Chapter 11: The Date

Ren sat staring out the window in a daze unaware of the attempts the twins were making to hold a conversation with her. Eventually the twins had given up mostly because Hikaru had become frustrated. Ren continued to stare out the window, she had yet to change out of the witch costume but at the moment she didn't care. She was brooding over what Hayate had told her before she left.

"You know how guitar strings are made up of more then one string?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay, well I was playing the guitar and before I knew it my fingers started to bleed." Hayate raised his hand to Ren, bandages were wrapped around it. "So I examined the guitar some more and sure enough the string was slightly torn."

"That doesn't make sense, if the string was damaged wouldn't it have snapped while I was playing?"

"Not if someone had them specially made."

"….." Ren stared confused.

Sighing Hayate elaborated, "Whoever gave you this guitar WANTED to hurt you. They had someone purposely mess with the strings so little bits of it would stick out to scratch you every time you strummed."

"Eh!? But I haven't made anyone mad…..er…not that I know of." Ren looked up slowly losing herself in her thoughts, thinking of possible suspects but coming up with none.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes….at least I think so.." Ren stared at Hayate blankly.

A honk from outside caught Ren's attention, "OH! I have to go, bye Hayate see you tomorrow." Ren began to run down the hallway towards the exit as she waved bye.

"Hey Ren!" Hayate called out.

Standing in the doorway of the entrance Ren turned around, "What!?"

"You look cute in that costume!"

Embarrassment caused her to stammer, "T-t-t-thanks bye." Ren dashed out the door.

The car pulled up to Rens apartment still in a slight daze she stepped out of the car. Hikaru was about to close the door before Kaoru pushed him out of the car, mouthing the words 'Walk her'. Giving a frustrated sigh he caught up to Ren. She didn't seem to have noticed him, taking advantage of the situation Hikaru poked her on her sides shouting.

"HEY REN!"

Ren jumped startled, letting out a yelp. Hikaru began to laugh, Ren simply stared, startled. Doing the only thing she could think of she stuck her tongue out at him, frowning. Hikaru continued to laugh. Smiling Ren gave him a quick hug and rushed into her apartment giving a quick bye. Staring slightly agape, giving a small smile he whispered as he walked back to the car, "Goodnight."

"Hey Ren! Wake up!"

"Eh….?" Ren replied groggily.

"Come on wake up your going to be late for your date with Hikaru."

She had managed to sleep, the nightmares subsiding if only for a little to give her a chance to get a goodnights sleep. Shifting to her side she looked at the time through half lidded eyes, "Its barely 8 in the morning." she half whined, half yawned.

"Just means we have about 12 hours to get you ready."

Sudden realization donned on her 'WHO THE HELL IS IN MY APARTMENT!' Shooting up from the bed Ren stared agape at none other then Kaoru himself.

"HOW'D YOU GET IN MY HOUSE!?"

"I just asked the landlord for the key…she was very nice." Kaoru grinned widely, mostly to himself.

"Why do I have to get up now? I don't have to meet up with Hikaru for another 8 hours." Ren whined as she laid back down, pulling the covers over herself.

"No, I am not about to let you go out on a date with my brother dressed as some emo kid." Kaoru said rather plainly as he pulled the covers off of Ren.

Ren sat up giving a sigh of defeat as she shot back, "I do not look like an emo kid."

"Oh really?" Kaoru replied sarcastically as he opened her closet to reveal clothing in all shades of black and grey.

"That doesn't prove anything!" Ren made her way to the closet, closing the doors and pushing Kaoru away from the closet.

"Okay what about the hair in your face?"

Pushing said hair behind her ear she stated in defeat, "I just woke up."

Laughing Kaoru headed for the front door. Howl was wagging his tail trailing after Kaoru as he opened the door and allowed two identical maids into the house. "Alright we have a lot to do and we only have 8 hours to complete this mission."

"What do you wish master?" the maids said in unison.

"One of you find something nice and befitting for this girl to wear to a haunted corn maze and a date with my brother and the other fix her hair so it doesn't look so shaggy."

"Right away master!"

The maids had run in two different directions. One ran back outside and returned within seconds, to Rens surprise, with a whole rack of clothing. The other had run into Rens bathroom and had transformed it into a salon.

"Alright now its time for them to transform you too." Kaoru stated with an evil grin as he pushed Ren into the captivity of the two maids.

The next 8 hours consisted of shouts of pain, whining, complaining, and the occasional threat as the maids, tugged, brushed, tied, dressed and redressed Ren. Ren had lost count of how many outfit's the maids had her try on, she assumed it was somewhere in the 40's by now. Once the maids had an outfit picked out along with the perfect hairstyle suiting the outfit they would allow Kaoru to see, awaiting his approval, each time came with the same disapproving glance. By now Rens head was pounding with a major headache due to all the tugging of her hair, it was around 7 now and Ren had yet to eat anything which frustrated her more then she already was.

"There the master should be pleased with this."

"Yes it suits you well, it makes you look very cute."

"Thanks." Ren gave an embarrassed smile.

"Master Kaoru is this okay?" the maids asked in unison.

Kaoru had entered the room, he had left to give Ren privacy. His eyes widened, mouth slightly dropping, "That's perfect…..come on hurry up all we have to do now is get your shoes and the perfect sweater."

Smiling widely Ren nodded 'Its finally over, I get to make myself a sandwich!' Ren cheered in her head the thought of food making her stomach growl rather loudly, she didn't care if the others heard at the moment. What Ren wasn't counting on was the fact that finding matching shoes for the outfit and a sweater would take another 30 minutes, meaning there was no time left for her to eat. Ren reached for the refrigerator door as the maids dragged her out of the apartment.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"GET AWAY!"

Screams came from the corn maze located right behind Hikaru as he waited sitting on a bench. He had on a light grey and red stripped sweater followed by blue jeans and a pair of grey converse. It was simple and not overdone. The sun had already begun to set making the maze seem more frightening then what it was in daylight, the lantern poles were being lit to illuminate the carnival and to give the carnival a more pleasant and dream like atmosphere . The school was holding a Halloween festival, its main attraction was the corn maze, but around the field there were concession stands and other smaller attractions such as bumper cars, spinning teacups, swing rides, a carousel, and a few more. Located around those attractions were smaller booth games such as ring toss, water gun games, darts, fishbowl games, fishing, horse races, and bucket toss games. Most of the booth games Hikaru assumed were rigged but he began to doubt that thought as he saw many couples walking away with a plush they had won, each ranging in size. Staring at a guy playing at a booth he watched as he managed to pop a balloon with a dart which in turn won him a small pink teddy bear. The guy walked away from the booth giving a small friendly wave of farewell. He approached a girl who was smiling rather shyly, blushing slightly the guy handed over the small teddy bear to the girl who smiled and hugged him as she took the teddy bear. Hikaru gave a weak smile as he turned from the scene.

"What were you staring at?" Ren asked in curiosity.

Hikaru jumped from his spot on the bench startled by Rens sudden appearance. Turning to scold her, he lost his ability to speak as he took in the sight before him. Ren sat there slightly giggling from scaring Hikaru, she had on a white and grey striped v-neck shirt, over it she had on a light grey cardigan. Following that she had on dark blue jeans that clung loosely to her legs with navy blue Toms. Lastly she had on the black bunny eared beanie she got during the show. The maids had straightened her hair which made it look longer then it usually was.

"Hikaru? ….are…are you okay?" Ren waved her hand in front of his face to get his attention.

Snapping back to reality he replied with a slight flush, "Yeah I'm fine. Which ride do you want to go on first?"

'Just be yourself' Hayates voice echoed in her head. "Um…..uh….that one…if its okay with you."

Looking in the direction she was pointing, she was pointing at the spinning teacups. Instead of teacups they were jack-o-lanterns to fit the Halloween theme, the line was rather short which pleased Hikaru. Approaching the ride Hikaru grabbed Ren by the hand and led her to it. Pink dusted Rens cheeks as Hikaru led her to the ride hand in hand. As they got closer people began to whisper, mostly girls who went to the host club.

"Hikaru has a girlfriend?"

"Man I wanted to be with him."

"I'm so jealous."

"Hey Hikaru!" a girl called out.

Turning around he spotted Ayaka walking towards them next to her was her friend. She seemed familiar but he couldn't remember her name.

"Hey Hikaru how've you been?" Ayaka managed to squeeze between Ren and Hikaru forcing him to let go of Rens hand, her back was to Ren.

"Good." Hikaru tried getting past Ayaka to get to Ren but was blocked again by said girl.

"You remember my friend Haruno right?" She gestured to the girl next to her.

"No." Hikaru stated plainly.

Ren backed away from the three watching as Ayaka asked questions and Hikaru answered in short curt replies. 'It was like this at the amusement park….?' she watched as Ayaka said something that made Hikaru slightly laugh, this had made her chest tighten a bit. Looking down Ren did her best to calm down. 'Another…panic attack…?' Hikaru hadn't really been paying attention to what Ayaka and Haruno had been talking about, but when they began to laugh he would let out a light chuckle, waiting for the two girls to go away. Looking back up Ren noticed that the two girls were leaving Hikaru waved goodbye and turned his attention back to Ren. Taking her hand into his they got onto the ride. They had gone on most of the rides with the exception of the Ferris Wheel due to Rens fear of heights. All that was left for them to go in was the corn maze.

"You ready?"

"Y-y-y-y-yeah…" Ren stammered out. It wasn't the corn maze she was scared of, it was the screams heard coming from the people already inside the maze.

Pulling Ren into a warm embrace he nuzzled his face into her hair as he whispered, "Don't worry I'll be with you the whole time."

"Pinky promise?" Ren held up her pinky.

Chuckling Hikaru released Ren from the embrace and wrapped his pinky around hers, "I pinky promise."

Taking her hand in his they entered the corn maze. Compared to the rest of the carnival the corn maze was rather dark, there were lanterns hanging from poles but were greatly separated from each other leaving large gaps of darkness between them. The two continued in the maze hand in hand, screams made Ren slightly jump in fear each time they were heard which made Hikaru chuckle and smile whenever he took a quick glance at Ren.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Rushed footsteps came from behind Hikaru and Ren. The two spun around as none other then Ayaka and Haruno barreled towards them. Right behind them was a man with a mask, in his hands was a chainsaw. Eyes widening Hikaru and Ren began to run as well. In the rush Ren hadn't realized that she had lost Hikaru and the other two, leaving her all alone in the dark. Hikaru, Ayaka, and Haruno had made it to a dead end but managed to lose the guy with the chainsaw. Ayaka and Haruno were sitting trying to catch their breath, along with Hikaru who was still standing staring at the only exit. 'She'll catch up soon…'

'Man…..I'm alone….again….' Ren tried her best to stay calm but her fear was getting the best of her. 'If anything happens will anyone notice? …I don't want to be alone….' Rens legs had begun to ache due to the running she did earlier, turning one more corner she allowed herself to drop to the floor. 'Another dead end…' sitting she sat staring at the dead end as if at any moment it would open up.

"Yeah we made it to the end!" Ayaka and Haruno were hugging each other laughing in glee.

Hikaru on the other hand was scanning the crowd for Ren 'She's not here…' Turning to the exit he saw a figure drawing near, getting closer to the exit he waited expectantly. It wasn't the girl he was looking for, but this girl was crying tears streaming down her cheeks. One of the girls friends walked over to her and tried her best to calm her friend down. 'Where are you?'

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" a familiar voice echoed throughout the maze.

"REN!" Hikaru dashed into the maze.

"Hikaru where are you going?!" Ayaka yelled after him. 'Why her!?'

Sprawled on the ground Ren slowly got to her knees. Dusting away the dirt that ended up on her shirt and cardigan. 'IT WAS HUGE! WHO PUTS HUMONGOUSE SPIDERS IN A CORN MAZE!?' Ren sat unmoving 'Its scary…and I'm alone…..again..'

"I don't want to be alone.." Ren whispered, tears began to cloud her vision.

The sound of crows cawing startled her causing her jump. The maze was dark….lonely…everything she feared.

"Mom…dad….please…I'm scared…I'm scared…." ,Ren hugged her knees, she wouldn't allow herself to cry.

Resting her head on her knees she closed her eyes. Arms slowly wrapped around Ren, looking up she saw the familiar orange but instead of happiness, worry was evident in his features Hikaru pulled Ren closer almost as if her were protecting an infant from danger. Nuzzling his nose in the crook of her neck he whispered, with a smile.

"How did you end up getting lost?"

Ren held on tighter nuzzling herself into his chest, laughing slightly she replied, "I turned left, then right, right again…"

Hikaru laughed, "Come on lets go already."

Helping Ren up they made their way out of the corn maze. They had run into a few more people who were dressed up as monsters and such but this time it was more fun then it was before. At one point they had bumped into the man with the chainsaw again only this time while running away from a different person who was chasing them, Hikaru had barreled into the man causing him to fall over along with Hikaru. Ren had burst out laughing.

"It wasn't that funny!"

"Yes it was." Ren continued to laugh, "The face you made."

Pouting Hikaru did his best not to smile as Ren continued to giggle. Whispering under his breath he let a slight smile.

"Glad you had fun."

"Eh? Did you say something?" Ren looked up at Hikaru.

"Nope I didn't." Hikaru was grinning now.

"You did….what was it…what did you say?"

"I'm not telling." Hikaru laughed out, once Rens apartment was in view he made a run for it.

"Hey…w-w-w-what did you say?" Ren began to run after him.

Hikaru had made it to the front door, catching his breath. He watched as Ren came dashing up the steps.

"Tell me what you said…..please? …..ah!" Ren had tripped on the last step and crashed into Hikaru, causing him to fall. His back was pressed against the door, Ren had fallen onto Hikarus lap. 'I remember why I don't like to run' Getting up Ren rubbed the back of her head, looking up she noticed Hikaru staring at her.

"S-s-sorry I didn't mean to hurt you."

Hikaru chuckled, "Its fine."

Ren smiled 'That's good…I wont get punished later..' Hikaru watched Ren unknowingly he was inching his way closer to her. Looking back at Hikaru she noticed him getting closer, but instead of pulling away she also inched closer. As they drew nearer Ren had closed her eyes. Their noses practically touched and for a moment time seemed to have stopped as Rens mind began to race, pink dusted her cheeks.

"Am I interrupting something?" Kaoru questioned in a rather mischievous tone.

The two jumped startled, the moment had been ruined. Ren immediately got to her feet stammering out, "S-s-s-sorry I-I didn't mean to…um..uh…yeah."

Kaoru simply laughed at her embarrassment, "Its fine, I'll be at the car."

Kaoru walked back down the stairs as soon as he was gone Hikaru got up and dusted himself off. Ren opened the door to her apartment as she was about to walk in Hikaru called.

"Hey Ren?"

"Eh?"

As she turned around, lips came in contact with her cheek. Immediately a blush spread across her face. Hikaru gave a small smile of triumph, a blush slightly dusted his features.

"Goodnight Ren, and before, I said glad you had fun." with that Hikaru turned around and left not saying another word.

Ren watched staring, stunned and agape. Unknowingly her hand was on her cheek. Her mind registering everything that had happened had finally reached a conclusion 'BOY COOTIES!' Ren smiled and walked into her apartment, closing the door she slid to the ground, back pressed against the door. 'Goodnight Hikaru…a-a-and sweet dreams'

"So you two were going to, ahem.." Kaoru continued to laugh at Hikarus embarrassment.

"Shut up." Hikaru replied rather meekly.

"I take it you guys had a good time then?"

"Yeah it was….fun, but why'd you have to ruin the moment?"

"No reason." Kaoru gave an evil grin. 'I just don't want you messing up.'

"Hey we should get my lord to plan another trip!" Kaoru changed subjects, knowing Hikaru would continue to pester him.

"Where to?"

"I don't know but it would be fun. We'll bother him tomorrow about it." Kaoru watched as Hikaru nodded in reply, he had turned his attention outside the window. 'It would also give me a chance to set the plan in motion' Kaoru smiled at his brother.

"Somewhere you and Ren can be alone?"

Hikarus face immediately changed to a dark shade of red, but the smile that spread across his lips let Kaoru know he was pleased with the idea. 'One day…you'll be very happy.' Kaoru smiled at his brother as the car continued to the mansion.

Authors note: Tadah! I'm not very pleased with this chapter -_- but I hope you enjoyed it. Please read and review. :3 I may retype this chapter in the future….most likely once I'm done with it. Sorry it took long and sorry if you think its not that good, like I said I'm not very pleased with it either. -