Birthday

"Happy Birthday to you... Happy Birthday to you... Happy Birthday dear Rin... Happy Birthday to you!"

"BAH!" Rin puffed, as she blew out her birthday candles.

"Hey, watch where you're blowing! You blew the smoke right into my face, stupid." Kai retorted as he waved the candle smoke away from him.

"Kai, can't you be nice to your sister for once? It's her birthday, for Eden's sake." Haru sighed, as he turned back to face the beaming Rin. She was a bundle of joy, whether Kai spoke harshly to her or not. She never seemed to be fazed.

Today was Rin's tenth birthday, marking the tenth year she'd been with them. After all, she had been delivered to their home when she was practically a newborn; dropped off at their house one stormy night by a strange man. However, that day had more or less vanished from Kai's memory after all these years. He'd only been eight years old when Rin came into his life, and at the time, he thought that life was meaningless without his mother, who had died when he was seven. Yet, Kai soon realized that he had something else to live for.

Rin.

Although he may not have been a kind, gentle, loving brother throughout the 10 years he'd been around her, Rin had always acted as a sort of light, in his void of darkness. She quite literally forced joy into his life, where he once thought would forever be empty. He was grateful... but he'd never say it, of course.

Kicking his feet onto the table, Kai crossed his arms. From the other side of the table, he could feel Haru's disapproving gaze, and he rolled his eyes. Rin, on the other hand, noted the gesture, and kicked her feet onto the table too, mimicking her older brother. Haru straightened his back as he glared at Kai.

"You're not being a good example to your sister. Put your feet down."

Kai smirked in response."Make me."

The two men seemed to have a silent argument with each other, as well as - a staring contest, in the eyes of Rin.

"Kai wins!" she shouted after a moment, as Kai and Haru turned to face her.

"Eh?" Haru replied

"You blinked, so you lose. Now eat your cake, otherwise, I'll eat it instead!"

She made a face at Haru, and he sighed in defeat. She always seemed to be able to dissolve the tension between them in a heartbeat; forcing Kai to do the same, and drop his hostility. Rin also managed to make Kai put his feet back on the floor, giving Haru a bit of breathing space. Today's her birthday! It's a happy day, and Rin was going to make sure of that. Taking a bite out of her cake, her eyes lit up in delight.

"Yummy..." She mumbled through a mouthful, stuffing the sweet treat into her mouth.

Kai followed suit, eating a bit of cake. She was right, it was good. He nodded slightly, wiping a bit of icing from the side of his mouth. They continued to eat in silence, with Rin humming a little tune while they enjoyed the cake. However, the carefree atmosphere didn't last long, as Rin piped up suddenly.

"Why don't I have a mom?"

Haru and Kai stiffened, as the question hung in the air. Clearing his throat, Haru looked at Rin with a sad smile.

"Rin... there was something I've been meaning to tell you, however, you were too young to understand the situation."

Kai looked away, focusing back on his piece of cake. Sensing his discomfort, Rin smiled at him and held her hand up to Haru, stopping him from continuing.

"Wait, before you start story-time, let me get something!"

She hopped off her chair and ran back into the dimly lit home, her footsteps echoing after her. Kai and Haru stared after her; the tension instantly rising the moment she left the room. The two sat in silence until they heard her footsteps grow louder and louder again. Popping back into view, Kai saw that she was holding Mr. Snowy in her arms. He wasn't as white or fluffy as when he had first bought him, but the rabbit was still Rin's best friend, and best source of comfort nonetheless.

Haru softened at the sight of Rin holding Mr. Snowy, and he smiled at her. After she had taken her seat beside Kai once more, Haru leaned back into his chair, closing his eyes.

"Rin... your mother loved you very much... but I'm afraid she could not be here to celebrate your birthday with you."

"Why?"

"Well you see, she went on a journey far away, back to the Garden of Eden to reunite with her spirit friends."

"Oh! The Garden of Eden! That's the home of the spirits, right? I'm sure she'll be safe with them there." Rin's eyes glowed with curiosity. She had heard many wonderful things about the spirits and their world through the rumors that echoed through the kingdom, but she'd never been there before.

"When will she come back then?"

"She's not coming back." Kai interrupted before Haru could open his mouth.

"Mother... my mother is dead, and she'll stay dead forever. Rin, you're adopted. I want you to hear it as it is, without Haru sugar-coating it. You were delivered to our home when you were a baby and put under our care. You deserve to know the truth because I was in the same place as you when I was younger."

"Kai-" Haru started but didn't have the words to finish the sentence.

Rin's smile faltered as the words sunk in.

"Haru?" she asked tentatively, clutching Mr. Snowy a little tighter than before.

Haru lowered his eyes, his silence giving away the truth.

"It's true, Rin. I'm not your biological father, and Kai is not your real brother. Your parents did not have the ability to care for you themselves at the time of your birth, so they entrusted you to us, in hopes of giving you a chance at a happy, ordinary life with a loving family."

He paused for a moment, before adding:

"Rin... you know Kai and I love you very much. We love you as if you were truly my daughter and his sister. Right, Kai?"

Kai turned to look at Rin's frozen smile; her gaze was fixated on her plate, still covered in bits of cake and icing.

"That's right," he said, still keeping his eyes on her.

'And I'll always love you.' Kai echoed in his mind, moving a little closer to his sister so she could feel his comforting warmth. Rin, however, gave no response to the motion. She seemed to be stuck to her chair, unable to move or even blink. She had a faded smile plastered on her face, giving no indication of how she really felt. Her hands, however, were not as rigid, as they started to shake. Kai noticed, and reached his hand towards hers, but pulled back, unsure if she'd want his comfort. Meanwhile, Haru was still leaning against his chair, staring at her worriedly. Neither of them wanted her to go through the pain of knowing that her biological parents had left her.

Silence filled the room as the three of them uncertainly sat around the table, watching Rin. However, with each tick of the clock, her smile seemed to break little by little, as her happiness slowly disappeared.

"Did my parents really love me?" She whispered through the silence.

Haru and Kai both stayed silent; they didn't have a solid answer. They did not know whether her parents had really loved her, or why they had left her with them, but all they knew, was that Rin was slowly breaking as the minutes passed.

"We love you."

Haru answered instead, sparing Kai from having to handle this difficult situation. Being Rin's older brother, he knew that he should probably say something comforting, or reassure her that everything would be alright somehow, but... he didn't know what to say. All his life, he'd lived under the impression that he should live for nobody but himself. He'd learned to steel himself against the world, not letting anything ever hurt, or get to him again...

But now that his sister was the one suffering, how would he ever save her?

....

"Okay, thank you for telling me, Haru, Kai." Rin's old smile was back, all trace of her sadness, gone. Setting Mr. Snowy against the chair, she stood up, leaving Haru and Kai to stare at her, bewildered.

"You alright?" Kai asked his sister hesitantly.

"Yes, I feel fine," she smiled. "I wouldn't want you to worry about me, now would I?"

Haru got out of his chair, walking over to where Rin was standing.

"If you ever need anything from either Kai or me, just ask, okay?" He patted her back reassuringly, and she nodded.

Her eyes lit up suddenly, remembering something. Dashing back over to her seat, she ate the last bits of her cake, not wanting to waste a single piece. She seemed to melt under the delightful sweetness for a moment, and Kai blinked down at his slice as well. He had almost forgotten that it was her birthday at all, after that somber conversation. Studying Rin, it looked like she was back in high spirits again. Honestly, it was kind of suspicious. How would she have had been able to get over it that quickly? It had taken him years to move on from his mother's death and father's abandonment, while Rin had only needed roughly 10 minutes. Then again... it was Rin. Nothing fazed her; and even if it did, it wouldn't stick for very long.

Picking up Mr. Snowy in her arms once more, Rin skipped back into the darkness of the creaky wooden home, humming a faint little tune in her wake. Kai stood up after her, taking a quick glance at Haru before walking back upstairs to his room.

'Well, that was one hell of a birthday party.' Kai thought to himself, diving into the covers of his bed.

His mind briefly flashed across the broken smile of Rin, clutching Mr. Snowy with shaking hands.

'She'll be okay,' he mused, glancing at the birds flying overhead, outside his window.

'This time, she's not alone.'