"Kaoru? Are you alright? Kaoru?"
Someone was speaking.
Who is it?
Does it matter? Where's Hikaru? Hikaru? Hikaru!
"Hikaru!?"
"Kaoru, just calm down, okay?"
HIKARU!
"S-Stop, Fujioka! What are you talking about?!" Soga cried, holding his head in his hands with tears in his eyes.
The party of four – Haruhi Fujioka, Soga Kazukiyo, Kaoru Hitachiin and Hikaru Hitachiin – were in the middle of a test-of-courage class event. They were supposedly on scaring duty, however…
The sound of something hollow bouncing down the stairs resonated in the near-silent corridor. They looked up and saw a skull, chalky white and definitely human, tumbling down the grand staircase.
The twins clung to each other tightly while Haruhi and Soga retreated as far from the staircase as they could get.
The creamy object came to a stop at the bottom of the stairwell, its empty eye sockets gazing silently at the four students.
"T-This is a sneak-attack from those A-Team guys, right?" Kaoru stuttered.
"It's not their turn yet! Follow the rules, will you?!" Hikaru yelled, halfway between irritated and terrified.
He kicked the skull and it ricocheted back up the way it came, followed by an eerie "That hurt."
"Nice shooting!" Kaoru commended.
"That hurt, that hurt~" The voice repeated.
A figure in white appeared at the top of the staircase just as the bell tower rang out.
Soga's voice quivered as he whimpered, "It couldn't be… the clock tower witch?!"
"Are you the ones who kicked my skull?" The figure spoke in a voice befitting its ghostly appearance.
The 'clock-tower witch' looked up through her hair, showing a gruesomely disfigured face with bloodshot eyes and a thin trail of blood leaking from the corner of her mouth.
The group screamed and ran in opposite directions: Haruhi and Hikaru in one direction; Kaoru and Soga in the other.
Haruhi accidentally triggered a trip-wire as she and Hikaru ran down a hallway, resulting in the two of them being caught in a net-trap.
"Oww. What is this? Are we supposed to be some sort of prey?" Hikaru groaned, then a thought struck him and he panicked; "Wait a moment, Kaoru! Where's Kaoru?! Where did Kaoru go?! Kaoru!" He struggled against the net but only managed to make it swing.
Meanwhile, after running into room after room of disturbing characters, Kaoru and Soga stumbled into an empty classroom, the door of which locked behind them.
Kaoru hit the door but it didn't budge.
"Damn it, we're locked in." He sighed, sinking down on the ground beside Soga.
"Which one are you?" The chairman asked.
"I'm Kaoru. Are you scared?"
"No, it's as if I've been scared so much that nothing can scare me anymore."
Kaoru sighed. "Our plans have been completely ruined. The truth is, we had a whole heart-warming scenario prepared where, once Princess Kurakano came around, we were going to absolutely terrify her and then have you step in to comfort her."
"I'm very grateful that you two would do that for me but it's pointless. For one thing, Kurakano-san is more into Fujioka and although it doesn't look like Fujioka is into her at the moment, but it's possible that they will eventually fall in love with one another." He sighed wistfully.
"No, I promise you that could never happen." Kaoru interjected.
"Why not?" Soga asked, curious.
"It just won't." Because Haruhi's a girl. He thought to himself.
"Still, this may sound like I'm just making up excuses, but right now I really don't feel like doing anything about it. It's fun being on the class committee with Kurakano-san and I don't want to ruin our current relationship." Soga confessed, twiddling his thumbs.
"So, in other words, that's your spell on the carriage, Chairman?"
Soga gave him a confused look.
"That way of thinking is okay, I suppose; if you can keep running the way you have been that's not so bad. I'm sure that keeping a family setting with fathers and daughters is his highness's magic spell, in order to keep our current relationships from being ruined." Kaoru's eyes took on a shadowed look.
"Huh?" Questioned the Chairman, intelligently.
"Neither his highness, nor the rest of us had ever had other friends. He wants to enjoy things as they are now as much as possible, as do I."
"Sorry, but what are we talking about?" He asked again. He then noticed that Kaoru looked solemn, but there was also a hint of fear in his eyes. 'Is he talking… to distract himself? What from? What is Kaoru afraid of?' Soga mused, concerned.
"However, at some point, there's a good chance that it will all turn into a muddy pumpkin."
Soga could see Kaoru's white-knuckled fists by his sides.
"Kaoru, you're shaking." He commented quietly.
Kaoru flinched noticeably.
"Kao…ru?"
"I-I'm fine. Really. I-I'm not afraid to be alone. I'm a-alright." He was trembling and visibly paler than usual. He had pulled his knees up to his chest, hands resting on them. His head hung limply as his breathing sounded harshly in the quiet room.
"You're not." Soga murmured. He gently rested a hand on Kaoru's. "What's wrong? Does this happen a lot? I wish Hikaru was here."
"Hi… karu? Hikaru is… where? Hikaru?"
"Kaoru?"
There was no response. He was clearly on the edge of a panic attack.
"Kaoru? Are you alright? Kaoru?"
"Hikaru?!" The red-head in front of Soga sobbed desperately.
"Kaoru, just calm down, okay?" Soga was more scared now than he had been all night. He had always been terrified of ghosts and horror movies, but his classmate was now in a dire situation and he had no clue what he was supposed to do. There was no way out of the dark room they had been shut in and he had no clue where their other group members had gone.
While Soga was trying his hardest to calm his classmate down, Kaoru was launched back to all those years ago, the time when he let go of his big brother's hand.
"Hikaru? Where's Mama?"
Both of the twins were close to tears; they had joined their parents at a social gathering and ended up stranded in the ballroom. With no one to turn to, the brothers clung to each other in a corner, unnoticed by the partygoers.
"Kaoru, it's going to be okay. You stay here and I'll go find Mama. Don't worry, I'll protect you." Hikaru smiled at his little brother and squeezed him tightly.
"Don't leave me alone, Hikaru!" Kaoru let his tears flow freely onto his twin's dress-shirt.
"I'll be right back, Kaoru. Wait for me, okay?"
Kaoru pulled back a little and gave his brother's hand a squeeze before letting him go.
"Come back for me soon, okay?"
"Of course." Hikaru grinned brightly before running off into the sea of people. Kaoru watched him go until the bright hair disappeared from sight.
He was scared, standing in an unknown place filled with unknown people. Kaoru wished Hikaru would come back already.
"Are you lost, Hitachiin-kun?"
Kaoru looked up timidly at the man in the mask, not unusual as he was at a masquerade. This man was scary and Kaoru didn't like how he was looking at him.
"N-No. I'm waiting f-for my brother. That's all. I-I'm fine." He knew he was shaking and he knew there were tears in his eyes but this man was scaring him and he wanted Hikaru back with him.
"Nonsense, boy. Come with me. I know where your brother is. I'll take you to him."
"No!"
This man was lying. He was a liar. Kaoru wouldn't go with him.
Then the scary man grabbed Kaoru roughly by the arm and growled, "Come quietly and you won't get hurt. If you struggle…" There was a glint in his eye that spoke of horrors Kaoru's 8-year-old mind could not comprehend.
So, the ginger child followed obediently followed the man and was thrown into the boot of a car, which then drove away from the ball and away from Hikaru.
Hikaru returned to Kaoru's corner not 5 minutes later with their mother in tow, only to find it devoid of his younger twin.
"Kaoru?" He called, becoming concerned when he heard no reply.
"It's okay, Hikaru. I'm sure Kaoru just ran off to play somewhere." His mother reassured.
"You're wrong, Mama."
"What?"
"You're wrong. Kaoru wouldn't run away if I told him to wait. Something's wrong, Mama. I have a bad feeling." Hikaru looked around frantically, though his heart told him that Kaoru was no longer at the party.
"What's wrong, Hikaru?" His mother was clearly doubtful about Hikaru's 'bad feeling'.
"Kaoru isn't here anymore. Mama, Kaoru… Where is Kaoru?!" Hikaru was terrified. He wasn't sure about 'twin's telepathy' or things like that but he knew with every fibre of his being that Kaoru was in danger.
"Calm down, Hikaru. I'll call the secret police and I'm sure they'll find him at one of the buffet tables or something. Your brother is not in danger." His mother attempted to calm her son before flipping open her phone and telling the secret police to find Kaoru.
A few minutes later came the bone-chilling news that Kaoru had not been located anywhere at the party.
"Kaoru's… Where is Kaoru?!" Hikaru was crying now as he and his mother walked from the ballroom.
As soon as the secret police announced they hadn't been able to find Kaoru, Mrs Hitachiin ordered them to do a full search. She was now concerned. She regretted the fact that she did not know her own sons very well, but she knew enough about them that they would never stray too far from each other's sides, so Kaoru would not have left the party of his own accord without Hikaru. She could only hope that he'd be safe.
While this search took place, Kaoru was tied up in a dark, dank basement of an abandoned warehouse, surrounded by a small group of grubby, unkempt men.
He was absolutely petrified but just kept thinking: what would Hikaru do?
He knew that his brother would probably mock the kidnappers and laugh at anything he could to try to make Kaoru more calm. Kaoru knew it would probably work, but thinking of this just reminded him that his brother wasn't there with him and this only served to scare him further.
The twins had never been apart for this long before and Kaoru couldn't bear it. He tried to become Hikaru, his strong, kind and beloved brother.
Gathering his courage, he commented in a voice far more confident than it had any right to be, "Isn't this a bit cliché? An abandoned warehouse? How lame~! Aren't you ashamed of yourselves?"
He tried to come off as bored as he and his brother usually were when they pulled pranks. HE failed.
One of the captors snarled at him, walking over and grabbing him by the collar, causing the ropes binding him to chafe his raw wrists, the rough fibres splitting his delicate skin and allowing beads of blood to bubble up from under the pale surface and run in shallow rivulets into his grimy palms.
The masked man backhanded him across the cheek and all he could do was whimper and screw his eyes closed.
Hikaru, save me! He thought to himself.
Once the ransom call was received the family paid the captors, who were then apprehended by their secret police force, and Kaoru was returned to them relatively unharmed, at least physically.
After the incident the twins became closer than ever.
Kaoru was scared to be apart from his brother, especially without knowing where he was.
"Kaoru! Please calm down, it's okay. Hikaru and Fujioka will find us in no time." Soga was frantic now. He needed to get Kaoru out of here and to his brother.
He banged on the door as loudly as he could.
"Is anyone there? Please! Hikaru? Fujioka? A-Team? If anyone's there, please! The test-of-courage doesn't matter anymore." Soga shouted desperately through the door, though when no reply came he returned to Kaoru's side, doing anything and everything he could think of to calm his friend down.
"Hang on a minute, Hikaru! Don't thrash around. I'll cut the net with the scissors from my sewing set." Haruhi pulled said sewing set from her blazer and pulled out the small pair of red-handled scissors.
"But Kaoru…"
"You know, when Kaoru is by himself he stays relatively sensible and calm, but when you're by yourself, Hikaru, you're annoying and thoughtless." Haruhi said, deadpan.
"You're wrong." Hikaru muttered.
"Oh? Am I really?" Haruhi gave him a sly smile.
"I may be annoying and thoughtless and Kaoru may be sensible but…" Hikaru gulped nervously. "I have to find him." He finished, grimly.
Haruhi gave him a confused look. "What's wrong, Hikaru?"
"Kaoru doesn't know where I am. That's what's wrong. He's not by my side and he doesn't know where I am."
"Kaoru can take care of himself, you know." Haruhi responded, though she could see Hikaru's concern.
"When we were 8, Kaoru was kidnapped."
"You two were kidnapped?!" Haruhi blanched.
Hikaru shook his head, looking sickened.
"…Alone?" Haruhi's eyes widened.
Hikaru nodded slightly. "If only I hadn't let go of his hand." He chided himself.
"It's not your fault, Hikaru. Calm down. I'll get us out of here and we'll find him."
Haruhi was now also concerned for the twins. She clutched the scissors in her hand and leaned over to the rope of the net above Hikaru's head.
"Okay, just hold still for a minute." She said as she quickly went about cutting the rope.
"W-Why are you positioning yourself like that?" He stuttered, blushing a little as Haruhi's chest hovered just above his head.
"Sorry, but I can't move around any other way. It may be a little awkward but just bear with it." Haruhi apologised, trying to get the net open as quickly as possible.
In any other circumstance the elder twin would have been loving the situation he was in, but right now all he could think about was Kaoru.
As soon as the net was open, Hikaru scrambled out as fast as he could, not even stopping to help Haruhi, and sprinted down the corridor in search of his twin.
Haruhi was a little stunned as she watched the ginger-haired boy race down hall after hall, kicking open every door, shouting for Kaoru.
"Kaoru? Kaoru?! KAORU?!"
He was clearly pumped full of adrenaline. Haruhi knew that the twins were closer than most people but if being apart for such a short time without knowing where the other was caused this sort of reaction… She struggled to think what could happen if something worse were to befall the pair.
Finally, Hikaru came across a room blocked by sandbags and began to frantically throw them away from the door. He had left Haruhi behind him long ago, choosing to focus on finding his twin as quickly as he could.
"Kaoru?! Are you in here? KAORU?!" He shouted as he finally, finally burst into the room.
"Hikaru! Am I glad to see you! Kaoru is…" Soga gestured to the shaking teen by the wall.
"Kaoru…" Hikaru breathed at the sight of his little brother.
He knelt in front of him, pushing Soga aside, and wrapped his arms around his twin.
"Hi…karu?" Kaoru asked, unfolding his body and hugging him tightly. "Hikaru~!" Tears sprung from his eyes anew as he clutched at his brother's chest, reverting to the scared little boy with lips bitten raw and a bruised cheek.
"I'll never let you go again, Kaoru." Hikaru swore, gently nuzzling his twin protectively.
"Don't leave me, Hikaru."
Haruhi arrived moments later to find them in the same position.
"Hello? Hello? Hikaru? Kaoru?" Soga attempted to get their attention and failed miserably, the twins off in their own, 2-person world.
He stood up with a sigh and went over to Haruhi.
"They're supposed to be 1st year high school students, but they're actually just little kids." She chuckled.
"I think those two brothers are more mature than you give them credit for." Soga smiled at the pair.
Hikaru had loosened his grip on Kaoru and raised a hand to wipe the red-rimmed eyes that were so similar to his own.
"It's okay, brother, I'll never let you out of my sight." Hikaru sighed into Kaoru's hair as he, once again, embraced him.
Haruhi thought that maybe, just maybe, in this moment, she could see the appeal of the Hitachiin brothers.