Oftentimes a certain blonde leader rushes ahead, fully sure that his plans are reasonable. More often than not, he finds it's exactly the opposite, and has caused his plans to gain a somewhat, bad, for lack of a better word, nature. But he does have his moments, where a plan he unleashes not only ends up satisfying one unlikely member, but begins a whirlwind of activity to further progress the current standings between two individuals. Who would think that such a plan was a benefit, in the long run…?

__________________________________________

Let the "Brotherly Love" begin.

The time was about twenty fours hour later, still in the Third Music Room. Tamaki was, surprise surprise, running around once again. But this time it was in response to stop what he had only just called "his greatest plan yet" yesterday. Or at least it was his greatest plan yet, up until he figured out that his dear Daughter would have to do, unspeakable things with Mother! It was unheard of!

"I CAN'T ALLOW THIS!" He had stopped running long enough to halt right in front of a bored Kyouya, laptop for once tucked out of sight. They were to get into costume as soon as they entered the room, for practice was to be held every day after school until Friday. And Kyouya for once wasn't trying to convince his friend otherwise.

It seemed he was the most eager for this. Or at least as eager as an Ohtori would show. Kyouya was sitting at a table opposite from Haruhi, both students just staring at the blonde. "Tamaki-sempai, I'm not too happy either with all this, but you told us of your plan. We accepted, and Renge has already broadcasted this across the school." It was true, for only this morning crowds of Host Club regulars began to pester the manager, scavenging for spoilers of who's going to act as whom.

Under Tamaki's insistence it was to remain a secret, a move Kyouya had to agree was somewhat smart. With all this anticipation, record numbers were set to be recorded. Just another reason for Kyouya to be almost grateful that Tamaki was such an idiot to think of something like this. Kyouya couldn't quite pin it down, but Haruhi as his partner was something he was looking forward too, very much.

But Kyouya knew he would have to force himself to not flinch or jump at the slightest touch. Granted if he made the first move, something Hikaru often did thankfully, and then he was sure it would be alright. But he took note of how many times those girls would drape themselves in turn over the twins. They almost were as bad as Tamaki, with all the squeals of delight going on.

Behind his glasses his eyes slanted, the grey depths going murky. He would just have to cross that bridge when he came to it. As long as Haruhi there, hopefully he could get away with just having contact with her. For he was sure that the twins never jumped when hosting, as did everyone else. Of course he had to be the weak exception to the rule. Yet it still bugged him why Haruhi he would be fine with being in proximity too. Why was it her, with that brown-eyed gaze and short feathered haircut that echoed one of the darkest shadows of his past, why was he fine with her?

Was it do to the absence of closure, was he just substituting her for his own mother?

But no, now wasn't the time to go off in speculations. Just squash it all to the side, possibly leave it up for debate with the girl currently sitting in front of him at a later time. Kyouya nodded to no one in particular before taking note that the blonde was currently fuming in front of him, waiting no doubtly for an answer.

It was just then the seniors walked in, appearances switched. It was a sight to see, as Huni, clearly trying to keep in character, approached them. His now black-haired head bobbed past the many table, his eyes black and squinted. It seemed Huni was going to take this seriously for once, as the former Lolita type looked up at Tamaki, eyes narrowed and posture straight. Haruhi leaned behind to see Mori, and instantly the amazement factor lessened dramatically.

Behind Huni's back, where his hands were clasped, was Usa-chan.

She let out a sigh, seeing that this was going to be more difficult than she imagined. Mori too looked like he was having troubles completely falling into character. Yes Mori was now a curly-haired blonde with light honey colored eyes, but still, he was so tall. And she couldn't exactly see Mori curling into a ball, stuffing down cakes by the second.

"Umm…Mori-sempai?"

"Ah."

"Ah."

Even Kyouya found this slightly amusing. If the seniors, normally so set in their ways could handle it to a degree as well as they were showcasing now, perhaps this would be an idea to keep in mind. His gaze went from the two "Moris" to Haruhi, eyes lighting up behind his lenses. Of course he would make sure some people would stay twins for later convenience.

Haruhi shook her head, muttering "never mind" before sinking lower in her chair, eyes on the Karou wig and contacts in front of her. It was already weird to see Huni acting so serious and Mori looking so, not Mori like. She could only imagine how embarrassing her being a twin will be. It wasn't the whole fact she had to perform scenes of brotherly love with Kyouya. It was just an act, much like everything else they did here. But to see Kyouya as a Hitachiin, dignity and merit just losing importance in favor of acting so much like the mischievous cat-eyed boy.

The red head wig she picked up, adjusting it over her own brown hair. Luckily it was easy to hide, and soon all traces of her original brown locks were tucked under sight. She was now a girl with ginger hair, the part styled to the left as usual. Tamaki forgot his rant and couldn't resist squealing out, rushing to gather the girl in his arms.

"Oh! My daughter looks so cute and innocent with such a look!" "Sempai, I just put the wig on…" "She still is cutest with her brown girlish hair, but I suppose this would work as well! "Girlish hair…" "But there is the matter of your evil twin." "Evil twin?"

At once Kyouya stood up, the Hikaru wig now placed on as well. It too was able to hide his originally raven hair, and with glasses still on he seemed like an intelligent version of the twin. He walked around the table to Haruhi, scooping her out of Tamaki's arms and pulled her back to his. He leaned over, arms draped over her shoulders in a loose "x" formation. He tilted his head to hers, and what seemed to be a pout on his face.

"Karou, why do you make me jealous so?" Haruhi glanced nervously back, Kyouya's sudden close proximity visibly unnerving her quite a bit. "S-Sempai?" Kyouya tried to pull a shocked face, only hugging the girl closer to him. "Sempai…Brother, why are you so cold to me?" He turned his face away, grip around her body tightening. Her reaction was just what he expected, and something he wanted to remedy. So without any disregard for the sputtering blonde he brought his face back, mere centimeters from her ear, in a whispered tone.

"Haruhi, play along…"

It seemed his breath beating down on her that close snapped her back to attention, and gave Tamaki a look of near regret before leaning back in Kyouya's hold, hand going to the right-parted bang. She was not an actress, something the Host Club has learned on countless occasions, so it was particularly shocking to see how she fared with this act, alongside Kyouya,

She tugged the bang slightly, face close to his. Her mind was busy, trying to remember exactly how Karou acted in situations like this. He was the meeker twin she knew, and often played the sensitive yin of Hikaru's brash yang nature. So in a voice also no more than a whisper she gulped, voice trembling as she started.

"Oh H-Hikaru. I didn't mean…that." It seemed Haruhi was having more trouble coming up with lines on the spot than Kyouya, who everyone was shocked to see fitting the role of one of the most aggressive host members with ease. "Shush now. As long as I know you bare no ill feelings toward me, I can live with comfort dear Karou." "Oh…Hikaru?"

Huni broke out of his stoic act, dying to clap out. "Haha! Look Takashi! Look Tama-chan! They're just like the twins!" Mori nodded. "Ah."

Tamaki just stood there, front row spectator to their "act" of love. It was fake, a tiny sense of rationality in his head was yelling this out, but still, to see…Mother, this close to his precious Daughter! Unspeakable horrors it was!

Which was why Tamaki rushed to the pair, breaking them apart with each arm. Haruhi felt a tiny wave of relief at Tamaki's over-protective tendencies, for she too was beginning to feel uncomfortable around her "brother". Not in the bad way, the way Tamaki feared. It was just different. There had been instances where the twins brought themselves close to her, she had even been closer to Kyouya physically these past few days. But something about him, just whispering this nonsense and fake words to her. It wasn't right. Something was off in the balance of the host club.

Kyouya just found this interesting how Tamaki took so long to separate the two. They weren't even fully in costume, his glasses still on, but he managed to unnerve the leader. He unlatched himself from Tamaki's grip, strolling quite casually back to his chair, bemused glance on Haruhi-Karou. Huni was still hopping around, all traces of Mori painfully absent from the short senior. Seeing Kyouya act so…opposite, it was a sight to see. Him being Tamaki was the only thing that could outdo this.

Haruhi was still trying to break free from Tamaki, who had just now started pleading to stop this behavior. She sighed, shaking off his death grip. If Tamaki was so against this, he should have thought of the consequences before dragging everyone out of their comfort level. She looked back at Mori-Huni, who was as calm and still as ever.

"Mori-sempai…You are Huni remember." Huni stopped jumping long enough to regain his composure. He strolled, chin high, looking up at the past six foot tall version of himself.

"Mitsukuni." This was growled out, his voice lower than anyone could have thought Huni could make it. Mori, silently amused at the interpretation stepped back, and looked at the expectant four hosts standing there. He took a deep breath, bending his knees before springing up on the balls of his feet.

Mori-Huni jumped up a few inches, a corner of his mouth turned up.

"Ahhh…like cake."

Everyone's eyebrows went up. Haruhi just blinked, wondering how Mori could still somehow tie in his word of choice in that statement. It was enough for the real Huni, who hopped up and landed in Mori's arms. "Takashi! You sounded just like me! That's amazing!" Huni, his black contact eyes shining as brightly as they could, looked down to Tamaki. "That was good right?! A perfect job!"

Tamaki stood there, a fixed expression on his face. Kyouya, from his seat behind him took that as a sign of intelligence. Perhaps the idiot finally has it through his thick mind that the idea as a whole, especially Mori and Huni, was going to be a fantastic failure.

"Mori-sempai…that was…"

Huni leaned into his words, Haruhi just walked her way back to the table, pulling out a chair across from Kyouya. She knew how this was going to turn out.

"That was…AMAZING!"

Kyouya pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes shut and brow wrinkled. "That guy truly is an idiot." Haruhi chose not to reply, just reaching down to place her contacts on. This whole thing was going to be a sight to see on Friday.

Kyouya looked over, choosing to avoid the happy circle currently being spun around Mori. He had seen plenty times Tamaki holding hands with Huni, the two blondes smiling as they skipped around. Mori was in the middle, looking pained. When had colorful flowers and sparkles settled around him, joining the dancing circle?

Haruhi took the care to remove her previous contacts, laying them out on the table so she wouldn't lose them. As the new ones came to her eyes, turning them to a bright yellow, cat-eyed appearance, she frowned. Blinking, her gaze went to Kyouya's. "Ano…I think Tamaki-sempai made a mistake with the contacts."

Kyouya took off his glasses at once, the world instantly reduced to the ever present mass of colors it was to his bare eyes. He squinted, trying to find the yellow eyes on the table. It was easier said than done, for right now only the color pink he could discern, from the table. A shadow came in his line of vision, and he looked up to see who he guessed was Haruhi, her hand out to him. "Here Sempai."

He nodded in thanks, reaching a hand slowly out until he grasped the contacts, and proceeded to place them over his own eyes.

"Your eyesight is bad isn't it Sempai?" He paused, titling his head away slightly from what he guessed was her gaze. Naturally his eyes were a sensitive subject, in all matters. He hated admitting that he was as incapable as anything without glasses, that he might as well be blind. And then there was the obvious burden he had, explaining why his eyes were just the way they were. Who he had to thank for such a thing.

"Fairly challenged." Haruhi took that as a yes. But before she could ask anymore he brought the contacts back to his eyes. "A…I ran into a teacart as a child, spilling hot tea over my eyes." He hoped this came out as nonchalant as he could make it, not really wanting to depress this moment any more. It was reason enough. It was what everyone else in his family believed anyways. "That's…horrible Sempai. You're lucky you weren't blinded!" He smirked, blinking as he too now had yellow eyes of a Hitachiin. "Lucky for who I wonder…" "What?" He snapped his head back up, ready to discard it as nothing, before the issue was now known. "Haruhi…" "Yes, this is really going to be fun isn't it?" Kyouya's face was a full-blown scowl, head up and calling out to the still prancing Tamaki.

"Idiot!"

Kyouya's voice was as ice, leaving Huni to jump up into Mori's ready arms and Tamaki to freeze still. His back was to the Shadow King, head inching mechanically towards him. "K-Kyouya?" Haruhi leaned back lower in her chair, wanting to get out of the line of fire.

She did sneak a peek at her "brother", and she knew at once there was to be bloodshed. Kyouya was smiling, with all his white teeth gleaming. His voice was calm and collected, yet terse enough to slice a limb off if need be. And need may be now.

"Tamaki, these aren't real contacts." "Well, I got them at this c-costume shop and the lady at the checkout place where I b-bought them, it was a commoner shop you see…" Haruhi groaned, dropping her head on the table. Tamaki was digging his own grave now really.

Kyouya rose, hands out on the table gripping the edge. More for balance than anything else. But what he would give to see Tamaki's face now. "So you barrel on for a pointless idea, not taking into account that two people here very well need glasses to see?" "B-But I thought that since Haruhi normally d-does fine without them it would be okay…" Haruhi nodded her face on the table surface. "And I am, everything is a little blurrier than usual but I can manage."

Kyouya looked down to where Haruhi appeared to be the mass of purple and shot her a look. She wasn't making this any easier really. But then again, Haruhi didn't make any matters easy for anyone. Haruhi in turn was just trying to make Tamaki's death a little less painful.

"Fine, but Mother," Kyouya made sure to enunciate his title, "Cannot manage without glasses." When it involved his glasses or vision, Kyouya was very well going to act annoyed. To have to go near blind because of a certain fast-talking Frenchman and his stupid excursions to stupid common shops for a stupid idea in the first place. And he was going to scold him on just that. Kyouya had his mouth opened to let loose another flurry of verbal attacks before someone took hold of his arm.

He snapped his head back down, seeing the now red hair of Haruhi. Her hand was encasing his right arm, trying to grab his attention. Kyouya near ripped his wrist out of Haruhi's hand, acting out of his normal reflex. He held it in his left, eyes on Haruhi. She chose to ignore the reaction for now, sitting back now that she had his attention.

"Kyouya-sempai, it's okay. I think you scared him enough." He sat down as well, wrist still in his hand. The corner of his mouth did twitch up though. "How bad does he look?"

She just gave Kyouya a wary glance before turning to see Tamaki. He currently was at Mori's feet, huddled into a ball. And if one looked closely enough, Haruhi tried to look harder, were those, cactus growing?

She sat back in her seat, shaking her head. "He's growing a cactus farm now." "Hmm. I was able to have him skip the mushrooms?" Kyouya didn't need to see to know exactly how she was staring at him now. "My, are you incredulous now Haruhi? You didn't think I meant my outburst did I?"

Silence enveloped the two of them, Huni and Mori deciding that once again, for the third time in a row, a speedy exit was needed. So Tamaki was dragged along this time, leaving trails of cactus spines in his wake. Haruhi wasn't sure whether to ask how in the world desert vegetation sprouted by their leader, or how Kyouya was able to pinpoint exactly what feeling she was experiencing.

Kyouya heard the door shut, happy that once again things would be peaceful, for the time being. Or until he got home that night, when Tamaki would somehow find his way past the guards to his house and barge in to his room at night, asking for forgiveness. Kyouya took it upon himself to ask if changing his cell number really was that genius of a move, at the time. Haruhi took this time to remove the wig as well.

"Sempai, you were fooling with him weren't you?" "Of course." It only made sense. Kyouya was not the type of boy to scold so readily without good reason. "You see, one can say I planned this." "But then one could say they weren't really that surprised on you planning something." He chuckled, bringing his right arm to lie in front of them on the table. "I never do things unless there's some gain, something you so eagerly always want to claim false, on my account. But you see, if I have Tamaki quilted, I find it will be so much easier to propose my own twist into this idiotic game of his." "A twist…" Haruhi didn't like the sound of that.

"Speaking of such, where are the twins? I believe they were at school today." Haruhi gave a nervous laugh at this, removing the blasted lenses from her eyes, putting them away in their case. "Oh, you noticed them not here." He scoffed. "Obviously. Two annoyances I got to live without today." "Well, it's Hikaru idea really, so naturally Karou went along. You see, they want to out due everyone on Friday." "Meaning…" "They said they are going to practice at home and surprise everyone." Kyouya felt his stomach sink slightly. That was not going to be something he wanted to see.

"You don't think they're going to act like idiots as us do you?" "If they want to win the contest they better not." Haruhi, who was reaching for Kyouya's glasses, stopped. "Contest?" "Yes, the contest I'm going to propose to Tamaki to make it up to poor Mother." It seemed he left it at that, and Haruhi didn't want to push it further. Knowing him, there had to be some monetary punishment.

She slipped his glasses on, stunned for a few seconds as her eyes tired to adjust. They were so strong these glasses, much more powerful than her own prescription. Who knew that such lenses were so strong? His rimless spectacles often had the appearance of show, that they were just there for show or to help with reading the small numbers Kyouya often went through. But with these, his eyes must have really been almost blinded so long ago.

"Sempai, do you want your glasses?" "Yeah." He got rid of his own laughable contacts, his treasured sight stuffed in his hand as Haruhi dropped them there. So he wasn't able to even see how she took them from right under him. Her hand trailed off the table, his arm still lying there in view. "Sempai, you do know you will have to work on your jumping at touch." Relief flooded his vision, the world in sync as he was able to now stare at Haruhi with clarity.

"Mmm. Yes, I suppose so yes? If it was only between us two I think I could manage, but even you noticed probably how I jumped upon you grabbing hold of me…there." Haruhi, slowly so he could prepare himself, brought her hand to his wrist, fingers tracing the base of his veins, at the edge of his blazer. "Sempai, surely you can tell me something now."

Could he? Did he even want to divulge in this girl all his past troubles and soul? Once upon a time before he did, when he thought his mind was going to slowly suffer under the memories. "Your sister told me her theories on it…that she had." "What did Fuyumi say?"

She looked up at him, his steel gaze set into her own. So he wasn't going to shy away this time, did he really want to tell? She looked away first, fingers still over the base of his wrist. It was thumping steadily under her, only the slightest trace of his scar visible if you pressed hard enough. He brought his other hand up, pressing her hand to his wrist, raising his arm. The sleeve opened a bit more, the light from the room shining down to hit the faint lines.

Haruhi kept her eyes on Kyouya, for he was looking down at her hand and his arm, as if perplexed by the very sight. "She said there was a maid, who they found dead the same day as your mother. She was jealous they said of the relationship between you and your mother. So she did this to you." The more she talked it seemed the faster Kyouya zoned out, his hand pressing down harder on hers. "S-Sempai?" Then, he just sighed, his arm dropping back to his side. He kept a hold of her hand though, it cupped into his own. Their elbows rested on the table, Kyouya still refusing her stare.

Seeing this was going nowhere Haruhi pulled her hand quickly away, having enough of the tingling that scourged her insides the tighter and longer he held on. "Sempai, it's getting late, and I have homework." She got up, pulling the chair back to the table. Her bag was nearby so she picked it up, before returning back to Kyouya's table.

Kyouya lifted his hand from the surface after she jerked it away, a fist opening and closing as he did so. Not today, not now. And luckily, Haruhi was the girl who could understand lapses of silence, in her own way. And now he had just found out exactly what lies his siblings were told. Something very valuable to his affairs at home no doubt. He nodded back to her as she prepared to leave, catching note of how much browner her hair was in the late day sun. So different, yet still, so much, like his mother. It was unfathomable.

What were the odds of his interest in a girl who looked so much like the very person who, long ago, had taken so much from him?

Haruhi gave him a last wave before walking out, the door shutting firmly closed behind her. It was time for him to go as well, rarely was Kyouya last to leave without a real excuse. But he took his time, letting his mind wander free as he picked up his belongings, chair scraping on the tiled floor. Its sound echoed in the room, and Kyouya could relate. It was how his mind set itself up, completely silent and absent. Until a sound, a thought, a feeling would echo, resonate though him.

His footsteps were almost excruciatingly loud, and if he didn't already know, one could say being alone in her was, creepy. Almost as if a ghost was just waiting to pop out and scare you senseless.

So naturally Kyouya found himself jumping forward against the door, the whack of his head hitting the oak amplified louder in the silence. His cell phone was ringing, buzzing in his pocket. His heart thumped, beating as if it was to jump out of him any second. His breath too was fast, Kyouya having to slow down and catch his breath before realizing. The phone kept ringing, Kyouya closed his eyes, trying to gulp down the fright the unexpected call had on him. What were the odds of something causing him to jump, just as he was thinking of it moments before?

He reached into his pocket then, angry now that someone dare scare him that way. He flipped it open, all traces of politeness gone from his tone. "Hello?!"

It was silent on the other end, the caller hanging up just seconds after he picked up. That was not thought of highly by the glasses-clad boy, who just stuck the device in his bag before opening the door, shutting it closed with a slam. He went down the hallway, head down, and mind busy. Again, someone called him again and just hung up. He couldn't remember if the number was the same, but it still remained. How did someone possibly get his number? And why no answer. Did they want to scare him; was someone really stupid enough to threaten an Ohtori?

He walked on, finding his wrist once again enclosed in his hand. Hiding the scars, pressing them down into his skin.

Perhaps it would be smart to invest some time with Haruhi after all. With clearing things up. With ignoring that call yet again. But then he heard it, muffled under his notebooks. Kyouya just walked on, trying to pretend it wasn't his phone ringing. Wrong number. He would use that common excuse. It was better than the alternative.

__________________________________________

Hmm…I wonder who it could be. And thus another chapter ends! Yay, yippee. Heh. Next chapter will skip ahead to Friday, the day Tamaki's brilliant plan launches onto action. So what mayhem will ensue, what are the twins planning, why is Kyouya getting creeped out?! Haha, all will be revealed, eventually. And again, I'm going to be whiny.

VOTE. VOTE. VOTE.

Please? ^^;;

~ja ne