"I have to excuse myself. Thank you for always having me here," you stand up from your seat, gently removing your hand from Honey's hold. You can't be like this. You shouldn't get all warm and fluffy with your suspects. These people manipulate people they can take advantage of. Get a grip! You are a. fricken. secret. agent!
"The pleasure is all ours. You are always welcomed here," Haruhi remarks, giving you her signature smile.
"By the way, are you coming to the party next week?" Honey quickly asks with his round eyes seemingly peering at your soul. Oh wow, now you kind of get why the ladies would swoon over those cute puppy eyes.
"Erm... I would definitely love to. But I have to check my schedule. No promises though," you politely opt for a safe answer. Fortunately, Mori comes just in time to remove Honey from you, allowing you to bid farewell for one last time properly.
"I definitely had fun today. Thanks for inviting me, Haruhi! See you tomorrow at class!"
Haruhi sends you her farewell too. At that, you leave the premise and quickly close the heavy doors behind you.
Unconsciously, you let out a heavy sigh. These two days felt so long. You are really grateful that you actually managed to gather so much information in such a short time. Even Mr Goldberg was very satisfied with how you have progressed really fast with your recon mission.
"Haruhi, it's time you started dressing like a girl," you can vaguely hear Tamaki's shouting behind the doors. You would love to listen in, but you think you have gathered enough intel to call it a day. It's not like you'd be missing out a lot if you don't witness the group's rom-com antics.
Ah, and the thing about the party? That was a lie.
There's no way you would bother going to a pretentious fancy fanservice party. If it ever means something for the investigation, you can just ask somebody from the squad that Mr Goldberg has assigned to assist you to help bug the party.
***
That's what you told yourself a week ago, but look where you are right now.
Screw that thief. It was a fun distraction and all in the beginning since investigating the host club is really complicated and mentally-draining. But it's truly nerve-wracking having to undergo an operation secretly without the authority knowing. And realising that your recon mission one day may unfold like this one did, was such a reminder on how blurry this task is. You really don't know who your allies and foes are.
Clad in the plain dress that was merely hanging on your wardrobe doors a moment ago, you now find yourself hiding in the hallways of the academy. Outside, you can see the festivity of the party lights. The noise of the commotion does not escape your ears as well. It sounds beautiful though, because you know that you took part in causing all of it.
Now how are you going to sneak out of this place as normally as possible?
You could just go for the exit. But with the police locking the place down, it might be a difficult feat for you now. Funny, it has not been that long since your little act, but it seems that you have earned yourself a nickname.
The Black Rabbit in the Yellow Jacket. Good gracious. This academy and its people's tendencies to romanticise everything has really caught you off guard. You mentally cringe upon recalling the name that people have been throwing around as they wait for their turns to be questioned by the policemen.
Anyway, you shouldn't be hiding in the hallways like this for too long, or you'll just invite suspicion towards your way. It will be difficult to move in this outfit, but you suppose you would manage.
Just in time, you could hear the music playing again in the background, as the Host Club has brought the flow of the party under control once again.
Yes, now would be a good time to make a move.
<<A Night of Miracle with You>>
The dance music is once again filling the ballroom and the gardens adjacent to it. From afar, you can see all the sheltering students rejoining the festivity. You climb up a tree trying to get a better view to gauge your current circumstance. The task is made difficult with your attire but you somehow manage to pull it off.
"It is good to see you again tonight, my little lambs. There was an unprecedented hiccup, but it's now time for us to begin the final dance of this evening's festivities," you can also hear Tamaki's voice booming from the sound system all over the academy. Sometimes you wish you could unhear Tamaki because the things he says always make you want to roll your eyes really hard. Little lambs? You never thought being referred to as an animal is particularly endearing. He must be kidding.
There is a mention of their appreciation towards the authority's help, which is really nice of them, though it seems that people are not aware that the mysterious figure they have been fussing about is not actually involved with the police. Good for you. This could mean that you won't be berated as much for having made an unnecessary grand entrance. Heh, actually, you might be as narcissistic as Tamaki?
"The waltz of the night has been chosen by the host club for this couple," you look over to find the supposedly host-hopper Kasugazaki Kanako with the tableware company heir Suzushima. They really look cute together as expected. Watching the two students waltz romantically under the spotlight accompanied by the fluttering cherry blossom petals manages to distract you for a bit.
But you are quick to compose yourself and notice that everyone else is also distracted by the sight of the lovebirds in the garden, making it the perfect opportunity for you to escape. At that realisation, you immediately scale the side of the buildings and skilfully walk on the ledge of the walls like it's nothing. Your physical game as an agent is to be acknowledged after all.
Maybe it's the unfamiliar feeling of the dress on you, or the gentle spring wind blowing the cherry blossom petals around you, or the image of Kanako and Suzushima dancing, or a mixture of everything, but you have failed to notice a figure coming out from the shadows of one of the many cherry blossom trees near you. Having been too deep in thought, you also miscalculated the distance of the branch you were planning to jump to, making you lose your footing.
"No-" you yelped out of reflex before you gritted your teeth to prevent more sound from coming out of your mouth. You close your eyes and brace yourself from the ensuing pain but feel someone supporting your fall instead. You open your eyes to find...
Hitachiin Hikaru
Hikaru walks off from the commotion after Tamaki has just announced the waltz of the night. He and Kaoru have decided to mess with their boss and come up with the perfect plan to aggravate him before the night ends. However, deep down, Hikaru is unsure if he is truly having fun doing this kind of thing. He knows for certain that he is bored, but he also knows that he feels entertained enough just by hanging around with Haruhi and his brother. Haruhi... It always intrigues him how Haruhi seems to be able to tell him and his brother apart.
And speaking of telling the twins apart, there is also you, the transfer student. It's not like they have ever made you play 'Which One is Hikaru?' game. However, for some reasons, he can feel that you can also tell them apart just by the way you look at each of them. It's not the same fawning looks that they get from girls; your eyes are judging. And whenever they physically approach you, rather than nervous, you always give them a curious look.
"I think no one just cares to see the type of person he truly is."
He suddenly finds himself thinking back on the words that you said a week ago. He has to admit that hearing you say those words have somehow comforted him. But it is not like that you really have that much significance in his life.
Yet.
Yet?
Maybe spending so much time with Haruhi has turned him into a softie. He sighs as he looks around his surrounding and realises that he has walked quite far from where the party is. Maybe he should go back now. It seems like the waltz is coming to its end, and it means that it is almost time for him and Kaoru to execute their prank.
Unless a person can tell the twins apart, that person is always going to be deemed untrustworthy. He unconsciously reminds himself of the mantra that has long uprooted in his mind as he walks back.
But after a few steps, he stops as his ear catches the sound of something snapping.
"No-" and a yelp.
He raises his head to where he thinks the sound is coming from before a blur of colour enters his vision-
... and a weight pushes him to the ground.
Hikaru flinches at the impact but quickly regains his consciousness and catches your eyelids fluttering open. When your eyes finally meet his amber irises, you breathe out,
"Hikaru.."
There are so many questions in the boy's head right now. Like what were you doing up in the trees at an isolated part of the academy? Why hadn't he seen you at the party this whole time? And what's with your choice of dress? It looks good on you but he finds it too plain. Those aside!
Did you just call him by his name and not mistake him as his brother?
He hasn't even said a word to you. How can you tell?
"I-I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" There go those curious eyes again, now laced with worry. And you seem nervous — a rare expression coming from you, he notes. He has occasionally been observing you whenever you are around, and he has noticed the poker face or the gentle smile you place up front, but rarely a moment of weakness. Except for that one time when the host club caught Honey hugging you and when Haruhi asked you about your ideal partner.
However, seeing it close like this, noticing the way you'd quickly purse your lips. It makes him wonder if having all these swirling thoughts about you is how it feels like to get to know somebody.
But again, that is a ridiculous conclusion; because why would he care about getting to know somebody else anyway?
"I'm okay. Can you get off of me?"
"O-oh, yeah. Sure," you stand up, dusting yourself in the process.
"So," Hikaru then proceeds with the important question that has been bugging him since this weird encounter.
"Hmm, so?" you mirror him questioningly, trying your best to keep a calm facade. Meanwhile, inside, you are feeling extremely nervous if he will question you about what you were doing that got you into this mess in the first place. But Hikaru does not care about your current tribulation. He has his own tribulation.
"You see... I- I'm just so awed by the cherry blossoms, I was thinking that I wanted to take a closer look so I-" you enthusiastically start speaking to break the wall of silence between the two of you, and trying to reason your weird circumstance in hope not to come across as suspicious. But you are quickly interrupted by the other male.
"How do you know if it is me and not Kaoru?" You then stop at your lame attempt to explain yourself and confusedly blink upon hearing his question. Being caught off guard is an understatement. You really did not expect him to ask you that out of everything he could have asked first.
Ah, right. You did immediately refer to him as Hikaru just now. It was really a wild guess, though it does really beg the question: why would you assume this twin was 'Hikaru'? Was it because you were too worried about the whole situation, and the older twin's name just popped up first upon seeing the familiar face? Hmm, but you suppose being confident about it is another thing of intrigue. It might have to do with how often you have secretly tried to figure the twins apart every time they are around you since it is important for your investigation and whatnot.
Gosh, your head hurts trying to figure out a concrete answer to the confusing question.
"I.. guess you're just Hikaru to me. What kind of explanation do you need?" you start to think if this is a trick question all along.
"I- I don't know. The direction of my hair parting, er.. the way I button my shirt today.. anything?" he is clearly frustrated at your answer. If only he knew that you were also as frustrated, wanting just to leave him right here and then.
"I mean, I guess you guys do part your hair in a certain direction. But you always claim to switch it up every other day, so I don't think it's a valid answer."
Colour Hikaru baffled.
"What are you?" Oh gosh, this is the first time you feel that your perceptiveness as an agent is the exact thing that is going to get you exposed instead.
"Hngg.. I don't know, what do you want me to say? Let me see," internally flustered, you try to keep a neutral emotion albeit failing to keep the annoyance from your features. Your hands reach out to grab a tuft of Hikaru's hair and feel it. You really have no idea what you are doing, but God knows why; you think you can probably find something that can help you satisfy his unfounded curiosity by touching his hair.
Hikaru is obviously caught off-guard as his skulls tingle from the foreign feeling of your fingers on his scalp. He instinctively takes a step back to look at you weirdly, making you even more weirded out and confused. Your eyes dilate in surprise but for so many reasons at the same time.
One of them being how surprisingly soft his hair is.
"What are you doing?" He asks darkly. To say the least, he doesn't like how many lines you have crossed as a mere stranger in his life. When he hosts, he doesn't even let his guests touch him without his consent.
"I told you I don't know. I just thought that maybe because I think your hair is softer than Kaoru, that's how I can probably tell you guys apart. I think?" You frustratedly answer. You carefully turn your face away, not wanting him to be able to read your expression right now. The way he is acting is really throwing you off.
There is a fat silence for a moment.
But immediately, the sound of him bursting into laughter catches your attention, and you hesitantly look back in his direction. When you have finally turned to face him again, you hang your head low, refusing to make an eye contact out of embarrassment. You are now really desperate to leave this place even more than before.
"What is this all about anyway?" You mutter softly at no one in particular.
"Nothing," you hear him reply, flinching at the touch of his fingers taking your chin to bring your face towards his.
These curious eyes, Hikaru thinks to himself, are more interesting than what he initially thought. You are certainly unlike their normal patrons. You are as a commoner as Haruhi but you are not Haruhi. You are you.
And you can tell him apart from Kaoru.
"You are right. My hair is a lot softer than Kaoru. Very perceptive of you to notice that," Hikaru adds, playing along with what's evidently your improvisation. He now sounds like he's being his usual self again. Or at least the self that he is presenting to everyone.
You hold yourself back from wanting to punch him for laying his finger on you. But again, you were also doing the same thing to him a moment ago. Nevertheless, the anger has levelled your emotions and allowed you to return to your composed self. And you immediately remove yourself from his hold.
"I have to leave now, Hikaru. Bye," you bid your farewell in a deadpanned manner, turning to the direction of the exit.
"Now? After breaking a branch of one of the oldest cherry blossom trees in this academy?"
You do a 180-degree turn at what you could have probably mistaken as a load of bullcrap, in your opinion. You are trying to hold the urge to reply to him with a so what?, although you do feel bad towards Mother Nature. Still, you can't help but be reminded of what Haruhi told you the other day last week.
"I broke an expensive vase here the other day, and I had to earn some money to pay it back."
You gulp at the horrid idea of having to be enslaved by the Host Club.
"I-I'm sorry-?"
He really had you there until he bursts into laughter again.
"You have to look at your face right now! Do you really think we are going to make you pay for a little dead branch? Awww, poor commoner-chan," he coos at you for falling for his prank as he walks to pick the smallest pieces out of the broken branch.
"But I'm going to make you pay. Have you heard, we have this old proverb: People who break cherry branches are idiots, and so are people who don't prune plum branches. Which is why I'm pretty sure the gods of cherry blossoms are not very pleased with your action right now. They want me to crown you as an idiot to fully realise the proverbs," he explains as he walks, closing in on you once again.
"I don't think that's how proverbs work-"
"Shh! Tsk! This is not time for you to bargain your way. You do realise you are an outsider, right? A foreigner! You have to respect the culture of the country you are visiting,"
He- he has a point there.
"Do you know what's the reasoning of that proverb?" He asks as he stops right in front of you, his amber eyes once again locking with your eyes for the umpteenth time tonight. You softly shake your head, not sure of what to say and very much distracted by the sudden proximity between the two of you.
"It's because cherry blossoms will easily decay if you cut them. On the other hand, plum blossoms will have dead branches if you don't cut them. It's because cherry blossoms' buds are mostly at the tips of the branches, so they will not bloom in the middle of the branches that have been pruned. But plum blossoms bloom directly in the larger part of the branches, so you have to cut the tips of the twigs to allow the flowers to bloom," Hikaru goes on a lengthy explanation on cherry blossoms and plum blossoms. You are not confident to deem yourself as someone who knows him so well but with your limited knowledge of him, you have to say this is really unlike him.
"Are you pulling out the only trivia that you know of?" Feeling a surge of unknown confidence, you straightforwardly guess. He gulps because your accusation is not entirely wrong—it is the only trivia from Kaoru that he confidently remembers.
"That's not the point here. Can you let me finish?"
"Okay, okay," you gradually find this whole encounter amusing. This conversation right now really feels like talking with a really old friend. You can feel yourself growing chummier towards the twin with each second.
"So, like I said, in order to appease the gods of cherry blossoms. Since you know practically, these are the babies of the cherry blossoms..." Hikaru trails off, wondering if you are still following him. His hand waving the broken twig with the flowers and buds still attached to it right in front of you to catch your attention. You can't help but smell the light fragrance of the petals that softly nip at your nose.
Letting him know that you are still very conscious and listening to him closely, you remark.
"Stop waving the babies around, Hikaru,"
"I-"
This time it's your turn to burst out laughing.
"Now that's the face that everyone has to see," you can't hide the smile that is gradually taking over your features. Just like a cherry blossom blooming in the early spring night, Hikaru thinks to himself distractedly.
"N- No! Now would you let me finish?" Composing his features to no avail, heat immediately creeps up to his cheeks. Eventually, he gives up making a point in front of you.
And the both of you start laughing together.
Hikaru is not fully laughing, as his eyes immediately find their way to your face to witness your smile and the rare vestige of sincere happiness gracing your lips. Speaking of which, it's his first time actually seeing you laughing openly like this. Is this also your first time to openly express yourself like this in front of other people?
Seeing you unguarded, he quickly slips the thin branch piece behind your ear, letting the soft pink petals adorning your locks like a hairpiece.
Your reaction to that is so worth it. Those twinkles of wonder in your eyes. He can definitely get lost in them if he wants to. It might be too early for that, with how little he really knows about you.
But if the host-hopping princess gets a night of miracle of her own. Surely, he can too, right?
Only if he is willing to break his unspoken rule and let you in his and Kaoru's world—but you did tell him apart from Kaoru, though not in their usual game.
"You can leave now. I have to go back anyway," Hikaru turns his back and prepares to walk away, his hands in his pants pockets.
"Funny... I didn't realise this until now but you and Kaoru are just like cherry blossoms and plum blossoms."
"The same but not the same," are your parting words that night.
He turns around again to ask what you meant by that but you are nowhere to be seen.
Hitachiin Kaoru
Kaoru stealthily steps away from the commotion after Tamaki has just announced the waltz of the night. Hikaru and him have decided to mess with their boss and come up with the perfect plan to aggravate him before the night ends. However, deep down, Kaoru knows that this could affect his brother. Hikaru might not be aware of it himself, but Kaoru knows everything about his brother. Including the fact that he is clearly invested in Haruhi, the intriguing scholarship student that somehow got reeled in with the Host Club.
But how does he feel about it himself? Does he dare to materialise it?
Nonetheless, his gut is telling him that Haruhi is able to tell them apart from how she separately addresses them on several occasions. He hasn't properly confirmed it, but for now, he just finds it entertaining to hang around with her and teases Tamaki's fatherly adoration towards her. Just Hikaru and him having fun as always. The inseparable twin brothers.
"I think no one just cares to see the type of person he truly is."
Your words softly ring in his head once he finds himself far from the party venue. It's as if the spring breeze is softly whispering in your voice—the only other commoner in the academy, the transfer student from abroad.
Kaoru is aware of how closely you are observing everyone. And he notices how you would squint whenever you look their way. And the curious gaze is even more apparent when they near you. It's different from how their patrons would look at them. It's different from how Haruhi looks at them.
Despite his collected demeanour, he can't really put a finger on what he thinks about you. It's like you're drifting closer towards the boundary Hikaru and he have, but the unspoken mantra that has long uprooted his mind is still in denial to admit that. That aside, he can't believe that he is thinking about you right now. He wonders if it might be because of the words you said the other day. It might be.
On the other hand, he is most certain that they did affect Hikaru from the way he looked at you that day.
But again, that's Hikaru. That's what Hikaru feels and thinks. Not him. How does he personally feel about it though? About you?
The realisation that he fails to answer all these internal questions confidently creates a lump in his throat.
What is he thinking right now? And it's not like you guys have ever had any meaningful conversation.
Maybe, he should go back now. By the looks of it, the waltz is almost coming to its end, anyway. It's time to go back and execute the prank with Hikaru, he tells himself and breathes in to calm himself.
Unless a person can tell the twins apart, that person is always going to be deemed untrustworthy. He unconsciously reminds himself. There is no use in concerning himself with the likes that are not part of Hikaru and his world. And that includes you.
However, he stops in his tracks as he catches the sound of something snapping.
"No-" and a yelp.
He raises his head to where he thinks the sound is coming from before a blur of colour enters his vision. He extends his hands in reflex to catch whatever it is that falls. However, not expecting the weight to be that of another person, his unprepared stance flails before he falls to the ground with you still in his arms. Kaoru flinches at the impact and is ready to remove himself from whoever this person is, until he recognises the said person.
He slightly sucks in his breathe at the sight of you. The transfer student he was thinking about a moment ago. What is going on, he immediately wonders. What were you possibly doing up in the trees? His thought is immediately interrupted when your eyelids flutter open. And as your eyes meet his amber irises, you breathe,
"Kaoru.."
Wait, what? Did you just call him by his name and not mistake him as his brother?
Kaoru quickly realises how he has not seen you at the ball even once. He would surely remember the very strikingly plain dress you are wearing right now. And he has not even opened his mouth to you yet how can you tell him apart?
"I-I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" It's not like it's the first time he has ever seen those eyes. The analytical gaze he was thinking about a while ago, now laced with worry. He notes how nervous you are right now, just like when the host club caught Honey hugging you and when Haruhi asked you about your ideal type. Again, it is not as if it's the first time he has ever seen you like this. But why does it feel different now?
"I'm sorry. You see, I-I'm just so awed by the cherry blossoms, I thought that I wanted to take a closer look so I-" you, out of nowhere, start reasoning with an apologetic look, like you know very well how weird it is to find you in this predicament yourself. Kaoru turns his head away, unsure what to comprehend with everything in his mind being so blurry.
"I'm okay. Can you get off of me?" Kaoru interrupts you with his head still turned away.
"O-oh, yeah. Sure," you stand up, dusting yourself in the process. Kaoru does the same thing without saying anything back to you. While you are glad that it seems like you can just slip away from him after this, him not addressing anything about you falling from the tree is also a sign of concern in your book.
"You're by yourself? Where's Hikaru?" You decide to break the silence.
Right, Hikaru. Kaoru is in disbelief that he forgot about his brother for a moment. No no, it might be because of the accident.
"He's with everyone else," Kaoru replies curtly while fixing his cuffs. While he is trying to distract himself from looking at your way, he notices the thing that lies on the concrete pathway.
"Ah, it broke," he mumbles, catching your attention. He bends to pick it up and you notice he was referring to a broken cherry blossom branch.
"I'm sorry. Is there something I can do to salvage it?" You genuinely apologise. It seems to be a trivial thing to be apologetic about, but you have to admit that you do feel bad for damaging Mother Nature.
"Nothing. And this is supposedly the bud where all the new flowers are supposed to grow on. So the branch where this comes from has no more meaning and purpose," Kaoru explains and looks up to the said bigger branch. The way he speaks about it very nonchalantly really hits your guilty conscience. But there is also another thing on the way he goes about it that irks you.
"Aren't you giving up on it too fast?" You softly mutter. However, with only the two of you around, he can clearly catch what you said.
"Huh?" He wonders out loud in response.
"You heave a sigh before rephrasing and repeating your complaint, "As the person who brought up the whole ordeal in the first place, aren't you giving up on it too fast?"
"Huh?" He repeats his wonder as it grows with your elaboration.
"You obviously care that it broke..," you try again, this time taking the broken branch out of his hand to inspect it yourself. All the while, Kaoru merely observes the hard look you give to the plant. Annoyance is clearly written on it, unlike your usual calm facade you pull off whenever you are around the club.
And you are truly annoyed by the enigma that is Kaoru. The way he doesn't question you about your very obviously suspicious behaviour has caught you off-guard. You wonder if he is going to blackmail you like the host club does to Haruhi, but by the looks of it, the male is nowhere close to doing that. Rather he seems so lost in his own thoughts. What thoughts, though? God knows you are curious because it's killing you not knowing how to react to what he has to say at this moment.
"You can graft it, I think. But it might not be possible since some of the buds are already blooming," he explains as he takes a step closer to check the item in your hand again. When he nears you, his hand reaches out and slightly touches yours as he once again takes hold of the dead branch.
The sudden proximity takes you by surprise and you immediately look up to meet his amber irises gazing down at you.
Ah, and there is his trademark smile. Now he feels more Hitachiin-ney, you mentally note to yourself."
"And yes, I actually care..," Kaoru softly adds before enclosing you with his arm. He gazes down to meet your curious eyes. The one that Hikaru and him notice whenever they are near you. They got Hikaru worked up, but that's Hikaru.
As for himself, ...
He can feel you flinch and try to retreat from his hold, but one hand at your back stops your jittering and makes you tense up.
"Now..." Kaoru starts lazily as his eyes continue to bore into yours.
Meanwhile, your head is filled with continuous chanting of don't chokeslam him don't chokeslam him don't chokeslam him the moment you feel his hand at the small of your back. You feel dizzy from the withdrawal but you manage to focus your ears to hear what he has to say. They certainly could not be good things. Is it going to be about how he found you falling from a tree? Or how he found you here all alone by yourself? Or-
"I have noticed that you have been referring me as Kaoru this entire time."
Uh-what?
"How can you tell if it is me and not Hikaru?"
What?
You can feel it in your core how you try to hold the confusion in but the it is so immense that it slips out of your mouth,
"What kind of question is that?"
He holds your gaze momentarily before breaking it. You immediately heave a sigh at that, feeling all too familiar with what happened.
"Now you're doing that again."
"Huh?" A sense of déjà vu hits him as he looks back at you again.
"You care that I can tell you apart from Hikaru?"
A fat silence. Then a nod.
You mentally hit your head for letting yourself be caught up with his antics. But you suppose that as long as he does not pursue the reason you are all isolated here, things should be okay.
Right?
No.
"Hngg... I don't know. How do you want me to answer to that?" You eventually breathe out a huff of desperation after ending up with nothing to appease his curiosity. Being caught off guard is an understatement. You truly did not expect him to ask you that out of everything he could have asked first.
You suppose there is really something to the way you immediately referred to him as Kaoru just now. It was really a wild guess, though it does really beg the question: why would you assume this twin was 'Kaoru'? Was it because you were too worried about the whole situation, and the younger twin's name just popped up first upon seeing the familiar face? Hmm, but you suppose being confident about it is another thing of intrigue. It might have to do with how often you have secretly tried to figure the twins apart every time they are around you since it is important for your investigation and whatnot.
While you are raking what remains of your sanity, Kaoru is simply watching you the entire time. Watching how the poker face recoils in a split second as you anxiously wish that you could disappear right here and then.
"I.. guess you're just Kaoru to me. What kind of explanation do you need?" You start to think if this is a trick question all along.
"I don't know. I guess you're pretty confident, then," you have to admit the way he cockily says that ticks you off. This encounter has been an eye-opening revelation of how the younger twin is like when he is not with his counterpart, you note to yourself.
You then start to gently raise your hand to his eye level before bringing it closer to his face to push away the few strands of his bangs that have lost their hair-gel structure.
Kaoru is obviously caught off-guard as the muscles on his face tingle from the foreign feeling of your fingers on his skin. But he stays still as he continues to watch you retract your hand after you're done fixing his hair.
Then a sudden stinging can be felt on his forehead.
You actually flicked him!
"What are you doing?" He asks darkly. To say the least, he doesn't like how many lines you have crossed as a mere stranger in his life. When he hosts, he doesn't even let his guests touch him without his consent.
"You're thinking about this WAY too much," you start, finally letting out the pent up words that have been gnawing at the back of your mind.
"Maybe that's why I can tell that you're Kaoru?" You cheekily add. You can suddenly feel a surge of confidence from out of nowhere. Kaoru quickly composes himself, as his eyes immediately find their way to your face to witness your grin and the rare vestige of sincere happiness gracing your lips. Speaking of which, it's his first time actually seeing you like this. Is this also your first time to openly express yourself like this in front of other people?
"How about... I say that I got lucky this time. And you can try again next time, see if I can truly tell you two apart. It's not like you'd ever be satisfied with me pointing out your hair parting or the way you button your shirt. You guys always switch things up anyway," you finally conclude.
However, what follows is a long moment of silence.
You want to slap your mouth because it does feel like you're saying the wrong things with how quiet the other person is suddenly becoming.
But immediately, the sound of him bursting into laughter catches your attention, and you hesitantly look back in his direction.
"You truly think that there is a next time? You totally have the talent to become a host! I feel as if I'm being courted now."
Ah, this smug pompous tease. There goes your confidence.
When you have finally turned to face him again, you hang your head low, refusing to make an eye contact out of embarrassment. You are now really desperate to leave this place even more than before.
"What is this all about anyway?" You grumble in a small voice to no one in particular.
"Nothing," you hear him reply, flinching at the touch of his fingers taking your chin to bring your face towards his.
These curious eyes, Kaoru thinks to himself, has caught his brother's interest. You are certainly unlike their normal patrons. You are as a commoner as Haruhi but you are not Haruhi. You are you.
And you can tell him apart from Hikaru.
So as for himself, ...
"Yes, I actually care..," Kaoru softly mutters before slipping the cherry blossom into your ear, letting the baby pink petals adorn your tresses like a hairpiece.
And your reaction to that is so worth it. Those twinkles of wonder in your eyes. He can definitely get lost in them if he wants to. It might be too early for that, with how little he really knows about you.
But if the host-hopping princess gets a night of miracle of her own. Surely, he can too, right?
Only if he is willing to break his unspoken rule and let you in his and Hikaru's world—but you did tell him apart from Hikaru, though not in their usual game.
"You can leave now. I have to go back anyway," Kaoru turns his back and prepares to walk away, his hands in his pants pockets.
"You're weird..."
"You can just live for yourself, and you're already Kaoru," are your parting words that night.
He turns around again to ask what you meant by that but you are nowhere to be seen.
(っ◔◡◔)っ -⃞ A/N -⃞
It's been a year? AAA IM SORRY LOL. I just had a hard time writing for the rest after I finished Hikaru's and when I did I realised I kinda did 2000-words for him and that snowballed into "wow how am I gonna make sure that I do the rest of the gang the same amount of justice?"
So I'm truly sorry for the wait. The moment I finished writing for Kaoru I was like *snap* "let's just publish lololol." Which means Kyoya, Mori, and Honey's bit is gonna be in the next chapter (altho I'm most likely gonna dub the next one as 7-2 or sth lol)
Anyway, thank you so much to anyone who has voted and has this series on their reading lists. I saw all dem list names and yall crack me up for real lol.
EDIT: I was cleaning this up to catch up with what I have written and boy I had mixed up Hikaru and Kaoru in Kaoru's part because I copy-pasted some lines lolololol. Not very MC of me, my bad.