Heya! _ So, here's the fourth chapter! Yeah... Sorry for the late update. ^_^

Oh yeah, and I just realized I never got to say no offense to people who are fans of Starish since... I said I wouldn't make any fanfics about them in the note in the first chapter so... PEACE! I'm just... Not a fan. Hehe... So much for that, hope you enjoy this chapter! _

Oh and, I don't own the anime or the characters. Only the plot of this story. They all belong to themselves and Broccoli. ^_^ ; )

Haruka's POV

Getting up became a challenge for me. A very hard challenge. I couldn't move a single inch. I couldn't see, couldn't hear. I felt absolutely nothing but the coldness of my dorm's floor. I've been crying for about two hours or more. Moments after, I cried myself to sleep. And when I woke up, nothing changed. I still felt just as useless and miserable. I never even knew how long I've been unconscious. Well...

I bet it wouldn't even matter anyway.

'It's not like anyone would come looking for me any time sooner... Or any time at all.' I thought "unconsciously". It was true though. Bitter as it may seem, it was a fact. I found no reason for me to stand up and make myself feel alive. And I wanted to keep it that way.

Slowly, I started regaining my right eye's sight. It was dark. Very dark. It almost seemed like it darkness was closing in. In fact, it really was. I could see some traces of the sunset coming from my glass windows. However, it made no difference. To me, the world looked pitch black. I've always tried looking at the positive side of everything. I really did. But...

I knew I could never do it for long.

Out of all the painful things I've heard from other people, their words affected me the most. Why, you ask? I wouldn't know. I never really understood my purpose of being here, alive in the first place.

'Why... Why did their words... Affect me the most?'

I asked myself without making a single sound. I tried to make my brain process an answer to my own question, and yet, nothing came to mind. Knowing my brain had no chance of functioning properly for the time being, I gave up. Staring at particularly nothing instead. Just when I was going to bury my face in between my face once again, a thought popped up.

'I'm getting weaker and weaker by the minute, no, second.'

That was probably my conscience saying what I've known for a long time. It was right. That was probably why I was becoming more sensitive.

I knew very well that was the reason for my very immediate and long-lasting depression. The only reason I've known ever since pre-school.

But my heart begged to differ.

I was hurt, and I knew that. I felt it. I felt fear, and shame for myself as well. Though I also knew that I've never felt this depressed and hurt before. I had that one simple yet complicated question in my mind:

Why?

And as I once again tried to think of an answer to that question, a huge wave of thoughts came washing over me. I panicked.

'There's going to be a high chance of experiencing the same kind of pain everyday.'

'The pain will without doubt increase.'

'Never have I heard such heart-stabbing words from a person... No, a group of people'

'I'm unwanted and always will be.'

'I never deserved anything good anyway.'

That last thought was all it took for me to remember all that they said in a very detailed manner. Although, the extremely painful words were the ones that kept repeating in my head. And that's when I realized...

They were right.

"... I don't care about being her senior 'cause I didn't sign up for this! I don't give a shiz about her either! What makes you think I wanted to be her senior let alone work together with her in the first place?!..."

"... This woman doesn't deserve our respect or help."

"... Also, it's not like she'll think about the… somehow insulting words we've said to her if she doesn't want to recall them. And, why would she even be affected? We haven't even interacted with her for that long."

It was then, I started tearing up again while breathing heavily. I tried calming down, but it was no use. Those words... Those sentences... Were as loud as all the loud things combined. My head was throbbing, and my heartbeat was so fast it felt like it was going to leap out of my chest any second.

'If only I could show more appreciation to Kotobuki-senpai's words... He wouldn't have to get hurt just because of my weak-willingness.'

I tried pondering over Kotobuki-senpai's heart-warming words... But it just couldn't take away the negative things in thought.

In the end, I couldn't take it anymore. I was bruised enough already. So there was only one thing I could do. And I really did do it.

I passed out.

Reiji's POV

I was sitting on my bed, pondering on what Ruka-chan just said before she slowly disappeared, leaving her out of sight. "I'm sorry, thank you." was what I heard her say. I wasn't sure if it was correct though.

Then I started thinking hardly on why she apologized to me.

'Why in the world would she apologize to me? She didn't even do anything wrong. They should be the ones apologizing to her. So... Why?' I nonverbally asked myself.

I tried to recall exactly what happened a few hours ago, but didn't see any reason for her to apologize to me. I only ended up remembering the "discussion" I had with them after Ruka-chan went back to her dorm. And it wasn't a very good one.

Flashback:

After finishing my trip back to the practice room, I stood by the door for a moment, thinking of the right words to say. Then, I stepped in. I walked towards the piano and sat on the stool before saying "You. Guys. Apologize. NOW."

Silence was the reply I got.

"I mean it the three of you." I warned.

And right after I said that, I was shot by three very piercing glares. I wasn't surprised though. I sighed. That was when I put on my extremely serious face that I rarely use. But I was sure they were expecting this.

"And we also mean it." Ran-Ran replied, as he sharpened his glare. Myu-chan started setting aside the teacup he was drinking from a few moments after and slightly turned his head to my direction.

He said, "Give us one good reason on why we should apologize to her."

I became silent for a moment, because I had an extremely bad feeling this answer wasn't going satisfy him or any of them. But I said it anyway, hoping this would somehow make them realize that what they did was super wrong.

"Because... You didn't even give her a chance to say anything. You-" I got cut off by Ai-Ai as I was trying to start explaining my point further. Well... I was expecting this.

'I knew something like this was going to happen.' I immediately thought.

"Reiji, we already talked about this a while ago. And you probably didn't notice, but we gave her a chance to speak, and she didn't."

"Ai-Ai, you don't expect her to say that much during the first meeting. There was nothing else to say aside from "Hi, nice to meet you". What are you saying Ai-Ai? That's not even what I'm talking about. I'm talking about her proving herself to you guys that she is very much capable of seeing, hearing, and doing stuff like composing!"

"Yes, I know she's capable of doing such things. But not doing the certain action you have to do is useless even if you do know how to do it. In other words, she should have showed that she could support herself without anyone having to speak for her."

"What, you think she's lazy? You don't know anything about her! Why would you-"

"She will become lazy if you still think about "babying" her!"

Just then, a thought full of sarcasm formed in my head. And that was probably because I was getting really angry.

'This is just great. My attempt to nicely talk with them and tell them to apologize to Ruka-chan is gone now. And now it even turned into an argument. This is just a repetition of what happened a while ago! Man... Can this get any worse?'

"Ranmaru, for the last time, I wasn't "babying" her. I was trying to help her and make her feel comfortable. There's a difference! Why in the world would you think she's lazy?! If she was, she wouldn't have made it this far, on her own!"

"Why the hell would she seem so out of this world despite us trying to make her speak for herself, huh?!"

"She was nervous Ranmaru!"

"You think I care?! You think we care?! All we care about is what we're doing for a living! I don't care about whether she works with us or not! Although, it would be better if she didn't."

"I... I don't get you guys. I really don't. Why... Why are you saying stuff like that? I mean... Why?"

By this time, I was expecting even Myu-chan to join the argument. And I was right.

"It's because we don't take it easy on people who don't need to be taken easy on. That woman should just accept the criticisms we gave her and try improving herself."

"Those were not criticisms Camus! Those were insults! Why would you think those would help her improve herself if all you gave her were insults?! You were supposed to make her comfortable! You were supposed to acknowledge her for showing up at least!"

"I already told you I found no reason to give her my respect, you fool! What more my acknowledgment?!"

I couldn't take anymore of this argument. So I became silent for a few moments and tried calming down. I deeply sighed before saying what I wanted to say in the calmest way possible.

"Tell me, Camus. And this is a question for you too, Ai, Ranmaru. Why in the world did you ever think she didn't deserve your acknowledgments and respect? WHY?"

"We answered that question already, Reiji." Ai answered. That wasn't really the answer I was expecting. But nonetheless, this argument was still on. And that didn't make me feel any better.

I sighed, again, before saying, "Haven't you guys ever thought about the fact that you DON"T KNOW A SINGLE THING ABOUT HER? Haven't you ever heard of conscience? You immediately judged her without even giving her a second chance by at least being civil with her so that she'll be comfortable enough to work with us. You know that's not the right thing to do, and yet, you did just that. You guys hurt her feelings for no apparent reason. You guys don't even have the right to get mad at her, even though you're her seniors. Just because you guys don't know what it feels like to be nervous and un-confident. I don't even think you guys have conscience."

Silence was followed after my mini-speech. I thought I at least put some sense into those heads of theirs...

But no. They just had to be persistent.

"And you think you know EVERY SINGLE THING ABOUT HER?! We don't give a shiz about your conscience whatever! We. Don't. CARE. About her. So why don't you just get the friggin' out of here or I'm getting out! On second thought... I'm getting out of here. I never cared about any of your lectures anyway."

"I will NOT let you get out of here until you honestly say to me that you will apologize to Ruka-chan!"

"I wouldn't even lie about apologizing to her or to anyone in this whole good-for-nothing universe! And you don't have the right to boss me around!"

"Apologize to her. RIGHT NOW. THIS VERY SECOND."

"Didn't I just tell you you DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO BOSS ME AROUND?! If you're looking for a fight then BRING IT ON!"

"I'M TRYING TO BE CIVIL HERE! You don't know how much I want to punch you right now because YOU SURE DESERVE ONE!"

"This is not the time for you two to be fighting, nor will it ever be." Ai suddenly said, breaking the dangerous tension between me and Ranmaru. I felt relieved because of that. The last thing I wanted was having a fist-fight with him.

'Thank goodness he at least thought of calming us down a little.'

"The two of you really are foolish peasants." Camus commented. And I couldn't help but agree with him.

"Reiji,we will apologize to Haruka when she deserves it." Ai unemotionally announced. I was so happy yet discontented at the same time.

'They still think she doesn't deserve anything good?' I complained, in my mind of course. If I were to say it aloud, the argument would have continued. Then I just realized something. Ai just mentioned it now, after all the other things have been said.

"Wait a minute... Why did you just say that now?! If you would have said that before all those stuff happened, they wouldn't have happened!"

A sigh was then heard from both Ai and Camus who both sighed in unison. Camus was the first to speak. And I was expecting him to call me a fool.

"On the contrary. That argument still would push through because of your unnecessary questions, Kotobuki."

But he didn't.

"E-eh? But they were necessary Myu-chan!"

"No they weren't you peasant."

He called me a peasant instead. Well, I still wasn't surprised.

"Yeah they were!"

"No Reiji. They weren't." Ai-Ai answered.

"But they were necessary! I had to know why you guys treated her so cruelly when she didn't even do anything to you guys!" I whined in a half-playful manner. But I was still serious about it.

After a few brief moments, Ran-Ran sighed. Yeah... There were a lot of sighs. Well, they were better than shouts and glares.

"If you at least paid attention to what we were saying a while back, you wouldn't need to ask those things." Ran-Ran said, still sounding angry from the argument that just happened. And I knew he'd be. That's why I just gave up and hoped for the best to come. I really wanted Ruka-chan to be happy with us. I wanted her to smile... For real.

"But I was paying attention! How could I not when those things you guys said to her were really harsh? But... Okay, fine. She will surely earn herself apologies from you guys. You will apologize when she does... Right?" I asked, hoping for their answer to be yes.

I looked at Ai-Ai with hopeful eyes. He returned the look with narrowed and... Somehow annoyed eyes. Then, he closed them right after.

"Yes Reiji, we will apologize..." Ai-Ai replied as he opened his eyes. Just when I felt so happy my whole body straightened, he spoke again.

"... Maybe."

My shoulders immediately slumped down.

"M-maybe? But why?"

"Geez Reiji, why do have so much questions?!" Ran-Ran complainingly asked.

"Because! Because... I want to know why... Your apologies won't be certain."

"What if she never deserves it?"

"Ran-Ran! I told you, you don't know anything about her. So don't say anything like that."

"Hmph. Whatever."

"Hey Myu-chan, you'll apologize to her too, right?" I said asking him. He shot me a glare first then exclaimed an audible 'hmph' before answering. 'Man these people are scary.' I thought.

"Stop being persistent, you fool. You think I'd be any different? I willapologize to her... Only if she deserves my apology." I sighed happily as I heard his reply. But then a thought came to mind. And it was a good thing I didn't say it.

'But she already deserves it.'

"Ok! Now that you guys said you'll probably apologize to her, I can rest in peace!" I exclaimed happily. Ran-Ran immediately reacted to this. Well... The first one to react at least. Ai-Ai was next, followed by Myu-chan.

"What in the wold Reiji? What are you, a soul that's not at peace?"

"You never make any sense."

"Shut your mouth and just go back to your dorm you fool. It's not like you have any other business to attend to while I still have many things to accomplish. So, if you'll excuse me, I'll be leaving now."

"Ok! Bye!" I said waving exaggeratedly as he walked out of the room, ignoring me in the process.

"I'll be going back to my dorm as well." he unemotionally announced.

"K! See ya Ai-Ai!" I replied, waving. And I was ignored by him too. Ran-Ran followed him as he walked out the door without another word.

"Bye Ran-Ran!" I shouted, making him grunt.

"I was expecting that. Hehe..." I softly said to myself.

After they left, I was planning on heading back to my dorm as well, when I ended up walking towards the piano instead. I opened the keys' cover and stroked one of the white keys. Upon doing so, I immediately thought of Ruka-chan. I wanted to see how she was doing, but I knew she would want to be alone so I had no choice but to wait for tomorrow. It was weird how I just met her a few hours ago and I'm already worried and thinking about her this much. It feels like I was, no, we, the whole QUARTET NIGHT group was meant to meet her. It feels like... We were meant to be friends with her. Hai...

'Fate is so hard to understand.' I thought to myself, sighing.

I knew she was capable of changing the four of us with her kindness, and we were capable of making her more confident and happy in life. So I was set on making those three apologize to her and make amends in order for us becoming friends with her a possibility. It may seem... Weird since I just met her, but she already feels like a little sister to me, or maybe more than that.

I really hoped for her to come to the practice room tomorrow, so that maybe, just maybe, something good will happen between us and her. I was quite fond of thinking of her, her silky-looking orange hair, those bright, green eyes, that cute look she has when she's embarrassed. And I was really... Erm... How do I say this... Desperate to see her real smile. I bet that it would be the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Hey wait a minute... I sound like I have a crush on her! OH MY GOSH! ALREADY?! No, no, no, no, NO! I can't, it's too... Well... I do believe in "love at first sight". But still! No... I don't have a crush on her yet. Wait... YET? WHAT?!"

'What in the world am I saying to myself?!' I shouted at myself... In my mind.

By that time, there was already something extremely wrong with me, so I decided to head back to my dorm once and for all. I walked out the door, on the route back to my dorm, still having Ruka-chan in my head. I sighed inwardly.

'Oh Ruka-chan, I do hope you're okay.'

End of flashback

As the flashback in my mind ended, I plopped down on my bed, back facing down, as I once again, daydreamed Ruka-chan. And I felt like such a creep.

When I was trying to keep Ruka-chan out of my mind a little bit to give my weird self a break, I heard the front door open.

'Guess they're back.' I thought.

Moments later, I heard a familiar voice call out to me, and saw two familiar figures enter the room.

"Rei-chan! We're back!"

"Hey you two!" I shouted back in reply.

Ok that was long... For me at least. ^_^ Sorry again for the late update.. Hehe ^_^ Please forgive me. TT_TT Hope you enjoyed! Again... Sorry since, I'm not good with drama. Please review! Of course, if you want to that is. :) Until then, bye-bye!

QUARTET NIGHT: Bye-bye!/Bye./Hm.

Reiji: You guys! Be more enthusiastic!

Ranmaru/Ai/Camus: Shut up/Be quiet Reiji/Shut your mouth, peasant.

Reiji: Huhu... Ruka-chan, help! They're bullying me! *hugs Haruka while crying a river*

Haruka: Um... Hehe... Er... K-Kotobuki-senpai?

Ai: Ignore him Haruka.

Ranmaru: Leave him.

Camus: Hmph. Don't help that fool who's embracing you.

Reiji: Why are you guys so mean?! Huhu...

Haruka: Uh... Um... Bye-bye! Please excuse us. K-Kotobuki-senpai...

Reiji: I'm coming... *sniffs*

Ranmaru: Oh please.

Ai: *poker face*

Camus: What a fool...

Me: Hehe... ^_^