EPILOGUE
The doorbell rang and Hikaru made his way to the door, wincing all the way. In the front hallway, his mom and dad were already opening the door with excited grins. Hikaru smiled as complete happiness and excitement finally hit him. This was real.
Dad opened the door and over his father's shoulder, Hikaru spotted Kaoru standing on their doorstep with his social worker, Akemi, behind him. Kaoru smiled shyly at the people in front of him. "Hi," he said a bit quietly.
"Oh, come here dear!" Mrs. Nagamu cried, launching herself at Kaoru, and hugged the living daylights out of him.
Kaoru's eyes were wide as she hugged him, completely baffled, but he was quick to hug her back. Hikaru's chest swelled; he was so happy for his brother. Grinning, Hikaru caught Kaoru's eye and he mirrored his smile.
"We are so happy to have you," Dad inputted as they pulled out from the hug.
"Thanks for taking me," Kaoru said softly, slightly bowing his head, hiding behind his long hair.
Mr. Nagamu pummeled Kaoru into an even stronger hug and Kaoru's face was priceless; he was completely shocked. Hikaru laughed at their awkward hug, wincing as a faint pain shot up his spine.
"Hikaru!" Mom cried, turning on him. "You should be sitting down, resting. It's only been two weeks!"
"I'm not an invalid, mom, and you know that I do what I want," Hikaru laughed, rolling his eyes.
"Uh, Mrs. Nagamu?"
She turned her full attention on Kaoru and Hikaru could see the pure adoration on his mother's face. "Yes, dear?"
"Uh…" Kaoru's face began to turn red. "I made this for you." He pulled out a little paper heart out of his sweatshirt pocket and held it out to her.
She squealed, taking the heart, and pulling him into a hug again. "You are absolutely adorable!" she cried.
Kaoru's face was still red when they parted and he went to stand by Hikaru, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Suck up," Hikaru chuckled.
"Shut up," Kaoru replied with a small smile.
"Well," Akemi piped up with a smile, "we finally got clearance for this to be Kaoru's foster home. I'm just so happy."
Kaoru looked down and started rubbing the back of his head again. Hikaru nudged him playfully.
"I'm so glad you could work with us on this," Mrs. Nagamu said, taking Akemi's hand. "We just love Kaoru and we can't wait to have him in our family."
"I can tell," Akemi smiled, looking at Kaoru who still was smiling shyly at the floor.
Hikaru turned to his mother. "Well, I think I'll show Kaoru to his room and we'll let you grown-ups talk."
Mom's eyes darted to Kaoru and back again, "Good idea."
"Wait, I have to grab my stuff," Kaoru said, suddenly looking up.
"Don't worry. We've got it," Dad said, waving them off.
Hikaru took Kaoru's wrist and made him follow up the stairs. "Hey Hikaru…" Kaoru said at the top of the stairs. "Thanks," he muttered just as Hikaru turned, and Kaoru shoved something into Hikaru's hand, taking him by surprise. He looked down and found a little red paper crane between his fingers. Looking back up, Kaoru was already walking down the hallway, so Hikaru smiled and followed him.
They walked by Hikaru's and Zen's rooms to the door at the end of the hallway that was closed. Kaoru stopped in front of the door, hesitating with his hand on the knob, and said, "Should I be scared?"
Hikaru chuckled, "Well I stopped Mom from buying anything too crazy, so don't worry."
"That doesn't make me feel better," Kaoru laughed nervously. He leaned forward and blew out a breath. "Okay, here we go." He pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Hikaru followed, watching his brother closely. Kaoru made no reaction, just looked around in a daze at the shining furniture and the freshly painted walls, and then sat on the bed. Hikaru quickly joined him.
"How are you doing?" Hikaru asked, leaning his elbows onto his knees.
Kaoru shrugged as he continued to stare around the room. "Well you know that my ribs only turned out to bruised and it's healing nicely, so there isn't much-"
"Kaoru," Hikaru interrupted.
He looked down and swiped a hand over his brow before looking Hikaru in the eye. "It's a lot," he said simply.
Hikaru acknowledged that with a nod. "But do you think you will like it here?"
"Probably too much," Kaoru said, finally re-cracking a smile. "You won't be able to get rid of me."
"Good, that's exactly what we want here," Hikaru replied.
Suddenly Zen burst into the room. "Hey, there are my favorite brothers!"
"I'm not…" Kaoru started but Zen put up a hand.
"Any brother of Hikaru's is a brother of mine. Besides, I think you're pretty cool too." He ruffled Kaoru's long hair. "And you need a haircut," Zen teased.
"Mom would never let him cut it. She loves it too much."
Kaoru was red again.
And the day continued that way, carefree and lighthearted. Hikaru began to see a happier Kaoru starting to emerge already, joking and laughing with everyone…
The evening ended with a family photo. That's right; Mrs. Nagamu had shamelessly proclaimed Kaoru a permanent fixture in their family and would not go to sleep without that picture to document the day their lives changed again. Sure, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Zen moaned and complained about it, but they all knew that was just a front. They all really wanted that picture. Later on, they would all have it hanging in their room and Mrs. Nagamu would send it out as their Christmas card and tape it to the fridge.
And they didn't worry or think about the upcoming trial date or how some of the other drug ring dealers were still missing. 'Live in the moment,' Mr. Nagamu reminded them whenever someone brought either subject. They did too. They went to the theme park and went on family outings; Hikaru and Kaoru had their friends over. Kyoya was fine by the way; he was staying with an uncle who actually cared for him. They were all very happy, and relieved for him…
And, for once in Kaoru's life, everything was falling into place.
A few months later, Kaoru was doing his homework beneath the soft glow of his lamp. He tapped his pencil against his notebook, staring at the impossible calculus problem, and sighed. What in the world did he need this crap for?
After a second of intense staring, Kaoru dropped the pencil softly, scraping a hand across his forehead. He sat there for a minute before looking up. There, on his bulletin board, was his family picture. That right there was his family. Kaoru smiled, leaning his head against his hand.
"Kaoru! Are you done with your homework yet? We want to go to the restaurant now!" Hikaru called from somewhere down the hall.
Kaoru glanced down at his half-finished assignment and then slammed his book shut. "Yeah, I'll grab my coat!"
He went to his closet and gingerly opened the door. A pile of paper cranes fell onto the floor as he pulled his coat from a hanger above his pile. He left all but one lying there, and he put that one on his bulletin board next to his picture before whisking out the door.
Don't you worry: Stay tuned for the bonus chapter!
