A/N: Okay, I'm back! And it's Christmas break~ Yay! I'm really sorry, for you know… not updating. ;_; ARP (Academic Research Paper) is killing me. Literally. *Sigh* Anyway, here we go, chaptaaa 3. Hope you enjoy it! I promise I shall update the next one sooner. Or else, go shoot me. :P And please, R&R? I kinda feel like I'm talking to myself whenever I update without anyone reviewing. So yeah. ._. Advance Merry Christmas everyone!
Disclaimer: Sadly enough, I own nothing.
CHAPTER 3: The so-called Trip
Saturday, 4:30 AM
Haruhi's POV
I tossed around my small futon, trying and failing to get back in my peaceful slumber. Starting the day way too early, and to think that it was also a weekend, made me frown. 'A week from my sanctuary is snatched by two annoying twins.' I thought as I got up from bed and realized that I haven't packed my clothes for the trip yet. I opened my closet and started picking comfortable outfits for a one week vacation. So far, I've squeezed all my clothes and necessities in two bags. After I was satisfied that I haven't forgotten anything, I headed to the bathroom and washed my face. I peeked in my dad's room if he was already there, and much to my disappointment, he wasn't. 'I guess I won't be able to bid him goodbye before I leave,' I sighed. Going to the kitchen, I looked for something to cook for breakfast and thought of just cooking omelets when suddenly someone knocked at the door. 'I have a bad feeling on who's behind that door.' I instinctively thought. "Coming," I said when it knocked louder. As I opened the door, there, the two most annoying twins I've met stood with half-opened eyes staring at me.
"Ohayo Haruhi!" They said in unison. They took off their shoes, making their way in and sat on the couch.
"What are you two doing here early in the morning?" I questioned, giving them my deathly glare.
"We are here to keep your promise with us," Hikaru stated, resting his head on the couch, closing his eyes.
"Huh?" I asked the both of them.
"That you'll come with us for vacation," Kaoru replied. He rested his head on his brother's shoulder and moaned.
"Didn't I say that I'll come?" I said in an annoyed tone. "So now, why are you two half asleep here in my apartment again?"
"…"
"Zzz…"
Snores…snores…snores…
"Zzz…"
Snores…snores…snores…
"Zzz…"
Snores…snores…snores…
'Okay, so they actually slept in my apartment.' I stared at them, thinking. 'Why are they here? Well, yeah I know we're supposed to go on vacation! But why so, so, SO early in the morning and they're even sleeping here!' I decided to leave them there and headed to the kitchen.
After twenty minutes or so, I was done preparing breakfast. I fixed the table with the prepared omelets and bread for breakfast. I walked back to the couch where the twins were sleeping soundly and stopped in front of them. "Hey wake up."
"…"
"Zzz"
I sighed, "Hey, wake up." I said again.
"…"
I put my hands on each of their shoulders and rocked them. "Hey, wake up!" The two finally opened their eyes drowsily.
Blink.
Blink. Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
"Are you going to blink at each other the whole time or what?" I questioned them.
"…"
"Ugh! Get up and walk or I'll drag both of your feet to the kitchen!" I said in an irritated tone. The two got up from the couch and walked grouchily to the sink in the kitchen. They washed their faces and sat on the chairs opposite to me. So here they were again…
Blink.
Blink.
Blink. Blink.
"Are you two going to eat or what?" I asked, cutting their 'blinking contest' while getting a piece of omelet from the blue plate placed at the center of the table to my plate.
"Uh, what's this?" Kaoru asked, raising his fork with the hooked piece of omelet.
"It's a food, where eggs are beaten, other ingredients are added and cooked until set and folded over which is also called as O-M-E-L-E-T." I muttered as a matter-of-factly.
"Oh," Kaoru and Hikaru both stared at the 'unknown' food. It took them a few minutes of inspecting and checking the food until they both got slices of omelet stuffed in their breads.
"Haruhi, are you sure this is edible?" Hikaru asked. "Are we going to eat this…a-are this molds?"
"For the last time they are edible, okay?" I stated, munching the last piece of my bread. "Look I'm even done with my food and that's not molds, that's just pepper!"
"Are you sure?" Hikaru demanded, his brother on the other hand enjoyed his food and even put random sauces on it. We both stared at him indifferently.
"Are you okay?" Hikaru asked with a disgusted look on his face. 'Oh my God, my brother's going to die because of food poisoning! No, he's already losing his mind! He's going to vomit blood with worms, molds and infested yuck, yuck and—'
"Hey!" Kaoru snapped at his brother's weird imagination. "Are you going to eat those on your plate or what, because if you don't want to, can I have it?"
"Are you okay?" Hikaru questioned with a pathetic look in his face. "Do you feel bad or worse or what or something aching or wriggling in your stomach?"
"Who in the world gave you that idea?" Kaoru asked, looking at him pathetically while munching his food. "Are you going to eat that?" After a couple of minutes, Hikaru ended up eating a portion of the bread with the so-called omelet, sandwiched in the middle.
"This is SO yummy! I want moar!" Hikaru burst out in realization, feeding himself with more omelets. I rolled my eyes at their over reactions and left them for me to take a bath.
xxxx
Hikaru's POV
I never knew Haruhi's homemade 'omelets' were so delicious. We actually ate everything served on the table. I scanned the table for more leftovers and realized something – Haruhi was not with us anymore and we decided to look for her. Within half a minute, since her apartment is way too small, we found her locked up in the bathroom, taking a bath. We went back in the living room and sat on the couch where we slept awhile ago. "What time is it already?" I asked my twin, opening up a conversation.
"Uh," He looked at his phone. "6:03 AM."
"What time are we leaving again?" I asked again.
"You said to the driver that he will fetch us at 11 AM here but anytime is possible," Kaoru muttered. He rested his head on the couch and faced the ceiling.
"How long is the trip again?"
"For about 4 to 5 hours."
"Oh okay. What time did we arrive here again?"
"Uh," He thought while placing his forefinger under his chin. "About, 4:36 AM."
"Why did we go here early in the morning again?"
"It was your idea so ask yourself."
"Uh, I forgot. Oh wait, I remember, it was a, uhh… wait." I mumbled, trying so hard to think about the reason why we were here so early in the morning. We weren't morning people; it wasn't like us to wake up 4 o'clock in the morning. 'Hm, I'm missing something.' I thought, trying harder to think why we came.
"…" Kaoru just blinked in confusion of what I was saying.
"I had this... dream!" I finally announced as I gathered all my thoughts. "There was an accident or something. There were people and blood, eugh. I can't remember the other details, but I'm sure that someone or something was in there and there were also flying cows and pigs and there was this walking cockroach! I mean it was walking instead of crawling and it was even wearing a party hat! And, and… I forgot the rest."
My twin stared at me for a second and spoke up. "Okay, so what's the connection of your weird, incomprehensible and bewildering story in going to Haruhi's house early in the morning?" He questioned.
"I don't know, my mind's controlling me," I gave out a nervous laugh and scratched the back of my head.
"You know, you're starting to freak me out…" He retorted.
"…"
xxxx
Haruhi's POV
I wondered if what the two were doing. If there were any damage done in the kitchen, I won't be surprised. Once inside my room, I decided to wear a cerulean skirt that reached right below my knees and a white top with dark blue lines on the edges. I reached the comb placed at the top of my drawer and made my way where the twins were. Who knew what could happen if I left them 'unattended'.
I saw them in the living room, doing nothing. 'Wow, that's new.' I thought as I brushed my messy hair. "What time are we leaving?" I spoke, staring at them while brushing.
"Anytime," Kaoru retorted.
"Okay," I headed off the kitchen, washed all the dishes and cleaned the table.
After I was satisfied that everything was in order, I walked back to the two. "When are we leaving?"
"Anytime," Kaoru answered again.
"Can we leave now because I'm bored to death over here?" Hikaru grumbled. "I'm starting to see that tiny, reddish-brown cockroach with the black-stripped white party hat on its head and that evil look of Kyouya-senpai's on its face, walking!" I and Kaoru stared at him and gave a 'what-the-hell' look.
"Fine, we're leaving!" We automatically said, not wanting to hear more of his imaginations. Hikaru grabbed his cell phone, pressed a random speed dial number.
"Hitachiin-sama?" The man from the other line picked up.
"Can you pick us here at Haruhi's house?" Hikaru stated.
The other man on the phone replied.
"Hai and also bring our luggage bags, we're leaving." Hikaru pocketed his cell phone and faced us. "I called the driver and he said he'll be here in 3 minutes." Hikaru blurted.
"Okay." Kaoru replied.
"Wait I'm going to get my luggage bags." I walked to my room and was followed by the two. I asked them how long was the journey and Kaoru said something in between 4 to 5 hours.
"Where are your luggage Haru-chan?" Kaoru asked as he surveyed my small yet neat room.
"There," I said pointing the two bags in front of them.
Hikaru stared at my bags. "You can't be serious that that's all you're bringing."
"I'm serious."
"Will that even last for a week?" His twin asked.
"I guess?" I said, though I was sure that it would last for a week. They stared at me indifferently and I rolled my eyes at them. I was supposed to grab my luggage but they beat me to it. I got my shoulder bag instead, walked to the kitchen and placed a yellow post-it for Ranka on the refrigerator.
Hey Dad, I won't be able to tell you goodbye since you still haven't arrived. We'll be leaving now. I'll call you as soon as we get there. Hikaru and Kaoru said that we'll be having a four to five hour trip, so I'll call later, maybe around lunch time. Bye bye, take care! Love you.
"Haruhi, the limo's here! You're stuff are already in." Kaoru shouted in a sing-song voice. I followed Kaoru out of the house, peeked in the house one last time to check everything in order and locked the door. I jumped in the limo, followed by Kaoru and of course, I was still sandwiched in the middle. In front of me, a large flat screen TV stared. I stared back at it while the twins unplugged and plugged cable wires.
After some time they've finally fixed the knotted wires of their PS 3. Hikaru placed a random CD and pressed the 'START' button. 'Up 'till now, all they did was play video games!' I searched for the book that I placed in my shoulder bag. 'Aha! Here you go.' I announced to myself when I finally found 'The Choice' by Nicholas Sparks. I was enjoying myself but unfortunately the twins suddenly became so freaking noisy. As if it was already the end of the world! I've got two options: to stop reading or have a headache and won't understand a thing of what I was reading. I wasn't that stupid; I chose the former and kept the novel in my bag. I stared at the flat screen TV while hearing "DIE! DIE! DIE!"-slash-"BWAHAHAHA, I WIN!"-slash-"SHUT UP!"-slash-"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" 'What the hell is wrong with these two?' I asked myself, cursing it would have a technical problem in the power line that would shut it off. Well unfortunately, no one or nothing listened in my curse. I sighed.
xxxx
Tamaki's POV
I dialed Kyouya's number in my cell phone and placed it on my right ear. It took me five tries for Kyouya to finally pick up. "KYOUYAAAAAAAAAA!" I wailed to my best friend.
"WHAT-IN-THE-WORLD-IS-YOUR-PROBLEM!" He yelled from the other line. I didn't know why he was angry, maybe because of calling so early? I checked my clock and it read, 7:30 AM. "You better had good reasons on calling me or else!" He continued.
"Haruhi and the twins already left!" I sobbed. "They didn't even say goodbye and Haruhi didn't ask permission first to daddy and…and-!" Before I could complete my last sentence, he hanged up. How, how could my wife hang up to me? I went back to my deepest corner of woe.
xxxx
Hikaru's POV
I estimated that we were driving for at least 2 hours already. I caught glimpse of Haruhi who sighed beside me. "Hello?" Kaoru waved his hand in front of Haruhi.
"Are you okay?" I added.
"Yeah."
"You wanna play?" Kaoru offered his game controller.
"No thanks, I'm fine."
"Oh come on, you're such a party pooper!" Kaoru urged his controller to her hands.
I saw her stare at the controller on her hands. I'm guessing she didn't have a clue on how to play. "Do you know how to play?" I asked.
"..." With the dumbfounded look on her face – I knew it; she didn't have a single clue.
I snickered at her expression and offered her help. "I'll teach you." After some time, she finally learned the basics. Kaoru plugged an extra controller and we played the Mario Race Cart.
"Ahhhhh! No!" Haruhi screamed with a horrific look. Her cart jumped off the bridge she was driving at. Kaoru and I laughed at her sudden expression, earning us her death glare. "Just wait and I'll be the winner!"
"As if you can beat us," Kaoru and I bickered, smirking.
We played Mario Race Cart for four consecutive rounds and Haruhi was still the 3rd place. "Argh, I give up." She said, putting her controller on her lap.
"Let's play a different game," Kaoru suggested.
"I'll pass." She automatically said.
"What do you want?" I asked, while Kaoru on the other hand, looked for another CD to play.
"Hmm, could we change seats? Please?" Haruhi suggested, pleading.
I raised my eyebrows at her suspiciously. "And why is that?"
"My head hurts and I'm not like you two who can play even in a moving car." She retorted.
Kaoru and I laughed in unison. We changed seats, making her seat on the right most of the car and I in the middle.
I saw her distressed expression and looked for my headphones. "That would help relax your mind." I said, handing it to her.
"Thanks," Haruhi replied with a smile. She wore the headphones and scanned my iTouch for a song to play. For a second, I saw her look became more distressed while scanning it. 'Hey, there are decent songs in my iPod too, you know.' I defended in my mind. She rested her head on the corner and stared outside the window.
Kaoru and I went back to playing The Undead. I knew that we were screaming and laughing at the zombies so loudly. I caught glimpse of Haruhi in the corner of my eye. 'She must be feeling okay now.' I said to myself after I saw that she went back to read her book.
"I guess Haruhi's feeling better now." Kaoru said, looking at her as well.
I smiled. "It's all thanks to my wonderful headphones. Those headphones are the coolest thing ever! Of course they are, it's the kind of headphones that would block any other sound from the outside. I bet she would have an intense headache if she still hears our rantings." I proudly bragged my headphones.
Kaoru rolled his eyes and went back gazing at the screen in front of us. "As if you're the only one who owns that kind of headphones."
xxxx
I didn't notice the rain pouring outside until someone winced beside me after I heard a loud thunderstorm.
"Talk about your almighty headphones. I thought that it was so awesome that you won't even hear a thing from the outside?" Kaoru said sarcastically.
"Well that's weird, alright." I instinctively crossed my hands behind her neck to her shoulder. "Hey..." I blushed at my sudden action. I didn't know what to say next, I always lose my cool with these kinds of things. Scratch that, I noticed that I always chicken out whenever I'm with Haruhi. I mean, I've been in formal parties and grandeur balls and I've never had this feeling with other people. I've always wore my façade on – faking smiles with pleased expressions. Never did I show uneasiness in front of others. Now that I think about it, it's pretty weird.
"Don't worry, you're gonna be fine, Haruhi." Kaoru cheered her up, waking me up from my reverie. She shuffled and rested her head on my shoulder that turned my blush into a deeper shade of red. I must've looked like a tomato by now.
The limo slowed down a little since it was hard to see where we were going because of the forming fog in the air. I tried to distract myself with other things. "I didn't expect that there was a storm ahead. The weather looked fine awhile ago." I stated.
My twin agreed. "Yeah, and do you remember what mom said when she was bidding us a safe trip this morning? She said that the weather would be fantastic."
We put down our game controllers for awhile and observed the road ahead. The driver said that we were now heading up the mountain and that we were going to move slower because of the fog. As we drove, I noticed that the fog got thicker, the rain poured harder and more thunder roared. Haruhi grasped on to my shirt, her frail body cringing. "Hey, it's alright. Kaoru and I are here." I assured her.
The driver moved really slow, maybe to avoid any wrong turn, since it was really hard to see. "Why do I feel like it's déjà vu?" I blurted out suddenly.
Kaoru turned to look at me with a questioning look on his face. "I never recall having a trip to somewhere with this kind of fog where you can't even see a thing." He muttered as a matter-of-factly. Well that's true, I'm not sure if we actually had encountered such a thick fog before; considering the numerous times we went out in our vacation trips, this was a first.
"I don't know, maybe..." I trailed off, disregarding the thought. The limo suddenly turned a sharp left, making all of us jerk. My head automatically shot up and saw a huge truck that moved so recklessly, which took up most of the road in the process. Due to the hard turn of our car, I felt it pass over the road and went over the cliff.
'This is not happening,' I said in my mind. It was like one of those effects in the movies where you feel everything's in slow motion. A second felt like a whole minute, a minute felt like an hour. I looked ahead and saw the awaiting rocky slope. Immediately, an instinct told me not to stop it, the car, from falling. As much as I wanted it to stop, I can't. What more can I do?
Why do I feel like I've experienced this before? It seemed so familiar. Ah! I remember now, it was that vague, blurry dream I had last time. The dream that was so vivid that I can't even remember what had happened. It was almost the same, in my dream, there was a huge truck and we also fell like this. What the heck is happening? Am I still dreaming? Please tell me I'm just dreaming. Come on, wake up, Hikaru! You've got a trip to go to.
Before I could say anything else, we immediately crashed and the limo continued its way downward. I didn't even have time to speak as I instantly felt the impact. Everything went crashing down. I didn't have time to comprehend anything, it was all so fast. I just closed my eyes.
It hurt. It hurt so much. I felt pain in my legs, I didn't want to open my eyes to see what had happened and what had caused the pain because I was a hundred percent sure I won't be liking it. I let gravity take over; I let it made my body jerk with every fall. I think my brain moved an inch from its place, it hurts so badly. With all the pain I was feeling, I still had my eyes shut.
We stopped, or that was what I thought. Seconds passed and we were all still, greater pain suddenly rushed through me. "Argh," I groaned in agony. I wanted it to leave me, it hurts. Why is this happening to us?
I realized that the two beside me weren't moving but I felt their faint breathing. My eyes opened slowly, afraid of what I might see. The windows were shattered. The flat screen that was once in front of us now laid crumpled and deformed in a horrible way. Blood was smeared everywhere, my eyelids became so heavy that I fought to keep them open. My eyes finally landed on my leg, a glass piece was sticking out from it. I started to become nauseous. There was no movement from anyone. I wondered what happened to the driver. I knew that I was losing my conscience because everything started to drift off and I started to see swirling red circles.
"Hitachiin-sama," I heard a faint cry; He sounded too distant. I didn't have the energy to respond to him. I just laid there, joined the two most important people to me who were already unconscious, or so I thought, and hoped that we were going to be alright.