Chapter 30 | The door the twins opened!

Hikaru and Kaoru's second year of middle school

~Third Person POV~

We were always two, yet one. The two of us were a single, unique being.

This was very important.

But we were separate beings; the one that wasn't me was Hikaru, and the one that wasn't Hikaru was me.

For us, this was something that was...

"Look," Hikaru said to his brother as they looked out the window of their classroom. "she's here."

"Yeah, you're right." Kaoru said.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sorry, I must have kept you waiting. I read your letter." Hikaru said, standing in front of the girl. Then, he held up the letter.

"Hikaru-kun..." she muttered nervously.

"No, sorry, I'm Kaoru. Not Hikaru."

The girl froze.

"You must have mistaken my desk for Hikaru's when you put the letter in. Even so, would you mind if it were me?"

The girl blushed.

A smile. "The truth is, I always thought you were cute. And Hikaru seems to have another girl he likes. Plus, he and I look exactly alike, really--there's no difference. So, would you mind?"

"U-Uh... Well, I... Uh... Y-You're right; you do look a lot alike... I guess I wouldn't mind if it were you, Kaoru-kun..." the girl said.

Hikaru smiled and shook his head. Then, he turned and shouted, "Hey, Kaoru! She said she'd be fine with you! She said it doesn't matter, seeing as we look alike!"

Kaoru revealed himself.

The girl gasped and looked at Hikaru. "W-Wait, you're Hikaru-kun??? But you told me you were Kaoru-kun...!" she said.

"Wow. That was no fun. I'm getting tired of this same, old pattern..." Hikaru yawned.

The girl's eyes widened. "How mean of you! You tricked me...!" she said.

"Actually, you're the one who's mean. You're okay with either one of us? Who do you think you are?" Hikaru sneered.

"Another thing--that hairstyle really brings out the worst in you, ya' know? It really doesn't look good on you at all," Kaoru said. "If you want us to go out with you, at least develop some sort of fashion sense, first!"

"And next time, make your 'love' confession more interesting!" Hikaru and Kaoru said together before they ripped the letter in half.

Then, they walked away laughing while the girl stared at the ripped pieces of her letter and cried.

"That was a mean thing to do, huh?"

The girl looked to see a blonde boy in front of her, holding out a tissue.

"Are you alright, my cute lady?" he asked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Kaoru, you want to play a game? I found an interesting site." Hikaru said to Kaoru in their fifth period, also known as their study hall.

"What about that net game from before?" Kaoru suggested.

"I'm tired of it already. They're all a bunch of weaklings. It's no fun, is it?" Hikaru said.

"Nevermind. You're right." Kaoru said.

Whenever we lost interest in anything, we'd get rid of it immediately.

That was our motto.

"Those Hitachiin twins are horrible, huh?" one of their classmates said.

"They're always looking down on everything," another said. "But, my dad told me to get along with them."

"Yeah, mine too."

"Mine, too." another classmate joined in.

"I'm pretty sure they don't care about anyone but themselves."

That wasn't true. Up until then, there was just one person... a maid, whom we were very fond of.

That was quite awhile ago, though...

Ten years ago

Hikaru and Kaoru stood in the courtyard of their house.

Dressed in dresses and wearing wigs.

"Oh my! How cute you both look, today! Just like little dolls! The one with the blue hair is Hikaru-kun, and the one with the pink hair is Kaoru-kun, right?" their aunt said.

"Wrong, auntie. The blue one is Kaoru and the pink one is Hikaru." Hikaru said.

"You always get it wrong. You must be dumb." Kaoru said.

"Oh, I'm sorry! You two really do look exactly alike!" their aunt said.

"Auntie, you look exactly like a frog, see?" Hikaru and Kaoru said together before Hikaru held out a frog in the palm of his hand.

Then, the frog jumped on their aunt's face. She shrieked and fell.

"Oh, madam! I am so sorry!" a maid said as she helped their aunt up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

We liked that maid. She was a little different from the sycophants and the ingratiating types we had up until then.

The maid worked and worked, trying to crack the combination and open the safe.

Suddenly, she spotted Hikaru and Kaoru standing in the hall.

She startled and jumped back. "What are you doing?!" she demanded.

"Night exploring." Hikaru and Kaoru said.

"Since you've found me, I've got no choice. You two are going to keep quiet about this." the maid said before she took out a knife.
Hikaru held up a button. "If we push this button, the security guards will come running. Let's try it!" he and Kaoru said.

"Woah! Stop!" the maid said as she ran toward them.

Kaoru held up a piece of paper.

"This is the combination to that safe." they said.

"If you play with us..." Hikaru started.

"... we'd be willing to give you this paper." Kaoru finished.

The maid looked at the safe, and back at both boys. "What do you want to play?" she asked.

Hikaru and Kaoru smiled. "The Which One is Hikaru Game!" they said at once.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hikaru, are you sure you have that piece of paper with the combination on it?" Kaoru whispered.

"It's okay. I hid it in the coin bank; she can't get it out without breaking it." Hikaru whispered back.

I'm sure that we wanted that maid to be able to tell us apart. We liked that maid, after all.

An alarm suddenly sound.

Hikaru and Kaoru's eyes widened.

They raced to the safe.

It was open and empty.

They later found the maid climbing down a rope ladder.

"You broke your promise." they said together.

She looked up at them and gave them a warm smile. "I had no choice, did I? I can't tell you two apart. It's very possible that no one will turn up in your lives that will ever be able to really tell the two of you apart." she said.

Hikaru and Kaoru's facial expressions immediately changed.

That maid, the one and only one we ever liked, said that to us and then disappeared into the shadows of the night.

As we grew older, we grew progressively more twisted.

So, we put up walls between us and everyone else in the outside world to keep anyone from getting too close. But even so, somebody too dense to notice any of the walls would come along every once in awhile.

Ten years later

"Hey, you two don't seem too occupied."

Hikaru and Kaoru looked up from their reading.

"If you've got the time, would do ya' say? Let's form a club together!" a blonde boy said.

"Who is this guy?" Hikaru asked.

"Ah, I know. All the girls in class were clamoring about him. You know that guy, Tamaki Suoh, who was admitted last spring?" Kaoru said.

"Ah. So this is the guy, huh?" Hikaru said.

"Really? Really? Am I that famous??? I feel so... guilty! My brilliance, both within and without, has reached all the way to everyone's eyes, hasn't it?" the blonde guy or, Tamaki Suoh, said. "I-Is this what it's like to have the fortune of a man, possessed by God???"

Tamaki Suoh was mid-fantasy.

"No one ever said that." Hikaru said.

"Ah, but still, no need to worry! Though perhaps not as great as mine, you two do show quite a bit of promise!" Tamaki said.

"What are you talking about?" Kaoru asked.

Tamaki smiled. "I'm starting a new club in April, two months from now! I'm thinking as soon as I move up into high school. We would have to have you come up from middle school for a year, but I'll put in a word for you to take care of that! It will be so much fun! I've also got Kyoya Ootori, from my homeroom class. Additionally, high school first years Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka have been invited! And that's where you two--"

"You're bothering us. Go away." Hikaru and Kaoru interrupted.

Tamaki's eyes widened.

"We don't hang out with anyone." Hikaru said.

"We're not interested in you." Kaoru said.

"If you absolutely must come near us..."

"... will you play..."

"... the Which One is Hikaru Game?" they said together.

"You understand the meaning of the game, right?" Hikaru said.

"You just have to pick which one of us is Hikaru. You have a one-month time limit." Kaoru said.

"In that time span, you can try as many times as you'd like, but we will ask you for your reasoning. No random guessing!" Hikaru said.

"We should warn you--nobody has ever given the right answer in this game before." Kaoru said.

"So, if that's okay with you, then knock yourself out and try your best!" the twins said together.

Then, they left Tamaki standing there.

"He's thinking." Kaoru said.

"Nevermind him. But did you hear that lineup of his? I can see why he wants to add the Hitachiin name to it," Hikaru said. "Is he just trying to create a faction of highborns?"

"One month, you say???"

The twins turned to the sound of Tamaki's voice.

"Very well then. If I win, then you two have to join my club!" Tamaki said. "But, I'm making a prediction--come April, I'm sure that you two will be opening the doors to the Ouran Academy High school Host Club!"

Hikaru and Kaoru just stared at him, their eyes wide.

And so, our time-limit game had started.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Um, Hikaru-kun, Kaoru-kun? We're planning on having a class event after closing ceremonies." one of Hikaru and Kaoru's classmates said.

"No thanks. We'll pass." Hikaru said without even looking up from what he was doing.

"But it's going to be the last event of the school year!" their classmate said.

"We don't care." Kaoru said.

"The one who's reading the book right now is Hikaru!" Tamaki, out of nowhere, suddenly shouted.

Hikaru and Kaoru looked up.

"What is this? You coming into our classroom randomly now?" Hikaru questioned.

"Am I right? Did I get it right???" Tamaki asked eagerly, ignoring Hikaru's questioning gaze.

"No, you didn't." Kaoru said.

"I've discovered something! Hikaru, you're right-handed!" Tamaki said, ignoring the fact that he got it wrong.

"We're both right-handed." Kaoru pointed out.

"Also, Kaoru, you part your hair on the right!" Tamaki said.

"We're always switching hairstyles!" Hikaru protested.

Tamaki kept ignoring their comments. "When you harmonize, the one who takes the lower tone is--"

"What are we, a chorus?" Hikaru and Kaoru snapped.

Hikaru and Kaoru's classmate, a girl, finally spoke up. She looked up at Tamaki. "Y-You're Suoh-senpai, right?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm sorry! Did you need something with these two?" Tamaki said, shooting her his signature dazzling smile.

That made just about every girl in the room swoon.

"Y-Yes... I was just inviting them to a class event...," the girl studdered. "A film festival."

"Hm... A film festival? That sounds like it would be nice. Hikaru and Kaoru will definitely be attending!" Tamaki said.

"Hey! You can't just go and decide for us!" Hikaru and Kaoru stood up, protesting.

Then, they exited the classroom without another word.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Tamaki called after them.

"We're leaving. You're annoying." Hikaru explained.

"But what about our game?!" Tamaki called.

"I thought we already told you..." Kaoru said.

"Try your best." Hikaru and Kaoru both said before they both were out of sight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kyoya Ootori was reading a book as Tamaki entered the classroom.

Since Kyoya was the only one in the classroom, he was the only one to notice.

Tamaki sat down, defeated.

"I thought you went to visit the twins." Kyoya said.

"They ran away on me. Again," Tamaki said. "Help me out here! This is for the club, isn't it?"

"I say it's no biggie; we can still form the club without them, correct?" Kyoya said.

"No! I have an interest in those two--we definitely need them!" Tamaki said.

"Are they some more of 'our friends' you were talking about?" Kyoya asked.

"Oh, mm hm...," Tamaki mumbled. "Then again, what are they thinking? If they wanted to be told apart, they could just change their hairstyles or something...!"

"Then they don't want to be told apart." Kyoya said simply.

"But the game is to tell them apart!" Tamaki said.

"Then they do want to be told apart." Kyoya said, just as simply as before.

Tamaki huffed. "Are you even listening to what I'm saying?"

"About half of it. Or less."

Tamaki crossed his arms and groaned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This morning, the one parted on the right is Kaoru, and the one parted on the left is Hikaru," Tamaki said to the twins, who were just about to enter their limo to head to school. "Good morning~!"

"What is this? You coming to our house randomly now?" Hikaru questioned.

"Am I right? Did I get it right???" Tamaki asked, yet again ignoring Hikaru's questioning gaze.

"No, you didn't." Kaoru said, yet again.

"Hm... I've discovered something!" Tamaki said.

"Does this seem like déjà vu, to you?" Hikaru asked Kaoru, who shrugged.

Tamaki went on as if Hikaru hadn't spoken. "Kaoru! You're a bit pigeon-toed, aren't you?" he said. "You should have that fixed..."

"Hey! That's rude! And it's also untrue!" Hikaru and Kaoru snapped.

"I thought of something last night! What if we let your brotherly love be your draw?" Tamaki said.

Hikaru and Kaoru gave him confused looks. "Huh?" they asked.

"A somewhat risky, symmetrical, brotherly love! The Hitachiin brothers! It's brilliant! How about that???" Tamaki said.

Hikaru and Kaoru got in their limo. "We don't know what you mean." they said before they drove off.

"Hey! Wait! Don't go...!" Tamaki called after them.

Soon, their limo disappeared from the curb.

"What's with that guy? Starting in, first thing in the morning...!" Hikaru said. "You know, that tone he takes..."

"Yeah! I thought so too!" Kaoru laughed.

"He talks like some feudal lord, huh?" they said together. Then, they laughed.

"Why, when he has such a princely face, does he take that tone?!" Hikaru said while laughing.

"'Hold it' he said! 'Hold it'!" Kaoru mocked Tamaki. He and his twin laughed even harder.

"It seems that, before long, he'll start using 'gozaru', right?" Hikaru snorted.

"He's a fool! A foolish lord!" Kaoru laughed.

Then, they suddenly stopped laughing.

"Then again, we're starting to get tired of him, aren't we?" Hikaru said.

"Yeah." Kaoru agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Huh?!"

"Like we said, we're done." Hikaru said.

"Game over." Kaoru said.

"What are you talking about?! How self-serving...!" Tamaki said.

"That's right; we are self-serving." Hikaru said.

Kaoru nodded. "Or, should we say..."

"We heard you're the illegitimate son of the superintendent, huh?" Hikaru and Kaoru said

Tamaki's eyes widened.

"Forgive us, but we did a little looking into you." Hikaru said.

"My, you've got quite a sad, little life story, don't you? You wouldn't want us to spread this around school, would you?" Kaoru said.

"Once more, your actual mother is still missing, even now." Hikaru said.

"Ultimately, you're lonesome just being by yourself, aren't you?" Kaoru said.

"So, could you not arbitrarily try and make us your friends?" Hikaru asked.

"The two of us are better off than you," Kaoru said. Then, he stood up. "Let's go, Hikaru."

"Okay." Hikaru said before he got up and left with Kaoru.

Tamaki just watched them go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He won't go sticking his nose into our business, anymore."

"Still, it's sort of a shame; maybe we could've toyed with him a bit longer. Then again, I'm not up for being disappointed again."

Hikaru and Kaoru sat in an empty classroom, looking out the window.

We were always inconsistent.

We wanted to be told apart. We didn't want to be told apart.

We wanted people to know us. We didn't want to be known.

We were always looking for someone who would accept us...

But there's no way anyone would ever accept anyone like us.

We kept a very, very secure lock, to make sure no one could ever hurt us in our little two-person bubble, our own little world.

"Kaoru." Hikaru said.

"Huh?" Kaoru asked.

"She's here." Hikaru said before he nodded his head at the girl outside.

"Yeah, you're right." Kaoru said as he looked.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Hikaru! She said she'd be fine with you! Seeing as we look alike!" Kaoru called to Hikaru, who revealed himself.

"Huh...?" the girl muttered.

"Ah, not again... For a sweet face as you have, you sure have an awful personality, huh?" Kaoru said to the girl.

Hikaru approached them. "Saying that either of us would be fine..."

"... really means you don't want either one of us, right?" Kaoru finished.

"How mean of you! How mean of you!!!" the girl cried before she ran off.

"Which one of us is really meaner?" Hikaru asked Kaoru as they watched her go. Then, he gripped the letter tightly, getting ready to rip it up...

"The one about the rip up the letter is Hikaru!"

Hikaru stopped just as he was about to rip up the letter before he and Kaoru turned to see Tamaki.

Hikaru and Kaoru's eyes widened. "H-How did you...?"

"Am I right? Did I get it right???" Tamaki asked.

"What's your reasoning?"

"Intuition!" Tamaki answered cheerfully.

Hikaru and Kaoru growled at him.

"Ya' know, we thought we told you at the beginning that you couldn't just randomly guess..." Hikaru said.

Tamaki chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sorry! But I just can't tell yet! I mean, you're just too alike. But then, it all depends on how you look at it. As identical as you two are, it's like you have a talent. So, from now on, work to perfect the two-in-one Hitachiin brothers. But, you mustn't forget you're also independent beings, of course. Which is why I'll be working harder to tell you two apart!" he said.

"That's crazy...!" Hikaru said.

"It's inconsistent...!" Kaoru said.

"What are you talking about? It may be inconsistent, but it's who you are. It's what we call individuality--it's what makes each person unique." Tamaki said.

"What are you talking about?! If we start going with this Hitachiin brother thing as you say, then we'll be set in piece forever!" Hikaru said.

"No matter how hard you try, you'll never be able to tell us apart! We're the only people who can tell ourselves apart... and we always will be..." Kaoru said. Then, he glared. "There isn't anyone who can win the Which One is Hikaru Game! We've known that from the start!!!"

"Then, whenever someone guesses wrong, why do you always look so sad?" Tamaki whispered.

Hikaru and Kaoru's eyes widened again.

I remember he was right.

Every time someone would guess wrong, we'd always be sad.

But we never showed it.

"Even if I'm not able to do it, some day, somewhere, it's very possible that someone will show up one day that's able to tell you two apart without having to guess or you having to tell them. Still, this much is certain--if you keep staying locked up in your two-person bubble for the rest of your lives and keep shutting everyone out the way you do, you'll never know. You'll never know if someone could've been able to tell you apart because you would've shut them out before you even got the chance to know them," Tamaki said before he smiled. "So, instead, why don't we open the doors to the Host Club together? Let's try and expand your world together! Our first meeting will be after the opening ceremony, after school. We're having it in the high school's Music Room 3."

And with that, Tamaki left Hikaru and Kaoru standing there as they watched him go.

That day, after his majesty offered the surprisingly correct answer and opened our eyes, unconsciously, we were a little bit--just a little bit--IMPRESSED by him.

One month later

"Remember, Kaoru, it's not like we were impressed by what that fool said..." Hikaru said, his hands on the door knobs.

"I know. We're just here to kill time..." Kaoru said.

"Y-Yeah, exactly!" Hikaru said. "We're killing time..."

Silence.

"Let's open them together." Hikaru suggested. Kaoru nodded.

"Mm hm." he agreed.

Then, they both gripped one door knob each.

"Ready... set... open!"

And so, we both opened the door.

And, who knew...

About two years later (present day)

"... who knew that behind that door were people who got us. And, out of the people who got us, some of them were able to tell us apart for real." Kaoru finished up the story.

All their customers clapped, some had tears in their eyes.

"Beautiful! Just beautiful...!" one said.

"How touching...!" said another.

Kaoru smiled at Arabella. "Thanks for being able to tell us apart. For real." he said.

Arabella smiled back. "Of course. Oh, and by the way, you and Hikaru were real jerks when you were in middle school... you were also somewhat selfish..." she said.

"You sure were." Haruhi agreed.

Hikaru and Kaoru chuckled. "We know. We really were," they said. "We were really popular with the ladies too!"

They all laughed at that.

We were, indeed, very rude and selfish.

But, that's all changed now.

Because, we've finally opened up and found people...

Our people.