The Dream Shifter

Chapter 97

The night slowly passed on for the Hayashi's. Family time, a term that had been completely foreign to them for many years, was renewed that night for the four siblings. Yuki had given enough entertainment for Jun and Ken that they had both fallen asleep in the living room on the couch. It had been a long time since either of them had seen them so exhausted before.

Momoko and Yuki looked at each other quietly seeing their younger brothers sleeping very peacefully together. It was almost a shame that they were going to need to be moved. Yuki bent over to pick up Jun. Jun was still asleep, but he suddenly opened his mouth a little. "Thank you, Big Brother…" he said softly in a voice that Yuki had not heard for so long. It made him pause for a moment looking over at Momoko, who had heard him too. All they could do was stared at each other in shock to have heard Jun speak, even in his sleep.

Yuki followed behind Momoko as they carried the two children up the stairs to their room. Once they were in their beds sleeping away the door closed behind them leaving them out in the hallway. She stared over at Yuki still trying to figure him out through the haze of her own emotions. The quiet moment between them came to an end with Yuki walking away. Not ready to let him go, Momoko reached out grabbing his wrist to get his attention. He looked back at her with the same face he had all night that made her pause in her resolve a second. "…Yuki…what's this all about?"

"What's wrong?"

"The way you're acting tonight… Why are you doing this?"

The expression on his face did not change as he stared at her. "I don't know what you're talking about, Momoko." He pulled away from her loose grip moving towards his room.

"Why are you acting the way you used to when mom and dad were still alive?!" she shouted the short distance to Yuki. Her eyes were wrenched tightly shut in pain snapping off the tears in her eyes. "It's too cruel to do to them, Yuki! You really hate us so much that you'd do something so cruel to your little brother!"

Hearing her words made him stop immediately in his step, but with his back towards her still. His arm and hand were shaking lightly at his side. "I thought that it would be better on them to remember their brother as he was and not as he is…"

"Yuki?! What are you talking about?" Momoko ran after him before he could reach his door. She stopped him just at the door wrapping her arms around him holding him close to her.

Yuki held his head low having nearly forgotten what it was like to be so close to his sister and feel her comforting warmth. "…Momoko…I…"

"Yuki…I don't know what's wrong, but know this. You'll always be their big brother no matter how you change or who you are. Even now with your temper you still care for them. You don't have to go back to be close to them. Accept who you are now and don't worry about how things were before." She took a pause to think on her words and hope that she was reaching him in whatever he was going through. "I'll admit I missed the Yuki I used to know, but seeing you tonight made my miss the real you. It's no fun teasing you like this," she said hoping to get a smile out of him. "How you are now isn't wrong, never think that Yuki. Please don't regret it."

"…But can you ever be forgiven…by your family…" said Yuki softly. His words broke Momoko's hold on him allowing him to slip through her fingers and enter his room. The door closed behind him as she was left to stare unable to respond to his question.

Momoko rested her hands against the door leaning in not trying to listen, but understand what was going through his mind. It had been the first time that she had ever heard him speak as though he was blaming himself. 'Yuki…what's wrong? None of it was your fault…what happened back then wasn't…'

Yuki dropped himself on his bed laying on his back staring up at the ceiling. He reached out with his hand towards the ceiling feeling like he was able to take hold. It was beyond him, but watching helped to bring his thoughts to focus. The innocent expression on his face had all been washed away. 'How was that…mother?'

Next to him faintly appeared a ghostly image of his mother kneeling at his bed placing a comforting hand on his forehead. He did not acknowledge her presence while accepting it at the same time. "You've made me so happy, my son…"

'…But I…' Flashes of life with Momoko and his brothers went through his mind. His cold attitude to them made him flinch not willing to accept the words. '…I wasn't able to keep my promise…I wasn't able to do as you asked of me…mother…I failed you…' The darkened room faded away from him as he closed his eyes.

A black veil ran over him passing things away from him. Peace could be granted for a moment. However, it did not last for long as a voice began to pierce through the darkness. He was being called. It was slow in waking him, but eventually he was not able to keep his eyes shut any longer. Yuki woke up in his bed with the sound of his sister's voice pleading to him to wake up. He was still sluggish and groggy from the afternoon nap. "What's wrong, Momo?"

"Yuki! You need to wake up now!" screamed Momoko in a shaky voice that could not keep herself from falling apart. The tears in her words punctuated her voice clearing the fog in Yuki's head quickly. Kneeling at his bed was Momoko, age eighteen, in her high school uniform.

Seeing the way his sister looked immediately pulled him out of his bed. "What happened?" He grabbed her shoulders lifting her up quite easily to her feet wanting some answers quickly. The way that she was reacting placed a deep foreboding in him. He forgot everything else.

"It's…It's…Oh! Yuki!" Momoko clung to him with her full weight unable to speak what she needed. They fell backwards to the floor with her burying her face in his chest. She cried ceaselessly for what seemed like hours. Yuki could do nothing, but feel that she needed the time. He had just held on to her.

Once it had seemed that Momoko was recovering from her state Yuki pressed the issue again. He pulled her away from him so that he could look at her face. His eyes stared down in her hoping to give her the strength she needed. "What's wrong, Momo? I need to know."

Unfortunately, the moment that he asked she burst back into tears uncontrollably trying to bury herself once more. He shook her roughly trying to her snapped her out of it. "Y-Yuki…I-I…can't…" It had been difficult enough for her to say those words to him between the tears.

"Please! Momo, you're scaring me! Tell me!" Yuki braced both of his hands up against her head forcing her to look at him to see his eyes. She tried to turn away, but he could not let her look away from him. He was going to have an answer.

Momoko gave a slow uncertain nod to him finally agreeing. She held back some of her tears building up her courage to speak. It was slow to work towards, but Momoko was gaining strength. "Yuki…it's…it's…mom… " Just saying that had been challenge enough for Momoko forcing her to pause as she heard the words herself repeated once more. It had nearly collapsed any resolve that she had if Yuki had not been there. She nodded to him once more seeing that she had to keep going. "They say she collapsed at work…and she's…at the hospital! Yuki! I-I…"

Yuki let his sister go and wrapped his arms around her allowing her the comfort that she was looking for. He did not know how to react at that moment. All he could do was be stunned by the words. Eventually, the emotions caught up to him and they stayed together. Time moved on around them passing the afternoon into the evening.

"I think we should go…" Yuki finally said. The sun was no longer shining in through his window and the house had been very quiet, even with his brothers being home.

She pulled away looking up at him a little confused at the moment. "Eh?"

"The hospital. We need to see her…"

"…right…" Momoko stood up wiping her eyes clear of the tears trying to pull herself together. Yuki joined her, working on collecting himself as well. She looked over to him realizing something. "We should tell Jun and Ken."

He looked down at the floor for a moment thinking to himself. Once he had turned back to her he spoke, "How bad is it?"

"I don't know, I feared the worst and couldn't listen to the rest the doctor said."

Yuki braced her with a hand on her shoulder seeing that she was starting to fall apart once more. "Alright then, let's go to the hospital ourselves and find out. They'll be fine for a couple hours."

"But how will we tell them, Yuki?!"

An answer for her was not something that he could find. It was difficult to keep from being buried under the words himself. "…we'll figure it out when it comes to it…she might just be a little sick…"

"But we've already lost dad! I couldn't bear it to lose mom, too!"

"…I know…" It was so unusual for him. Momoko was older than him and yet it seemed like he was being the big brother for her. Yet at the same time it seemed completely natural for him even with the distance that had been starting to grow between them in the last few years. He was not so cold to turn her away and act like he would at school. "Let's go and see her. I bet she's waiting to see you!"

"Yeah…" Momoko quietly went to her room collecting her bag and the house keys. She joined Yuki downstairs. A long stare back at the stairs towards her brothers gave her a worried pause. The warmth of Yuki's hand was enough to steady her as she turned towards the door. "…thank you, Yuki…"