The Search – Prologue
Tamaki blinked at the harsh rays of the sun. He slipped on his smoky sunglasses and eyed the murky pond with interest. A naughty cherub was relieving his bladder in the middle of the lily-infested pond. He winked at Tamaki conspiratorially and flew away.
He watched as the cherubim left a trail of emerald dust in its wake. The sparkling powder tickled his nose and Tamaki sneezed in succession. He cursed the little angel and he was sure he heard its childish giggle fading away.
A soft bobbling noise in the water interrupted Tamaki's irate thoughts. He squinted through his glasses and noticed that a brown wallet surfaced and buoyed amongst the lily pads.
He didn't know what compelled him to roll up his sleeves and pants. But soon he found himself using the lily pads as stepping stones to reach the ordinary-looking wallet. He jumped expertly from one green pad to another, timing his leaps carefully after the waves that were trying to unbalance him had already receded.
He snatched up the wallet and wringed it tight to squeeze the water out. When he flipped it open, an identification card on the wallet's clear slot proclaimed that it belonged to a Fujioka Haruhi.
The girl looked eerily familiar to someone he knew – someone he just met recently – but Tamaki just couldn't figure out who.
He decided to call his friend Ootori Kyouya because Kyouya made it his business to know everything about everyone. So Tamaki plunged into the salty depths of the pond and swam to its sandy shore.
"Welcome home, Tamaki-obochama," Shima bowed regally then straightened. Shima and his small family of maids, butlers, and drivers were standing in the middle of his sand castle's grand foyer, welcoming their young master home.
"Would you like me to take your sunglasses?" she asked politely.
Tamaki took off his tinted glasses and handed them to the old woman. "Arigatou, Shima," he said gratefully. "You're always looking out for me. By the way, what are we having for dinner?"
"Giant crabs, Obochama. We managed to get them at a special price from the Ootori family's Private Police."
"Mm, sounds delectable," Tamaki smiled. "I'll just be in my room for the mean time. Ja!"
He sprinted up the sandy stairs and went directly to the phone. He dialed Kyouya's number and waited.
As the phone on the other line rang shrilly, Tamaki looked up at the life-sized picture of his friends. He smiled fondly at them, knowing that he could easily picture them standing right beside him in this room.
Mori-senpai carrying Hani-senpai on his shoulders. Kyouya scribbling something on his ever-present black folder. Hikaru and Kaoru, their arms slung around each other's shoulders. And short-haired Haruhi standing behind the chair he was sitting in.
Tamaki frowned and glanced up again. One intricate frame was noticeably faceless and blank. Haruhi's picture wasn't there.
Ah, that's right, he remembered. He didn't have Haruhi's picture yet.
"Nani?" Kyouya's annoyed voice interrupted his musings.
"Kyouya!" Tamaki exclaimed. Then he suddenly remembered his reason for calling him up. "Er, never mind. I kind of figured what I wanted to ask you while I was waiting."
"You idiot," Kyouya muttered under his breath. "Don't call me again if it's nothing. I'm busy slicing cakes in here and their icing melts if I leave them alone. Ja."
And the beeping dial tone resonated from the telephone's earpiece. Tamaki stared at it, completely taken aback by Kyouya's abrupt exit.
"I'm sorry for intruding, Obochama," Shima intoned as a cart rolled by beside her. "I am here to inform you that dinner is served."
Tamaki looked over his shoulder and a feral grin crossed his lips when the maid uncovered a platter of steaming bug-eyed crabs.
'Oishii,' he thought. And dug in.
