This is the updated version of Purgatory. Thankyou always for your continued support and love! Please R&R

Chapter 2

Light. That's the first thing I remember when I woke up. There was so much radiance and warmth. The world around me seemed like a daze. I felt as though I just woke up for the first time in my life. My mind was foggy as I sat up. The earth was soft underneath my fingertips, the soil slipping like silt at the bottom of the sea. I glanced around confused.

Jumping up, I spun around. Unfamiliar trees were sprung around me, cascading oaks spawning far, far away from me. Green grass blades swayed slowly in the breeze. Birds chirped high above me, while woodland animals scurried around me. It was peaceful…. Where was it though?

Cold sweat began to cling to my back, the woman. She… Must've had knocked me out… But why? And why was I here? Scanning around, I couldn't see anything but trees and forests.

"Hikaru!" I shouted, my lungs seemingly heavier, "Hikaru! Where are you?"

Stumbling, I moved through the woods, clutching on to every morsel of life I could find. I shouted and screamed, scared baby birds from their nests and cried out. Everything seemed so alive, and fresh. The grass was so brightly green, the air so crisp and the melodies of the birds blended together like a symphony of noise. The forest looked so familiar, I just couldn't place where.

"He can't hear you, you know?" A voice seemed to echo through the trees, the wind picking it up like an instrument and playing its chorus, "You are in purgatory."

Panic set in, racing through my mind like a rat. "What do you mean Purgatory? Who are you?" I turned this way and that, desperately trying to find who the voice belonged to, "What do you want with me?"

The breeze tickled my cheeks, twisting this way and that. I gazed upwards to see a little girl staring back down at me. Her two jet black pig tails settling each side of her head, while a cheeky grin seemed plastered to her face. She wore a cherry blossom kimono, the long sleek edges seeming a little too big for her.

"I'm your…." The girl seemed troubled for a moment, "Seems like you have unfinished business with the living."

"The living?" I asked perplexed, raising an eyebrow and crossing my arms, "But I am alive. You aren't making any sense."

For a moment, everything stood still. The girl's face dropped, anguish replacing the joyous features, "You are in Purgatory silly," The smile returned, bringing even more questions than answers. The girl hopped down, bright green eyes sparkling, "Your heart stopped beating."

"But I am alive," I pleaded with her, "There was this woman. She came into the club room; she must've dragged me here. Where am I? Hikaru!" Turning around, I glanced around, my mind reeling from the noise. Pacing my tired legs, I kept screaming for my brother, "HIKARU!"

Clucking her tongue, the little girl mumbled, "Dragged you into the middle of here? Do you honestly believe this is a forest?"

"It is a forest! Well, I was knocked out, anything could've happened. I must get back to Hikaru. He has to know I am alright."

"But you aren't alright," The girl's voice echoed.

"Yes, I am."

The girl stretched out her arm, I followed her pointer finger's direction to a small pool of crystal clear water. It glistened in the sunlight, "Look, and you will see."

"What?"

She stretched her finger further, eyes blazing with determination, "Look and you will see," The girl smirked.

Exhaling loudly, I crept towards the pool of water. It was crystal clear in the sunlight, the surface sparkling like a fish's scales. The water undisturbed by scavengers. I looked downwards. There, in the surface, was the club house with Hikaru!

"Hikaru!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, crouching near the water and inspecting it. As clear as day light, there was Hikaru. Excitement flooded my veins, but…

He was standing in the club house, tears already staining his face as… Wait, why were the police there? Why was Tamaki bawling at the top of his lungs? Why was Haruhi looking so sad? Where was Mori and Hunny? Why is Why did everyone seem so upset?

In shock, I collapsed on my butt, "What am I seeing?"

The girl is already beside me, hand on my shoulder, "I thought you would want to see the good before the bad?" The girl shrugged as my puzzled look reached her eyes

Hikaru collapsed on his knees, bottom lip quivering while tears rolled down his cheeks, "It can't be Kaoru's!" Hikaru's voice echoed with the wind, growing louder, "I never should've left him. Now, he could have run off but there was no need. Have you checked all the malls or our home or-"

"Mr Hitachiin, if you would please calm down..." there was a man… a police officer? He was pleading with my brother, a long look settled on his face, "It is only minute traces of blood but…" There was a plastic bag, flimsy but…. I felt nauseous. Inside, there was a jacket? An Ouran Highschool jacket? Stained in red…, "I am sorry, but we must continue this investigation as a homicide."

Hikaru curled his lip, his look venomous, "KAORU IS NOT DEAD! SOMEONE HAS TAKEN HIM! WE NEED TO ACT NOW SO WE CAN BRING HIM HOME!"

"Hikaru," Haruhi's voice was soft, unmoving as she placed a hand on his back. Soft fingers caressed his back as she whispered, "Everything is going to be okay. We will bring him home."

There was a saltiness in the air, of the tears people had shed. An unending feeling of terror and sadness. Longing. Agony and horror. The wind roared, as Hikaru's image hammered his fists against the tiled club room floor. Haruhi murmuring words in his ears. Hikaru shook his head, tears flowing now into waterfalls. The wind began to shriek around us while Hikaru's fists pounded the floor until finally, "It can't. It can't be." The wind barely whispered his cries.

The air began to feel stale, cold and broken. The ground shook with every tremor of Hikaru's body as the girl remained still beside me.

Hikaru looked away, biting his lip in misery as he kept shaking his head. On all fours, he curled up, closing his eyes as he sobbed and sobbed.

The image faded…

I looked at the girl, my feelings twirling inside of me, "What happened to me? Where am I? Why are you here?"

Glancing away, the girl pointed at the pond once. My eyes swooped lower.

I vomited.