Chapter 49

Always Thinking of You

It's finally time. Time for the Sakurai twins to move on to college. They graduated high school, got their diplomas and are now moving on to go to Tokyo University. They packed all their stuff they need for the apartment they signed up for and look around at their bedroom. Yukino holds her younger sister's hand, squeezing it gently, but firmly.

"Well…Kana-chan…" she says. "This is it."

"Yes." Kanade replies. "Time has flown by so fast."

The older twin rests her head on Kanade's shoulder as the twins just keep staring at the room they will soon leave behind….once again. They are now old enough to move on, get a job and get an apartment. It's sad, yes, but sometimes, it's for the best.

"Kana-chan? Yuki-chan?" Natsumi says as she knocks on the door and walks in the room.

"Mom," Kanade turns toward her mother.

The woman walks over and hugs them both, trying hard not to cry. "Oh, my babies are growing up so fast. Already moving on to college. That makes me so happy!"

Yukino nods. "It makes us happy, too. You're not the only one."

Kanade cannot say anything. She wants to cry as well, but she knows it will make things worse. She just hugs her mother tightly, gritting her teeth. Then, their father comes in with a small smile on his face.

"My beautiful daughters," he says.

Yukino and Kanade pull away to face their father.

"My beautiful lesbian couple," he continues. "Off to college. I'm so proud of both of you."

Yukino is the first to hug him. "Oh, Father!"

Kanade hugs her father as well. It's very hard for her to say anything since they are moving to a new path in life. But…it's not like they will NEVER see them again. She just hugs her father, closing her eyes with a weak smile. Kei wants to cry as well, but he holds it back, just smiling. He looks up at his wife, who is in tears. Yes, it's hard for everyone in the Sakurai family, to have their oldest twins go on to college. However, Kei and Natsumi raised them well and all they want is what's best for them.

Once they pull away, they look around the almost empty room.

"Have you two got everything you need?" Natsumi asks.

"Yes," Kanade says. "Everything is packed in our suitcase."

Kei checks his watch. "Well, we still got a three hours left before the plane leaves. How about some lunch before we go?"

"Sure," Natsumi says.

Kanade and the rest walk out of the room. The artist finds her youngest sister, Shizuku standing there by the door, almost emotionless.

"How long have you been there?" she asks.

Shizuku doesn't say anything. She just pushes her older sister aside to join the family. She gapes at this while staring at her back. Something tells her that Shizuku is not taking this lightly either. Today is going to be a long, hard day for the Sakurai family.

No one said anything during lunch. All Kanade can think about is how Shizuku is feeling right now. She's still in middle school, but she'll be lonely without her two older sisters around. Natsumi and Kei are stunned by this awkward silence, even when they try to bring up a conversation, no one responds. As soon as they are done, they only have an hour and a half before the train leaves. Natsumi and Kei help the twins take their luggage to their van. The whole family climbs aboard and start the car. Shizuku is sitting between her two older sisters. Kanade and Yukino glance at their little sister with worry. Shizuku has barely said anything since the twins were packing their stuff. Kanade wonders if the youngest doesn't want the twins to go, just like the time when they were planning to move to Tokyo to go to high school there. The artist gently puts a hand on Shizuku's surprising her a little. Kanade gives her a reassuring smile, but Shizuku just turns away. The younger twin knows that she's taking this pretty hard.

By the time they get to the airport, they walk together toward the gate after checking their bags. They have at least 20 minutes before boarding, so this gives them a chance to spend their time together one last time before the twins leave.

"This is it," Natsumi says. "My wonderful, precious daughters are going to college."

"I hope you both do well," Kei says with a smile. "Make some new friends and such. Give us a call to see how you are doing."

"We will," Yukino says. She hugs both of her parents with a soft sigh. "I will miss you, Mom and Dad. But…we WILL come back and visit. It's a promise."

"I know, baby," Natsumi says, returning the embrace. "We all know that you two will be back for the holidays."

Yukino pulls away for Kanade to embrace both of her parents as well.

"Work hard, okay?" Kei says. "Both of us still believe in you. You know that right?"

"Yes, Father," Kanade replies. "I do."

"I will miss both of you, Kana-chan," Natsumi says, trying hard not to cry. "We'll always be thinking of you."

As soon as Kanade pulls away, she turns to Shizuku, who is just sitting there, having the almost emotionless expression on her face again. The younger twin tries to smile as she kneels to her level.

"Shi-chan," she says. "We're about to leave soon. Won't you please say something?"

Shizuku looks up at Kanade. She can feel a lump in her throat right now, but she knows crying would get her nowhere. She's a strong girl and she needs to show it in front of her sisters. She gets up off the chair and hug her older sister tightly.

"Good-bye…Kana-nee-chan," Shizuku says. "I love you…"

Yukino walks over to hug her younger sister as well. "We love you, too, Shi-chan."

Shizuku pulls away with a serious expression on her face. "Listen…don't you forget about me, okay? Even when we're apart, don't forget me!" Small tears are forming in the youngest sister's eyes, although she's trying her hardest not to cry.

Yukino wipes the tears with her thumb with a gentle smile. "Silly. We will NEVER forget our precious little sister. We will always be thinking of you. We promise."

Kanade nods in agreement. "We will call you too. Don't worry."

Shizuku nods as she hugs her older sisters once again, burying her head in Kanade's chest. The twins gently squeeze their youngest sister and they stay that way until the person at the intercom announces their boarding. They pull away and take their carry ons.

"It's time," Kanade says.

"Okay," Yukino takes her carry on and turns toward their parents and sister. "Bye, Mom, Dad, Shi-chan."

"Bye, bye," the younger twins says.

Natsumi and Kei wave good-bye, including Shizuku. And then, the twins are off toward the line to get their tickets scanned and then board the plane. Shizuku squeezes her mother's hand tightly, biting her lip as she sees her older sisters walk past the door. And then…they are gone.

**Later**

Shizuku walks in the room, closes the door behind her and stands there with her long bangs hiding her expression. During the ride home, she hasn't said anything since they left the airport. She walks toward her bed, plops down on her pillow face down. After turning her head, she sees the picture of her, Kanade and Yukino in a frame. It's a drawing of the three of them that Kanade promised to draw a while ago. It's still in good condition. She picks up the picture and traces her hand on it for a bit. It is then that tears start to fall freely on the frame. She cannot hold it in anymore and clutches it to her chest, sobbing her heart out.

"K-Kana-nee-chan…Yuki-nee-chan…" she chokes.

She finally lets out what she's been holding back since earlier. It's just like when the twins were going to Tokyo for high school and now college. She'll be lonely again. However, she can feel something at the back of the frame for some reason. She turns it over to see a sticky note attached to it. It reads,

"Don't cry, Shi-chan."

—Kanade and Yukino

It doesn't matter how or when they put it there, but Shizuku can tell that the twins do care. She wipes another tear while putting on a weak smile.

**On the Plane**

Yukino and Kanade sit together by the window. The younger twin is looking down, holding a photo that she suddenly took out of her bag. Yukino takes a look at it and sees that it's a photo of her, Kanade and Shizuku together. Shizuku must have snuck that in there at some point because they remember that they didn't have this photo in either of their bags. Kanade starts to feel tears falling freely and tries to wipe them away, but to no avail.

"Kana-chan…" Yukino say softly. She gently puts her hand on her sister's, squeezing it gently.

The artist just lets out soft sobs, making Yukino shed tears as well. This is a start of a new journey for them and what awaits them. But…they will always think of not only their parents, but their precious, loving little sister.