Everyone stood up as the coffin was bought into the room. They hadn't meant to hurt her this bad. They had meant to just take what they needed, which normally wasn't a lot, but apparently, with her, it had been.
Yuki, unable to stand all the tension, slipped out of the room, only to find Hatori there. Apparently, Hatori couldn't bear what they had done either.
"Do you think that she would forgive us?", Yuki asked Hatori, "would she let us back into her heart, even after what we have done to her? Would she learn to accept us again, or will we always be beasts in her sight", he added, with bitterness in his voice.
"Yes, Yuki", Hatori answered, "even I can't forgive myself for what I did. We took her innocent life. Or as Shigure would put it—"
"We wilted our little flower", Shigure said, his voice not as joyous as it usually was, "However, I have no clue as to why you two are going on about her forgiving us. I mean, after all, she is dead, and I don't think, or at least I hope that she won't come and haunt us with her ghost. However, if she had been alive, I think that Kyo is the only person that would have had any chance for forgiveness, he helped her and tried to save her in the end."
"Some help that did her", a sarcastic voice drawled, "if anything, I increased her pain. No, not all that acceptable. If anyone—"
"Stop it", Yuki said, "This isn't the time or place to be deciding this. Today, we should just honor her, cause although we put her through much pain she refused to show it. She was strong throughout it all. We were not. We gave way to our needs. She figured out what we truly were, beasts. I wanted to hide that from her. I wanted her mind to keep that innocence that it had. I didn't want her to change. She was too special to die as we made her. All that we can do now, is hope that she knows that we are sorry for we did."
When they all filled back into the room, the priest was giving a speech on Tohru. When he was done, he asked if anyone wanted to add anything. Hana came up, her usual calm and expressionless mask gone and replaced with a sad, grieved one.
"Tohru was a wonderful person", she said, "without her even realizing it, she has given me the strength and encouragement to live. However, I am aware that she did not die from a natural cause. She has marks on most of her pulse locations. I am unnerved, and want to know who murdered her!" By now, Hana was sobbing, and Uo had to lead her away from the front of the room. She handed her to Megumi, and headed to the front of the room herself.
"Once I find out who murdered her", Uo threatened, "They will be begging forgiveness and will be near suicidal with sorrow. Tohru was one of my few, and carefully selected friends. I will not let her be murdered quite so easily. I will avenge her death, even if it means taking my own", she finished. Hana rose from her seat, and quickly exited the room.
After the service, the soma's all stood before her grave. At the same time, they all coursed (excluding Rin, who had run away again, and Akito, for he was dead), "Tohru Honda, we all apologize for bestowing upon you, the vampire's breath."