Chapter 13: Dealing with TOM

"Kaoru?" Haruhi heard gasping sounds before the phone clicked close on her. I don't know what just happened but it's something bad. "Hikaru!" she ran down the corridor and started banging on the doors. "Which room is he in?" she muttered under her breath. Although she was more familiar with the huge mansion having lived in it for a number of days, it was still a huge mansion none the less. "Come out. We have to go!" She knocked on the tenth identical door. Hikaru didn't appear. Feeling slightly annoyed, Haruhi gave up on trying to find him and stumbled .down the stairs to the ground floor. Kaoru's weird behaviour on the phone made her feel very anxious."Please," she gasped to the chauffeur. "Take me to the Fujioka residence."

"Yes sir."

She climbed in and fastened her seatbelt. The black limousine zoomed out the Hitachiin Mansion. Haruhi's heart thumped loudly. What could have happened to Kaoru?

Hikaru tried to calm down his furious heart. He was standing rigidly against the door of his bedroom, having used his body to slam it shut before. Stop it. You're doing it again. He clenched his fists hard and slumped down the side of the door. Why did I have to get angry? All he could hear was the sound of his own ragged breathing, the beating of his heart and the blood rushing to his head. I just have to find out what happened without losing my temper. Slowly, he inched his hand towards the doorknob. Sorry Haruhi…

BEEP

What was that noise? Hikaru's hand froze in mid air. The garage door.

"HEY," he burst out his room and ran down the corridor. He heard the shutters rolling closed and the screeching of tires. Haruhi was no where to be seen. "W-w-where did my brother go?" he demanded, pulling the butler towards him.

"S-sir," the man was startled. "He requested to go to the Fujioka residence."

Haruhi's house? Why? Hikaru pushed past the butler. He stormed down the corridors, pulling the curtains of the windows open as he went. Their sleek black limousine was disappearing down the streets. Hikaru waved impatiently at his other chauffer.

"Where do you want to go, young master?" the man asked nervously, standing beside the Hitachiins' other white limousine.

Hikaru glared at him. "You know where."

The black limousine screeched to a stop outside a set of apartment buildings. Haruhi rushed to her front door, only to find a notice stuck on it.

Dad,

In case you come back and I'm still not home, I've gone to the local library.

Haruhi

The library! Why would he go to the library? Haruhi inwardly praised Kaoru for writing the note. "Please can we go to the local library," she told the chauffeur.

"Certainly."

The limousine tore off down the streets. I better find Kaoru there in the library.

Kaoru made his way painfully down the corridor of bookshelves. "It must be here," he murmured. He twisted his head sideways to read the titles around him and cringed at them. "Oh man," he glanced around. No one was there. That was good.

He pulled out a particular book and started flipping through the pages. I'm only doing this to find out what's happening to me and how to deal with it. He told himself this over and over again as he flipped through the pictures. After finding out that there was blood on his trousers, he had realized he was experiencing Haruhi's periods. It would be hell embarrassing having to ask Haruhi what to do, so that's why I came to library to find out by reading these books. "The uh cycle…" his insides squirmed. The pain in his stomach urged him on to steel himself and read through the paragraphs. I want the pain to stop right? Then read the page!

"KAORU!"

The book flew away from his stumbling hands and landed face up two meters away from him. There at the end of the bookshelf was the silhouette of-
"Kaoru," Haruhi sighed. "What are you doing here? Are you alri-"

Kaoru lunged forward and managed to hide the book under his sprawled body. His heart beat fast and his face began to heat up. Why is Haruhi here? What if she sees what I'm reading?!

"Hi Haruhi," he said weakly. He attempted an I'm-okay-smile.

Haruhi frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" Kaoru laughed nervously. "I'm just er.." he pointed at himself. "lying on the ground reading books! It' really comfortable-"

"Why are you reading books at the local library?" Haruhi was puzzled. She turned her head to read the titles of books around her.

"Don't-" Kaoru leapt up from his position on the floor and pulled her face away by the tips of his fingers. Haruhi glanced quizzically at his left hand which was now resting on her cheek. "Don't be suspicious," he finished.

That was when Haruhi spotted the book lying on the floor, now no longer covered up by Kaoru's body. "EH??" She snatched it up before Kaoru had the time to react. "You're…reading this?" Her eyes were round and wide as coins. Kaoru wished the floor would swallow him up. He expected Haruhi to give him a disgusted kind of look but-

She sighed and the book fell from her hands. "Kaoru, it happened didn't it?" She asked softly and sympathetically. She touched his tightly clenched fists which were resting on his stomach region. "I'm so sorry, I didn't really realize it on the phone. But you're experiencing my period!"

"Yeah," Kaoru grimaced. "If you put it like that." He felt extremely awkward. "I didn't want to ask you…"he tried explaining. "So I came here…"

Haruhi started laughing. "You idiot," she picked up the fallen book and put it up on the shelf. "You don't have to feel embarrassed asking me! Better to ask me than read these books at the library to find out!"

He tried smiling along with her laughter but couldn't. "Well…ouch-" the pain struck again and he doubled over.

"Ah," Haruhi stopped laughing. "Come on, let's get back to my house. I know how to deal with this."

She put her arms around him and helped him to walk. They both limped out the library, talking softly to each other; one voice sounding slightly hysterical and the other sounding soothing and understanding.

"The blood leaked through my trousers and I had to change new ones."

"Yes."

"I got some painkillers…"

"Yes, that's what I usually do…the pain should stop in a while…"

"Argh…man it still hurts…"

"It'll be okay…"

A black taxi chugged lazily around the streets.

"Look mama, the black BMW," an enthusiastic boy pointed at it.

"Shh," the woman turned from her groceries and pushed the boy's arm away. "Don't point." She glanced nervously at the dark windows of the car.

"I want to drive one, one day-" the woman cut her son off and hurried them both up the flight of stairs to their apartment.

--

A black limousine arrived outside the same set of apartments a moment later.

"Why are we going to your house?" Kaoru grumbled.

"Because," Haruhi shut the door neatly and pulled at her friend's arms, "we need to get something for you."

"What if your Dad comes back?"

"Oh," Haruhi frowned while she ripped the notice away from the front door and took out the keys. "I'll just grab something and we'll go back to your house. It'll be easier to hide it up at your mansion."

"How will you explain it to your father when he gets back to find that his daughter is not here but at the Hitachiin mansion?" Kaoru snorted. "That will solve things really good." He stepped cautiously in the gloomy living room, behind Haruhi.

"Well it's better than him finding out that a Hitachiin is helping his daughter with her period," Haruhi retorted, flicking the lights on. "Or do you want me to leave you and let you deal with this yourself?"

"No!" Kaoru gasped.

"Yes I better stay with you," Haruhi agreed. "So we go to your house."

"Why don't we say "Haruhi has gone to visit her good friend Kaoru who is extremely sick."?" Kaoru suggested.

"That's an idea," Haruhi pushed a piece of paper and a pen at him. "Write the note. I'll go get the something and be back."

"Alright," Kaoru grinned. "Don't you think I'm good at forging your writing?"

"Mmm…" Haruhi disappeared into the bathrooms.

--

A white limousine parked out the same apartments another moment later. Hikaru stepped out; ready to rush up the stairs to Haruhi's home. His body stiffened before he took the next couple of steps. Out of the corner of his eye he spied the black taxi. The stranger stepped out.

"You," Hikaru gasped.

"Oh," Tom's face gave an element of surprise. "I didn't think I'd bump into you again."

"What are you doing here?" Hikaru yelled furiously. He took a step forward and raised his fists.

"I'm just-" his sentence was cut off as Hikaru punched him square in the face.

"HIKARU!" Haruhi and Kaoru rushed out the apartment, having heard the sound of his voice. Tom twitched feebly on the ground. They both looked shocked and pale.

"So this is Haruhi's home…" Tom managed to say.

"Hikaru," Haruhi stormed towards him. "What ARE you doing?" She raised her hand, but refrained from slapping him.

"H-Haruhi…" Hikaru was lost for words at her furious glare. He seemed to lose all energy. "I don't know what overcame me. Sorry." He said quietly. There was a terrible silence.

"Say sorry to him," Haruhi pointed at Tom.

"NO," Hikaru yelled. "That's one thing I'm not doing." He ran off into Haruhi's apartment.

"Hikaru!!" Kaoru ran after him.

Haruhi closed her eyes and sighed. "Sorry about this," she turned to Tom. "Look, would you please not come here again?"

"If you wish," Tom brushed the dirt off his trousers, gave a grim grin and climbed back into his black taxi. "But I just happened to pass by."

Haruhi returned slowly back to her apartment. Why does he have to lose his temper so easily? Hikaru…

She found the twins sitting silently on the sofa in her living room. She went straight to Hikaru. "Hikaru…" he wasn't looking at her. "Look at me," Haruhi demanded. So he looked at her. Haruhi said her words very carefully and emphasized each one. "I told him to go home and never come back."

Hikaru tried to smile but couldn't. "I'm sorry…"

"I'm sorry isn't enough!" Kaoru leapt off his seat and wagged his finger at his brother. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"I jumped to conclusions and thought you arranged to meet him at your house," Hikaru said in a low voice.

"Tom has nothing to do with me," Haruhi explained. "Tom was written on my calendar because it stands for Time Of the Month – my period."

"…" Hikaru went blue.

"Unfortunate coincidence," Haruhi laughed at the expression on Hikaru's face. "Then while Kaoru was on the phone, he started experiencing my period pains since he is in my body."

"HUH??" Hikaru toppled off the sofa.

Haruhi laughed. "So I rushed over to help Kaoru. Tom just happened to pass by."

"P-p-period?" Hikaru emerged. Both Kaoru and Haruhi looked at him in concern. Hikaru was dying of laughter. He pointed at his twin. "You…??"

"Shut up," Kaoru snapped. "Don't you know how much I've suffered?"

"BWahahaha…"

"Hikaru," Haruhi said sternly. "It isn't something to laugh about."

"S-s-sorry," Hikaru wiped tears of laughter away from his face. "But it's your turn to suffer now!" He turned at his brother, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Who said it was?" Kaoru snarled back.

Haruhi smiled faintly at the two brothers. Hikaru seemed back to normal. It had been a long while since she had seen the cheery trouble-making Hikaru and for that she was glad.

"Hey guys," she interrupted their bantering. "I'm going to get that something for Kaoru and then we'll go to our mansion okay?"

She made her way to the bathroom cupboards. Hikaru didn't like apologizing but he had apologized to her.

"Like I said," Kaoru folded his arms. "Sorry isn't enough."

"What?"

"PUNISHMENT!!" Kaoru cackled. "For your behavior towards Tom."

Hikaru frowned. "What?"

Haruhi emerged from the bathrooms with an apologetic expression. "Kaoru, it looks like we have none left."

"None what left?" Hikaru asked.

"Sanitary pads," Haruhi replied.

"BWAHAHAHA…" Hikaru pointed at his twin and started laughing hysterically.

"Punishment will be…" Kaoru raised his voice, "for you to go to the supermarket and buy some sanitary pads for your dear brother."

Hikaru stopped laughing abruptly and his face went red. "WHAT?? You want me to go to that section and buy those? "

"Yes," Kaoru smiled evilly.

"Haruhi," Hikaru's voice was panicking. "Why don't you go buy them?"

"Because," Haruhi tried not to laugh. "I have to stay and help Kaoru in case something else happens."

Hikaru was pushed out the door. Ten minutes later he came back with a plastic bag dangling from his fingers.

"How was it?" Kaoru grinned.

Hikaru didn't say a word. He pushed the bag towards his twin. Kaoru took the products out. His face went white. "You bought tampons for me…"

"Punishment for punishing your dear twin," Hikaru replied lazily.

A/N: I guess it is time for Kaoru to suffer…haha.

Thanks for everyone's support so far!

lu.e3