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"That's a big bottle."

Yamaken sighed and glanced over his shoulder. "Go away, Iyo."

He heard the deck chair next to him creak. Damn. Once upon a time Iyo had been far too scared of him to disobey like that. She'd leave soon. It wasn't like staring at a cloudy night sky was interesting.

It was two years today. Two years since the final rejection in which Shizuku had more or less said that even though she should be with Yamaken, she was choosing Haru. He was better about it most of the time. After all, Haru had been away for a year. If she didn't come to him then, she never would. He'd marked this day in history though. The stupidest time he was ever rejected by a girl.

"Can Iyo have some?"

"No." Yamaken reached over and picked up the bottle of whiskey to pour himself another shot. In his moment of wisdom when he took the bottle out to the balcony, he'd brought a normal sized glass. He didn't want to waste it once he got truly drunk.

"Brother's not the kind to get drunk."

"Iyo, piss off," Yamaken snapped.

Iyo sniffed. "You're always so mean to Iyo."

"Only when you annoy me." Yamaken took a long gulp of whiskey, staring up at the sky.

Iyo was quiet for a moment. "Who did you love?"

He coughed. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"People drink when they miss their true love!" Iyo said earnestly. "And before, you said-" she broke off and Yamaken glanced at her. She wasn't lounging in the deck chair like he was, rather she perched on it, earnestly looking at him with wide eyes.

"I said what?" He growled.

Iyo bit her lip and looked down. "Brother said that a man should strive to make his woman happy. And Iyo must look for a man like that. It sounded like you had wanted to make someone happy."

Well. Apparently his sister had been growing progressively more perceptive. "Did it occur to you that I might just be good at giving romantic advice?"

"Brother is good at many things, but not at feelings."

Yamaken closed his eyes and lowered his glass. "God dammit Iyo, get out of here."

"But Iyo is right! If you wanted to make her happy, it must have been true love! And brother wouldn't have smiled when he said it otherwise."

"You're such a romantic."

"Please tell Iyo about it! Talking about such things make them better! Maybe it will help Iyo make better choices in men!"

"Unlikely," Yamaken said, and raised his glass a bit. "Choosing the wrong man seemed to work out for her."

"If you tell Iyo, maybe next year you won't be drinking alone. It's good luck."

It had to be the alcohol. After all, he'd already had a fair amount, and like Iyo had observed, he didn't drink that much. He was already having to watch his speech to be sure he didn't slur his words together too badly.

"If you insult her, I won't say another word," he replied finally.

"Of course! Iyo would never insult brother's love!"

"Mizutani Shizuku," he said.

He heard a small gasp beside him and took another sip of whiskey. "But she was u-"

"One word, Iyo."

There was a pause. "She was dating Haru after the first day I knew them."

"Yup." Another swallow. "My confession to Shizuku brought that on." He sighed and brushed his hair back with the empty hand. He certainly wasn't putting that glass down. Discussing Shizuku with his sister… Yamaken took another long gulp of whiskey and poured another. "I expected it though."

"Can I have some?"

Yamaken covered his eyes with his free hand. "Whatever. But you'll go straight to bed after leaving." And now he was letting his little sister drink whiskey. Where had his big brother urges gone?

Oh yeah. Down his throat with the whiskey.

He heard a splash and Yamaken looked over with a jolt. Iyo was calmly pouring some whiskey in a cup. "What…?"

Iyo glanced up and set the bottle down. "Iyo had water before."

"Good. If that had been the whiskey I would have killed you."

"So she rejected you for Haru?"

"Yeah," Yamaken sighed.

"Haru is quite handsome."

"Iyo."

"Sorry!" There was a long silence in which Yamaken finished that shot and poured another. "But that wasn't today. Iyo thought today would be an anniversary of brother's love."

Yamaken laughed and he saw Iyo jolt out of the corner of his eye. That was right. He didn't laugh much, especially not with Iyo. Must be the alcohol. Especially since it wasn't funny. "No, no, Iyo. Today is the second anniversary of the second time Shizuku rejected me."

"Brother asked twice?" Iyo's voice was full of curiosity. Well, it was the first time he'd really told her anything about his personal life, Yamaken supposed. He was a little surprised himself.

"Yeah. The first time she was shocked. The first word she said was 'sorry.' The second time she thought about it." Yamaken sighed. "Obviously, Haru won."

"You'll love again."

Yamaken snorted. "I thought you believed in the one true love?"

"I do. But the one true love is reciprocated."

"She reciprocated. Just not as much as she reciprocated Haru."

"Iyo liked Haru too."

"I know. You talked about him a lot. And then went after Yuuzan because they looked similar." Yamaken smiled wryly. "It seems most girls like Haru more than me."

"Iyo doesn't!" Her voice was so passionate that Yamaken glanced over. Her free hand was curled into a fist pressed against her chest, and her cheeks looked a little flushed. Or he thought so. It was dark and there was a lot of alcohol in his system now. "Iyo loves brother more than she ever liked Haru. Even though brother is mean! Iyo will support brother in regaining his lost love."

Yamaken couldn't help but smile a little. "Iyo, lay off the whiskey. You're already half-drunk. And I know that you would snatch Haru up in a second if he and Shizuku broke up. Fighting for me is hardly selfless."

"Iyo would do it even if she couldn't get Haru. Yuuzan is just as good as Haru." Iyo was staring at him with wide eyes. They made Yamaken uncomfortable. They had far too much caring in them. "You smile so little. Iyo wants you to be with someone who makes you smile more."

Yamaken stared back at her for a few moments before turning his gaze back to the sky and taking another sip of whiskey. "Tch. You just want me happy so I'm not mean to you."

"Iyo will be sure to stay in touch with Natsume. Then even if brother is estranged from Shizuku and Haru, Iyo can tell him if they break up!"

"Iyo…" Yamaken trailed off. It was probably just his drunken heart, but he was a little touched. Even though she was basically just saying she would keep in touch with a friend. He felt his eyes nearly start watering. Ugh. Yep, he was definitely drunk now. "You should go to bed."

"But Iyo is nearly as old as brother! You can't send Iyo to bed."

"Iyo," Yamaken conjured enough presence to darken his tone. He didn't have much presence left, he wasn't entirely sure how he managed.

"Okay, brother," Iyo stood and stayed for a moment, staring at him. Yamaken couldn't see her face, so he didn't know what expression that was. Then she started towards the door.

"Iyo, leave the drink," he said. "Otherwise Mom and Dad will kill me."

He heard the clink on the table, then the pitter patter of footsteps walking away. They paused. "Next time brother is sad, he should come talk to Iyo. Iyo enjoys drinking with brother." Before Yamaken could say anything, the door to the balcony shut behind her.

Yamaken stared at the clouds. She wasn't that bad, really. Not for a little sister.

But he'd be damned if he let her talk to that bastard Yuuzan again.