Hitachiin Kaoru sat in the car, staring out the window at the rain pelting down onto the lonely moon lit road.

"How much longer?" Kaoru asked, bored.

"Oh, don't worry about it, it won't be much longer to your new foster home," The driver reassured as he tried to keep his eyes on the road through the rain covered windsheild.

"I'm... scared."

The driver looked up into the rearview mirror and frowned at Kaoru.

"Their your childhood friends, they won't hurt you," He reassured again.

Kaoru blinked his golden eyes and sighed. He replied to the reassurance, "That's it though, my childhood friends. My childhood was back when I three, when I was five. I'm not that young anymore, I don't own that house anymore. I don't know them anymore."

"I'm sure they'll be happy to see you, still, Master."

Kaoru huffed and shut his eyes, praying for sleep to take him away and maybe even kill him. He had that wish a lot, but it never came true, Kaoru would probably end up in another foster home, with another abusive parent, leading off to a new foster home where he'd surely make the same wish. Kaoru's parents were murdered, and they were the nicest people he ever knew. Now all that was left was memories of a time when a new home meant more happiness, new friends, and more love from your family. Back in that time, things were simple. That was then, and this was now to Kaoru. Now meant abuse in a new home, leading to bruises, which led to him going to a new home. There was something about Kaoru that these parents liked to hurt.

They didn't even care that he was abused anymore, so eventually his older brother asked him to come live with him. Kaoru objected, afraid of anyone called family, but he wanted to see his brother again, to see if he was still nice. So, Kaoru went off to live with his childhood friend. A fried who used to insist was his brother.

A friend Kaoru never wanted to see again.


Hitachiin Hikaru waited on the windowsill, impatient. His long lost friend was supposed to come to live with him for awhile, Hitachiin Kaoru. It was always ironic and confusing, how the two were identical and had the same last name. They always insisted that it was some sign, that they were of the same lineage. Their parents always denied it though, so eventually they gave up on asking their parents, and called eachother brothers. Hikaru missed Kaoru severly when he moved away, they used to be inseperable.

They had lots of friends, Hitachiin Tamaki, Fujioka Mitsukuni, Morinozuka Takashi, and Fujioka Haruhi. Hikaru had met Tamaki's best friend only a couple weeks previous. Ootori Kyoya was different than everyone else, he was quiet, alone, and was inseperable from Tamaki.

Tamaki and Kaoru had been adopted, but their parents divorced and moved to different countries, Tamaki stayed in Japan while Kaoru moved off to Germany. That was the last Hikaru had ever heard from Kaoru. The letter they recieved was documented from America, so Hikaru was excited to meet his twin brother again. He still insisted that Kaoru was his twin, and that they were really born from the same family and the hospital just got mixed up.

"What's he like?" Hunny asked as he sat on his younger sister's lap, Haruhi. Hunny's full name was Mitsukuni, but he was so small and looked so young, that everyone insisted he was a child, and thought Haruhi was his babysitter, since they looked nothing alike. It didn't change the fact that the two were siblings, and as different as can be. "Kaoru-kun that is. You said he looked exactly like you?"

"Yeah, I don't when he's gonna get here, but I can't wait to see him again!" Hikaru exclaimed as he put his hand on the rain painted window.

Kaoru was just pulling into the street, and had his hand on his rain painted window as well. Surely, they must somehow be twins?

The driver got out, and stood infront of Kaoru's car door, and pulled it open once they arrived in the Hitachiin driveway. Kaoru's chest was tight and he felt like crying, he'd learned though, never cry when you get to a new house, the caretakers might not like it, and hit you for it. So, Kaoru stood out and held his hands to his chest as his door was shut behind him, and Kaoru felt alone in the once familiar yard, infront of his familiar car.

"What if they hurt me?" Kaoru whispered. "What if they don't like me?"

"There's only one way to find out, Master," The driver responded truthfully and grasped Kaoru's hand and guided him up to the house, holding the umbrella above their heads, so neither of them would get wet. "You ready?"

"You have to ask?" Kaoru snapped.

The man sighed and knocked on the door.

Hikaru shot to the door, but Tamaki beat him to it.

"Kao!" Tamaki chimed as he swung open the door and held his arms out for his brother.

Kaoru blinked. What kind of greeting was this? He'd never seen such affection before, maybe in his memories once in awhile, but those were over ten years ago, and they were fading from him, and all he could remember was the cruelty of his foster parents.

"Tamaki-kun? What are you doing?" Kaoru asked, uncertain. His stomach churned, and he thought any minute he'd be slapped on the head. He was getting tired of being hurten, he was hoping he could get away from it. Now he was wondering if that was a good thing. This affection seemed pointless.

"Why little brother, I'm waiting for a hug!" Tamaki exclaimed dramatically. "I'm hurt!"

Kaoru blushed and looked at his driver.

"Um, Master Tamaki, there's some... rules and understandings you need to hear," The driver explained. "Master Kaoru hasn't quite... grown up, in an atmosphere that gave hugs. He... doesn't know what a hug is."

All the children blinked.

"Doesn't know what a hug is?" They all asked.

Kaoru blushed and looked away and nodded.

Tamaki wrapped his arms around Kaoru. He smiled and explained as he pulled away, "That's a hug."

Kaoru nodded and blushed a little deeper again. This was odd, he wasn't hit, and the hug didn't bring any pain upon Kaoru. Something new was going on, and Kaoru wasn't sure he liked it. Pain was bound to be inflicted upon him soon enough, why didn't they just get it over with? Kaoru liked it when he was hurt quickly, it hurt worse, but it was worth the long minutes and even hours of suffering a smaller pain. It hurt much worse in a way when the torture was spread out.

Hikaru blinked and frowned at Kaoru. Kaoru wasn't anything like he remembered him, except for the fact that they were identical. The same ruffles in the hair and the little natural highlights all the way to the same golden eyes and soft white skin, all the way down to the marks on the feet.

"Kaoru-kun?" Hikaru questioned as he walked over and held his hand out to him, since Kaoru seemed like a formal child, if he didn't know what a hug was. "It's me, Hitachiin Hikaru, remember? From when we were toddlers?"

Kaoru reached out and shook Hikaru's hand, forcing a smile.

Hikaru smiled and pulled Kaoru into the house and looked at everyone and dragged him over to the kids.

"Remember the Grade schooler, Hunny? His little sister, Haruhi. This is Mori, I'm sure you remember him, Takashi, remember? Then there's-" Hikaru introduced and stopped infront of Kyoya and stopped, trying to think of what to say.

"This is Ootori Kyoya, my best friend. We've been friends for awhile, but everyone just met him a couple weeks ago," Tamaki explained.

Kaoru stared at Kyoya.

"Hi," Kyoya greeted, coldly. "I take as you're Kaoru-kun, huh, shrimp?"

He cringed a bit, but nodded and turned to look at everyone in a hole. He was more used to Kyoya than everyone else already, he was different then everyone else who was there, he was cold like his old families were, so Kaoru was more relaxed around Kyoya than anyone else.

Kaoru looked away and held his head low and blushed.

"I'm really tired," Kaoru responded, feeling a little idiotic and stupid for not understanding the way these people acted. He was confused, on why he hadn't been hit yet, why he hadn't been thrown outside into the rain yet, why his big brother didn't yell at him. It'd been over nine years since Kaoru'd last seen his big brother, and they'd both changed a lot from what each remembered the other. Tamaki was more adultish and handsome, a lady killer probably, while Kaoru had gotten more quiet. It confused Hikaru too. Now Kaoru had a slump to his shoulders, he didn't wear short sleeves like he did when he was child, and it was mostly the way he carried himself that bugged everyone the most, he had the sad slump of the shoulders, his eyes diverted direct contact, and he didn't smile. It worried everyone, what had happened to their beloved childhood, Kaoru?

"We don't have an extra bedroom for you yet," Hikaru finally spoke up. "Mom said that since we're so close, you should sleep in my room."

Kaoru swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded. He was still confused on why he hadn't been hit yet. That's what he was worrying about the most.

Finally, Kaoru looked up into Hikaru's eyes.

"Okay, I'm really tired."

Hikaru shuddered at the pain in his eyes, the eyes of his childhood friend. Of his twin.

Kaoru had walked up the stairs and sat down, out of view from everyone. He was a good eavesdropper, he had to be, if he wanted to know anything without getting beaten until he couldn't see anything for the rest of the night.

"So much for a twin," Haruhi exclaimed. "He doesn't look anything like you! I mean, sure, his body looks just like you, but besides that, you two couldn't be more different! He looks like he's gonna cry any minute now."

"So, what was it you wanted to tell me?" Tamaki asked someone, Kaoru figured the driver since he had something to Tamaki earlier.

Kaoru crept out a little more, so he could see everyone.

The driver sat down and after a grunt replied, "Be very careful with Kaoru, and treat him like a baby."

"Why?" Hunny asked. "I thought he was Hika-chan's age."

"He is, but he's... after he left you all, years ago, when he first left to Germany, things... changed," The driver tried to explain, as easily and smoothly as possible. It gave Kaoru a lump in his throat. These were good people. They weren't hit by their parents, and good people hurt bad people, and Kaoru was a bad person, so these people were bound to hurt him sooner or later, and he didn't like the thought of being hurt again.

"Changed?" Tamaki asked. "I noticed that much. What happened to my smiling little brother?"

"Master Kaoru is... different. He wasn't brought up the same," The driver continued to try to explain.

"How come the last letter was from America, I thought you said he was moving to Germany? I recognize you, you're the guy that Kaoru-kun's parents sent to take care of him. So what's going on here?" Hikaru wondered.

"You make it hard for me to explain, but let me tell you something, Master Kaoru isn't like you guys. He doesn't know what a hug is, and to him, any sign of affection is dangerous. He won't get comfortable around any of you easily," The driver continued to explain.

"Oh, so he's been abused for a long time then? Not just his other household?" Tamaki asked.

All the kids stared at Tamaki.

"Kaoru-kun's abused?" They all wondered.

The driver nodded his head and continued, "Yes, Master Tamaki. You must've thought it was just another family because your divorced parents were bad, but Master Kaoru's gone through hundreds of foster homes, and almost every last one had a problem with him and sent him back, or abused him severely until the agency sent him to another. Just recently, they decided he was an unhelpable case, and they just left him with an abusive family. It had been two months until I decided to take Master Kaoru here, his past families haven't allowed him to send or recieve letters."

"That's horrible!" Hikaru shouted. "I've heard of abusive families, but never real life ones!"

"Master Kaoru's gotten used to it, I suppose."

Kaoru slinked behind the corner as the driver looked up the stairs.

"Master Kaoru? Are you sure your tired?" The driver asked, even though he hadn't seen Kaoru at all. After knowing Kaoru and watching over him from house to house, he'd gotten used to Kaoru's habits, and he always eavesdropped on conversations in his newest households.

"I-I don't know where the room is," Kaoru whimpered as he came out from behind the corner, hands behind his back.

"Guys, I need you all to go home tonight, I need to spend time with Kaoru-kun," Hikaru explained and began walking up the stairs.

Kaoru's hair tingled and he got goosebumps and hid behind the corner.

"What are you doing?" Hikaru asked amused as he went around the corner to see Kaoru in a cowering heap, his hands covering his head, almost like there was a tornado and he had to cover his head so that he wouldn't get brain damage from flying glass.

"You're not... gonna hit me?" Kaoru asked as he raised his head a bit, wincing as he looked into Hikaru's eyes. To Hikaru, this was an accomplishment, for Kaoru didn't look anyone straight in the eye for the whole entire time that he'd been there, except for Hikaru.

"Nah," Hikaru laughed as he knelt down in front of Kaoru, causing him to cringe.

"You sure?" Kaoru whimpered, a tear forming at his eye.

Hikaru smiled and wrapped his arms Kaoru and pulled him into a slight hug.

"Yeah, I won't hurt you," Hikaru promised.

Kaoru blinked at this sign of affection and put his hands out and wrapped his arms around Hikaru. This was odd, Hikaru was a good person, and he wasn't hurting Kaoru, a bad person. That's what his foster parents had always taught him, that he was a bad person.

"Good people are weird," Kaoru whispered as he hugged Hikaru a bit tighter. He liked the feel of Hikaru's arms, they were more soft, yet forceful, than big brother Tamaki's. "You're an odd good person, you don't hit me."

Hikaru chuckled.

No one had left downstairs, and they all sat, listening to their conversation, and had now walken over to see the two. Tamaki smiled along with the driver.

"No really, you're weird," Kaoru continued, annoyed that Hikaru was laughing at him. "You're all weird."

Hikaru stood up and dragged Kaoru up along with him. Kaoru stood, hand in hand, staring into the face a stranger, which the memories of weren't far away from Kaoru's grasp. They were beginning to come back, Kaoru's fond memories of Hikaru. There was one thing Kaoru remembered, they were twins. If twins were alike though, why was Hikaru so happy? Why didn't he cringe when someone raised their hand to him? Was being a good person really all that easy?

For some reason, Kaoru wanted to trust Hikaru.

"If you hurt me, I'm leaving," Kaoru warned.

Hikaru laughed and squeezed Kaoru's hands.

"Like you have anywhere to go!" Hikaru chuckled and then he pulled Kaoru off down the hall toward his bedroom.

Hikaru pulled Kaoru into his room and shut the door, then went and lay down on his bed. Almost instantly falling asleep. Kaoru, by nature, crawled onto the bed and cuddled up to Hikaru under the covers. Hikaru blinked and pulled Kaoru closer to him.

"I thought you didn't know anything about affection?" Hikaru wondered, curiously.

Kaoru moaned and didn't say anything, just wrapped his arms around Hikaru's stomach tighter and pulled his body close to him. Kaoru closed his eyes and started to drift off into a sleep.

"Hey, answer me!" Hikaru snapped.

Kaoru didn't think anything of it. For some reason, he was at ease with Hikaru. Especially when they were all alone.

"I want to trust you," Kaoru replied quietly and oddly, like he was in a dream-like stage. "I really do."

Hikaru blinked and smiled and sighed. He wrapped his arms around Kaoru and began to fall asleep as well, the two's breathing rate matching eachother, and once Hikaru's slowed down, his matched Kaoru's heartbeat as well, when this happened, Hikaru wanted to imagine that he was Kaoru's twin. He wanted to imagine that Kaoru'd never been abused, that they'd never been seperated, that they were still as close as could be. It was working quite well, considering the fact that Kaoru was most at ease around Hikaru.

For a moment, Kaoru didn't feel a burden on his heart.