Chapter Four

The loft overlooked the entire downtown of Japan, lights buzzing noisily and the cars honking repetitively as the street lights changed colors. Inside the cozy, rented apartment, a red headed teenager stood at the lightly draped windows and breathed in the clear city air as the breeze ruffled the curtains. Behind him, the king sized bed held a single occupant, who's breaths came slowly and evenly, exhausted and deep in sleep.

Suddenly, the peace and quiet was disrupted by the joyful buzzing of the corny cell phone jingle that Kaoru had picked out just for his brother. Hastily, the younger of the Hitachiin twins crossed the floor and dug though the pockets of his pants, which were clumped in a pile. Finally extracting the cell phone, Kaoru flipped it open and glanced warily at Kyouya. The older man continued snoozing deeply and oblivious to the rings; the red head breathed a sigh of relief and moved into the living room.

"Hello?" he whispered into the receiver. "Hikaru?"

A loud, angered shout was his answer. Pulling the cell away from his ear, Kaoru listened as his twin shouted at him. "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?!?! THEY SAID YOU LEFT, AFTER YOUR SHIFT, WITH SOME MAN WHO WAS A REGULAR!!! WHERE THE FUCKING HELL ARE YOU!!!"

Shit…

"Listen, Hikaru, I'm at a loft at 51st and Aki—But I'm fine! Okay? There's no need to freak out, okay?"

His words seemed to have a calming effect on his twin, for Hikaru did not continue screaming. Instead, in a steely voice he said, "Don't move; I'm coming to get you."

Kaoru rolled his eyes. "And just how do you expect to do that? Last time I checked, you couldn't drive, didn't have a car and weren't allowed to waste money on a cab or bus, and seeing as Aki is only sixteen miles uphill from our house, I seriously doubt that you'll run or even walk."

Both boys flinched. Never had Kaoru sounded so exasperated nor annoyed when he talked to his twin; never!! They had always had an open relationship that left no void for misunderstanding and miscommunication. All assumptions had always been spot on and it had always been the others that couldn't guess anything about them.

When had they become such strangers?

"K…Kaoru?" Hikaru asked, sounding more hesitantly and suspicious than before.

"Yeah…Listen, sorry about that, Hikaru…" he mumbled into the receiver. "What's wrong…you sound tense."

It was more of a guess than an actually analogy, but it was correct.

"They think that you're…you're in love with this guy you're fuc—I mean, with…" his brother said quietly. Kaoru had to strain his ears to hear what was being said on the other end of the line.

"Well, I wouldn't believe all the talk you hear down there," the younger of the red headed twins said. He was now looking for a piece of paper and a pencil, intending to leave a note for Kyouya when he finally awakened. "Mmmm…Hey, Hikaru," Kaoru said, shifting his phone to the other ear, "How'd they even know I was here?"

There was a muffled, disconcerted reply on the other end of the line, which caused Kaoru to pause in his shuffling and stand straight up. "Hikaru," he said reproachfully, if not the tiniest bit scared. "What…what did they say?"

"They…Well, the Ringleader's following you…He had been for some time, now, too…Kaoru, I don't like this. It's not right!"

"No shit, really? I always thought whoring myself out in public to some of the people I'd always respected as a business man to be fun. Big fucking surprise there, huh? Oh, shit—" he swore some more as a mug of scalding hot coffee was unsettled by his frantic search and flowed hotly down his leg. Trying not to scream, and vaguely wondering what hot coffee was doing in the middle of the apartment, Kaoru bit his lip—hard.

"Hey, Kaoru? Kao, can you hear me? Say something."

Placing the phone on the marble counter top of the kitchen, the younger of the Hitachiin twins quickly made to swat himself on the legs with a dish towel. It worked, too, successfully cooling his legs, although the coffee stains were now forever engraved on that particular pair of pants…

"Kaoru! Come on, man, answer me!!"

"What? Oh, yeah, Hikaru I'm fine. I just spilled some coffee on my leg…What? No, I am not having sex in the kitchen…That's hardly any of your business, I think, and I wouldn't tell you any way…What the hell—"

A light flicked on in the hallway, and startled, Kaoru dropped the phone. He heard it clatter to the floor and buzz in a deathly way before Hikaru's shouts—still audible even away from the ear—faded into nothingness.

Someone was behind him. Someone short, blond and female, with humungous hazel—if somewhat puffy and red—eyes that gazed into his own with a sort of lost fierceness.

"What…what are you doing in my house?" Ootori Renge asked brokenly, her voice strained and dry sounding. Kaoru had no response to this and simply shook his head, mouth open and eyes pleading.

Renge looked towards the counter. "You…you spilled my coffee, red headed whore…" she said sadly, walking over to the counter and crouching down to inspect the damage to the linoleum. Too late, the Hitachiin wished he had put a rag over it to prevent the stain of coffee on white tile.

He was about to apologize, when he heard a strong sounding sniff from the woman's general direction. "Uh…madam, I'm sorry…I was only doing my job."

"What are you?!?!" she snarled, rounding on Kaoru like a rabid jackal would a wounded rabbit. "Twelve? Thirteen? Just who the hell do you think you are, waltzing into my life and fucking my husband like that!! What are you? A life ruiner?!?!?!"

It was then that the red head noticed the half empty vodka bottle and the distinct swagger in Renge's voice. She was drunk.

"Uh, listen madam. I'm sorry, but I have to leave…Like, now."

Two bleary, if not bloodshot eyes turned their attention towards him and the blond hiccupped. "G-go?" she asked, blinking confusedly. She smiled, "Why no, my dear sweet sodomite. You cannot go yet…I insist, come have a drink with me."

"Miss, I think you've had enough."

"I'll—hic—say when I've had enough. Either way, you haven't had any. Now sit."

Kaoru gulped and looked briefly towards the bedroom, watching as Renge made her general direction towards the still open door. For a second, he thought she was going to wake up Kyouya and insist that they all have a sort of pow-wow, but instead she simply closed the door, and turned to smile at him. She held a finger up to her fingers and blinked at him. Kaoru felt a shiver run up his spin.

"Come…drink with me, whore. I insist."

And, for no other reason that the woman scared him, the red head did. Following the blond into the living room and seated himself on the couch. Funny, Kaoru thought, looking where the woman sat. I wonder if she even knows that that is where we were fu—

"You had sex in this room, didn't you?" Renge giggled, pointing to the couch behind her. "Right here, right?" He simply gave her a blank stare. How could she know that? The woman chuckled. "We did here, too. When we were still…in love."

Oh…this explained the drinking.

Renge hiccupped sadly and brushed her fingers over the couch cushions. "I envy you, whore. No other has ever held my darling Kyouya's attention for more than a week or two. Our marriage…it was hasty and poorly thought out. I think the only good thing about it was the bonding of our families: at least that was all he cared about." She gave a watery, yet dry and humorless laugh.

"Listen…madam, I don't see what this has to do with me—"

"What's your name?"

Kaoru gulped. "M-my name?"

"Yes, stupid red head. I want a name to call you by. I want a name to scream at you while I kick you out of my house. I want a name to taunt my husband with while we are going through the legal motions of divorce. I want a name to carve on the head stone of my dignity. 'Here lies the integrity of Ootori Renge: Forever murdered by the whore-ish tendencies of…' What's your name?"

He breathed. What harm could be done now? Everything had already happened for the worse. "Hitachiin Kaoru…"

"And how old are you?"

"What's with all the questions? I don't see how that's any of your business in a situation like that. Would you like to know weather I wear boxers or briefs?"

She laughed. A high pitched, loud and drunken laugh. "Oh, you are funny, Hit—hic—achiin…I can guess…"

He took that for an 'I was watching' and moved to fold his arms across his chest in a vague attempt to shield his body from the woman in front of him. "Jesus Christ."

"Don't bring him into this," she hissed darkly, dropping the whiskey glass she'd just picked up back onto the table with a loud chink. "Cesus Jhrist hasn't done anything for me, nor you. He has left us both, poor Kaoru. And that's why…"

"Listen…I really have to be going. My brother's waiting for me and if he gets mad—"

"He can wait," Renge snapped. She growled at him and reached for her purse that she had laid on the couch next to herself.

Kaoru felt his mouth run dry as a glint of silver caught his eyes, but it turned out to be only a silver compact which Renge flipped open to glare at her reflection. "Am I ugly, Kaoru?" she asked him, before closing the makeup case. "Is that why my husband wants you instead of me? Do you think most men find me unattractive? Well, they don't." She hiccupped and put the make up back into her purse. There was another flash of silver, but the red head—expecting another makeup item—was too slow to duck or lung away when the distraught woman pulled a small hand held revolver on him. Kaoru froze, eyes pinioned on the weapon as the drunk continued to talk.

"Many, many, many men asked my father for my hand in marriage, but my father was a foolish man. He said that I myself could chose my partner, and I wanted an Ootori. My father let me have one, and I loved him. He…I'm not sure. I don't think Kyouya ever truly loved me. As I said before, he got tired of me quickly…Maybe it was my lack of a coc—" she hiccupped again and coughed slightly before continuing. "Anyway, boy. You've come into my life and stolen my husband. I know he didn't mean it about the divorce, but then you came along and you ruined it—YOU FUCKING RUINED IT!!!!"

Kaoru dove out of the way just in time. Renge pulled the trigger, but no sound came from the barrel of the gun. Kaoru rolled and collided painfully with the coffee table but paid his aching side no heed as he sprinted for the door. The woman may have been drunk enough to forget to cock the gun, but now that the mistake was realized, it was only a matter of time before she rectified it and took up aim again.

Kaoru reached the door to the outside world and flung it open, not caring if it slammed and bounced back to hit him, nor if anyone heard. Fleeing the dangerous ex of his lover was the only thing that mattered now as the younger of the Hitachiin twins sprinted down the stairs and out the service entrance of the building. He stopped there, exhausted at having run down seven flights of stair, as well as slightly dizzy. Kaoru could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins, as well as the 'thump-thump' of his heart against his rib cage.

I could have died in there, he though. Kyouya's crazy ex wanted to kill me: she WOULD have killed me of she hadn't been drunk. What'll happen next time—No, no! Idiot, there's not going to BE a next time. Never again; that was too scary…

"I have to end this," he muttered to himself.

The money wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth the pain and fear, nor the suffering of mental trauma. If this had been less of a career and more for fun, than perhaps he could have not given up so quickly, but this was no longer just a way to earn money.

--

---

--

Haruhi leaned across the table. "What was it after that night, Ootori?"

Kyouya leaned back and smiled before airily demanding, "Get me a cup of coffee and I'll tell you."

The lawyer's eyes narrowed and she folded her arm resolutely over her chest. "I am not your lap dog, Ootori. I am not going to fetch your coffee or a scone any more. I am not your subordinate."

"Still can't get over all the things I made you get me in high school?" Haruhi was about to object before Kyouya over road her. "It wasn't my fault that you were in my debt. That vase a priceless family heirloom, and it was only fair that you worked it off."

The sound of teeth being ground resounded throughout the room, intensifying as the older man made another demanding look before gesturing towards the door. "Go on, Fujioka. Get me a coffee."

She did. With a hint of disgust, Haruhi dryly noted that she had even remembered how the Shadow King liked his coffee. Black, one cream, no sugar. Disgusting.

"Here's your drink," the brunette said harshly, slamming the cup down on the table in front of the bespectacled man before assuming her spot across from him. "Not, tell me: what did Kaoru consider his life after his run in with your ex-wife?"

Kyouya sipped his coffee and smiled. "A game of survival, I think he said. Anyway, he knew something bad was going to happen, so he simply tried to ready himself. But, I guess some wounds run too deep for the defensive nature to heal."

Haruhi barely followed his flower language. "What wounds?"

"The cuts of passion and desire and lust and sheer physical attraction. That's why—despite his resolve to end it with me—he came back."

--

---

--

It was chilly. It was barely January, and the air was still capable of frosting the car windows and grass overnight. Shivering, Kaoru dug his hand into his pocket and continued to pace back and forth in front of the bus stop. The damned bus was late, and he really had to get home on time tonight.

Their mother was going to take the night off and actually cook them a meal, which would be a pleasant change from the tv dinners or frozen waffles he and Hikaru had been ingesting on a regular basis. Even thinking about his mother's cooking—however burnt most things turned out—made the Hitachiin's mouth water.

"You should close your mouth," came the dark and haunting voice from behind him. Twirling on the spot, Kaoru found himself face to face with the dark figure that hulked in the alley way directly behind the bus alcove. When he had jumped, the figure did too, revealing himself to be wearing some type of cloak that billowed around him whenever he moved. In spite of himself, Kaoru was intrigued.

"E-excuse me?" he asked the figure.

"I said you should close your mouth, dear boy. You were salivating." Tottering forward slightly until he was in the light of the overhanging street lamp, the figure slipped both hands out of the confines of his cloak, only to reveal one of them was adorned with a cat puppet.

However, bemusedly, the red head wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Sorry. I was just thinking about my mother's cooking."

"Hungry?"

"Extremely."

The stranger laughed an evil and chilling laugh that made Kaoru's hairs stand on end. He wanted nothing more than to grab an extra bright flash light and shine it directly on the man as he sat down next to him on the bus bench and extended the un-cat-hand towards him.

"Hello. You may call me Nekozawa. What may I call you?"

"Hitachiin," he said, shaking the man's hand slightly. "Which bus are you waiting for?"

Nekozawa shrugged. "None of them. I just don't like to see young boys out on their own. Someone might try and take advantage of them."

Kaoru laughed dryly and tried to shift away from the crazy man without being noticed. However, the cloaked figure did notice and extended the creepy cat hand out towards the red head. He moved his fingers to make the cat rub his hands together evilly before speaking for the puppet.

"You are in grave danger from those you hold dear, my friend," he said. Kaoru raised an eyebrow. This man really was crazy. Perhaps it would be best for him to give up the comfort of the bus and walk. However, there was always the issue of the man following him, and that wouldn't be good.

"Uh, yeah. Sure," he agreed, glancing behind him for any sign of the upcoming bus. There was none. Dammit.

A hand grasped his arm and Kaoru yelped before turning to face the brilliantly blue eyes under the hood. He gulped. "I am serious, Hitachiin. Do not trust anyone within the next few months, else the world shall think you to have vanished. Someone will kill you!"

"Look, Nekozawa-senpai, I don't know what you're talking about," he glanced upwards and noticed that his bus had finally arrived. Standing up, Kaoru tried to step towards the doors when he was pulled back down so that his ear was enveloped by the hooded man's hot breath. "What the f—"

"Beware the colors black and red. They both mean a lot to you, but the blood that is to be spilled and the darkness after is not the answer."

"Right, uh, sure," and he pulled his limb from the grasp of the other man before hurriedly stepping into the bright lights of the oversized tube. Nekozawa stood and it looked like he was about to follow the red head, but seemed to think better of it.

Depositing his money, Kaoru flopped down onto a seat in the near empty bus and rubbed his forehead. That man must have been on something, some high quality stuff, too, else he wouldn't have believed what he was saying. Either way, it was disconcerting.

What had the Nekozawa man meant by the colors 'red and black'? Surely they couldn't pertain to any one person…Surely…

--

---

--

Someone was shaking his shoulder. A woman. An old woman, with scraggly gray hair and a wrinkled face. Blinking, Kaoru opened his eyes to realize that he had, indeed, fallen asleep on the bus and that the ride was close to over.

"You shouldn't be out here this late," the woman said sternly. Kaoru nodded his agreement and looked out a window. Thankfully, he hadn't missed his stop, which would save him a great deal of walking.

The old woman continued to ramble in a way that made the red head question whether or not her dementia meds were working before he reached up to pull the string that requested a stop. He stood as the bus slowed, and the lady didn't even seem to notice as he exited the bus and reentered the cold night air. Kaoru shivered. He really needed a proper coat.

Walking past the stop and around the corner, he found himself facing the chain link fence that warded off his small home to the rest of the world. Pushing on the lock, the younger of the Hitachiin twins walked up the small walk way towards the rather lopsided house that barely had a second story, smiling softly to himself. Why? He had no idea.

Suddenly, there was a flash of colors (mainly red and dark blue) and something hot and heavy collided with Kaoru, knocking him over and proceeding to lock it's arms around his neck. Startled, the boy drew in a sharp breath before letting it out. He recognized the scents: peppermint and maple syrup. It was Hikaru.

"Nice to—" he heaved the other's body off of himself "—See you, too, Hikaru. Miss me?"

"Of course, baka. And I was worried! Why'd you hang up on me?"

"I didn't," Kaoru explained, slipping his hand into his brothers and beginning to walk towards the door. "My phone broke. I dropped it and it shattered. Sorry, I would have called you, but I figured it would just be better to come home." It was half the truth. He had broken his phone, but the idea of calling Hikaru back from a public pay phone hadn't even crossed his mind.

"Oh, well I guess that's okay…" The two of them opened the door and were engulfed in a wave of smoke as the smell of burning bread singed their nostrils. Kaoru hacked and Hikaru leaned backwards so as to inhale some fresh air. Mom was cooking.

"Kaoru!" Mrs. Hitachiin said loudly from the small kitchen. Her voice sounded tired, over worked and utterly toneless, but happy at having her son home at last. "You're home. Hikaru was starting to make me worry about you as well."

"It's okay, mom," Kaoru said simply, allowing himself to be hugged by her. "It's not like I'd do something stupid that would get me killed."

"Oh, I know, dear. But sometimes we can't expect everything that'll happen." She smiled at him, and the shadows under her eyes and the stressed age marks around her mouth and on her forehead became more pronounced than ever. Kaoru also realized that his mother was much skinnier than she had been for a long time, but not in any healthy way. Indeed, it looked as if the female Hitachiin was working herself to death.

"Come in, dear. Come eat. Hikaru, call your father."

The elder of the twins narrowed his eyes, but went into the living room where his father was passed out, drunk, on the couch. Meanwhile, Kaoru gazed distastefully at the burnt and blacked chicken dinner his mother had prepared for the four of them, fearing to even lick the charcoaled skin save his tongue be dyed black from the soot. However, he sat at the small table and placed a leg on his plate while his mother retrieved two glasses of lemonade, one of water and a beer from the small fridge.

Dinner was…awkward to say the least. Mr. Hitachiin was in no mood to be awakened, nor participate in suck trivial routines as 'eating' or 'socializing with family'. He had drunkenly upset the table before smashing his half full drink on the tile before retreating back to the living room.

The twins and their mother had remained frozen in their chairs and half way onto the floor until the sound of loud snoring filled the small space and they deemed it safe to move without invoking his rage again.

"Here, mom, let me help," Kaoru offered, bending down to help clean up the broken plates and scattered food. Hikaru did the same and together, they worked in silence until the floor was cleaned. Kaoru stood and placed the broken dishes in the garbage before turning to pull another frozen dinner out of the ice box.

Mrs. Hitachiin simply sighed and turned in a whirl, exiting the kitchen and closing the door of her room with a silent click.

Hikaru blanched before crossing the room and standing next to Kaoru. He wanted to offer his warmth and comfort to his brother, wanted to hold him and for him to cry so that at least one of them could. But Kaoru just stood there, holding the container of food in slack hands.

The elder watched his twin with patience. Soon he would crack; he would break down and say how hard everything was and how he didn't want to do it anymore. Kaoru would cry and bawl about this time, this space and this life while he—Hikaru—held his brother and cooed, soothed and made everything better with empty promises. That was how it would always be but…

"I'm not hungry," was the only acknowledgement he received before Kaoru placed the frozen dinner into the freezer again and turned to follow his mother. Lunging after his twin, Hikaru grabbed the crook of his arm and pulled him back towards him. Kaoru started.

"What's wrong with you?!" Hikaru demanded, allowing his temper to get the better of him in Kaoru's absence of anger, sadness or anything else. Why was his brother so emotionless?

"What? Hikaru, you're not making any sense. Nothing's wrong with me. Why would you say that?"

"You're not normal!" The elder roared. He felt the hot pinpricks of tears behind his eyes but blinked the moisture away. "What happened to my baby brother? Why aren't you upset by that?" He motioned wildly at the room where their father's drunken snores still emitted from.

"What? I am!! Can't you see that?" Kaoru was yelling now, too. He made to wrench his arms from Hikaru's grasp, but found that he couldn't. Annoyed, Kaoru snarled under his breath, "Let go of me."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong!" Hikaru spat, extending the other hand to grasp his twins shoulder, as if to shake some sense into him. "Cry, damnit!"

"Why the hell should I? I cry when I have reason, and right now I'm too mad to!!"

"Just fucking cry!"

"NO!!"

"CRY!!!"

"NO!!"

With an unbidden and terrifying bout of unidentified emotion and strength, Hikaru practically threw his twin from him, causing Kaoru to fall backwards in a great arch. He landed hard on the ground and reached out a hand to break his fall, only to be cut across the palm by a stray and overlooked piece of glass from a lemonade cup. Flinching, the boy held up his arm, where blood welled sickeningly in the palm of his hand before dribbling through his fingers and splattering onto the floor.

Both boys remained frozen for a good few seconds, watching the red splatter against the white with a sickening fascination. Then Hikaru started forward.

"Oh my god, Kaoru," he whispered. "I'm…Oh shit, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean—"

The younger glanced up at his brother with a kind of look one often saw in wounded or dying animals before he scrambled backwards and stood up. He clenched his fist, and the part of the injury that extended over part of his wrist spurted blood onto the floor, peppering it even more. "Stay away from me," he hissed, eyes betraying the pain and shock he was experiencing at the moment. He took a shaky step away from his brother and cradled his arm to his chest as if it were his first child.

"Kaoru, I'm sorry! I swear, I didn't mean to hurt you." Hikaru extended a hand to lay on his brother's shoulder, and while Kaoru allowed him to do so, the elder of the twins could feel his brother's usually lax muscles tense under his touch. "Please understand that—"

"—I get it, alright, Hikaru," Kaoru said, his voice returning to monotone, with a slightly defensive bit in the background. "I get that you didn't mean it. Let's go to bed."

Kaoru turned and exited the room, his mind whirling with emotion and strangely, at the same time blank and void of all feeling. He was numb. Hand Hikaru just lost his temper with him?

Glancing after his brother and preparing to follow, Hikaru glanced at the kitchen floor, where vibrant magenta spattered against the off white floor. He cringed. He hadn't meant to hurt his brother: he's wanted to comfort him, after all. But Kaoru hadn't cried! He hadn't shown that he was still susceptible to human emotions such as fear and pain. Even after being cut, he hadn't screamed nor cried.

Hikaru sighed. At least the red that peppered the tile showed that there was still something in his brother's body keeping him alive: his heart. Yet as soon as he realized this, the elder of the Hitachiin brothers felt a pang of jealousy as he remembered that it was the mystery client who held Kaoru's heart: not him.