"The Host Club will be waiting!" Seven cheerful Hosts promised as their customers departed Music Room #3. When the doors had closed completely, the students relaxed, tired from another day of club duties. One by one, they moved off to collect their belongings and head home for the day.
"Come on Hika, hurry up!" Kaoru complained, shifting his balance from one foot to the other as he waited for his twin to finish shoving a few papers that had fallen out back into his backpack.
The older Hitachiin looked up from his papers, realizing that they were the only two Hosts left in the club room. Everyone else must've been in a real hurry to depart today. "You go on ahead, Kaoru. I'll catch up to you in a minute or two. I don't want to keep you waiting any longer."
Kaoru breathed a quiet sigh of annoyance. Well, that's Hikaru for you. Just when you're ready to go home, he goes and loses something. I'll pick on him for it later, though, Kaoru decided. "Alright, well, don't be too long," the younger ginger requested as he exited the salon.
Perfect, he doesn't suspect a thing, Hikaru thought with a grin. When he was certain the other boy was well out of earshot, he called, "Hey, Renge! I know you're still here, so, could you help me with something?"
The sound of Renge's powerful motor rising from wherever that thing came from filled the room. Hikaru rolled his eyes. Renge just couldn't go one day without exercising her flair for the dramatic. The elder Hitachiin began to wonder if the crazy otaku had ever considered a career in acting. Or marketing.
"I sense that someone is having a little boy problem! You called, Hikaru?" Renge shouted, twirling around in her yellow Ouran uniform.
Hikaru took a deep breath. "Yeah, that's right. I, uh… Kaoru-"
An earsplitting scream interrupted the mischievous ginger. Renge had dropped to her knees, mouth open in a high-pitched howl and spasming like a beached fish. Hikaru ran forward. What on Earth was wrong with her?
"Kyaaaaa! I was hoping you would say his name! The delicious rush of taboo, the thrill of forbidden love, two identical bodies coming together to form one single piece of beauty… I've waited so long for this! Say no more, Hikaru Hitachiin! I will help you win your brother's heart!" Renge monologued, speaking dramatically to some point behind the older Hitachiin brother.
Hikaru paled. "That's not quite what I was going to say…"
Renge froze, looked at the twin, and frowned. "Then what were you going to say? Choose your words wisely, Number 18."
"Well, ah, I was going to say that…" Shit, I'd better not mess this up, or she really will have my head on a plate. "Uh, I was going to say that Kaoru seems different after our yaoi cosplay. I think he, uh, really liked it."
Hikaru had thought that certainly praising her like that would elicit some kind of response from the Lady Manager, but Renge was emotionless as she pressed, "And?"
"And, I, uh… I think I don't feel the same way about him as I used to," Hikaru admitted, staring at the tiled floor as he felt an increasingly familiar warmth rise to his cheeks.
"How do you feel about him, Hikaru?" Renge asked, amusement sparkling in her caramel brown eyes.
Hikaru clenched his fists. The boy was certain his entire face was bright red by now. "Dammit Renge, I don't know! That's what you were supposed to tell me!"
Renge smiled softly and hopped off her powerful motor platform. The brunette then proceeded to walk in no particular pattern around the salon, thinking out loud as she did so. "Hmm… Usually, you would depend on Kaoru, who's knowledgeable about stuff like emotions and feelings, whereas you're not. But you can't go to your brother now because all these thoughts and feelings are about him, and talking about it would be awkward, especially if he didn't feel the same way. Besides, it would be very anti-romantic. So, you came to me…"
Renge stopped pacing and stared at Hikaru, inspecting him as if she were sizing up a new character in one of her dating sims. "Why not go to one of the other Hosts?"
"Can you really imagine me asking Tamaki or Honey for relationship advice?" Hikaru inquired incredulously. Renge seemed to realize her mistake, as she gave a little laugh.
"True, you wouldn't want relationship advice from the phony prince. But what about someone like Kyoya or Mori?" Renge asked.
Be honest, Hikaru. "I thought you might know more about… something like this."
Hikaru stiffened up and hissed in protest as Renge delivered a crashing hug to his midsection. "Oh Hikaru, you're so kind!" Me? Kind? Usually only Kaoru says stuff like that.
"Yeah, right. If I end up with a few broken ribs, you're paying the hospital bill," the older twin warned his classmate. Jeez, thank goodness he's got Kaoru. Hikaru is really bad at showing affection, Renge thought with a tiny smile. After another moment, she released the ginger, who stepped back swiftly and pretended to be occupied with brushing something off his uniform.
"Ok Hikaru, here's the plan: You can already act affectionate around your brother, but you have to take it to the next level with him. Once you've got him alone, woo him with some romantic words, and finish the night with a tender but passionate kiss!" Renge explained, her eyes dreamy as if she were imagining the entire scenario in her head. Hikaru shuddered to think just what might go on in the otaku's mind.
Neither Renge nor Hikaru had noticed they had never been alone in the club room. Throughout their entire conversation, someone had been sitting quietly in a corner, inscribing something in the notebook he always had with him. "You know, if you're looking to get Kaoru alone, those tickets I offered are still available."
Kyoya stood up and walked over to the two first-years. Both had been quite surprised to see the older student, but Renge, who had gotten over her shock quicker, moved the conversation along by asking, "Tickets? To where?"
"To a new resort my family built a few hours from here. It's got beautiful mountain views and some of the best hiking opportunities in all of Japan," Kyoya said, "I offered them to the Hitachiins at the parade last weekend, but their response was inconclusive. Would you like to take them now, Hikaru?"
Increasing levels of excitement washed visibly over the Lady Manager. Kyoya produced the tickets out of his uniform pocket just in time for Renge to snatch them away and slam them firmly into the older Hitachiin twin's hand.
"You're taking these tickets, Hikaru. You'd better make a move on your brother soon, and Kyoya, how soon can we ship these two off on their vacation?" Renge said.
"Next weekend would be ideal." Kyoya was already walking away, seemingly disinterested in their conversation now that the drama was over. The raven haired male picked up his school bag and laptop. Hikaru and Renge were truly alone when the music room doors closed behind their senpai with an audible click.
Renge refocused her attention on the mischievous teen. "So, you have until your vacation next weekend to make a move on Kaoru. Good luck!"
Hikaru watched in stunned silence as the brunette scampered back to her platform. With the help of her powerful motor, she disappeared, leaving the older twin alone in Music Room #3. What in the world just happened? I just wanted her to help me clarify my feelings, and instead, I've got a luxurious vacation for two, and I have to kiss my twin brother by next weekend!
Oh, yeah, I forgot, Kaoru's been waiting for me all this time! And he seemed really anxious to get out of here today… Hikaru sighed. He collected his bag, and made a beeline for the club room doors.
No sooner had the ginger stepped closed Music Room #3's doors behind him than the voice of his twin called out, "Ne, there you are, Hikaru! That paper must've been really difficult to find, huh?"
Hikaru's cheeks became dusted with red. "Uh, yeah, it was. Let's go home, Kaoru."
"Okay!" The younger twin agreed cheerfully, falling into step beside the other boy. Together, they made their way out of the High School building, and eventually left the Ouran campus behind. As their car pulled away, Hikaru thought he spied Renge watching their progress from the windows of Music Room #3.
A/N: I can't believe I've been able to update so frequently this week. Now we've got a deadline, that'll make things interesting... This chapter was a thank-you to you guys for getting this story to 1,000 views, so enjoy your treat, minna-san!
Also, for those of you who were wondering, when Renge called Hikaru "Number 18" she was referring to in the manga/anime when she made them do the movie, Hikaru's jersey number was 18. ;)