I'm back from the dead, everyone! Actually, I've been back for two weeks… just soooo tired…

Hope that you like this chapter! Please review! :p

Oh yeah, I don't own Ouran. I think everyone kinda knows that by now, but I'll say it anyway XD

Chapter 18- Betrayal

Kaoru was very quiet during the drive to my house. Bothered by the awkward silence, I chattered endlessly about anything I could possibly think of, from the state of our class's homework these days to my best times for beating people in a chess match. However, he didn't say a single word for the entire duration of our trip.

"Miyoko!" Kameko greeted warmly when I arrived at the door.

It was only after she had enveloped me in an enormous hug that she noticed Kaoru standing behind us. He smiled nervously.

"Who's this?" she asked quizzically, her eyebrows raised so high that they were at the point of disappearing into her dark hair.

"It's Kaoru." I explained, "He's in my class at school."

"Ooh, Kaoru Hitachiin?" she exclaimed eagerly, her eyes lighting up. "The son of that famous designer?"

Kaoru nodded solemnly.

"Oh, well then," Kameko insisted, pushing Kaoru and I into the entrance hall firmly. "Do come in! I'm sorry, we're a little short staffed at the moment, but please try to enjoy yourself!"

"It's alright," he replied quietly, rubbing his back where she had shoved him along.

"So what brings you here, Kaoru?" Kameko asked gleefully as we set out the plates.

"He's doing homework with me," I explained, my china clattering noisily.

"Oh," she mumbled, her face screwed up in an odd expression.

It was almost as if she was asking "Why would anyone want to do that?" However, there was no way that this could possibly be true. Homework was fun!

Kameko persisted endlessly that she would cook the food herself, shooing us out of the kitchen as if we were some kind of pest. While we were waiting for her to finish, I decided to give Kaoru a tour of the house.

"It's a bit empty in here, with just the two of us," I said thoughtfully as we roamed through some of the many winding corridors. "But as soon as my parents come home, this place will be bustling with people again."

He stopped suddenly, frowning.

"Your parents?" he asked slowly, a fleeting expression of pity crossing his features. "Where are they, exactly?"

"Travelling," I answered happily, paying no attention to his strange behavior. "Have been for a few years now. But Kameko says that they'll be back in a month or so."

"Really?" he gasped in surprise." W-when were you told that?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "A while ago, I suppose. Why?"

For a mere minute, he no longer looked depressed; His amber eyes were now darting from side to side as if to escape something. I could see that he was panicking about something.

"Nothing," he dismissed rapidly, deflating and returning to normal.

My stomach flipped as we entered the dull yellow glow of my bedroom. Had I remembered to move the piles of books from the floor? Did I even make my bed?

"This is my room," I explained shyly.

To my horror, I hadn't done either of those things. I watched as Kaoru examined every messy detail.

"It's a little um, untidy," I said hastily, kicking my old socks under the bed and clearing some books of a chair.

"You know, I never expected someone like you to be such a slob," he commented truthfully.

"Shut up," I scolded, poking him softly in the arm.

"Mm," he replied dismissively as he wandered in without warning.

Beginning to examine the piles of higgledy-piggledy and somewhat shabby books, Kaoru grabbed a pink one from the top of a teetering stack. My face flushed as I sped across the room and snatched it away as fast as lightning.

"'Impossible love?'" he read, a strange look of complete disbelief etched onto his face. "You read this?"

"No!" I insisted hurriedly, shaking my head wildly. "My – um, my sister gave it to me! I couldn't exactly say no, could I?"

It was a pretty lame excuse in my opinion. Unfortunately, Kaoru saw right through it.

"If it's your sister's, then why does it have 'Miyoko Takaki. If found please return!' scrawled on the front cover? Surely you wouldn't care if it was stolen, right?"

I was caught. Bright red in the face, my clodhopper school shoes suddenly became the most interesting objects in the world.

"Fine, they're mine," I admitted sheepishly after a long pause.

Fearfully, I closed my eyes tightly, expecting him to laugh at my stupid hobby. After a while, I realized that he wasn't laughing. I opened my eyes slowly. Kaoru was staring at me oddly.

"What are you doing?" he asked in astonishment.

"I thought that you'd laugh." I confessed.

He blinked in surprise.

"Why would I do that?" he said kindly, "It's your life. You can read what you like."

He began to walk out of my room and into the corridor outside. Panicking, I ran as fast as I could (the average person's casual jog) to catch up with him.

"Kaoru!" I called desperately, puffing.

As he turned around I ran straight into him, flinging my arms around his waist.

"Thank you," I mumbled, my voice muffled by his clothes.

He was extremely silent even when I let go after an era.

"C'mon," I said awkwardly. "The food's almost ready by now."

Kameko was already sitting down at one end of the dining table by the time we arrived, both reasonably red in the face. We had not spoken since I had hugged him in the hallway. Her eyes lit up as she spotted us.

"Miyoko! Kaoru!" she called ecstatically, "Come and try this food! I made it all myself!"

She was as excited as I remembered from when we were kids and helped in the kitchen. I had always been dragged along with my nose deep into a book, but she had loved it.

"Come on, Miyoko-chan!" she'd chirped, her cheeks covered in flour. "It's fun, right?"

What happened to her? I wondered, picking at the chocolate biscuit that Kameko had just made. Until today, I can't remember the last time she was so happy about anything.

"Miyoko?" Kaoru asked. "Are you alright?"

It was evening, and the two of us were in my study working on homework. As usual, I was talking about chess.

"When my parents get back, I'm going to challenge my father. He loves chess, you see." I said proudly. "He's even won a few competitions."

Kaoru's hand paused in his scribbling. He clenched his fists as if he was in pain.

"What's wrong?" I asked nervously.

"Nothing," he said dismissively. "I should go."

I blocked the door quickly. Something was up, and I wasn't going to let him go without saying anything.

"I'm not leaving till you tell me!" I told him stubbornly.

For a moment he looked as if he were about to cry. I blinked in surprise. Had something happened to him or Hikaru?

"Come here," he said, pointing to the two reading chairs which I always use after a hard day.

I sat down in one of them, shoving the dozen or so books to the side.

"What's wrong?" I repeated softly.

"If you knew something horrible had happened to a friend, you would tell them, right?"

I frowned. Was that all? Although I hadn't known him too long, he always seemed to be thinking about other people's problems.

"Yeah, I suppose." I agreed, shrugging. "Is Haruhi going to be sent to a homeless shelter?"

He shook his head, sighing. Grasping my hands firmly, he looked directly into my eyes.

"What is it?" I asked nervously, wondering what had suddenly come over him.

"Your parents aren't coming home, Miyoko," he explained sadly.

The news stabbed suddenly into my chest. How could it be true? Kameko had never said anything at all!

"What?" I asked, hoping that somehow it would all be a joke. "That's not funny."

"It's true, Miyoko," he said gravely. "They aren't travelling. They've left you and your sister."