I haven't written anything for this fic for a long time. Like...two months. Well, I finally found some inspiration to write something, so hopefully, it's okay. Reviews are appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

"Isn't it strange how things turn out?" Haruhi asked. She had called home, reporting the details of her case that even the newspapers would not know.

Call it inside information, if you will.

"I suppose," Kyouya replied. Usually, these details meant nothing to him unless it involved a company that he was interested in.

Haruhi sensed this, and responded, "It's just that the case is taking much longer than it should. I might have to stay longer than I anticipated."

"It's fine. Just tell the hotel to add it to my tab."

"That's not what I meant."

"So what is it?" Kyouya was never one to play the guessing game.

"What about Akari?" Haruhi asked. "She's young. She hasn't seen me for days, and she won't for a few more weeks, at the very least."

"She'll be fine. She's quite independent, you know. Really takes after you." He thought he heard a small laugh over the line.

"Well, I was just hoping that I could see her, you know? It seems like it's been years," she said. "I guess all parents are kind of like that…"

But that hadn't been the case with Kyouya. He had grown up when he was ten, or something like that. Childhood was a stage of life that he had skipped. He said, "We're fine. She won't be mentally scarred or anything. Don't worry about her, and just concentrate on your case."

"How can I not worry about her?" she asked. "I'm a mother, you know."

"You're also a lawyer."

"True. Can I talk to her?"

"I would, but she's gone at the moment. A school trip."

"Oh," she softly said. "Only a child and already away from home. See? They grow up too fast. I hope you're not corrupting her, Kyouya. She doesn't need to know how to run a company when she's only seven."

He smiled. "Don't talk nonsense. What could I possibly have to gain from corrupting a young girl?" He thought he heard her suck in her breath. Then he added, "Just win the case and come home. We'll go out for dinner. Just the three of us. How does crab sound to you?"

"Easy for you to say. You don't have to deal with an arrogant, balding social worker. Well, I won't take up your time. I've got to go anyway." A bit of sarcasm lined her words. She must really be stressed out, Kyouya thought.

"Fine. I'll talk to you later this week."

"Okay." He heard her hang up the phone. She was never one for drawn out good-byes. The dial tone rang in his ear for a few more seconds before he too hung up the phone.

The silence of the room nearly killed him. Tonight, it seemed especially empty without a certain seven-year-old girl.

Haruhi nearly gave up running around aimlessly in an airport. She was utterly, utterly lost, and she had no map. Stopping to catch her breath, she walked into an airport shop.

"A map, please," she gasped.

The clerk automatically handed it to her. She must have been used to it, Haruhi thought. The clerk's attention turned back to the television on the wall. It was showing the latest news on some corporation.

"-Group is making it final decision today. It's head–"

Studying the map, Haruhi determined that she was in the international terminal. This was bad. If those two were getting on a flight out of the country, she would lose.

"-oldest son also involved in the committee. As a side note, the youngest son–"

Haruhi heard the clerk giggle at something on the television. Tracing her finger over the international terminal, Haruhi found the nearest terminal. She would have to find a list of the departure and arrival times. The Hitachiins must be furious with her right now. She could just imagine them wondering where their favorite toy was.

They would just have to dealed with later.

"-missing. Whereabouts are unknown. Ohtori Yoshio's comments are–"

"Aha!" Her eyes widened. "If I go there…"

"-'no son of mine at all. I refuse to make another comment.'-"

The clerk was giggling louder now. A small crowd had appeared around the television set. "Oh my," Haruhi heard a lady say.

Haruhi lifted her head to finally see what the commotion was about. She stood there, mouth open at the picture flashing on the screen.

It was a face that she was decidedly familiar with. It was him. His impassive face staring at her gaping one.

Gathering herself, she straightened up, and held the map tightly in her right hand. She composed herself, but she felt that familiar feeling of victory creeping up on her. A wave of sudden determination and adrenaline flowed into her body.

I've got you now...Ohtori Kyouya!

"We've been disowned, haven't we?" Tamaki asked. "The horror of it all! Can you imagine the shock of this? Even now, I still do not understand the rigidity of Japanese society. Really, French society is much more lenient. They would not be overreacting like this."

"You're watching the news, just like me. Figure it out yourself," was the crisp reply.

Tamaki cast a nervous glance at his bespectacled friend. Kyouya hadn't said much for the past ten minutes. His eyes had been glued onto the television.

It was mostly about the Ohtori Group. But on the mention of Kyouya, Tamaki's name was also brought on. The two had no idea just how famous they had become. They had reached some sort of cult status, according to a young female reporter.

Their faces were repeatedly shown, as were the words, "young, wealthy runaways on a search for the meaning of life."

How had the media come up with that, Kyouya wanted to yell. What meaning of life. How dare they be called runaways!

This was not my idea, he wanted to say. It was all my friend. Arrest him.

"Should we get onto the plane?" Tamaki softly asked. "The departure is in ten minutes."

"Are you crazy? People are already beginning to notice us; I'm sure there's some reward if they turn us in like some criminals. Pull on your hood; people will recognize your hair," he said. "It sticks out."

Tamaki obediently covered his hair. "Oh, now I'll get hat hair," he mourned. Then turning back to his friend, he said, "So what must we do now? We're fugitives from the law. We'll have to run-" his eyes brightened up "-but we'll have a lot of adventures! Doesn't that sound nice? Kyouya? Kyouya?"

But Kyouya was not listening. He was thinking of new plans, new places to go. As expected, it would be him who would have to get them out, but with the news out...

...time was running out.

He discarded the worst of his ideas, narrowing them down. Tamaki now huddled next to him in anticipation, but he also sensed his friend's stress right now. Seeing the news must have been a really heavy blow on him, he decided. Was this, in a way, his fault then? He knew that Kyouya had wanted to be chosen as the heir.

Was it his fault for bringing his friend to this point? Especially if he had known the consequences? Mulling over his own thoughts, Tamaki withdrew into his own disturbed frame of mind.

Sitting next to him, Kyouya sighed. There were not a lot of options available right now. Action, Kyouya realized, would have to take place now. It had gone too far.

"Hello?" Haruhi had left the shop. At first, she had thought it would be the twins, but since she didn't recognize the caller ID, she realized it must be someone else.

"Do you recognize my voice?"

Haruhi tightened up. It's...him. "Why are you calling me, Ohtori Kyouya?" she demanded. She sat herself down on a nearby bench.

"Ah, so you've seen the news, haven't you? No reason to hide, then."

"What do you want? Why are you calling?" she said. And why do you know my cell phone number!

"I'm thinking," he said, slowly, deliberately, "of calling a truce."