Grabbing Jyushimatsu's soft, mitten covered hand once they were outside, Ichimatsu huffed, a puff of "smoke" escaping his mouth because of the cold.

"Here's your backpack," Ichimatsu muttered, helping his brother get it on his back.

Squirming around, Jyushimatsu got one arm around one of the straps with great difficulty, but he managed. Jyushimatsu always managed.

"Be careful..." Karamatsu said, standing in the doorway of his house, his face willed with worry as he held a coffee mug in his hand. "Don't get hurt, Ichimatsu."

"Shouldn't you be saying that to Jyushimatsu?" Ichimatsu spat, slightly tightening his grip on his little brother's hand. "I'm fine, Karamatsu..."

"Not you're not," Karamatsu said with an aggravated sigh. "but I know there's nothing I can do to help you, so you might as well keep convincing yourself that..."

"Keep your thoughts to yourself, painful," Ichimatsu spat, turning around as Jyushimatsu yanked on his hand. Stumbling forward a bit in the thinly, snow covered sidewalk, Ichimatsu began to walk with his brother to school.

Warmth filled his cold, broken heart as Ichimatsu walked down the street with his brother for just a few minutes.

With nothing but cozy, small homes, snow covered pines, and a few stray cats climbing along the cute wooden or iron fences of the homes, Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu smiled as they walked together. Ichimatsu was cherishing each and every moment he spent with his brother, for he knew, someday, Jyushimatsu would change. And though he prayed he wouldn't, Ichimatsu knew it was bound to happen.

"Nii-san! Hurry up!" Jyushimatsu said, bouncing ahead cheerily, giggling as he bent down and scooped a pile of snow out of the grass.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Ichimatsu said with a slight smile, his hands in his coat pockets.

Snow in arms, Jyushimatsu threw it all up in the air, hoping to make it start snowing again. Sadly, that's not how things worked, and he knew that. Of course, it was still fun, so he did it again, and again, and again as he waited for Ichimatsu to catch up.

Jyushimatsu, still running ahead, suddenly found a long stretch of sidewalk that wasn't covered in snow, yet it looked wet. Curiously, he bent down, removing one of his mittens, poking the sidewalk. He was squealing with joy when he found that his fingers could slip across it without hurting.

"It's ice!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed jumping up and down, stepping forward. He immediately began to slip and slide around (just a tiny bit) once his cute, little boots hit the ice.

"Be careful!" Ichimatsu rasped loudly, building up enough energy to catch up with his brother. But before he knew it, he too was slipping on the ice.

Reaching out his arms, Ichimatsu wrapped them around Jyushimatsu, pulling him into a hug before they both fell down backwards.

Bursting out into laughter, Jyushimatsu turned around and hugged Ichimatsu (who was laying flat on the ground) back.

"Ow..." Ichimatsu groaned a bit, rubbing his head as he stumbled back to his feet. But it didn't take long for him to begin smiling again. There was nothing better to him than watching Jyushimatsu be happy, having a great childhood.

"He doesn't deserve to ever be sad," Ichimatsu thought, walking on, taking Jyushimatsu's hand in his as they walked along the slick sidewalk. Squeezing it a little, Ichimatsu looked down at Jyushimatsu. "He's too precious."

"Nii-saaaaaan how come you're not going to school today?" Jyushimatsu asked randomly as they both began to approach Jyushimatsu's school.

"I haven't been going for awhile..." Ichimatsu mumbled, trying to get a certain memory of being bullied out of his mind. "But don't worry about me, okay? You be a good boy and do your school. Be better than me."

Ichimatsu knelt down to Jyushimatsu's level and grabbed him by his shoulders, staring into his eyes.

"But how can I be better than you when you're so amazing?" Jyushimatsu asked innocently, tilting his head a bit.

"I'm not amazing, Jyushimatsu," Ichimatsu thought, wanting to laugh in spite of himself. "You're just the reason I'm still alive. And I want to keep that reason happy for their entire life. You gave me a happiness that I will never be able to repay."

"Jyushimatsu! Jyushimatsu!" a little girl with brown hair tied in a cute braid called, laughing as she waved her arms in the air. "Let's go, Jyushimatsu!"

"That's my new friend!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed, but before he took off running, he wrapped his small arms around his brother. "I love you, Ichimatsu nii-san!"

Ichimatsu gently hugged his brother back, smiling as he watched him take off just moments later.

"I love you too, Jyushimatsu," Ichimatsu breathed quietly before turning around to walk back home all alone.

He hadn't even realized how bad his head was making him feel up until Jyushimatsu had left.