It is a day with a late yet bright, cold, winter morning where the heat is energized by the warm hearts of the citizens excited for the upcoming dearly Christmas. As always, unfamiliar to such human excitement and fun activities, Yuki has absolutely no interaction with any of these simpleton events. He does not get what is so exciting about, Christmas.
Swinging around his grocery bag lightly curled into his fingers, his steps walk slowly followed in the late morning. Yuki was returning was a grocery store as he walks slowly on the footpath while observing all the Christmas decoration hanging on the buildings and trees. During his parade, his attention seeks into a more noticeable event, as he finds a little kid surrounded by some other kids on the same footpath.
It would usually be kids playing tag with each other filled with laughs and joy, but here it was the cry of a kid growling in pain. A boy who looks like a snowball, his hair were silk and silver, salt and pepper, he had a height of an average 10 Year Old's, and a face enough to fit a smile so big and wide, but in the moment he was stuck in a situation from which he cannot hide.
As he walked closer, he saw some kids bullying the snowball boy, looking at the child. Yuki's memory clicked a flash with Shiina's bare and not so proper hints about the appearance of her younger brother, Yuuta, the description matched similar to the young boy getting bullied right now. Best-case scenario, Yuki runs to the situation immediately and saves the bullied kid. Worst-case scenario, Yuki is an emotionless dead soul who does not care.
Yuki ended up saving the little boy from getting bullied more with just passing by the bullies, deep within the depth of darkness, invaded evil chaotic energy which roamed around Yuki's aura as his bad charm, Yuki's dead cold expression with such a serious yet neutral emotionless face scared the bullies away. They started to sweat in the cold winter area. He had extremely no idea what did he do to make children stay away from him, but it at least worked like a charm.
"Do I look that much of a monster? What feeling did they get when they saw me?" Yuki mutters to himself. The little boy gets up and looks towards Yuki with a big wide grin, holding his hand and bowing down to express his gratitude.
"Huh?"
"I guess I just carried out an unintended rescue, well." He thought.
Yuki looked towards the boy, "What if he gets in danger or possibly kidnapped again? The blame will be on me as I'm the last person seen with him. I should better escort him to his place to ensure his safety, or more like mine." He thought more.
"Hey, uh, kid. Do you know where you live? Let's go to your place."
The people passing by give Yuki a creeped out stare with the most possible judgmental looks a human's face muscles can flex.
"What?"
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"A-ahh, that sure is c-cold!" Shiina's voice exclaims in shivers as she pours the last bucket of water on herself, and then wraps around a towel around herself and buns her hair.
"After the heater's stopped working, it really is annoying to take a bath with cold water, given it is in winter…"
"If I catch a bad cold, the heater is to blame."
Shiina gets out of the chill and torturing bath, as she opens the door reacts to the briskly wind with trembles, somebody passes from right in front of her sight, acknowledging the fact that Yuuta is out to play and Shiina is home alone, a figure just took a walk in her apartment's hallway without noticing Shiina.
"W-What?!" Shiina instantly closes the door.
"D-Did I just, did I just hallucinate a- a shadow of Yuki-kun in my house?! W-Wait no, he can't be here!" She's rushing with ideas in her mind.
The person had another small heighted company walking with them in the hallway. It seems like Yuuta, Shiina's little brother is home with somebody else.
Yuki, who was being led by Yuuta, stopped for a moment to look behind towards the bathroom door, believing he heard a loud sound.
"Come here! I think sissy is not Home at the moment."
"Oh, okay."
"So you have a sister?" Yuki questioned.
"Yes, I live with her and she's really lovely, but also busy. I think she is around your age!" Yuuta replied.
Shiina leaned her back against the door from the opposite side, as she heard a voice from the outside.
"W-Was that Yuuta's voice? No, he's out to play, of course I just saw and heard things." Shiina thought as she lets out a sigh in relief.
"B-But, Yuuta might have come back and it was probably him."
Shiina tilts against the door again as she pulls it a little open and peek out of the bathroom, she observes Yuki standing in her hallway and looking somewhere else.
She blinks her eyes twice as she looks at the scene again, she can still see Yuki, in her apartment. While Shiina was observing and confirming Yuki's existence, his attention was once again caught towards the bathroom's door. As soon as he turns his head back to the door, it immediately gets shut.
"N-No way! I-It was Yuki-kun! H-How? Did Yuuta bring him here?! How is it possible though?! W-What if he would have saw me in the towel, I-I was- AM half naked, w-what do I do?! What do I do?! Yuki-kun, in my place, did he know my address or did Yuuta coincidentally invite a stranger over?!" She's thinking too much.
Yuki looks towards the steam coming out of the bathroom door from his distance, but is soon distracted by Yuuta, calling him to give him a house tour.
Shiina's back leans against the door again, she keeps her hand covering her mouth and pants heavily, being blushed and red rosed, Shiina is highly embarrassed. Soon she started to sneeze due to bathing with cold water and exposing herself to the chilling atmosphere for too long.
"Oh no, did I catch a cold…?"
"I should wear clothes and get out fast."
After a while,
Shiina steps out of the bathroom with her casual home wear to not make it look suspicious that she knew Yuki was already here. She still has reddish pink strips of flushed embarrassment on her cheeks.
"Yuuta! Are you home? There's your shoe on the entrance." Shiina acted like she was confused.
Yuuta quickly runs towards Shiina and grabs her hand, leading her to the living room where Yuki took a seat on the floor's mat.
"Y-Yuki-kun?!" Shiina acted and did not.
"Oh. Shiina?" Yuki is only a bit of a little surprised.
"This boy is your younger brother?" He asked.
"Ah! Yes, he is, but how did it come to this? Oh, no, I mean, it's just a bit surprising how you are suddenly here, I'm not meaning it in a mean way though." Shiina over explains herself.
"Sissy, you know Mr. Cool Guy?"
"Mr. Cool Guy?" Yuki seemed confused by the nickname.
Shiina picks up Yuuta and moves him behind her.
"I only escorted him till his residential address to ensure his safety as he was getting picked on, but he invited me over."
"He was considerate enough to accept, he's so cool sissy!"
"I do not understand a thing." Yuki thought.
"Am I too dumb? Wow." Shiina thought.
After a bit of humanoid conversations, Shiina finally understood the situation.
"So… Yuuta was getting picked on by some bullies and Yuki-kun walked by, scaring away the bullies? But to ensure that Yuuta does not get in any danger again, Yuki-kun escorted Yuuta till his place and now to thank Yuki-kun, Yuuta invited him over? Am I correct…?"
"That's correct."
"You're right!"
Shiina apologized for troubling Yuki all of a sudden on a holiday. She is amazed by the coincidence.
Looking around, Yuki notices Shiina lived in a small apartment containing of a living room with a Television, Kotatsu table and Japanese Tatami mat and a kitchen attached to it, ordinary Japanese apartment. She had a bedroom in which both Yuuta and Shiina slept, and a bathroom which was connected in the way of the hallway from the entrance. The living room was also connected with the hallway and the bedroom was at the end of it.
"Oh! Sissy you have a running nose!" Yuuta exclaimed, pulling out a tissue from the box on the shelf and offering it to Shiina.
"Ah!" Shiina takes the tissue quickly and wipes it off.
"Your hair seems wet, were you in the bath?" Yuki noticed Shiina's wet hair.
"Ah, yes, I was too distracted by the noises from outside that I forgot to dry it."
"Silly-dilly-sissy" Yuuta taunted Shiina.
"Yuuta!" Shiina called his name out lou- Achoo! She sneezed half way through it, a cute sneeze by the way.
"Oh- Sheesh… Did I catch a cold?"
"Wait! Let's forget that, I'm sorry to keep you sitting here so awkwardly Yuki-kun! I'll brew you some tea right away!"
"I was thinking about how to bring up a friendly human conversation like others, but I guess she took it the wrong way. Did I look annoyed?" Yuki felt anxious, thinking anxiously.
Shiina instantly got up and ran towards the Kitchen counter in a hurry. Yuuta sat with Yuki as they both were having an unintended awkward intense did-not-ask-for staring match.
"Why is this kid staring at me?" He thought.
Yuuta was pretty happy to finally have someone over, a cool guy at the top of that.
It seems like Yuuta really did not have much people to spend time with, and was lonely in the apartment most of the time spent time by himself alone. Luckily today was Sunday so both Shiina and Yuki had their days off from school, and work, for Shiina.
The unintended staring contest came to an end as they both heard a loud thump from the behind. Yuki and Yuuta instantly got up and checked behind the kitchen counter to see Shiina lying down on the floor.
"Sissy, what happened?!" Yuuta instantly got concerned.
"Shiina?" Yuki called out her.
Yuuta quickly put his hand on her sister's forehead to check the temperature which was pretty hot. He overreacted cutely by backing off as if he touched a hot pan.
"Ah!"
"Is she really that hot?"
Yuki sits on his knees and lowers his stance to put the back of his hand against Shiina's forehead, feeling the heat. "It looks like she's caught a cold, a bad one at that."
Shiina could hardly mumble anything and was unconscious to know what's happening. She could sense and see a bit of the world from her barely open eye lids. Shiina tried to open her eyes but her body hesitated, as she could only see Yuki up close towards her face and his hand on her forehead. The feeling on her forehead felt very light and peaceful.
"Yuki…kun." Shiina mumbled as she fell asleep.
"I did not know a cold can affect this bad." Yuki acknowledged.
"I guess it's not just a cold, cool guy." Yuuta corrected.
"Huh?"
"Sissy often has to go to the hospital for her daily check-ups and has a pretty bad immune system and health due to overwork and stress. I guess it acted pretty badly with a bare cold. She's already caught a fever. My theory is that she took the bath with cold water again in this cold atmosphere-"
"Ok." Yuki interrupted Yuuta.
"To the hospital for daily check-ups? Well her health really isn't the best." Yuki said so.
Yuki slowly settled his arms behind Shiina's head and her legs, picking up the sleeping beauty in his hands and carrying her.
"Whoa!" Yuuta's eyes shined, as he understood the assignment and went out to grab a blanket.
"She is unexpectedly very light, I wonder if she eats well." Yuki wondered.
A cloudy afternoon with curly cold breezes like echoes in the sky flow around in the beautiful city of Tokyo. The tiny yet beautiful and blissful snowflakes fall down everywhere as one or two get into Shiina's living room from the window, landing on Yuuta's nose, reacting to the chill on his nose, Yuuta instantly grabs it and eats it, then turns towards Yuki who is wearing an apron and cooking something at the kitchen counter. Yuuta went to his room as he got distracted.
Adorable sleepy noises come from under the blanket, as Shiina wakes up bed head and opens her eyes, she notices the ceiling. Shiina turns her head to the right as she sees Yuki standing in the kitchen and cooking. Her eyes widen as they twinkle as the same time, she tries to get up instantly yet fails and lies down again.
"Y-Yuki-kun?! What're you doing?!"
"Oh, it seems like you're finally awake." Yuki continues his cooking.
"You caught a cold so I decided to stay here and help you a bit, if that is what we say it. I'll get you something refreshing hot. Keep lying down there." Yuki suggested Shiina.
She looked towards the grocery bag which Yuki carried with him, it seems to be empty.
"Did he… use up his groceries in what he is making for me? Just like the first time he used up his cup noodles for me…" Shiina's eyes shined and twinkled as they also widened. Adorable thoughts rumbling through her mind.
"This man… is an angel…"
"And also so FRICIKING CUTE!!" Shiina exclaimed in her within self.
Excitement rumbled in her mind and emotions as she held both her hands together under the blanket to contain it. By now, Shiina's cold symptoms had increased in a short time that she had a headache and runny nose, which came with a combo of sore throat and fatigue.
Shiina coughed as she looks towards Yuki again.
"Thank you, Yuki-kun. I really appreciate you always being so kind towards me."
"Huh? What was that about? Kind?" Yuki thought.
"With your gentle personality with people, you must really have a lot of nice friends." Shiina said.
"Gentle personality…? People run away thinking I'm scary." These thoughts walk slowly...
"Friends… huh?" Into the mind of Yuki
"Ever since I was an understanding child, I only settled myself on a lifestyle which was lonely in front of others and never attempted to socialize. I do not understand what makes people think I feel lonely, does having a lack of humans and friends around you make you incompatible to live in this world?" He thought.
"I always seemed fine with being alone. It was never a point of concern or bother to me. As a child till now, I never felt the need of making friends or entertaining myself by things people amuse themselves with. Even when I tried to, I could never get the point of what is so great in feeling happy? I never felt it." He thought more.
"After giving it some thought, I finally knew that I could not feel emotions in the first place. Positive emotions, negative emotions, anything I can mention, I just, did not have feelings to begin with. That is why, I can't understand what is kindness, politeness, happiness, sadness, or what is wrong to say or right to do." He won't stop thinking...
"But not being able to understand the human society's way of things, I could only curse myself to live the entire of my life alone and spend it normally." Yuki spoke inside himself.
"Even from junior school till now, I always sat alone, ate alone and played alone. I never played actually, it was just standing or sitting down the shade of a tree watching and trying to understand why the other kids enjoy hanging out. It was more complex to me than any other subject." Yuki is telling himself the truth again and again in himself.
Moments of Flashbacks from Yuki's past show how he had always remained emotionless which caused his loneliness.
The bell of the school echoed in each part of the corridors, as the kids got up in excitement and quickly went to their friend's side, Yuk still away from them on the last bench, only sitting and staring at his notes. He had no reaction. Yuki Kazahana, the quiet and lonely of his class.
"Ah, is Kazahana-san sitting alone again today?" A boy noticed, as to which other boys and girls gossiped.
"Yeah, he always sits alone no matter where, it seems like he never had any friends either." The other boy replied.
"His eyes always seemed so dead to me, it's creepy!" A girl shivered and spoke.
"I tried approaching him once, but his replies were so normal and uninterested, I am damn sure he has a high attitude within him!" Another boy exclaimed.
"Yeah, that's probably the case, he is too pride with his own self he doesn't think us worthy of being his friends." Others agreed.
"He thinks too high of himself and ignores everyone."
"What a scum bag."
"Loner."
"Creep."
"Loser."
"Self-Centered."
"B*stard."
Yuki was always aware of the things going around him, but he never understood or felt any hate towards him, so the insults were only a sound to go within his ears and fade away the next moment.
Yuki's disorder… which is not being emotionless but is a cause of it, Yuki was aware of it. He soon stopped trying to understand human emotions and kept living his own life.
Yuki's disorder… it was…-
"Yuki-kun! Yuki-kun!" Shiina kept repeating his name loudly.
"Ah-" Yuki snapped out of his memories and came back to reality.
"Cough, cough" Shiina coughed but it seemed cute.
"Hang in there, it seems like I'm also done with the dish."
Yuki serves a bowl of Okayu Rice Porridge in to Shiina by keeping it on the floor next to her blanket and mattress which lied in the middle of the living room. Okayu Rice Porridge is mostly very effective during winter and when you are sick.
"Here," Yuki served Shiina a bowl of hot rice porridge.
"Ah, thank you." Shiina thanked Yuki while lying down, her hands were tucked in the blanket and very warm, so she resisted getting them out of the blanket and ending her comfort.
Yuki looked blankly towards Shiina, as she realized that she was unintentionally giving Yuki a clue to feed her by his own hands because she kept hers under the blanket and did not move.
"Uh-"
Yuki accidentally fed Shiina a bit of the rice porridge by his own hand.
Shiina instantly sat up and took the bowl of hot rice porridge as she ate it all by herself, asking for the seconds within the span of 1 minute.
"That was quick. I guess it shows that you like it."
"Hehe, I wonder who wouldn't like the cooking of your hands… Yuki-kun."
Yuki's eyes widened as he looked towards Shiina with a little bit of the surprised stare.
"W-Wait, d-did I just accidentally speak my thoughts?! Oh no!" Shiina did speak this in her thoughts though.
Shiina achoo-ed a sneeze.
"Shiina."
Yuki called her name out of the blue, which, of course, flustered Shiina.
"Y-Yes, Yuki-kun?"
Shiina replied in shyness.
Yuki looked in Shiina's eyes deeply as he filled her thoughts with overflowing emotions and nervousness, Shiina's eyes started to swirl again.
"W-W-What is it, Y-Yuki-kun?"
"About that friend thing, earlier,"
"Shiina,"
"You're the only friend I've ever made."
"Huh? R-Really? I-is that correct?" Shiina nervously replied to Yuki with her voice levels going ups and downs.
"I-I'm very glad, Yuki-kun."
She blushed, that's all.
"I don't even know what it feels like to have a friend, so I probably can't consider Shiina one, but acting works a lot for me I guess." Yuki had a reality check in his mind.
"I'm happy to be his first friend… even with no experience in friendship… he can still treat people with gentle kindness and keep a comfortable environment around him. Yuki-kun really is a great person." Shiina expressed her appreciation in her thoughts.
In the end, Shiina ate four bowls of the Rice Porridge Yuki made for her, and enjoyed each one equally. She felt better than before and was able to stand up.
"It's evening out there." Yuki noticed as he looked out of the balcony attached to the living room.
"Ah, you're right!" Shiina agreed.
"I'm sorry I overslept."
"No. It's fine, as long as it keeps your health better." Yuki turned back and looked towards Shiina. He only said straight forward things which were normal to him and had no feelings attached to it, never did, but to Shiina…
She took a gulp as she kept quiet and nodded her head slowly and cutely.
"I should get going now." Yuki realized.
"Yes, it's going to be pretty dark soon too. I will escort you till the entrance/exit gate of the building."
"Alright."
Yuki and Shiina both walked together till the lift, as they stepped in, the lift was all alone and lonely. Shiina pressed the ground floor button, as the lifts door closed and the light flickered for a bare moment. The lift was not starting.
"Uhm… Why aren't we moving down by now? Achoo." Shiina was in confusion as she also sneezed.
"Hm."
Shiina coughed more as she covered her face with her elbow. The lift started to move down but slowly and sloppily.
"I feel like something's wrong with the lift. It's scary. Cough-Cough."
"Yeah."
Yuki and Shiina both stood distanced from each other on the opposite sides of the lift's wall, parallel to each other. Soon enough, Shiina started to cough more and more and started getting heated up by the fever again as visual steam started to flow out of her head. She started to loose balance and control again.
"Hang in there,"
As Yuki started to walk towards Shiina and approach her, the lift suddenly stops in a quick moment and shakes hard which leads to Yuki and Shiina losing their balance as she falls against the wall, and he falls against her. Yuki gets up close to Shiina's face as she closes her eyes due to the impact.
Yuki's hand place itself against the wall above Shiina's head, and the other hand against the wall beside her waist, as he tries to control himself from the impact of the lift's quake. Yuki ends up leaning his body almost onto Shiina as he corners her. His hand hitting against the Lift's wall made a sound which made Shiina open her eyes for a bare moment, as she noticed Yuki's face from the closest view possible, right in front of her, just in that moment, the lights of the lift turned off and both of them did not move.
Yuki's dead cold eyes shined like a black twilight in Shiina's eyes, his face was just as princely and even the instant view of him for a moment was majestic. Realizing that Yuki's face is right in front of Shiina's, his hands right beside her head and waist, Shiina felt an undying lovely feeling which gave her butterflies in her stomach, her eyes started to twirl with pleased embarrassment and her cheeks lit bright with shyness. She felt hotness around her whole body as Shiina went out of her breath.
"Y-Yuki-kun… He's! He's almost right in front of me! I-I can't see anything, but I'm sure he is not moving from the position he is in! T-This feeling… It's… It's so weird yet enjoyable… His face… His face is right in front of mine… If he moves only a bit more forward, he might meet his lips with mi- No, no! What am I thinking!?" Shiina's thoughts rumbled with overflowing flustered emotions.
"B-But, his body is so close to me, he is so close to me… I, I could only see his face for a bare moment before the lift lights went out… I've never saw him so closely before… He looked so…"
"What is this unusual position? Did the lift really stop working all of a sudden?" Yuki thought in an instant, not giving a thought to any other thing.
"What is this? It feels unnecessarily hot all of a sudden."
"A-Ah, I-I don't really think it's the same case f-for me." Shiina said all hesitantly.
She is in fact, very hot in the temperature right now.
"I guess, we're stuck."
"A-Are we?"
"Who else then? I am stuck together with you."
Her eyes instantly widened as she glowed pinker in the dark. That's some awesome lighting system!
The lights flickered for a moment and were turned on again, as Shiina once again catches the view of Yuki's face from so near. She starts to pant nervously,
She definitely fainted again.
"He looked so…"
"So attractive…"
Shiina was so red with shyness that there was no difference between her and a fully bloomed red rose.