"I'm sorry, ladies. I didn't offer you anything to drink," Susumu apologized as he passed out cups of tea to the girls. He put each cup beside the sweets he'd placed down earlier, and used the trick he picked up from Tamaki to keep the tea from sloshing in the cup as he set it down.
"You don't have to apologize to us, Senpai. You were busy," said the guest with curls in her hair.
"How are you feeling today?" Another guest asked, before sipping her tea.
"Well, like any other day, I feel tired," Susumu said, setting down a plate of strawberry cake for the first-year. "But this morning, I got to see the sunrise."
"It must have been pretty."
"It was beautiful. There were shades of red and orange painting the sky, and the clouds looked soft and fluffy," Susumu described, smiling to himself.
The second girl had closed her eyes and smiled, picturing his sunrise. "Wow, it's so beautiful."
"Watching the sunrise with you would make me so happy, Senpai."
"I'm happy as long as I can see you ladies smile." Susumu smiled at them, causing both girls to blush.
"Susu-chan, we need more tea!" Honey called.
Susumu turned around and called back he'd be coming in a minute. The ladies waved him off, and Susumu rushed to the unattended cart. He set the teapot down, then took the cart to where Honey was waving him over.
"Thanks, Susu-chan!" Honey thanked, as Susumu refilled Honey's teacup.
"Here you go, Mori-senpai." Susumu poured tea into Mori's cup, and Mori thanked him.
"Do you need anything else?" Susumu asked.
Honey shook his head. "Nope. We're good on cake right now, but maybe later."
"We're finished," One of their guests told Susumu.
Susumu picked up both guests dirty plates and returned to the cart. He noted he'd have to clean the dishes after stacking the tray and plates on top of the used ones.
Susumu grabbed the cart's handle bar and wandered around the music room. He looked out for any guests who would ask for more snacks or tea.
"Hey Susumu!" He'd heard Nozomi calling him.
He picked up the pace and pushed the cart in Nozomi's direction.
"You're busy as usual," Nozomi said, as she pulled out a chair, and sat down.
"Yes, I'm the only one serving the guests," Susumu said, as he set the tray down on the table. "Haruhi probably buried herself in her studies again."
"You know, she's a lot like Aki, she's too focused on her education," Nozomi said, as she leaned her elbows on the table. "Aki's studying with Testuya right now. You'd think the two of 'em could think of a better idea for a date. Have you gone on a date before?"
"I was too focused on my schoolwork to think about dating," Susumu said, holding the teapot's lid as the hot tea was poured into Nozomi's cup. "What kind of cake today?"
"You choose, I'm not picky," Nozomi said, resting her cheeks on her palms while she watched him.
He placed a chocolate cake down for her with strawberries on the side, and placed a fork on top of a folded napkin.
Nozomi brought the fork to her mouth and ate the frosting before the chocolaty inside.
"Let's all play the which one is Hikaru Game!"
Susumu and Nozomi, with the fork in her mouth, glanced at the twins who had both donned caps.
They were facing their guests with grins on their faces. "So, can you tell which one of us is Hikaru?"
"Well, it's hard to say!"
"You're identical!"
"Many ladies have tried to tell us apart, but so far none have succeeded."
"That's the dumbest game I've ever heard of," Haruhi said, as she walked past the twins. She carried her textbook, obviously coming back from the library.
"What? You got a problem with it, Haruhi?" The twins questioned.
"Not really," Haruhi replied. "I just don't understand why the two of you are so popular."
The twins pouted. "That's not very nice."
"Haruhi, you're late!" Nozomi shouted at her.
Haruhi's eyes scoped the room until she saw Nozomi shaking her fist at Haruhi.
"Susumu had to do your work!" Nozomi shouted again.
"Don't worry about it, Haruhi!" Susumu shouted.
"Can you two not shout at me from over there?" Haruhi shouted back at them.
The twins rested their elbows on Haruhi's shoulders. "I'm disappointed-" "Apparently, you don't understand the merits of having a pair of twins as members of the host club."
"Listen up. Having a couple of good-looking guys with homosexual tendencies earns the club high points. It also helps that the two struggle between their attraction and their friendship," Hikaru said.
"Really," Nozomi said, suddenly very interested, holding her chin.
"And in our case, because we're twins, our relationship is taboo and therefore more intriguing," Koaru added.
"And besides, who hasn't fantasized about twins? Having two loves is better than one, don't you think?"
"It's a young woman's romantic fantasy," Koaru said, lifting a girl's chin.
"Well, um, yeah, you're right! I can't take it!" She squealed.
Tamaki ran up to the twins.
"Hikaru, Kaoru!" Tamaki shouted. "When I gave you control of the club's website, I did it so on one condition that you take it seriously!"
"We take our job very seriously, boss," Hikaru said.
"In fact, last night we worked on it till dawn," Koaru said.
"Is this what you worked so hard to create?!" Tamaki shouted. He shoved a laptop in their face, and on screen was a shirtless Haruhi with her hands rested on her hips.
Haruhi gaped at the half nude photo of her.
"You look great, Haru-chan!" Honey exclaimed.
"They spared me," Susumu sighed happily with a hand on his chest.
"That's obviously photo shopped," Nozomi said.
"It was photo shopped?" Tamaki asked, turning his head to Nozomi.
"Definitely, 'cause if Haruhi was ever shirtless, I'd have a picture," She confirmed.
"Since when did you take pictures of me, Nozomi-senpai?!" Haruhi shouted.
"It's my hobby!" Nozomi shouted back.
"She's shown me a few," Susumu mentioned. He put a hand on his forehead as he remembered when Nozomi had shown him pictures of Tamaki and Kyoya on her phone one day.
Haruhi shot Nozomi a glare, who grinned, feeling no guilt for what she'd done.
"We did a pretty good job, huh?"
"We've got some major photo shopping talent."
"You idiots! That's a waste of your skills! Have you no shame?" Tamaki scolded, then he suddenly pulled out a photo book of models in frilly clothes. "But if you're going to do it anyway, can you photo shop her into this idol photo book? Hmm, please?"
"Don't be ridiculous, boss. Why don't you just-" Hikaru started.
"Ask her if she'd wear an outfit like one of those?" Koaru finished.
"I never thought to ask her." Tamaki went to Haruhi, holding a frilly flowery dress. "What do you think about this, my dear?"
"What are you doing with that dress?" Honey asked.
"He looks so handsome."
"Yeah, he does, but I have to agree with Tamaki. I'd love to see what Haruhi looked like if he dressed as a girl."
"Oh, he's so cute. I'm sure he'd look great no matter what you put him in."
Haruhi snapped out of state, glared at Tamaki, who cried, and walked away.
"Now, cut it out. No more making weird pictures of got that?" Haruhi snapped, glaring at the twins. "Just what do you guys take me for, anyway?"
"Isn't that obvious?" The twins smirked. "You're our toy."
"Haruhi isn't your toy!" Susumu raised his voice at the twins. "I don't want to hear either of you call Haruhi that again!"
"You want a toy?" A voice asked. Haruhi, Susumu, and the twins glanced at the cloaked boy poking his head through a crack in the mysterious door. "If you like toys, then you should come and visit my black magic club. We've opened a marketplace that boasts black magic items from across the globe. We're also holding mass around the clock. If you visit right now, I'll even throw in a free curse doll. You could have Belzenef as your free gift."
"Why is he talking to us through a crack in the door?" Haruhi wondered.
"Why doesn't he come here?" Nozomi wondered.
"Wait a second," The twins said. "Has that door always been there?"
Kyoya explained, "Nekozawa-senpai likes to hide. He doesn't really care for brightly-lit places."
"From the shadows, he emerges," Nozomi said, as she put her hands on her hips.
"Don't get involved with that guy, Haruhi," Tamaki whispered in a ghostly tone, scaring Haruhi, who didn't notice him. "If you do, you'll end up being cursed."
"Do you have any basis for that?" Haruhi's voice was shaky.
"It happened during final exams at the end of the last school year," Tamaki said, beginning his story. "Oooh, it's terrifying just to talk about it. On that fateful day, I accidentally stepped on that weirdo Nekozawa's cursed doll, Belzenef. Afterward, I took my exam and the entire test was written in some strange lettering. I looked at the others around me for help and I realized I knew none of them. I was all alone in a different dimension."
"Scary!" Honey cried, using Usa-chan to hide his face.
"Did that really happen to you?" Haruhi asked.
"It couldn't have happened, right?" Susumu asked, a little shaken up.
"That only happened because you were so scared you accidentally walked into the beginning Greek class and took their exam," Kyoya explained.
"No! It was a curse!" Tamaki shouted. "I know because three days later, I woke up and my legs were as heavy as lead! Just how do you explain that?"
"Your legs were heavy because you ran a marathon the day before, remember?"
"You've got an explanation for everything, Kyoya," Nozomi remarked.
"It's all in his head," Kyoya said, as he wrote in his notebook. "He was never cursed."
"You shouldn't underestimate the dark powers of Belzenef, the curse doll," Nekozawa said, sneaking up behind them. "All you have to do is write the name of someone you hate on his back, then that person is certain to come face to face with misfortune."
"Wow, this guy really is dark, in more ways than one," Hikaru said.
"Supposedly he hates bright lights. I wonder what he'll think of this," Koaru said, smirking deviously, as he held up a flashlight, and flashed the light on Nekozawa.
"You murderers!" Nekozawa cried, running cowardly to the door, and into his club room.
"How on earth could you do such a thing?" Tamaki shrieked. "Obviously the two of you don't know the true terror of black magic!"
The twins walked past Tamaki. "I am so bored."
"Isn't there anything fun we can do around here?"
"My dignity as the club's leader is being ignored," Tamaki sulked, causing Haruhi to sweat drop.
"Hey Haruhi, Susumu-senpai, we've got a favor to ask," The twins called in a bored manner.
"What is it?" Haruhi asked, having enough of their antics.
"The next time we get a day off-" "Can we come over to your place to hang out?"
"Why do you want to visit our place?" Susumu asked.
"We're curious. We want to see where you live," The twins answered.
"No way," Haruhi rejected.
"Aw, pretty please?" They begged.
"No way," Haruhi repeated, wearing an emotionless expression. "You guys are just gonna make fun of us."
"No matter how much we beg you?" The twins persisted.
"No way," Haruhi said firmly.
The twins looked at Susumu.
"No," Susumu said, shaking his head. "Having guests over means we'd have to clean the whole place, and prepare a large meal. I'm sorry, but I don't want to go through all that trouble."
"I too have been thinking that it's about time I pay my respects to our beloved Haruhi and our sweet Susumu's family," Tamaki said.
"No way in hell, Senpai," Haruhi said.
"We can settle this with a game," The twins said, placing their green caps on their heads. "If you can't pick out which one of us is Hikaru, then your penalty will be the two of us coming to your house later tonight."
"What did I say?" Susumu said, crossing his arms over his chest.
But the twins had already switched places many times before stopping. "Okay, so which one of us is Hikaru?"
Haruhi pointed to the twin on her left and said, "This one's Koaru-"
"And this one's Hikaru," Haruhi finished, pointing to the twin on her right.
"Uh oh, you got it wrong!"
"No, I know I'm right," Haruhi said, facing the liars. "You guys may look alike, but you're very different." The twins blinked in surprise.
"How did you do that, Haruhi-kun, whenever they wear those hats to cover up which way they part their hair, it's practically impossible to try and figure out which twin is Hikaru and which one is Koaru," A guest said.
"How can you tell them apart?" Another guest asked.
"Well, how do I put it?" Haruhi thought it over, putting a finger under her chin. "It's kinda difficult to explain, but Hikaru's speech and actions make him come across a little more mischievous than Koaru."
Koaru burst into laughter. "I'm sorry, Hikaru, I don't mean to laugh!"
"Well, I don't see what's so funny. I'm honest, I speak my mind and I don't hold back. It's sneaky people like Kaoru who are the trouble makers," Hikaru said, causing Koaru to stop laughing.
"Don't turn this on me, Hikaru," Koaru argued. "After all, I'm the one who's always going along with all of your selfish games."
"I may suggest them, but you are the one who really gets into them, Koaru," Hikaru shot back. "If you hate it so much, then why don't you just stop?"
"Because I'd hate to see you make an ass of yourself in front of everyone," Koaru answered, glaring at his brother. "It was your idea to call Haruhi our toy, but I noticed you were quick to make a pass at her. Admit it, Hikaru, you're actually in love with Haruhi, aren't you?"
Hikaru's face turned red, and he glanced at Haruhi, who was confused after hearing it.
"You've got it all wrong, Kaoru!" Hikaru protested. "Man, you're such a freaking idiot! Why would I fall for her? I mean, she looks like a tanuki!"
"Don't call my sister a tanuki!" Susumu shouted with fists at his sides.
"Awesome, this is just perfect." The motor sound erupting in the room drew peoples' attention onto Renge who showed herself, spinning on the platform. "Our beloved Haruhi is in the middle of a beautiful, yet poignant four-sided romantic relationship. And to make it even more exciting, two of Haruhi's admirers are twins, torn apart by love."
"It'll be interesting to see how this four-sided romance plays out. Which love interest will win Haruhi's heart, and which will crumple at the sight of Haruhi in the arms of another, the choice is left up to the author. And the best part about this story, one of the main ships is boy on boy. I just can't wait until we find out who the main characters are. They can't escape what's destined to come true." Nozomi went into a fit of giggles.
"Just the thought of it all could make me eat three bowls of rice," Renge exclaimed.
"Butt out Otaku and Fujoshi," The twins snapped.
"You guys are meanies!" Renge cried. "You shouldn't say that stuff to your manager!"
"I was thinking about pairing one of you with Haruhi, but winning Haruhi's heart, forget about it!" Nozomi shouted, glaring at them. "I'm sure the author has a ship planned for Haruhi and it's definitely not with one of you!" Nozomi grabbed Haruhi and embraced her. "You don't deserve this cutie!"
"Nozomi-senpai, let me go," Haruhi requested, struggling to break out of Nozomi's hold.
"But Renge, I thought you had feelings for Haruhi, as well?" Tamaki asked.
"Oh, I do," Renge said. "But I have no problem with Haruhi having a homosexual relationship on the side."
"What about Susumu?" Nozomi asked, still hugging Haruhi.
"My feelings for Susumu-senpai will never change," Renge said, smiling at Susumu.
Suddenly Nozomi felt a freezing cold near her, causing her to sneeze. Haruhi took the chance to slip away from Nozomi. Susumu put his hand on Nozomi's forehead, but his action was followed by a sneezing fit from Nozomi.
"You don't have a fever, but maybe you should go home for the rest of the day," Susumu suggested.
"You might actually have a cold, Nozomi-senpai," Haruhi said worriedly.
"No, guys, this isn't a normal cold. I know, 'cause this kind of thing has been used in anime. When a character sneezes they're talking about someone or they're sensing something bad is about to happen," Nozomi told them. "It's gotta be that. I'm sensing something."
"Cut it out, already!"
The three of them focused on the twins again.
"You're the one who's always crawling into my bed! Talk about annoying!" Hikaru shouted.
"I only do that 'cause you look lonely!" Koaru shouted back. "I wouldn't choose to sleep in your bed, you idiot!"
"Who are you calling an idiot?! You're the one who sucks at math!"
"Oh yeah?! Well, you're the one failing your foreign language class, you big dummy!"
"The way you grind your teeth is definitely-"
"At least I don't toss and turn so much that I fall out of bed!"
"Sex pixie!"
"Sicko!"
"Your Okaa-san wears too much make-up!" They shouted at the same time.
"That's it! We're over!"
...
Haruhi, caught up in shuffling through her notes, and refreshing her mind on yesterday's lesson, didn't notice that Hikaru had walked up to her, until he greeted her, causing her to look up at him. Haruhi was surprised to see Hikaru with slicked back hair, colored the brightest shade of pink. The entire First-Year class noticed Hikaru.
"Hikaru," Haruhi said, staring at him with her eyebrows raised, and wide eyes. "What in the world happened to your hair? Why is it dyed pink?"
Hikaru put one hand on his hip, and he grinned, eating up the attention. "'Cause pink suits me, don't you think it's cute?"
Haruhi would've told Hikaru no, that it made him look like a flamingo, but she kept her mouth closed.
"From now on, I'm the pink-haired twin!" Hikaru said, gloating over his new appearance. He would not be mistaken for Koaru any more, because Koaru had walked in with his hair dyed blue, slicked back like Hikaru. The pink-haired twin narrowed his eyes in annoyance.
"Good morning, Haruhi," Koaru greeted her, walking up to Haruhi's desk.
Haruhi glanced away from the twins, and looked down at the papers on her desk, rubbing her forehead to ease her sudden headache.
She muttered, "This is a wonderful start to my day."
"I was finally able to sleep all by myself last night, but I ended up having a nightmare," Koaru said, drawing Haruhi's attention to him. "I dreamt that my hairstylist had dyed my hair pink. It was so garrish and ridiculous-looking, I woke up screaming."
Koaru had been laughing to himself, as he pulled out his chair, but Hikaru extended his leg, and kicked the chair, causing Koaru to fall on the ground. Koaru retaliated by pulling the leg of Hikaru's chair, causing Hikaru to fall on the classroom floor. The twins began to throw whatever they could get their hands on.
Haruhi groaned, sliding down in her chair.
...
By noontime recess, the twins' fighting had only escalated. In the refectory, the twins were at the counter, standing side by side, and each twin held a tray in his own hands. "I'll have the A lunch," The twins ordered at the same time. "No, give me the B pasta and the D salad! I'll take the F capellini with the barbarie duck! Hold on, make it a foie gras in perigueux sauce!" They glared at each other. "Stop copying me! Why don't you just leave me alone?!"
"Amazing. Perfect unison even when fighting," Haruhi muttered to her older brother.
"When will they stop fighting?" Susumu wondered.
"They don't seem to be letting up any time soon," Haruhi said, she then followed up with a groan.
"I was wondering what all the fuss was about," Tamaki said, causing the pair to turn their focus to the Host Club members, who had all walked in the refectory. "I can't believe the two of you are still fighting. You're a disgrace to the Host Club."
"Hey, look who it is!"
"Oh, I love them!"
"I've never seen them all together like that."
Hearing the students whisper about the Host Club, Haruhi let out a sigh, truly not surprised by just how popular the Host Club was at Ouran. She was more annoyed, really. Every student knows them, and almost every female student fawns over them, but it all depended on the type of host, of course. Haruhi used to wish there was a student who is sensible and level-headed, like her, or is hard working and honest, like Onii-chan. She thought that person must be hiding in the sea of overindulged, pampered and obnoxious, out-of-touch rich kids. But Haruhi knew better than to make impossible wishes.
"We've had enough of this. You're both to blame for this fight," Honey stepped in to try and stop the fighting. "Hika-chan and Kao-chan, I want you to make up and go halfsies on this cake, 'kay?" Honey stared at the strawberry cake in his hands. "But I want to have a piece too. So I guess we're going to have to go thirdsies. We're not going to be able to split the strawberry on top, though. What should we do? Maybe I should just take it. After all, strawberry is all my favorite. Oh, I forgot to ask," Honey glanced up at both twins. "Hika-chan, Kao-chan, do you like strawberries?"
Mori picked up Honey, and carried him away.
"You're just making it worse," Mori told Honey, who was fonding over the cake. "Leave them alone."
"Oh, Haruhi, Susumu! I didn't expect to run into you two in the dining hall!" Tamaki exclaimed once he'd noticed them.
"We were worried about those two, so we followed them here without even thinking," Haruhi said, looking down at her bento, and Susumu held his own bento with his sketchbook and a pencil was tucked behind his ear. "We always bring a bento, and I was just going to eat mine in my classroom."
"I don't care if my bento is in an embarrassing heart-shape, I will eat it!" Tamaki shouted, seemingly in his imagination.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but it's evident that your fantasies are completely incoherent," Kyoya said, picking up his lunch.
"Kyoya, Susumu, over here!" Nozomi called out, waving them over to the table where she sat.
"You need to see the portrait of you that Susumu is drawing," Nozomi said, as Kyoya sat next to her.
"I saw you taking those pictures of me," Kyoya said, sounding slightly irritated.
"How else do you think I could've gotten a half body reference of you?" Nozomi questioned.
"He doesn't have to see it if he doesn't want to," Susumu said.
"I've seen your art skills before, and I must say, you should have the title of professional artist," Kyoya complimented, locking eyes with Susumu.
Susumu felt surprised, and happy that Kyoya gave him a compliment. He stared at Kyoya, causing the corner of Kyoya's lip to tug upwards. The handsome young man was not wearing his cold smile or his chilling smirk. He had interest in his eyes.
Susumu looked away from the Host Club's Vice President, with a faint hue of red in his cheeks. "I've been putting it aside for a while, so it's not done," Susumu said, pushing his sketchbook away from them. "Besides, Nozomi, it was only meant for you to see."
"Haruhi, you wanna sit here with me?" Hikaru asked Haruhi, as he sat at the table near the three second-years.
"Uh, okay," She said, as she sat down.
"So what's that?" Hikaru asked, pointing at her bento. "What'd you bring for lunch?"
"Yesterday's leftovers and a rolled omelette," Haruhi answered.
"You wanna switch with me?" Hikaru suggested. "I had to order something different than Kaoru, so I ended up with stuff I don't really like." He'd already switched their lunches.
"That's fine with me," Haruhi said, then she looked down at the lunch tray. 'This is really magnificent. I've never tried anything like this before,' She thought before taking a bite. Haruhi blushed.
"Well played, Hikaru. As a reward, I'd like to trade you my lunch for your bento," Tamaki offered.
"No way," Hikaru rejected.
"Come on, trade with me," Tamaki urged.
"Forget about it."
"So, Haruhi, is that any good? How would you like to taste mine?" Koaru took a spoonful of chocolate pudding, and lifted Haruhi's chin. "Here. 'Aaah'."
Before the pudding went into Haruhi's mouth, Hikaru ate it.
"Quit butting in. Get lost, Koaru," Hikaru's voice was mumbled by the spoon in his mouth.
Incredibly annoyed, Koaru picked up a plate and threw it at Hikaru, who'd used Tamaki as a shield, forcing him to take the food to the face. They threw things at each other again like this morning.
"I think I'm gonna go eat in my classroom, after all," Haruhi said, picking up her bento and escaping.
Meanwhile, Nozomi and Kyoya were still prodding Susumu.
Nozomi waved her fork at Susumu. "You should be nice and let Kyoya see it!"
"May I see it, Susumu?" Kyoya asked, with amusement flickering in his eyes.
Susumu ate his rolled omelet, ignoring them, and he also tried to ignore the blush on his face that became more noticeable.
"Susumu, by any chance, did Haruhi make your bento?" Tamaki asked, standing beside Susumu.
"Haruhi did cook dinner last night," Susumu said, showing his bento to Tamaki. "Do you want to try some?"
Tamaki quickly drew a chair and sat next to Susumu.
"I'll give you a bit to start," Susumu said, placing the leftovers on the side of Tamaki's plate. "Tell me if you want more."
"Thanks, Susumu," Tamaki said. When he put the fork in his mouth, trying Haruhi's cooking for the first time, Tamaki's eyes were filled with happiness and his heart was fluttering.
"Do you like it, Tamaki?" Susumu asked.
"Haruhi's cooking is delicious!" Tamaki exclaimed.
"He said your first name!" Nozomi practically squealed.
"Because we're friends, now," Tamaki said, draping his arm around Susumu's shoulders.
Nozomi covered her nose with a napkin when she suddenly felt a sneeze coming on. The others didn't seem to notice, Tamaki and Susumu fell into a deep conversation about cooking and commoner's food, and Kyoya was silently eating his lunch.
Nozomi eyed Kyoya suspiciously. Sure, he's unimaginably intelligent and cold as ice and constantly has his nose stuck in his black notebook-Nozomi often wondered what he wrote in there-but she never suspected the freezing cold that causes Nozomi to shiver and sneeze, as if she had an actual cold, was coming from Kyoya.
Shocked, Nozomi stared at Kyoya with wide-eyes. Kyoya shot Nozomi an irritated glare, causing her to quickly look the other way, but Nozomi peered at him from the corner of her brown eyes, and caught Kyoya staring irritatingly at Susumu and Tamaki.
'He's jealous!' Nozomi squealed internally. She then put on a determined face. Without her meddling with the story, she felt the main characters-who turned out to be the Shadow King and the art student-would never end up together. Nozomi did already have a ship for Kyoya, which she swore she'd never give up, but this one looks more intriguing, and they're an inevitable ship.
"Kyoya," Nozomi whispered to him.
"What?" Kyoya growled lowly.
Nozomi fought her urge to hide. The Shadow King, as she'd heard the hosts call him, is much colder than the ice demon lady, but she has to step in and get Kyoya and Susumu to warm up to each other. Nozomi worried for a second that Susumu might get scared off by Kyoya's evil side, but if Susumu can befriend Tamaki-'good luck, Susumu,' Nozomi thought-he can be with Kyoya.
"Try giving Susumu some of your lunch. He's never eaten fancy food before," Nozomi suggested.
"What would be the point of that?" Kyoya asked.
He'd given her a cold glare, and Nozomi shivered, but she smirked when an idea came to her mind. "Hey, Susumu. Kyoya wants to give you something."
Susumu turned his head, and surprisingly, he saw Kyoya set down a plate in front of him. "You shouldn't let this opportunity slip from you," Kyoya said calmly. "Why not take a bite, and see if it suits your taste?" Kyoya glared at Nozomi, who looked away, before he faked a smile and rested his hand on his palm, and watched Susumu try the food.
"This is really good. I never tasted anything like it before!" Susumu savored his next bite, and the next, until he let out a satisfied burp. He then sheepishly smiled, covered his mouth with a napkin and looked away.
"It's good, right? I want you and Haruhi to eat like that every day!" Tamaki exclaimed, tears falling from his eyes.
"I'm sure Haruhi would like that," Susumu said, in between laughs.
"It was kind of you to let me try it, thanks," Susumu said, turning to Kyoya, and smiling a big, genuine smile.
"You don't have to thank me, but I'm glad if you enjoyed it," Kyoya said, smiling in return.
'So freakin' cute! I won't ship them! I won't ship them! Arghhh! I ship them!' Nozomi squealed in her head, as her nose started to bleed, causing Susumu and Tamaki to sweat drop, and Kyoya smirked at Nozomi.
Nozomi noticed, and she mouthed 'you owe me one.'
...
"Looking at the numbers, if this situation isn't resolved I'm afraid we're going to have to stop offering our brotherly love package," Kyoya said. "We're down one pair of loving brothers."
"Oh, Haruhi, I just want you to know there's no reason for you to feel responsible. Even though it was your tactless comment that started this whole feud between the twins in the first place, right?" Kyoya smiled.
"Clearly he blames me for this," Haruhi muttered to herself.
"It's weird for Hika-chan and Kao-chan to be fighting like this," Honey said, lifting his Usa-chan's arms up and down. "It's never happened before."
Mori nodded.
"Is this really the first time they've fought?" Susumu asked.
"I've known Hika-chan and Kao-chan since we were in preschool. We weren't in the same year, so I never really got to talk to them," Honey said. "But I remember that the two of them always played together."
"Yeah, that's true. I mean, I've only known the twin since they were in middle school, but they definitely stood out," Tamaki said. "It seemed like they kept everyone at a distance except each other. Believe it or not, they were even more warped back then. When you stop and think about it, maybe this fight is a good thing for them. Maybe it means that the twins are expanding their horizons a bit. We should just leave them alone and let them work it out."
"Why do you guys have to look so down? There is another way to keep the homosexual love in the host club," Nozomi assured. "The twins' brotherly love is off the table, but we can find the main characters and have them use their true love to draw in the customers. We could make it the 'boys love' package. I know I'd jump at the chance to see their love up close."
"I don't want to crush your hopes, Nozomi, but you should know the identity of the main characters hasn't been uncovered yet," Kyoya informed. "That rules out the option of offering a boys love package."
Nozomi slipped back into her chair, with a playful smile on her face.
"We might not have to turn down her suggestion," Tamaki said. "We could put it aside for now once we've found out who they are. They might decide to join the Host Club. We'll just have to ask them."
"I like your thinking, boss," Nozomi agreed. "We'll make 'em join us!"
"I didn't mean it in that way," Tamaki said.
"Nozomi, what do you mean by us?" Susumu interrupted.
"I've become a reoccurring character, and I like all of you, so I'm going to stick around, and treat myself like I'm a member," Nozomi declared, standing up, with a bright grin on her face. "I don't want to be left out."
'And I definitely wouldn't wanna miss all the action when Kyoya and Susumu fall in love,' She thought, which lead to another giggling fit.
...
"Do we have to put them in the same room?" Nozomi complained. "It's a war zone in here!"
"Don't you guys think that maybe it's time you give up all this fighting?" Tamaki asked. His patience was wearing thin. "It's driving me insane."
"What'd you say? It's driving you insane?!" Hikaru shouted. "You've gotta be kidding me. How do you think I feel right now? Every time I look in the mirror, I see his face. I'm sick and tired of constantly being mistaken for you, Kaoru! The truth is I hate your guts!"
"You took the words right out of my fact, I hate you so much I bought this, Belzenef, the curse doll," Koaru said, pulling out a Belzenef doll that scared Tamaki. "I'm going to complete the curse, Hikaru. I'm going to write your name on his this day forward, you're going to experience nothing but misfortune and sorrow!"
Haruhi ran up to the twins and punched their heads.
"Would you guys knock it off?" Haruhi shouted, causing all to be still.
"You don't bring something like this into a petty fight," Haruhi scolded, taking the doll in her hand. "Both of you are at fault here but what's really sad is that you brought everyone else around you into your big mess! Now apologize to each other! If you don't make up right now, I'll never let you come over to our house. Have I made myself clear?"
"So then what you're saying, Haruhi, is that if we make up, we can come over to your place?" The twins asked, as they circled Haruhi.
"Damn, those twins," Nozomi cursed.
"Huh?"
Nozomi tapped Haruhi on the shoulder. "Haruhi, turn it over."
Turning it over, Haruhi immediately screamed once she saw 'blank' written on its back.
"I'm sorry, Koaru. Even though I was just following our script, I said such awful things to you," Hikaru apologized. "I'm not fit to be your brother."
"Don't say that, Hikaru," Koaru protested. "I was so worried. I couldn't live with myself if I ever thought I had hurt you."
"Koaru, I'll never let you go again!"
"Hikaru!"
"You gotta be kidding! You mean you guys were faking it this whole time?" Honey exclaimed, as he flailed his arms.
"And this is why I want the main characters to be a part of the host club, so they can take attention away from those two devils!" Nozomi shouted.
"We didn't have anything else to do," The twins said. "We were bored."
"They fooled me," Haruhi muttered.
"Tamaki, I want to ask you something," Susumu said, as he crouched next to him.
Tamaki looked up at Susumu. "Yes?"
...
"Okay, it's time to play the which one is Hikaru game!"
"I know, the twin with the pink hair is Hikaru," A girl guessed.
"We have a winner!"
"So are you two gonna keep your wild hair color even though you've made up?" A guest asked, "It's much easier to tell the two of you apart now."
"No, it isn't," Haruhi said, passing by them. "Today, the pink one is Kaoru, and Hikaru's the blue one. You swapped colors for today, huh?"
'Do you realize what's happened, Hikaru? Until now, there were only two groups of people, "us" and "everyone else." But for the first time, someone's crossed into our world.'
...
Susumu pushed his cart past Kyoya, who was focused on transferring the words onto the pages in his notebook. Kyoya's hand kept moving and his eyes stayed glued to his notebook, as he called out the boy's name, "Susumu."
Susumu stopped in his tracks, freezing on the spot. He felt a chilling sensation rush down his back and he slowly turned his head, facing his bespectacled classmate.
Kyoya clicked his pen and closed his notebook before walking up to Susumu, carrying his notebook in one hand. "I wanted to let you know that you are doing far better than I had previously expected. Talking to others has brought out your personality."
Susumu suddenly remembered something, and he'd begun to poke around the cart, causing Kyoya to raise his eyebrows. He found what he'd been searching for, and revealed a bento.
"This is a thank you for letting me try your food. I asked Tamaki and he told me you like anything spicy," Susumu said, holding it out for Kyoya to take, who stared unblinkingly at the kind offering. "I also gave one to Nozomi and Tamaki. Haruhi found it weird when I asked her to make Tamaki's bento in a heart-shape." A smile came to his face. "I hope you like it."
Susumu cast his previously gleaming eyes on the ground, when Kyoya did not take the bento.
"It would be rude of me not to accept a generous offer when you went through the trouble of making it," Kyoya said, stopping Susumu from leaving by placing his hand on Susumu's shoulder. "I will at least try a bit to determine the level of your cooking ability."
"That's not necessary, Kyoya. I'll be happy just knowing you tried my cooking," Susumu said, smiling, as he passed on the bento to Kyoya.
Kyoya masked his surprise by putting on a smirk, as he watched Susumu pick up his feet and walk away, taking the cart with him.
Kyoya decided to ignore Nozomi hiding behind the pillar and carried on.
...
"Here, Senpai," Haruhi said, shoving the bento into Tamaki's hands.
Tamaki blinked and looked down at the bento. "This is for me, Haruhi?"
"Well, yeah, who else would I have given it to?" Haruhi sighed. "Don't let this go to your head. Onii-chan told you tasted my cooking and liked it, so he asked me to make something just for you. To be honest, I didn't mind, but he wanted me to make it in a weird heart-shape." Haruhi put her hands on her hips and looked into Tamaki's eyes. "Did you actually ask him to do this?"
"No, I had no idea," Tamaki said truthfully.
It took a minute for Haruhi to believe him. She turned her back to Tamaki. "Well, this kind of thing won't happen often, believe me."
"Thank you, Haruhi!" Tamaki exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Haruhi, while still holding the bento.
"Senpai, let me go!" Haruhi shouted.
1