All together now: "The Double-Double Life of Anya Karakai"
Here is everything I've written for my teen-drama fanfiction, "The Double-Double Life of Anya Karakai," pasted together with something that actually resembles a plot.
Original Work: Ouran High School Host Club (manga and anime)
Credits: Bisco Hatori
Teaser/summary:
Hikaru likes Anya on even days, Kaoru prefers her on the odd. They suppose that it is because she is female, and therefore finicky. Anya just thinks that they're
idiots, and her twin sister Natali is a bit surprised that they haven't yet figured out the truth.
Chapter Titles and summaries:
Chapter 1: Double Life
We are introduced to Anya and learn that she is actually two different people (twins Anya and Natali). Bits of their history are revealed.
Chapter 2: Double Double Life
Anya and Natali start their music career, but it must remain a secret. Thus Anya's other false persona is created.
Chapter 3: Twins
Anya and Natali's dealings with the Hitachiin brothers. Their music is a hit.
Chapter 4: Double Twins
The Hitachiins (and Haruhi) learn of the secret that Anya is portrayed by both herself and her sister.
Chapter 5: Crush
The Hitachiins annoy the Karakais. Hikaru develops a crush on Anya. One of their songs hits #1.
Chapter 6: Double Crush
Hikaru scares off Anya. He is crushed. Kaoru and Haruhi (with a suggestion from Nekozawa) help him develop a plan to win her over.
Chapter 7: Shock
Kaoru and Natali become friends. They discover something shocking about their siblings
Chapter 8: Double Shock
Turns out, Hikaru and Anya had a bit of a moment and are now together. Kaoru and Natali try to get used to the idea but end up being awkward around each other.
Chapter 9: Devotion
A crazed fan of the girls' music somehow learns that they are twins and attend Ouran. He comes to the school, causes a commotion and ends up taking Hikaru and Natali hostage.
Chapter 10: Double Devotion
Hikaru is injured. Kaoru manages to switch places with him. Natali and Kaoru finally confess their true feelings. The hostage situation is resolved.
Epilogue:
Anya and Natali's Mom learns about what happened. She is upset that they debut before she gave permission. But is more than pleased at their choice of boyfriends She tells them that she expects a double wedding.
Ideas that will hopefully be incorporated into the story:
Going to school at Ouran was the sole reason that their mother kicked them out-- I mean, shipped them off-- I mean, generously sent them abroad to expand their horizons in Tokyo. This decision greatly disrupted the personal plans of Anya and Natali, who dreamed of quitting school and starting a band. Their mother, however, strongly believed that her daughters should strive for the greatness she knew they could achieve, or at least good marriage prospects. Thus, after much debate and deliberation, daughters and mother came to a compromise. One girl would attend school at Oran, and the other, tutored in music. And it would be up to the girls to decide who would do which. If they could not decide, then they would both attend the school.
It may seem evident that Mrs. Karakai was practically inviting her daughters to set up the stunt they did in order for both be able to study music. And perhaps she was. While she does not posses her daughters (well documented) high intelligence It was quite evident to any and all who knew her that she was definitely not stupid.
Random scenes:
A Hitachiin: "From what I hear, 'Anya' is only an average student, at best. Is half an education good enough for either of you?"
A Karakai: "Not to worry, we thought of that too. We took the entrance exams to Tokyo-U before starting high school to see what level we were at."
A Hitachiin: "I guess that's a decent way to judge your knowledge. What kind of scores did you two get anyway? If you don't mind my asking."
She shrugged, "Pass."
----------
A Hitachiin:"Don't you love your sister? How can you willfully choose to be separated from her at all times, all in the name of this ridiculous facade?"
A Karakai: "Do not make such judgmental accusations. It is quite unbecoming of you. There was one reason, and one reason only that we arranged this 'ridiculous facade' as you call it." She paused, anticipating his disapproval of her reasons. "It was for the music."
A Hitachiin:"Music?" his face tweaked in confusion. "What kind of reason is that?"
A Karakai: "Right now, I can't expect you to understand. But, it is time you came to accept the fact that one day you too may find something, or even someone, that is more important to you than your twin. I know that it is a frightening thought. And even more frightening, is the thought that your brother may find that thing before you are ready to let him go. My sister and I, we found that thing, luckily for us it was the same thing."
[from Chapter 1]
Gracefully stepping into the black limousine, Anya let the door close behind her before breaking the plush silence with a soft, drawn out sigh. For most students at Ouran, it was just the end of another typical day. But for Anya, the end of every day was an accomplishment. She had once again successfully finished school without having her secret discovered. A secret that, if revealed, would get her expelled from Ouran and ruin the rest of her life. It was fortunate that in her second year of high school she had not yet been exposed. Although, the Hitachiin boys were acting more suspicious as of late.
She would have to tell Natali to be especially cautious tomorrow. If they hadn't promised Murata-sensei that they would have Vivaldi's Concerto in G Minor completely memorized by Sunday, she would have demanded Natali stay home as she attended school for a few days in a row. It had worked before, when others (usually teachers) started getting curious, but Anya was already struggling to keep up with her more musically talented twin. She desperately needed her practice day.
Pulling her cellphone out of her schoolbag, Anya typed in the code to access the options for the portable microphone sewn into the collar of her dress. After stopping the feed, she sent the uploaded audio file to her home computer where a program began to filter out everything but prominent voices. Her and Natali would review the finished file that evening.
She had barely disconnected when the phone started to vibrate in her hand. The screen flashed the words: "Receiving a call from...The Goddess of Glock."
While debating on whether or not Natali's obsession with her new glockenspiel was healthy, Anya pressed a button and brought the phone to her ear. "It seems someone's been messing around with my address book again," she said.
"What's the point of having access to your cell if I can't abuse the power?" asked the teenage girl on the other end of the phone.
Anya smiled at her sister's antics, "Whats up, Nati? Obviously something so important that you couldn't wait for me to get home."
"Don't call me that," Natali replied swiftly. But it was so rare for Anya to tease her, she let it go. "I just noticed that you uploaded today's audio file, so I decided it was finally OK to call you." Based on the speed of her speech, Anya could tell that her younger sister had barely prevented herself from calling during school. A mistake she repeatedly made the year before. Anya waited for Natali to tell her what was going on.
"Well, you know that tune I've been working on lately?" Natali asked. "I think I got a good part for it, but it involves a change of rhythm and I'm playing around with a couple of different options for what exactly to do. So I need your input"
Anya looked out the limo's dark tinted window. The traffic was heavy, and it would take a while before she got home. Natali should probably wait and use the time to work on something more practical, like the geometry she was struggling so much with, but Anya understood her sister's fervor. For her-- for both of them -- the music was more important than anything else.
She pushed off her shoes and stretched her feet. "Ok, play me what you've got."
Half an hour later, the limo transporting Anya passed under a gate with statues of black cats perched on the pillars on either side. At this same time Anya finally ended her phone conversation with Natali. The dark haired girl may have found it slightly annoying that her sister always insisted on her input and then always contested it, but she loved her dearly, and happily accepted their strange social dynamics.
The car drove up a long forested driveway and approached the front door of a large mansion. Once there, the chauffeur quickly got out before helping Anya (who had put her shoes back on) do the same. "Miss, it is now the time that I must return to pick up the young master from his after-school activities." The chauffeur addressed her in his official tone. "Jones will be available if you wish to go anywhere."
Coming out the front door, a girl who looked identical to Anya save for her casual clothes, gave a short sarcastic laugh, "Ha, do we ever?"
Giving no response except a short bow to bid them farewell, the chauffeur got back into the limo and drove down the driveway.
Anya looked at her sister with a slightly confused expression. "Couldn't wait another two minutes for me?" she asked, indicating Natali's appearance at the front door when she usually waited in their room for Anya after she arrived home.
"Nope." Natali took Anya's hand and pulled her inside. "It's getting dark earlier these days and I want as much jaunt time as possible." Opening the door to the front hall bathroom, Natali shoved her sister inside. "There's a change of clothes in there for you. Hurry up."
The forest around their uncle's mansion was vast and thick. And the twin girls had been exploring it on their after school jaunts every day since they first started living there more than a year earlier. If their mother had any indication of how they were spending their first hour after school, she would probably completely dissolve their "deal" and demand that both girls graduate from Ouran. But, as it was, their uncle didn't pay any attention to them, and their cousin Umehito, (who also attended Ouran) had yet to realize that they were even in the country, let alone living with him.
For both girls, the hour after school was their favorite part of the day. While on their excursions, there was no school or studying, practicing or pretending. It was just Natali, Anya, and the wilderness. They could be just themselves out here, just sisters. Of course, there was the rare occasion when one of them would bring something up that shattered their peaceful moment. And on this particular day, it was Anya.
"I think that we should move our debut to this year."
[from Chapter 3]
While Natali was fervently attempting to take notes good enough for her sister to understand, Kaoru leaned over and used his left hand to discreetly rummage around in her bag. "Hello, what is this?" he asked with a tilt of his head as he pulled out a pocket-sized notebook.
Natali quickly glanced over to see what he was up to, and nearly choked on the knot in her throat. He was holding her music notebook! That was the most precious thing in her possession She wouldn't have even considered bringing it to school, but she was feeling particularly inspired concerning a song that morning.
Using the most calm voice she could muster, she mumbled through the side of her mouth, "Put it back, Hitachiin-san."
By the mischievousness in his eyes it was obvious that the red-headed boy was unconvinced by her act. He let a slight smirk tickle the side of his mouth. Slowly, he unfastened the bow of the leather string that held the book closed. Then, ever-so-slowly, he started to open the book. All the while, looking at her through the corner of his eye.
As fast as she could, Natali reached out to grab the book from his hands. But he was quicker, and slid it from her grasp just as her fingers brushed against the cover.
In one fluid motion (that she seriously would have questioned at being rehearsed if she didn't know the brothers so well), Kaoru promptly passed the notebook to his right were his twin took it and placed it into the breast pocket of his jacket.
Still grinning at her with his smug smirk, Kaoru said quietly, "We'll give you a chance to win it back later."
Natali couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Win it back" he said? There was no way she was going to wait around until classes were over so that they could play some stupid game with her in order to get back her own property! They would most likely read it by then and she wasn't about to let that happen. "Hitachiin-san, I'm serious. Give me back my notebook now," she seethed.
This only seemed to encourage him. In his best (fake) calming voice, he said, "All in due time Kara-chan," while patting her shoulder. "You'll get a chance at it later," she saw the evil glint in his eyes "...if you behave."
Before she knew what she was doing, Natali had grabbed his shirt at the collar, lifted him out of his chair, and slammed him down on his desk. "Kaoru Hitachiin!" she screamed. "Tell your brother to give me back my note book right now or I am going to teach you a new meaning to the word pain!"
The entire classroom silently stared at the pair. Hikaru, who could not tare his eyes from the scene before him, fumbled for his breast pocket and retrieved the note book, handing it to her hesitantly. Their teacher, who was used to dealing with extremely well behaved and refined children, was struggling in his mind as to weather he should call security to break up the two. But ultimately he decided to start with a more traditional method. "Karakai-san, Hitachiin-san, go to the principal's office immediately," He said in a stern voice.
"Which Hitachiin?" asked Hikaru, who apparently couldn't keep himself out of any trouble his brother was in.
"I'd say, 'the one with the large bruise forming on his back,'" responded the teacher. "But you probably have something to with this situation so you should go too."
As if in a daze, Natali let go of the front of Koaru's shirt and numbly walked out of the classroom. Hikaru helped Kaoru off the desk and they followed her into the hallway. They caught up to her as she was rounding the first corner and stepped around her in a way that effectively pinned her to the wall.
"What was that back there?" Hikaru asked bitterly.
Regaining a bit of herself control, Natali blushed. "I'm sorry if I hurt you back there, I lost my temper. It won't happen again, Kaoru."
"I'm not Kaoru, and you know it." Hikaru said.
"You knew my name back there," Kaoru added. "I saw it in your eyes. You had absolutely no doubt as to who I was."
They glared at her together, "How did you know?"
[from Chapter 4]
The Hitachiins and Haruhi show up at Anya's house (which also happens to be the Nekozawa residence).
The day before, they were assigned a project in school which they had to work on with a partner. Usually the twins would work together, but the teacher wouldn't let them do that this time. Hikaru naturally chose Haruhi as his partner and Kaoru didn't seem too upset by this as he readily asked Anya to be his. At first she declined, claiming that she would rather be anyone else’s partner but his. Unfortunately, everyone else picked their partners quickly which only left him. The two groups agree to work on their projects together the next day (Sunday) but never discussed an actual time or place.
The Hitachiins decide on their own that they are going to do the project at Anya's home, so they get Anya's address from Kyouya. The next day, Hikaru, Kaoru and Haruhi arrive at the Nekozawa mansion at the same time as Natali and Anya's music tutor (a strict looking middle aged woman). She lets the teenagers follow her to the girls' room, but on the way there, Haruhi gets led away by Kimichi. When the Hitachiins get to the girls' room, they and the music tutor learn from a passing maid that the girls are not up yet (it's still pretty early, at least for a Sunday morning). The music tutor lady excuses herself from the younger boys and bursts into the girls' room. The boys follow her in.
-----+
Putting on a stern face, the woman yanked the fluffy comforter off of one of the beds. A figure with long dark hair moaned and curled into a ball, attempting to retain some body heat. She was wearing short white cotton boxers and a white tank top. Looking at her face, the guests saw that it was Anya.
"You," the older woman sneered. "Which one are you, and why are you not out of bed yet?"
The girl moaned again. "I'm Natali. Anya's using the shower so there's no point in getting up yet." She pulled the covers back onto her bed, and over her head.
The red-headed twins looked at each other, both raising an eyebrow.
Putting her hands on her hips, the woman said, "I am sure you can find an unoccupied bathroom somewhere in this mansion."
"But this one has all of my stuff in it!" the girl whined.
In the scuffle that followed, the older woman ended up tugging the comforter off the bed again, only this time while grumbling about not being paid to watch sleeping teenagers. Natali, who refused to let go of her comforter, ended up being pulled out of bed and landing on her head.
"Now," the woman huffed as Natali uprighted herself and rubbed her head. "Both of you had better be downstairs in the music room within 20 minutes, or so help me, I'll leave for the day."
"Good," Natali thought. "She's finally leaving the room. Maybe I can get a few more minutes of sleep before Anya comes out of the bathroom." But her near unconsciousness was once again interrupted by the woman's voice as she said, "And what are you two doing in here? I thought I left you out in the hall."
Natali's eyes snapped open at the sound of the next person's voice.
"Well, you left the door open," Hikaru said.
"We thought that was an invitation," Kaoru finished.
"Maaaaaaah!" Natali let out a high pitched shriek as she crawled over her bed and dove behind the far side, out of sight of the others. Just at that moment, Anya exited the bathroom. She had on a short white bathrobe and her head and face were currently being covered by a towel as she vigorously rubbed her dark wet hair.
"Natali, what is your problem?" She asked as she removed the towel and set it on her shoulders, revealing a face identical to the other dark haired girl. Looking at Natali she asked, "Did you fall out of your bed?"
"Hi-ta-chi-in!" Natali whispered to her sister while frantically pointing in the direction of the other set of twins. Anya's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she slowly turned her head toward them. Then, using speed that would make any ninja proud, she flew behind the bed and crouched beside her sister. There the girls began to whisper in desperate tones to each other.
"What are they doing here?"
"I have no idea!"
"How did they get in?"
"I don't know. I think they snuck in with Murata-sensei."
"Did they see you?"
"More than I ever wanted. What are we going to do?"
"Well, we can't hide back here all day."
"That much is obvious."
"Why don't you go out there and get rid of them."
"Me? I'm practically in my underwear!"
"I'm not much better off."
A pair of male voices chimed above them, "Don't we know it."
With shocked faces, Anya and Natali looked up to see the Hitachiin brothers laying across the bed on their stomachs, and looking down at them with identical Cheshire grins. Noticing (and quite amused) that the girls seemed to have turned into stone before them, the boys continued speaking.
"You know, Kaoru, I am beginning to think that perhaps there is more to Anya than we previously thought."
"I think you may be right, Hikaru. Perhaps even twice as much. But what should we do with this new revelation?"
"How about we do what we've wanted to since the start of the year, but...
"Couldn't find Anya's weakness," Kaoru said with him. "Yes that sounds like the perfect thing, Hikaru. Well girls, it's been decided." They turned to Anya and Natali and said together:
"You are our new toys!"
[from Chapter 6]
Anya let out a sigh while her bag slipped from her fingers and dropped to the loft's wooden floor. Sitting down next to it she leaned against one of the tower's support beams and rolled up her sleeves in an attempt to cool herself as much as possible. She often wondered (especially on hot stuffy days such as this) why it was that the clock tower was the only place on campus that she could work without disturbance. But the simple, obvious answer always came too quickly to her mind. Them.
Those red-headed twins from hell always managed to discover her and Natali's hiding spots. Be it a rarely found quiet corner in the library, or a secluded dead end of the hedge maze in the garden, one or both of the boys always found where the girl who was posing as "Anya" had tried to hide. The girls had even secretly rented a music practice room with a door that could be locked in hopes to get them to stay away. Anya was the first to try it out and was quite pleased with it's peaceful feel and sound proof walls. Unfortunately, one of the walls was also made of glass, and therefore see-through. It took the boys five minutes to find her, and thirty seconds to pick the lock. This left poor Anya to deal with their 'punishment' for trying to avoid them. In a way she was glad that it was her and not Natali who was there on that day. Because if it was Natali, the flan they requested her to hand feed them probably would have ended up not on their heads, but down their pants.
She smiled as she recalled the image of the boy's identical faces, slightly surprised, with upside down flan--plates still attached--sitting on their heads like soggy little hats. At the beginning of the year she would have never even let the thought of doing something so rash come to her mind. But after "Natali's little slip up" as the sisters liked to call it, she felt a bit more free to act out in school, especially toward the Hitachiin brothers.
"Thinking of me?" a male voice asked behind her. It could only be one of the twins. And since they had figured out which of the girls was "on duty" for which days, it was most likely Hikaru. Yes, on retrospect she realized it was defiantly Hikaru's voice. That boy seemed to find a sadistic pleasure in trying to upset her in particular since he considered her sister "too short a fuse" and "not enough of a challenge." But Kaoru didn't seem to mind. He stuck to Natali like glue whenever it she was at school. Save for when she managed to sneak out of the girls bathroom and make her way to the clock tower without being noticed. It had been their "safe spot" for the last three weeks, but obviously not any more.
Although quite shocked by the sudden intrusion, Anya did not allow herself to appear surprised. While turning toward her unexpected visitor she carefully scooted a few feet away from him and responded with a nod. "Hn. And how funny you looked with a flan hat."
With a grin he climbed out of the ladder shaft and picked up her bag while making his way to her right side. Sitting next to her with the bag in his lap he opened it up and pulled out her cell phone with the built-in digital receiving recorder. Then he turned to Anya and lifted up her collar, speaking directly into the hidden microphone. "Sorry Natali," he said. "I want to talk to your sister privately for a while." And with that he switched off the recorder/phone and put it back into her bag.
"You look incredibly pleased with yourself." Anya said, noting Hikaru's smug expression.
"And you two thought that you were so clever with your little hidden microphone."
Normally, Anya would not take such obvious bait for a retort. She knew that using a microphone was a juvenile idea. Their entire plot to switch places every day was nothing short of unoriginal. But it was their only option if they wanted to fulfill their dream. And by insulting any part of their elaborate scheme Hikaru was indirectly undermining their dream, which is something that Anya would never stand for. "Apparently not as clever as those who discovered it," she replied. It was not said sarcastically or in a snide tone, but she knew that Hikaru was aware she was insulting him, which made his grin widen.
"Well, the way you and your sister always leave your bag out in the open for anyone to look through made finding the recorder inevitable, especially when Kaoru tried to reprogram your cell phone."
"And the microphone?"
"Always fidgeting with your collar may be a nervous habit for some people. But you were raised to be refined ladies. Actions such as that would most likely have some sort of reason behind them."
Anya raised her eyebrows slightly. "Your talents of observance and deduction are quite impressive. Why don't you go off and find something important to use them on instead of bothering me. I'd like to be alone right now, if you don't mind."
Hikaru's next statement emotionally pinned Anya into a corner. With a straight face he turned to her. "Thank you for the compliment Anya, but as far as using my talents (as you call them) on things important? That priority list starts and ends right here, with you." He said, leaning over her and setting his hand on the floor to her left. His fingers gently brushed against her hand witch was balled in a nervous fist. He was now practically hovering over her. She tried to lean back a bit to widen the space between them, but apparently he had managed to physically pin her in a corner as well. "Oh yea," he added, moving his face closer to hers. "And if it means I have to leave you, I do mind."
Her breath hitched in her throat.
[from Chapter 6]
Kaoru sat quietly in anticipation. His brother was beside him on one of the ornate red sofas of the currently vacant Third Music Room. Hikaru had his elbows propped on his knees and was leaning over, allowing his forehead to rest on his palms. To Hikaru's left, Haruhi crossed her legs and tilted her head slightly while looking at the older twin; making her look quite feminine despite her short hair and male uniform.
It had been a full fifteen seconds since Hikaru stopped relating his tale and had fallen into silence, which would have probably been acceptable if he had actually finished his story. But instead his voice trailed off, right at the good part. Kaoru clenched his teeth. Having patience and concern for your beloved twin brother was something he had a lot of experience with, but for some reason this was torture. The thought brushed by that perhaps Natali was rubbing off on him. He was about to think on this subject more, when he remembered that Hikaru had still not spoken, and it had been over twenty seconds now! Casting aside all thoughts of whether it was respectful (and if not, who he should blame) Kaoru asked:
"And then?"
Hikaru looked up into the faces of his small audience. Haruhi and Kaoru were the closest people to him, and his only confidants in his recent quest for love, and they were dutifully listening to his story of what had just happened between himself and Anya.
"Then..." he repeated solemnly, "then she shoved me away and got out of there as fast as possible. Just left her stuff and ran. I don't think she touched a single rung of the ladder on her way down." He ran his fingers along the strap of Anya's bag which was sitting on the coffee table in front of him. "What do I do now? It's obvious that she hates me."
Haruhi voiced her opinion first. "I don't think you should be so drastic in your conclusions yet."
Kaoru quickly jumped to her support. "Yes, you probably just scared her more than anything. I mean, you've never given her a reason to trust you, so she might have thought you were teasing her again." But his statement didn't seem to help much because Hikaru responded by grabbing Anya's bag and hugging it tightly while letting out a pitiful sounding groan.
Kaoru and Haruhi looked frantically at each other in a futile attempt to find out what they could do to help the miserable boy.
A quiet, eerie voice was heard from the other end of the room. "Just give her some space for a while. Let her see on her own that you are sincere. Your patience alone might prove it to her."
The group looked to the source of the voice and saw Nekozawa, shrouded in his typical dark cloak and shadows, peeking through a slit in the doorway which led to the room used by the Black Magic Club.
"How would you know anything?" Hikaru asked. He was rather annoyed that someone had been listening to their private conversation. Sure, Anya and Natali were his cousins, but that didn't give him the excuse to eavesdrop "The girls were living in your home for over a year and you never knew it."
"That is true," Nekozawa replied. There was no shame in his voice. "I only know what the cards told me when I did a taro reading this morning."
"Oh," Hikaru's voice sounded like his hopes had been deflated once again. "That's not much of a help."
"Though, his suggestion sounds promising," Kaoru commented. "I mean, I'm not so sure about the whole "patience proving' thing," he looked down at his brother who was staring up at him with curiosity. "But at the very least she might start to miss you."
Hikaru thought it over in his mind. Getting Anya to actually miss him was slim, and there still might be other options.
"Or you could ask me to cast a spell for you," Nekozawa offered.
Hikaru's response was swift and adamant. "I'll just ignore her for a while. How long do you think I should wait?" he asked his two best friends.
While the three were discussing appropriate time allotments for the scheme, Nekozawa silently retreated back into his club room, a wide smile on his face. He never intended to cast a spell on his cousin, but the Hitachiin boy obviously needed a little nudge. Now it was all up to fate and time.
"I'm willing to wait years if I have to!" he heard the boy yell as the door closed. But as was revealed later, "years" to Hikaru Hitachiin is equal to about two weeks.
[from Chapter 7]
Natali and Kaoru were walking side-by-side down the sunlit halls of Ouran, chatting amiably. Surprisingly enough, their relationship had improved quite a bit during the "Stasis Period" that began nearly two weeks before when Anya's bag was returned with a note from Hikaru which expressed his intentions. He promised to completely remove himself from her life until she felt comfortable around him.
Staying true to his word, Hikaru never talked to, annoyed, or even looked at Anya again. He did periodically converse with Natali, but always remained serious and reserved with her. This proved to be a bit disappointing to Natali, who had recently begun to accept the Hitachiins as possible friends.
But feelings of disappointment were soon forgotten when she and Kaoru discovered an entirely new aspect of the situation. An aspect which was quite dangerous when left on its own, but when manipulated properly could be very entertaining.
Gossip.
Kaoru already knew how to stage situations that could fan the flames of gossip within the school. He and his brother had all but perfected it with the "brotherly love" facade developed for the Host Club. And Natali was surprised how much fun it was to stage fight scenes with Kaoru one day, let Anya and Hikaru be indifferent to each other the next, only to dramatically forgive each other on the third. Since no one at school (except Haruhi) knew about Natali or could tell the twins apart, the mystery of what exactly was going on with Anya and the Hitachiin's relationship remained a heated discussion among the students.
That is why neither Natali nor Kaoru were too concerned with the whispers that surrounded them as they walked down the hall. Their merry little chat however, was interrupted when three haughty figures suddenly appeared in front of them.
"Good afternoon, Karakai-san, Hitachiin-san," the middle and tallest boy greeted them with a smug grin.
Natali Narrowed her eyes slightly at the trio of young men. The newspaper club had always watched her and Anya a bit too closely. The girls couldn't determine whether it was because they suspected their secret, or they just had an odd fascination with "Anya." Either way, Natali was instantly wary due to their presence
Kaoru was more polite. "Good afternoon, Ukyo-senpai. If you wish to interview me for the school newspaper, you are still required to get permission from Kyouya first."
"That is good to know, but indeed a shame," Ukyo said as the expression on his face fell a bit. "I really wanted to get the story from both of you. It won't be as good of an article with Anya's opinions alone."
"I'm not talking to you either," said Natali.
Ukyo looked like he was attempting to keep from looking even more upset. "Very well then. I will just release the photograph with commentary by random students. Pardon us for wasting your time." He bowed before turning to leave.
"Wait." Kaoru grabbed the older boy's arm. "What photograph?"
Ukyo's face became shadowed by his bangs as he looked down, but it was easy to see that his grin was back. "The one taken of you and Miss Karakai." He paused dramatically. "Yesterday... on the roof of the Gymnasium"
Dun, dun, duuuuun.
Kaoru sighed, "Ukyo-senpai, dramatics are unnecessary because I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. So can you please tell your freshman lackey to put the Timpani drum away." He looked over at the small boy who was standing behind a drum so large that he could probably fit inside it.
Ukyo raised his eyes and looked into Kaoru's. "No idea what I'm taking about? That is very..." his gaze drifted over to Natali "...interesting."
Before the freshman could play his drum again, Natali grabbed his timpani sticks and threw them down the hallway. It was lucky for them that school was over. By this time nearly all the students had vacated the hallways and retreated to club rooms and the library. Otherwise, the sticks would have definitely hit someone.
Composing herself, and smoothing down her dress, Natali turned back to the others. With a very convincing smile, she asked, "May we please just see the photograph, Ukyo-senpai?"
"As you wish, Miss Karakai," he said while taking the photograph out of his jacket breast pocket. "But I am not responsible for any...repercussions this might cause."
Then, he flipped the picture over as dramatically as possible, finally allowing Natali and Kaoru to see its contents.
Natali blinked.
Kaoru blinked.
Natali looked at Kaoru and then back at the photo.
Kaoru leaned closer to the photo, attempting to see it better. But Ukyo stepped back a bit.
"Ukyo-senpai?" Natali asked sweetly. "Do you mind if we borrow that photograph for a while?"
"Only if the two of you agree to an interview," he answered calmly.
Kaoru removed his gaze from the photograph and looked up into the tall boy's eyes. "Or I could tell Kyouya that your club has taken an unauthorized picture of a Host Club Member."
Ukyo's smile fell and his face lost some of it's color. "Here," he handed the photo over to them. "But if you change your minds, we would still like to get your opinions before the publication is printed tomorrow."
Natali practically snatched the photo out of his hand. She and Kaoru rushed past the Newspaper Club members and down the hall on their way to the third music room. Looking at Kaoru, Natali could see that he was just as concerned about the photo as she was. But she also knew that they did not have to worry about it showing up in the school newspaper. A mention of its contents to Kyouya, and the negatives (along with all copies ever printed of the picture) would be in the possession of the Host Club's Shadow King by morning.
Original Work: Ouran High School Host Club (manga and anime)
Credits: Bisco Hatori
Teaser/summary:
Hikaru likes Anya on even days, Kaoru prefers her on the odd. They suppose that it is because she is female, and therefore finicky. Anya just thinks that they're
idiots, and her twin sister Natali is a bit surprised that they haven't yet figured out the truth.
Chapter Titles and summaries:
Chapter 1: Double Life
We are introduced to Anya and learn that she is actually two different people (twins Anya and Natali). Bits of their history are revealed.
Chapter 2: Double Double Life
Anya and Natali start their music career, but it must remain a secret. Thus Anya's other false persona is created.
Chapter 3: Twins
Anya and Natali's dealings with the Hitachiin brothers. Their music is a hit.
Chapter 4: Double Twins
The Hitachiins (and Haruhi) learn of the secret that Anya is portrayed by both herself and her sister.
Chapter 5: Crush
The Hitachiins annoy the Karakais. Hikaru develops a crush on Anya. One of their songs hits #1.
Chapter 6: Double Crush
Hikaru scares off Anya. He is crushed. Kaoru and Haruhi (with a suggestion from Nekozawa) help him develop a plan to win her over.
Chapter 7: Shock
Kaoru and Natali become friends. They discover something shocking about their siblings
Chapter 8: Double Shock
Turns out, Hikaru and Anya had a bit of a moment and are now together. Kaoru and Natali try to get used to the idea but end up being awkward around each other.
Chapter 9: Devotion
A crazed fan of the girls' music somehow learns that they are twins and attend Ouran. He comes to the school, causes a commotion and ends up taking Hikaru and Natali hostage.
Chapter 10: Double Devotion
Hikaru is injured. Kaoru manages to switch places with him. Natali and Kaoru finally confess their true feelings. The hostage situation is resolved.
Epilogue:
Anya and Natali's Mom learns about what happened. She is upset that they debut before she gave permission. But is more than pleased at their choice of boyfriends She tells them that she expects a double wedding.
Ideas that will hopefully be incorporated into the story:
Going to school at Ouran was the sole reason that their mother kicked them out-- I mean, shipped them off-- I mean, generously sent them abroad to expand their horizons in Tokyo. This decision greatly disrupted the personal plans of Anya and Natali, who dreamed of quitting school and starting a band. Their mother, however, strongly believed that her daughters should strive for the greatness she knew they could achieve, or at least good marriage prospects. Thus, after much debate and deliberation, daughters and mother came to a compromise. One girl would attend school at Oran, and the other, tutored in music. And it would be up to the girls to decide who would do which. If they could not decide, then they would both attend the school.
It may seem evident that Mrs. Karakai was practically inviting her daughters to set up the stunt they did in order for both be able to study music. And perhaps she was. While she does not posses her daughters (well documented) high intelligence It was quite evident to any and all who knew her that she was definitely not stupid.
Random scenes:
A Hitachiin: "From what I hear, 'Anya' is only an average student, at best. Is half an education good enough for either of you?"
A Karakai: "Not to worry, we thought of that too. We took the entrance exams to Tokyo-U before starting high school to see what level we were at."
A Hitachiin: "I guess that's a decent way to judge your knowledge. What kind of scores did you two get anyway? If you don't mind my asking."
She shrugged, "Pass."
----------
A Hitachiin:"Don't you love your sister? How can you willfully choose to be separated from her at all times, all in the name of this ridiculous facade?"
A Karakai: "Do not make such judgmental accusations. It is quite unbecoming of you. There was one reason, and one reason only that we arranged this 'ridiculous facade' as you call it." She paused, anticipating his disapproval of her reasons. "It was for the music."
A Hitachiin:"Music?" his face tweaked in confusion. "What kind of reason is that?"
A Karakai: "Right now, I can't expect you to understand. But, it is time you came to accept the fact that one day you too may find something, or even someone, that is more important to you than your twin. I know that it is a frightening thought. And even more frightening, is the thought that your brother may find that thing before you are ready to let him go. My sister and I, we found that thing, luckily for us it was the same thing."
[from Chapter 1]
Gracefully stepping into the black limousine, Anya let the door close behind her before breaking the plush silence with a soft, drawn out sigh. For most students at Ouran, it was just the end of another typical day. But for Anya, the end of every day was an accomplishment. She had once again successfully finished school without having her secret discovered. A secret that, if revealed, would get her expelled from Ouran and ruin the rest of her life. It was fortunate that in her second year of high school she had not yet been exposed. Although, the Hitachiin boys were acting more suspicious as of late.
She would have to tell Natali to be especially cautious tomorrow. If they hadn't promised Murata-sensei that they would have Vivaldi's Concerto in G Minor completely memorized by Sunday, she would have demanded Natali stay home as she attended school for a few days in a row. It had worked before, when others (usually teachers) started getting curious, but Anya was already struggling to keep up with her more musically talented twin. She desperately needed her practice day.
Pulling her cellphone out of her schoolbag, Anya typed in the code to access the options for the portable microphone sewn into the collar of her dress. After stopping the feed, she sent the uploaded audio file to her home computer where a program began to filter out everything but prominent voices. Her and Natali would review the finished file that evening.
She had barely disconnected when the phone started to vibrate in her hand. The screen flashed the words: "Receiving a call from...The Goddess of Glock."
While debating on whether or not Natali's obsession with her new glockenspiel was healthy, Anya pressed a button and brought the phone to her ear. "It seems someone's been messing around with my address book again," she said.
"What's the point of having access to your cell if I can't abuse the power?" asked the teenage girl on the other end of the phone.
Anya smiled at her sister's antics, "Whats up, Nati? Obviously something so important that you couldn't wait for me to get home."
"Don't call me that," Natali replied swiftly. But it was so rare for Anya to tease her, she let it go. "I just noticed that you uploaded today's audio file, so I decided it was finally OK to call you." Based on the speed of her speech, Anya could tell that her younger sister had barely prevented herself from calling during school. A mistake she repeatedly made the year before. Anya waited for Natali to tell her what was going on.
"Well, you know that tune I've been working on lately?" Natali asked. "I think I got a good part for it, but it involves a change of rhythm and I'm playing around with a couple of different options for what exactly to do. So I need your input"
Anya looked out the limo's dark tinted window. The traffic was heavy, and it would take a while before she got home. Natali should probably wait and use the time to work on something more practical, like the geometry she was struggling so much with, but Anya understood her sister's fervor. For her-- for both of them -- the music was more important than anything else.
She pushed off her shoes and stretched her feet. "Ok, play me what you've got."
Half an hour later, the limo transporting Anya passed under a gate with statues of black cats perched on the pillars on either side. At this same time Anya finally ended her phone conversation with Natali. The dark haired girl may have found it slightly annoying that her sister always insisted on her input and then always contested it, but she loved her dearly, and happily accepted their strange social dynamics.
The car drove up a long forested driveway and approached the front door of a large mansion. Once there, the chauffeur quickly got out before helping Anya (who had put her shoes back on) do the same. "Miss, it is now the time that I must return to pick up the young master from his after-school activities." The chauffeur addressed her in his official tone. "Jones will be available if you wish to go anywhere."
Coming out the front door, a girl who looked identical to Anya save for her casual clothes, gave a short sarcastic laugh, "Ha, do we ever?"
Giving no response except a short bow to bid them farewell, the chauffeur got back into the limo and drove down the driveway.
Anya looked at her sister with a slightly confused expression. "Couldn't wait another two minutes for me?" she asked, indicating Natali's appearance at the front door when she usually waited in their room for Anya after she arrived home.
"Nope." Natali took Anya's hand and pulled her inside. "It's getting dark earlier these days and I want as much jaunt time as possible." Opening the door to the front hall bathroom, Natali shoved her sister inside. "There's a change of clothes in there for you. Hurry up."
The forest around their uncle's mansion was vast and thick. And the twin girls had been exploring it on their after school jaunts every day since they first started living there more than a year earlier. If their mother had any indication of how they were spending their first hour after school, she would probably completely dissolve their "deal" and demand that both girls graduate from Ouran. But, as it was, their uncle didn't pay any attention to them, and their cousin Umehito, (who also attended Ouran) had yet to realize that they were even in the country, let alone living with him.
For both girls, the hour after school was their favorite part of the day. While on their excursions, there was no school or studying, practicing or pretending. It was just Natali, Anya, and the wilderness. They could be just themselves out here, just sisters. Of course, there was the rare occasion when one of them would bring something up that shattered their peaceful moment. And on this particular day, it was Anya.
"I think that we should move our debut to this year."
[from Chapter 3]
While Natali was fervently attempting to take notes good enough for her sister to understand, Kaoru leaned over and used his left hand to discreetly rummage around in her bag. "Hello, what is this?" he asked with a tilt of his head as he pulled out a pocket-sized notebook.
Natali quickly glanced over to see what he was up to, and nearly choked on the knot in her throat. He was holding her music notebook! That was the most precious thing in her possession She wouldn't have even considered bringing it to school, but she was feeling particularly inspired concerning a song that morning.
Using the most calm voice she could muster, she mumbled through the side of her mouth, "Put it back, Hitachiin-san."
By the mischievousness in his eyes it was obvious that the red-headed boy was unconvinced by her act. He let a slight smirk tickle the side of his mouth. Slowly, he unfastened the bow of the leather string that held the book closed. Then, ever-so-slowly, he started to open the book. All the while, looking at her through the corner of his eye.
As fast as she could, Natali reached out to grab the book from his hands. But he was quicker, and slid it from her grasp just as her fingers brushed against the cover.
In one fluid motion (that she seriously would have questioned at being rehearsed if she didn't know the brothers so well), Kaoru promptly passed the notebook to his right were his twin took it and placed it into the breast pocket of his jacket.
Still grinning at her with his smug smirk, Kaoru said quietly, "We'll give you a chance to win it back later."
Natali couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Win it back" he said? There was no way she was going to wait around until classes were over so that they could play some stupid game with her in order to get back her own property! They would most likely read it by then and she wasn't about to let that happen. "Hitachiin-san, I'm serious. Give me back my notebook now," she seethed.
This only seemed to encourage him. In his best (fake) calming voice, he said, "All in due time Kara-chan," while patting her shoulder. "You'll get a chance at it later," she saw the evil glint in his eyes "...if you behave."
Before she knew what she was doing, Natali had grabbed his shirt at the collar, lifted him out of his chair, and slammed him down on his desk. "Kaoru Hitachiin!" she screamed. "Tell your brother to give me back my note book right now or I am going to teach you a new meaning to the word pain!"
The entire classroom silently stared at the pair. Hikaru, who could not tare his eyes from the scene before him, fumbled for his breast pocket and retrieved the note book, handing it to her hesitantly. Their teacher, who was used to dealing with extremely well behaved and refined children, was struggling in his mind as to weather he should call security to break up the two. But ultimately he decided to start with a more traditional method. "Karakai-san, Hitachiin-san, go to the principal's office immediately," He said in a stern voice.
"Which Hitachiin?" asked Hikaru, who apparently couldn't keep himself out of any trouble his brother was in.
"I'd say, 'the one with the large bruise forming on his back,'" responded the teacher. "But you probably have something to with this situation so you should go too."
As if in a daze, Natali let go of the front of Koaru's shirt and numbly walked out of the classroom. Hikaru helped Kaoru off the desk and they followed her into the hallway. They caught up to her as she was rounding the first corner and stepped around her in a way that effectively pinned her to the wall.
"What was that back there?" Hikaru asked bitterly.
Regaining a bit of herself control, Natali blushed. "I'm sorry if I hurt you back there, I lost my temper. It won't happen again, Kaoru."
"I'm not Kaoru, and you know it." Hikaru said.
"You knew my name back there," Kaoru added. "I saw it in your eyes. You had absolutely no doubt as to who I was."
They glared at her together, "How did you know?"
[from Chapter 4]
The Hitachiins and Haruhi show up at Anya's house (which also happens to be the Nekozawa residence).
The day before, they were assigned a project in school which they had to work on with a partner. Usually the twins would work together, but the teacher wouldn't let them do that this time. Hikaru naturally chose Haruhi as his partner and Kaoru didn't seem too upset by this as he readily asked Anya to be his. At first she declined, claiming that she would rather be anyone else’s partner but his. Unfortunately, everyone else picked their partners quickly which only left him. The two groups agree to work on their projects together the next day (Sunday) but never discussed an actual time or place.
The Hitachiins decide on their own that they are going to do the project at Anya's home, so they get Anya's address from Kyouya. The next day, Hikaru, Kaoru and Haruhi arrive at the Nekozawa mansion at the same time as Natali and Anya's music tutor (a strict looking middle aged woman). She lets the teenagers follow her to the girls' room, but on the way there, Haruhi gets led away by Kimichi. When the Hitachiins get to the girls' room, they and the music tutor learn from a passing maid that the girls are not up yet (it's still pretty early, at least for a Sunday morning). The music tutor lady excuses herself from the younger boys and bursts into the girls' room. The boys follow her in.
-----+
Putting on a stern face, the woman yanked the fluffy comforter off of one of the beds. A figure with long dark hair moaned and curled into a ball, attempting to retain some body heat. She was wearing short white cotton boxers and a white tank top. Looking at her face, the guests saw that it was Anya.
"You," the older woman sneered. "Which one are you, and why are you not out of bed yet?"
The girl moaned again. "I'm Natali. Anya's using the shower so there's no point in getting up yet." She pulled the covers back onto her bed, and over her head.
The red-headed twins looked at each other, both raising an eyebrow.
Putting her hands on her hips, the woman said, "I am sure you can find an unoccupied bathroom somewhere in this mansion."
"But this one has all of my stuff in it!" the girl whined.
In the scuffle that followed, the older woman ended up tugging the comforter off the bed again, only this time while grumbling about not being paid to watch sleeping teenagers. Natali, who refused to let go of her comforter, ended up being pulled out of bed and landing on her head.
"Now," the woman huffed as Natali uprighted herself and rubbed her head. "Both of you had better be downstairs in the music room within 20 minutes, or so help me, I'll leave for the day."
"Good," Natali thought. "She's finally leaving the room. Maybe I can get a few more minutes of sleep before Anya comes out of the bathroom." But her near unconsciousness was once again interrupted by the woman's voice as she said, "And what are you two doing in here? I thought I left you out in the hall."
Natali's eyes snapped open at the sound of the next person's voice.
"Well, you left the door open," Hikaru said.
"We thought that was an invitation," Kaoru finished.
"Maaaaaaah!" Natali let out a high pitched shriek as she crawled over her bed and dove behind the far side, out of sight of the others. Just at that moment, Anya exited the bathroom. She had on a short white bathrobe and her head and face were currently being covered by a towel as she vigorously rubbed her dark wet hair.
"Natali, what is your problem?" She asked as she removed the towel and set it on her shoulders, revealing a face identical to the other dark haired girl. Looking at Natali she asked, "Did you fall out of your bed?"
"Hi-ta-chi-in!" Natali whispered to her sister while frantically pointing in the direction of the other set of twins. Anya's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she slowly turned her head toward them. Then, using speed that would make any ninja proud, she flew behind the bed and crouched beside her sister. There the girls began to whisper in desperate tones to each other.
"What are they doing here?"
"I have no idea!"
"How did they get in?"
"I don't know. I think they snuck in with Murata-sensei."
"Did they see you?"
"More than I ever wanted. What are we going to do?"
"Well, we can't hide back here all day."
"That much is obvious."
"Why don't you go out there and get rid of them."
"Me? I'm practically in my underwear!"
"I'm not much better off."
A pair of male voices chimed above them, "Don't we know it."
With shocked faces, Anya and Natali looked up to see the Hitachiin brothers laying across the bed on their stomachs, and looking down at them with identical Cheshire grins. Noticing (and quite amused) that the girls seemed to have turned into stone before them, the boys continued speaking.
"You know, Kaoru, I am beginning to think that perhaps there is more to Anya than we previously thought."
"I think you may be right, Hikaru. Perhaps even twice as much. But what should we do with this new revelation?"
"How about we do what we've wanted to since the start of the year, but...
"Couldn't find Anya's weakness," Kaoru said with him. "Yes that sounds like the perfect thing, Hikaru. Well girls, it's been decided." They turned to Anya and Natali and said together:
"You are our new toys!"
[from Chapter 6]
Anya let out a sigh while her bag slipped from her fingers and dropped to the loft's wooden floor. Sitting down next to it she leaned against one of the tower's support beams and rolled up her sleeves in an attempt to cool herself as much as possible. She often wondered (especially on hot stuffy days such as this) why it was that the clock tower was the only place on campus that she could work without disturbance. But the simple, obvious answer always came too quickly to her mind. Them.
Those red-headed twins from hell always managed to discover her and Natali's hiding spots. Be it a rarely found quiet corner in the library, or a secluded dead end of the hedge maze in the garden, one or both of the boys always found where the girl who was posing as "Anya" had tried to hide. The girls had even secretly rented a music practice room with a door that could be locked in hopes to get them to stay away. Anya was the first to try it out and was quite pleased with it's peaceful feel and sound proof walls. Unfortunately, one of the walls was also made of glass, and therefore see-through. It took the boys five minutes to find her, and thirty seconds to pick the lock. This left poor Anya to deal with their 'punishment' for trying to avoid them. In a way she was glad that it was her and not Natali who was there on that day. Because if it was Natali, the flan they requested her to hand feed them probably would have ended up not on their heads, but down their pants.
She smiled as she recalled the image of the boy's identical faces, slightly surprised, with upside down flan--plates still attached--sitting on their heads like soggy little hats. At the beginning of the year she would have never even let the thought of doing something so rash come to her mind. But after "Natali's little slip up" as the sisters liked to call it, she felt a bit more free to act out in school, especially toward the Hitachiin brothers.
"Thinking of me?" a male voice asked behind her. It could only be one of the twins. And since they had figured out which of the girls was "on duty" for which days, it was most likely Hikaru. Yes, on retrospect she realized it was defiantly Hikaru's voice. That boy seemed to find a sadistic pleasure in trying to upset her in particular since he considered her sister "too short a fuse" and "not enough of a challenge." But Kaoru didn't seem to mind. He stuck to Natali like glue whenever it she was at school. Save for when she managed to sneak out of the girls bathroom and make her way to the clock tower without being noticed. It had been their "safe spot" for the last three weeks, but obviously not any more.
Although quite shocked by the sudden intrusion, Anya did not allow herself to appear surprised. While turning toward her unexpected visitor she carefully scooted a few feet away from him and responded with a nod. "Hn. And how funny you looked with a flan hat."
With a grin he climbed out of the ladder shaft and picked up her bag while making his way to her right side. Sitting next to her with the bag in his lap he opened it up and pulled out her cell phone with the built-in digital receiving recorder. Then he turned to Anya and lifted up her collar, speaking directly into the hidden microphone. "Sorry Natali," he said. "I want to talk to your sister privately for a while." And with that he switched off the recorder/phone and put it back into her bag.
"You look incredibly pleased with yourself." Anya said, noting Hikaru's smug expression.
"And you two thought that you were so clever with your little hidden microphone."
Normally, Anya would not take such obvious bait for a retort. She knew that using a microphone was a juvenile idea. Their entire plot to switch places every day was nothing short of unoriginal. But it was their only option if they wanted to fulfill their dream. And by insulting any part of their elaborate scheme Hikaru was indirectly undermining their dream, which is something that Anya would never stand for. "Apparently not as clever as those who discovered it," she replied. It was not said sarcastically or in a snide tone, but she knew that Hikaru was aware she was insulting him, which made his grin widen.
"Well, the way you and your sister always leave your bag out in the open for anyone to look through made finding the recorder inevitable, especially when Kaoru tried to reprogram your cell phone."
"And the microphone?"
"Always fidgeting with your collar may be a nervous habit for some people. But you were raised to be refined ladies. Actions such as that would most likely have some sort of reason behind them."
Anya raised her eyebrows slightly. "Your talents of observance and deduction are quite impressive. Why don't you go off and find something important to use them on instead of bothering me. I'd like to be alone right now, if you don't mind."
Hikaru's next statement emotionally pinned Anya into a corner. With a straight face he turned to her. "Thank you for the compliment Anya, but as far as using my talents (as you call them) on things important? That priority list starts and ends right here, with you." He said, leaning over her and setting his hand on the floor to her left. His fingers gently brushed against her hand witch was balled in a nervous fist. He was now practically hovering over her. She tried to lean back a bit to widen the space between them, but apparently he had managed to physically pin her in a corner as well. "Oh yea," he added, moving his face closer to hers. "And if it means I have to leave you, I do mind."
Her breath hitched in her throat.
[from Chapter 6]
Kaoru sat quietly in anticipation. His brother was beside him on one of the ornate red sofas of the currently vacant Third Music Room. Hikaru had his elbows propped on his knees and was leaning over, allowing his forehead to rest on his palms. To Hikaru's left, Haruhi crossed her legs and tilted her head slightly while looking at the older twin; making her look quite feminine despite her short hair and male uniform.
It had been a full fifteen seconds since Hikaru stopped relating his tale and had fallen into silence, which would have probably been acceptable if he had actually finished his story. But instead his voice trailed off, right at the good part. Kaoru clenched his teeth. Having patience and concern for your beloved twin brother was something he had a lot of experience with, but for some reason this was torture. The thought brushed by that perhaps Natali was rubbing off on him. He was about to think on this subject more, when he remembered that Hikaru had still not spoken, and it had been over twenty seconds now! Casting aside all thoughts of whether it was respectful (and if not, who he should blame) Kaoru asked:
"And then?"
Hikaru looked up into the faces of his small audience. Haruhi and Kaoru were the closest people to him, and his only confidants in his recent quest for love, and they were dutifully listening to his story of what had just happened between himself and Anya.
"Then..." he repeated solemnly, "then she shoved me away and got out of there as fast as possible. Just left her stuff and ran. I don't think she touched a single rung of the ladder on her way down." He ran his fingers along the strap of Anya's bag which was sitting on the coffee table in front of him. "What do I do now? It's obvious that she hates me."
Haruhi voiced her opinion first. "I don't think you should be so drastic in your conclusions yet."
Kaoru quickly jumped to her support. "Yes, you probably just scared her more than anything. I mean, you've never given her a reason to trust you, so she might have thought you were teasing her again." But his statement didn't seem to help much because Hikaru responded by grabbing Anya's bag and hugging it tightly while letting out a pitiful sounding groan.
Kaoru and Haruhi looked frantically at each other in a futile attempt to find out what they could do to help the miserable boy.
A quiet, eerie voice was heard from the other end of the room. "Just give her some space for a while. Let her see on her own that you are sincere. Your patience alone might prove it to her."
The group looked to the source of the voice and saw Nekozawa, shrouded in his typical dark cloak and shadows, peeking through a slit in the doorway which led to the room used by the Black Magic Club.
"How would you know anything?" Hikaru asked. He was rather annoyed that someone had been listening to their private conversation. Sure, Anya and Natali were his cousins, but that didn't give him the excuse to eavesdrop "The girls were living in your home for over a year and you never knew it."
"That is true," Nekozawa replied. There was no shame in his voice. "I only know what the cards told me when I did a taro reading this morning."
"Oh," Hikaru's voice sounded like his hopes had been deflated once again. "That's not much of a help."
"Though, his suggestion sounds promising," Kaoru commented. "I mean, I'm not so sure about the whole "patience proving' thing," he looked down at his brother who was staring up at him with curiosity. "But at the very least she might start to miss you."
Hikaru thought it over in his mind. Getting Anya to actually miss him was slim, and there still might be other options.
"Or you could ask me to cast a spell for you," Nekozawa offered.
Hikaru's response was swift and adamant. "I'll just ignore her for a while. How long do you think I should wait?" he asked his two best friends.
While the three were discussing appropriate time allotments for the scheme, Nekozawa silently retreated back into his club room, a wide smile on his face. He never intended to cast a spell on his cousin, but the Hitachiin boy obviously needed a little nudge. Now it was all up to fate and time.
"I'm willing to wait years if I have to!" he heard the boy yell as the door closed. But as was revealed later, "years" to Hikaru Hitachiin is equal to about two weeks.
[from Chapter 7]
Natali and Kaoru were walking side-by-side down the sunlit halls of Ouran, chatting amiably. Surprisingly enough, their relationship had improved quite a bit during the "Stasis Period" that began nearly two weeks before when Anya's bag was returned with a note from Hikaru which expressed his intentions. He promised to completely remove himself from her life until she felt comfortable around him.
Staying true to his word, Hikaru never talked to, annoyed, or even looked at Anya again. He did periodically converse with Natali, but always remained serious and reserved with her. This proved to be a bit disappointing to Natali, who had recently begun to accept the Hitachiins as possible friends.
But feelings of disappointment were soon forgotten when she and Kaoru discovered an entirely new aspect of the situation. An aspect which was quite dangerous when left on its own, but when manipulated properly could be very entertaining.
Gossip.
Kaoru already knew how to stage situations that could fan the flames of gossip within the school. He and his brother had all but perfected it with the "brotherly love" facade developed for the Host Club. And Natali was surprised how much fun it was to stage fight scenes with Kaoru one day, let Anya and Hikaru be indifferent to each other the next, only to dramatically forgive each other on the third. Since no one at school (except Haruhi) knew about Natali or could tell the twins apart, the mystery of what exactly was going on with Anya and the Hitachiin's relationship remained a heated discussion among the students.
That is why neither Natali nor Kaoru were too concerned with the whispers that surrounded them as they walked down the hall. Their merry little chat however, was interrupted when three haughty figures suddenly appeared in front of them.
"Good afternoon, Karakai-san, Hitachiin-san," the middle and tallest boy greeted them with a smug grin.
Natali Narrowed her eyes slightly at the trio of young men. The newspaper club had always watched her and Anya a bit too closely. The girls couldn't determine whether it was because they suspected their secret, or they just had an odd fascination with "Anya." Either way, Natali was instantly wary due to their presence
Kaoru was more polite. "Good afternoon, Ukyo-senpai. If you wish to interview me for the school newspaper, you are still required to get permission from Kyouya first."
"That is good to know, but indeed a shame," Ukyo said as the expression on his face fell a bit. "I really wanted to get the story from both of you. It won't be as good of an article with Anya's opinions alone."
"I'm not talking to you either," said Natali.
Ukyo looked like he was attempting to keep from looking even more upset. "Very well then. I will just release the photograph with commentary by random students. Pardon us for wasting your time." He bowed before turning to leave.
"Wait." Kaoru grabbed the older boy's arm. "What photograph?"
Ukyo's face became shadowed by his bangs as he looked down, but it was easy to see that his grin was back. "The one taken of you and Miss Karakai." He paused dramatically. "Yesterday... on the roof of the Gymnasium"
Dun, dun, duuuuun.
Kaoru sighed, "Ukyo-senpai, dramatics are unnecessary because I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. So can you please tell your freshman lackey to put the Timpani drum away." He looked over at the small boy who was standing behind a drum so large that he could probably fit inside it.
Ukyo raised his eyes and looked into Kaoru's. "No idea what I'm taking about? That is very..." his gaze drifted over to Natali "...interesting."
Before the freshman could play his drum again, Natali grabbed his timpani sticks and threw them down the hallway. It was lucky for them that school was over. By this time nearly all the students had vacated the hallways and retreated to club rooms and the library. Otherwise, the sticks would have definitely hit someone.
Composing herself, and smoothing down her dress, Natali turned back to the others. With a very convincing smile, she asked, "May we please just see the photograph, Ukyo-senpai?"
"As you wish, Miss Karakai," he said while taking the photograph out of his jacket breast pocket. "But I am not responsible for any...repercussions this might cause."
Then, he flipped the picture over as dramatically as possible, finally allowing Natali and Kaoru to see its contents.
Natali blinked.
Kaoru blinked.
Natali looked at Kaoru and then back at the photo.
Kaoru leaned closer to the photo, attempting to see it better. But Ukyo stepped back a bit.
"Ukyo-senpai?" Natali asked sweetly. "Do you mind if we borrow that photograph for a while?"
"Only if the two of you agree to an interview," he answered calmly.
Kaoru removed his gaze from the photograph and looked up into the tall boy's eyes. "Or I could tell Kyouya that your club has taken an unauthorized picture of a Host Club Member."
Ukyo's smile fell and his face lost some of it's color. "Here," he handed the photo over to them. "But if you change your minds, we would still like to get your opinions before the publication is printed tomorrow."
Natali practically snatched the photo out of his hand. She and Kaoru rushed past the Newspaper Club members and down the hall on their way to the third music room. Looking at Kaoru, Natali could see that he was just as concerned about the photo as she was. But she also knew that they did not have to worry about it showing up in the school newspaper. A mention of its contents to Kyouya, and the negatives (along with all copies ever printed of the picture) would be in the possession of the Host Club's Shadow King by morning.