Amber Leaves

by bored411

I died. By cement bag...but how the heck did I end up here, helping Haruhi fish out her bag from the fountain? One incident, and now Kyoya wants me as a host to keep her secret! I'm horrible with people! Guess that just mean's I'll make his life a living hell. MorixOCxKyoya and some OCxOC COMPLETE!

11. Chapter 11

Okay. I personally think this is a bit dull int he beginning since there was a ton of dialogue that I kept trying to skip around, but I totally made up for it in the end :) I hope you wonderful reviewers don't hate me for where i left it off, but hey, if you bug me enough, I might update just that much faster.

To my wonderful Watson, who I am sure is reading this: I hope you understand why i didn't tell you what I was going to do now ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Ouran. Just my characters and some of the plot. I also don't own the two songs below.

---

"Just The Way You Are"By Bruno Mars

"I know, I know
When I compliment her she won't believe me
And it's so, it's so
Sad to think that she don't see what I see
But every time she asks me "Do I look okay? "
I say
When I see your face (face face...)
There's not a thing that I would change
'Cause you're amazing (amazing)
Just the way you are"

---

"True Love"
By P!nk

"Sometimes I hate every single stupid word you say
Sometimes I wanna slap you in your whole face
There's no one quite like you
You push all my buttons down
I know life would suck without you
At the same time, I wanna hug you
I wanna wrap my hands around your neck
You're an asshole but I love you"

---

I didn't know whether to be excited or nervous. Today was the day the twins were going to pick me up for our sleepover/modeling session. Fu-kun wasn't going, unfortunately, but Haruhi was willing to keep an eye on him for me. You better behave, Fu-kun. What am I? A child? I thought about it, tapping my chin as Fu-kun sat on my shoulder, waiting. Finally I nodded. Yes.

Fu-kun skittered down my shirt and began running his nose around my stomach, forcing me to fall back onto the floor in a fit of laughter.

"S-Stop! Your n-nose is cold! I-I-It tickles!" I flailed.

He popped his head out of my shirt with a ferret like smirk. Am I still a child? I glanced down at him and I couldn't help it.

"Yes."

Needless to say, I was very near tickled to death until the doorbell rang.

"Fu-kun! S-Stop! I-I need to get the d-door!"

Then go get it! I struggled to get up, still being tickled, and tripped over my own feet. A loud crash rang out as I had hit the end table, thus knocking over a lamp, but Fu-kun finally stopped tickling me and I pulled him out of my shirt before running to answer the door.

"Y-Yeah?""

The twins stood there, giving em odd looks and trying to peek around me.

"Did you break something?"

"Yeah. We heard a crash."

I chuckled nervously. "Just a lamp. I'm okay."

"Right…" They said, strolling into my apartment.

It was a bit messy, but not as bad as it would've been if I had a manuscript due. Most of the papers were off the floor and there weren't any soda bottles lying around, but it still gave you that feeling of being lived in.

Cleaning up the broken shards of the lamp and hurrying to my bedroom while the twins went through my things, I grabbed my overnight bag and scooped up Fu-kun. I double checked my mental checklist and nodded to myself once I was done.

"Okay. I think I have everything. Just let me drop off Fu-kun with Haruhi and then we can go."

"Sure thing!"

They headed out the door and I locked it behind us, while they went down to their limo and I made my way next door. I knocked and it took a moment before a ragged, makeup-less Ranka opened the door.

"Oh, um, sorry for waking you up, Ranka-chan." I said quietly. "Is Haruhi home?"

He sighed, pulling a hand through his hair. "Sorry, Ko-chan. Haruhi went to the market really quick. Is it anything I can help you with?"

This wasn't the first time I'd run into Ranka in this shape, so neither of us minded his haphazard demeanor.

"Actually, I came to drop Fu-kun off. Haruhi offered to watch him while I stay with the twins this weekend."

He smiled and held out his hands. "Well, I'll take him! I'm sure we'll get along just fine until Haruhi gets back…I'm guessing the twins know then?"

I knew what he was talking about and nodded, Fu-kun running across my arm and over to Ranka's. "I told them a month or so ago. I forgot to tell you, sorry."

He waved his hand. "It's fine! It's fine! It's your decision on who to tell, but does that mean I can call you 'chan' now?"

I chuckled. "Sorry, Ranka-chan. Not yet. Kyoya-kun still doesn't know."

"Really? You'd think that blonde idiot would be the last to find out."

"Ranka-chan, he's smarter than you think." I chided him playfully.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, I'm not going to give Haruhi over to him that easily."

Just then, the twins shouted from down below.

"Kohaku! Let's go!"

I waved down at them and turned back to Ranka. "I better go now, Fu-kun. You behave."

I'll try. I started to walk away, but Ranka stopped me by turning me around and pulling me into a hug.

"Be safe."

I pulled away with a smile. "I will. Thanks…Ranka."

I headed down the stairs and gave Ranka one last wave before climbing in the limo with the twins.

"It's about time." Hikaru grumbled as we pulled away from the curb.

"What were you and Ranka-chan talking about?"

"A few things, actually. Since Haruhi went shopping, he took Fu-kun and he was just wondering if you two knew I was a girl."

They nodded, and Kaoru spoke up.

"So who doesn't know? Besides Kyoya."

Hikaru scoffed. "Probably Tono. He had to walk in on Haruhi changing to figure out she was a girl."

I smiled, placing my chin on my hand. "You'd think so, right? But Tamaki-kun figured it out way before I even told you two."

"No way!"

"Yup. He told me during the beach trip. Honey-kun and Takashi-kun were the first to figure it out."

They hummed in unison.

"You'd think the Shadow King would've known."

"Yeah. He knew right away with Haruhi."

"But he had her records. I have virtually none." I said with a shrug.

"Okay then…"

"Why do you dress…"

"Like a guy?"

I frowned thoughtfully. "It's comfortable? I've been like this since I was young, so I'm not really sure when it actually started or why. I guess I'm so used to it now that anything else bothers me."

"So you made it into a game?" Kaoru asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah. It's kind of like the game you two play. You look for people who can tell you apart and accept you guys as a pair, while I look for someone who can see me as a girl but accept that I act and dress like a guy. Makes sense?"

They looked at me in surprise before grabbing me in a hug. Fake tears streamed down their faces as they nuzzled my face and pet my head.

"That was beautiful!"

"We'll always be here for you, Kohaku!"

I rolled my eyes at their antics with a smile. "Yeah. Thanks guys."

Hikaru suddenly let go though. "Wait a minute. Then what about Shindo-kun?"

"That's right!" Kaoru said, letting go as well. "Is he really your boyfriend?"

I laughed, full on laughed, and shook my head. "No! H-He's gay!"

Their eyes widened in shock and mine did the same when I remembered his confession, heat beginning to rise to my cheeks.

"O-Or is he?…"

Ow they were confused, but before they could ask me about it, the limo doors opened and the chauffer went to take my bag from me.

"Allow me."

Knowing he might consider it rude not to let him carry my things, I hesitantly handed it over. He bowed and walked off as the twins pulled me towards the front doors.

"We're home!"

"Mom! Come meet…"

"…our guest!"

There was a shuffling not far off, and Yuzuha Hitachiin poked her head around the corner. Upon catching sight of me, she came out and immediately got very close to my face.

"Um…h-hello." I stuttered out as her eyes roamed over my body scrutinizingly.

"This is Kohaku Nishimura, mom." Kaoru said.

"Or friend from school that we told you about." Hikaru replied while Yuzuha continued to roam around me.

I was getting more and more nervous, and started regretting coming here. I was used to being judged by others, but not this…intently. Finally she stood up straight and smiled.

"I'm Yuzuha Hitachiin and you were right, boys. She does have a nice figure. Very natural, not overly muscular but just enough, and her androgynous look is very appealing.

"We told you."

"We even got her to come willingly."

"Unlike Haruhi." They shrugged.

Yuzuha nodded, before` taking my hand and pulling me down the hall.

"Well, I have the perfect assortment of cloths for you. Do you boys have her measurements?"

"Yes ma'am!" They called out as I was shoved into a changing room.

"Remember mom…"

"…no girl clothes!"

"I got it boys! Here, try this on, Kohaku-san."

A set of clothes were pushed through the curtains an I began changing. My jeans were replaced with designer jeans and my shabby, over-sized t-shirt switched out with a white polo shirt and a black, silk, tuxedo jacket. I walked out of the changing room and fidgeted nervously.

"I-Is this okay?"

"Hm…" Yuzuha hummed, twirling her finger. "Turn around slowly."

I did as she asked and, once I faced her again, the twins hurried over.

"Let's try this." Hikaru said, dropping a midnight colored scarf around my neck to hand off my shoulders.

"And this!" Kaoru put a somewhat low-hanging cross necklace around my neck and the two of them stepped back to join their mother, hands on their chins.

"Ah! Kohaku!" I looked up at Kaoru as he snapped his fingers. "Lean against the wall!"

I did as I was told, pulling up my right leg to rest my heel against the wall as well.

"Good! Now pretend you're tired and pull your hand through your hair!" Hikaru called out.

I sighed, leaning farther into the wall, and pulled my hand through my hair. A flash went off and I looked up at Yuzuha smiling but no camera in sight. Huh, maybe I imagined it.

"That's perfect!" She handed me another set of clothes and told me to change once more.

This outfit was very different from the last one and had a very American feel to it. I had torn jeans now and a white shirt with the Statue of Liberty printed on the front in a sea green color. Under it, I wore a black under shirt and when I walked out, the twins added earrings, rings, bracelets, and a chain on my pants.

"Put your hands in your pockets!"

"Now look up and to the right!"

I cocked my head to the side, beginning to have fun with this. "My right or yours?"

"Yours."

I did, taking interest in the design on the ceiling. Who paints designs on the ceiling? Another flash.

"Good! Now let's move on to formal wear!"

I was handed a tux and was pushed once more into the changing room. Putting on the grey stripped dress shirt, black tie, and the dark green-almost black-jacket I stepped out once more, buttoning the cuffs on my sleeve and putting on a silver Rolex watch.

"Did you bring your glasses with you?" Kaoru asked and I nodded, returning to the changing room to grab my glasses out of my jacket pocket.

"Got 'em." I said as I put them on.

"Cool! Now hold this," Hikaru handed me a notebook and pen. "and act like Kyoya, but smile a little."

As I did that, another flash went off and I pulled my glasses from my face and looked around in frustration.

"Where are those flashes coming from?!"

Yuzuha and the twins busied themselves with another outfit.

"We don't know…"

"…what you're talking about."

"Now wear this!"

Grumbling, I went to change once more into a very dark blue kimono top that had a silver wolf stitched into the soft fabric and some matching pair of pants that went just past my knees. I hope they're almost done. I'm already getting tired. I went out and this outfit went by a bit faster since there was nothing they wanted to add other than me posing by the window. There's that flash again! Being forced to ignore it as the twins shoved me back into the changing room, I came face to face with the last outfit of the day.

This one was curious. It gave me a more laid back English feel to it and I almost thought they were joking around and trying to dress me up as a professor. I put on the clothes though, which consisted of black slacks, a light blue plaid shirt with a steel blue overcoat, and a magenta colored tie. As I walked out though, I could feel something missing to the outfit. Something that would make it more…fun.

"Something's missing." Hikaru said, a hand on his chin.

"What is it?" Kaoru questioned and even Yuzuha seemed confused as to what it could be.

Looking around, I spotted it. A grey fedora with a light blue stripe was practically begging me to wear it. Hurrying over, I snatched it up and plopped it on my head.

"How about this?" I said with a big grin.

I swear I only closed my eyes for a moment but I distinctly saw a flash through my eyelids. Before I could say or do anything, the twins pulled me between them.

"That's it!"

I nearly fell over backwards, but they steadied me with laughter echoing around us. There were a few more flashes as the twins and I goofed around and played with the hat, but I didn't really mind. I was having fun, so who cares?

The hat was tossed around between the three of us,, and my overcoat was getting wrinkled as we chased after each other. I felt like I was back with my family, just being silly. That is, until I fell with Hikaru on top of me and my nose just touching Kaoru's.

"Hehe, oops." I chuckled, not really noticing the position we were in. "Sorry Kaoru!"

His face was a bit red, but he let out a small laugh of his own.

"Haha! Hikaru! Get off! I'm being squished!"

Hikaru rolled off me and I got up too, helping Kaoru up as well.

"You okay?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yup! But you two are seriously heavy!"

We all laughed as a maid came over to inform us about dinner being ready. When I went back into the changing room though, I glanced in the mirrors with a small smile on my face. I knew what kind of situation Karou and I had just been in, but I was sincerely happy.

I wasn't super embarrassed and neither was Kaoru, and nothing had really happened. The two of them were like brothers to me and, now that I realize that, so are the others in the club. The smile dropped from my face suddenly. That can't be right. I mean, Kyoya and I were in that situation before and I was freaking out…Why is it different than what just happened between Kaoru and I? I was about to ponder it more as I walked out of the changing room, but a maid surprised me.

"N-Nishimura-sama? I w-was told to escort you to the dining room."

She was around my age it seemed-maybe a bit older-and I gave her a small smile

"Okay. T-Thank you."

Her face flushed and she bowed, looking a bit jittery.

"T-T-This way."

I followed behind her and was a tad confused as to why she kept glancing back at me. Maybe she wants to tell me something. Gathering up my courage, I walked a little faster until I was beside her.

"Are you okay?" I asked, leaning over to see her face. "I-Is there something you want to tell me?"

She turned a brilliant shade of red as we entered the dining room and quickly bowed to me.

"I-I'm sorry!" She half-shouted and then turned and ran out the door.

"A-Ah-" I reached out to stop her, but she was already gone.

"Pft!"

"Ahahahaha!" The twins began laughing hysterically and I turned to them completely lost. Even Yuzuha and her husband-yeah, I noticed him-were laughing.

"W-What?" I stuttered. "What'd I do?"

The twins wiped tears from their eyes as they began to calm down, but it was Mr. Hitachiin who spoke first.

"It seems our maid has a crush on you, Nishimura-san."

My face flushed and I turned towards the door before looking back at them in complete shock.

"I-I…W-Wha…Huh?"

The twins went back into a fit of laughter and Yuzuha gestured to the table with a small chuckle.

"It's all right. Take a seat. She'll figure it out soon enough."

I nodded slowly and sat down next to Mr. Hitachiin and across from the twins. When the chefs brought out the food, I quickly dug in. What can I say? I'm a commoner and it's not everyday I get to eat a feast like this. And I don't even know what I was eating! I heard chuckled from across the table and frowned as the twins smiled innocently.

"What? It's good." I muttered.

They laughed some more and Yuzuha started up a conversation.

"So Kohaku-san, what do you plan on doing after you graduate? Ever think of modeling?"

I contemplated that for a second. "I did for a little while, but I was actually thinking of becoming a novelist…but…It doesn't make much and…I'm unsure."

I stared down at my plate nervous at how they would take that kind of information. After all, the rich had most of their lives planned out by themselves or other family members. Uncertainty, from what I knew, was completely unheard of if not frowned upon. Yuzuha didn't seem to mind though.

"Well, you're more than welcome to drop by to work for me."

I smiled softly. "Thanks, Yuzuha-san."

She smiled back in return. "You're welcome. I'm sure your parents would be happy with whatever you chose."

"Mom." The twins said, nodding in my direction as my face fell.

"O-Oh…I'm sorry."

"It's okay." I said, smiling sadly. "I'm sure they'd be happy."

The table grew quiet as I picked at the food on my plate.

"Do you live alone then?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Next door to Haruhi, actually. It's okay though. She brings me dinner and makes sure I take care of myself. And with the Host Club around, it's like I still have my family."

Yuzuha smiled softly. "You're a very strong woman, Kohaku-san. I'm glad Hikaru and Kaoru are making you feel at home."

I chuckled. "Yeah, well, they remind me of my brother and sister. They used to cause all sorts of mischief."

"You have siblings?"

"…Had." I said. "Four younger sisters and a younger brother. It was so crazy, it was like having my own little Host Club at home."

"What were they like, if you don't mind me asking?"

My smiled grew as I remembered my family and all their crazy antics.

"Well, Sarah and Patrick were the two who always caused mischief when together. We used to call them the evil twins. Then melody was…like Tamaki-kun." I said, looking at the twins. "Not too bright, but always excited. Catherine was a bit like Renge-san and loved to go around gossiping and being social. And Jennifer was similar to Honey-kun since she was almost always happy and eating sweets."

"What about your parents?" The twins asked, dinner practically forgotten.

"My dad was a bit strict, but loved to have a good laugh. Him and my brother got along really well because they both shared the love of cars and guns."

"Guns?" The twins gulped.

I nodded. "Yup. My dad owned a bunch-legally, of course-and would take us out shooting in the desert occasionally. He always used to joke around about my sisters and I getting boyfriends and how he would interrogate them first."

I laughed as the twins grew pale and Mr. Hitachiin spoke up once more.

"What about your mother?"

"Hm…She was really nice. I actually was really close to her and we were like sisters at times. We told each other our problems when she took me to school and just talked, really. There were times when she'd get angry or upset, but she still loved us and always tried her hardest to put a smile on our faces."

"It sounds like you really loved your family."

I nodded, rubbing my nose for a second. "Yeah."

The maids took away our plates and such, before Yuzuha stood up from the table.

"Well boys, why don't you take Kohaku-kun upstairs and enjoy yourselves. Your father and I have some work we need to do."

"Okay!" they called out and came over to grab my arms and pull me out the doors.

"Come on, Kohaku!"

"We want to show you our room!"

They tugged me up the stairs and down numerous hallways until I was sure I was lost. Not soon enough, we reached their room and I could easily tell that it was built just for the two of them. A huge flat screen TV was set up on the wall facing the bed, hooked up with a bunch of video game systems. The bed was a large king sized bed that the twins, undoubtedly, shared and two doors; one leading to the bathroom and the other leading to a gigantic walk-in closet. And, of course, the place was a bit of a mess.

"Don't you guys clean your room?" I questioned, stepping over a pile of clothes.

"Says you. You're place was a mess."

True. "Besides, our maids are supposed to do it."

"But they don't seem to like us very much."

"I wonder why." I said, rolling my eyes.

They pushed me onto the bed and grabbed three controllers and, before I knew it, we ended up in a gaming competition with me in last place. The game ended and I sighed, falling back onto the mattress.

"I give up. You two are too good."

"That's not true." Kaoru said, falling back next to me and propping his head up with his elbow.

"Yeah. You just suck at video games." Hikaru finished, falling back as well.

"Hey." I muttered half-heartedly, eyelids drooping.

They chuckled, their arms lying across my stomach, which I didn't mind, surprisingly. Then, Kaoru spoke as my eyes began to close.

"Kohaku?"

"Hm?"

"Are we really your family?"

I rolled onto my side towards him, my head touching his chest as I nodded sleepily.

"You can't replace what I lost…but…I love you guys just as much as I loved my real family."

I tensed when I felt Hikaru brush a hand through my hair, but soon relaxed as it soothed me to sleep.

"The Host Club…is my family now…my only…family…" I muttered, before giving in and sleeping.

---

(No one's POV)

Hikaru and Kaoru watched silently as Kohaku's breathing evened out and she fell asleep, her head against Kaoru's chest and a hand fisted around his shirt.

"What are you thinking, Hikaru?" Kaoru asked, looking over at Hikaru's thoughtful expression.

"She's a lot like Tono."

Kaoru nodded. "Except she's smart."

"And shy."

"She's gotten better though."

"She's changed." Hikaru agreed, watching as Kohaku shifted in her sleep.

They were both silent for a moment.

"Hey, Kaoru?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think she's okay?"

Kaoru looked down at Kohaku, brushing a strand of white hair away from her face.

"No…I think she's trying, but…"

He trailed off, knowing that Hikaru knew what he was trying to say.

"She's strong. Don't' you think, Kaoru?"

"Yeah…She needs someone though."

"Aren't we enough?" Hikaru questioned and Kaoru shook his head.

"No. She needs someone…special."

Hikaru looked up, eyes shining in curiosity. "But who?"

"Tono won't do. He's got his eyes on Haruhi."

"Right. Honey-senpai too. He's more like a little brother."

"What about Shindo-kun?" Kaoru asked, remembering when they questioned Kohaku about him earlier.

Hikaru thought about that for a minute. "nah. There's something between them, but I don't think it's that."

"Hm. The only two left are…"

"…Mori-senpai and Kyoya."

They looked at each other, grins slowly forming on their faces.

"They both like her, right?" Hikaru asked.

"I think so, but Kyoya still doesn't know she's a girl."

"Right." Hikaru nodded with a chuckle. "He probably thinks he's gay! Ahaha! I wish I could see how the great Ootori-sama deals with that!"

"Sh! Hikaru!" Kaoru shushed. "You might wake her up."

They both glanced down at Kohaku, but she was still dead asleep.

"What about Mori-senpai?"

Kaoru shook his head. "I don't know. I mean, I think he likes her."

Hikaru nodded. "I know what you mean. He's harder to read than Kyoya."

"He seemed pretty odd though, when we pointed out the wrong changing room the other day."

"Yeah. He came out and tripped over his own feet…Doesn't that mean he likes her?"

Kaoru shrugged, dropping his elbow and fully lying down. "Anyone would act like that if they walked in on someone."

"But not Mori-senpai." Hikaru laid down as well. "the only other time we saw him like that was when her and Honey were washed away at Kyoya's jungle pool."

"I know what we can do." Kaoru announced.

"What?"

"Well, since we don't know if they really like her, why don't we find out?"

"How?"

"With Mori-senpai."

"You don't mean…"

Kaoru nodded and they both smirked.

"This is going to be fun." Hikaru said, the final words spoken before he and his brother curled up around Kohaku; arms around her waist and limbs intermingled. Little did Kohaku know, when she returned to school she would be more popular than ever.

---

"Hikaru! Kaoru! What is this?!" Kohaku shouted, having stormed over to the Host Club table in the cafeteria and slammed down a magazine.

"Oh! Do you like it?"

"No! I never said you could take pictures and publish them!"

"But you didn't say we couldn't." They said with Cheshire grins.

"I-I…but…gah!" Kohaku tugged on her hair, before sitting at the table and dropping her head with a 'thud', glaring up at the twins. "I despise you two." She grumbled.

The twins high-fived while the hosts passed around the magazine, the cover displaying Kohaku in her first outfit posed against the wall.

"Wow! You look good, Ko-kun!" honey shouted, passing it down.

"Ah."

Haruhi chuckled. "You do look nice, Kohaku."

Tamaki then pulled Kohaku into a hug. "My son is so handsome!"

"Get off me!" Kohaku shoved Tamaki off and groaned when she spotted who had the magazine now.

"You are an exceptional model." Kyoya said, setting down the magazine. "It's unexpected since you are-"

"Plain? Boring?" Kohaku cut in, taking the magazine and putting it away in her bag.

Kyoya's lips twitched downwards before he pushed up his glasses and composed himself. "I was going to say 'a commoner'."

Kohaku flushed a bit. "Oh…"

Unknown to her, the twins smirked and began making plans. They were going to help her no matter what and Kohaku wouldn't have a clue.

"Plan initiated."

---

(Kohaku's POV)

I yawned, leaning on my broom and staring lazily across the lawn of Misuzu's pension. The door opened and Haruhi strolled out with a smile as she went to do the laundry.

"Neh, Haruhi."

"Hm?" She hummed, hanging up the sheets.

"Why am I here again?" I questioned and she deadpanned.

"I told you already."

I smiled innocently and tilted my head too the side.

"Remind me?"

She sighed. "My dad had a business trip and didn't want me to be at home alone, so he asked if I could come here and help out."

"Okay, and where do I come in?"

"Well, after finding you buried in your papers and an assortment of junk food-"

I smiled fondly as Fu-kun scampered up to my shoulders. "I remember that. Good times."

"It was two days ago." She sweat dropped.

"And the best day of my life." I said with a wink.

Haruhi shook her head. "Anyway, after finding you like that, I thought it'd be better to have you come with me. That way you wouldn't just lay around all summer."

I sighed, beginning to sweep the porch. "Darn. Foiled my plans again."

Haruhi laughed and I began to chuckle as well, until we heard the distinct sound of a helicopter. The wind picked up, blowing dirt and leaves all over, and I wasn't surprised to see Tamaki hanging out of the helicopter with a speaker.

"Haruhi! Kohaku! Are you okay?!"

Haruhi's face was priceless and I walked over to her and pat her on the shoulder; speaking over the noise of the helicopter.

"Looks like your plans have been foiled as well!"

I laughed, but Haruhi obviously wasn't amused and, as soon as the hosts landed, she immediately told them to leave. They, of course, didn't listen and followed the two of us inside the pension. That reminds me. I need to tell Misuzu to keep my gender a secret. Hurrying past everyone, I grinned.

"I'll go get Misuzu-chan then."

Once I found him, I quickly explained my situation and he readily agreed as I brought him to the others. And I must say, he was really excited.

"Wow! What a cute batch of boys! Are you all Haruhi-chan and Kohaku-kun's friends?"

The group seemed a bit confused as Misuzu introduced herself.

"How do you do. I'm Misuzu Sonoda. I'm the owner of this establishment. Call me Misuzu-chan~"

Kyoya stepped forward with a pleasant business smile.

"I hear you're Ranka-san's friend from work?"

"How did you hear that, Kyoya?" Tamaki asked, but was ignored.

I too, ignored the hosts and went ahead and headed back to work with Haruhi. Taking my time, I greeted a few newcomers and showed them to their rooms before heading back to the dining area and refilling a few of the ladies' drinks. Haruhi was pulled away soon enough, the hosts complimenting Misuzu's aprons, and I took a table's order before walking back over to Misuzu.

"Misuzu-chan, the ladies at table four have chosen what they want to eat."

"Oh! I better head back to the kitchen then."

I nodded, handing over their order. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"

He thought about it, then snapped his fingers. "Yes! Could you bring in the spare tables and chairs? And once you set those up, I believe there is some tools in the back shed. Could you use those to fix the sink over here? It seems to be leaking."

I gave him a smile. "Sure thing."

"Oh! Kohaku-kun?"

I turned back around. "Yeah?"

"If you have a problem with anything, just let me know and I'll get one of the boys to help you."

"I'll be fine."

He nodded and while I was bringing out the tables and chairs, I passed by the hosts as Kyoya pointed out the school rules.

"School rule number nineteen: taking a job is not allowed."

Haruhi seemed surprised and gestured to me. "W-What about Kohaku? He's a novelist!"

I looked up from wiping down the table. "Hm? Oh that? The school already knows. Suoh-sama is actually one of my fan and even encourages me to miss classes in order to finish my manuscript."

I shrugged as her mouth dropped open and the other hosts began to tease her.

"Did you hear? She took a job without notifying the school."

"Oh dear, how bold." The twins snickered.

"It's not a bad idea to cool down in Karuizawa once in a while." Honey said with a smile.

Even Kyoya joined in on the fun. "Oversea trips are getting tiresome anyway."

I rolled my eyes and started towards the door, just as Tamaki struck a pose.

"It's true that we're all free to spend the break however we want! That means you don't have the right to stop us either!" He told Haruhi. "This summer, we will stay at this pension as VIP guests!"

Haruhi looked like she had been struck by lightning, and when I opened the door, I realized something.

"Hey guys?" All eyes turned to me. "Just thought I should tell you…there's only one free room left."

Now it was their turn to be dumbstruck.

"What are we going to do?!" Tamaki wailed.

"Go ask Misuzu-chan. I'm sure he'll come up with something."

With that, I walked out to the shed in the back and got the tools I would need to fix the sink. As I was doing so, Misuzu had already explained the rules behind his refreshing idea and sent the hosts to do various chores around the pension. Tamaki and Honey had been sent to fix the fence, Fu-kun joining them, and the twins were greeting new customers and showing them around. Kyoya didn't seem to be doing much, Fu-kun informed me. He's just drinking tea. Mori was probably the only useful one, having been told to go fix a wobbly table.

"Ko-kun!"

I jumped at the two voices, banging my head on the underside of the sink and simultaneously loosening the pipe, thus drenching me in water. Sputtering, I quickly fixed it and came out from underneath the sink with a heated glare.

"Thanks a lot, you guys."

"No problem!" They said with big grins as they pulled me up off the floor.

"Whatever you guys want is going to have to wait until I change." I said, picking at my wet shirt. "I hope you two know that."

"That's okay, Kohaku."

"Yeah. We just wanted you to help us win."

I sighed, picking up my tools and shaking some of the water out of my hair.

"I can't help you guys. And I'm not going to help the others either. I don't really care who gets the room." I shrugged.

"Not even if it's Mori-senpai?"

I tried to hide the light flush on my face along with my own personal disappointment.

"He won't get it. If Honey-kun drops out, so will he."

"Then what about…"

"…Kyoya?"

I shook my head, glancing out the window at Kyoya as he sat and sipped tea.

"He won't even try."

I walked away from the twins, who smirked behind my back, and went back outside to put the tools back inside the shed in a slightly depressed mood. Why am I upset? I already knew Kyoya wouldn't participate and that Mori would drop out if Honey did, but…it hurts for some reason. I grabbed my shirt over my chest, ignoring the water that was still dripping from it. Was I expecting them to change? For me?

I sighed and strolled around outside in an attempt to air dry my shirt, only to sweat drop at Tamaki's poorly made fence. Might as well help him out. I'll be fixing that fence again anyway. Stepping up next to Tamaki, I crouched down and pointed at a board he nailed on diagonally.

"You nailed this part wrong."

He stood up and I thought I may have insulted him for a moment. He did look really determined, after all.

"I'll prove it's refreshing!" He said, before calling out to Misuzu. "Misuzu-chan! The fence is fixed!"

Misuzu frowned. "The result of your work isn't refreshing at all. Minus three points."

Honey went to try and change his mind, but he was more cute than refreshing and quickly left with Fu-kun to go eat some cake. Tamaki was squatted down in a depressed mood, but I had an idea.

"Hey, Tamaki? Do you want me to show you how to fix it?"

He looked up, noticing the dropped suffix, and what I was offering. "Y-You would really do that for me?"

I nodded, pulling off the board he nailed wrong. "Sure. Misuzu-chan might even give you your points back if you do it right and I'll need to fix it up anyway."

He smiled and ruffled may hair. "Thank you, Kohaku."

I enjoyed the brother-like affection, but grew serious and pointed a finger at him.

"Don't thank me until we have this fence fixed, alright?"

He mock saluted. "Yes, sir!"

"Good. Now hold this on horizontally…"

It took a bit, but soon Tamaki was able to properly fix the fence and, like an excited puppy, he hurriedly called Misuzu over again.

"I fixed it right this time, Misuzu-chan!"

Misuzu looked it over, before giving me a glance. "Did you do it, or did Kohaku-kun?"

I shook my head with a small smile. "He did it, Misuzu-chan. I just told him what he needed to do."

Misuzu nearly smiled, but managed to hide it well. "I suppose I could give you back your three refreshing points then."

Tamaki cheered and pulled me into a tight hug. "Thanks, Kohaku!"

I chuckled a bit and pat him on the back. "No problem, but could you let me go? I kind of…need to breathe."

He let me go with a large grin. "Sorry."

"It's okay." I said, then noticed Kyoya. "Hey, why don't you go check in with Kyoya-kun? I'm sure he has some ideas on what could make you more refreshing."

"Ah! You're right!" He said, before running over to Kyoya.

I sighed in relief. Kyoya's probably going to kill me for that later, but at least now I have some time to relax. Unfortunately, it didn't last that long before Misuzu had me cleaning up after the twins. Once I was done with that, I went ahead and grabbed a crate of water bottles. The hosts are probably exhausted. I may be used to hard work, but the others…

Adjusting the crate in my arms, I passed over to where the hosts were gathered and froze. I didn't even register the other hosts taking water bottles from the crate. My eyes were solely focused on Mori who was chopping wood…shirtless.

"What's wrong, Kohaku?" A voice whispered from my left.

"Can't take your eyes off him?" A similar voice responded from my right.

My face flushed a billion shades of red as I sputtered out some response to the twins.

"I-I…N-No! I was just-"

"It's okay, Kohaku." Kaoru said.

"We won't tell."

I groaned. "I feel an if in that statement."

"If you help us win."

"I already told you! I'm not helping anyone!"

"That's not true."

"Yeah." Hikaru said. "We saw you helping Tamaki earlier."

I sighed. "I only helped him because I'd end up fixing the fence myself later and I felt bad for him. It was only three points anyway."

The twins folded their arms, not pleased with my answer, but a tap on my shoulder drew my attention away from them and toward the firm looking chest in front of me. Face red, I slowly looked up at Mori who smirked. Actually smirked at the way my face was heating up. This, of course, only made my face heat up more as I handed him a water bottle.

"H-H-Here, Takashi-kun."

"Thank you."

He took the bottle from me and purposely made a show of drinking it, as he watched me out of the corner of his eyes. H-He's teasing me. Mori is…teasing me! I don't know whether to be happy or angry. Stick to happy, kid. I blinked a few times to clear my head and said a quiet goodbye to Mori as I headed over to give Tamaki the last water bottle, since he was the only one without one.

"Tamaki! Do you want some water?"

He looked over at me and nodded with a large smile, Antoinette barking happily at his side.

"Thank you, Ko-kun! Would you like to play with Antoinette with me?"

"R-Really?" I get to play with his dog?!

"Of course! I heard you really like animals, so why not?"

Smiling in return, Tamaki and I began running alongside Antoinette and playing around. It was fun and I enjoyed playing with her, missing my own dogs back home. I don't count? I stopped running with Antoinette and instead ran over towards Fu-kun and picked him up with a chuckle.

"Don't get jealous, Fu-kun! You're always my favorite!"

He licked me on the nose as thanks just as the twins seduced Antoinette with doggie treats. I laughed and pet the dog as well, watching Kyoya tell Tamaki about the piano out of the corner of my eye. Just then though, Misuzu came over to me with a smile as I waved goodbye to Antoinette.

"Kohaku-kun, you can go on a break if you want. I know you've been working hard."

"Oh! Thanks, Misuzu-chan." I said with a smile.

He chuckled and leaned towards me. "just to let you know, you have the most refreshing points out of all these boys."

My face flushed a bit. "B-But I didn't do anything special."

Misuzu nodded. "That's right, but you don't need to try to be refreshing."

I chuckled. "Okay. I'll try to remember that, Misuzu-chan."

"Good. Now go ahead and go on your break. You deserve it."

Nodding, I headed inside to grab some cool water and returned to the porch outside in order to find someplace peaceful to sit and enjoy my break. It helped that Tamaki was playing the piano, but my peacefulness ended short when I remembered what was supposed to happen next.

I know Hikaru and Kaoru planned it, but Hikaru was truly scared for Kaoru. What should I do, Fu-kun? I can't stop it or else the twins won't get the room, but I don't want Kaoru to get hurt, nor do I want Hikaru to feel the way he did. Then don't do anything. I can't just do nothing!

"Kohaku?"

I looked up and realized that I had unconsciously walked over to where Karou was waiting.

"O-Oh, hey Kaoru. Where's Haruhi and Hikaru?"

He shrugged. "Dunno. Hikaru went to go get a garbage bag though."

Fu-kun, could you go find Haruhi? Sure. I watched Fu-kun go and turned back to Kaoru to find him raising an eyebrow at me.

"What's up with him?" He nodded towards where Fu-kun ran off.

"He went to go find Haruhi for me…why?"

"No reason. You two are just normally together."

"So are you and Hikaru." I pointed out, sipping from my water bottle.

"I guess. We've been together since we were born, and we didn't have any other friends. I mean, we used to think the world was only full of idiots until a few years ago."

"I know what you mean." I muttered.

Something about this seemed wrong though. I swear those lines are familiar.

"But…if it's you, we'd let you in. Wanna sleep in our beds with us?"

I frowned. "Didn't I already do that when I spent the night?"

He smiled. "Did you? I don't remember."

That's it! My mind suddenly clicked everything into place. This is when-Found Haruhi. She's in the kitchen.-the window!

"Look out!" Someone shouted from above us.

Kaoru went to shove me to the ground in order to cover me, but I anticipated this, grabbed his arm, and pulled him around in front of me so that I was covering him. The sound of the glass window breaking was loud and I knew the others would be here soon, so I quickly glared down at a shocked Kaoru.

"Planned or not, remember who has to sit back and watch it happen."

He seemed confused, but Hikaru interrupted us.

"Kaoru! Kohaku!"

I stood up and brushed myself off as the two brothers went on with their act.

"Kaoru! Are you hurt?!"

Kaoru checked, but shook his head. "No. I'm okay."

He turned to me, eyes widening as I recognized the light sting on my cheek. However, I just gave him a half-hearted glare and walked past the group of spectators that were arriving. Unfortunately, I bumped into someone on the way back.

"Kohaku?"

It was Haruhi.

"Not now, Haruhi." I muttered, going to step around her.

"Wait!" She grabbed my sleeve, causing me to stop. "What happened? What was that crash?"

"Haruhi, please." I pleaded, hoping to leave before I snapped at her.

"But-Kohaku…You're bleeding." Her hand touched a cut on my cheek and I winced, before yanking my hand out of her grip and walking off.

"Kohaku?"

I stopped, barely turning my head. "Tell Misuzu-chan I'm going to bed. I'll be up early to take care of things tomorrow."

She shakily nodded and I left, leaving Fu-kun with her for now.

---

(No one's POV)

Haruhi walked over to the other hosts and watched what was happening, all the while wondering what part Kohaku played in all of this. Just then, Misuzu clapped loudly.

"Refreshing brotherly love, cheers! One hundred refreshing points! The winners are the Hitachiin brothers!"

Tamaki, not surprisingly, fell to his knees depressed but Haruhi had a bone to pick with the twins. Something was up, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"What did you two do?"

"Huh?"

"You know what I'm talking about! Kohaku just went upstairs and hardly spoke to me! He saved you, didn't he, Kaoru?"

Kaoru said nothing, so Haruhi went on.

"You two better go up there and apologize, especially if you two did this on purpose. Kohaku lost his whole family and if you two are playing around with your lives like this-Did you two even think about how he would feel?"

The twins stood there silently for a moment, hands intertwined, before they looked up at Haruhi's angry face.

"Alright, Haruhi…"

"…we'll go apologize."

She frowned. "You better. If he's not happy by tomorrow afternoon, you're both dead." She started to walk off, but stopped and handed Fu-kun to them. "Take him with you and maybe Kohaku won't kill you both.

The twins and other hosts paled, before they all went their separate ways. As the twins walked, Kaoru tightened his grip on Hikaru's shaking hand.

"Hikaru…At least we didn't have to try the 'Refreshing Brothers Fight' strategy. Aren't we lucky?"

Hikaru nodded slowly, tightening his grip as well. "Yeah. You're right…You think Kohaku's really mad at us?"

Kaoru sighed. "Probably. We did kind of screw up."

They stopped outside of Kohaku's door and frowned.

"What do we do now, Kaoru?"

"Knock?"

"But what if she's asleep?"

"I'm not."

Hikaru and Kaoru both jumped and unlocked their hands with nervous chuckles, allowing Kohaku to walk past them to get to her room.

"Oh! Hey…uh.." Hikaru started out.

"We're really sorry about before."

"Yeah. We didn't think it would upset you like this."

The room went quiet and Fu-kun suddenly scrambled off Kaoru's shoulder shoulders and up Kohaku's, as she sat Indian-style on her bed with her back to them. Fu-kun seemed to be almost whispering to Kohaku and twins grew more and more nervous as the seconds ticked by. Kohaku then sighed and waved a hand lazily.

"Go to bed, you two. I placed some blankets and a pillow on the floor, and I suggest you leave them there, should one of you accidentally push the other off."

Hikaru looked at Kaoru, silently asking him if it was alright to just leave, and Kaoru took a hesitant step forward.

"D-Does this mean we're…forgiven?"

The only answer they got was a short. "I'll think about it."

---

(Kohaku's POV)

An alarm went off and, in my bad mood, I picked it up and threw it. Too early. Regrettably, I had planned for this before I went to bed last night. So when I threw my alarm clock, it bounced off a couple of pillows and safely continued to ring. I never thought I'd say this, but I hate myself for being so prepared.

With a groan, I sat up on the bed and stared blankly at my alarm clock on the floor. Finally convincing myself to get up, I yawned and shut the alarm off. Moving at a sluggish pace, I pulled on a white shirt, some jeans, and a black vest. Once I put some shoes on and let Fu-kun climb up to my shoulders, I tied my black apron around my waist and headed down the stairs to start setting up the café.

The chairs were taken down off the tables and I went ahead and set up the table cloths and center pieces as well. Grabbing a broom out of the closet, I swept the room and then went into the kitchen in order to wipe down the counters and start getting it set up for Misuzu. Just as I finished that, Misuzu came in with Tamaki, surprisingly. I forgot he comes early today. I yawned as I dried my hands on a towel and came out from behind the counter to greet the two of them.

"Morning." I mumbled, when Misuzu suddenly pulled me into a hug.

"Thank you so much, Kohaku-kun! It looks great!" He pulled away from me and looked me over. "And so do you! You make quite the handsome waiter. Although it's a shame you hurt your face."

I was too tired to be embarrassed, but thanked him all the same.

"Thank you, Misuzu-chan." I then turned to Tamaki. "Morning."

He smiled brightly. "Good morning, Kohaku! I didn't expect you to be up already."

"Mn. But I promised since I went to bed early."

A kettle on the stove whistled and I turned to it, going to make myself something to wake me up. Damn morning people. Always so happy and loud. I thought as Misuzu then went about making me some breakfast as he always did, when I heard some footsteps on the stairs. The guests were waking up. With a sigh, I grabbed my notepad and went to take their order, leaving Fu-kun behind. But Misuzu stopped me.

"Kohaku-kun~"

I turned my head. "Hm?"

"Smile~"

I took a deep breath before nodding with a smile and then walked over to the table, where two ladies were sitting.

"G-Good morning, ladies." I smiled, noticing how their faces flushed slightly. "What would you like this morning?"

As I wrote down their orders, I kept that business smile on my face. Just act like Kyoya. It's not that hard and I haven't stuttered as much since I got here, which is good. I might be finally coming out of my shyness. leaving the ladies with a polite nod, I returned to the kitchen and dropped my smile.

"Here you go, Misuzu-chan."

Handing him their order, I sat back down and drank some tea as he laughed.

"Haha, thank you, Kohaku-kun. Here's your breakfast. Now make sure you work hard!"

I nodded, stuffing my mouth full of fruit and sausage while I still had a chance to eat before more guests came downstairs.

"Kohaku-kun, could you take this to those ladies?"

I nodded once more and took the tray of food from Misuzu, balancing it on one hand and holding a pitcher of orange juice in the other. Making my way to their table, I greeted a couple of the other guests as they came in and sat down.

"G-Good morning. I will be with you in a minute."

They nodded, blushing, as I smiled politely and set out the ladies' meals. As I went to get the others' orders, I caught sight of Haruhi tying a scarf over her head.

"Haruhi, would you mind getting the orders from tables six and two?"

"Sure thing, Kohaku."

Soon, the morning rush began to slow down and as I was refilling drinks, Hikaru and Kaoru came downstairs.

"Hey! I said I was sorry, didn't I, Kaoru?" Hikaru said, making his way over to an empty table. "I don't remember pushing you out. I couldn't help that-hey! Don't start faking tears!"

Kaoru sniffed, wiping tears from his eyes. "It's a good thing Kohaku likes me enough to think of my well-being. The floor would've been so cold without those blankets."

"You're welcome, Kaoru." I said, passing by to go collect the dishes from a table.

He smiled at my polite tone, knowing that I had indeed forgiven them for yesterday. As they went to pester Haruhi, I ignored them in the hopes of being able to have a break before the lunch rush. I need to think about why the plot changes yesterday. Not to mention Arai should be showing up soon.

"Good morning! Delivery from Arai Grocery!"

Right on time. I thought, and made my way back to the kitchen with Haruhi alongside me.

"Ph! Are you new? A high school student?" Misuzu asked as I stepped forward and took the box of vegetables from Arai.

"I'm from Tokyo. I came to work at my uncle's shop for the summer."

"How refreshing!" Misuzu said, handing the leftover food to Haruhi. "Haruhi-chan, will you put this in the fridge?"

"Sure."

"Eh? Haruhi-chan?…N-No way?!" Arai took off his cap, his face red in embarrassment. "Haruhi Fujioka?!"

Haruhi looked up at him in surprise. "Arai-kun?"

The twins and Tamaki knelt down to the ground next to the two, trying to figure out how they knew each other.

"Long time no see! It's been since middle school graduation, right?" Haruhi asked. "How are you?"

"W-Why are you here?!" Arai asked. Rather rudely, if you ask me. "And your hair! Did you get a hair cut?! Man, you shouldn't have! You had it so nice and long!"

"You think so?" Haruhi cocked her head to the side. "But it's easier to take care of this way."

Finally noticing the three hosts-although they aren't hard to notice-Arai smiled awkwardly.

"Um…Are these your friends?"

Haruhi nodded, gesturing to the three. "Yeah. Hikaru-kun and Kaoru-kun. They're my classmates and sen-" She cut herself off, bringing a hand to her mouth as she thought about what to call Tamaki. "An acquaintance." Is what she finally settled on, thus driving Tamaki into a depression.

She didn't mean to, obviously, but Haruhi can be a bit dense as to how her words effect people. Tamaki especially. I smiled at that and finished putting the vegetables in the fridge, when Haruhi pointed me out as well.

"Oh! And this is Kohaku…uh…" She seemed to be struggling as to whether she should call me 'he' or 'she', so I popped in first; holding out my hand to shake with a hesitant smile. It's more fun to watch people figure it out.

"I-I live next door to her."

He kind of stared at my hand for a minute, and my brain finally registered that shaking hands was an American habit. Crap.

"Sorry." I mumbled, going to pull my hand back when Arai suddenly grabbed it and began shaking it.

"So you're foreign? I kind of assumed with your hair. Is it dyed?"

"N-No."

"Oh, that's cool!" He smiled and released my hand, which I looked at in confusion, before glancing up at the hosts as he walked off with Haruhi.

Shaking my head, I went ahead and asked Misuzu for my break as the other hosts finally filed in. Now on my break, I grabbed a cool glass of ice water and sat down with the twins and the others.

"Hm." Kyoya hummed, bringing up his glass of tea. "Haruhi's friend from middle school, huh?"

I nodded, but Hikaru had a different opinion.

"You can't call him a friend if they haven't contacted each other since they graduated. They're nothing but classmates."

"Really?" I questioned. "But if they are classmates, wouldn't they still have to be in class together? I think 'acquaintances' or 'colleagues' would be a better word."

Honey smiled and went to take a bite of some cake. "It's a happy reunion!"

For them. Looks like Tamaki's still in a bad mood. I looked over at him and nearly laughed as he tore one of this guides into shreds; Fu-kun relaxing in the pile he was making.

"Not a senpai I'm merely an acquaintance." Tamaki moped.

Arai burst out laughing, holding his side. "These Ouran guys are really funny. That's a surprise. For such an elite school, I figured they would be otherworldly beings. Haha!"

I smiled a bit, finishing off my water, only for Misuzu to call out to me.

"Kohaku-kun, could you help me for a minute? I know you're on your break and all, but I could use the help."

I nodded, getting up from my seat, just catching Hikaru's comment about Arai.

"What the heck? A refreshing and pure attitude? Doesn't he know the refreshing tournament has already ended?"

I knocked him on the head with my fist lightly. "Behave."

He rubbed his head where I hit him and scoffed as I walked up to Misuzu.

"So what do you need?"

He smiled and I could feel the evil plot he already had formed in his head.

"Kyoya-kun told me you're an exceptional singer."

I immediately paled and waved my hands about in a panic. "O-Oh no. I-I-I don't sing in public."

Misuzu clutched his hands together and began begging. "Oh please! Look at my guests! They need entertainment!"

I knew throwing Tamaki at him was going to come back and bite me. I groaned and turned my head away, Fu-kun snickering on my shoulders. Can't say 'no', can you?…No.

"H-How about I play the piano instead?"

He looked intrigued at that. "You play?"

"A little." I mumbled, scratching the Band-Aid on my cheek.

"Well then, why didn't you say so? The piano's right over here."

Misuzu pushed me over to the piano and plopped me down on the bench, before abandoning me with a wave. Well that's just great. I looked down at the keys and sighed. There's only a few songs I know and almost all of them are soft, sad melodies. Suddenly I remembered one, but bit my lip. It's one that Tamaki plays…but it's the only one that'll work. Taking a deep breath, I placed my fingers on the keys and began to play 'Nocturne pour Tamaki', hoping that playing it wouldn't effect the plot anymore than it already has been.

Eventually, as I played, I became more and more relaxed. I was no longer worried about who was watching or about changing the plot. In fact, I was so lost in the music that I didn't notice who had just walked in and was heading my direction. That is, until I finished and felt a set of arms wrap around my waist and a pair of lips brush my cheek.

"Mm, I didn't know you played, Ko-chan~"

I quickly turned my head and was shocked to find Shindo, of all people, standing behind me with a large grin on his face. I wasn't sure whether to be surprised that he was here, or embarrassed that he still had his arms around my waist and that he kissed me on the cheek in front of everyone here.

"S-S-Shindo-kun?!"

"Nice to see you to, Ko-chan. You played great, by the way."

"T-Thanks, but what are you doing here?"

Before he could respond, Misuzu came over clapping his hands in excitement.

"Splendid! That was a wonderful performance, Kohaku-kun!"

I stood up and smiled slightly. "T-Thank you, Misuzu-chan."

"Of course." he then noticed Shindo, who had his hands back on my waist as I glared ta him. "And who's this?"

I sighed, gesturing to Shindo. "This is my friend Shindo Yamanaka. Shindo-kun, this is Misuzu-chan. My temporary boss for the summer."

"Nice to meet you, Misuzu-chan." he smiled. "What a lovely apron you're wearing."

Oh here he goes. I thought.

"Oh! And a gentleman as well." Misuzu swooned. "Kohaku-kun, enjoy your break with your boyfriend here. I'll try not to bother you two~"

"He's not my boyfriend!: I called out after him, but he ignored me as Shindo chuckled in my ear.

"Well then, since Misuzu-chan was so generous, let's sit down and chat, Ko-chan. I want to know where you got that cut from."

I rolled my eyes, but allowed him to keep a hand on my waist and lead me back over to a table near where the twins were seated as I explained what happened. No need to have him angry at the twins. But then, I noticed the other hosts were all over by Arai and Haruhi, and mentally cringed. This is when Hikaru gets hit. I'll definitely have to see how he's doing later. Two pools of emerald green flooded my vision and I backed up a bit with a deep blush.

"W-What are you doing, Shindo-kun?!"

He chuckled, sitting back in his seat. "just checking to see if you're home. You zoned out there for a minute."

"R-Right." I said nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. "But, uh, why are you here, Shindo-kun?"

"I've been helping out my aunt. She owns a flower shop nearby, but she hurt her ankle so I've been running the place while she recovers. I was just passing by when I saw this little cutie playing piano in the window."

"C-C-Cutie? I-I'm not-I mean-"

"Please, Ko-chan." he said, putting his head in the palm of his hand while his elbow rested on the table. "We went over this, remember? Just because you don't think you're cute doesn't mean that there's no one out there who does. You're cute to me, just the way you are."

I blushed a bright, cherry red and I covered the lower half of my face in an attempt to hide it as Shindo smiled softly at me. How many times? I thought. How many times have I wanted to hear that? How long have I wished to have someone tell me that, and here Shindo is doing that very thing. I-I know he still likes me, but…I don't know if I like him that way or not…To hear those words though…Maybe I do?…

"Hikaru! Kaoru! Come over here!" Tamaki called out, interrupting my thought. "Kohaku! Shindo-kun! You too! It's a precious opportunity to hear about Haruhi back in middle school! I want to hear about Kohaku's middle school life too!"

"No thanks!" Hikaru replied rudely, while Kaoru sipped at his drink. "Not interested. It's dumb anyway."

Knowing and sensing what was going to happen next, I tried to at least warn Hikaru of the trouble he was going to be in.

"H-Hikaru, you should sto-"

He just spoke over me. "I don't get it. Why do all these old stories excite you? Besides, can't that guy tell that she's not interested?"

I cringed as Haruhi scooted her chair back and began walking over as Hikaru went on.

"Haruhi's heart has no room for-"

Slap!

The whole room went deadly silent and I grit my teeth and clenched my fists in the fabric of my pants. I felt bad for Hikaru. Sure, he was being rude, but he was only doing what he felt was necessary to keep his close friend. I knew what he was going through and had often dealt with a similar situation. Not so much having my friends taken, but having to stand back and watch my friends enjoy themselves with someone else while jealousy burned in my chest. So Hikaru's anger was understandable. I just wish there was something I could do. I know, kid.

"Hikaru, that's not something you decide." Haruhi scolded. "I won't let you insult my friend any further."

"Come on…Who cares about other people?! Look, we're the ones who are your friends!"

Haruhi was…in shock, for lack of better words, as Hikaru ran up the stairs with his brother following after him. I had apparently stood up as well to watch the brothers ascend the stairs. It was only when Shindo took a hold of my hand, that I was dragged back to Earth.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Y-yeah." My hand tightened around his for a moment before I felt someone glaring at me.

It wasn't hard to find out who, seeing the glare of Kyoya's glasses in my peripheral vision, but I was surprised to see Mori glaring a little as well. That's odd. Something brushed my cheek again and a blush crept it's way up my face.

"You really should stop thinking so much, Ko-chan." Shindo smiled, obviously pleased that he managed to sneak in another kiss.

"And you should stop doing that." I grumbled, releasing his hand to rub my cheek. "All you're doing is making Kyoya-kun angry."

Shindo winked. "Maybe that's the point."

I raised a brow, confused. "Why would you want to make him angry?"

"I don't know…To see how he reacts?"

I sighed and began to walk with him and the hosts out the door to say goodbye.

"He's just going to hate me for a while. I don't see why you're doing this."

He laughed, turning around to face me. "That's okay, Ko-chan. You'll figure it out~"

I frowned. "Now I really want to know."

"Well then, I'll give you a hint." He leaned forward, grabbing my face in his hands.

I expected him to kiss me on the lips and was scared for a moment, but he just kissed me on the cheek again and whispered into my ear.

"He's jealous." He pulled back and smiled once more. "Hope to see you again sometime, Ko-chan. Come visit the shop if you have a chance."

""Y-Y-Yeah." I stuttered out, trying to keep the blush on my face under control. Jealous? Kyoya can't be jealous.

He left with a wave, I hesitantly returned, while the hosts did the same with Arai. I hadn't even noticed Kaoru came over to stand next to me.

"Take care!" Said Haruhi.

"Bye bye!" Honey replied.

As soon as Shindo and Arai were out of sight, Haruhi called Kaoru out on his trick.

"Kaoru, why are you pretending to be Hikaru?"

Kaoru sweat dropped as Haruhi turned around to glare at him.

"Hikaru has yet to recover his spirit…By the way, I want to ask you a favor, Haruhi."

"Hm?"

"Would you spend the whole day together with me tomorrow?"

"Huh?!" The hosts-mostly Tamaki-shouted.

"I guess. Sure."

Ah, Haruhi and her blunt straightforward responses. I thought as my mind took a turn for the worst. What about what Shindo said? There's no way Kyoya's jealous…but if he is, what's he jealous about? It makes no sense! Plus, I still need to figure out why the plot changed. Is it just because I'm here? Is it going to change even more because of me? Gah! Too many questions! I touched the Band-Aid on my cheek and jumped when Kaoru spoke from beside me; the other hosts having gone back inside.

"Does it hurt?" He said, before quickly apologizing for scaring me. "Sorry."

I shook my head. "It's okay. I've been pretty spacy today…But it doesn't hurt. It's hardly noticeable."

"I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize a second time, Kaoru. I already forgave you and Hikaru, didn't I?" I said with a smile.

He laughed a bit, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah. I guess you're right. I just feel bad, you know? It's our fault you got hurt."

"Not really. I mean, either way someone would've gotten hurt, but I made a choice and chose to protect you instead of the other way around. So technically it's my own fault."

"I…suppose that's true." He said, being careful as to how he said it, not wanting to offend me.

"What about you, Kaoru?"

"Hm?" he questioned as I led us both over to a table.

"Are you okay?"

He sat down, a bit confused. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

I sighed, wishing I had grabbed a drink before I came out here. Fu-kun? Ugh, really? Please~ Fine, but you owe me. bananas, strawberries, or pudding? Hm…strawberries. Okay. After the dinner rush I'll grab some for you. One bottled water coming up.I gave Fu-kun a nod as he dashed off, enjoying the odd look from Kaoru.

"You…Can you really…you know…"

"Talk to him? Yes. I've told you guys that before, but you just think I'm crazy, I'm sure. I'm surprised Kyoya-kun hasn't locked me up in one of his hospitals."

He opened his mouth, but I cut him off.

"It's fine. I don't really mind what you or other people think."

He rolled his eyes. "Right, well I am okay though."

"No you aren't."

"I am!"

"No, you're just making yourself think you're okay. And I'm saying you're not."

He frowned in confusion. "How could you know I'm not, when I don't even know I'm not?"

Ah, he's thinking now. You're starting to sound like and old man with all your riddles. Fu-kun said as he returned with my water. I mentally frowned at the ferret and flicked him on the head. I'm twenty. Don't call me old. I then smiled at Kaoru.

"I know more than you think, Kaoru. Like right now. You shouldn't just give up, you know."

"Give up on what?"

"Haruhi."

A bit blunt, I'm sure, but he quickly connected the dots.

"Wha-I don't-"

"Yes. You do. You and your brother have similar tastes, remember? You two almost always seem to like the same things. I'm just telling you that, while it's okay to try and teach Hikaru a lesson…don't give up on your own happiness, okay?"

He seemed shocked for a moment, but slowly eased into a smile. "Yeah. I'll keep that in mind, Kohaku. Thanks."

I grinned as well and stood up. "Of course. I better get back to work though, before Misuzu-chan realizes my break's over."

I opened the door, just as Kaoru called back. "Kohaku, don't forget your own happiness either!"

Looking back at him, I smiled. "I'll try."

---

The next morning I was not happy, having been awoken by a couple of twin maids, courtesy of Kaoru. Needless to say, I put my anger and kickboxing skills to use and tied them up in my sheets rather easily. I was actually going to deliver the two of them to Kaoru personally, but I was tired and instead fell back asleep. I wasn't out long though, before the door opened and I glared at the intruder who paled at the sight of his bound maids.

"Woah." Kaoru met my glare. "Uh, Kohaku? You need to get up now."

I scowled and didn't move, unnerving Kaoru, who shifted uneasily.

"O-Okay then. I'll, uh, just leave these here. You can wear them when you get up…"

Kaoru set some clothes out, grabbed his maids, and quickly hurried out the door. I simply scoffed and went back to sleep, waking up a few hours later when someone began shaking my shoulder. I glared again, but Mori was unaffected.

"You need to get up." He said in his usual monotone.

"What for?" I grumbled. "I'm tired. Go away."

"We're leaving soon. They sent me to wake you."

"Chickens." I muttered, closing my eyes again as another voice spoke up from the doorway.

"You'll never get him up that way, Mori-senpai. It'd be easier if you told him that brunch was ready and that he wouldn't get any if he didn't hurry."

Immediately, I sat up and snarled at Kyoya's smirking face; my blankets covering my body like a hooded cloak.

"Get out. I need to change."

Mori nodded, whereas Kyoya just left, but I was out and in the kitchen in less than five minutes. I quickly grabbed some food, not hesitating in stealing the last waffle before Honey could so much as think about it. Fu-kun, as it turns out, was hanging out with him today anyway and I felt like they both knew something that they weren't telling me.

"Uh, Kohaku?"

I glanced up blankly, looking over Kaoru in his 'local boy' get up.

"Do you even know what's going on?"

I set my fork down on my empty plate with a nod. "We're going to follow Haruhi on her date with Hikaru to make sure everything is going as it should. I may be tired, but that doesn't make me stupid." I snapped, snatching a bowl of peaches.

"R-Right…Are you always like this in the morning?"

"I'd be better if you hadn't sent in those two maids. Forcing me to be actively moving that early ticks me off."

Kaoru paled, realizing his mistake. "I-I'll try to remember that."

"That would be wise." I yawned, before standing up and heading towards the door. "We better go if we don't want Tamaki to have a panic attack."

I nodded my head at said host, as he muttered to himself and paced relentlessly back and forth in front of the pension gates. The other hosts sweat dropped, but headed out as well and it wasn't long before we caught up to where Hikaru and Haruhi were at.

"Kaoru…so what's this for?" Tamaki questioned.

Yeah, are these outfits really necessary? Though, I must say, I got the best out of the group, I think. I thought to myself, looking down at the clothes I was wearing.

"We're going to tail them, of course. Can't you tell, stupid?"

Tamaki snapped, grabbing Kaoru from the front of his shirt. "I'm asking why Haruhi had to date Hikaru! Why does this have to take place after what happened yesterday!?"

"Hey! Be quiet!"

Honey, being the ever smart cause of disasters, called out to the two. "This might be Haru-chan's first date ever!"

I sighed and looked up at Mori. "Does he know he's only making things worse?"

Mori glanced down at me and then over at Honey.

"Probably." He replied.

"Thought so." I sweat dropped, before I was grabbed and pulled into an alleyway when Hikaru and Haruhi looked our way.

I simply rolled my eyes. "Wouldn't it be less suspicious to walk around like normal people and just keep our faces hidden?"

Kyoya answered this time. "The two who came up with this plan aren't exactly the smartest of the bunch."

"No kidding." I muttered, listening to Kaoru as he went to explain everything to Tamaki.

"Look, Tono…I think it's a good thing for Hikaru to find more people who matter to him. For a long time, we were concerned only with ourselves. We're exceptionally codependent, and we tend to shut out everyone else. We've never cared how others felt, and that's how we became who we are today. Hikaru is especially immature. He acts out his feelings without restraint. Tono, you didn't seem to mind it, so I let him be."

I slapped a hand to my face. Really Kaoru?

"I don't think Hikaru is conscious of it," He went on. "but he really cares about Haruhi a lot. But all he knows is how to throw his feelings at others, so he ends up acting like a possessive kid. Even when he wants recognition as a friend, he doesn't know how to go about it." Kaoru put a hand to his head. "If he wants to be a real friend, he's got to respect the feelings of others too. So I think Hikaru has to learn the basics of personal interaction."

"Kaoru…" Tamaki said, shocked at Kaoru's speech. "You're awesome. When did you grow up to be such a great kid? Any fever?" he cooed, putting a hand to Kaoru's forehead.

"Thing is," Kaoru explained, pushing Tamaki's hand off him. "I didn't realize any of this myself until recently."

"In other words, today's date is meant as a trial for Hikaru to learn some compassion." Kyoya concluded as I nodded.

"That's what it looks like."

"It's like a fantasy movie!" Honey shouted, excitedly.

"That's right! That's why I don't want any of you to interfere! If you do, you're dead!" Kaoru pointed at us seriously and Tamaki 'eep'ed in fear.

He wasn't that afraid though and he knelt down next to Kaoru, who had taken out a set of binoculars.

"If that's the case, we don't have to follow them, do we?"

"It's more fun this way."

I smiled a bit at that as we began moving to follow the couple. I noticed Tamaki lag behind for a moment and stopped beside him to look up at the faraway clouds as well.

"Misuzu-chan said it might rain."

He nodded. "Yeah. I was just hoping the sun would stay with us."

With that note, we both caught up with the group and ducked around a corner to listen in on Hikaru and Haruhi's conversation. I, personally, was bored. I did, after all, already know what was going to happen and that kind of took the fun out of everything. Makes me wonder how I got through it all before this. Especially since there's nothing I want to change here.

Pulling a hand through my hair, I sighed and walked out of the alleyway just as Mori had to dash out and snatch up Honey, disguised as an old ice cream man. I smiled but then headed over to a nearby food stand, ignoring the other hosts who were going towards the ice cream shop.

Looking over the food, I silently debated on what I should get. Hm, I'll stay away from the pickled vegetables but the fruit and snacks look good…Is that dango?! I quickly ordered some and plopped one in my mouth, enjoying the sweet taste.

"Kohaku?"

I glanced to my right to find Mori rubbing his head in confusion.

"Hm? Is something wrong?"

He nodded. "The others."

I knew what he meant and sighed. "They ditched us, didn't they?"

"Ah."

"Well, what do you want to do? We could head back to the pension, or we could…look around for a bit?"

I glanced up at him, hopeful, and he smiled.

"They can wait."

I smiled back and then handed him a piece of dango on a stick. "You think Honey-kun would like this?"

He leaned over and grabbed my wrist so that he could eat the dango off the stick; a blush forming on my cheeks at the contact. He chewed for a minute before nodding.

"Ah. It's sweet."

Keeping my blush under control, I asked for some more and took the bag, planning on giving it to Honey when we returned. Once I did that, the two of us began walking around the town.

"Hey Takashi-kun?"

"Takashi." He said, making the redness in my face creep back up.

"T-Takashi…I know Honey-kun likes sweets, but what do you like?"

He was silent and I waited patiently, knowing that he was just thinking over what I asked carefully to get the right answer.

"I like…some sweet things, but I like traditional and sour things too."

"Oh!" I exclaimed. "Then I know what you'll like!"

Taking his hand unconsciously, I pulled him towards another food stand and grabbed one of the samples and held it out towards him

"Try this!"

We repeated the same process we did with the dango, blush and all, and Mori ate it looking surprised.

"It's good."

"Y-Yeah. I don't like pickled foods or veggies very much, but I thought you'd like the pickled yam because it's not really sweet and not really sour either."

He smiled down at me and ruffled my hair, and I laughed before buying some pickled yams for him.

"I'll pay." He offered, but I shook my head.

"No. It's okay. I'm fine paying. Besides, it's not a gift if you pay for it."

"Ah." He relented, and we went down the road, determined to enjoy ourselves after our friends ditched us here.

What we didn't know, was that it had been done on purpose and while two of them were happy about their plan, there was one who was less than pleased.

---

(No one's POV)

The hosts returned to the pension and while Tamaki was pacing back and forth with worry, Honey and Kaoru were sitting at a table discussing what they had just done.

"So you think they're getting along okay?"

Honey nodded, taking a bite of his cake. "Mm-hm! Ko-chan's really nice and Takashi too."

Kaoru hummed. "That's true. And they haven't came back yet, so they must be having fun. I just wish these two would do the same."

They both looked behind them as Tamaki grew more and more frantic and Kyoya's typing grew more and more aggressive. Kaoru shivered and turned back to Honey.

"Kyoya's obviously figured it out."

"Mm-hm. He's kind of scary."

"No kidding."

Thunder rumbled as rain began to pour down and Tamaki suddenly stopped his pacing to look out the window worriedly. As he resumed his pacing, Kaoru and Honey moved over to the window to see lightning streak across the sky.

"Incredible lightning." Kaoru said, holding a hand to his head to get a better look out the window. "I hope everyone found shelter."

Kyoya pushed up his glasses, still angry it seemed. "They probably got a taxi and are on their way here."

"Tamaki-kun, you seem nervous." Misuzu said, looking concerned.

"Maybe I should go pick them up…"

Just then though, Kaoru's phone went off.

"Oh? It's Hikaru…hey, Hikaru?"

"Kaoru? Will you send a car and a towel?" Hikaru's voice rang out over the phone along with the sound of the pounding rain.

"Eh? Are you coming on foot? What about Haruhi?"

"She…She started talking to that stupid Arai guy so I left."

Kaoru was shocked. "You got in a fight and left?!"

Tamaki immediately stopped and snatched the phone from Kaoru.

"You didn't see her get in the car, did you? If not, go back! Go back and find Haruhi!"

Everyone in the pension ceased what they were doing and watched Tamaki get extremely serious as he shouted at Hikaru over the phone.

"Huh?" Hikaru complained. "No, Tono. Not in this thunder storm."

"You jerk! Go back right now! How dare you leave a girl behind in the rain! Before you throw a fit like some jealous brat, think about how others might feel! Haruhi' is afraid of thunder!"

Tamaki hung up angrily and turned to the other shocked hosts.

"We're going after them."

Everyone nodded as Kyoya called up a car, when yet another phone went off.

"Oh! It's Takashi!" honey said. "Hello?"

"Mitsukuni…Kohaku."

"Ko-kun's gone too?!"

"…Ah."

Honey nodded. "Okay, we'll look for her too. Keep an eye out for Haru-chan too! Her and Hika-kun are out there still."

"Ah." Mori replied before he hung up as well.

Honey put his phone away and looked up at everyone with teary eyes.

"What are we going to do? Haru-chan's afraid of thunder and Ko-kun's alone too!"

Kyoya scowled. "Our first priority is finding Haruhi. You guys go and look for her and I will locate Kohaku."

The hosts were too frantic to notice the suffix Kyoya dropped, but Kaoru caught it. "Alone?" He questioned and Kyoya nodded.

"Yes. Haruhi ran out in a blind panic and will be harder to find. Kohaku is smart enough to stay in plain sight even if he is lost. Either way though, we'd best hurry. The storm is getting worse."

Everyone nodded and ran outside, climbing into one limo while Kyoya got into another. He then pulled out his phone and began trying to see if he could track Kohaku by her phone but, when he saw where it was, he grew frustrated and threw his phone into the seat across from him.

"That idiot! Didn't he know we'd be going out? Why did he leave his phone at the pension?!"

Kyoya took off his glasses and rubbed his face in exasperation. He needed to calm down, but he'd been holding back his pent up rage since he noticed Mori and Kohaku missing from the group. What's more, when he brought up the two missing hosts, Kaoru and Honey just blew it off. That was when he figured it out.

Those two had planned on leaving Mori and Kohaku there from the beginning. The thing was, Kyoya didn't know why he was so angry about that. Something inside him just started building up in rage and he grew angrier the more he thought about it. Why though, he couldn't understand.

I don't hate Mori. I actually rather enjoy his company. He's a lot more tolerable than the others…but lately he's been getting on my nerves for no apparent reason. And it's only when he's around him. Kyoya growled and leaned his head back against the leather seats, not bothering to replace his glasses. Why do I even care about him? There's nothing special about Kohaku. He's just another commoner with a bit of intelligence. There's nothing interesting about that. If anything, he's frustrating! No information about him at all and the way he challenges me just-it just…

"Driver, pull over."

"But sir-"

"Just do it." Kyoya ordered.

The driver reluctantly pulled the limo up to the curb and got out to hand Kyoya and open umbrella, but Kyoya just stepped out into the rain and sent the driver away with a wave of his hand. He just needed some air, he decided, and ignored the rain soaking through his white shirt. Besides, the sooner I find this brat, the sooner I can get some answers as to what this is.

---

(Kohaku's POV)

Well, this isn't good. I thought, looking up at the sky as the first few drops of rain began to fall. I kept walking though. After all, it was the only thing I could do. I was completely lost. It's not my fault though. Nope. I blame Shindo.

You see, Mori and I had been having fun until he offered to buy me some ice cream. Mori went to get some while I waited on a bench nearby, when I noticed a small crowd gathered over by a shop. I mentally promised Mori that I'd be back and headed over to see what all the commotion was about. Turns out, it was a flower shop…Shindo's aunt's flower shop.

Needless to say, Shindo ended up dragging me in to meet his eccentric aunt and I stayed longer than I probably should have. Especially since the moment I went back to the bench, Mori was nowhere in sight. I tried looking for him, but I only ended up lost, which brings me back to where I am now.

"Where the hell am I?"

I had left my phone at the pension, not expecting to have gone on an excursion with Mori-as fun as it was-but now I was regretting it. Lightning flashed and I began counting.

"One, one thousand. Two, one thousand. Three-"

Thunder rumbled loudly and I frowned

"Well, that's not good. I better get out of the forested area and back down the road." I mumbled to myself, turning around and heading back down the road I was on. I didn't know if this was the right way back to town, but it wouldn't hurt to try. The worst that could happen would be I get more lost.

"Stupid weather." I grumbled, kicking a stone.

I didn't even have a jacket because Kaoru had picked out my clothes, but shorts with a black t-shirt and a thin white button up were not exactly rain clothes. Thunder rumbled again, louder and I scowled up at the sky.

"Yeah! I heard you! You think you're so powerful! You're just a bunch of noise!" I shouted, frustrated with my overall predicament.

I then sighed, shivering as a breeze cut through my clothing.

"I bet everyone's found Haruhi and Hikaru by now. Heck, Mori's probably back at the pension wondering where I am…if he doesn't hate me…or think I ditched him." I paused in my depressed thoughts and took a seat on the ground in front of a small abandoned cottage, pulling my knees close and resting my head on them. "Heh, I bet Kyoya-kun's laughing at me for getting lost. He probably thinks I'm an idiot."

"You are an idiot."

"Shut up." I mumbled. "I know I'm an idiot."

There was silence for a moment, the only sound being the rain and thunder, when my mind suddenly clicked into place and I quickly looked up to find Kyoya's frowning face.

"Kyoya!"

He raised a brow at the dropped suffix, but I could care less, just happy to have been found.

"It took you long enough." I smiled, but I slowly dropped the grin as Kyoya glowered down at me.

He's mad at me? Why? Because I got lost? I got up and stepped towards Kyoya, tilting my head to try and see past the rain covered lenses hiding his eyes. I noticed that he was completely soaked too and silently wondered how long he had been out here looking for me.

"Kyoya? I-If you're mad about me getting lost, I'm sorry. Takashi and I got separated so I went looking for him and-"

"You infuriate me." He growled out and I flinched at his tone, flashing back to the incident at the beach house.

"S-Sorry?"

He ignored my apology and took a step forward as I took a step back.

"You challenge me so blatantly and change personalities on a whim if it will help you get closer to people." Another step forward, another step back. "You hide your intelligence and are completely clueless in life." W-What's going on? I don't get it! "You get lost easily, yet you wander around without your phone."

I was getting scared now. Kyoya looked absolutely livid and I had nowhere I could go.

"You lost your family, but you still smile and hide everything as though nothing's wrong. You say you're afraid of people, yet you let them get so close so easily. My mind is thinking about you constantly and I get angry for no reason. Whatever it is you are doing, I want you to stop. Now."

"I-I'm not doing anything! I don't know what you're talking about!" I took a step back, but slipped in some mud and landed on my back with something heavy on top of me.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about."

My face turned bright red as I looked up at Kyoya's glasses-less face mere centimeters from my own. I expected him to get off me right away, but he didn't budge and my heart sped up without warning.

"K-K-Kyoya?"

His eyes went to mine as he pushed himself up on his arms, searching my eyes for something, and not quite getting off me either. His eyes though…there was something different about them and something told me it wasn't just because his glasses fell off. They seemed….confused about something. Me? He's confused about me?

"I despise you, Kohaku." He said, not as harshly as before, but his voice hid something that I couldn't quite figure out. "I despise you so much."

Then, something completely unexpected happened. Kyoya Ootori. The Kyoya Ootori leaned forward and pressed his lips harshly to mine.

---

A figure stood nearby, frozen at the scene that played out before him as a boiling pit of jealousy raged in his stomach. Eyes pinned on the two figures in the mud, Takashi Morinozuka grit his teeth before turning away and returning to the limo parked nearby in order to return to the pension. He wasn't going to give up yet though. No. He was going to take her back from the Shadow King whatever the cost.