February 2, 2012 8:00pm

Haruto picked Mizuki up from school and made a quick stop at the family's company's main building. Mizuki had not gone there long enough and got lost after using the bathroom. Haruto had to find her and he finally found her in the main hallway leading to the grand revolving doors. (Fancy places and business companies must have revolving doors to make things less boring. Revolving doors are fun to go through.) They exited the building and arrived at their apartment. Mizuki and Haruto made their way up the stairs into their home. It felt good to be home. Mizuki quickly left her brother and went straight into her room, changed out of her uniform and into comfy sweat pants and a baggy t-shirt she got when she was visiting her aunt in Australia over the summer. She was done with her homework because she finished it all during lunch. (Some of the teachers recommended her to become a second year when she came from winter vacation. Mizuki thought about it and declined. She heard about a guy named Kyoya, who was a grade older than she and she didn't feel like getting on his bad side.) She had just finished changing when her mother knocked on the door.

Mizuki: "Yes?"

Akemi (Mizuki's mother's name): "Can I come in?"

Mizuki: "Sure."

Mizuki's mother, Akemi, entered the door, kind of shaking like she was cold, but it didn't make sense because their house was pretty warm right now.

Mizuki: "Mom, are you okay?"

Akemi: "Yeah. Um. Would you please sit here on the bed with me?"

Mizuki: "Uh-huh."

Mizuki was worried, she noticed how her mother looked weaker than usual. She wanted to call her Haruto into her room, but she felt that her mother didn't want him here at that moment.

Mizuki: "Mom, are you sick?"

Akemi: "No I'm not. I just need to tell you something."

Mizuki: "U-um, okay. I'm listening."

Akemi: "You know your grandmother…my mother right?"

Mizuki: "Grandma Millie?"

Mizuki knew her grandmother well, her and Millie got along really well. Grandma took care of Mizuki as if she was her own daughter. Everybody loved grandma Millie so much.

Mizuki: "S-she's not dead…is she?"

Akemi: "Good heavens! No!"

Mizuki was able to give a sigh of relief…but then what was the problem, why did she mention her grandmother?

Mizuki: "Then what's wrong?"

Akemi: "She sent someone over to see us."

Mizuki: "Really? Who?"

Akemi: "…"

Her mother was only able to gently smile at her, she just got up told Mizuki to follow her into the living room. When they got to her living room…she saw a man…who looked so much like her father, she thought she was looking at her clone. Seeing this man reminded Mizuki of her father, she fell to her knees and started to cry because she knew she wasn't able to see him again…ever.

Akemi: "Oh, sweetie. Don't cry. Please."

Mizuki's mother couldn't hold her tears in either and started to tear. She knew she had to stay strong for her daughter, so she held the tears in and hugged her daughter, in front of this stranger. The man stood there baffled at what just happened. (He had no idea why they were crying.)

The man's POV:
Once the girl, who I assume is Mizuki started to cry. I didn't know what to do. Why did she even start crying? I mean really, am I that ugly or scary-looking? I don't look like the boogie-man…at least that's what my late wife told me…this woman kind of reminds me of my wife…"Dad!"

A boy entered the house with Haruto. Both the boy and Haruto were surprised to see Mizuki and her mother both crying on the floor. Haruto hurriedly went to both of them. He helped his mother up, calmed her down, then he went to Mizuki, only to hug her and calm her down at the same time.

Boy: "Dad, you didn't tell them your jokes right? Mom was the only who actually like them."

Man: "I-I didn't say anything! They just started to cry right when they entered the room."

Boy: (Sigh) "I told you not to wear that tie. It makes you look like a clown."

Man: "What's wrong with my tie? I like polka dots."

Boy: "Whatever. Your sense of fashion wasn't that great anyway."

Man: "Hey!"

The son went to Mizuki to apologize about his father…whatever he did. Feeling sorry for the girl, which he didn't know why, with his kindest voice, he told how sorry he was to Mizuki. While crying, Mizuki just started laughing…which left her brother, mother, the boy and his father quite confused. Still sitting beside her, her brother questioned, "Mizuki? Are you feeling okay? You don't have a fever do you?"

Mizuki: (laughing decreases.) "No those are good reasons, but not enough to make people cry."

Mizuki then stood up and wiped her tears away. She did feel a bit embarrassed for crying in front of strangers, but she did think that the boy was funny.

Mizuki: (bows to man. And stands straight again.) (smiles) "I'm sorry for suddenly crying. That was embarrassing."

Haruto: (standing beside Mizuki now.) "Mizuki, this is Hayashi-San."

Mizuki just smiled and told him, "Nice to meet you. I'm really sorry about earlier. It's just that you looked almost exactly like my father." Mizuki was thinking this was the reason to why her mother looked so weak and pale before. She turned and saw her mother who was smiling at her. Seeing her mother looking healthy again made her happy. They all sat down with tea and started over their introductions. The man introduced himself as Rikuto Hayashi.

Rikuto: "I'm Hayashi Rikuto and this is my son Hayashi Akio."

Akio: "Hello."

Mizuki realized that she knew the boy, but couldn't remember from where. She was trying to remember the whole time everyone else was talking. Suddenly, her brother tapped her on the back of her head gently…which hurt her very much.

Mizuki: "Ow. You know my head hurts from yesterday."

Haruto: "You wouldn't answer when I called your name."

Mizuki was only able to sigh. In her head she called her brother a baby, but she wouldn't dare call him that out loud when these people were here…maybe when they were gone, but not here.

Mizuki: "Do you want me to do anything?"

Haruto: "Yes, let Hayashi-san take a look at your head later."

Mizuki: "He's a doctor?"

Haruto: "Yeah."

Mizuki: "Sure…(looks at Akio.) Don't I know you from somewhere?"

Haruto: "You don't remember him?"

Mizuki: "I think so, but not so much."

Akio: "It's okay, she won't remember. The last time I saw her-wait a second…"

Haruto: "Wait what?"

Akio: "Didn't I bump into you yesterday morning?"

Mizuki was thinking…she thought it was him…but his appearance was a bit different. His hair for one thing was a different color and his eye color were different too…they were darker than before.

Mizuki: "maybe…"

Akemi: "We'll leave you three alone."

Haruto: "Where are you going?" (Gets up.)

Rikuto: "We're going to see a movie a friend of mine recommended."

Haruto: (sits back down.) "Oh okay."

Mizuki her mother was going to fall in love again with this man…but maybe not. Then again, there was always a chance that she would…Mizuki stood up so she can talk to her mother eye to eye.

Mizuki: "Have fun on your date."

Akemi: "Oh sweetie, were not going on a date."

Mizuki: "You two are going together, alone to see a movie. Then you two are going to have a wonderful dinner, go somewhere for dessert, and he's going to drop you off at home by 11:30pm."

Mizuki looked at the man. He seemed like a nice, and unique gentleman.

Akemi: "Well then."

Mizuki's comment left the two adults baffled. Both the parents felt the role has been reversed. It felt as if Mizuki was the mother, and Akemi as the daughter. Mizuki was urging, in a strange way, for her mother to go have fun. To break the awkwardness, the two had to get out of there, which Rikuto made the suggestion.

Rikuto: "Shall we?" (Extends arm.)

Akemi: "Let's go. I'll be back before midnight kids oh and there are things in the fridge to eat and-"

Mizuki: "Mom! It's okay. We'll be fine."

Mizuki was tired of her mother being a mother for now. She wanted her mother to be a teenager in love again. It would help her mother…especially help her escape the state she was in before and for a while now. Though her mother wasn't persuaded, she left with her date leaving Mizuki, Akio and Haruto alone…Mizuki made dinner for the three of them, left some leftovers for Kei and they finished eating...only to talk the same thing as before...

Mizuki: "...back on the subject…you're the person who ran into me yesterday morning?"

Akio: "Yeah. In front of Ouran academy right? I didn't know you attended there."

Mizuki: "Yeah well, I want to become a fashion designer and I'm going to run my family company someday."

Akio: "Is your head okay?"

Mizuki: "Kind of. It feels better."

Haruto: "Mizuki, forget what I said yesterday in the car."

Mizuki: (laughing.) "Should I avoid the 'weirdo' Nii-san? I mean, you know, he can be a really bad man."

Haruto and Akio were able to hear the sarcasm in her voice and both were able to do nothing but smile at the fact that she was feeling better than when they entered the room. Akio was still kind of amazed at the fast change of state Mizuki was in and before. One second she was crying like the world was going to end, the next she laughs as if she was told the funniest joke in the world.

Haruto: "Fine, fine. (smile) I was wrong. Anyways what brings you here?"

Akio: "As you know, my mother is dead for about almost 2 years now."

Mizuki and Haruto were surprised that Akio was able to talk about his late mother so calmly and openly. Both of them knew they would be never able to talk about their father like that.

Mizuki: "A-and?"

Akio: "My father, he's been at home...sleeping and mourning of my mother every day."

Haruto: "Everyday? Literally?"

Akio: "Yes, in a way literally."

Mizuki: "..."

Mizuki had nothing to say the whole time the two were talking about Rikuto Hayashi. She just remembered Nekozawa's words from earlier at school...

Mizuki's POV:
My life would never be the same huh? So far...you were right Senpai...let's see about tomorrow..."Mizuki."

Mizuki: "Yeah?"

Haruto: "You okay?"

Mizuki: "Uh yeah."

Mizuki wasn't listening to the conversation and had no idea what they were talking about. The comments just flowed in one ear and flowed out the other ear.

Haruto: "So you decided to introduce your father to my mother?"

Akio: "Yeah. Pretty much."

Haruto: "Thank you."

Mizuki: "...it's a relief right?"

(Why the heck is she saying it's a relief? She doesn't know what they were talking about in one second and another second, she has a full idea of what Haruto and Akio were talking about the whole time…)

Haruto: "Yeah." (smile)

Akio was really confused to why the two were relieved. He brought his dad over to the Hotaru's without the permission of the two and Haruto just made to look like he invited so that his mother wouldn't worry. Mizuki just smiled thinking how things were getting interesting...who knows? She might end up with a stepfather and brother.

Akio: "You guys aren't mad?"

Mizuki: "Why would we be mad? Our mother was sulking about father for quite a while now. Going out with your dad and having fun for once in her life would do good for her...talking about mom, where's Kei? He should've been home by now."

Right when Mizuki mentioned Kei's name, Kei entered the house looking all cold, tired and hungry...he was also...wet?

Mizuki: "Kei! Why are you so wet?"

Kei was only able to scratch his head and laugh nervously as an answer, only to tell a bit of the truth to his siblings.

Kei: "Ehehehe. I fell in a pool along the way home."

Mizuki: "Pool?"

Haruto: "There's no pool near here or near your school."

Kei: "Yes there is."

Haruto: "No there isn't."

Kei: "Well I fell in a pool."

Mizuki knew that Kei was having a hard time at that moment, so to prevent Haruto from questioning him any further, the worried mother hen told her little chick to go change…

Mizuki: "Why don't you go and change? I left some food for you to eat."

Kei: "Thanks."

Kei left the room, leaving a watery, wet trail behind him. Mizuki, Haruto and Akio all cleaned up the mess and Mizuki set the coffee table with Kei's dinner.

Mizuki had a hunch to why Kei was all wet...

Mizuki heard the shower go on and talked in a soft voice to Haruto and Akio...

Mizuki: "I think Kei is being bullied at school."

Haruto: "I was thinking that too..."

Akio: "I didn't think that Kei would be the type of person to become bullied."

Haruto: "...jealousy?"

Mizuki: "Boys get jealous of each other? I thought only girls did."

Akio: "Of course. If a guy has a better body than himself, then the guy would be jealous of the other guy who has a body that is built."

Mizuki: "...boys get jealous of weird things...then again...i guess girls are the same too."

It was dead silent for while until Mizuki had a faint idea to why Kei was...or in this case, might be bullied...

Mizuki: "He might be bullied because of me..."

Both Akio and Haruto were surprised to hear Mizuki say such a thing. How can Mizuki be the problem? Mizuki never did anything to hurt others and she never annoyed anybody...with the exception of Haruto sometimes.

Akio: "Why would he be bullied because of you?"

Haruto: "...are you sure?"

Mizuki was pretty sure it was her fault that Kei was being bullied. Her twin went to a normal high school while she went to a prestigious academy full of rich people. If Mizuki was rich, then Kei would be rich too. The students who attended the same school as Kei knew about Mizuki and automatically thought that he was snobby and always took advantage of the "common people" ...which didn't make sense at all. Mizuki and her family didn't even use the words commoner or common people...there were no such thing... people were just well people...

Mizuki: "I know it sounds stupid, but the school he goes to...it's lame and stupid. The students there are all stupid jerks who would find any way to put other students feel bad about themselves."

Mizuki started to get mad and she was able to feel her blood boil like lava. She realized how mad she was getting and tried to calm herself down.

Haruto was pretty surprised that Mizuki would talk like that because Mizuki never would talk such a way about other people without knowing...especially a whole entire school with hundreds of students.

Haruto: "Are you sure it's not just one student who forces other students to go against Kei?"

Mizuki: "No."

Such a straight-forward answer...no dancing around the edges or running in circles, just a direct no. Mizuki started feeling guilty because she knew Kei was bullied everyday ever since the 7th grade… A couple of the students at Kei's and Mizuki's middle school threatened them if they ever told anybody about anything. They were young and it was their first time experiencing anything like that and were scared to tell anybody. When Kei and Mizuki graduated from middle school, Mizuki didn't want to see them again and wanted to be a fashion designer, she also had to take over the family company, working with Haruto because Kei wanted to be a teacher, so she went and took Ouran's entrance exam, passed and started attending there as a high schooler, while Kei decided to go to a regular high school.

Mizuki knows that Kei is extremely smart, smarter than her, but she didn't understand to why he continued to go a regular high school.

Haruto and Mizuki agreed to let Akio stay for the night, even though he and his father both told them it would be intruding. Coincidentally, Hitachiin Yuzuha and Hotaru Akemi went on a week-long business trip together right after Akemi and Rikuto had their date.

Haruto, Mizuki and Akio all decided to go on as if things were normal and agreed on questioning Kei tomorrow after school. It was getting late and they all got ready for bed.

Mizuki now is in her room, in her bed comfy and warm. She wasn't able to sleep just yet, she had too many thing on her mind at the moment.

Mizuki's POV:
I have so many questions to ask Kei. Why he decided to go to a regular high school, why he didn't tell her that was still being bullied, and why he came home so late at night all wet. Also, Nekozawa-Senpai told me to be careful on February 3rd…which is tomorrow. He told me something about mirrors…I wonder what he meant…

Earlier during lunch at school…

Mizuki was walking down the hallway towards her homeroom when somebody in a creeper's voice whispered "Beware." She turned around to see nobody there…but when she turned back forward…

Mizuki: "Ah!"

Nekozawa: "Beware."

Mizuki: "Senpai, don't do that. You look and sound like a creeper."

Nekozawa: "…oh…well aside from that opinion-"

Mizuki: "Fact."

Nekozawa: "…opinion, beware of February 3rd."

Mizuki: "Why?"

Nekozawa: "your life will change forever and you'll be going for a ride if you enter the 3rd music room."

Mizuki: "And your reason is?"

Nekozawa: "I don't know yet."

Mizuki: "You know I don't believe half the things you say right?"

Nekozawa didn't answer her question and didn't even think about what she said about his "readings." He just kept talking and talking about his new findings on her future…

Mizuki: "Anyways, I'm freaked and scared by the fact that you can see other people's future."

Nekozawa: "I don't, I just get signs."

Mizuki was only able to sigh. She couldn't do anything about his fascination with the darkness and other people's future. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, so the only thing she was able to say was, "Fine, what did you find out?"

Nekozawa: "You will see two identical mirrors. You will see your reflection clearly in both, but you will find that you look different in one than the other. One mirror will change your life, the other mirror will make your life a constant routine like now. But there is a catch, you must be strong or you might fall into the wrong mirror and your life will turn for the worse."

Back to the present time…

Mizuki thought his "telling" was a little weird. What did he mean by mirrors? The only two identical mirrors she and her family have been in their mansion in which they sold with the mirrors when they moved into their apartment. Also, what did he mean by the "wrong mirror?" All this was just making her head hurt even more. While thinking all these thoughts, she wore herself out and fell into a deep, deep sleep, so deep that she didn't hear the ambulance and police sirens screaming in front of her apartment building…(she must have been very, very tired.)