Omi remembered that Ran had never liked taking breaks. When he did, it was almost always to visit his sister, or to research missions. Sometimes he would stand by the glass of the store front, watching the darkened street as the sky poured and people rushed by, lost in his own world. Then he would return to work, putting leaves and flowers into some contorted arrangement, or looking over the books for the month. Ran was the one who looked after the finances of the hanaya, because he was good with numbers. He would be good with words too, or so Omi thought, if only he would speak to the others once in a while. Even after working together for so long, the man didn't talk much. Not that he was silent all the time. He just refused to talk when he didn't have to. Occasionally Omi could see flashes of life in Ran, like when he stopped brooding and just sat down with the rest of them during breaks, listening to the others talk. Omi liked it when the four of them sat down together, just to talk, or to fill a particularly large order for a client. It brought to him a sense of friendship, a sense of domestic harmony. He reflected wryly over the fact that although he was the youngest of the four of them, and looked it, he was the one who mothered them all, making sure this was this and that was that- making sure of little things, like when it rained, anyone who went outside of the hanaya had an umbrella with him. On the occasions when anyone quarreled, he was the one who would mediatate, breaking up fights by scolding both combatants- like a mother hen, they teased. Fights and quarrels seemed to happen at an alarming rate around the hanaya. Those were the only times when Ran showed signs of being alive, of caring for anything other than revenge and the welfare of his sleeping sister. And yet, when Aya-chan returned to the world of the concious, Ran stopped taking breaks. Stopped even these smallest bits of opening up to them. When Omi, Ken or Youji trooped down for tea, or just a rest from the monotony of florists' work, he would stay in the shop, refusing to leave. The scowl had left his face when Aya-chan had returned, but Omi could see in the smiles and laughter that replaced them only emptiness, as if Ran were only pretending to be happy. Gradually, even those smiles faded. Omi didn't know if the others noticed, although he did see both Ken and Youji sneaking concerned looks at Ran when they thought no one was watching, and Aya-chan looking more and more worried, as if something was wrong that they couldn't quite put their finger on. Ran didn't seem to notice their concern. He carried on much as he had before, not saying much except when Aya-chan was around. One day, he left the hanaya, and didn't return. They hadn't panicked at first- Ran was a grown man, and a dangerous assassin at that, certainly more than capable of taking care of himself. After a month of tireless searching, they found him. Ran had always been thin, but now he was skeletal. Before, he had at least the bulk of muscle lending him substance, but after months without touching a blade, he'd melted- faded away to a wraith. Omi hadn't realised how much he cared for the older man until they burst into the dilapidated room, only to find their friend sitting by the window, staring out aimlessly.