Chapter 33
I'm Always There For You
Kanade and Yukino sit on the beach, watching the waves move and brush towards their feet. They held hands as Yukino rested her head on her sister's shoulders. Sighing with bliss, the older twin looked up at her girlfriend. Kanade smiled and kissed her on the forehead. It was a beautiful day at the beach and there was barely anyone there now since it was late afternoon. The two of them have yet to leave, but they decided to stay a bit longer. Just then, Kanade smirked and pushed her sister with a laugh.
"Try to catch me, Yuki-chan~!" she called.
Yukino blinked, confused by her sister's action, but she accepted the challenge. "Oh, it's on~!"
Kanade made a run for it while Yukino chased after her. They were at the edge of the water at first when they ran about 20 feet when Kanade made a turn to her left, heading toward the water. Yukino stopped for a bit, unsure about what her younger sister was doing, but decided to come after her to stop her. However, Kanade is halfway towards the deep end after Yukino stepped into the water.
"Kana-chan!" she called. "Kana-chan, are you sure you should be going THAT far!?"
The younger twin didn't listen and kept on going deeper into the ocean. Shaking her head, Yukino swam as fast as she could to catch up to her sister. But Kanade was so far away that she doubted that she's going to make it in time. What in the world was going on in Kanade's mind? Why would she go so far into the water? And without waiting for her older sister to catch up? That's not like her at all. Something was definitely wrong and Yukino had to stop her before she drowns.
"Kana-chan!" she shouted over the sound of the waves. "Kana-chan, please stop!"
But the artist was too far to even hear her and then...she disappeared. Yukino couldn't believe it. She dove underwater to try and look for her, to see if she drowned. But Kanade was no where in sight. She tried to swim further and further, but no luck at all. She swam back up and quickly returned to shore. She stood up and cupped her hands to her mouth.
"KANA-CHAAAAAAAAN!" she shouted as loud as she could.
But she knew that it wasn't enough for Kanade to hear her. Dropping to knees, she felt heavy tears fall down her face and drop on to the sand. How can she abandon her like this? And then disappear? Kanade wouldn't do this at all. Never. And yet...Kanade...her beloved younger sister...abandoned her.
"K-Kana-chan...why...?" she choked a sob. "Why did you leave me...? I thought you loved me..."
There was nothing but the soft waves kicking in and out. Finally, Yukino buried her head in her hands, letting out shoulder shaking sobs, sayiing her sister's name over and over.
**Reality**
Kanade awakens by a shiver from her older sister. She can see from her expression that she's having a nightmare and tears are falling from her eyes. She can even hear Yukino whispering in her sleep.
"Kana-chan..." she sobs. "Don't...leave me...I love you..."
The artist couldn't stand it anymore and scoots closer to her crying sister and gently shakes her awake. "Yuki-chan," she says. "Yuki-chan, wake up!"
Yukino gasps and immediately opens her eyes to see her beloved staring at her with a worried expression. All she could do is plunge herself onto her younger sister's chest and sob her heart out. Kanade is surprised at first, but from hearing her older sister's crying, she knew that the dream she had wasn't good, so she wraps her arms around her and strokes her hair to comfort her.
After about a good 15 minutes, Yukino's sobs cease, letting out only hiccups and sniffles. Kanade continues stroking her hair as she kisses her forehead.
"Yuki-chan," she says softly. "Did you...have a bad dream?"
Yukino can only nod.
"Can you tell me what it was about?"
It takes Yukino a minute to take a few deep breaths before answering. "Y-you and I...we were at the beach. And...we were playing tag together when you decided to head for the water. I didn't know what you were thinking, but I had to go after you to stop you from going any further. But you were so far away. I doubted that I was able to reach you, even with my swimming skills. And then...you just disappeared. I tried and tried calling for you, let alone search for you in the water to see if you drowned. But...you were gone." She clenches her younger sister's shirt and buries her head in her chest. "I-I didn't know what else to do! I felt that you were just abandoning me! You were leaving me, Kana-chan! And I didn't want that!"
Kanade immediatly tips her chin and kisses her on the lips, for a brief moment before pulling away. She looks at her older sister in the eye. "Yuki-chan...you know that I'll never leave you. Not since we were young. And I'm NEVER going to forget that promise we made. We'll follow each other wherever we go. And that's never going to change."
"K-Kana-chan..." Yukino sniffles.
The artist kisses her again, pulls away and caresses her cheek. "I'm always there for you, Yuki-chan. Just remember that. It's only a dream."
The older twin nods. Though, it was a dream, Yukino couldn't let herself be separated from the one she loves so dearly. She rests her head on her sister's chest while her arms are wrapped around her. A small smile appears on her face, followed by a tear trickling down her cheek.
"Thank you...Kana-chan," she says softly. "I feel much better now."
Kanade kisses her on the forehead as she pulls in the covers and snuggles close to her beloved. "No problem, Yuki-chan. We'll always be together. Forever and always."
"Forever and always..." Yukino repeats as she closes her eyes.
After about a few minutes, the twins fall asleep, with Yukino having good dreams. She knows for sure that her beloved Kanade is never going to leave her. Because she loves her so much and nothing will ever change it.
