Chapter 1

I wanted out.

To clear my thoughts or just escape, I had to get out of the house.

…so I did.

The first time I went out for merely fifteen minutes. Hikaru was confused, he automatically thought he would go with me, no question, but I told him that I needed alone time.

Soon the fifteen minutes turned to an hour and my nightly strolls became regularity.

"Just another step towards individuality, Hikaru, nothing's wrong- don't worry!" I would say cheerfully whenever he voiced out his worries.

And it was partially the truth. Nowadays I felt it more than ever. That need for independence. However I was still the same old Kaoru at the same time - fearful, immature, selfish and dependent on my twin.

Ever since we went to Boston last year the Host Club was no more.

Kyoya-senpai decided to stay in the States; he was accepted to Harvard Business School.

Whereas Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai were busy with university and prepared to expand their family businesses. Additionally Honey-senpai recently started dating Kanazuki-hime and there was definitely something unofficial going on between Mori-senpai and Inari-senpai who we met in Boston last year.

Tono was busy. He often traveled for business with his father since he was determined to be the successor of the Suoh-family now.

Of course he and Haruhi were still a big-ole couple.

Our Haruhi has changed quite a bit in the span of a year. She appeared even more mature, more feminine and was definitely more studious since the University Entrance Exams were right ahead of us this year. She was also more active and cheerful which was probably Tono's influence.

And my brother Hikaru – well, he still had a hard time dealing with Haruhi's and Tono's relationship. He wasn't quite over her yet and would still get upset or jealous every once in a while when they were around being all lovey-dovey. As a result he would excuse himself to cool off a bit but there fortunately weren't too many emotional outbursts in public from his side anymore. He had learned to control his feelings a little with my help and would turn to me or Mori-senpai whenever he felt heartbroken which was okay with me. The amounts of personal developments on his part were insane.

Hikaru agreed for us to have separate bedrooms, Hikaru decided to dye his hair black, he also told me he would like to study in a different field outside of fashion design, he recently got interested in graphic design.

Although I had been the one to initiate the concept of our independence, my brother was the one who took actual measures to achieve it.

So all in all, the Host Club members were busy and scattered. We most likely won't be having a big get-together for a long while. In other words, nothing was the same anymore. Adulthood was starting to pound impatiently on our door.

Now, where is the problem you ask? Why the nightly strolls you ask?

Well.

I am the problem.

I wasn't ready.

Yet again, I felt left behind. This time it seemed that everyone had outrun me in terms of maturity because everyone had a plan and all I worried about was being left out.

There was no way that I was going to burden them with my childishness, especially not after that huge speech about independence that I gave my twin brother. Showing them that I had somehow gone back to zero after everyone and everything had moved on, would be beyond humiliating.

You never really learn, huh Kaoru?

Anyways, these were the reasons for my nightly excursions through our neighborhoods in Azabu.

Today I was heading towards my usual spot which took me about ten to fifteen minutes by foot. It was the Sakurazaka Park located right next to a Lutheran Church, although I found Sakurazaka playground to be a more fitting name since it's basically just an outdoor playground for kids with lots of slides.

I always relished in the extreme silence here. For some reason the noise didn't drill through this part of the city even though the park was directly behind the busy streets of Roppongi Hills. I was all alone in the park - well obviously - since most people wouldn't go to the park at midnight. And for that very reason I took a seat on a rocking horse and allowed my thoughts to drift away, looking up at the starless sky of Tokyo.

After a while I was startled to hear quiet footsteps coming closer. A small somewhat roundish girl appeared around the corner seating herself on the stairs that were leading towards the slides. Her body was turned towards me but she probably couldn't see me since there was a bit of a distance between the slides and the rocking horses. Furthermore the shadow of a huge tree was shielding my spot from the street lanterns as well; engulfing the entire right space in midnight darkness.

I considered leaving now that my favorite place was occupied but then decided that I came here first anyways so there was no reason for me to go.

What a weird girl… Did she do midnight trips like these often? Not sure if she was both really reckless and crazy or just plain naive to be walking around on her own at a time like this. She seemed to be distracted with her thoughts as well, sitting there on the stairs. In addition to that she was so tiny and didn't look like someone who could defend herself or run for her life.

Basically those were all grand invitations for serial killers to come for her.

Should I tell her to go home? Tell her that it's dangerous to walk around alone as a girl at this time? Didn't she have parents to warn her about these dangers? Or maybe she got lost…

I squinted a bit to get a better look at the odd girl and almost laughed out loud when I saw what she was wearing.

The girl was dressed in what was probably the most ridiculous pajama I had ever witnessed: A birght pink Jigglypuff onesie.

Quickly deciding that it was highly unlikely she'd get herself lost in her pink pajama at midnight, I planned to escort her home later just to be safe, but for now, I wanted to stay a little longer since I just got here.

When I was about to mind my own business again, I thought I heard some sniffling. Perplexed, I turned my head back around.

Was she crying?

The sniffles turned into sobs and she hid her face in her hands.

Yep, she's definitely crying.

My eyes widened and I started to panic a bit. What on earth was I supposed to do with a crying girl? Usually Milord handled situations like these. Haruhi was good with crying people as well…

Should I ask her if everything was alright?

Well, obviously she is not alright, you ninny. Would she be crying alone at midnight if she was?

Should I leave her alone then? Maybe she'd like to be left in peace. Maybe I should just go home…

An then an image of Milord popped up in my head, lecturing me to "never leave a crying maiden" or something else along those lines…

By now the girl was trying to dry her tears and runny nose with her sleeves.

I should at least offer her a tissue.

Quickly rummaging through my jean pockets, I found the object I was looking for.

Bingo.

I fished out the pack of tissues and pulled out a single one while I was approaching her carefully. Her face was buried in her hands again as I gently reached out to her, tissue in hand.

"Uh, excuse me. Would you like to-," I started, as all of a sudden an ear-shattering scream interrupted me.

"Gaaah!"

Startled by the loud noise, I lost my balance in shock and stumbled forward. I stretched out my right arm reflexively in an attempt to soften the fall as well as not to crush the girl under my weight. Even before I could really think about it otherwise, my hand cradled the back of her head. I winced slightly when it crushed my palm and I felt the corner of the stairs, pressing against the back of my hand mercilessly from the force of her head thudding against my palm.

"GET OFF OF ME! OH MY GOD RAPIST! RAPIST!" she yelled hysterically. My eyes widened in panic and I put my hand over her mouth immediately, fearing that she might wake the entire neighborhood. The strange girl grabbed my hand that was covering her mouth and-

-Jesus Christ! She just bit me in the palm!

I was still yelping in pain when she pushed me back, effectively throwing me off of her and making me land on my behind.

She proceeded to yell "Rapist!" like a crazed banshee. I grabbed her ankles and the girl fell face forward into the sand with a thud that was undeniably satisfying to me.

She bit me in the freaking palm, ok!?

I was pretty sure that she got a load of sand in her mouth but at least that'd keep her from trying to frame me for a crime I definitely didn't attempt.

"I can't believe you bit me. Are you crazy!? Stop screaming, you idiot! You're going to wake the entire neighborhood!" My hand was still stinging with the pain of her bite.

She lifted her face from the sand. My hands were still tightly wrapped around her ankles. She coughed and spat out a mouthful of sand.

"That's the point you son of a bitch! Let me go, you goddamn pervert! My sister is a judge, so don't you dare attempt anything. I swear I'll lock your ass up in jail!"

She opened her mouth to resort back to screaming and I threw myself onto her, swiftly turning her on her back and pinching her lips together with my index finger and thumb to make sure she wasn't tempted to yell or do a repeat performance of the bite. Her eyes were wide and I saw tears of fear and panic forming. I tried to calm my erratic heart and breathing while keeping her pinned under my weight.

What on earth is happening!?

Her entire body struggled as she was trying to free herself from my grip. She was admittedly a lot stronger than she looked.

When my breathing evened out I spoke slowly and calmly to her in an attempt to calm her down. "Listen. This is not what you think it is. This is all a misunderstanding, okay? I'm not a rapist. I've already been here before you came, you just didn't notice me. I saw you crying and wanted to offer you a tissue, that's all."

I gestured to my right with a nod of my head towards the direction of the tissues. Apparently the packet landed somewhere on the ground next to us during our slapstick comedy performance.

I noticed that she stopped trying to resist. There was still suspicion and fear in her eyes.

"Look, I'm going to pull my hand away and get off of you and you won't start screaming around like the mad chick that you are, okay?"

She narrowed her brown eyes at the 'mad chick' insult but nodded in agreement since there was no other option for her anyways.

I quickly pulled my hand and other parts of my body from the vicinity of her teeth just in case she suddenly decided to change her mind and opted to chomp on my fingers.

As I swiftly got up on my feet, dusting myself off, Pinky (that's what I decided to call her) was on all fours, scrambling as far away from me as possible. Both of us were still trying to catch our breaths and we were looking at each other wide eyed, still trying to grasp whatever just happened. We were covered in sand from head to toe due to our brawl and neither of us dared to break the silence between us so we just stood there for what seemed to be an eternity.

After a while Pinky appeared to have made up her mind since she got up from her spot on the ground and turned around without another word to quickly shuffle away.

"Uh, wait!" I called out after her.

The girl halted mid-step and turned her head carefully.

"What?" she asked cautiously, suspicion apparent in her tone.

To be honest, I didn't know what I had in mind either. After that whole embarrassing fiasco it would be better to act like nothing had happened.

But my body moved on its own accord before my thoughts could process anything and I picked up the tissues from the ground to offer her one. Her entire face was covered with sand from when I tripped her and her nose was still runny from crying so heavily.

She looked at me with extreme suspicion.

"How do I know that tissue isn't soaked in chloroform so you can drag my unconscious body into a car and sell my organs in the dark net? You're not from the Yakuza (Japanese mafia), are you? Selling children and women for prostitution?"

What? Now I was actually offended. Why am I supposed to take all of her insults when I was the one here, trying to be gracious and forthcoming? I didn't look anything like a Yakuza or a creep that sold the body of minors. Right?

"Alright, nightmare in pink, listen up!" I snapped back, having had enough. "That's what I get from you for being courteous? I assure you if I were a criminal I would have already done something by now instead of standing here and having a nice conversation with you. By the way," I added incredulous. "You might want to cut down on watching CSI, darling - selling your organs in the dark net?"

She narrowed her eyes at me but I swear I could see the embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

"Courteous!?" she spat out the word like it was something disgusting. "Do I look to you like I've been helped!?" she snarked at me and gestured towards her sand-covered form. "And for your information, organ trafficking actually happens in real life that's not just stuff I've seen on CSI. Also, did you just call me 'nightmare in pink'? You've got some nerve. Excuse me for thinking you're a criminal because you were throwing yourself at me in the dark when I was all alone!"

"You are excused, Pinky," I retorted cockily, just to get a rise out of her and to my amusement it worked. I could almost see steam coming out of her ears. She looked hilarious, fuming while her face was covered in sand and in that ridiculous pink getup.

I think I heard her mutter something like "stupid fake-ginger Ed Sheeran-wannabe" and let out a sharp laugh.

"I assure you my hair color is all real. And that's offensive because we both know I'm a lot better looking than Ed Sheeran. If anything it would be him wishing to look like me, Pinky."

"Yeah right, you got a lot more of a stick up your rear as well. Need any courteous aid to pull that out, Prince Harry?" the girl hissed at me.

She brusquely snatched the pack of tissues out of my hand while I was trying to reign in my amusement.

"I'm so glad that I can at least serve as a medium of laughter for his royal heinous," she sneered indignantly from somewhere behind me.

By now I was just a wheezing mess.

After a good while I had to force myself to calm down and turned around to look at her. She was sitting on a bench, trying somewhat unsuccessfully, to clean her grimy face with the dry tissues.

"That won't work," I called out and handed her my personal handkerchief. "Here, take this, we should wet it a bit. There's this weird sink over there. Not sure how it works though."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "That's a drinking fountain," she deadpanned, looking at me like she was talking to someone clinically insane.

"Uh yeah, that's what I meant," I said, acting like I knew that all along.

Was that where commoners got their water from? From weird metal sinks in parks? So they actually had to go all the way to parks to get their drinking water? How bothersome, it must be hard to be a commoner…

Suddenly I felt a newfound respect for the girl and Haruhi when I imagined these two tiny girls walking miles towards a park, heaving heavy buckets full of water to be able to drink and wash at home.

Mental note to Kaoru: Make sure to send water bottles to Haruhi's home every week so she won't have to carry heavy water buckets from the park to her apartment all by herself.

I watched as the girl got up and followed her towards the 'drinking fountain'. As she pushed the button, water flowed upwards in a slight arc; I couldn't help the "Woah!" slipping out when she held my handkerchief under the water spray.

She immediately turned around and frowned at me like I was the strangest being she had ever laid her eyes on. "What planet are you from where drinking fountains don't exist, captain weirdo?

Uh, what? How do I answer that? Think quick Kaoru!

"Uh-Uhm…Shirakawa! I'm originally from – from Shirakawa. Yes yes," I answered a bit too quickly.

Shirakawa was a small village in the Gifu prefecture not too many people knew of. I had a vacation home there, it was a peaceful place with lots of nature and few people. For some reason it was the first thing that popped up in my mind when I thought of places she shouldn't know. Why I felt the sudden need to lie about my background was beyond me.

"You're from Shirakawa? From the Japanese Alps?" she asked disbelievingly, looking me up and down.

I cursed her inertly for knowing Shirakawa.

Out of all the shitty little villages in Japan, she had to know this one?

"Yup, that's where I'm originally from. Home sweet home."

Home sweet home? The hell? Are you some kind of country singer now, Kaoru?

"Uh…okay. You don't look like someone from Shirakawa," she determined as she wiped her face with the wetted handkerchief.

Damn, was there a certain look that native people in Shirakawa had? Why didn't I think of anything else?

Why did you lie in the first place, Kaoru? Are you an idiot? Just say you were brought up here!

"I mean, you look like you've been brought up in the big city your whole life."

Well, I was brought up in Tokyo all my life and I was filthy rich on top of that. But why was I trying to act like a commoner in front of a strange commoner girl who I most likely won't meet again and who most likely didn't give a damn anyways?

"Sometimes you just change according to your environment, you know? I've been living in Tokyo for a while now." I shrugged, feigning nonchalance that I wasn't actually feeling at this point.

She nodded quietly and I was glad that she wasn't questioning me further. It was only now that I actually took a good look at her. She had a bit of a chubby figure judging by her slightly round face. The rest of her body was covered in that pink monstrosity so I couldn't really see anything but her head. Slightly tanned skin, short and what looked like naturally long, curly black hair that was tied in a ponytail. She had a cute face. There was nothing model-like compared to Inari-senpai's best friend Rosalie. Maybe a slight hint of exotic beauty like Inari-senpai but definitely not to the same extent and no doll-like looks that resembled Haruhi as well. She was just somewhat cute, I guess. Big doe eyes, little nose, full lips and somewhat clear skin.

I watched her interested as she finished cleaning her face off. "Alright, I'm out of here," she declared out of the blue.

I feigned indignation. "What?" I frowned at her. "No 'thank you' or anything? How rude, Pinky. "

"What?" she snapped impatiently. "You want a medal for turning me into a sand cake?" She let out a huff, raising an eyebrow at me. "And stop calling me Pinky," Pinky added in annoyance.

It was a treat to tease her. "Yeah, I guess a medal will do. What else do you want me to call you? How about my little sugar plum?"

The girl turned her back to me and held up two middle fingers in my direction, then disappeared around the corner without saying another word.

Charming.