"Horo-kun! Horo-kun, matte!" I heard Tamao call me. I turned around and found her running after me, cheeks flushed. I stood and waited for her, wondering what else would she say.

"I'm so sorry, Horo-kun," she said, looking at me apologetically. She suddenly took my hand and dragged me along with her.

"W-Where are we going?" I asked her slowly.

We ended up back in her room. She suddenly took my hand and placed it on her waist. She took my other hand and clasped it with hers, and slowly, she began to sway. I felt my feet move along with her.

"I'll dance with you right now," she informed me.

"But there's no music," I protested.

"I'll make the music then," she said immediately. "Da ra dum dum, dum dum, dum…" she began to hum, eyes twinkling.

"T-Tamao…"

"What is it, Horo-kun?" she asked, and for a moment, I felt myself transported to a certain place and time. The same lovely eyes that looked up to me and told me to come back.

"May I hold you close?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

"Of course," she smiled. She allowed my hand to tighten its grip on her waist, and crush her in my arms. The fog in my memory began to evaporate slowly as the familiar warmth began to race within me.

"Tamao?"

"Hmm?"

"I asked before what you were in my life. May I now ask this… what am I in your life?" I asked.

"You are my strength…" she began, resting her head on my shoulders. "My protector and my hero, and my most favorite person in the world…"

We were silent for awhile, as we danced to the silent music in our mind.

"Please don't forget that," I asked, almost beggingly. "No matter what happens, don't ever forget what you just told me. If you forget that…I don't know what I would do."

Her hand cupped my face, smiling affectionately. "Don't be silly, Horo-kun."

"No, I'm not kidding," I said, clasping her hand under my chin. "When I woke up, I couldn't remember anything. I couldn't remember who I am, where I am, and why I am in that place. I felt so helpless. It was only when I saw your face that I began to hope…to hope that somehow, I can remember someday. Do you know why?"

She shook her head.

"It's because when I saw you, it felt like coming home after a long journey. I couldn't understand why I couldn't remember anything about myself and yet, when it comes to you, my heart began to beat familiarly. When you told me who I was, I thought, 'Hey, this is one person who knows me'. From that moment, I never stopped wondering what kind of bond connects us, because you seem to know me so well, and at the same time, you were the first person I remembered was close to my heart."

"All those time you spent on telling me, helping me to remember who I am, I realized what a wonderful person I am. I know that I love my identity now even more than I used to before, because you made it sound in your stories that your Horo-kun could be so lovable and caring. For that, Tamao, I can never thank you enough. Knowing what a fine young man Horo Horo of the Ainu clan is, and how the people around him loves him, it inspired me to do my best to remember and regain my memory."

She laughed, eyes shaking. "Horo-kun, I was just telling what you really are."

I laughed too. "I know…but among the things you told me…what I know I would never forget was that you would never ever give me up, not without a fight."

"I told you that?" she was stunned.

"You didn't tell me that…your heart did. I just realized that right now, Tamao." I stopped dancing and hugged her tighter. "Thank you for your faith on me. And even if I forget again, I know that I won't be afraid anymore, because I know you are here, and will always be."

"Horo-kun…" She smoothed my cheeks. "You always had me, and will always do."

It was the most wonderful thing anyone told me, and as I felt a lump in my throat, the only thing I could say was, "Me too."

"Hey, don't cry. That's my job," she teased. "I know!" She suddenly dragged me downstairs excitedly.

The next morning, I woke up, feeling a little dizzy. Tamao and I slept late, watching some cartoons on VCD. Everyone else had gone to sleep that night, so the house echoed with our laughter.

Pirika was clearing the table when she saw me. I blinked. Didn't my sister sleep at all? I went to my room last night with her washing the plates with Tamao, and when we went down to watch TV, she was up in her room, making my training schedule that I was starting to remember too—unfortunately for me.

"Sit down and I'll prepared your breakfast," she instructed.

"Where is Tamao?" I asked. I was used to her preparing the food for me.

"Yohmei-sama sent her to the stock hut to pick some things up," my sister replied.

"Why didn't she wake me up?" I complained.

"And what would you do there?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "Slack off? Stay here and help me with the household chores!"

"What's with your sudden interest in household chores?" I asked. "Instead of that, you should learn how to cook."

"Both you and Tamao' nee-san can cook, so why do I have to bother learning?" she asked, shrugging.

"What if the time comes for you to marry? What will your husband say?" I asked.

"I thought you don't want me to get married!" she said.

"It's a hypothetical situation," I said, although I had to admit that she got a small point there. "And besides, you know that we can't live in this house forever. When the newlyweds return from their honeymoon, we must leave already. Tamao won't be always there to cook for us." While I was saying that, I couldn't help but feel disturbed. What would me and my taste buds do when the time comes for us to leave? I was used to her already…her cooking, her lullabies, her kind words, her lovely smiles…

She smiled at me, winking. "I guess both of us will have a hard time coping when that situation comes, eh?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind." She returned to her work. "But it would be awfully nice if she is my real sister," she said, loud enough for me to hear even at a distance.

My mind protested.

"No, I mean, if I can have her for my sister legally," said Pirika. "Don't you think she's a wife material, Onii-chan?"

"That's incest," I grumbled.

"Onii-chan, I mean, she will automatically be my sister if you marry her," she explained, exasperated.

I finally got what she was saying. I groaned. "We're just friends."

"You look good as friends," she said. "But better if you are a couple."

"She treats me like a big brother and a son at the same time," I mumbled. "And vice-versa."

"I don't think so." My sister smiled knowingly. "At least with the vice-versa part."

I decided to ignore that. I started eating the contents of the breakfast plate that she handed me.

Just then, I got up suddenly, feeling that something very wrong was about to happen.

"Onii-chan?"

"Tell me how to go to the stock hut where Tamao went," I said urgently. The dread was growing within me every passing minute.

Ponchi and Konchi then arrived, panicking. "Tasukete!!! Tamao is in danger!!!"

"W-What happened to Tamao' nee-san?" asked Pirika, eyes wide.

"W-We were just playing around when we accidentally set the place on fire. Hurry up, she's trapped there!" said Ponchi, visibly frightened.

"Onii-chan!" shrieked Pirika when I wordlessly dashed out of the house.

From where I was running, I could see the black smoke rising. I hastened my dash, my feet barely touching the ground.

"Hang on, Tamao. I'm coming!" I said, praying with all my heart that she's still ok.

tsuzuku