It was cold out, and the snow fell heavily, covering the buildings and trees in a soft white. The air was chilled, and no matter how many layers you wore, there was no way you could stay warm outdoors. Walking down the sidewalk, I occasionally brushed the snow off of my hair, quickly shoving it into my pocket afterwards. I had no gloves, and a light scarf, so it was safe to say that I was freezing.
Looking around, I saw all kinds of people just hanging around, or rushing to an important meeting, even at this time in the evening. There were couples holding hands and sharing scarves, families browsing through store windows or just walking around, and there were low-life gang members with nothing better to do than to freeze their butts off.
The sky was an orange-purple mix, like somebody couldn't decide what color to use, and mixed their paint brush. It happens a lot, though. You're unsure of what you want, so you try for both. I know someone like that. Satoshi's little sister, Yuka. I can tell she loves her brother a lot, but after being around her for a while, I've started to notice something. She loves her brother in the same way I love Shinozaki. But she knows that she can't be with him. She knows he loves Naomi. She talked to me about it, surprisingly. It went like this:
"...U-Umm...Yoshiki-onii chan?"
Yuka had come to my apartment for a 'quick visit', as she put it. While it wasn't normal, it wasn't rare, either. Yuka had come around with Satoshi plenty of times, and even by herself sometimes. So I wasn't too suspicious of her being here.
"Hmm?" She fidgeted. "C-can I ask you s-something?" I turned to look at her. "Sure. What's on your mind, Yuka?" She looked me in the eye, and I saw determination to ask the question, and fear for the answer. "Is it...wrong to love a sibling?" I was a little confused. "What do you mean? Of course not. They are related to you. Unless they've done something terrible to you, there's no way you wouldn't feel some sort of affection towards them."
That was a topic I knew a lot about. I thought my sister hated me for walking out on her, but she told me she loved me all the same. She understood what I was going through...and she still does. But why would Yuka be asking me this?
"N-No...not like that. Like...as if...you want to spend the rest of your life...together." She put her face down then and she began shaking. "Y-Yuka...wait a minute...you love Satoshi...like that?" She nodded, and then began sobbing loudly. Unsure of what I should say, I simply hugged her. "I-I'm sorry...I know I shouldn't but...I can't help it! And I know he likes Naomi. It hurts, and I'm scared to tell him, because he might not love me anymore. And I'm scared to tell Mom and Dad because they might think...they might think I'm..." She was sobbing uncontrollably at this point, and her breathing became off. I didn't know what to do, so I did the only thing I could do.
Pulling her in tighter, I finally thought of something to say. "Yuka...listen. I don't know how he'll react for sure, but I know that he won't hate you or stop loving you. Satoshi's not like that. He might seem put off by it, but he'll get over it and love you like he did before. And your parents aren't like that. They'll understand too. But why'd you come to me?"
Yuka pulled herself out of my arms. "B-because you're Onii-chan's best friend...and I trust you. I didn't think you'd judge me, and I was right." I smiled a bit. "Thanks, Yuka. I'm glad I'm someone you can trust."
"What would you do if your sister loved you like this?" She looked at me for an answer. I made her wait a little, though, because I wasn't completely sure what to say. "I...Well, I'd tell her that I love her too, but only as a sibling. I would encourage her to try to find someone else to love other than me, because even though she may think I'm the greatest, there's someone else better than me. Someone who'll put your life before anyone else, including his own."
A heavy silence fell between the two of us, until Yuka finally smiled. "I think..I'm going to tell him. Yeah. And I'll tell him what you said, too. I promise to find someone else, so Onii-chan can be happy." With that, she bowed, and stood up to get her things. "I'll walk you home, okay?" Standing up myself, we left my apartment.
The walk to her house was quiet, with only the sounds of outside and our breathing to fill it up. I wasn't completely sure what Satoshi's reaction to his sister's confession would be, but I was hopeful that he didn't do the opposite of what I told her. To be honest, I wasn't sure exactly how Yuka developed feelings for her brother, but it bothered me a bit. For a different reason, of course. Why does he get all the girls?! I rubbed my head in frustration, and shove my left into my pocket. Yuka didn't look at me once, up until then. She stared at me with a strange look, before finally looking straight head.
We reached her house. "Good luck, Yuka." She rang the doorbell, seemingly forgetting her keys. Satoshi opened it. "There you are! Where'd you run off to?...Oh, hey, Yoshiki." I waved back at him. "I found her standing in front of my apartment. I let her in, we talked, and now we're here." I kept the explanation brief. She could be losing whatever confidence she had in the short amount of time that I was standing here.
He looked at me in confusion. "Oh, really? I wonder what'd you be doing at Yoshiki's house...? Anyways, thanks for bringing her home. Mom was getting a little worried. You want to come in?" I shook my head at the offer. It'd be weird to be in his house while she was confessing. "No, I'm fine. Maybe another day. I'll see you. See you later, Yuka!" I waved to her and began my walk home.
"Thank you, Yoshiki onii-chan!"
That was yesterday. Satoshi hadn't said anything to me in school today, so I wasn't sure if he was mad or not. It was understandable if he was...I had a habit of making people angry at me. He could have been thinking about it, or just outright ignoring me. Either way was fine with me. I guess those kind of feelings aren't one that you should typically encourage, but...what else can you say to someone like Yuka? Or anyone, really?
I was almost at my apartment, and I was wondering if I should take a step like Yuka did. Maybe I could say something too...But it was most likely late...I pulled out my phone. "9:08...later than I thought." Throwing the idea out of my head, I continued to walk. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. It was Satoshi.
"Hey...Yoshiki. Can we talk?"
"Uhh...sure. Want to come over to my place, because I'm dying out here."
"O-oh, you're outside? Well, ok then. I'll be there in a little while." Ending the call, I put both the phone and my hands in my pocket. I walked a bit faster, eager to get out of the cold and to hear what Satoshi had wanted, although I had a good idea of what it was about. I hope he didn't make a mistake.
Reaching my apartment, I opened the door and stepped in. I threw my jacket on the kitchen chair, and kicked off my shoes. I opened the door to my small room to change my clothes when I heard a knock on the door.
"Yoshiki?" It was Satoshi. He sounded both nervous and serious. I opened the door for him, still soaked from being outside all day. "Sorry to bother you, especially on a work day, it's just that...well, you know." I brushed off his apology. "No need to apologize. If you want anything from the kitchen, you know where it is. I'm going to go change, since I just got back home."
Nodding, he headed into the kitchen, leaving me alone. After I finished changing into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, I sat down at the table in my living room. Satoshi sat across from me, handing me a cup of tea. Taking it, I drank it slowly, enjoying its warmth. We sat there in silence for a bit, until I decided to break it and get straight to the point.
"It's about Yuka, isn't it?"
"Y...Yeah. Look, I-"
"What did you say?" I cut him off. I wanted to hear the answer first, instead of what happened. "You'll always be the blunt guy, huh? Straight to the point, no cutting edges." He sighed, and I laughed a bit. "It's in my blood, for the most part. So, come on. What'd you say?" He closed his eyes and re-opened them.
"I...I told her that I was okay with it. It's up to her who she loves."
Nodding in approval, I motioned for him to go on. "But I also said that I'd be happier if she moved on...so that she wouldn't have to feel that kind of pain. I love Naomi, you know that, and she knows it, too. She said she's going to try her hardest, though. She said, "Even though right now Onii-chan's the greatest, in the future there'll be someone better than Onii-chan. Someone who'll put my life in front of everyone else's, including his. Someone who I'll do the same for. Someone who I'll gladly spend the rest of my life with. So don't worry, Onii-chan. I'm rooting for you and Naomi!"
He rubbed his forehead. "I'm glad you helped her Yoshiki...that she trusted you enough to go to you. You're a great friend, you know that?"
Unwillingly, I smiled. "Eheh...thanks. I didn't mind helping her, either. She's a good kid, and I know that she'll find someone to love her. Just make sure that you approve of him, okay?"
Satoshi laughed at that. "Definitely. I'll make sure you meet him, too, so don't worry." He stretched his arms a bit, and set his cup of tea to the side. "Well, I'll see you at school tomorrow. It's late, and I know you're probably freezing and tired." He stood up and put his coat on.
"Yeah. See you, man." Shutting the door, I sighed.
I cleaned up the tea and made my way to my bedroom. Getting under the covers, I made my decision. "By the end of this week...definitely." I was falling asleep.
"By the end...of this week...I'll...tell her..."
A/N: Well, this another Corpse Party fic written by me. I didn't mean to write about this at all. I had originally intended to write about Yoshiki thinking about Ayumi with the whole reference to not knowing what you want. I was going to have where it was he was choosing moving on with another girl, or staying with his unrequited love. Then I ended up including Yuka, and things...changed. It was a weird shift, but...I think this is cool too. If anything, I could do the same premise, except with him choosing between friendship and his love for Ayumi, but I'm not sure how that would come out. Anyways, I hope the characterization is okay, because I'm not entirely sure if I did it right. I'm not good with first person, for the most part, but I wrote this way originally not intending to share it. This is a little old, by the way. I'm rambling right now, so I close this up. Please review, tell me what you think, any constructive criticism is welcome, and I hope that you enjoyed. Flaming is frowned upon, but if you can't help it, at least give a reason. If there are any grammatical or spelling errors, please point them out to me. Sorry for the long author's note, and...that's it!