Summary: Kaoru Igarashi always knew Ioran Hyuuga was different. The way he gave in to her every command - the way he never put up a fight. And even in their darkest hours, they knew that they had each other. They were both just too uneasy to admit it.

A/N: For May Madness! (Well, even though it's the last day of May today so I don't know if this actually counts.)

Okay, so, I feel sorry for Natsume and Aoi's father - I mean, when was the last time he got a fanfic written about him? Frickin' never! He doesn't even have a section in the archive! Now, I haven't really checked out many Kaoru fanfics, so I don't know whether he's played many important roles in them - but seriously! ):

I was looking on wiki and apparently a fan-translation gave fans the impression that his name was Ioran. It was proved to be false, but still, I think it's a cool name :D So I decided to, ya know, write a fic. Just cause.

Beautiful Inside and Out

"Hey." Ioran Hyuuga looked up, startled, to see an upperclassman he recognised as Kaoru Igarashi standing before him.

"U-Um, hello…" He threw her a questioning glance. Was he in trouble?

"Get in here, right now." She pointed towards a door beside them. He blinked."U-Uh, wha-…?"

"Just get in." He reluctantly followed her inside. As she shut the door he realised how cramped the room really was.

"I-Is this a… storeroom?" He looked around wildly, his eyes squinting in the dim light from the lonely bulb hanging from the ceiling.

"Just shut up and kiss me." She squeezed his shoulders and backed him into a corner, pressing her lips against his. He was so numb with shock for a moment he couldn't even react properly.

Why is Igarashi-sempai…?

He pulled away from her.

"Wh-What's…?" His eyes were as round as saucers. "Y-You're an upperclassman, Igarashi-sempai!"

"Just shut up and kiss me," she said again, eyes burning into his. Those exact same words… And yet this time, he felt strangely captured. Maybe it was her gorgeous red eyes that had took a strong hold on him, but whatever was happening, he didn't feel like she was just preying on him because he was younger.

To him it felt like so much more. Like she actually cared enough to pick him out of all the others.

He leaned in again, suddenly being unable to control his desires. She licked her lips before returning his kiss, seeing to relax now that he was at ease.

"You're pretty good, for a shrimp," she remarked as they broke apart. His face was a brilliant red, and yet he somehow stammered a thanks.

And then they continued to make out.

It felt like hours they'd been in that storeroom, just kissing again and again, letting their actions speak for them. But it was over far too soon for Ioran as he was ushered out by Kaoru.

"But, Igarashi-sempai… Why me?" he asked as she shut the door behind him. She looked up towards the ceiling, as if searching for an answer.

"Hmm… You looked like a good kisser, I guess," she said, shrugging. "You're innocent, and yet you have that awkward charm about you which girls like me just can't stay away from." She grinned.

"U-Um… Will I ever-"

"See me again?" she finished for him. "Hmm, I don't know. Perhaps. Actually, now that I think about it, it's quite likely, what with you being so good at kissing and apparently so into me…" She waved seductively before turning on her heels and heading off to her class as the bell rang.

"I'll see you around, Shrimp-Hyuuga."

x-x-x

Ioran Hyuuga smiled to himself as he silently let himself into the bedroom him and Kaoru shared. Watching his pregnant wife sleeping, he sighed contently - their son had been kicking so much the past few days she'd been constantly complaining she couldn't sleep at all. And if anyone knew Kaoru, they knew that when she couldn't sleep storms would rise, and disturbing her was a suicide wish.

Natsume. That's what we decided to call him, Ioran thought to himself gleefully, gently sitting down on the bed beside Kaoru. My own son… Gosh, to think that if I hadn't been hanging around by that storeroom that day…

I'd have never met Kaoru.

"Mhmm." He tore his gaze away from the door and turned to watch Kaoru prop herself up on her elbows, rubbing her swollen abdomen with a half sleepy, half pissed off look on her face.

"This baby's giving me a right backache," she groaned, eyes narrowing. "You know, I completely blame you for everything." Ioran shrugged, trying not to show that he felt slightly hurt over that. She was the one who'd wanted to go full-frontal the night after their wedding.

"It'll be worth it in the end," he said gently. She pulled a face.

"Try telling this bloody footballer that." She then reached for him and pulled him into a passionate make-out session - this had become a regular thing has her pregnancy had progressed.

Not that it wasn't already, Ioran thought to himself inwardly.

"Argh, this bloody baby is absolutely making my life a misery," she snapped, angrily grabbing hold of his tie and throwing it to the floor. "I mean, god, how many times a day do I have to pee to make it satisfied, huh?"

"K-Kaoru… I think that you're over-reacting," he said, trying to calm her down. She frowned stubbornly, chucking his shirt to the floor.

"Am not. I swear, as soon as this thing comes out, we're never having any more kids. Ever." He looked sceptical as she untied her hair, allowing it to fall loosely around her face.

"But I want a baby girl as well," he said.

"We don't even know this bloody thing's gonna be a boy. If it's a girl, we're never gonna have another."

"But I want a boy and a girl." He couldn't hide the disappointed tone to his voice. She growled.

"You want both? Then you have a freakin' op and get pregnant! Then you can see how fun it is!" She then let a devilish smile cross her face. "However, if you can reward me afterwards for these nine months of torture, I might reconsider."

"Little Natsume shouldn't be hearing these kind of things from his mommy," Ioran said, squirming. "I mean… They can hear the outside world, you know!" She rolled her eyes.

"If this kid's anything like me, hearing these things at an early age will be good for him."

"But not that early!"

"Come on. Take those off." She nodded towards him. "I've been waiting all day for you to just take those damn pants off. So hurry up."

Grumbling under his breath, he slid into bed with Kaoru and let her head rest against his shoulder, the bedcovers hiding the two of them.

"I love you," she breathed, running her slim fingers down his chest. He shivered at her touch, feeling sparks rocketing through his body.

"And I love you," Ioran murmured.

x-x-x

"AHH! What the hell?"

"Wh-What's happening?"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK IS HAPPENING? IT'S THE FRICKING BABY, ISN'T IT?"

"H-H… HUHHH!"

"GET OVER HERE! GET ME OUT OF BED, YOU GORM!"

"B-BU-BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!"

"JUST DO SOMETHI- AHHHHHNNN!"

"H-HEEEEELPPPP!"

x-x-x

Outside the delivery room, Ioran sat with sweaty hands.

"You are NOT coming in here," Kaoru had told him before being wheeled in.

"Wh…Why?" he'd asked, dumbfounded.

"Because you'll pass out," she replied as the door shut behind her.

So here he was sat outside, heart hammering in his chest, blood rushing in his ears, feeling like he could die. Every once in a while he heard a grunt or a moan drift out of the room and clenched his fists, squeezing his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Every ounce of his being wanted to be with Kaoru, to hold her hand and try to soothe her… but he knew he'd be useless. His voice wouldn't reach her.

Not in the way Yuka's would.

He couldn't exactly envy the girl, because she hadn't been by Kaoru's side since… well, since Kaoru had left the academy, he supposed. He was three years her senior, so he had never fully understood why her eyes were so bright as she walked with Kaoru, or why she twinkled as she stood by the side of the sensei he had admired since the day the teacher had first walked through the doors.

Yuka was a star, a spark that had first caught the attention of Kaoru the day she had brought him to the Special Abilities room to give him a similar treatment as she had done the first time they'd met.

x-x-x

"K-Kaoru-sempai!" Kaoru Igarashi turned around, eyes round with surprise. Her mouth formed a perfect "O" as she spotted Ioran Hyuuga, her now taller underclassman nonetheless, running towards her.

"Ah! Shrimp-Hyuuga!" Some of her classmates were already walking ahead to their meeting point.

"Come on, Kaoru!" they called out to her. She waved her hands at them dismissively.

"I just remembered, I have to stop by the Special Abilities classroom for a while. Uh, so, I'll see you lot later. Okay?"

"Okay!" They chorused, before heading off. Kaoru spun on her heels and bounded over to him, a playful grin on her face.

"How've you been, Shrimp-Hyuuga?" He blushed, fiddling with a rabbit coin inside his blazer pocket.

"Better," he admitted. "I've been missing you a lot." She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you have?" A creepy smile flitted across her face. "Well, lets just say I've been missing you a lot too. I've been yearning for our little get-togethers for a while now."

"Y-You have?" He tried not to sound too pleased at that. Still, relief rocketed through him. It was nice to hear that even if she had been with other guys, he was still the most satisfying.

He was content with that.

"Come on then," she grinned, reaching for his arm. She grabbed a firm hold of it and dragged him down the corridor. "Lets head over to the Special Abilities room, shall we? I wasn't lying when I said I had some business to attend to there. But lets take care of our desires first, shall we?"

"O-O-Okay," he said, heart beating wildly. She kicked the door open with her right foot, dragging him inside. A small couch was situated in the middle of the room.

"Right. Get on there. Now." She was commanding him, but still, she held a teasing and seductive tone to her voice, as though she was half-expecting him to push her down first.

"A-A-A-All right," he stammered, shakily sitting down. She swooped down and sat next to him, skirt drifting upwards slightly with the impact. He caught a glimpse of something lacy and squeezed his eyes shut, feeling his face flooding with red.

"Now… Who is it that you like, hmm?" she whispered, gently caressing his face. "I've been seeing you hanging around with some girls lately."

"Th-They're just classmates, honestly," he gabbled, "Rina, Emi and Kyouko are all just f-fellow classmates, I swear!"

"Oh, really?" She held a playful smile as she leaned in closer, pressing her jugs against his shoulder. He dithered beside her, a bead of sweat rolling steadily down his forehead. "Are you sure of that?"

"Yes!"

"Well, then…" She leaned in and kissed him gently, sending his desire meter shooting sky-high. Once she moved away she firmly pushed him down on the couch, leaning over him dominantly. "Am I all you want, hmm?"

He couldn't say anything else, already feeling his body begin to clam up with the embarrassment. He merely nodded, scrunching up his eyes.

"Okay." Kaoru slowly reached for her tie and pulled it off, allowing it to land on the floor below them. Ioran's gaze shifted to her chest involuntarily. One button loose. "I guess I'll have to make your feelings proven."

His eyes widened as she unbuttoned the next button down. Then the next. And the next. And the next.

Before he knew it, only one button remained from her shirt falling open. Her scent filled the air around him, that beautiful flowery smell from the Hana Hime Den that he'd yet to fully experience, and he could tell what was coming next. In between buttons she'd been laying kiss after kiss all over his face, and while he found this enticing and he enjoyed it, this was all too much. Somehow his blazer had fallen to the floor and he shivered, feeling out of place without it on.

"P-Please, Sempai…" She paused, brows knitted together.

"Hmm?"

"I-I-I-I…" She cracked a grin.

"Don't worry, Shrimp-Hyuuga," Kaoru grinned. "I'll go easy on you, since you're still in your last year of the Middle School Division. But next year you won't come off so lightly."

Effortlessly she pulled her shirt apart, revealing a lacy deep red bra, giving her the look of a fallen angel. He stuttered and swallowed, feeling light-headed.

"Are you ready?" she whispered that moment, the door opened.

And Yukihara-sensei and Yuka Azumi walked in.

And Kaoru Igarashi was kneeling over Ioran Hyuuga, with her shirt unbuttoned, practically waving her open cleavage in his face.

"K-" He practically cried out her name, face flushed and hot. "Kaoru-sempai!" He screwed up his eyes.

"Hey, Ioran, Igarashi." Yukihara's face was that of slight disgust. "Just because nobody's in here doesn't mean you can use this room as your replacement love hotel, got that?"

Ioran flicked Kaoru's dark curls out of his face and sat up hurriedly, grabbing his blazer.

"I-I'm sorry!" He scrambled to his feet. "P-Pardon me!" He pushed past Yukihara and Yuka Azumi, leaving the room without so much as a backwards glance at Kaoru. His heart was racing.

I'm so embarrassed…

He ran down the corridor, heart in his mouth, everything blurry and distorted to match his feelings. What was he thinking? In such a public place… He'd never be able to look Yukihara-sensei in the eye again…

As soon as his heart calmed down, he glanced around. The sun was just setting outside. That meant he'd missed supper, which was one thing he was slightly down-hearted about.

"Fantastic," he murmured to himself, sitting down. He ran his fingers through his hair, face still hot and flushed. It felt like Kaoru was still sat beside him. Her scent was still lingering around him too - he realised with a jolt that the smell of Hana Hime Den had stuck to his blazer. Just brilliant. His classmates would all laugh at him now, for being doused in perfume.

But… But still… Even so…

You don't blame me for running out, do you, Kaoru-sempai?

We'll meet again, won't we, Kaoru-sempai?

We'll still like each other the next time we meet, right, Kaoru-sempai?

x-x-x

"He looks just like you," Ioran murmured, stroking Kaoru's hair. She watched him sleepily, face damp.

"He has your beautiful red eyes and long hair," he continued. "Oh, but he has my skin… He looks absolutely perfect, and everything…"

"Ioran…" She whispered, rubbing her thumb against his hand. He smiled softly.

"Yeah?"

"…I'm sorry that I've put you through so much pain… And so much trouble…" He stopped smiling and watched her silently. This didn't sound like the Kaoru he knew, who's playful nature and teasing came naturally. This sounded like a woman who truly thought for him, something which rarely came to mind when they were together.

"You haven't put me through any kind of trouble," he soothed, gently resting a cool hand on her forehead. "I love you too much. There's no way you could trouble me, ever."

She smiled, watching him with wide, pleading eyes.

"Are you telling me the truth? I'm sure that I've put you through hell so many times already…"

"I promise, Kaoru."

She sniffed, and he realised with a jolt that she was crying, tears dripping shamelessly from the corners of her eyes, creeping down her face silently. A watery smile crossed her face and she squeezed his hand tightly.

"I… I…" For once it was her who was lost for words.

"I'm surprised," he said softly. "Usually I'm the one who's close to blubbering like an idiot."

"D-Don't get me wrong," she wept, "I-I have my reasons. Tears cleanse your spirit, you know that?"

"Is that so?" he smiled. She nodded firmly.

"A-Absolutely. Definitely. I'm cleansing my spirit, nothing else."

He placed a simple kiss on her forehead.

"I'm glad I met you, Kaoru." Her eyes widened and she squeezed his hand again, this time opening her mouth and letting out a loud sob.

"And I'm glad I met you," she cried, head falling down on her pillow. She lay on her side and stared at their hands tangled together, crying loudly. He rested his head on hers and breathed in her scent, breath ragged and hitching every once in a while as he swallowed back a sob of his own.

The Hyuugas were facing something new. And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

x-x-x

"He really does have my eyes, doesn't he?"

"Uh huh. Your hair too."

"But your skin. Ahn~ Our little Natsume sure is beautiful."

"He is."

"You know… We should have a little girl next."

"Definitely! Little girls are adorable!"

"In fact… Just one would be too boring. Lets have an entire army. With our good looks, nothing would be impossible!"

"E-Ehh? K-Kaoru…!"

A/N: So, this is finally finished. I'm pretty proud of this actually :3 Those two are too cute for words!

Ah, please, everybody, write some more Kaoru x Ioran fanfics! They're adorable and don't have enough light shone on them in the fandom as far as I know. Please! Give them a chance!

Happy end of May Madness! *waves*