Chapter Three:

Waiting for Kyoya after school everyday was now a common occurrence.

In Ouran Middle School, the older you were, the more subjects you took, and hence the later school ended. Being a year younger than Kyoya obviously meant that she had to wait for his classes to end before they could go home.

... Hence explaining why she was currently passed out over the top of her table, in peaceful slumber. She used her bag as a cushion and set the alarm in her phone to three o'clock in the afternoon, where without fail, it would blare loud, edgy music in her face until she decided to get up.

It was a convenient arrangement for her to find an excuse to catch up on her much-needed sleep, since there was no way she would be allowed to take a nap at home.

(Inwardly, Misaki shuddered at the image of her aunt Fumiko, eyes alight in fury and hands ready to twist her ears painfully.)

One unfine day, however, she was chased out from the comfort of her classroom because supplementary lessons were to take place there. With much regret, Misaki hefted her bag and went over to the second best place to take a nap- the parade square.

Leaning against her usual pillar, she pulled her headphones over her ears and tucked the connecting wire into her pocket. Nobody had to know that she was not actually listening to music, after all. All she wanted to do was sleep.

Hugging her bag close to her, she closed her eyes and hoped that no one would pass by and disturb her. This held true for about five minutes before she heard shuffling footsteps. Suddenly, they stopped, and Misaki kept her eyes closed.

The shuffling became closer and closer- and all she heard was silence. Assuming that whoever was walking by was pretty much walking away, Misaki opened her eyes in curiosity- only to see doubles.

Rubbing her eyes, she frowned. It seemed that she might actually need glasses, after all. It was then did she frown and study the images before her more carefully.

"Oh, she was awake after all." Dual voices spoke in an uncanny resonance, and Misaki frowned.

Pointed faces, striking golden eyes, and auburn hair that was cut in a way that reminded her of a mushroom. Her eyes studied them with interest before widening in dawning realization.

"Ah." she smiled, getting up from her pillar. "The Hitachiins, right?"

"Yeah." The guy on the left said, while the guy on the right shifted about on his feet.

"We should get going- " He started, but Misaki frowned and slid off her headphones so that they rested around her neck.

"At least introduce yourselves first, dummy." She hummed in an attempt to make herself sound like she was not deadpanning.

The fact that she might have just a bit rude dawned on her a few seconds later, and in response a smile spread on her face amicably, as if the simple action could negate her earlier rudeness.

"I mean, I would rather know who I'm talking to at any given time." In a weak attempt to explain her intentions, she half-flailed her arms, before giving out a sigh at their ticked-off expressions. She might have described their expressions as confused, but that might be pushing it. More than anything, they looked annoyed.

A few seconds passed in silence and she counted them in her head. After all, after four seconds, silence becomes awkward. She panicked lightly at the lack of response whatsoever after eight seconds, and on impulse she stuck out her hands towards them.

"Um. I just realised that I didn't introduce myself either. Sorry. I'm Misaki. Shinozaki. Yeah."

They didn't accept the handshake, so awkwardly she stuck her hands into one of her side-pockets before playing off her feelings of mild hurt with a smile. It didn't strike her that she was raised differently from them, or that handshakes were not a custom in Japan.

Nevertheless, she was grateful when one of them- the twin standing on the left- spoke up.

"I'm Kaoru." He said, shifting forward slightly.

"...Hikaru." The other boy joined in reluctantly, but made no move to budge.

She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by a familiar voice.

"Misaki."

"Ah, senpai!" A grin formed on her face as she then took in the tall, black-haired boy next to her. Presumably he had been standing there for at least a few minutes now, and she had not noticed him. Oops.

Kyoya took a step forward in front of her, almost as if he was putting a wall in between the twins and herself. His glasses glinted as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"Let's go." He said simply, and Misaki beamed before turning towards the Hitachiins.

"See you next time, I guess." She waved them off, her grip on her bag tightening. Then she hurriedly ran to catch up with Kyoya. Misaki broke the silence once the twins were safely out of sight.

"You interested in them, senpai?"

Kyoya's expression was as cautiously neutral as ever, but upon the slight curl to his lips told her that she hit the nail on the head.

"... They are a notorious pair on school. I have heard many rumours about them."

The vagueness in his words was deliberate, like he was baiting her to push for more information.

(And so she did.)

"Like what?" She questioned.

At her evident curiosity, his lips curled upwards even more, and Kyoya complied.

"They are always by themselves, for one."

Misaki remained silent. That seemed to be fairly true, for she had seen them several times in school, and they were always by themselves. Kyoya adjusted his glasses as if in mild contemplation, before continuing.

"No one can tell them apart."

"... Yeah. I can see that." She let out a small, hesitant laugh at that.

"Furthermore..." Kyoya stopped dead in his footsteps. The air around him hung thick with apprehension, but she persisted.

"Yeah? What else did you hear about them?"

He turned his gaze towards her, and she faltered in her footsteps. An unidentifiable emotion churned behind the grey of his dark eyes, and made her stomach twist and turn.

"... What is it?"

Shifting on her feet uncomfortably, she swallowed as she examined the dark-haired boy before her, the one who always gave her the impression that he knew anything and everything. His shoulders lifted slightly- likely from the tension of sitting too long in school combined with the weight of books on his back. Then he exhaled, his gaze burning into her eyes and unwittingly a shiver danced across her spine.

Kyoya finally broke the silence seconds later.

"It seems that they are heart-breakers. Hardly anyone who has attempted to get close with them have succeeded."

Misaki turned her eyes towards him, eyes flickering in disbelief. Speechlessly, she stared at him and counted the seconds which passed.

Kyoya had just confirmed her suspicions of the twins. She had heard warnings from the other girls in class to keep away from them, for many a girl had confessed to them only to have their feelings cruelly stamped on and ridiculed.

The smallest of laughs escaped her. She knew that it was uncalled for, but at the same time, she couldn't really help it.

"What is it?" Kyoya's eyes shifted towards her momentarily, betraying carefully-disguised intrigue.

Misaki hiccuped in between her gasps, frantically shaking her head as she attempted to remedy her lapse in self-control. With the way Kyoya normally acted like he wouldn't give her the time of the day, one would not expect that he was telling her anything about the Hitachiin twins, Kaoru and Hikaru at all.

"No, it's nothing." She breathed, stifling her small bout of giggles, before straightening back up after having calmed down.

"It's just... you actually do care for me, do you, Kyo-ya?"

His name rolled off her tongue teasingly, and cheekily she grinned up at him, fully expecting him to be against the use of his first name. However, he simply shifted his head upwards slightly as if he rolling his eyes and feeling exceptionally exasperated, though upon closer inspection a corner of his lips were curled up just in the slightest.
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Author's Note:

I'm sure most of you already know, but this has already diverged from Complications quite a lot.

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