Disclaimer: Haha, if I owned this well yeah… it's kinda obvious isn't it?

A/N: SO SORRY FOR NOT HAVE WRITTEN IN FOREVER!!! I have a terrible lazy streak. I'll try to update quicker? I'm a terrible person. I hope you don't hate me sniffs

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Chapter 6

Pit. Pat. Pit. Pat.

The door creaked open in the middle of the night, and was shut quickly all the same.

Pit. Step. Pit. Creak. Pit. Step. Pit. Creak. Pit. Pit. Pit. Pit.

The footsteps from the door were slowly fading into the rhythmic dance of the rain. A chocolate eye opened. What was Mint doing?

Pit. Pit. Pit. Pit. Pit. Pit.

Ichigo slipped from her mattress as she reached for her robe hanging on the door of her armoir from the corner of the room. Opening the drawer from the vanity, she took out a box of matches and lit the lamp hanging by the door. Her eyes were narrowed in determination.

Mint has been sneaking off in the middle of the night for a few days now. She wouldn't have been suspicious of her eldest sister, but ever since she's been missing meals having them brought to her room claiming she was sick, Ichigo had no choice but to not trust her older sister. Mint has never concurred a fever, or a cold, or a flu… yet she stayed in her room not bothering to get out, and her parents let her. Whenever she asked her mother, she smiled a small smile and told her Mint was feeling sick. As if. If she asked her father, he just huffed and then changed the subject to Masaya. What was going on?

Creeeaaaak.

She winced as she realized how much sound she made trying to exit their bedroom. How could Mint do this so… gracefully? Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she began to walk swiftly down the hallway of their house, down the main stairs, and exited her home by the use of main doors.

BOOM!

She almost screamed, but settled for a jump in the air as thundering began. Raindrops were dropping heavily on her figure, drenching her thick white nightdress. One side of her advised her to be a good girl, stay inside the house, don't butt into her sister's business, and not get sick. Reasonable and very logical reasons to stay inside that were supplied by her head. Another side of her however, told her to follow her heart. What was her heart saying?

Follow Mint.

Flashback

"Mint…?" Ichigo called out from the entrance of her room. Mint hadn't answered. If there wasn't a door blocking her way she would have just entered in like she always had, whether Mint liked it or not, but there was a door blocking her way. Giving a huff, Ichigo called out for her elder sister again as she knocked on the door.

Still no answer.

Ichigo was counting in her head, or more of counting the number of virtues instilled within a lady, and if she wanted to become a lady and be noticed by Masaya… well she had to know all of them. Patience was one of them… unfortunately.

'C'mon Ichigo, you can do it! If you wait long enough, Mint will let you in…' she told herself over and over again in her mind.

Knock. Again, nothing.

'Patience…' she thought.

Knock. Knock.

A vein was visible on Ichigo's temple. Damn the virtues of women… she was still 15 for heavens sake!! She didn't have to be a woman just yet!!! With that thought, she smiled excitedly and turned the knob of Mint's bedroom door, overjoyed to see it unlocked.

"Mint!!! Why didn't you answer-" her eyes widened in shock, that she completely forgot what she was going to say afterwards.

Mint was on her bed, her blue wavy locks running down her shoulders, and her waist down covered by her fluffy light blue blankets. It wasn't the fact that Mint was still in her bed after wake up time… it was the fact that she was crying. Tear streaks were seen lining her cheeks as her eyes were bloodshot and puffy.

"ICHIGO!!" Mint cried out in shock, with slight nervousness edged with anger in her tone. "Haven't I told you that you couldn't go into my room unless you had my permission???"

Ichigo, seeing Mint's helpless state and need for control, stayed silent as she watched her sister wipe away the tears. Mint felt ashamed. With that, her chest heaved and the tears started running again.

End of Flashback

Ever since then, not only did Mint lock her door often, but she grew more rebellious towards their father that one day he slapped her and she refused to leave her room after that. Her arms reached up to hug her petite form, not giving as much protection as she hoped from the heavy raindrops falling on her body. She flinched as another loud roar of thunder echoed through the skies. Afterwards, she heard somebody yelling. In sheer desperation. It sounded like Mint!

"Haru lets run away!"

That did not sound like Mint. Not at all. It was her voice, but never had she heard her own sister sound so… defeated. She ran to find the location of the yelling, which was in fact very faint under all the noise of the rain, but she finally arrived leaning her ear close to the door of the horse barn. At least they chose a place to talk that had a large roof so that she was no longer getting even more wet now that there was something to shield her from the rain.

She couldn't make out the words like the previous yell, because it was so calm and quieter than the statement before it. A gut feeling told her though that it was Haru. Hearing her sister shreak again, the rain mutilated any of the sounds trying to seep through the wooden door of the barn house so she looked for the open air window. Bending lower to the ground so she wasn't caught, she went to the other side to hear the conversation better. Much, much better.

"Min… you have to calm down…" It was definitely Haru.

"How can I calm down?? You know that they are doing this just to spite me!" Then went Mint. Who's 'they'?

"They aren't Mint. They're doing this for your sake, so that you will be happier. The man sounds like he is more than willing to make you feel happy, loved, and make sure that all the things you desire are given to you."

"HARU!!" Ichigo thought that she could hear well enough… but she was curious. She could see in her mind Haru's calm face trying to get Mint calm down… but she wanted to see it herself. Straightening herself a bit more, she peeked through the window.

Mint was crying again. Her chest was heaving heavily, as her fists beat against Haru's chest. Haru was holding her a little less than arm's with, by the waist. His face was distraught as he tried to calm the woman in front of him.

"Mint…" he said softly as Mint looked at him, and then boldly lunged forward and kissed him hard on the lips. Ichigo gasped loudly, but was grateful for another boom of thunder in the background.

Haru's body tensed, not knowing if he should push her away or return the kiss. He chose the former. His arms clutched Mint's arms and pushed her away so that they were arms length again, as Mint's eyes widened.

"Mint… we can't… do this," he panted, struggling to not pull his love back to him and kiss her again. A tense atmosphere shrouded them as he waited for Mint to say something.

"You…do not love me anymore." Mint said softly, the tears stopping, her voice growing softer at her own statement. Haru was surprised that she said that, and tried to say otherwise but she ran away, slamming the barnyard door and into the rain. The door was slammed to hard so it bounced back open, with Haru running before stopping himself as he saw a flash of lightening.

"Mint!!" He called after her from the open entrance. The heavy storm drowned out everything. Ichigo felt her chest constrict, as she pushed herself from the barnhouse, and let herself get drenched in the rain. Haru retreated back into the barn house and closing the door. The flame lighting the old shack was turned off, as Ichigo started crying herself… for her sister… and for herself, though she did not know the reason yet.

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ACHOO!!! Ichigo sneezed, as she gave out a groan. She was sick because of the storm a few days ago. It was a day before Christmas. Joy.

Thoughts of what happened nights before came back to her, as she put her head in her hands, shaking, to not remember the look on her sister's face… to not see her heart breaking into tiny pieces… to not see that the fairy tale endings Retasu read about did not happen to everyone. She heard from one of her maids that her sister was sick as well… and was sleeping more often than fed… and when she was fed she only ate a little bit before falling back to sleep.

"Poor dear… she has nightmares everytime her eyes close…" her ears tuned onto the voice right outside her door. Servant's gossip.

"I hear it's because Haru rejected her!" someone said sharply.

"It couldn't have been… the boy loves her! He asks about her everyday," an older voice said.

"Well I hear it's because her parents are marrying her off to some fat rich man who's been asking for her hand ever since she was 15!"

"EW!" shrieked, most likely, one of the youngest maids in the household. She was quickly shushed.

"Be careful with what you say Rina! He is definitely not a fat man. He's one of the most eligible and honorable bachelors out there… and he is very handsome!!" A few more hushed words were said before they were obviously interrupted by someone coming up the stairs.

"Shouldn't you be dusting the vases?" a matured feminine voice said.

"Yes mistress!" they all replied immediately as the footsteps were lured away from her room and a new pair of light steps approached it. Two soft knocks, and the door was opened to reveal her mother smiling with a tray of chicken soup.

"Good morning darling! How are you feeling?" she asked in a concerned, yet light voice. Ichigo weakly smiled, then sneezed again, while muttering about her hatred for colds.

"That's what you get for gavallanting around the grounds during a storm!" her mother hid a laugh behind her hand before continuing, "but I do not blame you. It is very beautiful outside when it rains."

Ichigo looked at her mother with a curious gaze as she asked about Mint. Her mother's small smile completely disappeared as she commented her condition was getting worse. Mint refused to eat, and slept too often… only to have something plaguing her mind causing stressful rests which were not good to her health.

"But she will get better. She always does. Your elder sister is strong… her heart will pull through tough times…" said Silvia looking at her daughter eye to eye.

Ichigo looked at her mother, noticing the lines on her forehead, and the bags under her eyes. Her mother wasn't doing very well either. She could almost see Mint in her mother… her eyes at least. They shared the same blue eyes, while Ichigo shared the same hair color with her mother. While the elder woman distressed over her daughter, Mint was distressed over love. Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt a gentle pat on her cheek and a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Get well dearest… tomorrow is Christmas. Be happy." Before her mother left the room, she called out to her.

"Doesn't every love story have a happy ending Mama?" she asked strongly… believing that there was a hope that Haru and Mint would be happy again, even if it didn't seem that way now. Silva was silent for a few moments, and then Ichigo continued.

"I mean Retasu has never told me of a love story that did not in fact have a happily ever after!! You had a happily ever after!!" she alleged. Her mother turned to her slowly, before giving her a sad smile.

"Retasu will not read love stories that do not have happy endings dearest… one day I will tell you a story that does not have a happily ever after…" her mother said softly before leaving the room.

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R&R