I do not own Ouran. I wish I did. But I don't. Please review, so I know whther or not I should continue ^^

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"But I don't want to go alone." Yukiko complained, voice slightly muffled from the pillow covering her face. She sat up slightly to peer at her younger sister, a frown knitting her brows together as she asked, not for the first time "Why can't you come too?"

Haruhi sighed, making a face at her older, much more expressive sister. "You know perfectly well why. Dad needs me. If we had a brother, it would be different, but..."

"... 'But dad could never love anyone else as much as he loved our mother, so after she died he vowed never to marry again.' So yeah, I get that I need to get married - preferably to someone rich - and fast. I just don't get why you're here for another year." Yuki grimaced, clearly not liking the idea or marrying at her age or the prospects of going to the capital alone.

Haruhi sighed, hearing the beginning of a familiar conversation. "Despite the fact that I'm a girl, I'm one of the smartest people here, and I'm a good hunter and fighter. They need me. We aren't exactly wealthy, and we need all the help we can get. Besides, most of the time, girls don't go to court until they're seventeen, like you. Mostly it's just boys who go at sixteen, since they're trying to become knights."

It was a complicated setup for them, yes. Usually, if there was a son, he would, at sixteen, become a squire to an existing knight after training for three months, and then two years later they would be knighted. After that, the good knights could expect royal rewards for services to the crown, and that would help their families. The only problem was that Haruhi and Yukiko had no brother, so they had to deal with what they could. There wasn't so much of an issue of inheriting their fathers lands - it was rare, but women could inherit - but finances were a definite issue.

Unfortunately for Haruhi, Yukiko's mind was on the same trail of thought, and her overactive imagination was already working. Lighting fast, Yuki hopped off her bed and slid onto Haruhi's, leaning in close to peer at her face.

"Hey! Ever heard of something called personal space? Because it doesn't seem that way..." Haruhi trailed off, seeing a familiar glint in her sister's eyes. "I know that look. It means you're about to suggest something that will ultimately get us in trouble."

"It won't..." Yuki said slowly. "Not if we do it right... Now you're definitely feminine... but I've met boys who were kind of on the girlish side. You'd have to cut your hair to be able to pull it off..." Yuki was muttering. And what Haru was hearing was making her worry.

"What are you saying? What do you mean cut my hair?"

Yuki leveled her eyes at her younger sister. "You said you wanted to help dad, right? Our family, our lands, the people on our lands?" Haru nodded, wary. "And you also say that a boy would be better equipped to do this, yes?" Another nod. "Well, everyone at court already knows that i'm coming, who I am. But I'm willing to bet no one knows a thing about you. Dad was such a wreck after mother died in childbirth with you, and he's practically been a hermit ever since, he probably never told anyone a thing about you..."

Haru gritted her teeth. "What are you getting at, Yuki? Just spit it out."

Yuki grinned, that slow, mischievous smile that Haru knew - and dreaded - all too well. She took a step back off the bed and looked down at her little sister, looking her over as if evaluating her. "Who's to say I don't have a brother?"