I want to know more about your family but... Li… Liriel? Can I just keep calling you Hoshiyuki until I'm comfortable with your real name?
Hoshiyuki smiled softly and nodded, drifting backward. With a graceful wave of his hand, the garden returned to its ordinary state—the blooming flowers folded away, colors dimmed, and petals settled back into stillness.
"Well… your sister is coming out. I'll leave for now. See you later."
He began to fade, but Shiharu called out immediately.
"You don't have to go! I... I mean you can stay. She won't see you anyway, so… stay."
Before Hoshiyuki could reply, Reika's voice rang from the house.
"Brotherrrr! Where are you?"
She stepped outside, spotted him, and rushed over with a bright smile. Her eyes immediately landed on the fluffy white cat in his arms.
"Brother, were you talking to someone just now?" She glanced around curiously.
"No. I wasn't speaking to anyone," Shiharu answered quickly.
"I thought I heard your voice." Rei shrugged, then leaned in to bury her face in the cat's soft Persian fur. "When did you get a cat? She's so fluffy…"
Shiharu and Hoshiyuki exchanged a silent glance.
"I… found her somewhere and brought her back with me," he said, hoping she wouldn't press further.
"Can I name her?"
"Go ahead." Shiharu paused. "By the way, is there a reason you're looking for me?"
"Oh yes! I almost forgot." Rei straightened up, still cradling the cat. "Brother, it's time for evening dinner."
"It isn't even late yet," Shiharu replied blankly. Coming from his strict, punishing household, he could barely remember the last time anyone had called him for a proper meal. More often he had been starved, locked away, or beaten simply because his parents hadn't made enough money that day.
Rei laughed quietly, still playing with the cat's ears.
"This is just a light refreshment before the main dinner. Come along whenever you're ready—I'll keep yours warm in your room." She grinned mischievously.
"Anyway, she's mine now. Let me steal her for today…"
"Wait—hey—"
"Let her take the cat," Hoshiyuki interrupted gently.
Shiharu sighed in defeat and watched Rei's excited figure retreat back into the house, the white cat purring contentedly in her arms.
"Shiharu?"
"Hm?"
"Do you like your new family?"
"We're not family yet."
Hoshiyuki went quiet, studying him with a long, thoughtful look.
"I don't like them," Shiharu muttered, leaning back against the garden stones. Hoshiyuki's floating form hovered above him, curious.
"I love them."
A light, genuine smile curved Hoshiyuki's lips.
"I love your new personality," he said softly.
"You don't go around begging for attention anymore, or trying so hard to please everyone. It's a good change. Humans are such mysteries… I think the scariest part of growing up is realizing how many people you slowly lose. Not always because of fights, but simply because life moves on, and before you know it, they become nothing more than memories of someone who used to be there all the time."
He drifted closer.
"If you're trying to win someone's love and it's not working… that's sign enough. Those people aren't for you. Just because it's taking time doesn't mean it's not happening. You're not the problem. Whatever is truly yours will find its way to you. Most of the things you worry about will probably never happen anyway. So you should never let your loneliness drive you back to toxic people. In the end, they'll judge you regardless."
Hoshiyuki reached out to place a flower in Shiharu's hair, but when Shiharu looked up, his eyes were glistening with unshed tears—tears that had waited years to fall. Someone had finally said what he had always needed to hear.
Hoshiyuki panicked.
"Wha— What? I'm… I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry"
In a desperate attempt to cheer him, he gently placed the flower on Shiharu's head, then waved his hands in elegant gestures. Golden stars dripped sparkling light around them while delicate butterflies danced in shimmering spirals, surrounding Shiharu in a beautiful, living halo.
"Don't ruin your beautiful face for people who aren't worth it. I'm so sorry… I thought you needed to hear it, but maybe I shouldn't have said anything."
He sounded genuinely distressed.
Shiharu wiped his eyes and let out a soft laugh. Looking at Hoshiyuki's pouting, worried face—reminding him so much of little Yuki—he laughed even harder.
"I'm okay!" he said, smiling wide and bright.
Hoshiyuki sighed in relief.
"Can I try touching you?"
Hoshiyuki nodded and raised his hand. Shiharu did the same. Their palms moved slowly toward each other… until Shiharu's fingers passed straight through Hoshiyuki's ghostly form. A single butterfly landed delicately on the tip of Shiharu's nose.
"Let's do this every day, okay?" Shiharu said.
"Is that your indirect way of saying we should see each other every day?"
Both of them burst into laughter—light, genuine, and free. The red strings of fate flickered faintly around their fingers before fading away unnoticed. In that moment, nothing else mattered. They were simply two souls who felt safe and ecstatic in each other's presence, laughing away every misfortune the past had ever thrown at them or so they thought.