What remains

There is nothing foolish about hope.

~ N.K. Jemisin

Otoya watched Syo. The blonde's lifeless, dull, blue eyes stared right through the redhead. It was as if he was reliving everything. But the blonde, probably, believed it was all in his mind. The master coarse, all if their friends, everything. He thought he went crazy, that it was all a bad dream. That's what Kaoru had told him.

Of coarse Otoya knew the truth. It wasn't just some dream he could wake up from. As far as he knew, everyone was dead. He vividly remembered that stormy day. It had all been a game to the younger twin. And once he broke Syo down, he had all but won. Now the redhead lived by Kaoru's rule, in fear for his life. He played by the younger boy's commands. He even helped convince his friend that everything had just been a nightmare of his comatose mind.

But it was all fake. Kaoru made up small lies, recreating Syo's past. If the blonde believed them or no, there was really no way to tell. Syo hadn't spoken to either of them until this day. He had just stared listlessly into the distance. Every time Kaoru force the two to be together, it broke Otoya's heart even more.

The redhead, stifling a sob, one day, grabbing Syo's hand. "Syo-chan, please say something. Say that everything will be okay. It's been so long since I've seen you smile. You use to have a bright smile." He caught himself. The last time Syo had smiled was... he couldn't even remember anymore. But he knew it was Natsuki that had made Syo smile.

"Syo-chan what can I do to bring your smile back?" He begged. His hand still firm around the younger blonde's. This was the last person he had. Otoya wouldn't just let him slip through his fingers that easily. For once he would fight back.

Syo moved his eyes to the window just beyond the left side of his bed. Otoya, being on the right, at first, thought that he was looking way from him. Realization came like a bucket of bricks hitting him. His red eyes widened to double their size as he followed Syo's blank stare.

"N-no Syo-chan. Y-you're t-to sick to g-go outs-side." He stuttered. Kaoru wanted him talking just as much as Otoya, but he had forbidden Syo from going outside. Otoya couldn't do this for his friend, he would end up dead or worse. He would end up being one of the younger twins toys. Like Cecil had been. Unfortunately, the dark haired male's agreement with the blonde had fallen short. If only he had just killed Ren like Kaoru wanted, he would have been okay. But Cecil wasn't that kind of person, to the very end he stayed by his decision.

But now, Otoya was part of Kaoru's plan. The blonde needed someone he could easily control. He needed Syo to still have a friend. The older brother was lost, broken. And Kaoru found through the two months since the fall of Starish, he couldn't fix his brother.

"Anything, Syo-chan, anything but outside." He would jump over walls to have Syo happy again.

His voice was dead, much like his eyes as Otoya could tell when the small one turned his head to the ginger, but it rang out through the room. "What remains, when all I feel is gone?"

"Syo-chan?"

"How about the truth?" His voice was barely audible.

"I don't know what you mean, Syo-chan."

The blonde looked always again, with blank eyes.

"Moshimo mirai ga nai to shitara

Kyou subete ga owaru to shitara

Kimi wa nani wo suru?

Nokosareta jikan no naka..."

Otoya bit his lip. It had been awhile since Syo had sung. But even the redhead could tell that this wasn't his song. It didn't sound like something Nanami would write for him. It didn't sound like something Natsuki would sing either. He hated what he was going to do.

"That's a lovely song. Where did you hear it Syo-chan?"

The small blonde didn't look back at him as he spoke. "I use to sneak in to Ai's room sometimes when he practiced. He loved singing Trans winter when he was alone. Not that you believe me."

The last part came out harshly. And he had ment to have a venomous lash to the sound, but the blonde just couldn't pull it off with his absent mind. He slowly drifted back into his cloud of happy times, when Starish was together.

Otoya could feel the distance between him and Syo. It felt like Syo was in a much happier place, somewhere the redhead could never reach again. He went to say something, but his words fell flat. Even if he couldn't be happy, why did he want to take the only time Syo could be happy aways? In his heart, he couldn't force himself to do it. So he sat there quietly watching the other boy fall into a deep slumber.

How pale his friend had gotten. How sickingly skinny he was now. His hair lacked the shine it once had. It was almost as if Syo was falling right through his grasp, slowly slipping away. It scared Otoya. He was afraid of losing his last friend, but this boy looked nothing like the person he once knew. He looked so... weak. Syo was the strongest person he knew. Could spending two months in a hospital really drain him this much? He almost faded into the background.

Not being able to bare it, Otoya stood from his white chair, hoisting his black bag on to his shoulder. How much longer did he have to live this nightmare? Kaoru could only keep control for so long. But Otoya knew it was foolish to have hope that something would change. He knew this, but still...

He looked up at Syo's window as he was about to exit the parking lot. He squinted his eyes to see his pale, unwell friend in the window looking down on him.

"It's foolish, that's true, but is it okay to still have hope Syo-chan?" His voice was carried by the wind. Not thinking that anyone could hear him he turned away from the white building. He missed several things that day. He missed Syo's head bobbing behind the curtains, he missed the other blonde watching him closely from the gate, and many other chances.

Back already. Couldn't wait... Not the same horror as last time, more mental horror. Let's hope I don't disappoint anyone. And if anyone feels that the genres I chose were incorrect please notify me.

Disclaimer-not mine, yet again, and any relations to foolish hopes, save for the quote, would belong to that of one Starishadow...

And Trans winter happens to be my favorite song of all the Utapri songs so yeah, also not mine