I had to admit that I did feel a bit guilty about keeping the fact that Hikaru and Kaoru weren't really fighting to myself, but I didn't want to tell the others. Plus, I already promised that I would keep it a secret. I just wasn't sure when they were going to give up the whole act, and by the looks of it, they needed to soon.
Tamaki called a meeting to discuss the twins the next day. We sat at one of the long tables and had tea as Kyoya punched numbers into the calculator. Tamaki, looking defeated, sighed and laid his head on the table. I looked away from him and pursed my lips, thinking about the information I was already aware of.
"Looking at the numbers, if the situation isn't resolved, I'm afraid we're going to have to stop offering our Brotherly Love Package. We're down one pair of loving brothers," Kyoya finally said.
I asked, "And how bad would that be for the club?"
He told me, "They were the second most-requested hosts. Even with the extra money we're getting from the customers you're bringing in, it wouldn't be enough to meet the costs. There would have to be serious budget cuts in order to stay within our more restricted budget." He looked over at Haruhi. "Oh, Haruhi, I just want you to know there's no reason for you to feel responsible. Even though it was your tactless comment that started this whole feud between the brothers in the first place, right?" I frowned. Though he clearly blamed her, it wasn't her faute. The twins had taken advantage of the situation.
Honey played with his bunny as he commented, "It's weird for Hika-chan and Kao-chan to be fighting like this. It's never happened before." Mori nodded in agreement.
Haruhi asked, "They've never fought before?"
"They definitely didn't seem like the type to," I said.
"I've known Hika-chan and Kao-chan since we were in pre-school. We weren't in the same year, so I never really got to talk to them, but I remember that the two of them always played together," Honey explained.
Tamaki moved so that he was resting his cheek against his hand, "Yeah, that's true. I mean, I've only known the twins since they were in middle school... but they definitely stood out. It seemed like they kept everyone at a distance except each other. Believe it or not, they were even more warped back then. When you stop and think about it, maybe this fight is a good thing for them. Maybe it means that the twins are expanding their horizons a bit! We should just leave them alone, and let them work it out." I grinned a bit. Even if he was irrational at times, I always loved his ability to turn things into a positive situation.
I guess I knew why the twins had been so affected by me not telling them about Eric. It was hard to imagine them being any more isolated than they already were, but if it took them a while to become as open as they were, I couldn't imagine how much it hurt them to find out I had kept a secret like that. Though, they didn't really have the right to know. I mean, I wasn't obligated to tell them anything. It was my life, after all. Remembering that, I still felt bad, and that was enough to make me regret it.
We decided not to open the Host Club that day to give the twins a bit more time to settle things, and we tried to leave them alone... for a while. When it got to the point that they had nothing left to throw at each other because it was all piled up, Tamaki had finally reached his breaking point. "Don't you guys think that maybe it's time you give up all this fighting? It's driving me insane!"
"What'd you say? It's driving you insane? You've gotta be kidding me! How do you think I feel right now? Every time I look in the mirror, I see his face. I'm sick and tired of constantly being mistaken for you, Kaoru! The truth is, I hate your guts!" Hikaru yelled at Kaoru.
Kaoru glared, "You took the words right out of my mouth. In fact, I hate you so much I bought this!" He took out some type of wooden doll that resembled a cat. "Belzenef, the curse doll!" Tamaki gasped and cowered away from it.
I frowned, "I don't get it. What's a Belzenef?" More importantly, why was Tamaki so effrayé of it?
"I'm going to complete the curse, Hikaru. I'm going to write your name on his back! From this day forward, you're going to experience nothing but misfortune and sorrow!" Kaoru vowed as he used a marker to write on the doll.
Haruhi suddenly ran up to them and hit them both on the head. "Would you guys knock it off?" They both fell on the ground, and she picked up the doll. "What do you think you're doing? You don't bring something like this into a petty fight! Both of you are at fault here, but what's really sad is that you brought everyone else around you into your big mess! Now, apologize to each other! If you don't make up right now, I'm never gonna let you come over to my house! Have I made myself clear?" she shouted.
It was very quiet, and we were all surprised by how forceful she was about the whole thing. They stared at her for a few seconds before they smirked. They stood up and circled her, "So then, what you're saying, Haruhi, is that if we make up, we can come over to your place?" My eyes widened. No way! They wrapped their arms around their shoulders as Haruhi turned over the doll to see what was written on it. From what I could see, it wasn't Hikaru's name. Haruhi screamed as the twins high-fived.
Hikaru hugged Kaoru as they played their twincest roles, "I'm so sorry, Kaoru. Even though I was just following our script, I said such awful things to you. I'm not fit to be your brother." I was extremely close to smacking them.
Kaoru told him, "Don't say that, Hikaru! I was so worried. I couldn't live with myself if I ever thought I had hurt you."
"Kaoru, I'll never let you go again."
"Hikaru...."
Haruhi let the doll slip from her hands, and she and my brother sank to the ground. Honey raged, "You've gotta be kidding! You mean you guys were faking it this whole time?"
"We didn't have anything else to do. We were bored," they laughed. I finally hit them both on the back of the head. "Hey! That hurt!"
I shouted, "Are you trying to tell me you did all of this to get Haruhi to let you go to her house? Oh, I should have told everyone when I figured out it was fake! This is ridiculous!"
"You knew?" Tamaki gaped.
"Well... yeah. It wasn't that difficult. I would have said something, but I promised Hikaru I wouldn't," I admitted. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize it would turn out like this."
Hikaru put a hand on my head, "You know, you're pretty fun, Katashi."
Kaoru placed his hand on top of Hikaru's, "We might just keep you!"
"Vous Devils!" I scolded. I moved away from them. "And here I was feeling sorry!"
I left the club with the two behind me, clearly ignoring my implication to leave me be. It wasn't hard for them to catch up. "Wait up, Katashi!"
"What do you want now?" I sighed in irritation.
"What are you sorry for?" they asked, walking beside me.
I said in an offhand manner, "I'm sorry for keeping Eric from you."
"What?" They stopped walking.
I took a deep breath and turned to the two confused twins. "The others told me about what you guys used to be like. That you used to be even more distant, and I know it must have offensif for you to know I was keeping something huge like that from you. So... je suis désolé. I didn't mean to. I hope you aren't mad at me anymore."
They were doing it again. They stared at me like I was something from an entirely different world. I blushed, crossing my arms, "Arrête looking at me like that. It makes me feel self-conscious."
They cocked their heads, "You're different from everyone else."
"Je.... I suppose I am, but not really. You guys are overthinking it again." I put a hand on both their cheeks and tilted their heads down so I could look them in the eye. I smirked, "Vous ne savez pas? Pretty faces aren't meant to think. It makes them overload."
They shouted as I walked away, "Hey!"
I laughed, "I'll see you both tomorrow. Adieu!"
As irritating as they were, I did like being around them. That was one thing I truly hadn't expected when I came to Ouran. Was I even supposed to be making friends? Was that allowed?
I glanced over my shoulder at Hikaru's and Kaoru's retreating figures. Grand-mère hadn't explicitly said not to, but I feared she might think I was spending too much time with them and not Tamaki. He was the one I was supposed to be getting close to, after all.
I was going to have to put a bit more focus in Tamaki if I wanted Mama to be okay. All I had to do was figure out how without wanting to lash out. I was going to need a miracle.