Notes and Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own Ouran Host Club or any characters. Bisco Hatori does, so once again, I ask that you please don't sue me. Thank you.

CHAPTER 2: ANXIETIES

About a block away from the building, Haruhi was forced to stop running towards it. She tasted bitter ashes in her mouth, and her eyes watered furiously from the smoke and the overwhelming emotion that Haruhi was feeling. If that wasn't enough, the brutal heat from the fire had gotten to the point where she simply couldn't get any closer. All around her, firefighters rushed around trying desperately to contain the blaze and keep it from spreading to any other nearby buildings. Paramedics gathered up seriously injured tenants and drove them off to the various city hospitals, but the fierce conflagration in front of her held her in a shocked and blinding gaze. Raging flames lashed out from the rooftop, as though some demon force was mocking her and cutting her off from her world and the life she knew and cherished. She then looked around frantically, and noticed that several tenants from her apartment, including her landlady, were standing across the street a good distance away from the burning building.

But where was her father? Even from where she was standing, Haruhi knew Ryoji Fujioka's face whether or not it was covered in makeup.

Realizing the stupidity and possible futility of running back into her apartment to try and find her father, she rushed toward the group of people who shared the apartment complex with her and her father, scarcely noticing that two other black limousines had made their way to the disaster site.

"Haruhi-chan! Oh thank heavens you're safe!" The landlady who had lived in the apartment below the Fujiokas cried tears of relief upon seeing that the young girl was unharmed.

"Where's my father?" Haruhi wasted no time in asking the question. She had scanned the small group of anxious people who had been standing around huddled in blankets while emergency workers tried to comfort them. Some adults were crying for the loss of their homes and friends while children just wailed and hugged their parents. Other people talked quietly amongst themselves and tried to assure one another that they would manage despite this tragic loss. A few of the older tenants, however, stared fixedly with wide-eyed expressions at their rapidly-disintegrating homes and tried to make some semblance of sense out of the chaos. What was to become of them?

Haruhi's landlady hesitated a moment and looked into the girl's eyes. "Haruhi-chan, I don't know. I didn't see any firemen take him out of the building." The older woman looked apologetic as she said those words to her stunned tenant.

"What? Does that mean he's…" Haruhi forced her mind to focus despite the emotion that was threatening to take over and consume her.

Stop it, Haruhi, she chastised herself. Think for a moment. Just because the landlady didn't see him taken out doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't taken out. Maybe someone else saw him taken out in one of the ambulances, or maybe he made it out on his own.

Maybe there was some hope after all.

But before Haruhi could further question her landlady or anyone else as to where her father could possibly be, she heard two sets of rapidly-approaching footsteps.

"Haruhi! Haruhi!!" Two very familiar yet panicked voices shouted her name in unison, and Haruhi immediately knew who was coming for her next.

Upon turning around, she was quickly sandwiched between the slender yet strong arms of Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin. The auburn-haired twins held her tightly and rested their chins on the top of her head and snuggled her in their warmth. For a change, Haruhi didn't look remotely annoyed at feeling their arms wrapped around her. Instead, she felt much safer, even though she still feared for her father's safety.

"Hikaru? Kaoru?" Haruhi made some effort to look them in the faces, even though her head was still securely under their chins. Finally the grip on her right hand side loosened, and Kaoru stepped away and looked at her with wide golden eyes while still holding onto one of her hands. Hikaru, however, maintained his grasp on the girl and even started to tremble a little. He was terrified for Haruhi.

"Oh, Haruhi, you're safe." Kaoru told her, relief evident in his voice. "When Kyouya-senpai told us what had happened here, we were so afraid for you. Please don't scare us like that; we don't ever want to lose you." Kaoru's face was devoid of any of the usual mischief when he spoke these words. Instead, the younger Hitachiin twin had a serious face and concerned eyes that no one aside from Hikaru had seen. He held Haruhi's hand steadily as a solemn gesture of friendship and unity and tried to smile reassuringly at her. But it was hard to do so in this horrible situation.

"Haruhi…" From above her, Haruhi heard her name whispered in a strangled, shaky voice. Hikaru had not loosened his grip on the small girl even a little bit. The older twin shivered inwardly and outwardly at the thought of what might have happened to her if she had not chosen to study at the library that night. Up until now, only Kaoru had seen Hikaru display this kind of raw trembling fear he was showing, and Hikaru was at a complete loss at what he could possibly say to Haruhi in this circumstance. All he could do was act on instinct, and at the moment his instinct was screaming at him to protect Haruhi Fujioka with all of his strength.

"Hikaru, I'm all right, you know. I was nowhere near the fire when it broke out." While Hikaru was acting on instinct, Haruhi once again let her rationality take over temporarily as she tried to reassure the scared boy who continued to hold her as if he were afraid she would burn away with the apartment if he let her out of his arms.

The wind shifted, and a flurry of ashes swirled around the trio, causing Haruhi to start coughing. Kaoru covered his nose and mouth with the sleeve of his jacket and looked into the eyes of his identical twin, a silent signal that they needed to move away from the building that the roaring flames continued to destroy. Only then did Hikaru reluctantly let go of Haruhi and lead her towards the waiting limousine. With more than one worried backward glance at her former home, Haruhi was forced to let Hikaru drag her by her forearm while Kaoru pushed her gently towards the waiting car by her shoulders.

"Wait! What about my father? I can't find him." Haruhi allowed the panicked words to leave her mouth. "My landlady said she didn't see him leave. I have to know where he is. I have to know he's all right! And what about my neighbors? I can't just leave them! I grew up with a lot of these people!" Her normally controlled voice increased in volume and pitch as she craned her neck once again over Kaoru's shoulder. Once again, her anxiety was threatening to crush her mind. She was about to wrench her arm out of Hikaru's vice-like grasp to rush back to the survivors when someone else spoke to her in a deep yet controlled voice that had a rather strong French accent.

"I just spoke to Kyouya. Ranka-san did make it out, but he's been taken to the main Ohtori hospital in one of their private ambulances. Kyouya said he'd meet us there." Haruhi turned her head at the sound. Behind the Hitachiin brothers' limousine, Tamaki Suoh stood in front of his own limousine holding a cell phone in his hand. "There hasn't been any report on his condition yet," Tamaki responded to her unasked question as he made his way toward the twins and their friend.

The tall, lithe, blond teenager was clearly trying to keep his emotions in check as he closed the distance between them. Haruhi looked at his violet-blue eyes that displayed worry, anger, fear, and grief all at the same time. She had seen that particular look in his eyes at only one other time, and that was at the beach in Okinawa after Haruhi had tried to be a hero. This time, however, Tamaki did not grab her shoulders, since Kaoru's hands were already there, and Hikaru was watching him warily while he still gripped Haruhi's forearm tightly. Instead, he stopped in front of the small group and regarded Haruhi with deep concern.

"We should get going to the hospital too. Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai will also be joining us there." Tamaki stated as he turned back towards his limo. Nodding to the driver, who bowed low for his master, Tamaki sat himself in the back of the enormous black car. "Hikaru, Kaoru, keep an eye on Haruhi." The blunt sentence was spoken as a command to the identical redheads. Granted, Haruhi might have learned her lesson from the beach, but Tamaki simply did not want to take any chances given the girl's current emotional state. He cared way too much for the slender, petite brunette and hoped that she would survive this terrible turn of events. He noticed tears starting to build in her wide chocolate eyes and noted how she was managing to suppress them behind a blank mask in front of her senior.

Why can't she let herself cry? Tamaki sighed sadly as he looked out the window at her retreating form. He uttered a silent prayer to the heavens that she would remain strong and at the same time allow for the release of her emotional turmoil.

Wordlessly, Hikaru and Kaoru steered Haruhi towards their own limousine and sat the young girl between them in the spacious back seat. Not once did they break physical contact with their small wide-eyed friend. Kaoru nodded to the driver to follow the Suoh limousine to the main Ohtori hospital where Ranka-san was currently being treated. Haruhi sat still and straight against the plush leather cushion and tried to be stoic for the sake of her friends. Kaoru rubbed Haruhi's tense shoulders and smiled tiredly at her, but Hikaru still shakily clutched Haruhi's forearm while he stared at the immaculate, red-carpeted floor of the limousine without saying anything or even looking at her.

Maybe it was just as well she couldn't see his eyes.

TBC

A/N: Well, that was a longer chapter, but obviously there's still more work to be done.

I hope I haven't made Hikaru too OOC for anyone, but he is indeed pretty possessive when it comes to Haruhi (and Kaoru, but that kind of goes without saying). I've seen episodes 15 and 16 enough times to know this. He may not have very many people who matter to him but the ones who do are cherished as parts of his soul, and he would die before letting his loved ones get hurt no matter what.

If nothing else, I think I nailed Kaoru, but Tamaki needs to be developed some more. He just didn't get enough time in the spotlight in this chapter. Neither did Kyouya in the last chapter for that matter, but I digress. Don't worry, they'll get their chance. Everyone will get their chance.

Chapter 3 will probably match Hikaru's temper, in that it plans to be short and intense. Can you guess why?

And in case you're wondering, I titled this chapter "anxieties" in the plural sense because all the characters who have made an appearance have expressed their emotions in different ways, whether openly or not.

Hope you enjoyed reading this latest installation. Please read and review. A good writer needs her readers to keep her honest. (Heh heh).

Take care, and thanks for your comments!

P.S. I have no idea how many hospitals the Ohtori family has, but I get the feeling the "main" hospital probably has the most state-of-the-art technology.