Hikaru's POV:
I groaned sleepily, pulling Kaoru closer. But wait…this didn't feel right…I cracked open an eye and blinked at the pillow in my arms. Stifling a yawn, I sat up and glanced around the room. No Kaoru. I toyed with the idea of going back to sleep, but something about his behavior yesterday kept me awake. Rubbing away the sleep from my eyes, I stood up and made my way towards the main bathroom. I knocked on the door, waiting for an answer. When none came, I tried again, a little louder this time.
"Kaoru?" I cracked open the door peeking through, but there was no one there. That's odd…A chill crept down my spine, but I forced it away. Maybe he was eating breakfast? I climbed down the stairs, ignoring the fact that I was still in yesterday's clothes, and made my way towards the dining area. I blinked in surprise at the empty chairs and table. Again, no Kaoru.
Forcing myself to remain calm, I ran to my room to see if he was there, but it was empty. "Kaoru!" I rushed back to his room, intending to see if there was a note, but after scouring the room, I admitted defeat. Nothing. I nearly yanked the phone out of the wall as I dialed the only number I had bothered to memorize. It rang once, twice…and then I noticed that there was music coming from his desk. With a sinking heart, I walked over to find his cell phone buried underneath some papers.
Dammit, Kaoru! Where are you? I picked up the phone again, choosing Tono's number from the list of contacts. Before he could even finish saying hello, I was talking.
"Tono! Kaoru's missing…!" Tamaki-Senpai hesitated a moment. I realized I had probably woken him up, but hell if I cared. "Tono!"
"Calm down, Hikaru. What do you mean Kaoru's missing?"
"I mean," I practically shouted, growing more agitated and worried by the minute, "He's not here."
"Well, do you know where he might have gone?"
"If I knew, why would I bother calling you?" I was shouting now, but I didn't care. All I could think about was Kaoru. Was he hurt? Was he scared?
"Hikaru, calm down. Getting upset isn't going to solve anything." I knew that, but dammit, he was my younger brother! I was supposed to protect him…!
"What do I do?" I asked, oblivious to the tears that stung at my eyes. "Tono, what am I supposed to do?" Tamaki-Senpai sighed.
"I'll call the rest of the club. We'll meet up at your place. We'll help you find Kaoru, okay?" My throat constricted painfully, my words dying in my throat.
"…Un…"
"Don't worry, Hikaru. We'll find him." I stared at the phone as the line went dead before placing it back on the hook with numb fingers. Kaoru…I stood up stiffly, not entirely aware of my movements. Walking over to the bed, I grabbed Kaoru's pillow and clutched it to me. I buried my face in it-it still smelled like him—and let my tears fall. Kaoru…
"Hikaru? We're here." I glanced up to see Haruhi and the others hovering near the door. I just moaned and buried my head back in his pillow. Tono sighed, moving to sit with me at the end of the bed. He put a hand on my shoulder, but I hardly noticed. "This is all my fault," I groaned, "If I had been paying more attention…"
"He was acting different yesterday," Kyouya-Senpai interjected. I just gave another pitiful moan, burying my head even further in the soft down pillow. Tono squeezed my shoulder before standing up.
"Alright. Kyouya, what are your theories?" The Shadow King opened up his notebook, scanning the contents before speaking.
"The biggest possibility is that he ran away. According to the staff of the household everyone is accounted for, so that rules out a kidnapping. Also, there have been several small withdrawals from his checking account at various ATMs, with no noticeable pattern. It seems that, whatever his reasons for leaving, he's trying to make it more difficult for us to find him."
I squeezed the pillow painfully tight. Why would Kaoru run away? If something was wrong, why didn't he tell me? We always told each other everything, so why now…?
"Hikaru?" I glanced up to find Haruhi kneeling in front of me. I bit my lip and turned away. "We'll find him, Hikaru. So, come on. Let's go look for Kaoru, okay?" I nodded glumly and hesitantly released his pillow. Haruhi was right. If I wanted to find him, I'd have to start looking.
"We'll split up," Tono declared, snapping into fearless leader mode. "Hunny-Senpai and Mori-Senpai, search the south side of town. Kyouya and Hikaru, you search east. Haruhi and I will search west. If you stumble across any clues, contact me immediately. Understand?"
"Hai," we all chorused together.
The others took off, which left me and Kyouya. I stood up, trudging over to where he stood. His dark eyes were just slightly bemused as he stared down at me.
"Don't you want to change?" His voice was oddly soft. It didn't fit his character. I stared down at myself; my clothes were wrinkled from being slept in. I nodded, walking over to the closet. I grabbed one of Kaoru's shirts without thinking and pulled it on. "Ready?" Again with that voice; it really wasn't fitting. I nodded and together we started towards the east side of town.
We stopped periodically, asking passersby and storeowners if they'd seen someone who looked like me. Each one would shake their heads, a look of pity in their eyes. It made me want to scream. I kept my phone in my hand in case anyone called, but it remained silent. As the sun was setting, Kyouya-Senpai stopped and put a hand on my shoulder.
"Let's go back," he said. I shook my head fiercely.
"No, Kaoru's still out here!" Kyouya sighed, pushing up his glasses with a finger.
"I know you're upset, but it's getting late. We won't be able to find him in the dark."
"Then you go back. I'm staying here."
"Hikaru, don't be difficult. Besides, maybe the others have news."
"Then why didn't they call…?" I mumbled, staring at the phone in my hand. Kyouya-Senpai just sighed again, glancing back the way we'd came.
"Come on." I watched his retreating form before, with one last look around, I fell into step behind him.