Kaoru's Little Secret

Yaaayyyy! I'm here guys! So I'm starting to write this story while I'm at a summer program so my updates may be a little slow at first but when I get back things will start to pick up. Now, because I am the worst at comming up with names I am using some names from a manga called Kitchen Princess. It is not a well known comic and isn't even one of the manga's listed on Fanfiction. So just keep that in mind. However, no characters from that manga will be used. For example, MY character's name is Najika which is the name of the main character in Kitchen Princess. However, my character is nothing like the Najika in the manga. Understand? Anyway, ONTO THE STORY!

Disclaimer: If I owned, I wouldn't even need to take over the world. But I don't, so my plans must go on. MUHAHAHAHAHAHA...not really.

A streak of lightning lit up the darkened sky overhead. Rain poured down in sheets and instantly soaked anyone who was foolish enough to not bring any kind of water protection.

Haruhi peeked out at the storm through one of the closed curtains. Another streak of lightning lit up the sky, shortly followed by a loud boom which echoed throughout the room. Haruhi quickly closed the curtain and raced back over to her hiding space (aka: under one of the tables covered by a table-cloth).

"Haruhiiiiiiiii," whined Tamaki, who was now crouching next to Haruhi's table. "Daddy will drive you home. You don't have to wait here."

Haruhi poked her head out from under the table and gave Tamaki a shaky smile.

"You don't have to wait for me. I'll stay here until the storm blows over. It's no problem, really."

The host club had ended their activities early almost immediately after the first boom of thunder. Haruhi hand quickly found her new favorite hiding space and hadn't left her little sanctuary until moments ago after she thought the storm had quieted down, which it hadn't. Most of her fans had wanted to stay and comfort Haruhi but Kyoya hand insisted that they leave, much to their displeasure. Hunny and Mori had to leave early anyway because of some family dinner they had to attend and Kyoya…well, Kyoya couldn't really care less. It didn't increase profits which meant it wasn't something he should dwell on. So he left as well. But the twins and Tamaki insisted on staying behind.

Hikaru left the comfort of his favorite couch and crouched next to Haruhi.

"I hate to break this to you Haruhi, but this storm is supposed to last all week, maybe even until the week end." Haruhi's eyes widened. "So unless you want to spend the night here at the school, ALONE, I suggest you let Kaoru and I take you home.

Haruhi looked torn. She kept darting her eyes back and forth from the window and Hikaru's face. Another flash of lightning lit up the sky from behind the curtain, encouraging Haruhi to make her choice. She jumped out of her hiding space and into Hikaru's arms. Needless to say this made a certain red head very happy and a certain dejected blonde very unhappy.

"H-Haruhi!?" Whispered Tamaki, his eyes wide in pure shock. "You would rather-"

"It's not…look I-I just want to go home!" Said Haruhi, who felt rather vulnerable now that she wasn't in her sanctuary.

"Haruhi…" Tamaki looked at her with loving eyes, almost understanding.

"Hikaru?"

Hikaru turned to his younger brother.

"Ya Kaoru?"

Kaoru took a moment to take in the scene in-front of him. Hikaru, the person that he loved more than anyone, was holding young Haruhi protectively in his arms. Haruhi, who seemed completely unaware that the position she was in could be interpreted as romantic or "cute", clung tightly to Hikaru's clothes like a child. Kaoru couldn't help but smile.

"I'm going to walk home. Make sure you find a way to distract Haruhi from the storm, alright?" Hikaru looked like he was about to protest when Kaoru whispered, "The two of you need some alone time. Don't worry about me, worry about Haruhi."

Hikaru still looked bothered but didn't say anything, least he upset Haruhi more than she already was. Kaoru gave his brother a small wink before grabbing his leather messenger bag and then finally, walking out the door.

Kaoru's umbrella was so wet that water was beginning to drip through the fabric.

Crap. I need a place to stop. Stupid umbrella. This is so annoying!

Moments after the thought crossed his mind, Kaoru found himself outside a small commoner café.

The Kitchen Princess. Tch, sounds rather corny. Couldn't they have thought of a better name?

Yet, despite what Kaoru thought of the business's naming abilities, the interior looked warm and dry. He shook his head but went inside anyway.

A small bell rang as he entered. The teenage commoner girl behind the register looked up from her magazine and the moment she saw Kaoru, she went from being extremely bored to very attentive. The café itself was rather small. It only had four tables each with two or three chairs and in the back were three small booths. On each table was a small vase with a light purple or white flower. The flowers were a few shades darker than the walls, which were covered in a light purple and white wallpaper. The floor had that common kitchen black and white tiling, which seemed to ruin the whole theme that the rest of the café had.

Milord would love exploring this place. I'll tell him about it tomorrow.

Kaoru scanned the room one more time and noticed that he wasn't the only customer. A girl about his age with shoulder length red hair and pale blue eyes was drinking from a white mug that was three times bigger than an average mug. She was wearing a tight black t-shirt with the message "I'm the evil twin" written in white letters across her bosom. She wore no jewelry except a pair of gold hoop earrings which, for some reason Kaoru couldn't explain, gave her a more exotic look. Unlike most of the girls he had met at the host club, this girl only wore eye-liner instead applying any other type of make-up, which allowed her to make her eyes more prominent while at the same time, show off her natural beauty. Kaoru couldn't explain why all of these details stood out in his mind as he observed the girl. Maybe it was something he had inherited from his mother, who always paid attention to the smallest details while working on her designs. Kaoru walked over to the counter and began staring at the surprisingly wide variety of drinks and pastries.

"I recommend the hot chocolate." Said a voice from behind him.

Kaoru turned and saw that the red head was looking right at him.

"Is that what you're having?" He asked smoothly. The girl smirked.

"And what if it is? Would that influence your decision?" Kaoru couldn't help but smile at her.

"If it's not good, I'll only have you to blame for it. Sound fair?"

The girl smirked then nodded.

"Hot chocolate it is then."

The girl behind the counter looked somewhat annoyed that Kaoru was paying such close attention to someone other than herself but it didn't stop her from getting to work on serving her newest customer. Kaoru paid the girl and waited for his drink.

"You can sit. I'll bring it to you." She said in a slightly harsher tone than she would have liked. Yet, Kaoru didn't seem bothered by it in the slightest. He made his way over to the red head's table and sat down in the seat across from her.

"I recommended a drink. I didn't ask you to join me." The red head said with a slight smile. Kaoru propped his elbows on the table and rested his head on top of his hands.

"Do you want me to sit at a different table? Either way, I'll still talk to you."

She smiled slyly back at him.

"I guess if you're going to talk to me anyway, there really isn't any point in you moving is there?"

"I suppose not."

An extra large mug was placed in front of him. The steam from the hot chocolate rose up and into his nostrils. It smelled really good. Kaoru didn't even notice the other girl come over. He didn't notice her leave either. He just kept staring at the girl in front of him. She reminded him of-

"You gonna try it or not?" The girl said playfully. She twisted her red hair with one of her fingers, showing off her dark blue nail polish.

Kaoru broke his gaze and looked down at the brown mixture in front of him. He tried to pick the mug up with one hand but it was too heavy and almost caused him to spill the drink.

The girl tried not to giggle.

"It's hot." She said. "Don't want you to burn your tongue now, do we?"

Kaoru shook his head but his smile never left his face. He picked up the mug, with both hands this time, and raised it to his lips. Before he drank, he said

"Now what do I do now?" He said sarcastically. "Blow?"

She couldn't hold in her giggle this time.

"I don't know?" She said, rolling her eyes. "I thought you knew."

Their eyes met. Kaoru didn't want to break away. Her eyes were paler than he originally thought, and far more exotic. He blew on the liquid before taking a sip, their eyes not breaking contact. After taking one sip, his eyes lit up.

Commoner hot chocolate is good! It's not as chocolaty as I'm used to but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

"You like?" She asked, actually sounding curious.

"Ya." Kaoru replied. "I'm surprised actually. But it really is good."

"Not quite what you're used to, right?"

"You could say that."

"I'm Najika." She said, raising her hand for a hand-shake.

Kaoru put down his mug, extended his hand, and grabbed onto her outstretched one.

"Kaoru. Nice to meet you."

Fast forword to later that night

"Did you get Haruhi home alright?" Asked Kaoru, who was reclining on his bed in only his boxers.

"Ya." Yelled Hikaru through the bathroom door. "I stayed with her for a few hours though. We watched movies to help her get her mind off the storm. She even let me help make dinner." He said this last bit with a little more excitement.

Kaoru smiled. His brother was taking his first steps to being more independent and being able to love someone else. They were baby steps. But they were steps none-the-less. Hikaru opened the door to the bathroom. He also was only in his boxers. He looked at his brother quizzically. "What did you do? You have this weird expression on your face. Did something happen?"

Kaoru didn't quite know how to answer. Hell yes something happened! He met Najika. And intriguing and exotic girl in her own right. She was smart, funny, and had a little bit of a devil in her. Kaoru spent three and a half hours at The Kitchen Princess and enjoyed every second of it. He thought back to the end of their time together.

Flashback

"Listen Najika, I gotta go. My brother should be getting home soon and he'll expect me there."

Najika seemed disappointed. She turned to look out the window at the pouring rain.

"Hikaru, right?" she asked without looking at Kaoru

Kaoru nodded. Najika turned back and stared into Kaoru's eyes.

"He's really important to you isn't he?"

Kaoru shrugged his shoulders.

"We were born together. For a while, we divided the world into our world and everyone else's world. We didn't let anyone in until recently."

Najika rose up from the table and began putting on her raincoat.

"I think I understand what that means. I guess I won't know till I meet him will I?"

Kaoru suddenly felt worried. Hikaru was only barely beginning to let other people in and let go of me. Yet, how would he act if he knew I was letting other people in and going down my own path? How would that affect him? I don't know if he's ready yet.

Kaoru's eyebrows were knit and his facial expression seemed rather troubled.

"I don't have to meet him YET. Don't work yourself up over it Kaoru." Kaoru's insides squirmed ever so slightly. He liked how she said his name. Yet he didn't want to admit yet what his body already seemed to know.

"Ya know what? Let's make a deal."

Kaoru looked up at Najika curiously.

"We haven't told each other our last names nor have we told anyone else about this place, right?"

Kaoru nodded. He had no idea where this was going.

"So why don't we keep it that way?"

Now Kaoru was completely confused.

"Why? What would that accomplish?"

Najika sighed in mock annoyance.

"Because then we don't have to worry about introductions, family names, complications with other people and other stuff like that. You seemed reluctant to have your brother met me. I'm reluctant to have my brothers met you. This just keeps things simple and uncomplicated. It'll be our secret."

Kaoru stood up and held out his hand to Najika.

"Deal."

Najika took his hand happily.

"Deal."

End Flashback

"What did I do?" Repeated Kaoru. "Oh nothing. Just relaxed and waited for you to come home."

So there it is people! Please let me know how you like this or if you have any suggestions. Like who Haruhi should end up with. I'm really torn between Tamaki and Hikaru. Please tell me what you guys think! I don't know if I can decide on my own. I have two very different ideas on how this story could go but I don't know which one to choose. If you guys aren't sure as well, tell me and I'll play around with both of them. You guys can tell me which one you like better. Alright? Alrighty then! Thank you and please review. You know you want to.

Kaoru: Let us put it this way.

Hikaru: If you guys review...

Kaoru: ...It will make us very happy.

Hikaru: And you guys want us to be happy...

Kaoru:...Don't you?

Ihasnolife: I'LL REVIEW! I'LL REVIEW!

Kaoru: Sorry...

Hikaru:...but you can't review.

Hikaru&Kaoru: Someone else has to.

Ihasnolife: You heard them! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!