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The morning air was refreshing and cool; it was the type of morning that felt completely invigorating. As Haruhi walked through the pristine grounds of Ouran High, watching the leaves rustle pleasantly in the breeze, she couldn’t help but think that today was going to be a good one. Although, she knew that was sort of a lot to ask. Every day since she’d accidentally stumbled upon the Host Club had been full of chaos. (Well-- chaos, and fun. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t grown to enjoy the daily drama and intrigue that being a host provided.) Even still, whatever the school day held for her, Haruhi felt that it was going to run smoothly and pleasantly. As though to confirm her optimism, she spotted a fluttering little butterfly as it danced lightly in the air before delicately landing on a flower. She watched it happily until it flew away again and disappeared into the distance.
Yes. She definitely had a good feeling about today.
A brief glance up at the tall clocktower told her that she still had a bit of time before she had to be in class. She supposed she could try and look around for some of her friends, (Tamaki was never particularly difficult to find,) but she decided against it. Her decision had nothing to do with them. On the contrary, Haruhi wouldn’t mind at all if she got the chance to say hello to her friends; rather, she just felt that on this particular morning, she’d prefer to stay out in the courtyard, soaking in the morning sunlight, for as long as she was able to. And that was exactly what she did.
In a stroke of good luck, no one seemed to bother her until she’d decided that it was probably time to start heading towards her classroom. And, even then, Haruhi was only stopped a few times by squealing fangirls. Normally, she had to greet at least fifteen of them. But, today, it was only a few. It was a nice change of pace. She’d also said hello and had a short chat about today’s future club events with Tamaki and Kyoya when they’d passed each other in the corridor. They had given her a fancy-looking cake that she had decided to stow in her bag for lunch. Though she appreciated the gift, Haruhi had a sneaking suspicion that the Host Club still thought she didn’t have enough money to feed herself. It was honestly kind of offensive-- but… If they were giving her free food, hey, she’d take it. After their conversation had ended, she had walked the rest of the way to class and took her seat at her usual desk.
But as she neatly arranged her notebook and pencil, Haruhi noticed for the first time that morning that something seemed rather strange. She looked up and around. Her classmates were chatting pleasantly, the classroom seemed normal and put-together-- everything was exactly as it should be. And that was when she realized, it was too calm. She felt so stupid for not noticing before; the desks to her left and right were empty! For some odd reason, Kaoru and Hikaru weren’t there. Haruhi blinked, then took another glance around the room just to be sure, but no, they were still missing. She paused for a moment, wondering where her friends might be. Then, despite what logic told her, she took a quick look behind her and under her desk… Just in case. But, no. Still no sign of the twins.
She leaned back in her desk, feeling rather disappointed that it seemed as though two of her friends would be absent. Perhaps today wouldn’t be as perfect as she’d thought it would be? The wall clock indicated that it was only seven minutes before class was scheduled to commence; if they were going to arrive, they probably would have already. Now that she’d thought about it... Normally, they met each other in the hallway. And, as far as she could remember, Kaoru and Hikaru had never missed school before, not even while they were fighting. (Which, apparently, had all been a trick… But, still.) Haruhi wasn’t necessarily worried by the fact that they were gone since it was quite normal to miss a day every so often, but she sort of wished that one of them had texted her, or something. Honestly, what was the point of giving her a cellphone if they wouldn’t use it for a quick heads-up at times like this? Now she’d be glancing over at their empty desks all day, wondering what had caused them to miss class. After all, they’d been there yesterday… And they hadn’t mentioned anything at all about being absent today.
Haruhi sat there in thoughtful silence while the rest of the class struggled to wrap up their pre-lecture conversations. And the beginning of the lesson ticked closer and closer, until suddenly the faint, yet sharp sound of rushed footsteps clacking against the polished floor began to grow nearer. Her head shot up at the noise. She watched the door hopefully and sure enough, it was hardly a moment before a familiar face stepped into the room. Haruhi could tell straight away from his demeanor and the apologetic, sheepish smile he offered her that it was Kaoru. As he started for his desk, not really paying any attention at all to the rest of the class’ eyes on him, Haruhi waited expectantly for Hikaru to appear. Surely, if one twin had arrived, the other was soon to follow. The only problem was… He never walked in.
Haruhi watched quietly as Kaoru sat down and dropped his school bag. He struggled to catch his breath from the apparent rush he’d been in to get to class. She didn’t want to be rude, but she couldn’t seem to stop glancing between him and the door, where his brother hadn’t appeared. Was this… Some sort of prank? Judging by the strange expressions gracing the faces of her classmates, they were just as confused as she was. Not that she agreed with it, but-- most people thought of the twins as a matched set. Truthfully, even she had to admit that it was sort of strange to think that one of them was inexplicably missing. Haruhi checked the clock: five minutes until class was set to begin. She still had time to try and figure out what was going on, but only a little.
“Kaoru?” She began slowly. He hummed pleasantly as he rummaged through his bag, indicating that she had his attention. “Um.” He looked up at her curiously. It was obviously meant to be comedic, the way he was pretending that absolutely nothing was amiss. Emboldened by his cheekiness, she raised her eyebrows and tilted her head towards the still-vacant desk beside her. “Where’s Hikaru?”
He continued to feign ignorance for a bit longer, but apparently he soon realized that he wasn’t about to earn any laughter from her. So, looking a little disappointed, he finally relented, “He’s at home.” Kaoru absently rubbed his sleeve and started looking through his bag again. “It’s just me today.”
Haruhi watched him silently, waiting for him to elaborate. She noticed that he’d been ‘searching’ through his stuff for an awfully long time. It was sort of unusual for him to be so awkward. Maybe she would expect this brand of strange aloofness from his brother, but not him. Kaoru always seemed quite a lot better with handling and articulating his emotions-- it made her wonder just what had changed. His new attitude and Hikaru’s absence seemed to be a matter worthy of concern. So, as a good friend, it was only right that Haruhi should try a bit longer to see if she could get him to open up. Luckily, it wasn’t that hard. After a few more moments of observation, Kaoru emerged from his bag with a pencil and seemed genuinely stunned that Haruhi was still looking at him. “...What?” He made a face and began to tap the end of his pencil against the desk. With her persistent scrutiny, it didn’t take long for him to relent. Finally, with a little sigh, he elaborated, “Hikaru’s okay. Just a little sick, that’s all.”
“Right.” Honestly, Haruhi wasn't sure what she’d been expecting. But that made sense. She nodded, looking towards Hikaru’s empty desk for a moment. She felt bad for him at first. But then, she couldn’t help but amuse herself by imagining him at home, playing video games on a diamond-encrusted controller, lounging in a shining, golden bedroom, surrounded by stacks of expensive pillows, while hundreds of servants waited on his every whim. It was a funny thought for a moment, until she realized that he was probably doing exactly that. (She was fast learning to never, ever underestimate the over-the-top antics of the super rich.)
After Haruhi had banished that image from her mind, another thought struck her. “...If he’s sick, shouldn’t you be?” She turned back again to find that Kaoru was watching her blankly. She sighed impatiently, “I mean-- you’re together so much.”
“Oh.” He shrugged, his expression finally beginning to look a bit brighter. “Yeah, you’d think so, wouldn’t you? Trust me, I’m confused too.” He paused, thinking, “Well, I guess it could be that I took his flu shot for him last month.”
“You--” Haruhi blinked in confusion. “What? Do you mean-- you went to each other's appointments?” She tried not to think too deeply on how concerning it was that even trained medical professionals couldn’t seem to tell them apart. (Really. It isn’t hard.) Still, she forced herself to keep going, “...Because, that wouldn’t matter. It’s still--”
“No.” Kaoru interrupted, leaning his cheek against his palm, his lips twitching into a little smile. “I went to both appointments.”
“What?”
“Yeah,” He grinned cheekily. “As a favor. I just turned the other arm-- no one suspected a thing.” As Haruhi was struggling to accept this new, profoundly ridiculous, information, Kaoru leaned down and pulled his notebook from his bag. He flopped it onto the desk and turned back to her with that same stupid smile. “...So, double immunity, right?”
“It doesn’t work that way.” Haruhi stared, feeling absolutely dumbfounded. It was hard to believe that only a half-hour ago, she’d been outside listening to birdsong and rustling leaves. And now-- she had to hear this. Since meeting her new friend group, she’d heard a lot of ridiculous things… But this? For once, she really hoped that he was just messing with her for a laugh. But it didn’t seem like it. “That’s really…” She toyed with words for a moment before finally settling on, “...Stupid.”
“No kidding.” Kaoru opened his notebook with a flourish and flipped to a clean page. “That was a long day. Hikaru owed me for that.” He thought for a moment. “Well, I guess he’s paying for it now.”
Haruhi would have been distracted with visions of the potential side-effects of being air headed enough to get two doses of the same vaccine in one day, but she couldn’t help but notice how Kaoru’s lips tightened at the mention of his twin. And once he’d stopped speaking, he ducked his head to stare blankly at his notebook. Haruhi was beginning to understand why he’d been acting so unusual after he’d arrived to class. She folded her arms and leaned a bit closer to him. Clearly, Kaoru was worried about his brother. “...I’m sure he’ll be okay.” She offered, trying to sound gentle.
“I know.” He shrugged, his expression suspiciously vacant. “It’s just… He asked me to stay, you know? But…” Kaoru interrupted himself and began lazily scribbling messy little stars into the margins of his notebook. “Well,” He began again, his tone taking on a strange inflection that Haruhi wasn’t exactly sure what to make of just yet. “I guess... I could have stayed.” There was an odd little pause, then, “But if I did, who would bring him his homework? And share notes?”
“I could.” Haruhi offered helpfully.
“Um, thanks.” Kaoru glanced skeptically at her. “But, how do I know we could trust your notes?” All of a sudden, for no clear reason, he seemed to finally remember that he was speaking to a brilliant honor-student. “Ah-- Sorry. I’m sure your notes are good-- great! But, still…” He trailed off.
Haruhi raised her eyebrows, struggling not to laugh. It really wasn’t funny that he was having such a tough time today, but… It was awfully amusing to watch him struggle not to offend her any further. (She hadn’t even been offended at all, in the first place.) “I didn’t realize how passionate you were about note taking.” She teased, drumming her fingertips on the desk.
“Yeah, I guess I am.” He answered dully. It seemed by his tone that he didn’t really want to talk about this any more. She supposed that it was best to respect his wishes, at least for now. Class was about to begin, anyway.
Although he’d definitely explained why Hikaru was gone, she still got the distinctive impression that Kaoru hadn’t told her everything. Obviously, he wasn’t here in class with her just because of the flimsy excuse he’d made about note-taking… But if he didn’t want to tell her the whole truth yet, then, there wasn’t really anything that she could do about it. And, anyway, she felt that she’d learned quite enough already to form a pretty sound hypothesis that would explain the reason for his behavior.
After class began, Haruhi would have been content to leave Kaoru alone, forcing the morning’s mystery aside in favor of focusing on the drone of the professor and the scratching of her pencil. For a long while, that was exactly what she did. But then, and she wasn’t sure if it was simply a product of her idle imagination, it seemed that Kaoru was beginning to look uncharacteristically miserable. Although typically she would prefer not to distract herself from a lecture, she decided that a quick look over at Kaoru couldn’t hurt. She momentarily stilled her pencil and turned her attention to her forlorn friend-- only to instantly regret it. Apparently, it hadn’t been her imagination, after all. Kaoru was most definitely upset, and his mood was only getting worse as the seconds ticked by. He was sitting slouched in his desk, his eyes focused blankly on his notebook; although, by the looks of it, he hadn’t written a single thing down. As much as Haruhi hated the idea of distracting herself from classwork to make idle conversation, the dark atmosphere was quickly becoming too much for her to bear. Besides, she rationalized in an attempt to make herself feel better, lots of other students weren’t paying attention. Had never paid attention. This wouldn’t hurt-- and, anyway, she had good reason.
With a deep breath, she leaned to the side and murmured quietly, “Is everything okay with you?” Haruhi was very careful to be sure that Kaoru had heard her, but she kept her eyes fixed on her notebook.
From her peripheral, she could see that Kaoru seemed surprised. Not that it came as much of a shock to her; normally, he and Hikaru would mess with her by whispering to one-another, with her stuck in the middle. She hardly ever responded, as she was doing her best to tune them out. This would probably be the first time she’d ever initiated a mid-lecture conversation on her own.
“Ah…” He watched her in shock for a moment before eventually following her lead and returning his focus to his notebook. “Yeah, I’m okay. Why?” He raised his pencil and pretended to take notes, but she could tell that he was drawing a cartoon character. (So much for sharing his classwork with Hikaru.)
Haruhi hummed softly. Of course he wouldn’t make it that easy for her. She’d have to try again. “You’re acting a little strange, that’s all.” Well, really he was acting a lot strange… But she was trying her best to be gentle. “Don’t tell me you’re getting sick too?”
Kaoru scoffed, “No, no. I’m fine.”
“Then… what is it?” She really hoped that he’d come clean a little more quickly. Though she’d initiated their chat, talking during class was beginning to make her nervous. When a few more moments passed by and Kaoru seemed no closer to answering, she sighed and decided to make this a bit easier for him. “You’re feeling guilty, aren’t you?”
Kaoru’s eyes widened and his hand paused in his doodling, “...What-- do you mean?” Haruhi tried not to smile. She’d definitely touched at the root of his problem. Being blunt was both a talent and a curse. Now, it was just a matter of trying to fix it. If he felt guilty for leaving Hikaru alone-- which he did-- then there was definitely a solution.
“I mean,” Haruhi continued with a bit more confidence now, glancing pointedly at him before returning her attention at least partially to the lecture. “You’re guilty that Hikaru asked you to stay home with him, but you went to class anyway, right?”
He made a strange little noise and tightened his lips, “Well…” His voice got a bit quieter, “Maybe… I just thought, maybe, a day apart might be— good for him. For us.” He paused, then added in a fragile undertone, “I thought this might help, but…”
“Oh.” She frowned. If what he said was true, (which it certainly seemed to be,) then she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He’d probably thought that he was doing the right thing by going to school on his own, but now… He was clearly having doubts.
Haruhi tapped her fingers lightly on her desk, trying to think of a solution that would hopefully help him feel a bit better. After all, he might have been right in deciding to leave Hikaru alone for a bit. Maybe it could be good for them to be apart. Just for a little while, at least. In any case, Haruhi knew that their separation, no matter how brief, wouldn’t be very easy for them. Judging by Kaoru’s unhappy attitude, she could hardly imagine how Hikaru must be doing. He tended to handle situations like this quite a bit worse than his twin. As she thought, her eyes wandered to her bag, where the shine of her cellphone caught her eye. And then, just like that, the solution came to her.
“If you’re so upset, maybe you could text him after class?”
Kaoru didn’t even look at her. He kept his attention on his notebook, now poorly drawing something that looked suspiciously like their teacher wearing a chicken hat. “That’s cheating.” He answered, finally.
“Cheating?” She protested. After a quick glance at the front of the room to confirm that she hadn’t gained anyone’s attention, she continued, “It’s not a game.” Once again, he didn’t seem too keen on answering. Haruhi took a mental note to never try to help one or both of the twins during class time, ever again. This was becoming much more distracting than she’d anticipated it to be. “Just… Text him a few times. Not all day.” She finished quietly, thinking that was a decent enough compromise. Although it was definitely unrealistic for Kaoru to think that he and his brother would benefit from ignoring one-another all day, she had to admit, a little bit of distance might help Hikaru be less codependent. Kaoru too, to a lesser extent. So, yes. Her solution was definitely fitting. They get a little bit of distance, but not too much. She really hoped that Kaoru would see her logic. Normally she would count on it, especially if he was by himself. But, right now… It was hard to say.
To her relief, his tone seemed much more agreeable than before. “Mm.” He nodded, “Yeah, I guess that would be alright.” Haruhi’s triumph was frustratingly short lived, though… To her dismay, Kaoru immediately reached into his bag and pulled out his phone.
Her eyes widened, she glanced quickly from his phone, to the teacher, and back again. “I said after class.” She hissed urgently. The last thing she needed right now was to get him in even more trouble. (Nevermind that Ouran High wasn’t exactly known for its strict punishments or tight rules.)
Kaoru merely raised his eyebrows at her, casting her a mischievous little grin. Haruhi sighed and chose to ignore him, even as she heard him begin to type up a message. Well-- at least she’d helped. As his presumed conversation went on, she thought that Kaoru began to seem much more like himself. And, even though she couldn’t see him, she was sure that the beneficial effect was shared with Hikaru, as well. Finally, finally, she felt assured enough to return her attention to class-- And then, the bell rang.
She sat dumbfounded in her desk, even as her classmates began to gather their things and filter out into the hallway. She’d been talking-- for an entire class? She had missed an entire class? Haruhi stared blankly ahead of her, hardly daring to believe it. It was difficult to guess just how long she might have stayed that way, (probably until well after everyone else had left,) but then a familiar hand ruffled her hair and broke her out of her stunned stupor. With a start, she looked up to see Kaoru leaning on his desk, bag cast across his shoulder, watching her with a faint smile.
“Class is over.” She said dully, not sure what else to say, but definitely feeling that she ought to say something.
“Yes, it is.” He agreed, shifting onto his feet. He scooped her things up off the desk and neatly deposited them into her school bag. “Here.” He handed it to her as she finally gained the sense to stand up. Once she’d comfortably hoisted it across her shoulders, she walked with him out into the bright, pleasant corridor. She was still a little too stunned to speak just yet, but that was alright. Kaoru seemed in good enough spirits to chat now, anyway. “Hey,” Haruhi heard him say, “Thank you.”
“Mm?” She raised her eyebrows at that, her thoughts quickly collected. “It’s not a problem. I just…”
“...Wanted to help.” He finished for her. “Right?” She nodded, he grinned. The late morning sunlight filtering through the windows flatteringly illuminated his gingery hair. He sheepishly rubbed at the back of his head. “I feel like I owe you one.” She was about to object, but he interrupted her before she could even begin, “...Don’t say that I don’t.” He paused, “Uh, also, Hikaru says hi.”
“Hi.” She echoed, her lips twitching into an amused smile.
Kaoru laughed, tugging his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll tell him.” He explained, casting her a sideways glance. “You know,” He said as he began to type, his amber gaze focused on the keypad. “You could text him, too. I bet he’d like that.”
“You think so?” She asked, more out of curiosity than anything.
“Well… Yeah.” He raised his eyebrows at her. For a moment, it looked as though he had more to say, but the expression was gone so fast that Haruhi wasn’t sure if she’d just imagined it.
“...Okay,” Haruhi agreed, casting her attention out the window, to the blue sky and fluffy clouds. She wondered when might be the best time to text. No offense to poor Hikaru, but she really wasn’t too keen on missing another class. “I’ll talk to him during lunch.” She decided, finally.
Kaoru nodded, seeming pleased enough with the compromise. “Nice, I bet he’s bored. It’s so boring at home. We only have four-hundred video games, and we’ve beaten most of them.” For a moment, Haruhi wasn’t sure if she should laugh. It was sometimes hard to tell what was a joke and what wasn’t. But, when Kaoru began to giggle, she followed suit. “No, but seriously… We’ve actually beaten them all.”
She stopped laughing.
“Well, anyway…” He came to a halt, shrugging his bag higher on his shoulder. This was where they usually parted, at the end of the hallway with the grand staircase and the golden trim. “Thanks, again. I owe you one.” She would have told him that he’d already said that, but she had to admit that it was awfully nice to be given a genuine compliment.
“I’m glad to help.” She said, and honestly, she meant it.
Kaoru turned to leave. “See you at lunch?”
“See you at lunch.” She agreed, watching as he flashed her a farewell peace-sign and strode further away, smiling happily.
Once he was nearly out of sight, she started up the stairs on her own, already thinking of what she could text Hikaru about. Schoolwork? Food? How many video games did he actually own? (Because she was still a little blurry on that.) The possibilities were endless. As she walked with a purposeful stride and the sunshine warming her cheeks, she had to admit; it really was a nice day. Perhaps not in the way she’d expected it to be earlier this morning, no… But still. It was becoming a good day.