Chapter 13

Kyoya walked into the breakfast room on Saturday morning feeling refreshed from a full night's sleep. His father, reading the morning paper, was at the only person at the table. He flipped down the corner of his paper and cocked an eyebrow at his son as Kyoya sat down. Kyoya knew this was his father's way of commenting on his absence from mealtimes during the past week. He ignored it and served himself some miso soup. His father snapped his paper back and turned the page.

"Do you have any plans for the weekend, Kyoya? Can we expect to see you at dinner, perhaps?"

Kyoya didn't look up from his soup. His father was hidden behind the newspaper anyway. "I'm not sure what my weekend schedule is going to be. I'll probably end up going out with Tamaki. I don't think I can commit myself to dinner."

Folding up the newspaper with a sigh, his father stood up to leave. "Kyoya, I work hard, but I make a point to put aside work for a few hours each day to spend time with my family. It would be nice if you could put in the effort to do the same."

Kyoya shrank under his father's gaze. "Yes, sir."

Satisfied, his father moved towards the door, but paused just before he left. "Oh, with you skipping out on family meal times, I haven't had the opportunity to tell you that the date for the sentencing hearing has been set for Monday. You're expected to read a 'victim impact' statement that our lawyer has done up."

The hearing. Kyoya hadn't thought about it in days. His heart started thumping. "Can we not just submit the statement through our lawyer? Is it really necessary that I be there? I'd have to miss school and…"

"Kyoya," Yoshio's tone was stern. "This hearing may seem like just an annoying inconvenience to you, but it is, in fact, extremely important. This attack was not just an offence against you, it was an offence against the entire Ootori family, and we need to show people who would try to harm us that we will deal with them harshly. In this case, we need to do everything we can to make sure that these criminals receive the severest sentence possible. For that, you need to make an in-person statement so that the judges feel sorry for you and not some crook with a sob story about how his mother didn't love him. Do you understand?"

He could hear the blood rushing in his ears. His head swam with dizziness and he had to clutch the edge of the table to keep from falling over.

"Kyoya? Are you hearing me?" Yoshio snapped in annoyance at his son's apparent lack of attention.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Make sure you contact your teachers to get any work you will miss." Folding his newspaper under his arm, Yoshio disappeared out the door.

Kyoya tried to breathe, but his chest was too tight, he couldn't get the air in. Cutting through the horrifying feeling of descending doom was the thought that he didn't want the serving staff to find him passed out on the breakfast room floor.

He lurched to his feet, staggered out of the room and up the stairs to his room. Stumbling through the door, he fell to his knees and crawled over to the couch were his phone was lying on the cushion. Gasping for breath, he sat on the floor with his back leaning against the corner of the couch. He fumbled with his phone trying to pull up Tamaki's number. His hands were shaking so bad that he could barely hold it. Finally, he managed to get the number dialed and heard the soft purring sound of the phone ringing. He clutched phone to his face, desperate to hear Tamaki's voice. The irrational idea that he was dying, and talking to Tamaki would save him, was taking over all of his conscious thought.

"This is Suoh Tamaki, I can't answer the phone right now, so please leave me message."

The phone fell from his hand. Kyoya squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw. His lower lip trembled and his face contorted while he tried to hold in his anguish. He couldn't do it. It was too much. Something in Kyoya snapped. "God damnit, Tamaki!" Tears streaming down his face, he staggered to his feet, grabbed his schoolbooks off the table and threw them across the room. Papers scattered everywhere. He was angry, he was miserable, he was tired and frustrated. Everything in his life was terrible. Nobody listened to him. Nobody understood him and what he was going through. Damn them all! He snarled as he ripped the pillows and cushions from the couch. Stumbling over to his dresser he began to pull out all the drawers and dump the contents on the floor. All the books on his shelves were thrown onto the floor. Everything in his closet was ripped from its hanger and tossed down behind him. He hated them. He hated everyone. He hated them all.

With nothing left to throw and his shoulders shaking, Kyoya sank to the floor and curled up in ball, sobbing. He struggled to take in air, causing him to gasp and cough as he tried to stop crying. He didn't want to live like this anymore. Things were supposed to get better with time, but now every day was worse than the last. He couldn't take this. It just hurt too much.

Kyoya lay unmoving on the floor. In his mind he felt like he was floating above himself, drifting up towards the ceiling while looking down at his body curled up on his side. He thought he looked peaceful, lying there. Kyoya opened his eyes. An uneasy feeling was welling up inside his chest. He sat up and looked around his room. Overlooking the fact that it was a mess, Kyoya couldn't help but feel like his room looked different and changed. Something was wrong, very wrong. He needed to get out, he couldn't stay here. He picked up one of his running shoes. He stared at it for a moment, then began to change into his running clothes.

Dressed in shorts, t-shirt, and a hachimaki tied around his forehead, he left the chaos of the bedroom. The hallways and front vestibule of the house were quiet and empty. No one saw him slip out the door and make his way outside towards the gates of the estate. The sky was grey and overcast, with the clear threat of rain in the wind. The front gate was open when he got there, a car having just left. Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped through the opening as the gate began to swing closed and started jogging down the street.

Tamaki emerged from the steamy bathroom riffling his wet hair with a towel. Clad in just his boxers, he padded over to his closet. A blinking light on his end table caught his attention. Hanging the towel around his shoulders, he snatched up his phone and sat down on his bed. His heart first leapt then dropped like a stone when he saw that he had missed a call from Kyoya. It would figure that the one time his friend calls he would be in the shower. He dialed his voicemail to hear the message but found that it was just a long recording of silence. Confused, he deleted the message and dialed Kyoya's number. It went to voicemail.

"Uh…It's me. Calling you back. Sorry I missed your call. I was in the shower. But I'm out now. So, uh, call me back. I'm around all day. Okay. Bye."

Tamaki sat staring at this phone, trying to will Kyoya into calling him back right away. It didn't work, and after a few minutes, he decided to get dressed and then try calling again.

Mori stood in the front vestibule of the Ootori mansion. Dressed for a workout, he had come by to see if Kyoya wanted to squeeze in a run before the forecasted rain started. Preferring to stand, he had declined to wait in the study while a staff member went to find Kyoya.

"Morinozuka-san? Hello, how are you?" Mori turned to see Akito coming down the main staircase. He gave a nod in greeting. "Did you come to go running with Kyoya-kun?"

"Yeah."

"That's great. He would never say anything, but I think he's really enjoying this running thing you've been doing together. But be careful with him, okay? I think he's still getting over his illness from last week."

"Okay."

Akito smiled and disappeared down the hallway. Just as he left, the servant re-appeared.

"My apologies, Morinozuka-san," said the staff member, bowing. "I checked with the Master and he says that Master Kyoya had been planning to go out with Suoh-san. It seems that he has already left."

"Okay. Thank you." Mori turned and went back to his car.

Tamaki bounced and fidgeted in his seat as the car rolled up the long driveway of the Ootori estate. He had spent the morning trying to wait patiently for Kyoya to call him back. Several times he had cracked and called, but it went to voicemail each time. After last Thursday, when Kyoya skipped out on host club time, Tamaki had resolved to give his friend space. To let him know that he was available, but to wait until he was ready to come to him on his own. It was proving to be much harder than Tamaki had anticipated. Sitting around waiting was excruciating, he could hardly stand it. Finally, after waiting all morning and not being able to eat lunch due to sheer worry, he decided to bite the bullet and head over to Kyoya's house.

The car came to a stop and Tamaki scrambled out. Bounding up the front steps to avoid the fat rain drops that had begun to fall, he almost collided with Akito as he came out the front door.

"Whoa, hey Suoh-san. What's the hurry?"

Tamaki bowed in apology. "I'm very sorry, Akito-sama. I just came by to see Kyoya."

"Oh, I'm afraid he's not here."

"He's not?"

"Morinozuka-san picked him up this morning to go running. They're still not back yet."

Tamaki knew that Mori had been taking Kyoya running, but he found it odd that they would be gone all morning. Perhaps they had gone out somewhere afterwards, or maybe they had stopped somewhere to wait out the rain. "Was Honey-senpai with them?"

"I don't think so. At least, I didn't see him," answered Akito. "I'm sorry Suoh-san, but I have to be going. When you see Kyoya, can you please remind him to call his sister today?"

"Uh, sure." Tamaki watched Akito climb into his waiting car and drive off before heading back to his own car. Slumped in the back seat, he pulled out his phone and dialed Mori's number.

"Hi."

"Mori-senpai, is Kyoya there with you?"

"No."

"No?" Tamaki sat up in surprise. "I just talked to his brother, he said you two went running."

"I went to his house. He wasn't there. They said he was with you."

"With me? I haven't seen him. Why would they say he's with me?"

"….."

Tamaki's mind raced. "What time were you at his house this morning?"

"About 10."

Tamaki checked his watch. It was almost two. "That means he's been missing for at least four hours, maybe longer. Phone Honey and see if he's heard from Kyoya. I'll call the twins."

"Okay."

Tamaki hung up with Mori and dialed the twins.

"Tono! What's up?"

"Hikaru?"

"Actually, it's Kaoru."

"Right, sorry. Have you seen or heard from Kyoya today?"

Kaoru scoffed. "The Shadow King? Yeah, right. Why?"

"I think…" Tamaki shifted nervously in his seat. "I think he might be missing."

"Missing?" Kaoru's voice became serious. "What you do mean he's missing?"

Tamaki did his best to explain what had happen to him and Mori.

"Well? What are we going to do?" asked Kaoru.

Tamaki tried to think. This sort of thing was usually handled by Kyoya. He was so good at organizing and coordinating things. He tried to think like Kyoya would.

"You and Hikaru go to the school and look around. Maybe he went there. I'm going to stop by my house. Maybe we just crossed paths and he's there waiting for me."

"Right. You can count on us. We'll keep you posted."

Next Tamaki called Haruhi to see she had any contact with Kyoya, but it just went to voicemail. She had a habit of ignoring calls and texts from club members on the weekends.

Putting his phone back in his pocket, he slouched back down in the seat and mentally kicked himself for missing Kyoya's call that morning. Something was wrong. He just knew it.

Tamaki paused in front of the school music room doors. His stomach fluttered in anticipation. He sent up a silent prayer that when he opened the door, Kyoya would be inside, happy and healthy, ready to give him a hard time about being dramatic over a simple mix up. He pushed the heavy door and stepped inside.

Honey, Mori, and the twins were all sitting at a table and Tamaki could see by their faces that Kyoya had not been found. Disappointment sliced through Tamaki's heart as he sat down at the table with his friends. For a moment no one said anything. Finally, Hikaru cleared his throat.

"We searched the whole school," he said to Tamaki.

"We checked the all the libraries, the gardens, and the classrooms," added Kaoru.

"Takashi and I looked in the gyms, all the corridors, even the infirmary," said Honey. Tamaki hadn't told the cousins that he and the twins were going to search the school, but he wasn't surprised to find that they had showed up. The school was the only logical place to look for Kyoya. He didn't have any other hangouts or places that he regularly went.

Dejected, Tamaki leaned forward with his elbows on the table, holding his face in his hands. This was all because he missed Kyoya's phone call. Kyoya was his best friend and he had let him down. Now he was letting him down again by not finding him. He could be anywhere. Tokyo was a huge city and Kyoya was out there, lost in it. Tamaki would never forgive himself if something happened to him. He felt a hand gently squeeze his shoulder.

"Tama-chan, maybe we should start calling hospitals and the police," said Honey. He rubbed Tamaki's arm in sympathy. "And we need to call Kyo-chan's family."

Tamaki lifted his head and looked at the small, blond boy. "Hospitals?" The idea had not occurred to him and now he was struck with visions of the dark-haired boy, injured and sick, lying alone and unidentified in a hospital bed.

Kaoru rubbed at an invisible mark on the tabletop. "You don't think that he would do something stupid, do you? Like, I don't know… hurt himself, or something?"

Tamaki stood up so fast that he knocked over his chair. He groaned in anguish and grabbed his hair. In his mind's eye he could see Kyoya standing on a tall bridge ready to jump. Tamaki felt like he was going to be sick. "Kyoya!" he cried and crumpled into a wretched pile on the floor. The other boys crowded around him trying to console him with gentle words, but Tamaki couldn't listen to them. Worry and heartache left him unable to focus on what they were saying.

Slowly, he became aware of a new sound. A metallic sounding song was playing. Tamaki stopped his keening and cocked his head to listen. His eyes widened when he realised it was his phone. He scrambled to his feet and started digging in his pockets. Pulling it out, he juggled it clumsily before he was able to answer it.

"Kyoya?!"

"No, it's me," said Haruhi.

"Haruhi! I tried to call you earlier. Kyoya is missing!"

"I know. I just-"

Too frantic to listen, Tamaki cut her off "No one has seen or heard from him all day. He's not at home and he's not at school. I think something might have happened. We're going to have to call the police and file a missing person's report. Then we'll start organizing a search party. We'll have to check all the bridges and tall buildings in Tokyo and—"

"He's here."

"What?" Tamaki's brain pulled up short as if he had suddenly hit the end of a very long leash. It took him a moment to process what Haruhi had just said.

"He's here. At my house."

A flood of relief washed over Tamaki and made him so lightheaded that he had to sit down.

"What is it? Did she find him?" said the twins. Tamaki nodded.

"Is he okay?" asked Tamaki. "Let me talk to him."

"He's…." He could hear Haruhi's hesitation and his feeling of dread returned.

"What is it? What's wrong? Is he okay?"

"Senpai…I think you'd better come," she answered. "Please hurry."