Thank you for the reviews thus far. I should mention now that the story from this point forward will develop very quickly. Bear with me. We're nearing the end. Oh, and to those of you who have submitted individual questions, I haven't responded because they will be answered in the story soon.

-Pulchrite

Resentment

Anna sat at the table quietly staring down at her food. Her hands rested in her lap, and she sighed heavily. Hao was sitting across from her and was shoveling rice into his mouth as if he were starving. He paused briefly to address her.

"Your food will be cold soon. You should eat," he said calmly.

"I'm not hungry," she sighed.

He placed his bowl on the table slowly and sighed, "Why not?"

"What did you mean when you said I didn't want to know?" She asked, glaring angrily at the table.

"That's not what I said," he replied blankly.

"I don't care about the exact details of the conversation! I want to finish it. I want to know why I can't go home. It should be a simple question to answer if you didn't kidnap me," she stared at him angrily.

"We've already talked about this," he sighed.

"Please don't give me the amnesia routine. We didn't finish the conversation, and you've been avoiding it for almost a month. Tell me the truth, Hao. Tell me why you're keeping me away from my family," she hit the table with her fist, causing the dinnerware to shift.

"I'm trying to protect you," he started.

"From what? Being happy?" She snarled.

"You need to understand something," he looked into her eyes as if attempting hypnosis, "Yoh thinks you're dead. And, you have been gone for a very long time. He will move on with his life. You can't just go back and everything will be the same way you left it."

"Are you telling me I can't go home because Yoh has moved on?" She folded her arms across her chest in disgust.

"Yes," he said calmly.

"I don't believe you. Yoh wouldn't move on. He would look for me. He would mourn. I'm his wife; I can't be replaced," she said, gritting her teeth.

"You don't have to believe me," he said, standing suddenly, "I can show you."

Ren had been sitting on the floor against the wall in his small apartment in silence. The television was disconnected from the wall, and his phone was lying upside down on the floor from being wrenched out of the wall socket. He stared at the opposite wall angrily and began gritting his teeth. Lifting his right hand to examine the bandages wrapped tightly around it, he sighed.

"Ren, let us in," Horo called from outside.

He closed his eyes, stood hesitantly, and walked slowly to the front door. Only opening it partially, he could see Horo's frown with Ryu standing behind him and Manta on his toes attempting to see.

"Can we come in please?" Ryu asked politely.

"Whatever," Ren mumbled as he walked away from the door to sit on the floor.

The three walked in slowly, noticing the scattered debris from Ren's rampage.

"He really needs to work out his anger issues," Manta whispered.

"So, uh, how are you doing?" Horo asked as they sat down in a circle in front of him.

"Fine," Ren said blankly.

Ryu stared around them a few times before he spoke, "Are you sure?"

"And I guess you just like wrapping your hand in bandages for the fun of it?" Horo asked.

"That was an accident," Ren's tone didn't change.

"What happened?" Manta asked worriedly.

"I punched a hole into the wall."

Manta stared at him with his mouth gaped open and didn't know what else to say. The three of them sat in silence, staring at Ren worriedly. Although his head was down and he was staring at the floor, he could feel their eyes.

"Stop looking at me," he said abruptly.

"Ren, you have to stop this," Horo said finally.

"This is out of control," Ryu said under his breath.

"How was that an accident?" Manta whispered.

"I told you I'm fine," Ren said, lifting his head to look at him. His eyes were fatigued as if they were bleeding.

"Is it broken?" Manta whispered.

"We haven't seen you in a few days," Horo started, "I just don't want you to go back to the way you were when Anna died," he hesitated for a few moments, regretting bringing up the episode.

"I'm over it," he said blankly.

"Are you sure? Because your apartment looks pretty bad," Ryu started.

"She's dead, right? So that's the end of it."

"But we all have to move on, Ren. I mean in a healthy way," Manta said.

"Sure, I get it," he replied angrily, "We should all move on. Let's just forget about her then. That would make perfect sense! You three can forget about her," he pointed at them, "Yoh already has. I'll just have to catch up!"

"Yoh hasn't forgotten about her," Manta said softly.

"What was he thinking?" Ren stared at the floor again angrily.

"What?" Horo stared at him with a confused frown.

"I don't know why she moved there in the first place. I said it was a bad idea. I SAID IT. But no one listens to me," he wasn't talking to them but spoke loud enough for them to hear.

"Are you talking about Tamao?" Ryu asked.

"How could he just move on? He didn't deserve her," he continued his rant as if he were alone.

"Ren," Horo tried to interrupt him but he continued.

"It was his fault. He stood there like a fool and watched her die! And now she's…" his voice began to break suddenly from his anger, "She couldn't wait to move in. Anna hadn't been buried for two weeks and she moved in!"

"That's not fair," Horo protested.

"They disgust me," he groaned, ignoring him, "They deserve each other. She didn't have to die. I would have helped her. I would have protected her. I would have kept her safe…"

"She wasn't your wife, Ren," Manta said softly.

"SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN!!" He yelled at them suddenly and paused.

"Ren," Ryu looked away from him sadly.

"I knew it. Unbelievable," Horo said under his breath.

"Ren, I know you're upset, but it wasn't anyone's fault," Manta said. He paused when he saw Ren's eyes fill quickly with tears.

"I should have saved her. Why couldn't I save her?" He said weakly.

"There was nothing you could have done," Ryu said moving to sit next to him, "there was nothing any of us could have done."

"You have to let it go, Ren," Horo added.

He looked around the room briefly to find something he could break, but there was nothing within reach. His breathing grew more rapid, and he began punching the floor with his fists. Each time the injured hand made contact with the floor he grimaced, but he continued to punch harder and harder until his blood began soaking through the bandages.

"Please calm down," Manta whispered.

"Ren, stop that," Ryu sighed.

"She's dead?" Ren whimpered as if he had fallen into a trance.

"She's dead, Ren," Horo said sadly.