Chapter 3 - Becoming Alive

"You're gonna just love it there!…" Hikaru was going on and on about how much she'd warm up to them, how much she'd love living with them..Kaoru was walking slightly behind her, back to his shyness, carrying her school bag. She wanted to look back, but she didn't want him to look back, for fear she'd just lose all control of her mind upon the sight of his eyes. He was simply entrancing..

She couldn't resist looking back at him. "Just a peek," she told herself. However, when she looked back at him, he looked up at her from the ground and smiled shyly. He lifted the bag up a little higher and panted, jokingly, as if saying "it's heavy!". She giggled quietly, so as to not attract Hikaru's attention, and stuck her tongue out at him, as if saying "It's not that heavy, now quite being a baby!". He smiled for a second, then stuck his tongue out at her, playfully. Hikaru noticed the movement of her head, looking back at his brother, his expression becoming slightly worried.

"Are you sure you're fine with carrying her bag, Kaoru?" He asked, kindly. Kaoru smiled and chuckled once or twice before answering.

"Yeah, Hika, I'm perfectly fine carrying it. It's actually really light." He looked to Adelaide, tilting his head only so little that only she noticed through her fixation on him. She should be ashamed, but he was just so beautiful… "What's in this thing, anyway?"

"Yeah, Adelaide...what's in your bag~?" Hikaru said deviously, before rushing back to where his brother was standing, gesturing to Kaoru for the bag. She gave Kaoru a look, but he gave over the bag, suddenly no opposition to the game his brother was playing.

She really didn't mind. There wasn't much in there, was there? She'd brought her candies, a pencil…and…oh, no…

She had her diary in there.

Her diary had some embarrassing things in it about her, she could bet.

She was sure they knew enough English to translate…she'd even written some in Japanese, for practice.

Hikaru held the bag as Kaoru put his fingers on each side of the latch, pawing it slightly before he would eventually press both sides, letting all her secrets loose. The tendons in his fingers tensed, but she let out a tiny "no", and he seemed to be torn between being a devil or an angel. One look to Hikaru convinced him being a devil was more fun, and he clicked the sides down.

Hikaru then was the one to paw through the bag, luckily coming upon the candies before anything else, and pulling them out, holding them up to Kaoru, who then turned to her. She looked frantically from face to face, explaining they were very good candies from America. Without her judgment, they decided to taste the Necco Wafers for themselves, both seeming to evaluate before saying the candies were "alright". She could tell they were both enjoying them, though, as they placed the package back in her brown bag.

Hikaru pawed around some more, coming across some of her clothes she'd packed. After all, her schoolbag was currently her luggage, too. He must have come across an undergarment or something like a bathing suit, because he blushed, yet refused to acknowledge anything had occurred. Kaoru tilted his head at the blush, but when his brother didn't explain, he looked for himself, and blushed too. That should teach them to not look through a girl's luggage again, she thought, giggling quietly.

She thought she was safe, that now they'd stop looking, after coming across something unpleasant. She comforted herself with this thought, but they crushed that comfort and hope when a devilish smile came across both their faces, and Hikaru pulled out a notebook. They walked over to her, giving her back her bag, but keeping her diary, as they each leaned on one of her shoulders. She whined as Hikaru held the diary up in the air, too high for her to even attempt to reach it. This seemed to please them, and they smiled evil grins.

"Dearest~," Hikaru began, tossing the diary to Kaoru, who neatly and easily caught it.

"Is this your diary?" Kaoru finished, waving it in the air, teasing. She didn't know he could be this mean, his eyes told another story - He was supposed to be kind, and not able to hurt a fly. What happened?

She knew. She shouldn't judge that quickly. Now her heart could be crushed that much easier, by those deceiving golden eyes, and that tempting smile.

"Yes." She answered, blankly, not enjoying it one bit. Kaoru made a toss to Hikaru, who, of course, caught the thing effortlessly. They seemed to notice her bitterness and blankness, and now were really tuning into her words. "It's my diary. I'd prefer you not read it, but if you're that determined to embarrass me, you may."

When she had finished speaking, she felt something fall into her open schoolbag. She looked inside it, seeing her diary, placed where it should be, once again. She felt confused. Weren't they trying to destroy her after building her up? Trying to decipher the two, she looked up at them, their evil grins now sympathetic and ashamed smirks. She smiled at them both, and they seemed interested in the vibe she was now giving off; forgiveness. Even stranger, she stepped back to get them off of her shoulders, but went right back up to them to hug them. Both tensed; They weren't used to people being this near them as she was. She whispered, "I can't thank you enough."

But, as this moment was awkward for both twins, Hikaru had to ruin it by asking, "For what? Giving you back the diary?"

Kaoru added, "Well, it was yours, we'd have to give it back sometime soon."

Adelaide rolled her eyes, stepping back to smile and say, "For being you, I guess." Then she turned to walk off to the limo waiting for them, that happiness showing on her face, and that bounce in her step that had attracted countless friends and won over all of her family. They twins eyed her back, admiring her as much as they were confused by her.

She was different than all the other plain Ouran girls, she had a real light behind her smile that she didn't bother to keep concealed to look proper and calm.

She was a confusing girl because of the range of emotions and thoughts she could go through in a single 5 minutes. It was almost astonishing, almost as bad as Tamaki. No, it was as bad as Tamaki. However, in her, that trait was much more cute than annoying. And another confusion for the two, she had warmed up to them already. They were used to girls liking them, but she was different in that she liked them for themselves. Not the façade they put on for clientele, not for their appearance, but for them themselves. They liked her, too, they could get used to her being around, for sure.

They exchanged one confused yet "she's interesting, for sure" glance, before they followed behind her, to the limo.

The limo ride was peaceful, yet chaotic.

Everyone's mind was racing. Adelaide's mind stirred uneasily with thoughts of her future, unplanned, yet now with some hope. The boys were kind enough to her, this life the life of the wealthy. She liked the fact that she could now enjoy the finer things in life, and they had to know that she wasn't any type of aristocrat in America. She had to just remember her manners, not act like every one of those finer things was a new sight, even if it was.

Kaoru had thoughts of her in his mind, as did Hikaru. They both saw her as a new type of girl, one they hadn't encountered before. That she was. She wasn't like the other girls they knew, the plain ones, with expected reactions. Every one of her reactions was unexpected, it was very strange.

Both twins' emotions were scattered, as well as their thoughts. Though she'd beg to differ, she had a good enough figure. She was kind, and, at the same time, had quite the pretty face. Her eyes and smile had a certain light behind them that couldn't be matched by any other girl…not any Ouran girl, anyway. As they continued to stare, and think, their eyes and thoughts on her, they felt their hearts race a little, and became confused. What was this feeling inside of them right now? It couldn't be love, no, it was too soon, but when she smiled up at them, both were taken aback slightly, being drawn more and more to the strange girl they were now faced with.

Though, Kaoru understood it more than his brother did. If anything, they did like this girl more than any they entertained in the Host Club. They felt something for her, for sure. But with a sigh, Kaoru looked at his brother's gaze, aimed at her, and thought, "only time will tell".

…...

The first night passed without an ounce of sleep. Her thoughts were trying to sort themselves out by being everywhere at once.

Her room wasn't ready yet, so she had to sleep in the twins' room, with them. They had dug up an old air mattress, and so she slept on the floor on that. It wasn't too comfortable, though, so she was tossing and turning when she had stopped the over thinking. Or, rather, paused the over thinking. The twins were too deep asleep to hear her tossing and turning like that. So, she was secretly distressed.

The twins went on sleeping while she went on worrying. When she finally got a few hours of sleep, it was early morning, and the sheets were all tangled in a knot around her.

…...

Meanwhile, on the streets somewhere:

"It's not so much the light as it is the heat." A girl with mid-length black hair that had a red streak explained her dislike for the daytime.

"Really?" A girl with longer blonde hair questioned, giggling. "I just don't see it." She said, smiling.

"It's quite simple. See, you know how I always wear black?" The other girl nodded. "Well, black attracts heat, so I get really hot during the day. I don't love it." She said, staring ahead.

After a few moments, the gothic girl with black hair and gray eyes noticed that the sound of footsteps was no longer beside her. Panicked, she looked all around for her friend. "Eiko?" The girl called out, panic creeping into her voice. "Eiko…"

Suddenly, a desperate scream could be heard from around the corner. There was a flash of blonde hair and a sword as the girl turned to find her friend. She was standing in front of a man who held a sharp sword. Her long blonde hair was blowing in the wind slightly, making the scene even more dramatic. This man…the girl had seen his face before…

An escaped criminal. A killer. With a weapon and a thirst for blood.

Swiftly, the man came running towards the innocent Eiko, with the weapon raised high above his head. The other girl couldn't react properly in time to save Eiko without getting hurt.

Without thinking, the girl jumped between her friend and the killer, the sword plunging deep into her leg. Agitated, the man rose the sword again, but the girl was still in the way and got cut a second time, deeper, if that was even possible, in another spot, slightly higher.

The girl screamed out in agony, but managed to get up. Upon seeing the blood, Eiko ran for her life. The girl was too busy keeping consciousness to see her friend leave in terror.

As Eiko ran, Yukiko fought. The man couldn't fight without his weapon, and once she'd knocked it out of his hands, she was able to knock him unconscious.

Though, Yukiko's gashes were bleeding too much for her to keep consciousness. She looked at her leg, and it was as if the whole limb was dyed in red. The puddle on the ground was too much for her to see, and she dropped to the ground. Soon, she had blacked out, her leg bleeding too much for one person to handle. Her last thought: "I'm going to die. Goodbye Eiko".

If only that had been her last thought.