A/N: Just quick one-shot that I had saved for a while now and decided to post it up. No pairings, I'll say that now just in case you were expecting one. Although you probably weren't since all of my stories have no pairings in them. Expect some OOC from Ui, because if she was completely in character, this story wouldn't be possible.
Disclaimer: I do not own K-On!/K-On! !
"Sakuragaoka…Sakuragaoka…" Yui Hirasawa repeated the name of the school she would be attending now that she passed her entrance exams. By planning a last minute cram session with her friend Nodoka, she was able to just barely pass and join her friend into the next three years of their lives. At this point, Yui was pondering the many thoughts of what that particular high school would be like and what kind of people she would meet, but the one question that haunted her most was…
"What am I supposed to do?" She yelled loud enough to vent her frustration but quietly enough as not to disturb her sister or parents. "Nodoka-chan says that now we're in high school, we have to think about our future…but how am I supposed to know what to do?" Her face slammed against her pillow as her cries echoed throughout her room. Little did the future guitar sensation know that a heated argument was occurring in the living room below. And that her younger sister Ui had been taking the more active role in it.
"I don't even know why we can call you parents anymore!" Along with her other outbursts, the parents of the Hirasawa sisters were caught off guard with how their daughter was speaking. And this was the daughter that every parent desired: one that would listen to what she was told to do, help around the house, and generally be completely selfless. This was the first time they heard her speak up against them.
"But Ui, dear-" her mother tried to say.
"You're always out and never take care of us!"
"That's not true!" The father retorted. "We took care of you when you were born!"
"No, 'Ma would always take care of us while you two were probably out on another date!"
"Oh yeah…" The father sat down, realizing how horrible he was at arguing.
"Ui, dear, it doesn't mean we don't care about you. We both love you very much-"
"Well…I'm not sure if I even love you anymore…"
Gasp. They came from both of the parents. "If you love us…" Ui's voice lowered to a near inaudible whisper. "Then how come you almost always leave us alone at home by ourselves? We could barely take care of ourselves, yet you still spent more money on your dates than on us…"
"That's it, Ui, you go up to your room!" The mother said, desperately trying to take control of the conversation.
"No! I don't think I do love you! You barely do anything to help us! I had to learn how to cook and wash the clothes by myself! Sure, maybe you house and feed us, but other than that; you didn't support us at all."
"Well, what do you want us to do then?" The couple asked.
"I just want to live alone with Onee-chan…She's the only one that truly loves me….and I love her back! She helped me set up the Christmas tree when you two were out in Paris! She helped me make chocolates for Valentine's Day while you two were directly across the world from us! She helped protect me from bullies at school too!"
The pair was now completely silent, their mouths trying hard to come up with words to say back at her. However, no sound ever emitted from them until a few minutes of silence passed. Finally, the mother spoke up. "If that's how you really feel about us…then fine…you can live here alone with Yui…"
Ui and her father looked at her in shock. Learning never to disagree with his wife as it would lead to disaster, he quickly agreed with her decision.
To be honest, Ui didn't really want her parents to leave her. However, the anger building up inside refused to stay hidden for any longer. The non-obeying side of her had been contained inside her for years but she finally let it burst out. In the spur of the moment, it was likely she said things she didn't mean and was exaggerating on certain parts of it. But she was still angry at her parents for almost never being home, especially for their earlier childhood years.
"We'll pay for the house and give you money for food and other things…but other than that, we'll be almost completely out of your lives…"
In her heart, Ui felt conflicting emotions that should never occur at the same time. She felt relief at letting her parents know how she felt about their constant outings and happiness at how they agreed to take action on it. However, her conscience was asking her a question she couldn't have answered: How could you have said that…to your own parents? The girl's smile on her face momentarily disappeared for a quick second but restored the next. Instead of trying to answer it, she ignored it and agreed to her mother's terms.
However, once they exited the room, Ui began to feel total regret for her actions. She took the time to think about how out of character she acted. She had actually been thinking about this for a few months, though she never had the courage to speak her mind until now. She actually yelled at her parents,stated that she doesn't love them, and said other things that would hurt a parent right in the heart. Well, they do deserve it…I mean, they're always out and leave us with 'Ma, who seems more like our mother than our actual one does…Her eyes were almost ready to release the tears being held back.
Do you honestly think they deserved all of that from their own daughter? An inner voice from Ui's subconscious spoke up. Imagine that all of their life, they thought of you as the perfect daughter. Completely responsible, excellent in school, need I say more? Anyway, their image of that you was completely shattered just a few minutes ago.
But they're barely were able to take care of us! Ui argued back.
Do you think they honestly deserve that sort of treatment from you? Don't you think you were a little bit too harsh on them?
"Ui! Why do Mom and Dad look so sad?" Her older sister's cries interrupted her thoughts. Her face instantly curved into a smile to hide her true emotions. She's so carefree…she thought as the only reason she wanted to live skipped merrily over each individual stair step. Even though some people say that I got the better traits since I can learn things quickly, I'm sometimes jealous of how Onee-chan approaches a problem. I wish I could be as carefree as her…
"Um…Ui?" Yui was now waving both her arms in front of her sister, hoping to snap her out of whatever trance she was caught in. "Ui~" The lazy airhead called out in a sing-song voice.
"Oh, Onee-chan. What is it?" The younger sister asked after coming back to her senses.
"Mom and Dad looked sad when they were going upstairs. What's wrong?"
Ugh! I can't tell Onee-chan that I told our parents to just forget about us! Ui thought. I have to avoid the subject somehow! "Um…did you eat dinner yet?" Yes, great subject change Ui!
"Ui, we ate dinner an hour ago." Oh no! How could I forget, I was the one who cooked it! What is wrong with me today? "If there's something you're trying to hide from me, just tell me! I mean, I am your Onee-chan, aren't I?" Yui's eyes pierced right through Ui's fake smile and immediately noticed something was amiss.
She began to feel a bit guilty for hiding such an important matter away from her. Looking at Yui's face, she saw that bright smile that would outshine the brightest star the universe had to offer. The smile that just literally screamed the words, "Everything's going to be alright!" Even if she the most horrible day at school; even if she had gotten an A- on a test, tripped and scraped her knee in P.E. and was bullied by an upperclassmen, all it would take to brighten her day was that one smile.
Finding that she herself was grinning, she gave in to her sister and confessed about what previously occurred in the living room. Yui listened intently to every word, more so than she probably did in class. She nodded when she talked about the points she made against her parents, but also put a finger to her chin in thought about some other points. As Ui neared the end of her conversation, she began to feel nervous at how her sister would react. What if Onee-chan thinks I'm mean for saying that to our own parents? I mean, they DID take care of us for part of our life when they WERE here. I hope Onee-chan doesn't hate me after this…
"…and then she told me that they'll be paying for the house and give us money for food, as well as monthly allowances. But other than that, they'll be more out of our lives than before," she finished. Yui kept her finger to her chin, seeming to be in deep thought about it. Even though some people call her an airhead, she can actually think about things in a completely different way to solve it.
"Ui~"
"Yes?"
"I'm hungry again!"
"…Uh…okay…I'll go warm up the leftovers from earlier…" Completely surprised at not getting a direct response to her actions, she walked to the kitchen to warm up food for her sister, her mind bathing in guilt but also confusion. Why did Onee-chan suddenly want to eat? Taking a look at her sister, however, answered her question. I'll never know how her mind works.
After warming it up, she served the food on a plate to Yui, who was eagerly awaiting the meal. Ui barely pasted on a smile while she began to regret her earlier actions more and more. Soon, everything around her began to just become part of the background as her thoughts took over her whole body. I…yelled…at my parents…saying that I don't love them…that must have been heartbreaking for them…it would be like if Onee-chan…said she didn't love me…Looking at Yui, she couldn't even bear to imagine her older sister saying she didn't love her. If that ever happened, she would lose her purpose to live in life other than to go to school and pass college. Her body would be going through with her life but her mind would still be shattered.
"Ui, I'm done!"
"Oh! Okay!" Once again interrupted from her thoughts by Yui, she picked up her plate and began to wash it in the sink. Once she finished, the two headed back into the living room to continue their earlier discussion. Before anything, though, Ui had to ask one question:
"Why did you need to eat at this time? I thought we had dinner!"
"Huh?" Yui looked at her as if it were obvious. "Because, silly, things like this require lots of thinking! So I need more food for my brain to start thinking more deeply about these things! If I tried doing this earlier, I probably wouldn't have come up with anything, but now that I'm full, I can help you out now!"
Her response wasn't something Ui expected, but it sounded like something that would come out of her. Smiling at how complex her mind can be, she let her own mind wander as the psyche of the girl next to her delved itself in deep thought.
After a few minutes of observing how dusty the TV was, Yui finally finished her complicated thinking process and came up with a response.
"Okay, I'm done thinking Ui," she said with her usual goofy smile.
"So what is it then, Onee-chan?" she asked her face full of wonder.
"I think you were too hard on them, if you ask me," Yui said, her trademark smile now gone. Her expression had been replaced with a serious one. "I understand that you would get mad at them since they're almost never home with us, unlike how most parents are. But you gotta understand that their jobs require them to work overseas so we can't see them all the time."
Ui's ears registered every word Yui was saying, her guilt now beginning to grow more and more painful in her chest. She expected this sort of response, but the pain still hurt all nonetheless.
"Also, don't think that it's because they don't care about us, because I'm sure they do. In fact, if they didn't, then they wouldn't be taking up a job across the ocean to pay for our house and food and clothes, right? Plus, they occasionally visit us during the holidays to check up on us, so you can't think that they don't care about us."
Every word of truth that came out of the girl's mouth made Ui regret yelling at her own parents like that; even resorting to the statement she dreaded the most: "I really don't love you!" Tears began to well up in her eyes, but were quickly wiped away by someone's hand. She picked her head up to see her Onee-chan come towards her with a hug. Ui let all of her feelings of sorrow and regret out.
"I shouldn't have yelled at them like that, I was being too mean!" she yelled in between sobs.
"There there…" Yui whispered, patting her back in a rhythmic pattern. "Maybe you were just letting your feelings of anger get the better of you…you should go up to their room and try again…"
It's amazing how wise Onee-chan can be…sometimes she may act silly but when the situation requires seriousness and wisdom, she comes prepared, Ui thought. I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful sister like her…but I should be thankful that I have parents like Mom and Dad that DO care about us.
"Okay, I'm going to go upstairs and try again!" Ui exclaimed with determination present in her eyes.
"Do you need me to help you?"
"I think I'll be fine this time." Ui gave an assuring smile to show that she wasn't going to need Yui this time. Nudging her head towards the direction of their parents' bedroom, Ui proceeded toward it.
Knocking on the door, she heard a faint "Come in…" She hesitated at first but quickly recomposed herself. I don't want my last words to them to be what I said earlier…her thoughts echoed. With her regret beginning to sink, she slowly turned the knob on the door and walked into the room of the Hirasawa parents.
She found her mother snuggling with her blanket, three boxes of tissues present around her. Her nose was red, obviously from the amount of crying. The man next to her wasn't faring any better. He was on the verge of tears but used the last amount of willpower to hold them back. That is, until Ui entered the room. Then and there, he grabbed the tissue box beside him.
"Mother…father…I have something I want to say to you…" Ui's voice was very faint and hard to hear, due to her nervousness. Come on Ui…you can do this!
"Dear, I think you've said enough earlier…" the mother stated as calmly as possible, looking away as to not show the small droplets of water flowing down her flawless cheeks.
"No, I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to come out like that!" Both of their ears perked up. "I didn't mean it when I said I didn't love you. It's just that…you're almost always gone…we never…get to spend time with each other…as a family…"
"Aw…Ui…" Her mother rose from her tissue-infested bed and approached her daughter with a comforting hug. "It's not like we don't want to be with you…it's just that we have to be out all the time. We can't help it."
"I know…but can you just visit a bit more often?" Yet more salty liquid began to drop upon her cheeks.
"Of course we can, right?" she gestured toward Dad.
"But we were supposed to go to the Caribbean – I mean…um…sure...We will, Ui." All three of them were now together in a tight group hug.
If they are leaving, at least these will be the last words they remember from me. Tightening her grip around her parents, they stayed in that position for what seemed like over hours, despite it actually being a few minutes.
Little did they know that the only other person in the house was right outside their door, watching the whole scene unfold from the small crack of light coming from the door.
"Well, we'll be going now!"
"Bye then, Mom and Dad!"
"Bye Mommy and Daddy!" Each of them said their goodbyes to each other as the couple would now be going on yet another adventure across the world.
Yui was talking to her dad about bringing her snow globe of the Roman Coliseum while Ui was being given a quick lecture about taking care of the house. Before they left, the mother was able to whisper one small comment into Ui's ear. "Try to take care of Yui. You know how she is." Ui looked up and saw her mother wink at her. She smiled in response as Yui stared at the two.
"She's not as air headed as you think, you know," Ui replied with a wink of her own.
"Hey, what were you two talking about?"
"Oh, nothing Onee-chan!" Thinking about it for a moment but discarding it the next, Yui waved goodbye to her parents one last time before they closed the door.
"Onee-chan…I just wanted to say…thank you…for helping me last night. If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't have been able to sleep at all knowing the last words I said to them. So thank you!" she said with a smile that had "sincerity" written all over it.
"Don't mention it Ui! I just wanna be a good Onee-chan!" There it was: that smile again. That ever-so-radiant smile of hers that could probably outshine any star the universe had to offer.
She couldn't help but beam at her sister in return. "Oh, by the way, Onee-chan, are you ready for high school?"
"Yeah, of course I am! I don't know what I want to do yet…but I'll find out eventually!" She held up a peace sign, only making the younger sister giggle.
"Okay, just don't end up getting the time wrong and going to school an hour early! You did that last year too!"
"Don't worry Ui, I won't make that same mistake!"
A month or so later…
"…" was all the girl could say. Although, I don't think silence counts as actually saying anything. Nevertheless, she couldn't even bring out any syllable as her eyes were glued to the enormous clock located on the top of the school building. No…the girl thought.
"I did it again!" Yui's screams echoed all the way across the city.
Back at the Hirasawa household, Ui smiled to herself as she heard a faint yell. Some things will never change, huh?
A/N