Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran. I also don't own the song 'My Favorite Accident' by Motion City Soundtrack that inspired this chapter.
Title: A Patchy Existence - Chapter Two - Painted Smile
Author: Frigid-chan. For questions, comments, and suggestions please mail rainecloud46 at yahoo. Emails are preferred over comments.
Rating: M, for future chapters.
Notes: I appreciate constructive criticism, no flames. Also, I really appreciate how quickly some of you subscribed to this story. I really appreciate it. Next chapter will be more interesting - Promise.

"Wow, it really did burn," Hikaru whistled, shoving his hands into pants pockets. He and Kaoru were leaning against their family limousine casually. Tamaki had literally forced them, more Haruhi than Tamaki, to take Luna to her home. The insane blonde had been rambling on about 'proper host behavior' when they walked out.

"That's obvious, isn't it?" Kaoru laughed, shifting his position. His eyes flicked about the scene in boredom. The entire roof had caved in, leaving the house a blackened pile of rubble. Luna had been standing in the same spot, never saying nor doing anything for nearly fifteen minutes now. The paramedics, firefighters, and police had left shortly after they arrived, allowing them into the crime scene.

Hikaru and Kaoru looked behind them as a cab pulled up, and a red-headed, middle-aged man stepped out. He frowned and almost stomped across the yard to Luna. She jumped when she spotted him, and ran frantically to hide behind Hikaru. "Please…Don't let him take me."

"What?" Hikaru whispered, looking over his shoulder at her in bewilderment. However, she only scooted behind him when the man approached them.

"Luna, we're leaving," he said firmly, holding his hand out to her.

She shivered. He was the last person she wanted to go anywhere with. He could be taking her to Candy Mountain and she still wouldn't go. She clutched the back of Hikaru's stretchy Santa shirt and buried her face in his back. He bent forward a little bit in surprise, but didn't run from her. "No, I won't go! I won't go with you, Ren!" she shouted.

The man frowned, taking his hand back and then crossing his arms. "You will do as I tell you," he said firmly, grabbing her wrist and dragging her from behind the older twin. His dark eyes were fiery with anger. She winced as his grip tightened on her. "Now, we're leaving Luna," he said, dragging her off to the cab.

She fought him, trying to walk the other way. He only jerked harder so that she let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground. "Hikaru, Kaoru," she called out as he attempted to pull her to her feet. "Don't let him take me…" she trailed off as Ren began to drag her along the ground.

The twins stared at the scene in complete confusion. What the hell was going on? It didn't matter anyway. It wasn't their problem. Besides, Luna was just being overly dramatic because her parents were dead. She'd chill out later. Just watch, come Monday she'd be back to her old strange self. They looked at one another, and then Hikaru opened their limousine door. Kaoru slid into the car shortly afterwards.

"Hikaru!"

The older twin stopped climbing into the car and stood erectly again. He gave her an annoyed look and waited for her to continue. He almost laughed at the scene playing out before him. Luna had her feet braced on the car door as Ren attempted to shove her into the car.

"Hikaru, he'll kill me!" she shouted, kicking at Ren with one of her uniform shoes. "I swear he will!" She breathed heavily as she gazed at the red-headed twin. Why wasn't he doing anything?! She felt her stomach drop as he waved and slid into his car. "Hikaru!" she screamed after him. It wasn't long after that Ren finally succeeded in shoving her into the car and closing the door.

"Hey, what was she yelling about?" Kaoru sighed as their driver began to drive them home. He blinked when he caught a strange look on his brother's face. "Hikaru?" he asked again, placing his hand over his brother's.

Hikaru jumped at his brother's touch and turned to face him. "It was nothing," he laughed with a reassuring smile. However, Kaoru was not fooled. Whatever Luna had said was bothering his twin, and that Kaoru did not like.

That Monday morning, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Haruhi sat in class together. Naturally Haruhi had asked about Luna when she realized that the girl in question wasn't in her usual seat. The twins had only shrugged as a reply. Haruhi frowned, her brown eyes skeptical. The twins were never that quiet. Even during tests they'd whisper to each other. But today, they were almost completely silent. Had something happened when they took Luna to her burnt down home?

Haruhi looked up from her work when the classroom door opened. And there was Luna, leaning against the doorway, a small smile on her face. There was a cut above her right eye, and even from a distance Haruhi spotted purple bruises just where her dress collar cut off. She frowned when she noticed the black haired girl wore white gloves. Now, she definitely knew something was up.

"I'm sorry, I slept a little late!" Luna laughed, as she closed the door behind her. A wave of relief washed over her when her teacher nodded and returned to his lecture. There for a second she thought she was in serious trouble. Thank goodness…I thought he'd ask me why I was wearing gloves… She swiftly walked to her desk and took her seat in silence. Safe…I'm safe.

"Miss Altair," her teacher started coldly, after writing the next week's worth of homework onto the board. "Is sleeping late really an excuse? And may I ask what makes you believe you can wear those gloves?" Dropping his book to his desk, he moved to stand threateningly in front of her desk.

She shivered, staring at the floor to avoid looking him in the eye. Her teacher never had liked her. Matter of fact, she was pretty sure he had something against her. Well, not her as much as her family. Not many people had been fond of the Altair family, anyway. "I'm sorry, sir. But I…" she trailed off, trying to think of an excuse to why she was wearing gloves.

"Sir, if I may, we were baking yesterday and she burnt her hands fairly badly."

"Fujioka, I trust that you aren't lying for this girl?"

"No sir, I wouldn't do such a thing," Haruhi said firmly, bowing her head slightly in respect. She let out a sigh of relief when her teacher shrugged and walked back to his desk. Why did I do that? Do I feel sorry for her? She sat back down in her seat with a flop, and stared down at her homework. She knew the twins were staring at her, and she would never hear the end of it. That would definitely be their lunch topic for the day…

Luna turned to stare at Haruhi in disbelief. Did he just cover for her? That wasn't like Haruhi at all. He was supposed to be innocent. Seems that there's more to him than everyone thinks… She shifted in her seat so that she had a better view of the back of the room. When bright brown eyes caught hers, she smiled. "Thank you," she mouthed. She blushed when he nodded, smiling back.

"Miss Altair, face forward!"

"Oh, um, yes sir!"

When the lunch bell finally rang, Luna snatched her things up in her arms and deserted the room as quickly as she could. There had to be a way to get rid of Ren. She was about ready to try anything. Supporting her bag in one arm, she pulled off her gloves and stared down at the purple marks circling her wrists and the ugly blotches on her fingers. If I have to kill him…If my only choice is to kill him, I'll do it.

"A strange girl, isn't she, Kaoru?" Hikaru sighed, linking arms with Haruhi as they left the room together. He leaned forward a bit to catch an odd look of contemplation displayed on Kaoru's fair features. "Kaoru?"

"Hm? Yeah, strange," he said half-mindedly, linking arms with Haruhi as well.

"You two took her home last night, right? Did something happen?" Haruhi's bored tone didn't quiet cover her interest. She looked to them both questioningly, but neither of them answered.

"No, nothing happened," they said in unison. "She didn't even cry. It was pointless," they shrugged.

As soon as they stepped foot in the lunch room, a familiar blonde bounded across the room. Acting on instinct, the twins picked Haruhi up and carried her away. "No, no, wait!" Tamaki squealed after them, chasing them as if unaware of the scene he was making. He skidded to a stop, nearly knocking into Kaoru in the process. "Where's Luna?" he asked cheerfully, looking around with a cute look of confusion on his face. "You killed her didn't you?! You devilish twins, how dare you kill one of our best princesses!" he whined, collapsing to the ground in panic.

"Eh, chill out. We didn't hurt her. She ran off before we had the chance to talk to her," they shrugged, uninterested. "Why don't you go find her yourself, milord?" they asked in unison, turning and dragging Haruhi off again. "Have fun!"

"Mommy?" Tamaki whined, standing and facing Kyoya with a pout.

"No."

"Fine…I'll find her myself. But I demand you keep those twins' filthy hands off my daughter!"

"Too late," Kyoya said blandly, raising a single finger to point across the cafeteria. Tamaki's eyes widened. The twins were clinging to Haruhi while feeding her the cafeteria food. Naturally, they were way too close for Tamaki's taste. Then again, he thought that a mile was much too close. Frowning, he started to stalk across the cafeteria. Luna would have to wait. Right now, his daughter was more important.