18

Chapter 18

The day had finally arrived. It was exactly eight o'clock in the evening and the sun was starting to set, bathing Yuuri in its warm rays, which was completely different than the freezing temperatures of the previous afternoon.

Yuuko and her family were now heading down to the train station for their journey back home. They would arrive in Hasetsu around 7 PM so that they could leave as soon as possible in order to reach Tokyo by noon the next morning. Since their plane couldn't take off till midnight and there wasn't enough fuel to go to Tokyo, they would have to fly back to Japan instead, landing early in the morning to avoid having to wake up earlier than they wanted. They still had to buy their tickets and board the airplane before midnight so that Yuuri and Victor could enjoy their last remaining hours in Japan, even though it would also make the time between the flight and arrival to Tokyo shorter than it normally would be. Although the trip was long, it would be worth it if it made them spend time together.

After the short conversation with Victor that morning, Yuuko insisted that they go to the restaurant that she and Victor liked the most and eat there instead of driving straight home afterwards. It took a few minutes, but Victor finally managed to convince Yuuko to let him drive his car, and, upon hearing the news, she had agreed. Yuuri had tried to protest but was overruled immediately so that he eventually gave in and went along with it, only for them to end up driving all the way to the restaurant, where they had spent several hours enjoying one another's company throughout the entire visit. Now it was nearing 9pm and, although Victor was eager to finally have Yuuri all to himself, he knew that he shouldn't be that selfish considering that their vacation was going to end within a couple of days. Still, he couldn't help but feel excited, especially when he saw how elated Yuuri was to be going back home; it was obvious by the way that the smaller boy practically bounced with excitement everytime he heard someone mention something about being able to return to their hometown. Yuuri hadn't mentioned his desire to live there yet - he hadn't even told Victor that he wanted to go – but Victor figured that it was probably somewhere in his future plans, depending upon when they came home.

He smiled happily to himself as he followed closely behind Yuuko, listening as she chatted animatedly to her brother about how she had finally managed to convince her father, despite being unable to do it on her own, to allow her to attend university abroad. She had spent almost five months convincing her father that she was old enough to be able to study abroad; her father had initially resisted, but after being convinced by Mari that she was capable enough to handle her studies on her own, he finally relented.

"And now I can finally start studying!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Thank you so much, Dad!"

Her father merely laughed and ruffled his daughter's hair affectionately in reply. "Your mother and I will always worry about you, Yuuko," he stated sincerely. "We love you so much and we want to keep you safe. That's the least we can do after all that we put you through!"

Yuuko blushed slightly and hugged her father tightly, muttering a soft 'thank you'. Victor watched her, mesmerized by her reaction. He knew that Yuuko's father loved her with all his heart and that was why he was so adamant against allowing her to go. Her father knew that it would mean sacrificing her safety to make her life easier, and he was willing to do that no matter the consequences. He knew that it meant that Yuuko had to move halfway across the world, but that was the price that she paid for his freedom. But, regardless of how far away she might be living from her parents, she would still come home for Christmas and other holidays like it, and she knew that he wouldn't mind at all. He loved his daughter dearly and wanted the best for her.

'Dad, you are such an amazing person.' Victor thought as tears pricked at his eyes, 'It's a shame that my mother didn't get the chance to see you. And thank god she had the chance to see you before the accident...I know that you and Mom would probably be so proud of each other if you did manage to see her again.'

Yuuko pulled away from her father with a grin on her face. He was about to say something else when a sudden shout startled both him and Yuuko. They turned their heads sharply in the direction of where the shout had originated from and saw Phichit standing just inside the door of the waiting room where the doctors were waiting for Yuuko.

"Hey, Vicchan! Come here quick!"

Both Yuuko and Victor ran towards him, curious as to why he was calling him. When they reached him, they stood beside each other and waited patiently.

Phichit smiled sheepishly at them and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly