Hey, guys! I have your next episode for you - and be prepared for drama, guys, because over the next few chapters there's gonna be a lot of it.

Enjoy!

Operation Get Katie and Hikaru together part 1

"So, what's the next part of the plan?" Kaoru asked. "We've put them in an intimate situation, we've seen them defensive about each other, but what do we do next?"

Andrea smiled slyly. "We give them drama."

"Drama?"

Haruhi nodded in agreement. "Yes, we need drama. And some serious drama."

Kaoru frowned. "Why?"

"It's the only way to get them to realize how much they really love each other…" Andrea pointed out. "Hikaru seems quite thick when it comes to this subject, and Katie's just embarrassed."

"This is going to involve me and my 'jealously', isn't it?" Kaoru groaned.

Haruhi nodded, but Andrea nodded the saddened look on his face.

"Once it's over, you can tell Hikaru everything you did," she told him, putting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

Kaoru smiled at her. "Okay."

"So, for the drama…" Haruhi started.

Andrea thought about it as she leaned on Kaoru's shoulder. "What if… what if we add a little twist to this story?"

Kaoru frowned. "Like what?"

"Like the real reason why you're jealous of Hikaru and Katie…"

Hikaru sighed as he walked into the Host Club, shouldering his bag determinedly. That was, until he saw Kaoru. The smile that he had previously worn faltered as he walked over to his younger brother.

"Kaoru?"

Kaoru looked up from where he had been attempting to complete his maths homework with a lot of difficulty and smiled slightly at his older brother. "Hey, Hikaru."

Hikaru just stared at his brother, still a little peeved about what had happened the other day. "Hey."

Kaoru frowned slightly. "Are you alright, Hikaru?"

"Yes."

He sighed. "You're still mad at me, aren't you?"

"No."

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, yes."

Kaoru sighed and put his pen down. "Look, Hikaru…"

"If you're going to tell me you're sorry, save it."

Kaoru's eyebrows rose. "What?"

Hikaru pulled a chair over before sitting next to his brother. "I've made up my mind… about everything… and I'm sorry if you're going to hate me for this, but I'm going to ask her."

"Ask her?" Kaoru frowned, clearly confused. "Ask who what?" He had an idea of what Hikaru was talking about, but he had to be certain before he reacted.

Hikaru took a deep breath. "I'm going to ask Katie if she'll go out with me…" he said quietly, waiting for his brother's reaction. Lately, the whole 'jealousy' act had been going further than usual, actually working its way into the boys' private lives as well. Whenever he tried to talk to Kaoru about Katie at home, Kaoru either avoided the subject, exploded in his face or just plain ignored him.

Kaoru stared at his brother for a few moments before looking away, feigning hurt. "Oh…" He gave Hikaru a small smile. "I… I don't hate you for it…"

Hikaru let out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding and he smiled at Kaoru. "You don't? Because you know that you mean a lot to me, Kaoru, and I don't want to hurt you…"

"You're not hurting me, Hikaru," Kaoru managed to say, a fake smile plastered on his face. "I just… I just feel… I feel like… like you're leaving me…" His face fell and he turned away from Hikaru.

Hikaru felt his chest pang. "Kaoru…"

"And…" Kaoru took a deep breath. "I… I think I like her too…"

Hikaru's eyes widened. "What?!" He smirked. "That's the craziest idea ever, Kaoru! All you've ever done is tease me about liking Katie, and then get jealous all of a sudden!"

Kaoru turned to Hikaru. "You don't think I'm serious?"

"I think you're lying to me, Kaoru. I think this is all some sort of trick."

Kaoru smiled a genuine smile. "Jeez, I can't get anything past you, can I?" He felt relieved that Hikaru wasn't falling for this whole trick, although it made him feel even guiltier about what he had to do.

Hikaru chuckled. "We're brothers, Kaoru. We've been joined at the hip since birth…" He slung an arm over his brother's shoulder and grinned. "You can't lie to me, and I can't lie to you. Remember?"

Kaoru nodded and leaned into his brother. "Yeah, I do…" He sighed. "I'm… I'm sorry, Hikaru… for lying to you…"

Hikaru smiled and hugged his brother close. "It's fine, Kaoru. Just… just try not to lie to me again, okay?"

Kaoru tensed slightly. "I'll try."

Hikaru smirked. "You better, Kaoru. Or there will be hell to pay."

Katie smiled as she walked into the Host Club that afternoon, her rucksack slung over her shoulder and her hair, that now reached her waist, tied back into a ponytail. She'd already established how much both she and Andrea hated the Ouran dresses, so no one was surprised when she turned up in her jeans and a t-shirt, with her converses.

"Good afternoon, Miss Brighten," Kyoya greeted.

"S'up, Kyoya?" She smiled at him. "Is my cosplay ready?"

"As always. As long as you are using your usual changing room."

Katie nodded. "Is Andrea here yet?"

"I haven't seen her come in."

"That's because I'm right behind you."

Kyoya turned to see Andrea standing behind him, a smirk on her face, as she stood holding her rucksack and wearing her jeans and t-shirt with trainers.

She waved at him. "What's up, Shadow King?"

"Sometimes I wonder why I work with arrogant, ignorant fools," Kyoya muttered before waving both girls away to get dressed.

"Did he just call me an arrogant, ignorant fool?" Andrea asked as the best friends entered the changing rooms.

"Yes, and I don't blame him," Katie muttered as she walked into her changing room and drew the curtain. "You're acting so childishly…"

Andrea laughed as she shut the curtain to her changing area. "Alright, alright, I'll try act more mature…"

"Try?"

"It's not that easy, you know."

About fifteen minutes later, both girls emerged wearing their cosplay outfits. The theme this time seemed to be Disney characters, which Andrea and Katie had both suggested. The two girls were dressed as two of the Disney Fairies – Tinkerbell and Iridessa – with their hair done up to match the outfits they were wearing.

Katie sighed as she moved the blonde wig so that it was more comfortable on her head. "Why do I have to wear this again?" She was wearing a green dress with green flats that had pompoms on them, and she had plastic wings attached to her back. She wasn't wearing an apron, but held her tray – which looked like it was made out of a piece of bark, strangely – in her hands.

"Because we suggested Disney characters," Andrea pointed out, adjusting her yellow dress slightly and making sure her bun was in place. "And the guys thought that since we were female, we should be the Disney Fairies."

Katie huffed. "That's a bit sexist, don't you think?"

Andrea smirked. "I just feel sorry for anyone that has to be Peter Pan…"

Katie's eyes widened. "I hope to high heaven that it's not Tamaki. If it is, I will die."

Andrea laughed as she grabbed her tray – that also happened to look like a piece of bark – and headed towards the Host Club room. "Yeah, because we both know that you want it to be Hikaru, right?"

"Shut up!" Katie froze when she saw the rest of the Host Club members. "Uh, Andrea?"

"Yeah?" Andrea was just as shocked as she was.

"When we suggested Disney characters, did we say Peter Pan characters?"

"…No…"

"Then please tell me why Tamaki is Peter and Kyoya is Captain Hook…"

Andrea had to snigger a little at that. "You know, they don't seem too bad as the Lost Boys of Neverland…"

Katie laughed. "That's a good point." She looked at all of their costumes.

Tamaki, obviously, was Peter Pan, and stood proudly in his green costume and hat with funny shoes for a couple of seconds before running around childishly. He wore a red wig under the hat to give him the appearance of having red hair, and wore green tights with a green t-shirt as well as dirty yellow shoes.

Kyoya, on the other hand, was dressed as his long time enemy captain hook, wearing the full outfit including the feathered hat, a long curly wig, the large red coat and long socks with black shoes. Where his left hand should have been there was a hook, and the pen he was writing with looked like a small sword.

Haruhi was dressed in a rabbit costume, made so that she would look like Nibs – one of the Lost Boys. She looked extremely bored in the costume as she sat at her table, waiting for the guests to arrive. She waved at Andrea and Katie when she saw them before going back to moping at her table.

Hunny and Mori were dressed as Slightly and Tootles, two of the other Lost Boys, with Mori dressed as the much larger Slightly – wearing a fox costume with a blonde wig underneath to make him look like the Lost Boy – and Hunny dressed like the much smaller Tootles – wearing a cute little skunk costume with a black wig.

But what amused the girls greatly was the fact that the twins were dressed as the twins from the movie, both wearing raccoon costumes. The fact that they were both redheads meant that they didn't have to wear wigs to make themselves look more like them, and the constant grins they wore on their faces made them look more like Cheshire cats.

"Next time we should suggest Alice in Wonderland," Katie pointed out as she walked over to the kitchen with Andrea in tow.

"Yes, and then you can be the big-headed Red Queen and I can be the beautiful White Queen," Andrea said, smirking.

Katie glared at her one they'd entered the kitchen. "Shut up."

Andrea sighed as she watched Katie prepare the tea. "It's a shame no one offered to be Cubby…"

"Are you offering?" Katie asked with a smirk on her face.

"Pssh, no. I'm not that fat."

"So you admit that you're fat?"

Andrea glared at Katie. "I admit I could lose a bit of weight."

"You could, but you won't."

"You know me so well…" Andrea grabbed some cupcakes and set them on her tray before getting the biscuits. "So, what's going on with you and Hikaru, then?"

Katie blushed, smiling slightly. "Well, the act is still working…"

"I saw it yesterday." Andrea grinned. "You two seemed mighty comfortable with Hikaru on top…"

Katie glared at Andrea. "You are so dirty."

"I know." She smirked. "How about beyond the act?"

Katie shrugged. "I occasionally see him touching the necklace with a smile on his face…"

Andrea grinned. "So you loved his present to you, and he loved your present to him? Gee, ginge, I'm beginning to think you two should just go out already…"

There was a knock on the kitchen door, and Kaoru poked his head around when he'd opened it. He smiled brightly. "Hi, Katie! Hi, Andrea!"

Katie smiled. "Hey, Kaoru. What brings you to the kitchen today?"

Kaoru glanced over at Andrea. "Actually, I wanted to speak to Andrea in private."

Katie smirked. "Well, well, well. Is there another romance blooming?"

Andrea rolled her eyes at Katie. "Shut up and go, jeez. You can set up the tables whilst we talk, Tinkerbell."

Katie smiled. "Alright…" She walked out of the room with the trays of food and drinks, and Kaoru shut the door behind her.

"Andrea, we need to talk."

Andrea rolled her eyes at him. "Jeez, you think I didn't realize that when you told Katie to leave and shut the door?"

Kaoru sighed. "Andrea, Hikaru wants to ask her out."

Andrea froze. "He does?"

"Yeah. He told me earlier on…"

She was deep in thought now, trying to decide how to go ahead with this.

Kaoru frowned. "Isn't this what you wanted? To get them together and be happy?"

Andrea sighed. "Yeah, I do, but…" She sighed. "Remember what we said had to happen before they started dating? They had to be intimate, they had to be cute, and they had to have a rough spot."

Kaoru sighed. "They've been through a rough spot already! At the end of the last semester, they had this little problem. You should've seen how hard Hikaru worked to make everything better between them again."

"Really?" Andrea's eyes widened. "Wow…" She bit her lip. "Kaoru, I don't know what to do…"

Kaoru sighed. "Neither do I…" He bit his lip. "Do you think Haruhi would know?"

"She wants the plan to go ahead anyway, Kaoru," Andrea sighed. "You know that."

Kaoru nodded. "I know, I know. I'm just… really conflicted…"

Andrea nodded. "When do you think she's going to tell them?"

Kaoru frowned. "Tell who?"

"The rest of the club."

Kaoru frowned before he realized what she meant. "She'll tell them when she's ready. Kyoya already knows."

"How do you know?"

"He knows all."

The pair laughed before they settled into a comfortable silence. They thought about what should happen for a couple of minutes before Andrea spoke up.

"I'm not going to do anything."

Kaoru's eyes snapped up at her. "What?"

"I'm not going to do anything else to interfere," Andrea explained. "You can do what you want, but I've done what I can. It seems as if all that's left to get them together is Hikaru actually asking her the big question."

Kaoru nodded. "Yeah, but… I don't want to lose him…" he muttered. "He's my only brother," he added quietly.

Andrea gave him a reassuring smile. "Well, I know whatever I say won't convince you, but you do what you think is best, Kaoru." She patted him on the arm before picking up some of the food and walking out of the room to help Katie finish off setting up for club.

Kaoru sighed as he leaned on the counter, thinking. What was he meant to do? Hikaru's happiness meant everything to him, but… losing him to Katie meant that he was losing his only brother. He was the only thing he had…

Katie re-entered the kitchen to find Kaoru leaning against a counter, deep in thought. "Hey, Kaoru."

Kaoru's eyes snapped up to meet Katie's. "Oh, hey, Katie."

Katie walked over to one of the cupboards and started pulling out the ingredients to make more tea. "What's up? You seem to be thinking a lot…"

Kaoru sighed. "Well…"

Hikaru took a deep breath as he sat alone at his and Kaoru's table, trying to think over what he would say. 'Hey, Katie. I've been thinking…' No… too lame… 'Katie, I want you to go out with me and be my girlfriend…' No, too forward… 'Hey, Katie…'

"Hikaru? Are you alright?"

Hikaru looked up and noticed Andrea was staring down at him. "Hmm? Oh, Andrea. Yeah, I'm fine…" He put his head in his hands as he sighed.

Andrea smirked. "So you're finally going to ask her?"

Hikaru looked up sharply. "What?"

She chuckled. "Kaoru told me, don't worry." She placed a plate of biscuits at the table. "You know, I think it's about time you asked her. I've only seen the way you two act around each other for a few months, and you two look like you're just about ready to suck each other's faces off." She grinned. "And I know that thought has crossed both your minds many times before."

Hikaru's face went bright red as he remembered the time he'd walked in on Katie. "Yeah, well… I'm going to ask her. I didn't need your opinion on it."

Andrea shrugged. "Oh well." She headed away to place more cupcakes on Hunny's table.

Hikaru frowned. "Hey, Andrea?"

She turned back to face him. "Yeah, Hikaru?"

"Have you seen Kaoru around anywhere? I have a feeling that the customers are going to arrive soon…"

"Last I saw he was in the kitchen," she explained. "Katie's probably in there too, so I think they're talking."

Hikaru nodded. "Alright." He got up. "I'll be back in a minute, Iridessa," he teased, referring to her cosplay outfit.

Andrea smirked. "Take as long as you want, Twin One," she bit back in a teasing tone.

Hikaru chuckled as he walked over to the kitchen. "Very funny, Iridessa. Very funny."

"What did you want to talk about, Kaoru?" Katie asked curiously.

Kaoru sighed. "Well, I have this friend," he started, "who has a brother that he holds very dear to him, and he's found out that his brother really likes this girl…"

Katie's eyebrows rose, and she suddenly became more interested. "Go on…"

"Yeah, so his brother is considering asking this girl out on a date, but he doesn't want his brother to ask because he's afraid that their relationship will change…"

Katie thought about it. "Has he ever considered that their relationship might work out for the better?"

Kaoru frowned. "How?"

"Well, his brother would have more to talk to him about, and their conversations would be more valuable because they don't always get to talk to each other. Not only that, but they would grow as people due to them being in relationships, and they'd be able to give each other advice based on experiences."

Kaoru smiled. "You're right, Katie! But… what if it doesn't get better? How does he know whether it will get better or not?" His face fell at the thought of everything becoming worse.

Katie thought about it. "Kaoru, have you ever heard of Schrödinger's cat?" she asked.

Kaoru frowned. "I've heard about it, but I don't remember it…" He thought about it. "Does it have something to do with a cat?"

Katie laughed. "Yeah, it does. A scientist called Schrödinger was trying to explain a theory, so he came up with an analogy. A cat, a flask of poison and a source of radioactivity are placed in a box. When a monitor detects radioactivity, it will shatter the flask and release the poison, causing the cat to die. Because of the nature of radioactive substances, no one will ever be certain when the flask will be destroyed, so we don't know whether the cat is alive or dead."

Kaoru frowned. "So…?"

"The cat is both alive and dead at the same time."

Kaoru huffed. "I don't get it! Science confuses me!"

Katie sighed. "Basically, what it's saying is you won't know the outcome until you actually act out."

Kaoru frowned as he attempted to comprehend. "So, he won't know whether it'll benefit him or harm him until it happens?"

Katie smiled. "Exactly."

"So the best thing to do is to let his brother go ahead with it?"

"I guess so."

Kaoru grinned. "Thanks, Katie!" He pulled her in for a tight hug.

Katie laughed. "It's okay, Kaoru, honestly."

He let her go before leaning in to kiss her softly on the cheek.

Katie blushed as he did so.

And that's when the door slammed open.

Hikaru walked over to the kitchen, feeling slightly nervous. He took a deep breath. I always feel like this when I'm around her… gosh, I must really be in love with her… He grinned at that thought.

As he neared the door, he heard the faint murmuring of Katie and Kaoru as they conversed. He could only hear faint traces of the conversation, but he had an idea about what they were discussing. Just as he opened the door, he spotted Kaoru pulling away from Katie as if he'd just hugged her.

He smiled.

And then he kissed her on the cheek.

Hikaru felt his heart literally break… just as it had with Haruhi... In his anger, he slammed the door open and stormed away, out of the Host Club room and as far away as he could get.

The slamming of the door caught Andrea's attention, and she looked up to see Hikaru storming away from the kitchen looking furious. Mere seconds later, Kaoru and Katie appeared at the kitchen door, their eyes wide.

"Hikaru! Wait!" Katie cried as she ran after him. Kaoru followed not long after.

Andrea stopped the younger twin as he reached the door. "What happened?"

Kaoru's eyes were wide. "Hikaru… he saw us…"

Andrea's grip tightened on his arm. "What did he see you doing?"

"I… I kissed Katie on the cheek…"

Andrea stared at him in shock. "YOU IDIOT! YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT!" She slapped him hard around the back of his head to avoid slapping him around the face.

Kaoru winced. "Ow…"

The rest of the club ran over to them.

"What's going on?" Tamaki asked, worried for the older twin.

Andrea and Kaoru shared a look before answering.

"One complicated as heck love story."

Hikaru continued to wipe tears from his face as he ran away from the Host Club room, not knowing exactly where he was going. He was surprised when he found himself on the school's roof a cool breeze blowing. He ripped off the headgear for the costume he was wearing and threw it down to the floor angrily, his body shaking and tears rolling down his cheeks freely. He walked over to the wall and leaned on it.

He allowed himself to relax, letting the wind flow into his face and calm him down, until Katie arrived.

"Hikaru!" she cried as she reached the roof. She became even more worried when he didn't turn to look at her. "Hikaru?"

"Go away," he mumbled just loud enough for her to hear.

"Hikaru, please…"

"Go away!" he yelled, turning to face her with tears running down his cheeks. "I hate you!"

Katie stepped back, slightly shocked by his outburst, before tears welled up in her eyes. "F-fine! If you feel that way, then I hate you too!"

Hikaru felt his heart break again, and it only fuelled his anger further. "Fine!" He turned away from her angrily. "Leave," his voice faltered. "I don't… I don't think I ever want to see you again."

Tears spilled down Katie's cheeks. "F-f-fine!" She turned away from him and ran straight back into the building, not caring who she ran into.

When Tamaki saw Katie running back down the corridors, crying her eyes out, his first instinct was to pull her into a tight hug and soothe her.

Which was exactly what he did.

Katie welcomed the hug and buried her face into his chest, shaking violently with tears. Tamaki rubbed his hand up and down her back and looked over to Andrea and Kaoru, both of whom had worried looks on their faces.

And only one thought ran through their minds.

What has Hikaru done now?

Ooooh, drama...

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