(A/N) Wow I've spent WAY too long on this chapter...

-Review Corner-

SpitfireChick Thanks so much! I love hearing stuff like that^^

bleachfangirl7 Honestly I have too, thats mainly where I found the inspiration for this story ;) (Actually it was as bad as Kaoru's. Secrets out, maybe thats why my story feel so realistic, Im over it now though so dont worry^^)

Kurophoenix WOOT!

T.P.A I would go into a blind panic if I had a suicidal split personality...holy shit. Yep, theres a lot he could have but I gave him something very specific, and yes its an actual medical condition so no im not cheating, lol.

As White As Snow I feel the same way about not knowing things, I must know ALL! Also I know exactly what you mean by those augmented reality games! Its like they exist between fiction and reality! Thats what makes them so cool :3 Oh and I liked the insanely long review^^

(Guest) Screen names people! lol Anyway I never thought of that kind of ending...the one I had was...pretty twisted...

Death the Girl Has my writing really gotten better? I re-read everything Ive written and I noticed the story slowly growing more dark...

UniqueRosePetals12 WOOT Im an Awesome Writer! YES! *fistpump* I worked really hard on that scene just for you guys :3

FroeverTacos21 Just wondering...is your pen name misspelled on purpose? Cuz thats really cool if it is :D The next chapter is finally here!

On With The Story!

*Chapter 16*

*Playing Aces*

-Tuesday (Hitachiin Mansion) 6:47am-

Lullabies.

My feelings...

My thoughts...

My mind...

Feel like one giant lullaby.

Bringing me closer and closer to...

I was still in bed, staring up at the ceiling. I wasn't even entirely sure I was awake right now.

I rolled my head to the left, Hikaru was already gone. That or I'm still asleep and he was never there to begin with.

I looked back up, slowly reaching my hand towards the ceiling, trying to touch reality, but all I could feel was the slight chill of the morning air.

I let my hand fall back to the sheets as a single tear slid down my face.

I'm so pathetic...

I didn't bother to wipe it away as I rolled and brought the covers closer to my face.

I'm so stupid! I thought telling him would make things better, but I've only made him worry more!

The angrier I became with myself, the more tears that fell.

Eventually I decided to sit up. I slowly pulled myself out of bed, wrapping myself in the Duvet before walking over to the dresser. I made it a point not to look in the mirror as I stuck my arm out of the quilt and pulled my cellphone from it's charger. I turned it back on and went to the notes section, scrolling:

Things that make life worth living:

-Playing with Hikaru

Remembering what happened yesterday with Mori-Senpai I decided to add:

-Over-reacting to situations

I smiled at that one. Hikaru and I do pretty stupid things.

I looked up at the mirror.

At Hikaru...

There were tear trails staining his face, his eyes lifeless, cold,

Dead...

And the worst part of it all was...

He was smiling!

-Hikaru's POV-

Why I'm still allowed in this kitchen is beyond me.

Even so, today I had a plan!

I had snuck off to the nearest commoner resteraunt and bought breakfast there!

I had just finished stuffing anything with a logo on it in the farthest depths of the kitchen trashcan when I glanced at the clock.

7:07

I walked out of the kitchen and over to the base of the stairs "Kaoru!" I yelled, "Bring your ass down here! I didn't spend all this time slaving over a hot stove just to let you stay in bed all day wasting good food!"

I heard a loud crash and was about to run upstairs when I heard Kaoru yell "Sorry! On my way now!"

When he finally emerged at the top of the staircase I was astounded! He actually looked happy!

Honestly, I hadn't expected that.

When he reached the bottom of the staircase a threw an arm over his shoulder and ruffled his hair "Someone's in a good mood!"

"Someone finally got a good nights sleep!" He responded.

We started towards the kitchen "Good! Now come eat breakfast."

I walked him towards his plate on the table. He took one look at the bacon, eggs and Pancakes before turning back around and giving me an all knowing look "You didn't make this did you?" He smirked.

He knows!

"What gives you that idea?"

He walked over to the stove and touched each of the burner heads "Well for one, the stove isn't hot, there are no dishes in the sink, and there's a receipt on the floor for...IHOP!? Are you serious!? You bought all this?!"

Damn Kaoru for being so perceptive!

"Would you look at the time! We gotta go Kaoru! Now where did I put my cellphone...?"

I was laughing but in all seriousness I really had no idea where I put that phone...maybe it's still in our room?

Kaoru stopped ranting "Where are you going?"

"Upstairs, I think I left my phone in our room."

Kaoru ran in front of me and stood in the doorway "I'll get it."

Weird...

I continued to stare at him "That's ok Kaoru...I got it..."

His looked nervous as I walked past him and ran up the stairs skipping two at a time. I turned the corner and opened the door.

What...the Fuck?!

There was glass everywhere!

The bed covers were strewn across the floor amidst the broken shards. My gaze moved up from the covers and over to the actual bed where Kaoru's pajamas were neatly folded on his side. I then moved on to the dresser, where it looked like our mirror freaking exploded!

I tiptoed across the floor to the mirror, trying my hardest not to get glass stuck in the bottom of my shoes. When I got there I noticed Kaoru's flip phone was laying on the dresser, snapped in half, as if it was thrown at the mirror.

I opened one of the drawers and fished around for an undershirt. When I found one I wrapped my hands in it and carefully pick up the screen to Kaoru's cell. It was frozen on something from the notes section of his phone:

Hello. My name is Kaoru Hitachiin and I am a happy person.

-Ouran Academy (English Class) Kaoru's POV-

It was the last class of the day and one of the only ones I didn't share with Hikaru. He was in Chemistry right now.

Or was it Math?

Science?

Sensei was giving a lesson on English sentence structure but I wasn't listening. All I could think about was my...'sudden outburst' this morning. It was more like temporary insanity but I'll leave it as a momentary lapse in judgement.

I just wish I knew what he was thinking right now.

When he came back down all he said was that his phone wasn't up up there and left it at that. Even during the limo ride here he hadn't said a word.

I don't know what happened. It just...hit me, consumed me.

All of the anger, all of the sorrow...

All of the regret I have for still being in his life...

"Hitachiin!"

I snapped out of my misery "Yes Sensei?"

"Translate number six on the board please."

I looked up at the board. It was full of sentences I hadn't even seen her write "Six, 'Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.'"

That was...oddly specific for a practice sentence...

I watch Sensei raise an eyebrow "Very good, for someone who never bothers to pay attention in class anymore. Tell me, how far have you gotten in your worksheet Mr. Hitachiin?"

I looked down at my paper. How far? I haven't even written my name on it!

"I've only made it to number 4." I lied.

She was just about to walk over to me when there was a knock at the classroom door. The student closest to the door walked over and opened it, sticking her head out and talking to whoever was on the other side.

She brought her head back in "It's one of the seniors, Sensei. He's here to promote something for the principle and wants to know if he's interrupting anything."

Sensei looked back at me and squinted "No, nothing at all...tell him to come in."

The girl nodded and open the door wider before walking back to her seat. The boy who entered seemed to slink in, flipping his blond hair out of his face to expose his...Amethyst eyes? Oh no...

The room was filled with the sounds of giggling schoolgirls as he took his place in front of the board, holding a stack of laminated cards.

"Good afternoon Princesses and Gentleman alike. Most of you I've already had the pleasure of making acquaintance with but for those I haven't my name is Tamaki Suoh." He began, polite as always. I couldn't help but think he was very articulate, for a moron.

He continued, rather entusiastically "I'm here on behalf of the Chairman to help promote a new anti-suicide program for Ouran Academy-"

You have GOT to be kidding me...

"-so what is it that might cause someone to start down the road to suicide?" he began, "Basically, it starts with the loss of hope, the thought that people around you would be better off without you, that no one cares and that 'everything will go away if I go away'-"

Was he talking...to me? What was this an anime? I just happen to think of suicide and suddenly the chairman has his son running around telling people not to kill themselves.

"-while the feelings of despair over finances, anguish due to failed relationships, feelings of sadness or crying for no specific reason may cause someone to look for a way out, suicide does not solve any problems. In fact, it makes things worse, especially for those left behind."

Worst? Things will only worsten if I DON'T leave...

"This is why I've taken the liberty of creating these!" He struck an overdramatic pose, holding the laminated cards, "I call them Ace cards! A.C.E: 'Ask your friend, Care for your friend, Escort your friend'!" He looked around the room, "Could one of you princesses help me pass these out?"

I could hear some of the guys muttering something along the lines of 'there he goes again' while everyone without a Y chromosome was jumping at the chance to pass out his stupid cards.

He sauntered over to the closest one, handing her half of the stack of cards "How about you, my lovely flower?"

She fainted...

"Ok...how about you?" He asked the nearest guy.

"Alright, but if you hit on me I'm calling the cops."

"..."

He quickly turned back to the class, passing out the other half of the stack "I've also come up with a new motto for the school: 'Dum Spiro Spero', which translated to Japanese means 'While I Breathe, I Hope.' As long as you are alive, there is hope, a way out, a chance that things will change, and a certainty that things will eventually work out."

As they went around the classroom I couldn't help dwelling on what he had just said.

While I breathe, I hope...

Hope? What would he know about hope!?

The only hope there is for Hikaru is for me to disappear.

Permanently.

As they made it to my side of the room Tamaki's grin grew brighter still "Kaoru! I didn't know you had this class!" He beamed.

"Go away boss."

"Seriously," he continued anyway, "I assumed you would be taking Physics with your brother right now."

So that's where he was "Does it matter where I am?"

His smile faltered a little "No...I guess not, still a Father should always make it a point to know where his children are at all times."

"I told you," I huffed, "your not my- GET THAT CARD OUT OF MY FACE!"

"Take good care of that! I made it with love!" I took the card and watched him practically skip back to the front of the class "Does everyone have a card? Ok, I can explain them now. As I've said before 'Ace is an acronym for 'Ask, Care, Escort'.

He made an 'A' with his arms above his head "Ask: Ask the person if they are doing ok, if there is something that's bothering them, if there is some way you can help. Ask them if they are considering suicide. Talk openly on the subject. There is no longer public or professional stigma to getting mental health help."

Next, he made a 'C' with his arms "Care: Show support for the person. Let them know you care. Listen to them, and let them know you are always willing to just talk, if that's what they need."

I don't know how the Hell he did it, but he made an 'E' "Escort: Get the person to professional help: a counselor, medical care facility, or mental health professional. Remember, in a time of need, everyone is family."

Family...

I was suddenly reminded of all the times Tono used to go on and on about 'Host Club is Family'. He even wrote it on the whiteboard and made us repeat it for half an hour as part of our 'training to become a host'.

I never knew he was so well informed on the subject.

Maybe I should...

Just then the bell rang.

"Please keep in mind, if you see the signs in someone else or if you recognize them in yourself, make sure they or you get help immediately." He finished before being swarmed by fangirls.

"Can we have the honor of escorting you upstairs?"

"Of course, my delicate cherry blossoms."

Ugh...Hikaru was right, those girls WERE easy!

I put my books back in my bag as Tamaki and his entourage made there way to the music room.

I could feel a headache coming as I pushed my chair in and walked to the door. I made a left and headed for the staircase.

"Kaoru. A word please."

I turned around "Kyoya Senpai?"

Kyoya was leaning against the wall next to the classroom door, one hand in his pocket "Its your turn to choose our next cosplay."

I blinked "It is?"

Kyoya stood up straight, putting his other hand in his pocket and walking past me "We have 30 minutes before Club starts, plenty of time to discuss."

-Kyoya's POV-

I walked towards Stairwell B while Kaoru followed. Honestly I couldn't have cared less what theme he chose. I only used it as an excuse to talk on a count of it being my day to watch over him.

He walked a little faster to catch up with me. When he was at my side I noticed he was watching the ground as he walked.

Avoiding eye contact.

"Your going to crash into a wall if you keep that up."

"Huh? Oh...yeah your right..."

"What's wrong with you? Hikaru finally stopped putting out?" I smirked.

Kaoru's cheeks went ablaze "WHA-?! NO!"

"So he still is?"

He was growing redder by the second "NO! I mean Yes! I mean, wait WHAT?!"

I just laughed "Let's go. We don't wanna keep your boyfriend waiting now do we?"

He knitted his eyebrows "Why the rush, Mommy? So eager to get to Daddy?" He mocked.

This time I furrowed mine as we finally reached the staircase. He wins this one "He's worried about you y'know."

I watched his smirk fade "Yeah well so is everyone else..."

"Why is that?"

He slung his bag over his shoulder and buried his hands in his pockets "Hey, where's your bag?"

"In the music room along with my laptop. Now that your done changing the subject are you going to answer my question?"

He let out a sigh and looked up at the ceiling "Depressed I guess."

"How are you feeling now?"

He looked forward again "My back has been hurting for more than a week now for no reason whatsoever, and I feel like I'm going to vomit...

He giggled as I widened the distance between us.

Unexplained back and stomach pain.

"How is your school work coming along?"

He let out another sigh "Horrible, I just can't focus anymore, and out of nowhere I just get so agitated! I even snapped at Hikaru for no reason..."

Difficulty concentrating, random bouts of hostility.

We turned another corner and headed towards stairwell C. I slowed my walk, trying to get as much information as possible. It also hadn't slipped past me that he wasn't going into detail on anything "Anything else?"

He looked straight at me "No that's it..."

So he IS refusing to talk.

Oh well, I've gotten all I needed out of him...

When we finally reached Music Room 3 I walked ahead of him and opened the door "After you," I smirked, "Now about that theme..."

(A/N) Rather anti-climactic cliffhanger ending...

Anyway its finally here! All will be revealed in the next installment!

...which also means there are probably only 3 or 4 more chapters left in this story...meaning it should be finished by this Tuesday actually...

(^_^")