"KAO-CHAN! KAO-CHAN!!"

If he hadn't been so preoccupied with nearly jumping out of his skin, Kaoru might have wondered how many times he was going to exacerbate his whiplash from people not knowing how to knock. But as it stood he was more focused on biting back some colorful terminology that had been inspired by the dulled, but still considerable, shooting pain in his neck.

"H-Hani-sempai, please don't startle me like that…"

"But Hika-chan—!" Before he could even finish his sentence, Kaoru was up and heading out the door, despite the aching protest of just about every muscle in his body, and straight into Mori.

"Mori-senpai! The doctor's said that I'm fine! I can walk if I need to so please—!"

Mori only blinked slowly and pointed behind him.

"Other way."

"Oh…"

"Geez, Kao-chan! Don't run off like that!" Hani whined, grabbing Kaoru's hand and leading him to the elevator. "You don't even know where Hika-chan's room is!"

Kaoru bit his lip nervously and tried to focus on the steady beeping of the elevator as opposed to the subtle swimming of his vision.

"I'm sorry senpai, but really can't expect me to be calm about this! Hikaru was injured! And as much as I appreciate you guy's telling me things, it's just not the same! I just—!"

The cheerful ping of the elevator cut him off, and as soon as the doors opened they were greeted by the faint panicky tones of a familiar voice.

"I just need to see him with my own eyes to make sure he's okay, alright?!"

Kaoru could have cried at the sound of it. Without thinking he pulled his arm from Hani's grip and sped off towards the voices before the elevator had even finished opening.

"I know Hikaru, but—"

"So then why won't you let me up!?"

"You're hooked up to at least three machines and on more drugs than I can remember. You'd kill yourself just trying to stand! Plus, Hani-sempai and Mori-sempai already—"

"HIKARU!"

Kaoru skidded into the room, pushing not quite gently past Haruhi, who had been trying to confine Hikaru to his bed, and grabbing almost desperately for his brother's right hand, which seemed to be the only thing unhindered by tubes or bandages.

Hikaru looked terrible. His complexion was pale and sickly, his hands were cold, and he could just barely see the beginnings of where they had shaved off part of the hair on the back of his neck to do the operation. But he had expected that for the most part, and it would have been alright if Hikaru hadn't been looking at him with such a horrified expression.

"Hikaru? What's the matter? Are you in pain? Do you need—?" That was when he remembered the bandage he had. "Oh, are you worried about this?" He asked pointing to it. "It's nothing compared to what you have, I'm fine really!"

Hikaru blinked and seemed to regain himself, looking out the window nervously.

"I see, thank goodness…" He said, collapsing back stiffly.

"Hikaru, why—?" Kaoru started.

"Say Haruhi, could I talk with Kaoru privately for a second?" He said suddenly, cutting him off. "Please?"

Haruhi looked wary, but nodded. "Alright."

She cast one final glance back at them as the door shut with a resounding thud.

"What did I do wrong this time?" Hikaru said tensely, still looking away from Kaoru. "Is it from the head injury? Or was it stress?"

"What are you—?"

Hikaru's hand shot out suddenly, dragging Kaoru down by the collar so they were eye to eye.

"Don't fuck with me Id." He almost growled, making an obvious effort to keep his voice down.

"Id!?" Kaoru repeated disbelievingly. "Hikaru, I'm not—!"

"Bullshit! Was I just wrong or what? I fixed everything, so why!? Why are you still here?" He murmured angrily.

Kaoru started to try to reason with him, but was stopped short when Hikaru's hand slid around his neck and pulled him into a kiss.

He went rigid, a mixture of shock and déjà vu overwhelming any response. While Kaoru was still stunned, Hikaru separated from him just enough to look into his eyes.

Suffocating. Was the first coherent thought that Kaoru was able to grasp. Like he's trying to look into my soul or something.

"It didn't work?" Hikaru said with quiet disbelief and no small amount of panic.

"Hikaru—"

"HIKARU! THANK GOD YOU'RE AWAKE!!" Their mother near screamed, pushing not quite gently past Kaoru, who was suddenly tempted to apologize to Haruhi, and proceeded to smother his twin in motherly worry.

Despite the fact that he had just been accused of being what essentially amounted to his evil alter-ego, and knocked over in his mother's panic, he was sorely tempted to laugh at the stifled grimace on his brother's face.

"Careful now honey or you might put Kaoru in the ICU next." Came an unassuming voice from behind him.

Kaoru startled only a little, before looking up to see a handsomely unspectacular face grinning down pleasantly at him. "Dad? You got back from your business trip?"

His father sighed good humouredly. "No, I've been here the whole time I'm afraid. I was in the room when you woke up as a matter of fact."

A pang of guilt struck him. "Geez Dad, why didn't you say anything?"

"Sorry, I was more concerned with alerting your mother to your consciousness at the time." He said apologetically, helping Kaoru to his feet again.

His mother finally detached enough from Hikaru to take note of the other occupants of the room. "Oh Kaoru dear, I should have known you'd be here. I'm sorry, are you alright? I just—!"

"I'm fine mom really, I know how worried you've been."

"Are you sure, you look a little shaken…"

"Mom's right Kaoru, I think you should go back and rest now." Hikaru said smiling stiffly, speaking up for the first time since they were interrupted.

Both their parent's looked at Hikaru apprehensively.

"But—!" Kaoru started.

"Come on Kaoru, if even your brother says so, you must be tired." His father said firmly, leading him out the door with an urging hand on his back.

"But Dad—!" Kaoru argued once they had left Hikaru's room.

"Kaoru, I know this must be hard on you, probably even more than you realize, seeing your brother like that. Stress like that can get to you rather easily, so take some time to gather yourself, okay? Hikaru is going to be fine now."

Kaoru grit his teeth and nodded, following his father into the elevator. How could he even begin to explain this?

Oh no father dear, the thing is, I'm worried about Hikaru because he seems to have it in his head that I'm actually one of my long dead split personalities that was adamant on making him miserable. The same one that made us fight for a few days and then almost make out. You know, the one you and Mom were never told about!

By the time they had gotten back into his room, he had finished mentally berating himself and laid down silently in his bed, mind glazing over the kiss on the head and the quiet Good Night from his father before he left him to rest.

Once the sturdy tapping of his father's footsteps had faded, Kaoru sat up and hugged his knees to his chest, wondering if this was some kind of divine retribution for never owning up to any of his problems in the hopes that Hikaru would make them all better for him.

A light knock came from the door and Kaoru was almost as surprised by the sound as he was by the fact that whoever it was bothered to knock.

"Sorry to bother you Kaoru." Came the cool, collected voice from the door.

"Ah, Kyouya-senpai… That would explain it." Kaoru said only slightly bitterly.

Kyouya hummed in a way that may or may not have been amused and continued.

"I figured you wouldn't mind if I gave you a quick update on Hikaru's condition."

Kaoru was proud of himself for not hesitating for more than half a second. "…I know he's awake."

"I expected as much. However, I merely wished to inform you that they've removed the tube from the ventriculostomy and have deemed him free of any serious complications, but wish to keep him here for a few more days as a precaution."

"That's great to hear."

Kyouya eyed him levelly. "Needless to say, if you notice anything peculiar, physically or otherwise, please do inform us."

He couldn't hold back the guilty flinch. "…Naturally."

"Kaoru—"

"Thank you for informing me senpai. I'm probably going to get some rest now. Good night." Kaoru interrupted, rolling over onto his side, effectively bringing the conversation to a close.

"…Good night." Kyouya resigned, closing the door to leave Kaoru to his silence.

-oOo-

"Ah Kyouya! There you are! How's—?"

"Something's wrong." Kyouya interjected, cutting Tamaki off.

The blonde's hand on his shoulder brought his insistent stride to a halt, turning to see what was probably the most serious face Tamaki had made all day.

"Of course there's something wrong Mommy, our sons are in the hospital."

Yet another unfortunate nurse happened to be walking past them at that instant and visibly choked, dropping her clipboard noisily before gathering it and trying to walk off unaffectedly.

She must be new. Kyouya thought bitterly. "Tamaki, what did I tell you about …nevermind."

Tamaki pouted. "What did you tell me?"

The Shadow King ignored the question deliberately. "Kaoru was acting very strangely when I went to tell him about Hikaru."

Tamaki's childish disposition evaporated. "Very strangely as in…?"

"He flinched when I mentioned that he should tell us if anything seemed off with Hikaru primarily, but there were other signs everywhere."

"So you think that maybe Kaoru's noticed something and is trying to hide it."

"Precisely."

"But why would Kaoru want to hide something like that?" Tamaki said gravely.

"That's what I intend to find out."

-oOo-

Kaoru slept terribly. There was nothing but silence and it drove him mad. He needed something, anything to wash away his thoughts and worries. Shock, exhaustion, and the scratching of Kyouya's pen had been enough before, but somehow the combination of the glaring silence and the knowledge that Hikaru was not close enough that he could hear his breathing was more disturbing than any monsters under the bed could ever hope to be. Still he managed to snatch a few hours of sleep between urges to go sneak up to his brother's room.

In the middle of one of his brief dozes, the sound of the door opening and the squeaking of a cart's wheels leaked into his awareness.

"Kaoru… are you awake?" He heard Haruhi's voice. "I brought some breakfast for you…"

"Haruhi…?" Kaoru said, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Haruhi blinked at him. "Did you not want me here?"

"No! No, not at all! I just… Hikaru likes you best after all, so I figured…"

"Second best." She corrected flatly.

"…Right… second best, but—"

"Kaoru what's wrong?"

He paused a moment, taken aback by the sudden question. "Well, I'm in the hospital, have a nasty case of whiplash, my twin brother almost died—"

"Kaoru, stop running away from this, what's wrong with Hikaru?" Haruhi said impatiently. "This is serious, Hikaru might be in trouble and we need to know."

Kaoru picked at the food in front of him. He had been expecting this. But the matter of his issues was not something he was eager to share. If they pinned him as a basket case then there would be drama and therapy and all sorts of things he had no need of anymore. Considering Id's nature they might even try to separate him from Hikaru, and the thought was utterly unbearable. They'd never look at him the same way.

"Kyouya-senpai sent you here, didn't he?" He said finally.

Haruhi frowned. "He did, but I would have noticed anyways. You're rather easy to read when it comes to certain things."

"Like Hikaru, right?" He supplied wryly.

Haruhi nodded silently.

"Thank you for worrying for Hikaru, but I don't think I should be the one you should be asking. If something's wrong with his body then all the fancy machines would tell us, right?"

"So it's a mental issue then?" Kyouya said tentatively, opening the door to reveal himself and Tamaki.

"Ah Milord, Kyouya-senpai, I was wondering if you'd be eavesdropping."

"Don't change the subject." Kyouya said harshly, closing the door behind them.

"Kaoru, you don't need to hide things from us." Tamaki said trying to balance out the edge to Kyouya's voice.

"What is this? Some kind of 'Good Cop, Bad Cop' routine?" Kaoru said evasively.

Kyouya crossed his arms, clearly unimpressed. "So we've established that mentally, at least, there is something wrong with Hikaru."

"I never said that." Kaoru snapped.

"No, but I have reasons to suspect aside from your unspoken implications."

"Like what?!"

Kyouya's eyes narrowed. "I was trying to avoid bringing it up, but if you must know, I got a call from Hikaru a week or so ago concerning yourself and mental instability."

Kaoru blanched and Haruhi's eyes widened.

"Putting aside any possible issues of your own for the moment, considering the fact that that mental instability was caused by premature birth, Hikaru was most likely effected as well. Combine that with the fact that he sustained a head injury severe enough to merit surgery and it's not ridiculous to consider the possibility of some form of mental illness."

Kaoru clenched the sheets of his bed, murmuring something under his breath.

"Kaoru…" Haruhi started hesitantly. "…a week ago… that fight—"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" He snapped fiercely. He was getting panicky and he could almost feel it happening, like oil collecting over water. Something dark and bitter and lusting for misery.

"What happened is none of you're business! None of this is, so just LET IT GO!"

It was Tamaki who finally broke the tension, stepping forward with a strange aura of wisdom that he hadn't seen since middle school. He took Kaoru's face into his hands, forcing him to look his way.

"Kaoru, you have do this for yourself, no one else can save you." He said sternly. "Hikaru's not here to protect you from this and play the bad guy for you. Nothing's going to get better if you don't do anything to fix it."

Kaoru gritted his teeth and hissed. "That's always the problem, isn't it?"

"Tamaki-senpai, wait." Haruhi said suddenly, urging the blond into letting go of Kaoru. "This… this isn't about Hikaru at all, is it?"

Kaoru stared blankly.

"You're afraid… aren't you?" Haruhi said slowly, putting it together as she went. "You're afraid… of us and what will happen if you open up to us, right?"

"What… Haruhi, what are you talking about? Why would I—? That's not it!"

Haruhi set her hand over his gently. "Kaoru… I think I can safely speak for us all when I say that we've already accepted you, both of you, whatever and whoever you are. Saying it or putting a name on you're faults won't change that."

The silence that followed was oppressive.

Kaoru finally broke the quiet with a disturbing lilt to his laugh as he buried his head in his hands.

"Cheater." Kaoru said finally.

"What?"

"You're cheating Haruhi, saying something like that." He elaborated wryly, scrubbing at his eyes furtively.

"Kaoru… are you crying?" She asked finally.

"No no Haruhi, there's just something in my eye. It'd be an insult to my manly pride otherwise." He said with a strange mix of emptiness and mirth. "That's incredibly touching, really, I just… I can't."

"Kaoru," Kyouya interrupted. "Would I be correct in assuming that the only reason you refuse to talk about Hikaru is because his problem is directly related to yours?" Kaoru didn't nod, but didn't correct him either. "So then if I reveal you're problem, then you'll have no reason to hold back any more correct?"

Kaoru's head shot up. "How!?"

"The call." He said simply.

The younger twin looked betrayed. "Hi-Hikaru told you?"

"Perhaps."

Kaoru went silent.

"If you'd like we can discuss this in private."

Kaoru gripped at his sheets miserably, weighing his options, all the while looking like a small cornered animal.

"No…" He said finally. "It's not fair to keep them in the dark like this…" He looked over at Kyouya in defeat. "I'm surprised you know, you really don't seem bothered."

Kyouya huffed slightly. "Considering you and Hikaru's behavior when I first met you, it was one of many suspicions I had to be frank. That aside…" He paused hesitantly, eyes hidden by the glare on his glasses. "…Haruhi has a way of being uncannily accurate at times, don't you think?"

"Why Kyouya-senpai, was that and actual compliment or am I hearing things?" Haruhi said dryly.

"I'm merely stating facts."

Kaoru laughed half genuinely. "I can't believe you guys, making jokes at a time like this. I'm trying to have a crisis here."

"You don't have to tell me you know." Haruhi said suddenly. "If you're not comfortable saying it."

"No… I need to get over this." He looked up at Tamaki. "Considering that Kyouya-senpai knows, you probably know too, right?"

Tamaki shook his head. "I'm unaware of the nature of the problem actually, Kyouya only told me that there was a possibility of one."

Kaoru took a deep breath. "Have you ever heard of Dissociative Identity Disorder?"

Haruhi shook her head.

"It's what you call it when you develop multiple personalities."

She blinked at him for a moment. "So then you…"

He nodded.

"I see… Then the fight a week ago—!"

He nodded again. "I don't know how much Hikaru told you senpai, but… he… the other personality… he referred to himself as Id."

Kyouya nodded plainly, giving no hint to how much he knew.

Haruhi spoke up. "So then, your other personality, Id, doesn't get along well with Hikaru?"

Kaoru nodded, grimacing. "His only concern in life was making Hikaru as miserable as possible."

"Then… what about now?" She said hesitantly.

"He's gone now… I guess you could say I don't need him anymore."

Haruhi nodded. "I think that's enough, Kaoru. It's a rather personal matter I'm sure. I'm glad you're alright now in any case."

Kaoru smiled weakly. "Thank you, but it's alright if you ever feel the need to ask."

"So then," Kyouya spoke up. "How does this pertain to Hikaru's condition?"

Kaoru frowned. "Well… to put it very simply, Hikaru is convinced that I'm Id."

"I thought you said he was gone?" Haruhi interjected.

"He is, but once we made up, I just… I didn't have the heart to bring it up again. It's a bit of a sore subject between us."

"I see… Then, couldn't you just tell him that Id is gone?" She suggested helpfully.

"Hikaru would probably think Id was trying to trick him or something. I tried to tell him that I wasn't Id and he yelled at me to stop messing with him." Kaoru said darkly.

"Wait… so then when he was acting strangely when you went to visit. He was trying to hide it too?"

"Probably. Like I said, it's not exactly a pleasant subject, or one that he'd want to advertise. It's always just been strictly between us."

"That's not healthy Kaoru, you should have talked to someone."

No one missed the look of worry that flashed over his face. "It doesn't matter now, okay? He's gone now, I'll swallow a thousand needles and all that."

"How can you tell?"

"I dunno… I just feel more… balanced… I guess."

"I see."

Kaoru sighed. "It really shouldn't really surprise me by now, but you're not terribly delicate about these things, you know that Haruhi?"

Haruhi blinked curiously. "Oh really? Sorry… Though I hardly think you're one to talk."

"Maybe." Kaoru said, laughing lightly. "…thank you though, Haruhi. Really."

"Don't worry about it." She said smiling.

"I think this is sufficient for now." Kyouya said moving for the door. "Thank you for your cooperation Kaoru, no matter how reluctant it was."

Kaoru sat up suddenly. "Senpai, I have one request."

Kyouya looked back at him silently.

"Please don't confront Hikaru about this… or tell the doctors… not yet at least. I want to try to convince him. Milord was right…" He looked over at Tamaki, who nodded proudly. "I need to try."

Kyouya merely smiled and continued out the door, Tamaki following shortly thereafter.

"Say, Haruhi, would you do me a favor?"

Haruhi looked at him curiously. "Sure."

"You have a book or something right?"

Not soon after, Kaoru fell into a restful sleep, listening to the turning of pages and a rhythmic breathing that wasn't quite his brother's, but was somehow a little soothing nonetheless.

-oOo-

AN: Salutations once again from my small corner of the universe, and as always, I'm sorry for being so horrifyingly slow. A big shout out to any one who reviewed, favorited, etc. anything of mine, be it this story or the others. I'm terribly confused by it all, really. I can't thank you enough.

Anyways, hopefully more of Hikaru next chapter, and once again I warn you that this story is totally kicking my ass right now, but I'll do my best. Hope you enjoyed!