Sorry it's late, but I have been without computer! My darlings, thank you for reading my story and giving me wonderful feedback. It has been much much appreciated. I am sorry to say, this is the last actual chapter, at least before the epilogue. At least I made it super duper long! There may be mistakes with both grammar and the justice system, but spare me from your wrath :3


"Are you ready?" Mrs. Hitachiin asked compassionately, her eyes reflecting the twins' anxiety.

Hikaru nodded. Kaoru simply sighed.

"Kaoru, did you take your medicine?" she asked sternly, turning to her youngest son. He nodded.

"And you Hikaru? Did you take yours?" she asked just as sternly. Hikaru rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Mom, the doctor said I could stop taking that after a week. It's been three."

"Well you're going to take it for a month, just in case. And if you start coughing again, make sure you-"

"Mom. I'm fine. But I'll take it when we get home, okay?" Hikaru interrupted, trying to calm his mother's nerves.

"Alright." Mrs. Hitachiin sighed, taking each of her sons' hands in each of her own.

They shared a collective sigh.

The twins looked at one another, their fear and anxiety apparent.

"I suppose we have to go in, don't we?" Mrs. Hitachiin asked softly, her tone apparent that she didn't find that idea appealing.

"Mom. Don't worry. It's going to be fine." Hikaru breathed, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"God, when did you get so grown up?" she asked with a humorless laugh, her amber eyes glistening. Hikaru smiled.

Kaoru watched his mother and brother without emotion, his mind still reeling over what he would have to do once he entered the courtroom.

Earlier in the day he had come close to throwing up from all the anxiety overflowing in his stomach, so he figured the best way to get through the trial was to feel nothing at all.

He glanced down the large marble hallway, which was vacant of everyone other than his mother and Hikaru. He was glad nobody else was there, especially his friends. He would never have been able to speak of his ordeal with the entire host club in the room.

He would have enough trouble recounting what he had been though with his mother and brother in the room.

And…and Takeo. Takeo will be there.

Kaoru felt panic beginning to invade his mind, but he pushed it out, wanting to remain numb.

"Kao? You ready?" Hikaru asked shakily, trepidation clear in his voice. Kaoru glanced at Hikaru. He was wearing a dark purple suit that mirrored his own, which clashed in an oddly nice way with their orange hair.

Kaoru pulled at his own purple sleeves, uncomfortable to be wearing something that seemed so flashy to him. It made him feel as if he would draw more attention to himself.

He looked to his mother, who looked on the verge of tears. Then he looked to Hikaru and nodded, signaling he was ready to enter the enormous courtroom, which would be full of strangers, maybe even some distant family members.

"Alright. Here we go." Hikaru sighed, pulling open one of the double doors that rose up to the high ceiling.

Hikaru slipped into the room, followed by their mother. Kaoru took a deep breath and followed, his stomach turning in an all too unfavorable way.


There are way more people here than I thought there would be. Way, way more people.

Kaoru swallowed heavily as he stared at the judge, trying to ignore the crowd of people he couldn't help but see with his peripheral vision.

And of course there was Takeo, who was sitting twenty feet to the left of the twins.

Hikaru and Kaoru sat at a rectangular table next to their lawyer and a woman who was apparently going to prosecute Takeo. She looked confident, which in turn helped both Hikaru and Kaoru to ease their minds a little.

Mrs. Hitachiin was sitting in the front row right behind her sons, glaring daggers at the defense table where Takeo was sitting, a smug sneer parting his lips.

Kaoru quickly glanced back at her; worried she might jump up and attack the man.

Not that he would mind if she did…

The judge began talking and Kaoru tuned him out, neither caring nor wanting to hear what he had to say.

The droning of his voice tugged at Kaoru's eyelids, pulling him toward sleep. He hadn't gotten much of that lately.

The nightmares won't let me sleep.

A bump against his shoulder startled him from near unconsciousness. Hikaru was asleep, his head on Kaoru's shoulder. Kaoru sighed.

They won't let him sleep either.

Kaoru watched, both amused and disgusted, as drool began to seep from the corner of Hikaru's mouth, heading for Kaoru's shoulder.

"Kaoru?" their lawyer asked uncertainly, not sure he was talking to the right twin. Kaoru turned and nodded softly, not wanting to wake Hikaru from the first sleep he'd had in a while.

"You have to go to the stand now." he said. Kaoru nodded again and glanced at Hikaru, disappointed he would have to rouse him from his much needed nap. Kaoru could see the circles under his eyes.

Kaoru sighed and shook Hikaru softly, trying to wake him.

"Hm?" Hikaru asked groggily, his eyes fluttering open.

Kaoru stood as Hikaru pulled himself into a sitting position, rubbing his eyes as he watched his little brother walk toward the stand, where the woman prosecutor was waiting.

Even if he was able to numb his feelings of anxiety, he couldn't stop his body from shaking. He cursed at himself for that.


Hikaru watched as his brother walked slowly toward the stand. He could see Kaoru trembling. The thought of his little brother's fear brought him into full consciousness.

He rubbed his hand across his mouth to clear away some drool and leaned forward, his eyes intent on his baby brother, who was being sworn in.

That's the first time he has talked all day. He seems so dazed today, so numb…

I guess I can't blame him for blocking the feelings out, but when you bottle emotions up like that…well, they end up escaping in one big explosion. I hope he doesn't start bawling up there or something. I don't know if I'll be able to stay in my seat if he does.

Hikaru sighed. He wished Takeo had pled guilty; the court process wouldn't have required him or Kaoru to speak at the trial that way. There was so much evidence against Takeo, everyone knew he was guilty. The trial was more about his sentence, whether he would receive life in prison, or death. Hikaru knew that given how gruesome and cruel Takeo's murders had been, the most likely result was a death sentence. Kyoya had told them this when they had still been in the hospital.

"Kaoru, on the day of health examinations, who was your doctor?" the prosecutor began, catching Hikaru's attention.

"Um, Dr. Hirato, I-I mean Takeo Kobayashi." Kaoru stuttered, his trembling growing more apparent, causing Hikaru to wince. All he wanted was to comfort his little brother.

"Why do you know Takeo by another name Kaoru?"

"Because that's what the nurse told us. That's who he was supposed to be."

"So he lied about who he was. He lied about being a doctor?"

"Yes."

"So you trusted him, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then he drugged you?"

"Yes, me and Hikaru. We just thought it was a shot."

"Right. He drugged you again with a paralyzer after, and later your brother. Then he drove you to his cabin, correct?"

"Yes, but we stopped once. We tried to get away, and a man stopped to help us. He got stabbed in the back though." Kaoru said shakily. Hikaru groaned as he realized Kaoru probably still felt guilty about that. They had never learned what happened to that man.

"Where were you kept when you were at the cabin?"

"A closet."

"A closet with a lock?"

"Yeah, a lock on the outside and a mail slot to give us things through."

"There was someone else at the cabin, correct?"

"Yes, Tama, he was Takeo's son. He was twelve or thirteen I think."

"Why didn't he help you escape?"

"He was terrified of his father."

"I see. Now Kaoru, from what I understand, your heart has been having problems lately. Why?"

"It was damaged."

"How?"

Kaoru looked down and sighed.

"I was electrocuted."

"Could you explain exactly what he did?"

Kaoru nodded and bit his lip, still staring at his hands.

Hikaru clenched his hands as he felt anger grow within his stomach at the thought of what Takeo had done to Kaoru.

"He put me on a burnt chair. I think it got that way from being used so many times. Then he poured water all over me."

"Why?"

"He said to "increase conductivity" or something."

"What did he do next?"

"He-he had this rod thing he plugged into the wall. He said he made it himself, just for that. He would touch it to my neck, and it hurt. It hurt so bad. I can't even describe how horrible it was." Kaoru said softly, his voice cracking.

Hikaru clenched his teeth as tears threatened to fall from his own eyes.

So that's why he was soaked.

Hikaru thought he heard a chuckle from Takeo's direction, and his eyes tore away from his brother to find the source. Kaoru had heard it too. His eyes flicked to Takeo, then back to his hands. Neither the judge nor the prosecutor had heard.

Takeo was laughing. Hikaru could see his shoulders shaking silently as he attempted to contain his laughter. Some of the people watching the trial were beginning to notice. The jury didn't seem to.

Hikaru clenched his hands as he prepared to stand, dead set on hitting Takeo square in the jaw.

"Shut the hell up you stupid son of a bitch!"

Many people in the courtroom, including Hikaru, gasped.

Mrs. Hitachiin was standing with her fists clenched tightly at her sides. Her face was red, not from embarrassment at her own outburst, but from anger. Tears of outrage began sliding down her cheeks as Takeo's laugh became audible.

"SHUT UP!" she screamed.

This time Takeo was silenced. Hikaru was happy to see him looking a bit unnerved by his mother. Hikaru was a bit unnerved as well.

He had only heard his mother raise her voice a few times, and never like that; never to the point of screaming. He had never seen her so angry.

"Mrs. Hitachiin, please sit down, I don't want to have to make you leave." the judge said kindly. "And Mr. Kobayashi, contain yourself." he half-growled.

"I'm sorry, Your Honor." she said. Hikaru turned in his chair and leaned forward, pulling his mother into sitting position. She looked at him with watery red eyes.

"Nice one." Hikaru said with a small smile. Her lips upturned slightly.

The prosecutor cleared her thought and turned back to Kaoru, who looked both startled and slightly amused.

"Right. After you were electrocuted, you fought with Takeo, correct?"

"Um, y-yeah, well, Tama turned the power off so Hikaru wouldn't get electrocuted too. Then he came back inside and gave Hikaru this antidote to let him move again-because he had been drugged-and we locked ourselves in. Then Takeo broke through the door and we all tried to fight him. I got knocked out, but Tama told me later that Hikaru had run to get help."

Hikaru winced. He still hated that he had left Tama and Hikaru. If he had just stayed, Tama might've survived. He would never stop feeling guilty about the choice he made that day, the choice he made to run. It was a bad one.

"When Hikaru was gone, what happened?"

"I was locked in the closet with Tama for a pretty long time. Then…he made me leave. I knew he was going to kill me. I could just tell. He tried to choke me, but Tama stabbed him in the back and I hit him with a rock. But…b-but he stabbed Tama with the knife…he was bleeding a lot…I-I tried to carry him but he just kept bleeding. I stopped to let him rest and…he just…he…" Kaoru choked on his words as the first tears fell, causing Hikaru's own eyes to prickle with wetness.

If I could just go up there and hug him…

"He just died. Takeo killed him. He killed Tama." Kaoru said through his tears, his trembling more apparent than ever. Hikaru whimpered at the sight, his brotherly instincts telling him he needed to comfort his little brother. Kaoru needed him.

"That will be all." the prosecutor said as she walked back to the twins' table. The defense stood. He was a tall gangly looking man with glasses.

"Kaoru, would you like a recess before we continue?" the judge asked as he peered over at Kaoru. Kaoru shook his head.

"I'm fine. I just want to finish this." he croaked. The judge sat back and waved the defense forward.

"Kaoru, you said before that when you were about to fall down a staircase at Ouran High school, Takeo saved you, correct?"

"Yes, but-"

"That fall could have resulted in your death, correct?"

"Yes." Kaoru hissed through gritted teeth.

"So when Takeo caught you before you fell, you would say he was trying to prevent your death, correct?"

"Yes. But-"

"Only yes or no answers please. Tell me, when the Takeo was carrying you to the hospital wing, did you call for help?"

"No, but that's because-"

"Yes or no. Kaoru, you are in a host club, correct?"

"Yes." Kaoru said with furrowed eyebrows, wondering where he was going with that.

"You are a pair with Hikaru at the club. Some girls belonging to the club call your pairing "twincest" correct?"

"Yes." Kaoru hissed. He thought he knew where this was going. So did the prosecutor.

"Irrelevance, Your Honor." she said as she stood.

"Sustained." the judge said. The prosecutor sat down with an annoyed expression as the defense continued.

"You're called "twincest" because what you do in front of your clients is borderline sexual, is that right?"

"I guess, but-"

"Yes or no."

Kaoru didn't answer.

"Yes or no."

Yes!" Kaoru yelled, exasperated.

Hikaru cringed. He couldn't believe it. The Host club was hurting them during the trial, of all things, the Host club.

"You do things that could be described as homosexual."

"Yes." Kaoru said through his teeth.

"So who's to say you aren't homosexual? Who's to say this "kidnapping" wasn't an elaborate attempt at foreplay? Who's to say you didn't want your sweet mother over there to learn you'd been sleeping with Takeo, so you made up this story to cover it up?"

Hikaru's mouth dropped.

"WHAT?" Kaoru hissed loudly as he stood. Hikaru fell from his chair.

"Nothing further, Your Honor." the defense stated smugly as he walked stiffly back to Takeo, who was sporting a bored expression.

"Kaoru, you can leave the stand. Hikaru, you're up." the judge said slowly. Kaoru stood, staring at the floor with a shocked expression. Hikaru picked himself up off the floor and started forward.

"Actually, that won't be necessary."

Everyone looked at Takeo, who had begun to speak.

"I don't think I can sit through Hikaru's "survival in the woods" story, and I've had my fun watching Kaoru. I'm done. I change my plea to guilty." Takeo droned as he placed his feet on the table.

There was shocked silence as his defense tried to whisper some sort of reasoning in his ear. Takeo was having none of it, however.

Hikaru's body shook with rage and red flashed across his vision as fury overtook him.

"WHAT!? You're telling me Kaoru just sat up there for your FUCKING ENJOYMENT?" Hikaru roared furiously as he started walking toward Takeo, one fist ready to fly.

"MR. HITACHIIN!" the judge roared. Hikaru stopped and turned to face him.

"WHAT?"

"Sit. Down." he hissed. Hikaru breathed heavily as he lowered his fist. He looked to Kaoru, who looked stunned rather than angry.

He mouthed to Hikaru 'calm down'.

And he did. He shot one last seething glare at Takeo, then turned and sat down loudly. His vision was still tinted red from anger.

"Court is adjourned. There is nothing more to be done here. Jiro, you and Takeo will meet me in my office in half an hour to discuss this. I shall decide where this goes from here." the judge said with a hint of anger in his voice. He was obviously unhappy with this request.

"Yes, Your Honor." the defense, Jiro, said in a daze. He seemed very surprised his client had changed his plea, even more so than the twins were.

Yuzuha rushed forward to meet Kaoru as he finished the walk from the stand. He seemed a little shaken, but Hikaru was too angry to notice. He stormed down the wide aisle and pushed roughly through the large bronze double doors.

He rushed around in a few infuriated circles before kicking with all the force in his body at the first thing he saw.

A marble vase.

Hikaru's foot connected and pain shot up his leg.

"GOD DAMMIT!"


"I can't believe you broke your toe." Kaoru said with a hint of amusement.

Hikaru sighed as a nurse finished putting a little splint on his big toe, which was swollen to twice its normal size.

"Why weren't you as mad as me?" Hikaru asked as he attempted to slide his shoes back on, which the nurse stopped him from doing.

Kaoru shrugged.

"I guess being on the stand kind of made me feel better. I know that sounds weird, but…I don't know, telling everyone what happened made me feel like a weight was lifted off my shoulders or something. I don't know." Kaoru sighed. Hikaru nodded.

He understood, at least a little.

Yuzuha smiled slightly at Kaoru, then turned to Hikaru and grinned.

"That outburst was pretty impressive." she said slowly. Then she frowned.

"But I don't ever want to hear that kind of language from you again, got it?" she asked sternly.

Hikaru nodded with a small chuckle and Kaoru snorted.

Their mother's phone began to vibrate. She looked at the caller I.D. and stood, flipping it open.

She nodded and her eyes widened.

"Already? Alright, do they have a date? Okay. I'll tell them. Thank you. Bye."

She flipped the phone shut and turned to the boys, who were eyeing her questioningly.

She took a deep breath and sighed.

"The judge decided. Takeo will be euthanized by injection in two weeks." she said softly, unsure of how her boys would react.

They gaped at her.

"Why so soon?" Kaoru asked.

"The judge said it was important for your health that this is over with quickly. He doesn't want to cause either of you more stress or exhaustion, especially since you're both injured."

"Just Kaoru." Hikaru whispered in a daze, still making his argument that he was healthy once again. Kaoru gulped and sat next to Hikaru on the examination table.

"Do you think we'll be ready?" Kaoru asked in a whispered.

"As ready as we'll ever be." Hikaru said, leaning into his brother's shoulder.


Kaoru sat up suddenly as he gasped for breath, his skin plastered with sticky sweat. He urged himself to calm down, but he couldn't. He heard Hikaru get up from his bed at the other side of the pitch black room.

Hikaru climbed under the covers next to his shaking brother, pulling Kaoru against him in an attempt to stop his trembling. Kaoru's breathing was uneven, and Hikaru could tell he was terrified.

Another nightmare.

"It's okay Kaoru, you're okay. I'm okay. We're both okay, it was just a dream. We're okay now." Hikaru said softly as he ran his fingers through Kaoru's sweaty hair. He had been repeating the same thing for weeks, every night. It always worked.

Hikaru could feel Kaoru begin to relax against him.

His breathing was growing more even.

"Hikaru?"

"Yeah Kao?"

"Do you think watching will make them go away?"

Will watching Takeo die make your nightmares go away? I don't know…

"Yes." Hikaru whispered. Kaoru sighed and his breathing slowed, signaling he had fallen asleep.

Honestly, I don't know. It might make them worse. But Kyoya says it will help, and I trust him.

Hikaru sighed and pulled his brother's sleeping form closer in an attempt to protect him from the nightmares.

I guess we'll find out. Just a few more days to go.


"He can't see us, can he?" Kaoru asked quietly as he stared through the glass.

"Unfortunately, he can." a guard stated.

"Oh."

Hikaru glanced at Kaoru and took his hand.

Kaoru looked at him and bit his lip.

Then they both looked back through the glass at the strapped down form of Takeo Kobayashi. He was in a sitting in a blocky metal chair, his body strapped down in more places than the twins could count.

He was staring at them, a cocky grin on his face.

Even if the nightmares disappeared, that smile would always haunt them.

Takeo was next to a large machine that had two thin clear cylinders attached to the sides. They were full of yellow liquid. The cylinders were attached to a thin and long flexible tube, which was inserted into Takeo's arm.

That was how they would administer the liquid that would stop his heart.

The twins had been assured the process was painless, so there would be no writhing or screaming. But they were still unnerved.

Takeo's gaze suddenly flickered to the corner of the room he was in. He began to scream.

He tried violently to move from his restraints, but they held him down firmly.

Kaoru squeezed Hikaru's hand as the nurse in the room with Takeo pressed a button on the machine. The cylinder began to empty the liquid into Takeo, whose screams were bloodcurdling.

He slowly began to quiet down as the liquid entered his system, slowly stopping his heart.

Takeo continued to stare at the corner of his room until his eyes softly drifted closed, as if he was simply falling asleep.

Kaoru's heart was racing, but he didn't feel scared.

He had expected to see the light leave Takeo's eyes, as it had in Tama's. But Takeo's death had been much more peaceful.

Kaoru wished it had been Tama who had gotten a peaceful death, not a murderer like Takeo.

"Are you ready to leave?" the guard behind them asked. Hikaru turned and nodded, then looked at Kaoru with raised eyebrows.

Kaoru sighed as he looked at Takeo's limp form.

"I expected him to escape and try to attack us or something." Kaoru aid softly, so softly Hikaru had to lean in to hear.

"Yeah, I know. But…he's dead. For real." Hikaru said.

"It seems too easy."

"Yeah, but he's dead."

"Yeah." Kaoru breathed as he turned toward the door of the viewing room, Hikaru close behind.

It's finally over.


"I think I'll wait here." Yuzuha said softly from the car window as Hikaru shut the car door. Kaoru walked onto the grass from the gravel as Hikaru turned and smiled at their mother.

The twins trekked through the fields of the forgotten, or so they called it. They attempted to avoid stepping on stones, which was hard to do, since some had been grown over.

As they walked, they brushed dead grass from markers and fixed fallen vases filled with old fake flowers that would never have to be replaced.

Oddly, the twins loved graveyards. They didn't know why some people thought of them as places of death. To the Hitachiins, graveyards were places where life could be remembered and celebrated.

As they made their way past a large cross shaped headstone, they paused, catching site of the one they had been looking for.

It was a medium sized glossy black headstone in the shape of a half circle. What made it beautiful was the detailed angel that was standing beside it, shielding the stone with its wings.

The twins had picked it knowing Tama would have liked it. It was black after all, and for the short time they had known him, they had at least deduced that he loved black.

They both smiled sadly as they looked at the inscription.

It read:

Tama

Our savior and guardian angel.

And in much smaller writing underneath said:

One badass kid.

The twins had persuaded their mother to do the last bit. She had finally allowed it. She had also wondered why they hadn't wanted his last name, and they had said that Tama wouldn't want the last name of his father.

"I think he would totally love this." Kaoru said as he grinned at the gravestone.

Hikaru chuckled. They both sighed.

"You know how it was disappointing how Takeo died peacefully when Tama didn't?" Kaoru asked. Hikaru nodded.

"Well at least Tama died a hero."

"You're right. Tama, you're a hero." Hikaru said directly to the gravestone.

Kaoru grinned and hooked arms with Hikaru as he placed a flower on the stone.

They turned and began the trek back through the green fields of the forgotten, hoping that Tama liked white roses.


The End


Huhhh...It's over guys... . Oh well. Other stories will be written. Did that ending suck? I think it sucked. GUYS REVIEW I'M SAD! I literally think I might cry. Well, it's not like this is a complete end, there is the crazy doctor epilogue, which won't distort your view on him at all! Actually, it will tell why he was freaking out while looking at the corner of that room, so it's really important. So,yeah. *sighs*