A tightness ripped through Tamaki's entire body, compressing his heart as though a million straps were suddenly in his chest. Fog began to obscure the world around him, thickly holding him in place. It was replacing the oxygen that was suppose to be entering his lungs, making breathing almost impossible. The world began to fade, his vision slowly becoming a pinpoint, the image of Kyoya's back traveling farther from his reach embedded within him. He couldn't speak, still trying to process the words that had been presented to him. It had seemed so foreign to him, like a string of nonsensical sounds stung together to seem like a sentence.

His limbs felt strangely heavy, dragging him farther towards the ground. There was no desire to move from the place he had landed. In his mind, if he moved, everything would become real. As long as he stayed where he was, he could pretend it was a bad dream. Kyoya would turn around any minute, striding back and laughing. He couldn't just walk away like that. The words that were spoken by him were so cold, even for him.

But why would Kyoya need to stay? Their families were tied together in business, so there was no need. He had nothing left to gain from his friendship with Tamaki, which was what he was always looking for. All he could think was that the entire friendship was a lie; just a way for Kyoya to get what he needed. Tamaki needed his friendship the most in these times of change, yet now it was gone. Just when he needed him the most, his friend was walking away. Maybe he just wasn't good enough to have friends in his life. The people he cared about always seemed to leave.

Tamaki's head was beginning to hurt. There was some sort of noise that reminded him of a suffering animal he had once seen. The cries of such feral pain was all he could hear. His eyes strained to make out anything, but he could see nothing. Memories flooded into his mind's eye, overtaking the little vision that he had left. There were promises that he would never see come to fruition. There were placed they had talked about going and the plans that were talked about for years. Now it was going to be nothing more than lies and bitter memories.

"Tamaki, what happened?" a voice said, distantly, as though from miles away.

Light seemed to be returning, cutting through the fog like a dull knife. The lightness of the voice was able to push the terrible howls to a dull roar in the background with its warmth and comfort. The blanket of it enveloped him, caressing his body and mind with its gentle, loving tone. It was a feeling he wasn't use to, and didn't want to lose anytime soon. Just the idea of being dependent on it scared him.

With his vision slowly returning, he could see a figure to his right, a silhouette at first, but slowly becoming clearer. He couldn't tell any of their features, but he could see that their mouth was moving, though he couldn't make out what was being said. It was just lips opening and closing with no sound coming out. There was concern in their eyes, but it didn't make sense as to why they were next to him, worried.

"Tamaki?" Haruhi said, more of a question than a statement. The words almost matched the motion of her lips this time. "Are you okay?"

The image of her came into focus more clearly. He didn't know when she had come to his side, or when her touch had started on his back. He concluded that the warmth and comfort he had been feeling a moment before must have been her. She was his light trying to pull him from this darkness, even if he he hadn't been able to make her image out clearly.

Tamaki felt liquid on his cheeks, realizing with a jolt that the fog he had been struggling to see through was in reality the tears that were falling freely from his eyes. The howling noise that he had heard were in fact his own sobs escaping him. His breathing was irregular and ragged, on the verge of hyperventilation. The pain was still crushing his chest, but Haruhi was doing her best to rip him back to reality.

"Please, talk to me," she said, her voice dripping with the concern that was matching her facial features.

"He..." Tamaki tried to say, breaking off with another sob. How was he to explain to his love that his best friend had walked away?

Haruhi hesitantly reached out, taking his hand into hers. Her fingers caressed the back of his hand, tenderly, causing warmth to return to his extremities. His eyes met hers finally, and she wiped away a tear on his cheek with her other hand.

"Kyoya is leaving," he finally managed to say.

"The country? That's okay Tamaki, we can go visit him. That's no reason to be upset."

His throat was dry causing each breath taken to feel like knives on his tender esophagus. Tears return to his already damp eyes. "No, he's leaving me. He wants nothing to do with me. I'm too much for him to be friends with."

"Oh Tamaki, he probably is just stressed. His family is most likely pushing him to be more like his brothers again. You know how they are, always trying to make him conform to their ideals. Just give him some space, and let him think for a bit."

The idea of giving him space seemed impossible. How could he not talk to his friend? They had talked daily since the day they had met. Kyoya was who kept him company while Haruhi was busy studying. Without him, there would be a void in his life. It felt as bad as having to leave his mother. He loved Kyoya like a brother, and now he said he would be gone?

No, Tamaki thought, I will not sit here and allow him to cut me out like this. He had always been a strong willed fighter, and this was just another challenge that he would overcome on his own.

He stood up with a new resolve and pulled Haruhi to him. "You're right, my love. There must be more to this than I am seeing. He must have a good reason to say these things. I'm sure he will be talking to me in a few days and explain then what is going on."