"Wonderful job, Hunny and Mori!"

"Very impressive."

"Amazing as always."

"And now it's Hunny's favorite part!"

Hunny's face lit up while he hugged his stuffed bunny tighter to his chest. His friends surrounded him, Mori was beside him, holding their two trophies. "We're having cake? Oh boy!"

"But of course," Tamaki gushed, smiling and looking at the tall and short seniors, "Only the best for the very best!"

"We should get changed," Mori piped in, Hunny nodding. Haruhi, Kyouya, Tamaki, and Kaoru watched from their spot on the mats as people around them began to leave, the cleaning crew already coming in, as their friends made their way to the locker room.

Hunny yelled over his shoulder with the smile that melted the polar ice caps, "We'll meet you outside by the entrance!"

Kaoru yawned, stretching and hearing a few cracks. "I hate being still for so long. What time is it, anyway?"

"4 o'clock," Kyouya told him after a quick look at his watch. As the quartet of friends began walking towards the exit into the large hall, he added, "You know, Hiroshi has been gone for a while now."

"Did he get lost?" Haruhi suggested, now also aware of his long absence. In truth, no one had minded him being gone, and frankly, no one would be too upset if he had just up and left.

Kaoru bit his lip, telling the others as he hurried ahead, "I better go find him. I'll catch up with you guys in a bit."

Tamaki cupped a hand around his mouth, yelling as Kaoru became further and further away from them, "If you don't find him that's quite alright!" Haruhi and Kyouya gave him a look, and Tamaki huffed, crossing his arms. "Don't pretend you weren't thinking the same thing."

The ginger struggled to remember where Hikaru had said he was going. Bathroom? Outside? No, snacks, that was it. When he got to the main hall that led to all the other rooms in the community center, along with the main entrance and exit, Kaoru looked to the left and right, the crowd having thinned enough so he could clearly see what was around him.

What remained of the concession stand after the cleanup was further down the hall and to the left, but when Kaoru began walking towards it, he saw no sign of his twin. He sighed, running a hand through his air and looking around. If I was a conceited brat, he thought, where would I go?

Well, as far away as possible would be a good option. However, he knew Hikaru wasn't dumb enough to leave too early just to be caught by Aoi, so perhaps he was just hiding out somewhere until he saw that everyone had left. In that case, it would have to be a spot far away from the tournament, but still within sight of at least the main hall.

Only after the community center felt empty and abandoned did Kaoru hear a snore.

Is that really…?

Sure enough, there was Hikaru, hiding in one of the large windowsills, hands behind his head acting as a pillow while he napped. He let out another unruly snore, and Kaoru smirked at the thought of the ever glamorous pop star falling asleep in a windowsill and snoring as loud as a jet plane.

Kaoru walked over and looked down at him, bending down so he was at Hikaru's level and began poking him in the cheek. "Oi, wake up Sleeping Ugly."

Instead of groaning and struggling to open his eyes and sit up, as most people would, Hikaru fidgeted, looking as though he was about to wake up, when at the last second his subconscious ordered his left arm to reach over and slap Kaoru's hand away.

The twin raised a brow, straightening up and whispering to no one in particular, "So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" He took out his cell phone, scrolling through the audio files, and once he had picked the perfect wake-up call, he covered an ear with one hand and hit play with the other.

A fog horn bellowed through the air, causing Hikaru to flail in shock, yelling, "Holy shit!" He ended up falling off the windowsill and landing ungracefully on the floor, on his back, his legs still against the wall.

Kaoru grinned. "Graceful as ever."

"Oh shut up. The hell was that for, anyway?" Hikaru struggled to stand up, and he faked a hurt ankle and arm to try and enlist some pity. Kaoru was unfazed.

"The competition's over. Everyone's going to celebrate at the coffee shop Haruhi works at. You coming?" He wasn't sure what to expect from Hikaru at this point. Maybe he was in for a surprise and his twin would agree to come. He certainly didn't expect the answer he received.

Hikaru's eyes narrowed, and Kaoru instantly regretted asking him. "Not in a million years." He turned, not even bothering to look back at his brother as he muttered, "This was a horrible waste of time; glad it's over. Let's agree to just break off any and all connections right now. Have a decent life, or whatever."

Kaoru blinked, his brain not quite processing what Hikaru was saying. For some reason, he found himself more annoyed and angered than saddened. There was a brief flash of disappointment in his heart, but just as soon as it appeared, it vanished, and Kaoru could only clench his hands into fists and grit his teeth, thinking sarcastically to himself, Gee, thanks for trying. After the effort I'm making to get to know you better, it's nice to know that you're exactly as unpleasant as I thought you would be. And I can understand you not liking me, but don't hate my friends before you even know them.

"Hey Kaoru!" He was snapped out of his rage by Hunny's voice, and looked over to see the seniors walking over to him, changed into street clothes, Mori carrying both of their bags on one shoulder with ease. Hunny looked down the hall at Hikaru walking towards the back exit, and asked, "Who was that? We saw you two talking."

A pathetic excuse for a human being. "My cousin, Hiroshi. He came with me to the tournament, but he can't stay to celebrate."

"Aw, that's too bad. We better hurry up, though; the others might get impatient waiting for us!"

Thirty minutes later, as the teens sat in a corner booth, laughing and chatting and finishing up the last slices of cake they had brought, Kaoru couldn't even remember why he was angry. It was only when Tamaki mentioned his "cousin" that the feelings of annoyance came back to him.

"I just don't see how Kaoru can be related to someone like Hiroshi," he mused, cupping his chin with his hand in thought, "I see the physical connection just fine, but personality-wise, it's like he was adopted."

"No, Tamaki," Kaoru rolled his eyes. "I'm the adopted one, remember?" Tamaki began to apologize profusely, to which Kaoru just laughed and told him it was no big deal. The blond seemed to always forget that Kaoru wasn't actually blood-related to his parents, even though he knew full well that it was a bit of a sore subject.

Haruhi interrupted the apology-fest. "Even if they were related, it wouldn't make a difference. They're two totally different people." Kaoru smiled at the brunette. Haruhi always managed to make him feel better, even if she wasn't always aware that she did.

Hunny looked incredibly confused. "What did Hiroshi do?"

Kaoru didn't even open his mouth before Tamaki began spouting away about what a horrible little devil he was, Kyouya and Haruhi interjecting once or twice when Tamaki made a completely ridiculous hyperbole, like when he suggested Hiroshi tried to mug them or beat them to death.

He chuckled, and his attention was drawn to the window, and he watched the quiet street. In only an hour or so, it would be filled with people from all walks of life, either heading home or going out on the town. It was the calm before the storm, and Kaoru found himself enjoying the peace. His mind drifted back to thinking about what Hikaru had said. "Let's agree to just break off any and all connections right now."

But now that they knew the other existed, they couldn't expect to just go on with their lives as though nothing happened. Kaoru sighed, wondering what came next. No doubt, Aoi would want them to spend more time together; she seemed incredibly desperate on the phone. He couldn't stand Hikaru, though, especially after he was so rude to his friends. Sure, someone being rude to Tamaki was understandable. It took a while to get used to the blond idiot. A lot of people disliked Kyouya, but only after he had shown how much power he could have. Hunny and Mori hadn't said a single word to the jerk, and who on earth could find it in their heart to hate Haruhi? She was quite probably one of the most amazing people he would ever meet, and she was always so understanding and caring...

"-right, Kaoru?"

He blinked, looking at the expectant faces now suddenly turned towards him. "Sorry, I spaced out. What?"

Kyouya repeated, "Hiroshi doesn't go to our school, correct? Tamaki is convinced he does."

"I'm sure I've seen him!"

"Hope you didn't bet on it, Tono. Hiroshi's homeschooled."

"What? No, no, that can't be! Isn't he in your grade? I thought he was on some malicious sports team, like track."

"Welp, he's not in any martial arts clubs."

"That's because he doesn't go to our school at all."

"I refuse to believe it!"

Kaoru smiled. This entire twin mess could wait. Right now, he was just enjoying pretending he had never met Hikaru Hitachiin.

You gotta watch out for them track kids. (Disclaimer: I have nothing against track, please don't hurt me.)

I'm going to be gone for the majority of July, so probably no updates until August, sorry guys!

Next chapter will be a mix of Hikaru's world and Kaoru's, and we get a look at yet another person who doesn't like Hikaru. Seriously, let's just rename this "Everyone Hates Hikaru". I honestly didn't realize how many people would actually come to dislike him in the beginning. Don't worry, he'll eventually find a few allies, maybe even friends.

Maybe. Most likely. Perhaps. We'll see.

Until next time, read and enjoy!