Winter was especially cold this year, not just because of the temperature being about -2 degrees Celsius. Snow was falling gently from the sky. The entire city looked like it was a giant snow globe come to life. Almost everything was blanketed by a soft, fluffy cloud of whiteness.

Christmas time was already over, with that, everyone was looking forward to the new year. The street cleaners started to take down the Christmas decorations which were still hanging on various parts of the town. Shop owners were already busy drawing up the New Year posters and special offers to attract more customers.

It was a rowdy holiday season, even if not many of the Japanese households celebrate Christmas, they were still into the holiday spirit. Though, not everyone was that fortunate.

In Otonashi's neighborhood, most of the people were too poor to even purchase a tiny Christmas tree for the holidays. He could've afforded a tree, but he opted to buy a few gifts for his neighbors instead. A tree wouln't last long, and he would've felt happier if the kids really enjoyed his toys and such, as opposed to a tree that'll be thrown away after the holidays. No, he wasn't rich, not in the least bit. He had to work overtime just to get enough money to pay for his highschool fees. After the holidays, his sister would be attending the same school as him, starting as a First Year. Being the brother that he is, he wanted to help her with everything he can.

The both of them had been living in a run down apartment the accident happened about five years ago. The Otonashi siblings, Yuzuru and his younger sister, Hatsune, had been orphans since then. Their parents, being well known lawyers, had their fair share of unsatisfied clients and made enemies of people they've prosecuted against, so it wasn't surprising to anyone that they were killed in a hit and run attack. Child services wanted to send them to separate orphanages, but Yuzuru did everything he could to keep his sister by his side. So instead, they did the next best thing, they sent them to a place where they could live together. For the first few years, they even provided enough money to pay for their school fees, but ever since the global econimical crisis, they haven't been providing anything for the two siblings. Everything they wanted and everything they needed, they had to work and earn enough money to buy.

The two of them weren't twins, though most people would tend to think differently, given that they had the same hair color, same eyes, and they were almost inseparable. Even if they weren't twins, its said by some people that even twins couldn't share the same connection those two had.

"Mom and Dad is always going to be looking after us, you know?" Hatsune would keep her hopes up whenever they were running low, or that one of them fell sick after constantly working and balancing school work. "I believe in them.. that they're looking after us from some other place far far away."

Yuzuru always had a hard time getting along with people in school due to his shyness, but he didn't really care. Being the older brother by two years, he just wanted to make sure his little sister got the better life. He was a hardworking student, nobody could ever doubt that. Even with work, he studied as much as he could during his free time. At one point, he was even offered a scholarship to a famous medical school right after he graduates, but he declined the offer because he wanted to stay close to his sister.

Even though the two of them get along extremely well, they were polar opposites. Hatsune didn't fare well in her studies, barely managing to pass all of her subjects, even if she put all her effort into it. The best thing about her is that she's outgoing. Being a natural socialite, she could practically make friends with everyone if she just talks to them. She doesn't know why, but she also has a knack for drawing. She has tried using the local internet cafe to publish her own works of manga to various websites, receiving positive responses from her fans all over the globe..

She doesn't like to brag about it, even though most of her classmates already knew about her talent. Besides, she's graduated from middle school, and is heading for her brother's highschool. She wanted to graduate from highschool as well, heading into college to advance her studies in the field of animation.

Hatsune was the type of person who is perfectly able to take care of herself, but she couldn't help feeling a slight pang of relief when her brother decided to stay there after graduating. She felt guilty too, since she wanted her brother to chase his dreams instead of giving up on that once in a lifetime opportunity. She often wondered if the days of the both of them staying together were already numbered.

Yuzuru's shift finally ended in the late afternoon. He worked as a waiter in a local sushi restaurant. He was grateful for the job, as the boss cum chef was an old friend of his parents. The boss even treats him lunches for free because he knew that Yuzuru couldn't afford it.

"Matsushita-san, are you sure its okay for me to have this?" Yuzuru often asked when the boss put a large bowl of noodles in front of him, asking him to eat up as much as he could.

"Without your parents helping me," He would usually respond, "my shop would not even be here. Its not about a debt, kid, its because you're a hardworking person, and I'm just giving you what you deserve."

The boss, Matsushita, was just in his mid-twenties, but he looked so buff and bulky that it was kind of hard to believe.

"Well I'm going home for the day, boss." Yuzuru shouted from the locker room area, changing from his uniform back into his clothes.

"Okay then. Thanks for the hard work as always, Otonashi."

Yuzuru had a little time to spare. Normally, he would spend it by revising his studies, but today, he just wanted to walk around the city. Hatsune would be home by dinnertime, but that was still not in a long while. It was cold, even though the snow had already died down to a minimum, the weather didn't get any better.

Wrapping his worn out jacket tightly around his torso, he walked along the crowded streets. Some shops were hustling and bustling with people arguing about the prices, others were awaiting more customers to have a look at their products. In other words, it was just like any other ordinary day in the city.

Yuzuru walked along the usual road that led towards a small temple on the top of a hill. Its been awhile since he last came here. Most of the time, he and Hatsune would tend to avoid this place because of the memories it held.

Walking up towards the altar, Yuzuru knelt down and uttered a silent prayer to his parents, "I'm really thankful.. that you guys are still looking after us all this time. Maybe we haven't been the best kids in the world, but we've tried, Mom.. Dad. Hatsune doesn't like to admit it, but she really missed you guys. Sometimes.. even I miss you guys. Its been five years since that day, and neither of us had ever gotten over it, you know?"

To be honest, Yuzuru felt a little stupid, kneeling in the middle of an empty room, speaking to an altar, but he could've sworn that in the middle of the cold winter, he felt a warm summer breeze carress the side of his cheek. The feeling was weird, but he wasn't the least bit scared of it.

"Thank you, Mom.. Dad.. for looking after us, but if its too much of a burden.. you don't have to take care of me. Just.. make sure Hatsune gets the life she wants to live. I feel bad for not being able to give her everything she wants.."

After he was done, he bowed once more before exiting the place. His phone rang several times before he finally heard the ringtone.

"Hello? Onii-chan? Where are you?"

"Hatsune? I'll be home soon. In about ten minutes at most." He carefully guided himself down the snow filled stairs.

"The lady gave me some leftovers from her dinner. Guess you don't have to cook tonight, huh?"

"That's nice. I forgot that I was supposed to go shopping, too." Yuzuru could've sworn he heard his sister chuckle, since it wasn't like him to just forget stuff. "Everyone has off days, you know?"

"Yeah yeah yeah, just hurry home!"

"Fine! See you later." He closed his phone and slipped it in his pocket. Sighing deeply, he turned back to take a glance at the temple and mumbled, "She deserves so much more than I ever do." With that, Yuzuru followed the route down the hill and headed back home. It was just like any other day, really. Nothing different. This is his life, afterall, where nothing interesting ever happens.