After The Rain: The Death of Aiko-hime
There's something heartbreaking about this, somehow - if just from Haru's perspective. If this doesn't explain in clear detail why he's the miserable sod he is, then I don't know what will. Maybe this is why I always liked him, even if noone else did. I'm sure the fact that he couldn't protect Aiko will haunt him till his grave...

---

"Aiko!"

Haru pushed through the crowd of palace guards, his heart in his throat as he spied his elder brother in the midst of the melee. Azusa stepped forward, taking him gently by the wrists as he prevented the younger prince from entering his sister's room, but Haru fought tooth and nail against his grip, anxiety burning in his eyes.

"Let me go, Azusa." He exclaimed. "Let me through! Let me..."

"You can't help her, Haru-kun." Azusa's words were soft and grave, and the look in the Crown Prince's eyes drove all the fight from Haru's body. He dropped limply back against the wall, colour draining from his cheeks as he struggled to comprehend the implications of his brother's words.

"Aiko." He whispered. "And I swore...I swore I would protect her, Azusa. What kind of brother am I, when I can't even protect my own sister!"

"Haru..." Azusa bit his lip, then he turned to the guard, dismissing them to their posts.

"You should come with me." He said softly. "I've already sent for the palace physician and there's nothing we can do here. She...we...well, there's nothing to be done."

"She warned me." Haru spoke in numb, disbelieving tones. "And I thought...and I tried...but she wouldn't go, and now...now..."

He faltered, shaking his head as if unable to believe it.

"Azusa, I must see her. I must...must see my...my sister."

"Haru..."

"I must, Azusa!" Haru pulled free of his companion's grip, heading down the hallway before his brother could stop him. Azusa called him back, but he paid the older man no heed, pushing open the door and stepping into his sister's chamber.

Almost at once his eyes fell on the sheeted figure on the floor, and his heart skipped a beat as, very slowly, he approached her. Already he could see tinges of red seeping out around the edges of the fine imported fabric, and, almost reluctantly, he bent to her side, reaching down to lift up the covering.

"Haru, I don't think you want to." Azusa's voice came from the doorway, and Haru turned, hopelessness in his eyes.

"I have to know." He said flatly. "I need to do this, Azusa."

"I just don't want you to scar your memory with that image." Azusa said sadly. "Because mine already is, I think, and I know...I know what she meant to you, Haru. What you two meant to one another. I only seek to protect you...that's all."

"I know that, onii-sama. But you can't." Haru sighed, then with a swift, decisive gesture he pulled back the blanket, gazing down upon his sister's dead face. Anguish gnawed at his heart as he surveyed her, the waxy pallor of her skin contrasting with the pooling red blood that spilled out from around her hands and wrists. Several lacerations had cut through the delicate fabric of her sleeves, and as he reached out a gentle hand to touch her cheek, he was aware of bruising on the side of her face. Her eyes - once so bright and full of life - had been gently pushed shut to mark her eternal sleep, and for some reason, Haru was glad for this small mercy. So often had he looked for the sparkle in Aiko's eyes to cheer his own moods that he could not imagine seeing them devoid of any spirit.

He sighed, closing his own eyes against his tears.

"Aiko." He murmured, then, "When did this happen? Azusa, when was she found?"

"About an hour ago. No earlier, but I don't know how long she's been here. I didn't speak to her last evening, after dinner, and I haven't found anyone who did, so far." Azusa said solemnly, coming to stand behind his younger brother as carefully Haru re-covered the still corpse. "The door was locked and barred from the inside, Haru-kun. Her wrists are slashed. It seems our sister had had enough."

"No!" Anger flooded through Haru at this suggestion and he was on his feet, wheeling on his brother in his fury. "Aiko would never...Azusa, she wouldn't! She loved life too much! What you're suggesting...the shame of having taken her own life...I won't believe it. I won't!"

"I don't want to either." Azusa bit his lip. "But I can't see any other explanation. She was found in here and the door was locked. One of the guardsmen had to batter it down when one of her ladies couldn't get a response and became worried about her. Noone could have got in from the outside - and obviously, once barred, there's no getting out, either. The room is too high up...I'm afraid that whatever we want to think, Aiko took a choice and this was it. She'd been dabbling a lot with powders and chemicals in recent years, Haru-kun. You know she always had a weakness for court fashion. Perhaps it caught up with her."

"Stop talking about her in the past tense, as if she's been dead for a long time." Haru snapped. "And stop talking about things you don't understand! Aiko may have dabbled, but she wasn't a fool! And she wouldn't take her own life. I know she wouldn't! She even said..."

His heart stilled in his chest as he remembered the anguished conversation beneath Sayuri's branches, and he swallowed hard.

"She told me that she thought she wouldn't be alive much longer." He whispered. "And that if something happened to her, no matter what it was, it wasn't her choice. That was what she said to me. I tried to get her to leave Jurai then, but she was afraid that her doing so would put us in danger. So she stayed. I promised to protect her...but obviously I can't keep my word. No wonder Father sees me as such a failure. I should have prevented this, Azusa! I should have prevented this!"

At this the tears finally came and unable to control his emotions any longer, Haru sank down onto the floor, burying his head in his hands. The strong arm of his older brother wrapped around his shoulders and despite himself, Haru was comforted by the older man's presence.

"You should have told me this before." Azusa sounded sombre. "If Aiko was in danger, Father and I should have known."

"She didn't want me to talk to anyone, in case it put us at risk." Haru said softly. "And I didn't want her to get hurt. But clearly she was right. He did come for her, in the end. He did..."

"Who did, Haru-chan? If you know something more, then tell me."

"Kagato." Haru spat out the name. "The bastard prince of Jurai."

"Kagato?" Azusa's tones were troubled, and Haru gazed up at his brother in confusion. "I see."

"You don't sound overly surprised."

"I have had...suspicions things were not right with my nephew, but he is so clever at covering himself, I wasn't sure of what I saw." Azusa sighed. "Jurai's power is strong but it doesn't allow me to see into other people's hearts. I just sensed...a difference in his attitude of late. And I was surprised to discover he'd encouraged Yosho in his pursuit of Haruna. I put his actions down to grief at the death of Mikamo Niwase, knowing how close they were. But from what you say...."

"Kagato probably killed Mikamo-dono, and from what Aiko said, others, too." Haru said bitterly. "He wants Father's throne and I was stupid not to take her terror more seriously when she confided in me. Aiko never breaks down and cries, Azusa, but that day she cried and I couldn't comfort her."

"Then she was indeed distressed enough to take her own life?"

"Azusa, she didn't." Haru shook his head. "She told me very specifically that if something happened...that it wasn't her doing."

"But the room was locked." Azusa rubbed his temples. "And barred. And noone else could have gotten in."

"If she slashed her own wrists, why does she have cut marks all over her arms?" Haru demanded. "And if she did so, where's the weapon she used? I don't see anything that could have caused those marks. She didn't kill herself, Nii-chan. She was murdered and left to look like a suicide. Who knows what dark arts Kagato has been using to get himself ahead of everyone? Aiko told me he'd started dabbling in Arian mysticism. I wouldn't put it past him, to somehow spirit himself out of this room without needing to open the door. I don't care what you say, Aiko did not do this. She was murdered, and I wasn't here to protect her. The one time she really needed me...and I wasn't there."

"This is not your fault, Haru." Azusa said gently. "And I won't let you blame yourself. But I do want you to come to Father, and talk some more about what Aiko told you. You'll have to speak for her, since she can't tell us herself. But if something is afoot on Jurai, we need to know and we need to stop it. Once done, we can stop and think about Aiko's death in a more rational sense. But right now..."

"Right now Juraian protocol has to take first priority." Haru muttered. "For you, maybe. Juraian protocol doesn't mean much to me right now. The one person at court who understood how I felt about everything is dead at my feet and I can't do a damn thing to change it. Misaki is exiled, raising my daughter in seclusion because I dare not bring her back to my planet. My nephew has sold his soul to Airai's devil arts and who knows what danger could be lurking for all of us, now. But so long as Juraian protocol is observed and the Emperor is consulted, all will be well. It won't be, Azusa. You can't drag Aiko back from the dead and right now that's the only thing which would make things right for me!"

"For her sake, we have to resolve this." Azusa pulled his brother gently to his feet. "Somehow, we have to put a stop to whatever has been going on. And I need you, brother. More than ever, now. You're not the only one who's lost a dear, dear friend, and you're not the only one who grieves for her. But we must. If Kagato is dangerous, we must find a way to stop him...and quickly. If nothing else, we must avenge our sister's death."