Please note that I am trying to make the characters as accurate to the manga and anime as I can. Some characters are less fleshed out than others, such as the twins' father and the princess heir, who were only briefly mentioned and did not have time to be developed in official material. I will expand on their existences while trying to keep their personalities intact. Feel free to give me feedback in the form of constructive criticism. Hope you enjoy reading!

Extended Summary:

A powerful sorcerer assassinates the royal Hitachiin family and curses the twins. After they discover that twins have been killing each other for generations, they break up and fight for the throne. Haruhi, a fellow crusader in their expedition group refused to choose sides and remained neutral. She digs into the case of their parent's murderer, and finds out more than she was looking for. Upon finding the sorcerer's identity, as well as their motive, she searches for a way to reverse the effects of the curse. One year of war and assassination attempts passes, and an unexpected princess heir comes out of hiding to declare her right to the throne. Haruhi must find a way to get the twins back together before there is only one.

Haruhi

It was June 9th, the twin princes' birthday. Specifically, it was their 21st, and the last one they'd spend together for a long time.

The queen, Yuzuha Hitachiin, greeted me with a perfect smile and adjusted my scarlet red tie.

"There you go, sweetie. I thought I taught my sons to do better than that. Maybe it's time we go over a few things again." She gave me a contemplative look, scanning the rest of my outfit to see if anything else was out of place.

"If I may disagree, Your Majesty, I think I should be the one to blame for my inadequate composition. Hikaru and Kaoru had nothing to do with my sloppiness." I said, looking directly into her golden eyes. I hated it when anyone disrespected my friends, even if it was the queen herself.

Noticing my serious tone, the queen laughed, covering her mouth with her delicately gloved hand. "I was merely joking, dear. Just don't let them know I teased them a little, right?" she asked, smiling with a finger to her lips.

"Of course, Your Majesty." I agreed, bowing. Little did I know, keeping that promise would be the least of my concerns.

I gave her another bow and realized the extreme height differences between me and her. The queen's exquisite face was framed by her short ginger hair that ended in magnificent curls. It was hard to find anything wrong with this truly inspirational woman.

Due to… certain circumstances, I have to crossdress as a male. It never bothered me, as I was always more comfortable wearing men's clothing anyway. When I came to this queendom, I was enlisted into the queendom's special expedition group, known as the Elite Ouran Crusaders. Until I joined, it was presumably all males. Our job was to carry out quests that ranged from retrieving cats from trees to slaying dragons (though the latter is an overstatement, we merely helped one get a thorn out of its claw). I was the detective of the group, the one who researched information and solved cases of crime within the queendom's walls.

I looked to my right and nodded at the king, who silently stood in the queen's shadow. He seemed so unimportant, I never even got to know his name. He gave me a faint smile, then quietly gestured for me to proceed through the great golden arch above my head. I bowed and walked past him.

Past the gate was a long red carpet edged in gold, which led to two large doors with foxes carved into the mahogany. I nodded to the guards on each side and showed that I wasn't carrying anything other than the two wrapped boxes for the twin princes, which I tucked back into one of my pockets. They nodded back, eyeing my crusader's badge. They then held the doors open to reveal a great ballroom, stuffed with people from all over the queendom, as if it were a bowl of soup.

The first guest to greet me was none other than Tamaki Suoh, the son of the queen's advisor. Some people may describe him as more princely than the queen's sons, despite his blatantly obvious lack of brain cells. He wore the crusaders' formal uniform (blue suit) with a pearly white tie embroidered with gold roses. His crusader's badge hung neatly above his coat pocket.

"Good evening, princess." He said, offering his hand. I hated it when he called me that, despite its hidden truth. I ignored his outstretched hand and looked up into his indigo eyes. They always seemed to be on me, which was unsettling at first. Now I rarely ever get to see them. Noticing that I didn't take his offer, he used the same hand to gracefully flip back his glossy blond hair.

"Fancy seeing you here." I said, teasing him a little.

Initially, he had a hurt look on his face, but he quickly recovered, "Why, of course I would be here. Believe it or not, I was invited."

"Along with all the other idiots in the queendom." I added bluntly. This caused him to curl up into a ball and sulk behind a pillar. I suspected he'd be there awhile.

I turned away and literally ran into another friend of mine. He caught me, then adjusted our distance to a comfortable length and fixed his glasses. Kyoya Ootori, the third son of the President of the queendom's Elite Healing Committee. Despite the prestigious title, he's a pretty nice guy, though he doesn't like anyone calling him that. He adjusted his smooth purple tie, then smiled calmly. There's always been something calculating behind that smile, and I could almost see the potion he was brewing beneath his black bangs.

"Clumsy as usual, Fujioka." he said, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

"And I see you are just as critical as ever." I remarked, crossing my arms.

"Ah, spicy. The food's over there, you little fireball." He pointed to a long table covered in assorted fruits, appetizers, and delicacies.

My stomach pulled me over faster than my mind could think. Immediately, I took a miniature pie and shoved it in my mouth. I reached for another, but a small hand snatched it from beneath my grasp. I turned around, not surprised to find my favorite sweet-toothed Crusader with a handful of other sweets and cake frosting all over his mouth. I guessed that he had been here since the party started, despite his completely flat stomach.

"Hi there, Haru-chan!" he said, mouth full of chocolate.

I waved back, then noticed a bit of cream on his pink velvet tie.

"Uh, Honey, you have some…" Before I could finish, his towering elder cousin used a cloth to clean up the mess, his own dark blue tie touching the floor.

"Thank you, Takashiiii." Honey said with a big smile.

His companion only asked that he made sure to brush his teeth in return.

Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka. Their families have been sworn members of the queendom's personal guard for centuries. Despite his childlike appearance, with his big hazelnut eyes and short stature, Honey was a master at hand-to-hand combat, the best in the queendom. His tall and silent cousin was the greatest swordsman.

When they turned back toward the food table, I noticed Mori's sword slung across his back. As a member of the Queen's Guard, he was one of the few people attending the party allowed to keep a weapon on his person.

I grabbed an apple from the table and took a bite. I was eager to take another when something hit me from behind and I started choking on the bite that was halfway down my throat. In the reflection of the silverware, I saw a pair of oddly familiar golden eyes grinning at me. I felt someone's large hand patting my back until the apple chunk came flying out from my mouth. I gasped and started taking deep breaths. After I caught my breath, I looked behind me to thank my lifesaver, but all I caught was the tail of a long black coat and white gloves holding onto a thin wrist. The wrist looked like it belonged to a girl who was around twelve years old in a bright green dress. They quickly disappeared into the crowd.

I tried to go after them, but a pair of identical hands caught my wrists and the odd pair slipped out of view.

"Are you alright, Haruhi?" the twin princes asked. Their voices were like a warm cinnamon roll, taking my mind off the disturbing event I had just experienced. I turned to look into each of their golden eyes.

"Thanks, you guys. And happy birthday!" I exclaimed, excited to give them their gifts. Their cheeks turned red, perhaps because they were not quite used to all the attention.

I was glad they finally had time to be their true selves after pretending to be someone else. Not only were Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin the masters of disguise in the Crusaders, but they also had to put up an act each time they went outside the castle. Their parents allowed them to go on dangerous missions only under the condition that they couldn't allow anyone outside of the group know what their true identities were. They couldn't risk being recognized by the wrong person at the wrong time. Although many people in the queendom adored their queen, others hated her and would jump at the chance to put her family in danger. There was also the possibility that deadly spies from other kingdoms were lurking in the shadows of the cities.

"So, what have you got for us?" Kaoru asked, eyeing the bulge in my pocket. His suit was a bright orange, with a matching shiny silk tie. Being the more observant of the two, Kaoru naturally noticed such a small detail. With better control over his emotions, he's much easier to handle than his brother.

"Is it something shiny?" Hikaru inquired. Similar to his brother, he wore a light blue suit with a matching shiny silk tie. Despite being the older twin, his behavior is less mature than his brother's and he often acts first and thinks second. Frankly, this is quite annoying to deal with.

"Here." I took the two boxes out of my pocket and handed the light blue one to Hikaru and the orange one to Kaoru. They opened them simultaneously and gave me looks of surprise, then exchanged a glance between each other. They held up the necklaces next to each other, a broken heart that became whole when put together. They immediately put them on, grinning happily.

"Just one question, Haruhi" Hikaru asked, pointing to the dozens of diamonds on the chain and rubies in the center. "How could you afford this?" Kaoru instinctively elbowed his brother in the side. "That was not very nice, Hikaru." he scolded. "Though, you do have a point," he added, looking at me with eager eyes. "I am curious."

I sighed, not interested in telling them details. "I have my sources." I said, with a little wink. The two looked confused for a moment, then decided to change the topic.

"After this public party, we're going to have an inner-circle only ball. That way you can try on all the pretty dresses your father made for you." they whispered, hands cupped. Although they looked excited, I didn't feel the same. I was much more comfortable wearing men's clothing than the frilly dresses and fancy shoes that I used to wear. Despite this, the after-party ball inevitably would be cancelled.

The other gift, a pair of handcuffs linked with a heavy metal chain, lay in Hikaru's box.

"That's from all of us." I said, pointing to it. I never really understood what it was for, or why it made them grin so wickedly. I just knew it was something they wanted, after seeing couples wear them in the streets. I figured it was never my business to dig in anyway, so I ignored it when I could.

"Thank you, Haruhi." they said genuinely. They then bent down to kiss me on each cheek. Other than the initial surprise, my expression remained the same. They waited a little while, as if expecting something, then looked disappointed. Before they could say anything more, a bell rang eight times, signaling that it was time for dinner.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter and look forward to the next. I've got a lot going on, so it might take me a while to update again. Bye!