Day 7
Katsuo Nakano woke around 9:30 the next morning.
He dressed quickly and rushed to wake the other members of the Black Onion Squad. Today was the day.
Once they were all assembled, they proceeded in an orderly fashion to beach house #6.
Katsuo purposefully knocked on the door. A woman opened it. She had short brown hair and starry brown eyes, and she was definitely Haruhi.
"Euh… Hi?" She asked in Norwegian.
"I assume you are Yuuna Himura?" Katsuo asked in Japanese.
"Yes, that's me." She said, switching to Japanese. "How do you know I speak Japanese?"
"I'd like to speak to your husband." He said, ignoring the question. "Is he here?"
She nodded and disappeared. A moment later Hikaru came to the door. He obviously hadn't bothered to keep dying his hair, because it was its original ginger. "Yes?" He asked.
"Hikaru Hitachiin?" Katsuo replied.
"Wha- Uh, no. It's Kazuki. Kazuki Himura."
"Mmm-hmm. Mr. Hitachiin, I have vital information concerning your brother."
At this, Hikaru threw all caution to the winds. "Kaoru! Is he alright?!"
"Yes, Mr. Hitachiin, for now. But he won't be soon."
—
Hikaru sat in the window seat of an airplane, hands clasping and unclasping in nervous anticipation.
Haruhi laid a hand on his arm. "He'll be alright." She said soothingly. After all this time, she knew Hikaru's anxious idiosyncrasies like the back of her hand.
"But what if he isn't?" Hikaru whispered despairingly. "He's dying. I never even told him where we were!"
"Sorry to interrupt," Katsuo interrupted, "But why not?"
"We disappeared, thank you very damn much." Hikaru snapped.
"Well, in a nutshell, there were a few attempts on our lives." Haruhi explained. Katsuo resisted the urge to whistle.
Hikaru tried to discreetly wipe away tears, but failed. At the discreet part, that is.
—
"Attention all passengers. We will be arriving in Tokyo momentarily. Please fasten your seatbelt as we prepare to land."
They fastened them as the plane started to go down.
"I wish we hadn't gone." Hikaru whispered to Haruhi.
"I know. So do I. But we're speeding towards Kaoru as fast as we can. We'll get there soon."
"I hope so." Hikaru said unhappily. "He's my brother, Haruhi. If I was dying, he'd be the one I'd want by my side too."
Haruhi squeezed Hikaru's hand. She couldn't believe Kaoru had cancer. It was all too new and shocking.
She remembered the last thing she'd said to him: "Goodbye Kaoru!" He'd been the one that had driven them to the airport. He'd hugged her and told her to enjoy herself. And that was it.
The seatbelt warning clicked off, and the monotone female voice said, "Welcome to Tokyo, Japan. Enjoy your stay."
Hikaru and Haruhi jumped up and maneuvered their way out of the airplane. Waiting for them on the runway was a long black limo with the Ootori family symbol stamped on the back window.
"Good old Kyoya." Hikaru murmured. "Always looking out for us."
They all piled into the car and drove off.
—
It was deathly quiet in Kaoru's bedroom.
Suddenly, the door burst open and Hikaru and Haruhi rushed in, much to the astonishment of the other Hosts.
At that moment though, they didn't care. All they cared about was the fate of their dearest friend and loving brother.
They came to a halt at his bedside, joining the semi-circle of people clustered around the bed. They stared down at Kaoru Hitachiin, one of the best people in their lives.
Dead.
Tears. Tears came, dripping down noses and plopping onto the carpet. Nobody knew whose tears were whose. In that moment, they all became one, mourning the loss of Kaoru. Hands found each other, and squeezed. Nobody spoke. It would have been beautiful, had it not been so sad.
Eventually, though, Hikaru broke the silence. "Did… Did he say anything?"
Honey nodded, eyes glistening. Mori put his hand on Hikaru's shoulder.
"He said to tell you, 'never forget to remember the days gone by.'"
