A.N. I know these first few chapters are slow, but they'll get more exciting soon as the story progresses. Please review if you're enjoying it. And tell me what you'd like to see in the story!

MARCH 2021 EDIT: The first 3 chapters have gone through significant rewrites to better reflect the story and characters. After spending several months writing the series, I felt like these shorter chapters needed an update!

I don't own YYH, only my OCs.

Chapter 2

The Urameshi house had never been so full. More people than anyone could have predicted showed up to Yusuke's wake. Even with his body before them, this still didn't seem real. Sakura felt as though she were in some terrible nightmare, but this was one she had no hope of waking up from.

With her mother practically catatonic, Sakura sat by her brother's casket, tears silently streaming down her face. The endless line of people offering their condolences all seemed as stunned as she was, having heard the circumstances leading to Yusuke's death. Apparently, he'd been struck by a car while saving a little boy.

Yusuke, smartass rebellious Yusuke, had died saving another. Nobody, not even Sakura could have predicted this. Since identifying his body at the hospital, she'd spent the rest of the afternoon in a state of numb disbelief, wordlessly agreeing to whatever the funeral home suggested.

Until now, she'd been lying on her bed silently weeping. It had taken all her strength to face coming downstairs at all. There was nothing left inside of her now. Her twin was gone. Since birth they'd never spent so much as a day apart and now she had the rest of her life without him.

Why did you have to leave me, Yusuke? Why is it that your death was the thing that showed a glimpse of how kind you truly were? How do you expect me to live without you?

There were no clear answers to those questions. And she never expected to find them no matter what anyone said. This was her fault. If only she hadn't forced him to come to school, or if only she hadn't yelled at him and called him useless. She'd sent him off in anger. If it hadn't been for her stupid sharp tongue, he wouldn't have been in the accident at all.

It was all her fault, and she'd never be able to forgive herself for that.

"Kura?"

At the sound of her name, Sakura looked up and saw Keiko being supported by Natsuko and Asami. Their eyes met. Keiko threw her arms around Sakura, and together they wept. Eventually, Keiko was taken outside by her companions.

"Keiko, please…"

"Yusuke…" Keiko's voice was heavy with grief. "Yusuke...no...! Yusuke!"

Keiko's sobs were drowned out when another mourner with no concept of an indoor voice came barreling in.

"Shut up! Let go of me, would ya?!"

Sakura didn't have to look up to know who had arrived. She'd recognise that voice anywhere.

"Damn you! You think you can just back out 'cause you're scared?!" Kuwabara roared, clawing his way through the door while being unsuccessfully restrained by his sidekicks. Everyone looked over in disbelief.

Sakura mentally groaned. Of course this dimwit thinks Yusuke's playing dead.

"Kuwabara, this place is for mourning!" one of his friends said.

"I'm not gonna leave. Not until he comes out here and lets me fight him!"

"He can't do that!"

Kuwabara reached the casket, almost hysterical. "I'm gonna beat you down, you punk! YOU HEAR ME?!" he began swiping at the photograph of Yusuke. "Who do you think you are, huh? Dirty... punk! Who am I gonna fight now, who am I gonna fight?!"

"He's gone," Kuwabara's friends were clearly struggling to contain him.

In fury, he swung a fist at the shrine, stopping millimetres from Yusuke's picture. "You're supposed to be here, for me…" And with that, Kuwabara broke down crying. Sakura stood up and he turned to look at her.

"Sakura, if Urameshi thinks this joke is funny, it's not. GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW YOU PUNK!" he bellowed up the stairs.

Sakura shook her head. "I'm sorry, Kazuma,"

With mortified, apologetic looks, Kuwabara's friends began to drag him away.

"Kuwabara, let's go...sorry about all that!" Okubo said sheepishly to the room at large, but particularly to Yusuke's bereaved sister.

Sakura had partially followed Kuwabara being removed, and she was able to hear the conversations happening outside. While most people at the wake were being respectful and quiet, the same could not be said for Mr Akashi and Mr Iwamoto.

"They're just some losers Urameshi hung out with. Too bad that car wasn't big enough for them, too," Akashi sniffed.

"Now now, we should be glad," Iwamoto smirked. "After a life of being worthless, Yusuke did something to give our school a good reputation,"

The fires of Sakura's temper began to flare. She took a few steps towards the teachers who were too caught up in their conversation to notice.

"Well between you and me, Mr Iwamoto, he probably saved that little kid on accident while he was trying to knock him down and steal all his lunch money,"

"I wouldn't be surprised by that, Mr Akashi," Iwamoto began laughing.

Suddenly, the pair realised Sakura was in front of them, shaking with rage.

"Miss Urameshi… we are so sorry for your loss…" Iwamoto began, but Sakura's murderous look quelled him into silence.

"Even at my brother's wake, you don't have the decency to treat him as a human being. I heard every word you just said, you scumbags. Get the hell out of here. Now,"

Iwamoto rolled his eyes. "Miss Urameshi, he brought this on himself. Look on the bright side. Now you can focus on school without that weed dragging you down,"

"Your brother was the scumbag. And it seems you aren't far off yourself," Akashi sneered.

Sakura was angry enough to punch them, but before she could, two large hands pulled both men around.

"What do you suppose is more disgraceful?" growled Mr Takenaka. "That boy shouting in misery, or your insensitive and idiotic words?"

Takenaka released them and stepped forward to Sakura. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura, I am so very sorry about this. Why don't you come inside so you don't have to deal with them? It's the last thing you need right now,"

With a final glare at the teachers, he gently led Sakura inside and approached the casket himself. Respectfully bowing to Atsuko, he faced Yusuke's lifeless body.

"At first, I was so surprised, Yusuke. To hear you'd saved a kid at the cost of your own life. You've always acted much more selfishly than that. Darn it Yusuke, I don't know why I don't feel like speaking well of you. Why didn't you stay? You could have made something great out of yourself…"

His own tears started. It was so pointless, such a waste.

"Yusuke..." Atsuko slurred, her blood alcohol reading made obvious. Without warning, she began crying hysterically. Sakura dropped to her knees, wondering how much more she could stand.

Unfamiliar voices broke through the commotion. "This way,"

"Yes, Mamma,"

Sakura glanced at the door. A woman with chocolate brown hair entered along with a small, adorable boy. The child's face was nothing less than angelic, and apart from a few scrapes he seemed unscathed.

Both were strangers, but the atmosphere in the house thickened. Everybody knew immediately who these people were.

They bowed to Yusuke's body. The mother nudged her son. "Now, you should say something to honour him,"

The boy smiled. "Thank you for saving me, and making faces,"

Sakura felt her heart break all over again as the mother bowed to hers. Neither woman said a word to each other. The pair left, with Sakura hesitating only a moment before following them.

"Mamma, do you think it'd be ok if I played with that boy tomorrow? If I'm good?"

The mother paused and crouched to her son's eye level. "No, son,"

"I know some people sounded angry at him, but he's really nice. He made really funny faces at me, too. And he got me my ball!" the boy smiled brightly. His tone turned to confusion. "I don't know why those people were crying like that...it was probably because they wanted to play with him too!"

Tears fell from the mother's eyes as she pulled her son close.

"Wait, please wait!" Sakura panted, finally catching up.

Both mother and son looked over at her. The mother's face went white, while the boy smiled wider than ever.

"Hi Miss!"

Sakura felt her heart stop for a moment. This was him, the little boy who Yusuke had saved. In the space of a second, contradictory emotions flooded Sakura's entire being. Anger, relief, sorrow, regret, hate, love. What on earth was she supposed to feel? What could she say to this boy, who's heart was still beating at the cost of her twin brother?

"Are…are you…?" the mother didn't seem able to say it out loud.

"Yes, I'm Sakura Urameshi. He… was my twin brother," Sakura said in a shaky voice.

The mother immediately dropped to the ground in a bow. "I…I am so very sorry, Miss. I truly am,"

Sakura knelt down to meet her. She swallowed hard. "You have nothing to be sorry for,"

The woman looked up, her face stained with tears and apologies. "Your brother saved my boy, but lost his own life. How can you say that to me?"

"Because it's the truth. My brother saved your boy, so to honour him you should live the rest of your life treasuring your son. Like I should have done with Yusuke,"

"Yusuke? Is that his name?" the little boy chirped.

Sakura turned to the child. "Yes, my brother is - was - Yusuke. What's your name?"

"Masaru, Miss Sakura. Do you think your brother will play with me tomorrow? He was so nice and funny,"

Sakura felt hot tears appearing once again. She pulled Masaru in close and hugged him tightly. After a few moments, she gently moved him to face her. "My brother can't play with anyone anymore, but he saved you, so can you promise to do something for me, and him?"

Masaru nodded. "Sure Miss Sakura. Anything,"

Sakura's throat was tight. "I want you to live your life and be happy, and never forget what my brother did for you, ok?"

"Don't worry Miss Sakura. I will," Masaru hooked his pinky around hers. "I promise,"

Masaru's mother was barely holding it together at this point. "Miss Urameshi, your brother will never be forgotten by me. I promise you that,"

Sakura bowed to them, then headed back to the house in a daze. Her head was whirling. The sight of all her classmates standing at Yusuke's wake was too much to bear. She'd never see her twin again, never talk to him. And the last time she'd seen him, she'd hurt him. Badly.

Finally, the realisation hit her. The walls inside her shattered like glass. Sakura's anguish filled her heart, taking her breath away. She feared the pain would tear her chest open.

How in the world was she meant to go on without her twin by her side? And why, why had their last conversation been so hostile, which she could never apologise for now?

"Yusuke," she began to wail, her entire body buckling under the weight of her grief. Members of her class rushed over to her side. "I'm so sorry, it's all my fault! YUSUKE!"

Sakura crumpled to the ground, screaming her brother's name over and over. The words of her classmates couldn't penetrate the fog surrounding her mind. Vaguely, Sakura was aware of one of the boys in her class scooping her up in his arms.

She felt herself being carried upstairs to her bedroom. A pill was pressed into her hands along with a glass of water. She numbly swallowed, and the sedative quickly took effect. Before long, Sakura drifted off to sleep.

She never realised that Yusuke had witnessed the entire wake.

Yusuke hovered above the scene. He was at a loss for words.

Had Keiko made all that racket for him? Who would've guessed that Kuwabara would be so genuinely devastated? Takenaka had actually broken down in tears. His mother was in a stupor, and worst of all, his twin sister seemed shattered beyond repair. Not to mention those asshole teachers treating her so shamefully.

But despite her terrible grief, she'd shown such empathy and tenderness to that kid and his mother when she honestly didn't have to.

"Kura," he murmured, staring at his sleeping twin. "Please don't cry,"

At last, his mind was made up. He knew what he had to do.

Several hours later, Sakura woke to silence and darkness. Her face burned and her head pounded. Her whole body felt heavy and her throat was bone dry. The clock by her bed read 3am.

She dragged herself into the bathroom and turned on the tap, scooping water into her mouth. A glance in the mirror showed puffy red eyes streaked with mascara - so much for the waterproof formula - and still dressed in her school uniform. Sakura stripped off her clothes and stepped into the shower, too tired to consider whether this was even worth doing at 3 in the morning.

Lathered with soap, she crouched on the shower floor, head in hands.

Yusuke.

That single word brought fresh tears, and a wave of nausea caused her to retch. A life without Yusuke was unbearable. Unthinkable.

Sakura turned off the water and rubbed herself dry with a clean towel. She walked back into her bedroom and pulled on an oversized cotton shirt and pyjama shorts, then slipped into bed.

The reality of Yusuke's death came crashing down on her once again, and she hugged her knees to her chest. She wanted to scream with misery, to break every object in reach until it reflected the way she felt inside and stop this unbearable pain for just a second, but that wouldn't change a thing. The world would keep turning, the sun would rise but Yusuke would still be gone because of her. And nothing could bring him back.

Even as she succumbed to her exhaustion, the relentless flow of tears did not cease.

"Hey Squirt, can you hear me?"