Shii-chan...to you, I make a promise...

Tears rolled down the little boy's determined face as the girl before him slowly whited out.

I promise I will protect Shii-chan. Always.

It was raining again.

Suga stood at the window of the playroom, reminiscing what had happened a few years ago. He wondered how long this had to go on. It wasn't that he was getting bored, or unwilling to stay. But it was a long time since he last saw Shiori in person. Her parents sometimes sent photos to her grandfather, who would always share them with Suga. But that only made him miss her even more.

He would look through the photos and wonder, how was she? Is she doing well in school? Does she still like to play fighting...with other boys? He would feel a pang of loneliness as he thought of how she didn't remember him anymore. And it was best if she never will.

He closed his eyes and focused on the cold that was seeping through his body, taking in the silence that he was all too familiar with.

Then he heard footsteps in the hallway, the door open and close.

"Still thinking about our Shiori, huh?" the old man who just entered the room asked.

Suga merely lowered his head.

"You don't have to stay, you know. There's still me around. And Shiori's parents will take care of her."

Silence.

"Suga-kun, you're no longer a kid anymore. You're a young man who deserves to be out there getting an education and doing great things-" the old man paused as
Suga turned around and walked towards him with a memo.

I made a promise.
I will stay.

The old man sighed as Suga walked past him, leaving him standing alone in the room with the note in his hand.