[ chapter seven : confessions ]

Thankfully, a teacher entered the class then and everyone went to their assigned seats. As Miyuki sat there, at the front, her mind was whirring. Like yesterday, she found she couldn't concentrate very well at the lessons. But her feelings were the direct opposite of that giddy excitement yesterday. Today, she was filled with dread.

He knew. It was obvious by how unfazed he was by the supposedly "new" information—unless the twins were so very used to being confessed to. That seemed likely too.

In any case, the girl was about to find out. As soon as recess started, she went over to Kaoru with her head bowed in embarrassment. She stood in front of him, across his desk, her right hand gripping her left arm as if to keep it steady. Kaoru had been about to get up when she appeared so he stopped, blinking at her. He had noticed her forlorn face during class but didn't understand it. It seemed it was about him? This confrontation wasn't really unexpected so he waited patiently for her to say her piece.

They didn't have an audience this time but the other Hitachiin was sitting at the next table, waiting too. Miyuki paid him no mind though and got straight to the point. "You knew," she stated simply but softly. Seeing him nod, she couldn't stop herself from blurting, "How?"

Both boys shrugged. "To be honest, it was quite obvious." It was. It really was. Maybe if they hadn't already known about her feelings two years ago, they might've not thought much of her awkward behaviour. It didn't really affect them. As evidence, the only thing that brought them together was the class project which Kaoru and Miyuki were only partnered up by chance.

"Not that..." Miyuki shook her head and then fiddled with her fingers. Great, did she really have to say it? And what if she was wrong? Though she was pretty sure she wasn't... "You knew I had co-confessed to you before. I could tell..."

Kaoru fidgeted. "Oh. That." He looked at his brother who looked back silently.

"Did Hikaru tell you? O-or was it Toki? Because she promised she wouldn't and I really thought I could just let this die down unt—"

"Hey," they said together, turning their gazes back to the girl. Hikaru opened his mouth to explain what really happened that day but the other ginger beat him to the punch. "We just don't keep things from each other."

Hikaru looked at his brother again, slightly confused though it didn't show on his face. Why didn't he just tell her the whole truth? That he had known all along? Kaoru was the one who found the letter because it was indeed placed in the right desk. The fact that they didn't keep secrets between them was the reason Hikaru knew, not the other way around.

Miyuki accepted it nonetheless, nodding her head and then shrugging. "I guess I should've known..." She turned to walk away but was stopped.

"I hope this doesn't change anything." She looked at the speaker in surprise but Kaoru simply smiled gently. "You're still my partner, right, partner?"

Two spots of pink appeared on both her cheeks then. D-did he mean that? She hadn't even thought about how this would affect them "professionally" but the fact that he was the first to mention it and even making sure they were okay... it made her feel all warm, reminding her of her feelings once again. Why did he have to be so sweet? Miyuki nodded, not trusting her mouth to not say anything stupid.

Then she rushed out of the room to join her friends.

Hikaru poked his brother's arm. "Hey. What was that, Kao? What point is there in sparing her feelings like that?" The younger twin shrugged, making him squint his eyes suspiciously. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were close to flirting with her at the end there..."

Kaoru didn't answer, didn't deny it. Instead, he stood and nodded his head to the classroom exit before walking.

"Wait..." murmured the other, following behind him as they maneuvered between the rows of seats and tables. "You don't have feelings for her, do you?" he asked, sounding sceptical.

"Hikaru, give it a rest." Kaoru rolled his golden brown eyes. They were finally in the hallway now, walking past other students and other students walking past them. He couldn't have his twin spouting his mouth off, in case someone heard.

Hikaru inhaled sharply. "Kaoru!" He did have enough sense to lower his voice though. "You do, don't you?"

Kaoru was starting to feel uncomfortable. But he didn't find it as hard as his brother in owning up to one's feelings—to the other anyway. Looking around, he made sure no one could hear him and when he finally answered, he only whispered, "Maybe."

He was then given a look of disbelief. Why though? Instilled with a sense of superiority they may be, they did realize they were people too. And people were prone to liking others romantically. But... they had always felt the same about everything; one of the reasons it was so hard to tell them apart. For one to develop feelings on his own was just weird, in Hikaru's opinion.

Kaoru himself had a different train of thought. Wasn't it about time they became less dependent on each other? He loved his brother and how they got along so well, almost never needing to speak to share their thoughts because they were so similar, but... they were individuals, weren't they?

Although he was able to (sort of) admit it to his twin, he couldn't do that yet to the actual subject of his affections. To be fair though, he was still trying to figure it out himself anyway. Maybe he was just flattered that Miyuki had turned down Hikaru for him two years ago? Maybe he liked that she reacted differently? As if her feelings were genuine... He wondered this while they finalized the design of the fliers at the library again. Miyuki was doing most of the actual drawing part and he thought she looked quite cute when she was so concentrated on something. And now with her bangs pulled back, her fair features stood out more.

She only realized she was being stared at when she finished and tried to slide it across the table to Kaoru. She blinked at him, feeling heat rise to her face. "Hm? Kaoru? I-is there something on my face?" Lowering her head, she wiped her face with the back of her hand. How embarrassing!

"You just had a smudge of ink on your nose," he lied smoothly, chuckling a little. His eyes moved on to the piece of paper in front of him.

They had decided to go with Miyuki's latest idea, the design she had tried to show him earlier that morning before someone misinterpreted. So all that was left when they met up again later was the finishing touches which she just, well, finished.

Kaoru smiled. It was truly not a bad piece of work. His mother being a clothing designer, he grew up knowing what would appeal to people's eyes. "It looks good. You're pretty good at this, Miyuki."

The compliment had an immediate effect on her, making her blush. "Th-thank you... Uhm, we should find a place to print—"

"Can we walk and talk? I should get going." He was already standing by then so the girl followed his lead and they quickly made for the Host Club, discussing the details of printing on their way.

Once they got there though, Hikaru immediately rushed towards them. "Took you two long enough... I sure hope you weren't doing anything you shouldn't." He smirked.

The other twin swore he would facepalm himself if there wasn't anyone else around. Damn! He better not keep teasing about this in public... Rather than scowl like he wanted to, he smiled knowingly and leaned forward a little. "Being naughty is your forte, Hikaru."

"Hm, I wouldn't mind teaching you some of my tricks, Kaoru," he replied, playing along. Girls at a nearby table squealed in excitement. Both boys smirked. After they said goodbye to Miyuki, Hikaru took his brother's hand and pulled him towards their fans.

In their place, Kyoya stood before her then. "Miyuki."

The girl gasped loudly. She had been carelessly watching Kaoru and almost forgot where she was... Sheepishly, she smiled to the raven-haired boy. "H-hello, Kyoya-senpai."

He smiled back. "I have a preposition for you. Would that be okay?"

"Uhm... okay..." She nodded, her fingers coming together in her nervousness.

Kyoya chuckled and softened his gaze—he knew he could be intimidating sometimes. That came in handy often, especially with the other hosts, but he had a feeling that wasn't the right way with Miyuki if he were to get what he wanted. "It's regarding your family's hotel in Okinawa."