Hikaru's POV
I was sitting on the couch, waiting for Kaoru to come home. I was listening to one of our favorite songs. I always listen to it when I'm angry or upset because it helps me calm down, Kaoru too. Normally, we don't do anything without the other, but today Boss said he wanted to talk to Kaoru about something alone.
"It's alright, Hikaru. Go on home. I'll be home soon. It'll only be a few minutes. I might even catch up with you on the way." Kaoru gave me a reassuring smile.
"Bu—oh, alright. I guess I'll see you later, then." I waved and turned to head out the door.
"Thanks, Hikaru. I won't be too long." He turned to Boss and asked in a low voice, "So, what did you want to talk about?" I closed the door. If Boss didn't want me to hear, I guess I'd just leave and ask Kaoru what he said at home.
I glanced at my watch. He sure was taking a while. Could something have happened to him? I thought. I better try his cell. I pulled out my phone and dialed his number. It was answered immediately.
"Hello? This is Sergeant Kikuchi of the Iwate Prefecture. Did you know the man carrying this cellphone?" a rough voice asked. What the hell? What's going on?
"Uh… yeah. Why?" I asked. If something happened to Kaoru, I would never forgive myself for not being there to protect him.
"Tell me, what was you relationship with this man?" Kikuchi demanded.
"I'm his twin brother." I answered. Had Kaoru been arrested or something? Or maybe he had been in a car accident? Had someone attacked him? Was he alright? I couldn't stop the racing thoughts. I was aching to ask what had happened, but I decided it was probably better if I waited for him to tell me. A police officer could arrest me for being disrespectful, if they truly wanted to.
"Is there an adult home I could speak with?" Kikuchi asked, his rough business voice that spoke as if he didn't ever feel emotion gave me the chills.
"No, nobody's here." Of course, that was a lie. I could have him speak to one of the maids, but I wanted to him to tell me, not them.
There was a sigh from the other line. That sent up a red flag for me. Something was definitely wrong, I could feel it. "Listen, kid… ah, I hate doing this… Your brother, you said he was, well… he was hit by a car." Kikuchi said, compassion coming into his voice for the first time. I nearly dropped the phone. He had to be joking. This was a joke. This couldn't be happening, it wasn't real!
"What?" was the most I could manage.
"He… he was pronounced dead at the scene. I'm terribly sorry." Kikuchi's voice broke, and he momentarily stopped talking. "If you'd like, I can get you in to see his body. I don't know if you'll really want to though." He paused, waiting for a response.
My body was numb. I wasn't thinking, feeling, seeing, hearing. All I knew was I was falling. Falling and falling. A voice rang out through the void. Hello? Hello? Anyone there? I tried to call back out to it, but nothing came. My vision blurred, then went black, leaving behind the voices that called to me.