Disclaimer: I still don't own them. ='(

"So, how was your day?" Momo asked, glancing down at Tatsuki and Takami. They were walking back from his siblings' friend's house, where Momo had been leaving them since they were small children for protection against their parents. Momo walked beside his bicycle, going slowly for his brother and sister to keep up. "Did you guys do anything interesting?"

Takami looked up with that wild excitement on her face. "Oh, oh nii-chan! Today, we were playing with the Itarus' baby, right? And Tatsuki gave him a little toy, and the baby just threw it back in his face!" She went into a fit of giggles after that.

"Really?" Momo said, smiling down at Tatsuki. "How's that face, otouto?"

"'M okay," Tatsuki responded, rubbing his cheek. "'M not going to give him any more toys, though." Momo chuckled and rubbed his brother's shoulder.

"Ah, you'll be okay," Momo said, looking up to find they were already in front of their house. Immediately, he became aware, and quietly motioned to Tatsuki and Takami to be silent. They both obeyed wordlessly, grabbing onto the hem of their brother's shirt as he quietly walked up the path leading to the porch. Momo looked to his left and saw with horror that his father's car was in the driveway.

"Okay, come on, you two. And be quiet," Momo whispered, turning back and hiding his bike in the thick bushes before putting a hand on each of his sibling's shoulders and leading them to the side of the house rather than the front. Once they got there, Momo let go of his brother and sister, reached up, and unlatched the lock he had placed on the outside in case of situations like this. He pushed the window up carefully, relieved that it didn't groan and squeak in protest like other times. Once it was high enough, he crouched down in front of Tatsuki and Takami, giving them a serious look.

"Alright," Momo said. "Listen carefully, you two. I'm going to lift you up to that window. It goes into my room, so you'll be okay there. You go through and try to land on my bed. I'm going to close that window after you're both in, okay?"

"Why? Aren't you coming too?" Takami asked, looking frightened. Momo gave her a sad smile.

"Wish I could, Takami. But I wouldn't be able to fit through that window, nor would I be able to pull myself inside. I'm going to go through the front door."

"But - But tou-san is in there," Tatsuki said worridley, eyes huge. Damn, Momo thought. So I wasn't the only one who noticed.

"It's okay, Tatsuki, I'll be alright," Momo said, trying in any way he could to reassure his brother. "Now listen. Once you're in, stay in my room, alright? Lock the door as quietly as you can and stay quiet. And if you hear anything, anything at all coming from kaa-san or tou-san, or me if I'm not at the door, run to the closet and stay in there until I knock at the door, okay?"

Tatsuki and Takami were silent, and Momo watched as their eyes filled with tears of fright. They knew all too well what could happen to their brother when their father was in the house. Momo sighed and put a hand on thier shoulders. "Do you understand me, guys?"

They nodded. "H-Hai, nii-chan," they chorused.

Momo nodded. "Okay." He faced his brother and squeezed his shoulder gently. "Take care of your sister, alright otouto?"

Tatsuki smiled slightly and nodded. "Hai."

Momo nodded once. "Okay. Let's go. Takami, you first."

Momo cupped his hands in front of him, a stable place for Takami to stand without falling. Takami obediantly put her foot in Momo's hands and he hoisted her up, making sure she had a firm hold on the window before pushing her higher. She squeezed her small body through the opening and in a second she disappeared into the room.

"Imouto, are you okay?" Momo called in a whisper-shout. Takami's head appeared in the window and she nodded. Momo looked down at Tatsuki and crouched back down. "Your turn," he whispered, cupping his hands again. Tatsuki mimicked his sister, standing one-footed on his brother's hands while being pushed up toward the window. Momo grunted as he pushed him up higher as he did to his sister, helping him through the opening. And then Tatsuki was out of sight as well.

"You two okay?" he asked. They both appeared through the window, glancing down at him.

"Hai," they said in unison. Momo smiled.

"I'm going to the front door now. Remember, stay in my room, lock the door, and go into the closet if you hear anything until I come and knock, okay? Stay together."

And without another word to his brother and sister, he closed the window and jogged over to the front of the house, praying that his father wasn't in a foul mood.

XXX

"Kaa-san?"

Hozumi Kaidoh turned to see her eldest son leaning against the doorway to the kitchen. She smiled, putting down the dish she had finished rinsing on the counter. "Kaoru. Is there anything wrong?"

She saw him hesitate for a moment before saying, "Can I ask you a question?"

Hozumi nodded, encouraging him to continue. She had noticed that her son had a problem on his mind ever since he had arrived from practice. For one, he had arrived early, showing no signs that he had been on his daily jog after tennis practice. And he was quiet, lost in thought, occasionally scowling and shaking his head at something only known to him.

"Yes, Kaoru, what is it?" she asked.

Kaoru sighed, and pushed himself away from the door frame. "Did you... Did you ever have this secret that someone told you, but it wasn't yours to tell? Something that they made you swear not to tell, even if it was a danger to them?"

Hozumi's gentle smile became slightly sad and she nodded again, turning back to the dishes in the sink. "Hai. I remember I was around your age, and my best friend Nami was attacked while walking home from the store to her house by a man. He beat her, then he sexually abused her."

She tilted her head slightly to the right and saw her son's eyes had gone wide. She shook her head, walking away from the sink toward the cupboards with a load of dry dishes. "I seemed to be the only one she could trust at that point in her life, and she told me everything the next day. She made me swear to never tell a soul about what happened to her, and she had everyone fooled; she covered all her bruises and cuts well. But she had left me with a terrible burden. I wished desperately that she had never made me promise, because I knew that if she wasn't checked by a doctor, she could be severely hurt. So, I took the harder step, and I told her parents about what happened."

Silence.

Furrowing her eyebrows a little, she turned back around. Kaoru was looking down at the ground, clearly thinking hard about something. A moment of silence passed before he looked up again and asked, "What happened after that?"

Hozumi chuckled quietly, closing the cupboard doors. "Nami was angry with me after that. She didn't pick up the phone when I called, nor did she return my phone calls. I lived with a terrible pain of losing my best friend, but I knew that I did the best thing for her."

Kaoru's eyebrows knitted together. "What was that?"

Hozumi stopped where she was and sighed. "I helped her by telling people who love her what had happened to her, so they could help her as well. To her, I may have broken my promise, but really, what good is a promise if that person is going to get hurt regardless if you keep it or not?"

Hozumi watched as her son looked back down, jamming his fists down his pockets. She walked over to him until she was right in front of him and waited until he looked up again before she smiled gently again, placing her hand on his cheek.

"Do the right thing, Kaoru," was all Hozumi said before removing her hand and leaving the kitchen and her son, who grew even more confused and frustated than before.

"But what is the right thing?" he whispered to himself in frustration, and then he too left the kitchen.

Aw, someone give Kaidoh a hug! He's so confused right now... =(

So this concludes the fifth chapter! I wrote this in one day too! I guess that's what happens when you're stuck in a hotel room with nothing to do. x) I changed Kaidoh's mother's name because I just found out that she really did have a real name a while ago. LOL

Review please!