A Song For Another Time - A Hikaru Hitachiin Story

Chapter Nine - I Believe You're the Devil's Child

Hikaru stared at the plate in front of him and thoughts of the Host Club flooded his mind. Rose had flat out refused to eat at an upscale diner. She had gone as far as to stand up on a bench to look him in the eyes when she told him that, if he was going to eat tacos, he was going to eat street tacos.

The look on his face wasn't exactly disgust. Maybe it was... Concern? He wasn't quite sure what to think of the food laid out before him, but he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. If Tamaki were here, Hikaru and his twin could hide behind his excitement over the commoner food. With Tono's over-the-top reactions, the twins had the liberty to show their curiosity and enthusiasm, but without them Hikaru wasn't sure of his emotions.

He looked at the food for probably too long, as he sat on the wooden bench with the plate in resting on his lap and Rose noticed that he didn't even attempt to touch it.

"It won't kill you," Rose said, waving the plate in front of his face.

"I know that," he shot back.

"Well, then you don't have to look so afraid of it," Rose teased and reached to push his furrowed brow apart.

Hikaru intercepted her arm, slapping her hand away, and reached for his plate. He quickly brought the food to his mouth, copying the movements of those around him by folding up the sides to keep the contents inside and took a large bite out.

His eyes widened as he chewed, showing his surprise at how much he enjoyed the food. While still chewing he smiled and said, "It's spicy!"

"You poor child.," Rose said as she moved to wipe away a fake tear. "Never had a taco before - it almost brings me to tears."

Hikaru offered an annoyed grunt in response before continuing to eat, taking pleasure in the different textural combinations dancing on his tongue.

Rose turned back to her food and smiled as she nibbled at her meal. Despite the day going completely awry, she had at least gotten her tacos. Nothing could replace tacos and nothing could turn a day around quite like them either.

Despite the excitement of finding a new food that he could become completely obsessed with, Hikaru still felt a twinge of sadness he couldn't quite place. He was immensely happy as far as he knew. Sure, Rose was a little annoying, but he had successfully schemed against her. He had caught her singing on tape and he was trying a completely delicious commoner food for the first time – from a dirty street vendor to boot. Kaoru would---

THAT was what it was. Kaoru was supposed to be with him. He had just left him at the dorm, all on his own, without even a second thought because he was so caught up in everything that was happening. Kaoru would have loved this experience and Hikaru had just left him behind.

While he was lost in thought about his brother, Rose watched the emotions change on his face and the shadows cross his eyes. This boy, she thought, always has a frown on his face, even when eating God's gift to food.

What in the world could be bothering his so much that he would be staring down at his place with such sorrow and regret? A thousand ideas battled inside her head to win the spot of best explanation. Maybe he had endured some childhood tragedy that involved Mexican food? Perhaps he was particularly close to some abuelita who faded out of his life.

Rose couldn't handle not knowing what the answer was. So, she finally just asked while reaching her hand out to touch his knee.

"Hikaru," she said quietly. "What's bothering you?"

He looked up at her confused, shaken out of his thoughts by the warmth of her hand on his skin.

"How... How did you know I was upset," he asked.

"Hikaru, it's all over your face," Rose replied, holding back a small chuckle as a light blush began to rise on his cheeks.

She scooted a little closer to him and moved her hand to his shoulder, repositioning herself to look him directly in the eyes.

"Will you tell me what's bothering you?"

He sighed before answering, feeling a weird sense of déjà vu. "It's just that, my brother would love this."

Curiosity crossed Rose's face. "You have a brother," she asked, her head slightly tilting with the question.

Hikaru looked at her incredulous, nearly choking on his food, and Kaoru, crouching in a bush nearby, nearly fell over with shock – both of the Hitachiins with the same questions in the forefront of their minds. Had Hikaru really never mentioned Kaoru to Rose before? Had she really never seen them together?

It took a moment for Hikaru to recover before he was able to answer her.

"Well, yeah. He's my twin, Kaoru," he said.

"HOLD UP," she said as she jumped up in shock and moved herself away from him. "There are two of you monsters?"

Hikaru started laughing at her and Rose could swear the air around them was starting to get thinner. The edges of the world were closing in on her a little. You see, in her head her relationship with Hikaru was like a one-on-one battle of wits and Rose was confident she would almost always come out on top, but the odds were changed if another "Hikaru" entered the equation. She could never win against two of them.

Rose sank to a crouch, her butt barely lifted off the ground as she hugged her arms around her legs. As far as she knew, that very morning had been an example of the deviousness of one Hitachiin. She couldn't imagine the damage that two could do.

Sudden laughter broke her out of plunge into doom. She blinked a few times before looking up at the source of the noise. Before her eyes was Hikaru standing over her with his hand extended and a wicked grin on his face.

Wearily, Rose put her hand in his and allowed him to help her to her feet. With her fully standing, Hikaru bent over so that their faces were at the same height and searched her eyes for a moment.

"We're really not that bad," he said through a smile.

Rose shot him a look that clearly said she did not believe him before responding.

"Really," she asked. "Then tell me about your brother."

"He's a lot like me," Hikaru said with a shrug. He stood up straight and put his hands in his pockets. "We've pretty much always been inseparable. For a while, it was always just the two of us in our own world."

He paused for a moment as he glimpsed red hair ducking back behind a tree down the street. A small smile appeared on his lips as his continued.

"Kaoru is my younger brother, but somehow he has learned a lot more about the world than I have. He always seems to know what's going on, long before I do. Though, sometimes, I think he can be really immature. We both can, I guess," he said.

Hikaru was still staring down the street, waiting for the red hair to reappear. He was too distracted to notice that Rose hadn't responded or see the look of concern on her face. But when she audibly sighed, he finally turned to face her.

"What's the sigh for," he asked.

"He's exactly like you, isn't he," she asked flatly. "This is a nightmare."

There's really two of them, she whispered to herself. Two. Two of them!

Rose looked down, started brushing the dirt off her pants and began to straighten herself up. When she was finished she looked up at Hikaru with a smile.

"Well, it can't be helped, can it? I guess I'm just going to have to meet this brother of yours and see if he is just as grumpy as you," she said, smiling and pointing her index finger into his brow.