Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies.

Warning: The story will mostly be written in first person point-of-view, and will contain mentions of depression, thoughts of suicide, and things within that category.

Many thanks to those who read, reviewed, alerted, and/or favorite-ed.

Chapter 6:

It had been nearly an hour since he and his twin had arrived to one of Kyoya-senpai's family hospital. An hour since the accident … an hour since Hikaru had argued with his sister… an hour since Riku had walked out of the club room…forty-five minutes since he and Kaoru donated their blood. Hikaru placed his head in his hands, letting out a deep sigh as he looked at the floor. He was vaguely aware of Kaoru rubbing his back in almost soothing manner.

"It's my fault, isn't it?" he weakly asked to his twin as he looked over to the still lit red emergency light.

"We're both at faults," Kaoru responded in a somewhat firm tone to indicate that he was not going to get in trouble alone.

Before Hikaru could say anything, one of the doors to emergency room opened and a nurse shouted, "We need a stronger dosage of general anesthesia immediately!" When she received the supply from another nurse, she went back into the Emergency Room without even sparing them a glance.

"That's the fifth time they've asked for it," Haruhi commented from his right. "I wonder what's going on in there that's they're using that much anesthesia."

Hikaru had to admit that he was worried about what was occurring inside the Emergency Room. It was one of the most nerve-wrecking moments he ever had in his life, almost as bad as when Kaoru had disappeared from his sight during the Halloween event last year. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and refocused on the matter at hand.

He glanced over to across the room where Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai were seating before his gaze shifted over to the rest of the waiting room. The entire Host Club had decided to accompany him and Kaoru, and he was glad that they did – even though he would not admit it out loud – because he appreciated the moral support. He and Kaoru would have called his mother to tell her the news, but she was in Milan for an important fashion week. Besides, they were afraid to admit to her that they had cause this to happen.

Despite the numbness he felt in his mind, his thoughts reverted back to what Honey-senpai had said an hour ago. There were times when he felt that Riku was more detached from the world than usual, but he merely thought it was his imagination since the feeling disappeared as soon as it appeared. Sure, he felt that her eyes seemed emotionless and lifeless most of the times; however, he thought that she was simply blocking him and Kaoru from her world.

'What a mess up relationship,' he concluded in his mind with a sigh just as a ding rang out in the silent waiting room.

Almost immediately, he and the Host Club stood up from their seats as the Emergency Room door opened. Three nurses wheeled out a stretcher in which Riku laid with an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth while one of the nurses was holding on to an IV stand as she wheeled it alongside the stretcher.

"Can I speak to her family members?" the doctor's voice startled Hikaru as he gave his sister one last glance before he shifted his attention back to the doctor. He inwardly noted that it was Kyoya-senpai's oldest brother, Ryo, if his memory served him correctly.

"Is there something wrong with Riku?" Kaoru instantly asked with a frown on his expression as the two of them approached to the doctor, who was standing a little away from the group.

"No," Ryo-sensei began but paused momentarily when he and Kaoru sighed in relief. "But there is something alarming we noticed during the surgery. It's not life-threatening; but I would like to know if you two have any idea why anesthesia doesn't seem to work on Riku-san."

"What do you mean?" Kyoya-senpai spoke as he and the others approached to them.

Ryo-sensei pushed up his glasses to the bridge of his nose, looking more worn out than a couple of minutes ago when he stepped out of the Emergency Room. "She woke up every ten minutes after we injected a dosage of anesthesia. Granted, it does not seem like she was aware of what was going on, it was still alarming. We will need to check to see mental state of mind when she regains her conscious for any signs post-traumatic stress."

"There is no need. That's because of what happened three years ago," Hikaru instantly looked over his shoulder when he heard a new voice spoke. He found himself looking at a young man with blond hair slightly covering a pair of blue eyes. It took him a moment to realize that he was staring at Nekozawa-senpai.

"Nekozawa-senpai, what are you doing here?" Tamaki-senpai shrieked in startle with his shaky finger pointing at the Black Magic Club's president.

Instead of answering Tamaki-senpai, Nekozawa-senpai merely loosened his black necktie as he approached to Ryo. Hikaru warily looked over to him, inwardly noting that he was not wearing the Ouran Academy uniform but white and black attire… something Riku had worn when she first arrived.

"There should be a record in the hospital's data system as Riku was treated at an Ootori Hospital in London," Nekozawa-senpai spoke in an eerily calm tone that somehow unnerved him. "Perhaps you should have looked into the file before you began with the treatment. Riku has developed some immunity against anesthetic shots, sedatives, and paralyzers. The more dosages she receives, the quicker she will overcome them."

"How do you know this?" Ryo-sensei asked wearily.

"All you need to know is that you should be glad that the King isn't here to deal with you instead," Nekozawa-senpai responded with a cold smile as he directed his gaze to Ryo-sensei. "And it is the Rook's duty to protect the Queen. Now then, which room is she residing at?"

x0x0x0x0x

Hikaru looked over to Nekozawa-senpai, who was walking a couple of steps behind Kyoya-senpai as the latter was leading the way to the room Riku was recovering in. He could not help but notice that the Black Magic Club president was not wearing the usual black cloak and the wig. It was as if Nekozawa-senpai did not need them.

Furthermore, Hikaru was curious as to how the blond knew Riku, and just as he was about to voice the inquiry, Haruhi cut in with a, "Nekozawa-senpai, how did you know Riku-san and that she was here?" The very question he was about to ask.

The mentioned blond gave a glance towards her direction, not saying anything for a moment as they turned around the corner. Finally, he spoke, "We went to the same middle school. As for knowing her location, Rion had some people to keep an eye on her since we don't want a repeat of what happened three years ago."

"Speaking of which, what happened three years ago?" Hikaru finally asked the question that had been bugging him since Nekozawa-senpai had walked in. "I've been hearing that phrase for some time now. And who the hell is Rion?"

"It's not my place to say; but what happened then had greatly traumatized her," Nekozawa-senpai responded just as the group stopped in front of a door with 'Room 421' imprinted on the nameplate. "We are hoping that by coming here for some time, she will be able to heal or at the very least, begin healing."

No one said anything as Hikaru shared a glance with his twin, who had his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He had noticed that Nekozawa-senpai did not answer as to who this 'Rion' person was. He supposed the question-and-answer session could wait since seeing his sister's welfare was more important.

With that conclusion, he watched as Kyoya-senpai knocked twice on the door before opening it. The room, in his view, could be considered a suite instead of a dingy hospital room that he had seen in commoner's television show. The first thing he noticed was Riku was sitting upright with her back leaning against a pillow; the second thing he noticed was the bandages wrapped around her head. There was also an IV stand that was dripping a bag of blood into her left arm while her other hand was holding on a television remote.

"Good afternoon, Riku. How are you feeling?" Nekozawa-senpai greeted smoothly as he walked into the room.

Hikaru let out a slight frown when he noticed how Riku perked up immediately when she heard Nekozawa-senpai. He inwardly shook away the feeling, and looked over to his sister who answered, "Umehito! I thought you were in London with Rion and the others."

"There was something Her Majesty ordered us to look into here in Japan. It seemed like you know what that is since you're here first," Nekozawa-senpai responded with a slight smirk as he walked over to her bedside. "And I received news from an Informa student regarding the accident. Shiki will be here momentarily as soon as he finishes investigating some things."

Riku did not say anything in response, which made him wonder if she knew what Nekozawa-senpai was speaking of. He was curious about who this 'Her Majesty', 'Shiki', and 'who or what Informa' are. Just as he was about voice his curiosity, the Black Magic Club's President pulled out a black box from his jacket and spoke in a calm tone that sent chills down his spine.

"Ah, I see," Riku remarked with a light chuckle as she put the remote back on the nightstand. Her gaze then landed on the black box with a frown, "Why are you taking those out?"

"A better question would be: Riku, why are you still resisting the anesthesia?" Nekozawa-senpai stated as he opened the black box, revealing five syringes with different colored liquids in it.

"I'm not resisting it," Riku responded with a small scowl as her gaze lingered on the syringes for a few seconds. "You know why this kind of thing is happening to me. And why did you bring those out?" she repeated her question while she pointed out to the syringes with a rather wary look.

A cold smirk appeared on Nekozawa-senpai's expression as he snapped on a pair of surgical gloves, which Hikaru noted that it came from that small black box.

"Nekozawa-senpai, what are you planning to do?" Tamaki-senpai meekly asked from the sideline.

"Yeah, what are you planning to do with our sister?" he and Kaoru interjected as they tried to peer over the mentioned person's shoulders.

Hikaru was a bit irked when Nekozawa-senpai ignored them, and pulled out a syringe with sky blue liquid. "Stop resisting it, Riku. Otherwise, I will inject this to you and force the anesthesia to overwhelm you until every last bit of it is worn out from your body," he threatened in a calm tone. "You know it's unhealthy for you to resist that much anesthesia."

"What are you talking about Nekozawa-senpai?" Kyoya-senpai interrupted as he pushed his glasses upward.

The first thing Hikaru noticed was a forceful amount of anger in his sister's eyes; there were so much that he was taken back by the mere stare. The second thing he unconsciously noticed was how the room temperature sudden dropped until it felt as if he was standing in the freezer room. The third thing he noted was how Nekozawa-senpai seemed to be calm despite all these changes. The fourth thing he realized was Tamaki-senpai's teeth chattering sounds.

"Alright fine, be quick about it. You know I don't like shots, needles, whatever it is that you call those things," the deathly calm tone in Riku's voice unnerved him. There was once again, the distant look in her eyes that Hikaru had saw plenty of times since her arrival.

"I'm sorry, Riku," that was all the Nekozawa-senpai gave before he pressed on a pressure point on her neck, instantly knocking her out. He then injected a syringe with sky blue liquid into her arm, and let out a deep sigh as he tossed the item in a nearby trash can.

"Now, would you mind answering our questions, Nekozawa-senpai?" Kyoya-senpai interjected with a business-like smile, showing that he was irritated by how he was ignored.

Nekozawa-senpai simply put away the black box back in his jacket, and looked back with a near exasperated expression. A contemplative expression passed by his visage, as if he was debating whether he should answer or not; but finally, he stated, "Depends on the question," as he leaned against the wall near the nightstand.

"Who or what did you mean when you said 'the King', 'the Queen', and 'the Rook' stuff earlier?" Hikaru blurted out as he narrowed his eyes at the older male, and added, "It sounded like chess pieces, if you ask me."

"I'm not at the liberty to tell you what those mean," Nekozawa-senpai responded in a solemn tone as he put his hands in his pocket, and continued, "However, I will tell you that the positions you discovered, Ootori-kun, regarding Riku's former school is simply not what you think it is. The only way you will find out is if you have done an unspeakable crime and we are ordered to move by Her Majesty."

"Her Majesty?" Haruhi voiced out in confusion.

Nekozawa-senpai nodded in response as he shifted his footing, and verbally said, "In other words, the Queen of England."

"Huh? Why would the Queen of England—" Haruhi started in puzzlement as she tilted her head to indicate her confusion.

"I've been wondering Nekozawa-kun," Honey-senpai cut in with curiosity laced in his tone, and when the mentioned person looked at his direction, he continued. "Why are you not wearing your cloak or wig like you usually do? I thought you have photophobia."

Instead of answering the question, the President of Black Magic Club merely gave a mysterious smile and shifted his gaze onto Riku. Wordlessly, he shifted his glance back to them and said, "I don't have photophobia, if that's what you're wondering. It's merely used to further enhance the mystification of the Black Magic Club; I mean, you've seen me walk around without them a few times before my helpers came in with those items."

"…What happened to Riku that made her overcome anesthesia?" Kaoru asked the question that had been lingering in the air since the talk with Ryo-sensei earlier.

Nekozawa-senpai ran a hand through his hair as he eyed at Riku once again, and then spoke in a low tone, "Have you heard of a move called 'Queen Sacrifice' in chess?"

"It's the act of a player deliberately sacrificing the queen, the most powerful piece, without recapturing the enemy queen or material of similar value in return, correct?" Kyoya-senpai answered without missing a beat as he pushed his glasses upward. When Nekozawa-senpai nodded in response, he continued, "What does chess have to do with this conversation?"

"I would have thought that you, of all people, would have connected the dots already," Nekozawa-senpai responded with a small sigh, and added, "If you haven't then, that's –"

Kyoya-senpai let out a noticeable twitch at the indirect insult, and immediately flipped open his notebook to a certain page. "'The King', 'The Queen', and 'The Rook' you spoke of earlier… they may have sounded like mere chess pieces, but they are, in fact, the positions you've held in Imperial Cavalier Academy. The Queen position is held by Riku; and from the 'Queen Sacrifice' move you spoke earlier… I can only conclude that something has happened. Correct?"

x0x0x0x0x

I let out a twitch when Umehito injected me with a familiar serum, the very serum that I frequently used to counteract against the anesthesia, sedatives, and paralyzers. As I succumbed to the medication, the numbness I had felt earlier in my body and the dull pain I felt on my head were quickly wearing off just as the darkness once again surrounded in my mind's eyes. I nearly smiled in my subconscious that the effects of the serum was that swift. It seemed he had infused his magic into the medication.

"You are Ren, are you not?" I heard a man's voice asked me.

I immediately looked around my premise, trying to locate the source of the voice, until I found myself looking a floating screen. In it showed a man, presumably in his thirties, talking to the auburn haired girl. She was dressed in a familiar Imperial Cavalier Academy uniform.

"And you are Jack Marquise, the modern Jack the Ripper, correct?" she countered icily with a glare.

"You truly are one piece of fine work," he responded with a chuckle, not answering to her statement, and continued, "You will be my next addition to my collection. You should be proud, my dear; after all, not everyone gets this privilege."

"Go to hell, you bastard," the auburn haired girl retorted in the same tone. She then pulled out a handcuff from her jacket, and said, "Under Her Majesty's order, you are under arrest for 19 counts of murders."

As suddenly as those images assaulted me, they disappeared and I found myself floating in the sea of darkness again. I could faintly hear murmurs of conversations even though I could not pinpoint the exact location of the source. Suddenly, I felt myself drowning deeper and deeper until I could feel the water subconsciously dancing across my skin.

'Wake up. Wake up! WAKE UP!' my mind screamed.

I let out a loud gasp in startle as if I was jolt back to reality. I found myself staring at the white ceiling, trying to figure out why I dreamt that scene again. I inwardly shook my head to will myself to forget or at least think about it at another time. For now, I felt as if I had been sleeping for a prolonged period of time since I felt rejuvenated. It was as if I was not involved in a car accident. Oh, how I love that serum's effects.

"—from the 'Queen Sacrifice move you spoke earlier, I can only conclude that something has happened. Correct?" I heard Ootori-san asked.

Judging from that statement, I had a feeling I knew what they were talking about. I slowly sat up from my position once again, and said before Umehito could say something, "I suppose you could say that."

"Riku! Why are you up? You shouldn't overexert yourself," Kaoru-nii immediately fussed as he came over my bedside and looked at worriedly. I had a feeling he wanted to push me back down, but at the time, he looked like he was unsure whether he should do so or not.

"Don't worry; I'm fine," I insisted as convincingly as I could, and shifted my attention to Umehito. "And I suppose you aren't simply here to visit me just because I happened to land myself in this bloody hospital, do you?"

I looked at him with a pointed look as I pulled out of the IV drip from my arm and winced a bit as I did so. I probably should not have done that, but I was getting nauseous looking at the bag of blood and the needle in my arm.

"You saw right through me, as usual," he answered with a wry chuckle before he let out a dejected sigh. I raised an eyebrow at his action just as he said in Russian, "Her Majesty wanted us to help the police investigate on the kidnapping of children; however, you already this, don't you? And I'm afraid to say this, but my dear Kirimi is one of the victims."

"She's around four now, is she not?" I responded back in Japanese since my Russian skill is still lacking despite the fact that I could understand him. When Umehito nodded in answer, I placed a hand under my chin while my mind tried to filter through the list of known criminals that we had captured but was released recently through probations and/or bails. "Who is your main lead suspect?" I finally asked since my mind is still fuzzy from the drugs.

"Riley Johnson. He bought a ticket to Japan four days prior based on the records," he answered seriously.

"Wait a minute. What's going on?" Suoh-san interjected in frenzy, looking more confused by the second as he tried to follow our conversation.

I closed my eyes momentarily as I tried to remember (as best as I could) if I had seen Riley Johnson, the criminal who was notorious for kidnapping children and human-trafficking them. Our seniors had sent him to jail seven years ago, when I was nine-years-old; but it was not a surprise that he was released early. "As I thought; so he left on the same day as I," I muttered as I finally reopened my eyes, and continued with a frown, "Sorry, Umehito; I can't believe I didn't see him. If I had known…"

The Rook shook his head in response as if to say, 'It's alright', and verbally said, "You didn't know about it. It's okay; I hope you don't mind being in a supportive part of this investigation."

I merely gave a smile in answer as I shifted my glance to my brothers, who looked slightly peeved that they were ignored. "It's not like the Headmaster accepted my Dad's transfer letter, so accepting your offer will be a wise choice. Besides, I already knew this would happen. You know I don't 'move' without a plan," I shrugged with a chuckle. "In any case, we need to move fast since we don't know when he had 'checked'. First thing first, call Rion and Jeanne since we need their expertise in this case. Then compile the data you have based on his travel record you've found. We need to figure out where he's staying at, and see if he had moved. Also, I'd advise you to give Jeanne access to the security tapes in your compound to see if he has any accomplices."

"So it's not just the Rook and the Knight, but the whole Imperial Guardians, huh?" Umehito muttered with a sigh as he pulled out his cell phone to begin making the calls.

It seemed my brothers and the Host Club had heard his statement since some of them – mostly Suoh-san and my brothers – were looking at us with eyes widened. Judging by their expressions, it looked like they have finally figured out the story behind the Imperial Guardians, or at the very least, the importance of it.

"Really, we take eyes off you for a couple of days, and what do you do? You land yourself in the hospital, again," a familiar voice commented as the owner of the voice walked into the room. I shifted my attention to the newcomer, and let out a sheepish grin at the slightly long raven haired male. His amethyst colored eyes were looking at me with a mixture of exasperation and amusement even though I did not know how that was possible.

I narrowed my eyes at his comment but did not say anything since I knew that I would be saying something unnecessary that my brothers or the Host Club did not need to know. Like, something about… my suicidal tendency… It appeared as if my comrades knew the meaning behind my stare since they, too, did not say anything. After all, they knew that I behave differently when it comes to missions.

"I brought over a new set of clothes since I highly doubt you'll want to walk around in that hospital gown," Shiki stated cheekily as he tossed me a bag.

I easily caught the item, and looked inside, only to find myself staring at my Imperial Guardian uniform. Wordlessly, I took out the articles, and in one swift movement, I pulled the sheets over so that it was obscuring my body from everyone's view. In that handful of 'seconds' that I managed to obtain, I quickly shed my hospital gown and replaced it with a white blouse and black skort. Well, it was mostly due to Umehito's magic since he had stopped time so that I would be able to change my clothes.

When the sheets fell to the ground (and time resumed as per normal), I had just finished buttoning my blouse as I looked over to Shiki. "Thanks," I remarked in regards to the clothes he bought.

"Not a problem. I came here to inform you two that Jeanne had already found the most likely place he'll be in," he commented while I tied my necktie. "Kamikawa in Hokkaido," Shiki continued as he pulled out what it seemed to be a guidebook that he purchased a local bookstore. "According to my sources, or at least this handy book, the town prides itself on 'the most delicious ramen in Japan'. She wants to double check the information with you, Riku, before we begin moving."

"What are you guys talking about?" Hikaru-nii interjected with an annoyed frown, and continued as he looked over to my direction, "And you! Should you really be up and about?"

"Don't worry; I'm fine," I responded as if I had not been hit by a drunk driver an hour or so prior. I took off the bandage wrapped around my head, letting out a wince when I felt patches of dry blood. At least they have begun healing. I then said to Umehito, "I'll contact Jeanne when I get home, and ran by the information she found again."

"And we'll handle the necessary preparations," Umehito nodded in understanding.

"Do you want to interrogate the bastard when we capture him?" Shiki asked while I put on a pair of knee-high socks, and then a pair of black stiletto boots.

A smirk managed to make its way on my expression as I zipped my boots, and looked over to the raven haired male. "As tempting as the offer is, I'll have to decline this time. Just make sure he gets the maximum sentence for his crime. I'll send all the information as I have everything pieced together," I responded with a sigh when I noticed my brothers' confused expressions.

Ah, I love being in what I liked to call 'mission mode'; but it seemed I still have a lot of explanation to do. That really put a damper on the exhiliateration I get from dancing with danger.

Short Profiles of the Imperial Guardians (based on information revealed thus far):

Alias: Rion
Real Name: -
Position: The King

Alias: Ren
Real Name: Riku Lucille
Position: The Queen

Alias: -
Real Name: Umehito Nekozawa
Position: The Rook
Special Ability: Black Magic

Alias: Jeanne
Real Name: -
Position: The Bishop (not revealed yet; but this information can be gained by the process of elimination)

Alias: Shiki
Real Name: -
Position: The Knight

Footnote: For those who were wondering about Nekozawa... The 'sudden cure' of being unafraid of light was taken from some of the scenes in the manga and anime where he was able to withstand them without his wig and cloak. As for his ability to use magic, Tamaki did believed that he could curse, and Nekozawa himself stated that voodoo exist. I have merely expanded those in this story.