"What?!" their clients exclaimed in unison.
"That's right," Hikaru said with a gleam of triumph in his eyes. "Haruhi and I are engaged."
"I'm confused," one girl said. "Haruhi's a girl?"
For a moment a ruckus rose up as the confusion mingled with the atmosphere.
"I can answer that certain question," Kyoya said, stepping into the conversation smoothly and silencing the people at once. He had his laptop with him. After clicking and typing a few things in, he turned it around for the eager audience to see. On the screen, there played a very familiar scene. For a few minutes, people watched as a certain someone wearing a baggy old sweater and big glasses smashed an antique piece of porcelain.
It took a bit more explanation to actually convince the crowd that that unfashionable little thing was Haruhi. But with an Ootori doing the talking, it wasn't long before everyone was satisfied with the truth—if you could call it that.
He fed them with some tripe about Haruhi being gender-confused at the time. Tamaki caught on at this point, adding a part about the Host Club not being able to stand for such happenings.
"Why, we all saw her for what she really was the moment she stepped through the door," he said, earning a few held back snorts from the other hosts. "There she was, a beautiful rose just waiting for the right time to bloom! Yet she denied it and would not let her true self shine through! Oh, my men and I simply couldn't let a tragedy like that befall a fair maiden such as herself…"
The blonde would have rambled on forever, but the Shadow King decided to spare everyone from having to listen to that. He made it shorter, stating that it was as Tamaki had just said. The Host Club decided to take Haruhi in then and turn her into a host so that she could decide for herself if she was indeed only feminine on the outside. Only recently had Haruhi come to realize that she really did possess a woman's soul.
"Because she fell in love with—" Hikaru began.
"Yuzuha Hitachiin's designs," Haruhi finished for him. It wasn't what he was about to say, she knew, but she had enough of his stupidity.
"Mom's taken quite a liking to her as well. Haruhi's practically part of the family," Kaoru added, putting his arm on her shoulder as an afterthought of sorts.
The boy caught his twin's eye and slipped his arm off Haruhi.
The Host Club nodded enthusiastically now as the crowd "ooh-ed" their understanding.
"I get it," one girl mused brightly. "And since you've gotten so close, you fell in love and decided to propose, Kaoru?"
"I'm the one Haruhi's marrying," Hikaru interjected quickly.
"Ah!" the girl said. "Gomen, Hikaru… You're so lucky, Haruhi!"
"Lucky… I guess that's one way of putting it," she replied.
Is it just me, or have these people entirely overlooked the fact that we've been lying to them about my gender this entire time? Oh well, that's Ouran for you.
"Have you been going out for a while now?" another asked eagerly.
"When did he propose?"
"How did you feel?"
"Absolutely stunned," Haruhi deadpanned. Her 'fiancé' cringed.
--
"Why didn't you tell us you were already engaged, Hika-chan?"
"It was still kind of unofficial…"
"Kind of?"
The hosting had been cut short, and now the club was back in their regular uniforms inside the third Music Room. Haruhi was wearing a scowl as she sat down on a couch across from Hikaru, her arms crossed against her chest. The hosts would have preferred angry yelling rather than this intimidating silence. Eventually though, she spoke.
"Was I drunk again or something? Because funnily enough, I don't remember an engagement happening."
The scowl on her face was definitely present in her voice.
"I'm just glad that Kyoya-senpai managed to hack into the school's security videos," Hikaru said, trying to turn a deaf ear on the question. "Saved me from explaining everything to those rabid girls…"
His obvious deaf ear play made Haruhi's eyebrow shoot up into her hair.
"I'm not engaged to you."
That caught his attention well enough. "Yes you are!"
"Since when?"
"Since…" he trailed off and blushed. Haruhi had to fight a blush as well; she knew what he meant—yesterday—but she shook her head.
"Look, Hikaru, that was a—"
"Don't say it was a mistake," he said quietly.
"I…" But it was a mistake, she thought unhappily. Then she remembered the fight she had overheard then, and the conversation she had with Kaoru that morning… Suddenly it made sense.
"Are you only doing this to get an advantage over your brother?"
Kaoru looked up with dilated eyes when he was brought into the conversation. He hadn't been expecting it. Obviously, his twin didn't see that coming either.
"Huh?"
"You know what I mean! This isn't like you at all—what happened to the Hikaru who cared for his twin? It was that side of you I liked, you know that? Stop being so selfish."
"I'm selfish?" he scoffed. "What about you, then? You're telling me that what we did was just for your pleasure? You were turned on at the time and I was the closest outlet?"
Tamaki had no clue about what they were going on about; nevertheless he was outraged at the way Hikaru was speaking, but it only took Kyoya's arm to hold him steady. Haruhi flushed. Hikaru saw this and almost sneered.
"Yeah, I'm right, aren't I?"
They glared at each other for a moment.
"You're impossible," Haruhi stated bluntly as she grabbed her things and leapt out of her seat. However, she didn't even get close to the door before she saw black.
It happened too fast; the girl swayed on the spot before collapsing. Luckily, Mori was quicker than the rest and caught her just before her unconscious body hit the floor.
--
At the special clinic, Kyoya made sure that a doctor checked on Haruhi (sworn to secrecy, of course) while the rest of the hosts waited in the adjacent room. Soon the woman came in, had a chat with Kyoya and was sent back on her way.
"Is she alright?" Tamaki asked.
Apprehension was etched on everyone's faces as they waited for Kyoya's answer. He adjusted his glasses and nodded. A wave of relief washed over them all.
"Then why did Haru-chan faint?" Hani mumbled from his cousin's shoulders.
"Her blood pressure was low," the dark-haired boy replied. "Apparently, this is normal for pregnant women, so they tend to feel lightheaded. However, I think that Haruhi stood up too quickly earlier after her… discussion with Hikaru, causing her blood to pool at her legs and not circulate well. This may have increased her lightheadedness…"
"So it was nothing serious," Hikaru said, clutching his chest. He noticed everyone looking at him accusingly. "I know I owe her an apology. You guys don't have to say anything or look at me that way, alright? And I'm not going to explain anything, either."
He headed to the other room. Tamaki hastily followed suit, with Mori and Hani tagging along behind him.
Kaoru thought he was alone, but a presence behind him made him start slightly.
"Ah! Kyoya-senpai… Don't sneak up on me like that."
"You've been unusually quiet about this."
"Quiet?"
The older shut his notebook with a snap. "Did you plan for this to happen? For your twin to end up with Haruhi, I mean."
"Plan?" the redhead said blankly. "What plan? I haven't done anything."
"Really?" Kyoya idly tapped the spine of his notebook with his pen; clearly he wasn't buying a word. "Then maybe it's the other way around?"
"Other way around?" Kaoru repeated, mentally cursing himself for sounding like a parrot.
"I wonder… Are you actually letting him make a fool of himself? You aren't doing this to let Hikaru walk to his own demise, are you?"
"Why would I do that to my own brother?"
"I was only asking."
"Well it's definitely nothing like that," Kaoru argued defensively. "I'm not even doing anything in the first place!"
The pen stopped tapping.
"Exactly."
The Hitachiin's indignant expression turned vacant again. He wasn't exactly sure where this conversation was going.
Coal eyes read the confusion in the amber pair.
"Normally you'd waste no time correcting your brother's mistakes. But today, I haven't seen you interfere. Not once. What's your true intention?"
"I—well… It's for his own good."
"Really?"
Kyoya gave his kohai a rare smile and went off to join the others, leaving Kaoru to ponder his thoughts.
--
"She's coming around."
"Are you okay, Haru-chan?"
"How are you feeling?"
When Haruhi opened her eyes, all she could make out was a blur of colors. Caramel, ketchup, licorice… What? I must be hungry. I'm dreaming of talking food. Just then a blonde shape took over the rest and something warm took hold of her cheeks. She knew she was awake.
"Do you feel well now? Tell daddy!"
Haruhi wearily blinked a couple of times. Finally things came into focus, and she found herself drowning in violet eyes.
"I'm fine, senpai. Am I in the clinic?"
"Yes… Are you sure you're okay? Do you need anything?"
"Yeah, I kinda need my face back."
Tamaki let go of her, but it was because he saw Hikaru coming nearer. Upon seeing him, Haruhi felt her expression stiffen. Hikaru was pretty convinced that she would have dished out a right hook if only she wasn't feeling so weak at the moment.
Anyway, he would have to risk it. He sat at the foot of her bed, and as if on cue, the rest of the Host Club muttered things about having to go home. The two were left alone. A discomfited sort of silence ensued for a while. Hikaru tried to straighten out his tongue to form a coherent apology.
"I'm—"
"I'm sorry!"
He was still for a second; mouth still parted a little, trying to process what he had just heard. He was sure that he had just heard the words that he had been dying to tell the girl in front of him, but how come it was Haruhi who said them? She was even bowing a little to make her apology more sincere!
Shouldn't he be doing that?
"Ne, Haruhi," he began weakly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm apologizing," she said simply, oblivious to his stunned reaction.
"I see that. But what are you apologizing for?"
She looked at him from under her lashes. "For what I said earlier. I forgot my place."
Hikaru watched her, incredulity filling his brain with an annoying buzzing sound. Why was she being so submissive all of a sudden? She was talking like a maid! It was…wrong.
"Haru—"
"Marriage isn't a joke," she continued. "I was just shocked that you would make a decision that big without even considering what I thought about it. Announcing it like that, well, it was reckless of you. And to think that you did it in front of…"
"Shut up already."
Hikaru leaned in to drop a chaste kiss on her lips, but she backed off. He furrowed his brow.
Why are you so concerned about Kaoru? Is he starting to mean something to you, Haruhi?
"Look, I don't give a damn about what Kaoru thinks," he told her, his voice hard. She flinched at this, but he didn't notice. "I seriously don't. Besides, he's got nothing to do with what we did yesterday… And if we're engaged, he's got nothing to do with it either."
"He's got everything to do with it."
"What? Why?"
"Well, he's…" she paused hesitantly. "He's your brother. Your twin."
"So?"
"Hitachiin Hikaru, do you mean to tell me that the bond you two have had since you were born means nothing to you now? All those years that you two have been together… You're going to give your brother up because of this?"
The boy bit his lip. "If that's what it takes to have you, then yes."
Haruhi shook her head. This person in front of her clearly needed a priority check. A wakeup call. Or maybe a good slap in the face.
"I need to think about this," she said in a hollow voice. "I want to go home to my apartment. No, you're not going to give me a ride there. You're not stopping me, either. No buts."
--
"Haruhi! What are you doing home, dear? How about some dinner—get it while the box is still warm."
Ranka motioned to the takeout meal on the table.
"Hi dad... No thanks, I'm not hungry."
She didn't explain; all she gave her father was a quick peck on the cheek before stalking over to her room and sliding the door shut. Of course, it was only a few moments before there was someone gently knocking.
"Something wrong? Did those boys do something to hurt you?"
"No. Actually, I think it's the other way around."
She considered not telling him, but he'd only worry. And besides, something wet was already rolling down her cheeks. Ranka heard her sniffle and cast a concerned look that wasn't seen because of the barrier between them.
"What's the matter?"
"The twins," she began. "They're falling apart, dad. And I'm the cause of it. I knew this would happen, I'm so stupid—"
"They're fighting over you?"
"You could say that…" she gulped. "Hikaru's so different now, and Kaoru's not doing anything about it. That's not like them! And that I'm the reason why they're acting like this way… What should I do?"
That was when Haruhi broke down and sank to the floor, hugging her knees.
"I'm responsible for this mess! I made this happen and I don't know how to fix it. I don't know anything anymore."
The man stood there, listening to his daughter who was tearing herself apart. Even after her mother died, Haruhi had never cried like this. It was too much to bear, but there was no one left to be strong for her. He couldn't do anything about it except tell her that everything would turn out fine in the end even though there was no guarantee.
Ranka looked dolefully over to where his wife's picture stood.
Kotoko… I've never felt so useless.
A/N: I hate this chapter. -__- I hate it because Hikaru's turning out to be the bad guy! NOOO!!! Kill the author!!!
Well, at least I think that's what you guys are going to tell me in your reviews.
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Anyway, in a nutshell... Hikaru's being a meanie, Haruhi's having a meltdown and Kaoru's even more confuzzled now thanks to Kyoya.
What's gonna happen next?
This chappie's something of a filler, really. Bear with me. It's gonna get better (worse for the characters, probably) past this point. xP
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Every time a person clicks this button
Nekozawa does the YES Dance.
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