27 years prior

There was almost total silence in the room. One of the Sohmas, unaware. The other Sohma, painfully comprehending. One, asleep. The other, awake. Then, the balance was tipped. Hatsuharu opened his eyes and slowly registered his cousin at the end of the hospital bed.

"Yuki..."

Yuki only continued to gaze at Hatsuharu, disbelief rolling through his mind, disbelief at the fate of another...

"Yuki... where's Tohru?"

Something was stabbing at his chest, something cold. Yuki closed his eyes, hoping that invisible knife would disappear. It didn't. Yuki shook and suddenly wished he hadn't come.

"She's dead, Haru."

Hatsuharu closed his eyes. He realized the impact it would have on the rest of the family back home, and he knew that he would be one of the roots of the cause.

He spoke again. "This place... this place is supposedly a land of equality for everyone. Supposedly some nation where everyone can have what others have. And yet... they don't do thing fairly. They make sure that they have an advantage over others so that they can be on top. That isn't fair. Life isn't fair. You are only born once and people always tell you to live life to the fullest. But how can you live life to the fullest if the person next to you gets more even though you are the one who truly made a change? Why do the honest people get such low treatment...?"

Hatsuharu's quiet outburst caused Yuki to fall silent, thinking about his words, thinking of how true they seemed to be.

They were true.

'Even though people gloss it over with material objects, the reality does not change. The thought does not change.'

"I don't think Honda-san would want to hear that," Yuki said gravely. "Even though life is terrible for those who don't deserve it... you have to turn around and see an even greater world that you looked away from. Even if you don't have what the person next to you received, you still hold the things dear to you, and that person can never have that. Life may seem unfair, but we shouldn't complain about it. It's better to be alive and be glad that you were granted the chance to see it."

Hatsuharu opened his eyes and looked over through the window besides him. The sun was setting, throwing ribbons of red and gold through the sky. He kept his eyes on the window and grinned faintly.

"If you say so, Yuki..."

Yuki saw Hatsuharu's grin and smiled in spite of the circumstances they were in. He followed Hatsuharu's gaze to the window and watched the fiery sky turn down. The sun finally settled below the horizon.

"Well, go to sleep," Yuki sighed. "Shigure is on his way."

Hearing no answer, he looked up and saw his cousin already in a deep sleep, breathing lightly. Yuki sighed and fell into a chair placed near the side of the bed. He stared at nothing for a long time before, he too, drifted off into a deep sleep.

It wasn't long after that he was shaken awake by the sudden noise of many people running everywhere, shoving him out of the room. Shoving him out into the hallway. He knew. Yuki knew that Hatsuharu had already pulled the black curtain and the show was at its end.

AN: I couldn't figure out where to put in the explanation of how Haru got hospitalized and how Tohru died. There isn't really a place to put it in this story... But anyway, Haru and Tohru were on vacation in the US when a big gang-like group came onto them. Haru, still having his black personality, didn't turn down the fight and ended up being outnumbered. Tohru tried to break up the fight, but as it turns out, one of the members had a gun and – of course – shot both of them. That's basically where Haru got his entire 'This place isn't fair' bit because all he had were his fists. There's the end of Haru and Tohru. I hope it isn't as bad as the previous three chapters seemed to be...