Chapter 2

Haruhi's POV:

Before I knew it, Saturday arrived and I found myself standing before the yacht that would take me from Japan and to the Caribbean. About a hundred yards to the left was the massive cruise ship that would take all but the host club and the five selected guests on the trip. Tamaki senpai, decked out in an extremely flashy yellow tourist shirt, bounced from one foot to another.

"I can't believe I'm taking this trip with you, Haruhi. It's like our first big daddy-daughter trip."

I rolled my eyes. "I've tried explaining that I'm not your daughter but it seems to go in one ear and out the other, so..."

"There you are." Kyoya senpai said, suddenly appearing behind Tamaki senpai and I. Trailing behind him was the twins, Honey senpai and Mori senpai. "Have our guests arrived?"

"They're late." I said simply. The five that had been selected yesterday were Kojika Hisakawa, Yumi Kimura, Korin Tanaka, Rin Yamada and Mina Akiyama. I didn't even recognize the names of any of the girls except Kojika. She was the one that had the jealous boy with the dark brown hair with her yesterday.

"We're here! Don't leave without us!" Someone in the crowd yelled. A moment later, Kojika Hisakawa appeared with two of the other girls holding on to her. Kyoya senpai brought out his black notebook.

"Okay, that means we're only waiting for Miss. Tanaka and Miss. Yamada."

"Present!" A girl with very long black hair called before making her way into view. "Korin said she'd meet us here after she finishes talking to her boyfriend."

Kyoya senpai sighed. "We're scheduled to leave in half an hour. She should hurry."

No sooner did Kyoya senpai finish speaking did a girl with freckles and bobbed brown hair show up. "I'm here, I'm here!"

"Are we ready, ladies?" Tamaki senpai cooed before putting an arm around two of the girl's shoulders. With them practically melting in his arms, we all boarded the yacht.

"Feel that breeze?" I whispered contentedly. The S.S. Ootori 4 had set sail right away with a favorable wind. Japan was behind us and what lied beyond was both foreign and mysterious.

"Yeah, feels great." Hikaru mumbled, his cell phone in hand. Looking over his shoulder, I saw that he was, playing a game on it. In fact, I was probably the only one enjoying the view. Hikaru and Kaoru both were using their phones, Kyoya senpai was on his laptop at one of the on deck tables, Honey senpai and Mori senpai were in the dining hall with Yumi Kimura, Tamaki senpai was off giving a tour of the captain's control room to Kojika Hisakawa and Mina Akiyama and the rest of the guests were in their rooms, stricken with sea sickness. I guess nobody really kept that in mind when opting for the smaller sea vestel.

"You guys are all the most boring people ever." I said just loud enough to get the attention of the twins and Kyoya senpai. "Here we are sailing the North Pacific and you haven't even looked up for all your electronics."

Hikaru and Kaoru both shrugged. "We're used to things like this. Usually we'd take a plane to the Caribbean. The only reason we aren't is because the school's rules for this trip is that we go by boat. We almost were forced to use the cruise ship with everyone else."

Rolling my eyes, I decided to try being a little brave and swiped the phones from the twins. "You'll get these back in an hour. Use that time to actually take in your surroundings."

"Hey! Give those back!" They both yelled simultaneously. Quickly pocketing the devices, I took a quick step back, out of their grasp.

"One hour and I'll give them back, guys. Try to enjoy this trip for what it is."

Hikaru practically growled in frustration. "Fine! I'm going to the dining hall!"

"Hikaru, come on. She's just trying to help." Kaoru whispered to his brother as he followed after him.

Realizing that it was a pointless effort taking their phones, I leaned against the railing and focused on the waves. I glanced over briefly at Kyoya senpai but one dark look from him told me that I'd probably regret trying to take his laptop, especially if it somehow was damaged while in my possession.

"If you're looking for something to do, there's a recreation room bellow deck." Kyoya senpai told me after about five minutes of silence.

"I should give them their phones back, shouldn't I?"

He didn't even stop typing. "It might be a good idea."

Heaving away from the railing, I hurried to the dining hall. There, I found Hikaru and Kaoru sitting at their own table in the corner. Judging by their posture, Kaoru was feeling a little tense and Hikaru was just plain pissed off.

Walking up to their table sheepishly, I pulled out their phones and placed them on the table. "Hey, guys. Sorry about earlier. It wasn't right to just take your phones."

Swiping his phone off the table, Hikaru stood up and stormed off. Wide eyed, I stared after him until he was out of sight. "Don't worry about it, Haruhi. We both know you meant well."

Sitting in Hikaru's vacant seat, I noticed that Kaoru wasn't tense, but worried. "What is it?"

"Hikaru's been short tempered lately. You know how our mom designs clothing for models and owns her own clothing line?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, our dad also owns a modeling agency. It's how mom is able to do all the designing for the shows. Our mom outright determined that Hikaru and I are going to take over for her and run her clothing store chain and designing company. When our dad was asked about his plans, he told us that we both needed to learn to separate from eachother and prove which one of us deserved his company. He's trying to pit Hikaru and I against eachother and Hikaru hates it."

"How do you feel about it?" I asked.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm as mad about it as Hikaru is. I understand him wanting Hikaru and I to find our own individuality, though. It's something that's been on my mind for a while."

I nodded. "It'll happen in its own time. I'm not a twin but I've heard of the bond between them and how strong it is."

"Oh my...Look at this order!" Someone in the dining hall's kitchen exclaimed. "Three bottles of fizzy water, an order of uncooked shrimp, a pound of one hundred percent cocoa chocolate and enough milk to fill an entire bath tub! All for cabin four!"

"I've been informed that the girls in Cabin four both have sea sickness. I understand the fizzy water and the food requests to help relieve it but why the milk?" Another woman in the kitchen said.

Kaoru chuckled. "I think they might have the treatment for sunburns mixed up with the treatment for sea sickness."

"Look at that." I whispered as I caught sight of the storm clouds out the window by the table. I felt that familiar shiver of dread go up and down my spine. "Those look nasty."

"Kyoya's been monitoring the storm. He said it won't be that bad." Kaoru assured me. "I'm gonna go and check on Hikaru. I know you don't like storms. Why don't you go sit with Honey senpai and Mori senpai till I get back."

I smiled as convincingly as possible. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. I might go and soak up what little sun is left before it starts raining. See you on deck later. If I'm not there when you get back with Hikaru, I'm in my room."

Nodding, Kaoru left the dining hall and I went back to staring at the clouds in dismay. Tonight is going to be a really bad night, I'm almost positive. The rain began to pour down then. At first, it was a soft sprinkle that was barely noticeable. Within five, minutes, it was so heavy, Kyoya burst into the dining hall with his computer under his shirt.

"Everyone, I'm ordering that the kitchen be closed! Return to your rooms immediately!"

The cooks within the kitchen burst through a swinging door. The head chef looked perplexed. "Mr. Ootori, what do you mean?"

"I've been monitoring the storm for the past couple days and within the hour since we set sail, it's increased in magnitude with no warning. In half an hour at the most, the worst of it will be upon us. Everyone should return to their rooms for now and keep their porthole windows locked tight. If I think it's necessary, we'll go to the storm bunker at the very bottom of the yacht."

"I'll turn off the stoves." The chef said before shooing the other workers. Honey senpai and Mori senpai stood up quickly.

"Should Takashi and I warn Hika chan and Kao chan?" Honey senpai asked, his stuffed rabbit in his arms.

"Yes, thank you. Haruhi?" Kyoya called to me, drawing my attention away from the pouring rain.

"Yeah?"

"Please go to cabin four and warn the girls that they should stay put until the storm passes. Oh, and try not to alarm them. Everything should be alright."

Nodding, I quickly left the dining hall and hurried down the hallway that led to the passenger cabins. Stopping at cabin four, I knocked quickly. At first, there was no response. Finally, a weak little voice asked who was there.

"It's Haruhi Fujioka. May I come in? I'm delivering news about the storm."

"You can come in." A slightly stronger voice called.

Opening the door cautiously, I just poked my head in. Even if I was a girl, they didn't know that. Having a strange boy enter their cabin would probably make them cautious. Both girls, Korin and Rin, were laying on their beds, their heads propped up by several pillows. The girl with long black hair, Rin I think, sat up slowly and I bowed my head.

"I'm sorry to intrude. Kyoya senpai wants me to tell you that a storm is coming and that you both should remain in your rooms. It shouldn't be too bad a storm so please don't worry."

Rin nodded and Korin did little more than turn her head. Judging by the beads of sweat on her face and neck, I guessed that the sea sickness must have been terrible for her. Rin seemed to either not be experiencing it as bad or was doing much better because she had it in her to smile. "Thank you, Haruhi. We'll stay put."

"Kyoya senpai also said that if it were to get worse, we could all head down to the bunker. I remember hearing about it before the trip and it's able to be disconnected from the yacht like a submarine."

Rin smiled again. "Thank you, Haruhi. We'll prepare for the bunker, just in case."

Nodding again, I smiled and left the room. In the quiet hall with nothing but the rain to fill the silence, the dread returned. Hurrying to my own room, I brought out my key and unlocked the door. When safely inside, the first thing to catch my eye was the storm tossed water hitting the porthole. When the first roll of thunder was heard, I sunk to my knees and covered my head. It was pathetic but it couldn't be helped. Sometimes I felt like I was becoming a statue when the storms were at their worst.

A knock at the door nearly scared me out of my wits. Looking up at the door with wide eyes, I shakily got to my feet and opened it. I almost sighed in relief. It was the twins. Both were carrying small duffel bags. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Haruhi." They said at once. Hikaru looked to be in a much better mood. Stepping aside, I let them in. "We figured you'd be scared and want company."

"Thanks." I said gratefully. "Has Kyoya said anything about the storm getting worse?"

"Not yet. He's turned on the intercom system and is currently staying in the control room. If we need to go to the bunker, he'll announce it. For now, we need to all have an overnight bag packed for the bunker, just in case. Bring clothes and anything you wouldn't want to get damaged, like electronics. We brought you an empty bag."

Flinching when another roll of thunder sounded, I took the duffel bag Hikaru was carrying and tried my best to ignore it while I went about throwing some extra clothes in the bag. I accounted for the slight possibility that we'd have to abandon ship and packed not only enough clothes for a few days but also my cell phone and the picture of my mom that I brought on the trip. It wasn't the one that was placed on the alter at home. It was a smaller wallet sized photo put in a plastic laminated slip and sealed, just in case it got wet. Zipping the bag, I placed it on the bed and took a seat on the small loveseat shoved against the wall by the door.

"Do you two want a snack? I packed some candy for the trip." I asked after a minute. For some strange reason a very bad feeling was eating away at me. I wasn't sure what was causing it though. It was probably just the storm getting to me.

"Nah, I'm good." Hikaru said before taking a seat beside me. Kaoru followed suit. We had been sitting in companionable silence for no more than a minute when someone threw the door open without knocking. It was Tamaki senpai and he looked very pale. His violet eyes were as wide as they could go.

"There you guys are! The yacht's staff are all freaking out and it's panicking anyone that overhears. One of them can apparently see the future and claims that the ocean is going to swallow us whole. The cooks and the maid all packed their bags and went to the bunker and nothing Kyoya says will get them out."

"Couldn't we just let them stay in the bunker to keep them calm?" I recommended. "If they calm down, so will everyone else."

Tamaki senpai sighed in exasperation. "That's not the problem. They locked the bunker and won't let anyone else in. One of the maids said that she was going to open the door for us and the fortune teller cook drug her back apparently and screamed that opening the door would kill them all. I think he's gone crazy!"

"What are we supposed to do if it gets bad? Isn't there another way to open it?" Hikaru asked. To answer his question, Kyoya suddenly made an appearance. Unlike Tamaki senpai, who had barged into the room, he remained in the doorway.

"There is only one door in and out of the bunker. Its one of heavy metal doors in the ground that leads right into the submarine bunker and it's manual. The only possible way to open it after it's been locked from the inside is with dynamite and there's none aboard."

"What should we do, then?" I asked.

"If worse comes to worse, the only thing we can do is migrate to the control room until we can coax one of the people in the bunker to open it up." Kyoya said simply. "Tamaki, you're the most influential one here. Try charming the woman who claims to see the future. If that doesn't work, I'll use my own way of persuasion."

Tamaki senpai chuckled nervously. "Let's hope it doesn't come to your version of persuasion."

The quick exchange of glances between Tamaki senpai and Kyoya senpai was enough to let me know that Kyoya senpai's persuasion was something very dark. Waving goodbye to me, Tamaki senpai hurried into the hall.

"Hey, let's relax." Kaoru said after a minute. His words were casual but I could tell he was forcing a smile. "Why don't we all play a game. I packed a deck of cards in my duffel bag."

Kyoya practically growled then. The phone in his hand suddenly began to beep. "No time. We have to get to the control room. The storm is getting worse."

A louder beep was heard all around them for a moment. "Mr. Ootori, this is Captain Koe. Your assistance is needed right away."

Kyoya put his phone away. "Get your overnight bags and put as much as you possibly can in them. If this storm gets any worse, it could quite possibly sink the ship. Get everyone from their rooms."

"We already packed for that possibility." Hikaru said. "We'll warn everyone else."

Kyoya nodded. "I'll find Honey senpai and Mori senpai and let them know on my way. The door to the bunker is down a flight of stairs in the control room. I'll let Tamaki know as well."

Suddenly, everyone was separating and setting to work. My mind practically in a daze, I grabbed my bag and opened it back up. As I shoved piece after piece of clothing in it, I began to wonder if I'd ever see my father again. Was tonight my last night on Earth? Is that why I've been getting terrible feelings? When nothing else could possibly fit in the main compartment, I opened both side zippers and hurried out of my room and to the medical supply room across the hall. Grabbing an array of antibiotics and antidotes for various illnesses, I packed them inside a fully stocked first aid kit box and zipped them up.

As I was about to leave the room, I paused by a small glass case. In it, almost entirely concealed, was a bottle. Judging by its shape and size, I guessed it was brandy. Well, a bit of alcohol can put people at ease. Taking it from the cabinet, I shoved it in the kit and hurried back to my cabin. When it was packed away, I zipped everything up and left my room.

"You take forever." Hikaru and Kaoru said at the same time, startling me as I rounded the corner.

"Everyone else is in the captain's quarters." Kaoru added on his own before taking my bag from me and heading down the hall. Arriving at the glass door, he opened it and let me walk in first.

"Finally! We were worried the storm made you freeze up, Haru chan." Honey senpai said worriedly.

Walking up a set of metal stairs, Tamaki senpai looked almost annoyed. "They won't listen. The woman has everyone in there believing that the bunker will flood if it opens. She's telling them that the water is already flooding the ship and we're lying to save our own skins."

Kyoya senpai, who was currently helping keep the wheel steady while the captain tried to use the radio to contact the helicopter that was supposed to come in to help, ordered the captain back to the wheel and went down the metal steps. I shuddered, not wanting to even know how he planned to lure them out.

"The radio's signal isn't strong enough, Mr. Ootori!" The captain called. "I can't get a hold of the helicopter! What should I do?"

"I'll try." Tamaki senpai said tiredly. Pressing down on a big green button, he picked up the radio mic. "S.O.S. Come in Ootori Copter 7. Come in. This is the S.S. Ootori 4. Please come in."

Letting go of the button, all that we heard was static. He tried to call in several times more but the signal never got any better. Hikaru threw his hands in the air with frustration. "What now? We're locked out of the bunker and the radio isn't working."

"Hikaru, it's okay." Kaoru whispered before putting an arm around him. "We're gonna be okay."

Running up the stairs, Kyoya walked right up to the door and began to press in a series of numbers into a keypad. When he finished, a low groaning sound filled the room and sheets of thick metal began to cover the glass walls of the control room. Even the stairs that led to the bunker began to lower before another sheet of metal covered that hole in the floor.

"What did you do that for?" I asked.

Pulling down a monitor from the ceiling, he pressed a few buttons on the control board and showed us a picture of a massive tidal wave coming right for the back of the ship. It was a decent ways away but nonetheless threatening. "I saw an image of this on my phone. It's linked to the cameras attached around the ship. Everyone take a seat and buckle up, now."

One of the girls looked up quickly, her eyes watering. "Are we gonna die?"

"I said buckle." He ordered softly, the seriousness of the situation heard in every syllable. "Now."

Putting my bag down on the floor I hurried to one of the metal chairs mounted against the walls and strapped myself in. With Tamaki senpai on my right and Kyoya senpai on my left, I held on to the seat and closed my eyes tight. I didn't need to see the monitor to know that the wave was getting closer. The sound of it was almost becoming deafening.

"Brace yourselves." Kyoya senpai yelled.

With my teeth clamped together and my nails scratching against my chair, I pressed my head back against my seat and locked the muscles there as the wave hit the back of the ship. One of the girls screamed and I felt myself tilt to the side before slamming back down. Hikaru yelled then and cursed under his breath before telling everyone that he bit his tongue and was bleeding.

Opening my eyes slowly, I looked at the monitor. It was currently flitting between different views of the water around the ship. When the screen paused on an image of the front of the ship, I nearly fainted. In the distance, fastly approaching, was a storm so large, you couldn't see anything in that direction but it. I swallowed the spit in my mouth but it hurt going down.

"Kyoya senpai..." I whispered. "What will that do to the ship?"

Looking up at him, I saw that his eyes were as wide as mine. "I don't know..."

When a gust of wind big enough to rock the boat around a bit hit, the monitor began to get blurry with the rain hitting the camera outside. Not even a moment later, the camera stopped working I looked back to Kyoya senpai. "What happened?"

"The wind must have ripped the camera and the casing around it up."

Korin, the girl who had the most violent sea sickness, leaned down as far as the seat belt would let her and threw up before crying dramatically. "I don't want to die!"

"Calm down!" Kyoya senpai practically yelled. "We're gonna be fine. It may not be as safe as being in the bunker but this area is very solid. We're just going to have to ride out the storm. Hopefully the radio will work once it passes. Be prepared for any sort of impact."

As soon as those words left Kyoya senpai's mouth, the boat began to rock violently. I couldn't believe this was happening. "Like this?"

"Yes, exactly like this." He said through his teeth.

"It feels like we're moving, senpai." I told him. "I mean that it feels like the boat is accelerating forward."

"I know. The storm is probably rocking the boat around enough to move it in a specific direction as well."

"Haruhi, everything's gonna be alright." Tamaki senpai told me. "Daddy's here."

I didn't bother to correct him. If the imaginary knowledge that I was his daughter was enough to keep him calm I'd let him go on believing it. It became very clear since we all buckled ourselves up that I wasn't afraid of what the storm could do but of the sound of thunder and image of lightening.

"Listen." Mori senpai whispered. And we did. What we heard was not reassuring. Over the violently powerful wind, we heard a groaning sound. It was metallic, that much was a give in. Kyoya whipped his head towards where the stairs had once been.

"I know what it is." He whispered. "Someone in the bunker somehow figured out how to disconnect from the ship. Unless they figure out the extra code that turns on the submarine, they're gonna sink to the bottom of the ocean and run out of oxygen in a few hours."

"What can we do?" Kaoru asked.

A rush of water lifted the ship up in the air before slamming it violently back down. "It just finished disconnecting. There's nothing we can do now since the radio doesn't work."

I covered my mouth. "They're going to die?"

"They figured out the pass code to disconnect the submarine. If they figured that out, I'm sure they can start it too. The codes are only one digit different." Kyoya senpai told me. "I'm sure the worst of the storm has already hit."

"What do we do now then?" Honey senpai asked.

Looking all around him, Kyoya senpai looked almost lost for a moment. Finally, he let that familiar gleam hit his glasses and shield his expression. "Now...We wait."