The alarm sounded off loud and Hikaru jolted in his bed. "Ugh, nooo," Hikaru moaned, protesting into his pillow. He swung his arm out over the side of his bed, smacking his hand onto the snooze button. Peaking one eye open, he blinked against the harsh sunlight leaking through his blinds.

The room was silent again but he could hear the clashing and banging of dishes downstairs in the kitchen. That only meant one thing: Zen was home. Why else would she be making breakfast before she had to go to work?

But at that moment, Hikaru didn't care one bit. Not at all. He was going to get some well-needed sleep. Or so he thought.

The door slammed open, hitting the wall hard, and suddenly a body launched onto Hikaru, knocking him painfully in the ribs. "Rise and shine!" Zen cried, shaking the bed fiercely.

Hikaru picked up his pillow and launched it at his brother, hitting him square in the face. "Get out, you freak!" Hikaru hollered and he tried to kick his older brother off with his feet.

"Oh no you don't," Zen laughed, jumping off the bed. "You have to go to school."

"Can I just skip?" Hikaru moaned, pulling his blanket up over his head. "Tell mom I'm sick."

"Nope," Zen said. He yanked Hikaru's comforter off the bed and discarded it onto the floor. "Mom's making pancakes and sausage. You wouldn't want to miss that would you?"

Hikaru sat up slowly, rubbing at his eyes. "Uh, fine," Hikaru grumbled and he swung his feet off the side. "Just let me take a shower and I'll be right down. I'm not an early riser like you." He eyed his brother's already-dressed form. He was wearing khaki shorts with a blue and gray striped tee. His black hair was mussed softly.

"Alright," Zen smiled, turning away, heading for the door.

"Hey why are you here anyway? It's Thursday! Don't you have class?"

Zen paused and looked back with a grin. "I skipped."

"You hypocrite!" Hikaru roared in amusement. He picked up his pillow again and chucked it. This time he missed as Zen ducked out into the hall.

Hikaru huffed and stood, crossing the room to his dresser. He opened the top drawer and pulled out a clean pair of boxers. But he paused. His phone on top of the dresser was blinking slowly.

Snatching the small device up, he checked his missed alerts. He had one missed call… from Kaoru. What in the holy Hell? Kaoru had never called him before, let alone at four in the morning.

Without another thought, Hikaru quickly dialed Kaoru's number, listening to the ringing impatiently. He couldn't think of any reason that Kaoru would call him that wasn't horrible. "Come on, come on," Hikaru chanted worriedly into the phone. "Pick up." The ringing went to an answering machine. "Dang it."

He snapped his phone shut and held it his hand for a little bit longer. A terrifying chill ran down his spine. Something was wrong. So without delay, he retried the call. Once again it went to voicemail.

"Damn it Kaoru!" He scolded the phone. Hikaru threw the phone onto his bed and went through the motions of getting ready for school faster than he had ever done before. Maybe he would have some time to go to Kaoru's place before school.

He shrugged on a random shirt from his closet, not bothering to take a shower, and doused himself in his cologne. Close enough to a shower. Grabbing his bag, phone, and his keys, he made a quick escape out of his room and into the hall. His footsteps were quick as he bolted down the stairs. He stopped on the last stair and sat down, grabbing his shoes from the rug just by the door. He started to force them on.

"Hikaru, are you ready for your breakfast? It's all ready," his mother called, coming out of the dining room. She stopped, taking in his disheveled appearance. "In a hurry?"

"Yeah," Hikaru said, wedging on his second shoe on. "There's something I forgot to do." He didn't look up, focusing on his feet.

"You're not going to eat breakfast?" Zen asked with a mouthful of sausage. He sat at the table with his plate full of food.

"See you later," Hikaru called, racing to his feet and swinging the door open. He raced down onto the garden path, not bothering to close the door.

"Drive safe!" His mother called behind him.

Hikaru sent a vague wave over his shoulder and unlocked his car. Throwing his bag into the passenger seat, Hikaru jumped inside and jammed the key into the ignition. His small car roared to life and Hikaru smiled. He loved this car.

And he squealed into drive before he even had his seatbelt on. He buckled in, balancing the steering wheel, and then reached for his cell phone. Hikaru had to know what was up with Kaoru. He called again, and again, and again, all the way to Kaoru's apartment. He was just entering Kaoru's neighborhood when he finally got his brother to answer, "Hello?" Kaoru's voice was so lifeless and flat that it scared Hikaru.

"Kaoru are you okay?" he spoke fast.

"Yeah, just perfect," Kaoru bit out.

And that is how Hikaru knew Kaoru was not okay. "What's going on?"

There was utter silence on Kaoru's end.

"Are you at home Kaoru?" Hikaru tried again.

"No."

Oh no, not one-word answers. "Where are you?"

Kaoru breathed out slowly. "A-at the hospital." Kaoru's voice wavered.

Hikaru immediately pulled over on the street, slamming on his breaks. "What? What happened? What's going on?"

Kaoru sniffed through the phone. Hikaru's heart lurched. So many things raced through his mind at that moment. Hikaru was scared. He gripped the steering wheel hard.

"It's my mom," he said slowly; he sounded miserable and defeated. "Hikaru…"

"Don't worry, I'll be right there," Hikaru declared, cutting off Kaoru. He quickly turned his car back onto the road, making a U-turn for the hospital. "See you soon." And he snapped the phone shut.

He set both hands on the steering wheel in his determination. His eyebrows were set in a deep frown. Screw school, he was skipping.