red skin, leaning over to disguise the gesture as one of their usual shows of 'brotherly love.'
"Feeling naughty today Kaoru?" the older Hitachiin teased him running a slender finger down his chest.
"Hikaru…" Kaoru whispered in a slightly flustered, slightly nervous voice, the one that earned so many fangirlish squeals from their guests.
Haruhi rolled her eyes, leaning back into the seat and looking out the window in exasperation.
-XXXX-
The commoner's market… was very load.
The commoner's market… was very crowded.
The commoner's market… was not the best place to be when you had a physical manifestation of the X-gene and where trying your frigin' best to hide it.
Hikaru was sure if he wasn't so concentrated with his current situation… he would have loved to visit the commoner's market. It was always a fun place to go, there was always something cool to do… and he and Kaoru always had a great time checking out the 'mass production' items for sale.
Every single suit…. exactly like the others!
Unfortunately… he couldn't enjoy it.
Maybe it was the occasional window they passed with a sign hanging in it reading 'no mutants served here'. Or maybe it was the elderly man curled up and sleeping by one of the dumpsters, jacket pulled tightly around himself in an attempt to hide his bright yellow skin and hair so black it could never be human.
Maybe it was the small group of men, rough looking and mean, obvious commoners, who had gathered at one of the corners, the tattoos marking their body's clearly distinguishing them as members of the 'Jinrui no Tomodachi'. The Japanese branch of the American anti-mutant organization 'Friends of Humanity'.
Funny… two weeks… two days earlier he wouldn't have even noticed such things.
But racism was a lot harder to ignore when you where the target of it.
The older Hitachiin sucked in a long breath, weaving his way through the crowd along with the rest of the host club. The others seemed to be enjoying themselves, Tamaki dragging Haruhi along behind him towards a colorful looking booth, Honey looking around excitedly atop Mori's shoulders, even Kyoya seemed to be enjoying himself, the smallest of smiles curling his lips at he examined the wears of a nearby vendor.
Hikaru couldn't relax.
Of course… who could blame him?
Kaoru was sticking close to him, a small frown on his face and his fingers intertwined with Hikaru's own gloved ones, not really caring who looked at them funny.
"Worthless muty!" Hikaru froze, turning toward the direction of those words.
But they weren't aimed at him.
The Hitachiin heir watched in shock as the elderly man he'd seen curled up in front of the dumpster was yanked to his feet, forest green eyes blinking in half-awake confusion, but not surprise.
"I told you not to hang around here no more!" The elderly man was thrown down by the young, fit looking 'Jinrui no Tomodachi' who had grabbed him, and ugly scowl on the gang banger's face.
"Please," the old man spoke hoarsely, a look of defeat in his eyes. "I have no where else to go. I won't trouble any-"
Hikaru flinched as he watched the gangster strike the man down, a small spatter of blueish liquid smacking the ground that he could only imagine was the old man's blood.
Was it wrong to wonder what his own blood looked like?
By now a small crowd had gathered to watch, some shouting for it to stop…
All too many cheering it on.
Kaoru squeezed his hand hard as another blow fell upon the old man and Hikaru squeezed back, frozen in shock and horror.
He could hear the rest of the host club moving behind him, Tamaki shouting something he didn't bother to make out and charging towards the attacker, his fist raised.
He was knocked back by another gang member and Kyoya moved to grab him, mumbling softly in the host king's ear in an attempt to calm his rising anger.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Haruhi yelling, and Honey crying from Mori's shoulders for it to stop.
But his eyes remained transfixed on the beating, his heart thumping audibly in his ears, each blow to the old man mixing viciously with the angry voices of the crowd.
Kill him!
No!
Kill the muty!
Someone call the cops!
Give him the left! The left!
Mommy make him stop!
Kill the filthy muty!
Hikaru's heart was raging now, his face growing warm in anger behind the make-up that covered it, veins throbbing in his neck and arms.
BURNING.
He could feel his mouth moving, could hear himself screaming for the beating to stop but he couldn't control it, it was all so far away and he was getting so hot.
BURNING.
His body shock, his hand squeezing tighter to Kaoru's and his twin wiggled free, gasping in pain.
BURNING.
He grew hotter, and hotter as he stormed forward until he was sure any moment his entire form would combust into flames of white hot anger, screams pulling from his throat, every angry word he knew aimed directly at the old mans attacker, who was staring at him in shock, fear lanced across his face.
The bitter stench of smoke hit his nose but he didn't pay it any intention, his smoldering yellow sockets focused wholly on the man in front of him.
It all happened so fast.
The gang member lunged forward, his fist pulled back to punch him.
And then it came.
A searing heat unlike anything he'd felt before, red tinted his vision, and both his hands came forward in self-defense.
A vortex of flames shot from his finger-tips, burning blue and white and scorching the mans body, sending him stumbling backwards and screaming, pounding himself against the ground to try and put out the flames, which quickly calmed from white to red but still burned horribly across his skin.
Sound slowly faded back into existence and a wave of vertigo washed over Hikaru's body, causing him to stumble forward, sunglasses toppling off of his face and his foot landing in a puddle of hot tanned liquid…
Make-up.
As quickly as sound had returned it vanished again, and the older Hitachiin turned back towards the small crowd that had gathered, stares now focused on him.
His eyes drifted towards the host club and a small lump formed in his throat.
He was met with wide-eyed shock, horror, sorrow… and blank recognition.
"Did that kid just…" Hikaru didn't turn his head to see who was speaking, it wasn't that important.
"He's a muty!" that voice belonged to a woman, and this time he did turn to meet the disapproving eyes of a mother, clinging protectively to a young child in her arms.
"GET HIM!"
Hikaru didn't think when he heard those words.
He just ran.
-XXXX-
Tamaki was frozen in shock, his mouth hanging open ever so slightly and eyes as big and wide as dinner plates.
Hikaru was…
He was…
The host king sprang to his feet, ignoring the blood that was slowly trickling down his nose as he turned to the rest of the host club.
"COME ON!"
His words seemed to snap the other out of their daze, and in seconds they where moving, weaving through the crowd as fast as they possibly could to catch the mutant teen.
-XXXX-
Half a world away, beneath the foundation of an institution so much like, and yet so incomprehensibly different from Ouran academy, a man observed them. Blue eyes closed delicately and finger tips resting gently against the controls of the machine known as Cerebro.
He opened his eyes slowly, carefully removing the chrome headgear from his bald cranium and pushing his wheelchair away from the controls of his machine, reaching throughout the institute with his mind as he pushed himself out of the spherical room.
Scott, prepare the X-jet.
….. I don't like it. Some parts just seemed really, I dono dry…. Then again it was a bit of a necessary filler… hopefully the next chapter won't have that dry patch at the beginning (though I do feel pretty good about the way it ended.) please review. I live off of them. And everyone say a big warm thank you to darkrose656 without whom there wouldn't be a story :P (well there would be but none of you would be reading it because you got so annoyed with the spelling and confusing sentence structure you gave up :P) aaaand she's the one who pointed out to me that no one other than me (and people who take martial arts) know what kata's are.