Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of its characters, just my OC.

Toshiko's P.O.V.

I groaned as the incessant blaring of my alarm clock shattered the peacefulness that had embraced me as I slept. Reluctantly, I pulled off the covers that had been so warmly wrapped around me, and shivered as my bare feet touched the cold, wooden floor.

I yawned and looked back at my then vacant bed, though I regretted turning back, for it looked much too inviting. The urge to fall back into a peaceful slumber sounded much more tempting than heading off to school.

It was only my second day at Ouran, yet I had already trained myself to despise it, as if it had already placed its wrath upon me.

Sighing, I walked over to my closet and pulled out the already, much too familiar, yellow dress that I was now required to wear on a daily basis. I quickly put it on and then placed myself in front of the mirror to do my hair.

Grabbing my blue bow, I placed it securely in my hair, smiling a little at the thought of who its previous owner was. After I was satisfied with its placement, I took a moment to stare at my reflection, letting all the good memories of my past flood my mind, like a tide coming in, and washing away all my feelings of sadness for the time being.

I looked over at the small, framed picture leaning against the mirror, a sudden sense of nostalgia overcoming me as I gazed fondly at the photographed people smiling back at me. The joyful faces of my mother, sister, and brother filled my heart with happiness, a feeling that I had almost completely forgotten over the course of the past year.

I let myself savor the moment of reminiscence, for I knew that those moments were now a rarity in my life. How I wished that I could just go back to when I had everything in the palm of my hand. How stupid I was for taking advantage of it and not realizing just how much I really had at arms length, only fully understanding what I had held after it was too late, leaving me in despair and with nothing to hold onto.

My rare moment of reminiscence was then forcefully brought to its conclusion, as the clock was hurriedly ticking away, much to my disapproval. I took one last look at myself and then exited my bedroom and headed towards the kitchen for some much needed breakfast to satisfy my empty stomach.

Upon entering the small kitchen, the first thing that caught my eye was the piece of paper sitting on the counter. Though I knew exactly who it was from and what it most likely said, I went over to read it anyway, just in case there was something else worth reading.

Toshiko, I had to leave for work early and I won't be back until late tonight. I apologize, but I managed to make some pancakes for you for breakfast. Have a good day. -Haruto

After reading the note, my eyes immediately looked over at the plate of pancakes sitting a few inches away, as if they had just appeared, for I was completely oblivious of their existence before reading the letter. They were slightly cold, but it didn't really make a difference to me as to what form they were in. They were pancakes, and according to me, any kind of pancake was considered good in my eyes.

I gratefully took the plate and sat down at the table, ready to dig in and silence my growling stomach, but as I was about to stab my fork into the fluffy concoction, I realized that something was missing. Something very essential was absent from my breakfast, and as my eyes wandered over to the fridge, I realized what it was.

Maple syrup.

Laughing a little at my ridiculousness, I stood up from my chair and opened the fridge. I quickly grabbed the bottle of maple syrup and began to drizzle, or should I say, drown my pancakes in it. I think it would have been safe to say that I had a slight craving for maple syrup.

As I ate my breakfast, I thought back to what my uncle had written in the note. I was somewhat disappointed that he wouldn't be home again tonight, but I was fairly used to it by now, after it had happened already on too many nights for me to count.

I didn't like being home alone, especially at night when every little sound would catch me off guard. I tried to think if there was somewhere I could go to after school instead of having to come home, but there was no one else I knew of that I'd be willing to stay by for a while.

Unless, no, it was a stupid idea. I'm not going to the host club after school. I did want to check it out, but it was too early. I wasn't ready to talk to people just yet.

But it probably would take my mind off things, it would give me something to do other than sit alone with my thoughts all day. Maybe I wouldn't have to talk to anyone, maybe I could just observe. And besides, Kaoru would be there.

Wait, what? Why was that a reason to go? Maybe because he was the one who invited me?

Whatever the reason, visiting the host club did seem like the best option for me if I didn't want to be alone tonight. I wasn't really risking anything with one little visit, it's not like anyone could find out anything about me, so why should I hold back?

Kaoru's P.O.V.

The next day, I tried to keep Toshiko out of my thoughts, but for some reason, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't stop thinking about her. I kept telling myself that getting to know her was a bad idea, and that I would ultimately regret it, but the mention of her name still activated my curiosity about her.

Throughout the whole day, I found myself struggling to keep my eyes off of her, the magnetic attraction we had had the day before was now stronger than ever. Quite a few times during the day, I actually had to physically stop myself from approaching her. Why was it so hard all of a sudden to keep others out of our world?

When it was time to go to the host club, I was actually looking forward to it much more than I usually did, not for the actual host club activities, but because Toshiko wouldn't be there acting as a distraction for me.

The club started out quite normally, or at least, as normal as the club could be. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, just a regular, typical day at the host club.

For the first time that day, I actually felt myself not obsessively thinking about Toshiko. It gave me a small hope that maybe I would be able to keep things just as they were, just how Hikaru and I wanted it to be.

But that hope was short lived, as in the minute Toshiko had almost mentally left my mind, she suddenly decided to physically show up at the host club. And it couldn't have been better timing, as at that very moment, Hikaru and I were deeply engrossed in our brotherly love act.

"Kaoru, promise me that you won't ever betray me for someone else."

I could hear the excited squeels from our audience of fangirls as Hikaru demanded his request to me. I knew it was just an act, but I couldn't help but feel a slight hint of truth in those scripted words of his.

"I'd never leave you Hikaru. I could never live without you. I can't even think of anyone who could possibly take your place."

As if on cue, the girl worthy of my interest took it upon herself to walk in at that very moment. I felt my gaze instantly turn to look at her, as if her sudden appearance had caught everyone's attention, though in reality, she was just another one of the dozens of clients that walked through those doors everyday. It would be a lie to say that my noticing her was just merely a coincidence.

Luckily, the only one who seemed to notice my sudden attention grabber was Hikaru, and thankfully he didn't make anything of it. I watched from the corner of my eye as Toshiko slowly made her way through the room, her shining, blue eyes looking around nervously as if she was afraid to be here.

It took her a few minutes, but her eyes eventually caught sight of Hikaru and I. As we continued our act, she watched us with an expression of which I couldn't read. She appeared to be a little happier than when I had seen her yesterday, but with that happiness, I could see a slight look of confusion in her eyes.

She looked on for a good few minutes until she quickly turned away and headed for the exit. I wanted so badly to know what she was thinking right then, but I knew I had to keep my distance if I wanted things to remain as they were.

As I stared at the vacant spot where Toshiko had just been standing, I felt a slight tap on my shoulder, causing me to instantly turn around to face whoever had wanted my attention.

It was Hikaru, once again catching me when I was lost in thought.

"Go talk to her." He said, as if he was trying to give me encouragement.

"But I don't want to." I protested.

"Yes, you do. Now stop trying to hide it and go find out what's so interesting about her."

I didn't move or answer back, I just sat there, contemplating if I should actually go ahead with it. It was obvious that Hikaru wanted me to do it, to take a step forward out into the open, to let me explore beyond our world, but did he not realize that that step was fatal to the protective wall that had surrounded us all our lives? Was he trying to break down that wall that we, together, had built up in order to preserve our relationship?

No. It was like I had thought before, Hikaru was just oblivious of the consequences.

"You're missing your chance, and you now got me curious about her, so go and find out."

But I didn't want to disappoint him. He wanted me to get out there, so maybe I could just throw on an act. I'd talk to Toshiko, but just enough to make Hikaru get the impression that I was stepping out from behind the wall, and hopefully that way, I could make him happy and sustain our world from falling apart.

I would step out of our world, and then when Hikaru's not looking, run straight back in.

I really hope I'm not developing this too slowly and I'm not boring you already. It's like the 4th chapter and they've barely had a conversation yet! But, I give you my word that next chapter will be much more interesting.

It's just that in this story, their relationship is going to take longer to develop because both Kaoru and Toshiko are very much trying to avoid it, you'll be able to see their perspectives on it more once the story goes on.

Also, I know I've been hiding much of Toshiko's past and I only gave you a few bits of it, so I hope her thoughts and perspectives on things aren't too confusing to understand, like why she's so reluctant to make friends, but I promise you'll know the whole picture eventually.

Aside from all that, I don't think I have much else to say, so I thank you all very much for reading this and I really appreciate your reviews, I take everything into consideration. I don't mind constructive criticism, as long as it is actual constructive criticism, and I definitely don't mind hearing what you liked about my writing!

And with that, I bid you all farewell and I will see you next chapter.