Warning: Creepy themes and instances of non/dubious consent in the future.

The East corridor proved to be as unsettling as the West. And unlike the latter, no glowing candelabras lined the dark passageway. Only the beam of Kyoya's flashlight and the faint, pale luminance of the full moon through the soaring windows of the hall lit their path. The floors resumed the black and white checkered marble from the foyer, the boys' footsteps clapping upon the stone and Tamaki's occasional gasp at an unexpected crouching stone gargoyle the only sounds in the hollow silence.

Not as much as a sigh had passed between the four, save for Nekozawa's endless curiosity in the demon at his side. He watched Kaoru's shadow from a distance that anyone else would have found smothering, a creepy grin playing beneath his hood all the while. When he thought it wasn't looking, he even stole a sniff or two. Shadow Kaoru let the invasive inspection carry on, keeping his duct taped arms obediently clasped at his sides. He spared Nekozawa a vaguely amused glance every once in a while, but the bulk of his attention settled on the two boys on their left.

Tamaki and Kyoya strolled in complete silence, an unusual gap between the two as they kept slightly ahead of the group, occasionally stopping to poke their heads into the empty chambers that lined the corridor. Dark vacant sitting areas where portraits of black felines sulked from the walls and dusty grey chaise sofas settled noisily into the floors. Showcase rooms that housed Victorian dressed porcelain dolls with black marbles for eyes watching them vacantly from glass chiffonier prisons. There was even a music room. But still no Haruhi.

Tamaki's frame tensed more and more with each futile room scan, his shallow breathing joining the rapt clatter of their footsteps and the occasional "Fufu." Are we walking fast enough? he thought, the panic rising for the dozenth time in the pit of his stomach and clawing up his insides. He stared into the mysterious dark maw just ahead of the flashlight's reach and used all of his willpower to reign in the gnawing urge to charge forward and meet it. He couldn't panic. Good fathers always kept their cool when their daughters were in peril. Like Liam Neeson, he nodded to himself. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, he couldn't help but avert his gaze in Kyoya's direction. The Shadow King appeared to be in deep thought as well, brow furrowed. Tamaki knew the feeling well and it more than unnerved him to see it etched across the features of his normally dispassionate best friend.

But why did the thought of Kyoya's shadow pursuing Haruhi bother him so much? Kyoya was 'Mommy' after all and Haruhi was his youngest. Of course she meant a lot to him. And then Hikaru was her brother…

We both know you like Haruhi that way, Kaoru's conversation with Hikaru echoed back to him.

Something tight and heavy curled at the mount of Tamaki's stomach to crowd his throat and, suddenly, he felt very sick. That way? Weren't they a family. Swallowing the feeling back down, he shook his head and set his eyes forward again into the beckoning dark.

Kyoya's hand gripped the flashlight just a bit tighter when he felt Tamaki's concerned eyes inspect him for what was probably the tenth time in the past five minutes. He let a deep exhalation escape through his nose, adjusting his glasses in agitation. He had grown accustomed to the role of fixer to whatever problem ailed Tamaki and the rest of the club, but it seemed he'd now involuntarily become part of that problem. He felt out of place and worse, exposed. But perhaps more pressingly, he was confused.

For the first time in his life, he openly resented his callous upbringing. The manner in which he was raised proved to be fundamental in terms of business and manipulation tactics, but in a situation like this, no matter how unlikely, it left him utterly defenseless. He still hadn't completely shed the deeply ingrained idea that emotions were weakness and he likely never would in entirety. His innermost feelings were still largely a puzzle to him and one that he mostly preferred to leave undone.

But then, he wasn't as dense as Tamaki. Though not keen on surrendering his reputation as an egoist, deep down he knew that he too experienced human emotion. Haruhi's observation that he received some emotional benefit from her and the rest of the club was more than just "an interesting notion". His brow knitted tighter as he struggled to access his psyche. He cared for Haruhi's well-being as demonstrated by the lurching panic that bubbled within him every time he imagined his shadow with her. He respected her nerve and her intelligence— which meant a lot coming from him. If it weren't for her low social status and other conflicting factors, he could perhaps even see her in another light. She was an important part of the puzzle that joined his sentiments together. He knew that. So then, why did he feel as though the pieces didn't quite add up?

In addition, if his shadow really had kidnapped Haruhi, why hadn't it acted? He hadn't felt anything like the pain Kaoru experienced in the show room. And how had Hikaru's shadow stolen her away? Had Hani's shadow been honest with them in the first place? He clenched his teeth, the tremor in his fingers returning.

"Kyoya." He felt a hand on his shoulder and immediately snapped out of the harrowing daze to register Tamaki's weak grin.

"Don't worry, Mommy," Tamaki held up a peace sign. "We'll rescue our daughter."

"Right." Kyoya responded with a slight nod before averting his gaze, too frustrated to engage Tamaki's delusions. The idiot was truly hopeless.

"So I'm curious about your battle strategy," Shadow Kaoru spoke, the vaguely amused grin still playing on his lips as he strolled calmly down the hall, Nekozawa close at his side. "Surely you don't plan on attacking my brother head on," he smirked. "Because that worked out so well for you the first time."

"It's simple," Tamaki responded, nodding resolutely to himself. Turning to face everyone, he slammed his fist down into his palm. "Kyoya will act as a distraction." He leaned in to whisper to Shadow Kaoru and Nekozawa. "He already appears demonic so Hikaru's shadow will think it's Kyoya's actual shadow come to take Haruhi back!" He receded away with a nervous wink at Kyoya before going on in his regular tone. "While they engage in demon battle, Nekozawa-senpai, you," he eyed the shadow apprehensively. "And I will grab Haruhi, signal Kyoya and carry her away into the— Ow!"" Tamaki exclaimed as the flashlight rapped upon the back of his head.

"You are aware that this isn't one of your fever dreams?" Kyoya sighed exasperatedly before addressing Kaoru's shadow. "If you really want to assist us and you want revenge on Hikaru's shadow, you can act as bait and face him head on," he advised. "Regardless, when we find them, we'll lay low until an opportunity presents itself to rescue Haruhi."

Nekozawa and Shadow Kaoru both gave him a thumbs up.

"Fufu," Nekozawa chuckled. "Excellent plan, Kyo-kun!"

Tamaki moped as he trudged ahead of them, shoulders slumped. He liked his plan better… He couldn't just stand by and wait while that delinquent Demon Hikaru toyed with his Haruhi. Or worse— marked her! He frowned, realizing that he wasn't quite certain what the mark even was.

"Nekozawa-senpai," he started, glancing over his shoulder. "What exactly is the mark anyway?" He fidgeted with his fingers. "It won't burn her, will it?" In his inner mind, an image billowed into focus. Shadow Hikaru chuckled wickedly as he loomed over Haruhi with an orange hot poker in hand, a group of demon monks in robes chanting all around them. Haruhi shrieked in terror as the vision evaporated and an angry quiver shook Tamaki's entire form.

Shadow Kaoru snorted at him, masking laughter.

"The mark doesn't have to be literal, Suoh-kun," Nekozawa leaned into Tamaki's headspace causing him to flinch. "And if it is, it's usually accompanied by some sort of ceremony," he explained in macabre glee. "Like the victim's sacrifice!"

Tamaki's eyes grew frightfully wide, a high pitched gurgling noise escaping his lips.

"But since Hametsu's wife lived long after Hametsu himself was turned into shadow, that's probably not the case," Nekozawa concluded, an edge of disappointment in his tone. "Perhaps a fireside ritual with skulls and—"

Kaoru's shadow laughed openly now, as much malice lurking behind his eyes as it had in the showroom. "The mark isn't accompanied by some silly dance or a sacrifice. Its purpose is to capture the affections of those most important to us," it went on. "It succeeds if we can create a stronger bond with them than our human counterpart." He smiled wickedly at Tamaki. "Even just for a moment."

Tamaki blinked, dumbfounded. "But how can anyone create a bond that strong in just one night?" he frowned, cradling his chin in thought. "It could take years to build that kind of connection."

"There are other methods." Kaoru grinned devilishly, his tongue slipping languidly from his mouth and tracing the contours of his lips sensuously as he observed the three, anticipating their reactions. They all paused mid-walk. Kyoya stiffened, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose where he made no move to reposition them. Tamaki stared blankly at Kaoru's shadow for a time when the light suddenly began to settle on him, the whites of his eyes growing steadily, his features blanching.

"Fufufu… Shadow-san!" Nekozawa blushed underneath the hood and gave Shadow Kaoru a playful shove before immediately cringing at the hardness of the demon's shoulders. "You're so dirty!" he chuckled through the pain. "But that makes sense. Shadow demons are classified as incubi and what's more, they're generally loveless creatures," he explained excitedly. "The closest thing they'd be able to equate to love is… Suoh-kun?" The lecture trailed off mid-sentence when Tamaki began to tremble violently. "Suo-" Nekozawa started before Tamaki shot forward, off into a blur.

"HARUHIIII!" Tamaki cried desperately as he sailed down the corridor, out of the flashlight's beam and into darkness. "HARUHI!"

"Tamaki!" Kyoya called after him, maneuvering the flashlight in a frenzied attempt to keep it trained on the blond. He cursed when the vague bobbing blur vanished into shadow, leaving only distant, shrill cries of Haruhi's name in its wake. "Idiot," he grunted before taking off after him into the looming blackness. "Tamaki!"

Nekozawa and Kaoru's shadow watched as both boys disappeared down the corridor.

Shadow Kaoru sighed, a ghost of the wicked grin still playing on his lips. "Things are unraveling pretty fast, eh?"

Nekozawa nodded with a frown, his camera phone in hand. "And I'm running out of gigabytes…"

"Haruhi!" Tamaki sprinted down the corridor, arms pumping wildly as he charged into room after empty room, using only the sparing moonlight to guide his path, his fears forgotten. A candlelit reading room. A dusty, vacant theater. A narrow bathroom with missing tiles. No Haruhi. No Haruhi. No Haruhi. Grunting, he propelled himself further down the corridor, ignoring the aching in his back and legs from his earlier confrontation with the shadows. He had to find Haruhi. He had to. Before… The image of her smiling face appeared in his mind, pure and honest without any of the usual frilly trimmings that his inner mind adorned her with. He couldn't bear the thought of… He shook his head, his pace quickening to a dangerous speed as he neared the edge of the corridor. He wouldn't let that happen to Haruhi!

Tamaki let out a choked cry as he barreled into a suit of armor, a chorus of discordant clanging piercing the silence, ricocheting down the corridor, and disappearing into the dark. He lay stomach first over the disjointed mess of metal limbs and torso, his own shoulders and sides now aching as badly as his back and legs. Groaning, he pulled himself to his knees with a pained grunt. This pain was nothing compared to the strife of a concerned father! Gritting his teeth, he started to push himself from the marble when he heard it. Laughter so hauntingly familiar that his skin went numb. Hikaru's shadow.

"Hey!" he roared, leaping to his feet, eyes readjusting to the dim corridors. "Where are you?! Where's Haruhi?!"

The laughter brushed against his ears once again and he flinched, eyes darting further down the lonely, moonlit corridor and then back from whence he came. The voice could have easily been projecting from anywhere. It somehow managed to lurk just behind him and far out into the gaping black sea beyond windows all at once.

"Godammit," he cursed, fists tightening. "SHOW YOUR—"

A sickeningly familiar shriek erupted from somewhere at the very end of the corridor and Tamaki's breathing lapsed, pupils narrowing. He lifted a hand to the wall to steady himself as the scream tore through him again, searing fire deep into his skin and twisting his insides. For a second he thought he might vomit, but the shock quickly gave over to something he rarely let himself feel, let alone exhibit— rage.

"HARUHI!" he roared, shooting off mindlessly toward the edge of the corridor, the half lit sneers of stony gargoyles and empty suits of armor forgotten. More and more images of the commoner invaded his vision. Haruhi musing thoughtfully over a grocery coupon book. Haruhi welcoming guests at the club. Haruhi giving him that unamused stare that was blank but penetrating all the same. How could anyone dream of hurting her?! Panting, he veered with uncharacteristic prowess in and out between the statues when he finally reached the end of the hall. Or rather the beginning of what seemed to be a library. He veered past the greyed, cracked white pillars of the antechamber and into the candlelit confines of the wide expanse where gently swaying candelabras hung from the ceiling and the strident scent of aged parchment and dust hit his nostrils immediately. Worn, leather bound volumes and browning scriptures scattered the rectangular tables and more book shelves than he could ever dream of reading through in his life time loomed over him from every side. A winding oak staircase scaled at least four floors and the archway that had led him there seemed to diverge in the middle and branch out into several smaller corridors, all lined with books and odd displays— straw dolls, skeletal structures, and globes that didn't in the least resemble the planet Earth. Swallowing hard, he slowed upon reaching the center of the main library chamber, sweat drenching his brow, shoulders drooping toward the scarlet carpet. How was he ever going to find Haruhi in this maze?

"MiLord," the voice breathed teasingly against his ear and he knew it wasn't the playful, older Hitachiin he was used to.

"HARUHI!" he blared out into the empty, dust tinged air. "WHERE IS SHE?!"

When he just received a low snicker in response, he seized his head, threaded his fingers roughly through the ruffled blond. But then… That time the voice had sounded fairly focused. He lifted his head up in the direction of the laughter to find the dimmest of the narrow corridors before him, a pathway into shadow formed by book shelves and unlit gothic overhead lamps. He started to follow it when something seized him roughly by the back collar of his tank top.

"You idiot!" Kyoya seethed through gritted teeth, struggling to adjust his skewed glasses with shaky fingers, his breathing labored from running. "You can't just take off like that!"

"But Haruhi—" Tamaki started, eyes wild. "We have to hurry! Hikaru's shadow—"

"You saw him?" Kyoya hunched over, his fingers pressing into his knees, breathing steadying.

"He—" Tamaki started, cutting off abruptly when Hikaru's laughter pressed harshly against both their ears. They both turned with a jolt in its direction.

"We're not moving fast enough!" Tamaki seized Kyoya by the wrist and tugged him toward the narrow, dark hall. He blinked, dumbstruck when Kyoya didn't budge. Instead, he grasped Tamaki's wrist in turn and leaned forward, eyes darting about suspiciously.

"Don't you think," Kyoya began lowly, though his common sense told him the demon could likely pick up every word. "It's odd that he's baiting us? That Hani-senpai's shadow told us where she was?"

Tamaki's brow wrinkled. "I don't—"

"MiLord…" Shadow Hikaru's voice cooed against his ear again and he leapt forward, nearly ramming into Kyoya. "Did you hear that?!"

Kyoya's forehead wrinkled. "Hear what?!"

"We have to go!" Tamaki pulled frantically at his wrist. "Why would they bait us?! Haruhi's the one in trouble!" he cried. "Don't you care about her?! You're her mother!"

"Tamaki!" Kyoya started before breathing in deeply, a sore attempt to keep the desperate tremor from his voice. Teeth gritted, he seized the blond roughly by the shoulder. "This is a trap." He spoke tersely, spacing the words as if he were conversing with a child.

"We can't afford to think like that!" Tamaki barked, twisting away from him. "What if it's not a trap?!"

"How stupid are you?!" Kyoya snapped, his grip tightening, eyes just as emblazoned, his cool demeanor completely vanishing. "It obviously wants you to follow it!" He threw a quick glance over his shoulder. "We need to wait for Nekozawa-senpai and Kaoru's—"

"No!" Tamaki finally wrestled his arm out of Kyoya's grasp. "This is no time to be cautious, Kyoya!"

No time to be cautious? Kyoya nearly popped a blood vessel. "There are shadow demons after us, you complete—" Taking another breath and resisting the urge to strangle him, he gathered himself. "I want to help Haruhi too," he spoke evenly. "I just…" He silenced, uncertain of how to voice the strange blur of sinister thoughts that hadn't quite melded into anything cognizant yet. "I feel…" The words seemed foreign to him and he didn't believe in intuition. "I think," he lied. It was definitely more a feeling, waving and leaping at the tip of his consciousness, begging him to grasp the situation, to finally "get it". "This is a bad idea," he finished, more callously than he'd intended.

"A bad idea?" Tamaki scoffed angrily, his fingers pressing roughly at his temple. "Haruhi isn't a business deal, Kyoya. She's family!" he spat into the Shadow King's conflicted face. "And if you really cared about her, you…" he cut off, his fists trembling, tears edging at the corners of his eyes. "You wouldn't be such a heartless bastard about it!" he accused. The words seemed to strike something in Kyoya and he silenced. When Tamaki realized that neither Kyoya's hands, nor his words, held him in place, he bit his lip, eyes lowering to the ground, a flicker of guilt passing through them before the former concern took precedence. With one last awkward glance at the Shadow King, he started backwards. Then, before Kyoya could protest, he spun around and sped forward into the dark hall. By the time that Kyoya began to call his name again, he'd already disappeared between the towering rows of dusty volumes.

Another cry pierced his ears, much like the scream from earlier and he cursed to himself as he leapt over a pile of scattered books. He shouldn't have wasted any time.

"HARUHI!"

He finally jetted out into a small opening— the very end of the hall. The tiny nook was vacant of candles, the only light stemming from the main library behind him. The ceiling had sloped inward as he'd moved further down the corridor, he realized, and the room felt more like a storage space than its own chamber. A narrow bookcase leaned against the right wall and a lonely square shaped table surrounded by scattered parchment and empty ink quills perched to his right. He ran his fingers over the wall nearest the table and frayed, olive wallpaper kissed his fingertips. "Haruhi…"

Where could she have disappeared to? Could they be scaling the walls? Did Shadow Hikaru have Spiderman powers? He started to glance upward when a sense of looming dread fell over him. Just out of his periphery he could see it. A floating sneer, eyes wicked, pale lips twisted in a grotsque sneer. "Hikaru," he choked, limbs going cold.

This is a trap. Kyoya's words echoed against the confines of his mind and he shook them away.

Forcing himself to turn toward the floating sneer, he blinked, confused, when the creature blurred out of sight, leaving nothing but a flurry of flesh pink and pajama blue as it vanished into darkness. Squinting, he neared the sudden opening in the wall. When he'd entered the room it had been completely closed off. There hadn't been another chamber. But now he realized that: One. Unlike the other three papered walls, the wall that supported the bookcase comprised of stone. And Two. Said bookcase had suddenly vanished. He moved forward into the gaping black and his eyes widened. Only it hadn't. It had only turned to its side! Somewhere inside him, a brief spurt of glee erupted.

This was just like Scooby Doo! Fingers curving over his chin, he surveyed the revolving bookcase entrance. He didn't even know these existed! How had it been activated?! He scoured the shelves, halfway shrouded by the darkness of the mystery chamber, for some sort of switch when Shadow Hikaru's voice pressed on his ears once more.

"I'm getting away," the demon teased and Tamaki's brow hardened. Swallowing his fear down along with his better sense, he stepped into the utter and complete dark and the bookcase automatically readjusted itself with a low whir. The dark room stood empty once again.

"Suoh-kun!" Nekozawa exploded into the chamber, eyes watery, the beam of Kyoya's flashlight illuminating his way. "SUOH-KUN!"

"I didn't know you cared so much," Shadow Kaoru raised an eyebrow at the obviously distraught senior.

"Suoh-kun is my favorite kohai," Nekozawa sniffed, using his robes to pat at his eyes. "We don't have a lot in common, but he's dazzled by the dark arts!"

"More like mortified," Shadow Kaoru quipped.

"He couldn't have gone anywhere else. This is the only room the path leads to." Kyoya sighed, leaning against the bookcase, his hand pressed against his forehead.

"What do you think they want with him?" Nekozawa whimpered from behind his robes.

"Eliminating the competition, perhaps?" Shadow Kaoru smirked, eyes vigilantly watching Kyoya.

"Perhaps." Kyoya sighed, fingers absentmindedly fiddling with the volumes on the bookcase before turning to Nekozawa. "We need a map of the estate."

Nekozawa started to respond, but Kyoya's mind returned to just a few minutes earlier and he gritted his teeth, temper flaring. Heartless bastard. Well, Tamaki was a clueless moron. Their team was dwindling fast in numbers and he goes and gets himself lured into a trap. He gripped the edge of the bookcase tightly enough for it to splinter, adjusting his glasses so roughly that they rose up his forehead before falling back into place. "That idiot."

Author's Note:

A bit late on updating, but I was super busy all holiday weekend. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's a bit of a shift from the Scooby Gang dynamic now that they've split up. Where do you think that secret door leads to?

Thanks again for the reviews! I'm glad you guys liked Hani and Mori's shadows. Your reviews are a lot of fun to read so please do review!

I am currently writing the next chapter and I already feel really bad. Can I borrow someone's sadistic streak?