"Don't wait until it's too late to tell someone how much you love, how much you care...

because no matter how loud you shout and cry...

they won't hear you anymore.

"Are you certain that's who it was?" Misuzu nodded with a serious look on his face, "Hm... she was looking for a boy with red hair you say?" Kaoru looked up in alarm, fearing the worst. Tamaki stopped pacing and stared at Misuzu, worry on his face. "I see... Thank you. Hikaru should have his cell with him, so I'll try giving him a call." He hung up the phone and looked at the worried Host Club, explaining, "Evidently Hikaru left Akiko somewhere near the produce shop Arai works at. His dad found her wandering about in the rain looking for Hikaru and recognized her."

Suddenly a loud thud from the back of the room drew everyone's attention away. They looked to the source of the sound, Kyoya being the first to react.

"Alex!" As he shouted her name he ran towards her, everyone else crying out in shock and saying her name before following Kyoya's actions and rushing over to help her. She coughed harshly, skin so pale she was almost blue, pushing herself up only to collapse against Kyoya's form as he helped her sit up. Her head rested against his shoulder as she breathed heavily. "What in the hell are you think you damn moron!?"

She grinned weakly at him, her eyes wet and moist. "I... have to talk to... Hikaru." Tamaki's face contorted into that of conflicted emotions-angry and worried and upset all at once. Kyoya just looked angry, but his eyes burned with emotions. "P-Phone..." Wheezing, she shifted and started to pat Kyoya down, trying to find his phone. "Where's..." He ground his teeth together angrily and said,

"It's broken." A pained look crossed her face. It was clear she knew the reason why.

Kaoru knelt down beside her and held out his own, already dialing the number. "Here... you can use mine. I need to give Hikaru a scolding too."

She nodded and tried for another smiling, wrapping her fingers around the phone loosely as she held it up to her ear. Kyoya held her in place, making sure she didn't fall. There was a clash of thunder and a scream, and Tamaki quickly rushed over to comfort Haruhi who was trembling in fear. Mitsukuni had let her hold Usa-Chan for a bit of comfort, but it seemed that it wasn't doing much good. Misuzu, Fuyumi, and Mori had no idea at all what to do.

"Kaoru, are you feeling alright!? You're not worse are you!?"

Alex almost couldn't respond. It hurt to breathe. It hurt even more to speak.

"K-Kaoru!? Kaoru, what's wrong?"

Swallowing thickly, her throat painfully sore, she said, "Hikaru..." He went completely silent, the male having inhaled sharply. "Go... go after Akiko. There-There's this man... he-he keeps..." She coughed for a good long moment, the girl covering her mouth with her free hand. She could feel the sticky red liquid attach itself to her skin. Her vision blurred. "He... he won't leave her alone... she's so scared... She gets so scared when she sees him. H-He won't-He stalks her, Hikaru, and-and I know he's out there! It-It's dark and r-raining and she's out there still l-looking for you by herself! Wh-What if-" Acid seemed to bubble up her throat and keeping her hand firmly over her mouth, she tried to swallow the liquids back down. Darkness danced in her sight, the girl feeling incredibly lightheaded. "What if he gets her...? She-She's still a girl!" She, at a random moment, remembered a similar situation from an anime she had watched back when she could still laugh... Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge. Alex would still be Alex, no matter the situation it seemed, but...

Akiko... she wasn't safe. The bad feeling in Alex's gut twisted even more.

That man would stop at nothing to get what he wanted from her. Back before when she was adopted they had known each other. He had appeared to help Akiko, appeared to be a nice guy, but if the man who is now her father hadn't been walking by then... she most definitely wouldn't be the same girl she is today.

"Go and find her!" She hung up, and turned her head in an attempt to locate Kaoru, but all she saw was blurred images and darkness. "Where..." She wavered, her head pounding as though someone was thrashing her head against a brick wall repeatedly. She couldn't keep her eyes open.

"Alex? Alex? Alex!"

Haruhi let out another scream as thunder rolled around outside the building, muffling the sound of a cellphone hitting the floor, accompanied by that of a limp and pale hand.

The phone in Hikaru's hand felt like an anchor weight. He couldn't move. It was though his feet were glued the ground, like the male was no more than statue. If he... gets her? His brain barely registered anything Alex had just told him. Alex... she sounded so sick... so in pain... He started to tremble. He bit his bottom lip and looked up through the darkness, feeling the rain pelt against his face. His eyes stung from tears and the cold, and as he pocket his phone slowly he made the decision.

He ran. He ran as fast as he possibly could through the storm, stopping by at every passerby he encountered and demanding if they've seen his companion. His friend.

She didn't care what he thought of her and he didn't care what she said to him. He was stubborn, she was prideful, and the two of them argued a lot. They were so much alike that they repelled each other and yet...

He had been so scared when he lost sight of her. She was breaking through that last lock... and although he tried to protect it, keep it strong and sturdy, it seemed to rust and weaken. She kept picking and picking with that hairclip, refusing to let it stay on the gate. Despite everything he did, how much he tried to push her away from him and his brother, she broke through.

The lock had come undone. The lock that protected the gate around his heart... Damn it, where is she!? "Akiko!" He called loudly, stopping to catch his breath for a second as he leaned over with his hands on his knees. Still no sight of her.

"Hey, you! With the red hair!" Hikaru panted and swallowed, standing up and turning his head in the direction of the voice. A man was standing at the entrance of a Produce store, waving at him with the door open. "Yeah! Did ya get separated from some girl in a red cardigan!? She was lookin' for a man with yer description!"

Hikaru looked at the man hopefully, dashing over to speak to him. He stopped in front of him, breathing heavily. "Y-You've seen Akiko?"

"Pretty girl with black hair? Sure have, son. Was dashing 'bout in the rain lookin' all over for ya. Sent 'er that way." He pointed in the direction he directed the girl, and for the second time that day received a bow and thanks. The man scratched his head, not knowing what he was going to do with the young people nowadays if they kept getting separated while looking for another. Young love... I'll never understand youngsters. He barely understood why his son was still infatuated with a girl he met in Middle School.

"Alex-Alex!" Kyoya called, hovering over her with a hand beside her head on the couch she was resting on. Don't you dare... Not yet. He wasn't able to accept it yet. I never even asked... "Don't you dare die on me!"

After she went limp and fainted, Kyoya picked her up bridal-style and let Misuzu showed him a couch he could set Alex down on. She didn't even make a noise as he had shifted her so she could be more comfortable. She was so cold...

"Alex!" She couldn't go to sleep. If she did, then she might just... "Alex, come on!"

"Sempai, I don't think-" Kaoru began, eyes red from his crying, "I don't think she's..." She can't be. She can't be dead. "Sh-She's not breathing..." He was shaking. Kaoru swallowed thickly and placed a hand on Kyoya's shoulder, only to have the man slap his hand away.

"Don't touch me!" She was alive. She was still perfectly alive. Kyoya cupped her right cheek with his hand and caressed it gently with his thumb, muttering softly, "Come on, Alex... wake up. Wake up!" No... "I didn't tell you yet... I didn't say anything. Alex, you moron, wake up!" Water droplets splashed across Alex's face and it was only then Kyoya realized he was crying. His lips curled back and he clenched his free fist, "I said to wake up..." He whispered, but as he stared at her lifeless face, he just seemed to stop. The world seemed to stop. It... it was as if he couldn't feel anything. Alex... she couldn't be. It was impossible.

She can't be dead...

"L-Lexi-Chan..." Mitsukuni whimpered, staring with horrified eyes. Mori knelt beside his cousin and wrapped his arms around him, holding him tightly to comfort not only him, but himself. Haruhi had stopped screaming, instead staring at the ground in front of her with eyes more terrified than Tamaki had ever seen before. His hold on her tightened and he held her close, casting a quick glance at Alex before burying his face in Haruhi's hair and kissing the top of her head. Tears were streaming down their faces. Even stoic Mori looked about to cry.

Kaoru had longed but fallen to his knees next to Kyoya, holding his sister's hand and squeezing it tightly, trying his best not to cry but it being almost too difficult to hold back the sob. "Alex..." How was he going to break it to Hikaru? He had promised... he had said she'd be alright as long as Kyoya and Fuyumi were watching after her and yet...

Speaking of the oldest Ootori, the woman was in the background next to Misuzu, hands covering her mouth in horror and sorrow.

I said I'd never let you be taken from me... I said you had another chance to live. He squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his head, lifting her body up and embracing her tightly. All he could feel at this moment was anger, brought on by his grief. "Why...?" He muttered quietly, before screaming in demand, "WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME OUT TO BE A LIAR!?"

That was when he felt her jolt. That was when he heard it.

It was faint. Very, very faint... but it was there. "She's still alive..." Kaoru froze, being the only one to hear him. He slowly lifted his head and stared at Kyoya with huge eyes, not sure if he heard him correctly. Kyoya shot his head up, releasing his grip on her and setting her back down gently, and glared in his sister's direction, shouting, "Quickly, call an ambulance! Her heart's still beating!"

"No..." Everyone turned to Tamaki, who had spoken softly. "Do you want her to be in more pain? Can't you see how much she's hurting?" It went silent when they realized he was right. "She's in so much pain and yet... " Thunder crackled in the distance. Haruhi wasn't even able to scream. She just felt numb. Tamaki held her gently in her arms and lifted his head, locking his eyes with Kyoya. "She just wanted to help. She wouldn't want us to mourn her."

"You don't..."

"Maybe I don't, but you do, Kyoya."

You could hear Mitsukuni sobbing in the background, clinging tightly to Takashi. "Alex! Why does she have to go?" No one knew the answer to that. However no one had the time to ponder that question when Alex suddenly started screaming, thrashing about as if having a seizure. But the thing that was the most peculiar, was how it appeared she was trying to fight against someone-to push them off of her. Kyoya and Kaoru both backed up, alarmed.

"I said I'd come back, didn't?" He asked, grinning at Akiko as he held her pinned against atree. His dark eyes flashed coldly and the girl glared at him, refusing to give in. "I wouldn't have to be so brash if you just agreed to marry me. It's just simple math, Akiko! You, me, marriage- it equals happy life! I mean, who else is willing to marry some girl who was plucked off the streets? If you weren't so pretty you wouldn't have been saved at all!"

She spat in his face, causing Touma to reach a hand up wipe it away off of his face with a sleeve disgustedly. "You're lucky he didn't call the police when he saw what you were trying to do, otherwise you'd be locked up by now!"

"Ah-Ah-Ah, is that the way to treat the man who gave you food when you were wandering around starving?"

"You tricked me!"

He shrugged shamelessly with a smile, "Maybe. But I did give you food. You still didn't let me collect that favor from you."

"Some favor you bastard! Rape isn't exactly a favor! I was thirteen and you tried to-"

He grabbed a fistful of her hair roughly, causing her to wince as she glared into his eyes.

It was still pouring.

"That's what you get for trusting strangers so easily! How dumb a bitch are you!?" Pissed off, and finally seeing that he was close enough to her, she raised a leg and hit his "precious", causing him to cry out and release her, stumbling back and falling to his knees.

"Ha! Take that, bastard!" She glared darkly and scowled at him, watching him writhe on the ground before making a break for it. She ran faster than she did when she was trying to get away from angry store employees when she shoplifted for food when she was younger. Suddenly her foot caught a tree root, sending her flying forward as her foot twisted painfully. She screamed as she fell, and grunted as she hit the ground. Akiko tried to push herself up, only to freeze and let out a small scream when pain flared in her ankle. No! This can't be happening!

She felt herself panicking. If he caught up-No. She didn't want to think about it. Ignoring the intense pain in her foot and ankle, she got to her knees and twisted her body, tugging at the root as she tried to get herself loose. "C-Come on, get off! No! No, no, no, no-" She glanced nervously at the direction she came from, fear starting to spread and course through her veins. "Get off!" The root finally detached itself from the ground and her foot was free. She was breathing heavily. I-I have to-safety. Safety. Need to get safe. She then remembered. Hikaru! I still need to find Hikaru!

But she had no idea where he was. She didn't even know where she was.

"I got you, you rotten-!" She screamed, Touma tackling her from behind and pushing her onto her front on the ground. "I'll make you pay for that!" He tugged at her cardigan, attempting to rip it off. She thrashed, but her twisted ankle could only let her struggle so much. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

No one was going to be able to save this time. Not before he finished what he started two years ago...

Thunder crashed loudly.

"Akiko!" The girl screamed even louder, and curled into a ball when Touma was suddenly thrown off of her, the man yelling in pain as a fist made contact with his face multiple times.

Hikaru sat on top of him, punching him repeatedly and mercilessly in the face, anger clear in his eyes.

"Who the hell do you think you are touching her like that!? Get the fuck away from her, damn it!" Touma managed to catch managed to catch one of Hikaru's wrist and flipped him off of him and onto his back, Touma landing a punch in Hikaru's face instead. The twin growled and glared hatefully at the sick man as Touma wrapped his hands around Hikaru's neck, attempting to strangle him. However Hikaru had easily raised a knee and got him roughly in the stomach, knocking him off of him. Touma rolled onto his side and groaned, red marks and bruises forming on his face.

Neither he or Hikaru were going to be going home unscathed.

"She owes me!" Touma hissed, pushing himself to his feet. As he stumbled, limping. He pointed at her, "She owes me for what I did for her! She was crawling around the streets dirt poor and I gave her bread from my father's farm! I gave her shelter! She owes me!"

"I-I offered to pay you back with money!" She cried, pushing herself up onto her knees. "You refused!"

"Because I don't want your damn dad's money! I want you! It's not like there's any other use for a pretty girl anyway!" Touma was knocked onto his back once again, Hikaru having ran forward and socked him in the face.

"She's more than a pretty girl, damn it! You would know that if you weren't so shallow!" Akiko looked on with wide eyes, startled. "Unlike you sick bastard, she's nice! She's stubborn, prideful, a pain-in-the-ass," The girl's stunned look turned into that of annoyance, the fear almost completely dissipated at this point. Hikaru clearly knew how to hold his own, but did he really have to insult her? "But she's selfless and kind and she risked her life to save my brother! And for the record," He pointed at Akiko, not removing his glare from Touma, "I happen to consider her to be one of my friends, so if you lay another hand on her I'm gonna do even worse and report you to the police! I got friends in high places and you really don't want to piss me off anymore than you already have. So scram."

He removed his foot from Touma's chest, allowing the boy to curse at him before scrambling off in a hurry. Hikaru let out a breath he didn't know that he was holding and fell to the ground, exhausted.

"Hikaru..." He turned his head to look at her, offering a small grin.

"You okay over there?" She blinked, before nodding.

"Y-yeah... for the most part. I... I think I sprained my ankle or something." Hikaru frowned before cursing under his breath. He then looked up at the sky, commenting, "I don't think it's going to stop pouring anytime soon... we might just have to find somewhere to wait until it stops. Need me to carry you?"

"I don't need carried," She deadpanned, before turning her head in embarrassment. "I just... I just need some help walking. Th-That's all." Hikaru rolled his eyes at her before standing, limping over to her. He had taken quite a beating from Touma, but it wasn't as bad as what Hikaru had done to him. He knelt down beside her and wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders, his hand on her waist and pulling her against his side. Both their faces turned a little red, but at the moment neither one of them cared as they were just relieved to know that each other was safe.

After a while of wandering around lost in the forest, they found a church. More thunder crashed. The rain merely seemed to pour harder. Akiko pushed the door open with her free hand and the limped inside, taking a seat on one of the church benches.

Akiko let out a tired sigh, groaning. "I'm exhausted..."

"You're exhausted? You're not the one with a black eye. My good looks are ruined thanks to your sorry ass." Akiko sent him a look, Hikaru calmly returning in kind with a glare of his own. "If you didn't run off-"

"If I didn't run off? You're the one who freaked after hugging me!"

"Only because I thought you got lost! I thought you were going to leave me like-"

"Alex?" Hikaru went quiet, clamping his mouth shut as a pained look formed on his face before quickly vanishing. He turned his head away. Akiko's gaze softened and she said, "Look... I know you're upset about her; I'm hurt too. We're all upset about her condition, but we have to face the facts that there's nothing we can do about it. Alex is dying, Hikaru, and it's not preventable... we just have to move on and live for her sake, okay? She wouldn't want you to be beating yourself up over her." She placed a hand on his arm, trying her best to comfort him. Akiko was one of those people who was better with words than she was actions.

"...How can you say that?"

"...Do you want me to cry about it?" Hikaru's gaze snapped to her, and he found himself unable to tear his eyes away from her sharp silvery gaze. He then noticed something odd... Her eyes, being so silver, seemed to be the moon reflected off the water from a lake at night. They were almost enchanting. Weird, how he's never noticed before. It was only then that he noticed why her eyes reminded him of the moon being reflected off of water-she was holding back tears. He could feel her hand shaking against his arm. Her skin was cold from the rain.

"Why don't you cry about it?"

"The same reason why you hate crying and get so ashamed about it," She responded, causing his eyes to widen. Her frown turned into a shaky smile, "I'm afraid that if I start... I won't be able to stop. I want to be strong. For her. For everyone around me. I want to be like Alex. Always smiling despite the pain... able to go on."

Hikaru was silent for a moment, and you could hear the rain pounding against the church's roof. After a minute, he said, "Smiling... doesn't always mean you're strong. Being... I think that being able to admit that you're scared... is what makes you strong." Her eyes widened, before her bottom lip started to tremble. She lowered her head, closing her eyes.

"R-Really? Then... is it alright... if I cry in front of you?" She looked up at him, looking utterly broken at this point. "B-Because... I-I don't know how much longer I can keep them held back... I-I just..." Her breathing grew shaky and she blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears at bay. She sniffled, "I just can't..."

He sighed, before placing a hand on her head and making her lean over, her head now resting on his shoulder. "Whatever... go right ahead. I won't look if you don't want me too."

"Th-Thank you..." She whispered, voice cracking a little as she clung to him. "I-I'm sorry for all the mean things I said to you... I-I didn't-I didn't really mean them..."

Hikaru felt surprised, but he didn't show it. Instead he wrapped an arm around her and said, "Yeah... me too. I'm sorry." He could feel Akiko's tears stain his shirt. "And... if you don't mind..." She waited patiently for him to finish, allowing the tears to stream freely down her face for the first time since finding out about her best friend's condition. Hikaru finished awkwardly, "If you don't mind... can we start over as friends?"

"Y-yeah... 'Course." His hold on her tightened just a smidgen.

"...Thanks."