"Yuki! Little brother! I'm here! And I brought something to eat this time! No need to try and cook." Called a familiar voice. Yuki opened his bedroom door. Immediately, he engulfed in the arms of his brother.

"Hello Ayame." Yuki sighed.

"Hello little brother!" cheered Ayame. Yuki looked down at his feet.

"Ayame?'

"Yes Yuki?"

"What were mother and father like? You knew them better than I did." Yuki asked. Ayame looked stunned. Yuki had never asked him about their parents. Why the sudden interest?

"Umm well, mother disowned both of us. And father. . . . I've never met him. He left mother before I was born. Even after mother had you, she gave you to the maids like she did with me. I remember the day you were born. That was the greatest day of my life." Ayame stated. Yuki groaned.

"Please not the whole story." Yuki pleaded. Ayame only chuckled.

"Once upon a time, there were four young boys around the ages of ten and seven. They were playing in the yard, a game of soccer to be exact!" Ayame continued.

-Flashback-

"Hey Kureno! Over here! Kick it over here!" Yelled a young Shigure. His brown-haired cousin nodded and kicked him the ball. Shigure kicked the ball towards the small goal. But his long white-haired cousin stopped the ball with a long jump to the side, grabbing it his arms. Shigure pouted.

"Aya, no fair! You're the snake." Shigure grumbled. Young Ayame chuckled.

"It's not like I can control that." Ayame sighed.

"Hey Aya." Said a young Hatori. Ayame glanced over at his cousin.

"Yeah Hari? What's up?" Aya giggled.

"Do you want a younger sibling? You're not the hyperactive-Ayame we know. You don't seem all that excited." Hatori commented. Ayame's face went blank.

"Of course I'm excited. I'm keeping a lid on my emotions so I won't annoy my mother." Ayame replied calmly.

"How can you stand her? She can't look at you without making a rude comment." Shigure growled.

"I have to deal with her because she's my mother. I have no choice." Ayame tried to smile. Then they heard the sound of a sliding door. A girl, no older than five stood in the door holding a baby in a soft blanket. She had a small but kind and gentle grin on her face. She looked to Ayame.

"Ayame, come here. Meet the newest member of the Sohmas." Said the girl. Ayame rushed over to the young girl. He looked around for his mother. She was nowhere in sight. He looked back to his new sibling.

"Are you happy Akito?" asked Ayame. The girl nodded with a smile.

"Yes I am. This child makes me especially happy." Akito said gently. Ayame looked at her curiously. Akito was only happy when a new member of the zodiac came to the world.

"Why is that?" Ayame asked nervously.

"Your younger sibling is the new rat on the zodiac." Akito said happily. Ayame was happy yet sad at the same time. His sibling was now connected to Akito. A bond that was hard to break.

"What's their name? The name of the baby?" Ayame asked. The younger girl smiled at her friend's question and was happy to answer.

"This is Yuki. Your younger brother. Take good care of him. Be the older brother I know you can be." Akito answered as she slipped the baby boy into his brother's arms. Akito left after giving Yuki a kiss on the forehead. Hatori, Shigure, and Kureno ran over to Ayame to greet the newborn.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Shigure asked anxiously.

"It's a boy." Ayame replied.

"What's his name?" Kureno asked next.

"This is Yuki Sohma!" Ayame's face brimmed with happiness.

"Is he one of the possessed?" Hatori asked emotionlessly. Color drained from Ayame's face. He had a bad feeling Hatori would be the one to ask that question last. Ayame looked at his baby brother.

"Yes sadly. He's the new rat." Ayame replied sadly. Hatori nodded.

"Have you gotten to see what he looks like? You haven't taken off the tiny hat yet." Kureno asked. Ayame shook his head no.

"Take off his hat. I wanna what his hair looks like." Shigure said with a smile, "Maybe he has hair like yours Aya." Ayame giggled and carefully took off the small hat, revealing dark gray-purple hair. Yuki yawned and squirmed in Ayame's arms. Ayame held him tightly but gently so he wouldn't hurt him. Baby Yuki rubbed his eyes and yawned again. After doing so, he revealed bright purple eyes. Ayame's eyes became wide with shock and happiness.

"His eyes are so purple. That's so cute! He's the cutest baby ever!" Ayame said with enthusiasm. He hugged his brother. Yuki giggled and grabbed one of Ayame's long strands of hair. Ayame laughed at his brother.

"You're gonna be a great older brother Ayame!" Kureno said happily. Ayame smiled and looked at his brother. Yuki looked at his older brother big purple eyes.

"My little snowflake, my little brother, my baby brother. I promise you that I will do whatever I can to make up for the love mama and papa won't give you. I will love you no matter what my little snowflake." Ayame said soothingly to baby Yuki. Then to seal his promise to his little brother, Ayame kissed Yuki on the forehead and hugged him close to his chest. Baby Yuki held onto the long strands of Ayame's hair and sucked his thumb.

-Flashback ends-

"'My little snowflake'? What is that supposed to mean?" Yuki questioned. Ayame smiled lightly and hugged his brother.

"Yuki, you didn't know? Your name 'Yuki' means snow." Ayame replied kindly. Yuki blushed pink. How did his brother know more about him than he himself did?

"Ayame, y-you broke your promise. . . . ." Yuki muttered. Ayame tilted Yuki's head up toward him. He smiled slightly.

"I avoided you because Akito scared me and I knew if I got involved, your suffering would have been worse than it was. I was just trying to protect you." Ayame sighed. Yuki's eyes welled up with tears and hugged Ayame tighter.

"Just like Hiro and Kisa. You were just trying to protect me because you loved me." Yuki whimpered into Ayame's chest.

"I love you so much. I would never break that promise on purpose. My dear Yuki, I will never betray you again. From now on, I will always be here to love and care for you." Ayame said in a gentle tone. He kissed Yuki on the top of his head.

"I . . .I love. . .you too onii-chan." Yuki mumbled softly. Ayame smiled brightly.

"Do you forgive me my snowflake?" Ayame asked sweetly. Yuki looked up at him.

"Of course Ayanii-chan." Yuki smiled softly.

"Oh little brother, you have the cutest smile ever." Ayame chuckled.

"Well I am the rat." Yuki giggled. Ayame hugged Yuki.

"And the cutest laugh. I'm glad I got to hear it." Ayame gingerly touched Yuki's cheek. Yuki held his brother's hand there for long period of time, finally connecting with his brother after so many years.