OMG!!! AN update when I'm so sick that the world appears green and orange, and my mouth is half numb after visiting the dentist--who had to sick me five times with the needle!!! I feel like I deserve cookies!! But, I'd love reviews even more!~

Chapter Eight

I don't know why or even if I believed it when Tamaki told me that he had won over Haninozuka, and with him, Morinozuka. It was a shock, for sure, but I think my lack of reaction was a more interesting expression to display, especially once I saw what his reaction to that would be. Haruhi congratulated him when she heard, and smiled and waved warmly to the two third years when we passed them in the hallway. It was then that I noticed we were short one person in these early hours of pre-school meandering and gossiping. However, I decided to simply not point it out myself.

I waited for Haruhi or Tamaki to noticed that Kaoru wasn't there, but neither of them seemed to take note of this fact. It was almost time for us to part ways, and if we did, I would probably lose track of my target—and a lot good my careful and strategic planning would do if that happened. Gently, I prodded, "It's almost time for the first bell—" which prompted both the short brunette and the taller blond to glance up at the nearest clock "—shouldn't we all be getting to our classrooms?"

"Ah, yes! Where has the time gone! We must part so soon! A tragedy among men and women alike!!" Tamaki made to hug Haruhi, and for a spilt second it looked like she was going to, but she then decided against it and held out her arms, stopping him. I could have laughed out loud, and I did allow myself a small chuckle of amusement.

"Well, I'll see you both later—Tamaki, get off of me," was Haruhi's classical farewell before she dumped the blond on me and made for her class. We (that is to say Tamaki) watched her go longingly before turning to me and smiling idiotically.

"We should go, too, Tamaki," I told him, grasping him by the shoulder and steering him away from the first year classrooms and into the entirely separate part of the building used for the second years. "Class will be starting soon, idiot. There's no reason to stand there gawking after her…Rumors might fly…"

He continued to stare like a blundering idiot after her, but followed me when and where I pulled. I felt ridiculous, pulling my little lost puppy in my gait, but it was the only reasonable way I could transport him. Calling in my army of pick-up trucks and cranes might cause a little too much of a commotion. So I settled for manhandling the blond, although I think I was the only one who really minded. And I REALLY minded when he started blubbering nonsense.

"Kyouya…" there was a dreamy quality in his voice that I had learned to dread. "Do you think that Haruhi is…pretty?"

I did not slow my pace. "She is the uncultured mutt in a kennel of pedigree dogs. But I'm sure, to you at least, that she holds at least one alluring quality. Why do you ask?" My question seemed to jerk him back to earth (a place he had vacated long ago) and sent a rush of blood to his face, heating his cheeks.

"No reason."

"Good. Now, to class." And we walked into class 2-A.

*

Kaoru was not there at lunch, either. I was not worried—that emotion did not even exist in my inventory. Worry leads to irrational thoughts, and seeing as I had all my wits around me, I was never worried. I was simply…inpatient. So I settled for doing what inpatient people do: making everyone else inpatient.

I tapped my foot rhythmically on the linoleum floor of cafeteria, and in no time, Tamaki had picked up the beat as well. The more he was tapping, the more hassled and hysteric his expression became. He in turn, drummed his fingers on the table. Haruhi picked up the mannerism in her own form, by tapping her plastic spork on the plate and grinding her teeth. Some very smart people had the general wits about them to not come any closer to us, and made a point to give us a wide birth. Much appreciated.

This continued for a while until Haruhi finally cracked. I wouldn't have pegged her for the type to explode, but then again, I often did forget that she angered easily. Our audacious commoner student stood up, taking her tray with her and walking away from us, quickly taking up a seat next to Renge, that maniacal otaku with her ridiculous notions of love. That left myself and Tamaki, and I figured that I should probably stop portraying my relentless attitude before he, too, left. I stayed my foot, and slowly, out atmosphere was near pleasant again.

"Kyouya, do you think we should recruit one more person?"

"For what?" I asked.

"For the Host Club. I think six being an even number gives the girls too much of an opportunity to see even relationship between us. After what that Renge girl said, I think it's better if there are no defined relationships that are set in stone. And if we have an uneven number of people, perhaps there won't be any need to state that there aren't any relationships…"

It was one of his rare moments of excellent intelligence. I rolled my eyes anyway, and swallowed the food I had consumed during Tamaki's rant. "It won't matter if there's an even or uneven number of people. Apparently, the more harem the acts, the more beloved. Perhaps that would work if we were trying to entice a crowed different from the Renge type, but seeing as we aren't, there's no reason. And who would you recruit, anyway?"

He shrugged and mumbled something about it being "just a though".

"We could always just cut down the one person—make it five instead of six," I said offhandedly. "Perhaps we could simply not use the Hitachiin boy. He seems rather distant, don't you think. He wouldn't really enhance our customer service, would he." Tamaki nodded slowly, biting his lip and staring at his mashed potatos with unnerving concentration.

Thinking the conversation was over, I made to stand and dispose of my tray, only to pause in my footsteps when Tamaki continued, "It just feels like something's missing…"

"You mean beside the Hitachiin boy?"

"Yes, besides him. It's like…I think something's missing with Kaoru and there might be a way to fix it by making friends with him." He turned those wide violet eyes on me with implored understanding. "You get it, right Kyouya? There's just something…not there…?"

I sighed. But he was right, and I had to reward him with recondition. I nodded.

*

I found out where Kaoru had gone the next day, by the rather impersonal means of the newspaper. I sat at the breakfast table, silent as usual, and reading my copy of the international news as my father, brothers and sister did the same. That was the equivalent of our morning routine, only this one was rather disrupted when I gagged on my coffee. All eyes at the table turned to me, some with annoyance, some with concern and others with indifference. Eyebrows cocked, lips pursed, and my sister asked me if I was alright.

All I could do was muster a nod and cough into my napkin, eyes still firmly attached to the page of the paper that was now peppered with dark brown liquid stains. A maid fluttered forward and asked, hesitantly, if I would like for the paper to be disposed of.

"No," I told her politely. "No thank you. I'm not finished."

"Would you like a different copy, Ootori-sama?" she tried again. "We could find you one—"

"No thank you, this will do." It would take too long to find another copy of this paper, and I had to find out exactly what happened now. The headline had intrigued me…

Hitachiin Family Suffers Great Lose After Ten Years of Misery; Funeral Set for Tomorrow

Some ten years ago, a tragic event befell the infamous Hitachiin family. On an unfortunate day, the elder of the Hitachiin twins fell to his doom after scaling a tall tree. The emergency ride to the hospital and first class care could do nothing to better his situation—although the boy continued to breath, he was clinically brain dead and had no chance of waking up. Just yesterday, the family decided enough was enough and decided to forfeit life support in favor of a nice, clean and dignified death for their boy. The only member that was disgruntled with the decision was the younger twin, Hitachiin Kaoru. His mental state, always iffy, dissolved into tears and complained loudly, eventually having to be forcibly removed from the hospital room so the procedure could commence. His current state is unknown.

Although the funeral is going to be a private, family event, the event is rumored to be invitation only, with a select few families attending. It is a shock to most who are receiving the invitations—many of them had little to no idea that the Hitachiins had a son, let alone two. The press is hoping to get several reporters inside the event, and are eager for any pictures of the coffin…(Cont. p.p. 2D)

Inside, I felt my insides squirm. Delight, one could call this feeling. Delight and wonderful ideas traveling through my head. It was finished—he was finished—and I didn't even have to do anything. The press had done the job for me. Now, the only job left was to tell them my side of the story—his mental break down and his speech impediment—and the girls would lap it up as fast as one could say 'outcast'. He'd be finished and, as I lowered the paper from in front of me, I could feel my fingers and hands shaking with excitement.

Quickly, I excused myself from the table and retired to my room to ready myself for school. I was so excited that I could barely differentiate between my school uniform and my casual wear. My shoes almost adorned the wrong foot—with two different styles as well, but I was finally able to get out of the house looking decent, except for the large and silly grin on that was slightly scary and entirely inexplicable. My chaffer gave me a slightly odd look, yet I was too distracted to even tell him off.

I had won. Embarrassing the Hitachiin had occurred, and I hadn't even do much more than lift a finger. The press had done it for me, and now I was going to reap the rewards. I'd won, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

*

I was wrong. It shocked me, although not entirely surprising. Instead of attracting the murmuring mass of people I had been expecting to flock around him, the story simply attracted...Sympathy.

Yes, sympathy. Swooning girls who would pass him and blink at him with apologetic goo-goo eyes. Classmates and upperclassmen who would shake his hand and offer their condolences. Teachers who would perhaps glance sadly at him when they thought no one was looking in the hallways, or else actually approach him and place their hand on his shoulder. I wanted to be sick. All that excitement, all that antsy, and then it had proven to be nothing; my grand plan hadn't worked.

Of course, the mere sympathetic gestures that Kaoru's stranger classmates gave him were nothing compared to Tamaki. He cried out praises for the Hitachiin twin he had never met, causing quite an uproar and several students joining in with him. The blond, upon site of the red head, would "glomp" him, as the fangirls would often say, and refuse to let go until the boy either turned blue, or Haruhi beat him off. To the side, I scowled darkly, emitting the aura that clearly told everyone in the vicinity to back off or I would hurt them.

Why weren't they backing away from him? That trash article had even stated that he had an unknown mental condition and had thrown a tantrum over his twin's lifeless body when they tried to cease life-support. The girls should have been backing away from him, afraid that he might lash out at one of them; but, no! They were muttering about the 'beautiful brotherly love' and fantasizing about what it must have looked like. The boys should be cat calling and jeering at him; but they, too, we speaking of his devotion and their own relationships with their older or younger brothers. It had all gone to hell.

"Kyouya?" Tamaki asked as he waltzed into the classroom, placing his book bag onto his desk and turning to look at me. "Kyouya, are you alright? You look…pained."

"I'm fine," I ground out, roughly turning the pages of my textbook so harshly that it tore under my fingers.

"You don't look it," he said, voice lowering and shoulders hunching shyly away from me. "Are you feeling sick? You could go to nurse if you'd like. I'll tell sensei."

At the time, perhaps I thought it would be a good idea. Get away from the discomfort, get away from the bad way that the scheme had taken. Reconstruct the plan, revisit my ideas… I stood, closing my book and slipping it into my bag before swinging it over my shoulder. "Alright, I'll go." My brain was fussing, but I had enough sense to explain where and why I was going as the teacher entered to room in time to see him make the escape. Knowing by heart my immaculate record, she paid no heed to it and simply nodded before turning to the rest of the class as the door swung shut behind me.

The nurse, I reminded myself. Go there.

I don't know what came over me.

Instead of taking the left that would take me to the many bedded hospital section of the school, I allowed my feet to carry me to the right, towards the front door—the door to the outside world. I don't know why I did it, nor how I managed to do so without getting caught, but before I knew it, my fingers were wrapping around the door handle that would twist effortlessly in order to open.

I was just about to exit the building when I heard a clatter and hurried footsteps rushing down the stairs before something warm and cloth covered collided with my back when I was too slow to turn around and face the runner. Panting and my front was pushed against the door, the metal frame of my glasses bending as hands roughly used my back as a spring boarded and soon enough, I found myself turning to face Hitachiin Kaoru.

His face was flushed and eyes harried as some voices around the corner of the entrance hall called, "Hitachiin-san?" or "Kaoru-kun? It's alright! We just wanted say that we're sorry for your lose!" or "Wait! Don't run! Don't you want some of these chocolates?" There were at least three of them, if not more, and the second that I heard these voices, I knew the source of Kaoru's torment.

Panicking, he turned back to me and tried for the door again. "Hurry up," he whined lowly, eyes darting everywhere. "Please. Either come with me or don't tell them which way I went. Please."

I didn't move. He glanced back and towards the door again, rattling one of the knobs to the doors that were locked. Only half the doors were left unlocked, and it seemed that Kaoru had yet to learn this. He was a fast learner though, for I watched him leave that door and both push and pull me out of the way before dragging me pull through the frame and after him, down the side of the driveway and through the actual bars of the front gate before the man in the operating booth could jump off his backside and stop them. I was somewhat surprised that the two of them could actually fit through the iron painted golden bars that all the cars had to pause before entering the school grounds, but we both did, and continued running.

We ran—or rather, he ran and dragged my body after him. I never pegged the Hitachiin as a strong boy, nor one with much running stamina, but he continued to run and I, unaffected by this and continuously dumbstruck, followed. I did not recognize the path we were taking, and I'm sure that he didn't either, but the constant and hopefully purposeful pounding of our feet lead me to believe that there was some impromptu ending to this fast tracked race.

And sure enough, there was. It was, to all appearances, a commoner's park. A busy one. Children screamed with delight and excitement, demanding that their parents push them higher on swings, or else catch them at the bottom of slides. A boxy white care with colorful pictures of what appeared to be mass-produced popsicles and ice cream sandwiches on the side ground out a tinny tune as a steady stream of adults and children flocked to the open door, handing out money for confections. A little girl in a pale purple dress stood in the sandbox, smiling brightly at a group of boys before proceeding to pull her skirt over her head and reveal bright pink underwear. I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"What are we doing here!?!" I demanded, rounding on Kaoru before realizing that he was still holding my hand and wrenching it from his grasp. "What gives you the right to drag me out of school and to this hovel!?"

My voice was laced with icy contempt and dripped with disgust. I felt a vague sense of satisfaction when he recoiled, folding his arms tightly and laying both hands on opposite shoulders. Amber eyes were suddenly hidden from view as he flopped his bangs into his face, and his chapped lips parted to murmur, "I'm sorry…I was just trying to get away."

"Away," I sneered. "Away from what? Those girls weren't going to hurt you."

"I didn't like it," he said defensively. "I didn't want them to follow me, but they did, so I just wanted to leave." Kaoru peaked at me from under his fringe shyly. "I'm sorry for taking you with me, Ootori-sama. I didn't mean to—but you were just there."

Something about the way he said it rendered me speechless. I would have liked to say something scathing and cold, but the words wouldn't flow to my mouth unhindered and thus, incomplete sentences mixed with swear words flowed. I tried several times, opening and closing my mouth, gnashing my teeth and pacing away from him. I really would have nothing to do have with him, just up and leave him in this park and go back to school, but that would completely destroy the entire reason I had been intending to leave the place for in the first place. And then it struck me.

We, me and the Hitachiin, were playing hooky. We were skipping. Cutting class. Escaping the confines of the school atmosphere. And we were together in this.

I hated it.

"Look," I said, running a hand haphazardly through my hair as the pink underwear girl's mother screeched and ran over to her daughter, lifting her by the waist and carrying the giggly girl out of the park. "Look, I don't care about why you ran out, and I don't want to know. What I do want to know is where the hell we are."

He blinked, looking towards the park entrance, painting towards a sign with large, white painted letters. "Suzuki Ira Memorial Park. It's downtown, I think." He looked back to me. "Are you going to leave?"

I wanted to tell him yes. I wanted to tell him to fuck off and then storm out the park, leave him alone and not care what happened to him. But I couldn't. What else could I do? My gaze scanned the entire play ground, alighting upon a partially empty bench who's only other occupant was a quietly crying little boy, and this is where I crossed to and sat down, spying another girl flashing the boys in the sandbox.

I turn my attention elsewhere, keeping my eyes averted to somewhere over the boy's head when Kaoru sits next to me. I startle when I feel his fingers brush my stomach, grasping at the front buttons of my Ouran jacket. I am about to yell and hit him when he murmurs, "You look too conspicuous—we both look like truants. Just take off your blazer."

I hate to admit that he's right, but there is no reason that I will let him undress me. Slapping his hands away before stripping myself of the suddenly hot jacket, folding it and slipping it into my bag; Kaoru did the same, but he also pulled off his dress shirt and put them both into his bag, extracting a light blue sweatshirt to put over his undershirt and clipping two barrettes into his right hand part. I wondered why he kept this different look until after school, but I didn't ask. It was individuality, I supposed. A sort of individuality that I wanted to squash.

We watched a girl who seemed to be seven and wearing a brightly colored shirt like half of the kids in the park did, advertising a sort of kindercare organization, swing herself upside down on the monkey bar and allow her light brown pigtails to swing dangerously below her. Two little babies dressed in army fatigue pants and jackets playing on the teeter-totter with enthusiasm that was unprecedented.

I couldn't remember when I had had fun like that, for I never though that I had been at a commoner's park when I was a child. I played with the nurses, as did Tamaki and almost every other student in the entire Ouran school. Perhaps Haruhi had, but she never talked about it and seems to practical to enjoy this chaos enough to do it on a regular basis. I found my cold scowl disappear, but I did not smile. This was not fun.

Kaoru fidgeted next to me, pulling one leg up to his chest and leaning backwards, leaving his bag under the bench. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see him looking at me consciously, almost sadly and sorrowful, like he'd some something wrong. I tried to remind myself that he had, but I didn't find myself mad. Mainly just annoyed that I was here, instead of somewhere in my element. Next to us, the little boy continued to cry remorselessly.

We were completely still for a second, neither of us moving and barely even breathing, but then I felt Kaoru move. I'm not sure how, considering there was a good six inches of space between us, but I felt it. He stood, and turning my head I gave a glare must have demanded, 'Just where do you think you're going?' because he shuffled and pointed, indicating the ice cream truck.

"You brought money?" I asked, "Why not just call a cab, then? We wouldn't have to be here. We could be some place much more refined to our tastes."

"Like school?" he asked, silencing my statement and going over to the truck. I stared, glowering, after him, allowing my gaze to bore holes in the back of his head with all their might, but Kaoru didn't seem to notice. He forced a smile at the man inside the truck window, one that was visibly painful even from my perch, paid and accepted two bright blue popsicles before returning.

In a flash, there was some sort of icy blue confection thrust into my hands, and I nearly dropped the thing right then and there, but I was miraculously able to gather my bearings and simply hold it by the end that was a cheap wooden stick, instead. I glowered, murmuring a 'thanks' under my breath before averting my eyes from the Hitachiin when he unwrapped his own treat.

I didn't want to look around—the general sight of the playground made me feel nauseous with it's simplicity—so I settled for glaring at the ground with vigor, trying to see if I could kill the ants that were crawling on my shoes by simply staring at them. It was working, at least I think, because my total body count was now seven, but that could have been the fact that I'd used my shoe at least three times. I did my best to ignore the yells and screaming that the park seemed to echo like a wind tunnel, but I couldn't block it all out, so I pressed a hand to my aching head, finger pistoling my temples with zero enthusiasm and grinding my teeth like a hungry wolf. I didn't want to be here and my aura was starting to scare the little children; the boy on the bench was now dry sobbing, in terror, I'd assume.

I only looked back up when Kaoru stool, his popsicle almost half gone and his lips tainted blue by the cheap food coloring. He cocked his head at me before flicking a hand at the entrance of the park. It was an invitation, I realized, to leave. If only I'd thought about doing that before instead of just sitting there like an idiot. However, this point went to the red head; I realized this as I stood, offering my popsicle to the crying child who had clearly wanted one from the beginning and had never listened to his parents if they warned him to not accept food from strangers, and followed as Kaoru set the procession towards the way we had come.

"That was nice of you," I could have sworn that he had murmured.

"I never did like sweets," I replied, shocking no malice behind my words. It was the truth, after all.

"Where should we go now?" As soon as he asked this question it dawned on me that we were stuck within the commoners realm, least someone who could recognize us should spot us and so tell our parents, but for some reason, I didn't mind this.

"You decide," I spat at him, "You're the one who dragged us here."

"I don't know where we are."

"Oh," any less a man would have thrown up his hands in despair or anger, but I kept mine firmly at my sides, supporting my school bag, twitching with the restraint of not strangling the Hitachiin. "Brilliant. That's just—what are you doing?"

Kaoru was spinning, twirling with one arm outstretched and pointing around him as he spun, like a broken compass, before finally coming to a halt and pointing directly into my face, fingers barely and inch away from my mouth. He smiled, or so it seemed—there was only a flash of the expression and it could have been a grimace or a pained yelp that was quieted, and lowered his arm before brushing past me in a completely random direction.

"Let's go this way."

HAHA!!! It's like a foced playdate/date!!! I wonder where they're going to go...My how this story has rown...It's like just yesterday that my mind was pregnant with it, then just eighteen hours ago that the pen and paper were by my side, yelling "PUSH!!PUSH!!" And then...This cute little baby was born! And now--it's WALKING!!!!!!!!!!! -wails- Anyway, let me know if you enjoy my baby as much as I do! And please don't think I'm insane or anything...Happy reading!!