Oh, look at that. I'm back. What a sight to behold.

Thanks loads to lillyannp for her review and constant stream of support, lumenite88 for their feedback and continued support, and to Vocaloid4Eva for their follow! You guys keep this story alive during the dark days that are school. ;-;

I hope you enjoy!

Hmm... What should I do for my next trick? It needs to be big, and it needs to really screw him over. That one guy in particular, the only one worth any kind of effort around here. He and the Hitachiin brothers are the only ones who aren't complete idiots. Well, them and Haruhi. Those four are different.

Haruhi. She's sweet, she doesn't really deserve to be clumped in with these imbeciles. If I could only find out what's keeping her here, what Kyoya's "medicating circumstances" are. What are this poor peasant's chains, and what kind of key would I need to break them open?

Kyoya Ootori. Not to be underestimated. To put it simply, he's an unadulterated genius. If he so desired, he could have this whole school, hell, this whole country, in his hands by next Tuesday. Ever since I met him, I couldn't help but think highly of him. He has my respect, if my hatred for that... that... thing gleaming in his slate grey eyes. He's a genius, but it's a shame; such unbelievable talent wasted inn such an icy, inky heart.

Hikaru and Kaoru; criminal masterminds without a doubt. They're cunning, quick thinkers, with the brain of H. H. Holmes and a reputation that pretty much matches. Put together, they're incredible. Apart, they're extraordinary, each with the heart of a bunny, the bite of a lion, and the wit of a velociraptor. As such, in a few weeks of my recent rapid descent into reticent grief, they pry my story from me, and on one particularly cold night, I spill it all.

"Hey, Mizuki," Hikaru calls, pushing open my ajar bedroom door. I roll over stubbornly in my bed, my back facing the door. "Wanna come play a video game with me and Kaoru? We have three controllers."

"No," I mumble shortly, burying my head deeply into the pillow. "I just wanna sleep."

"Aw, come on," he groans. "You're no fun. It's only eight on a Saturday; who goes to sleep at eight?" I feel the bed sink under his weight as he kneels down, his hand nudging my shoulder insistently. "You gotta play with us. It's a brand new game we just got yesterday. Come on, Mizuki! It'll be fun!"

"Stop Hikaru," I groan, shying away from his hand and deeper into the comforter, only to be followed and practically pounced on by the redhead. I shove him off bodily and prop myself against the headboard, the blankets sliding down to my waist.

"Aw, come on!" He moans again, flopping down on the bed. "You've been so boring lately, like those other guys."

"Shut up."

"Fine, we'll play without you," he deadpans, pushing himself up and slinking dejectedly out the door, much like a cat, I notice idly. Sighing, I flip off my comforter and follow after him, stopping his bedroom door from closing at the very last second. I stalk angrily into the room, all too aware that I'm in thin flannel pants and a t-shirt with a too low neckline, walking into a bedroom of attractive, greedy twins, each in nothing but sweatpants.

"You could have put on shirts," I mention idly, shutting the door with my foot and throwing myself next to them on their bed, watching the television mounted to the wall opposite their bed out of the corner of my eye.

"Nah," Hikaru sighs. Kaoru casts me a look as if to say, 'Like what you see?' to which I roll my bicolored eyes. After a moment, the game boots up and Kaoru passes out controllers. I shake my head and say that I'm only planning on watching.

"What's up with you lately, Mizuki?" Kaoru asks idly, flipping through the starting options on the game.

"A lot's happened," I shrug.

"Like what?" They ask together. I bite my lip to keep from outwardly wincing. Before Oboro got sick, Kagami and I would talk in unison like that all the time, at family reunions mostly, and sometimes in clipped Latin. When asked what we were saying, we'd only smile, say that it was a death curse, and skip away happily as the victim either paled visibly or laughed nervously.

"Family issues," I say, clipped. "No big deal."

They pass me this identical look, this look of narrowed eyes and tight lips. I can read it on their faces, a condescending, 'Oh, really? No big deal? Then why so down, if it's no big deal?'. I think to myself for the first time how bad it would really be if I told them, just something to get this crushing weight off my chest, to get these pictures out of my head. Oboro's tiny, child sized coffin, and the empty seats at the funeral where his siblings should have been. Kagami, trapped in a death tube as the ground rockets towards the window, the smell of smoke and the screams of the other passengers, her body charred from fire and mangled from the crash. Takumi, sitting alone in his bedroom, his eyes red and puffy from crying and the pistol he kept in a locked drawer in his nightstand for emergencies turned over and over in his hand, before being raised to his mouth and the sound of the bullet leaving the chamber and the blood is everywhere and oh god the body is still there inside the house and no one has found him and the police are going crazy and maybe I'm going crazy and-

"It's bad," I whisper, my face tilting downward and my fingers twisting into the sheets. "My little brother, he died first, of lung cancer, back in Karuizawa. Kagami, she went next, down in a plane crash on her way to his funeral. Finally, Takumi, my older brother, he shot himself, and as far as I know, his body is still in my house. But I can't go back."

Silence.

"I'm alive. I'm the last one alive, out of all four of us.

"I guess my family is cursed or something. It's always one thing or another; cancer, accidents, twisted fate, suicide." I really want to say what else I was thinking over lately, this idea that maybe this is a sign for me, that I'm not meant to be alive. Out of all of us, why me? Why do I get life? Oboro, he was happy all the time, always made everyone else happy, while I just sulk. Kagami, she was nicer than me by a long shot. Takumi, he was a genius. I didn't even want to go to their funerals. I can't even walk into my own house because I'm so scared that maybe Takumi will be dead and I'll have to deal with that reality.

"Dammit!" I nearly screech, startling the twins next to me. Something hot leaks out of my single cinnamon eye, then from my mint one, and tears are rolling freely down my face in a matter of seconds. "I'm never going to see them again, any of them. Shouldn't I care?" I pause, rolling my tongue in between my teeth in frustration. "Hikaru, Kaoru, if the other one were to die, how would you feel?"

"I'd hate myself for being alive," Kaoru says quietly after a moment of silence. Hikaru nods in agreement.

"Well, imagine that pain, tripled, and then wrenched away like it never existed. It feels... hollow. But mostly, I'm terrified that I'm next." I meet each of their eyes in turn and almost laugh out loud. "Yeah, you must think I'm a murderer or insane or something now. Sorry for dumping this on you two, I'll just... go now." Without bothering to look at them again, I swing my feet over the edge of the bed and make to stand.

Two pairs of arms wrap around me, one from the left around my shoulders and the other from the right around my waist. No words wasted, I suddenly find myself pulled backwards and pinned, sandwiched, between Hikaru and Kaoru. I can feel the heat of Hikaru's chest through my thin cotton shirt, Kaoru's breath on my face, so close I can smell his shampoo.

"Hmm... okay," I murmur under my breath. One of them pulls the comforter up, and a lamp cord is pulled, plunging us into darkness. I can still feel Kaoru's light breathing on my forehead, feel the rise and fall of Hikaru's chest, and almost unconsciously press closer, succumbing to the temporary relief.

I feel a pair of lips -Kaoru's- brush my forehead in an almost protective manner. I almost, almost, ask him why he'd do such a thing, but I already know his answer.

"Isn't it obvious?" He'd say with mirth gleaming in his hazel eyes, a sweet smirk on his surprisingly warm lips. "It's because I like you."

X-***-X

Oh...

...I'm going insane... That must be why I'm up here on the roof of Ouran high school, clutching the guard rail behind me with only one hand. The toes of my shiny shoes hang over the edge, my heels dangerously close to tipping off. My silver bangs whip around my head, and my fingers are trembling. Leiko Rin is standing silently behind me. I can see her from the corner of my eye, her lips set in a grim line, her piercing blue eyes blank and uncaring.

I can't even remember what could have possessed me to do something like this, but nevertheless, I almost let go. The empty seats at Oboro's funeral, the sour smelling smoke and the huge flames licking the shell of the airplane, a splatter of blood on the wall and Takumi's body, still there, even after two weeks. So I almost let go, almost end the Aihana family right here, but I don't.

I can feel the heat of Hikaru's chest through the back of my shirt, Kaoru's lips brushing my forehead. I can see the sunlight cutting through the icy winter air and reflecting off the thin carpet of snow that fell last night, and it reminds me of that blasted club. From here, I can see the fountain, which had been turned off for the winter, the snow brushed off for fear of weathering the fancy stone, and I can swear I see a tinge of red and catch a faint metallic smell lingering in the air.

I clutch the rail with my other hand, pulling myself backwards and stepping back over on to the ground.

"You're a hypocrite," Leiko says blandly when I'm steadily back on my feet. "You should stop calling everyone else idiots."

"I know," I pant, the cold air stinging my lungs.

"Why didn't you jump?" She asks as if she wishes I had. I almost ask her if she does wish I had jumped, but decide I don't want to hear the answer any more than I want to have an intimate meeting with the sidewalk three stories below.

"I have a score to settle," I say crossly, taking the amber stone out of my pocket where it's been since she gave it to me and waving it in her cocky face.

"Wonderful," Leiko says, almost sarcastically. I scoff at her, but she ignores me. "Because I have an idea I think you'll like, Illusionist."

"Idea?" I mimic, dropping ths stone away. "What kind of idea?"

Mmmmm. Leiko Rin gets an idea. Bad things are coming!

Okay- I know I addressed this in a previous chapter, but Mizuki is not a Mary Sue. A Mary Sue is defined as being (depending on the type of Sue) the perfect girl who upstages all the characters. First of all, Mizuki falls into no category completely. True, she's beautiful and incredibly smart, but if you take a look, she's also selfish, idealistic, close-minded, and complacent, all fatal flaws that a Mary Sue would not have. I've taken extensive care into making sure my characters are rounded and deep.

If you were talking about Leiko Rin being a Mary Sue, you're right. Leiko Rin is actually written to be a Sue. She pretty much outdoes everyone, has a tragic backstory that will be revealed only upon request, and is in all ways the perfect girl. I was wondering if anyone would catch it. If you did, you get my respect!

Thank you for your feedback, it was much appreciated.

Stay tuned, friends!