After school in Midori's household-
"HNNNNNNGH!!!"
Storming into my room, I bury my head into my pillow once more. This has been happening quite a lot recently, but it helps vent out all my emotions, especially considering that I can't talk to Nicole yet.
"AHHHH!!~"
I was so hung up on Nicole, yet Luna just went and swept me along with my emotions. She completely distracted me about the whole Nicole situation. Wait... was that her intention? Is that why she was being so physical with me during the week?
"..."
My body quickly slumps deeper into the bed upon realizing that. I mean, I basically confessed, right? I asked her if she was interested in anyone. I totally didn't even mean to ask that! But... I went and did it... yet she said she isn't interested in anyone. More that that-
"She isn't interested in girls..."
She brought up Shin of all people... Even remembering his name coming out of her mouth caused a pang in my chest as I wind up clenching the bed sheets even tighter. Of course it wouldn't go as simple as that... Nicole said that it's rare, but then would that just make "me" the weird one? It's not like I chose to... l-like Luna. Ah- there it is again, that sharp, twisting feeling in my chest, forcing me to curl up into a ball to try and suppress it.
"...Luna."
Nicole's right... I really have fallen for her, huh? Why else would I be feeling like this?
With those thoughts circling over my mind over and over again, I suddenly hear my phone begin to buzz.
"AH-!"
Picking up the phone after removing my face from the pillow, I read the callers name before immediately answering.
"Nicole!?"
"Wah~ So loud~"
"S-sorry!"
I was so excited to finally receive a call back from her that I ended up shouting into my phone.
"Jeez. So? Did ya miss me?"
"Of course I did!"
"Fufu~ Sorry. I had to deal with stuff. You know..."
I guess it's time to talk about it, huh...
"About Kai?"
"Yup! I dumped him."
Those words stiffen the atmosphere, but only for a brief moment as I feel an overwhelming amount of joy flood over me. But it's when I recall her words just now did I get a strange feeling. She sounded happy, but I'm almost feeling like that's just a ruse.
"H-how did it go?"
"Well, I basically just asked him about who Yume was, and it was clear as hell that he knew he was guilty as shit. Hahh... It was like he was about to drop dead right then and there."
"Nicole..."
I could hear her voice slowly crack and go quieter as she talked. I just want to hug her right now! But I guess this is also why Nicole wanted to do this over the phone...
"Mmf! I'm fine! Hah~! I'm just glad that it happened now and... not...later."
I can practically hear her crying over the phone now despite her trying to keep up a strong shield.
"To think I thought I'd marry him after high school. Pah! What a joke, haha."
Keeping silent, I let Nicole vent it all out as I patiently listen to everything.
"I thought that he felt the same. I even took my courses seriously in order to help out to move in together and everything. Now it's just... what's the point of it? All for some girl from another school?! After everything we did together?! He was willing to cast it all away for some country girl?"
It sounds like during their talk, Yume was brought up a fair bit if Nicole found out that she lives out in the countryside. Even I didn't even know that...
"Agh! Who cares?! They can be all happy together for all I care. We'll see how long that lasts."
I want to stick up for Yume just a bit, but I need to focus solely on Nicole right now. All of that can come later.
"Hehe."
"Huh? What's so funny?"
"Oh, just imagining the flood of boys coming to you now that you're single."
"...Pfft. Don't joke about that, haha."
Despite her serious tone, I could feel her loosening up just a bit.
"I'm serious. People might be a bit intimidated by you with how pretty you are, but I bet once the guys learn who you really are, I'm sure they'll like you even more."
"What, are you trying to play matchmaker for me right now? Pfft-fufu."
"No, but what I'm saying is that you're amazing, Nicole. To be honest, I always thought that Kai didn't deserve you."
"Oh come on."
"I'm serious. Does Kai take extra courses outside of school? Does he help volunteer during holidays? You're the one that dragged him along during those, right? I'm sure he'd just want to hang out with you at his place or something."
"Yeah... You're right there, aha."
"He was lucky to have someone as amazing as you. So I say good riddance to him, personally!"
"Heh. Thanks, Midori."
"Mhmm! No problem~"
The talk with Nicole does help distract me from the whole Luna situation I found myself in, but I won't dare bring that up at the-
"So anyways! How has your little lunch dates been with Luna?"
"Hnn!"
But right as I thought that, Nicole changes the subject to exactly that.
"Pfft-hahahaha! Come on~ I saw you two secretly going up on the rooftops the other day. How'd she like your lunch?"
"Luna uhm... Yes. It's going well."
"...And?"
"We've been exchanging lunches since Monday..."
"And~?"
"And well... I don't think she's interested in girls at all."
And so, I end up telling Nicole about everything Luna and I did during our little lunch dates.
"CUTE~!!!"
"C-calm down, Nicole~"
"Aw, come on~ You're practically lovers!"
"We-we're not!"
"But that's totally the kind of things that couples do. Even if you say she's straight, I still find it suspicious that she'd go that far."
"Well, she probably did all that 'cause she saw me stressed out with your whole situation."
"Hmmm... So you're saying that she saw it more like consoling a friend, but in your eyes, it was pure, lovey-dovey energy?"
"Y-yes..."
"Hahahaha!"
"H-hey!"
"Sorry, sorry~ I just needed that. I'm glad that I'm not the only one with issues, hehe."
I figured that's what it was. I know it's rude to laugh at other people's misfortune, but I don't mind it if it's Nicole. Seeing her laugh like this over the phone makes up for the teasing. Even now I find myself smiling, hearing Nicole having a fun time.
"So I was right then? You like Luna, right?"
"Yes..."
"You want to hold hands with her?"
"Yes."
"Kiss her?"
"Th-that's-!"
"Pfft, hahaha! You're too innocent, Midori~"
"..."
But now that she says that, I end up pressing my fingers to my lips, imagining something like that actually happening. Actually, I did kiss her before, but it was only on the cheek... I wonder how it would be different if-
"You totally just imagined it, right?"
"Sh-shut up!"
"HAHAHA! But seriously, you won't know unless you ask, right? You're the closest to her after all."
"...True."
Even I've realized how much calm Luna has gotten over the weeks.
"Then good luck~!"
"Thanks, hehe."
Meanwhile outside of Luna's Apartment-
Closing and locking the door to my apartment, I step out into the cold wintry night. It's not quite winter yet, but it's close enough to warrant wearing my jacket.
"Phooo~"
I exhale into the cold air as I watch the steam from my mouth dissipate into the air.
After finishing dinner, I decided not to lay down in bed but instead take a little walk. I did this last year as well, along with the years before that. When it gets this cold, it brings up the memories of that dreadful night where I not only lost my parents, but also my sister. I used to stay in bed and think back on those times, which led me to not getting much sleep, so I decided to take walks when winter came in hopes to drown out those emotions. But in the end-
"Hah~"
Walking down the street, I can't help but think about back then.
Looking up at the night sky, there's barely any stars out due to the many lights in the city, so I decide to walk away from the bustling city and into a more quiet area. There's no school tomorrow so I'm not that worried about how late I'll be out, and after walking for quite some time, I eventually arrive at a small hill on the outskirts of the city, a place I usually find myself wandering to during this time of the year.
Laying down on the cool grass, I simply gaze up into the sky, despite there still being barely any stars out, leaving only the brightest of stars glittering above me. Feeling the grass tickle my cheek felt pleasant to me as I held my arms together as the wind washes over me.
"I'm right here..."
I quietly say those words, hoping that they can somehow reach her. I brought my phone with me just in case she did call, but there's still been no response. Just how much do I have to do in order to see you again? Our brother found me without me even trying, so why can't it be the same? It's torturous knowing that we're this close, yet I feel like I'm just back to square one... Is there even a point in searching houses at this point? Well I'll still do it as there's nothing else that I can think of. It's not like I can just put out posters since I don't even have any pictures with-
"...Hahh."
Why didn't I just look through Reina's phone and try to find pictures of her... I could've maybe sent them to my own phone and found a way to print them out. I know it's stupid to think back negatively like this, but just knowing I could've done better really makes me feel-
"Eh?"
Just then, a single snowflake landed on my nose, flipping my attention on it instead of going down that depressive train of thought, and in just a few more moments, another snowflake landed on my cheek. It's then that I realized that several, no- many snow flakes were falling around me. It's not heavy by any means, but it really makes it seem like winter has finally come.
"Guess I'll head home early..."
I was planning on staying out for a couple hours, but now that it's beginning to snow, I really don't want to deal with another cold like last time. I should've worn my proper winter jacket instead of this.
Checking my phone after sitting up, I'm actually surprised that I've been laying here for thirty minutes already. It felt more like five minutes if I'm honest.
After standing back up, I begin walking back to my apartment, taking a more longer route than usual as despite the cold and the snow, I really don't think I can sleep just yet. I can always take another shower just to warm myself up if I need to, but this jacket is doing a great job already at keeping me warm. That said, it isn't waterproof, let alone snow proof so if it gets worse, I may need to run back.
It also seems like I'm the only one walking out at the moment as the only signs of life I see is the occasional car ever few minutes or so passing by, and with a particularly strong gust of wind, sending chills down my body, I can see why. Only idiots would be out at this time in the night during a season like this. Idiots like me-
"...Pfft."
Never mind... Off in the distance, I see someone else walking towards me. I can't see very well, but they do look more covered up than me. I guess that makes me more of an idiot? Wait, but could it be another robber, or another one of those guys that tried to pick up Midori? I guess it wouldn't help to be a little on guard in this kind of-
"...Huh?"
But the moment the person in front of me gets closer, they suddenly stop in place, as if they had just hit some sort of invisible wall. I subconsciously end up doing the same in order to keep a safe distance. Now that I'm up a little closer, their build seems to be around the same as me, maybe even a little smaller so I feel quite confident that I won't get hurt, I can't really tell. Then again, they could have a knife like those guys so I need to-
In that moment of thought, the person suddenly begins sprinting towards me. Their form is quite sloppy, so I could just use their momentum to-
"-is!"
Wait, they're yelling something? Are they calling for their friends? Maybe I should-
But in that moment as I was reaching for my phone, my body freezes in place as I catch a glimpse of a white-silvery strand spill out from the person's coat, shining brightly in the moonlight.
"Sis!"
"...Reina?"
The moment I say her name, my body immediately starts moving again as I too begin to run towards the person. The snow seeming to be picking up with every stride I take.
The closer I get with each step, the more and more I see of the person in front of me. Even with how fast I'm running, it can't match how hard my heart is pumping right now.
"Rei- Reina!"
After nearly tripping over the now slippery pavement, I shout out her name once more now that I have a clearer view of her, but that didn't last long as my vision quickly became a blur.
""HNNG!""
Before I even realized, we crashed into one another as we both collapse to the ground, grunting from the impact. It actually helped to calm down my heart somewhat as my tears quickly stopped as I gathered my bearings. But the moment I looked to my side, to the person laying on the ground next to me, my heart felt like it was going to burst out of me as I finally get a good look at her.
As she raises her head, our eyes end up locking with one another as I found myself seeing myself reflected back at me with those silver colored eyes.
"S...Sis?"
Being called that for the first time in a decade sent my body straight forwards as I instantly wrapped my arms around her body.
"Reina!"
This isn't a dream, right? Having her in my arms, feeling her jacket in my arms, her warmth...
"...If this is a dream, then-"
But before I could even think those words, they were spoken not from my mouth, but from hers as she also clung to my body, wrapping her arms tightly around me, her arms slightly trembling.
""Then I don't think I want to wake up.""
I finish her sentence alongside her, which caused the both of us to tighten our hold of one another as we both continue to stay down on the cold, wet pavement, sending chills shooting up my legs from all the ice cold water getting inside.
"Sis..."
"Reina..."
"Sis!"
"Reina!"
We end up calling for each other as if to reaffirm that this truly isn't a dream, with neither of us refusing to let go. But in a few moments, we both tilt our heads back from each other's shoulders to look at each other once more. Reina wore a bright smile on her face, her eyes ready to burst with tears as I feel myself doing the same thing. Her cheeks flushed red as I found myself cupping one of my hands on her face.
"S-sis..."
"Reina?!"
But the moment we did, I feel her arms grow weak as well as her eyes, with her body suddenly going limp in my arms. However, with her in my arms, I refuse for her to smash her head on the ground.
"H-hey! Reina!"
No matter how hard I yell, her eyes refused to open as she fully submitted her body to me.
"Shit!.. Hnng!"
I struggle to stand back up while holding up Reina's body as I feel my legs begin to shake a little, but after some effort, I finally get her onto her feet with her body leaning against me as I prop her up in my arms.
As much as I also want to collapse here as well, I need to get her home, I'm not about to let us be buried in snow when we just met! But damn... my legs feel like popsicles right now...
"Come on..."
"HAAAAH!"
Eventually, after what felt like an hour, I finally make it to my apartment on the second floor. The stairs were a nightmare as I felt like my legs would break in two at any moment, but thankfully Reina was quite light. That said, my legs feel so wobbly right now. Thank god I decided to exercise frequently...
Once inside, I close the door behind me with my foot before finally plopping Reina onto the bed, but the moment I do, my legs finally lose the remaining strength they had as I simply fell to my knees at the bedside, resting my arms and head against the mattress.
"Rei...na..."
However, seeing my sister with my half-opened eyes, I end up using all the upper body strength I have to pull myself up from the ground and onto the bed with considerable effort. Once I finally made it, I made sure to properly tuck her in. I decide to quickly remove her heavy coat as I don't want her to overheat as I also do the same for my own.
But once I felt like everything was finally dealt with, my body immediately collapses next to her as my vision quickly blacks out, my body now completely spent as I quickly fall prey to sleep itself. "This really isn't a dream… right?" Is the only thing I can think of as I slowly drift away.