I DO NOT OWN OHSHC!

"Hikaru, you have another nosebleed?" A soft voice broke the bleeding boy from his reverie as he stood, leaned over their marble bathroom sink trying to clamp his nose shut. He remained still, afraid of the frightened tinge in his brother's voice. "Maybe we should tell someone. You've been getting those a lot lately. I'm a little worried…"

Hikaru shook his head. "I'b find, Kaoru."

Kaoru tweaked an eyebrow up at Hikaru's attempt at speech, and then disappeared from Hikaru's line of vision.

"You're fine?" He translated, pressing a wad of tissue to his brother's nose. His eyes darted to the mirrored image of himself, and his bleeding brother bent over the counter. It was a pitiful site, one that had been reoccurring in different bathrooms for the past month. Combined with Hikaru's inability to catch up on sleep, Kaoru was beginning to feel a nagging sense of dread creeping throughout his body. "If you get another one I'm telling someone."

Hikaru's body tensed up and he gave a slow, stiff nod. He took over, pushing Kaoru's hands away so he could hold the tissue himself. The younger boy's eyes widened.

"Do you have a fever?" Kaoru's hand shot out, only to be thwarted by Hikaru's quick thinking. He pulled his head back, dodging out of the way of the foreseen attack.

"I'b find," Hikaru repeated sternly. Kaoru's hand stay frozen midair, and he searched the other's eyes for some reason for such an unusual reaction.

"Hikaru..." Kaoru started. "If you're sick…"

A shrill voice cut him off much to Hikaru's pleasure. "Young master's you'll be late for school!"

"We'll be late," Hikaru repeated, throwing the dirtied tissue away. He grabbed his school bag, straightened his tie, and without glancing back at Kaoru escaped from the bedroom.

"Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin," The teacher called, peering over her grade book to focus on the two in question. "Do you have your presentation prepared?"

One boy nodded, while the other continued to stare ahead at the board. The woman frowned.

"Wake up, ." Hikaru rubbed his eyes before hauling himself up into a stance. Together, he and his brother made their way to the front. Hikaru took position beside the large screen, while Kaoru sat at the computer, and with a few clicks the screen came to life.

"You can start whenever you're ready," the teacher prompted.

Hikaru nodded, and turned to the screen. His face scrunched up in a confused grimace. The words blurred together as one, making it hard to distinguish where one began or ended. He closed his eyes.

It shouldn't be this hard, but this could also be the consequence of their lack of preparation. He and his brother had spent the week playing video games and teasing Haruhi about her dedication to the project. It was only a day ago that they decided to finally work on it seriously.

The older twin swayed slightly on his feet before quickly catching himself.

"Chemistry was created over four thousand years ago by the ancient Egyptians," he slurred, pulling the words from memory rather than reading what they had prepared. He reopened his eyes. That, however had been the worst decision he had made. Now, the concerned faces of his classmates spiraled before him.

He took a few unstable steps back before colliding into the wall behind him and leaned heavily against it as if it were a crutch.

"Back then…" he started again.

"Speak up please."

Hikaru blinked. His voice sounded as if he had turned his iPod at its maximum volume. Why would he speak any louder?

"It paved a path for…" He spoke, not heeding the teacher's words. Instead, he searched his struggling brain for the word. He closed his eyes again, swallowing hard. "Paved a path for…"

"Alchemy," Kaoru's voice prompted, his panic seeping through.

"Al..chemy…" Hikaru repeated. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and like a doll he crumpled to the floor.

"Hikaru!"

"He had been having a lot of nosebleeds lately." A voice said, filtering through a sea of blackness. "And for the past two weeks he complained about being tired."

Kaoru.

A new voice spoke. "Well, we've already contacted your parents. We were told that until they return your legal guardian will be your aunt. Are you able to get in contact with her?"

"Yeah…"

Hikaru's eyes blinked open. Around him stood his brother, and a face he didn't recognize. The man seemed to be in his early thirties, and wore a dull white lab coat with a small nametag he was too far away to see. Beside Kaoru were machines, all of which were beeping obnoxiously in his ear.

He groaned.

"Hikaru! You're awake." Kaoru leapt into action, hugging his tired brother in a death grip. The doctor wisely took this time to slip out of the room.

"Are we in a hospital?" Hikaru asked. He moved to sit up, but Kaoru's hand gently pinned him down.

"Yes, they brought you here after you fainted during our presentation. Do you remember?" Hikaru shook his head, and Kaoru continued.

"I was really scared, Hikaru. You started acting weird…and then…" Kaoru pulled his brother closer to him, burying his damp face in Hikaru's shoulder. "The paramedics said you had just fainted, but I…I thought you were…"

Soft eyes fell onto his distressed younger brother, and he raised a weak hand to rub Kaoru's back soothingly. "I'm sorry, Kaoru."

Kaoru took a deep breath, and then straightened. "They already did a blood test with mom and dad's permission, and they said auntie is our guardian for now. Hopefully nothing else will happen, but just in case I told them what's been happening."

Hikaru frowned.

"Other than that, they said nothing was wrong. It was probably just nerves. They should let you leave soon." Kaoru finished, standing. "Rest, I'll tell them they can come back in."

Hikaru leaned back into his bed, fixing his eyes on the white ceiling above him.

The shrill ring of a phone broke the usual hustle and bustle of the Hitachiin home. A nearby maid quickly scurried over, setting aside her cleaning supplies to pick up the phone.

"Hitachiin residence, may I ask who is speaking?" She recited.

"Ah, hello," A male voice spoke. "This is Dr. Matsushita speaking. Is this the Hitachiin residence?"

The maid wasted no time handing the phone to the nearest Hitachiin. She spoke in a low voice explaining the situation before reporting back to her maid duties.

"Dr. Matsushita, we've been waiting for your call. Did you get my nephew's test results back?" The aunt held her breath, and waited patiently for an answer she did not truly want.

"Yes. We need to request for him to come in for a more detailed blood test. I can refer you to a blood specialist so they can—" The doctor drawled on to deaf ears.

Blood specialist? What could they possibly have found that they needed to go to such lengths to examine more blood? She could think of many possibilities, and none of which did she want to see tagged onto her nephew.

Curiosity killed the cat however. "What did you find?"

"What floor are we going to again?" Kaoru asked, a playful bounce in his voice.

"The eighth." Their aunt answered, bags under her eyes. She hadn't gotten much sleep after the phone call. Too busy awake, listening to her younger sister's worried sobs on the phone all night.

Both parents were on the next plane home.

"Are you sure?" Hikaru joined in, smiling at her.

Both twins skipped down the hall, seemingly unaffected by the early morning surprise that, instead of school, they would be going back to the hospital. Only one twin was needed to go, but being so attached to each other, if one went the other did as well. They were like children really, but even through their playful banter she noticed up until now they'd been much quieter than normal.

"Yes, I'm sure it's the eighth." She replied for the third time since they'd arrived.

"Are you sure?" Hikaru asked.

"You two…" She couldn't find the nerve to actually get mad at them though. They didn't know how serious this was.

"What floor are we going to…?" Kaoru asked all playfulness drained from his voice and his face blank. He felt Hikaru's hand slip into his.

"The eighth." The aunt answered. Her gaze followed their line of sight and she let out a heavy sigh. She didn't want them to find out like this.

"You said we were just here for another blood test, right?" Kaoru started again, his voice wavering.

"That's what I was told."

"Then why are we going to the cancer ward?" He screamed. Hikaru's grip tightened in Kaoru's hand, but he remained silent, his head bowed to the floor, blocking out the large words on the floor plans sign.

Kaoru's eyes were pleading, begging her to tell them she had made a mistake. When the older woman looked away he nearly broke. Twin bodies moved closer together, shakily leaning on the other for support.

Ding.

The elevator arrived bringing with it the heavy weight of reality. All three members stepped in, no one making eye contact.

"You're not sick, Hikaru." Kaoru whispered softly. "This is a mistake, we'll be out of here soon."

Still, their hands never parted.

Being in the same room at the same time was a rarity for the Hitachiin family. Both parents worked so much it made it impossible for them to be around all the time, but now here they were, eating dinner with their children in silence.

They had come home soon after the frantic call from the head maid about Hikaru's health scare. Before she could even finish telling them the details they were off the phone and on a plane to Japan.

"How has school been?" Yuzuha asked, her voice as cheerful as she could make it during such a tough time.

Her question was met with blank stares. Both boys, picking over their food, answered. "It's been fine."

"Especially if you count me passing out in the middle of class." Hikaru chimed with bitterness.

Both parents narrowed their eyes at the eldest twin in warning. Yuzuha opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by the entrance of a young maid, a phone in hand.

"Hitachiin-san, the hospital is—" The phone was snatched quickly from her hand.

"Hello, yes this is she…" Her eyes darted momentarily over to the two boys before quickly standing and leaving the room. "Hikaru is—" Their father quickly trailed after her, closing the door and leaving the twins to be alone.

Hikaru stared down at his plate and pushed it away before standing. His stomach was churning so violently now he felt like he was going to be sick.

"Hikaru…" Kaoru stared up at him, his eyes filled with worry.

"I don't feel well. I'm going to go lay down."

"I'll go with you." The younger twin stood as well.

"No, that's okay, Kaoru," Hikaru smiled.

He left Kaoru to stand alone in the dining room even though the pain was quite evident in his younger brother's eyes at the rejection. He had never rejected an offer from Kaoru before, but what was he supposed to do? Kaoru had enough on his plate with emotions at the moment. He couldn't add his own fear to the pile. It would break him.

Instead of going to lie down, Hikaru found himself locked in the bathroom, staring into his own eyes in his reflection in the mirror. A slim hand lifted to gently caress his face. His face over the past few days, oddly enough, had become discolored. Each day he looked in the mirror he grew paler, and his eyes dark with the need for more sleep, even though lately he went to sleep earlier than Kaoru and woke up later. He had just passed it off as a cold though, but now… What if he really is sicker than he thought…?

A knock of the door tore his attention from the mirror.

"Hikaru? Are you alright?" A deep voice asked.

"I'm fine." With a click Hikaru unlocked the door, allowing his father to let himself in.

"Hikaru, your mother and I need to talk to you downstairs. The doctor called and—"

The older man's words fell onto deaf ears. The only thing Hikaru could hear was the beating of his own heart in his chest. For a moment, he felt faint. His body shook, his eyes wide. Behind his father, in the room he shared with Kaoru he could hear muffled sobs and his mother's shaky, but calming voice. "Kaoru…shh...I know."

Before Hikaru could realize what he was doing, he was already flying down the stairs, and out of the mansion. He didn't hear the voices shouting after him, or see his brother's slumped and defeated body crying for him on their bed.

'I don't want to know!' His hands cupped over his ears, blocking out the outside, but still he could hear his own thoughts. 'I'm not sick! I can't be, this isn't fair!'

He slowed to a stop outside near a white pavilion. It was small, but elegant. Flowered vines covered the roof, and up its stairs two benches sat, waiting to be used. Hikaru however moved to the backside of the pavilion, towards a small door used for underneath storage. He and Kaoru had hidden under here all the time when they were younger to vent, or disappear from the world. And, now seemed the best time to try to disappear once more. He knew it was childish, but he didn't mind. As long as something was there to protect him from the outside world along with his body, even if it was only a checker-holed pavilion wall.

Hikaru sat himself in the corner, curled into a tiny ball, his head pressed against his knees. Beside him, a figure crouched down, peered through one of the holes, then moved around to the compartment door.

A disgruntled grunt caused Hikaru's head to snap up. "Dad?"

The quiet man continued forward and plopped himself next to his teary-eyed son. A large arm slung over Hikaru's shoulder and pulled him close enough to lean his head against his dad's broad shoulder. Neither spoke.

"I'm sick…aren't I?"

His dad gave a grim nod.

"Is it bad?"

This time the answer took longer to come. A nod. Hikaru sobbed harder, pressing his face into his father's soft shirt.

Merr. I edited the first chapter a long time ago because it annoyed me. So here's the other version of it. Not much of the second half has changed because honestly I got lazy.