Just Look into It

4. Impossible Tale

"Yuu!" Her voice echoed in the small house, without a doubt reaching the ears of the stubborn eight year old. The weekend was upon them, and once again the small boy had taken to hiding with his sister's glasses.

"Yuu! We need to get going!" she exclaimed, looking under his bed. "Do you want to deal with Ranka crying about us being late?"

"Never!" Yuu cheered, darting out of his closet and into the hall. The siblings raced through the house, narrowly avoiding the furniture.

Yuu kept out of his sister grasp due to his boundless energy and fast feet. Ryo kept up with him thanks to her quick reflexes and large strides.

They stood on opposite sides of the table, both panting. Yuu held tightly onto the hardcase that held the clear frames his sister needed. With a sly grin, Ryo quickly jumped onto the tabletop, slowly approaching the boy.

"No!" he cheered, trying to run again. Her arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him from the ground.

"Yes!" she laughed. "Now, I'm going to take my glasses and you are going to fix that mess you call hair."

Ryo set him on the ground, expecting him to hand over the case and attempt his hair. She quickly grew concerned when he stood still. Quickly, she spun him around and knelt down.

"What's wrong?" Her voice was quiet, but he heard her.

He looked away, but spoke anyways. "I just want to spend the day with you..."

"But don't you want to spend time with Ranka and Haruhi as well?"

"Yeah, but I hardly ever see you anymore..."

Ryo sighed, and placed a hand on his head. "Well, let's change that. Sound good?"

He slowly nodded, hid lips tugging up into a smile. The case was handed over and he scampered into the bathroom to wet his hair down. As the sound of running water escaped the room, Ryo stood with a small sigh.

She dug out her phone and quickly dialed their house phone. "Hello, yeah it's Ryo."

"Ryo! Are you guys on your way? Everything okay?"

"Actually, we won't be over today." She rubbed the back of her neck as she shot a glance towards the hall. "Yuu told me that he has felt like I'm hardly around, so I think todat should just be the two of us."

"Oh, don't worry about it then! Have fun you to, okay? Bye dear." The call ended with a short click as Ryo put her phone away.

With a sigh, she ran a hand over her face before pulling out her glasses. Once the frames were firmly on her face, she moved back towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Yuu didn't take long, darting out with wet hair only to climb on the countertop.

"So, now that it's just the two of us, any idea of what you want to do?"

As the young boy thought, he snatched a piece of toast from his sister, the two not caring much for fancy meals. Ryo tossed him a jar of chocolate spread, which he caught with ease.

"Can we laze around and watch movies all day?" he finally asked, teeth brown.

She laughed. "Sure, but first go brush your teeth!"

"Aw," he whined. As he walked away, Ryo wiped his crumbs from the counter and began setting up the living room. She piled pillows on and around the sofa, taking care to select only the softest blankets from their stash.

But then she saw the midnight blue blanket. It was more like a comforter in size, and was made of a soft and warm furr. All fake of course, but she could remember begging to use the blanket. With a sad smile, she pulled it out of its hiding spot.

Yuu froze when he saw it.

"Ryo... is that?"

"It is. C'mere," she beckoned, pulling him down next to her. After draping the blanket over their laps, she busied herself with the remote.

"Hey... When are we going to see mom again?" His voice was quiet and unsure. For the first time in what seemed like forever, Ryo was reminded that Yuu was still a young child.

"Soon. We'll go visit her again really soon, okay?" she replied, ruffling his hair. "Now, what movie do we start with?"

As she handed the remote over, her eyes locked onto his happy face. There was one thing Ryo wish would have never happened to Yuu. He didn't deserve to not have his parents close by. He had accepted things he shouldn't have needed to.

But as she watched him cheer for the hero of the impossible tale, she knew that maybe it wasn't too impossible. Yuu would be fine, more than that in fact. And if he could make it so could she.