Standing in Karamatsu's brilliantly snow covered front yard, Ichimatsu struggled to keep his eyes open as Jyushimatsu took off ahead of him, jumping face first into the thick snow.

A large mass of snow began to melt under Jyushimatsu as he rolled around in it, laughing and giggling as if everything was just fine.

"Everything is fine though..." Ichimatsu lied to himself. "Our parents aren't dead...I'm feeling just fine...I'm not living with Karamatsu...I'm only here for a visit....."

"Nii-san!" Jyushimatsu squealed, standing up with a pile of snow in his arms.

Running up to his brother, Jyushimatsu threw the pile of snow at his older brother gleefully.

"It's snowing!" the little boy giggled, running around his brother in a wide circle.

"Yeah..." Ichimatsu mumbled, smiling a bit.

Somehow, despite it all, Jyushimatsu never really changed that much. From the very day he was born, he never cried much. He always laughed and giggled, showing nothing but happiness. He wasn't the typical child who would whine or cry until they would get what they wanted. Although he did beg at times, he never forced it.

"Jyushimatsu please don't change..." Ichimatsu thought worriedly, his head continuing to hurt worse. "Stay this way forever...I need you to stay just like this...please..."

"Nii-saaaaaaaan!" Jyushimatsu dragged out, wrapping himself around his brother's legs like a sloth. "Let's build a snowman!"

Ichimatsu didn't say anything, his eyes growing cloudy and distant as he found himself lost in his own thoughts.

"Jyushimatsu...I don't want you to ever grow up. I don't want you to grow up to be like Karamatsu. Now that you're under his influence...so much could just change before I can even blink. I don't want to be all alone again. I need you by my side...I need my guardian angel...you're my guardian angel, aren't you, Jyushimatsu? The little golden boy who will watch over me and give me a reason to live...a purpose in my life...." Ichimatsu thought, his vision growing blurred as he gazed at the cloudy sky above.

"Nii-san?" Jyushimatsu asked quietly, letting go of his brother, tumbling down into the freezing snow. "Are you alright...?"

"Don't go...don't go...don't grow up...don't leave me..." Ichimatsu thought again, his heart thudding so hard he thought it could explode. "Please don't change...don't leave me standing all alone...I need you. I need only you...just you....."

"Nii-san!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed, picking up a small amount of snow with his hands, shaping it into a ball.

Ichimatsu still didn't respond.

Gently, Jyushimatsu threw the snowball at Ichimatsu leg, finally grabbing his attention.

Ichimatsu shook his head in shock, his vision coming back. The distant look had left his eyes, yet Jyushimatsu could tell something was still on his mind.

Being the loving little brother he was, Jyushimatsu wanted to find out whatever could possibly be bothering Ichimatsu. But he didn't have any means of pestering him until the words explode from his mouth like a volcano. No, Jyushimatsu knew how Ichimatsu worked. And the best thing to do at that very moment would be to keep him distracted. Obviously, that would mean building a snowman together.

"Can we start building our snowman?" Jyushimatsu asked, looking up at his brother, his eyes imitating those of a puppy.

Ichimatsu nodded his head slowly, kneeling down to Jyushimatsu level on the ground.

"We should start with his butt," Ichimatsu said, causing Jyushimatsu to giggle.

"You said butt, nii-san!" Jyushimatsu choked, giggling so hard he fell over into the snow again, kicking his legs and squirming around.

Ichimatsu chuckle a little, grabbing a handful of snow into mitten covered hands.

Carefully, he began to roll the snow into a ball, creating an extremely small snowball.

"Roll this around where there's snow," Ichimatsu ordered, handing the small snowball to his brother. "It should get bigger if you so that. I think...I haven't done this in a long time..."

Jyushimatsu took the snowball from his brother after he managed to stop giggling. After having rolled it around for a few moments, it had grown quite a bit bigger.

"Nii-san! Look how big it is!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed.

Ichimatsu, whom had just been sitting in the snow, staring up at the sky again, looked at his brother and forced a smile.

"How come you haven't played in the snow for a long time?" Jyushimatsu asked, wondering why his brother suddenly looked depressed.

Ichimatsu sighed and didn't reply. Memories of him and Karamatsu when they were much younger flashed through his mind. Memories he would much rather forget.

Ichimatsu closed his eyes, the memory slowly playing through his mind again and again.

"Ichimatsu! Come here!" Karamatsu said, ducking behind a snowman as tall as he was that he had just finished building.

"What is it?" Ichimatsu asked, patting the snow to his much smaller snowman.

"Look at my snowman!" Karamatsu said, peeking out from behind it, smiling kindly. "Would you like me to help you make yours this big?"

"Yeah!" Ichimatsu said, his eyes shimmering in amazement.

After nearly an entire hour, Karamatsu and Ichimatsu both had worked together, creating a snowman much bigger than Karamatsu's original one.

"This is so cool!" Ichimatsu exclaimed, stumbling back, falling down in the snow as he stared at their completed project. "I want to be just like you one day, Karamatsu nii-san!"

Karamatsu laughed lightheartedly, sitting down in the snow next to his brother, hugging him from the side.

"Just be yourself," Karamatsu said, rubbing his brother on the back. "I want you to be happy...."

Ichimatsu snapped open his eyes, feeling sick.

"I don't like the outdoors," Ichimatsu quickly replied, not wanting to worry his innocent brother with his pointless memories.

"We don't have to stay out long!" Jyushimatsu said cheerfully. "Can we please build a snowman though? I want to make one with you!"

Hearing such words somehow comforted Ichimatsu's heart, and just moments later, the two of them were almost done with their first snowman together.

"Isn't this fun, nii-san?" Jyushimatsu asked, his mouth in an open smile. "You're so good at building snowmen! I want to be just like you one day!"

Still in pain, Ichimatsu nodded his head, a single tear running down his cheek at those words.

"Jyushimatsu....please never end up like me...your life has so much opportunity in it right now. Don't waste it all alone..." Ichimatsu thought, patting the bottom of their large snowman they had made, tightly packing in the snow.

"Just be you..." Ichimatsu wheezed, repeating the words his brother once said to him. But out of fear, he forced himself to add different words at the end. "Because one day, you'll be glad you never tried to be like me..."

Jyushimatsu's eyes filled with tears as he continued to pat the snowman with Ichimatsu. And without a second thought, he flung himself at his older brother, hugging him until he could hardly breathe.

"I love you, Ichimatsu nii-san!" he cried out.