Kaoru didn't know what he'd done to piss off the guard as he was being dragged back to his room, but apparently it warranted a boot to the chest. He didn't remember doing anything; he only remembered hearing a crunch as the man's massive foot collided with his left side. He had cried out, gasping for air but only cursing his lungs for expanding and jostling his bones. Being thrown down on the mattress and manhandled as he was chained up didn't help much either. Neither did the second blow to his side, which left Kaoru in tears. He just lay there for a while, debating whether or not his situation called for escape. He decided it didn't, and just lay still, feeling the pain slowly reduce to a dull, throbbing ache.

Mikami's plan should have taken effect the night prior, meaning he would either be killed, arrested, or save everyone in the prison by the time Sunday night rolled around. Kaoru prayed for the third option, wanting nothing more than to breathe fresh air and see his brother again.

He lay there, thinking of what he would do if he was reunited with Hikaru. Probably cry. Definitely cry. They both would. They would just hold each other, sobbing into each other's shoulders until they ran out of tears. Then they would just be together, comforting each other in the way that only they could.

Kaoru was startled by the sound of yelling in the hallway outside of his door, and fought the urge to curl in on himself. It was probably just a newbie making a racket. He'd heard that three times since he'd been brought into his cell, and it was never pretty. He seemed to be one of the best-behaved newcomers by his experience.

But the yelling didn't stop, and Kaoru started to feel uneasy. There were lots of voices, more than there were guards outside in the hall, and multiple pairs of boots clunking down the concrete floors. He couldn't make out words through the thick metal door, but he heard voices he'd never heard before

The yelling migrated toward Kaoru's end of the hall, and he began to wonder if Mikami had carried out his plan, whether it was going well or horribly.

Kaoru yanked himself into a sitting position, hissing with every movement as his ribcage protested, and backed into the corner, pulling his knees up to his chest, suddenly frightened. He resumed his balled-up position, hugging his knees to his chest and hiding his head between them. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to tune out the commotion, feeling a rush of anger run through him. Why was he angry? And what else was he feeling? Was that… Determination? Hope? Something to that extent.

Kaoru kept cowering as the yelling built up outside of his door then faded. Silence fell in the hallway, but Kaoru didn't dare look up. Suddenly, voices could be heard in the hall, they started far down, then began coming closer, accompanied by pounding feet. Then, the beeping outside of his door started. Kaoru curled into himself further at first, but just as the door opened, he felt it. He opened his arms just as Hikaru crashed into him and wrapped him in a tight embrace. Kaoru yelped as Hikaru pulled him close.

"Kaoru!" Hikaru loosened his grip at his brother's cry of pain.

"No, don't let go." Kaoru sobbed into his brother's shoulder, shaking as he latched onto Hikaru for dear life, never wanting to let go of him again. "Don't let go."

"Kaoru." Hikaru whispered as he sobbed with his brother. Mikami silently stepped forward, unlocking the cuffs around Kaoru's wrists with the keys he'd grabbed off of the guard as he was arrested. The chains fell loosely, clattering against the concrete.

Kyoya watched, smiling sadly at the twins. He was glad they'd been reunited, but from what Mikami had told him about this place, they were going to have a hell of a time recovering.

Kyoya glanced back and forth between the room and the hallway, where prisoners were being escorted out of their cells, wrapped in blankets. Some were cowering from the officers, some were crying, some were running for the exit. All of them were bruised, bloody and had a look of terror in their eyes.

When an officer came for Kaoru, the twins didn't let go of each other. Hikaru helped Kaoru to wrap the thin, holey blanket around his shoulders and walked with him out of the concrete prison. When they emerged from the darkness and into the dim light of the evening, Kaoru broke down again, leaning on Hikaru heavily.

"What is it?" Hikaru asked softly, feeling his brother's distress.

"We missed the sunset." Kaoru choked out. Normally he would have been embarrassed about crying over something so silly, but he couldn't help it.

"It's okay." Hikaru whispered. "It's not cloudy."

Kaoru smiled, somehow finding the strength to chuckle at his brother as Hikaru followed suit.

"He needs to go to the hospital." Kyoya rested a hand on Hikaru's shoulder, beckoning for a paramedic to them. He had seen the giant black patch on the side of Kaoru's chest, the telltale sign of broken ribs, and had recalled Hikaru's pain earlier in the day. Hikaru nodded, but continued to cling to his brother just as tightly as Kaoru was clinging to him. There was no way they would be letting each other out of their sight for a long time.

The paramedic wove through the crowds of people who were milling about to cop cars and Ootari vans, rolling a gurney up to the small group and looked expectantly at Kaoru. Kaoru's grip on Hikaru tightened, and he whimpered softly. He'd just gotten reunited with his brother, and now they were going to take him away again?

"It's okay, Kaoru, we'll be right behind you." Kyoya assured.

"Hey, I'll be there." Hikaru whispered, forcing himself to release Kaoru, who just looked at him with wide eyes, brimming with fresh tears. "I promise."

Kaoru nodded and winced as he climbed onto the gurney. Both twins resisted the urge to run to each other while Kaoru was loaded into the ambulance and Hikaru was dragged into a black van with Kyoya and Mikami. The van took off, en route to the same hospital that the ambulance was heading to. Hikaru's leg was bouncing as his mind ran, thinking about how scared Kaoru would be. They were in a strange city, going to a strange hospital, with a bunch of strange people poking and prodding at him. He wanted more than anything to just be with him.

Hikaru suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to meet Kyoya's eyes. "He'll be okay." He assured. "So will you."

Hikaru nodded, trying to stop his hands from shaking.

"Have you told your parents we found him?" Kyoya asked, trying to distract his friend for a bit.

Hikaru's eyes widened, and pulled out his cell phone, immediately dialing his mother. Surprisingly, she picked up on the first ring.

"Hikaru! What is it?" she practically shouted.

"Mom, we found him." Hikaru let a new wave of tears flow down his cheeks as he finally admitted to himself that it was over. Kaoru was going to be home. They would be together again.

"Let me talk to him!" she did shout this time, and Hikaru found it mildly annoying that his mother never bothered to call when she didn't know Kaoru was missing, or any other time she was away at that. She only had time to speak to her kids when something happened.

"He's not with me, he's on his way to the hospital."

"That hospital?!" she shrieked, causing Hikaru to flinch away from the phone. "Is he okay?!"

"I'll tell you when we get there." Hikaru gave her the name of the hospital before hanging up, not wanting to deal with his mother anymore.

"You should probably know," Mikami spoke up as Hikaru put his phone back in his pocket, "Kaoru won't be too happy to see your parents."

"Why's that?" Kyoya asked, seeing Hikaru's confused look.

"Because they take people from rich families, and tell them that their parents have done horrible things to others. They convince them that it's their parents' fault they've been taken."

"How so?"

"You know what happened there with the…" Mikami trailed off and looked for Kyoya's nod of confirmation and Hikaru's ill expression. "Well, the people who did that paid a large sum of money. Shuko would cut their rate in half if they made up some story about how the kids parents had wronged them or their family in some way. Most of it was bullshit, but it would screw anyone up."

"Kaoru wouldn't believe that." Hikaru shook his head in defiance.

"I'm not saying anything against him." Mikami assured. "He was one of the strongest ones there, but that doesn't mean his mind couldn't me manipulated. I'm not sure you grasp just how horrible it was for prisoners there."

"Oh, I know." Hikaru grumbled thinking back to every time he'd felt Kaoru's fear or hate or shame or pain. Every itch, every laboured breath, every spark of anger. The hunger pangs, the cold showers, the stiffness from being curled up too long. Above all, the emptiness. Hikaru had felt it all. It was as if he'd been right there with Kaoru, experiencing everything with him. "I know…"