"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" Kaoru heard an unfamiliar voice calling him away from the dark void of dreamless sleep he'd been relishing. He groggily opened his eyes to a dimly lit, dank concrete room. At first, he was confused. But as soon as his eyes landed on the devilish grin he remembered where he was. Kaoru pushed himself into a sitting position, ignoring the ache in his chest as he tried to keep his breathing slow and steady, not wanting to show the boss any fear he was experiencing.

"Good to see you up." The boss sneered. "Now, our conversation was cut short by your rudeness yesterday, so I wanted to return in case you had any further questions for me."

"What is with this guy? How can he fault me for being rude when he kidnapped me off the street and chained me to a wall?" Kaoru thought to himself. "Yes actually, I do." Was what he actually said. He was very proud of himself for keeping his composure when all he wanted to do was breakdown, screaming and crying until someone came to his rescue. "What's your name, and what exactly is this "company"?"

"I am Shuko." He chuckled. "And I am surprised it took you so long to ask that question. To answer your second question, my company is very simple, we make money from the misfortune that we create for others."

"Can you elaborate on that?" Kaoru asked after a few moments of silence.

"I suppose." Shuko shrugged. "It began about three years ago. My job then didn't pay very well, and I was living in the commoners' world. So, I decided I would do something about that. I worked with a buddy of mine, we took a kid from a well-off family while he was walking home from school, demanded a five million yen ransom from his parents, split it fifty fifty then killed him off because we knew he would talk. From there, we got more people in on it, more space, higher security, and went after higher value people. We also discovered that there are some very rich people out there who are willing to pay very impressive fees for some alone time with the kid of some rich asshole who screwed them in a business deal. That said, I will be making a lot of money off of you. Your parents are not the most beloved in the business world."

Kaoru felt his spine freeze at Shuko's last comment, fighting hard to keep his breathing at a normal rate.

"Today will be a big day for you, Kaoru Hitachiin." Shuko smirked as he rose to his full height. "You will be taking your first customer."

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

Kaoru rocked himself back and forth, knees hugged to his chest, arms wrapped around his shins, forehead pressed into his knees. He hadn't moved from his position since Shuko had left that morning, and didn't intend to move anytime soon. There was no way to tell how much time had passed in the cell, for the grimy lightbulb illuminated the room around the clock. Kaoru didn't raise his head when he heard the faint beeping outside his door, or when the door creaked open accompanied by the horrible sound of metal grinding on metal.

"Eat up." A new voice whispered as a clatter made Kaoru jump slightly. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes, and whatever you don't finish, I take back."

Kaoru didn't lift his head until the door thumped shut and the beep that signalled the door was locked had sounded. He tentatively peeked up from his knees, feeling an ache in his neck from sitting in the same position for so long. At the end of his mattress there was a small bowl of white rice, half of an apple, and a bottle of water sitting on a cafeteria tray. Kaoru didn't think he would feel much like eating, but his stomach loudly voiced its objection to leaving the food untouched. Kaoru slowly unravelled his limbs and crawled over to the tray, first picking up the already browning apple half. He took a small bite first, hoping his knotted stomach wouldn't reject the presence of food, then ravenously devoured the rest of the sweet fruit. He then went to work on the rice, which they apparently expected Kaoru to eat with his hands considering the lack of utensils on the tray. By the time he reached the bottom of the paper bowl, Kaoru was beginning to realise how unsatisfying the meal was. He tried not to dwell on his practically empty stomach as he broke the seal on the water bottle and chugged the whole thing in a matter of seconds. He figured that thirst would be more of an issue than hunger, seeing as a dry mouth was often more uncomfortable than an empty stomach.

Just as Kaoru was replacing the cap of his water bottle, the door opened to reveal the man he assumed dropped off the food.

"You finished? That's a first." The man looked mildly amused. "Newcomers usually don't realise they only get fed once a day."

Kaoru internally groaned at the thought of surviving on a tiny portion of rice and half an apple for longer than a few days.

"How often do we get water?" He asked, biting his tongue quickly after. He didn't know how this man would react to questioning. He also cursed himself for already thinking as if he was a part of this place.

"Once at mealtime and once in the evening." The man replied, seemingly alright with Kaoru's curiosity.

Just as the man was leaving, Kaoru had an idea. "Thank you." He called quietly, causing the man to stop dead in his tracks. He didn't look back, but merely grunted before continuing on his way.

Kaoru sighed and returned to his curled-up form. "I may as well try to make an ally…" He thought to himself. "Might come in handy eventually."

What could have been a few minutes or a few hours later, Kaoru heard the already familiar beeping outside of his door. Two men walked into the room, one lingering by the door while the other headed straight for Kaoru. He did his best not to cower, but ended up caving in on himself even more than he already was. The man stooped down before him and roughly grabbed Kaoru's right arm. At first, the boy struggled, but then realised it was no use. The man simply unlocked his cuff, then moved to the left arm.

Once the cuffs were off, the man seized Kaoru's left bicep and roughly yanked him to his feet. Kaoru stumbled over himself at first, not expecting to have stood up so fast, but quickly regained his footing as the other man took hold of his other arm. The walked at a brisk pace, wordlessly, staring straight ahead as Kaoru's fear intensified. He wanted to ask where they were taking him, but figured he would probably get his answer soon.

As he was dragged down the hallways-following a different path than the day prior-Kaoru noticed something his panic-stricken minds hadn't realised when he'd first arrived at the horrible complex. Every door had a guard in front of it. There would definitely be no escape for Kaoru, at least, not if he tried to escape on his own.

A few terribly confusing minutes later, Kaoru's escorts halted before a door that had the word 'shower' painted above it. Kaoru glanced around as one of the men entered a passcode and realised that each door had a number stenciled above it in red paint.

Once the door opened, Kaoru was shoved into the room, which was really just another hallway. Not expecting to be physically pushed through the threshold, Kaoru promptly fell to the ground.

"Well hello there." A man emerged from around the corner, laughing at Kaoru's lack of coordination. "Come on, get up." He snapped. Kaoru followed the man's orders, trying not let his knees shake too violently. "Follow me, and don't think of trying anything. The last person who did that left that stain." He gestured to a deep red stain in the corner of the hallway. "That would have taken a lot of blood." Kaoru thought and gulped as he shuffled after the man.

"I lock you in a shower room for five minutes, you clean yourself. Sound simple enough?" The man asked as he and Kaoru emerged into a better lit concrete room lined with the same doors as every other room in this maze.

"Yes." Kaoru nodded, stopping with the man in front of the first door on the left.

"Good, now disrobe."

"What?" Kaoru took a step back as if the words had physically pushed him. "Here?"

"Yes, and now." The man rolled his eyes, tiredly. "Unless you'd like to leave another stain on this floor."

Kaoru took a shuddering breath and raised his shaking hands to the hem of his shirt, swiftly pulling it over his head before his brain could catch up to the fact that he was stripping in front of a strange man. He then slipped off his shoes and socks, followed by his jeans, and was left standing in his boxers, the cool air causing goosebumps to rise on his arms and legs.

"Hurry it up." The man snapped. "I don't have all day."

Kaoru took a deep breath and cast his eyes downward before completely disrobing, refusing to meet the man's eyes. His hands instinctively moved to cover himself, and he could feel his ears turning red.

"Good, now get in there." Kaoru hadn't even noticed that the man had opened the door for him, and he stepped inside, thankful for the privacy of his own shower. "Normally twenty of you will shower at once, since it's your first day, you get special treatment." With his last words, the door shut, just as heavily as the rest of the doors in the building, and Kaoru was left in darkness. Moments later, water began pouring down on his head.

"Argh!" Kaoru gasped when the icy liquid made contact with his skin. He tried to push himself into a corner to get out of the water's path, but the entire ceiling of the tiny room seemed to be a shower head. Kaoru dropped to his knees, shivering fiercely, and wrapped his arms around his torso, resting his head on the cold, concrete floor. As he trembled, he thought of the only thing that was keeping him sane through his captivity: Hikaru.

Hikaru would be looking for him. He'd probably told Kyoya what had happened, which would mean the Ootari police force was out looking for him.

For the first time since he had been brought to his new prison, Kaoru allowed himself to cry.