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Hikaru and Kaoru- Age 9.
His life was over.
He and his twin had snuck into their mother's art room, which was strictly off limits, because they had a sudden surge of inspiration. Their plan was to paint a picture for their parents, but they needed paint to do it. And they were certain that their mother had the tools of the trade, as she often sketched and painted her dresses before putting needle to thread. So the logical thing to do was to enter the room in which she drafted her outfits and "borrow" what they needed. That's when Hikaru dropped and spilled a bottle of pure ink onto the plush blue carpet.
"Hikaru!" Gasped his twin in horror. "What have you done?"
"It was an accident," replied the equally terrified boy. His fears only grew with the sound of running heels.
"Hikaru? Kaoru?" Their mother peered through the door. "How many times have I told you boys not to... MY CARPET!" Her hazel eyes bulged, her jaw dropped as air swelled her lungs. Both of her boys were standing by the pool of spilled ink, but only one of them was the culprit. Her burning eyes fell on each of them. "Which one of you did it?" This eyes fixed onto the boy on the right, who was trembling like a leaf in the wind. She was sure who he was: "Was it you, Hikaru?"
The boy took in a big gulp. This was the end of the line for him, of that he was certain. But just as he took a step forward, his brother took two. "It was me, Mom. I- I'm Hikaru."
Her eyes fixed on the boy on the left now. Truth be told, even she- their own mother- had a hard time telling them apart at times. But she was so sure she had it right this time, that when the other boy gave himself up, she was genuinely surprised. "You?"
He nodded. "Yes. I spilled the ink. I'm sorry."
The boy beside him grabbed his arm. "Kaoru..."
But the twin turned to him with a certain spark in his bright golden eyes. "It's okay, Kaoru. You don't have to cover up for me." Bravely, he looked back at his mother and stood straight and firm. "It was my idea to come in here. I accept full responsibility."
Convinced, though he lied, Mrs. Hitachiin turned to the first boy she pointed out. "Kaoru, go to your room."
"But," Hikaru started.
But she cut him off. "Go!"
Defeated and unsure of what else to do, he looked back on his brother one last time before making a quick exit.
.
For young Hikaru, minutes felt like hours. He paced the floor of his bedroom, far too anxious to sit down and simply wait. What was she doing to his twin, he feared? Was he getting a paddling? Was he being grounded? Was he even alive? These thoughts and more swirled his head, making his heart race faster and faster with each passing minute.
But then, the door creaked open. In peeked his twin's head, looking as pristine as ever.
"Kaoru!" cheered Hikaru, who ran to his mirror image and embraced him tightly. "Are you alright? Did she punish you?"
Just as relieved as Hikaru was to see him, so too was Kaoru. He stood silent while his brother greeted him with a hug, letting him spill out his worries, before he finally answered, "I'm fine. Really. Just a harsh lecture this time."
"Thank goodness," smiled the elder twin, before giving Kaoru a firm pat on the back.
And to that, Kaoru suddenly winced in pain. "...a little paddling, too."
Hikaru winced, knowing what that meant. He took a step back as a look of guilt and worry fell on his face. "I'm so sorry. ...It was all my fault, you didn't have to take the heat for me."
Kaoru smiled. "It's okay, I wanted to. I was worried what she'd do to you..."
The elder twin stood there, marveled at his brother's selflessness. For a moment, a brief one at that, wondered if he would have ever done the same for him. Maybe he would... Maybe.
"Just, promise me one thing Hika?"
"Yes?"
"Let's never sneak into Mom's art room ever again. Kay?"
Hikaru breathed a sigh. "Never again."
And indeed, they would never again enter any room in the mansion without permission. Or look at ink the same way.
..
..
Present Day.
One day had passed since Kaoru's disappearance, and for Hikaru that was far too much. As promised, Haruhi came over to his family mansion during the afternoon to search for any clues that would prove the twin's existence. However, while she took her time scanning everything from the furniture to the walls, Hikaru practically tore the place apart. Clothes were tossed to the floor, window drapes neaqrly pulled from their poles, dishes scattered on the tables, and countless other nick-nacks piled up on the floors. Still, nothing provided them with any insight. Hikaru was getting frantic.
"I've searched everywhere," he panted after running around from room to room. "Upstairs, downstairs, the adjacent entertainment rooms..."
Haruhi scratched her chin in deep thought. "What about the courtyard?"
"I looked there too," he confessed, and to prove his point he showed her his dirtied hands. "I pulled out all the flowerbeds in case something was buried there. By the way, remind me to pay my gardener extra later for the damage."
"Are you sure you've checked everywhere?"
His face paled. "...Well... There is one last place, but I've sworn to never go in there again. Mom would kill me."
"It could be our last shot," shrugged the girl.
"...You're right... You go first."
.
The room is question was, of course, the one his mother claimed as her main workshop. The place where she kept all of her most treasured clothes and fabrics, where she would sketch and later paint her inspirations. The place where a younger Hikaru got off scot-free from certain punishment after spilling a certain liquid onto a certain floor. Just peeking inside from the doorway made his skin crawl.
Haruhi breathed in. "Wow... It smells like paint in here."
"This is where my mom used to do most of her work," explained the redhead, "before she moved up to a studio. I haven't been in here in years... Be careful, watch your step. If anything breaks or tears-"
"I'll be careful," she promised, as Haruhi gingerly stepped inside.
Withg a tender step she tread across the room, past the small tables filled to the brim with various drawings, past the walls decorated in multi-colored inspirations, and over an old black stain on the plush blue rug. Until at last, she came to the closet and slowly opened it. Looking inside, she was met with rows of plastic-covered dresses and suits and was mesmerized. Carefully she brushed back each one until her dark brown eyes fell on a small yellow dress with a tag on its sleeve.
"Hikaru, come here! Quick!"
Hesitant at first, Hikaru hopped across the floor as though there were mines planted all around him, until he stopped by Haruhi's side. "What is it?"
"These old clothes... Did they belong to you and Kaoru?"
"No... Actually, this one does seem familiar... Oh, now I remember!" he grinned. "Back when we were little, Kaoru and I made our own sketches of dresses for Mom. She took her favorites and made them into outfits like these. Funny, I didn't know she kept them all these years."
Haruhi lifted the yellow dress' sleeve. "This one has a tag on it. Read the initials."
His golden eyes scanned the tag. "K. H."
"K... Your mother's name, does it start with K?"
"No," he gasped. "Her name's Yuzuha... Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh! This is it, this is Kaoru's design!"
"We found it," cheered Haruhi softly. "Now we just have to show this to your parents, and-"
"And they'll know I'm not crazy! Brilliant! Let's do it right now." Without a care, he ripped the dress from the rack, while maintaining its plastic covering.
.
A few hours later, Mrs. Hitachiin came home to a rather dissheveled home. While her maids and butlers did their best to clean up after her son, some clutter and opened cabinets still remained. But soon none of that mattered, as her son came careening across the room with the plastic covered dress in hand.
"Mother! Mother, come look! Here, I have proof that Kaoru's alive!"
The redheaded woman, still lost and confused by the state of her living room, watched with baited breath as Hikaru presented the yellow dress in hand. "Hikaru," she gasped, "where did you get this?"
"From your old workroom," he confessed, no longer fearful of consequence. "But look! It's got Kaoru's initials. See? Read the tag."
Her soft, hazel eyes scanned the white tag attached to the dress' sleeve. "...Hikaru... Why are you doing this?" she frowned solemnly.
"Because, Mom, he's real! Don't you see it?"
"Hikaru, sweetie, please. Just stop."
"But it's here. It's his initials, look!" He held the tag up to his own eyes to confirm what he saw.
Blank.
It was blank.
His jaw fell to the floor- not literally, but it may as well have. "...but... but, I saw it..." Still reeling from shock, his trembling hands nearly lost their grip on the dress, making it fall partly to the floor.
His mother cupped his chin with her hand, forcing him to gaze into her saddened eyes. "Hikaru, love, I'm really worried about you. You're going too far with this 'Kaoru' thing."
He took a step back. "Mom... I swear, it was there."
"Your father and I have talked to your friend Kyoya. He knows someone who might be able to help you."
"Mom! I'm not crazy! I swear it!"
"Please dear, I'm only looking out for what's best for you." She approached him, but he moved backward, looking quite timid.
"No, don't... Don't send me to a shrink, please! Please, Mom!"
"Just come here for a second."
"NO!" he dropped the dress completely, turned tail, and ran.
.
He ran as far as he could before his lungs started to hurt, which took him as far as the middle of the courtyard. He paused, doubled over and panted heavily before he heard footsteps coming up behind him. He turned around with a scream, "GAH!"
"Wait!" barked Haruhi, "it's me!"
"...Haruhi..." he breathed softly, relieved to see her and not his mother.
"What happened? I stepped out to let you talk to you mom."
"...She... She didn't see it. It disappeared."
"What?" she blinked.
"The tag. His initials. They're gone! ...You saw them, didn't you?"
She nodded quickly. "I saw them. I did, I saw 'K. H.'"
He nodded while still looking winded. "...You're the only one who believes me... I can't stay here, they think I'm going insane."
"Where will you go, Hikaru?"
"Hikaru!" shouted a familiar womanly voice in the distance. "Hikaru, come back!"
His eyes darted toward the mansion before they fell back on Haruhi's gentle face. "...Can I stay with you for a while? I promise, I won't be any trouble."
"Hikaru?"
Hearing the boy's mother's voice coming closer, Haruhi panicked for a moment. Without even realizing it, she nodded, "Okay. You can come home with me."
"Thanks," he sighed before taking her hand tightly. "Let's go!" He dragged her away.
His feet proved to be much faster than those of any butlers' or maids', because he was gone and out of sight within moments. Soon after that, his mother made a Missing Person's report to the authorities...
..
..
...which made headline news that evening. From her small and cramped apartment home, Haruhi watched with her father and their new houseguest as the boy's image appeared on the television along with a contact number for anyone who would find him.
Sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, Hikaru sighed deeply, his eyes half closed with fatigue. "I can't go home... Not until I find Kaoru."
Haruhi leaned back on her couch and frowned, "Even if we still had that tag, we wouldn't be any closer to finding him. We have no idea who could have taken him. Or why."
"Or where they'd be..." He bowed his head in despair.
"You're sure he's out there?" wondered Ranka, Haruhi's cross-dressing father. He didn't look nearly as skeptical as Hikaru's mother was earlier, but his tone made the boy's hair stand on end.
"If only there was some other clue I could find," pondered the boy out loud. Then a light switched on in his head. "The club."
"The club?" asked the Fujiokas in unison.
The redhead turned to them. "The Host Club; there's gotta be something there we can find. It's the only other place where Kaoru and I would go besides the mansion."
"But Hikaru," frowned Haruhi, "you can't just go back there, not with the police looking for you."
"I'll find a way to sneak in."
"This is getting dangerous," shook Ranka's head. "Haruhi, I don't want you to get mixed up in this."
"Dad, he's my friend."
"I know, but-"
"Haruhi... Your dad's right. It's bad enough I'm hiding out at your place..." The boy sighed grimly.
Ranka got up off the couch and offered, "I think we have a roll-up cot in the other room. I'll go get it."
.
Not loing after that, Hikaru was crawling into the small, flat bed with the thin grey blanket in the middle of the living room. He looked less than pleasant, since the mattress wasn't nearly as exquisite as his own back at the mansion. In fact, it was so flat that he swore his back was pressed up against the wooden floor. He grumbled to himself while shifting his limbs every which way before finally settling in.
Haruhi stood over him and watched, then as he pulled the blanket over himself she declared, "If you need anything, I'll be in the next room. Just holler, okay?"
He looked up at her with puppy dog eyes. "Kay." He saw her walking toward the doorway when he had the urge to say, "Hey, Haruhi?"
She stopped mid-step and looked back. "Yes?"
"Thanks... for putting up with me."
She gave him a small, almost snarky grin. "Don't I always?" Then she left him alone.
He watched her leave, looking as though he was admiring each step she took. She truly was one of a kind, he thought; any other person would have thrown him into a padded cell by now. But not her... Not her.
He sighed and tilted his head, forcing his eyes shut. Sleep would not come easy. But somehow, at some point in the middle of the night, sleep did come.
..
..
Ouran Academy, the following day.
Life for the Host Club was going swimmingly, with new guests arriving nearly every day. Though most of them were interested in meeting the resident "bad boy" Hikaru, who unfortunately skipped out of school to keep himself from being brought back home. The Hosts that were there did their best to entertain everyone, but soon enough the club ran out of liquid refreshments. Tamaki, the club's leader, took it upon himself to run down to the lunch room to ask the chefs for some milk and instant coffee.
As he came laboring back up the stairs to the third floor, he paused to catch his breath. That's when the corner of his eye spotted a dark figure creeping into a room not far from Music Room 3. This puzzled the Host King, as he recognized that particular room as the place where the club kept most of its costumes and props.
When he entered the room, which was originally a classroom but with all furniture replaced with coat racks and prop boxes, he put down the tray of refreshments and explored it quietly.
"...Hello? ...Is someone in here?" he bravely yet hushly asked.
To his surprise, there came a small "Psst!" in reply. "Hey. Boss."
Though it was soft, Tamaki recognized that voice instantly. "Hikaru?" He followed the voice to a coat rack, and when he pushed the costumes aside, he found whom he was looking for. The younger teen was shuffling through the clothes rather frantically. "Hikaru, what on earth...?"
"Boss," said Hikaru with a slightly louder tone, "I think I may have found a way to prove Kaoru's existence."
Tamaki sighed, "Hikaru, this has got to stop. First you hallucinate about having a twin, then you run away from home, and now you're rummaging through old costumes?"
But Hikaru's plan was more on the mark than the Host King realized, as the boy pulled out not one, but two multi-color kimonos. "Remember these?"
"Yes," nodded the blonde. "Those were part of the kimono sets your mother made, we were all wearing one as a sort of promotion of her new line."
"Well Boss, why are there two here that look exactly alike?"
"Pff, really Hikaru. We always keep copies of our stuff, in case someone accidentally ruins them."
Hikaru proved his point by briefly showing each kimono to his 'Boss.' "Here's yours. And Hunny-Senpai's, and Kyoya-Senpai's, and Haruhi's, and Mori's. Not one of them has a copy, only mine."
This came as a surprise to Tamaki, who pouted his lips without anything left to say.
"And over here," directed Hikaru as he moved to another clothing rack, "are the outfits for that 'Knights of The Realm' theme from a few months back. Here's yours, here's Kyoyoa-Senpai's, and look: two matching Musketeer outfits. ...Two."
"W-well... It's not my fault you're more accident prone than the rest of us!"
Hikaru narrowed his golden eyes at him.
"Alright, let's say you're right and there's a missing Host."
"My brother."
"Right. How is it that I, or everybody else for that matter, doesn't remember him? How is that possible?"
"Whoever took him somehow got inside all of our heads and erased all of our memories about him."
Tamaki looked intrigued, but he still wasn't buying it. "Uh-huh?"
"And maybe- just maybe- they tried to erase all of my memories too, but they failed because my connection with him is just that strong. And it makes sense, because Kaoru and I hardly ever leave each others' sides... Except for that one time."
"What time?"
"That time you and Nekozawa scared the pants off us during Halloween. Remember that?"
Tamaki paused to remenisce. "...Hmm... Heh, yes I remember. I was dressed as the ghost witch, or something like that."
"Right. Well while we were running, Kaoru and I split up and went two different paths. That's one time I can recall when we weren't right there for each other."
"Really? You were that close?"
"So close, that hardly anybody could tell us apart. We used to play this silly guessing game called-"
"Which One Is Hikaru..." Those words came out of Tamaki's mouth almost as though something otherwordly pulled them from his lips. And that's when he remembered...
There was a letter about to be torn by a pair of small, pale hands, when suddenly his voice cried out: "The one about to tear the note is Hikaru!" The two boys watched in shock as a slightly younger Tamaki appeared from behind a column, as he had been spying on the twins for some time.
The boy holding the letter looked dumbfounded. "How... How did you guess that?"
Tamaki simply smiled, "Intuition..."
"Intuition... I remember that," smiled Tamaki, as his eyes lit up. "I remember! I picked you out of the two when you were trying to throw me off! Man, it took me almost a whole month to figure you boys out... My gosh. ...How could I ever forget about Kao-"
-WHOOSH!-
The ceiling cracked open and separated, like the lid of a cereal box, with only a white light covering the sky. As though a massive gust of wind from beneath his feet suddenly arose, Tamaki's body lifted off the ground and shot upward like a rocket, careening into the white abyss above. Then moments later, the ceiling closed up again as though nothing had happened.
But sometching did happen. Tamaki Suoh was gone.
Vanished.
Hikaru's eyes bulged and his jaw flew open,witnessing the bizarre phenomenon first hand. What was stranger,mother fact that Tamaki was just now ejected into the air, or the fact that he himself remained grounded? Such a puzzling moment was this that he couldn't think straight. He just stood there, bulged eyes staring at the ceiling in disbelief.
.
Eventually, after shaking off the initial shock, Hikaru's came running back into Music Room 3, where he was greeted by the stunned faces of Hosts and guests alike.
"HELP," he screamed frantically as he flung the doors open. "SOMEONE, CALL THE EMERGENCY LINE! TONO'S BEEN... Well, he's... He's GONE!"
Still the Hosts and guests looked shocked; it just dawned on Hikaru that he had been in hiding and this is the first time anyone has seen him in over a day.
But then, Hunny stepped forward with his classic boyish smile. "Hika-chan! Where have you been? Everyone's been worried about you."
Haruhi, still posing as a boy, also came forward with a look of discern on her face. "You're supposed to be hiding out! What are you doing here?"
He ran to her and embraced her shoulders, panting. "Haruhi, you won't believe it! I was talking to the Boss, and he just suddenly... 'Whoosh!' He flew up into the sky!"
Her eyebrows furrowed. "Are you sure you weren't just dreaming?"
"No, I saw it! I saw the Boss-"
"The 'Boss,'" she pointed out, "is right over there."
Hikaru looked over her shoulder, to find Kyoya Ootori at his usual desk writing in his little black book. The redhead narrowed his eyes at the raven-haired sophomore. "No, not Kyoya-Senpai."
"But," responded a confused Hunny, "you call Kyoya-chan 'Boss' all the time. Ever since he started the Host Club, remember?"
Hikaru gasped at hearing this. "What!? No, he didn't start the club, Tamaki-Senpai did!"
To this, both Haruhi and Hunny cocked their heads to the side like perplexed puppy dogs. "Who?"
No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, went on forever in Hikaru's head. Quickly,meh darted past them and over to Kyoya's side, who sat there as cool as ever.
"Please tell me your disappearing act was just your way of drawing in more fan girls," said the Shadow King nonchalantly.
"Kyo- I mean Boss- can you remember a blonde, half-French guy named Tamaki Suoh?"
The older teen's head tilted back, as though intrigued. "Suoh... Yes, that name does ring a bell. Hold on." Hikaru waited with a glint of hope in his eye, as Kyoya reached under the desk to pull out a bigger black book and ran through its pages. "Suoh... Suoh... Suoh... Ah, I knew that name was familiar."
Hikaru grinned widely; perhaps there was still a trace of the real Toño in there after all...?
"Yuzuru Suoh, the main chairman of Ouran Academy. Married, but with no children."
"...None?" gulped Hikaru nervously. "Not even... outside of marriage?"
Kyoya shot him an icy glare. "Be careful not to speak of such things to our school's chairman, Hikaru."
"But... But, Tamaki..."
"As far as my records go, there is no Tamaki."
No Tamaki.
No Tono.
He was never born, he never existed.
Just like Kaoru.
Hikaru felt weak in the knees, as he now realized that his twin brother must have met with a similar fate as Tamaki. So distraught in deep thought was he, that he didn't realize that he had fallen to his knees, prompting Mori to do,e over, pick him up, and carry him over to the main red couch to rest.
Hunny started to fan the redhead with a paper fan, while a female guest offered him a glass of water. Haruhi shooed away everyone else, to give her distraught friend space to breathe. The boy laid down on his left side while millions of fears regrading the fates of his missing twin and employer swirled in his head, making him feel dizzy. But then, after a few minutes to himself, he motioned for Haruhi to come over and join him.
The girl,dressed as a boy heeded his silent call and stooped down to meet his eyes. "Feeling any better?"
"Haruhi... Does the name Tamaki Suoh ring a bell to you?"
"Tamaki...? ...No, it doesn't. Why?"
His eyes closed sorrowfully. "Just checking."
She rested a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "Is this about your brother? Did you find any more clues to where-"
She was cut off by her friend's sudden sit-up while he grabbed her by the arm. "Haruhi..." He sounded horrified, which made her uneasy. "Haruhi, listen to me: I can't let you get involved in this anymore."
"Why not? I thought you needed my help."
"No. No one can help me, I have to do this on my own. Please, Haruhi... I can't lose you."
The solemn glare in his eyes sent shivers down her neck. He was seriously concerned for her safety, for reasons only he could understand. Though it pained her to say it, she surrendered and have a nod. "Okay, I'll stay out of it."
"Promise?"
"I Promise."
He patted her shoulder and laid back down, still looking worse for wares.
The rest of the afternoon was slow, as no one wanted to disturb the weary Hitachiin boy. Haruhi explained his situation to the other Hosts as best she could, and they decided that he could stay at one of Hunny's dojos. The further he stayed away from his friends and family the better, Hikaru himself would say.
..
..
That evening, Haruhi was eating with her father in their tiny dining room with the small table that lacked chairs. They looked like two peas in a pod, cutting up their dinners and eating in peaceful silence. All seemed right in their world...
And then, her nose tickled. A familiar scent came from the small adjacent room. "...Mushrooms?"
"Hmm?" hummed Ranka. "Did you say something, dear?"
"Did you cook mushrooms, Dad?"
He blinked in confusion. "No, why?"
"That scent," she mused. "...Why is it so strong?"
In the small adjacent room, unbeknownst to her, wild mushrooms were growing from long forgotten plant pots.
..
..
"You didn't have to take that one," declared the tall and slim female Agent, as she pointed across the room toward the large glass orb in which Tamaki Suoh was now residing. He still had on his school uniform, and like Kaoru in his own glass chamber beside his, he was floating around in pink liquid while being given oxygeon through a breathing apparatus.
Her associate, the male Agent with the unnatrually tall and thin frame, typed away at his computer. "It was a safety precaution," he explained. "His knowledge could have jeopardized the entire project."
His female associate frowned, "There are other ways of dealing with these sorts of things. Just this morning, I erased the initials of Subject A on a small piece of paper. It's simple as that."
"These subjects... They are more clever than you give them credit for." On his computer monitor, he had a clear picture of Haruhi Fujioka in her dining room, eating and thinking of mushrooms.
"If it comes to it, we'll have to take drastic measures."
.
TBC