It was early in the morning when the maids came busting in, took Haruhi by her shoulders, and carried her away to another part of the mansion. "Hey! What're you doing," Haruhi shouted as they undressed her and proceeded with changing her clothes; ignoring her completely as if they were dressing a manikin.
"Do you like this, Haruhi-san," the maid that Haruhi had come to know as Yuri asked.
Haruhi examined herself in the mirror. She was wearing a light blue shirt with three buttons on it, white Capri's, and light blue gym shoes with the whitest shoelaces she had ever seen. She smiled when she remembered that it was one of the outfits that she had picked out herself at the mall the other day.
"Yes...even though I could've dressed myself, Yuri-san," Haruhi said as she and Yuri made their way back to her room.
"Tamaki-san wanted us to help you," Yuri said with a grin, "He really like you. He's been so excited for the last couple of days."
Haruhi nodded and opened up her door. Her eyes grew large at the sight of several suitcases laid out on the floor and maids and butlers in every area of the room.
"All done Haruhi-san," they all said at once, picked up her suitcases and smiled. Haruhi's eye twitched as they filed out of the room, her suitcases in hand.
"Tamaki-san is currently preparing himself for his departure. He said to tell you that his friends will be picking you up in a bit, so you should prepare yourself too," Yuri said. She bowed and left the room. Haruhi sighed and walked into her private bathroom to brush her teeth.
'Really...do they really think I'll need all of those clothes? It's just two weeks...' she thought blankly. As she exited her bathroom she took one more look at her room and instilled the image in her mind. Then she sighed and made her way out and down the stairs until she reached the dining room, where she and had breakfast just the other day.
'Yet it seems like weeks ago...'
"Haruhi!"
Haruhi nearly toppled over as the back of her body was glomped by an unseen force; Tamaki. "T-Tamaki-san?"
Tamaki blinked and released the girl, then slowly backed away, a faint blush creeping upon his face. "Haruhi...you look-" he covered his face with both his hands and twirled away. "Kawaii!"
"Ah...thanks," Haruhi sweat dropped and plopped down on her favorite couch.
Tamaki bit at his nails as he paced the floor. "There's no way I can allow my precious daughter to spend so much time with those horrible twins..."
"Too late!"
Tamaki and Haruhi jumped in surprise. The twins suddenly had Haruhi in their clutches.
"Y-you- how did you two get in my house," Tamaki yelled, pointing his finger at the doppelgangers.
The Hitachiins swayed from side to side, identical smirks decorating their devilish features. "We have the key."
"Liars!" Tamaki yelled, stamping his feet.
"We're not lying. Just ask Yuri-chan," they said. Tamaki retreated to his dark corner.
"Tamaki-san, it's time for your departure," a butler tapped him on the shoulder. "Please stop sulking and get in your limo. You wouldn't want to keep your father waiting."
"Right," Tamaki whispered. Then he sprang to action and ran to the twins, and Haruhi.
"Don't do anything bad to Haruhi...and Haruhi..." he smiled and patted her shoulder. "Don't let these evil spirits convert you."
"Words of wisdom from Tono," the twins muttered, earning a glare from Tamaki. The twins and Haruhi walked Tamaki to his limo, where his many suitcases were being packed into it, and bid him farewell once again. They could see him pressing his face against the back window as the vehicle took him away from them.
"Do you like it," they asked as Haruhi examined her new room. The ride to their mansion had been a bit uneventful, for Hikaru suddenly had nothing to say, and Kaoru was busy wondering what was on his brothers' mind. Haruhi had been attentive to the scenery that rolled by when she stared out the window.
"It's big," was Haruhi's plain reply.
"Of course it is," Hikaru told her, a sly smirk creeping his features.
"Now, let's go eat," Kaoru took her hand, along with Hikaru and started to pull her out of the room she had just entered less than a minute ago.
"W-what about unpacking? I just got here!" Haruhi yelled, her cheeks flushing as they hurried her down some stairs and around several corners.
"Don't be silly Haruhi," Kaoru wagged a finger at the girl, "The maids will take care of that."
"Meanwhile..." Hikaru said. They entered the room and the twins stretched their arms out in front of them in a way that reminded Haruhi of Tamaki, "Ta-da!"
Now Haruhi's eyes took in the site of something that could only be described as a play room. It was truly an arcade. There was a section for basketball, in which a machine that spurted out balls, counted your score, had different game-modes, and of course- the net. In the middle of the room was the classic air-hockey board. If you were a fan of ping-pong, it was set up on the right side of the room (opposite the basketball). There was other games as well that Haruhi couldn't identify.
"Joins us Haruhi!" Hikaru and Kaoru were already dueling it out with at the ping-pong area.
"I'd rather not," Haruhi said. The twins gasped and dropped their paddles and the little yellow ball.
They put their hands on their hips and frowned.
"Haruhi, if you don't play with us...what else is there to do?"
"You're in our mansion, ya know."
Haruhi nodded and muttered an apology. 'They were kind enough to take me in...yet I was rude enough to deny them. Besides, a little game can't hurt.'
"Let's play basketball," Hikaru suggested. Kaoru turned on the machine and the orange balls started rolling out. Hikaru handed one to Haruhi and instructed, "Shoot."
"Um," Haruhi stared down at the ball in her hands. She vaguely remembered a small child bouncing it up and down but no other memory would come to her. So she concluded that by "shoot," the twin meant to bounce. She dropped the ball onto the floor and it came back up a bit, and she smacked it back down with the palm of her hand. Unfortunately, the ball bounced away from her with a few steady bounces, then proceeded to roll away.
The trio stared after the ball for a few seconds before Hikaru started to snicker. Haruhi blushed as the snickering soon erupted into an outburst of uncontrollable laughter from both males.
"That...that was pathetic," Hikaru managed.
"Did you see how she smacked it down!" Kaoru asked, clutching his stomach with one hand and wiping away his tears of joy with the other.
A pink tint formed on Haruhi's cheeks. "Shut up! I've never done this before," she admitted. The embarrassed girl stuffed her hands into her pockets and turned away from them.
"S-sorry Haruhi..." Hikaru said, "It's just that- it was so funny!" Again, he started to laugh.
"What he means is," Kaoru giggled for a last time and put a hand on Haruhi's shoulder and flashed her a grin, "That we'll teach you."
"I'll figure it out on my own." Haruhi made her way over to the fallen ball and back to the net. "Just tell me what you meant by 'shoot.'"
"You're supposed to throw the ball into the net," Hikaru (who had finally overcome his laughing fit) said, using his hands as an aid. A determined look came upon the Haruhi's face, prompting the twins to say, "Do your best Haruhi!"
She nodded, backed up a bit, then threw the ball with all her might towards the net. It came bouncing back with a vengeance, almost taking off their heads in the process.
Haruhi moaned as she eased her way into the steamy hot water of the large Jacuzzi with massage bubble blasters. Her arms ached like someone had beat them with the hammer of justice until she pleaded guilty. She smiled and delved down deeper into the water until she felt her chin hit the surface of it. Even though the twins had continuously laughed at her and she had missed (more than) several times, she had finally made a basket. She closed her eyes and replayed the scene in her mind.
"Ne, Haruhi...you're never going to get this alone."
"Let us help you, okay?"
One twin worked his way behind her and snaked his hands up her arms until his hands were pressed against her own so that they both had the basketball in their hands. The other twin was moving her legs by wrapping his warm, soft hands around her ankles and positioning them. Haruhi silently thanked the maids for not dressing her in a skirt.
"That's how you stand to shoot." The twin released her ankles, stood to his full height and gave her a thumbs-up.
"And this," the other twin instructed as he helped Haruhi raise the ball into the proper position, "is the angle you hold the ball when you shoot and how you aim."
"I see," Haruhi nodded as she determinedly stared at the hoop. "Keep going."
The twin behind her pressed up against her a bit more as he moved the ball up and down, trying to get it at the exact spot her wanted it at. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her neck, giving her goose bumps. A faint blush crept up on her as she realized that she had never been that close to someone of the opposite gender before (or the same gender).
"Don't forget to bend your knees," the other twin instructed.
"I was going to." Haruhi could hear the boy grinding his teeth. Apparently, his brother was distracting him. "Bend you knees with me."
As one, they bended their knees and when he whispered in her ear, "let it fly" they let go of the ball and it made a swishing sound into the hoop.
Haruhi sucked in as much air as she could before plunging her head beneath the water. 'Why do I feel all...fluttery inside?' she wondered. She came up for air and rubbed the water out of her eyes. 'I'm happy' was her answer to her own question. 'Happy because of Hikaru and Kaoru...because we had so much fun, I suppose. I did shoot a basket after all.'
"Girls sure do take a long time in the tub," Hikaru commented.
"You don't exactly take five minutes yourself, Hikaru." Kaoru reminded his twin with a wave of his finger that a mother would give to a bad little boy.
"But I don't take forever either."
They left it at that as they watched their big screen television. But neither of them was paying much attention to the show, for their thoughts were wandering off to different things.
Kaoru remembered the blushes on Hikaru's and Haruhi's faces as they stood together, aiming the ball at the basket. In Kaoru's eyes they looked like the perfect couple. He could imagine his brother being happy with someone like Haruhi; strong, confident, cute... 'Well, I haven't really got to see her other characteristics yet. But still...' She was the dream come true of what Kaoru had spent nights imagining Hikaru with. Yet he had never imagined himself with anyone but Hikaru. 'Maybe because...there is no one out there for me.'
Hikaru remembered the feel of Haruhi's hands beneath his own as they held up the ball. He had never been as close to a girl like that as he had been to Haruhi, not even when he was hosting. He had only been close to Kaoru. So what possessed him to suddenly get close to Haruhi as he was bewildered him. 'What was I thinking?' he wondered. His gaze shifted from the television to his brother. 'What did Kaoru think about it?' He bit his lip, swallowed his pride and decided to ask.
"Kaoru..."
"Hmmm?" Kaoru raised his eye brows and turned his attention to his brother. "What's up?"
Hikaru looked back at the television in an attempt to avoid his brother's curious face. He was already embarrassed, and Kaoru's attentive gaze wasn't really helping to soothe his mood. So instead of his original question, he started off with something a little lighter.
"Do you think Haruhi likes us?"
"Of course," Kaoru flashed his charming smile, "Why wouldn't she?"
Hikaru shrugged and rolled over onto his back so that his eyes met the ceiling. He put his hands beneath his head. "I was just thinking about the basketball game. That's all."
"About how close you were to her?"
Bingo. It was if Kaoru could read his mind. "Yeah." Hikaru closed his eyes and took a deep breath. If it was hard to express himself to Kaoru- how would it be when he had to do it to someone else? "It just...bothers me..."
"It shouldn't."
Kaoru's bluntness made Hikaru pop his eyes open and stare at his twin with disbelieving eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, dear brother," Kaoru paused to flick his brother's nose. Hikaru frowned and rubbed the spot. "That it's okay to be close to her...because she's the first girl to-"
Knock, knock, knock
Just as she had been instructed to, after her bath Haruhi had come to the twins' room. Kaoru's eyes glowed mischievously as he whispered, "we'll talk about this later."
"Come in," they chanted in unison.
Haruhi slowly opened the door and revealed herself in her glorious white, fluffy robe. "Not that I don't have other pairs that I could wear...but did you guys happen to see the pajamas I was going to wear?"
"Nope," they lied (with practiced straight faces).
"Really," Haruhi stated more than asked. She was ventured into the room until she stood by their bedside. "So...did you guys like my pajamas?"
"Nope," they admitted.
"They were so plain and ugly," Hikaru commented.
"And why should you wear pants at night anyways? Wouldn't you be uncomfortable," Kaoru asked.
"Is that so?" Haruhi's narrowed. Then she put a finger to her mouth. "Oh, and I never did get a chance to ask- who's who?"
"Who?" They asked back. Then they grinned, "Oh, that."
"He's Hikaru."
"And he's Kaoru."
"So...at least Kaoru was worried about my well being but you, Hikaru," Haruhi leaned into the boy, "you weren't worried and you came up with the idea to steal them because you found them ugly. Right?"
"No!" Hikaru countered. "We thought of it at the same time!"
"Hikaru!" Kaoru smacked his forehead.
"Oh..." Hikaru realized his mistake and gave Kaoru an apologetic look with a shrug, "she dragged it out of me."
"So, where is my pajamas," Haruhi asked. She started to check under the bed, "Under here?"
"As if we'd hide them in such an obvious place," Hikaru said. "Don't insult our intelligence."
Haruhi stared him down, "Then where are they?"
The twins grinned and said simultaneously, "This leads to our next game, I suppose."
Haruhi moaned and smacked her forehead. "Life is just one big game to you two isn't it?"
"Yup!"
Tamaki sighed as he laid in the bed of the highest-priced hotel his father could find. True, it had come as a surprise that his father had invited him on the trip, but now he was really grateful and excited about it. Yet a feeling of loss swirled deep within him. Every time he turned around he thought he saw Haruhi and every time he closed his eyes he saw her smiling. It had come to the point when his father had to snap him out of a daydream (aka Inner Mind Theatre).
"I know! I'll call her." He hurriedly pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the Hitachiin cell phone.
"Hello," came one of the twin's voices.
"Hitachiin twin, let me speak to Haruhi," Tamaki said.
"Wow...a hello would be nice Tono."
"Ah...sorry...hello. Now where's Haruhi?!"
"Calm down, she looking for her clothes so she's preoccupied at the moment. Call back later." Click.
Tamaki stared at his phone in disbelief. "He...he hung up on me! I didn't get to speak to Haruhi!" The blond started to jump on his bed like an over grown child, "Let me speak to Haruhi!"
Again, he dialed the number. No one answered. It was two in the morning when someone finally did answer (and by then Tamaki had called close to two hundred times).
"Milord...you have got to stop calling this number or I'll call the cops. Haruhi is asleep and you should be too. Good night."
"No! I need to talk to her," Tamaki was on the verge of tears.
There was a shuffle as if the twin was giving the phone up to someone else. Then the twin said, "we'll have her call you first thing in the morning. Until then leave us alone." Click.
Tamaki sighed and hung up his phone. Finally, a little lean-way. He sighed and closed his eyes. 'I'll talk to Haruhi in the morning...'
Kyouya sat his glasses in the leather case. He had been searching for Haruhi all night but with no avail. 'Maybe she really did pick up that name off the streets.'
Then he wondered what she was doing at the moment until his eyes scanned his digital clock. 2:37. 'Asleep then...good.'
He plopped down into his bed without bothering to take his clothes off.
Ootori Kyouya was on a mission. Until that mission was complete he wouldn't get a full rest. 'I'll find out who that girl really is...'
A/N: Yay for slight HikaxHaru goodness, right? Don't worry; I'm planning on one or two more chapter with Haruhi at the Hitachiin house, then we'll be moving on to Honey's house. (tempts readers with a cookie for reviews). Reviews make me feel all warm inside, and warm feelings are necessary for good Ouran stories!
