The club had been bustling as usual as everyone tried to make up for Tamaki's absence, but Kyoya had been right in his predictions; all of the girls who were in Tamaki's classes and noticed his absence hadn't even bothered to come to the club. Huni had been restricted to one slice of cake for the duration of the club due to expenses, but it hardly mattered anyhow. No one was happy enough to behave properly. The only reason so many girls had come was to watch the strange, twisted drama that had began to take place in the host club, something that no one could hide at all.

The twins fighting for real.

It wasn't even all-out war like the previous fake argument had been. Instead it was more of a sick torturous show at Hikaru's expense. Kaoru entertained girls coldly while they stared at him questioningly and a little pleadingly (for the sake of his brother). Hikaru was being overly nice, every word delivered with a sincere but melancholy smile, every action showing the pain he felt being across the room from his brother. Every so often one of the girls would give the perfect opening for a typical scene, knowing exactly how to start them off, but nothing came of it. All it brought was a pained look from Hikaru and a cold, fake look of confusion from Kaoru. The angst of it all was enough to make every single one of them screech and cry with the drama of it. Haruhi had hit the nail on the head; it was exactly like a bad soap opera.

She sighed heavily as she continued to collect the dishes and such from the tables. Huni was savoring his very last crumb of cake, his mouth seemingly permanently set in a pout. It had sent every single girl screaming to get him to smile; a contest of sorts. Only one girl had succeeded; she'd brought cake. Mori was looking at him a little worriedly, but there was no communication between the brunette and the tall senior as there usually was. It was too depressing for that… too quiet. As the last girl trailed out the door Kaoru got up and collected his few possessions.

"Tono's waiting," he said by way of poor explanation, and was gone in an instant. As soon as he left, Hikaru crumpled like a flower without the sun. It had become a familiar sight, as was Huni bouncing over (somehow still seeming sad as he did it) and talking to him softly, Mori hovering in the background like a shadow. Haruhi sighed and put the last dishes in their places, turning around and surveying the damaged little group of people, wishing with all her heart that everything was back to the way it used to be.

Or perhaps not, she thought pensively. If everything was back to the way it was… nothing would have changed at all. Senpai and I wouldn't have…

Haruhi blinked in shock. Ah, Kaoru was right. How selfish of me. She bit her lip, closing the cupboard and locking up the plates now that the club was over. It was then that she noticed at Kyoya was looking at her meaningfully. She raised an eyebrow in response, and he looked at her with an expression that was obviously implying disdain. She obviously knew she wanted her to go over there.

She sighed and walked over with a fair amount of trepidation. "Hai?"

Kyoya's glasses glinted brightly, his face tilted up to her. Somehow, however, she still felt small in his presence. He didn't say anything for a few moments, but his head tilted ever so slightly, his eyes bared for a few precious seconds. There was pain there… anger, and accusation. Then, with a very deliberate movement, he turned his head back to the computer.

"I think it might be prudent for you to go see Tamaki," was all he said. The implications of that statement were endless, but Haruhi let it go. She had the feeling she knew what he really wanted; her to talk to Kaoru again. There was no way that he was well enough to be awake and see her at this point. She knew that. He didn't really expect her to see the baka at all.

"I understand. I'll stop by on my way home," she replied, turning to leave. She hadn't even taken a step, however, when Kyoya spoke again.

"No need to bother with the bus or walking. I'll drop you off. I have a message for Tamaki in any case."

Haruhi paused, put didn't turn around. She wanted so badly to ask if it would cost her anything, but she knew it just wasn't the time. "Ah… hai." Footsteps were heard behind her.

"I'm leaving now. Don't forget your belongings," was all he said as he passed her and headed for the door. Haruhi looked after him for a few seconds, then let out a mushroom sigh and grabbed her bag, the sound of indiscernible whispers from the other side of the room echoing loudly in her ears.

And so it was that Haruhi ended up in what seemed to her to be a block-long limo with the Shadow-Lord.


This is for more troublesome than I previously predicted, Kyoya grumbled to himself. Haruhi sat across from him, her chin in her hand as she stared out the window. What should I say?

Haruhi turned and looked at him questioningly. "Nani?" she asked, tilting her head to the side with her inquiry. Kyoya blinked at her, his face impassive.

"I'd like to talk to Tamaki privately for a few moments once we get there, if that's alright with you," was his only response. Haruhi blinked, then smiled and nodded.

"Of course," she said, the genuine sincerity and reassuring kindness in her voice making him flinch inwardly. How was it that she always saw right through him?

"It will only take a moment," he added, not adding the reason he would only take a moment. They both knew Tamaki probably wouldn't even be well enough to speak with him. Inwardly, he became confused. Why had he said that? It was so redundant and unnecessary. Was he really so desperate to keep her talking?

"Tamaki-Senpai will be fine. I'm sure he'll be awake and able to speak with you for longer soon," Haruhi said encouragingly. Kyoya blinked again, but returned to typing away at his computer without a response.

Damn girl…


Kaoru yawned loudly and went back to writing. Part of him loved his newfound arrangements. There were so many less distractions, so much less drama… Of course he'd always gotten along better with Kyoya than Tono. Hikaru was the one who liked Tamaki more. But being sick, Tamaki was a lot less noisy. At first he'd started crying with gratitude when he found out his sons had come to take care of him. When he'd heard it was just Kaoru though… well, he'd become rather somber. He kept trying to talk to him about it, but Kaoru always got out of it by telling him to rest. This most recent conversation had left both of them exhausted, but for Kaoru it was just emotionally. He was trying to concentrate on English homework now… just keep his mind on homework…

It's so quiet and peaceful. No Hikaru to attempt to seduce me while I study, no Hikaru to tease me for writing poetry, no Hikaru to… to…

Kaoru sighed and put down his English book. Damnit.

He took a deep breath and placed his head in his hands, willing the tears to disappear with all his heart. He was so tired of hurting. He thought that spending time away from Hikaru would help him to accept his defeat, but it just made him miss him more. Before, he'd been able to go home and speak to him, have the feeling of Hikaru's head in his lap while he read. Before he could pretend that Hikaru still loved him. Even now, he still liked to lie in bed and think of how crumpled Hikaru was when he left. It gave him a strange sense of sadistic joy. It helped him to pretend.

Not that I should be pretending, grumbled Kaoru to himself, somewhat angrily. It wasn't so much at Hikaru either, more at himself. How could you love someone so much after being rejected by them? It just wasn't… wasn't…

"Ahem...?" Kaoru turned around quickly to see a maid hovering timidly in the corner, looking him with quite a bit of consternation. He suppressed a sigh and gave her his best host club smile.

"Hai?" he replied. Upon seeing he was alright, the maid brightened.

"Ah, there are two young men waiting at the door," she said. Kaoru's heart jumped up into his throat, imagining Hikaru and Haruhi…

"Oh, is it my brother?" he asked, feigning nonchalance. The maid shook her head.

"No, one is tall with dark hair, and the other is short and thin…" the maid trailed off as Kaoru stood. She was obviously new here; all the staff knew the names of Tamaki's friends by heart. But it didn't matter; it was obviously Huni and Mori.

"Hai, show me where they are."

The maid led him through the halls towards Tamaki's room, then left him in front of the doors. "The tall one is inside. He wanted to talk privately. The other one is inside that room." She motioned to the door a little ways away from

Talk privately? wondered Kaoru. Mori didn't talk, let alone talk privately. Nor did he go anywhere without Huni. Confused, he walked into the other room. Maybe Huni would have an explanation for it. However, upon seeing that the head of hair above the back of the chair when he opened the door was mahogany-colored, he froze. Haruhi stood and turned around.

"Kaoru!" He blinked in response. "Ah… how are you? How's Senpai?"

He smiled at the last, glad of a topic to latch on to. He didn't plan to let go of it anytime soon either. "He's doing great! Tono was even able to talk to me for a few hours yesterday!" He paused, making a face. "It was rather annoying, actually…"

"That's good," Haruhi said in her typical kind yet monotone voice, but her face had lit up. The change was highly evident, and he wished Hikaru would see the difference. He wished… well, never mind that. "Ah… have you…I was thinking…. Well, I was wonder-"

"You sound like Tono," deadpanned Kaoru. It wasn't like her to act like this, wasn't like her to not have the words. She always knew exactly what to say. So what was it about now that was stopping her?

"Ah…" Haruhi sighed. "Have you spoken to Hikaru?"

So that's what this is about… he thought dryly. It wasn't as if he hadn't expected a visit soon anyhow. Huni and Mori had been over countless time to try and get him to open up. He did, he supposed, to them. Just not to the person they wanted him to. He shrugged emotionlessly in response.

"You should. He was crying again today…" Haruhi said, her eyes pleading even as her voice was the same as it always was. Kind and monotone, it was a voice that echoed in his head constantly at night. Those words of hers screamed inside his head, bouncing off the walls of his mind and echoing again and again, until he felt black and blue inside. Every night was a fitful nightmare of tossing and turning, that one seven-letter word branded across his consciousness. He could tell even now she was trying very hard not to call him selfish again, trying so hard to talk some sense into him. Couldn't she see he wasn't the one who needed to be talked to? Couldn't she tell he was the only one who was still thinking the way he had always thought? She always used to be able to… but perhaps Tono's condition had screwed with her logic. Screwed with all of them.

It wasn't just Haruhi; it was everyone. Their acting was flawless, make no mistake, but there were the little things only the other members could notice. Kyoya kept forgetting to fix his glasses, his eyes glinting with consternation in the darkness. Mori didn't even respond with an "ah" or "hm" anymore, his stoic face closer to stone that it had ever been seen to be before. Huni was consuming half as much cake as usual, and it obviously had nothing at all to do with the fact that they were losing customers with Tamaki gone and the saved money was helpful. Haruhi had dropped a platter that week, which was very unlike her considering how careful she was with everything breakable due to the way she met the host club. Kyoya hadn't even batted en eyelash, nor had he even hinted or joked that she might be charged for it. No one had said anything at all… and it was frightening. To Kaoru at least, anyway.

"Someone was crying?" he asked, feigning ignorance. Hikaru wasn't crying. And if he was it was over Haruhi, not him. He wanted so much to reach over and strangle her… just wrap his long-fingered hands around that pretty little neck of hers and-

God, what's wrong with me? he gasped inwardly. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for whatever she would say next. He would get through this. He could live without-

Shit!

Well, he could live.

"Kaoru, please. He's trying so hard. He's so much nicer now, and he misses you. Whatever's going on between you, whatever you argued about, is it worth it? Is it worth ruining your relationship? Is it worth ruining our relationship? With the club, with your friends, with your family? Doesn't he mean anything to you at all?" she was getting angry again, her voice becoming more earnest as she continued to speak, continued to watch his face. She only got angrier as it didn't change, the expression still "innocently confused".

"What do you know?" he asked, mocking her monotone voice. "You don't know anything about us-… um, me. How can you tell me what to do and what it should mean to me?"

Haruhi stared at him in shock for a few moments, her whole body trembling. "I was under the impression I knew enough about you to be your friend. Apparently I was wrong, though, because even a child knows that how you're treating your so-called friends isn't how one should treat a friend at all! Now, if you'll excuse me!" Her voice rose in tone as she spoke, until she was shouting. She stood abruptly and slammed the door behind her, walking right past a startled Kyoya who had obviously been listening at the door.

"Good afternoon, Kyoya-Senpai," she said curtly, and continued on her path. He blinked at her.

"Ah… do you want a dri-"

"It's alright. I think I'd like to walk." And she was gone.

A/N: Ah, Kaoru, stop being a jerk… It's not your fault though… :( We love you! And Hikaru does too!

I don't think he can hear me…XD Anyways, this is getting really angsty and annoyingly depressing to write. I'm kinda in the right mood right now cause I'm superbly tired, but not the point. But don't worry, we'll pass the angst soon enough and get to the cutsy reunion! Yay! Anyways, comments or whatever are all appreciated! And thanks for the enthusiasm at me continuing Graduation despite my disliking for the story. Um, review please… and suggestions are really quite welcome. I definitely need some. :-D