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Two days earlier
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Kyoya swam to the surface after plunging into the water. A yellow bundle floated nearby, and he quickly grabbed for it. Thankfully, it was the life raft. He found the cord, gave it a firm tug, and the raft began to inflate. Unfortunately, the bag of lifesaving equipment that came with the life raft had not washed overboard. He would have to make do without. Holding tightly to the side of the raft, Kyoya looked around. It was difficult to see much, as his glasses had fallen off when he had hit the water. He spotted something orange bobbing in the waves and swam toward it with the raft in tow. It turned out to be Hikaru.
"Hikaru! Over here!" called Kyoya. Hikaru spun in the water and seeing Kyoya, swam toward him. "Hikaru, can you see the yacht?"
"It's over that way," he said, pointing. Already the boat was becoming not much more than a speck in the distance. They began a futile swim toward the boat, but eventually gave it up as the distance increased and their endurance waned. With much struggling and arguing, the two exhausted boys managed to climb into the life raft. They lie there breathless for awhile.
"Well, with any luck," Kyoya said finally, "this storm will soon pass, and the others will be able to get the boat turned around and come back for us. If I can get the electrical system repaired, we can call for help and get the bilge pump and motor running." For a time, it seemed as though Kyoya's plan was working. The storm did indeed blow over, and the sea calmed. That is where their luck ran out. The pair sat in the tiny raft, watching for the sailboat's return. They saw no sign of it, and soon the sun began to sink in the sky.
"I hope they are okay," said Hikaru anxiously.
"They are probably in better shape than we are," assured Kyoya. "As long as the boat stays afloat that is. At least they have food and water."
"Stays afloat?" questioned Hikaru in alarm. "You mean the boat might sink?"
"It was taking on water before we went overboard," Kyoya confessed.
"What are we sitting here for then?!" Hikaru yelled. "They could be drowning right now! We have to go find them!" He leaned over the side of the rubber raft and began paddling frantically with his hands.
Kyoya grabbed him by his life jacket and pulled him back into the middle of the raft. "Get back in here, you idiot, before you capsize the raft and drown both of us!" he scolded.
"But Kaoru…." Hikaru protested.
"You won't be any good to Kaoru dead," Kyoya pointed out. Hikaru sat in the middle of the raft, his head hung in defeat. As the sky continued to darken, he began to shiver.
"Don't take this the wrong way," said Kyoya as he slid over and huddled up next to Hikaru. "Our body heat is all we have to keep us warm tonight." Hikaru did not object. He was used to having someone close beside him. He just wished it had been Kaoru. Before long, the two boys fell asleep leaning against one another.
oOoOo
Hikaru was abruptly awoken by a strong wind and a deafening roar. At first he thought it was another storm. A bright light shone down upon the two boys in their tiny craft. Kyoya shaded his eyes from the glare and squinted upward. He saw a man, harnessed to a line, descending toward them.
"Master Kyoya," shouted the man as he touched down on the raft. "It is good to see you safe." Even without his glasses, Kyoya recognized the man as one of the Ootori private police. The officer helped the boys into harnesses, and when they were secure, the three of them were lifted up into the helicopter hovering above.
Once they were safe inside, Kyoya asked, "The others, did you find them?"
"Sorry, sir," answered the officer. "We were lucky to find the two of you. We were heading back for the night when you were spotted. It's too dark to continue searching for the time being."
Hikaru lunged at the officer, grabbing him by his jacket. "We have to keep looking! We have to find them now! They could be dying!"
"I understand your distress," emphasized the officer, trying to diffuse the situation, "But there's nothing we can do right now. I'm sorry. We will continue the search at first light."
"That's not good enough!" raged Hikaru shaking the man. "Kaoru is out there somewhere. He needs me! I need him!" It took Kyoya and two other men to pull Hikaru off the poor officer.
"Hikaru! Calm down!" Kyoya demanded. "This is pointless. If we kept searching tonight, we would be exhausted by tomorrow, when we stand a much better chance of finding them. I know how you feel. Do you think I am not worried as well? They are my friends too. But we have to think rationally if we want to help them."
The shadow king's rebuke cowed Hikaru, and he stopped fighting. He sat back and stared out the window at the inky blackness below. Kyoya was right. There was nothing they could do. Hikaru had never felt so helpless.
oOoOo
The search team leader insisted that Kyoya and Hikaru be taken to the hospital in Suva to be examined for any possible injuries. They were found to be in good health and released. It was suggested that they stay in Suva for the night, but both of them wanted to return to the resort, where they would be closer to the search area first thing in the morning. They hired a private plane which would be faster than the helicopter, but it was still nearly 2:00 AM by they time they got back to the island.
"Get some sleep," Kyoya told Hikaru as they were dropped off at their neighboring bures.
"I'll try," replied Hikaru sullenly as he walked to his bure.
Kyoya did not follow his own advice. After finding his spare glasses, he poured over nautical charts, and satellite images of the storm on his laptop, trying to calculate the most likely place to find his friends. Over an hour later, he decided he better go to bed, or he would be worthless the next morning.
He had just turned out the light when he heard a knock on his door. He opened the door to see Hikaru standing there in his pajamas, his eyes red. "I'm sorry to bother you," he said quietly, casting his eyes downward. "I can't sleep. My bure is too…empty. Could I maybe…sleep over here?" Kyoya stepped aside and let him enter. He had been sharing this bure with Tamaki, so there were two beds. Hikaru settled himself into the extra bed, and though he didn't have his twin by his side, he could at least hear Kyoya's breathing to remind him he was not alone. Eventually he fell into a light sleep.
oOoOo
No more than two hours had passed before Hikaru found himself awake again. It would be light soon, and they could begin their search. Kyoya was still asleep. Normally, it would not be wise to disturb him, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Standing a safe distance from the bed, Hikaru started out calling softly, "Kyoya…. Kyoya…. it's time to wake up. It's morning, we can go searching now." Receiving no response from the sleeping shadow king, Hikaru lost his patience. "KYOYA!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. Kyoya sat bolt upright, glared at Hikaru and growled. "I'm sorry," Hikaru added hastily, "but it's morning and we have to go. I'll meet you at the main complex in 15 minutes." He quickly left before Kyoya could retaliate. Hikaru went to his own bure to get dressed. Kyoya threw off the covers and got out of bed with a groan. As much as he hated mornings, this was important. He started to get ready to go.
Hikaru was waiting at the main complex as promised. "Can we go now?" Hikaru asked impatiently.
"We need to eat something first," insisted Kyoya.
"I'm not hungry," argued the anxious twin.
"Look, as I have already stated before, we are of no use to the search team if we are not alert. It's bad enough we didn't get much sleep last night. We have not eaten anything since lunchtime yesterday. I can't have you passing out from hunger. Now shut up and eat something," Kyoya commanded.
"Fine," retorted Hikaru. He stomped into the dining pavilion and went up to a couple seated at a table, having an early breakfast. "Excuse me," he said politely. He grabbed a banana out of the woman's hand and a slice of toast from the man's plate. They looked at him, bewildered. "Thank you," he added, and stormed back out to Kyoya. "You happy now?" he said taking a large bite of the banana. "Let's go," he mumbled, his mouth full. He turned and walked out to the vehicle that was waiting to take them to the marina. Kyoya just shook his head and stopped in the kitchen to get something quick to eat before following Hikaru outside.
At the marina they saw a small fleet of vessels, manned and ready to begin the search. There were also four light aircraft waiting on the nearby landing strip. Kyoya conferred with the search team leaders, and showed them the nautical charts he had been studying the night before. They divided the area to be searched into sections, and assigned each vessel a search zone. It was decided that Kyoya and Hikaru would each go in different search planes. The planes could cover more ground, or sea as the case may be, and had a better chance of finding their lost friends. Once the search plan was established, they all set out on their mission.
They spent the entire day scouring the sea for any sign of the missing Host Club members. Once in awhile, they would stop back on the island to rest and refuel. Each time they would head back out, full of hope that this venture would be successful, but just as all of the previous occasions, they came back empty handed. Eventually, night fell, and they had to suspend the search again. Dejectedly, Kyoya and Hikaru returned to the bure, to spend yet another restless night worrying about their missing companions.
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A/N: I am trying to keep the timeline consistent, and hope I am succeeding. Please keep reviewing. Reviews make me happy, and when I am happy, I write more.
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.