The air is filled with an imperceptible chill, and the silence is as mournful as the wailing of ghosts, as if accusing this monotonous world where even the sound is carried away by the wind.

There are no lush green parks here, only spaces bleached white by the snow!

There are no echoes of life here, only the mournful cry of the cold wind!

Like a silent harbor, devoid of human presence, it has lost its warmth.

"Let me out! I don't belong here! I don't belong... I don't belong!"

Before the booming voice could reach the outside, it was dissolved into thin air like a mirage in a storm, unable to find a warm refuge. Even what I see in front of me is not a sight that exists in the real world, they are all remnants of memories in my heart.

The teaching building, decorated with tiled walls, is now nothing but a mess, more dilapidated than a crumbling ruin!

But... I don't care about the past, even if it is reduced to ruins, it doesn't concern me, all I need is a person!

A living person!!

"It's too desolate here, not a place where humans can live!"

As I kept repeating these words and complaining about the world's unfairness, a pleasant voice sounded in my ear.

"What's wrong, Juxi... Isn't this the world you wanted?"

"No, it's not. What I want is..."

"What is it?"

She completely stumped me with her question!

Yeah, what kind of world do I really want?

A world filled only with my own thoughts, where no one contradicts me, where no one... pays attention?

"Yes, but that's not what I need. What I need is..."

"Oh, the kind of world you need, what is it like?"

That voice keeps pressing me, always able to accurately ask for my true thoughts.

On a sunny afternoon, I lay on something very elastic, enjoying a rare nap in comfort.

Closing my eyes, not thinking about anything, just basking in the dazzling light, enjoying this tender touch that I haven't felt for a long time!

I remembered the first time my sister made breakfast for me, it was also the first time I knew she could cook.

I remembered when I was bullied by classmates, my sister rushed to my defense, without an ounce of fear on her face.

"Back off, don't bully my little brother!"

After Yukari sis unleashed her full force, she waved her small fists at those boys who were bullying me.

"If you take one more step forward, I'll knock you out!"

"I don't believe you, a girl like you..."

A courageous bald boy took a step forward but was instantly punched by Yukari sis, causing his nose to bleed and flow down his chin.

Seeing the boy's bleeding nose, I was on the verge of tears out of fear.

So I tugged at Yukari sis's clothes and told her.

"Sis, let's forget about it?"

"No, we can't!"

She refused my plea and instead sternly criticized me.

"It's Xi's cowardice that makes them see him as a target, so sis has to teach them a lesson!"

Saying this, Yukari sis showed no hint of regret.

Although we managed to scare away those boys later, we faced severe criticism from our parents.

"Tell me, why do you bully others!"

As soon as my mother returned home, she made Yukari stand with her hands behind her back and straightened in front of her.

After a series of preparations, my mother began to berate Yukari incessantly, but by then she had already formed a wild personality.

While admitting her mistakes, she often sighed at her mother's criticisms.

"It's those brats who don't know any better, they deserve to be beaten."

"You... you!"

She said it in a low voice, but her mother still heard it.

Seeing Yukari's nonchalant attitude even after admitting her mistakes, my mother was infuriated and prepared to strike her.

"Mother! Calm down, don't act impulsively... don't hit the child no matter how angry you are!"

If it weren't for my father stepping in to help, Yukari would have had a handprint on her fair face a long time ago!

The incident happened, but the real culprit was still too afraid to admit it.

It's not that I didn't want to stand up, but Yukari glanced at me several times, meaning, "Leave it all to me, sister!"

Knowing what she meant, I felt uncomfortable.

"Why do you take all the blame for me, why, sister?"

I gently lifted her jeans, revealing some bruises on her fair legs.

Those were from my mother's kicks, although my father blocked her, Yukari did not flee, but instead took those kicks head-on!

However, she endured the pain and pretended to smile, as if she didn't care.

"Hahaha, I bet that crooked-nose guy is now crying for his mommy... I'm just a little baby who still drinks milk!"

"Yukari..."

"Hehehe, this will teach them a lesson, and they won't dare to bully Xi again."

In the final moment, Yukari's smile suddenly became so bitter, it felt like our dependency on each other was just a dream, a dream that could slip away or vanish when I woke up!

As the light grew warmer, the room was filled with whiteness.

Until everything turned into nothingness...

"Are you going to disappear in front of me again, Yukari?"

Just as I was about to be engulfed by the white light, my little finger felt a soft but strong touch!

At that crucial moment, it pulled me back to the presence of Yukari from that time.

When I opened my eyes once again and looked through the entire world, I realized...

I had returned to this room, and the one sitting on the bed was still the young Yukari, with her pants legs rolled up, her sweaty cheeks indicating that she was using her strong heart to maintain her position in her younger brother's eyes.

At that moment, I really wanted to tell her not to endure anymore.

But I didn't, even though Yukari's mouth was already skewed from pain, I still didn't want to expose her.

"Yukari!"

"Hmm?"

Facing her surprise, I simply smiled and then turned around, walking out of the room to fetch some hemostatic and healing medicine for her.

"Don't make such a big fuss, sister... There's nothing wrong, really. Hehe."

"No, I must see Yukari sister drink the medicine!"

"...Uh."

"Yukari sister is the strongest and most reliable, right? So she definitely isn't afraid of the bitter taste of medicine."

"Well... of course, hehehe!"

Yukari sister, pretending to be calm, was clearly resisting my care. She almost finished the slightly bitter healing medicine in one gulp.

Without any pause, she handed the cup back to me with a gulp.

She stuck out her tongue to lick off the last drop of medicine at the corner of her mouth, smiling with a hint of pain.

"See, sister isn't afraid of pain at all."

"Yeah, sister is amazing!"

I couldn't help but praise Yukari sister. Although this medicine meant nothing to me now, for us when we were young, it was an insurmountable hurdle!

"Hey, Xi!"

"What?"

"I'm thinking, wouldn't it be nice if we could always be like this?"

"Yeah, it would."

Amidst her incomprehensible words, I lowered my head and smiled helplessly, feeling a deep understanding. It was a bitter smile!

Yukari sister pulled her legs back into the blanket, her cheeks starting to blush.

Then, in a strange manner, she extended her right hand to me and muttered quietly with her head turned.

"Hurry up and extend your hand!"

"A... What?"

Before I could finish speaking, she forcefully pried my tightly clenched pinky finger apart with her own and hooked her pinky finger with mine.

"We made a promise to always stay like this!"

"...Um, okay."

Although I was a little surprised, Yukari sister seemed quite excited for me to agree, so I fulfilled her wish.

"Hey... What are you saying... I mean, really?!"

Yukari sister seemed somewhat incredulous at my response.

Actually, thinking about it now, it was not entirely unreasonable. Young me was often good at avoiding the truth, so it must have been surprising for her when I occasionally agreed, right?

"I'm serious. I really want to walk together with Yukari sister, even if it takes a long time to catch up to your pace..."

At that moment, I poured out all the grievances I had kept in my heart for years to Yukari sister, as if I was being intentionally spoiled.

Summoning my courage, I embraced Yukari sister's delicate body in my arms and shouted loudly.

"But I want to! I want to be with Yukari sister, I want us to become a real couple!!"

In that instant, Yukari sister's heart skipped a beat, and I could feel it clearly.

In her heart, she said to me - finally, it's all been said.

"Then it's settled. Whoever breaks the promise has to jump off the roof!"

"Uh, is it that serious?"

It was such a childish promise, I was really surprised because even though Yukari sister was a bit childish back then, jumping off the roof was too scary!

Saying things like jumping off the roof if you lie, it was clearly impossible to do, right?

When I hesitated and faltered for a moment, and then opened my eyes again, what appeared in front of me was...

"What are you doing? You were already asleep."

Sitting quietly by the bedside, supporting her chin with both hands, Yukari was admiring her adorable sleeping face from when she was a child. I finally let out a sigh of relief.

Although I always complained about it, I couldn't help but constantly think about it.

No matter how we grow up, no matter what may happen in our future, we will always, always be together, forever!

"Huh?"

Yukari's bare foot unexpectedly peeked out from under the blanket.

Really, she can't even properly cover herself with the blanket while sleeping. She's definitely going to catch a cold like this!

After I covered Yukari with the blanket, I was about to leave, but a strong force pulled me back.

"Sigh."

"What are you doing, Yukari?"

Yukari mumbled my nickname in her sleep, and with seemingly delicate hands, she firmly held onto my sleeve.

Although she was sleeping like a log, she was still talking in her sleep.

"Can... can you stay here with me for a little while?"

"Well, it's up to you."

I could only fix the wrinkles on the white shirt that Yukari had pulled, and then sat on the small stool in front of her bed, gazing at her innocent sleeping face.

Even her features had become much smaller compared to when she was growing up. She really was destined to be a stunning beauty that would capture everyone's attention in the future!

Yes, all of these are the facts that have happened.

The memories of our childhood are vividly etched in my mind, finally buried in the dust of the past.