"Hikaru…Hikaru-kun…It's time to wake up. You need to get ready for school." Hikaru woke to the sound of his mother's quiet voice, and her soft hand on his shoulder. He had not slept well and was still tired. He had woken up every time his brother had moaned or cried out during the night. Each time he spoke soft words, and gave gentle caresses to soothe the troubled boy back to sleep. Hikaru looked over at his twin. Kaoru seemed to be sleeping peacefully now.

"What about Kaoru?" Hikaru asked, not because he thought his brother should go to school, but rather because he wanted to stay home by his side. He had never gone to school without his twin before. Even when there had been an illness, they usually both had it, or at least pretended to.

"I am keeping him home with me today, but you need to go to school," she insisted. "I plan to take him to the doctor. The school doctors did a fine job, but I just want to be sure. He could probably use a prescription for some good pain meds too." She looked down at her battered son with deep concern.

Hikaru reluctantly threw off the covers and climbed out of bed. He took his mother by the hand and dragged her out into the hall. He did not want Kaoru to wake up and overhear them.

"What did he tell you?" he asked as soon as the door was closed behind them.

"Not much," she confessed. "He said he fell, but we both know that isn't true. I was hoping he had confided in you." She looked at him expectantly, but Hikaru frowned and shook his head. His mother gave a deep sigh. "The infirmary staff couldn't get him to talk either. I spoke with them again this morning. They said he came in on his own yesterday and wouldn't say what had happened. Whatever it was, it seems to have left him pretty scared. If we are going to get to the bottom of this, we're going to have to go about it very carefully. That's why I want you to go to school today. Keep your eyes and ears open. Ask around. See if anyone heard or saw anything. People like to talk, and I need you to listen."

"Okay," he agreed, reluctantly. He did not want to be away from Kaoru, but he saw the merit in his mother's suggestion. He would become a detective and find the culprit, he decided resolutely. He went back into his room to get ready for school.

oOoOo

Kaoru awoke, his head throbbing. He reached for his twin, but came up empty handed. He opened his good eye and saw the bed vacant beside him. He rolled over slowly, his whole body aching, and looked at the clock by the bed. Hikaru must have left for school awhile ago. Though he missed his brother, he was glad he had been allowed to stay home. He was not ready to face everyone yet. The fewer questions the better, at least until he came up with a better story anyway. He knew they were not buying that he had fallen, but it was the best he could come up with at the time. He hadn't been thinking too clearly then.

Kaoru decided that a nice, warm bath would feel exceptionally good about now. He sat in the bathroom, carefully unwrapping his ribs as the tub filled. Once the bath was ready, he gingerly lowered himself into the comforting warmth.

As his body relaxed, his head filled with the events of the day before. The entire scene played itself out in his mind; the running, the beating, the hateful words that echoed in his brain. It all boiled down to one thing. His offense had not been bumping into Masao. He probably could have gotten away with that. No, his crime, in Masao's eyes, had been the twins' 'brotherly love' act.

It had started innocently enough. The twins loved getting a rise out of the girls with just a tender stroke of the hand, or an intimate exchange of words. There was no doubt that the brothers loved and cared for one another, and they were about as close as two people could get, but their references to illicit rendezvous were, so far, mere fantasies. They both loved to touch and hold, and tease each other, but in reality, it had never gone any further. Perhaps it would some day, but for now it was just a game; a source of amusement when they were bored. Kaoru never imagined that this simple diversion could harm anyone. And yet, now it had. But even if it wasn't just pretend, Masao and the others had no right to do what they did to him.

Last night, all Kaoru had wanted was to be cradled in his brother's arms, while he poured out the story to sympathetic ears. He wanted Hikaru to say that everything would be okay. That they would never let something like that happen ever again, to either of them. But he couldn't. If Kaoru told, he would only be putting his brother at risk of being hurt. How could he protect Hikaru, without letting him know he was in danger? How could he continue to hide what happened? Should he let those thugs get away with what they had done to him? These were questions for which Kaoru had no answer. He wished there was someone he could talk to, but there wasn't. He had never felt so alone in his life.

Kaoru's head began to hurt again, and the relaxing effects of the bath started to wear off. There was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Kaoru?" called his mother through the door. "Are you alright in there?"

"I'm fine," he lied. "Just taking a bath."

"Okay then," she said. "You need to get out soon though. You have a doctor's appointment in a little while."

"Okay," he answered. With great effort, he pulled himself out of the tub and began to dry off. There would be more questions at the doctor's office, and he still hadn't come up with a reasonable story yet. He wasn't sure he would be able to. Maybe continued silence would be the best approach. Perhaps it would all blow over and be forgotten, as though it never happened. Somehow he doubted it.