Someone was holding on to him; someone significantly smaller than him and strangely cold.
"…ui! Yuui! Elda, he's waking up!"
Fai's mind starts to clear up once a second cold person quickly came over and touched his arm. He realizes that no one out of his traveling group has ever called him Yuui- he hopes it'll stay that way, even if they manage to find out about his past-, and that he knows the voice all too well.
He opened his eyes, and even though his vision was blurry, he immediately recognizes the blonde haired child clutching onto him. "Yuui! Y-you're awake!" the child spoke, a flash of relief crossing their small blue eyes.
Once Fai came completely to his senses, one thought came directly to his mind; dead brothers were definitely not supposed to greet you when you wake up.
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"So I'm dead, but not really?" Yuui- he can't exactly call himself Fai anymore when the real owner of the name was sitting next to him- asked from his spot in the middle of the bed, looking up through his hand at the ceiling. He moves it closer and further, testing to see how far his hand must be before it blends in completely, with nothing left but a trace of shadow and the outline of his nails.
Had he always been this pale, he wonders, or does transparency make someone seem whiter?
"Something like that." Fai said, his voice not even a day over the age he had when he died long ago. "Elda tried to explain it to me, but I'm not sure she understands why you're only half visible either."
The older twin lets his hand fall onto the bed at his side, a delicate sad look crossing his face. "I wonder why I'm here…"
"I wouldn't say that yet. You're barely even here at all!" the child giggles. "A ghost among the dead."
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"What has been bothering you?"
Yuui's not sure he'll ever get used to looking down at someone who looks exactly like him, so he settles for sitting down in the grass. "I'm just curious about the people I've met." He looks forward, at the various people he does and doesn't know walk by.
"Like Elda?"
Yuui nods.
"You know she's our mother, right?"
Another nod.
"She still thinks we're twins of misfortune, though." Yuui can't help but look over at Fai at that comment, to see if he shows any kind of regret toward being born; he doesn't. "At least she's still helps me when I need her, and she doesn't try to hold her beliefs against me- I mean us." Fai looks back at his twin, who is still scrutinizing him. "I almost forgot you've joined me now; it's been so long since we've been together."
Yuui looks away again, a tad bit of guilt biting at his conscious. "It has. I just hope our separation this time isn't as violent."
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"…and even though the seasons change here, the temperature never seems to; even when it's snowing, it's warm enough to not wear a sweatshirt. It's a bit odd, but even if winter doesn't feel icy anymore, it's still pretty." The teenager- Yuui isn't sure how old she is, just that she's older than Fai and younger than Sakura was when he last saw her- that he has been introduced to as Tomoyo- one that has never heard of Kurogane before- continues talking.
Fai smiles, actually smiles instead of the half-hearted kind that Yuui is known for. "It is, but I don't like the cold much, anyway."
Tomoyo agreed, and they both looked up at the sky. "Do you think she'd be here yet? I was told by the elders that she was coming for a visit today, but I'm not sure when."
Fai stood. "Let's go check!" He said brightly, helping the black haired girl up before turning to Yuui, who kindly declined the help and stood up on his own.
"Who are you two talking about?" Yuui had to ask. He was never good at keeping his curiosity in check.
"I'll show you where she would normally be when she comes, and you'll see!" Fai said, taking one of Yuui's hands in one of his cold own and starting to lead the way.
"Let's go visit-" She drifted off as she grabbed Yuui's other hand. Glancing up at him, her eyes big with curiosity, she simply stated. "You're still warm..."
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"Tomoyo, Fai, how nice it is to see you both." A voice much older than Tomoyo's and Fai's calls out as soon as she turns and sees them. She looks up at Yuui and pauses. "Yuui, will you be my drinking partner? Mokona will be joining us, as well!" She looks at him with a look in her eyes that freely admits that she has to talk to him.
Yuui simply accepts. "Certainly, Yuuko-san."
How can he decline when he needs to talk to her just as badly?
