Work Text:
Today had been one of the toughest day ever since I entered Keyakizaka, school activities are doubled than yesterday's, even. I sighed as I slammed my head and heaved an exhausted sigh, constantly landing my eyes on an unwritten paper laying nonchalantly on top of my desk.
I can't see how anyone could cope with this much.
Alright. I gotta stop slacking. Without hesitating even further, I grabbed my nearest pen, where my eyes caught sight of the first book I saw: English. Yeah, right. English essay..... about family. I massaged my temples; right now I can't think up of any word to explain, or rather, to write. My mind wasn't functioning at this very time and the fact that it's nighttime didn't help even one bit.
Should I write about my mom, who's supportive enough to let me join idol industry, or my four older brothers who did nothing but bug the heck out of me the whole day? I sigh, putting down my pen, resting my head on my desk.
All of a sudden, an image shadowed upon me.
Long, straight hair, just like the colors of a raven's feathers. Eyes as dark as the night, and shines much like the stars it appears. A precious, delicate face, whereby anyone would describe, beautiful.
Kobayashi Yui.
Kobayashi Yui is family.
I took a quick glance at the sleeping girl comfortably napping behind me, on my bed, before returning my eyes on my paper. I grabbed the pen I had been playing with for hours already and started scribbling my oh-so-lovely essay's title.
" Family."
I silently squealed like a little kid. I've got a title! I underlined it freehandedly, not caring for a use of the ruler. I mapped out the start in my head; I little bit messy, but somehow I have to get this done.
"Family. What is family? Some would say it's about two people, who have a blood relationship with one another, while some suggests that it's about two individuals with their child that forms this. I suppose that could be true, that it is a fact. But in my opinion, however, family doesn't have to be about blood relationships and science genetics, nor two individuals with their offspring. For me, families could be formed when two people share an intimate relationship with one another, how they care about each other. Whether they're just friends or a girl you met at some point in your life, in my book, we're a family."
"It doesn't matter if my family's big or small, it only matters whether it is happy and joyous or broken and sad. The usual members of a family would probably be a mother and a father with their sons and daughters. In some families, close friends take up their roles and support each other like family instead-- in example, Keyakizaka."
I paused for a while. Keyakizaka is a small family, much like my family who only has a mother and daughter with her four brothers. I put down my pen and took another as a replacement, because the previous one was running low on ink, before continuing.
" Today, I want to talk about a very special family member. She is neither my mom or dad, nor any blood- related siblings, and definitely not one of my four older brothers. She and I had not been put together since the very start of our lives, but we are here now. I met her somewhere around Keyakizaka's audition, and seeing her got me thinking that probably a lonely person like her wouldn't get along with me, someone who's a cheerful kid that contrasted our personalities smoothly. But instead, our fates have entwined and became a duo. She would tag along wherever I go, or sometimes would go off on her own but return to me in the end, and if sometimes it bugs me about her mysterious personality, I would just be acting, not like the truth I held. She is perfect, beautiful, and a master at everything. Her voice, her passion, the way she sings -- almost as if you were in front of an angel. Meanwhile, me, who was just a passerby who once sworn that I would be a perfect senior for her since the first day of our meeting. The past year with having her as family, everything was better than ever before, I didn't want to go back if I had the chance; I had everything I've ever wanted, I've needed, with her here. Though both of us overshadow each other's abilities, and I don't feel so right about it. Especially when at times she treats me as if I'm the younger between us -- I'm not her kid sister, perhaps we're a year apart but still... She willed herself to throw away everything for me, and I did the same; but when I was ever needed, when she clearly did not need me?"
I sighed, turning my head to be greeted by a sleeping beauty. She cuddled herself in my blanket, the pillow I have given her still intact, close to her body. With that, I continued my writing.
"When my eyes first found her, she was in a room, all alone. And when I finally found her, from that very moment on, we were friends. Then, when I assume, when the both of us were expected to be a duo, we were family. And always will be. She was the one I wanted to protect, I don't know why. It was set in me, somehow, that if she's in a trouble, then I am in trouble. But that kind of came the other way around. She became the one who always got me out of trouble, and not me. Turning back, it's a shame to myself; as someone who most probably the one she needs during her time of help, but she insisted it. I didn't like the fact but still, I had to accept it."
I started to read my unfinished work, and damn, it's absolute garbage. I shrugged. As long as I've got something to hand in, I guess.
"But I'm glad our duo's still intact until today, after even a year together. I'd like to think that it could represent our bond as family, even if maybe she doesn't think of me that way. She calls me her sister, though she knows clearly that I'm no more than a mere girl who found her on the chilly, little room on a day that would never be forgotten. The girl who saw how terrible things would turn out from time to time, while the rest might hit on someone fragile like her. The girl who only wanted to protect her for reasons herself couldn't understand. And I'll keep protecting her quietly, I'll be her quiet knight. I will look out for her, even if she thinks only she could help me. I will sneak through the shadows until the day she would leave my side for somebody else."
I sighed, giving my essay a read. Utmost terror, isn't it? I smiled. Until the day she leaves my side for somebody else, huh? Why would I even write such a thing? Was that my real goal all along?
I stood up and brought the chair to my bedside, revealing a girl dressed in the color of white, face hidden in the blanket of the colour of fate. Without needing to look at her face, I knew. I knew she was having a peaceful dream, this night of many other nights.
I remember the first few nights after I met her, it was countless nightmares, nevertheless. Her face was horrid whether awake or asleep, and sometimes, she refused to close her eyes due to being afraid. She was nervous and agitated, but somehow....
...But somehow...
...she managed to carry my burden and for my indecisive self.
I ran over and brought my pen and book.
"Can I say I have my own theories on my own protectiveness, that I don't show? Or am I just too stubborn - maybe others would know. Maybe I just don't. Even if she's anywhere else, we'll be a family, and we always will be. I'll keep it this way, because I want it this way.
And so, this was my essay about family. Once again, I'm happy that I was, and still am, glad to have met this girl. This girl who gave me so much, that the only way I might able to repay her is to watch over for her from afar. This girl... who is my partner."
'And perhaps even more.' I thought to myself, dropping my pen. My essay was garbage, I didn't even have to read it. I just wrote out what my mind told me to, I didn't try to care about the grammar.
Once again, I looked at her, still sleeping. I sighed once more, smirking.
"Maybe this homework made me realize my own heart, that had just wanted to protect you all along."
"Maybe I really did have a reason to protect you myself." I closed my book, putting my hands on the railing.
"Maybe, maybe I just...
..love you."
I found it hard to breathe at some point, as I whispered the sentences to myself.
"Maybe I love you even more... even more than just as your partner. Maybe I love you more than just a Keyakizaka member. Maybe that's why.. that's why I didn't want to let you go. Maybe that's why I felt so disturbed when the other members are so close to you. Maybe..."
I felt damp in my eyes, but I didn't exactly cry. Who knew that the originally-idiot senior Imaizumi Yui had it in her. Who knew that I was that overly dramatic of a person.
Who knew that I would fall in love with my partner.
Just then, I saw movement in the sheets, and the figure pulled down her own blanket, smiling.
"I love you too.", she whispered.