A/N: Konnichiwa, minna-san~ I know this couple isn't one of the most popular in the Inazuma fandom, nor is this fic one of my best stories. I still prefer the OTP that is KyouTen, but hey, can you blame me for shipping these two after the recent Chrono Stone episodes? XD Anyway, I wrote this for a friend's birthday and I'm not forcing anyone else to like it. If you read it, please take it for what it is. If you don't even like the couple, I suggest you turn back. Oh, and obviously, the fic takes place somewhere in season 1, before Yuuichi gets the surgery. Okay, enjoy~

It was raining heavily today. The afternoon sky was so dark it looked like night was falling. Kyousuke scurried his way to the hospital, stepping through puddles and shielding his face the best he could. By the time he reached the entrance, it was safe to say he was soaked. The receptionist glanced up when the sliding doors let in a familiar face and sent him upstairs with the same old smile. None of the employees needed to ask what he was coming for; they had long gotten used to his daily visits.

However, Kyousuke found his brother's room was empty this time. He didn't need long to figure out where he was, what with it raining cats and dogs outside. He could only be at one place instead. Kyousuke descended a few floors and found his brother exactly where he thought he would: in the rehabilitation room. Facing away from him, Yuuichi was doing his best to remain standing, fingers clenched around the balancing beams. It took mere moments before he lost his strength and required a male nurse to keep him up by the waist.

Kyousuke frowned. He was never pleased to see his brother here. As much as Yuuichi pushed himself to improvement, both brothers were well aware he would never recover as long as he didn't get surgery. Not even coming close to the demanded costs, Kyousuke felt pained to see his brother struggle and hear him talk about progress, even though there was none and his effort was practically futile.

"Ah, Kyousuke-kun!"

Kyousuke perked up and saw the nurse, as well as his brother, were looking at him. Yuuichi's face automatically lit at the sight of his younger sibling. "Kyousuke! What a pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure if you'd come with this weather."

Hmph. He'd had worse. Kyousuke would come even if a tornado hit. He owed it to his brother for putting him in this hospital. He owed him that, and so much more.

Before he could give an answer, a second nurse appeared next to him and asked Yuuichi's if he could lend her a hand with something. The older Tsurugi brother was put in his wheelchair and the two of them were soon alone. Kyousuke closed the door and walked over, greeted by his brother's kind-hearted smile. "How are you today, Kyousuke?"

"Drenched, as you can see," Kyousuke grumbled. "That doesn't matter; how are you doing, Nii-san? Has there been any... progress?"

"Not so much, sadly." Yuuichi's smile grew visibly weaker. "But I'll keep trying!" He held up a determined fist and stayed quiet for a while, but then looked up with a renewed smile. "Say, how about you help me?"

Kyousuke raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Help you?"

"With my training. Who knows how much longer he'll stay away... I don't want to sit here and do nothing when I don't have to. Come on, lend me a hand."

Before he knew it, his brother presented his arm to him and Kyousuke had little choice but to guide him back to the bars. Despite their considerable age gap, he managed to support him without issue. Being a talented soccer player had its benefits, such as maintaining a decent shape.

"I'm not a professional..." he started, but Yuuichi chuckled at him over his shoulder.

"It'll be fine, don't worry so much. Just hold me up when I'm about to—wah!"

"Nii-san!" Kyousuke responded immediately when Yuuichi began tumbling down. He clasped his arms around his waist, trying to imitate what he'd seen from the nurse's actions as much as possible, and lifted him back up.

"Kyousuke... I can't..." Yuuichi groaned, and that was Kyousuke's cue to put a stop to their little training session. He carried his brother back to his wheelchair and exhaled deeply once Yuuichi sank down. He may be stronger than his age would suggest, but supporting another human being was tough even for him. Especially when said human being was his very own brother; the one and only person he felt odd being physically close to. He was never one to invite that sort of contact, but... when it was his brother, he felt strange in a sense that brought him pleasure and discomfort at the same time.

Yuuichi glanced up at him, hands planted on the armrests, and flashed an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for burdening you like that, Kyousuke," he said, and he let out a chuckle Kyousuke had heard many times before. It was that light, sweet chuckle he gave when he wanted to convey a message: "Everything is alright." But it wasn't. It hadn't been alright for years. That message was a lie. And after having endured it for a torturously long time, this was the final chuckle that made Kyousuke snap.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He instantly regretted raising his voice the way he did. Yuuichi flinched, totally startled by his sudden outburst. "Kyousuke?" he stammered, but his little brother kept staring at him with a face like thunder.

"Why are you apologizing? Why do you keep doing that? Apologizing, being so nice to me, even though I'm the one that put you here in the first place!"

Yuuichi calmed down when the matter they'd addressed repeatedly resurfaced once more. "We've been over this, Kyousuke. What happened has happened, there's nothing we can do about it. I can only focus on getting better, while you go and pursue soccer for the both of u—"

"SOCCER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!" His arm lashed out and flew into several medical supplies, sending them off the table and crashing them into the floor. Yuuichi was instantly alert again, eyes widened in shock. Kyousuke had expressed sorrow, regret, even frustration towards the accident. But never had he seen him so infuriated before, so dangerous. His eyes narrowed viciously, glaring daggers and actually scaring his older brother.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why won't you face the facts instead of bending the subject, like all I did was scrape your knee? I ruined your life, Nii-san! Thanks to me, you may never be able to walk again! You can't—you can't just sit here and throw the same old bullshit at me! You can't just smile at me and pretend nothing ever happened! Because it did! I did something awful! And I have to repent for it, but you just won't let me! It just..." Kyousuke let out a frustrated growl. "... it drives me nuts! You keep avoiding the issue by asking how my day is, and how practice went, and if I want to help you train! Well, guess what – that is INSANE! That isn't normal! You're supposed to yell at me, blame me for your pain, you're supposed to hate me and tell me you never want to see me again! That is a normal reaction! Not that agonizing smile of yours; not those soothing words that only fuel my guilt! Stop being the nice older brother and give me what I deserve!"

Right at that moment, the first bolt of lightning struck through the rain, enlightening his face and revealing the tears in his eyes. Having reached his limit, Kyousuke sank to his knees, panting after venting all of his cropped up rage. His eyes squeezed shut in despair. Maybe his brother finally got it now. Maybe he had finally made him realize how he was supposed to treat him. Whatever Yuuichi did, he couldn't bear his endless patience and kindness anymore. The more his brother strayed away from the problem, the more it tore him apart. Yuuichi didn't realize how much he loved him; how seeing him crippled in his bed broke his heart a little more with each passing day. The fact that he chose to love him back rather than give what was coming to him only made it worse. His increasing guilt was going to destroy him at this rate.

"... Kyousuke..."

He didn't dare to look up at first. By the sound of the soft mention of his name, Kyousuke figured his brother's mood was either unchanged or frighteningly chilly. Either way, just hearing that single word was enough to intimidate him. But he had to face him. He could hardly avoid his older brother after shouting him in the face; it would be rude as well as hypocritical.

So Kyousuke slowly raised his head to look him in the eye. As soon as his own opened, tears started flowing down his cheeks. Kyousuke didn't even care; his brother was the only person in the entire world he felt he didn't have to hide his emotions from. What's more, he was immediately preoccupied with the expression on his brother's face. Yuuichi gave him a look, neither kind nor chilly, but a stern, composed gaze that pierced right through him. Kyousuke noted something from the corner of his eyes and saw Yuuichi had opened his hand on the armrest. He hesitantly took it, afraid to go against his wishes, and that's when Yuuichi said but nine words:

"Kyousuke. You are my brother, and I love you."

Kyousuke stared at him. That was all? That was seriously all? Yuuichi didn't look like he was going to say more... What was he supposed to do with an answer like that? It was so short, yet it did all sorts of things to him. It frustrated him because he was avoiding the subject yet again. It relieved him because he didn't send him out of the room and deny him visits for the rest of his life. And it made him happy, oh so very happy, because Yuuichi had just expressed his love for him. It may be brotherly, as painful as the realization was, but even after literally screaming he wanted his brother to hate him, Kyousuke couldn't help but feel immensely happy to hear those three words.

Taking in the awestruck look on his little brother's face, Yuuichi softened his expression and carefully squeezed his hand in his own. "Kyousuke..." he reiterated, emphasizing every word, "you are my brother. And I love you."

Just as Kyousuke started wondering why he'd just repeated himself, Yuuichi leaned in and closed the space between their faces. Their lips pressed together in an ever so gentle kiss; it was so light it wasn't so much a lip-lock as the simple touching of two pairs of mouths. Neither brother counted the seconds, but they were sure at least ten had passed by the time they broke apart. Yuuichi looked completely calm now, while Kyousuke looked all the more fazed. His tears had promptly stopped and his wet cheeks, rare as it was, actually reddened a little. Little to Yuuichi's surprise, he was entirely baffled.

"Nii... Nii-san...?"

Kyousuke was surprised the words had managed to cross his lips. He thought he'd be too stunned to speak, considering his own brother had just kissed him. His older brother... the one he possessed these unnatural feelings for... had just kissed him. It was no accident; Yuuichi had had every intention of doing it. To say his mind was blown was an understatement... Did this mean... could he hope... that these worrisome feelings weren't one-sided...?

Yuuichi eventually flashed a smile when he realized Kyousuke wasn't going to say anything else. He retracted his hand out of his, only to lay it on his cheek and break the trail of his tear with his thumb.

"Kyousuke... I could never hate you. As much as I understand your frustration, as much as you may or may not deserve to be resented... it is impossible for me to grant your wish. The very reason I wish to focus on recovering rather than wasting energy on hating you is to be with you. To be able to play soccer with you again. That is my deepest wish. To be reunited with you as brothers... even though, selfishly, I don't consider that enough."

He was dreaming. That had to be it. His brother couldn't be sitting there, giving him a half-hearted smile and saying the words that answered the feelings he had tried for God knows how long to suppress. By the time he realized he was awake, that all of this was real, Kyousuke burst into tears again. His brother had once again refused to hold him accountable for the accident. Instead, he had done something that was enough to cloud his guilt, to make him happy beyond belief in little more than a heartbeat.

"Nii-san..." Kyousuke's lips automatically curved into a smile of their own. He had no choice; the immense sensation welling up in his chest and quickly spreading through his body forced him to convey what he felt. To reveal that Yuuichi's desire to be more than brothers was nothing short of mutual.

Yuuichi didn't need long to figure it out. He had, at the very least, expected his brother to shout at him some more, calling him repulsive or something similar, and storm out of the room. He had expected him to go pale, rather than red, with shock and perhaps even slap him across the face. The fact that Kyousuke was smiling, that his little brother was smiling now of all times, especially regarding the circumstances, said more than enough.

"Kyousuke..." he whispered, and he rubbed away the tears that were wetting his fingers. The silence that followed was the most comfortable they'd had in years. There was no tension, no unease, simply the sinking in of a realization neither brother could have ever foreseen.

After more than a minute had passed, Yuuichi withdrew his hand and took on a casual tone. "Well then. Would you like to continue helping me with my rehabilitation, Kyousuke?"

Kyousuke blinked as if shaking himself out of a daydream. Yuuichi wanted to keep trying. Even though his legs had failed on him today and many days prior, he stubbornly stood back up and tried again. And finally, Kyousuke saw the sense in his determination. Yuuichi refused to sit by and wait for a miracle; he wanted to get better and regain a normal life, so he could once again share his passion with his little brother. Even if it was impossible without the possibility of surgery, Yuuichi's spirit remained unbroken. And now that the issue that had been chewing away his mind, the one that had kept him lingering in the past and drained him of all his optimism, had finally been resolved, Kyousuke saw no reason not to follow his example.

"I'd like that, yes," he answered, and the two shared a real kiss before the younger brother helped the older up again. Yuuichi did, however, sit back down and suggested clean up the mess he'd made first. Kyousuke answered with an awkward grimace and quickly got to the job. He had to hurry, because he wanted to help his brother before the nurse came back. He wanted to hold him, catch him, provide support if Yuuichi needed him to; he wanted to be there for him as much as he could. And this time, really mean it.