oOoOo

"Kaoru! There you are! I have been looking all over for you. What are you doing in there?"

Kaoru sat inside a bubble floating on the water. "It's safer in here," he replied looking out at his twin. Hikaru stood on top of the water. Kaoru smiled at him. He had always known that his twin could walk on water, and now he had proof.

"But I can't get to you while you are in there?" Hikaru protested.

"If I come out, it will hurt too much," Kaoru argued.

"Don't you want to find me too?"

"Of course I do, but how can I?"

"Obviously you can't while you are stuck in that thing?" he said, indicating the isolating sphere surrounding his brother.

Kaoru placed a hand on the surface of the bubble. "But it's protecting me."

"I'll protect you," Hikaru pledged.

"How can you? You're gone."

"Do you think I could ever possibly leave you? We belong to each other. We are a part of each other. I could no more leave you than I could leave my right arm. All you need to do is call out for me, and I will come running. You know that," Hikaru admonished.

"But I don't know how to get out. I've tried."

"Then you haven't tried hard enough. Maybe you want to stay in there alone."

"No," Kaoru cried. "I don't want to be alone!"

"Then come with me," Hikaru held out a hand to his twin.

Kaoru placed both hands on the bubble and pushed. Nothing happened. "I can't do it," he confessed.

"If you want to give up so easily, fine with me," Hikaru said, turning to walk away across the waves. "You just let me know when you're ready."

"No! Hikaru don't go! Come back! I need you!" Kaoru began pounding furiously on the bubble as Hikaru got farther and farther away. "Hikaru, please!" Suddenly the bubble burst. Kaoru fell into the cold water and went under. Flailing, he struggled to the surface. Gasping for air, he called out, "Hikaru! I'm here! Come find me! Help me! Hikaru! Hikaru!"

oOoOo

"HIKARU! HIKARU!"

Haruhi woke up when she heard Kaoru's cries. The twin was thrashing in his sleep next to her. "Kaoru, shhhh, it's okay. It's just a bad dream," she grabbed at his arms to keep him from striking her and to calm him down.

Kaoru finally awoke to the sound of her voice. "Haruhi?"

"I'm here," she assured him.

"Oh Haruhi," he sobbed. "He's gone. He left me alone. He's gone."

She pulled the trembling boy into her arms and held him tightly. "I know," she whispered. "I know." She was glad he seemed to have returned to reality, but pitied him for the pain he would now have to endure. He cried, clinging to her for a long time. Each tear a precious drop of water leaving his already dehydrated body. The others, who had awoken from the commotion, sat nearby wishing they could do something to help. By the time morning had dawned, he had cried himself out. He sat in silence, still cradled in Haruhi's arms.

"Kaoru?" she said softly, gently caressing his head. He felt warm.

"Hmm," he responded.

"You still with us?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Good. I was worried you were going to go zombie on us again."

"No, I won't," he promised.

"Can you sit up?" she asked, helping him into a sitting position. She made sure he wasn't going to fall over before letting go of him to reach for one of the water bottles. She cracked open the top and held it out to him. "Here, you really need to drink some water." He just shook his head. "It's not an option," she demanded. "You need to drink some." He took the bottle and drank only a small sip before handing it back to her. 'Well, that's better than nothing,' she thought. 'I'll get some more into him later.'

"Anyone want some breakfast?" offered Tamaki. "We have two choices this morning, bananas and coconuts or coconuts and bananas."

"I'll have bananas and coconut!" chirped Honey.

"Coming right up," answered Tamaki. He picked out a coconut and began pounding on it with a rock to crack it open. With each echoing strike, Kaoru felt as though the rock was hitting his head. He clutched his head between his hands and groaned. As soon as Tamaki noticed the twin's distress he stopped. "Oh Kaoru, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. I'll go do this somewhere else." He picked up the coconut and the rock and headed away from the shelter.

"Let me take a look at your head," Haruhi insisted. It looked even worse today.

"Ouch! That hurts!" Kaoru complained when she touched the area around the injury. He knocked her hand away.

"You know, this was much easier when you were Zombie Kaoru," she quipped.

"Sorry," he said apologetically.

"No, it's okay. I'm glad to have the real you back." She attempted to clean the wound again, and he tried his best not to whine too much.

Soon, Tamaki returned with the split open coconut, and they ate their simple breakfast. Haruhi managed to convince Kaoru to try some banana, but he couldn't keep it down, and he ended up losing most of the water he had drank as well. After that, he curled up on the platform and fell back to sleep.

"We should probably try not to do much today," Haruhi suggested. "We shouldn't expend any more energy than necessary." So most of the day was spent sitting in the shade, watching the ocean in hopes of seeing a boat. By midday it had gotten very hot. The clear blue sky showed no indication of a cooling shower like the day before.

"It's too hot," complained Honey. "I know! Let's go swimming Takashi. We are on a beach after all." He peeled off his shirt, kicked off his sandals and ran to the water. Mori followed after him dutifully.

"That does look refreshing," commented Tamaki. "Would you care to join them?" he asked Haruhi.

"I would, but I don't want to get my clothes all wet again," she replied. "They are finally dry for the first time in two days."

"You do have a bathing suit you know," came a quiet voice from behind her.

"Kaoru, you're awake," she said turning around. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap," he answered truthfully, "But I might feel better if I got to see you in that suit again," he added with a smirk.

"Again?!" Tamaki began to protest out of habit, but backed off when he glimpsed Kaoru lying pitifully on the platform. How could he deny the poor suffering boy this simple pleasure? Haruhi was just happy to have seen a hint of the old Kaoru back again. She grabbed the suit and a towel and went off into the bushes to change.

She came back out moments later with the towel wrapped around her and her clothes in her hand. She placed the clothes on the platform. Tamaki had already gone to join Honey and Mori in the water.

"Well," Kaoru said expectantly. "Let's see it." She opened the towel to give him a peek at the suit and he smiled.

She wrapped the towel back around her. "Are you going to be okay up here by yourself?" she asked worriedly.

"I'll be fine," he assured her. "I'll just watch you guys from here."

"At least have some more water before I go," she handed him the remains of the bottle she had opened that morning. There was not much left in it now, and he finished it off.

"Happy?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied with a smile before turning to walk down to the shore.

The water felt nice and cool. Haruhi tried to scrub away some of the dirt and sweat that covered her body. After their night at sea, Haruhi swore she would never go swimming again, but this felt too good. She tried to pretend that they were just spending a fun day relaxing at the beach. She floated in the water, letting the gentle waves lift her body up and down.

As she lay there, she thought she heard a rumbling sound in the sky. "Is that thunder?" she questioned nervously. It couldn't be though; they sky was too clear and the noise too steady. The rest of them heard it too, and they all looked up.

Finally Honey saw the source of the noise and pointed at it. "Look! It's a plane!" he cried. They all ran up onto the sand and began waving frantically. The plane came closer and flew over their heads. They watched as it circled around and came back again flying even lower. They continued to jump and wave at the aircraft. After one more pass it flew off, and disappeared from view.

"They saw us," Tamaki asserted, staring at the empty sky. "They had to have seen us."

"I'm sure they did," agreed Haruhi. "They'll be back. They couldn't have landed that plane here. They will send a boat or something. I'm sure of it. Come on. Let's go get ready to leave our little island paradise." She took him by the hand and they walked back up the beach.

When they got back to the platform, Kaoru was sleeping again. His face was flushed. She put her hand to his cheek. He was burning up with fever. They had to find a way to cool him down. Haruhi took her towel and ran back down to the water's edge. She soaked the towel in the water and then wrung it out as best she could. She hurried back up to the platform and spread the wet towel over Kaoru. He did not stir. She sat next to him as he slept. She hoped the rescue party would get there before it was too late.

oOoOo

It must have been hours since they had seen the plane, and there was still no sign of any rescuers. "Maybe they didn't know we were stranded," theorized Tamaki. "Maybe they thought we were just tourists playing on the beach." He sat on the platform with his arms wrapped around his knees, staring out at the ocean with a frown.

"Don't give up hope," encouraged Honey. "I'm sure they are on their way right now! Why don't we have a snack while we're waiting? I'm hungry." They still had a few bananas, but the coconuts were gone. They had opened their last bottle of water, and it was now half empty. "I'll get some more coconuts," Honey offered. He found a nearby coconut tree and shimmied to the top. Pulling a coconut free, he called down, "Look out below!" and dropped the coconut into the sand at the bottom of the tree. He dropped down three more and was about to climb down when he thought he saw something out on the water. From his elevated vantage point, he scanned the horizon. He saw a dark shape in the distance. "Something's coming! Something's coming!" He hollered to the others below before sliding down the tree trunk.

The four of them ran out onto the beach and watched as a large boat approached. When it could come no closer, an inflatable boat was lowered over the side, and several people climbed in before it motored toward the beach. As it neared, Haruhi squinted to see the occupants. Long before she could make out who it was, Honey shouted, "Kyo-chan! Hika-chan!" When the boat reached the shallows of the beach, she saw it was true. Kyoya and Hikaru leapt out of the boat and ran toward them. They all threw themselves at each other, hugging and crying tears of joy.

Hikaru was the first to break away. "Where's Kaoru?" he cried, looking around in panic. They led him up to the platform where his twin lay. He still slept, burning with fever. "Kaoru! Kaoru wake up!" Hikaru shouted, shaking his brother, but he would not awaken. "What happened to him? Why won't he wake up?"

"He hit his head when the boat crashed," Haruhi explained. "It's infected. We did everything we could, but it's not enough. He needs a doctor. He's dehydrated too. We didn't have much water."

"You're probably all dehydrated and could use some medical attention," noted Kyoya. "It seems Kaoru's needs are most urgent though. We have already sent for a helicopter. It had to come from Viti Levu, one of the main islands farther away, but it should be here soon. They will be able to airlift him to the hospital in Suva, the capital city. The rest of us can return on the boat."

"I'm going with him," stated Hikaru firmly. Just as Kyoya had promised, the helicopter soon arrived. They lowered a rescue litter for Kaoru and a harness for Hikaru, and the twins were lifted up into the waiting aircraft. Once inside, Hikaru was forced to sit to the side while medics tended to Kaoru. After they had him patched up and stabilized, they allowed Hikaru to sit next to him. He held his brother's hand, and bringing it to his lips, gently kissed Kaoru's fingers. "I came for you ," he whispered. "I told you I would. You called and I came. Now it's your turn. You need to come back to me." He leaned over and lay his head on his twin's chest as tears came to his eyes. He lie there, softly weeping, until he felt a hand stroke his hair. He lifted his head to see Kaoru looking down at him with a faint smile on his face.

"Hikaru," he murmured, his voice dry, "You're here. Am I dreaming again?"

"No, I'm really here with you," he assured him. "We're together again, and I am not letting you out of my sight this time."

"I thought I lost you."

"Me too." The pair clung to each other for the remainder of the flight. Nothing short of a nuclear explosion could have parted them.

oOoOo

A/N: Up next- Kyoya and Hikaru's story. Be prepared to go back in time. Initiate flashback sequence….

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.