Kaoru and I were the last ones to leave the school that evening. I hadn't decided how to tell him that he had actually been talking to Kyoya earlier. I hadn't figured out how to encourage him to stop pursuing Zakia as anything more than a friend, either.

"Are you okay? You've been acting strangely all day."

"All good. Crazy, about the boss and the vice-pres, huh?" I redirected his attention.

"No kidding. That was worse than any fight you and I have ever had. What could've set the Shadow King off like that?"

"I can't even imagine how angry he would have had to be to hurt the president."

"Right? We've never made him so mad he became violent. Even when we woke him up and dragged him out of the house and he got sick, he didn't retaliate. What do you think the president did?"

I hadn't known Kyoya got sick after that day at the mall. Kaoru had always been closer to him than me. "Something the Shadow King found unforgivable."

"Like?"

"I don't know. A woman, perhaps?"

"No way the boss would cheat on Haruhi. Unless, are you saying you think the vice-pres likes her too? I never would have guessed. He hasn't expressed interest in any girl before, until Zakia showed up. I've been worried about him for no good reason if he's really liked Haruhi all along."

"That wasn't what I meant," I tried to correct.

"It makes perfect sense! He's always been the cool type, and being more covert about his feelings is completely in line with that. It explains why he's been staring at Haruhi during club hours lately too. Is that what tipped you off?"

"I don't think their conflict has anything to do with Haruhi," I tried again.

"Between his feelings for Haruhi and Renge's obsession, I bet I can convince Zakia to treat him the same way the rest of us do. I'll be the obvious choice for her then."

"What if Kyoya makes her happy?" I insisted.

Kaoru kept carrying on, so I gave it one more go. "How do you know Zakia even sees him that way?"

"Well because...I mean... you've seen how he acts with her!"

"That may indicate that he's interested in her, but how do you know she reciprocates that attraction?"

Kaoru was finally stumped.

"I guess I don't know if she likes him or not."

"And?" I prompted.

"And...I guess I don't know much about her at all?"

"Exactly. So maybe it's time to think about the real reason for your fixation on her?"

"The same could be said about the vice president. Why are you only reprimanding me?"

"You're my brother, he isn't."

"Boys, it's time for dinner! We're all home for once, so I expect you both down here clean and happy in five minutes!"

"Okay, Mom!" I called back.

"Now that I think about it, there's something weird about the Shadow King's interest in Zakia. He doesn't know her any better than I do, but he's been pretty obvious to anyone that knows the Notoskis are girls about how he feels. Doesn't that seem shady to you? What if he does something sleazy? Maybe that's why he's never taken much interest in other girls."

"Kaoru, if that were the reason, he'd have made a move on Haruhi. There's something more to it than we can see."

"I don't trust the master behind the scenes. I'm going to get to the bottom of it."

"Please don't drag anyone else into your conspiracy theory."

"You won't help me?"

"No. You're on your own in this."

"If you help me, and we don't find anything fishy, I'll stop. I'll leave the vice president to his ways and try to win Zakia over fairly."

I paused at the door.

"Boys, it's time to eat. Get down here now, before it starts getting cold!" Mom hollered.

"Fine, I'll help, as long as you swear you're done with this crazy, over the top, obsessive crap."

"I'm not crazy or obsessive!" he refuted.

I shot a glare at him before leaving our room.

He stopped me at the top of the stairs.

"Okay, okay. I get your point. Yes, I'll stop if you help me investigate the vice-pres's intentions."

"And if you go back on your word?"

"You said you'd beat the snot out of me if it came down to it," he reminded me.

"Boys! How many times do I have to tell you it's time to eat? Why are you loitering at the stairs? Let's go."

Our mother's cutting figure tapped her foot as she watched us tromp down the steps and pass her into the dining room. Only after we pulled out our seats did she return to her place at the head of the table.

"Now Hikaru, what's new at school?" Mom asked, her gaze focused on my twin.

"There's another pair of twins in our class. They're really cute, and they joined the host club," Kaoru started off. We'd long given up correcting our mother when she mixed us up.

"Would those be Leyra's girls? The ones she raised in England?"

"Must be."

"Kaoru, what do you think of the Notoski twins?"

"They stand out from our classmates. I don't think they realize how much attention they draw. They're proving a bit difficult to get close to."

"But you are trying to get close to them?"

"Don't have much choice when my brother has developed a crush on one of them."

"Oh? And are you looking at any of the girls you spend your time with? There was that other girl Yuzuru and Yoshio were arguing about marrying one of their boys... If she's not dating either of them, I'm sure she'd be perfectly acceptable for either of you..."

"Not really. The one I had my eye on is dating somebody else. I don't know if I want to put that kind of time into someone just to be rejected again," I omitted Haruhi so she wouldn't bother me any further.

"Leyra's girls make good candidates, don't they? Just be sure you and your brother aren't chasing the same one!" she laughed.

She struck up a new conversation with Ageha, leaving me on the idea of the twins. Kaoru was right about them being cute. Furukia's smile at the bookstore was infectious. I was about halfway through reading The Princess Bride and surprisingly enjoying it. I didn't really know Furukia any better than Kaoru knew Zakia, though, and I didn't have natural chemistry with her like Kyoya and Zakia. How long did it take to decide if you liked someone? Was I the odd one out for not being so quick to judge?

"Hey, Mom?" I interrupted.

"Yes, Kaoru?" she asked impatiently.

"Can you get us a second phone?"

She got a sly smile as she answered, "Of course. It's about time we all upgraded, anyways. What color would you like?"

"Light blue, if possible."

"How about you, Hikaru?" she asks of the real Kaoru.

"Orange." My twin continued to stare at me for the rest of the meal, startled by my request for a separate phone.

It was about time to stop playing Which One is Hikaru and embrace our individualism.