Kaoru was the first to wake, his head pounding beyond bearable. He scrunched his brows and tried to flip over before he nearly went off the edge of the bed. The sensation brought Kaoru to complete awareness and he stopped his self from rolling off completely. Sitting up, Kaoru looked groggily. Hikaru's room was dim with only a wisp of light streaming through the blinds. There was the soft ticking of the alarm clock on the dresser but all else was quiet.
How did he end up here? He didn't remember walking in here…
A soft exhale drew Kaoru's attention and he slowly leaned over the opposite side of the bed to find his brother lying in a sleeping bag next to the bed. His brow was furrowed while he slept, but he looked peaceful nonetheless. Kaoru smiled fondly, leaning on his elbows. Hikaru didn't have to do that. He didn't have to let Kaoru take his bed. Kaoru felt a fresh wave of affection for his brother.
Soon he leaned back, wiggled out from the sheets, and stepped out of the room and into the hallway. He made his way past the living room where everyone was sleeping; he smiled to see Tamaki and Kyoya snuggled awkwardly close. That was going to be a laugh when they woke.
Finally, he found himself in the kitchen, staring around at the foreign drawers, trying to guess where things could be. He tried the pantry first. Kaoru sifted through boxes of cereal, chocolate chips, and all sorts of random of stuff until he found what he was looking for. Pancake mix! He pulled it out in anticipation. Mom had always made a big breakfast for his and Hikaru's sleepovers but this time, he was going to give it a try.
"Who told you to cuddle up to me in your sleep?!" was the first thing Honey heard when he woke. It was so loud, that Honey's tired eyes snapped open and felt the need to murder whoever just yelled.
Kyoya towered over Tamaki who only looked up at his friend sheepishly. He shrugged, "Sorry, Kyoya. Who I really wanted to cuddle with was Haruhi. Right?" He turned to Haruhi.
She glared at him and stood up next up with Kyoya. "I wouldn't cuddle with you if you were the last human on earth."
Tamaki deflated dramatically. "How could you say such a thing? We are gonna get married someday, so you've got to get used to it now."
Red flashed across Haruhi's face. "Why are you saying such weird things so early in the morning?" She chucked a pillow into his face, smacking him directly in the nose, and she busted out laughing. Tamaki chuckled in amusement while Kyoya only shook his head, pressing a hand into his unruly hair.
Normally, this would be where Honey told everyone to SHUT THE HELL UP, but he decided against, seeing how his relationship with them was still new. Instead, he ended up groaning lowly and sat up at snail's pace. Takashi was already at his side, sitting with his legs crossed and his arms resting on his knees. "It's too early," Honey whined, looking over at his friend.
"Yeah," Takashi said simply, gazing at the three as they animatedly yelled at each other.
Suddenly, Honey perked up, turning completely towards Takashi. "Oh, Takashi, we have a mission from Hikaru!"
He turned his dark eyes on Honey in curiosity. "What kind of mission?"
Kaoru was putting the last of the pancakes into the pan when he got a sense of someone watching him. He whipped his head to the side, looking to the kitchen door. No one there.
"Hmm…" He turned back to his work, shaking it off.
The pancakes in front of him sizzled and he focused on them, watching the mix bubble and the chocolate chips melt. He waited for the edges to solidify and then he flipped them one-by-one.
Suddenly, there was a creaking sound behind him and Kaoru froze within mid-flip. His nerves fired and his breathing shortened, bringing in the instinctual fear he had developed since he had moved to this city. The batter dripped off the half cooked pancake and sizzled into the pan. The door creaked a bit more. God dammit, Kaoru couldn't take it anymore. He spun quickly in his fright, splattering hot batter across the floor and onto his already previously burned arm. The batter hit his arm and the heat through his thin long-sleeve jolted him. He dropped the spatula with a clatter.
Kaoru hissed, rolling up his sleeve in a hurry, and cursed. But he looked up, the door was still closed and no one was there.
"That was a bad idea," Takashi told Honey sternly as they ducked further down the hallway, away from the kitchen.
"I just wanted to talk to him privately," Honey said, thinking deeply. "But he just jumped so suddenly. It was very unusual for our Kaoru. Usually he knows when I'm sneaking up on him because he always said that I make too much noise, remember?"
Takashi nodded, seeing his point.
Honey continued, "Kaoru has definitely been acting different, that's for sure. Maybe we should ask Kaoru directly what the problem is. Do you think that work?" Honey didn't wait for answer; he immediately turned and treaded back the way he came from.
There was still a lot of commotion coming from the living room, but on the way back to the kitchen, Honey saw Hikaru heading in the same direction as Honey and Mori. "Hikaru!" Honey whispered, waving heavily as if Hikaru couldn't see him.
"Oh, hey guys," Hikaru greeted sleepily. He cracked his neck. "Have you seen Kaoru? I thought maybe he was in here, probably making something horrible. He's such a terrible cook, you know?" Hikaru laughed to himself.
"Yeah, he's in there alright. But I want to talk to him alone to see what I can get out of him. Do you think you can keep the others distracted?" Honey asked, fired up with determination.
Hikaru nodded, turning serious himself. "Do your best."
Honey turned to Takashi. "Can you stand guard outside? Make sure no one comes in until I beat it out of Kaoru?"
"Yeah, got it," Takashi replied.
Hikaru smiled sadly. "Thanks, guys. Mori, make sure Honey doesn't actually beat him."
Kaoru stripped off his shirt which was splattered with batter and discarded it onto the counter in favor of cleaning up the floors. He moved quickly in his cleaning. "Damn it," he murmured to himself. He had to sneak back to Hikaru's room quickly before anyone saw the long reddened cut along one arm and the burn marks across his other.
He straightened up after cleaning up the floor and grabbed his shirt, determined to slip away quickly. Kaoru paced to the door and was about to push through it when it swung open on its own accord, revealing the short form of Honey. Kaoru quickly pressed the shirt to his arms, while pressing the wounds inward toward his stomach. He was just grateful that he'd been able to cover up the cut on his forehead with his hair and a bit of Emi's cover-up.
"Oh, Kaoru, why is your shirt off?" Honey asked with an innocent expression on his face.
Kaoru shifted impatiently. "I spilled some pancake batter."
Honey reached for the shirt and Kaoru reacted instantly, pulling the shirt sharply out of Honey's reach. They froze, looking at one another. Slowly, Kaoru uncoiled, slightly embarrassed at his reaction. "Sorry, I have to change." He made to step around Honey but Honey moved to block his path.
Kaoru stared at the shorter boy and a sense of dread washed over him. Honey had that look on his face when he knew a bit too much. "What is it?" Kaoru asked warily.
"Something's wrong with you," Honey slowly, threateningly.
Kaoru laughed nervously, throwing an arm behind his neck. "What are you talking about? Nothing's wrong. Well, beside my ruined shirt."
"Oh yeah?" Honey's voice was so low; it ran shivers up Kaoru's spine. "Then what's that cut on your arm?"
Gasping, Kaoru through his arm back into his chest. He saw it! Kaoru had kept things quiet and a secret so well from everyone and Honey only had to make a simple inspection? How did the shrimp do it? "That's nothing."
"It's not nothing and we both know it," Honey said. His expression was pulled into a scowl and his eyes were shadowed by his bangs.
They looked at each other. No, it was more like staring each other down. Kaoru felt his nerves twinge and he grimaced. "It's nothing," he said a bit quieter, looking down at the floor.
Silence enveloped them and Kaoru found himself slowly draining of energy. He knew that Honey wouldn't leave it at that. What was he waiting for?
"You didn't do it to yourself."
Kaoru looked up sharply, surprised. Honey was looking at him steadily with his arms crossed. "I know you didn't do it to yourself, so who did it?"
His breathing froze and Kaoru felt his resolve wavering. How did Honey guess so easily? "How do you know I didn't do this too myself?"
"Because you wouldn't," Honey replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Kaoru frowned, growing so frustrated, agitated, that tears piled up behind his eyes, threatening to break loose. "Well, what if I did? What if I wanted to die? What makes you think I couldn't do it?"
"Because your parents want more for you and you know it," Honey said evenly.
Kaoru reached forward and snatched up Honey's arm angrily, holding on for dear life. "You can't tell anyone. You can't."
"Who. Did. This?" Honey demanded slowly, his face growing angrier by the second.
"You can't tell anyone," Kaoru hissed, trying to keep his voice quiet. Who knows who could be listening? "You have to keep this a secret, you can't tell a single soul!"
"Why?" Honey snapped, wrenching his arm from Kaoru's grasp. "Why do you want to keep it a secret that someone is hurting you?"
"Because I can handle it! I just need to work things out."
Something flashed in Honey's eyes. "I have to tell someone. I won't let this happen to you."
Kaoru knew that Honey just wanted to help him but he couldn't help it. Something hysterical rose in him, telling him to save his secret NOW. So he did something unthinkable. He turned, with tears burning his cheeks, and grabbed a small vegetable knife from the counter and held to his wrist. "It's me, okay?! Do you believe me now? Do you want proof?"
The color drained from Honey's face completely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm proving you wrong. I told you that I did this to myself and I wanted to show you so you'd believe me." But Kaoru's head was screaming otherwise. Why was he doing this to himself? He could be free right now! He could tell Honey everything and he wouldn't have to live with the pain anymore! He couldn't have to lie! But another part of him whispered otherwise. Things were going to get better; Ryota was taking his medication again and Emi believed it would work… Besides, what would his friends think if they found out he was so weak that he allowed someone to beat him?
He clutched the knife a little closer to his skin with a shaky hand.
"Stop it, Kaoru," Honey warned, holding his hand out worriedly. "It's okay."
The tears were pouring now and Kaoru shook his head. He sobbed, "No, it's not. I don't know what's wrong with me anymore."
"Nothing's wrong with you, Kaoru," Honey said slowly, stepping tentatively forward. "You're just sad that your parents are gone and that you can't be with your brother. It's okay to be sad."
Kaoru whimpered and suddenly he dropped the knife and it clattered to the floor dully. He brought his hands to his face as he cried and slowly allowed himself fall onto his knees. Before he knew it, he was being hugged by Honey. It didn't comfort him much.
After a moment, Kaoru whispered, "You can't tell anyone, not even Hikaru."
Honey didn't say anything and Kaoru felt a jolt of fear. "You have to promise me. I have Kyoya, Haruhi, and Tamaki looking after me. I won't do anything stupid when you go back home, I promise, okay? Just promise me that you won't tell Hikaru."
Honey lifted his head just slightly from Kaoru's hair. "Are you really hurting yourself, Kao? Are you suicidal?"
Kaoru paused at that. Was he? He didn't know, but he thought that maybe he wasn't. So he said, "I'm not suicidal… but I… hurt myself." He forced the lie out. Sure, Kaoru hadn't hurt himself yet, but he had sure thought about it. He almost had a few seconds ago… "You can't tell Hikaru." There was another pause from his friend and suddenly Kaoru didn't have any control over what he said next. "If you or anyone else tells him, I'll make sure my body is never found."
There was a gasp and Honey clutched a bit tighter. "I promise," Honey said.
Okay. I'm sorry I took so long AGAIN. I really need to improve my motivation. Well, I hope this chapter was good. I had to hurry up because I promised several people that I would update by Tuesday. But guess what? It's Wednesday at 12:15 am. I FAILED YOU! WHY?!
And, since you all complimented my brother so much on his little snippet he wrote before, he wrote another one. Though this time, he declared this to probably be his last work for you. This time, he named Kaoru= Karioki, Haruhi= Harry Hudini, Tamaki= Toyota, and Kyoya= Koitus. Don't question it, I guess. Here it is:
Why are you following me!? Karioki yelled in his batman voice at harryhudini and koitus! Suddenly Karioki broke out in full sprint to lose his followers. He went through an alley but tripped on a cat that made the alley its home. Fiddlesticks! exclaimed karioki with the two bad guys drawing nearer. Karioki did a back flip up off the ground back and on two a near by fire escape. Lucky for karioki, he could jump three time the height of the average man! You get down from there! Yelled harryhudini. Don't you have a magic show to get to? Karioki sneered. I laugh at your silly name he then taunted. Harryhudini then pulled out his secret weapon, the coveted elder wand! With one swing he shot magic out of the wand which blew up the fire escape. But before it happened Karioki yet again did a back flip onto the top of the near by ihop. "Don't worry, we will get him eventually" koitus said. "Oh we will" said harryhudini with a dramatic pause, we will" Karioki jumped across the roof tops because he needed to get to toyota . Unfortunatly Toyota wasn't going to be home that night because he had baseball practice. Meanwhile at the baseball game, Toyota was up to the plate. He brought his favorite bat along with him because it was a good bat. He swung at the incoming ball and got a home run for the fifth time today! Out of the corner of his eye Toyota saw Karioki hopping across rooftops to his location. "I wonder what it is this time" Toyota thought.
HAHA! He's a dork, isn't he?
