Ouran wasn't a large town; it was suburbia, a growing area, but it wasn't overwhelming. That's what Kaoru always liked about it. But as Kaoru fought his way through the thick crowds of the high school his chest tightened uncomfortably as his elbows knocked with people around him. He made himself smaller as his eyes darted around. He jumped when someone grabbed his shoulder.

"You okay?" Hikaru asked him, tilting his head.

"Yeah, yeah," Kaoru said, straightening out his arms, and he glanced around again. Why did it seem that everyone was staring at him? He turned to Hikaru and asked him that exact question.

Hikaru stopped and stared with his mouth wide opened. "Uh… Let's talk about this later."

"Oh no," Kaoru groaned, feeling his stomach drop. "No, no, no. They all know don't they?"

Hikaru's eye twitched. "It got around…"

"So everyone knows that for the last two years, I've been in a mental hospital?"

"Yeah, kind of," Hikaru replied sheepishly.

Kaoru groaned again and marched away, pushing some emo kid out of the way. But Hikaru caught up quickly and stopped him with a hand to the chest. "But it doesn't matter. Who cares what these stupid kids think?"

Huffing, Kaoru shook his head and walked around Hikaru. "Hey, did you just get back from the loony bin?" someone yelled out and Kaoru winced, walking faster.

Of course. Of course it had to be the high school cliché where everyone made fun of the poor mental patient. Kaoru grit his teeth and glared at everyone as he passed by.

"The young adolescent Kaoru Hitachiin returns after a long journey through self-discovery and mind-blowing adventure. This is our first glance at his victorious expression," a voice announced dramatically from behind him.

Kaoru turned with a glare and said, "Hey Tamaki. Good to see you too." He came face-to-face with Tamaki's infamous camera, pointed at Kaoru, with its record light blinking. It was kind of Tamaki's thing, to record random things like this.

"Oh shit, he's pissed," Tamaki laughed, snapping the view window closed on the side of his video camera and flipping it to off.

Kaoru rolled his eyes just as Hikaru reappeared, standing between the two of them with a wide smile. "Don't worry Kaoru; Tamaki has been laying off on the camera lately. He's been focusing more on… what was it?"

"The art of break dancing."

"Right, break dancing," Hikaru chuckled. He leaned in to Kaoru and cupped a hand around his lips to whisper, "You really don't want to see it. It's awful."

Tamaki whacked Hikaru upside the head. "I've gotten better, you ignorant piece of-"

Kaoru found himself grinning at their frivolous squabbling. Although he was unused to the crowds and the noise, he'd missed this—his friends, people his age, just talking about nothing.

Kaoru laughed at another of their horrible jokes but froze mid-laugh just as his eyes swiveled into the crowd. His vision tunneled and the air stilled around him. All sound left him and he was left with ringing nothingness as his eyes widened in disbelief. There, in the middle of the hallway was a girl, smiling, but staring right at him.

Kaoru gulped, breaking out in a sweat. He blinked… and then she was gone.

"Earth to Kaoru! Hello!"

Kaoru jumped and turned to his brother. "Sorry, I thought I saw someone I knew over there…"

Hikaru looked at him funny for just a second before gesturing to Tamaki. "We were just saying that we should do something after school and you can meet one of our new friends. She's pretty cool."

Kaoru grinned. "Oh, Hikaru, do you have a crush?" Kaoru taunted.

A bright blush cascaded across Hikaru's face and he immediately denied, "No! Of course not. She's like a sister."

"Yeah, who could possibly like Hikaru like that?" Tamaki joked. Hikaru elbowed him in the gut.

The rest of the day wasn't bad, Kaoru decided. Most of Kaoru's classes were paired with Hikaru's; it was something they had worked out with the school's counselors. And for once, Kaoru wasn't mad about it because he began to notice how Hikaru was trying to protect him at every move. Each time Kaoru was made to introduce himself, Hikaru would help by inputting his jokes. And when that kid in history class had asked about his time in therapy, Hikaru had diverted him. Also at lunch, Hikaru had insisted on taking their food outside so that the two of them could catch up, but Kaoru knew it was only to save him the stares.

Now, sitting outside the school after the last class, waiting for their friends, Kaoru stared at his brother's unaware face as he chatted away with Tamaki. Kaoru had forgotten how much Hikaru watched out for him; it had been like that ever since he'd almost died.

"Ah, here they come," Tamaki announced.

Kaoru turned to see his old friends, Kyoya, Honey, and Mori, walking towards them and behind trailed a small, short brown-haired girl. That must be the new friend.

"Kaoru!" Honey yelled, racing forward for a hug. Kyoya and Mori greeted him more casually, clapping him on the shoulder affectionately.

"And this is our newest friend, Haruhi," Tamaki explained, wrapping an arm around the short girl's petite shoulders.

Haruhi did not look amused at Tamaki's antics and shrugged off his arm. But when she turned to Kaoru, she wore a bright smile. "Hello," she said warmly. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Good things I hope?" Kaoru mused.

The group laughed at the question. Unfortunately, Kaoru had been serious, but it looked like he wouldn't get an answer to that question.

"Okay, you guys have to help me with my new video," Tamaki interrupted the laughter.

"Again?" Haruhi moaned.

"Really Tamaki, how many of these things are you going to make?" Kyoya asked with annoyance written on his face.

"Come on Tamaki, this is Kaoru's first day back. We're supposed to do something fun."

Kaoru shifted warily, unused to so much attention. Feeling like an outsider, Kaoru forced himself to speak up, "I don't mind making a video."

The whole group groaned in response while Tamaki grinned triumphantly. "Well, we better get going," Tamaki proclaimed.

They all piled into a single car. Granted it was a larger car, but it was still uncomfortable sitting so squished together. Tamaki had refused to disclose the location of their "awesome filming site." So they had all sat back and enjoyed the ride.

That is, until Kaoru saw where they had arrived. Kaoru's breath caught instantaneously. Beside him, Hikaru shifted in panic, grabbing Kaoru's shoulder to turn him to look at Hikaru. "Oh shit, what's wrong?" he asked. Then Hikaru glanced out the window. "Fuck, a cemetery."

Sorry about the complete filler chapter before this one. I totally did not plan it that way. Oh well. Well, hopefully this chapter made up for it? Kinda? Maybe?