Hikaru's eyes dilated when he realized… he could feel the individual pulses of the souls around him. He took a quick breath, took one last glance back at the girl getting up from the floor, and paced over to Kaoru who was watching him with wide eyes. "Hikaru," he began but Hikaru halted his words with a fearful glance.

Quickly, Hikaru took Kaoru's papers from his hands and placed it on the nearest surface before grabbing Kaoru by the wrist. And without telling Kaoru why, he pulled his younger brother to the teacher. "We need to go to the nurse's office please," Hikaru said shakily.

The teacher looked at him in concern, taking in Hikaru's sweaty, clammy face, and then nodded. Hikaru could feel Kaoru looking at him in just the same way.

And with that, Hikaru tugged his brother into the hallway and started out in a fast walking with a clenching grip on Kaoru. "Hikaru!" Kaoru protested, trying to keep up.

Hikaru said nothing. He clenched his jaw and pulled harder, leading them to their destination. The boys' bathroom loomed in front of them and Hikaru pushed inside. He finally let go of Kaoru and instead checked every stall, confirming that there was no one else in the bathroom.

"Hikaru, what is going on?" Kaoru asked who looked totally frightened.

Hikaru didn't look at him directly. Instead, he chose to lean over the sink, looking through the mirror as he turned on the faucet. Quickly, he splashed a handful of water over his face, breathing hard.

"Hikaru…"

"I don't know what is happening to me," Hikaru spoke lowly, glaring into his mirrored eyes. "I just don't know…"

Kaoru approached slowly, coming to stand just next to Hikaru. "Did something happen with that girl?"

"I saved her," Hikaru said simply, looking up at Kaoru with water dripping from his nose.

Kaoru's eyes were wide. "You… what?"

"I saved her. And I saved you too, twice actually."

Kaoru was looking at him in complete disbelief. "No, no. You didn't have these abilities before."

"But I do now," Hikaru interrupted. "And I must have had them before." He looked back into the mirror with dull eyes. "I don't know how I got these abilities or why I do… but I remember everything now…" Looking back up at Kaoru, he breathed slowly before uttering, "I can see your soul right now."

Kaoru frowned. "What? How is that possible?"

Hikaru trailed his eyes across Kaoru's face before looking past the body and focused. He could feel the link there, of he and his brother; it was almost tangible to him. It was almost surprising that he had not noticed it earlier.

He looked into the glow of Kaoru's soul; it was the color of a sunny afternoon, filled with gold, orange, and reds. "No, impossible," Kaoru said, shaking his head and breaking Hikaru's concentration.

Frustrated, Hikaru stepped forward in instinct and placed a hand on Kaoru's shoulder and one on his heart, startling his brother. But he used his energy to swat at Kaoru's soul a bit playfully.

Kaoru's breathing stopped, but only for just a few seconds, but then Hikaru let go. Kaoru was left gasping for air, breathing tightly. "What the hell… did you do… to me?" he gasped out, catching Hikaru in his shocked glance.

"I proved it to you, didn't I?" Hikaru shot back, crossing his arms and leaning against the sink.

Kaoru took another deep breath and put a hand onto the wall to steady him. "Okay, so you have this weird ghost power… What do we do now?"

Hikaru shrugged at first but then paused, thinking. Maybe there was something he was meant to do with this power after all. He bit his lip. "Dad said… I'm kind of like a reaper."

"What does that mean?" Kaoru asked, perking up.

"I can bring people back from the dead… like I did for you… but he said…" he trailed off, frowning at the tiles under his feet.

"What did he say, Hikaru?" Kaoru pushed.

"He said I could bring him back from the dead."

Kaoru was quiet for a moment with a look of surprise written on his face. "That's impossible," Kaoru murmured.

"Not according to Dad."

"Say it is possible," Kaoru reasoned, "What would people say when they find Dad suddenly alive?"

Hikaru tilted his head and used his trump card. "Mom would be happy again." A hurt look danced across Kaoru's face but disappeared just as quickly as Kaoru turned his back on Hikaru. "And you would be happy, wouldn't you, to have Dad back? I know I would."

"Of course I would," Kaoru muttered with his back still turned.

"So what's the problem?"

Kaoru turned on him with watery eyes. "I don't trust him!"

Hikaru felt a flash of sympathy but he pushed onward. "I know he hasn't been exactly nice recently… but you have to understand that you were pushing him away." Kaoru scoffed and turned away again. "No, Kaoru, listen to me," Hikaru said, grabbing Kaoru by the shoulder to face him again. Kaoru glared at him. "Imagine if you were stuck in between life and death and your own link to life decided to take a pill to make you disappear from them? Wouldn't you be frustrated?"

Kaoru's glare didn't waver. "He isn't stuck. He could move on if he wanted to."

"But he stayed because he's looking out for us. Can't you see that?"

Kaoru's face crumpled and he looked down and away. "You talk as if you know him."

"And you talk as if you don't," he replied, placing a comforting hand on Kaoru's shoulder.

Sighing, Kaoru pulled away. "Fine, let's bring him back… What do I have to do?"

Hikaru grinned and clapped his brother affectionately on the shoulder. "Well, you need to stop taking the medication… It didn't seem to affect me, but you take to it so well. How long until you stop feeling its affects?"

"Well, my old medication only lasted a day at a time at the most… But this is new, stronger. It could last much longer…" He cast Hikaru a worried glance. "Do I really have to stop taking it? I've had a lot of ghosts interested in me lately…"

"It would only be until we bring Dad back. Then, I promise, you can take all of the medication you want."

Kaoru didn't smile. "Fine, but you better take responsibility for anything bad that happens."

"Nothing bad will happen," Hikaru laughed. "Well, we can only hope."

So sorry I didn't update in quite a while. I had finals and work and all that jazz. But guess what! My month off from school starts now! So that means more updates (between work, Christmas, and my trip to New York.) So look forward to that! Also, once again I am doing a little self-promo and saying that you should read my newer OHSHC story "Sanity's Edge."