"What are you doing here Kaoru?" Lilith asked the boy who continued to extend his hand out to her.

"I wanted to see how you were doing," he simply answered.

Shrugging, she took his hand. He grasped hers firmly and slid his other arm under her back. Being very wary, he got her in an upright position. He sat down next to her performed a distant examination of her wounds. She didn't really pay attention though; instead she looked around a bit puzzled.

"Where's Haruhi?" she pondered.

"She went shopping for food."

"Oh... And what about Hikaru? It's weird seeing you without him."

"He went to see Mori-sempai."

"Ah."

"So how are you feeling?"

She looked back at him and answered, "I'm as good as I can get." His eyes saddened hearing that. She smiled and ruffled his hair saying, "I'm okay."

"Is there anything I can get for you? Food, water?"

"Kaoru... Is what you're wanting to say so threatening that you're looking for means of stalling?"

For a moment he was silent for a moment until he said, "it is."

"What is it?"

He leaned forward just a bit and kissed her cheek tenderly. Before he backed away, he whispered, "I like you."

Her eyes widened and her face flushed. She had no idea of what to do or think or say. She just sat there in a daze. He pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She didn't move in the least, she was too in shock to. They stayed like that for what felt like forever. When she finally came back to her senses, she pushed against him. This time, it was he who froze. He was terrified of what she was going to do.

"Why?" she asked in a soft voice, still in her own state of shock.

"Well... You're interesting."

"But, if I never took off my wig and contacts I would have never struck your interest, would I?"

"... I don't know."

"I assume this is what you were talking with everyone about?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Have you told Hikaru?"

"Why does that matter?"

She smiled and looked up at the ceiling saying, "let's say if I was willing to go out with you. If you didn't tell him he would feel betrayed, wouldn't he? And if, say, I rejected you, he'll be there for you. I'm replaceable, he's not."

"Lilith..."

"So... I'm not going to discuss this anymore until you talk to him."

He smiled just a bit and stood up saying, "you're impressive."

"Really now?"

He nodded and then looked down at her saying, "don't forget to take it easy."

She saluted him while saying, "yes Sir."

He chuckled softly and left Haruhi's. Right when the door clicked shut, she lied down and put her hand over her racing heart. With her other she rested her fingertips where she could still barely feel his lips. She might have looked cool enough on the outside, but on the inside she was a complete mess. She was relieved she had a loophole by the name of Hikaru so that she could sort out her thoughts properly. She did not want to do anything she would regret. Before she could delve anymore into her mind, she heard the door click. She looked over seeing Haruhi coming in with a couple bags. She watched her suspiciously.

"Haruhi?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"You know exactly what just happened, don't you?"

"For the most part."

"Most part?"

"I don't know how you responded."

"I never did..." she groaned lightly. "I didn't know how... With everything going on, he caught me completely off guard..."

"So what are you thinking?"

"I don't know... I've never been in this situation before... I know he's a great guy but I don't know if I can see us closer than we are now... I'm so confused..."

"Well, he's patient so you can think about it properly."

"School's going to be so awkward..."

"Are you fit enough to go tomorrow?"

"Yeah, as long as I don't have to lie down," she spoke with a smirk.

"You need help?"

"Nah, I'm just going to lie here and think about things."

"Okay."

For the grand majority of the day, she did just that. Not just because she was thinking but also because for the life of her she could not get up on her own. No one else visited the rest of the day. Lilith and Haruhi spoke on occasion but nothing too important came up. Haruhi spent her day doing laundry and homework. Lilith would have sat with her while she did her homework but she knew that she wouldn't have been able to focus. In the middle of the afternoon, a storm rolled in. When Lilith saw the fear in Haruhi, she made herself get up despite the pain. She walked over to the huddled girl in the darkest corner and sat next to her. She then held onto her tightly, wanting to make her feel more at ease. Just a couple seconds later a phone began to ring.

Haruhi reached into her pocket and answered, "Sempai..?"

Throughout the entire storm, Haruhi stayed on the phone. Lilith had a sneaking suspicious that she was talking to Tamaki. He must have known full well about her fear. It amazed her how quickly she was able to calm down talking to him. For all she knew there was nothing going on between them, but she hasn't been around them enough to tell. She wasn't sure of whether or not to be worried about Hikaru. She can't tell if Haruhi has feelings for anyone. The storm seemed to go on for hours. Haruhi was on the phone the entire time. With the amount of work Lilith's mind and heart have done trying to sort everything out, she found herself getting tired. She fell asleep holding onto Haruhi.

She woke up late evening, to the smell of food. She looked around confused, not remembering falling asleep in the first place. Hearing metal clanging in the kitchen, she looked over seeing a busy Haruhi. She forced herself up and joined her classmate to assist with the dinner preparations. Once again, they casually chatted. It didn't take them near as long to create the food since it was just the two of them there. When they finished, they sat across from each other at the table.

"Do you remember your dream Lilith?" Haruhi asked her out of the blue.

"Dream? No, I haven't remembered a dream of mine in forever," she answered.

"You kept saying Hikaru's name."

"I was?"

"Yeah, you did last night too."

"Well, that's weird when it's Kaoru who won't leave my mind. I'm still completely confused of what to do..."

"Maybe you should stop thinking about him for now. The more you think the more you're going to be nervous. You should just say what feels right when you two meet."

"Haruhi..." She smiled and said, "that's the smartest advice I've heard in a long time."

"Well when you're around those fools all the time I'm not surprised."

Lilith couldn't help but burst out laughing at that. Not even by what she said by how bluntly she said it. She was laughing so hard, both her wounds began to hurt. Haruhi just watched her confused. Though, she can see why the twins are fond of her. Lilith forced herself to stop laughing before her stitches broke. After dinner was over, she decided to take Haruhi's advice. She already felt nervous enough, she didn't want to add onto it. Once everything was cleaned up, Haruhi took out her studies. Lilith sat with her. After missing a week, she might as well see how much she missed. They worked until bedtime. Haruhi fell asleep relatively quickly. Lilith just stared at the ceiling, finding it greatly difficult to not think of the twins. Sleep did not come easy for her.


Lilith opened her eyes the following day, seeing something that made her reclose her eyes instantly. She put her arm over her eyes and said, "I must be getting sick... I'm seeing double."

The laugh of the twins echoed throughout the apartment. One of the two grabbed her hand and lifted her arm off her eyes. She pouted and just put her other arm over her eyes. The other twin simply moved her arm like the other. She groaned lightly in annoyance and reopened her eyes. The two watched her amused. She turned her head away from them and yawned.

"Can I have my arms back now please?" she asked as her eyes began to water from the yawn.

They let her go and she rubbed her face. While she was doing that, the two made her sit up. She pouted again and let her arms fall. Knowing she won't even attempt to get up on her own, they forced her onto her feet. Once she was standing, she yawned again. The twins looked at each other, thinking of a way to make her fully awake and alert. A grin lit up their faces when they figured out what to do. In sync, they both rested their chins on her shoulders.

Together they spoke softly, "Lilith, do we have to dress you ourselves?"

"Nope!" she exclaimed, jumping away from them.

They laughed at her reaction. Annoyed, she stuck her tongue out at them. Hikaru, having predicted her doing that, grabbed onto her tongue. She frowned and grabbed onto his wrist. He grinned and let her go. Pouting, she let go of his wrist and wiped her tongue off.

"You know better not to do that now," Hikaru said.

"You should know how to wash your hands," she complained.

"I do know how."

"Dirty boy..." she muttered.

His grin widened while asking, "how innocent are you?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Come on Hikaru, she need to get ready if we're not going to be late today," Kaoru spoke up.

"Alright..." he complained, wanting to have more fun.

Lilith smiled at the intervention. She grabbed her uniform and went into the bathroom. She decided to keep on the clothes she already had on so after school she didn't have to keep the uniform on. She simply slipped the horrid dress on. The other three were already ready to leave and so when she came out they all left. They all got in the awaiting limo. On the way to school, there was simple light chatter in the air. Lilith had suspicious that Kaoru never talked to Hikaru. Hikaru wasn't acting different with her whatsoever. Besides that, Kaoru was doing whatever he could to avoid her eye contact. Once they arrived, the four made their way to class. They made it just before the bell rang. The class itself was dull. It wasn't the main focus anyway. Kaoru curiously glanced back at Lilith. She noticed right away and met his gaze and he couldn't seem to tare away this time.

Taking the opportunity, she pointed at Hikaru and whispered under her breath, "did you tell?"

"...No..."

"Why not?"

Instead of answering, he sat straight up in alert. Confused, she looked where he averted his eyes to. She suddenly felt like a child again when she saw the teacher looking down at her in annoyance. Without hesitation, he sent her and Kaoru out of the room. The two left, keeping their heads lowered and the teacher shut the door behind them. Right when they were outside, Kaoru let out a deep sigh. Lilith didn't think much of it. This is a golden opportunity to talk to him without any distractions.

"Why didn't you tell him Kaoru?" she asked, staring at the blank wall in front of them.

"Because I'm a coward," he spoke lightheartedly.

"What are you so scared of your own brother about?" she asked, glancing his way.

He met eyes with her but only for a moment. When looking away he tousled his hair. Leaving his fingers in his hair he explained, "I'm scared if I mention you to him that he'll admit that he likes you. You interact with him a lot more than with me. I don't have a chance against him..."

"Kaoru..." she whispered with a mix of sadness and surprise. After a moment a thought struck her and she asked, "wait a minute. I thought that he liked a certain brunette in your club. I mean, when I asked him about her he did not deny it."

His eyes widened and he looked at her asking, "you talked to him about Haruhi?"

"What about it? Are you both keeping secrets from each other now?"

"Seems so..."

She grabbed his shoulders and told him seriously, "Kaoru, talk to your brother. He's not your rival so don't think of him that way. I don't know why he didn't tell you about her, but as for you, there no reason for him to want to hurt you. If you keep secrets he won't know and he'll act ignorantly."

"Lilith..."

She smiled a bit and let go of him. She leaned back against the wall and went back to looked at the wall in front of them. She could feel his eyes on her. A cruel idea struck her and she glanced back at him. "Kaoru," she spoke.

"Yes?"

"Since you didn't do as I asked, I thought of a punishment game."

His eyes widened slightly and he responded in a stutter, "w-what is it?"

"Kiss me."

His eyes widened as wide as they could go and his face flushed. For a moment he was silent until he whispered, "what..?"

"You heard me."

"W-why?"

"What? Do you not want to?"

"It's not that," he answered right away, waving his arms frantically.

"I have my own spiteful reasoning. It's okay if you don't though."

He reached over and gently tucked the hair that was in her face behind her ear. She turned so that she could face him. With that movement, his fingers intertwined in her hair. He rested that hand on the side of her face and very gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb. She did nothing but stand still and watch him. Unable to hold himself back any longer, he softly pressed his lips against hers. She had to admit, she liked how he was treating her. After a few seconds, he backed away from her. It took him even longer to meet her eyes again.

"Well, that wasn't very helpful," she spoke up, nonchalantly.

"What do you mean?" he asked instantly.

She turned so her back was once again against the wall. She then explained, "truly, I don't have an answer for you. I was using Hikaru as a means to stall time. I was sure that kiss would make it clear to me. It was my first one too..."

"That was your first kiss?" he asked shocked.

"Mhmm. Either way, I still don't know what to tell you."

He laughed just a bit, shaking off his nerves. He then smiled saying, "it's okay. Take your time. I know I should have picked a better time when your life isn't so busy."

"Keeps me from thinking of my father."

"I'm glad."

With that, they didn't speak another word of the matter. Mainly because class had just ended. The rest of the day went by much more smoothly. Both Lilith and Kaoru were at ease. They had no problem acting cool in front of everyone. However, as the day went on, the other side of the coin seemed to have darkened. Kaoru kept asking Hikaru what was going through his head but not a word would slip through his lips. He just got tenser and tenser as the hours went by. By the end of the school day, he looked almost pale. Even so, he would not admit to anything being wrong.

"See what happens when you two can't communicate?" Lilith worriedly asked Kaoru.

"Yeah."

Haruhi slowly entered the clubroom. She was in a complete daze. Tamaki approached her right away, concerned about her. She just shrugged it off like it was nothing though. What worried Lilith the most though were he eyes. There was a deep sadness in them that only a few things could cause, especially for her. Cursing under her breath, she quickly left the room. Kaoru followed her, having the same hunch. After walking as quickly as she could down a few different hallways, she regrettably found what she was looking for. Sitting curled up on the cold, hard floor was Hikaru, holding his head tightly. The entire hallway seemed to have gotten darker. She sat in front of him and rested her hand on his shoulder. He hit it off him right away. He raised his head and looked at her. Her skin went pale when she met his eyes. They were filled with a deep hatred for her, covered by a layer of tears.

"Hikaru..?" she whispered, feeling her throat quickly tighten.

"You..." he whispered with his voice dripping with venom. "Haven't you caused enough trouble now? Why don't you just go back where you came from?"

Her eyes quickly began to water. With the strength she had left she whispered, "please Hik-"

She didn't even get a chance to finish. Completely consumed by raw emotions he cut her off by shouting, "leave me alone!"

With that, he stood up and ran away. Kaoru stood there dumbfounded. He didn't know whether to comfort the woman he has fallen for or go after his brother. Lilith, though, she sadly made it easy for him.

"Go after your brother..." she quivered.

His eyes widened, not ready to hear that. "Lilith..?" he whispered.

"I guess this is what it took for me to finally see clearly... I'm so heartless..."

"Lilith..."

"I'm so sorry... I never expected to hurt you Kaoru... Not like this... As I said though... I'm replaceable... You'll find someone who won't say these words to you... Now please, go to him before he breaks..."

As each word left her mouth, it became more and more obvious that she was going to break down any moment herself. Despite wishing with all his heart that he could help her, he knew she was right. Just before he ran he said, "remember how you owe me a favor Lilith? Well here is my whim, don't do anything stupid."