‘Yuka, Shou, Yuuri, come in to eat!’ a woman dressed in a light white dress and red low shoes shouted in a clear voice. She was Yuka and Shou’s mother. Shou had the same red curly hair as her, and Yuka had the same black eyes.
This was before everything happened. It was before everything went to pieces.
‘No matter what happened, we will always be together, right?’ Yuka asked in her bright childish voice. ‘Of course,’ Yuuri answered. ‘We’re the undefeated three. Best friends.’
‘You are my best friend too,’ Yuka told him.
‘What about me?’ Shou asked.
‘You are my precious little brother; we will definitely always be together.’ She said, while smiling.
‘Let’s make a promise,’ Shou told them, excited now. ‘Let’s promise that no matter who we meet, and who we love, we won’t forget each other. And we will never leave each other when in trouble. No matter how far, if one of us is in trouble, the rest of us will be there. We’ll always stay together. Won’t we?’ Shou continued.
‘Of course,’ Yuuri answered quickly. ‘Best friends forever’-
‘Pinky swear?’ Yuka asked with a wry smile on her lips. ‘Pinky swear,’ Shou and Yuuri said together’. They curled their pinkies together and pledged what they had just talked about. But it was only later that day that the promise they made would break.
‘Goodbye’ Yuuri said to Shou and Yuka as they hugged. Yuuri and the others were only six, so they were old enough to understand what a move meant, but not yet old enough to handle the loneliness. However, perhaps no one is able to withstand that feeling, no matter the age.
It had been decided that Yuka and Shou would move together with their mother too Tokyo, for his dad’s work had been transferred there. That their promise would break so easily nearly broke their hearts.
Yuuri cried as he screamed after them ‘Pinky swear. The undefeated trio will never really be apart. Don’t forget.’
Shou and Yuka hanged their heads out of the windows and cried loudly. ‘We won’t forget!’ Yuka shouted. ‘No matter how far, if you need us, we’ll come for you’ Shou shouted.
That was the first time the three of them had cried so hard. The undefeated trio had become thin air. As if this was not enough, the call came. There had been a car accident on the road. A drunken driver. While protecting Yuka and their promise, Shou had died. Their parents were out of themselves with grief that the mother whose head wound was yet to be checked out, fell into a coma. The father went crazy out of the loss of his son and the perhaps soon loss of his wife. Beyond himself with grief, he knew not what to do, and therefore, took it out on whatever he had left. And that was Yuka.’
‘Yuuri,’ she called crying on the phone. ‘Shou-chan’s gone’. Yuuri who already heard the news but did not believed it, was petrified by her words. It seemed only moments ago their young and innocent time together was their present, and now it was already so far in the past. Yuuri had to keep the promise they had once made. However, he was scared. Shou had died. The best friends were already separated. Even though he had promised them, he did not come to them when they needed him. And that’s why he had died. That’s what Yuuri thought.
Was he really qualified to run after them now? Was it really okay for him to go to her side? Would he betray Shou in doing so? That was what went through Yuuri’s mind over and over again.
While he was worrying, Yuka was suffering. Her best friend was far away and her little brother was gone. Her mother was in a coma and her father had gone mad. He hit her. Again and again he hit he$r. Not knowing what he did he kept on hitting her whenever his grief came over him. After it was over, he would fall asleep, no matter where they were. He had developed narcolepsy after all that had happened. That was lucky for Yuka, who then had a little chance to get away for him for a while to see Shou one more time.
Her little brother, only by minutes, lied there in that little coffin. The person who had been with her since before they were born was not there anymore. And he never would be ever again. Losing her twin was like losing half of her heart. And with just half a heart, she could not keep herself from crying her eyes out. That’s when she decided to call Yuuri.
-ri, YUURII!’ a voice called him and he woke straight up. He sat in his bed looking around drowsily, wondering where the voice came from. Up on his drawer a light shone and in the middle of that light he saw a face. The face smiled. ‘Gotcha’ the light said. He would know that voice anywhere. ‘Shou?’ Yuuri asked in a small voice. ‘Who else, silly?’
Yuuri cried and cried. Shou walked towards him and with a fist lightly bumped him on the head. His tears stopped. He looked up and saw his best friend Shou’s face smiling at him. Then Shou frowned. He stepped closer to Yuuri’s ear and screamed, ‘Are you an idiot!?’
‘Who do you think you are to blame yourself for something I chose to do? Who says you broke a promise? If you broke it then so did I. I was the one who left, remember. I was the one who died. Therefore technically, I broke the promise. So stop moping around and go save Yuka. She keeps blaming herself like you do, but you are the only one who can save her now. I’m not here anymore, remember. You gotta protect her in my place’.
Shou took Yuuri’s face between his hands and looked at him with a stern look and then smiled at Yuuri’s broken and puzzled expression. ‘Got it?’
‘Got it’ Yuuri said and smiled. ‘Best friends forever?’
‘Of course, the undefeatable trio is undefeatable for eternity. Even if I’m not there, I’ll keep watching over you. And you just wait. No matter where you are in our next life, I’ll find you.’ He said.
‘Good’ Yuuri smiled. ‘I’ll take good care of her’.
Now Shou smiled between the tears that streamed down his shining cheeks. ‘I’ll leave my big sister in your hands’ He said as he faded away smiling.
‘Wait’ Yuuri said, trying to stop him with his hand. But Shou was gone, and now everything was up to him.
He ran out of the house, bringing all of his money, his phone and jacket. He left a note for his mom saying ‘I’ll be back soon’. When he reached the red little house he climbed up the latter on the outside of the house and knocked on her window. The window opened so quickly he fell in and landed on top of her, slamming their foreheads together. ‘Yuuri?’ she said and rubbed her eyes. He sat up and held his arms open. ‘Yeah, it’s me. I’ve come to get you’
‘Yuuri’ She cried and all the tension was gone. She threw himself into his arms and together with some of her things and a picture of them all they ran away. Leaving her sleeping father, comatose mother, and passed on brother behind. Now all they had was the future. And whatever would happen there would be fine. Shou would watch over them, and they would never leave each other alone again. Plus, Yuuri thought, even if something did happen, Shou had already promised to find them again.
He squeezed her hand tight and just then he could see Shou sitting there on the rooftop next to them, giggling to himself. Yuuri chuckled.
‘What?’ Yuka asked.
‘Nothing’ he smiled, ‘nothing at all’
Yup, everything would be just fine. The undefeatable trio rise once more.