Hey...:looks down sadly: I'm sorry i couldn't get this up faster.

You see my pops got a new job all the way out in Ohio! Ugh! And it made me go into a real writter's slump cuz that's means I' moving!

I am sooo gonna miss all my friends and everyone! WAAAAH:cries chibi tears: But on the bright side, here's another chapter! Thank you to all my lovily reveiwers!


"Oh, Hikaru-kun, it is so wonderful to have you back!" A young brunette girl brushed a stray peace of ginger hair away from Hikaru's golden eyes, "We were all so worried about you!" She declared, latching herself onto his right arm as they sat upon one of the Host club's many over stuffed sofas. Kaoru and his customer were sitting opposite them. "So worried…" she sighed.

"Thank you, Kari-can…" The older twin said, taking the girls hand in his larger one and bowing his forehead upon it and rubbing his perfect nose in small circles upon the surface, making her blush uncontrollably.

"We were very worried about you too, Kaoru!" The strawberry blonde to Kaoru's left stoked his arm lovingly as she spoke, "It was so heart wrenching when Kyoya-san told us you refused to attend the host club, to instead go down to the chapel and pray for your brother's health." She covered her lip gloss soaked mouth to hold back the "sobs", "It was just so beautiful, the way he described your departure…"

Kaoru mentally rolled his eyes. Now, he knew what dramatic story Kyoya had told the young women that requested his brother and his service in their absence. "Yes, well, um, Kami has answered my prayers. Hikaru is now well enough to walk amongst us, and I can move back into our room. Isn't that right, Hikaru?" Kaoru had moved out of the twin's room upon their mother's command, not wishing Kaoru to obtain Hikaru's strep throat as well.

As the script called for, Hikaru's eyes took on a predatory glint to them after his twin said this (something Kaoru could never do as well as his brother) and he smirked, "Even so, we cannot participate in our nightly rituals until I have made a full recovery, right, Kaoru?" Kaoru's name rolled off of his twins tongue like honey off a spoon, and that was Kaoru's que to blush.

"H-Hikaru…! Such talk in front of these young ladies!" Hikaru did not take Kaoru's face in his hands like he would usually, for as he said before he had not made a full recovery and did not wish to spread his germs to others, especially his brother. Instead he laughed and told Kaoru he looked the cutest when he turned red, as their clients quietly swooned in the corner of the couch.

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"So tell me Kaoru, how bored were you while I was gone, hmm?" Hikaru looked across the tea set to stare at his twin, his chin resting on his fists as he leaned forward. "From what the girls have told me, you were praying at the chapel, but I doubt that."

Kaoru snagged a tea cookie from the tray and began to nibble on it carelessly, "'Course I wasn't at the chapel. Strep throat will not kill you…at least, I don't think it can." Kaoru mused, finishing his cookie and picking up another, "I just hung out…"

Hikaru raised an eyebrow before shrugging and snatching the cookie out of Kaoru's hand, breaking it in half with his teeth; "If you say so…" he leaned back in his chair, balancing on two of the four legs.

Kaoru sighed. Just a few more minutes until the Host Club's doors were closed for the day (it was a requirement that all members stay until all clients left). Hikaru and Kaoru's clients had long since departed, as well as Haruhi's, and Kyoya's, but Tamaki, Hunny and Mori still had a few young girls in their mists.

Kaoru tapped his foot impatiently and took a brief glance at the gold watched adorning his wrist, when the face showed that he still had ten minutes to go, he huffed irritably and scowled.

"In a hurry, Kaoru?" Hikaru chuckled and sipped his instant coffee.

Kaoru offered a small, bashful smile before nodding, "Sorrta, I guess." Mariko was in the studio today.

Kaoru felt bad for not telling his brother, of course. But he was hiding Mariko's existence from Hikaru because for once in his life there was something he didn't have to share with him. Mariko was his friend and did not look at him as a Hiitachi twin, but as Hiitachi Kaoru instead. And that made him feel good inside, and he did not want to loose that relationship with her just yet.

"…ru…? Kaoru…?" Kaoru cleared his thoughts away by blinking rapidly, Hikaru's hand coming into focus in the process, which was carelessly waving just beyond his nose, "Did you hear me, Kaoru?" Hikaru asked, annoyance pooling in his eyes, and no they were not tears.

"Uh…No, gomen…guess I spaced out." Kaoru replied, bashfully.

"Yeah, you've been zoning out all day, Kaoru. What's on your mind?" Concern for his brother now laced itself onto Hikaru's face, making Kaoru feel guilty.

"N-nothing," Kaoru cursed himself for stuttering, "What were you saying?"

"I was saying that the doctor just called." He waved his cell phone around carefully. "He needs another throat swab test to see if I'm over my strep. And that means you'll be going home alone, 'kay?" Hikaru asked, taking Kaoru's wrist and turning it as to check the time.

Kaoru nodded his head a little too enthusiastically, "S-sure..." Damn his stuttering tongue!

"Good." Hikaru smiled and got up from the chair he had seated himself in. "Milord…?" He called out to Tamaki, who had one girl latched onto each arm as he looked over to him, "I have to go. Doctor's appointment. Kaoru's going home alone." With that he winked at his brother, snagged the last tea cookie and strutted out the door.

"Milord…?" Kaoru got up himself, "I'm leaving too…all my clients are gone anyway."

"Fine, fine…" Tamaki called back waving a hand around lazily as if to dismiss the left over twin.

"See you tomorrow, Kao-chan!" Hunny squeaked from the dessert table, where a tan beauty was feeding him some Angel food cake happily.

"Bye, Kaoru!" Haruhi said. Kaoru said his farewells to both of them—as well as to Mori-senpai and Kyoya—before departing.

━━━ ━━━

"Come in…" Mariko answered to the solid knock on the door, her eyes never wavering from the laptop's computer screen. "Door's open…"

A familiar mop of ginger hair poked itself through the now opened door, "Mariko?" Kaoru asked out, not seeing the girl right away.

"Hey, Kaoru!" The raven waved briefly from the other corner of the large room. Kaoru visibly brightened when he took notice of the other adolescent and entered the dance studio he had come to grow familiar with.

He smiled and made his way over to Mariko, who was sitting at the opposite end of the room at the large oak table that usually held her boom box and bag. But today, a small laptop was set out before the girl, her fingers flying over the key board with great speed. He hopped up onto the table and sat with his legs crossed behind the computer screen. "Whatcha doin'?"

Mariko scowled when his sudden leap upon the table had caused her laptop to sway dangerously before she steadied it with her hands, but answered indifferently, "Just e-mailing a friend in my dance group. Which reminds me…" She quickly got up and trotted over to her bag, rummaging through it before she lifted out a plain indigo folder. She opened it and removed two tickets from its double pockets, "These are your tickets." She handed them to the boy who took them appreciably.

"Thanks…" he pocket the slips into his pocket, located on the inside hemming of his uniform jacket. "Front row?"

"No second," She admitted, sighing, "Who are you taking with you?"

"My friend; Haruhi. Sh—um…" Oh, great…another obstacle. Tell Mariko that Haruhi is male and be asked what their relationship is (which would eventually lead to the Host Club) or confirm that Haruhi is female and be asked what their relationship is again. Um… "…He's really looking forward to it."

"Really? He into the Arts?" Mariko asked, tipping her head to one side.

"I guess," Kaoru answered simply, trying to avoid the subject.

"Hmm…Now, the show starts at seven o'clock sharp so do not be late." She ordered, "The ushers will not open the doors after the show starts for anybody, got it?"

"Got it," He repeated, patting his jacket for emphasis.

"I got you the best seats I could, but—"

"You have glasses?" Kaoru suddenly interrupted, pointing to said glasses. He didn't know how he didn't notice them before now. They were rectangular, much like Kyoya's (you know, long, a real face filler), only a bit thicker and a deep maroon color. They fitted her face perfectly, like a glove. They fitted her personality even better.

But Mariko suddenly did something very un-Mariko-ish, she squeaked nervously and quickly removed her glasses, pocketing them quickly, and then she began to blush madly, "Y-yeah, w-well…I, um, Th-they're reading g-glasses, and I, uh, read w-with them…yeah, uh-huh." She nodded as if proving something to herself.

"Tatsuna Mariko, are you, dare I ask, blushing?" Kaoru couldn't help but laugh when the girls red color began to spread and darken.

"S-shut up, Stinker!" Mariko squealed out, throwing the glasses into the Fall Out Boy bag and pouting.

"Gomen, gomen…" Kaoru apologized, standing in front of the shorter teen, "Why are you embarrassed?"

She looked away from his still laughing features and mumbled something incoherent.

"What?" Kaoru ventured.

Mariko huffed and repeated herself, "I hate my glasses. They make me look weird…"

Kaoru shook his head, "No they don't." He reached into the bag and removed the glasses, "They don't look weird at all. They actually look quite cute." He placed the spectacles back upon her face, despite her lack of looking at him directly, "And they matched the color of your cheeks perfectly, Loopy."

Mariko glared at him playfully and slapped him across the arm, "Shut up." She took the glasses off again and placed them next to the laptop, before reaching into her bag and removing her crimson point shoes, the red ribbons tucked away in them. "Don't get used to seeing them a lot, they're just reading glasses." She slipped on her slippers and wound the ribbon up her ankle, tying it at the mid calf.

She turned on the boom box, Swan Lake immediately erupting from its speakers.

"Mariko, do you mind if I check my e-mail?" Kaoru asked, already seated in the chair before the computer.

"No, go ahead. But just minimize that essay I was writing for science class, 'kay?" She went into a series of spins just as she finished speaking, making Kaoru dizzy just watching her.

He moved the clicker about to bring it out of the corner, where it was left and minimized the essay as promised. Then he clicked a small globe with the single word INTERNET written under its round form, causing a new window to pop up. He searched his e-mail site and typed in his username and password. Soon he was inside his inbox, where there was nothing but junk mail that was carelessly deleted and a letter from his mother—who was somewhere in England, showing off her new line of winter clothes along with his father. He e-mailed his mother back, telling her Hikaru was feeling better and how he planned on moving back into their room soon, before logging out and shutting down.

"Thank you, Loopy." He thanked Mariko, watching her as she slowly dipped forward and back.

He watched her for a good long time, always fascinated with the soft yet determined look set on her sharp face as she danced, a small amount of dampness wetting her forehead and neck. Her arms and legs always seemed to be in perfect unison, even when not moving in the same direction and always gentle yet sharp and fierce in their movements. So precise and accurate it was almost scary…well, almost always accurate.

Mariko yelped and took a tumble, landing gracelessly upon her bottom at least two yards away from where she tripped. "God dammit!" She cursed and cussed, pounding the ground once with her hand. "And I was almost there! Almost perfect!" She scolded herself quietly.

"Are you alright?" Kaoru asked, hurriedly.

Mariko opened her eyes (when did she close them?) to find Kaoru's face dangerously close to her own, his precious metal orbs filled with unknown worry and fear. Her own chocolate eyes widened and a light blush spread across her tan cheeks and nose. She knew that Kaoru was handsome from the first time she had met him (a.k.a. Held he down and threatened him with a full plastic water bottle), but being this extremely close to the boy really showed off his unnatural beauty.

"Are you okay?" He repeated.

Mariko cast her gaze down quickly to her shoes; the cause of her fall, "Y-yeah…I just tripped. I'm okay." She took his large warm hand and let him help her up just as she did to him upon their first meeting. They walked over to the table and Mariko hoisted her foot up to her opposite thigh and removed the point shoe, doing the same for the other.

The long red ribbon on her left slipper had snapped away from the lining of the shoe and had made her trip, ruining her mood. The raven whimper and stomped her foot childishly, "My shoes…" she whined, "Oh… poopy!" she tossed them onto the table and slumped into a chair, closing her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Kaoru asked, picking up the discarded slippers and scanning them thoughtfully, raising a delicate eyebrow.

"The ribbon snapped and a shoe without a ribbon is just dysfunctional—throws you off balance—and I can't fix it." Mariko ground out, glaring at the points in Kaoru's hands.

"Why not?"

"One, I don't have any sewing supply with me, and two, even if I did it would probably come out all wrong…I'm horrible at sewing." She explained, "I'll just have to go home and ask Kiko if she can sew, though I seriously doubt it." She whispered the last part to her self but loud enough that Kaoru could pick the words up.

A smile grace his features, showing all his perfect white teeth, straight as parked cars, "I can sew it for you."

"You can?" It was Mariko's turn to raise a brow.

"Mm-hmm," Kaoru whipped out a small sewing kit from inside his jacket. It contained four size varying needles and several different colors of thread, along with a few surplus buttons. "My mother taught me."

"Your mum?" Mariko seated herself next to Kaoru, who had already picked out and red colored thread and was lacing it through the eye of the needle.

"Yeah…my mother is in the fashion business and she thought that I might want to learn a thing or two," He shrugged, "It does come in handy from time to time."

"Fashion? Really?" Mariko seemed to be in awe, "All Kiko can do is order take out and was her rat-dog." She huffed out and lowered her face into her arms.

"Who's Kiko?" Kaoru asked, nipping through one sting and tying another easily.

Mariko grunted and lifted her head up, her bangs covering her eyes in shaggy masses, "My stepmother."

"Oh…"

"My real Mum was great…" Mariko suddenly said making Kaoru stop his work for a moment and listen, "She's the one that taught me to dance. Said it built character. But back when I was little, all I wanted to do was hang out and be a kid. I didn't want to be disciplined and taught how to dance." Mariko laughed grimly then, "But then I did…yep…right after she left I wanted to be the best, because I used to think it would bring her back. Not make her mad at us anymore." Kaoru didn't move when he saw her bring a hand to her face to dab her wet eyes, threatening to smudge her make-up, "But she never came back, not even when I told her my group was performing Swan Lake—her favorite recital…" The last part was whispered and smaller than the rest of her words.

"Here," Mariko blinked as Kaoru showed her the repaired slippers "Keep practicing, okay?"

Mariko nodded and took the shoes, carefully winding the ribbon up her leg, before stepping back out onto the floor. "Press the play button," she ordered.

Kaoru smiled and nodded, jabbing the indented button on the stereo.

Mariko took a deep breath and took a few testy steps forward, a simple spin, and a careful leap, before diving back into her practice, nailing each move with practiced ease. Kaoru had done a splendid job upon her points. They were now as wonderful as they were when her mother first sewn the ribbons on for her just a few years ago.

"What?" Kaoru thought he heard Mariko mumble something to his but wasn't entirely sure.

"Nothing…" Mariko shook her head, not willing to tell Kaoru what she had said. But she still thought it; you'll be at the recital…right, Stinker?

"Hey Loopy?"

"Hmm…?"

"Can you die from strep throat?"


Ta-daa?

Well that's all for now i guess. i'll try to update sooner than last time 'kay?

Now i'm off to burn--i mean, rip up---i mean do my homework...:shifty eyes:

Oh, and one of my reveiwers asked if this was a triangle. I'm sorry but it's not, though their will be jelousy and deception later. Sorry for the confusion!

Until we meet again,

Ja ne!

Franki!