oOoOo

The five of them hit the water, and their momentum forced them below the surface. The life jackets did their job though, and soon all five had popped back up gasping and choking. All of them that is except Kaoru. He had come to the surface, but lay motionless in the water. Tamaki and Haruhi swam toward him. Mori grabbed Honey and headed to a large piece of debris floating nearby. It turned out to be a section of the cabin roof. He heaved Honey on top of it and began pushing it in the direction of the other three.

Tamaki and Haruhi had reached Kaoru. He was unconscious but still breathing. Blood trickled from a gash on his forehead. He must have hit it on a rock or the boat as they went down. They grabbed his life jacket and began to pull him toward Mori and the makeshift raft. Haruhi climbed on first, and she and Honey helped to pull Kaoru's limp body aboard. Mori and Tamaki remained in the water and began to gather all the flotsam and jetsam that they could. They grabbed anything they thought might be useful: a length of rope, a remnant of sail cloth, seat cushions, Honey's floatation ring.

The storm began to subside almost as quickly as it had arrived. The waves calmed and the rain stopped. Haruhi could see the sun peeking through the clouds in the distance; shining down in rays as though an angel might suddenly appear. She scanned the surface of the water for any sign of the two missing boys. All she saw was debris from the wrecked sailboat.

"How's Kaoru?" Tamaki asked as he deposited a sack he had found in the water onto the raft.

"Not good," she said, frowning. "We need to find something to bandage his head."

"Check and see what's in here," he pushed the soggy bundle toward her. It was Hikaru's knapsack. It still contained her bathing suit, the towels they had used that morning, and two and a half bottles of water. She had not finished the one Hikaru had given her at the hot spring. The towels proved too difficult to tear, so she pressed the corner of one against Kaoru's wound, hoping to stanch the blood. She placed another beneath his head.

She looked down sadly at the unconscious boy. He looked as though he were merely sleeping, if not for the blood seeping though the towel. Perhaps it was for the best that he was not awake. He would be frantic about his missing twin. How had things gotten so bad so quickly? Just that morning they had been having a wonderful time on a tropical island, and now it was as if the world had been torn apart. Haruhi wished she had trusted her instincts and insisted that they not go sailing. But she didn't want to spoil everyone's fun. How could she know what would happen?

It was a tight squeeze, but Tamaki and Mori managed to climb on to the cabin roof with the others. They all sat in shock, contemplating their hopeless situation. Haruhi was the first to break the silence. "Now what?" was all she could think to say.

"We have to try to find Kyoya and Hikaru. Maybe we could paddle back there," Tamaki suggested.

"Does anyone know which direction that might be?" asked Haruhi. They all looked around in dismay. Other than the few rocks protruding from the water, they had no point of reference. They could see some islands in the distance, but they all looked the same. They had no idea in which direction the boys might lie.

"KYO-CHAN! HIKA-CHAN!" Honey called out repeatedly, as loudly as he could, but no response came. "They're gone!" he sobbed, his voice hoarse. He burst into tears. Mori put a comforting arm around him.

Seeing Honey cry, Haruhi could hold back no longer. Large, wet drops began to stream down her face. Tamaki crawled to her side and pulled her into an embrace. For awhile, they cried on each other's shoulders, overwhelmed by despair.

oOoOo

Eventually their sobs subsided. Crying would not save them. Honey sat sniffling on Mori's lap, as Haruhi released her grip on Tamaki and picked up a towel to wipe her face. She turned her attention back to Kaoru. The towel had slipped from his head, which continued to bleed. She found a relatively clean section of the towel and applied pressure to the wound again.

"We should probably try to get to one of the islands," offered Tamaki. They looked around at the distant landforms. It was difficult to tell which one was closest.

"Maybe we should wait a bit and see which way the current is taking us," Haruhi suggested. "It would be a waste of energy to fight against it." The others agreed, and they watched to see which direction they were headed. As they waited, the sun sank to the horizon. Haruhi watched, remembering the sunset she had seen with Kyoya just the night before. How could this one be just as beautiful after such a tragedy? How could the Earth continue to turn as though nothing had happened? Haruhi fought the tears that were returning to her eyes.

Soon it became apparent that one of the islands was closer than the others. Mori and Tamaki slipped back into the water and attempted to propel the raft in that direction. Honey used a plank they had salvaged to try and paddle over the side of the raft. Their progress was slow as the light faded. Soon it was too dark to be sure they were still headed in the right direction. Tamaki and Mori gave up and climbed back out of the water. They would have to hope that the current would continue taking them toward land.

"I'm thirsty," whined Honey.

"Here," Haruhi offered him the opened bottle of water. "Just don't drink too much. We may need to make it last." They passed the bottle around, each taking only a small sip but wanting more. The bottle was nearly empty by the time they were done.

Honey rubbed his eyes and yawned. He lay his head in Mori's lap and was soon asleep. It seemed as though he could sleep anywhere. Haruhi was exhausted, but could not sleep. She sat next to Tamaki and looked up at the sky. The moon had risen, giving everything an eerie glow. Stars filled the sky. Haruhi was not used to seeing so many. Without the bright lights of the city, each tiny star glowed intensely. At any other time she would have been awestruck by the beauty of it. A breeze blew and Haruhi shivered. All of them were still soaking wet, and the night was chilly.

"Here," Tamaki said, tugging on the piece of sail cloth. It was made of nylon, so it had dried quickly and would act as a windbreak. It was large enough to spread over all five of them. Tamaki and Haruhi sat huddled under their end of the cloth. Tamaki put his arm around her for added warmth. She still shook.

"Everything will be okay," he tried to reassure her. "Someone will find us soon. They must have sent out the entire Ootori search team by now. They will find us and take us back to the island. Kyoya and Hikaru will be waiting there for us, safe and warm and dry. There will be a big dinner to welcome us back. There will be crab and fat tuna, and all the cake Honey can eat."

Haruhi lay her head against Tamaki's shoulder as she listened to his fairy tale. She knew none of it was true, but his soothing voice made it seem real. She drifted into a light sleep.

"Look!" The sudden cry from Mori startled her awake, and she sat up in surprise. Mori was pointing off into the distance. There in the sky a light was flashing. At first it looked like just another star, but it was moving. It was a plane, or maybe a helicopter. It was hard to tell from so far away. It came closer and they could see that it was shining a light on the sea below. It was looking for them! They all began to wave their arms and shout. They didn't care if it was pointless. They could be neither seen nor heard from this distance, but they couldn't just sit there and do nothing. They watched in dismay as the aircraft moved off in the other direction. They became silent once again as they watched the blinking light disappear in the distance.

Somehow Honey had remained asleep despite the din. Mori curled himself around his small friend, and soon, he too had dozed off.

Haruhi checked on Kaoru again. He was still out, but breathing steadily. As near as she could tell in the dark, the bleeding had stopped. She lie down next to him with Tamaki on her other side. "Sleep well," Tamaki whispered to her as he wrapped an arm around her. For a long while she lie there, listening to the sound of the water lapping against the edge of the raft. Eventually, she succumbed to fatigue and fell asleep.

Haruhi did not know how long she had slept before she was awoken by yet another cry in the night.

"HIKARU!"

Haruhi felt a sudden chill as the sail cloth was ripped away, and the raft began to pitch violently in the water. She grabbed the nearest thing for support, which turned out to be Tamaki. She heard a splash, quickly followed by two more.

oOoOo

Kaoru had awoken in the darkness. His head throbbed, and he instinctively reached for Hikaru. His twin was not there. Where was he? What was going on? He sat up, trying to focus his eyes in the dim light. Suddenly it all came back to him; the boat, the storm, Hikaru falling into the water.

"HIKARU!" he cried leaping up. The sudden movement made the raft tip precariously, and Kaoru fell over the side taking a surprised Honey and Mori with him.

"Kaoru!" Haruhi called once she realized what had happened. There was splashing in the water as she scrambled to the side of the raft.

"I can stand," stated Mori plainly. Haruhi looked over, and sure enough, there in the pre-dawn light stood Mori, waist deep in water and holding Honey in his arms. Kaoru was still flailing wildly in a panic. Tamaki jumped into the water and did his best to restrain the frantic twin.

While they had slept, their tiny raft had drifted closer to the nearest island. They stood in the shallows, not far from the beach. Tamaki managed to calm Kaoru a bit, and convinced him to get back on the raft. Mori set Honey back on the raft as well, and with Tamaki's help, pushed the raft to the shore and dragged it up on the beach.

Haruhi sat next to Kaoru on the raft as they rode toward the beach. "What happened?" he asked, his voice shaking.

"The boat hit the rocks," she replied. "It was destroyed." She reached up and gently brushed his hair away from his forehead. "How is your head?" she asked.

"It hurts," he said, touching it gingerly with the tips of his fingers. Kaoru saw the knapsack lying on the raft. He picked it up and clutched it to his chest. He paused for a long time before he finally asked, "Where's Hikaru?"

Haruhi choked on her words, "We couldn't find him."

"And Kyoya?" Haruhi bit her lip and shook her head. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She knew if she spoke she would begin sobbing again.

Kaoru just stared, his eyes blank, his face expressionless. He was numb. The world held no meaning for him now.

A/N: My that was a long chapter. I hope I have fulfilled my daily angst quota. I'm sure there will be more to come. Thank you to all the people who have read and reviewed my story. Reviews are very motivating for quick updates.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Host Club characters. I am only borrowing them, again. I promise to put them back when I'm done. I did last time.