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"Everyone, please welcome a very special guest: Ryuu Mazawa!" Tamaki gestured as Ryuu stepped forward to face the guests. "He will be hosting with us until…" Tamaki leaned towards Ryuu. "Until how long?"

"Uh." Ryuu glanced at Emi, who just shrugged at him. "Like, end of summer."

"Summer!" Tamaki smiled at the girls.

"Emi-chan, do you know him?" Sumiko asked, pointing to Ryuu.

Emi nodded. "He's-"

"Ryuu is Emi and Ryo Mazawa's cousin!" Tamaki said. "He is staying with their family for a while, so please take good care of him."

Ryuu nodded at the crowd. His hands were stuck in his pockets, and he was trying very hard not to panic. The girls were staring at him as if he were a feast, and they were starving to gobble him up.

"He's so cute!" Emi could hear one girl say to another.

"Right? I love his hair!"

"I bet it's soft and fluffy!"

"Kyaaaa!"

Emi shuddered. These words were a bit too similar to what she'd heard before. "Now, to celebrate this," Kyoya said. "Whoever can correctly guess Ryuu's type will win a special prize."

"Oooh," said the guests.

"What kind of prize?" someone yelled out.

"It's a surprise," Tamaki said. He pulled the girl who asked the question out of the crowd, an arm wrapped around her waist. "But, if you really want, I could be that prize."

And they burst out screaming.

"He looks a lot like you," Sumiko said.

"A-Ah, yeah." Emi nodded, reminded that she was at Ouran, not Midoriyama. "We get that a lot."

"So he's from your dad's side of the family?" Sumiko and Emi headed towards Ryuu, as the girls split to their designated hosts.

"Yeah, our dad's side has a lot of relatives," Emi said. This was certainly true.

"Do you guys all look this similar?"

"Sometimes."

Ryuu was already seated at his table. He might not have looked nervous to the girls, but Emi could tell from his slightly paler complexion that he was nervous. Very nervous.

"He-" Ryuu paused to clear his throat and collect himself. "Hey."

The girls immediately squealed. "So cool! He's like Kyoya but a darker version!"
A darker version? Ryuu wasn't sure if what he heard was correct. Are you kidding me? Kyoya is way darker than me!

"Emi-san, he's your cousin right?" one girl in their class, Akiko Sano, said. Emi nodded. Akiko smiled and leaned in to whisper into Emi's ear. "He is so cute."

Emi managed to smile back.

"So. Wassup?"

What the heck. The disappointment was clear on Emi's face. That was so lame. God, Ryuu, why are you so nervous?

The girls giggled anyway.

"So, Ryuu-kun, is it okay if we call you that?"

"Sure." Ryuu shrugged. "Whatever you want."

"Okay, Ryuu-kun! Why are you staying with Emi and Ryo's family?"

"Ah, some family stuff," Ryuu said.

"Like?" one girl said.

He frowned and looked away. "It's none of your business."

Wow. It just turned so chilly here, Emi thought. The girls at his table could feel a cold wind blow by.

"I-I'm sorry!" the girl said. She was blushing from embarrassment.

Ryuu glanced at her. "It-It's okay."

"Then, Ryuu-kun," Akiko said. "Why'd you join the Host Club?"

He perked up on this question, and a slow grin appeared. "Ah, those guys just begged me to join."

"As if," two voices said from behind Ryuu. He jumped and whirled around. The twins leaned against the couch and stared down at Ryuu. "You were the one begging to join."

"I didn't do anything like that!" Ryuu said.

"Oh really?" The twins had a bored expression on. Their eyes were dull.

"I clearly remember you grabbing my leg," Hikaru said. "While crying, 'Please, great Hitachiin-sama!'"

"And I remember you worshipping Tono when you first met him," Kaoru said.

"Why the hell would I do something stupid like that?" Ryuu stood up.

"Ryuu," Emi said. "Could you calm down and sit? You'll scare the girls away."

Ryuu glanced at her. "No! Today, these twins go down!" He turned back to the Hitachiins and began cracking his knuckles. "Come on. I'll fight you two at the same time."

"No thanks," the twins said, still maintaining an indifferent look. "But maybe we'll consider…" They pulled matching caps out from their pockets while smiling. "If you win in the Which One Is Hikaru game."

"Bring it on!" Ryuu said.

"Ooh, I love this game!" Akiko said, grinning.

"Ryuu-kun is really short-tempered huh?" another girl said.

"I guess it's kinda refreshing," another one said. "Since all the other Hosts have pretty good temperaments."

"The twins can be short-tempered too."

"Then is Ryuu-kun the Short-Tempered Type?"

Emi giggled. Short-tempered type. Fits him more perfectly than the Tsundere type.

"He's… a bit like Ryo," Sumiko said.

Emi tensed. "Ye-Yeah. That's why Ryo and Ryuu don't get along very well," she said. "So they avoid each other whenever they can."

Sumiko laughed. "Really? You have interesting relatives, Emi."

"Now, which one is Hikaru?" the twins asked. They had twirled around until no one could tell who was who, and the caps covered their distinctive bangs.

Everyone studied the two carefully.

"Hikaru is the one on the right!" Akiko guessed, pointing.

"Okay! I'll go with that one!" Ryuu said. "The right!"

"Wrong!" The twins stuck out their tongues. Emi stared at them some more. With the hats on, they really did look identical, almost like clones. She stood up and went a bit closer.

"What, Emi-chan?" the twin on the left asked, smiling more than he was smirking. The one on the right narrowed his eyes.

Emi smiled, noting the differences. "You're Kaoru-kun!" she said to the left twin.

"Huh?" the twins said.

"Am I right, Fujioka-kun?" Emi said.

Haruhi paused from where she stood in the room and stared at the twins. "Kaoru's on the left, and Hikaru is the on right."

"So I was right!" Akiko said.

"Woo-hoo!" Ryuu turned around and held his hand up to her. She grinned before high-fiving him.

"Now then, twins! I have won!" Ryuu turned back towards the twins, but they were busy interrogating Emi.

"How could you tell us apart?"

"What was it, huh?"

"Um…" Emi tried to explain it too. It was hard to say, but there were very slight differences to their appearances. If she just stared at them long enough, she could tell them apart, a bit. "Well, Kaoru-kun has a gentler feel to him." Cause he's a perfect uke! Ah, but I can't tell them that. They wouldn't understand, but Kaoru just gives off the aura of an uke! One look of him screams "Uke!" While Hikaru gives off the aura and has the appearance of a seme. "And, um, Hikaru-kun has this rougher aura to him."

"Hah?" Ryuu was as confused as the twins.

"Plus your voices are slightly different! And Kaoru-kun is nicer, so of course he'd be the one to ask me 'what' in a nice tone."

The twins harrumphed and then headed back to their area, messing up Haruhi's hair along the way.

"Wait! Get back here so that I can beat yo-"

Emi shoved Ryuu back onto the couch. "Be nice, you idiot!"

Ryuu puffed his cheeks out and pouted while crossing his arms. "I am being nice you idiot."

"KYAAAA!"

There goes my eardrums, Ryuu thought. He had to force himself to sit still and not clamp his ears shut with both hands.

"So cute!"

"That was so… dere-dere like!"

"Yeah, it was adorable!"

I did not expect that, Emi thought.

I shouldn't have done that, Ryuu thought.

Emi sat back down. This plan was beginning to be more stressful for her than for Ryuu, who just had to be himself.

"Okay, do you guys want some tea?" Ryuu asked.

"Sure!"

"Yes please!"

He got back up and poured the girls a cup. "Be careful, it's hot."

"Thank you, Ryuu-kun!" Akiko smiled.

Uwaa, what a blinding smile! Ryuu didn't even react when his fingers brushed against hers. He was too distracted by the dazzling warmth of the girls around him. Yes, they were fangirling over him, but they weren't jumping on him. Maybe, just maybe, this would work out after all…

Ryuu couldn't sleep. Even though he was exhausted from hosting, he couldn't fall asleep. He didn't understand how the other hosts could stand flirting with girls every day. He felt drained to the core.

But he couldn't sleep.

Ryuu sat up in his bed, staring at the shadows of his room. The house was silent. He kicked the covers off and left his bedroom, opening the door right across the hall. He expected it to be as dark as his room, but instead, there was a lamp on at the desk.

"Emi?" Ryuu shut the door behind him. The light was too bright for him.

"Ryuu? What are you doing up?" Emi was seated at her desk. Her laptop was opened in front of her.

"What are you doing up?" Ryuu asked. He pointed at her computer while heading towards her. "And you're on the computer?"

"I can't sleep," she said, turning back to the screen.

"Well neither can I." He sat down on the chair, and she scooted over so he'd have room. Then he looked at the screen and regretted it immediately. "Oh my God, Emi!" He fell to the ground, so that he couldn't see the terrible images. "What the hell are you reading?!"

"Keep it down," she said. "Do you want Berty to hear us?"

Ryuu peeked over the desk and saw it again. He squeezed his eyes shut. "That is so… so… what the hell did I just see?!"

"Yaoi, at its finest," Emi said.

"That's its finest? I've seen some of what you read but that has got to be the worst stuff I've seen in a while." His hands dug into his eyes. "Gross. It's like porn! For girls!"

"It's not as dirty as-" Emi paused in her reading to consider his words. "Okay, kind of, but they're just drawings. It's not like actual pictures."

Ryuu stood up, trying not to look at that scene on the computer. Then he pulled the cover down and grabbed her arm.

"Ryuu!"

"We're going to sleep. Come on."

"I was at a good part!" Emi's eyes were bloodshot, and she looked just a bit crazy when she grabbed his shirt. "I was at a good part!" she said again, this time emphasizing each word.

"I get it. I get it. You'll still be at a good part ten minutes from now," Ryuu said.

"No you don't understand. They were finally going to become a couple!" Emi's eyes bulged. "They were going to finally do it!"

"Ew why do you even want to see that?" he said. He was sure that he would never be able to understand any fujoshi's mind, even Emi's. "And they were already doing… that! And they're not a couple?!"

"You don't understand!" she said.

"I know. I know." He started pushing her towards the bed. He reached past her shoulder to turn off the lamp.

"Haven't you ever read yuri?"

"No. I haven't."

"How? Aren't guys supposed to dig yuri?"

"No we aren't. We're supposed to dig 3-D girls." Ryuu pulled the covers up and slid into the cold bed. Emi must have been up for a while now.

"How dare you call yourself an otaku," she said, joining him. "It's cold."

"Cause you were up reading that stuff."

"It's called yaoi. You can say it out loud, you know."

He shuddered. "No thanks. Warn me the next time you're reading it."

"You should know by now, Ryuu. It's not like I read anything else."

"Fanfic."

"Ah, but that's also yaoi fanfic too."

"Shoujo manga."

"Occasionally. Like, once out of ten mangas maybe."

"Shonen manga."

"That's like one out of ten too."

"I get it. It's just yaoi for you, huh?"

"Yup! Just like how you love strawberry milk so much."

"No, I don't think I like strawberry… Ah, yeah. Never mind. I do."

"See?"

"Okay, let's just go to sleep."

After a moment of silence, Emi spoke up again, "Why couldn't you sleep?"

"I just couldn't," he said. He rolled onto his side to face her, but he couldn't even make out the lines of her face in the dark. "And you?"

"I just couldn't too," she said.

But they both knew that the other was lying.

"We already told you to stay away from him."

"Yeah, but you still keep sticking right next to him."

"But I'm-"

"So? That doesn't mean you can follow him everywhere. I swear, every second the two of you are together, and it's really annoying."

"We know you're doing it on purpose too."

"No I'm not-"

"You just want to keep him to yourself. You don't him to get a girlfriend right? So you keep all the girls away from him."

"Even those girls you 'helped' by giving their love letters to him."

"I gave those letters! He just didn't-"

"We don't want to hear your stupid lies!"

A shove and I fall to the floor. Someone wrestles my school bag out of my hands. "Hey!" Then the door slams shut.

"Wait, wait!" I stand up and shake the door knob. It won't budge, so I start pounding on the door. "Come back here!"

"This is to teach you a lesson! Quit clinging to Ryuu-kun!"

"I'm not!" I yell, but I can hear the fading footsteps. "I'm not! He's not used to this school yet so he likes to stay by my side! And I-"

Another door closes. I keep smashing my fist against the closest door. This wasn't supposed to happen. Didn't this kind of stuff only happen in mangas? Was I too naive? I knew I shouldn't have followed those girls into the old school building. Nobody was going to check here. It was going to be demolished in another week.

What am I going to do? I fall to the floor and begin searching the closest. There was only the broken head of a broom, an empty container of soap, and a half-cracked bucket. I take the broom and ram the door with it. Someone… hurry and find me!

Ten minutes past, and the broom is even more broken. The door is slightly scarred. I kick the door a few times, hoping it'll give way. It's old. Maybe the hinges are rusty, but it won't fall down. Action movies are such liars.

I sit on the floor and wait. Ryuu will find me missing, and he'll tear down the entire town until he finds me.

Who were those girls again? They were third years, right? If I have their names, I can get them into trouble. I pick at the broom head, pulling each straw piece off one at a time. I lean against the door and try to hear sounds of anyone.

But it's silent. I close my eyes in resignation. Someone will find me eventually. I'll just have to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

When I open my eyes again, I don't know how much times has passed. I don't have a watch, and everything I had was in my school bag. And those girls had taken it.

I put my head against the dusty ground to peer under the door. I can see light from under it. Maybe it was a flashlight?

I pound on the door again. "Hello? Is someone out there?"

But it's silent.

No way. There's no way it's already the next day! I look under the door again, and this time I can see the light coming from the windows. No way, no way! How could Ryuu not have come looking for me?

"Ryuu? Someone? Hey!"

There's still no sound. It really is the next day.

But it's Saturday! No one's going to be at this school until Monday again! Oh my God. Why hasn't Ryuu come yet? Why aren't Berty and Akimi-nee-chan looking for me? I slump against the door. I am hungry, thirsty, and I have to pee.

Just how long will I have to wait?

Emi woke up to a sense of terror. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted in the darkness, then she pushed herself up.

A dream? No, that was… a flashback. Haha, I thought this only happened in mangas! Emi ran a hand through her hair. Her stomach was churning from the old memories. That day had probably been the worst day of her life. Trapped in a closet for so many agonizing hours.

Emi glanced at her brother, who was sound asleep. She laid back down facing him. There was just enough morning light for her to make out his peaceful face. Why is he such a heavy sleeper?Emi scooted closer towards him. Why can't he wake up and hug me?

She closed her eyes, but those images came back. Lying on the cold floor, trying to keep her mind off of how hungry and thirsty she was. Resorting to peeing in the bucket because there was no other way. Hitting the door so many times that her hands hurt. Screaming and yelling until her voice didn't work anymore.

Emi couldn't sleep. She couldn't even shut her eyes. I'm at Ouran now. It won't happen again. And even if it does happen- No. It won't happen again. Besides, that was one time. One time only. It won't happen again.

She was pressed up against Ryuu now. She could feel his warm skin and hear his even breathing. I'm at Ouran now. There's Fujioka-kun and the rest of the Host Club who can help me. I don't have to fight alone.

Yes. Just like Chiharu and Kei-kun.

I miss them.

The next day, the moment Ryuu and Emi entered the school, a bunch of girls swamped the twins.

"Your cousin is so cute!"

"He's really handsome!"

"Why is he staying with you guys?"

"Is he going to transfer in?"

"Uh, uh-" Ryuu froze up from being surrounded by so many girls. One was squeezing his arm while grinning. It felt like he was trapped and waiting for his death. He felt his throat begin to constrict. "E-Em-"

Emi grabbed his other arm and pulled him behind her. "Ryo doesn't really get along with Ryuu, so asking her isn't any use."

Ryuu let out a sigh of relief. He really didn't know what he would have done if Emi wasn't there. Probably just faint on the ground. He wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her while listening to the girls' upset cries.

"Eh?"

"Seriously?"

"Then Emi-saaaaaan!"

"Tell us! Tell us!"

"Um." Emi racked her mind for something to say. "Well, first of all, he came from Kyoto. He's from my dad's side of the family."

"Uh-huh." The girls all nodded eagerly, latched onto every word Emi said.

"Second of all, he'd probably prefer you just ask him yourself."

"But he told Sekorin that why he moved over was none of her business!"

"Then that means he doesn't want you to know for a good reason," Emi said. The girls sighed together.

"Then is he going to transfer in?"

Emi shook her head.

"Why not?"

"You should ask him yourself," Emi said. "Now, please excuse us, we have to get to class."

The girls moved aside, chatting between themselves.

"He'll be here today right?"

"Yeah, didn't he say he'd be here until summer break?"

"But summer break is coming up soon!"

"We have like a month."

Once they were well out of earshot, Emi shrugged Ryuu off her shoulders. "See? What did I tell you?"

"I didn't think-" Ryuu's voice came out as a squeak. He cleared his throat. "I didn't expect that to happen. I was prepared to get jumped on but not like that."

Emi sighed. "You'll have to come up with your own answers to their questions." She opened the classroom door.

"Okay. Thanks Emi," Ryuu said. The twins were already in the classroom, talking to Haruhi.

"Oh hey Ryo-chan." The twins looked up as they came down the aisle. They smiled. "You missed your adorable cousin yesterday."

Ryuu frowned. "What a bummer."

"Mm-hm." The twins nodded. The bell rang, and the teacher stepped into the room.

"I like spicy foods," Ryuu said.

"Do you like sweet things?"

"Eh, not really. I prefer salty foods."

"Like what?"

Emi sat back down on the couch. Today she was sitting with the twins, because their table was closest to Ryuu's.

"Oi, Emi, quit worrying about your cousin," Hikaru said.

"Yeah, look at us instead," Kaoru said. His fangirls shot her glares from the special attention.

"Sorry. You have my undivided attention," Emi said. The twins continued their hosting, while Emi gripped the bottom of the couch.

I knew I should have just sat with Ryuu today. It's been over a week now, and nothing bad has happened. Things should be fine. Emi stood up. I have to get out of this room, or I'll just keep worrying about him. Their midterms were coming up soon anyway. "Excuse me." She nodded at the twins. "I'll be leaving now."

"Hm?" The twins were confused, but they didn't stop her as she left the room. She went to the library where she sat down with her homework. The jumble of numbers and words were enough to keep her mind off of Ryuu. And the past.

Jing-ga-ling!

Emi picked up her buzzing phone. It was a message from Chiharu: "Hey Emi! What are your plans for summer break? I wanna meet up with you… x"

Emi smiled and typed a reply back: "We're going to Kyoto for the summer to stay with Dad. Let's meet! ^-^"

Please review! Share your thoughts with me! :D And thanks for reading!