...UNEDITED VERSION...

A/N: NYAAAH. Hi. Thanks for all the awesome reviews! I am so happy! I look up and it says eight. EIGHT WHOLE REVIEWS! More to come? Yay? Nay? Whatevs. But it does make Miss Author happy. Anyway, I am displeased with the OOC-ness of all this and how quickly the whole "falling in love" happened. I think everything is going to change in this chapter…

I've got two endings for this story planned... If you don't mind it all being spoiled and want to give me some free advice, feel free to PM me! Thanks!

NOTE! MY DEAR READERS!:: I AM CURRENTLY DRAWING FANART FOR SPECIFIC PARTS IN EACH CHAPTER! I HAVE ALREADY COMPLETED MY SKETCH FOR CHAPTER ONE AND TWO IS COMING SHORTLY! DON'T FORGET, AS YOU CONTINUE TO READ ON IN THE STORY, TO LOOK BACK AT THESE LINKS AND CHECK OUT THE PICTURE--- THEY ALL GO ALONG WITH THE STORY!

Chapter One- Sketch- CAUGHT IN THE ACT

Chapter Three

I can't face myself… I can't look at myself…

"You're sick. You're so sick." This voice. This terrible voice needed to go away. It was ringing in his ears, pounding… throbbing into his mind like a living earthquake. Go away… "How twisted… Narcissistic! He's a mirror image of yourself and you---"

I what…?

She shuddered. "You sicken me! My own son sets my stomach convulsing!"

I can't look at myself. It's too difficult.

"Just look at yourself--- you're this twisted thing. You're this broken, twisted thing! And all things broken must be fixed!" Or rid of. Ice. The words were ice. Pure from freezing Hell. She shook her head in disgust. "And you broke Kaoru, too. That poor boy--- you probably forced yourself upon him. Traumatized and lonely. You broke you both."

"We are not one in the same!" he hissed, his anger an inevitable thing to flame. His character showed through, his fists clenched, as he uncurled from his depressed silence… Still, he hung his head and couldn't meet his horrible mother's eyes. "We're not the same! Don't you see that?"

The pain struck his cheek sharper than her words, if possible. Her rings left memories of scarlet on his pale cheek, her plastered-nails scraping discipline along the very same lines. It stung… Stung deep. I don't deserve to be punished for love. It's not sick! It's not sick!

"You're so delusional, Hikaru."

Sick. You're SICK.

"Get out of my sight." Her tone was even more disgusted, yet less interested. She was past her furious mode. Was that good… or bad? Fiend or foul?

"We're… not sick…"

"No. You are. He didn't do anything wrong!" His mother hovered above him, her towering figure shadowing over him--- she was no longer intimidating, just hurtful… stinging… "You're the same person… except you're a fiend and he is simply an innocent child you defiled. But nothing less than the same entity!"

"We are not the same!"

"Get OUT!"

It was this way all along. It had always been this way… Always would be this way…

"GET OUT!"

I am strong. I can hold up.

"YOU SICK CHILD!"

His fingers strummed through his hair, shuddering under the pressure of grief.

Don't let her get to you… Don't…

"GET OUT!"

Just drown it out… Drown it out, Hikaru!

"DEFILING BEAST!"

He couldn't hold himself up and shook until he collapsed.

But it hurts…

"GET OUT!"

You're better than this…

"YOU HAVE NO PLACE ON THIS EARTH!"

Everything was shattering around him… The glass of protection, the walls of sanity, the ceiling of love. Nothing draped over him, surrounded him, held him up.. Not anymore.

Am I?

"STOP IT!"

No… No… Get out… Get out of here, Kaoru!

"Kaoru…" Mrs. Hitachiin muttered, her eyes shooting up to him. Every time she saw her "trophy child", her prodigy, she smiled. This time was no exception--- she smiled, repetition never failing to cease from her patterns. But, out of the corner of his bloodshot eyes, Hikaru caught a glimpse of this feature of his Mother's… And this was no smile of pride--- no glimpse of positive-energy came from her.

Revenge. Loathe. Punishment.

That was all her Ki (aura) told Hikaru as he watched her carefully. She was no force to mess with--- and now she was going to mess with them. They had crossed her; in her mind, betrayed her… defiled her reputation. Not only had they "ruined" their lives, but they had "ruined" hers. Now, she was going to make sure they paid dearly… and Hikaru would get brunt of her aggressions.

This whole situation was a mistake! He flinched as his mother stood to face Kaoru head-on. Shit! Shit! I have to protect him… I have to save him. I need to- He felt himself go into hyperactive mode, his lungs working overtime, his anxiety kicking up. I need to think of anything! She'll hurt him so bad that he'll never recover… And she knows better than to physically harm him--- he'll be traumatized, instead!

"It wasn't your fault, Kaoru-dear…" she hummed, her motherly act fake. Everyone could see it. Everyone knew it. "You meant well--- it was all him, that devilish brother of yours… He didn't mean any of that. Just come with me and I'll-"

"It's true, you know," Hikaru cut in, gaining piercing glances from both his mother and brother--- though both were spawned from different emotions. He swallowed and let fate flow from his mouth. He stood and approached them, his mother immediately springing into defense mode. But his face was deadpan, not aggressive or dejected at all--- he was simply dead… but his eyes flickered with a malicious fire. Crossing his arms, Hikaru leaned back against the living room wall and smiled at them. "For once, Mother, you're not spewing nonsense."

Kaoru sent him a curious look behind his mother's back, as if to ask, "What do you have up your sleeve?" But Hikaru only responded with a devilish grin--- he wasn't planning on saving Kaoru openly. He was going to do it in a way that would paper cut Kaoru, instead of slashing him open.

Paper cuts are shallow, but they hurt the worst. They touch the top layer of the skin and sting until they heal over. Deeper wounds don't hurt as bad until you actually realize that you're bleeding--- but then it's too late. What Hikaru wanted to do was sting Kaoru with the most powerful paper cut he could muster and cause his twin the most pain imaginable… but it would help him out in the end. Hikaru's mock cuts were so much easier to withstand than the wrath of his raging mother.

"H-Hikaru, what are you-- What do you mean?" she hissed, suspicious haunting her eyes as she drew nearer. Kaoru kept his eyes on his mirror image, but his twin only continued to glare down the mother, not wanting to break his poker-face. "What are you talking about?!"

Hikaru sighed, as if the answer were obvious. "You're right, okay, Mother? For once, you get something right!" Smirking, he gestured with his hand and raised his golden eyes to the ceiling. "You read me like a book!"

"Hikaru, what are you-" Kaoru finally spoke up, his courage building. But he was cut off by his mother and his were eyes set once more on his twin, curiosity raging within him.

"What did I have right, you bastard?!" His mother was now on the brink of letting loose all her anger--- but Hikaru kept on smirking, even through the tears that were stinging the back of his eyes. He had to keep up the act, otherwise he'd be caught and everything would fall to shambles. "Tell me!"

"Calm down!" Hikaru chuckled sinisterly. "I mean that you're right about my numbness towards the situation! You say I didn't mean any of it and I say you're right!"

Kaoru mouthed a question to ask what his brother was planning, but only got the response of even more cynical laughter. "Don't play dumb, my dear brother," he snorted. His mother was dumb-struck, half engulfed in shock, while her other half was slowly being shadowed with self-pride. She loved to be right. She loved to be right more than anything in the world… especially if it meant Hikaru were wrong. And this, Hikaru knew, would set her attentions off of Kaoru and onto him. "You knew exactly what I mean! I never lie twice--- and this is my second truth."

"I… was right all along," his mother chuckled, wrapped up in her own little menacing glee. She curled up on the couch and never stopped her laughing.

One down, one to go, Hikaru thought. He moved past his mother--- she was already convinced about the situation and he was done with her now--- and stepped right up to Kaoru, who's eyes now glowed with fear. If I can get you to…

"You thought I really meant it… didn't you?" Hikaru chortled, lifting his quivering brother's chin with his forefinger. His touch was tantalizing--- painfully and sexually. Every touch now was a bittersweet lie of truthfulness. Hikaru glowered wickedly down onto Kaoru, a smirk painting his lips. "You fell for every word, you sick-"

"Don't try to fool me," Kaoru whispered… Whether to simply keep it down or because the knot in his throat was unbearable, even he didn't know… "I know you meant it all. Don't try to fool me just because of Mother's presence."

Hikaru grabbed his harshly by the shoulders, squeezing a cry right out of him. "Now you listen here, you fucker," he hissed. His eyes were fires and his face was contorted into pure wrath. He ached inside… It hurt too much to keep this up. "Don't try to guilt me or convince me--- I know me well and I know you well. How else do you think I tricked you so simply? I whisper a few sweet words in your ea and you melt! There's nothing to it."

I know you well.

These were the very words that convinced Kaoru. His eyes widened and he took a step back, the walls closing in on him, though not quite as fast as Hikaru approached. He pressed his brother against the wall, his smirk more hateful than ever before. This was all so believable, all so real now… All because of that one phrase.

"Why do you think I tricked you? You're so easy!" Hikaru chuckled again. "All I had to do was tell you I loved you--- What a joke!--- and your pants are already off!" With a sinister look, he added, "And you were so… close... It was so easy."

I know you well.

It made Kaoru convinced only because… it was true. They knew each other better than anyone else in all of the World. They were brothers, twins, mirror images… They were closer than anyone could assume close to possible!

And believing the very truth of this statement was Kaoru's mistake--- he believed Hikaru knew him so well as to be able to trick him, but what he discarded from his scattered mind for the moment was that he also knew Hikaru well… And if he had only thought of that, for just a second, just an instance… If he had found Hikaru's basic flaw and realized that it was all a plot, a ploy, a joke… then he would've been fine.

But it was this vital mistake, this hairline crack in his emotions, that set him down a path that would be difficult to recover from. He had said he loved Kaoru, called him dearest, whispered sweet words and muttered forever-ness. Kaoru had believed all of these (as he now called them) 'sweet-nothings' and now found everything a lie. Nothing was… real.

Hikaru pressed his lips against Kaoru's ear and forced back a choke. He had to keep… calm… "You believed me. You're such a fool. I get horny, mutter sweet-nothings… and you hop into bed with me…" Perhaps if Kaoru's mind had been clearer, than he would've been fine… But his heart was so cluttered and his mind was reeling so fast that he couldn't process anything else than Hikaru's heart-twisting words… He couldn't believe anything else… "You were so… easy."

Perhaps if he had just thought back for one instant to all of the memories he had had with Hikaru, all of the words, all of the actions… how genuine they had felt… If he had thought back to these memories, not in a sentimental fashion, but in a logical sense, then he would've slapped his twin across the face and told him to straighten up his lying mouth.

But Kaoru wasn't strong enough, not at heart nor mind… and because of this, all this led to a down spiral which left him soaked in his misery…

And Hikaru was left much, much worse off.

A/N: I know, I know, I pulled an Angel Sanctuary twist on it… So sue me… Disclaimer on Angel Sanctuary--- I don't own it, Kaori Yuki does…

(In case you don't know Angel Sanctuary… in the first book, sister and brother, Sara and Setsuna, are in love. Their mother is against it and is threatening to punish both of them, mostly Sara for their love. To save them both, Setsuna pretends his kiss to Sara was a fake and he did it just for his own personal pleasure. Sara runs off devastated.

There you have it.)

Anyway, did you all like it?