Chapter Text
Natsumi thinks Yuusuke is unfairly cute. His smile is bright, still, if a little manic. But so be it. He’s suffered enough to be justified in his tight faces and tighter movements.
He’s warm, too. Comforting, and she isn’t used to this. To someone she can trust. Chinatsu died a year ago, after all, and it feels like both yesterday and a hundred years ago.
She reaches for his hand as they take a short break to watch an old movie.
(How long has it been since she’s been able to rest like this?)
He jumps, pushing her back. She’s too shocked to fight it.
“Yuusuke?” She asks. Yuusuke’s eyes are wide, but then he blinks.
“Oh,” he says. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m… something it still feels like I’m back there.”
Natsumi shakes her head, going back over, an holding out her own hand.
“No, it’s fine,” she says. “I know how you feel. If it… I would help you leave.”
Yuusuke just shakes his head, taking her hand and pulling her close. Natsumi snuggles against him.
“No,” he says. “Forget it. Everything I want is here.”
Natsumi nods, but she still worries. Yuusuke’s so strong, but he’s hurt.
“Are you sure?” She asks, “you’re so quiet about your past. I don’t want you here, just for me. You barely know me.”
Yuusuke just smiles.
“I don’t regret a thing,” he says. “Except…”
Natsumi tenses.
“Except what?” She asks, and Yuusuke’s face falls in an instant. His eyes close, and he looks… broken. He is not supposed to be broken. He is supposed to be bright, and sure.
She puts her hand on his heart.
“My sister died,” Yuusuke says. “Because I lost. Nothing will ever change that.”
And Natsumi…
Hikari Natsumi does not know how to fix him.