It was really too early for phone calls. I was up doing some morning training but I didn't know why anyone else would be. I quickly found out.

The next thing I knew, my cousin and I were in our limo, speeding to the hospital. We ran in as fast as possible. Only Kyoya was there but the rest of the host club was right on our heels.

"What happened?" Tamaki demanded.

He looked as scattered as the rest of us. Even Kyoya was visibly shaken. Mitskuni was barely even awake.

"I'm not sure," Kyoya admitted, adjusting his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I got a report of Rikku being in critical condition here at the hospital. I don't even know how they knew to reach me."

We all fiddled silently for a moment. Nobody really knew what was going on. Which was scarey.

"Um," a doctor said, appearing in the doorway of the private waiting room. "Which of you is Mr. Ootori?"

Kyoya went over to talk to the doctor.

"Takeshi," Mitskuni said, his arms wrapped tightly around Usa - chan. "Is Rikku going to be okay?"

Again, I really hated lying. "I don't know," I told him.

Kyoya walked back over to us. He didn't look like he had good news. Mitskuni moved closer to me.
Kyoya hesitated before saying anything. He never hesitated. He never had to dig for words. My heart nearly stopped beating. It had to be really bad for him to have to take so much prep time.

"She's in bad shape," he said finally. "They... they honestly don't think that she'll make it through the night."

My heart did stop. The twins grabbed each other. All the color drained from Tamaki's face. Mitskuni clenched onto my leg. I felt like fainting.

"She was brought in by the ambulance," Kyoya continued. "She... It looks like someone tried to disembowel Rikku. They beat her almost to death. There's a lot of damage and she lost a lot of blood."

I felt like someone was disemboweling me.

"What can we do?" Tamaki asked.

"Wait," he responded. "They can't let anyone in to see here. She's going back into surgery in a few minutes. Like I said there's a lot of damage. Who ever did this to her... they were trying to kill her."

I felt like collapsing. Right there in front of god and everybody. I didn't care. No one seemed real sure of how to react.

Who would do this to her? When I find them I'm going to rip them apart limb from limb. I'm going to really rip someone's insides out and hang them with it.

There was nothing left for us to do but wait. Everyone took a seat. the twins hugged each other crying. Mitskuni curled up in my lap and sobbed. Tamaki leaned forward and sobbed. Even Kyoya seemed close to crying.

This wasn't supposed to happen... I should've followed her.. I shouldn't have let her go last night. I should've...

There was a million things that I should've done. I knew that I could've prevented this somehow but I knew that it wasn't ever going to happen again.

Finally, a doctor came into the waiting room. We'd been sitting there for nearly eight hours. It seemed more like an eternity. No one had left to eat or drink. None of us had really moved. All of us were pretty much catatonic.

Kyoya got up to speak with the doctor. When he returned, he didn't look happy, relieved, or optimistic.
"She's out of surgery," he sighed. "And back in ICU... There's nothing to really do but wait and pray. She's in a coma..."

"Can we see her?" Mitskuni asked.

"Two at a time," he said. "Even I can't pull enough strings to get us all in there."

Kyoya and Tamaki went to see her first. Then the twins and finally Mitskuni and I went in. It was almost too much for me to be in there. Even the smell was hard to take.

You couldn't really see Rikku. There were too many bandages, tubes, and bruises. Her face was swollen and bruised. I paused by the door.

Mitskuni went to one side of the bed and grabbed her hand. I went to the other side and took her other hand. She always had looked small and fragile to me but now... she was almost unimaginably breakable. I was almost afraid to touch her, being so much bigger. I was afraid the slightest touch might shatter her.

"Hey Ri - chan," Mitskuni said, his voice way steadier than mine would've been. "You need to be okay, alright? We'd really miss you. You have to get better really fast. Right Takeshi?"

I nodded, barely tightening my grip on Rikku's hand. "Right," I agreed.

Mitskuni looked up at me. "Hey Takeshi? Can you sit with her a minute by yourself? I have to go to the bathroom."

I nodded for him to go. He slipped out of the door. I waited until I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore before speaking.

"Rikku," I said carefully, testing out her name on my lips. "Please. Don't die... I... I need you... the whole Host Club needs you... Especially me."

I lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. It was almost too much. I felt sick. Even though I'd barely known the small girl for three months, it seemed like forever. I couldn't imagine my life without her in it. This wasn't how it was supposed to end.

The door opened and Mitskuni stuck his head in. "Kyo - chan needs us."

I left, giving one last look at the girl lying in the hospital bed.

It was decided that someone would stay with Rikku at all times. Kyoya managed to get us that permission. We'd do it in shifts, taking turns missing days of school to be with her. I never wanted to leave. Afraid something might happen while I was gone.

No one had the heart to host and the host club was closed until which point Rikku was better.
The days dragged by. Pretty soon, a week and a half had passed and she still wasn't awake.

"The fact that she survived this long leads us to believe that she may pull through this," one of the doctors said.

I really hoped that was the case.

It was mine and Mitskuni's night to stay. We wouldn't be attending school the next day either.

"Takeshi," my cousin said. "Do you think that Rikku would like a present? Maybe a bunny like Usa – chan?"

"Ah," I nodded. It was just to distract him. We all needed distractions.

His face lit up for the first time since Rikku's accident. The boy hadn't even been able to eat the cake that he loved so much. He'd just picked at it. Admittedly, none of us had done much of anything, much less eating.

"I'm going to the gift shop okay? You stay here with Rikku!" he said bouncing to his feet. 'I'll be right back!"

He bolted out.

"Rikku," I said. "Everyone really needs you to come back to us. Tamaki can't even pretend to host. Kyoya can't be himself. The twins are impossible. Mitskuni can't eat cake... And I... I can barely breathe. I feel like my arm has been chopped off... Please... come back."

My hand twitched tighter around hers. Mitskuni came in. He had Usa - chan and another rabbit that resembled it.

"Look!" he declared. "It kinda looks like Usa - chan! I thought that Rikku might like it."

He put in between her and her arm, like she was holding it.

"Maybe this will make her better faster," he said, his eyes gleaming with slight optimism. "Do you think so Takeshi?'

"Maybe." I told him. I wanted to believe it as much as he did.