"Can you tell me what happened to Rin, doctor?"

"From all the examinations I've done, I could say that Shimomura Rin-kun right now is stuck in a coma-like state. In his case however, it occurs because of an extreme emotional distress, so I suspect that he must've experienced something that gave him an extreme emotional burden until he become like this."

"A coma-like state that occurs during a time of extreme emotional distress?" I repeated what the doctor just told me in disbelief, widening my eyes in the process before gazing at the body of Rin's that's laying upon the hospital bed beside me, "C-Can you elaborate about it a little more?"

"Well, to be honest, Kousaka-kun, even up until now we still have little to no information about this kind of disease. Well, I'm not even sure if I should categorize this as a disease or not, but I can say that this Shimomura Rin-kun isn't the only one suffering from this. Every now and then, people would come complaining with the same problem," the doctor replied to my question, "But judging from all the patients that has been visiting, it seemed that this kind of disease only affect those who are weak from birth. While not being as strong as normal people, they tried to live a normal life, but eventually overwhelmed because of their condition. That kind of action results to a traumatic psychological experience, and when the mind unable to bear it anymore, the person would black out and in a way, stuck in this coma-like state."

That explains why Rin rarely play outside when we're still little. It's rare for Rin to be allowed to play outside by his parents and whenever both myself and Kirino wanted to play with him, we would always come to his house to play together. Both Kirino and myself tend to ask his Mother why Rin's not allowed to play outside very often, but his Mother would always tell us that Rin's not as strong as he looks. And she would always ask the two of us to take care of Rin while we're playing with him.

I'm well aware about the fact that he moved to Germany in order to cure his illness and at first, I thought that he already got better since when he's allowed to go back to Japan, there's the fact that he enrolled in my school and seemed to have little to no problem with his health. But right now...

"How long would it take before he wakes up?" I hesitantly questioned the doctor again.

"It depends on the person itself, or should I say it depends on Shimomura Rin-kun himself. The severer the traumatic psychological experience, the longer it would take for him to wake up."

I gazed down after hearing that. For someone like Rin... to think that he would stand up against Father when he knew that Father's against the fact that he's going out with Kirino. To think that he would be so angry upon hearing Father claiming that he's deciding what's the best for both him and Kirino. To think that I was unable to do anything for my best friend and my little sister...

"Is there.. any way to cure him, doctor?"

"Well, I've heard of therapies and such, but the amount of medical practitioners who specializes in such therapies up until now... there's only a few. Such therapies still considered as a new thing in the medical world. I've heard of profesional practitioners for cases such as this, and the best one I've heard of, he's working in one of the hospitals in Germany."

I remained silent after hearing the explanation from the doctor.

"I know that you're worried about him, Kousaka-kun. Believe it or not, I too have a friend that's suffering from the very same case like Shimomura Rin-kun over here, so I could say I completely understand about your feelings," the doctor's words caused me to widen my eyes a bit, but nonetheless, I remained silent as he continued, "While I cannot guarantee when he would wake up, I'll be giving the permission to visit him whenever you see fit. But just remember that there's visiting hour too, alright? And please don't forget to tell his family about this too just in case you haven't inform them."

"I see, t-thank you very much, Doctor." I said as I get up, making my way out of Rin's hospital room after giving the doctor my words of gratitude.

I made my way outside of the hospital with ease before calling Mother and Father to tell them about Rin's condition. Mother was the one who picked up the call and she doesn't seem to be really surprised to hear about Rin's condition. Mother has always been close to Rin's mother, so I'm not surprised if she already knew about Rin's condition. When I questioned Mother about Father, she told me that Father said not to bother him for the time being, he need to think of something important.

I almost can't believe that he said something like that, but nonetheless, I don't want to ignite another fight with Father just because of that. One uproar a day is more than enough. I tried my best to keep my calm and as I made my way back home, and I also asked Mother and Father not to tell Kirino about Rin's condition. Surprisingly, she agreed without asking why I requested something like that. Well, it's not like I'm going to complain about it or anything. The only thing left is now that for the time being, I have to feign innocence about Rin's situation.

Just like what I expected, when I arrived at home, Kirino quickly questioned me about Rin's condition, pushing me to tell her why I'm not back with Rin. Almost in panic, I spontaneously told her that Rin would be staying in his relative's house for the time being, because he felt bad about what just happened earlier. Kirino seemed to take a moment after hearing that fake and spontaneous response of mine but much to my surprise, she only took a second to pull me outside and telling me acompany her going after him, saying that she would tell him herself that everything would be alright; and maybe they could find a better way to convince Father. I held her along the way, trying to convince her to at least calm his mind down, to give him a time to think properly.

She refused my offer, saying that the sooner we tell him about it, the better it would be. I gave my best to try and convince her about giving him the time to think, while at the same time hoping that he'd be alright; he's staying in the hospital right now, after all. I feel bad about lying to Kirino, but this one cannot be helped. After such an uproar, I don't know how she would react if I were to tell her that Rin collapsed and now staying in the hospital.

The two of us went straight to the bed after that, making our way upstairs one after another; Kirino in front of me and I'm following behind her. When I reached my room, I can't help but wonder if Kirino's really fine. I noticed that she's standing in front of the door of her own room, not entering it, but instead her sight's placed at the door of Rin's room. It doesn't take really long for her before noticing me and she quickly make her way to her own room, closing the door behind her. I took a short gaze at the door of Rin's room before giving a sigh and entering my own room; quickly laying myself upon the bed.

I don't blame Rin for being angry after Father told him such a thing. If it were to happen to me and Ruri with Father telling me the same thing, I'm sure that I would react the same way too. "'Even in a world full only with enemies, there will always be someone you must protect', that's what you said, Rin..." I whispered to myself as I gazed at the ceiling of my own room, "Standing up for what you believe, because if you don't, you wouldn't be you anymore... that's also what you said, Rin..."

After giving a sigh, I can't help but clenching my teeth, as I forced my eyes to close and whispered, mostly to myself, "It would be the best if you get better quickly.. you're just going to make Kirino even more worried than she is now if you're not... stupid."

The next day, after school, I decided to give Rin another visit; hoping that by the time I'm in his room, he's already awake. Much to my surprise, when I reached his room, I saw him sitting upon his bed; having his lunch at the time. It doesn't take that long until he eventually noticed me who's standing near the doorway and almost immediately he waved a hand at me, "Yo, Kyo!"

I gave a small smile along with a nod of acknowledgement as I made my way into his room; taking my seat upon the empty chair beside his bed and placing my bag upon the small table before asking, "Rin... how're you doing now?"

"Been better, really," he replied with a nonchalant chuckle, as if he already experienced something like this for countless times and in a way, it's not even bothering him anymore, "But I'd prefer staying healthy instead of being stuck inside of a cramped room like this."

I remained silent after hearing that. To be honest, it's a bit awkward to meet him in a situation like this. It's the first time for me visiting Rin when he's like this too, to be honest, I don't really know what to say. I'm not sure if I should cheer him up or saying something else, because deep inside I know that the both of us still thinking about what happened yesterday.

"Rin.."

"About Kirino... how's she doing?"

"Kirino?" I repeated his question, widening my eyes for a mere moment before gazing down and gave a sigh, "I bet you already know that she cried after stopping you from having a fight with Dad."

Rin said nothing. He simply chuckled at that.

"She didn't join me going after you, as you already know. And to tell you the truth, she's worried about you. The moment I got back home after taking you here, she was the first one who started questioning me about your condition. She was panicking, I don't even know what's the best thing to tell her at that time."

"What did you tell her?"

"That you're going to stay in your relative's house for a while to calm your mind because you felt bad about what happened that night."

"Good choice, Kyo. If you tell her the truth, I bet she would make her way here that instant."

"I don't want to lie to her. But I don't want to make her worried as well. Even though she's your girlfriend, she's still my little sister... and I promised that I would help her no matter what. This case, however, is different. If you're wondering why I'm lying to her, because I believe that it's helping her... helping her not to worry more. Having you almost fighting with Father, it's more than enough to make her worried. I don't want her to bear something more than that... even though it means lying to her."

"Kyo.. you're a really kind person, aren't you?"

The smile on Rin's lips, it's more like a sad smile instead of his usual carefree and childish one. And I can't help but clenching my teeth, "So, Rin... what are you planning to do now?"

"For the moment, I'm thinking to go back to Germany."

At that, I could feel my whole body stiffen and I can't help but clenching my fist to calm myself, "You're... considering the possibility of going back to Germany?"

"Well, it's not like I'll be heading back this instant or in a short period... I'm just thinking that with my present condition it would be impossible for me to attend daily activities such as school normally, and I-"

"So after everything that happened... after the fact that you're almost fighting with Father because you want the best thing for Kirino... you're going to give up just like that?" I tried my best to hold my voice back, but that very instant, I found myself already standing from my seat; grabbing the collar of Rin's shirt and almost lifting him up from the bed, "Don't kidding me, Rin!"

"Have you forgotten everything that you said to Father? Have you forgotten why you almost fought with Father?" I practically shouted at him, pulling his collar and eventually have my face only a few inches away from him, "Have you forgotten everything that you went through with her until you can just act as if all the time you spent with her was nothing?"

The expression upon Rin's face, I can't describe it.

"She knows perfectly well that eventually Father or Mother would eventually find out about the fact that you're going out with her. But that's exactly why she's been keeping it as a secret from everyone, excluding me, Ruri, and Saori..." I said to him, "But still, even though she's already aware about that fact, she still decided to keep it for herself and for the people who are close to her. She finally met you and worked up the courage to get along with you. I'm very well aware about your nature so you can say that I know what she went through. If you're going to go back to Germany just like this, it would be like you're making all of her efforts gone to waste!"

"You don't know what I went through.. even I almost lost myself in the middle of arguing with your Father and my emotion got the better of me. I couldn't possibly-"

"I wouldn't say I understand about what you went through completely. But I'll let you know... if the same thing were to happen to me and Ruri... I'd do exactly the same thing like you did with Father yesterday."

There was a moment of silence between the two of us. But then I could hear a sigh coming from Rin, "You don't even go out with her. What do you know about her? You.. who's not involved even romantically with her... what could you possibly understand about her feelings?"

That very moment, without even holding myself back despite Rin's condition, I punched him right in the cheek, "That's right. That's exactly right. I'm not going to deny the fact that I'm not going out with her so I couldn't possibly understand about her feelings completely. But that's exactly why you piss me off, Rin!"

Even after I punched him like that, Rin remained silent. He's now gazing away because I punched him. Noticing his silence, I continued, "You're the one who's dating her! You're the one who's supposed to know her better than me! You're being just the same like Father, don't you realize it? You know her a lot better than me, yet you refuse to understand her!"

Rin said nothing even after I punched him even after saying all that. I clenched my teeth once again, trying my best to contain my anger, "You're the one who said it all to Father! 'Have you ever seen her adorable smile when she's on a date with me? Do you know how she smiles when she's having fun? Do you even know about her favorite stuff and favorite thing to do? Do you know how she feels everyday in her life? Right now, she's holding something dear and she doesn't want to let it go.. yet you as her parent, saying that the best thing to do for her is letting that precious thing go? Parents are supposed to be the guide of their children, yet right now you're telling her to do something that she hates the most!', that's everything that you said to Father! Are you going to say that you already forgot about all the efforts you put just for the sake of doing the best for Kirino?"

"Kyo..."

"Are you going to say that you just pretend not to notice about her feelings, even though you know about them very well? If you're going to say all that crap right now and still deciding to give up just like that.. don't think that I'll let it slide easily. I'm not you, I'm not her boyfriend. But if I know about someone who mistreat my little sister, even if you're her boyfriend... I'm not going to let it happen-"

Before I manage to finish my sentence, something impacted against my cheek and threw me back; causing me to land upon my back that very instant. When I come back to my senses, I noticed Rin alreadt got off the hospital bed and now standing in front of me, "Really, Kyo... I always think that violence is unnecessary but the moment you punched me, I almost lost it."

"Rin, you little-"

"But thanks to you, I think I get the gist of it. Thanks to you, I managed to remember something really important that was taught to me when I was little...when people love others, they grow weaker, though it's nothing to be ashamed of. True weakness lies elsewhere. Because this is not true weakness. Only those who know weakness will be truly able to become stronger."

"Rin..."

"Besides, when I was little, I was also taught that there are two things a man must never do. One is to not make girls cry... the other is to not handle them so crudely. I cannot possibly face my parents who taught me that if I started acting like what happened yesterday never happened."

"Took you long enough to realize something important like that, idiot," I chuckled as I pushed myself up; rubbing the spot on my cheek where Rin punched me earlier with the back of my hand, "Just so you know... I won't apologize for punching you earlier. You deserve that."

"I know very well about that fact. Besides, I don't think that you apologizing would be necessary. I already punched you back so now we're even."

And we laughed that matter away.

That morning, when I made my way to the dining room, I found Mother and Father already there. Mother's busy preparing the breakfast while Father's reading the morning newspaper. Even though I'm well aware that I cannot shake what happened two days ago off of my mind, I know that I need to stay focused and I can't afford to make Father angrier than that day. So I just remained silent and make my way towards Mother, offering myself to help her preparing the breakfast.

"Kirino."

At Father's voice, I almost yelped in surprise, but managed to hold myself. I shifted my sight briefly towards Father before noticing the gesture to sit upon the couch beside the one where he's sitting. I know that he must be about to lecture me, because yesterday he said nothing at all about what happened two days ago. I gaze at Mother for a brief moment and she gave me a small smile that caused myself to relax and able to calm myself down as I made my way towards the couch that Father gestured and sat there, waiting patiently for Father.

"Kirino, there's something I want to talk about. It's about Rin."

That very moment, I braced myself for anything that he might say about us.

"To be honest, I still think that you're still too young to be in a serious relationship like that, Kirino. As your Father, I think it's natural for me to think of what's the best for you, because you're my one and only daughter. Even though I know that you're still too young, I don't want to force you doing something that you don't want to. And well... I might've judged him a little bit too fast."

I can't help but widening my eyes after hearing all that from Father. I actually can't believe that he actually said something like that. And when I gazed at Father, he already covered his face with the newspaper once again, "Well, I don't particularly mind with the fact that you're going out with Rin-kun. Even though I said that the two of you are still too young, I think that it's also important to learn about serious relationship like this from your age. As long as the two of you could keep promise to keep your grades high and not going overboard, well.. I suppose I'm fine with it."

After hearing all that, I can't help but actually smiling. I immediately hugged Father, much to his surprise, I suppose - before making my way to Mother and help her preparing for the breakfast.

"It's great that Father approved your relationship with Rin, isn't it?" I could hear Mother whispering to me.

"Mhmm..." I replied with a small smile, feeling relieved that what I just heard from Father wasn't something that I just imagined. "I never thought that Father would say something like that..." I whispered back to her, "But I'm glad that he approved it."

"Don't tell your Father about this.." Mother whispered back to me as she winked, "But your Father decided something like that because Rin-kun reminded him of a certain someone in the past, you know."

And at that, I simply smiled before eventually shifting my sight towards the door of the dining room that swung open when I placed the plates of food upon the table and saw Aniki entering the dining room. He said nothing, as if not knowing what to say to me. I know that he must be feeling tense too because of what happened two days ago, but really, at this point, after what Father just told me, I can't blame him. Maybe I'll tell him about it sometime later.

Once I'm done with breakfast, I decided to excuse myself. Shortly, I made my way out of the dining room towards the front door. As I put my shoes on, I can't help but actually hoping that I would bump into Rin somewhere on my way to school or maybe on my way after school. But the moment I opened the door, I can't help but widening my eyes in surprise. Rin... is already standing there.

Rin.. Shimomura Rin. That pale messy hair of his, the never ending carefree smile upon his lips, the childish twinkle upon his eyes. Rin is standing right in front of me right now.

"Kirino, oha-"

I didn't let him finish that sentence as I already slapped his cheek with all my might.

"Stupid! Where have you been all this time?" I practically shouted at him, feeling a mix between disappointment and relief all at the same time, "Do you have any idea how worried I was? Do you have any idea that-"

Before I managed to finish my own sentence, I could feel him hugging me and pressing my head against his chest, whispering softly, "I'm sorry that I make you worried, Kirino."

"Ri-Rin..."

"I want to stay with you, Kirino. Even if your Father doesn't approve our relationship, I'll try to do something about it. So please let me stay with you."

That very moment, I realized that there are not only us in the front door, there's Aniki as well. That very moment, I realized that my face went as crimson as possible, but somehow, I don't have the strength to push him away. Not after hearing him saying all that...

"I don't want to let you go," I could hear Rin's voice again, "I finally have you on my side. No matter how hard you're going to struggle or cry, I'm not going to let you go. No matter how hard everyone's going to try to snatch you away from me, I'm not going to let you go!"

"Selfish... you're really selfish.." I noticed my own voice cracked after hearing what he just said and I know that I can't hold back the tears that's swelling upon the edges of my eyes, "I really hate that part of you... you're really selfish... Rin..."

"... yeah, that's right. I'm selfish. I don't want anyone but you to be on my side. There are mountains of things that we have yet to do. I don't want to be with anyone else but you!"

"I understand, Rin..." I tried my best to ignore the urge to wipe my tears away as I slowly wrapped both of my arms around Rin's lower waist, "I... I will stay with you no matter what happens."

There was a moment of silence but then I could hear his sigh of relief, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

There was a brief moment of silence after I said that and then I could feel Rin gently placing his hand upon my chin; lifting my face up before pressing his lips softly against mine. The two of us pulled back after a brief moment and then we decided to go to school together. As I turned around to close the door, I saw Father halfway outside of the dining room, pretending not to see us as he quickly make his way towards the bathroom. I remained still for a brief moment before seeing Aniki and Mother getting out of the dining room together and gestured me to go. I smiled and closed the door behind me before heading to the school with Rin.

On my way to school, I catch up with Ruri; who seemed to be already waiting for me. I greeted her on my way and we made our way to the school together. On my way, I can't help but smiled.

A lot of things happened ever since Rin's arrival in Japan. There's the slight commotion during his first meeting with Kirino. There's the time where I chatted in the middle of the night with him, unaware that he's actually scheming something that would eventually make me and Ruri end up together. There's the time where I ended up stalking him, Ruri and Kirino around the Akihabara with Ayase, only to have him only aware that we're stalking him in the very end. There's the time where I ended up confessing to Ruri and ended up going out with her.

And finally, there's the time where Rin went against Father head to head when Father said that he's against Kirino going out with him. I don't blame him for doing that, because I know that I would definitely do the same thing if something like that were to happen to me and Ruri. It's just... I never expected that someone as carefree and childish as him could be like that.

"It seems that you went through a lot of things this week, Senpai."

"I wouldn't deny that. A lot of things happened, so I can't help it."

"Despite that, it seems that you've done a good job. I suppose you deserve my praise. Good job, Senpai."

"Thank you very much," I can't help but chuckled.

A lot of things happened ever since Rin's arrival. Even though most of it caused me nothing but trouble, I suppose I wouldn't have it any other way. But after all the things that have happened, I suppose it's safe to just accept the fact.

"While I'm going out with my little sister's best friend, my best friend is actually going out with my little sister," I whispered, mostly to myself as I gave a sigh of relief and eventually chuckled, "I'm glad that everything ends well."

Ore no Shin'yu no Imouto to Tsukiatte Iru

END