Disclaimer: Bisco Hatori owns Ouran High School Host Club. But I can say that I own the rest of the Hitachiin family! (Since I made them up!)

Author Notes: You know I've always wondered if I should put up a warning when I have extreme fluff in my chapters. Maybe some people are like me and won't read something like that. I don't like really angst stories, I find them depressing and maybe people don't like really fluffy stories. I can't help but to write stuff like that because I'm a fluffy type of person LOL. Okay and I keep reading Meru Puri over and over again (that is one of the cutest Shoujo mangas I have ever read!).

Warning: Extreme fluff (I feel ridiculous lol) Another very long chapter folks, I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 10: Compromising Hearts

Hikaru awoke the next morning earlier than he usually did. Usually Haruhi was the first up, but today it was him. He didn't know what made him wake up so early but he was determined to go back to bed. However before he could get himself comfortable, he found himself staring at his cell phone. What was Kaoru doing right now? Was he with that girl? Hikaru frowned. He didn't really hate her, but her existence was a threat to his relationship with Kaoru, but so was his own relationship.

Hikaru sat up as he rested his back on the head board of his bed. What happened? He and Kaoru use to have a bond where no one could come between then. And even though they hadn't ended up fighting, they were starting to grow apart.

He looked down at Haruhi's sleeping face as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. He loved Haruhi but he could honestly say that he loved Kaoru more. Maybe it was because his bond with Kaoru had been building every since they were born, and his bond with Haruhi was starting to develop but it still was no comparison.

Hikaru picked up his cell phone and speed dialed Kaoru's phone, he was welcomed by his unhappy, half awake, younger brother.

"Hikaru…" he said sleepily into the phone.

"Morning," Hikaru said as he yawned.

"Is anything wrong?" Kaoru asked. Hikaru could hear him moving around as he tried to make himself comfortable.

"Not…really," Hikaru answered hesitantly.

"You can't lie to me," Kaoru replied.

"I don't care…"

"Huh?"

"Kaoru…if it's you…I don't care."

"Hikaru are you sure nothing's wrong?"

Kaoru is everything alright?

Hikaru froze, who was that? He could hear Kaoru as he covered up the phone and muttered something to whoever had spoken those words. Hikaru could feel the gap growing wider by the minute. He could sleep well right now because he had someone by his side, he didn't need Hikaru anymore.

"Hikaru?" Kaoru said as he got back on the phone.

"Who is she?" Hikaru asked barely above a whisper. Maybe he was selfish but it was no way he could accept Kaoru being with someone else. He didn't want to accept it, but that also made him a hypocrite. "Is it…that girl?!" Hikaru asked assumingly.

Kaoru was silent on the other end and Hikaru knew that he was contemplating his answer. Hikaru yelled out of frustration before hanging up the phone. He woke up Haruhi who was confused about what was going on.

"What happen?" She asked sleepily.

"I hate Kaoru! He's such an idiot!" Hikaru yelled as he walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

Haruhi sat up as she sighed, Hikaru always threw small temper tantrums but this one had to be one of the worse. What in the world could Kaoru have said to set him off like that? Haruhi sat in a daze when she suddenly heard Hikaru's phone ringing. She looked at the caller ID and noticed Kaoru's name and picked it up.

"Kaoru?"

There was a pause on the other end before he answered, "Ha-Haruhi…"

Haruhi smiled at the sound of his voice. It hadn't been an incredibly long time since they had spoken but it seemed that way. A familiar warmness overcame her as she made her self comfortable with the phone still on her ear.

"Now before I ask you why Hikaru just stormed out of the room calling you an idiot, I want to know how you've been?"

Kaoru paused, "I've been okay."

Haruhi sighed, "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be, I knew the day would eventually come."

Haruhi sat there in silence, what else could she say other than "I'm sorry." If she hadn't had to make a choice, would she have really picked Hikaru? And that dream the other night…

"When are you coming home?" she asked changing the subject.

"I'm not," he answered calmly.

What did he mean? "Oh so you're not coming home anytime soon?"

"No, I mean I'm going to stay in Kyoto and enroll at Kuroshira High School."

Haruhi took a deep breath to remain composed; this was her fault…wasn't it?

"Is that why Hikaru…."

"No, Hikaru found out about my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Haruhi asked just to make sure she heard correctly.

"Her name's Sakura."

"Wow…" Should I say that I'm happy for him?

"He'll get over it; he has you there with him after all."

Haruhi continued to take deep breaths as she took in the news. She wasn't happy for him at all. She found herself becoming a little jealous of this Sakura girl; however it didn't feel real, not just yet.

"Tell her that I hope we can become friends," A voice said in Kaoru's background.

Haruhi's eyes widen as she heard the voice, was that her?

"You heard her right?" Kaoru asked Haruhi right after Sakura spoke. She could tell by the tone of his voice that he was smiling at her somewhat sweet gesture.

"Yea…"

Kaoru sighed, "Well I have to go, my tutor will be here in two hours and I have to get ready."

"Yea okay, I guess…I'll talk to you some other time."

"Sure…some other time," Kaoru responded before hanging up.

Haruhi sat in the bed and stared at the ceiling. She was emotionally drained after that short conversation. She had felt so many things while speaking to him but the last emotion she felt was pain. She wasn't happy for him, and just like Hikaru, she didn't want him with that other person. But who was she to say so? She had promised Hikaru that she would see only him, was she breaking that promise now?

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Kaoru hung up the phone as he sat it on his dresser. He knew that one day he would have had to speak to her again, but he didn't expect that this would be the day. When he had heard her voice on the other end, he knew that he wasn't nearly as over her as he thought he was. Her voice had made his heart jump and all of the emotions that he had tried to suppress had resurfaced again. It had taken a lot of him to act calm and causal as he told her he wasn't coming back home and that he had a girlfriend.

Kaoru sat up and got out of the bed. He hadn't originally planned on staying in Kyoto but now that he had said it, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea. If he did, he wouldn't have to face Haruhi until her wedding to Hikaru next summer and he could have time to heal.

"I mess up didn't I?" Sakura said as she looked over at Kaoru.

He turned around and smiled at her, "actually you helped a lot so don't be worried about it."

Sakura looked at him in doubt, but her expression quickly changed as she also got out of bed and went into the bathroom. Kaoru could hear the shower start running as he let out a sigh and flopped down on the bed. How long would it take for him to look at her and finally see a woman that he cares for instead of someone who is around just to comfort him?

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Haruhi had decided to skip school today and head home. Lately it was rare that she would go home, but she wanted to be around her father right now. When she arrived home and stepped inside, she saw her father in the kitchen having breakfast.

"I'm home," she yelled as she took off her shoes and stepped onto the main floor.

"Welcome home Haruhi," her father responded as he stood up and walked into the living room. He practically pounced on her unsuspectingly surprising Haruhi just a little bit.

"Dad," Haruhi protested as he let her go.

"I'm sorry; it's just that you haven't been home in a few days. Papa's been so lonely," he said in mock sadness.

Haruhi sighed, "Sorry."

Rouji gasped as he backed away from Haruhi, "Sorry?! Did you do something that would shame your poor father?! Or are you admitting that you did something naughty?" he asked in horror.

Haruhi rolled her eyes as she walked past her father and sat down her school bag, "have you had breakfast yet?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen.

Rouji shook his head no as he tailed Haruhi into the kitchen, "it's been a while since I tasted your cooking. I'm sure Kotoko would be happy as well."

"Mom?"

"Sure why not?"

"Dad…if I ask you something, can you promise not to overreact?" Haruhi asked seriously. She opened the cabinet and pulled out the pancake mix and then walked over to the refrigerator

"Why would I do something like that?" he asked curiously.

Haruhi pulled out some blue berries, bread and eggs, "never mind."

"No, no, no," Rouji responded, "I promise, you can tell me without me overreacting," he reassured. "And how about this," he said as he picked up the pancake mix and the other things that Haruhi had pulled out. "How about we make mom's hamburgers and talk about it then."

Haruhi smiled as she helped her father put away everything and pull out the ingredients to make their breakfast, "hamburgers for breakfast are kind of unusual," Haruhi said.

"Who cares, our family has never been the 'usual' type of family anyway," Rouji answered.

The two made hamburgers together as they enjoyed small talk. And finally after they finished cooking and prepared their plates at the table, Rouji waited for her to speak whenever she wanted to.

"What I wanted to speak to you about…is about my fiancée…" Haruhi began. Rouji looked at her as he waited for her to continue. He never thought that he would be talking to her about her fiancée right now in this particular point in time.

"And his brother," Haruhi finished causes Rouji to choke on his tea.

"Dad…I really care for Hikaru but I also care about Kaoru," she said straight to the point. Rouji sighed as he looked at his daughter. Maybe this arrangement was something that he shouldn't have done. It had caused her to become confused about her feelings and try to do what she thought was right regardless of what her heart was telling her.

"Which one do you care for more?" he asked.

"I…I don't know," she answered honestly.

"Okay let's try this," he said as he picked off a small piece of his hamburger and popped it into his mouth. "Who can you see yourself with years from now?"

Haruhi frowned, "Honestly, I can see myself with both of them."

Rouji sighed, "Those twins have done horrible things to my precious Haru."

"Dad they did nothing to me," she protested.

Rouji sighed, "Will it be too much if I ask for you to stay home from now on?"

"No it won't."

"Okay, then I'm sure Hikaru-Kun will understand."

"He has no choice, you're my father."

Rouji laughed as he crawled around the table and hugged Haruhi, "Papa's so proud of you. And whoever you decide to love between them I will accept."

"What if I decide on both?"

Rouji paused before exhaling, "after I give the two a long lecture, then I may approve…maybe"

Haruhi shook her head as she leaned against her dad, "at least you're trying to understand."

"A father has to do anything he can to make his little girl happy."

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Rouji awoke the next morning around six and went into Haruhi's room to check on her. She didn't know what he was up to today, and that was a good thing. For Rouji couldn't tell her even if he wanted to. She would probably regret coming to him for advice and even try and turn back to Minami without second thought. He didn't like that, not one bit. He wasn't angry at the fact that Haruhi was starting to look at Minami as a mother; he was annoyed that it seemed that his daughter fiancée's mother was more dependable than he was.

He worked often at night, but that was no excuse for why he hadn't been around. Maybe he just couldn't bring himself to accept what he had done to her life. He was so dead set on making one of Kotoko's last wishes come true where he didn't think what it would do to his daughter, but yesterday he finally saw the light. He had put her in a situation that made him feel horrible as a father. She had not chosen who she wanted to love; instead she was being forced to compromise her heart.

Rouji kneeled down next to Haruhi as he kissed her forehead. She was fifteen years old already, so close to being a woman but yet still a little girl…his little girl. If he could do something to make her situation a bit smoother he would try his best to do so.

He exited the house as he got into his car and drove to his destination. Last night he had a small talk with Minami and they had agreed to meet for breakfast to discuss this situation that had developed. He was infuriated while Minami was a bit amused. To him it seemed that, that woman had planned this all along. She had known not many were able to pick just one of her boys and preferred both, why would she put Haruhi, her former friend's daughter in this situation?

He pulled up to the restaurant they had agreed to meet at as he let out a sigh. Today he had dressed as a man to show how serious he was about this situation. Today he was Papa Rouji and not his sassy persona Ranka. He exited his vehicle as walked up the stairs and entered the restaurant. The hostess greeted him and led him to the table where Minami was already seated.

"It's been a while," he said casually as he sat down across the table from her. Minami looked up from the magazine that she had been reading and smiled at him apologetically, "yes it has."

The two ordered breakfast as they sat in each other's presence in silence before Rouji finally decided to speak first.

"I'm not happy with the current situation," he spoke honestly. He could see Minami look up at him as she wore the same apologetic gaze that had been plastered on her face since he had arrived. It was obvious she felt bad but her actions were still neutral.

"I noticed she didn't stay the night last night, is she okay?" She asked in concern.

Rouji took a sip of his coffee as he stared over at his conversation partner. In a sense Haruhi was okay, but she was a bit confused because her obligations clouded her judgment, "I've seen my little girl in better shape."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning? Your little…demons are corrupting my baby!" he yelled as his eyes welled up with tears. "Let's end this little agreement."

"Why?"

"Why?" Rouji countered in shock.

Minami laughed as she took a sip of her water, it was going to be a long breakfast.

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Hikaru yawned as he walked into the classroom half asleep. Today Haruhi hadn't spent the night so he overslept like he usually did. He was hoping that she had already arrived so he could ask what was wrong. Usually when she didn't want to stay over she would tell him, this time he didn't receive any word of her plans. He had tried to call her several times but her phone had been turned off. She wasn't the type to avoid a person if they wronged her in anyway. If anything she could be extremely confrontational when she had to be. As he made his way back to his desk, he noticed that Haruhi had not yet arrived, he mumbled under his breath as he sat down and placed his head on his desk, when the bell rung he was sure she would be here.

However when the bell rung, she had not arrived and that caused Hikaru to start to worry, he was about to try and call her again when the teacher called for the class to settle down and get into their seats. Hikaru wanted to excuse himself but he couldn't when he saw who was standing in front of the room.

"Class I would like to introduce a new student to the class."

Another new student? A girl in front of Hikaru said to the one across from her.

Yea but this time it's a guy, and he's pretty cute! But doesn't he look a bit…familiar?

"Class, this is Hitachiin, Kiyoharu. He transferred here from Kikisho High School in Nagoya."

Hitachiin?!

I knew he looked familiar!

Hikaru frowned as he stared at his cousin, who grinned widely as he waved to Hikaru, "long time no see Hikaru!"

A few girls squealed as some guys began to complain. Kiyoharu walked back and sat right in Haruhi's seat as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"That's my fiancée's seat," Hikaru said coolly.

"I'll move when she gets here," Kiyoharu retorted.

Hikaru glared, "why are you here at Ouran?"

Kiyoharu grinned, "Wouldn't you like to know."

"Class now let's get started with today's lesson," the teacher interrupted. Hikaru and Kiyoharu would have to just finish their conversation later.

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Minami had finished her breakfast with Rouji and had finally arrived home. She had a long day ahead of her at the office and she was only there to make a quick in and out stop when a car pulled up behind hers. She knew that Kaoru wasn't due home yet and her husband wasn't as well. She stood on the steps to her front door as the door to the car opened and a woman stepped out. She had the same face as Minami, and was only born a few minutes before she was. She hadn't seen her in years, but yet out of nowhere she was here in front of her. She stared at her identical twin Aya in shock and dread, her family was finally starting to make their move.

End Chapter.

Author's Notes: Dun Dun Duuunnn! The entrance of two of the members of the Hitachiin family wasn't dramatic but I wanted their presence known. The Hitachiin family is going to play a very sizable role from now one and I've been planning for this family to appear for some time now. I have the whole family tree drawn out! With the family business and everything named LOL. I'm really excited about this part of the story! And I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming chapters!