((A/N: Due to scary people, I am writing this RIGHT NOW, because I highly value alla' my limbs!!

((You're going to hear a phrase repeated over and OVER. If it gets annoying, good: It's supposed to symbolize how it's running through the character's head. Pay attention to the stuff in-between, though, 'cause it'll give you some nifty info about a certain character... This chapter can be a bit angsty...))


~Hatashenai

A Romantic Comedy By Akai Ku



Why do people cry so much?

The thought had been occurring to Rasukonza over and over again for the past several hours as she looked out the small window in her own room in Ligé-San. After Genrou had yelled at her, they'd continued back to Ligé-San in virtually total silence, Genrou being supported between Chichiri and Tsuka, with her scouting as far ahead as her light wounds would allow her. She would have helped them carry Genrou, let the more-capable Chichiri do the scouting, but that one question had been preying on her mind so horribly she wouldn't have been able to be that close to Genrou, even if she'd tried.

Why do people cry so much?

As she'd somewhat suspected, upon their return just before sundown, Kouji and the guys didn't really care about whether or not the mission had failed: They just wanted to make sure the Boss and the other guys (even though she was a girl, she'd earned the title "guy") were all right. After a few mumbled "I'm fine"s, Rasukonza had quietly excused herself to her room in the West Wing, where she had been for the past four hours, gazing out the window, wondering...

Why do people cry so much?

Her keen ears picked up some shouted voices from the east, the direction of the Boss' Quarters, at the center of the fort. She even recognized one of them as Huamyoka's:

"Suzaku!! How th' hell didja' git THIS wound, Boss?!"

...someone mumbling about talking...

"Suit yerself..."

"Ya sure are bein' quiet..."

Silence: Someone was speaking quietly.

"B-Boss...?! What'cha cryin' fer?!!"

"GIT OUT!!!"

Genrou.


Why do people cry so much?

People sometimes cry if they're sad, Rasukonza mused. Or if they're in physical pain, or mental pain. But sometimes, people will cry tears of joy... Or anger... Or hatred... So many emotions can be easily expressed by crying, TRULY expressed by crying, not like sadistic smiles of anger or weak chuckles of sorrow.

Rasukonza stared at the star-filled sky.

Why do people cry so much?

She thought of when she'd been a little girl, no more than six, practicing her writing, her beautiful kana that she was going to show to her father, when a servant had tripped and spilt grape dye all over her parchment.

Why do people cry so much?

She thought of when she was fighting her brother for that last slice of cake, when she felt the metal tool slice her face in a flash of red, giving her her scar.

Why do people cry so much?

She thought of her brother standing before her father, bowing profusely, apologizing between gasps for air as their mother bandaged her face.

Why do people cry so much?

She thought of when Subaru had come to visit them after all of those years, and she and her brother standing behind her father as he hugged his dear old friend.

Why do people cry so much?

She thought of Subaru, striking down her mother with his blade...

Why do people cry so much?

...and raising it above her father's head, and her father mouthing the word, "why" over and over again...

Why do people cry so much?

She thought of dashing out into the cold night after him with her brother, to see him climbing into the saddle of his horse, like everything was normal, as if he hadn't completely shattered the lives of two young human beings...

Why do people cry so much?


...and her teenage brother standing there, weaponless, his long cream hair swirling about in the air as he stood there defiantly before the deadly man...


Why do people cry so much?


...and Karasuki falling onto the soft earth, with a deep gash across his torso...

Why do people cry so much?

...and running to him, and him telling her to stay strong, and that they would always love her...

Why do people cry so much?

...and she standing before the killer in her brother's stead, and she being struck down by a hoof of a great black roan....

Why do people cry so much?

...and her waking up, body throbbing, all by herself, without even the sight of her family's bodies resting peacefully to calm her.

Why do people cry so much?

When the mother saw her baby being taken away by a great male tiger...

Why do people cry so much?

And when the tiger fell dead, with one of her knives imbedded in its throat, and the mother embraced her baby and thanked Rasukonza, again and again and again...

Why do people cry so much?

When she finally found Ligé-San and met Kouji, and things looked as if she would finally have a home...

Why do people cry so much?

And when she thought Genrou had died, leaving her forever...

She gazed out her window and watched as a shooting star streaked by. She sighed heavily.

"Why do people cry so much?"

She felt a hand on her shoulder, squeezing none-too-gently.

"Because people are just pitiful, Shu. So damn pitiful and wretched it ain't even funny."

?!

Rasukonza whirled around. Standing behind her was a man, a bit older than Genrou. His hair was very long, on the border between silver and white, and flowed unkempt behind his back. His eyes were an eerie hazel, and his lips were set in a sneering smile. He wore a light-blue vest, loose slacks often used by martial artists, and was barefoot.

Rasukonza grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm off of her shoulder. He chuckled softly.

"Still my sweet baby sister, eh?"

*BA-DUMP!*

He'd changed... His smile, his gait... The sinister aura that seemed to radiate from him... But those eyes... Though they were now cold and full of hate, she'd know those eyes anywhere... Because they were also her own.

"K-Karasuki...?" She stammered. "H-how... Why're you...?!"

"Alive?" He finished for her, his hands straying to a pouch that he had dangling at his side. Rasukonza could only nod dumbly. "Father saved me."

?!!

"D-Dad...?" She stammered. "H-He's... ALIVE?!!" But that COULDN'T be true... She'd seen Father struck down before her very unbelieving eyes!!

But then again, she'd also seen her brother killed...

Her brother let out a cruel, heartless chuckle. "Oh no, not YOUR father: Mine."

?!?!?!

"What the _****_ are ya talkin about, Karasuki?!" What the...? Her brother watched her silently, his expression a soulless mask. Watching her face carefully...

Rasukonza bowed her head to avoid his gaze. No... It couldn't be... Her brother... Her own brother who used to tease her and brawl with her in the fields when they were done working or studying...

She looked up at her brother, her eyes burning with rage. Karasuki merely smiled, almost sickeningly. "What... Did... He... Do... To..." She clenched her fists. "What... Did... SUBARU DO TO YER MIND?!!"

*SLASH!*

*shhht!*

Rasukonza took a wild lash out at her brother with the blade she had concealed in her right fist. He easily backflipped out of the path of the metal blade and flung something at her in midair before disappearing out the window.

"GUESS PROJECTILE WEAPONRY RUNS IN TH' FAMILY, EH SIS?!!!"

*BZZT!!*

"AAAAAAAAAARGH!!!"

~*~

Genrou sat alone in his room. His shoulder felt fine now... But the feeling in his chest was another story. He didn't like girls... Miaka had been a different case altogether but... What did it matter?

A lot.

He frowned and thought to himself. She'd made him cry... By telling him something that effected him in no way whatsoever. Just by telling him about how much she had suffered, that had made him cry, too.

Dammit, what was WITH him?! He slammed his fist down on a table, causing a vase he'd stolen on one raid or another to fall to the ground and shatter. He growled, but then decided he didn't care.

He shouldn't have snapped yelled at her... He'd scared her into being quiet... Which wasn't that bad but, hell, it wasn't her. She had something about her... Something Genrou couldn't put his finger on... Something wild that he could never associate with women... Which made her OK. But he'd seen it too much. She'd always been fighting her feelings about everything, just so she could be strong for her dead family. About life, about how people should act, about how SHE should act... About him?

'Nononononononononononono! Go away Bad Thought!Git the hell away I don't caaaaaaaaaaaaaare I'm not LISTENING LALALALALAAAAAA!!'

A shout of terror, almost a scream.

Rasukonza's scream.

Horror gripped at Genrou's very soul as the tips of his boots, touching the floor just barely, sent him sailing toward the West Wing, his cloak flowing behind him.


~*~

Rasukonza had not been fast enough. Two glowing white disks sailed at her chest. They emitted sparks and energy as they latched onto her, sending pain and thunder and the gods knew what else through her body. The pain she felt was amazing. It jarred her bones violently, ripped through her flesh, and clawed and mauled at her very essence. She felt as if every single grain of her flesh was being torn at and ripped at, pulled arpat and pushed violently together again, then sent to burn in ebonfire. The pain made her shudder as the red mist she had faced far too many times formed before her eyes again. She couldn't stand up... She clutched at her chest and gasped for air as her legs began to give way.

"Gen..."

She fell.

But she fell into the arms of something warm and strong.

"I'm right here, Rassy..."

Genrou, Kouji, Tsuka, and Huamyoka were all there, gasping for breath from having run to her so quickly. She was glad... She probably wouldn't have to do this for much longer... This act...

"That's it, Rassy... Just cry..." Genrou put an arm around her, the other behind her head, and pulled her close, gently pressing her head to his shoulder. She buried it there, gripping at his cloak as she'd done on the horseback ride, and Genrou winced as he felt her body wrack with sobs. Suzaku, how it hurt to see her cry. She could feel his raspy, exhausted breaths on her face. She couldn't do this tough-girl thing anymore... It had just become too much... Just this once...

"Can I stop?" He heard her ask softly. "Can I stop pretending to be so strong?"

"No."

Silence. She didn't lift her head up. "Why not?"

He began to tremble. "B-because... Ya ARE strong, Rasukonza... You just had t'face so much crap... It would've made ME kill m'self, probably... Look, I'm crying..." She felt him rest his head on top of hers, burying his own face in her hair and inhaling slowly, deeply.

"So you can take a break from bein' strong... Yew can always come runin' t'me..." His voice was heavy, laden with emotion she'd never heard from him before. "But don't give up... Never stop being strong..."

His voice dropped to the lowest of whispers.

"That's one of the reasons I love you."





*~~End Of Part One, Hatashenai~~*



(Author's Note: Currently being continued in "Tsuki no Hitokoro". Check under my profile and it'll be there.)