HOLD UP!!!!
Before you guys kill me for taking a month to update, let me give you a perfectly unfair reason: Writer's Block.
My mind was blank for ages! School's been draining me, I guess. I'm just so glad I got over it and managed to type this down!!! D: I'm really, really sorry. I'm prepared for anything you guys are up for doing to me, I'll understand. I hate me right now too.
I just hope that a few of you are still up for reading this. If you are, I'll give you a recap of the happenings... You deserve it.
RECAP:
After Hikaru 'let slip' that he and Haruhi were engaged (and that she was a girl), Haruhi disappeared from Ouran. Hikaru and Kaoru had a major fight; the elder making his twin promise "never to interfere" with him ever again. But thanks to Kyoya's brilliant manipulation (plus Hani and Mori's help), Kaoru and Hikaru arrived at Karuizawa, where Haruhi was currently staying to let things cool down. Kaoru got there first and met up with Haruhi at Pension Misuzu, then took her out for a date. The two went to the amusement park... Kyoya must've been keeping tabs on them because he instructed Hani and Mori to bring Hikaru there.
During a ride on the Ferris Wheel, Haruhi told Kaoru that he was Akachan's dad. The latter then apologized, stating that he was a coward. Kaoru chose his twin over Haruhi; she understood. They kissed; unfortunately, the liplock was the only thing Hikaru found out about. The chapter ended with Haruhi back at Pension Misuzu, nursing a broken heart...
And now, on with the story!!!
"Well… Um, I hope you had fun today."
"I did, sort of."
Kaoru chuckled halfheartedly. "Well, I'll just drop you off now; I have something I need to attend to." He leaned down and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry again. I just can't…"
"I know," she murmured in his ear. "I know. Go get Hikaru."
"…How did you—?"
"Just go."
"…Don't worry, Akachan," Haruhi whispered after he was gone. "Mommy's heart can still love you and Daddy with all the little pieces."
About two hours later, he returned with none other than his twin in tow. Hikaru embraced Haruhi the moment he saw her, muttering incoherent apologies in her ear while Kaoru just stood there with a somewhat sad smile on his face.
For the life of her, Haruhi wasn't able to tell what had just happened between the twins.
She didn't have time to process it anyway, since Hikaru promptly knelt down in front of her and asked for her hand.
"After what my big mouth said at school, they'll be expecting certain things from us…" he murmured, aware that they were getting looks from the pension customers. "So, well… We should just make it official."
He took out a small case from his jacket pocket and opened it, revealing a simple (pavé-set, intertwined platinum) ring with a pristine (1.2 carat, round-cut) diamond at its center. All eyes present widened; Haruhi's most of all.
"Marry me?" Hikaru whispered.
There was so much in those two words. They weren't just a question—it was almost as if the boy was begging.
Haruhi looked at Kaoru. He gave her a quick and almost unnoticeable nod before turning his face downwards and becoming occupied with his iPod.
"Haruhi…?" Hikaru asked, worry lacing his tone.
"…Yes, I'll marry you."
A grin lit up the dark-haired Hitachiin's features as he slid the ring onto Haruhi's finger, then stood up to wrap his arms around her for the second time. Haruhi returned the embrace, chancing another glance at the younger twin. Kaoru still wasn't looking.
~o~
The Third Music Room was filled with an excited buzzing, as usual. But today, things were on a slightly more escalated level. And it was getting to someone.
Just what is going on, Haruhi thought a little bitterly. One minute, things were out of hand, and now it's so regular that it's starting to creep me out! Just what exactly is going on here?!
But of course, the answer to that was fairly simple. She had returned to school.
Haruhi had done that with a little bit of dread. With her being gone for a long while, she was afraid that the rumors had built up and would strike at her the moment she set foot inside the building. But strangely enough, it seemed that everyone was content with just having her back.
In fact, the whole day went on as ordinarily as Mondays come at Ouran Academy. The teachers and students eventually got used to Haruhi being a girl and excused her lack of uniform, and though she had mentally braced herself for them, no harsh questions came her way. She almost suspected that there was a lot of Ootori-style negotiation (blackmail) involved.
The weirdest things would have to be the other schoolboys. Her middle school reputation seemed to have crept back on her, and history was repeating itself; in that day alone she caught four boys gawking openly at her (to be honest, Haruhi had already caught them and more doing the same thing even when she was still cross-dressing. Oh, those people must have been so glad to be once more reassured of their sexuality). Needless to say, the Club members weren't exactly jumping for joy about it. They had taken it upon themselves to serve as her bodyguards.
Haruhi also paid a visit to her dad the day before; partly to alert him that she was back in town, and also to invite him to Friday's event. After being suffocated with hugs and kisses (and a lot of overreactions after he spied her ring), Ranka let his daughter go, promising to come to her engagement party.
Ah yes, there was that.
Haruhi could remember how exactly the party came to be, though it was a mere blur of words and actions.
Right after they had gotten home from Karuizawa (home here being the Hitachiin estate), Yuzuha had jumped them and smothered her sons with kisses, Haruhi getting quite a bit herself. That was when the woman had grasped Haruhi's hands in utter delight—and felt a cold something on one of the girl's fingers. The glistening band was reflected in the Hitachiin woman's eyes; it took a few more moments for Yuzuha to grasp the entirety of the situation. After she did, she gave almost the same reaction as the one she did when the trio told her of Haruhi's little bundle.
Immediately after the outburst, planning of an engagement party had ensued...
An exuberant voice tugged Haruhi out of her thoughts.
"Haruhi! So it's official?"
"Of course it is—look at her ring!"
"Ah! So beautiful! It must be expensive!"
"When's the wedding?"
Haruhi was getting another migraine. Hikaru had somehow manipulated the club activities for today to turn into some sort of pre-party. He had re-announced their engagement, emphasizing its authenticity by holding Haruhi's be-ringed hand.
"We're not sure when it will be," he said, squeezing Haruhi's hand playfully. "But there's gonna be one for sure."
"Your gown will be a Hitachiin original, won't it?" another girl asked Haruhi eagerly. She nodded.
"Oh, lucky!" the girl sighed dreamily. "Yuzuha Hitachiin makes the best designs… Just look at what you're wearing now!"
She was, of course, talking about the blue and white knee-length dress that Haruhi wore to school. It was empire-cut; the hem billowing loosely below her bust, therefore effectively concealing her baby bump while being stylish at the same time. The twins had made up an excuse that their mother was making a new line and needed to test her designs out, to see how people would react. Haruhi just so happened to be there and was the perfect little model…
It was amazing, the way everyone lapped up the fabrications. In Haruhi's opinion, they were quite transparent; she had no idea how the people bought the lies. She didn't even want to think about it. Just another one of Earth's unsolvable mysteries…
Speaking of mysteries, the twins were most definitely one. They had apparently 'made-up' without Haruhi's knowledge… Probably during those two hours that they disappeared during that time in Karuizawa, she thought. At any rate, she was just relieved that they were on speaking terms again. To be honest though, Haruhi had to admit that she was a little unnerved at how things were going. Everything was so regular, but at an insanely fast rate. The pace was so normal that it was abnormal, if that made any sense. Haruhi sure couldn't make heads or tails of it.
Anyway…
"Can I be a bridesmaid?" Renge said excitedly, popping up out of nowhere. "Even a flower girl? I just want to be part of it!"
And soon the conversation was led into who would be what in the bridal entourage.
"What about best man?" an inquisitive girl asked keenly. "Hikaru, who are you going to pick out of the Host Club members?"
"Silly," another chided, giggling a bit. "Of course he'll choose Kaoru."
A second of silence passed as the twins' eyes met each other briefly. Kaoru was seated on Hikaru's left (Haruhi being on his right), so it was an easy thing for the elder to reach out an arm and drape it around his brother's shoulder.
"I'd take the whole club if I could, but Kaoru will be best out of all my best men," he said in a convincingly firm tone. Kaoru smiled lightly, putting an arm around his twin in response.
~o~
"That's reassuring," he said, grinning as if things were truly back to the way they were before.
At last, club activities were done for the day. Haruhi realized that she never really knew the meaning of the word drained until now. Sighing, she let herself fall on a couch, treating herself to some cold tea and leftover scones, thinking that maybe if things continued to go along this way, maybe everything could work out after all.
She should have known that the 'normal-bordering-on-abnormal' day was too good to be true.
The surreal contentment she had been feeling disappeared in a flash with three words spoken by one silky voice.
"Haruhi, Hikaru, Kaoru."
The said people dropped whatever they were doing and went over to Kyoya's table. Tamaki, Hani and Mori were already gathered around there.
"What is it, Kyoya-senpai?" Hikaru began impatiently.
The older student stopped typing in figures and looked at the trio. "About your engagement."
It struck them—Kyoya did have a motherly air about him. A strict, no-nonsense kind of mother. The three freshmen shuddered inwardly.
"What about it?" Hikaru asked. "Our mom's fine with any shindig we come up with, in case you're worried that the party's a spur of the moment thing."
"No, it's not that."
"What's your point, then, senpai?"
Kyoya's gaze drifted idly over to Tamaki, who was looking close to regression. But then the blonde looked up at them; to their surprise his expression was a serious one.
"I didn't think…" he began in a hollow tone. "I honestly thought that you would…"
His voice began to crack, earning him a few raised eyebrows.
Kyoya sighed. "Well, it seems that today is not the day to make our point. You may leave now."
As soon as they had left, Kyoya took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. A faint trace of frustration could be seen crossing Mori's normally stoic face, and Hani looked close to tears. Tamaki himself had collapsed on his knees and was close to the point of banging his head on Kyoya's desk.
"I never thought I'd meet someone denser that you, Tamaki. Let alone three people."
"Waah! Mama, you're so mean! You don't mean that…"
The King's whining was ignored in favor of Hani's voice. "What do we do now, Kyo-chan? Your plan didn't exactly work out…"
"Au contraire," Kyoya said. "This is just a small hindrance. I've thought this through. This plan has no loopholes; it's bound to work one way or another. Even if I have to resort to the most desperate measures I have."
He spoke the last part in a manner that made the boys' hairs stand up on end. Just typical of Kyoya to ensure that 'there were no loopholes.' Even if it was human emotions they were talking about here, the Ootori seemed to think that he could manipulate them just as easily as material things. And knowing him, he probably could.
~o~
The trio was only too glad to get out of the music room. They had to get home; after all, there was still a lot of planning to do. The twins were chatting about it already while they were on their way down to the limousine. Haruhi listened idly, not really in the mood to take part in the conversation. It was as if things had sped up, and reality still hadn't caught up with her, unfortunately.
The dreamlike state was settling on Haruhi again. Her eyes subconsciously wandered to the foreign object on her finger. Out of instinct, she raised her hand to face-level and admired the ring. She had been doing that ever since she got it, as though it would help the fact sink in—I'm engaged. To who, again? To… To…
Another hand waved in front of her face. Haruhi blinked at the pools of champagne that made up a pair of eyes.
"Hikaru…"
"You've been spacing out—you almost walked into the door," he chuckled, a little amused at her behavior. She really did look a bit lost when she realized they were already at the main entrance, just the two of them. "Kaoru's already in the car," Hikaru explained. He gazed at her some more. "Heh. You like that ring an awful lot. I didn't know you had a thing for jewelry. You never seem to wear any…"
The girl didn't bother to mention that she didn't have the money to buy jewelry in the first place. "It's pretty. The ring."
"How do you find it pretty?"
"It's… simple," she finished. "Simple, but beautiful. I never would've expected…" Haruhi didn't finish that. I never would've expected something simple from you. You're usually the flamboyant one. This seems more like your twin's style, this ring… But it couldn't have been.
She slipped it off and back on again for a few seconds. "I hope it didn't cost you too much."
She didn't notice the slight tinge of red that tinted the boy's ears. "It was nothing."
Hikaru was never one to go into 'unnecessary' details. The story of the ring—it was enough that Haruhi only knew half of it; the part where it had been given to her. She needn't know about the rest, really.
~o~
"Hi, Kao-chan! Eh… What's the matter?"
"Oh, Hani-senpai! I was looking for—"
"Hika-chan's in the room across from Takashi's. And if you don't mind, no shoes…"
"Thanks," Kaoru panted, kicking off his sandals and not even feeling guilty for barging into someone's home without warning or invitation. There was something else he was feeling guilty about and he was just desperate to get it out of his system.
He knew what Hikaru had seen, and he had a good idea of what had gone through his brother's mind at the time. And Kaoru wasn't so stupid to not notice how perfect the timing had been… What were the chances of Hikaru being in the same amusement park as him, on the same day, no less! He was sure that it wasn't beyond a certain bespectacled second-year student to craft a plan like that.
Reaching the said door, he proceeded to catch his breath and steel himself before knocking gently on the polished wood. After about thirty seconds, the door cracked open and there was a sound of someone getting to their feet. That someone approached.
"I'll eat later, Mori-senpai," said a terribly familiar voice. "So please just…" The voice trailed off after its owner saw who was standing outside.
"You're not Mori-senpai," Hikaru said blankly before proceeding to slam the door in his twin's face. Kaoru was fast though and he caught the door.
With his foot.
"Ow!" he hissed. Hikaru was still pushing quite forcefully on the door, crushing his foot in the process. "Hikaru! If you break my bones, I swear to Kami-sama I'll…"
The pushing stopped and a few seconds passed. "You're an idiot for blocking it with your foot, then."
There was nothing more said after that, so Kaoru assumed it safe to enter. He saw his shirtless twin sprawled on the bed, his face buried in the pillows. The younger stood there until his brother finally decided to talk.
"What did you come here for, Kaoru?"
"I…"
"Did you come to rub it in? I don't need that shit. You won, fine. Just leave me alone."
"I won? What the hell, Hikaru?"
"…What?"
Kaoru exasperatedly placed a hand in his forehead. "What are you going on about? I came here to have a decent conversation—"
"—and if it's about Haruhi I'll stick this pillow up your—"
"She turned me down."
Everything was quiet for a moment before Hikaru spoke again. "I don't get it... I saw the two of you making out."
"Well, I kinda started that… But that was all you saw, wasn't it?"
"Hell… I missed something?"
"Yeah, the part where we decided on something…" Kaoru said, half-lying. "Well, let's just say that we both reached a conclusion."
"Which is…?"
"It's not me she needs, and it's not her that I need."
"And who is it she needs?"
Kaoru shrugged.
Hikaru sat up. "Who is it that you need, then?"
Kaoru simply looked at him.
Hikaru flushed, but said nothing; resorting instead to poking the mattress for lack of anything better to do to break the discomfited air.
"Kaoru," he said after a while.
"Hmm?"
"I…" he bit his lip and didn't continue.
"You announced your engagement with Haruhi," Kaoru said suddenly, ignoring the cut-off sentence. "So people are expecting it to be real."
Hikaru was a bit nonplussed at this statement, but he nodded slowly and mumbled, "I want it to be real."
"No one's stopping you."
There was a muffled thump of something small landing on the bed, and Kaoru left without another word.
The older of the two remained seated on his bed, watching as the door closed softly. Hikaru was a little baffled about what had just happened… Did Kaoru forfeit just now? Then that meant that Haruhi was all his now, didn't it… That nothing was in the way anymore, that the 'competition' had ended… That he won? Somehow, it wasn't the fulfilling sensation that Hikaru had anticipated. It was more of a dull, bottomless pit that gnawed in his stomach.
Haruhi was worth it, though. Right?
So this was victory, he thought sleepily. Rolling over onto his back, he found himself lying on top of a hard bump on the mattress… What Kaoru had left on the bed earlier? Reaching underneath him, Hikaru retrieved the object.
It was a small crystal box. Snugly tucked in the white velvet lining was a pavé-set, intertwined platinum ring with a pristine 1.2 carat, round-cut diamond at its center.
A/N...again: I know what you're thinking: "Aww boo! D: We give you 200+ reviews, and this is all we get in return?!"
Gomenasai! DX
*sigh*This chappie made little sense. Besides from being a filler, it was mostly flashbacks, though they were really important ones (personally, I had trouble writing this chapter... I hate doing flashbacks D: ). Anyway, in case it wasn't clear enough; yes, Kaoru was the one who actually bought the ring. Whether he just bought it or had it around for longer (but just couldn't make up his mind about it) is entirely up to you...
Oh, and I'm not saying anything about the next chapter... xP
(And since I'm thick enough to advertise my stories, I will. To all Death Note fans out there, especially those who like Mello x Near; I've written a couple of fluffy one-shots for you! Do check them out and leave reviews, if you will! Arigato!)
Click to see Kyoya do a backflip.
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