Disclaimer: Not mine.

Chapter 1

We were glad we were twins. It helped us hide the truth, once we realized it ourselves. The incredible closeness we shared could be passed off as part of the nature of being twins. That near mythical level of understanding that could only be achieved by spending every moment of your existence together.

The real reason for our closeness was something we finally figured out when we reached high school. A girl who liked to watch the kendo club practice confessed her love to Shuusuke, and he turned her down. After that, he was awkward around me, careful of what he did and said.

I didn't like the way he was careful to put distance between us, and I knew something was bothering him. I was afraid I'd done something, hurt him somehow, or angered him. When I demanded answers, I learned I was wrong. It was something he'd done that he was afraid to tell me.

He couldn't hide it from me forever, and he was terrified what I would do when he did.

"I love you, and I'm in love with you." The words tore out of him, a storm of emotion escaping with them.

Hearing that, it was truly understandable, how he'd been acting. How he would take a step away from me when I leaned against him, when before he would lean on me as well. How he was careful to never let any contact linger. He stopped stealing his favorite parts of my lunch, and blushed when I stole from his.

We were twins. How could he love me, that way? It barely took me half a moment to realize it wasn't any different than loving anyone else, and dismiss the problem. I knew I loved him. And even if I wasn't in love with him just yet, I knew I could easily reach that point.

I know he didn't expect the kiss I laid on his cheek, as he sat on his bed, fists clenched in self hatred and terror. I know he didn't expect the following kiss on his lips, as he stared at me in amazement that I didn't hate him. I know because Shuusuke, the crybaby, started crying, and all he said before going to sleep that night was a quiet "Thank you".

For a while, nothing changed. The understanding of how we truly loved each other slowly sank in, and the occasional kisses never led to anything more.

But we had to wake up to reality at some point. When Hoshino confessed to me, that she loved me, and had for quite some time, I thought she was joking. She wasn't. And after that, Shuusuke and I started to worry. What would we do if someone noticed that neither of us ever dated, but we always had time for each other? We both thought the practical solution would be to date once or twice, to keep up appearances. But neither one of us could bear the idea of being disloyal to the other, even for both of our sakes. Even the illusion of dishonesty was enough to burn.

What we had together, despite society's stigmas, was pure. It was good. And after Hoshino's confession, and our refusal to heed the commands of society, we took it to the next level.

We were innocent, that first time, and so careless. Almost, almost, we got caught, but when our father looked into my room, and saw Shuusuke, with his arms around me, his first question was if I'd had a nightmare. My sigh of relief must have seemed a sob to him, and as Shuusuke's arms tightened around my shoulders, he merely nodded to the two of us, and left us to "comfort" each other.

We were infinitely more careful after that. And we were... happy, despite the pressure put upon us by our father and step-mother.

Then Sana came back, and we were even happier. The five of us, all together again. It was unbelievable that Sana had managed to forget Nanaka's face, though. He's such a dork, I had to feel sorry for him, the way he just kept digging himself into deeper trouble.

It was almost scary, though, to go out together, all of us sharing the same adventures, after he had been gone for so long. Without him, the other four of us hadn't remained quite as close. We were still good friends, but it didn't resonate as strongly without him there. Sana's return meant those bonds would reassert themselves, and with all of us getting close again, Shuusuke and I might get discovered in an unguarded moment.

Our fears were unfounded, though. Everything was fine. Everything was great, even with Sana and Nanaka's drama.

And then... And then it got bad. The letter was delivered to the school. Someone claimed to have seen Shuusuke and I entering a love hotel. We were horrified, terrified, shaken to the bone and angered. It was the anniversary of our mother's death, and someone was accusing us of going into a love hotel together.

And the worst part was that it was true. We had gone to a love hotel. Our need for comfort, with the stress of living with our father and the pain of remembering our mother, had outweighed our usual caution. There was a perfectly good chance that we had been seen. When I heard the contents of that letter, my heart stopped in my chest, for just an instant.

I jumped straight into outrage, trying but failing to skip simple denials that could so easily be turned against us, but the vice-principal's questions and doubt knocked me off balance. It shouldn't have surprised me, after the way he'd treated us in the past. Even Yuzuki-sensei's defense of us didn't hold much weight with the administration.

Still, when they said they believed me, the relief was indescribable.

When they said they were going to tell our parents, my world crumbled before my eyes.