Hikaru shifted his phone from hand to hand to see if a new angle would somehow create service for his phone to use. He sighed dramatically, dropping his hand to his side with a frown. His parents sat on the bench behind him. Hikaru turned to glare at them. He knew it wasn't their fault this all had happened, but he couldn't help but take his anger out on them.
Mother smiled sadly. She had drastically calmed down after they were locked in. "He'll be fine," she reasoned to her oldest son. "Kaoru can take care of himself. He's smart and resourceful. He's probably already at home and it won't be long before we are released. So don't worry so much, okay?"
Hikaru nodded. Some of the worry subsided as he looked at the smiles on his parents' faces. It couldn't be so bad if the two of them weren't worried, right.
He stood abruptly. "Is it alright if I look around?" he asked.
Father nodded. "Just come right back here when you are done. We will stay exactly in this spot."
Hikaru nodded and looked away to gaze upon the huge room. It had the feel of a warehouse in a way. The ceiling was high; this was surprising for an underground shelter. The room was narrow but it led on and on. It was so far; Hikaru couldn't see the end of it over the heads of the people gathered here. But this was only the common area. There were tons of smaller rooms built on to the room for individual family rooms- for sleeping or for privacy. There were also other rooms somewhere in the labyrinth for other uses. They had learned all about these sanctuary buildings at school.
Hikaru walked into the buzzing crowd, following the narrow path that wound into the masses. Occasionally, Hikaru would notice a face or two in the crowd: a girl from history class; a boy he had seen vaguely somewhere. But there weren't any faces he really knew.
His mind wandered back to his brother. Kaoru would be okay. It was just mom said; he was resourceful. He could get through anything. But even so, Hikaru felt the pit of fear and doubt churning in his stomach.
Suddenly a blonde head caught his eye. "Tamaki!" Hikaru called, pushing through the crowd in his direction.
The blonde spun around in surprise. His eyes widened with delight and a grin grew across his face. He immediately went to tackle his young friend. "Hikaru! It's been so long!"
Hikaru allowed himself to be folded into a brief hug before he pushed Tamaki off. "It's good to see you're okay, Tamaki."
Tamaki nodded and glanced expectantly behind Hikaru. Hikaru's smile dropped. "He's not here," Hikaru said quickly. "They didn't let him in because of his cold."
Tamaki frowned. "Just because of a cold?"
"He even had papers saying so! And top of it, he's immune! They should've let him in," Hikaru ranted, crossing his arms.
"Wait, did you say immune?" Tamaki asked in surprise.
"Yeah. They exist, apparently."
Tamaki smiled. "Well, at least we know he'll be safe from the Red Plague." Hikaru noticed a twinge of sadness in the blonde's eyes.
"Wait, do you know someone who is still outside?" Hikaru asked, moving closer.
"Haruhi," Tamaki said. His ever-present smile faded. "We looked pretty much everywhere around here… but no luck so far. We were looking for the two of you too…" he trailed off, lost in thought.
"That's weird. I wonder what happened to her," Hikaru voiced.
"Well," Tamaki cracked a small smile, "once lockdown is over, we will have to look for both Kaoru and Haruhi right away."
"That won't be anytime soon, unfortunately." Hikaru spun around at the voice.
He glared. "What do you mean Kyoya?" Hikaru wasn't surprised to see the shadow king; wherever Tamaki was, Kyoya couldn't be too far away.
Tamaki tilted his head, just as confused. "What are you talking about?"
Kyoya walked through the small crowd around the area and grabbed the two boys' arms. "Come with me. We can talk about this out here."
Hikaru followed Kyoya through the bustling crowd with Tamaki in tow. The constant chattering of the crowd was starting to give him a headache. All he wanted was some peace and quiet.
They stopped at a door along a row of many others. Kyoya took out a keycard and swiped it through the key pad. Hikaru glanced at name plate beside the door. The name 'Ootari' was written there.
"Got your own private room, Kyoya?" Hikaru grumbled as Kyoya led the two inside.
Kyoya laughed. "Hardly. All of the families are getting rooms like these."
Hikaru frowned and stepped inside the room and Tamaki closed the door behind them. It locked shut. Hikaru looked around the room. It was a small, bland room with two bunk beds lining either side of the room. To the left was a door that led to a tiny bathroom. In short, the room was very boring.
"See? Nothing fancy," Kyoya muttered, leaning against the framing of the left bunk bed. Tamaki slumped down on the bottom bunk of the right, sprawling out with a tired expression.
"Are the others still looking for Haruhi?" Tamaki asked, rolling onto his side.
Kyoya nodded. "Yes, but it pretty much pointless. I really doubt she's here."
"Anyway," Hikaru butted in, "what were you saying earlier?"
"Oh right," Kyoya said, turning to the Hitachiin, fixing his glasses. "I have inside information about the recent government options. And the current plan isn't just to take short shelter in the sanctuaries."
Hikaru paled. He had been sure they would only be here for a week at most. "How long is the lockdown?"
"Well, the lockdown is definitely scheduled to last for at least a month."
"A month?" Tamaki cried, swinging into a sitting position.
Kyoya ignored him and continued, "But that is the absolute minimum. Government officials are planning to keep everyone in the sanctuaries until the Red Plague is wiped out. Every. Last. One." Kyoya's face darkened with his words.
"So what you're saying is that the government wants the rest of the people left outside to die out."
Kyoya nodded once.
Hikaru turned away, working his jaw. "I have to go check on my parents." And quickly he threw the door open rushed away with thoughts storming in his mind.
Well that sucks for all of them, doesn't it? Please review!