The kidnappers had taken Kaoru into the next room. Just Kaoru. This one fact was tearing Hikaru apart. He paced the room relentlessly. Finally, Haruhi put a hand on his shoulder. "He'll be fine, Hikaru."
"Don't try that, Haruhi!" Hikaru snapped. "You saw what happened to Tamaki-senpai!"
"Kaoru's smarter than Tamaki-senpai, though," Haruhi pointed out. "He won't do anything stupid… He'll be fine."
"You don't know that!"
Haruhi sighed. Hikaru was really worked up about this. The older Hitachiin sat down and leaned against the door, trying to listen for something… anything.
….
Kaoru shook as the two men circled him. He longed for Hikaru to be standing beside him, but they had just taken him back. He didn't want to end up like Tamaki… Or worse than Tamaki.
"We haven't been able to reach your mother or father," Buck said.
"I'm sorry?" Kaoru replied. He regretted speaking. The unnamed man backhanded him. Kaoru winced.
"That wasn't an invitation to speak. Anyway, since we have yet to make contact… Certain… Steps must be taken."
Kaoru tensed. He didn't like the way that sounded. "Such as?" he asked nervously, and was backhanded again.
"Don't speak!"
Kaoru nodded, acknowledging that he'd heard. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground. He tensed even more when he felt a knife at the bottom of his left ear.
"Disfigurement, perhaps?" Buck contemplated. "An ear in the mail is sure to grab your mother's attention."
…
Tamaki had moved to sit beside Hikaru. He put a comforting arm around the younger boy. "Nothing bad is going to happen to him, all right?"
Hikaru sighed. "We only get really hurt when we're apart… When we're together, I mean… Minor stuff happens, but when we're apart… Nine times out of ten that's when the bigger injuries happen," his voice cracked.
….
"Please don't," Kaoru squeaked.
The man pressed the knife into Kaoru's skin, drawing a thin ribbon of blood. Kaoru felt tears sting his eyes, but he blinked them back. I just want to go home. I want to be with Hikaru. I just want to go home!
The man was just about to drag the knife upward when the woman who had kidnapped Tamaki walked in. "What do you want, Rita?" he demanded.
"We've made contact with the Hitachiins," the woman called Rita said.
Kaoru breathed a sigh of relief.
"You got lucky, boy," Buck growled. He dragged Kaoru back into the room that the others were being held in.
…
"Kaoru!" Hikaru exclaimed when Kaoru was shoved through the door. He rushed over to his brother and hugged him tightly. "Are you all right?"
Kaoru nodded hesitantly. The cut under his ear was bleeding slightly. "J-just… A l-l-little shaken u-up."
The two gingers looked at each other, neither knowing what they would do if something were to happen to the other.
Yay! Foreshadowing! Sorry the chapters are always so short, but that's all my attention span allows for.