A/N: Thank you for awesome reviews. I really felt like someone needed to tell Tamaki something and only Kyoya could really do it. LOL. He is a mind reader after all. HAHA. This chapter will focus on the twins and their reaction to everything that is going on. Kaoru seemed to be a little more freaked out than Hikaru, but is that really the case? We will see. Happy reading and please review if you can.
Also, after much anticipation (ok a little for some of my readers, LOL), the first chapter for the Never Assume sequel is up. The story is called Still Assuming. Although it is not necessary to read Never Assume, I do recommend reading it before Still Assuming. Periodically you will see Never Assume from Chika's point of view. The couple not only has to worry about the hosts, but now the whole school. Enjoy it! Also, please vote for this story for Best of Ouran 2012 if you can. Thank you!
Chapter 35 – Double Trouble?
"Hikaru, we need to talk," Kaoru said quietly looking at the blank page in front of him. They were supposed to be working on some new designs, but Kaoru couldn't concentrate and if he knew his twin (and he did), neither could Hikaru.
They had been thrown for a loop and given a lot of information this afternoon. Hikaru had said that they didn't need the security, but Kaoru had wondered about that. Originally intending to talk in the car, the younger twin had stayed eerily quiet on the ride home, as did his brother. If Kyoya was right, they were in danger and so were their friends, especially Haruhi.
Looking over at his little brother, Hikaru said, "What do we need to talk about?"
Kaoru narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Well we can start by what happened this afternoon." He knew that his brother when pushed into a corner became defensive, if he was scared he lashed out, and when things felt out of control he tried to ignore them. It never really worked, but that was just who Hikaru was.
Hikaru never looked up. He kept his eyes focused on the blank page of the sketch pad in front of him. He didn't want to think about this afternoon, he wanted to forget what he heard, but he knew that he couldn't. In all honesty, he was scared. He was worried about his little brother, he couldn't lose him. He was worried about Haruhi, they had just gotten her back and even though he had messed up, they were working on their friendship. Finally, he was worried about his friends, the host club had helped them discover a larger world, and although they pulled back into themselves a little bit, their friends were there for them the whole time. Hands tightening on the pad, he wondered, "Damn it! How did one stupid commoner get so powerful in their lives? Yasu has us jumping and he is a nobody!"
"Hikaru! Hikaru!" Kaoru had been calling his brother, but noticed that he had slipped into his own world. Getting up and walking over to him, he placed his hand on Hikaru's shoulder and shook it a bit, "Hikaru, are you alright?"
The older twin jumped and looked up with wild unfocused eyes. When he realized that it was Kaoru next to him, he said, "What were you saying?" He attempted to laugh a bit in order to pretend that he was not freaked out, but it came out strained and sounded more hysterical than amused.
Kaoru knew that his brother was thinking about this afternoon and everything they learned. Hikaru wanted to control the situation, but unfortunately, no one could control this. The best thing they could do was prepare and get Yasu before he got them, "We need to talk about everything."
"Everything? Yasu is crazy and he is just one man. I am not sure why Kyoya was trying to make him out to sound like a mastermind or something."
"You know just as well as I do that you should never underestimate your opponent. He is crazy, but he is also able to manipulate people very well."
Hikaru turned away from his brother and scowled, "So you want the bodyguards? It will be like having a babysitter all of the time and you know they will report everything to the shadow king himself. It really will be like Kyoya really is our parent and not just the mommy roll Tamaki assigned him in high school."
Taking another deep breath, Kaoru knew he had to tread carefully. Hikaru wasn't always the most reasonable and it took time to get through to him, but Kaoru had been playing this game for years and knew how to reach him. Sitting down next to his big brother on the couch, he said, "I think until we know what he is really capable of, it is best if we have them. Maybe we can just use them when we leave the house or something. You know that Kyoya probably already has people watching us from a distance since there is a threat out there, but if Yasu was able to get to Haruhi like he did today, I would feel better about having the extra security."
"He is just one commoner! How is he able to put fear in five of the most powerful families in Japan?" Hikaru lashed out.
Ever the calm one, Kaoru said, "We don't know what he is capable of and when someone is as off their rocker as he is, they can be very dangerous. Kyoya doesn't know if anything will happen to us, but he doesn't want us to be unprepared."
Standing up and stomping towards the window, Hikaru scoffed, "Off his rocker? He is a fucking lunatic! I can't believe that he is still out there! Why hasn't Kyoya picked him up and thrown him in the Ootori dungeon?" It had long been the rumor that the Ootori private police had their own prison called the dungeon. It was supposed to be one of the most feared places on the planet and when you went in, you didn't come out. That is where Yasu needed to go for terrorizing his friends and for what he did to Haruhi.
"Kyoya can't find him and until he does, Yasu is a danger we have to deal with," Kaoru responded quietly.
Hikaru looked out the window for a few minutes silently bfore turning around and taking a deep breath. Breeching an uncomfortable subject, he looked nervous when he asked, "Do you think the only thing he did to her was hit her before she got away?"
It had been something that was on Kaoru's mind also, but he didn't know the answer, "I don't know."
"Do you think something happened between her and Tono? He has never really 'done' anything to her and yet she seems to hold him at a huge arm's length away from her. He has always been overly affectionate and overprotective, but do you think there is more to it than that?" It was something that he had been wondering for a while now, even before she had walked out on them.
"I don't think Tono would do anything to her. He loved her and when they broke up, it was hard on both of them. I think she has just been through a lot, and Hunny and Mori have always been there for her. In a way, so has Kyoya. They were the ones always trying to protect her and subconsciously she recognizes that in them," Kaoru said quietly, although he had wondered the same thing a time or two since Haruhi had been back in their lives.
"So do you think that she is with Hunny because she feels safe and grateful to him? Do you think she has confused her feelings of thankfulness and protection for real feelings?" Hikaru wasn't stupid; he had noticed how she seemed to lean on Hunny throughout their friendship. Even when she was with Tamaki, she seemed to have a special connection with the shorter blonde, but he also knew that sometimes feelings could be confusing and there was a such a thing as Munchausen Syndrome.
"No, I think those feelings are real and they would be in this position even if she hadn't left," Kaoru stated honestly. He knew that his older brother had always had feelings for their female friend and the feelings had never dwindled throughout the years, but he also knew that there had always underlying feelings between the bunny lover and the female host (even if Haruhi wasn't aware due to her obliviousness). This relationship was inevitable.
Turning back to look out the window, Hikaru sighed, "Me too." Quietly he continued, "I never meant to hurt her. I never wanted to hurt her or to put her on edge around us. I just didn't want to be hurt again." Hikaru was talking more to himself than his brother.
Kaoru heard what his brother had said and got up from his seat and walked over to the window to stand next to his mirror image. He wrapped an arm around his shoulders and stared out the window like his other half was doing, "I know you didn't and I think deep down she knows that too, otherwise she wouldn't have been willing to forgive you and give you another chance."
They stood there together, neither one saying anything for a while before Hikaru broke the quietness of the room, "Do you remember in high school when we dressed up like girls in order to prevent her from leaving us? It turned out that we didn't need to go to such extremes because she had already decided not to go to Lobelia. She laughed at us that day and it was the first time she laughed so hard she was crying." Hikaru smiled at the memory.
Kaoru chuckled, "I remember, Tono was such an idiot. You, Hunny, and I chased her around the room asking her to call us big sister. You know Hunny did make a cute girl at the time."
A real laugh escaped Hikaru's lips, "Yes, he did. I wonder what he would look like in that ball gown now." He couldn't help it, more laughter poured out of him and his brother joined him.
When they were both able to settle down a little bit, Kaoru said, "You know, I think we still have those dresses somewhere. We should send Hunny his dress. It wouldn't be right to keep a beautiful gown like that away from its owner."
Hikaru smirked and a twinkle appeared in his eye, "I agree. Hunny needs his dress. So do you think it will only go down to his knees now instead of being a full length gown? I know! It can be a cocktail dress."
Another round of laughter engulfed the brothers and soon they fell to the floor clutching their sides. It was good to laugh again and think about the good times. As a group they had a lot of them when they were together, but separate the good memories were fewer and far between.
"Do we still have the picture of Haruhi dressed up for the Lobelia play?" Hikaru chuckled thinking about all of their sneaking around the other campus trying to blend into the Beni Bara fan club. In the end, Kyoya had taken charge and was the only one that did not embarrass himself.
Kaoru sat up with a smirk, "You know… I think we do. We should definitely send her a copy when we send the dress to Hunny."
"Yes, we should. In fact, we should call and set up a visit with the both of them. I would love to see their faces when they receive our gifts," Hikaru chuckled again.
Nodding his agreement, Kaoru said, "Let's go look for everything." He stood up and helped his brother to his feet. Together they made their way to the room where they had stored all of the host club costumes they had made. Opening up the first trunk, the memories started to flow again. It was full of the Alice in Wonderland cosplay costumes. He turned to his brother, "Do you agree that we need the guards?"
Taking a deep breath and exhaling sharply, Hikaru stopped looking through a box of pictures he had picked up, "I don't like the idea of being babysat, but we don't know what Yasu can do or how far he will go to get to her. He never liked us in her life and something tells me that it will be worse now, so I think we should at least have extra security when we leave the house." His brother was right; you never knew what a lunatic would do. If nothing happens then it was just a small nuisance, but if something did happen the bodyguards would be invaluable. Hikaru would do anything to make sure his brother was safe and out of danger.
"Good, we can call Kyoya after we are done here," Kaoru smiled. He knew that it was a hard concession for his brother to make, but it was the right decision. Digging through the trunk again, he said, "And we can tell him that we found his dress." He pulled a black dress full of ruffles out of the trunk. He was the dress Kyoya wore as the Queen of Hearts for their Alice and Wonderland day.
Hikaru howled with laughter at seeing the dress. He was never sure how Tamaki had been able to convince the shadow king to wear the dress, but Kyoya had done it for that whole host club session. Of course as soon as the ladies were gone, he rushed to get out of the dress, but he had still worn it and the girls had gushed over him. "MOE" could be heard from miles away.
The rest of the afternoon was spent going through the old trunks and boxes. There were so many memories that time and time again the twins found themselves clutching their sides as they rolled around on the ground. They had needed this. It brought back the good times and helped them to remember what their world was like when they invited new people into it. Haruhi may not be the one for them, but that didn't mean that there was not someone out there for them. Haruhi had taught them that a long time ago. It was time to open the doors once again to the world of possibilities.
When Kyoya arrived home after his dinner with Tamaki that night, he had a package waiting for him. His maid had said it was from the Hitachiin twins. He let his bodyguard inspect it before he approached it and when Tachibana assured him that the "gift" was safe, he lifted the lid on the box, "I am going to kill those two!" Inside was the dress that he wore back in high school for one of their cosplays with a note that said, "We thought Mommy would like her dress back. Oh, and we will take the guards."