Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. The beautiful series is owned by the wonderful Natsuki Takaya. I also do not own I Write Sins, Not Tragedies. That wonderful song belongs to Panic! At the Disco. Now on with the story!

Shana's P.O.V.

I sighed as I sat down in my chair. Nao had brought me home and scolded me for drinking so much the night before.

I grabbed the remote for my cd player and turned it on.

Oh, well, imagine

As I'm pacing the pews in a church corridor

And I can't help but hear

No I can't help but to hear an exchanging of words

I had closed my eyes and begun to let my mind drift to my current novel.

What a beautiful wedding

What a beautiful wedding said a bridesmaid to a waiter

And guess what

What a shame

What a shame the poor groom's bride is a wh-

I switched off the cd player. I was bored out of my mind, my body was aching, and I wanted to smash something. Today just wasn't a good day.

I turned on the TV and prayed there would be something on. I flipped through the channels. Nothing.

Stupid cable! Over 300 channels but nothing to watch!

I turned off the TV and walked stiffly over to my bookshelf, looking for something to read. I finally settled on reading the Phantom of the Opera. It was in English, but I could read and speak English fluently.

About halfway through the book my phone rang. I sighed and answered it.

"Shana, honey, is that you?" It was my mother. And she sounded like she was crying.

"Yeah mom. I'm here. What's up?"

"It's…Lucas…Sweetie…he died…"

That was the moment the world seemed to stop spinning for me. Lucas was my older brother by six years. He had been the only one in the family who ever seemed to really care about me. He had practically raised me himself.

"What…happened?" I couldn't speak in anything above a whisper at this point.

"He was killed by a drunk driver…" I could tell my mother was sobbing. I wasn't far from it either.

"Th-thank you for telling me. Have you…decided when the funeral will be?" I was trembling.

"Next Sunday. I'll…see you there…" That was her way of telling me she was crying too hard to talk.

"Ok. Bye mom." I felt like a small child who had somehow gotten herself lost in a place called hell. I set down the phone and nearly fell into my chair.

My mind had become a dark void. My best friend in the world was gone. I felt as though I had nowhere left to turn to, nowhere left to run.

My cell phone rang and I looked at the caller id. It was one of the Sohmas.

"Hello?" I answered, my voice sounding hollow.

"Hey, I just called to see if you were doing any better." Yuki's voice came through.

"Depends on how you define better."

"Shana, are you ok."

"I…can't talk right now. I'll see you in a few days."

"A few days?"

"I won't be coming to school for a few days."

"Why not?"

"Yuki, I don't want to talk right now. Ok?" The tears that I had been fighting back had begun to find their way out of my eyes.

"Shana, I'm worried about you." It was a new voice now. It was Shigure's.

"Goodbye." I said as I closed my phone.

A few minutes later it rang again but I ignored it. My sorrow was taking control. I looked at the clock. It was 8:45 pm.

I grabbed my jacket and began walking to the park. I found a bench and sat down, letting my emotions run wild. Nothing mattered anymore. There was nothing but me, the snow, and my pain.

Shigure's P.O.V. Huzzah again!

I was worried about Shana. She sounded…broken…on the phone. I tried not to think about it but trying not to just made it worse.

Kyo and Yuki were fighting in another room and the noise was becoming too much to bear. I finally got fed up, grabbed my coat, and left the house. I had no clue where I was going. I just let my feet do the walking.

Next thing I knew I was at the park. I saw someone sitting on a bench. I glanced at my watch. It was 9:00. Why would anyone be out here at this time of night?

You're out here, I reminded myself.

I watched as the wind picked up and began blowing snowflakes around, along with the girl's long, black hair.

As I walked closer to the bench I put two and two together and figured out who the girl was.

"Shana, what are you doing here?" I asked as I sat down beside her.

She looked at me, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes were filled with pain.

"Shana, what's wrong?" I asked, worried about the poor girl.

"He's dead…" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Who's dead, Shana?" I asked.

"Lucas."

"Who's Lucas?"

"…My…older brother…"

The poor girl! Her brother had died!

"Were you close?" I asked. She nodded and before I knew it she had buried her head in my chest and begun sobbing even harder.

"I can't believe he's gone!" I patted her back gently and let her cry.

"How old was he?" I asked.

"Twenty-nine." She answered.

"There was a big age difference, huh?"

"Seven years isn't that big…I guess…" I stared at her in shock.

"You mean thirteen years, right?"

"No. I mean seven."

"Shana…you're sixteen…right?"

"Wrong." She said.

"How old are you?" He asked.

"Twenty-four."

"Why did you lie about your age?" I asked her.

"Research. You see, I write under the penname Kisuke Yahiori. I came back to high school to do research for a novel." Ah. So that was it. I had begun to notice the similarities in her writing for their creative writing project and the Kisuke Yahiori books I read.

"Shana, do you think you're going to be ok?"

"I…don't know. The funeral is next Sunday. I…really don't want to go alone. Shigure…thank you for sitting here, listening to me cry."

"No problem. If you ever need me, I'm here for you, Shana."

"Thank you."

"Why don't you come back to my house and have some coffee. You'll freeze to death if you stay out here much longer." Shana nodded weakly and I guided her to my house.

When I opened the door, there was chaos. Four people were running around my house, yelling my name. One of them being Nao.

"I'm right here." I said as I led Shana into the kitchen and began making coffee. Four distraught people found their way into the kitchen, none of them noticing Shana.

"Shigure, thank God! Have you seen Shana? I can't find her anywhere!" Nao panicked.

"I'm right here, Nao." Shana said.

"Shana! Where were you! I was so worried about you! What were you doing out at this time of night!" Nao scolded.

I watched as Shana opened her mouth to speak but choked back a sob instead.

I put a hand on Shana's shoulder. "Everyone out into the hall. Now." I said.

Shana looked up at me as everyone else filed out into the hall.

"I'll tell them for you. And…why don't you stay here tonight. That way, you won't have to be alone."

"Thank you…you're so kind to me." Tears had found their way out of her eyes again.

I smiled at her sadly and walked out into the hall where the others were.

"Now, to answer all your questions," I began before any of them had the chance to speak. "I found Shana at the park. The reason she won't be going to school tomorrow and the reason she was at the park, is that she just found out that her brother died. She's going through a really hard time right now so I don't need any of you bothering her. I'm going to have her stay here tonight."

"Are you sure she'll be alright here? It's not too much trouble is it? I could always take her home with me." Nao said.

"It's alright. She's no trouble at all. Why don't you go have a cup of coffee with her. Just…don't ask her too many questions." I suggested. Nao nodded and walked into the kitchen.

"Tohru, my flower, could you find the cold medicine. It's better to prevent one before it happens. Yuki, if you could find her some dry clothes, that would be appreciated. She seems to be the same height as you…so…Kyo…if you could get her a blanket…" The others nodded and went off to do their jobs.

Shana's P.O.V.

Shigure had been so kind to me. He sat with me while I cried, he brought me to his home, and now he had offered to let me stay for the night. He really was so kind.

As I sat across from Nao, all I could think about was him.

"Shigure-san…is really very kind." I said.

Nao stayed silent and just kept staring at me.

"I'm not going to break into tears if you start talking to me you know." I said coldly.

"I…don't know what to say. I…don't want to make things worse." Nao admitted.

"Staring at me like I'm a lab rat makes it worse! Being overly cautious makes it worse!" I exploded.

"Shana, please calm down. I'm not trying to offend you or anything. I'm sorry." Nao said in a soothing tone.

"Whatever." I was being cruel to my best friend and I had no clue why.

"I…I think I should go. I'll call to check on you tomorrow." Nao said, getting up.

"That's fine." I said.

I watched her walk out the door and took another drink of my coffee. Things were going to change. I'd probably be moving back home now. Mom would make sure of that.

Sometimes, life could be hell.