A/N: Is this the end? I think so.

Enjoy!

III.

She always was smarter than us. She was an honors student at Ouran Academy, after all. But she was more than just book smart, she was smart when it came to people too.

She always knew when you were upset.

She always knew what you meant when you said something.

She always understood.

For us, she could always tell us apart.

At first, we denied it. There was no way we would let anyone on the inside, within our boundaries. There was always a safe distance.

Until Haruhi.

Now, sitting on the bathroom floor with Haruhi, our roles reversed once again. In a flash, I went from comforting her to needing to be comforted.

She brought my world crumbling down with a three syllables: Hikaru.

"You don't have to pretend anymore, Hikaru," Haruhi spoke softly, "You've been fooling everyone, your parents, Tamaki-senpai, the Club, into thinking that you're Kaoru. Fooling yourself." Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. "You wanted it to go on forever, thinking no one would notice." Please. Please stop. "You wanted to live the life Kaoru couldn't. Because of your mistake." No. "And you've been blaming yourself, tearing yourself apart over it."

Yes.

I have.

The tears streamed down my face like acid, burning, burning, burning. It all came flooding back. This was a hurricane and I was a tree, breaking at any contact.

Our game.

I didn't think anyone would win this round.

But I'd lost before I'd even started.

The day, the day of the accident, Kaoru did run off to find me. He saw me on the other side of the road, I guess, moping underneath a tree like the selfish bastard I am. With the rain beating down and the music blasting through my headphones, I was in my own little world. When I should have been in our world.

I didn't hear the car coming either.

I didn't see him running across the road to meet me.

But I saw the headlights...

And I saw his smile...

I blinked.

And he was gone.

And so was I.

I don't remember calling for an ambulance. I don't remember calling Haruhi. But I remember them coming.

I couldn't move. I stood next to the wreckage, the rain dripping down my back, soaking into my clothes, forcing myself to look at what I'd done. I couldn't though. I couldn't see anything through my tears.

I couldn't feel anything. I was numb and hollow. There was nothing left inside me.

I couldn't think. Any thought I tried to process faded just as I was about to grasp it.

Sirens. Flashing red lights. Familiar voices. All muffled together, like a hazy nightmare.

I was tackled by a wave of bodies. I saw flashes of dark hair and flashes of blonde hair. I recognized their voices but I couldn't process what they were saying.

They sounded happy.

But why?

I was dead.

A police officer, a woman who might've been pretty earlier in her life, took me aside by my shoulder. I towered over her small frame, but she made me feel so small, so insignificant. "What's your name, son?"

I think I asked her to repeat herself.

"Your name?" she asked again.

I looked over at the wreckage, they were taking his body away. "Kaoru," I said wistfully. "Kaoru Hitachiin."

I played along. Strange as it sounded, making myself believe I was Kaoru made everything a little easier. I didn't miss myself as much as I missed him.

"It's all my fault," I hissed, shutting my eyes so tightly they hurt.

"No, it's not," Haruhi answered after a long pause.

I snapped. "What do you mean it's not?" My voice was getting louder, angrier, but I couldn't control it. I couldn't stop feeling. "If it wasn't for me, Kaoru would still be here! If I hadn't run off on my own, he wouldn't have had to come find me and he wouldn't have-" My voice broke. I took short, sharp breaths, I couldn't get enough air.

A gentle hand fluttered onto my shoulder. I met her eyes, which glistened with fresh tears. "Do you really think you have a monopoly on this?" She shook her head at me like she couldn't believe how big of an idiot I was. "Hikaru, if I'd run after you, I wouldn't have gone back and scared Kaoru. If I'd gone after you like my heart told me to, he would probably be here. I was the reason he ran off to find you. Because I came back alone."

Silence.

What was I supposed to say?

"I'm sorry," I said, "For everything. For running off. For being selfish. For causing all of this. I'm sorry." I felt the words flow out of me, warm and true.

"It wasn't just shock," she went on, "That made you want to be Kaoru. You wanted it to be you instead of him."

She was right.

"Yeah," my voice small and shaking.

"Don't do this again, Hikaru."

"I won't."

We sat there, the silence speaking for itself. I wanted to say something, something to reassure her. But I knew, deep down, it wasn't her that needed it.

She spoke for me. "You don't have to pretend your way through life, Hikaru."

"It's better than having to live with myself."

"No. No, it's not."

She was right.

A/N: To get one thing straight, I like Kaoru-No, I love Kaoru. Out of the two of them, he's my favorite. I'm just not very good at happy endings :/

I hope you liked this short story. Please leave a review! It would make me super happy (: