.

The infirmary. Taking up a whole floor on the school, it was more like a miniature hospital. Kaoru was taken to one of the first rooms, where he was given a very careful cleanup, an X-Ray on his fracture which proved to be minor, and finally a small white brace that draped across the center of his nose just above his nostrils. When his friends were allowed to see him, he was lying on his back in a white exam table with a very comfortable mattress. But the grim look on his pale face read anything but comfort.

Tamaki, relieved to see that the blood was gone, stood over him with Kyoya and Haruhi by his side. They waited until he fluttered his drowsy golden eyes open and looked to them. "Hey," he said weakly.

"How're you feeling, Kaoru?" wondered the concerned Tamaki.

"Okay, I guess. Kind of woozy from all that blood loss; the doc said I should lay down for a while. He also told me to keep this stupid brace on my nose for at least two weeks. I have to avoid touching or hitting it too, until it's completely healed."

"Two weeks, huh?" mused the blonde. "That's rough. I guess you'll have to take off from hosting for a while, just in case?"

"Nah, I can still host. I just hope my guests don't mind me looking like a freak."

Suddenly, Renge rose up from beneath Kaoru's peripheral vision and cooed, "Ooo, you look like a boxer, or an American footballer! I can work with this."

"Shouldn't you be doing damage control upstairs?" asked Kyoya condescendingly.

"I was, but the girls got bored after the hosts left, so they went home early."

"Well," frowned the Shadow King as he readjusted his glasses, "this day was a complete disaster. Remind me to suspend Hikaru for this fiasco."

"No!" gasped Kaoru, now in a stronger voice. "Kyoya-Senpai, please don't do that to him. He needs this club..."

"We have a strict rule against violence, Kaoru. Not only did he break that rule, but now we have no business for the day. He set us back quite a ways."

"Then bill him, make him repay his debt just like you've done to Haruhi. But please don't throw him out of the club, it means the world to him."

"Kaoru..."

"Please, Senpai... He's going through a bad time, and... And I'm responsible for it. He hurt me, but I hurt him first..."

Haruhi opened her mouth to speak, but then she hesitated. She put Kaoru's words to heart and realized that she herself was not at fault, but a bystander in this mess. The Twins were at a crossroads now, and only they could decide where to go from here. Kaoru seemed to understand that perfectly. This impressed her greatly.

"Well," said Tamaki, "whatever it is you two need to sort out, sort it out quick. We need you both at the club."

"Yes, sir. I'll try to talk to him... Hey, Boss? Kyoya-Senpai?"

"Yes?" asked the elders.

"Could I speak to Haruhi alone for a minute? It's personal."

"Whatever you have to say to my precious daughter, you can say to m-AUGH!" The Host King's rant was caught off as Kyoya seized his right cheek and tugged at it rather harshly.

"We'll leave you two alone," purred the Shadow King, as he dragged his leader out of the room by his outstretched cheek, Tamaki groaning and muttering gibberish along the way.

"Haruhi?"

The girl in boy's clothing came closer until their faces were side by side. Her chocolate brown eyes gazed into his golden.

"I owe you an apology," frowned Kaoru. "I only wanted to make you feel better about yourself, but... I took it too far."

The girl took a breath; she knew that he was referring to the spontaneous kiss she received from him earlier, prior to the spontaneous attack from Hikaru. For a moment, she glanced away as though she was also ashamed. "Kaoru..."

"I don't know why I did it... Maybe I thought there was a chance we could be... more than friends... But I know now that you don't feel the same way. If you did, you would have kissed me back." He reached out to touch her hand and grasped it gently. "I'm really sorry."

"Kaoru... I have to know: are you in love with me as much as Hikaru is?"

"I dunno... I mean, he definitely loves you, but I'm not really sure how I feel. I used to think that he and I shared the same heart and soul; whatever he liked, I liked it as much. But with you... It's complicated."

"Listen," she said softly, "the last thing I want to do is come between the two of you. You guys have a really special bond- a unique none. If I ever severed that bond, I'd feel like the scum of the earth."

"You're not scu-"

"Just hear me out, will you? What I'm trying to say is, I love you both but in my own way. I can't choose between you two. It feels wrong."

The boy sighed deeply, unsure of how to respond to her kind yet somber words. "...I understand," he replied. That was a half-truth; he knew what she was saying but part of him didn't want to accept it. He turned his head away.

"I'll let you rest now," said the girl. "You will speak to Hikaru later, right?"

"Like I said, I'll try. I can't guarantee he'll listen."

"Well, good luck with that. Take care of yourself." She turned to walk away, when she was stopped by Kaoru calling to her.

"Haruhi?"

She looked back curiously.

"Will I see you tomorrow?"

"...We'll see," was all she could say. She then left him in his recovery room to contemplate how to deal with the other Hitachiin boy.

..

..

The injured redhead entered his mansion to the sound of a faint, "Brr-rr-rr-rr-rr-rr-rr... Brr-brr-brr-RRRR-rr-rr-rr..." sound coming from the second level. He followed the sound with a cautious step; it sounded like a chainsaw gnawing through something... and it was coming from the direction of his bedroom. Much to Kaoru's shock, he opened the door to his and his brother's bedroom and stood jaw-dropped at what he saw. Sure enough, it was a chainsaw he heard, and Hikaru was now using it to saw their bed clean in half! Fluff and feathers were everywhere, splints of wood flying in all directions, and one very adamant Hitachiin boy with an evil glare in his golden eyes as he struggled to cut through the bed springs.

"Uh... Hikaru?" peeped the sheepish Kaoru. So taken by surprise was he, that he couldn't even find the strength or will to scream. The sound of the chainsaw's gnashing teeth overpowered his voice, so he spoke louder. "Hikaru!"

"Hmm?" hummed the boy covered in fluff and splinters. He stopped sawing to gaze upon his mirror image, except it wasn't a perfect reflection as Kaoru now had a brave on his nose. "Oh, hey. Didn't hear you come in."

"I'm surprised you can hear anything over that thing... What are you doing?"

Hikaru brushed off the debris from his blazer and replied, "I am taking my first big steps in living life without you always attached at my hip. Step one: split up our beds."

"Ugh," groaned the redhead with the nose brace. "Is it going to be like this with you from now on?"

"Hey, you started it when you decided to make a move on Haruhi."

"I came to apologize about that."

"Too late now, soon you'll be sleeping on the other side and I keep the window wall." He resumed his cutting.

Kaoru narrowed his eyes. "You do realize that a bed needs four legs to stay leveled, right?"

"Yeah? What's your point?"

"My point is, once you've cut down the middle, like you're doing right now, the bed's going to-"

-CRASH!-

"...do that," said Kaoru darkly, now looking at a bed that caved in on itself from its severed center. "Great, now neither one of us has a bed."

"Speak for yourself," argued a humbled but still adamant Hikaru. "I'm gonna go crash at Hunny-Senpai's tonight." He hurried to his dresser drawer to begin packing some clothes.

"Don't drag Hunny-Senpai into this!" said Kaoru angrily. "We need to sort this out together."

"I've already sorted it out, Kaoru: I want to get as far away from you as I possibly can! This way, we won't feel the need to kill each other."

"You mean, you won't feel the need to kill me."

Hikaru stopped to face his twin, his eyes narrowed sternly. "Look, I get that you're madly in love with the same girl as I am. And I don't blame you for feeling that way. But the fact that you actually forced a kiss on her, that's what I can't stand."

"You make it sound like I committed a crime."

"You practically did!"

"She kissed me first though."

"Yeah, as a friend. ...but you don't want her as just a friend, do you?"

"..."

"Answer me, Kaoru."

He swallowed hard, failing to notice the rosy blush rising in his cheeks. "...I... I don't know."

"Liar." Hikaru pulled out a duffle bag from the closet and proceeded to stuff his clothes inside. "I suggest we keep our distance from each other for a while- that includes the host club. We need to give Haruhi her space too, even though I'm still determined to win her over. And unlike you, I'm not going to rush in and take her by surprise." He lifted the bag over his shoulder and eyed his twin one more time. "Don't call me. Don't text, and don't follow me around. And I swear, Kao, if you try another move on her again, I'll break more than just your nose next time." Those were Hikaru's last words before he marched out of the bedroom, and ultimately out of the mansion.

Kaoru sighed sadly. "So, that's how it's going to be, huh...?" He closed his eyes in submission. "So be it."

His inner clock ticked ever closer to 11:50pm.

..

..

The Haninozuka residence, later that evening.

"...and then, he had the nerve to kiss her!" went Hikaru in mid-rant, as he sat at the dinner table with former students Hunny and Mori. While his plate had steak and vegetables, as did Mori's, Hunny's spot at the table was surrounded by various cakes and other deserts. "Can you believe that? I mean first of all, he agreed to be my wingman, my support; and now all of a sudden he makes a move on her? Damn him!" He slammed his fists onto the table, shaking it along with the stack of strawberry jello near Hunny.

"Aww, poor Hika-chan," frowned the small boy who was really the eldest in the room.

"That's pretty rough," added Mori, who was usually short on words.

"I just can't go back there, you guys. I can't spend the night with... with... him."

As Hikaru lowered his head to stare blankly at his unfinished plate, his personal space was suddenly invaded by a ball of pink fluff. "Here, Hika-chan," cooed Hunny. "You wanna hold Usa-chan? I give him a big warm hug every time I'm feeling down."

Hikaru's eyes narrowed and his voice became dark. "No. I don't wanna hug Usa-chan."

"But it'll help you feel better. I promise."

"Mitskune," Mori chimed in, calling the attention of his cousin-in-law. "Let him be."

Hunny moved away from the troubled teen.

Now the high school student felt sorry, and hung his head with a sigh. "...I'm sorry, you guys. I've done nothing but mope and complain since I got here. I just... needed to get away."

"It's okay, Hika-chan, we understand. If you want to spend the night, we have a spare room. I'll show you."

"Thank you, Hunny-senpai. I really appreciate it."

.

Late that night, in the spare bedroom that Hunny offered, Hikaru had a dream. A very dark and disturbing dream, that caused him to roll around and kick in his sleep...

He found himself in a room that looked similar to his own bedroom, but it was much bigger and deep blue in hue. As he scanned it, he noticed a collection of toys he and his brother had collected over the years, all lined up on shelves on the walls. But one plushie stood out from the others: a small human-shaped one with red wolly hair, beady eyes, and the Ouran Academy suit and blaser.

He recognized its likeness instantly: "Kaoru."

He reached out and grabbed it, then took a closer look at it. Funny, it seemed to innocent, much like the child he once was- mischievous, and yet sweet and gentle. Just holding it in his hands made Hikaru feel warm and comfortable...

But then, a pair of identical hands grabbed the plush from in front of him, trying to pull it away. He saw that it was his own self tugging at it; sure, it could have been Kaoru, but he knew in a heartbeat that he was looking back into his own eyes. Deep, sunken eyes full of rage.

"Stupid, selfish little brother, get rid of him!" growled Other Hikaru. "He deserves to be thrown away!"

Hikaru pulled the plush back. "No! He's my brother, I love him more than anything."

"He betrayed us! He's been waiting for us to fail so that he could swoop in and steal Haruhi!"

"He's not like that... He would never..."

At this point, the plush of Kaoru was beginning to stretch out.

"Oh, yes he would!" growled Other Hikaru. "He's secretly in love with her! You know it, and I know it! We can never trust him again!"

Hikaru pulled back tighter, causing the plush to lose some of its seams. "He's my family, he's always there for me when no one else is."

"He'll desert you at the first chance he gets!"

"No, you're wrong!"

"I hate him!"

"I love him."

"I HATE him!"

"I love him!"

"HATE, HATE, HATE HIM! THROW HIM AWAY!"

The plush tore in half, letting loose its inner stuffing.

.

"NO!" screamed Hikaru as he shot up from sleep. As he caught his breath, he felt a cold chill and sweat pouring from his brow and neck. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand before gaining composure. He then glanced over at the digital clock on the desk next to his bed. It read: 3:34am.

"Damn it," he whispered to himself. "Is this what it's gonna be like from now on? ...Am I gonna have to choose between the two of them?"

That was a question that would haunt him for the rest of the night. He couldn't find sleep again.

..

..

One could cut the tension with a knife in Music Room 3 that following afternoon.

For starters, Haruhi was absent; she took the day off because she feared that her presence in the club would only worsen the Twins' rivalry. Which might have been for the best, except she could have played peacemaker should the boys lose their cool. Only she, Kyoya, and the Twins themselves were aware of as to why the redheads were at odds with each other to begin with; Tamaki was kept in the dark. The group knew that if he found out the "devilish doppelgängers" were fighting over his "darling daughter," things would only get worse. As for the Twins themselves...

For the first time in the Host Club's history, the Hitachiin twins sat on sofas on polar opposite ends of the room, with Hikaru laying claim of the window seating and Kaoru settling for Hunny's old table near the doors. While the Hosts themselves expected this separation, the guests were astounded and deeply concerned. Those who flocked to one Twin asked the same question: "What's wrong? Why aren't you with your brother?" To which the Twin would shoot daggers from his eyes toward his rival across the room and smugly reply, "Ask him."

Since the stubborn boys were of no help, who else could the female guests go to for answers but their Otaku ringleader, Renge? She was instructed by Kyoya earlier to not worry the guests of a possible breakup of the brothers, so she came up with this far less dramatic scenario: "Alas, the Twins have finally gotten bored with the whole incestuous yaoi gig. In their own words, 'it got too repetitive and too cliche, and all too soon.' So, I'm afraid we're all just going to have to choose one over the other until they decide to rekindle that old flame of brotherly love."

The boys scoffed to themselves.

"Gah, I can't choose," lamented a small girl with black pigtails. "They're both so handsome and charming!"

"True," smiled Renge with a gleam in her eye. "But now you get to choose which kind of charm suits you. You see, Kaoru over there has gone with the 'angsty, brooding type' who seems aloof but welcomes female companionship..."

In their minds, Kaoru now embodied that of a modern caped superhero overlooking his dark and broken down city with sullen eyes and a grim scowl while moonlit draped over him. "Oooooo," some of them swooned.

"...And Hikaru over there is the 'rebellious bad boy' of the club, always playing by his own rules and ready to take you on a wild ride towards adventure."

In their minds, Hikaru was much like the classic leather jacket-clad motorcycle rider, all James Dean, burning rubber on a long dirt road, his chopper headed into the sunset. Some of the girls squealed at this image.

"Well, girls?" asked Renge. "Who will it be?"

Without hesitation, the group of Hitachiin fans split into two, one half flocking to the boy by the window and the other flocking to the redhead in Hunny's old stomping grounds.

Tamaki and Kyoya looked on from their tables, both intrigued by Renge's brilliant improvised ruse, and curious as to how Hikaru and Kaoru would play out their new personas. "Well," mused Kyoya, "this should be interesting."

"Aw Kaoru," frowned a female guest with auburn hair pulled back by a headband. "You look so broken-hearted."

Quick to adopt his new persona, Kaoru pulled out a black rose from this air, and as he replied he deepened his voice as much he could until a gruff came through. "It always breaks my heart to see such beautiful maidens all by themselves with no one to protect them from the dangers of the world."

"Oh! You could be my hero, Kaoru! Protect me!" they began to cheer.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the room, Hikaru's new harem sat opposite his chair and stated curiously at him. His head was tilted upward, his eyes glazed as though he were staring into the very fabric of space. In truth, he was still disturbed by the nightmare he had the night before, and only snapped out of his trance when one of his fangirls chirped, "Um, Hikaru? Are you feeling alright?"

He blinked his sunken, golden eyes. "Yeah, sure. You girls wanna do anything for fun?"

"Well," frowned a blonde in the group of five, "we were kind of hoping to play the Which One Is Hikaru game with you and your brother."

The redhead hesitated, glancing over to where his mirror image was sitting and frowned, "I dunno, his bad boy attitude might not let him."

Swat! went Renge's paper fan on his head. "No, no, no! You're the rebel, Kaoru's the brooding one."

"Oh, right. Ahem... I don't play games, cause I hate anything with rules in them."

"Gah, enough!" growled the Host King as he frantically brushed his hair with his fingers in frustration. "Both of you drop the act and play already! It'll do you both some good."

Kaoru, still in character, twirled his black rose and replied darkly, "Sorry, Boss, I'm too busy brooding over all the lonely maidens in the world."

"Come on, just this once?" Tamaki pleaded. "It's for the ladies."

The dark, brooding twin sighed and rose to his feet. "Alright. For the ladies." He then carefully removed the brace on his nose to mirror Hikaru's image perfectly.

The twins met in the center of the room. For a brief moment, there was a shot of daggers from their eyes, but luckily for their guests it went unnoticed. They then donned their hats and spun round and round till their onlookers were dizzy. Finally, they stopped on a dime, side by side, both sporting the biggest, fakest smiles of their lives. "It's time to play, 'The Which One Is Hikaru Game!'"

The girls clapped excitedly. Tamaki and Kyoya waited on baited breath.

"The rules are simple, princesses: guess which of us either Hikaru or Kaoru. Many have tried, none have succeeded."

"Except the one that stole our hearts," muttered Kaoru softly.

"Ssh!" hissed the lookalike beside him. "Keep it to yourself, Kaoru." His voice was not nearly as soft as his brother's.

A girl raised her hand excitedly, bouncing up and down. "Oh, oh! I know, Hikaru's the one on the left!"

"Augh!" Groaned the defeated brothers. Then Hikaru declared, "Okay, that was my bad. Let's try it again." Once more, the lookalikes spun around until they were blurs of red and blue, then stopped on a dime yet again. "Take two," they announced in unison.

Now the girls were stumped for sure; it took them a good five minutes before one of them finally shrugged, "Okay, I'm stumped."

"That was a close one," muttered Kaoru.

"You're telling me," muttered Hikaru, now in a much softer but still hostile tone. "We're usually better at this."

"Well, that was before you punched me in the face."

"Well, that was after you kissed my girl on the lips."

"Well, that was after she rejected your sorry ass."

"...I hate you right now."

"I'm not too crazy about you either."

"I hate your dress designs too, they're so tacky."

"Your whole wardrobe's tacky."

"Your face is tacky."

The boy on the right stomped on the foot of the boy on the left, causing him to jump up and down in pain. "Youch! Damn it, Kaoru!" shouted the one on the left.

"The one on the left is Hikaru!" cheered some of the onlookers.

"Ah, crap!" groaned the hopping Hikaru. "I forgot we were still playing this stupid game!"

The other redhead present smirked, "This 'stupid' game was your idea to begin with, Hikaru."

"Grr... Alright, more more go."

The Twins we're now looking winded, as their third spin was slower than the first two. When they stopped, they nearly fell over from being dizzy. "Okay," they said weakly, "Try again, ladies."

"Okay," smiled a female guest in the front. "I'm going to guess... That the one on the right is Hikaru this time."

"Uh-oh," smiled the devilish duo. "She got it wrong."

"Wait," smiled another female guest. "I think I get the trick now: Hikaru is always the one on the left!"

"Sorry," grinned the boys. "Try again."

"Hold on," blinked a third guesser. "I'm confused. If Hikaru's not on the right, then he has to be on the left. Right?"

"You're close," said the Twin on the right slyly. "The one who isn't Hikaru is slightly shorter."

"And," added the golden-eyed devil beside him, "the one who isn't Karou isn't nearly as handsome."

The doppelgänger beside him made a face. "Er... W-well, the one who isn't Hikaru can't sleep alone because he gets night terrors."

"And the one who isn't Kaoru HAD to sleep alone till he was seven, because he kept wetting the bed."

The other boy turned beet red with embarrassment and fury. "The one who isn't Hikaru only wishes he were half as cool as his brother."

They eyed each other, nose to fractured nose. "The one who isn't Hikaru is easier to get along with."

"The one who isn't Hikaru is a lying snake."

"The one who isn't Hikaru is the most mature of the two."

"THE ONE WHO ISN'T HIKARU STOLE MY GIRLFRIEND!"

"SHE NEVER BELONGED TO... The one who isn't Kaoru?"

"I got it!" cheered a girl in the back of the crowd. "The one on the right is Hikaru!"

"AAAAUUUGH!" roared the exasperated twins, right before they fell to their knees and keeled over, defeated and exhausted.

"Hold it, hold it! Time out!" cried out Tamaki as he approached the downedTwins. He looked over them like a cross father. "You boys have been fighting over a girl this whole time? That's why you two refuse to host together?"

As the boys gave him a faint nod, their fangirls all began to talk amongst themselves: "That explains so much." "Wow, whoever she is must be the prettiest girl in the school." "She's so lucky, having two hotties like them fighting for her. I only wish I was a in her shoes."

A sympathetic Tamai knelt in front of the boys, who were still groveling in defeat. "Why didn't you two come to me first? I could give you guys some expert advice on how to win whoever this mystery lady is."

Kaoru frowned, "No, Boss."

"You can't help both of us," shook Hikaru's head somberly. "You can only pick one."

"Oh no," refused the Host King. "We're not going through all that again," referring to the guessing game of course. He then scratched his chin in deep thought. "...There is one bit of advice I can give you both: Keep this rivalry of yours outside of the Host Club!"

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

"You two want to take an real or something? Get some air?"

The redheads, still floored, glanced at each other before deciding, "Sure, Boss."

Everyone watched in awkward silence as the Hitachiin brothers made a rather unceremonious exit from Music Room 3.

Not three minutes later, one of them came running back, panting like a dog, and slammed the doors behind him in earnest "BOSS!"

Tamaki looked up in surprise. "Hikaru?"

He guessed right, but Hikaru was in no mood for tricks. He slid over to his elder and fell before him in humility. "Boss, you gotta help me! I can't get this girl off my mind, it's driving me crazy! Please, you have to teach me your ways of romancing the ladies!"

Both Tamai and the lady guests dropped their jaws. This was far more serious than any of them had expected! "You really mean it?" asked the stunned Host King.

With tears filling his eyes and his hands in prayer, Hikaru proclaimed, "It was just funny feelings at first, maybe a crush that I'd get over, I thought. But I was wrong, this isn't just some boyish crush I've got. This is real. I know it's real. And Kaoru only thinks he likes her as much as I do, but he can't possiby. That's why I came back here, I have to get this girl... She's my whole world, I can't breathe without her."

"AIIIIEEEEE!" squealed a chorus of enthralled fangirls. Even Renge was in tears and cheered, "So beautiful, so passionate! Truly, this is the love story of the ages, ladies!"

Unsurprisingly, Tamaki himself was drowning in tears, both out of pride and sympathy for his fellow host, now considered to be his protege in his mind and heart. "Well, far be it from me to deny you of your true love, Hikaru." He raised a determined fist. "As your Host King, I will gladly take you under my wing and help you get the girl of your dreams! I am your tutor!"

"You're an idiot," muttered Kyoya at his desk, who apparently knew the identity of the mystery girl.

"Really, Senpai?" Sniffles Hikaru, his eyes big and glossy like a puppy dog's. "You'll help me?"

"Absolutely!" exclaimed Tamaki. "Now, listen closely, because your first order of business will require a lot of practice and patience. But rest assured,if this doesn't get her swooning over you, nothing will."

.

As Tamaki spilled his brilliant plan from within the music room's walls, no one seemed to notice that it's doors had been creaked open, and that Hikaru's lookalike was just outside those doors, secretly taking in everything he heard. A wily smile crept across his face.

Two could play at this game.

.

TBC

.