TThat idiot… he was just sitting there wasting away while everyone boiled over her choice. How anyone could be so blind, even Tamaki, no one knew. But she'd made her choice. It was her decision. Who did they think they were, to try to interfere…right?

But…the human mind plays tricks on us, does it not? And if fate truly wanted them to be together…then…no matter what they did, it wouldn't matter, right? So…what was stopping them? Any of them? It certainly wasn't Kyouya's conscience…nor Hikaru's lack of will. It wasn't that any of them weren't capable… they were hosts for heaven's sake. They'd lured millions of girls into the traps of their charming smiles and beguiling words. So what was the problem?

Or maybe Kaoru was the only one not doing anything about it.

"It's always been just the two of us," he murmured, looking down at his sleeping brother. He'd gotten bored of watching Kaoru read and had fallen asleep with his head in his lap. Hikaru stirred but remained otherwise blind to his twin's musings. "Can we learn …maybe…to share?"


"That fool…" growled Kyouya angrily. He was typing furiously away at his laptop, his glasses glinting in the glow of the screen. How could anyone be so blind?

But then again, it was Tamaki. And Kyouya wasn't putting anything past that blond idiot. If Tamaki wasn't his friend he would have surely been added to the long list of missing persons that the police couldn't prove were linked to the Ootori family. Kyouya grumbled to himself, this being one of those rare occasions where he felt free to express himself. Then again, at this hour not even his sister was likely to invade his personal space. The Shadow King checked the clock and grimaced.

"No use crying over spilt milk," he murmured to himself, shutting off his pineapple computer and suppressing a yawn. He rubbed the back of his neck, aching from sitting at the computer for so long. All of a sudden however, the Shadow King sat up abruptly. The milk wasn't spilt just yet. And if Tamaki hadn't claimed her…

And the grin that began to spread across his pale delicate features would have set the host club running… because the Shadow King had a plan.


Kaoru watched as Haruhi rubbed her eyes sleepily. Kyouya had looked like death when he came into the club earlier, making the twins shudder. Tamaki, it seemed, did not plan on coming to the host club that day either. So they'd gone through the typical motions of the day, pleasing the customers as they always had. But though they might be able to fool the giggling hordes of girls, they couldn't fool each other. Everyone was worn out with the stress, Tamaki creating problems for everyone as they were forced to take on his customers. The worst part was trying to answer questions about him. Where was he? IF he was in school why wasn't he at the host club? What was wrong with him? Everyone knew. But no one was talking.

"I'm leaving," she announced with a yawn. There were circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept well. "See you all Monday."

"Bye!" called Huny-Senpai, waving a fork after her. No one else really bothered to respond. As soon as the last customer was gone, the life seemed to be sucked out of the room. It was as if the hosts had metaphorically collapsed into little heaps, with no more feeling than statues. The only people who looked relatively unaffected were Huny and Mori, and Mori was always stoic so Kaoru couldn't really determine whether that assessment was correct or not. He really just wanted to go home, but Hikaru seemed to be more comfortable remaining in the position that they'd been in when they'd been entertaining; leaning on his brother. He was pretty sure he was asleep again. Everyone was exhausted… it was as if without Tamaki's incessant optimism there was no light in the club… no life. It was as if without Haruhi being strong as she always was, unaffected by the drama of the host club, they all fell apart as well. And Kaoru was certainly not liking the feeling of falling apart… especially since Hikaru seemed to be falling apart a lot faster than he was. He looked up then as a shadow fell over him. Kyouya was looking down at him, and as he looked around he realized Huny had finished his cake and left. Hikaru moved against his shoulder as they both looked up at the Shadow King.

I guess he wasn't asleep after all…

"I have a little game for you two," he said, his smirk making the twins shudder simultaneously.

"And who would we be playing against?" asked Hikaru, getting up and stretching, a yawn masking his interest; the could use a little fun. It was far too depressing around here otherwise.

"Me," responded the Shadow King. The twins' faces blanched as the Shadow King's smirk widened. "And the prize is…

A/N: Well, I guess it's obvious what he's going to say, right? Betcha hate me now don't you? I'm sorry I haven't updated in sooo long . Don't kill me? I've just been really busy and just… yeah. I'm sorry… forgive me?

Anyhow, comment pls!!