Chapter 39: The Door the Twins Opened!

"Hey, Boss~"

"We know something you don't know~"

Tamaki, with as much grace and inner peace as he could muster, did not in fact give into his desire to strange the two identical boys, "For the last time today… Hikaru, Kaoru? If you are not going to tell me whatever it is you're trying to tease me with, please leave me alone."

Hikaru laughed leaned backwards over the back of Tamaki's couch, staring at the blond upside-down, "No way, Boss."

His brother copied his move, "We're having way too much fun driving you nuts."

"Sometimes I forget how twisted your humor is…" Instantly the twins are standing upright, grinning maliciously at the tall girl in front of them. Tamaki spoke up before they could, though.

"Oh, believe me, they were much worse when I first found them."

Jin cocked an eyebrow, "Worse? Do tell."

Kaoru jumped backwards up on the back of the couch, "I'll tell you. Besides, I guess you and Haruhi are the only ones here who don't know the story. As you know, Hikaru and I were always together… sort of like a single entity. And yet, it seemed like we were the only ones who knew we were also separate."

* Two years ago *

"I'm sorry… were you waiting long?"

The small girl gasped, "H-Hikaru. You startled me." The redhead smirked, lifting a small envelope between his fingers to show it off. The girl visibly grew flustered.

"I'm terribly sorry… but I'm actually Kaoru. You must've gotten our desks mixed up. Don't worry about it, even our teachers do that sometimes." The girl ducked her head. Hikaru looked at her in disdain. She was from class B. He didn't even remember her name.

"But… I did read your letter. You wrote it very well, very sincerely. I know you intended it for Hikaru, but do you think that maybe… you can grace me with your affections instead? You're quite cute in person. Hikaru has a crush on someone else, so he wouldn't be hurt, I've asked him about it. So… what do you think?"

The girl hesitated, "I… I suppose. I've never really had someone like me back before, but… if you're okay with it."

Hikaru clenched his jaw, "Is that so? Hey, Kaoru!" He turned around, where his twin was walking out of the bushes, "She said she'd be fine with you instead, wasn't that nice of her?"

"W-wait… so… Hikaru?"

"I swear, you girls never learn. How do you keep falling for it?"

The girl whimpered, tears in her eyes as she turned to start running away, "You jerk! You're so mean!"

The twins watched her go, not even feeling remotely sorry. They turned to walk the opposite way down the corridor when the pitter patter of the girl's feet stopped suddenly after rounding the corner.

They paused, then assumed she had stopped to cry and carried on, not thinking much about it. Or her.

* Present Day *

"Kaoru. Please stop sitting on the back of the couch. We can't afford to break another one." The younger of the twins shrugged before gracefully sliding back onto his feet, though he did catch the way Jin's eyes darted to the Shadow King before looking away, lips twitching up in a smile. This must be what the Boss felt like when he first figured out they liked each other. Can no one else tell that they've actually crossed the threshold into a relationship?

As it was, Hikaru was getting that crazy look in his eyes, the one that screamed he was ready to blackmail someone until their head spun, but Kaoru knew they had to be patient. Blackmailing Kyoya… that was something to be cautious of. And Jin was not pushover either. So, he lightly kicked Hikaru's shoe and jerked his head towards the couch facing Tamaki.

"I bet the actual couch would feel much nicer to sit on."

Kaoru saw the understanding, if not reluctance, in his brother's eyes, and the two quickly took residence on Tamaki's couch, one redhead on either side of him. As he'd predicted, Kaoru watched Jin take the middle seat of the couch opposite them, Kyoya quickly taking up the spot beside her. The tall girl leaned lightly against his shoulder while Haruhi sat on her other side. The younger twin regarded her for a moment as well. Had Jin told her? Or was she simply as unobservant as the Boss?

"Continue, please."

Fighting the urge to point out how Kyoya's left arm had suddenly slipped behind Jin's back to lightly grip her waist, Kaoru cleared his throat.

"Where'd I leave off… oh yeah. See, we cut ourselves off from the rest of the world, but since our family name was so prominent, the other kids in our class were told to try to get as close to us as they could. That was an immediate red flag to us, and we only pushed them away further. After that, everyone just assumed we didn't care for anyone but each other. Except, that wasn't quite true. We loved our parents and our little sister… and one other. A nanny we had when we were younger. She was… kinda the reason we turned out so twisted."

Jin leaned forward a bit, causing Kyoya to unhappily eye her for a split second before returning his attention to his black journal, "So… you admit you're a little twisted?"

"Duh."

She shrugged and went back into Kyoya's side, "Carry on, then."

* Twelve years ago *

"What are you doing?"

The maid jolted, ripping her hand away from the safe. She turned herself around in fear, worried that she'd been caught by Master or Mistress Hitachiin. Or worse, security. But… it was only those troublemaking little boys she was 'hired' to look after. It was a full time job and gave her little to no time at all to try to accomplish what she actually came here to do.

"W-what are you two doing here?! Get back to bed this instant!"

"No… we're night exploring. This house is different when there aren't stupid people around." They tilted their heads, "Looks like we found something interesting at least."

The maid felt her cheek muscle twitch. This would make the job so much more dangerous. Now, instead of just being hunted down for those priceless jewels and large bundles of money that this family could re-earn in less than a year, she'd be on the run for the homicide of two children. But… then again…

She whipped out her favorite blade.

It wasn't like she hadn't done anything worse.

"Well then… I suppose I'll just have to keep you two quiet while I finish up, hm?"

The one of her right held up a small device. It was almost too big for his young hands, but he gripped it confidently, "Did you know that if we hit this button…" the other one lifted a finger, pointing it at the big red button in the center of it, "All of our family's security guards will come running. Maybe we should test it out? Make sure it works?"

"No!" The maid clapped her free hand over her mouth. The halls remained quite. No pounding footsteps or burly men shouting. Growling lowly, she dropped her hand, "You wouldn't dare… they wouldn't get here soon enough to save you."

The twins smiled, looking way too calm for the situation for two four year olds, "If you really want into that safe, we have the combination for you." They held up a folded piece of paper, "It's on this thing."

"If you play with us for a few days-"

"-we'll give you this piece of paper. No tricks."

The girl scowled, casting her glare from the brats to the safe behind her. She had to admit, it was far safer than what she had originally planned. And at such little cost…

"Fine. What would you like to play… first?"

"I know, I know! Let's play the 'Which One of Us Is Hikaru' game!"

About an hour later, the two boys were exhausted from playing with the maid. She had seemed tired, too, so they said it would be best for them to go to bed. They figured that after three or four days the twins would get tired of her, like they did with everything, and give her the combination.

"Hikaru? You're sure the combination is safe for tonight?"

"Yeah. It's in the piggy bank. It'll be safe til morning."

* Present Day *

"We only wanted her to be able to tell us apart. We liked her, because she didn't fake herself around us. Maybe she just didn't think we understood, but we understood enough. So, when we heard the alarms going off… it hurt a little knowing she had lied to us."

Jin blinked, unconsciously curling herself a little more into Kyoya's side, "Kao-kun… that maid wanted to kill you. When you were little kids! How…"

"Twisted, Jin-senpai. Remember?"

The brunette fiddled with her fingers, "Not that twisted." Haruhi laid her head on Jin's shoulder, but didn't say anything.

"Hey, we realize now that we were in a lot more danger than we had anticipated, but we made it through okay."

"Besides, what she said when she left… we saw her climbing down a rope ladder outside our window and we asked her why she broke her promise. She told us… she couldn't tell us apart, never would be able to tell us apart, and we might never find anyone who would."

Hikaru rubbed at his forehead, "That was the first person outside of our immediate family we even risked letting get close to us on such a personal level. She dropped that bombshell and ran off with a smile on her face. After that, we steadily built up a thick wall between us and everyone else, so no one would ever get close enough to pull something like that again."

"Then this guy," the redheads threw their arms over Tamaki's shoulders, "had to come ruin it all."

The blond rolled his eyes, "I've never heard you complain about it before now."

* Two years ago *

"So, looks like you two have some free-time on your hands, hm? How about you form a club with me next school year!" The twins looked up from the fashion book in their hands, which they had been critiquing mentally, and stared in part shock and part anger at the blond in front of them.

"...Okay, who is this joker?"

"I think it's that Suoh kid. The one who was accepted late in the spring semester."

"Oh, yeah. Now that you mention it, I think Dad said something about him a few months ago."

"Yeah."

The blond clearly didn't seem to either notice nor care that he was being talked about like he wasn't even there, still smiling broadly with a hand outstretched to the two of them, "Oh! You know me? I had no idea I was so popular! Well, since you already know who I am, would you care to hear about the club I'm forming? I bet you'll fall in love with the idea just as much as I have!"

Doubtful , they thought.

"It's going to start in April, ideally as soon as I move up into the high school. You'd have to come up there from the middle school for the next year, of course, but I don't think that would be too much of a problem. I've already asked Kyoya Ootori of my class to join and both Haninozuka-senpai and Morinozuka-senpai from class 1-A at the high school to join. I'd be willing to bet you both already know those three boys as well?"

Tamaki opened his mouth, probably to finally tell them the actual name of the club, when the twins rolled they eyes and snapped the book shut.

"You're annoying. Get lost."

"We don't like hanging around people, especially people like you."

"But if you're really determined to get us into this stupid club-"

"-then you must first win-"

"-the 'Which One of Us is Hikaru' Game."

Tamaki tilted his head, looking at the two boys, "You made up a game for telling you two apart?"

"Look, the rules are simple, as long as you're not as stupid as you look."

"You said your club starts in two months? Fine, you get one month to make as many guesses as you'd like. We will, however, always ask for your reasoning, and we will be able to tell is your guess is baseless."

"Fair warning, no one has ever gotten it right before." The twins were cackling as they walked away, "Good luck!"

Tamaki didn't respond, staring at the pool of the fountain even after they left. They smirked in his direction. No way he'd be able to handle it. He just wants the boys from prominent families in his little club. He doesn't want us for-

"I have a month, right? And if I get it right, you have to join my club?" The blond looked up at them with a confident smile, "Then I accept! Without a doubt, come April you two will be my newest members!"

The twins scowled, but left the courtyard as quickly as they could. While they were sure that their idiot of a Senpai wouldn't be able to figure out what set them apart in one measly month, there was something about his confidence that set them both on edge. And while he seemed eager to prove them wrong, they hadn't expected him to show up the very next day in their classroom.

"The one reading the book is Hikaru!"

The frowned, "Wrong. Get out of our class-"

"Then that means Hikaru is right handed!"

"We're both right handed."

"Kaoru always parts his hair on the right!"

"We switch parts everyday!"

"Um… excuse me… are you Suoh-san?"

Instantaneously, Tamaki's attention went from the two boys to the girl standing behind them, "I'm so sorry, I interrupted you, didn't I? Yes, I'm Tamaki Suoh." The girl blushed and stammered about how she had only been inviting the twins to a film festival when Tamaki announced the two would be going. They jumped up from their chairs.

"Hey! It's our decision!"

"And we don't want to go!"

They ran out of the room, trying not to make it too obvious that they wanted to escape the crazy blond. Unfortunately, he ran after them, "Wait! What about our game?"

Hikaru rolled his eyes, "You're not bad, Suoh. At least you seem to be trying harder than any of the others."

"But you're going to have to be extraordinary to try and beat us at our own game."

The game continued on for another three days, Tamaki showing up at odd times to make his many guesses. The twins couldn't even go out for a simple ice cream cone without the blond boy screaming that 'Hikaru likes caramel ice cream while Kaoru likes green tea flavored' (only to have the two boys turn and show of they had twist cones with both flavors) from the sunroof of his limo. It finally got to be really weird when he showed up at their house on Friday morning.

"Hikaru's hair is parted on the right today! Good morning!"

Kaoru fought the urge to scowl. He had drawn the short straw this morning, meaning he had to be the one to respond to Tamaki's first guess of the day, "No. You couldn't be more wrong."

"Aha! But I've made another discovery! Kaoru, you're slightly pigeon-toed… you should probably fix that."

"Hey! No they aren't!"

Tamaki started spinning in place, "I made a decision last night. Your draw at the club will be your brotherly love! How's that sound?"

Sounds like you're delusional, they thought as their car sped away. Peeking through the back window they watched as the 3rd year chased after them, his shouts growing fainter each second.

"Wow… it took him four whole days to be reduced to stalking us at home." The boys exchanged looks of concern before beginning to crack up. No doubt, this Tamaki character was entertaining. It was like a real-life version of the game Whack-A-Mole. You never know where he was going to pop up, but it was already a good idea to have a plan for striking him down.

"When he gets all dramatic and upset like that-"

"-he sounds like he's imitating a feudal lord!"

"What does he think he is? A Princely character?"

"'Come back here,' he said! Oh man! None of the others have ever tried this hard before!"

Hikaru slowly stopped laughing, his face losing the livelihood quickly, "Kaoru… we need to end this game."

* Present Day *

"Woah, woah, wait a minute." Jin leaned her elbow on her leg, pointing at the twins, "Why did you suddenly decided to up and end that competition? Wasn't Tama-kun playing by the rules? Did you decide to just join the club? That doesn't seem to fit."

Hikaru sighed, leaned on the armrest, "No. When Kaoru mentioned how the Boss was trying much harder than anyone else we'd played the game with, he wasn't kidding. I think the record before the Boss was two days before one side or the other got bored and decided it wasn't worth it. And then… he made us laugh. We hadn't laughed like that in I don't know how long ago it was before that day, but I know it wasn't about anything nice. It felt good, but eventually I realized that the Boss was pulling out our emotions. We weren't viewing the world with our usual grey disinterest. It seemed… colorful. And spontaneous. And loud, just like him."

"Hey!"

Kaoru leaned over the blond's head, bending him in half, "We tried to play it off like we were getting bored, but in reality? We were scared."

"So, as soon as we got to school, we came up with a plan to get the Boss to leave us alone, even if he didn't give up the game."

Jin snorted, leaning back into Kyoya's side, "Like Tama-kun would ever give up on someone that easily. So, what did you say? Or do?"

The three boys on the other couch all stiffened at once. Kaoru quickly got off of Tamaki's back and the blond unfurled himself, eyes on the tile floor. Nobody seemed to want to answer, even Kyoya was watching the scene with a certain tightness in his eyes. The silence lasted long enough for everyone to feel its discomfort.

"Well… whatever it was, it obviously didn't work. So… after you told him the game was off and, I'm assuming you just walked away again, how did he get you to join the club in the end?"

Grateful for the exit Jin had given them, Kaoru smiled, "Well, once that game ended, we went searching for another to occupy our time. By the end of the day, we had still found nothing that made us feel the way the Boss and his game had made us feel. Of course… another love note fell into one of our desks that day as well."

* Two years ago *

"I see… hey, Hikaru! She said she'd be fine with you instead!" Kaoru watched as his brother stepped out from behind the bush he had been standing near just last Monday. Hikaru looked as every bit as calculating and heartless as he always did when they played this heartbreaking game, but it was different this time. He could see the slightest bit of hesitation in his eyes. Kaoru knew how he felt. This girl might've liked him , but he also lead her to believe that 'Hikaru' had a crush on her instead. If she thought that he was attractive, then of course she would think Hikaru was too. And if Hikaru wanted to ask her out, then who was she to say no?

Despite all of this inner turmoil, the two continued. Their words were more scathing than usual, calling her a horrible person for just wanting a cute boyfriend. Kaoru knew his brother's heart wasn't in it, and neither was his. As the girl ran away crying, all they felt was a twinge of guilt.

Hikaru looked at the pink paper in his hand, "No… you're the one who's mean." It was like he was trying to convince himself. He grabbed the top edge and tensed, ready to tear it into pieces when-

"The one who's holding that letter is Hikaru!"

The boys gasped, spinning around to see Tamaki pointing at them, his odd purple eyes gleaming. The Hitachiin's were speechless. He had come back, even after they'd threatened him. And… he got it right.

"How… how did you-"

"I got it right! I knew it!"

Kaoru and Hikaru looked at each other, not quite daring to believe, "Your… reasoning?"

"Intuition."

Well, wasn't that just a sucker punch to the gut?

"No random guesses. Why are you even guessing anyways? We cancelled the game."

Tamaki shook his head, "Look, I'm glad I got it right, even if it was a guess. At least I get to talk to you once again and get to know you better. Why do you think I guessed so many times? How was I supposed to make an educated guess if I didn't know you? That's why I listed so many possibly defining characteristics… so when I found something that did set the two of you apart, then I'd gotten to know you well enough! It's still a little too early for me to tell, of course, but while you two may look identical, you're both very different people. So, here's my suggestion: Join my club, and perfect your 2-in-1 twin act."

"You… complete dunce."

"That's contradictory!"

"Like you two aren't the textbook definition of contradictions? That's what they call personality."

"No!" They marched over, "If we do as you say and 'perfect' our act, then no one will be able to tell us apart!"

"It's always like this! This is why we don't dress differently! Or keep the same parts each day! Or sit at the same desks! How come no one can just… tell? No one is going to win our game, and we've known that from the beginning!"

Tamaki was wide eyed again, but it wasn't the offset look from before, "Is that why you always look so sad when someone guesses wrong? But… even if I'm not able to, at least not right now, someday… someone will show up who will be able to tell you apart. And soon after that, more and more, as your individual personalities start coming to light. Even though you'll always be twins… you don't always have to be each other."

He turned around and started walking, then stopped, "If you two keep living in your own little world, you're never going to meet that person. You'll shut them out before they even get a chance to show you. So, why don't we open the doors of the Host Club together?" As he continued walking away, the blond called out over his shoulder, "Our first meeting will be after the opening ceremonies for the next year! Music Room 3, at the high school! Don't be late!"

Kaoru felt like he could barely breathe, chest clenching and heart pounding as that strange boy disappeared into the building. He had guessed correctly, which was a feat in of itself, but that whole speech?

He was, in a word, impressed.

Off in the distance, at the grand entrance of the school, two brunette girls looked up at the many grand buildings standing along the bright green grounds. The shorter was gaping in visible awe, while the taller smiled at her sister's reactions.

"Well, Haru? What do you think?"

"I think you should've come here instead of shipping off, Nēchan."

Jin laughed aloud, "You think I should do anything but head off to America, Haru. But I have to admit, this is a very nice school."

"Hey… Nēchan?"

"Mm?"

"When you come back… they offered you a half scholarship, right?"

"That was the deal."

"Do you think… I could get in?" Jin looked down at her sister, the glow in her eyes telling Haruhi exactly what she needed to know.

Behind them, a boy with black hair stepped out of the shadows and into the same sunlight, holding up an arm to look out across the same set of buildings. Two girls wearing uniforms from one of the public schools stood in front of him. He watched with interest as the turned around, the taller girl closer to him while the shorter girl's face was hidden. The tall girl had one of her arms thrown around the other's shoulders, suggesting ice cream before going home.

His eyes briefly noted the admission guides in their hands before looking at the girl's face once again. She was probably around his age, and was very pretty. Her long brown hair reached her mid-back and swayed around in the breeze.

Then they were gone, and he put the girl out of his mind.

Besides… it wasn't likely he'd see her again.

* Present Day *

Jin was smiling softly as the faint memory surfaced in her mind. The day she and Haruhi had looked at Ouran Academy for the first time. She had just turned down their full scholarship, only to be offered a half scholarship for the following school year. She must've made an incredible impression on their entrance exam. But what stuck out most in her mind was the boy she had seen out of the corner of her eye.

Huh. Like fate.

"And that's our story."

"So now it's time for you to share one, Jin-senpai."

The brunette lifted an eyebrow, "Me? Like what?" Of course, she already knew what. Kyoya had told her about the twins' attempt to blackmail them with the events from yesterday, and while she was amused at how they thought they could work something like that over their heads, this wasn't really the way she wanted to tell the others.

"Oh… I dunno."

"A first kiss story, perhaps?"

She jumped to her feet, "Aaaand, that's my cue. Sorry boys, but I have some dishes to finish putting out."

As she fled the scene, Tamaki was worrying that the twins were trying to pull the beast out of Kyoya by force. Was this their attempt to push the two of them together? Make Kyoya go mad with jealousy until he felt he had no choice but to kiss her? It was as dangerous of a game as you could play, right up there with Russian Roulette!

But surprisingly, Kyoya was sitting calmly in front of them all, still writing in his journal as if as soon as Jin wasn't around he couldn't be bothered to pay any attention to the real world any longer. It was somewhat amusing.

Bam!

"JIN!"

The hosts all jumped in their seats, standing and looking around just in time to watch as four strangers -three girls and a boy- ran into the Music room. From her place in the middle of the room, Jin froze and her jaw dropped as the boy, who was easily both taller and wider than Mori-senpai, ran ahead of the girls to collect her up in his arms.

"Aaron?" The girls quickly wrapped themselves around the two, "Mara? Kat? Chelski?" The four newcomers were laughing as they hugged the surprised girl, babbling at the same time in… English? The host club was too caught off guard to even speak.

Finally Jin was released from the hug and she stepped back, grinning as she looked at the four of them in turn. When she spoke next, it was in that perfect English she was often asked to demonstrate in class, "What are you guys doing here?"

One of the girls, who was around Jin's height but with blonde hair that had a red streak in her hair starting from behind her left ear, answered, "Remember how we'd only get permission to travel around Japan and see their schools if we raised enough money?"

"No way! You really did it? That's awesome!" Turning around Jin looked at the host club, "Guys, these are my friends from America! The ones who send me all the songs? This is Aaron," the tall brunet boy waved. "Chelsea," the blonde and pink haired girl smiled. "Katherine," the girl who waved next was very thin from her legs to her face, but her hair was completely black and styled into a fohawk, the tips dyed an electric blue. "And Mara." The last girl flicked a wave, a little shorter and stockier than Jin, her blonde hair cut to her jawline in the front, while the back was pulled up in a high ponytail that tickled the back of her neck. All of them clearly American.

Without missing a beat, Jin turned back to face her friends, "I'm so happy you're here! Oh! Oh! Haru!" Haruhi pretty much materialized by her sister's side, "This is Haruhi, my little sister I told you so much about!"

Haruhi grinned, also speaking in English, "Hello! I've heard so much about you!"

The four responded with their own hellos as the rest of the club began to gather around, not ones for staying out of the loop. Jin quickly began introducing them as well, "Those two are 3rd years Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka, but we call them Honey and Mori. The twins are Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, 1st year students. The blond is Tamaki Suoh, 2nd year student. And this is-"

Kyoya leaned forward, right hand outstretched for a handshake while his left arm wound itself around Jin's torso, "Kyoya Ootori, Jin's boyfriend, also second year. I trust your flight was-"

"WHAAAAAATTT?!"