.
When Hikaru opened his eyes, he found himself in the hospital's underground parking lot once again. This time, there were no cars to be seen, no guards, just himself and an empty dark hall.
And, nothing looked familiar to him. "...Where am I?" he whispered while his wide eyes darted back and forth in wonder.
"You are underneath a hospital," came a voice from behind.
The boy, startled, turned around to see a tall, pale skinned man with long raven hair and cloacked in deep green garments. The man looked terribly thin, almost inhuman. "Who are you?" he asked in a soft voice.
"I am just a stranger," the Agent replied. "Now allow me to ask you a few questions: Do you remember who you are?"
"I'm... H-Hikaru Hitachiin."
"Correct. And what else do you remember?"
"I... I remember..." The boy paused, clutching the top of his head as though trying to ring out his thoughts. For a moment, his mind was completely blank, but then... "I remember where I live."
"Good. Anything else?"
"Uh... I, uh... I don't remember how I got here."
"One last question, Hikaru: do you know who Kaoru is?"
The boy blinked, confused. "Uh... Hmm..." He tried to think, as hard as he could. 'Kaoru, Kaoru, Kaoru,' the name kept swirling in his head. But for the life of him, he couldn't find a face to match it. He looked to the Agent and frowned, "Sorry. I don't remember a Kaoru."
The Agent cracked a smile.
"Who's Kaoru?"
"It does not matter. What matters is that you must go home. Your parents are probably worried about you."
"Yes... My parents..." The boy got up on his feet, as he was sitting down moments ago. Blinking, he looked left and right. "...Which way is home?"
The tall man pointed forward. "Follow the arrow signs. They will lead you out of this place."
"Okay. Thank you."
The boy began to walk in the direction he was given. The Agent watched, satisfied in this small victory.
A funny feeling crawled into the boy's mind. Why was the name Kaoru so important, he wondered? What difference did it make if he remembered that name? Was it someone he knew? Someone from his past? Why did this funny, fuzzy feeling keep getting stronger.
He stopped in his tracks and turned back to the man, who was now several feet away. He looked like a lost puppy dog.
"Is something wrong?" asked the Agent.
Hikaru shrugged, "I still don't know how I got down here, or who you are. Or why I feel so lost."
"Do not dwell on it. Just go home, you'll feel better once you're there."
"But I... I was looking for something just now, wasn't I?"
The Agent narrowed his black eyes. "Were you?"
"I must have. Otherwise I never would have left my home. Something's... not right." Again, he scratched at his auburn haired head, as though an itch was nagging just beneath the surface.
"Go home, Hikaru," the man urged.
"Right... Home... Home is where I belong."
Hikaru turned back to his path and took a few more steps. With each step, his mind began to wander, though not many thoughts were clear. He could see his mother and fathers' faces alright, plus the front of his mansion, and his twin maids. But then he tried to think of other faces, of fellow classmates, and that's where things got fuzzy. He couldn't remember which school he attended, or with whom. He couldn't even remember if he had any household pets. Or the name of his cheuffer.
He stopped walking again, glaring blankly at the ground. "...Why is my mind so fuzzy? ….I can't think..." In his struggle, his eyes began to water. He felt drained, like a part of his very soul was missing and he was just now beginning to feel the effect. His legs felt wobbly, his chest pained. His breathing quickened slightly as a small panic attack set in. "Come on, Hikaru, get it together," he murmured to himself. "Think. Think! Why was I here? Who was I looking for? ….Why can't I remember?"
As he paused, he forced himself to take slow, deep breaths. He closed his eyes tightly and palmed his forehead as he began to meditate. All the while, the Agent looked on from several feet away, curious.
'Remember,' he told himself. 'Remember...'
He tried to remember yesterday. Nothing. The day before. Nothing. A week earlier. Nothing. A few months ago. Nothing, all blank pages. It seemed his recent history was all but erased from memory. So he had no choice but to go even further back.
A year ago? No, nothing.
Two years? Still nothing.
Three? Four? Ten? Nope. Still blank pages.
"What happened to my past?" he wondered in a soft voice. "Why is everything so fuzzy now? Why...?"
Anger and frustration came in the form of a small growl, but still he stood in deep thought. He couldn't give up now, there had to be a memory somewhere...
"Come on, Hikaru, keep going. There's gotta be something you remember. Anything..."
Age 5? Blank.
Age 4? Blank.
Age 3? Blank.
Age 2? Blank.
Age 1? Blank.
Twelve months old? Blank.
One month old?
….Nothing.
Gone.
It was all gone.
His heart skipped a heavy beat: Thu-thump!
A pit in his stomach began to grow. Something... no, someone... was definitely missing from his life. That much was certain, he could feel it in his gut.
So, instead of trying to remember anything, the boy tried a brand new tactic: not thinking at all. He relaxed his muscles, his eyes still closed but not so tightly this time. His breathing slowed almost to a crawl. This was a state in which Hikaru Hitachiin was not familiar with in the slightest, but it was a necessary state. He would empty all thought in his head, and allow his instincts to fill the void.
He listened slosely to his heartbeat. Thump-thump... Thump-thump... Thump-thump... In a slow but steady rhythm it throbbed. It was soothing to him, almost like a lullaby, and for a moment, he almost felt as though he were sleeping, dreaming...
Thump-thump... Thump-thump... Thump-thump...
His subconscious took him to a very special place in his past, a place where They, the Agents, could not possibly reach.
..
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
This was his mother's heartbeat. It was clear as day, and loud enough to ring in his was beside her... No... Inside her.
He was in the womb.
And he was not alone.
A tiny, barely developed hand cupped his own, and he could tell that it didn't belong to him. It belonged to another. A twin. A perfectly identical twin laying beside him, their bodies not yet fully formed yet their minds were already active. They shared a sack together, able to touch each other. To hold each other. And indeed they reached out to each other to embrace in that very moment.
It was warm. And welcoming. The very first time in his life when he felt safe... Happy.
..
And then it all came back in a flash:
A game of hide-and-go seek.
A bottle of ink spilled onto the floor.
A lady thief escaping in the night.
Girls running off in rejection.
Two large doorways opening to a hurricane of rose petals.
A girl dressed in boy's clothing catching twin boys off guard.
Two boys.
Twins.
Brothers.
Hikaru's eyes flung open, as he gasped deeply. Then, those eyes narrowed as his body turned around to face the curious Agent once more.
He walked forward slowly, like a puma about to pounce its prey. There was fury in his golden eyes, and venom in his breath as he talked: "I'm not alone... I was never alone... I have a brother. A twin brother. We attend the same high school, we're members of a special club there. ...His name is Kaoru Hitachiin." He stopped in front of the man, staring him in the eye with contained rage.
"And I want him back, you son of a bitch."
The Agent, completely caught off guard by this moment, began to tremble. His black eyes widened, his jaw dropped. How? How did the boy manage to break even this form of amnesia? Where did he go wrong?
"I need more time," he muttered. But his time was up.
WHOOSH!
The wall behind the Agent cracked open to reveal white light, and a great force pulled him into it like a vaccum. In a flash, the man was gone, leaving Hikaru blinded and stunned as he shielded his eyes with his right arm.
When he dared to uncover his eyes, he could see the white void there, but something- no, someone- was walking through it, and out of it. When he came into view, it was a man very similar to the one he had just talked to- pale skin, green garb- except this one's hair was cleanly cut, and his chin more square shaped. His frame was also a lot fuller than the previous man's, a healthy build. He stopped in front of the boy and glared at him with black eyes.
"...Who are you?" asked the boy in a timid voice.
The man replied in a calm, deep voice. "We have no names."
"...What are you?"
"I am the Engineer of this project. I had been watching my Agents from afar, though I will admit that I have let this particular case go on for far too long. You have my deepest apologies, Mister Hitachiin." He gave the boy a courteous bow.
Hikaru was still very confused by all of this, but he could only shrug and say, "I don't care. I don't really care who you people are or why you're here. I just want my brother back."
"Yes," nodded the Director. "I completely understand. We will return all of the people who have been taken during this assignment, momentarily."
"...What about the other guy?" the boy suddenly asked. "The one who was just here. W-what happened to him?"
"He will be reinstated to a new assignment, after we reevaluate him. Apparently, he believed that the end goal was to sever all familial ties of our subjects. But you need not worry about him now, Mister Hitachiin."
There was a pause between them as the light shrouding the man began to fade.
"...So, that's it? You're just gonna leave?"
"There is one more small matter to attend to. Come closer, allow me to give your mind a much needed cleansing."
The boy jumped back in fright. "No! No, I've had eough mind-wiping for one day!"
"Do not worry. We will restore all of your old memories. But the ones regarding us and our project must be cleansed. We must not let our activities become common knowledge. You understand, do you not?"
Hikaru sighed in defeat. "Whatever. Just promise me one thing: after this, everything goes back to normal."
"I promise you, when you wake up everything will feel like it was all a dream." He gave the boy a warm, welcoming smile.
Hesitant at first, Hikaru gulped and stepped forward, putting his trust in this new stranger. He leaned slightly forward as the man gently placed his long fingered hand on his brow.
The boy was once again clouded in a white hot light, but this time he felt nothing but peace as he closed his eyes and drifted off into another deep sleep.
..
..
Hikaru awoke from a deep dream that following morning. As he yawned and stretched, he felt a void where his younger twin usually laid. Alarmed by this, he looked around the room to see that his beloved twin was missing. "Kaoru?" he called out, but there was no answer. This worried him, and he spoke in a louder, slightly more frantic tone. "Kaoru!?"
Suddenly, he heard a toilet flush from behind the door to their private bathroom. Then as the bathroom door opened, out came his mirror image dressed in nothing more than a pair of boxer shorts. "I'm right here, Hika," purred Kaoru before letting out a tired yawn. "Good morning, sleepy head."
"Oh," Hikaru breathed in relief. "Right. It's morning..."
Kaoru crawled into his side of the bed and pulled the covers over himself. "Have a bad dream?"
"No. Just thought for a second there... Nevermind."
The younger twin smirked and scratched his brother's head as though he were a puppy. "Aww, did my poor brother think I was kidnapped by aliens?" He laughed while Hikaru groaned.
Swatting his brother's hand away, Hikaru made a face. "...Maybe I did have a bad dream just now. I can't remember." The older teen placed a palm over his forehead.
"What's wrong?" frowned his twin. He placed his own hand over Hikaru's brow in concern. "Are you feeling sick?"
"No," replied Hikaru. "...Kaoru, have you ever had a feeling of deja vu?"
"Heh, not recently. Why?"
"Just wondering..." The boy blinked his golden eyes, staring intently at his brother's.
"...Hika? What's wrong?" Kaoru's tone became more fearful.
But Hikaru gave him a smile. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong at all."
Ring! Ring! -It was coming from their telephone on the table beside the bed.
Kaoru picked it up. "Hello?" He then turned his head away to avoid getting deafened by his Host King's frantic voice. "Okay, okay, Boss! Calm down! ...Yes... Uh-huh... But Boss, it's a Saturday! …...Yes! …...Go back to sleep, you idiot." He then hung up the phone and sighed.
For reasons unknown even to him, Hikaru felt the urge to grab ahold of his beloved brother, and he being Hikaru could not resist his urges. Kaoru purred as he was taken into Hikaru's arms so suddenly, and giggled as Hikaru's chin nuzzled into his neck. Then he felt his brother's lips press against his cheek. "...Hika... What was that for?"
"I dunno," smiled Hikaru warmly. "I just want to tell you that I love you. That's all."
Though confused by his brother's behavior, Kaoru smiled back and returned the nuzzle. "I love you too, brother. Always."
Hikaru Hitachiin would never again remember how he once lost his brother, felt frantic over losing him for several days, or that his own sanity was put into question. Nor would he remember that he had lost his friends one by one as the mystery unraveled itself. Or that there was a mysterious orgainization of possible inhumans studying and observing human nature under the guise of amnesia. He wouldn't remember any of that.
But he would always remember this moment, the moment when he woke up knowing that he had his brother, assured that he would always have him by his side.
And for that, he was happy.
.
END