"Shit, shit, shit!" Kaoru cried, crawling away from the window. He scrambled to his feet and flew into the room where Haruhi sat with her father. "Haruhi, there is some guys outside and I think they are going to check the apartments!" Kaoru hissed quietly.
Her head shot up as she dabbed the wet towel to her dad's forehead. "What? What should we do?" Her eyes were wide with panic.
"Do you have a back exit to this place?" Kaoru asked, glancing around.
Haruhi shook her head. "No but it doesn't matter because I am not leaving here without my dad."
Kaoru frowned but her father gasped suddenly and forced out slow words, "Haruhi…. You have to… you have to leave me. I-I-I'm going to die anyway. I just want you to be okay." He blinked sluggishly.
Haruhi shook her head again; her eyes brimmed with tears. A loud shout from somewhere outside jolted the two and Haruhi stared at Kaoru fearfully. Kaoru shot up from the floor and grabbed his and Haruhi's backpacks from beside the door. The two packs were full of supplies they would need in case of an emergency; it was a good thing that Kaoru had planned this ahead of time. He left the third pack in place. They wouldn't need it.
Kaoru rushed back into the room and dropped Haruhi's backpack beside her as she exchanged a mumbled conversation with her dad. Kaoru paid no attention; he set his pack down by the dresser and pulled a notepad out from the front pocket and scribbled a quick message and tucked it beneath the edge of the lamp.
He turned back to Haruhi. She was crying now, holding her dad's hand. "Come on Haruhi," Kaoru said hesitantly, holding out a hand out to her.
Haruhi looked up at him and slowly took his hand, pulling herself to her feet with her backpack. Mr. Fujioka was breathing hard and unevenly. "Take care of my daughter," he whispered.
"I will," Kaoru replied. "Goodbye."
"I love you dad," she managed between a sob.
"Love you too," he whispered back.
A loud crash signaled the men's presence in the apartment next door. "Shit!" Kaoru growled. He flew to the window and ripped it open. A light breeze flowed in, rippling through the white curtains. He leaned out and looked around. They were on the second floor; too high to jump. He stared around quickly until his eyes rested on the drain pipe. "Haruhi," he called sharply. Kaoru stepped back to allow her to go to the window. "We have to climb down the drain pipe."
Haruhi looked petrified. "Okay," was all she said before she was pulling herself through the window. The banging continued through the thin walls. Kaoru gulped nervously; they must be tearing the whole apartment apart! He watched Haruhi swing herself onto the drain flawlessly and begin to descend down as if it were a fire pole. Kaoru breathed slowly to calm himself and then mounted the window.
"Good luck," were the whispered words from the dying man left behind.
"Thanks," he whispered back before grabbing ahold of the drain pipe. The weight of the backpack threw him off balance for a second before he got his foothold. Below, Haruhi dropped safely to the ground and Kaoru followed. He had just jumped the last few feet when a loud crash erupted from the apartment above. "Go, go, go!" Kaoru urged Haruhi. He grabbed her hand and they ran down the side of the apartment complex, close to the wall so that no one would see them if they looked out the window. They stuck to the shadows.
They ran in the direction of the alleyways when suddenly a gun shot rang through the air. Haruhi stopped, glancing back up at her windows in terror. "Dad," she gasped.
"Haruhi!" Kaoru hissed. "We have to go. They might see us!"
Haruhi turned back and they began to run once again. They made their way down a few streets away from Haruhi's. "We need to find some sort of transportation," Kaoru whispered as they slowed their pace. Both huffed from the effort of running.
"The train station is not too far from here," Haruhi said.
"But the trains wouldn't be running," Kaoru replied matter-of-factly.
Haruhi rolled her eyes. "I meant that we should go and follow the tracks. I don't think there would be any looters or anyone dangerous down there. It would be the safest way to go."
Kaoru nodded, contemplating. "Okay," he said slowly. "Let's try it."
They walked through the empty streets. The only noises came from the occasional stray dog or bird. It was eerie walking through a city so empty; it felt much like an apocalypse. "When this is all over," Kaoru said, "I'm getting every flu shot they offer."
They reached the subway station a little while later. The steps that led down into the ground were garbage-laden and stone quiet. Haruhi and Kaoru stood at the top, hesitating. The descent down was darker than the night above ground.
Kaoru swallowed and said, "Haruhi, grab my flashlight from my pack."
"Should I grab mine too?"
"No, we'll save the battery power. It's going to be dark for a long time down there," Kaoru reasoned.
Haruhi unzipped the pack on his back and found the black flashlight, flipping it on. The light sharply illuminated the darkened street; Kaoru winced away from the sudden brightness. He wished that there were more solar powered street lamps in this city like the one outside of Haruhi's apartment.
Haruhi flashed the light down the concrete stairs. It was empty but they could see nothing beyond the bend in the stairs. Kaoru sighed. "Come on. Let's get this over with."
They descended quietly; their deafening footsteps echoed across the station. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Haruhi scanned the light across the whole station, breathing shallowly. "Looks like we're all clear," she whispered.
They made their way to the turnstiles and jumped easily over the top of the lifeless devices. "We're going to have to jump down into the tracks," Haruhi said, coming to a stop along the edge of the platform. She shined her light down into the short drop onto the concrete. "It shouldn't be so bad."
"As long as there is a place to get back up," Kaoru whispered back.
They both sat down on the edge of the platform, getting ready to jump, when Kaoru's phone went off shrilly. Kaoru's hand shot into his pocket with his heart racing. And when he pulled it out, he saw Hikaru's name on his caller ID.
"Hello?" he said immediately as he flipped it open.
The phone crackled loudly, only bringing in snippets of Hikaru's words.
"Hikaru, Hikaru, are you there?" Kaoru said in the phone.
KSSSHHHHH, "Kaoru," KSSHHHHH, "you can't," KSSSSHHHHHH, "safe…"
Kaoru shook his head, only guessing to what Hikaru could be talking about. "Hikaru I'm safe," he said quickly, annunciating clearly in case Hikaru's end of the phone was just as bad. "I'm with Haruhi. We're both okay."
KSSSHHHHHHHH. The dial tone sounded loudly through the speaker and Kaoru pushed END in annoyance. "Dammit," he said as he looked at the battery power. The battery was dangerously low; the bar was empty and it would only be a matter of time until it died. He snapped the phone shut and shoved it into his pocket.
He breathed in deeply and glanced at Haruhi. "Let's go," he said and the two dropped down onto the tracks.
Next is Hikaru's point of view. Sorry about the late update.