The car ride was, again, silent.
Not because there was anythinf between the two, the reason was that the two didn't have anything of particular interest to talk about. While Mei was curious as to what was the relationship between Yuzu and her late husband, she had opted to not ask, as it would've probably lead to a result she wasn't prepared to face.
Another minute of silence.
Mei couldn't hold herself back anymore.
"You were...married before right?"
Yuzu nodded, not taking her eyes off the road.
"What was he like?"
Yuzu chuckled; "Kino? Well..."
Flashback...to the time when Yuzu was still married, before Kino passed.
A random beach, 12 years ago.
"Mama! Mama!" A young toddler ran towards a certain woman, her chestnut hair reached past her hips, her white sundress fluttered along with the cool wind, she placed a hand on the top of her purple sun hat, keeping it from flying away.
The woman smiled, a smile befit of a mother; "C'mere Ume." She knelt down and opened her arms, the toddler ran into her arms, wrapping her in a hug. "Where's dad?" She asked, the toddler pointed towards the far edge of the beach.
"Want to see dad?"
The toddler nodded furiously, the woman smiled in satisfaction and stood up, and held the toddlers hand. They both started walking towards the far edge, it didn't take long for them to catch sight of a figure.
"Heeeeeeeey! Kino!" The woman shouted, and waved; The figure turned towards them and waved back, beginning a slow walk towards them.
The woman hefted the toddler onto her back as they started walking towards the figure.
Upon closer inspection, the figure was rather tall, at nearly 6 feet tall, he had black hair and wore black framed glasses for his brown coloured eyes. He was wearing a brown t-shirt and black shorts, with flip flops as footwear.
"Your daughter wants to see you."
The man chuckled, and hefted the toddler from the woman's back; "How's my little girl?" He enthusiastically asked the toddler, nuzzling his face on her stomach, the toddler laughed as he hugged her; The young child could bear the beating of his heart, he lifted her up again and positioned her on his back, another piggyback ride. And the toddler couldn't be happier.
They were the image of a perfect family, there wasn't any trouble that they couldn't handle, and they had a perfectly healthy daughter.
Yuzu smiled at the image of her daughter and husband running around the beach, the young child was laughing, and so was her husband.
Nothing could ruin their happy family.
Fast Forward...8 years ago.
Streets, on the way home.
The car ride was silent.
Yuzu was looking out the window, Kino was driving, and Ume was quietly playing with her dolls on the back seat. Multitudes of thoughts were running through Yuzu's mind; Money wasn't a problem, she had inherited the family riches on her father's side, Kino had inherited the Kaname family riches too.
She was worried about what would happen after.
"Hey."
"Hm?"
"What do I do after?"
Silence.
Kino sighed; "If it comes to that, I can trust you to make your own decisions. Along with the inheritance." The man didn't take his eyes off the road.
"But...it will come to that...there's no guarantee of any other result." Yuzu replied, turning her attention forward.
"True..."
Silence again.
"Hey Kino..."
"Hm?"
"You love me right?"
"Of course I do."
"So you won't leave me?"
Kino froze, and took a moment to think of an answer. Whatever he says now would never leave Yuzu's mind, and would also be a promise to himself, Yuzu, and Ume.
"I won't...but when the time comes...I'll be with you."
Yuzu had to force her tears from falling as she turned her attention outside again.
4 Years ago...
March 23rd
It was awfully sunny, there weren't any clouds in the sky, well, a few, but that's a different point, men and women stood up and threw flowers at a casket being lowered into the ground. A chestnut haired woman, Yuzu, had a veil on her face, on her arms was a baby, Ume was silently crying next to her, holding a white rose.
As the others threw their white roses and paid their respects, Yuzu and Ume were the last ones, mother and daughter simultaneously threw both their white roses, each had a letter attached to it.
As other family left, Yuzu, her daughter Ume, and her mother Ume, were the last to leave; Yuzu shed no tears, a promise she made on his death bed.
"When it's time for me, I don't want you to cry, you're going to ruin that beautiful face of yours."
And so, she did not shed a single tear.
Back to the Present...
Mei had nothing to say as she listened to Yuzu talk.
Thankgoodness there was a traffic jam.
As Mei listened, she saw that Yuzu was tearing up, and her voice was breaking, quietly, she want ahead and hugged her, not as a romantic partner, but as a younger sister, a shoulder to cry on.
"Shhhh. Come on. Let it all out."
Yuzu cried with all her feelings, tears and smudged make up stuck themselves on Meis white sweater, but the raven paid no heed.
Her sister was hurting. And right now, she didn't know what to do other than let her shed tears.
"I loved him! A-A-And yet! He left me!" Yuzu cried out in anguish.
"He promised me! He promised..."
4 years worth of held back tears were released, it was all too much for Yuzu to recall her life when Kino was still alive.
"Shhhhhh..." Mei didn't let go of her sister, she rubbed Yuzus back to comfort her.
Yuzus cries had diminished to simple whimpers; "He promised me *sniff* ...that he wouldn't leave me..."
Mei continued comforting Yuzu, she didn't know what to do, but she was doing her best.
A/N: AC here, sorry for the long wait, was experiencing Writers Block, also busy playing F/GO
Do you know how hard it is to write the last part of this chapter while listening to Panzerkampf by Sabaton?
Also, updates are going to be less frequent, as I'm still in the middle of my Writers Block.