"Something's happening to Kaoru…" Hikaru whispered, the words barely audible to the rest of the people in the room.
"How can you tell?" Kyoya asked, quietly, not really knowing what to make of Hikaru's declaration.
"I just can!" Hikaru snapped, fear tightening like an icy fist around his heart.
"Hika-chan," Honey practically whimpered, "we're here for you." Mori nodded in agreement, placing a comforting hand on his trembling cousin's shoulder.
Hikaru took some deep breaths, attempting to settle the panic rising in his throat. "Fine." He sighed, deciding where to start. "Ever since we were really little, Kaoru and I have had this… connection."
"A twin thing?" Tamaki pushed after a short silence, voicing everyone else's thought.
"No, no. Something… different." Hikaru continued. "When we're apart and something happens to one of us… the other can feel it. Not in full, but we can feel it."
"How is that possible?" Kyoya readjusted his glasses, hiding his confusion behind the glare on his lenses.
"I don't know, it just happens." Hikaru snapped again. He and Kaoru had never really told anyone about their bond, people just assumed they were closer than usual siblings, but really, it was much more than that. "This one time, when we were six, we were playing in the forest near our house. I thought it would be funny to hide from Kaoru, so I ran ahead of him and climbed a tree. When he ran past me, I started to feel weird, and anxious. I ignored the feeling, because I found the prank funnier than it was concerning. Once Kaoru was out of my sight, I climbed down to chase after him. Almost as soon as I started running, my ankle started to hurt, and I found myself getting really scared for no reason. It really hurt, and I couldn't move my foot properly. Then, I got this weird feeling that I was completely alone. Somehow, I knew something was really wrong with Kaoru, and when I found him, he was on the ground, calling for me. He'd tripped on a tree root and broken his ankle, left to wonder where I'd gone."
"Hikaru…" Haruhi mumbled.
"It happened again a few years later when I slipped stepping out of the shower and gave myself a concussion." Hikaru continued, finding that everything was spilling out and he couldn't stop. "Kaoru said he got a headache all of a sudden and started to feel really dizzy and confused. It happens mostly when one of us has a nightmare. We always wake up together, one of us feeling the other's fear. I don't know why it happens, we've never told anyone so we've never had a chance of finding an answer. I just know that Kaoru is in trouble."
"Hikaru…" Haruhi said again, pulling him into a one-sided hug. He just rested limply on her shoulder, his arms dangling at his sides, silent tears soaking into his friend's shirt.
They stayed like that for a while, Haruhi holding Hikaru close, Tamaki resting a hand on his shoulder, the others simply standing by and observing, unsure of what to do.
Hikaru allowed Haruhi to embrace him until he'd cried himself out and the panic had settled somewhere in his stomach rather than clawing at his throat. He assumed Kaoru had managed to fall into a fitful sleep. He untangled himself from Haruhi and rubbed at his swollen eyes. "I should go."
"You don't have to-" Tamaki started before Hikaru interrupted.
"Yes, I do." Hikaru got to his feet and shook his head. "I just do."
"I'll have a car take all of you home." Kyoya typed the order into his cell phone. "I will keep everyone updated on the status of the force's search."
"Thank you, Kyoya." Tamaki nodded to his friend. "And Hikaru, if you need anything, we're all here for you."
Hikaru nodded, showing he'd heard Tamaki's words, but not finding the energy to reply.
The rides home were spent in silence, which was unusual considering Honey and Tamaki were in the same car. The tension was high, with stress rolling off of Hikaru in waves.
Honey and Mori were dropped off first, and Hikaru was tackled by the small blonde with a tight hug. "I love you, Hika-chan, we'll find Kao-chan soon." Mori simply nodded at Hikaru and guided Honey out of the car and into their estate.
Haruhi came next, she squeezed Hikaru's hand firmly and tried to give him a reassuring smile that probably turned into more of a grimace.
When Tamaki got out of the car, he pulled Hikaru into a reluctant hug. "I mean it, you know." He whispered as Hikaru finally hugged him back. "Call me. Anytime. Even if it's three a.m. I'll answer and do what I can. All of us will."
"Thank you." Hikaru whispered back, feeling another wave of tears burning behind his eyes but forcing them not to fall. Once Hikaru was home, however, he didn't hold back. As soon as he had shut the door to his shared bedroom, he collapsed to his knees, allowing the deafening sobs to rack through his body, causing his whole torso to shake as he cried, letting everything else, feeling Kaoru's pain as well as his own. He wasn't aware of how long he cried, and had no idea when he got up off the floor, but he found himself groaning the next morning as his alarm screamed shrilly in his ear, announcing to the world that he was expected to get out of bed.
Hikaru rolled over and groggily smacked the alarm clock to make it shut up before rolling onto his back and staring at the ceiling. Something wasn't right. He was staring at the wrong corner of the ceiling. Kaoru was always the one to crawl into Hikaru's bed at night, so why was Hikaru in Kaoru's bed now? Something else was amiss, the bed was too neat, and the sheets were cooler than usual. Hikaru rolled over, expecting to see a familiar head of orange hair mere inches from his face, but saw nothing but an empty room.
Then, it all came back. The memory from the night before, the feeling he shared with his brother, and the fear of the future. Hikaru curled into a ball, not bothering to hold back his tears as he felt the anxiety Kaoru must have been experiencing. There was no way he would be able to drag himself out of bed.
Hikaru closed his eyes and rolled over to bury his face in his brother's pillow, deeply inhaling the lingering scent of strawberries from their shared shampoo and a hint of Kaoru's favourite cologne. Suddenly, the loose ball of stress that had been turning over in Hikaru's stomach turned into something near panic, and he began to cry harder, not daring to let his mind wander to where it wanted to.
"Oh Kaoru…"