Kaoru crept in the back of the mansion unnoticed. Thankfully, no one was in the kitchen. It was well past lunchtime, and too early to be starting dinner. He was relieved to see the pharmacy bag sitting on the counter. Though his mission had left him feeling a bit better emotionally, it had done his body no favors. He felt physically drained. Every breath he took sent a jolt of pain through him, and he was lightheaded. Other than the cup of tea Ranka gave him, he had not eaten since the small breakfast his mother had forced upon him that morning. He felt too nauseous to eat anything now.

He pulled the pill bottle from the bag and tried to focus on the fine printed dosage instructions. The letters swam before his eyes. His hands were shaking too much to open the bottle. Damn childproof caps. "Shit," he uttered as the world turned yellow, then black, and he slumped to the kitchen floor, unconscious.

oOoOo

When Hikaru arrived home from school, he headed straight to his bedroom. He needed to see his twin. He couldn't remember the last time they had been apart this long. He opened the door quietly in case his brother was sleeping. But he wasn't. The bed was neatly made, and the room completely empty. Where could he be? He couldn't still be at the doctor's. It was too late for that. The doctor's office would be closed by now. Maybe they had found something seriously wrong. What if he was in the hospital?

"Kaoru…Kaoru!" Hikaru yelled as he raced through the house in a panic. He found his mother working in her office. "Where's Kaoru?" he panted as he burst in the room.

His mother looked up in surprise at her distraught son. "He should be upstairs sleeping. Why?"

"He's not! He's not there!" he blurted. After enlisting the aid of several servants, they began to search the house. As large as it was, this was not an easy task.

It was Hikaru who finally found his brother collapsed on the kitchen floor. When he saw the pill bottle on the floor near his twin's hand, he feared the worst. He knew Kaoru had been suffering since the attack, but he wouldn't go that far, would he? He rushed to his brother's side and grabbed the bottle. Thankfully, it was still full. Hikaru breathed a sigh of relief and turned his attention to Kaoru. His skin was very pale where it was not bruised, but he was breathing shallowly.

"Kaoru, Kaoru," he called, shaking his brother. Kaoru did not stir. Hikaru racked his brain trying to think of what to do to wake an unconscious person. Only one thing came to mind. He filled a pitcher with cold water and threw it on his twin.

"Ahhhh!" Kaoru sputtered in surprise as the cold water hit him square in the face, jolting him awake. "What was that for?" he cried.

"I'm sorry, you appeared to have fainted. It was all I could think of." Hikaru knelt next to his twin and handed him a kitchen towel.

"Oh," he said looking around. He was indeed lying on the kitchen floor. He gratefully took the towel and began drying off his face and hair.

Hikaru helped his brother into a sitting position. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I think so," Kaoru replied. "I wanted to take my pain medication, but I got dizzy. I haven't eaten." he explained.

At that moment, their mother entered the kitchen and saw her boys sitting on the floor. "You've found him!" she exclaimed in relief. "What happened?" she asked, noticing her drenched son and the puddle of water next to him.

"He was trying to take a pill, but he passed out. He needs to eat something," Hikaru said accusingly. Why was Kaoru getting his own meds, and why hadn't he been fed? There were enough servants in this house. Someone should have been taking care of him.

Their mother put her hand to mouth with a gasp. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I should have brought them up to you. I didn't even know the medication had arrived. One of the servants must have accepted the delivery and failed to tell me about it. I thought you were still asleep. I should have checked on you." She looked down, ashamed. What kind of mother was she?

"It's okay," Kaoru assured her. "I'm fine." He was relieved she hadn't checked on him. If she had, she would have found him missing, and that would have been much worse.

"I'm sorry," she said again, still feeling guilty. "Hikaru, could you please help Kaoru back upstairs and give him his medication? I'll have the cook fix him something to eat." Hikaru nodded and helped Kaoru to his feet.

Once upstairs, Hikaru got his brother into bed and went to the bathroom to get a glass of water for Kaoru to take his pill with. He returned to the bedside and handed the glass to his twin. He opened the pill bottle, shook a tablet into his hand and held it out to Kaoru.

"Thank you," Kaoru said, as he took the pill from his twin's hand. After swallowing it, he looked back up at his brother. "Hikaru, please don't be too hard on Mom. I'm causing her enough pain as it is. Besides, if she had checked on me, I would have been caught."

"Caught? Caught doing what?"

"I snuck out."

"Snuck out where?"

"I'd rather not say right now. I just needed to talk to someone." Kaoru explained.

"What's wrong with me? Why can't you talk to me?" Hikaru protested vehemently. He hated that there seemed to be a wall forming between them. They had never kept things from each other in the past. Why did his twin feel he couldn't be trusted?

"I'm sorry," Kaoru said sadly, tears pricking at his eyes. "I know I am hurting you too. I don't mean to. I just need to figure some things out on my own. I know you just want to help, but it is better for you this way. You have to trust me, please." he begged.

Hikaru sat on the side of the bed and pulled his brother into a gentle embrace. "I believe you," he whispered. "I just want you to know, when you are ready, I'm there for you. I always will be."

"Thank you," Kaoru responded softly as he clung to his brother tightly. After what seemed like an eternity, the twins released one another, and Hikaru sat back.

"I was there today," he said solemnly.

"Where?"

"Where it happened…where you got hurt, in the hedge maze," he stated.

Kaoru's jaw dropped, and he stared at his brother. "But how did you…?" He couldn't finish his question. He was too dumbstruck. How did he find out?

"We did some investigating today." he answered.

"We?"

"The Host Club, of course. You didn't think that we would just sit idly by, did you?"

"I guess not," Kaoru admitted. "How much do you know?"

"Well, we know when and where it happened, and we think we know what happened, but we don't know who or why. Only you can tell us that." He looked to his brother hopefully.

Kaoru grabbed Hikaru's hand. "Please let it go," he begged. "Don't ask any more questions. Someone else could get hurt." He looked at his brother pleadingly. At least if they didn't know who it was, and why it happened, Hikaru would still be safe.

"I don't know if I can promise that. This won't just go away on it's own. We need to do something about it. Did they threaten you? Is that why you're so scared?" Kaoru looked away from his twin. This was killing both of them. "You don't have to worry, we won't let them hurt you again." Hikaru pledged.

There was a rap at the door and it swung open. Their mother stepped in, carrying a tray. "Dinner is served!" she announced. She looked at the teary eyed twins on the bed and stopped short. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Yes, we're fine," Hikaru assured her. "We were just talking."

"Okay," she replied, unconvinced. She set the tray on the bedside table. "I brought enough for both of you. Hikaru, make sure Kaoru eats all his soup. He probably shouldn't be taking that medication on an empty stomach."

"Yes, Mother," he acknowledged with a nod.

"And Kaoru, if you are feeling better, maybe you can go to school tomorrow… but only if you're up to it," she added.

"Yes, Mother," he echoed.

"Well then," she said, feeling awkward. When the two of them were like this, there was no getting in the middle of it. "I guess I'll leave you two to your meal. Please enjoy. If you need anything else, I will be downstairs."

"Yes, Mother," they repeated once more in unison.

She stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. Well, at least the two of them seemed to be communicating with each other again. That was a step in the right direction anyway. It was hard not being a part of her own children's world sometimes. She sighed and went back downstairs.

oOoOo

A/N: Thanks once again for the wonderful reviews. They really keep me going. I was glad to get the twins back together in this chapter. They had been apart for far too long.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Host Club characters. I am only borrowing them. I promise to put them back when I'm done.