Ouran doesn't belong to me. It's Bisco-san's
"Ne, Kaoru." Hikaru's voice starts. "Do you remember much from when we were younger? Back then the adults would get our names wrong so much we actually started to think that they were right and we were wrong."
I relax back into the bench I had discovered the tape and let my eyes slide shut.
"What if we were switched?" A young Hikaru asked poking his twin.
"Huh?"
"At the place we were born." He clarified. He rolled over in the bed to stare at his groggy twin. It was clear that Kaoru had nearly been asleep when he was rudely awoken by a sharp jab to his side. "What if they switched us by mistake."
Kaoru sat up and watched on in silence, blinking sleep from his eyes.
"That would mean I'm Kaoru, and you're Hikaru." Hikaru stated.
"But you're Hikaru, and I'm Kaoru..." The younger brother slurred, yawning.
It was nearly midnight yet still Hikaru pondered on about the subject.
"But, how do we know that?"
Hikaru sat up in the bed now, waving his small arms around as he became more and more frantic.
"What if they put our baby beds too close and one of the stupid adults put us in the wrong one! I think I heard mommy say that happens sometimes. Remember?"
"I remember..." Kaoru's head lolled slightly to the side.
"Kaoru!"
He jolted backward, nearly toppling himself over the side of the bed."I'm awake!"
"Or maybe..." Hikaru's eyes widened. "Maybe mommy made someone mad and they switched our name tags!"
Kaoru could only stare at his brother who had now worked himself up so much he was near tears.
"Hikaru..."
"No. My name's Kaoru." Hikaru corrected quickly.
The actual Kaoru was now wide awake. "You can't be Kaoru because I'm Kaoru!"
"No, you're not Kaoru. You're Hikaru!"
"I'm not Hikaru!"
"Yes you are!"
"No, I'm not!"
"Yes, you are!"
"That's stupid, Hikaru!"
Both boys stared each other down, cheeks red from shouting. Luckily they had both learned to disable the baby monitor before leaving on their usual night exploration of the mansion. Otherwise the maids would have probably come to separate them like last time the two had decided to stay up after bed time.
Still huffing, Kaoru jumped out of bed and padded over to their desk. There he opened the drawer and fumbled around a bit before turning around. In his hands was a crayon and a piece of paper.
"We'll make a list." He announced, plopping himself onto the floor.
Hikaru tilted his head to the side slightly, confused. "A list?"
Kaoru nodded.
The older twin switched on the light and moved to sit next to his brother.
"We'll make a list and keep it forever so when they get us mixed up we don't forget that I'm Kaoru and you're Hikaru." In shaky handwriting Kaoru wrote both their names on the top of the paper and drew a line down the middle.
"See?" He smiled. "You start, Hikaru."
"This list is pretty old. I think it needs to be updated." There was a slight crackle on the other end and then Hikaru spoke again. "Go down the list with me, Kaoru. It'll be fun. Besides, it's not that long. You fell asleep halfway through."
I chuckled softly, tears prickling my eyes. "Okay."
And suddenly it's not a tape I'm listening to. It's as if Hikaru is there beside me on the bench. I can imagine him speaking to me, smiling at me. It is the most peace I have felt in a long time. I am whole again. But, I know if I open my eyes that illusion will be ruined and I will be greeted with an empty, Hikaru-less bench.
"My favorite color is blue." Hikaru starts.
"Mine is orange." I reply.
"Favorite subject? Math."
"English."
"Kaoru...I thought this list was supposed to help us, not give us more of a complex." There's a long pause and more noise can be heard as the paper moved in Hikaru's hands. He finally speaks up again. "Favorite color? Blue, and blue. Favorite subject? Art, and art. Oh wait. There is a difference here."
Hikaru's sudden laughter rings in my ears causing my lips to twitch upward into a smile. It's been a while since I have had the pleasure of hearing that sound.
Finally Hikaru calms and begins again. "At the bottom. Gender? I'm a boy and you're a girl."
The smile falls from my face.
"I remember now." Hikaru starts his voice thoughtful, as if he were reminiscing. "I made a new question and wrote your answer as 'girl' while you were sleeping."
"You did what? Hikaru! That was such a low blow. I was sleeping!" I whine aloud like he could actually hear me.
"You called me stupid..." Hikaru replied, as if that alone was a good enough reason for giving his brother a sudden sex change.
I should have been mad and I imagine that if he were actually here, beside me, I would have probably stood and left him on the bench alone.
If he were here.
But he's not and instead all I can do is laugh. Laugh, because this was so Hikaru. My brother, immature yet lovable, Hikaru. The one who always had to be right and always had to win no matter what it involved. Even if it meant changing his identical twin brother's sex on a list that they would never look at again for years.
I quiet down, realizing I have missed a good chunk of my conversation with Hikaru.
"Since you found this clue so easily, Kaoru. I'm going to make the next one harder. This time you have to work for your clue. To get the clue you first have to sing 'My Heart Will Go On' during club hours. Sometime through the song you'll get a signal from one of the hosts. That person has the clue."
He's kidding...he has to be...
"If you don't do it you don't get the tape, Kaoru. So, start practicing. It'd be a shame if you lost so early on in the game." Hikaru chuckled. "I can't wait to see your performance."
With a click, the tape ends bringing me once more into silence and harsh reality.
"I can't wait to see your performance." I repeat. Those words send a shiver down my spine. I'm still not sure I even want to do this stupid challenge, but Hikaru's innocent words have me on edge.
After a moment, I am able to finally force myself to open my eyes. The moment I do though the illusion falls and the game of pretend is over. Where Hikaru sat, now showed only an empty bench, and the sound of his voice that had just minutes ago floated into my ears was now trapped in the small tape cassette that rest in my hands.
"I can't wait to see your performance."
My fist tightens around the Walkman in my hand. I pull my legs up onto the bench and hug them close to me, burying my head into the crook of my legs.
Dammit. Now I have to do it.
"Every night in my dreams. I see you, I feel you. That is how I know you go on."
Like a force of nature the next day I burst into the third music room stopping all activity in the process. I can feel everyone's eyes on me. For a moment I pause. I realize how ridiculous this is, but something has sparked inside me at the confused looks on everyone's faces.
It's just like when Hikaru and I would do our acts together.
I begin again, making my voice as passionate as I can. "Far across the distance, and spaces between us." Closing my eyes, I spin dramatically, and smile. "You have come to show you go on."
I'm vaguely aware of the many sighs and squeals surrounding me during my performance. At one point I swear I even hear Tamaki singing along with me. Unexpected, but this is Tamaki we're talking about.
"You're here, there's nothing I fear! And I know that my heart will go on!" I step up onto one of the low hosting tables, belting out the verses. It is then that I realize the real reason I'm in front of my schoolmates making a spectacle of myself.
The tape.
I continue my song, eyes now searching the crowd I managed to draw to myself for the rest of the host club members. They were scattered, but still they were easy to find in the mass of yellow dresses.
Haruhi looks confused.
Tamaki is still singing...but not doing anything out of the ordinary.
Mori looks bored.
Hunny is basically glowing with happiness.
And Kyouya...is staring straight at me.
His hand raises to tweak his ear, then he turns back to typing furiously on his laptop.
"Thank you for listening." I take my bow and step off the table, a broad smile on my face. Behind me I can still hear the choruses of appreciation from the girls.
I have to admit. That was fun, but I would never, ever do it again. Especially if it's going to be a song that Tamaki loves. I briefly wonder if Hikaru meant for that to happen. Maybe he wanted me to have a duet with the idiot King.
I do one last spin, then head towards Kyouya. I feel light as if all the clouds from the previous weeks had momentarily lifted. It's a wonderful feeling and I grasp onto it. It's the only thing right now that's keeping me from falling.
Kyouya sits, back slightly crouched, but not so much as to give himself and undignified air, and his eyes are trained on his computer screen. He doesn't even acknowledge me when I begin to near him. I clear my throat. Nothing, only the clacking of fingers against a keyboard. Again, and this time he looks up briefly.
"You brought in quite a few customers with that stunt." He starts. "Maybe you should make a fool of yourself more often."
My face heats up. "Ah, no. I don't think I'll be doing that again."
No answer. The hum of excited girls talking quietly fills my ears.
"If I had what you wanted I would have given it to you by now." Kyouya says, finally speaking up. His face never lifts from his computer screen.
"He said you had the next clue." I say. Suddenly the clouds have slowly come back, bringing rain along with it.
"I do." Now his eyes have trained on me. "But, this is a business and currently your wages have fallen. It doesn't help that you refuse to come to club events."
A violent pressure builds within me. I can feel it rise with each new word falling from that bastards lips. Hands clench, muscles flex, and soon I know I won't be able to control my actions.
"My brother is dead." I hiss. "And you're only worried about your money?"
"The host club has experienced a terrible loss, and we all are suffering from it. But, still we are a business and we must move on so that-"
CRASH
The laptop, long forgotten has fallen to the floor along with whatever else Kyouya held on his desk. But I don't care, my hands bunch in the blue fabric of Kyouya's jacket and I bring my face a mere few inches from his stubborn gaze. Even now he kept a neutral mask on his face. Although, I see his eyes shift to the side. Probably analyazing the damage I'd just done to the Host Club's non-violent reputation with the girls. Their faces are probably frozen in shock.
"Why did he have to give the clue to you?"
"He obviously trusted me." Kyouya responded, raising his hands to grip mine in a tight grip as if prompting me to let go. "You'll get your clue. Only when you come to the dance Saturday night. If you can't accept that, you won't get it at all."
My grip tightens.
"I assume this means you don't want to continue playing your game." He continues.
I let go and much like I entered, I exited the same way.
The door slams shut behind me.
This chapter feels like a crack chapter...Anyway, this is unbeta'ed so if you see mistakes let me know. Also I apologize for making Kyouya such a little bitch and for some parts feeling rushed. I feel bad. Maybe I'll make it up later. I'm tired to no long author's note. I was gonna explain the fic title to you so hold me to that promise. If I forget let me know.