Page 6

Ouran Fanfiction

Little Surprises

Chapter 2

Author’s notes:

Wow, this chapter’s over twice as long as the last!

Well, the story moves on a bit in this one... I’m quite pleased with this part... Surprisingly... ;

I hope you all like this; I’ve been neglecting my maths coursework for it! xD

DISCLAIMER: I still don’t own Ouran. If I did, it would be extremely different... ;D

---

The following morning, Saturday, dawned early, and Kaoru lay awake next to the still-sleeping Hikaru in their bed, thinking over yesterday’s events. Talking to Tamaki had certainly helped- he no longer felt so alone or constricted... More like he had caught hold of some kind of life preserver. A bit of an idiotic life preserver, but that wasn’t the point. He felt connected to someone other than his brother for once, and he was glad of it.

He felt a shifting beside him, and Hikaru sat up.

“Morning,” he murmured groggily to Kaoru, who smiled back.

The two went through the usual morning routine, and as they were dressing Hikaru announced,

“By the way, I made arrangements for us to meet up with Haruhi in town this afternoon.”

“Huh?” Kaoru feigned deafness briefly.

“You, me, Haruhi, meeting up in town this afternoon,” repeated Hikaru, running his fingers through his hair briefly to arrange it, bangs to the left as usual. “You want to go, right?”

Kaoru thought this over, pulling his top on slowly. He wouldn’t have minded going, but... perhaps he’d feel like some kind of intruder, trespassing on his brother’s happiness.

He pushed his bangs to one side- the right- before saying quietly, “You know I’d like to... It’s just that I have a lot of work for school and... I kind of wanted to get started on it early. Plus, I wanted to spend today inside really...”

Hikaru stared at him in silence and Kaoru tugged nervously at his clothing. The former eventually shrugged.

“OK, well that’s your call I guess. I’ll bring you back some commoner food.”

Kaoru sighed gratefully.

---

Several hours later, Kaoru was getting fidgety. Unable to concentrate on his English homework any longer, he glanced at the clock on the wall.

One-fifteen. Damn, Hikaru had only gone fifteen minutes ago. And he wasn’t expected back until six.

Kaoru tapped an edgy, anxious rhythm out on the desk with his hands, before pushing away from the desk and gliding back across the room on the wheeled chair.

What was probably most disconcerting about Hikaru not being there was the overall feeling of alone-ness Kaoru felt. He was used to there always being the warmth of another person beside him; always someone to talk to. He wanted- needed- that comfort now.

I was without him yesterday, thought the younger twin. What did I-

He remembered.

Tamaki.

Tamaki had helped Kaoru yesterday. He hadn’t had to, hadn’t been forced... Perhaps...? Kaoru pushed himself back to the desk, wheels squeaking, and grabbed his phone, dialled the number quickly, and pressed it to his ear.

As it was ringing, Kaoru suddenly thought,

Wait... He’s probably busy... It’s too short notice...

He panicked, about to hang up, but then he heard the cheerful voice of the host club king at the other end.

“Kaoru?”

Damn.

“How did you know it was me?”

“Caller ID.”

“Oh.”

“What’s up?”

“Oh... err...” Kaoru hesitated. “Well, Hikaru’s kind of... out. And I can’t work. So... I was wondering if you’d like to come over and we could watch a film or something...”

His voice trailed off to nothing as he listened to the silence at the other end of the phone.

Quickly, he added, “O- of course, if you don’t want to, I understand. I’ll just...”

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” came Tamaki’s reply.

Kaoru blinked, then grinned.

“Oh. OK. See you soon.”

---

“Kaoru?”

Hearing his name, Kaoru peeked out from behind his fingers, attempting not to listen to the screams and splatters emanating from the television.

He hated horror films. Normally, it would be Hikaru who chose the scariest films and then hugged and comforted his brother during the worst parts. But there was no Hikaru now, and Kaoru didn’t know why he had chosen a horror to watch.

Now he glanced over at Tamaki, who had said nothing throughout the film, but had (unbeknownst to Kaoru) been shooting worried looks towards him for the last few minutes.

“Are you OK?” the blonde asked, blue-violet gaze intense as ever.

Kaoru nodded but then winced slightly as a whirring noise penetrated the air.

“Are you sure?” Tamaki shifted slightly.

When Kaoru said nothing, Tamaki sighed.

“I’m turning this off,” he decided.

“No, no, I’m... I’m watching,” replied the younger boy hastily, taking his hands away from his face and looking towards the screen, where the bloodbath had ended for the time being.

He continued to stare for a few more minutes, but when a pale face appeared on the screen again he jumped, made an odd squeaking noise, and buried his head in the sofa cushions.

He heard more screaming, then the screams were cut short and he heard Tamaki’s voice again.

“Kaoru, why are you doing this?”

Kaoru sat up, still shaking a little and darting anxious looks towards the now blank screen.

“It scared me, so I did what I do when I’m scared,” he explained simply.

“Not that.” Tamaki’s voice was uncharacteristically bordering on impatient.

“Huh?” Kaoru asked, taken aback.

“I mean, why are you watching something you obviously hate?” Tamaki asked, clearly confused.

Kaoru thought for a moment, then shrugged.

“Hikaru likes horror films,” he stated simply.

Tamaki’s face became more bewildered. “But... Hikaru didn’t choose the DVD.”

Kaoru paused, having no argument to say to this.

“You don’t have to do anything just because it’s what Hikaru would do,” Tamaki pointed out.

Kaoru lowered his head, staring at his knees. He was not comfortable with this talk. Of course he had to do the same things as Hikaru. They were brothers- they were twins. Of course he had to do that same... Otherwise... otherwise they would be different; he would be the same as-

“You are different people, you know,” Tamaki continued, breaking through Kaoru’s train of thought. “Despite what you may think.”

This made the younger Hitachiin look at him sharply, neck clicking with the sudden movement. Massaging it with one hand, he blinked slowly, staring at Tamaki in surprise and shock.

Tamaki was sitting quietly, slender, manicured hands folded placidly in his lap as he continued to stare at Kaoru with his blue-violet eyes.

How could he... How could even try to suggest that Hikaru and Kaoru were different people? They weren’t, they were brothers, identical twins, they couldn’t be different. They had to be the same, or Kaoru’s whole world- his and Hikaru’s whole world- would break down and be entirely devastated forever. They were each other, they had to be-

“It’s true,” Tamaki stated, with the air of answering an easy question in a class. “If you just think about it you’ll see.”

Kaoru shook his head, disbelieving. He wouldn’t- couldn’t- accept Tamaki’s thought on the matter of him and Hikaru. Just because Hikaru hadn’t been around recently... It was only because Hikaru was spending more time with Haruhi. And Kaoru was him for him, for them... right? It didn’t mean they were different...

Kaoru turned wide eyes back to Tamaki from when they had been drifting about the room with his thoughts.

“I don’t believe you.”

Tamaki sighed. “Kaoru... just try and believe it,” he said. “If you and your brother really are the same, then my ideas won’t affect that.”

Kaoru looked doubtful, but tried it, opening his mind a little to allow Tamaki’s words to permeate his muddled thoughts.

Wecan’t be different, we can’t be different, we can’t be different.

Maybe you can. The voice sounded like Tamaki, but it was Kaoru’s own thoughts.

How?

Hikaru’s not been around lately.

He’s been with Haruhi.

And that’s a difference. You feel differently about Haruhi.

Yeah but... that’s not a difference.

Yes it is. You feel differently about something. That’s a difference.

Kaoru shifted slightly, uncomfortable with the thoughts whizzing around his head now.

But...he thought hesitantly, without anything to add.

But what?

Accept it. You are separate people. And you need to live your own lives.

With a rush, Kaoru realised it was true. He was Kaoru, Hikaru was Hikaru. They were only connected by the fact that they had the same parents and were born on the same day. They liked a lot of the same things, but... when everything boiled down to nothing, they were different.

“You’re not the same person,” he heard from beside him, and turned to see Tamaki looking at his own fingers, apparently talking more to himself.

“But... we act that way in the host club...” he said finally, voice dry.

Tamaki looked up at Kaoru with a sharp edge to his gaze now.

“The host club...” Tamaki looked down again, shaking his head. “That’s just it. You act that way because it’s an act. An act doesn’t have to be true. And this isn’t. It’s just something Kyouya exploits for profit.”

“But... you helped found the host club in the first place. You had the idea...”

He met Tamaki’s eyes, and the older boy smiled sadly.

“And I regret using both of you like that,” he admitted. “It was wrong of me. I’m sorry- you can’t imagine how much. The host club did solve some problems for you guys, but it also created more, mostly for you. I’m sorry.”

Kaoru felt his eyes grow round as he continued to stare at Tamaki.

Well, he’s certainly been full of surprises recently.

“Now I’m doing the best I can to fix things. Or help fix them,” Tamaki muttered. “Hikaru’s starting to go out on his own and be his own person, but you...”

Kaoru half-smiled wryly.

“... need a little help,” he finished for him and sighed. “You’re right.”

He blinked several times in quick succession, feeling irritating heat behind his eyes, and brought his knees up to his chest to hug them to his chest in his arms. It seemed that admitting to Tamaki’s words had caused the younger boy to lose the degree of control that kept him from resorting to crying.

Tamaki seemed upset, but not to the point of crying, when he repeated, “I’m sorry.”

Kaoru took a deep breath, refusing to sob, even if he did let the tears roll down his face.

“It’s not your fault,” he whispered chokingly.

Tamaki wordlessly moved closer to Kaoru and put an arm around his shoulders, and Kaoru was glad of the warmth. The pair stayed like that for the next hour or so. Kaoru, breathing erratic and with tears flowing from his golden eyes, and Tamaki, silently offering his support.