Here's your next part of the story! It's nearly finished - the next part will be the last one! Also, I wouldn't expect it to be up too soon, because I've got major exams coming up - it took me ages just to write this!

Anyway, enjoy!

PART 4 - THE HOUSE

Hikaru sighed as he sat in the back of the five-seater family car, his eyes closed.

Today, the four close friends were going back to Katie and Hikaru's old place. It had been about two weeks since the fire, and the house had finally been cleared as safe for the adults to visit. They'd received the call the night before, and that had been when the decision to visit the house had been made.

"Hikaru?"

He opened his eyes and looked over at his brother, who was sitting beside him. Andrea had been made the designated driver, and Katie had called shotgun, leaving the two men in the back.

"Yeah, Kaoru?" he asked.

Kaoru seemed to think about what to say before opening his mouth a few seconds later. "Are you alright?" he asked softly.

Hikaru smiled gently at Kaoru as he nodded. "I'm fine. Maybe a little nervous about seeing the house, but I'm fine otherwise."

Kaoru nodded. "If you say so." He patted his shoulder. "I've got boxes in the boot so that we can pack some stuff."

"Okay."

Katie looked back at the two. "Hikaru… you know that time I told you to move the photos upstairs…?"

"I moved the photos, don't worry," Hikaru sighed. "To be honest, you told everyone to take their stuff upstairs the night before the fire.

"Oh, good."

Andrea smiled. "So you didn't lose any photos or valuables, then?"

"I hope not," Katie muttered. "Losing our home is enough."

The pulled up in front of the half-burnt house and climbed out, each of them staring at the building in slight horror.

It was clear to see that the house had been in some sort of fire. The four-bedroom home, which had once been painted white, was now black. The walls for the ground floor had peeling black pain on them, and the windows had either melted or blown out. The upper floor didn't seem to be as damaged, with only parts of the outside walls now black and the windows slightly burnt.

Katie didn't realise she had been going into shock until she felt Hikaru take her hand. She jumped and turned to him quickly.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly.

She blinked before nodding a little.

"You look pale," he commented quietly. "What's wrong?"

Katie bit her lip. "I-it's just…" Her voice wavered. "T-that's our h-house…" she whispered. "Our home."

He pulled her into a tight hug, kissing her hair. "I know, Katie… I know…"

Andrea and Kaoru had already recovered from their slight shock, and were already heading towards what was left of the broken-down front door. They looked inside the house.

To say that it was burnt would be an understatement.

The walls inside were completely black, peeling, with the plaster cracked and littered all over the floor. The ceiling wasn't much better, as it was covered in cracks and holes that allowed you to see the floorboards of the floor above. It was decorated in black spots from where the flames had licked at the ceiling long enough to burn it. The floor was covered in ash and debris, making it difficult for anyone to walk through the house without tripping. Any pictures that had once hung on the walls had been burnt, the remains on the ground with glass from the frames melted to them. The furniture in the corridor was all destroyed – the vase that Kaoru had lamely bought Hikaru lay shattered on the ground, partly burnt and melted. To be honest, nothing on the ground floor had been left untouched, everything damaged in one way or another.

"Oh my goodness…"

The two turned to see Katie and Hikaru standing beside them, taking in the state of the house. There were tears in Katie's eyes as she looked around, whilst Hikaru's gaze was fixed on the broken vase.

"Katie," Andrea said softly, catching her attention. "Let's start packing stuff upstairs," she suggested.

Katie nodded, pulling herself away from Hikaru to follow Andrea shakily up the half-burnt staircase.

Hikaru's eyes were fixed on the vase, and he tentatively walked over to it. He could remember the day Kaoru had given the vase to him – it had been quite warm, considering he and Katie had moved into the house in the early autumn as soon as they had returned from their honeymoon. Kaoru had decided to visit and give them a lame 'Welcome Home' gift, which Hikaru had soon found out was just a vase. He'd never had the chance to tell him how much the vas had actually meant to him – how he had nearly yelled at Katie for moving the vase; how he'd literally dived for the vase every time one of his kids had hit the table; how he stared at it for a few minutes every time he got home from a long business trip…

"Hikaru…?" Kaoru asked softly, walking over to his brother.

Hikaru knelt down and began to pick up the pieces. "This was my favourite vase…" he muttered.

Kaoru blinked. "It… it was?"

Hikaru nodded, sighing softly. "It reminded me of simpler times… before the kids… when it was just the four of us. A married couple and an engaged couple. No kids to worry about continually, no careers to keep up… just us."

Kaoru knelt down beside him. "Those were some good times," he agreed.

Hikaru dropped the vase pieces suddenly, shaking. "It's all gone, Kao… everything…"

Kaoru pulled his brother into a hug. "Hey… not everything is gone…"

Hikaru finally broke down, crying into Kaoru's shirt. He had tried so hard to stay strong for his family, but seeing the house was just too much for him. His world had been amazing… so great… and then the fire had brought everything crashing down.

Kaoru hugged his brother tightly as he cried into his shirt, rocking him gently. He had been through so much already, and had kept it all bottles up inside him. Now it was all pouring out, and he couldn't stop.

Hikaru clutched to Kaoru's shirt. "E-e-everything's g-gone… r-r-ruined…" he sobbed, shaking as he continued to cry. "M-my life's f-f-fucked up-p…"

Kaoru frowned. He'd never really heard his brother swear before. "Don't say that! You haven't lost everything! You've lost a building – so what? You still have a family!" He pulled away to look him in the eye. "You still have us."

Hikaru hiccupped, his face and eyes red and puffy from crying. "B-b-but… I've l-lost m-my home…" he whispered.

Kaoru thought for a minute before place his hand on the middle of Hikaru's chest.

Hikaru frowned. "Wh-what are you…?"

"Home is where the heart is," Kaoru told him softly. "It's not the building that was your home, Hikaru. It's the family that lived inside."

Hikaru listened to what Kaoru said. The family that lived inside… It was his family that had lived inside the building. Every day he came home from work, he looked forward to seeing them, not the house. The house was just a symbol of those who lived within. "Where the heart is…"

Kaoru nodded.

"B-but… why attack my home?"

"They wanted to break your heart." Kaoru moved his hand from Hikaru's chest. "Don't give them the satisfaction."

Hikaru found himself staring at the broken vase pieces again. "Everything has a reason…" he whispered, touching the pieces lightly.

"Some reasons are just darker than others," Kaoru added.

"Yeah…" He looked up at Kaoru. "Thanks. For everything."

Kaoru smiled. "It's alright. That's what brothers are for."

Hikaru managed a small smile. "Yeah…"

The two heard footsteps and turned to see Andrea and Katie descending the stairs, each of them holding a large box.

"We've packed up all of Asuza's stuff," Katie explained as they walked down. "Can you believe it took up two boxes, Hika? It took us ages…" She trailed off when she registered his red face and puffy eyes that matched her own. Her husband had been crying. Her husband had been crying. "Hika…?"

Hikaru rubbed at his eyes furiously, wiping away the tears. "I'm fine," he answered quickly. "It's nothing. I'm fine."

Katie watched him carefully before sighing. "If you say so." She reached the bottom stair. "We need your help gathering and packing all of our stuff upstairs. All the rooms are fine, apart from the floorboards being a little unstable, so we can go into the rooms and gather up our stuff."

Hikaru stood, nodding as he smiled weakly. "Sure." He pecked her softly on the cheek as he passed her. "I'll be upstairs, then. Come on, Kao!"

Kaoru smiled as he stood, jogging after his brother. He winked at his wife as he passed her, grinning when she smiled. "We'll see you upstairs, then."

Andrea nodded as she carried the boxes outside with Katie.

The two men headed upstairs, walking straight into the games room.

This room had to be the most damaged out of all of the rooms on this floor. The floorboards were quite burnt, with some burn marks on the walls as well. The ceiling was covered in soot – as was every gaming console and computer in the room. The only item that had been left untouched was the chest of drawers in the far corner.

Hikaru walked over to the chest of drawers, stepping over the now damaged games consoles to reach it. Kaoru followed, nearly bumping into his brother when they stopped.

"What's in there?" Kaoru asked as he stood beside Hikaru, watching him open one of the drawers.

"Pictures," Hikaru muttered quietly, with a small smile. They hadn't been damaged at all. He pulled out a large album with black covers.

Kaoru stared at the album, watching as Hikaru opened it to a random place. His eyes widened at what he saw.

It was a group photo, clearly. There were many people in it, and Kaoru could easily recognise the faces. All of Katie's friends from England… plus the Host Club. And they all looked so happy, so young… so carefree.

"When was this taken?" Kaoru asked.

Hikaru smiled. "Remember that summer when the others came back from Boston, and then Katie's friends came over from England?"

Kaoru nodded. "Yeah… that was the summer we spent the weekend at the beach."

"It was that weekend."

He smiled. "That was a fun weekend."

Hikaru nodded. "Yeah…"

Kaoru reached into the drawer and pulled out another album. He opened it to the first page and smiled at what he saw. "Are these Asuza's ultrasound scans?"

Hikaru looked over. "Yeah. Katie wanted to keep them. I never really saw any point in it until after she was born…"

"You know, we've still got all of ours."

"Really?"

"Well, when you're married to someone like Andrea, you have no choice."

Hikaru laughed genuinely.

"What's wrong with being married to me?" Andrea asked as she walked into the room with Katie, carrying some empty boxes.

"I thought you'd start with the other rooms?" Kaoru asked back, avoiding his wife's slight glare as he changed the subject and focused on the album.

Hikaru snorted. "Whipped," he muttered under his breath.

"Shut up," Kaoru pouted.

The other three just laughed.

So... review, guys!