Usagi and Hotaru exchanged looks as they approached their beach house and found that the lights were on. The back door stood slightly ajar, with something of a commotion filtering through the single shaft of light, the small opening into the house.

The silver haired girl led the way inside slowly, as a loud crash reached her ears, followed by the persistent sounds of yelling. Swallowing down her apprehension, with a slight nudge from Hotaru, she jogged towards the noise with the ebony haired girl on her heels.

The origin of the chaos turned out to be the kitchen, most everyone assembled in the room, and as the sight reached her eyes Usagi felt faint. Yuki and Kyou were both working together for once; they were trying to hold down Hatsuharu, in vain. He'd obviously averted to his Black personality, not much of the kitchen was still intact. Something serious was wrong, Usagi could tell because he had tears in his eyes and everyone else looked torn between anxious and miserable.

The blue eyed girl felt her heart start to pound. She gripped the doorframe as Hatsuharu landed a blow on Kyou and continued to struggle in their grip. Every instinct in her body told her to turn and run away, that this wasn't Haru; she was terrified. Instead she loosened her grip and leapt forward, directly into the fray. No one had noticed the two girls enter the room due to the turmoil at hand, but Tohru emitted a cry of shock at the sudden fourth member to the tussle.

"Hatsuharu!" Usagi shouted his name as loud as she could, not really sure why other than it was the first thing that came to mind. Her arms found his neck, the sheer force of her weight knocking Hatsuharu clean from the hands of a startled Yuki and Kyou. The two crumpled to the floor and Usagi continued to hold on as tight as she could, even when he regained his senses and started fighting her grip. Hands locked around him, the silver haired girl ignored the blows the best she could.

In mere moments the thrashing white haired boy stopped moving, and for a moment she thought he had passed out until she felt him start to tremble. Usagi pulled him into a sitting position and held him as he sobbed against her shoulder. She peered inquisitively up at her brother, trying to discreetly question him on what had happened, but now that Hatsuharu had calmed, everyone was somber and silent.

Later, the look on Yuki's face told her as he knelt down. Between the two of them they managed to get the shaky ox on his feet, and everyone filed towards the door. Usagi obediently followed the crowd, utterly confused but granting most of her attention to keeping Hatsuharu steady. A line of cars had pulled into the driveway, Yuki opened the door to the nearest one and climbed in the backseat first, Usagi next bringing Hatsuharu with her.

The line of cars slowly started to move, but she kept her blue eyes on the crown of white hair in her line of vision. His face was still pressed against her shoulder but she couldn't tell whether he was still crying or not. When he finally lifted his head, his brown eyes were red and swollen, and she pulled him close again.

"Oh Haru," she whispered, her own eyes filing with tears. Nothing else could be said, she simply held on to him as tight as she could, until she finally felt his breathing slow. Shifting slightly in her seat, she turned to look at Yuki, who had been oddly silent the whole time. "Oniisan, what's happened? Where are we going?"

"It's Rin." In most places she might demand more answers, but those two words summed it all up. Her blue eyes stayed on Haru the rest of the car ride, praying that whatever happened Rin would be okay. The sheer emotional drain kept him dozed for the whole trip, but when the car slowed to a stop, he jerked awake. When he realized where they were, his eyes widened, and he jumped from the car.

It took a fraction of a second for Usagi to leap after him, sprinting, trying to keep up with him. Hatsuharu made it to the emergency room counter before she did, but lack of breath prevented him from speaking. The whole room, already quiet because it was the dead of night, echoed with the sound of their heavy breathing.

"Rin Sohma," Usagi gasped to the startled desk attendant. At the name, the woman's face turned somber. She felt her heart drop, but reached out and held onto Hatsuharu's hand, forgetting her own anxieties. The woman rose and walked off, mumbling about finding the doctor. In her absence, the other members of the Sohma family slowly filed into the waiting room. Apparently finding the doctor proved difficult, they didn't return for at least fifteen minutes.

The man in the white lab coat walked to the two of them, they stood in front of the crowd as though they were the leaders. He sported that I'm-a-worked-to-death-doctor look of exhaustion, but he tried to smile as he shook their hands.

"You're the family of Rin Sohma?" Usagi nodded. A transition occurred where the doctor's face melted from exhausted and friendly to solemn and stoic. The silver haired girl felt her heart beating painfully hard against her ribcage. "I'm Dr. Koichi."

He paused, and she felt sick. Whatever he had to say, he looked to be struggling over words. Usagi moved closer to Hatsuharu, squeezing his hand as tightly as she could, and listened when the doctor finally started again. "Rin has a long medical history of problems involving her stomach ulcers. When she came in tonight we did everything in our power to help her, but the damage was too much. She passed away shortly after. I'm sorry."

Usagi felt the grief settle on her almost instantly. She had barely known Rin while she lived with the Sohmas, but the loss was still there, and she could feel the pain of those around her pushing in on all sides. Her blue eyes turned to Hatsuharu, not knowing what to expect from him, but hoping he would not go Black again.

The reality was much worse. All the color drained from his face and the grip he held on her hand slackened to nothing. His chocolate brown eyes dulled, and she could almost feel him dying inside.

"Haru," Usagi touched his arm with her other hand. She was already crying. Hatsuharu didn't seem to hear her, or if he did he didn't acknowledge her words. She'd forgotten about everyone else in the room. Her hand moved from his arm to gently touch the side of his face. Finally, he turned to face her, and she pulled him into a hug.

Hatsuharu pressed his face into her shoulder, his arms circled around her, and Usagi could sense his heart breaking, knew that some part of him did realize what had happened. Rin was gone.

The world blurred around them. Though life proceeded, talk arose of funeral arrangements, of medical terminology neither could decipher; only they existed to each other. Hatsuharu became the only thing in her world, making sure he was alright, that he would survive this. Nothing else mattered.

xXx

Usagi sat at her desk twisting her silvery locks into a braid. She performed the task with slow precision, her blue eyes weaving between her hair and the silent figure on the bed. Through the mirror she could see the messy white mop of hair that shadowed his eyes. Finally tying the end of her hair, she stood and brushed the skirt of her black dress absently.

The rabbit moved to the bed and took the empty seat next to Hatsuharu. She took one of his slack hands in both of hers and squeezed it, imploring him to look at her. The feat took several moments' persuasion, but his brown eyes finally met her blue.

"It's funny, you pretty much brought me back to life after Mamoru died. I don't think I appreciated how hard that was until now." They shared a weak smile. "You always took care of me, even when we were little. I kind of suck at this side of it, hmm?"

Hatsuharu said nothing in response. Usagi leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. "You wanted to know what happened between us, between me and Rin."

Usagi stopped, debating her response. After a moment or two, she said, "Yes, but I was too afraid to ask."

A small moment of silence fell, before Hatsuharu began to recount everything that took place between him and the wild horse of the zodiac. The silver haired girl listened attentively, asked very few questions, and tried her best to be supportive. Time flew, and the funeral was upon them.

xXx

Of all things, the funeral proved easier than the wake. The wake represented more grief, the finality that Rin would never be among them again. Hatsuharu had turned Black and caused quite a commotion, so much so that Yuki and Usagi together could barely contain him, and bring him back to his rightful self. Today, it was different.

Hatsuharu sat in the first row, and Usagi fell in beside him, her hand hardly ever leaving his. Yuki took her other side several minutes later and acknowledged her with a reassuring smile. The silver haired girl felt a bit dizzy at the gloom that settled over the room, but she tried to keep her focus. Hatsuharu kept his chocolate brown eyes on the casket, but seldom moved at all.

In the rows behind them, Akito had arrived with Kureno. They were the last to show, and the ceremony began. Unfortunately the sermon fell on deaf ears. Usagi wondered why they decided an unknown should talk about the deceased. Why someone who never knew the person to begin with?

She squeezed Hatsuharu's hand, and felt Yuki grab her free one. Looking to him, the surprise showed in her features, but he kept his violet eyes on the front of the room. In another place, in any other situation, she would have smiled. Instead she turned attentions back to the speaker and let his voice wash over her.

The funeral passed. Usagi stood in the cemetery with Hatsuharu long after even the longest laggard. Behind him, her touch withdrew long ago. She simply kept her blue eyes poised on him, both hands tangled behind her, silently letting him realize she was still there for him alone.

The rabbit started when the white haired teenager finally stirred. The sun sat lazily on the horizon, slowly wrapping them in darkness. Her lips curved into a smile, though not as sincere, sealed with the most encouragement she could offer.

"She's gone." The two words that fell from his lips said nothing and everything. Hatsuharu placed his hands in his pockets and stared out over the gathering of tombstones, eyes narrowed and unreadable.

The two left together, before night consumed them wholly. They rarely spoke of Rin after the day, but she remained in their lives, like a ghost that sat between them always.

xXx

The most I can say of this chapter is…it's unexpected? Given the flow of the story, I realize it is kind of abrupt but I've intended to make it this way for a while now. It's still sad. :( It would have been more uneven a chapter if I wrote into the next scene, so I decided to end it here. I hope I'm graciously forgiven for this chapter.

I know it's short, but please review.

♥SachiNyoko♥