When starting a conversation with a classmate you barely knew, it's important to know how to bring about the issue you want to discuss without blowing the secret, which would defeat the purpose of talking to him/her.

Kaoru hadn't the faintest idea how to.

This was why he very rarely acted on an impulse. He liked to be able to think things through a little, plan ahead, and stray away from moments like these when he was at a loss of what to do or say. Anzu watched as he struggled in his mind to find the right words, and she raised a brow, pointing out, "I'm not an expert, but I'm fairly certain this is the part where you're supposed to say something."

"Right, um…" Kaoru struggled as though he had just learned Japanese the other day, biting his lip and desperately scanning his mind for something to say, all while trying to keep up his poker face.

Anzu spoke up after a few more awkward seconds, "How about I start?"

"Sounds good." Anything to keep him from saying something stupid that would no doubt blow his cover.

"I was in the tree because I was trying to take pictures for the school newspaper; until I fell on you, anyway."

Kaoru's curious nature began to bubble up. "So you're on the newspaper, then?" he asked, leaning back and beginning to truly relax. In the back of his mind, he was still trying to figure out how he could broach his issue, but it was nice to listen to Anzu.

She thought for a bit, before responding, "Technically, no," she continued, adding, "I'm in the Photography Club, but the newspaper is always looking for photos for the paper, so I help them out every once in a while."

"So they asked you to take pictures of leaves…?"

"Birds. I'm afraid there aren't many around here, though. Guess I'll have to try somewhere else later." Anzu looked at him, and he picked up that she was hinting it was his turn to talk. He still wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't trust a near stranger with his secret, and it would be far too obvious if he simply claimed a friend had his problem.

Finally, he settled on trying to turn it back to her. "Do you have any siblings?"

"I have a younger brother named Shino. He's five."

"Do you get along?"

"Swimmingly. He's a bit protective of me, though. He's always 'defending' me from 'danger'." She used air quotes, but half-smiled.

Kaoru raised a brow. "How does he-"

"He's a biter."

"Ah." He watched as she absent-mindedly twirled a strand of her hair, both of them watching it swirl around her fingers. The silence was more comfortable now, so much so that Kaoru almost forgot what he had finally decided on saying. Before it slipped his mind, he asked, "Would you rather be an only child?"

Anzu stopped twirling her hair, and Kaoru felt as though he had done something wrong for a moment. However, her eyebrows were knit together and her cheeks were puffed out in concentration, so she was merely thinking before she gave him an answer. "Sometimes. If Shino was closer to my age, we might not get along as well. But in the end, I still want him as my brother. I still love him and care for him, and it's nice to see him grow up. It's the same with everyone, I think. There are moments when you just want to be left alone, but in reality you still want someone to be close to."

He nodded while she spoke, absorbing her words. It was refreshing that she had taken him so seriously, when most people would've given him a one-word answer. Silence engulfed them again, Kaoru looking up at the leaves and thinking to himself. Anzu has a point. I mean, what if this empty feeling I have is just my subconscious trying to tell me that I need a brother in my life? Someone I can share anything with. Sure, we're practically strangers, but that doesn't mean we can't try and catch up on what we've missed, right?

Kaoru only snapped back to attention when Anzu asked, "Is that what's been bugging you?"

"What?"

"Are you having sibling problems?"

"Oh, no, I don't even have a sibling." He half-expected her to call him out, and was growing nervous, but realized that he hadn't even felt as though he had lied.

Anzu only stood up and picked up her camera, asking, "So what has been bugging you?"

"It's just something I've been thinking about," he began, trying to keep his words honest, or at least half-true, which was harder than he thought it would be, "I'm an only child, so it gets pretty lonely."

She cocked her head to the side. "I thought you're friends with Haruhi. You sit next to each other, anyway."

"Oh, I am, just…" Kaoru bit his lip, thinking. "It's just that sometimes, I feel like I can't talk to my friends about certain things."

Anzu thought for a bit, looking down at her shoes. "Then I won't be your friend," she concluded, looking back up at him.

Kaoru flinched slightly at the comment. "Am I really that horrible to be around?"

"No, but if you can't share certain things with your friends, then you don't need another," she explained knowingly, as if it were common sense. She added, with another of her small, genuine smiles, "So from now on, we'll be each other's diaries."

"…I don't follow."

"If we have something we want to talk about that we don't want others to know, we can share it with each other, and afterwards, it'll stay secret, like writing something in a diary and locking it."

Kaoru blinked, looking at her.

And then suddenly, he laughed.

It started as a chuckle, barely more than a giggle, but grew louder and happier with each second passed, until he was clutching at his sides and on his back, his eyes watering. Anzu walked to his side, leaning over so she could get a better look at his face, and when he opened his eyes, wiping away at laughing tears left behind, he saw that she was rather puzzled by his sudden outburst. "It wasn't a joke…"

"I know, sorry for laughing," he apologized, sitting back up with his spirits lifted to the sky. He looked at her, grinning and saying, "But it just happened. Maybe it's just something about the way you said it."

"Maybe." She bent down, her camera on the ground once more, and asked, "But what do you think about that?"

Completely back to his former self, Kaoru noted, "Diary sounds a little too feminine, and like we ignore each other unless we have a secret. How about something a little more unisex and human-sounding?"

"Truly trusted?"

"Secret sharers?"

"Confidential confiders?"

Kaoru snapped his fingers in accomplishment, looking quite pleased with himself. "Lock and Key."

"Who's Lock and who's Key?"

"Does it make a difference?" He didn't even need a response, knowing from the dead serious look on her face that it made all the difference. Pointing for emphasis, he decided, "Okay then, I'm Lock, and you're Key."

"And what's your reasoning?"

He smiled, feeling playful and mysterious he stood up and began to walk away from her, turning around after he had established a few feet of distance and saying with a smirk, "Because maybe you'll be the one who unlocks all my secrets."

And now she was smiling, and picking up her camera and beginning to walk away in the opposite direction, catching on to the mysterious air, and replying with a coy smile, "Maybe I will."

Only after Kaoru was almost back onto the sidewalk did he think to himself, Why the hell did I just do that? However, his cell phone rang and he hurried to pick it up. "Hello?" he answered, stopping so that one foot was on the grass of the park and the other was on the pavement of the sidewalk.

"Hello, Kaoru?" He recognized the voice immediately, and was suddenly very alert as she continued, "It's Aoi; you know, Hikaru's P.A.?"

"Hi, Aoi. You called sooner than I expected."

"I got an answer sooner than I expected. Oh, I'm sorry, is this a bad time?"

"No, perfect timing," Kaoru told her, and even though he knew already, he asked, "So, what was the answer?"

Aoi was quiet for a few moments, and Kaoru wondered if she had put down the phone in order to no doubt deal with Hikaru's diva problems. "…Yes, you're twins."

"I figured."

"…You're taking this rather well…"

"Truth is, my mom-er, adopted mom told me already. Plus, it's pretty obvious." And then, just because it felt right, Kaoru asked, "How's Hikaru taking it?"

"Oh, wonderfully, really great, he's excited and wants to catch up real soon." Aoi made a horrible liar; her voice was far too eager, she was quick to respond, and her words were starting to mash together. Kaoru couldn't help but wonder what Anzu would say if she could hear this.

He also couldn't help but laugh a little. "So then he's denying my existence?"

"Oh, no, I wouldn't say anything like that." Her nervous giggle was so obvious, he wondered if Aoi thought she was fooling him. He heard her take a breath, and then came a mess of words so quickly, that Kaoru struggled to make them out.

"'tyoutakeHikarubutofcoursehe'''thavetoworryaboutathing."

The ginger blinked, processing her idea. Looking up at the bright blue sky, he smiled. "Count me in."

"'reprobablystilltryingto- Wait, what?"

"I'll take Hikaru to the competition and introduce my friends to him, just make sure you disguise him well; some of the girls at my school are borderline obsessed when it comes to him. We'll talk about the details later, but right now I have to go. Bye, Aoi."

"Oh. Oh, okay, that's great, fantastic! Yeah, we'll chat later. Have a nice day, Kaoru!" But he wasn't listening to her, and had lowered his hand, his phone by his side. His eyes were focused on the ground, at his feet, one on the grass, the other on concrete.

I'm between two lives right now, he thought, And I still have time to go back to the one I know. Do I really want to dive into a new world?

Kaoru watched as his left leg slowly moved away from the familiar grass, and joined the other on the sidewalk. He smiled.

I do.

Insert ending theme perfectly time with that last bit here.

I actually did write with that in mind; you know, when they start playing the ending song while the character is still talking, pause at the last, crucial thought/line, and then bam, credits. Yeah, okay, I'm rambling.

Sorry for the wait, school musical has been getting in the way, along with grades, but it's here! I'm think the next chapter should be more focused on Hikaru, to balance all this Kaoru-ness out. Thoughts?

Edit: Fixed Aoi's mess of words, which really did end up in a mess somehow.

Until next time, read and enjoy!