Title: Letting Go
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Genre: General
Word Count: 621
Main Characters: Yuki, Inaho
Pairings: None.
Summary: Yuki loves Inaho but sometimes, she doesn't understand him. One shot.
Disclaimer: Aldnoah Zero is copyright to Urobuchi Gen, Olympus Knights and A1 Pictures.
AN: I don't know how old Yuki and Inaho were when their parents died so putting her at 14 is just a guess. I know there's at least 6 years age gap between the siblings.
Yuki loves Inaho. She really does. From the moment she set her eyes on his small face and held him in her arms, she swore to protect him with everything she had.
Yuki is fourteen when their parents died. There were no other relatives on either side who came forward for them. Welfare had sought to put them in foster care but Yuki had been adamant to the idea. She fought against every one of their suggestions, stating firmly that she will be Nao-kun's sole caretaker and giver. She took on part time jobs, working tirelessly and without complaint, earning enough to put food on the table and pay off the utility bills.
Yuki doesn't understand Inaho. Not everyone does and she remembers that their parents didn't quite understand him as well. She can't tell what is going on in that head of his behind that blank façade. She is never sure of what his reaction or response is but she never treads carefully around him. She speaks to him openly and honestly, not hiding anything away. If anything, he doesn't seem to mind.
When Yuki sees him lying there in a pool of his blood and so grievously injured, she thinks that her heart will shatter and she will break. She cradles him against her body, tries to ignore the ugly, bleeding hole in his eyes and the blood that won't stop flowing. Inko is crying nearby, loud sobs and hiccups. She notices the blood spatter that doesn't look like it came from his wound and her world is broken apart.
Their parting was not so much as filled with bitterness but with misunderstanding and heartache. Yuki's heart is aching in her chest and she wonders if it is possible to die from a broken heart. She wishes that she knows what Inaho is thinking about behind that expressionless mask he wears and wishes that he will just, for once, for goddamn once, show something instead of keeping that face so blank. She protests, pleas and cries with him to no avail. When Inaho is set on something, nothing will ever break his conviction. In the end, Yuki just lets him go but she doesn't give up so easily either.
She goes around and asks - demands for Inaho's discharge. None in the UFE are willing to give him up or let him go. He is a valuable asset, Warrant Officer, a general told her, sympathy in his eyes. He is the key to winning this war.
He's not a soldier! she wants to scream. He's just a boy! A kid! He's my brother! I have to watch over him!
It all fell on deaf ears and she finds herself transferred out of the ship to another base alongside with Lt. Marito. She stares at the paper in her hand and seethes inwardly. Outwardly, there is nothing she can do, short of resigning but it will mean not seeing or hearing about Inaho again. So she continues on, even though she wishes she could have done more.
When they meet again one year and a half later, it's not with joy or cheer. She knows it will never happen. Instead, she tries again to talk sense into him, to tell him of her feelings but once again, he chooses his own way.
This time, she watches as he walks away from her and knows that she will not be able to chase after him. She can only watch as he leaves her behind.
Yuki loves Inaho but sometimes, she doesn't understand him at all. For all she has jested that she knows what he's thinking, she honestly doesn't know. She only knows that maybe it's time to let him go.
End.