Kyo hated the rain. He hated that it got him all wet, he hated the way it made him drowsy and miserable, and he hated the fact that it made everything look gray and sullen. The minute the rain had started, he'd tried to go back to the house, but he'd run so quickly and so far that he lost his bearings. And so, he found a somewhat dry boulder under an oak tree, and decided to sit there and sort out his thoughts until the storm blew over.

He leaned his head against the rough bark of the tree, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. He'd been taught to meditate during the time he'd spent in the mountains with his sensei, and it often came in handy after a fight.

He didn't get to meditate long.

"Kyo-Chan!" A loud, high-pithed voice followed by footsteps broke Kyo's peace. "There you are!"

"Leave me the hell alone!" Kyo jumped to his feet when he saw Mori and Honey approaching. He was about to storm off again to find another place to do his meditating when Honey said the one thing that could have possibly made him stay.

"But Kyo-Chan... To-Chan went after you, and now we can't find her!" Honey informed him, wiping the rain from his brow.

"She did what?!" Kyo's felt his blood run cold.

"She's looking for you! We haven't found her yet, and-"

"Freaking idiot!" Kyo clenched his fist, sweat beginning to run down his neck. "Why would she do something like that?!"

"That's what I was wondering too," Honey didn't sense Kyo's mood. "But everyone's pretty mad at you, so it'd probably be better if you kinda steered clear of them for a little while. At least until we find To-Chan, alright?"

"This is all your fault!" Kyo shoved both of his hands hard into Mori's chest. "If ya hadn't picked a damn fight with me, this wouldn't have happened!"

Mori looked at him for a moment, his eyes cold. He didn't push back, or respond in any violent or harmful way. Instead, he opened his mouth for one of his rare moments of speech.

"Go find her," he instructed, his voice icy with disgust.

"I'm gonna do it," Kyo got very close to Mori's face (having to discreetly stand on tiptoe in order to do so). "But not because you freaking told me to, or anything like that. I'm gonna do it 'cause she needs me to."

Without another word, Kyo tore off in the opposite direction, leaving Honey and Mori standing alone by his rock.

"You could have been a little nicer, Takashi," Honey took Mori's hand and nestled under his arm.

"No," Mori shook his head slowly. "He wouldn't have responded well if I had been nice."

"Okay," Honey shivered, and Mori plopped his coat down on him. "Can we take a little break from looking? I can't feel my hands..."

"Yeah, come on," Mori lifted Honey onto his shoulders and they began to make their way back through the forest in the direction that Mori assumed to be the fasted route out.

Honey sat perched on Mori's shoulders like some kind of comical little story book king, Mori's oversized jacket still draped over his shoulders. Together, the two of them stood so tall that Honey had to hunch down to avoid being hit in the face by some of the lower tree branches.

"Hey!" Hikaru's voice rang suddenly to their left.

"Did they find that girl yet?" Kaoru's voice joined his brother's.

Mori turned into the direction of the voices to see Hikaru and Kaoru, looking wet and angry, making their way toward them.

"I don't think so," Honey answered. "We were gonna go up for a quick break, 'cause I'm cold."

"So you're saying you know how to get out of these damn woods?" Hikaru demanded. "We've been wandering around for an hour trying to get back to the house!"

"I was getting worried we'd never get out," Kaoru admitted.

"Don't worry, Kaoru," Hikaru caressed his twin's cheek. "You're safe now. I'll never let anything happen to you... no matter what."

"Oh, Hikaru," Kaoru blushed and leaned into Hikaru's hand. "I'm so lucky I have you to protect me..."

"Let's go. Mitsukuni is cold," Mori turned and began walking again with the twins in tow.

Eventually, they saw the tree line and broke out of the forest somewhere around the hot spring area. From there, they made their way to the porch, where they found Shigure still sitting patiently and looking out at the rain.

"Did you find Tohru, or did someone have an asthma attack?" He asked.

"I'm just cold," Honey stated. "We were gonna take a quick break."

"That's alright, I suppose. Momiji, Yuki, Tamatree and Kyoyo are in there regrouping already, so it doesn't exactly make a difference," Shigure waved them inside.

Ignoring Shigure's hideous mispronunciations of Tamaki and Kyoya's names, they made their way into the nice, warm house. But the sight that met their eyes was not exactly what they expected. Yuki was on the sofa, still asleep, while Momiji, Ritsu and his mother ran frantically around propping his head up and making him tea. Tamaki and Kyoya were seated awkwardly in the armchairs across from Yuki, looking unsure of what exactly to do.

"Did you find Tohru?" Tamaki, grateful for the distraction, immediately asked when he spotted his comrades.

"No luck," the twins responded in unanimity. "We're taking a break."

"What happened to Yuki-Chan?" Honey pointed at Yuki from atop Mori's shoulders.

"He had an asthma attack," Kyoya adjusted his glasses. "If I'm not wrong – and it's very rare that I am – than he'll be fine as long as we keep him elevated. His breathing has improved. We just had to give him minor CPR."

"Kyoya kissed Yuki!" Momiji called from the kitchen, where he was helping Ritsu's mother prepare tea.

"For the sixth time, it was CPR. It was not a kiss," Kyoya sighed.

"Mommies aren't supposed to kiss other men, Kyoya," Tamaki sniffled. "How will Haruhi ever get over this trauma- wait... Haruhi!"

Tamaki suddenly jerked up from his seat, his face a mask of alarm. Hikaru had the same realization at the same time Tamaki did, and their eyes met in distress. Without any wasting another moment, Hikaru and Tamaki sped out of the room and toward the stairs, leaving a crowd of confused faces in their wake.

They sprinted up the stairs, falling over each other in their race to find Haruhi. They burst into the room she and Tohru had been sharing, and sure enough, she wasn't in bed. Immediately, they both set to calling her name and tearing the room apart looking for her.

"Where the hell is she?" Hikaru demanded, ripping up the blanket so he could check underneath Tohru's bed.

"I don't know... how could I have ever let this happen?" Tamaki threw open the closet door and stuck his head inside. "My poor little Haruhi, all alone!"

They frantically searched the upper floor until the only room they hadn't been into was the one Shigure had claimed, at the very end of the hall. They glanced at each other, and Hikaru slowly reached for the handle...

Author's Note: I decided I like doing author's notes, so you guys may be seeing them more often. Two updates in one day! I'm making progress XD

I know these past two chapters have been a bit more serious than previous ones, but it'll get a bit less heavy within the next chapter or so. Four very special guests are about to make an appearance! Next chapter will be up by next week.

Xoxo

-lubluebell

Chapter 11