"Hmm…" Yoizumi, standing outside the Ubuyashiki headquarters' wall, suddenly remembered that he needed to inform Kagaya Ubuyashiki in advance and get his permission before going to the headquarters.
And wouldn't showing up so abruptly disturb Shinobu's work?
He should have sent a Kasugai Crow earlier.
Well, he'd just wait outside. Maybe Shinobu would finish and come out.
Yoizumi stood silently by the wall, unmoving, maintaining the same posture rigidly, staring blankly into the distance. Nearly an hour passed.
Inside the headquarters.
"Cough… You said Yoizumi is outside?" Kagaya Ubuyashiki, who hadn't recovered from a cold, sat up from his bed, his voice a little hoarse.
"Yes, the Kasugai Crow said he had been waiting outside for almost an hour, but the strange thing is that Snow Pillar has no intention of coming in," Amane Ubuyashiki said, gently stroking her husband's back. Although his health had improved a lot, once he got sick, he still recovered very slowly.
"No… intention of coming in… I understand." That meant he was waiting for someone. How could the understanding Kagaya Ubuyashiki not know?
"Amane, quickly invite Yoizumi in."
"Yes, Kagaya."
After a while, Yoizumi looked at Amane Ubuyashiki in front of him, "Okay."
Following Amane Ubuyashiki into the headquarters, Amane opened the door, stepped aside for Yoizumi to enter, and then closed the door. Only Yoizumi and Kagaya Ubuyashiki remained in the large room.
"Yoizumi, you're here." Kagaya Ubuyashiki's pale face flushed slightly from coughing. Yoizumi nodded and slowly walked to his side, his blue eyes fixed on his sickly appearance.
He was sick.
Kneeling on the cushion, he raised his hand and performed a rotation on Ubuyashiki. Kagaya didn't even have time to react. In an instant, the discomfort in his body from being sick disappeared.
"Thank you, Yoizumi." Kagaya Ubuyashiki looked at Yoizumi. After not seeing him for a few days, beneath his seemingly unchanged exterior, he could still sense a newfound sparkle in Yoizumi's eyes.
He had heard that Yoizumi had overcome the sun.
Had something happened during that process?
"Can you tell me what happened after you overcame the sun?" It wasn't an order, but an inquiry into Yoizumi's opinion. If Yoizumi was unwilling, Ubuyashiki wouldn't be angry about being refused.
"I remembered past memories." Yoizumi closed his eyes, hiding the pain in them. Memories from those who had passed away, no matter how beautiful, would always be accompanied by endless sorrow, because from then on, every time he remembered the joy of that time… he would know that they were no longer there.
His heart would ache with a dense, needle-like pain.
His hand, resting on his thigh, was clenched tightly into a fist. At the end of that happiness, on that snowy night, merely because of his whim, at the end of all lives lost, the man's rose-colored, shadowy eyes were filled with indifferent mockery towards life.
"Yoizumi."
A slender hand rested on Yoizumi's tightly clenched fist. Kagaya Ubuyashiki's light purple eyes, seemingly veiled in a mist, gazed at him gently. Under such a gaze, Yoizumi's restless heart gradually calmed down.
"Precisely because you remember these precious memories, you should cherish everything you have now even more."
"You will still have a broader world before you, and people or things more worthy of your attention."
"Right?"
Yoizumi's eyelashes trembled, and he gradually unclenched his fist, nodding.
Yes… The person he cherished… May she always smile happily.
Seeing Yoizumi's emotions stabilize, Kagaya Ubuyashiki smiled and said, "Yoizumi, you came to see Shinobu, didn't you? Should I send someone to tell her?"
"No need, I can wait. I don't want to disturb her."
"I see. Then stay here a little longer. I had the kitchen prepare some red bean soup for you. It's delicious."
Yoizumi looked at Kagaya Ubuyashiki's serious expression and felt as if he was being treated like a child.
"…"
Holding the warm red bean soup, Yoizumi took a bite of the mochi on top.
Sweet… Delicious… Kagaya Ubuyashiki sat silently beside him, smiling… "Are you really not going to stay a little longer?" Kagaya Ubuyashiki tried to persuade him.
"No, you should rest." After having dinner with Kagaya, Yoizumi got up, preparing to leave. He could tell that Ubuyashiki was tired.
"Alright." He said nothing more. Anyway, it wouldn't be long before they met again.
He raised his hand to catch a snowflake falling from the sky.
It was snowing.
He didn't mind it himself, but considering Shinobu, Yoizumi brought an umbrella when he went out. Opening the off-white oil-paper umbrella, he could already sense Shinobu's presence.
Walking to a room, Yoizumi didn't get too close. He stood with his umbrella, separated by a wall; Shinobu was inside.
She seemed very busy… If he could, he would also want to help Shinobu, but Yoizumi was truly helpless in this regard.
All he could do was accompany her.
It snowed all night.
Yoizumi also stood outside the room all night.
The accumulated snow at his feet was separated into a circular shape by the oil-paper umbrella.
Sensing the familiar footsteps getting closer, his indifferent face finally changed, his eyes fixed on the yet-to-be-opened door.
"Click."
Pushing open the door, Shinobu, who had been working for a long time, welcomed her rest time. Her tired and somewhat muddled brain, upon hearing a familiar call, was momentarily stunned, followed by a violent heartbeat.
"Shinobu."
The person she longed for appeared before her eyes. Her purple pupils instantly burst with immense joy. Yoizumi's eyes curved in a smile, and his gentle voice called out his lover's name once more.
"Shinobu."
Shinobu didn't respond. Lowering her head, she walked towards Yoizumi, moving faster and faster under Yoizumi's bewildered gaze, finally hugging him tightly.
Her face touched his cold clothes, but Shinobu didn't move away; instead, she pressed closer, burying herself deep in Yoizumi's embrace.
Yoizumi held the umbrella with one hand and hugged Shinobu back. Perhaps because they were pressed so close, Shinobu's voice was a little muffled.
"You're so cold. Have you been here long?"
"Mm."
"You idiot, why didn't you wait for me to go back?"
"Because I missed you."
Such simple words were enough to make Shinobu flustered. Blushing, she pulled away from Yoizumi's embrace and took his hand.
So cold… She glanced at the snow on the ground. How could Shinobu not understand that this idiot had been here all night? She gripped Yoizumi's hand tighter, as if wanting to transfer warmth to him, and also as if she was angry at his clumsiness.
"If I didn't come out, would you have stayed here all this time?"
Yoizumi didn't answer, just smiled at Shinobu.
"Would you stand here even when the sun comes out?"
Regarding this, Yoizumi wanted to give Shinobu a surprise. Looking at the sun about to rise in the distance, Yoizumi slowly raised his hand, wanting to be the first to touch that ray of light.
But in Shinobu's eyes, it had another meaning. Frowning, she reached out and pulled Yoizumi forcefully. Unaware for a moment, Yoizumi was indeed pulled back under the eaves of the house.
Shinobu… is so strong…
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