Please, snow prince, let me be your knight!

CHAPTER III (ENDING)

It was quite curious to see that despite being a japanese town, its neighborhood's cottages, which was far away from the commercial area, weren't built with the typical japanese architecture, those houses looked like something you'd see in Great Britain, but hey, as long as they fit the 'winter and fairytale' style(s) which the town clearly followed, then it wasn't that important: on the contrary, they gave a certain tone to the environment; he'd have admired that landscape more, if only he wasn't lost in his thoughts: the two managers didn't mention anything about Fubuki having an 'alter ego' of sorts which happened to be his brother, that apparently replaced him during stressful situations, other than during football matches. It was very hard for him to understand, but he could attempt to ask this 'Atsuya' some questions, still being careful to don't make him angry, they both shared a tough temper, it seemed. Finally, his poor wirst got released from that iron grip, and the child immediately took advantage of that opportunity to rub that sore spot, and take a look at the house in front of them. There was a big window which allowed them to see the kitchen island, on which were placed the ingredients needed to make fluffy chocolate muffins at home, the perfect snack. Two little brothers entered the room, dragging their respective colorful chairs, and then climbed onto them so that they could reach all the ingredients, and, undisturbed, they immediately set to work. The two divided the roles: the younger worked on the dough that would be poured into the appropriate molds, while the older one prepared the cream that they would put inside— that was a perfect cooking team! Heruse turned, confused, towards Atsuya, who kept a neutral gaze the whole time, with narrowed eyes.

"If you're wondering, I don't know them. One day I came here and the house got taken by them." Atsuya explained. "We made an agreement, though, I can hang out there," He pointed at the rooftop, except for a few small snowflakes, there was no snowdrift on the shingles, probably their dad had shoveled it away, or it had just fallen, leaning against the house's wall, was a long iron ladder. 'Come on', Atsuya gestured, and Heruse had no choice but to follow him, not even questioning if it was a good idea or not, rash as he was. In a matter of minutes, they were sitting on the rooftop, observing the landscape.

"So you're Fubuki's brother? But, he never mentioned you." He said, glancing at Atsuya, who sighed and looked down with an unhappy expression, this was clearly a touchy topic for him. "I know you think my brother is crazy now, don't you? That he's a freak." He looked at Perseus, frowning, and he immediately shook his hands in a negative motion: sure, that was an unusual situation but, he was used to it, because as confusing as it could be at times, his own brother was in a pretty similar situation.

"Of course not! If I thought you- I mean, him, was crazy, I'd have already left." Heruse attempted to reassure him, but Atsuya didn't seem to fully trust him, in fact he just replied with an 'hm...', before finally deciding that he had said enough, and that perhaps, was already growing tired of this guy. However, Heruse truly wanted to help however he could, because clearly, he needed it, no matter who he claimed to be, who he was supposed to be, both Fubuki brothers seemed to be in a lot of emotional pain. He put an hand on Atsuya's shoulder. "I know, you don't trust me. I can tell it from the way you behave, Atsuya. It might sound absurd but, I understand."

Atsuya looked at him, that statement had piqued his interest, and with his head, gestured for him to go on, if he even had anything else of relevance to say to him. "I too, have a big brother. His name is Afuro, he's everything I know about 'family', I was abandoned when I was just a baby and, he took me under his protective wing." His lips had curved into a nostalgic smile. "I was very distrustful of others, because he was everything I knew. I guess...It's the same for you, in a way?" Atsuya stopped to think for a second and, without even realizing, he found himself nodding.

"The truth is, I am Fubuki Atsuya, just...Not the actual one, so it seems." The reason he knew was because, everyone at school knew about his story, and they just thought that Fubuki was pretending to be his brother, and everytime he confronted them about why they acted as if he was his younger twin, Atsuya always got told by Fubuki's 'friends' that, it was because he had died years ago due to a snow avalanche. He had no idea if they said that out of spite, or because they were actually concerned about his brother's health, but that lead Atsuya to do some personal research about 'himself', and that's when he found out what fate had reserved to him.