Hikaru and Koaru were inseparable, together through thick and thin. Always hand and hand, no one could get between the two, two boys with one joined heart.
Then Haruhi came.
She didn't ogle them like the girls at the school, no, she treated them the same as everyone else, she was always kind, but never a push over; a modest beauty with a sharp mind. But this wasn't what won them over. No, it was because she didn't seem them as mirror images, just dapple gangers; they were their own persons in her mind, identical, but different beyond comparison. No matter what they did, no matter how hard they attempted to fool her, she could see right through them. Past the face, the hair, the clothes, she saw past that, she looked into their brown green eyes and saw their true colors.
She took their fortress, the brick wall they spent years building up around them and destroyed it. She left that barrier of defense, that last amount of defense in a crumbling, destroyed mess. What took their life time to make; she managed to take down in a matter of months.
Soon, oh so very soon, they came to realize the love for this alluring girl. She was an angel sent from heaven, just for them.

But Hikaru wasn't one to share. No, he wanted Haruhi all to himself; Kaoru had no right to take the beauty, his beauty from him! She was his and no one else's! He never said this out loud, but Kaoru was quick to understand. He loved his brother much more than Haruhi, he'd give everything up for the twin, nobody else could make him happier and if Hikaru wanted Haruhi, he would be willing to give it up.

This was all good for a bit, but then things started to change. Hikaru started to spend his time with Haruhi, he became distant with Koaru, his visits became scarce. He stalked speaking to Koaru as a brother, but more as a coworker, his words formal, and the playful ring gone.
Hikaru stopped being a brother, he stopped being a friend.
The bed they once used to occupy together only held one twin, one twin alone. Abandoned by the one he loved, depression settling, insomnia forming.

Koaru rolled over in his bed, resting in the pool of blankets, eyes unfocused. His hand slowly crept out, feeling next to him, hoping, just hoping to find a body, a warm body to hold him, to tell him that he was loved, that he would never be alone.
But the spot was vacant.
Hot burning tears welled up in his eyes as he gripped the cold blanket, choking back a sob. Why would Hikaru do this to him? Didn't he remember the promise, the agreement between the two when they were kids; that no one would get between them, that they would never be apart.
Did he no longer love him? Was he just a burden? …He seemed so much happier with Haruhi, he smiled so much, and his eyes were so bright. He never acted like that when it was just the two of them.

He was no longer needed- he realized this…and he knew just what to do…

The blankets shifted, before being thrown off of the tall, skinny body. Koaru sat up, sliding off the bed, feet hitting the ground with a gentle slap. The boy moved swiftly and silently, out the bedroom and down the dimly lit halls.
He gently ran his fingertips against the walls, walking through the forest of shadows thrown across the floor and bathing him in a veil of darkness. His short walk led him into the bathroom. He stopped just outside of it, pushing open the door, staring into the pitch black room, his face becoming blank, no emotion daring to show on the perfect face. He was still, his eyes dark, cheeks streaked with dried tears, then a look of nirvana fell over him, a look of peace. He was going to be free of the hurt; he was going to stop being a burden. He was going to do what he should have done a very long time ago.

"I love you Hikaru."

Those words were the last things he muttered, before he took his steps into dark room, slowing closing the door behind him.

My hours are slumberless
Dearest the shadows
I live with are numberless