Kaoru ran blindly through the Suoh mansion, the floor to ceiling windows and richly carpeted floors blurring before him as tears stung his cheeks. He didn't know where he was going. Of course, he pretty much had the layout of the Suoh mansion memorized, but he didn't want to know. He just wanted to be somewhere, anywhere but there. There where Haruhi was looking with such pain at Tono. There where Hikaru was looking with such pain at Haruhi. There where he wanted to scream because the two people he loved where distraught, and there was no way for him to be happy. Because his brother didn't understand why he was willing to sacrifice everything for him. Everything. Because Hikaru couldn't see that he still loved him. And words were ringing in his ears, every single one a stab to the heart.

"Look at her face, Hikaru. It's over. Kyouya-Senpai was wrong for once in his life. Tono hasn't claimed her yet, true. But look at her face. She's his already, by her own choice. Claimed or not."

Hikaru's eye's narrowed. "What are you talking about? You said we were in this together! You said that we could do this together!" he hissed looking around to make sure no one was listening. That no one could hear.

"I refuse to force her if she doesn't want to," he said, his tone reasoning. Pleading. "Look at her. Look at her! Look at the pain in her face, look at how pale she is! Are you blind?

"She could change her mind!" Hikaru whispered forcefully, trying to convince himself more than he was Kaoru. "There's still a chance! I'm not giving up so quickly!"

"And what about Tono? What about all he's done for us? You wouldn't even know Haruhi if it wasn't for him. You wouldn't know anyone but me. And then we-"Kaoru stopped himself just in time. "Hikaru, don't do this. You'll just end up hurting everyone. Including yourself. Let it be. If you love something let it go."

"Don't tell me what to do Kaoru!" he snarled, so obviously angry that he caught the attention of Kyouya. Kaoru stared at him in shock, his eyes shining with what might be mistaken for tears. But Hikaru wasn't in the mood to notice his twin's distraught expression. He was too busy hissing and snarling, trying not to scream at him. "I am not a child and you are not my superior. I can make my own decisions. I thought you were the one I could always count on. Together from birth. Three minutes apart. Have you forgotten? Will you abandon me now?"

"I'm not abandoning you," he whispered, a single tear falling from his eye. Hikaru started in shock as he saw it fall, his hand instinctively reaching to brush its trail away from his twin's face. But Kaoru knocked his hand away, his golden eyes blazing with emotions that Hikaru couldn't recognize, even in what might as well have been his own face. "No Hikaru. I'm afraid you have it all wrong. You're the one abandoning me." And then he bolted, his spine prickling with the eyes he knew were following him.

Kaoru turned another corner and found himself at a balcony, the wide view showing the back of the Suoh mansion. A large garden spread wide across the grounds, filled with imported brightly colored trees and hedge mazes. Kaoru eyed the maze thoughtfully.

"Hmm…" he murmured. "Left, third left… right… second left, right, fourth right…" He pulled up his sleeve and traced a map on the inside of his arm with a marker. Then, after checking, he headed down the curving stairs on either end of the balcony and headed hesitantly into the maze.

You're the one abandoning me…

A sob sounded in the back of his throat as he broke into a run, new tears trailing down his soft pale cheeks.


"Takashi, he went left!" called Huni from atop the taller senior's shoulders. Mori obediently jogged around the corner and slowed as they reached the balcony just as a flicker of red hair disappeared into the hedge maze. "Aw… we lost him." Huni pouted as he put a forefinger to his lip in thought. Mori was silent as he studied the maze, his dark eyes tracing through for the most likely path the younger twin would take. He soon found his way to the center and began to head down the steps.

"Takashi? What are you doing?" he asked, tilting his head around to try and look him in the eye.

"Following…" he said, heading into the maze. Huni grinned.

"And on!" he said, pointing. "Just, quietly. We don't want him to know we're here yet, ne Takashi?"

"Hm…" as all the response he got. But that was okay; Huni was used to his cousin's lack of words, and he knew what that meant.


"So, Hikaru… what happened with Kaoru?" asked Haruhi, no malice at all intended. She was tired of standing there in awkward silence; they'd been there for at least ten minutes. The seniors had wanted to help, but had made the mistake of leaving Haruhi with Hikaru. And she was a little worried.

Or maybe she was simply trying to make conversation and keep her mind off of Tamaki.

Hikaru started, then continued to look at the floor. "Nothing," he mumbled, barely audible. He was leaned against the wall, headphones hung around his neck, a dark cloud nearly visibly hovering above his head. Haruhi tilted her head to the side and crossed her arms.

"It didn't look like nothing," she pointed out reasonably. Hikaru's jaw tensed.

"Just, stay out of it. It's not your business," he snapped. Haruhi jerked back, startled by the anger in his voice. She swallowed.

"Oh… alright…" she murmured, leaning against the wall. The hurt in her voice was barely detectable, but Hikaru was over sensitive to anything related to her at the moment. He grumbled something inaudible. "What?"

"We got into a fight, alright?" he snarled. Haruhi looked at him.

"Well… obviously…" she said. "About what?"

"I… I can't tell you," he said quietly. Haruhi nodded slowly. "But… well, Kaoru and I want something. But… well, he says it belongs to someone else."

"Does it?" asked Haruhi.

"Well… the person never said it was theirs…" he said, trailing off.

"Well, is it obviously theirs? Would they have to claim it for it to be theirs?" she asked, her lawyer side considering the laws of property. Hikaru winced.

"That was what the argument was about. He said that it was. I said that it wasn't."

"Oh…" she said quietly. There was silence for a while. Hikaru shifted uncomfortably.

"Well…" she began hesitantly, "Kaoru has more of a sense about these things than you do…" She paused as Hikaru cleared his throat uneasily.

"But… did you think maybe… he doesn't want it as much as you do?"

Hikaru's eyes widened and his head shot up.

"What?"


Kyouya watched as the doctor pulled back the sheets and pressed various instruments to Tamaki's bare chest. His face was calm but his arms were crossed tightly and his fingers were twitching. The room began to blur as he remembered the first time he'd met Tamaki… he'd moved the whole family to tears with that piece……

"Are you succeeding the Ootori family, Kyouya?"

Is he tryingto pick a fight?? he wondered. But he smiled again. "Of course not.You saw it. I have two brothers."

Kyouya paused and looked away from Tamaki, the situation he'd been trapped in since birth haunting him once again. It was always in his thoughts. " I'll be working under my two brothers…"

"Oh, I didn't expect that."

"Oh-"

"I thought you were a much more ambitious person… because I can see in your eyes that you hate your current situation, right?" Kyouya's eyes widened in shock and anger. "You sure give up easily…"

"It's not an issue of giving up or not giving up…" Kyouya's voice was steadily rising in pressure, fists tightening even as Tamaki's eyes were widening in confusion. And when he spoke again he was truly snarling. "That's just the way it is. But I guess someone like you who is automatically going to succeed his family couldn't understand."

"Eh?" asked Tamaki, obviously confused now. The bemused expression in his face was obvious even to Kyouya in his anger, and he immediately reproached himself.

Shit… he thought. But Tamaki was still looking at him confused.

"It's not decided that I'll succeed the Suoh Family…" Kyouya's face straightened into a mask of surprise. "My grandmother hates me. So, at this rate, it's not likely that I will succeed the family at all. It's like a trial period. Didn't I tell you?"

Kyouya stared at the young man for a few moments, then looked at the floor in thought. And all this time he'd thought…

"But just think about it. Although I'm not completely uninteresting in my father's work, I've got wonderful looks. I was born to be noticed…"

Kyouya watched him, dumbfounded, as he struck a dramatic pose to display his beauty. And all the respect and confusion that had seemingly been placed in front of him for this blonde boy was washed away has he began to ramble about being a scientist, or making a great zoo… until Kyouya couldn't take it anymore. Who was he to be saying all that crap? What was life to him? Child's play?

"Screw you!" he barked angrily, overturning the coffee table in one fell swoop. Sugar cubes bounced across the rich carpeting as teacups clattered to the ground. Coffee began to slowly seep into the carpeting as the cups glistened grotesquely in the sun streaming through the windows behind them like some trashy light show in a commoner's carnival. It would have been beautiful, the sugar catching the light and springing rainbows into itself, had Kyouya not pinned Tamaki to the floor, screaming all the pent up emotions held deep down inside of him for so long… so long…

"What are you saying all that crap for? How can you talk about giving up easily?! You're nothing like me! You have a chance to be the top if you try! So why don't you try?! Why don't you take advantage of the situation, the place that is your birthright?!" And finally, finally, Kyouya was screaming for all he was worth. Finally Kyouya was free to let himself out. He was free to let all the emotion pour out. And here and now he was giving it all he had, shaking Tamaki like a rag doll and watching with sick fascination as blonde locks thrashed beneath him like golden branches in the autumn storms. And that was what Tamaki saw. Because Tamaki was one of the few people who could read Kyouya's slate grey, his storm gray eyes. And he saw the roiling emotions there displayed like pictures on a movie screen. "What… what… what in the world are you??"

You're just an arrogant imbecile! How are you able to understand me? It was echoing inside his head. Inside his soul. The last screams of his rant still bouncing off the walls of the room, hitting him like bullets… What have I done…

That's right… I have the confidence that I won't lose out to my brothers ability-wise. But… just because I'm the third son… there will always be frustration from having to remain in this frame. I've always…

"What?" All the childishness was gone from the young blonde's voice, now replaced with the tone of one who has wisdom beyond his years. "You're the one who's not trying." Kyouya's face relaxed into shock as he loosened his grip on Tamaki's collar.

"If you want to surpass your brothers then do it. The one that's backing off and not doing anything… is you."

Kyouya's eyes widened as a familiar image came to him; it was the way he had always thought of his life. It was a painting, commissioned to be within a certain frame. But with Tamaki's words he saw a splattering of color on the wall-

"By the way Kyouya," said Tamaki, his face totally relaxed and back to childishness, "where's the kotatsu? To be honest, I thought you'd have had it set up already, and that's why I came over."

Kyouya couldn't help it. He smirked, letting go of Tamaki's all together as an unfamiliar sensation stirred in his chest, tickled his sides. It was something he did so little that it was as if a dream to begin again. But soom, roiling up form his stomach cam laughter. Bales of it, until his sides were shaking and his whole body trembled. And it felt wonderful. Yes, that day turned out to be a very refreshing day indeed. And Tamaki watched, still under the dark-haired boy, as he threw his head back and barked out rich, deep laughter like he hadn't in a very long time.

"What?" he asked finally. "What's so funny? Let me guess," he said, his face contorting into an 'I figured you out, the joke's on me' look, "you prepared it already, and you're hiding it from me!"

And all of sudden Kyouya was brought back to reality with a snap. "Don't get ahead of yourself," he said, slamming his fist down onto the baka's head. But inside he was still laughing. "Kotatsus are only used in winter. If you want to sit inside one, wait until then," he said, letting a small smirk linger on delicate lips, "you idiot amongst idiots."

Tamaki looked up at him as if he had been pole-axed, rubbing the top of his head. And his face was that of one who'd come across a great realization. "Ooooh… that's a villain's smirk." He grinned. "So that's your true form" And Kyouya? Kyouya was still smirking.

And there on the floor, the paints had been scattered across the carpet, the brush tossed to the side without soncequence. For there, enveloping the whole wall, was a masterpiece of epic proportions, a huge flower blossoming for all to see. All Kyouya had needed was a little watter. A little love. A little bit of blonde sunshine.

Kyouya shook his head, filled with spinning bluish tinged roses and broken gold picture frames. The doctor was packing up his bag, and Kyouya's heart jumped as he wondered; had he been speaking to him all that time and he hadn't heard? He must really be becoming like Tamaki.

"He'll be fine. He just fainted from fatigue. He shouldn't have gotten out of bed. It's also obvious to me he also got no sleep last night. But I wouldn't recommend any pills just yet. As long as he gets lots of fluids and rest he should be alright. It just looks like a case of the common cold mixed with a little insomnia." He closed his bag with a snap and smiled at Kyouya. "You kids these days think you're invincible. If he knew he was sick why'd he go to school? No, he's got to stay home until those bags under his eyes disappear and he can walk in a straight line all the way down this long hallway out here. Got it? You tell his folks that, alright young man?"

"Yes, doctor. I'll remember," said Kyouya, absently opening the door for him and giving him a host-club smile. The man beamed back.

"And tell them if they need anything else to call me."

"I will."

"You take care of yourself then," he said, and left with the waiting maid. Kyouya watched the man go absently, not noticing the look of shock that Hikaru had on his face or the position he was in until he repeated himself.

"What?" he said again, but more to himself than Haruhi. Kyouya was broken out of his reverie completely then, and turned to look at the two younger members of the club.

"Where is Mori-Senpai and Huni-Senpai?" he asked, gracefully leaving out the third name he knew that Hikaru did not want to hear. Hikaru spun around and Haruhi looked up at him.

"I don't know. They were gone when I came out…" said Haruhi. Hikaru shrugged in response to Kyouya's questioning gaze.

"Wonderful…" he muttered sarcastically. These were the last people on Earth that Kyouya wanted to be left alone with at the moment. But there was little choice, so he motioned them to move back into Tamaki's bedroom and pull up chairs. Where he'd gotten them from Haruhi couldn't say…

"Might as well wait here," he drawled, and fell silent. His eyes followed some scene on the wall behind her, and she was itching to look back and make sure nothing was there. But she knew that he was simply lost in his own thoughts.

What can I make for dinner… she wondered, deciding to follow suit. But her thoughts were broken as Kyouya walked over to Tamaki's bed and placed his forearm against the wall at an angle, leaning his head on it and staring down at the host king. He looked so calm, weight supported on one leg. But his face was stormy and brooding.

What's he thinking…


And even when he started the host club… that stupid idea.

"Kyouya, I've thought of a great idea!!" His yelling still echoes in my mind.

And he wouldn't leave me alone about it…

"Let's establish a club!!"

God, what an idiot he was. But… somehow… I felt like it was right.

"A club where our good lucks will be useful! A host club!!" I had shoved his head down to the floor with my foot.

"Keep dreams in your sleep," I'd said, my face stoic. But he'd lay there under my foot laughing. And as I looked down at him I couldn't help but smirk back at him.

"I've thought of the other members!!" And as he rattled on, I found myself slowly giving in to him. What harm could come from it, I asked myself. And I found no answer. Not because there was none, but because with Tono you can never see the bad. He blocks it all out from your minds until all you can hear is the good parts.

The more I listened to his rattle on the more absurd I thought he was being. But I thought… if I can share his world…I thought I would be able to see… this world, from a whole new perspective. And I remember looking down into my tea and seeing that stalk staring back up at me. Like a sign. And I thought, why not. And I smiled.

Kyouya's fist clenched, his muscle tensing under his mop of onyx hair.

But now look at you. You're not laughing, are you Tono? You look like death. And although I always wanted myself to believe I would love to see you suffering, I would love to see you sick and out of my hair for a day… but...

"I'm not laughing either…" he whispered. And as if he heard him in his sleep, Tamaki smiled. Kyouya gasped quietly, his eyes widening. Then his lips loosened a little. "You're right, my friend. Somehow, you always are about these things. Yes, mother-who-knows-everything. That's my name, isn't it? Well, mothers are supposed to worry about their families aren't they?"

And Kyouya laughed. He laughed as only Tamaki had let him laugh. And as Hikaru and Haruhi watched, they wondered if Tamaki was really awake and they were sharing secrets. Because Kyouya was only that open when he was being pried open by Tamaki, looking for that pearl of emotion that he'd only find deep in Kyouya's rainbow-hued shell.

A/N: Huh? Where'd he get a marker from?? Well, this is anime. Who knows where they get anything from, lol. Btw, that was episode 24, for anyone who wants to know. And I don't own any of it, only the interpretation of what was said. I copied the dialogue from the anime. Any flashbacks I do not own. None. At all. Especially the one from before with Haruhi and Tamaki. So don't sue me, m'kay?

There was interest expressed in me showing more of Huni and Mori. I'm not quite sure what you guys meant by that, but I set them up for a bigger role in the next chap here. Any other (reasonable) suggestions will be taken. Just R&R!!

And just give a shout out if you love Kyouya the oyster. XD