*Confetti and fireworks* GUESS WHO'S BACK, BITCHES! AHAHAHA! That's right, The Switch has awakened from its slumber and now here's the fantabulous chapter 6! Thanks for being patient, m'dears. I love y'all, and enjoy!


The burn in my lungs and nose were the first things I noticed as I fought my way back into consciousness. The next thing I noticed was the rhythmic pushes into my chest and...

The unmistakable feeling of someone's mouth being pressed up on mine, blowing air into my blocked lungs.

I immediately awoke, hacking violently before managing to roll over, throwing up the copious amount of salt water I had ingested. The burn of the salt in my raw throat was borderline unbearable as I continued to heave. My rescuer brushed my hair away from my face and held it in a ponytail as I retched, murmuring soothingly and rubbing small circles on my back. When there was nothing left, that person pulled me into their arms, rocking me back and forth.

"Mari, oh my god. I thought you were dead," the unmistakable voice of Kaoru said brokenly above me.

Kaoru had saved me. Go figure. He had been there when I first fell, anyways.

Wait. Kaoru saved me...

Kaoru did CPR.

He... kissed... me...

I let out a screech and scrambled out of Kaoru's arms, my face lighting up.

"Mari?! What-?"

"CPR. Mouth-to-mouth. You. On me. Fuck. Oh no. Nononono. You did- you took- wait! Does that even count?! No, it does. I think. No. Shit shit shit! Th-that was-!" I stumbled over my words, trying to untangle my thoughts which had suddenly become disorganized.

My first kiss had been with a guy. Kaoru Hitachiin, no less.

Fan-fucking-tastic. If my sister finds out, I am so dead.

"Woah, Mari! Slow down! What's wrong? What're you trying to say?"

"My first kiss!" I blurted out, my face getting as bright and hot as the surface of the sun.

"What- oh!" Kaoru realized what he had done and blushed as well.

"Um, I'm sorry! I was just trying to help you, and you weren't breathing, so, I don't know, I just- my instincts kicked in, and-" he stuttered out an explanation.

"Guys, not to ruin your moment, but CPR doesn't count as a kiss, and Mari is still bleeding. Like, a lot," Hikaru interrupted. My hand flew up to my head and I felt the warm stickiness of blood.

"Oh yeah! Shit, I'm sorry. Let's just get you back to the hotel," Kaoru apologized again and stood up with me still in his arms, bridal-style.

"P-put me down! I can walk!" I protested, still blushing.

"No way. The doctor is at the house and she's gonna take a look at you and wrap you up. Until I put you on your bed, you are not leaving my arms," he said firmly. Despite my complaints, he did just that, leaving my room only when the doctor told him to.

This, however, presented a problem. Even after I had reassured the doctor that I had only hit my head, she insisted on checking me over completely.

"I understand that you are shy and uncomfortable, but please bear with me. It will be over before you know it, I promise," she said gently, believing that was the issue.

"No, you don't understand," I paused before continuing, choosing my words carefully. "I'm not a girl. Don't ask why I'm pretending to be one, it's a rather long story and not one I'll tell. The others don't know this... other than Kyoya, possibly. He's like some kind of all-seeing, all-knowing God. I wouldn't be surprised if he does know," I muttered.

"I see," the doctor said.

"I'm sorry. Please don't tell anyone," I said pleadingly.

"No worries, your secret is safe with me. I'll leave you to change then. If you experience headaches or pain, take Advil. If this lasts longer than a week or the swelling doesn't go down, I recommend you see your physician. That bandage will need to be replaced daily, too," she instructed while packing up his bag. I nodded, mentally taking note of what she said.

"Ah, before I leave, I'll give you some unsolicited advice. I'm sure whatever reason you have for pretending to be a girl is a good one, but I suggest you tread carefully. The fact is, you can't keep this kind of a secret forever. Those boys seem to really care for you, one of them in particular. Don't let it get too out of hand, because you might wind up hurting yourself and them. Take care of yourself," she said, before bowing and exiting.

I sat on the edge of the bed, processing the bit of advice. The doctor had an extremely good point, but I just couldn't find a proper way of telling any of my friends about my secret, especially Kaoru. I wasn't gonna lie, when she said that one boy in particular seemed to care deeply for me, my thoughts turned to the oftentimes annoying but caring twin. I found myself hoping that it was Kaoru who liked me out of all the others.

This was very bad. I quickly began to wrack my brain for information on crushes. I never had a crush before, but my sister had one constantly. I heard about them all the time. I remembered what Mari would always say and nervously compared how I felt to her symptoms. She'd always say your heart would start pounding, you wouldn't be able to control your blush, every look would give you shivers, every word would be the most important thing ever, and how even the most casual of touches would set your body on fire.

I wasn't feeling any of those things, thank god.

I mean, I think I'm not...

I put my aching head in my hands and groaned. This was a complicated subject and I was too tired to deal with it at that moment, even though I knew I'd have to get back to it eventually. I quickly stripped out of my bathing suit and undid the horrible, horrible tuck, almost crying in relief at the sweet feeling of freedom. Sighing, I trotted happily to the bathroom to take a much needed and wanted shower.

~0x0x0x~

I opened the bathroom door, releasing a hot puff of steam as I walked into the bedroom. Humming a random tune as I rummaged through the bag I brought with me, I looked for the outfit I was going to wear to dinner (a light blue and frilly dress that was also my nightgown).

"Um... Mari...?" A voice called tentatively and I stifled a scream as I whirled around.

There, standing in my room, was Haruhi.


Welp, Haruka has a lot of explaining to do!

"..."

I'm sorry about her. It's been a really, really shitty week, so she's probably gonna be subdued for a bit.

"Look, I'm just working hard! You know you have a lot of work to catch up on and just so much other shit to do! Not to mention that you finally got a chapter out for this story after way too long and on top of that it's way too short, and you've got no idea how it's gonna continue, and-"

STOP, GODDAMNIT! AAAAGH! *Cries* P-please R&R... thanks... I-I really appreciate your support...