Snow

Hanna hated the snow. It was cold, wet, made the ground slippery, terrible to walk through, worse to run through, and worst of all, it reminded her of something she longed to forget.

The white flakes drifted slowly down from the sky and Hanna found herself sighing as she stared out the window. Snowflakes would hit the window then dissolve moments later from the heat radiating from inside. An instant, and they were gone.

The trail of water left behind the only proof of its short existence. Yet that didn’t serve to show anything of the uniqueness of the snowflake. Hanna remembered reading in one of the books she found about how each snowflake was supposed to be unique, each with a dazzling beautiful pattern. But in the end, that pattern was nowhere to be seen.

Just like her sister.

“Please take care on your way back home everyone!” Her boss bade farewell to the employees who were heading out for the day. “Wow.” He made his way over to look out the window with Hanna. “It’s quite pretty isn’t it?”

“…Pretty huh?” Hanna muttered.

“Ah, though hopefully it doesn’t get any heavier than this.” He laughed. “God knows how terrible it gets when the trains get stuck because of the snow. Now come on, let’s head home. You can pick up where you left off tomorrow.”

Hanna nodded. She started packing away her things and got ready to leave, bidding her boss farewell as they headed to different train stations.

The snow was still light. Snow hadn’t managed to build up on the ground yet thankfully. Hanna bundled herself tightly as to not let any snow touch her and she hurried her way to the station.

As it was rush hour, the station was packed with people trying to get home. Hanna sighed as she gave herself into the sea of people hoping to be able to at least get on the next train. Unfortunately fate had other plans in mind for her and she watched as the sea of people flooded into the next train and with no room for more, it left the station.

Mother nature seemed to have let enough of trains moving on without incident and she began releasing more snow into the world. Hanna was dressed in full winter attire but she couldn’t escape snowflakes blowing past her defenses and touching her face every now and then. Soon the train station was being wrapped in a flurry of white and Hanna and the other poor commuters tried their best to not get swept up themselves.

“Attention all passengers. Due to the snow storm, trains are delayed. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

Add that to another reasons why to hate snow Hanna thought to herself. How much longer would she be stuck here? Well, it was either be stuck here or risk going out in that storm. And she didn’t like her odds of that one bit.

Eventually things seemed to be moving again. The next train had arrived, already filled with passengers, but Hanna managed to squeeze her way on. Muttering apologies and ’excuse me’s where she could let her at least fit on the train.

The sudden intensity of the snowstorm was beyond most people’s expectations. Hanna remember Sherry questioning Hanna’s decision to wear so much when the weather had forecasted so little but look who was right now? She had a feeling the forecast was wrong. At least, that’s what Hanna tried to convince herself of and that she didn’t just dress this way because of how much she hated the snow.

Stupid Japan and their incredibly hot summers yet somehow still having snow in the winter. Maybe Hanna could convince Sherry to move to a place where it didn’t snow at all. But she knew that would be unreasonable.

The train finally reached her stop. Hanna tried her best not to step on any toes as she squeezed her way out of the station finally able to take a deep breath of cold air. The snow storm was still going but Hanna was bundled enough that it didn’t have any major effect on her. She thought back to what Sherry was wearing in the morning. Hopefully that idiot wasn’t dumb enough to stay outside for long, or at least smart enough to buy something to help with the cold while outside.

Now was the final stretch. Snow was starting to really pile up and no snow plow had the time to come through so many of the side streets were starting to have an accumulation of snow. Hanna walked by many frustrated drivers who were stuck in the snow for various reasons. At least that wouldn’t be her.

Though, she caught herself as she almost slipped, that didn’t mean she was safe. She inched forward carefully, trying her best not to slip on any hidden patches of ice or otherwise wet snow. If only she could float enough to be above the snow. She chuckled pitifully to herself.

Eventually she got closer to her apartment. On the sides of the wall though she noticed these weird little snow figures. At first she couldn’t tell what they were but their forms became a little more distinct as she kept moving along. She even thought she recognized the shape of one of them. Was that the bird that-

“Hanna~!” A voice called out to her. “Over here!”

Hanna looked in the direction that she was called from. It was Sherry, dressed in a winter coat waving at her. She was standing next to what seemed to be a giant snowman, one that was almost her height. At least someone was having fun. A small smile crept on Hanna’s face as she walked over.

“And just what are you-” Hanna stopped when she noticed that Sherry’s hands were red. This idiot! She rushed over and grabbed Sherry’s hands that were freezing. “Honestly how can you be such an idiot! Wear gloves at least!”

“Eh~ But I don’t have any!”

“Then buy some!” Some memories came flooding back to Hanna. Her younger sister was cold, just like this when-

Hanna furiously rubbed at Sherry’s hands trying to warm them up. Get warmer, get warmer, she repeated to herself like a mantra. No matter how hard she tried though, it felt like ice to her. She rubbed, and rubbed, and rubbed, and rubbed, and-

“-na!” Sherry shouted, causing Hanna to stop what she was doing. “It hurts!”

Her hands were red, but from how fast Hanna was rubbing instead of the cold. The cold air meant her hands were extra dry and Hanna’s furious rubbing caused them to get even drier.

“Oh, I’m- God, what am I doing?” Hanna mumbled to herself. Sherry wasn’t her sister.

The snow storm was letting up a bit while the two of them stood there in silence next to Sherry’s snowman. For once, Sherry was quiet, thinking about what to do to help cheer Hanna up. Ever since the morning when they had heard it was going to snow later in the day Hanna had looked a little tense, though she tried to deny it.

“Hanna!”

“Y-yes?”

“Let’s go shopping!”

“Huh? But it’s still snowing and-”

“Then I’ll carry you on my back!”

“What- No I meant- hey put me down you gorilla woman!”

Sherry didn’t listen to Hanna as she scooped her up princess style, leaving Hanna no choice but to grab Sherry’s neck unless she wanted to fall.

“All aboard the Sherry express! Departing now!” Sherry shouted amidst the falling snow that blanketed their neighborhood. It served to muffle sound, something Hanna was grateful for so that nobody could hear or see the two of them. Sherry walked as if carrying Hanna was the easiest thing in the world and that the snow wasn’t a hindrance at all. Hanna was sure that they’d slip or fall or something, but Sherry had no issues whatsoever with the winter terrain.

“Oh, we’ll need this! And that too!”

Hanna looked at Sherry who was pushing a cart through the department store. She was buying things that really confused Hanna now. Handheld shovels, buckets, big elastic bands, wooden poles, they were going to various different stores and buying an assortment of things.

“Just what are you buying…?” Hanna looked at Sherry who was humming her way to the checkout line.

“Oh ho ho, interested are you?” She smirked that annoying smug grin of hers. “Well, you’ll have to wait and find out!”

Hanna sighed letting herself be pulled along with Sherry’s whims. At least they were out of the snowstorm, though Hanna wished she was at home instead.

Sherry checked out at the register and grabbed Hanna’s hands, a bit more intimately than Hanna expected. Hanna’s face flushed and before she could stammer out a question asking why, Sherry quickly shifted to dragging her to yet another store.

Inside were a variety of clothes and accessories. Hanna hadn’t been here before but she was impressed at their selection. Sherry made her way over to a specific section of the store and presented the shelf as if it was her own.

“Now let’s pick out some gloves!” She proudly said.

Oh. Well, that was something reasonable to buy at least. Sherry needed a pair of gloves so maybe she wanted Hanna to pick out a pair for her.

Hanna took her task seriously and examined the glove shelf. There were all kinds, some thick, some thin, some leather, some cotton, some cool, some cute… Eventually Hanna settled on a pair of black leather gloves. They weren’t too thick, but thick enough to still provide warmth. Additionally they looked like they would suit Sherry which was perhaps the most important part.

Sherry meanwhile picked out a pair of extremely thick woolen mittens for Hanna. They were large and clashed with the usual style of clothes that Hanna wore but… Knowing that Sherry picked them out for her made her feel a little giddy inside. Something she’d keep to herself.

“Now do you mind explaining what we’re shopping for?” Hanna asked. The two of them were carrying a mish mash of things.

“Fufufu~” Sherry smugly laughed, “soon you’ll understand! Any moment now…!”

The two of them had made their way to a mostly empty park. It was a children’s playground but there were no children around. Instead it was just Hanna and Sherry waiting for… Something.

“What are we-” Hanna started to ask before a familiar voice interrupted her.

“Tsk, calling me out when it’s so cold out… What’s your problem Tachibana?” Alisa showed up, clicking her tongue. The irritation showed plainly on her face.

“Now, now, Alisa! How long has it been since we’ve gathered?” Leia, ever so dramatic, appeared next to her.

A large group of familiar faces started to gather. Hiro who looked like she wished she had something better to do with her time so she could’ve avoided this. Ema who seemed to be happy at seeing everyone again. Coco twiddling away at her phone through her gloves. And of course, Miria who also looked happy at seeing everyone again. Hanna looked with shock at Sherry who simply winked back at her. What was this idiot thinking, calling everyone who was probably busy with their own things?

“Welcome, welcome everyone!” Sherry announced to the group. “I’ve gathered you all here for one very important reason…” She looked dramatically across the group. “For our first ever Magical Girl Snowball Fight!”

Silence fell over everyone. Coco was the first to speak up.

“Haaah?! You meant to tell me the important thing you called us out for was this?!”

“Now, now, Coco. It could be fun! Maybe it’ll be good stream content?” Miria persuaded Coco. She had a point, Coco thought to herself and eventually gave in. Stream content… It would be especially good if she could catch an angle of Leia being hit in the face.

Of course, Leia didn’t need any convincing at all. “A splendid idea Sherry! Consider me in!”

Hiro though seemed to be conflicted. Was this really a good idea? It felt quite improper for people of their age to be having a snowball fight. She was about to raise an objection when Ema excitedly shouted. “Oh! That sounds like a great idea!” Ema had always wanted to do something like this with friends and upon seeing that, Hiro swallowed her objection.

Alisa clicked her tongue. “This is idiotic. I’m leaving.”

“Oh ho?” Sherry called out to Alisa’s turned back. “Scared of losing again like at arm wrestling?”

This caused Alisa to twitch. Sherry pushed further.

“I suppose that you are, especially without your flames. I bet you wouldn’t last long at all.”

Alisa turned around. “What the hell are you saying?! I’ll crush the floor with you Tachibana!”

Hook, line, and sinker. Sherry smiled. “Then let’s establish some rules!”

The others gathered round to listen. Sherry explained that it would be best for there to be two teams of four given their numbers. Of course, she and Hanna would be on one team. Alisa volunteered to be on the opposing team, determined to crush Sherry. Her courage seemed to inspire Leia to join her side as well, excited at the prospect of helping who seemed like the underdog in this scenario. Hiro and Ema also joined their side, leaving Coco and Miria to be on team Sherry.

With their teams decided, Sherry handed off shovels and poles to everyone. The rules were simple. Each team would have ten minutes to construct their castle and protect their flag. The flag had to be visible, and couldn’t be buried. Each team’s goal was to knock down the other team’s flag. If you were hit, you were out temporarily.

Sherry started a stopwatch and the two teams were off. Or well, some of the two teams were off. Coco seemed content to watch on the side and film them all. When Miria asked her to join, Coco gave a flimsy excuse of needing to keep her hands warm so she could keep filming. Hanna rolled her eyes but whatever. Sherry, Hanna, and Miria got to work on building a “castle”. Hanna commented multiple times about how silly this was, but ultimately ended up being the most critical of their defenses. Sherry’s ideas were utterly ridiculous afterall. Did she have any idea how a castle protecting a flag worked? Miria watched the two of them smiling.

Eventually the timer ran out. Hanna was actually quite satisfied with their work. They had used their tools effectively, making their flag nice and defended but still within the realms of the rules. She looked up and-

“W-w-what is that?!” She stammered when looking at the other team’s flag.

It seemed the idea of a castle was ignored, because on the other side of their line was just a mound of snow. At the very top of it, which was taller than Leia, was their flag, standing nice and proud. Leia looked smug while the others were on their knees, exhausted.

“Ho, ho, ho!” Leia exclaimed. “Rebels do not have castles but the very land we stand on! So what say ye, oh tyrant Tachibana! Our flag is borne on-top of our fallen comrades!”

Hiro was busy muttering something about how improper this was while Ema tried to calm her down. Alisa didn’t seem to care, her eyes burning with passion looking at Sherry’s flag.

The timer counted down. Coco excused herself to the side making it effectively a three versus four situation. Hanna reached down to grab some of the snow with her new mittens and began firing away.

The height of the opposing flag proved to be a significant challenge. Not even Sherry was able to aim effectively at such an angle. Miria and Hanna both were ineffective unsurprisingly.

This let the other team press their advantage against the more traditional castle. In fact, the hill let them stand on top of it to get an even better angle at the flag. Things were looking dire and Alisa was even taunting them.

Coco was of course laughing at the display until a stray snowball came her way. “Hey!” She angrily barked at Ema. “Watch it!” Coco scooped up some snow and returned fire, joining the fray.

Hiro defended Ema and attempted to cover for her. The park had become a warzone with snowballs flying left and right.

Hanna was out of breath, her arms were tired and it looked like they were about to lose. She sighed quietly, well, they had their fun but she had to admit it was a bit frustrating that their proper castle was going to lose to a… Hill of all things.

But Sherry wasn’t just about to give up. She quickly pulled Hanna behind the wall letting them both recover a bit. “I have an idea Hanna!”

“What?”

“We’re going to make use of your magic!”

“…Huh?!”

Hanna was speechless. Sherry shoved a snowball in her hands and lifted her up by the hips. She was deaf to Hanna’s pleas to let her down.

“Okay Hanna! You’ll know what to do!”

“What are you-”

She never got to finish her sentence. Sherry had used all strength to throw Hanna high up in the air.

For a moment, Hanna did feel like she was flying again. The familiar sensation of floating came back to her and she realized Sherry’s plan, stupid as it was.

Floating amidst the snowflakes reminded her of that time so many years ago. The feeling of specialness and then the feeling of… Loss. Returning to that cold corpse and realizing that she wasn’t special at all, just a girl with a weird quirky talent. And now, she didn’t even have that.

“Come on princess! Get them!” Coco’s scream rang out through the air. She was pelted with snow, no doubt from Hiro who angrily targeted her.

“Go, go, go!” Miria cheered her on.

“You can do it Hanna!!” Sherry’s voice reached her.

Their voices shook Hanna out of her stupor. She may not have magic anymore. She may not be special anymore. But now, she was Hanna, and they trusted her.

Power coming back to her, Hanna managed to somehow arc her hand and let loose their final shot of victory.

The other team was in utter shock at their display of lunacy and could do nothing but watch as the snowball sailed through the sky.

“Yes!” Hanna thought to herself. The snowball looked like it was aimed perfectly.

At the same time though, she started feeling a somewhat unfamiliar sensation. Right, she couldn’t float anymore. Which means after going up, she must come down.

“Ah!” Hanna screamed. But Sherry was ready for her and caught her in her arms.

“I knew you could do it Hanna!” Sherry spun her around, preventing Hanna from touching the ground.

“P-p-put me down!” Hanna complained. But judging by their reactions, and on one of Sherry’s rotations, she noticed that the opposing team’s flag had fallen. Her snowball had done it! It seemed that Leia’s desire to display their flag as tall as possible also meant that their flag was barely inserted into the ground, meaning it was easy to topple over.

Sherry’s team rejoiced in victory while Alisa fell to her knees wondering how she could lose to such an idiot twice. Ema tried to console her while Hiro was scolding Leia for her idiotic ideas. It seemed Leia didn’t lose heart though, saying that it was a beautiful but tragic end to their rebellion.

With their match over, Sherry and Hanna made their way back to their apartment. Sherry was happily humming along while Hanna followed a close distance behind her.

The snow had slowed. Only a few snowflakes drifted down. Footprints disturbed the otherwise pure white blanket that had covered the ground. With the sun now set, light from the street lamps w the only source of luminance at this hour. Melancholy had set in after all the adrenaline had left Hanna and she found herself tired.

Her steps still reminded her of walking back to her shelter many years ago. Would she wake up and find herself in that dismal reality again?

Sherry had slowed down and grabbed Hanna’s gloved hand. She said nothing but her grip pulled Hanna back to the present. Hanna turned her head away slightly to prevent Sherry from getting a glimpse of her tinged cheeks.

“I won’t get lost if that’s what you’re worried about.” Hanna said.

Of course, that wasn’t what Sherry was worried about. She shook her head and gripped tighter. “That’s not it! There’s one last thing I want to do with you!”

Hanna was surprised. It was late, what else could Sherry possibly want now? Sherry tugged Hanna along until they were in front of yet another park. Without saying anything, Sherry let go of Hanna’s hands and leapt into the snow on her back.

“Wha- You idiot! It’s still cold!” Hanna scolded Sherry’s childish act.

“Oh no~ You’re right it is cold!” Sherry complained. “If only someone were to warm me up! Preferably someone slightly shorter than me, likes wearing their hair up in twintails, has green eyes, and is the cutest in the world!”

Hanna sighed. “If you think that you’re going to trick me then-”

“Ah, it’s so cold!!”

“Sherry, I know you’re-”

“Brr!!”

“Ah, whatever, fine! I just have to lie down next to you right?!”

Hanna gave in as she usually did to Sherry’s antics. She did not jump however. Instead she gently let herself down and lay next to Sherry.

Together the two of them looked up at the skies. Some clouds still remained after the heavy snowfall but a lot of them had either moved on cleared up. The moon and stars broke up the otherwise black sky.

Sherry snuggled up to Hanna and threw her arms around her. “Ehehe~! Now I’m much warmer!”

“This idiot woman…” Hanna grumbled.

Memories of lying down on the snow resurfaced in Hanna’s mind. The despair and grief that followed still haunted her. Snowflakes continued to fall slowly.

“Pretty huh?” Sherry commented.

“…” Hanna didn’t reply. She didn’t want to answer with her honest thoughts that the snowflakes looked cruel to her. Though maybe that was unfair. They didn’t take her sister away from her.

If the snow had buried her that night along with her sister, maybe that would have been for the best-

“Thank you for being here Hanna.” Sherry spoke up, uncharacteristically serious for once. Hanna turned to look at Sherry who was staring up at the sky. She squeezed Hanna a bit tighter.

The serious tone combined with what she said utterly shocked Hanna. Who was this woman and what had she done with Sherry?!

But Hanna knew Sherry meant well. She always did, even if her actions were a little bit strange at times. Hanna knew that more than anything, Sherry wanted her to be happy. And Hanna wanted the same for Sherry too.

“That’s why,” Sherry got overtop of Hanna with a frown on her face, “don’t you ever think something as silly as ‘I shouldn’t be here’!”

“How did you-”

“Because I know you best!”

Sherry’s frown turned to a smile. “And that’s why I can say I love you the most!”

Hanna blushed and looked to the side. “…Idiot.”

“Eh~ That’s horrible! After all I said?”

“W-w-what would you want me to say?”

“How you feel about me!”

“…You already know how I feel.”

“I want you to say it!”

“Gah! I love you okay?! I’m happy being with you!”

“And that you deserve to be happy!”

“I-”

The words didn’t leave Hanna’s mouth. Did she truly? After all the things she’s done?

“You do.” Sherry answered for her. Her voice was quiet and gentle. “Trust me, you do.”

Hanna turned her head to look back at Sherry who was smiling gently and looking down at her. The guilt of her sister dying still weighed heavily on Hanna. No matter what anyone else said, that burden wouldn’t leave Hanna so easily. And of all the damn people to see through her, it was always Sherry. This no delicacy having muscle-brained idiot.

But maybe, just maybe, sometimes it wasn’t so bad to listen to her. After all, she was right earlier too. Maybe she was right now as well.

“I…” Hanna took a deep breath. “I deserve to be happy.”

“Yay!”

“And you do too, you stupid idiot that I somehow fell in love with.”

Because if Hanna couldn’t decide for herself that she deserved to be happy, who was she to say that Sherry deserved to be happy? And she knew above all else, after everything she put Sherry through, after everything Sherry did for her, she knew that Sherry had that right.

Their pasts and traumas could not be erased. But their futures had yet to be written.

Hanna wrapped her arms around Sherry and pulled her down so that the two of them could kiss. Their eyes closed and the world around them faded until they could only focus on each other. Perhaps the weight of their sins were too much for them to bear by themselves. But together, they could, and they would find their happiness.