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Description
Yukiki sat in his chair in the mansion literally twiddling his thumbs; his hat sat on the table. Maybe it would have been better if he hadn’t hugged her. Maybe he shouldn’t have made it sound like a friend hug. He really wasn’t sure. Even so, he couldn’t stop think about it. And even though he had managed to quiet the fluttering before, now it felt as though it were butterflies sprouting inside. Yukiki sighed and rested his head in his hands. He was truly, without a doubt, clueless when it came to dealing with emotions.

Dokuku floated over the table copying Yukiki and sighed. “Doku?” He was starting to wish he knew what in the world the ghost-keronian was saying.

“He’s asking when you’re going to tell her.” Yukiki looked up to see the same unfriendly face of Giruru.

“Tell her what?” Yukiki asked standing up and walking away. He really was in no mood to talk with the slime keronian.

“Don’t give me that! I may have one eye but I’m not blind! Anyone could see that you love Hanana.” Yukiki stopped abruptly, not turning. “We both know it’s pointless, she doesn’t love you, anyways.” At this, the snowman turned and opened his mouth as if to speak, but, Giruru didn't give him the chance. “Don’t take this the wrong way. I don’t love her, either. I have no intention of loving her. If she can't see that, she's only hurting herself." Yukiki could have sworn he saw a flash of sadness mixed with guilt in the slimy keronian’s eye. Giruru blinked, and his eye became cold again. "But, I’m doing us both a favor by giving you the facts as they are. I’m a giant blob of slime and you're a big heap of snow.”

“Be quiet.” Yukiki muttered.

“But, you know the one thing you and I are good at?” Giruru went on.

“I said be quiet.” His voice lowered to a growl.

“Nothing but killing.” Giruru finished, his tone cold; stating the fact as it was.

“I SAID BE QUIET!” Yukiki had finally snapped. His eyes glowed a fierce, icy blue.
Blue ominous light emitted from the palms of his hands. And with a flick of his wrist, and artic wind blew Giruru off the ground and splat into the wall. The slime keronian oozed to the floor, leaving a trail of slime on the wall. Yukiki, who was fueled with anger, acted quickly and summoned another gust of wind from the outside, this time it carried powdered snow, and sent it all flying in a spray.

Giruru grunted loudly as his liquid body became stiff and frozen. He struggled and strained but, try all that he might, Giruru could not move. When he looked up, Yukiki was there standing before him, his eyes filled with a piercing, ice-blue light.

There had been times when Giruru had been forced to work with Yukiki. Shurara would often send them on jobs to know who he could rely on and such. Although they did not work together often--due to the fact that they never got along--but when they did, Giruru would often notice how Yukiki would enjoy torturing his victims. To him, the snowman was hollow and cruel, even to Giruru's standards, and the slime keronian knew cruel right down to the core. And, so did his brother.

After he and Dokuku became what they were, what they went through, Giruru found it hard to be scared of anything anymore. It's not that something wasn't scary, it just couldn't compare to what he and his brother had endured.

Everything just looked dull now.

Everything except that smile. When he first saw it spread across the snowman’s face it would remind him of the scientists and send a rather nasty chill through him. Although it was not his intention to hate him, Giruru had made no attempt to be friends with Yukiki. And, he was not blind to the fact that Yukiki shared no liking to him either.

But, here, now, in present time, Giruru looked up and saw no smile on his face, no cruel sneer, just cold rage.

"Well?" Giruru spoke up. "What are you waiting for?"

Yukiki raised his hand, ready to blast another artic wind at him. But his hand stopped, his gaze faltered. Upon seeing this, Giruru's eye widened. For the first time, Giruru saw the snowy assassin hesitate; and the cold rage had become confused and uncertain mercy.

Yukiki knew it would take only a fraction of a second to end the slime keronian. But...

But...?! Yukiki tried to remove the thought. There are no buts. Only cruel certainty of taking a life. His expression became cold again. But, when he raised his hand again, Dokuku moved in and hovered protectively over his brother. His scythe hand was raised threateningly. .

That's what confused him so much; that determination to protect another being other than oneself; a trait that Giruru and Dokuku shared with each other. This trait made it impossible for Yukiki to understand the brothers.

However, it was not this that made Yukiki stop. It was another, faint, but persistent thought that had made him hesitate the first time. Sure, he could just kill Giruru and been done with it, but...

But what would Hanana think? Yukiki sighed as his eyebrows furrowed in a relenting expression. He flicked his wrist. Dokuku and Giruru expected it to be another artic wind, but instead the ice and snow simply melted away--most of it soaking into the carpet--. By the time Giruru could move again, Yukiki, with his hat, was already closing the door behind him.

****

He couldn’t remember how much time he spent outside the mansion. Dark storm clouds were rolling in and soon began releasing heavy drops of hail onto the earth. Yukiki hadn’t been thinking when he left. So he just spent his time leaning against the old brick exterior of what he had been calling his home, right beside the door. The rain pelted him but he could not feel it.

“Yukiki, yo!” The snowman looked up to see Putata came running with Mekeke not far behind. “Did Hanana come back?”

“No.” Was his answer and he was close to leaving it at that. But, something about the worried expressions and labored breathing was concerning. Concerning?! How emotions could he handle in one day?! Either way, he had to ask “What happened?”.

The two actually looked surprised; not so much by the question, but to who was asking it. Mekeke answered. “We lost track of Hanana. We tried to find her but-” He paused to take a breath.

Putata took over for him. “But then this storm started! And we thought that Hanana might have come back here, yo.” He wiped wet bangs out of his face. “Guess not, though.”

Yukiki was close to calling them idiots for leaving Hanana in the forest (in a snowstorm!). But then the two began to flinch in pain as small pieces of hail began to fall on them. Without even thinking, he pulled open the door and pushed Mekeke and Putata inside. Neither of the two were expecting this and in their surprise fell flat on the carpet. “Stay here. I’ll go look for her.” Was all he said before he closed the door and ran toward the forest.

Putata sat up, a bit dumbfounded. “Mekeke, did Yukiki seem…” The puppeteer nodded. They had only seen it for half a second before the snowman shoved them inside the mansion but that was all the time they needed to see.

Yukiki looked frightened.

****

"You won't have much to enjoy when it starts to hail." Before now, Giruru’s words only confused him and now they frightened him. For the first time (again) he was down-right scared. And it wasn’t even himself he was scared for!

Was this how Dokuku felt when trying to protect Giruru? He still didn't understand it, yet there he was running. How ironic. He might have laughed if it weren’t for the terrible beating in his chest.

The snow began to cling to his legs forcing him to slow to a walk. The forest spread out in all directions covered in snow and hail. The hail was loud as it hammered down. The sound was defining making it even harder to hear.
“Hanana!” He cupped his hands over his mouth as he called out her name again.

Pause.

No response.

Yukiki tried again. “Hana--!” He was cut short as the ground below his feet suddenly disappeared. Brilliant. The snowman landed on his backside with an annoyed grunt. Snow flew everywhere. He had fallen through an opening of a cave. His fear was quickly replaced with annoyance. At least it was an emotion he was familiar with.

A small cry made him turn his head. A girl was crouched at the very end of the cave. Her face buried in her arms with her knees tucked in close. He couldn’t see her face but he recognized that pink hair. He also recognized fear when he saw it. Yukiki refrained from shouting out her name in relief; he didn’t want to scare her more than she already was.

After getting herself lost in the forest, Hanana found herself lucky to have fallen into the cave when it started hailing. But, even so, she hoped Putata and Mekeke had found shelter or at least found their way back to the mansion. And if they did, she hoped they weren’t worrying too much (they were).

Oooh, when will this storm ever end? Hanana thought to herself. She had long since lost track of the time and very little light filtered into the cave. She didn’t even get her basket of cookies back. So, there she was, trapped by a hail storm, with no basket of cookies, in a dark cave, alone.

Though, that last part was quickly changed when a hand gently rested on her shoulder. Her head snapped up and Hanana almost gasped. Despite the darkness, his blue eyes glowed faintly enough for her to know who it was.

“Yukiki!” Hanana cried with joy and, for a second time that day, wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

And, for a second time, Yukiki felt as though his chest was going to erupt as the fluttering inside return. But that was quickly pushed back by his relief. She was safe, save for the crying and ruffled hair, but she was safe. He softened and hugged her back. This time, it was warm.

“How did you find me?” Hanana finally asked after letting go.

“Bad footing.” He admitted, a bit embarrassed. But Hanana laughed all the same. “But, never mind that, are you alright?”

She noted the hint of worry in his voice and took comfort from it. “I’m a little sore, but I think that’s it.” There was a pause before she spoke again. “Did Putata and Mekeke get back alright?”

Yukiki nodded. “They’re waiting back at the mansion.”

Hanana nodded. “That’s a relief. I feel guilty for making them worry about me.”

“They worry because they care.” Hanana looked up, surprised. Yukiki went on. “You’re kind to everyone, even to us, which means a lot considering what we do. So, I don’t think you should feel guilty when people worry, it just means they care about you. And…” Yukiki paused as if debating if he should go on. “Well, I care about you, as well.” His cheeks felt like they were burning.

Hanana smiled. “You’re right. Thank you.” There was a pause then suddenly, with no warning what-so-ever, Hanana gave him a kiss on the cheek.

His face became numb. He could no longer feel his cheeks burning except for that one spot were her lips had just been. The fluttering in his chest was back. He didn’t know what to do so he just sat there blushing like the stupid snowman he was. So, instead of really thinking, Yukiki wrapped his arms around her again and held her gently.
Seeing as he wasn’t letting go anytime soon, Hanana had squirm a little bit to get comfortable. She ended up sitting between his legs and leaning her head against his chest. In return, he rested his chin on her head. He couldn’t smell, but her hair felt soft against his face.

And for the rest of the storm, they sat together quietly, both taking comfort in the other’s company.

Description
Yukiki sat in his chair in the mansion literally twiddling his thumbs; his hat sat on the table. Maybe it would have been better if he hadn’t hugged her. Maybe he shouldn’t have made it sound like a friend hug. He really wasn’t sure. Even so, he couldn’t stop think about it. And even though he had managed to quiet the fluttering before, now it felt as though it were butterflies sprouting inside. Yukiki sighed and rested his head in his hands. He was truly, without a doubt, clueless when it came to dealing with emotions.

Dokuku floated over the table copying Yukiki and sighed. “Doku?” He was starting to wish he knew what in the world the ghost-keronian was saying.

“He’s asking when you’re going to tell her.” Yukiki looked up to see the same unfriendly face of Giruru.

“Tell her what?” Yukiki asked standing up and walking away. He really was in no mood to talk with the slime keronian.

“Don’t give me that! I may have one eye but I’m not blind! Anyone could see that you love Hanana.” Yukiki stopped abruptly, not turning. “We both know it’s pointless, she doesn’t love you, anyways.” At this, the snowman turned and opened his mouth as if to speak, but, Giruru didn't give him the chance. “Don’t take this the wrong way. I don’t love her, either. I have no intention of loving her. If she can't see that, she's only hurting herself." Yukiki could have sworn he saw a flash of sadness mixed with guilt in the slimy keronian’s eye. Giruru blinked, and his eye became cold again. "But, I’m doing us both a favor by giving you the facts as they are. I’m a giant blob of slime and you're a big heap of snow.”

“Be quiet.” Yukiki muttered.

“But, you know the one thing you and I are good at?” Giruru went on.

“I said be quiet.” His voice lowered to a growl.

“Nothing but killing.” Giruru finished, his tone cold; stating the fact as it was.

“I SAID BE QUIET!” Yukiki had finally snapped. His eyes glowed a fierce, icy blue.
Blue ominous light emitted from the palms of his hands. And with a flick of his wrist, and artic wind blew Giruru off the ground and splat into the wall. The slime keronian oozed to the floor, leaving a trail of slime on the wall. Yukiki, who was fueled with anger, acted quickly and summoned another gust of wind from the outside, this time it carried powdered snow, and sent it all flying in a spray.

Giruru grunted loudly as his liquid body became stiff and frozen. He struggled and strained but, try all that he might, Giruru could not move. When he looked up, Yukiki was there standing before him, his eyes filled with a piercing, ice-blue light.

There had been times when Giruru had been forced to work with Yukiki. Shurara would often send them on jobs to know who he could rely on and such. Although they did not work together often--due to the fact that they never got along--but when they did, Giruru would often notice how Yukiki would enjoy torturing his victims. To him, the snowman was hollow and cruel, even to Giruru's standards, and the slime keronian knew cruel right down to the core. And, so did his brother.

After he and Dokuku became what they were, what they went through, Giruru found it hard to be scared of anything anymore. It's not that something wasn't scary, it just couldn't compare to what he and his brother had endured.

Everything just looked dull now.

Everything except that smile. When he first saw it spread across the snowman’s face it would remind him of the scientists and send a rather nasty chill through him. Although it was not his intention to hate him, Giruru had made no attempt to be friends with Yukiki. And, he was not blind to the fact that Yukiki shared no liking to him either.

But, here, now, in present time, Giruru looked up and saw no smile on his face, no cruel sneer, just cold rage.

"Well?" Giruru spoke up. "What are you waiting for?"

Yukiki raised his hand, ready to blast another artic wind at him. But his hand stopped, his gaze faltered. Upon seeing this, Giruru's eye widened. For the first time, Giruru saw the snowy assassin hesitate; and the cold rage had become confused and uncertain mercy.

Yukiki knew it would take only a fraction of a second to end the slime keronian. But...

But...?! Yukiki tried to remove the thought. There are no buts. Only cruel certainty of taking a life. His expression became cold again. But, when he raised his hand again, Dokuku moved in and hovered protectively over his brother. His scythe hand was raised threateningly. .

That's what confused him so much; that determination to protect another being other than oneself; a trait that Giruru and Dokuku shared with each other. This trait made it impossible for Yukiki to understand the brothers.

However, it was not this that made Yukiki stop. It was another, faint, but persistent thought that had made him hesitate the first time. Sure, he could just kill Giruru and been done with it, but...

But what would Hanana think? Yukiki sighed as his eyebrows furrowed in a relenting expression. He flicked his wrist. Dokuku and Giruru expected it to be another artic wind, but instead the ice and snow simply melted away--most of it soaking into the carpet--. By the time Giruru could move again, Yukiki, with his hat, was already closing the door behind him.

****

He couldn’t remember how much time he spent outside the mansion. Dark storm clouds were rolling in and soon began releasing heavy drops of hail onto the earth. Yukiki hadn’t been thinking when he left. So he just spent his time leaning against the old brick exterior of what he had been calling his home, right beside the door. The rain pelted him but he could not feel it.

“Yukiki, yo!” The snowman looked up to see Putata came running with Mekeke not far behind. “Did Hanana come back?”

“No.” Was his answer and he was close to leaving it at that. But, something about the worried expressions and labored breathing was concerning. Concerning?! How emotions could he handle in one day?! Either way, he had to ask “What happened?”.

The two actually looked surprised; not so much by the question, but to who was asking it. Mekeke answered. “We lost track of Hanana. We tried to find her but-” He paused to take a breath.

Putata took over for him. “But then this storm started! And we thought that Hanana might have come back here, yo.” He wiped wet bangs out of his face. “Guess not, though.”

Yukiki was close to calling them idiots for leaving Hanana in the forest (in a snowstorm!). But then the two began to flinch in pain as small pieces of hail began to fall on them. Without even thinking, he pulled open the door and pushed Mekeke and Putata inside. Neither of the two were expecting this and in their surprise fell flat on the carpet. “Stay here. I’ll go look for her.” Was all he said before he closed the door and ran toward the forest.

Putata sat up, a bit dumbfounded. “Mekeke, did Yukiki seem…” The puppeteer nodded. They had only seen it for half a second before the snowman shoved them inside the mansion but that was all the time they needed to see.

Yukiki looked frightened.

****

"You won't have much to enjoy when it starts to hail." Before now, Giruru’s words only confused him and now they frightened him. For the first time (again) he was down-right scared. And it wasn’t even himself he was scared for!

Was this how Dokuku felt when trying to protect Giruru? He still didn't understand it, yet there he was running. How ironic. He might have laughed if it weren’t for the terrible beating in his chest.

The snow began to cling to his legs forcing him to slow to a walk. The forest spread out in all directions covered in snow and hail. The hail was loud as it hammered down. The sound was defining making it even harder to hear.
“Hanana!” He cupped his hands over his mouth as he called out her name again.

Pause.

No response.

Yukiki tried again. “Hana--!” He was cut short as the ground below his feet suddenly disappeared. Brilliant. The snowman landed on his backside with an annoyed grunt. Snow flew everywhere. He had fallen through an opening of a cave. His fear was quickly replaced with annoyance. At least it was an emotion he was familiar with.

A small cry made him turn his head. A girl was crouched at the very end of the cave. Her face buried in her arms with her knees tucked in close. He couldn’t see her face but he recognized that pink hair. He also recognized fear when he saw it. Yukiki refrained from shouting out her name in relief; he didn’t want to scare her more than she already was.

After getting herself lost in the forest, Hanana found herself lucky to have fallen into the cave when it started hailing. But, even so, she hoped Putata and Mekeke had found shelter or at least found their way back to the mansion. And if they did, she hoped they weren’t worrying too much (they were).

Oooh, when will this storm ever end? Hanana thought to herself. She had long since lost track of the time and very little light filtered into the cave. She didn’t even get her basket of cookies back. So, there she was, trapped by a hail storm, with no basket of cookies, in a dark cave, alone.

Though, that last part was quickly changed when a hand gently rested on her shoulder. Her head snapped up and Hanana almost gasped. Despite the darkness, his blue eyes glowed faintly enough for her to know who it was.

“Yukiki!” Hanana cried with joy and, for a second time that day, wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

And, for a second time, Yukiki felt as though his chest was going to erupt as the fluttering inside return. But that was quickly pushed back by his relief. She was safe, save for the crying and ruffled hair, but she was safe. He softened and hugged her back. This time, it was warm.

“How did you find me?” Hanana finally asked after letting go.

“Bad footing.” He admitted, a bit embarrassed. But Hanana laughed all the same. “But, never mind that, are you alright?”

She noted the hint of worry in his voice and took comfort from it. “I’m a little sore, but I think that’s it.” There was a pause before she spoke again. “Did Putata and Mekeke get back alright?”

Yukiki nodded. “They’re waiting back at the mansion.”

Hanana nodded. “That’s a relief. I feel guilty for making them worry about me.”

“They worry because they care.” Hanana looked up, surprised. Yukiki went on. “You’re kind to everyone, even to us, which means a lot considering what we do. So, I don’t think you should feel guilty when people worry, it just means they care about you. And…” Yukiki paused as if debating if he should go on. “Well, I care about you, as well.” His cheeks felt like they were burning.

Hanana smiled. “You’re right. Thank you.” There was a pause then suddenly, with no warning what-so-ever, Hanana gave him a kiss on the cheek.

His face became numb. He could no longer feel his cheeks burning except for that one spot were her lips had just been. The fluttering in his chest was back. He didn’t know what to do so he just sat there blushing like the stupid snowman he was. So, instead of really thinking, Yukiki wrapped his arms around her again and held her gently.
Seeing as he wasn’t letting go anytime soon, Hanana had squirm a little bit to get comfortable. She ended up sitting between his legs and leaning her head against his chest. In return, he rested his chin on her head. He couldn’t smell, but her hair felt soft against his face.

And for the rest of the storm, they sat together quietly, both taking comfort in the other’s company.