Away

Yuki didn't know what to do. She'd always been a mother hen to Nao, but that stopped when her baby sister became an UFE member and got engaged. Yuki felt forgotten and useless. Having her sister call about the Christmas eve event was a breath of fresh air, and also a reminder of how much they had drifted from each other. As a 24 year old woman, she felt like she had accomplished a lot and also nothing at all.

While her sister was saving the world and imbibing in a dangerous romance, Yuki had steadily drifted from the public's eyes and thoughts. She had drifted from the military life, only embarking on missions that the UFE ordained as important. Other than that, she just went by day-to-day without much purpose. How was she supposed to function? Her sister had never truly needed her, but the illusion had been enough. Now, she didn't even have that anymore. All she had was a silent phone and no visits.

Sure, Yuki could visit Inaho, but she never knew when the little girl would be busy or occupied. Plus, Inaho had important things to deal with. What with the UFE breathing down her neck, and the Orbital Knights putting a hit on her.

The only person that truly spoke with Yuki was Marito… or Koichiro now. They'd known each for such a long time. She still remembered him as the drunkard man on beach when she'd been in her pre-teen years. It was just her luck that she started working with the very man who helped her get on her feet, while he fell off his own.

Yuki was still vacating Koichiro's house, not that the man minded. He was drunk most days. It probably had everything to do with why Darzana came by during the holidays. It hadn't been a pleasant visit either. It was more of her talking about him wasting his life and being pathetic. Whatever happened between them must've been pretty intense. Souma, on the other hand, let Koichiro indulge on the liquid toxins.

Yuki heard a groan from the living room, and walked into it with a glass of water. Koichiro laid on the floor, clutching his head, while looking like he hadn't slept properly or bathed in weeks. It wouldn't be a completely inaccurate assumption. She handed the water to him, and he stared at her for a minute.

"Why did you stay? You know you're wasting your time, right? This is gonna last for a couple more days."

"Why do you drink, Koichiro? You know, as well as I do, that it won't change anything."

"Thank you, Doctor Kaizuka. I already know this. I just… I just need to forget."

"Is it about what happened almost 17 years ago? I remember what you said happened. Doesn't seeing Souma help? I thought you'd accepted what happened."

He snorted a bitter laugh, and pointed his glass in her direction. "You never get over survivor's guilt. Not really. There's no amount of reliving it that can take away the severity." He must've seen a weird expression on her face, because he stopped his depressing admission.

"It is what it is. Sorry about that." He finished.

"No… no, it's fine. I'm sorry for asking something so personal." She murmured embarrassed.

"Well, you should know since you volunteered to take care of an idiot like me."

Yuki laughed. "Sure. The idiot that saved our lives during the war."

"I think you're confusing me with your sister, which is a little insulting." He joked, and they laughed. For some reason, Yuki felt relieved. The feeling of needing to protect something was powerful, and she wasn't ready to completely surrender it. She was twistedly thankful that Koichiro had problems that she could patch away.

"Why aren't you with your sister, now that I'm sober I guess I should ask."

"She doesn't really need me. I mean, she has Slaine and her friends. She's so busy that I can't possibly be of any help to her. It's scary being like this."

"What? Being like a mom? You practically raised Inaho… you guys practically raised each other. You're scared because Inaho is flying the nest. This is normal. It's natural to be anxious over what to do next."

With all that wisdom, why couldn't he feel better too? It was a sobering thought. She sat on the couch that he fell from. "I don't want to go back there. I'll start nagging and getting in the way. She's engaged now, Kocchan. So I'll just stay with you for the time being."

"Wait. What? Kocchan? What are yo-"

She dismissed his questions. "Hurry up and sober up. With me around, you won't want to drink." She promised with a smirk that promised many scary things. Koichiro started trembling.

"I-I b-but…" He was at a loss for words, and that was fine. It was just nice to know that at least someone needed her.