Hikaru made his way down the hallway with precision stealth. He could feel Tamaki and Haruhi right on his heels. The hallway was quiet and it echoed their light footsteps. There was nothing on the cold walls. The place felt dead.
They reached the turn and Hikaru paused at the corner. Slowly, he peered around the edge with his orange hair flopping clumsily into his face. This portion of the hallway was darkened but it was not a long passageway. It opened up into a room of some sort. Hikaru shifted forward, trusting the others to follow him.
He trailed his fingers along the smooth wall and kept his eyes trained on the soft glow of light before him. His heart thudded loudly in his ears. He wondered what would be in store for them. Would they find Kaoru on the other side of this hallway? Or would they find the one called "Uzo?"
Hikaru pushed forward faster, determined to get through this quickly. All he wanted was to be with his brother once again. Was that too much to ask? He shook his head, no longer wanting to think about it.
Reaching the opening into the room, Hikaru stepped tentatively inside. The room looked the same as the hallway. It was pure white with no furnishings, no wall décor. It was completely empty. But Hikaru's eyes were drawn to the barred doorway on the far left.
He glanced back at his friends' terrified expressions before rushing to the barred door, gripping his hands around the cold metal. Hikaru narrowed his eyes. It was another long hallway lined with other cells. He shook the door with a loud clang. The stupid thing wouldn't budge.
"Hello?" Hikaru called out into the silent hall. Tamaki and Haruhi joined him at his side. Just on the other end, Hikaru could hear a slight shuffling, maybe even whispering. "Anyone there?"
"Who are you?" a girl asked quietly, she pressed her face against the cell door, trying to see them from her impossible angle. Hikaru could see her long black hair and one dark eye.
"Hikaru, Tamaki, and Haruhi. We're trying to find my—"
"Hikaru?" A desperate voice cried. Suddenly a body was thrown against the door of the cell opposite to the girl.
Hikaru's heart seized for a split second before it started up dizzying speed. "Kaoru?" he asked, the name was almost painful on his lips. His chest clenched. His brother's identical hair was sticking haphazardly through the cell and Kaoru caught him in his bright amber gaze.
Suddenly, Kaoru was sobbing and he slid to the floor, resting his forehead against the cell door. Panic rose in Hikaru's throat. "Kaoru! What's wrong? Kaoru!"
"He's been through a lot today," the soft-spoken girl explained.
"What do you mean?" Haruhi asked.
The girl's gazed flitted over Haruhi and Tamaki before going back to Hikaru. "He's had five injections this morning. I'm afraid he's weak and hurting a bit." She paused, letting it sink in.
"Why are you here?" Kaoru suddenly choked out through his tears. "You should have stayed away."
"What?" Hikaru cried. "What are you even saying, Kaoru? I would never have left you out here alone!"
Kaoru gave him a watery glare. "The only comfort I had in this place is that I knew you were safe. What do I have now?" His tears poured faster and he curled into himself, pressing closer to the cell door.
"Well, I'm here now, Kaoru. Everything will be alright. I'll get us out of here, I promise!" His curled fingers were turning white.
Shaking his head, Kaoru pierced him with the saddest, most defeated look Hikaru had ever seen on his brother's face. "No, I'm going to die in here. They will never let me go…"
"Don't you talk like that!" Hikaru growled. His words jolted his younger brother; he was staring with wide eyes. "Don't ever say stuff like that again. You and me, we'll be fine, I promise."
Kaoru opened his mouth, about to reply, when suddenly the door buzzed. Before Hikaru knew what was happening, Kaoru and the girl both scrambled away from the cell door. The door opened and a young woman in a lab coat walked inside. "Hello Subject One. Hello, 83," the woman called into the cells as she closed the doors.
Her gaze then set on the three of them. "Oh hello!" She called with an uncomfortably warm smile. She walked quickly down the hall to Hikaru and the others. "Looks like we have three new test subjects, huh?"
"Fuck you lady," Hikaru said simultaneously to Tamaki's "Go to Hell."
She whistled. "We have feisty ones this time." Hikaru glanced over the lady's shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of his brother. "Well, my name is Hina, the nurse…" She paused, looking straight at Hikaru. "Oh honey, are you twins?" Her eyes followed Hikaru's gaze to Kaoru's cell. "Oh, Uzo will be so excited!" she gushed.
"Uzo?" the black-haired girl echoed from her cell, crawling back into view. Her face was confused.
"I'm assuming Haruka brought you in?" Hina asked.
"Fuck Haruka!" Hikaru spat.
"Haruka?" the girl echoed.
Hina turned to the young girl and snapped, "Subject One, do you mind being quiet? Thank you!"
Suddenly Kaoru was back in Hikaru's view. "Kari," he said softly, looking at the girl with concern.
The girl called Kari ignored Kaoru and glared directly at Hina, "Did you say Uzo?" Her voice rose. "Haruka Uzo?"
Hina pressed her lips into a thin line and walked away from Hikaru's cell. At first, Hikaru thought the nurse was going to talk to Kari, but instead, she stopped in front of Kaoru's cell. She leaned forward, unlocking it. Hikaru swelled with anger, noticing Kaoru's noticeable shake. "Come on, 83," Hina said softly, "We have a few more blood samples to take." She opened the door fully, reaching down to grab, Kaoru's arms.
"His name is Kaoru and don't you dare touch him!" Hikaru growled as he shook the cell door.
Kaoru startled struggling against the woman's hold, but he was weak. "No, no, not again!" Kaoru cried brokenly. The woman grasped him hard around the chest, wrenching him from the cell. "Hikaru!" Heavy tears rolled from his eyes. He reached out to his older brother, fighting faintly against the nurse's hold.
"Kaoru!" Hikaru screamed back, fighting tears of his own. He watched his brother be dragged through the hall door, slamming shut just as Kari began screaming about her own brother and home and other things. But Hikaru wasn't listening.
He plunged himself into Tamaki and Haruhi's embrace while they whispered empty words of comfort. Hikaru tried desperately and whole-heartedly to keep himself from breaking in two.
Oh, I made myself sad writing this chapter. lol