DISCLAIMED. Enough said.
Kyoya sat in the back seat, thinking of plans and back-up ones in case those failed. But nothing he was coming up with would get him out of this situation. One of the men banged on the windshield with the barrel of his gun, jarring Kyoya from his thoughts.
"Get out of the car. You're coming with us, Ootori Kyoya."
Though he loathed doing what his potential kidnappers wanted, he really saw no alternative. The men clearly knew who he was, so bribing them wouldn't work. And the police his family employed wouldn't be able to get there in time. So instead he pushed the door open and got out of the car.
The Hitachiin brothers walked through the airport, dragging their luggage behind them. Normally they would've had someone to do it for them, but it would have taken too much time, and they'd come back early. They'd even had to fly commercial, since their mom was using the jet. Hikaru shuddered at the memory. In the essence of time, they'd taken the only available seats, completely separated from each other, and, to make matters worse, located in coach. Hikaru had been between to middle-aged teachers who talked about their students the entire flight.
He really needed to take a shower.
As he and Kaoru walked into the main lobby of the airport, they saw a man holding a sign with their names on it. Convenient, but it wasn't as if they'd been discrete in their travels. He was probably sent by their mom in apology for having the plane.
They followed the man to an unfamiliar limo, but before the thought registered, the twins were shoved inside.
Hunny stood back to back with Mori (or as close to that as their height difference would allow) with his fists raised and a circle of bodies around him. "Is there anyone else that dares try to take Usa-chan?" No one was conscious enough to answer him, and they wouldn't even if they could.
Mori placed a hand on Hunny's shoulder. "That's enough, Mitsukuni." Nothing more needed to be said as Hunny took the stuffed rabbit from the grip one of the leaders.
As they walked away from the warehouse they'd been herded to, Hunny looked up at his cousin. "So why were they following us anyway?"
Mori shrugged, completely unconcerned. "I don't know."
Haruhi's fingers twitched as she slept, trying to reach out for someone she knew wasn't there. Someone she knew would never be there. With a sigh, she opened her eyes, wishing things had turned out differently. Her dream had been more like a memory, one she hadn't realized she'd forgotten.
Haruhi as a child stood at the grave of her mother as the rain that fell. It seemed fitting on such a day, a day when all the world seemed lost. Her father held her tightly, crying for the love he lost and holding onto the only one he had left.
She knew even then that she would have to be strong for them; her mom had been the center of their family of three, and without her, they would likely fall apart.
Her dad eventually untangled himself from Haruhi as he went to thank the friends and family that had come to the funeral. As he accepted their condolences, Haruhi walked away from her mom's freshly dug grave. Reality hadn't fully hit her heart – her mind had already accepted that her mother was gone forever – and she needed time to process it.
A boy around her age with blonde hair and purple eyes came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. He held a single white lily in his hand. "For you." He grasped her left hand and placed the lily in her palm before gently wrapping her fingers around the stem. He bowed low and released her.
It was only after he walked away that she realized she was crying.
A tear rolled down her face as she hugged her knees to her chest. Her wounds protested against the action, and the IV tugged painfully on her arm, but she could barely feel it as she was overwhelmed by grief all over again.
It was that little boy, however, that was able to reach into that grief. It only seemed fair. He originally was the one to break down the wall she'd built around her grief and pull it out, and now it was the thought of him that helped her escape the darkness that threatened to pull her under.
His eyes seemed so familiar, but the only person she'd ever met besides the boy was Tamaki… She shot up in the hospital bed, pulling her IV out with a painful yank. Could it really have been him?
She shook her head. It was impossible. She knew that he'd been raised in France by his mother, and he was too busy spending time with her to do much else. He'd never visited his father in Japan as far as she knew, and it was unlikely that they'd met then. He was from a rich family, after all. There was no reason for him to have been at the cemetery.
But those eyes…
Haruhi knew the only way she would know for sure would be to ask him, but without his memories, there was no way to get the answer she wanted.
She would just have to find a way to make him remember.
A shiver ran down Tamaki's spine as he picked at the food in front of him. It had no good flavor – what little there was reminded him of Antoinette after she dug a hole in the yard.
The thought stopped him mid-bite. His dog, Antoinette. Who was taking care of her while he was with Emilie? He knew the maids fed and bathed her, but who would spend countless hours with her just playing fetch? Or watch her as she buried her bones?
He didn't realize how much he'd forgotten, not really. But for a man to forget even his own dog… it made Tamaki lose what little appetite he had. He stood, taking his plate with him, and went into the bathroom. He lifted cover of the toilet before scraping the remnants into the toilet. It couldn't be good for the plumbing, but if there were any issues Emilie's family could certainly afford the repairs.
With an air of finality, Tamaki flushed and watched as his meal was swallowed by the toilet.
To say that Kyoya was surprised to see the Hitachiin twins shoved into the limo would be an understatement. There were no words to describe how he felt, and nowhere in any of his plans had he thought he would have any of the Host Club members with him. The twins weren't much, but any bit would help.
Especially if a distraction was needed.
They were splendidly good at those.
Kyoya smiled as the twins took a look around. "Where are we?" Hikaru blinked slowly, and Kyoya fought the urge to roll his eyes. He knew the twins were slow, but it wasn't as if they had been drugged. That much was obvious. He saw the moment when Hikaru's eyes landed on him. It would have been hard not to; the fool practically hit his head on the roof he jumped so high. "Kyo-Kyoya? You're here too?
Pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, Kyoya let out a frustrated sigh. "Clearly. But I don't know what their plans for us are, nor do I have any way of escaping." Yet. But they weren't ready to hear that at the moment. Instead, he told them the shortened version of his story, and they in turn told Kyoya about their problems in Fiji – namely, Kaoru didn't tell Hikaru everything – as well as how they'd been led their by a sign with their names on it.
"Well, they had things planned up to a point, at least, and that was to get us together. If they targeted us, it stands to reason that they would go after Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai as well."
The twins looked at each other before bursting into laughter. "I wonder if they'll try to take Usa-chan away from him." Hikaru's remark merely made them laugh that much harder, but Kyoya was less than amused.
It was going to be a long car ride.
Haruhi checked herself out of the hospital against the advice of the doctors, but she needed answers and knew she would be fine anyway. It was ridiculous how long they wanted her to stay anyway/ There was even a girl who had been in the hospital for three weeks due to a skiing accident. She broke her leg and had to resort to crutches. But she was still there.
Haruhi knew it was a long shot, but she had to find Tamaki in order to put here plan into action. It would take a while, but it wasn't like it was forever. There were a few supplies she needed and a couple of favors to call in. The twins weren't picking up their phones and she immediately thought of the worst case scenarios.
Hobbling out to the street, she hailed a taxi and climbed into the back seat. She let her head rest against the rough leather headrest as a smile spread across her face.
He wouldn't see it coming.
Next chapter will have more of Tamaki, I swear! Anyways, updates will be slower for a while (school sucks) and I apologize for that time. Even this one was late. So please, read and review. I seriously think my email is starving for those reviews and will soon begin to easy itself.