"Because she hates us now..." Hikaru answered miserably. Kaoru looked at his feet before clutching his brother's hand in his own. He leaned his head onto Hikaru's shoulder and nodded, understanding. Hikaru leaned his head onto his little brother's and they stared at the wall opposite them dejectedly.


"Are you going to that ridiculous host club again, Senpai?" Mariko asked Ayame who glared at her.

"It's not ridiculous, Mariko! I don't even see why you don't like it! It's not like guys are going fawn over you any other way!" Ayame insulted as Mariko stared at her. She frowned before climbing to her feet.

"Thanks, senpai. I had forgotten about how much of bitch rich girls could be." She hissed before disappearing out of the library, fighting hot angry tears that stung her eyes. She bent her head down so her hair covered her eyes to keep the other students to see her teary eyes at the cruel words her elder classmate had said to her. She wasn't a weak person. She usually took insults very well and was quite witty about returning them but the stress of the past months had kept her from lashing out at potential enemies. She sighed when she reached the third floor and found it virtually empty.

"Oh..."

"It's you." Mariko looked up in surprise as the twins appeared in front of her and she glared at them.

"Go away. Both of you." She hissed, her voice on the verge of cracking. They stared at her before frowning.

"Why are you crying, Mari-chan?"

"Did a boy insult you? Did you get into a fight?" The twins questioned as Mariko stared at them.

"Why do you care?" She asked, her voice finally cracking. Just as her voice cracked, the tears she had been holding back finally fell down her cheeks, ravaging her pale skin. Their eyes widened as a quiet sob escaped her usually calm form and they felt the sudden pull to comfort her.

"Hikaru! Kaoru! You're..." Tamaki stopped as he came up on the scene and he glared at the stunned twins.

"You two! Why are you making this poor maiden cry?!" Tamaki asked as Hikaru and Kaoru glared at him.

"We didn't!" They argued as Mariko's tears stopped when she found herself becoming a spectacle. She turned and fled the scene as Tamaki continued to scold the twins for something they didn't do.

"Mari-chan!"

"Mariko!" The twins dismissed their boss as they ran after their estranged friend and Tamaki stared at them with wide eyes. They were panicked. It was the first time he had seen them care about someone other than Haruhi or themselves.

"Mari-chan!" The twins each grabbed one of Mariko's arms and stopped her from going any further. She turned to stare at them until she was tugged into a three person hug.

"We're sorry, Mari-chan!" Kaoru whispered as Hikaru nodded. His younger brother was much better at the emotional side of things that he was.

"We didn't mean to make you cry..." Hikaru whispered until Mariko pulled away, staring at them.

"You didn't make me cry!" She said calmly as she pushed her curls away from her face and used her fingers to brush the tears from her cheeks. They stared at her with wide eyes.

"We didn't?" They asked and she shook her head.

"No. I'm not crying over you two anymore." She spoke seriously as they fell over.

"Then what the hell are you crying over?!" Hikaru asked angrily as his brother frowned.

"I'm not really sure...Tochikura-senpai said something really mean and then I just kinda...broke down." Mariko admitted as she scratched the back of her head in embarassment. The twins looked at each other and then at their old friend and frowned.

"You..." They began until her laughter interrupted them.

"Man, I must've really have been storing up a lot of stress! Time to go home, I guess!" She said suddenly as she prepared her body to make a run for it. The twins suddenly looked at each other mischievously and smiled coyly. Just as Mariko turned, they grabbed her arms and dragged her back up to the third floor music room.

"Hey! Let me go! Hikaru! Kaoru! Let me go!" She screamed as she passed by several stunned female students and the shocked Host Club members.

"Guys! Let me go!" She struggled in their grasp but soon found the attempt futile. They were not letting her go.

"Hikaru! Kaoru! What's the meaning of this?" Haruhi asked as she placed her hands on her hips and frowned at the scheming twins.

"Hurashima owes us!" The twins lied effortlessly as Mariko glared at them.

"I do not! Release me you stupid brats!" Mariko yelled as she was finally released from the twins' grips. She fell forward and easily caught herself. She frowned as she turned to face the twins.

"What was that for, Hitachiin?!" She asked angrily as she soon became a spectacle among the enthralled host club members and their customers.

"Don't you want to spend..."

"Some time with us, Princess?" They asked teasingly as Mariko groaned.

"No! I don't! Now how about you leave me alone, huh?!" She said angrily as she turned to leave. Her path however was blocked by the onlookers that had accumulated when Mariko had not been paying attention. Among the onlookers, she saw a very jealous and a very angry Ayame Tochikura.

"On the other hand, I would love to!" She quickly turned to the surprised twins with flirtatious smile as the crowd got closer at this new development.

"What?" Both of the twins were in shock as she put herself between them and kissed each of them on the cheek. A blush appeared on each of their cheeks as she tilted her head at their tense forms.

"Something wrong, Hika-kun? Kao-kun?" She asked innocently as an evil smirk appeared on her face and the twins eyes widened. They had been played like a beautiful solo on a violin.

She was good.


"So that's Mariko Hurashima?" Haruhi asked Kyouya quietly as the Shadow King nodded.

"Yes, it would appear she takes after her mother in her looks." He supplied as he showed Haruhi a picture of the young girl's mother. Haruhi stared at the picture. The resemblance between Mariko and her mother was unnerving. The only difference between the two women was the shade of their hair and the color of their eyes.

"That's scary..." Haruhi mumbled to herself as she felt Hunny tug on her leg.

"Haru-chan, is Mari-chan's mother pretty?" Hunny asked as he climbed on top of his cousin's shoulders. Haruhi nodded as she handed Mori the photograph. Tamaki slunk up behind the other blond and stared at the picture as well, his eyes widening.

"That's Yuki Shissou!" He exclaimed as the others turned to him and gathered around the picture again.

"Hey, it is!" Hunny shouted happily as Haruhi looked thoughtful for a moment before she nodded. Kyouya smirked as he wrote something down in thata evil little notebook of his. Mori remained as stoic as he was before.

The group turned back to face the developing plot in front of them as Mariko smirked a wily smile and Hikaru and Kaoru narrowed their eyes on her form.

"No, we were just..."

"Picturing how good you would look between us in the bed?" The twins teased as several of their fan girls fainted at the picture and Mariko's smirk widened.

"Hmm...delicious." She flirtatiously licked her lips at the thought and the twins frowned. They came up to her and leaned on her shoulders. Each of them took an earlobe and nibbled softly on it as she froze beneath them.

"Yes, we'd have to agree." Kaoru smiled.

"You are positively delicious." Hikaru whispered as Mariko's face lit up in a crimson blush.

"You two are the devil!"