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Her mind was a swirling mass of befuddled thoughts, nary a clear perception to be had...but she knew something was wrong. She was normally more alert when waking up in the morning and there was usually a sound reminding her of another's presence, but not today. Kagami opened her eyes and sat up slowly, the normal blinding light of the sun was not present, despite her curtains being wide open. Her alarm clock had fallen over in the middle of the night, the ticking noise muffled by the small table upon which it sat. She dared not look at the time, instead choosing to climb from her comfortable position under the covers to search for the reason for her early rising.
The hallway was still dark, but something was amiss. Gone were the sounds of peaceful breathing from her sister's room, the sound of covers shifting as her sibling sought more comfortable position known only to her. The only sound was Kagami's own heartbeat and the ticking of a clock somewhere, resonating against the unfamiliar silence.
The silence was then broken however, by the sound of someone moving downstairs. Shuffling sounds, the music of jars and plastics. Kagami took this as a sign that her sister was making breakfast, but what was the occasion? Was it someone's birthday? Had she thought up a new recipe? There were many possibilities, but what really convinced Kagami to make her way downstairs was the prospect of Tsukasa's cooking, almost always good and guaranteed to be edible. Reaching the top of the stairs however, she played witness to the front door of the house closing followed shortly by the sound of the lock clicking and keys being placed with their rightful pocket. Then there was silence.
Now very awake, Kagami was certain that it couldn't have been her twin who just left. It was far too early for anyone who didn't have a distance to travel, and Tsukasa was rarely awake at this time of morning, let alone awake enough to change her clothing. A sudden, terrifying though crossed Kagami's mind at that instant; Tsukasa could have just left in her nightclothes! Kagami rushed upstairs and changed into her track suit as quickly as possible and ran downstairs. She put her hair into a ponytail behind her as she pulled her running shoes on, and then dashed out the door, only hesitating to lock it behind her. Reaching the end of the walkway in front of her house, she glanced down each direction of the road and spotted her sister walking at a brisk pace. Kagami dashed after her, but the head start her sister had, plus the lack of a proper warm-up before running left her winded about fifty yards behind the one she was after.
At this distance she could see her twin clearly and was relieved to see that the girl was properly dressed in her overalls, but the bag she was carrying and the baseball cap on her head suggested that she intended to be out for some time. She was too tired to run the rest of the way to catch up to Tsukasa, so instead Kagami fell into step behind her, maintaining her distance as she now tailed her own sibling. At the walking pace Kagami became aware of how cold it was, the sun barely threatening to rise on the horizon. She also noticed where she was, having now passed the train station and crossed a bridge, it then occurred to her that they were leaving residential area, and were entering the outskirts. Tall buildings of concrete and steel gave way to more modest buildings made of wood and plaster, paved streets were replaced by gravel road and grassy paths, and dark storefronts had their place taken by gentle hills. Kagami could only wonder where her sister was going, as it was unusual for the girl to leave the house at all on a holiday.
The horizon was turning red as Kagami followed her sister up a forested hill, away from the road and its safety, and into darkened woods that gave Kagami the chills. How was Tsukasa able to remain so calm? The girl was usually terrified of such places, and the lack of any people made the location much more foreboding. The light coming in through the trees was turning red with the impending sunrise, casting a bloody glow on everything as the twisted shadows of the trees stretched towards her, as if reaching to pull her to them. Tsukasa seemed to notice the change in environment, and hurried her pace towards the top of the hill. Kagami was feeling more and more fatigued as she tried to keep up with her twin, her legs sore from such a long trip with so little preparation.
As Kagami came to the top of the hill, she discovered the reason for her sister's early morning outing. At the top of the hill, one could see the entire countryside below it, the sun cresting over the distant mountains turned everything a nice cherry red. The top of the hill had a grassy clearing, the only features being some shrubs around the edges, and an unused picnic table at which now sat Tsukasa, who was now watching the rising sun. Kagami began to approach her sister, but upon catching movement in the corner of her eye, she stopped and turned to whatever was now moving towards the table. She relaxed as she realised it was only a rabbit.
The rabbit hopped up onto the tabletop beside Tsukasa, and looked straight at Kagami. Tsukasa turned her in her seat to figure out what the creature was looking at, and found herself staring at her sibling. "Onee-chan? What are you doing here?"
Kagami walked up to the table and took a seat beside her twin, the rabbit between them. "I heard you leave this morning. Admittedly, I had thought you'd left in you pyjamas."
Tsukasa chuckled and turned back to the sunrise, her eyes shining as the sun itself began to ascend above the horizon. "I suppose I might do something like that. I woke up early this morning and just...decided to go watch the sunrise."
"I suppose it's a nice change of pace. And this is a nice place to watch it from." The two shared a moment of peace, but it was then broken by the sound of Kagami's grumbling stomach. "Err...I didn't eat before I left."
Tsukasa smiled before pulling some plastic containers from the bag she had carried. "I packed a breakfast." She handed one of the containers to Kagami, who could already smell the eggs and sausages from inside.
"Thanks." Kagami placed the container in front of her and took a bite. Beside her, Tsukasa gave some lettuce to the rabbit that was now lying in front of them. "It's nice to be out at first light sometimes."
Tsukasa nodded. "Yeah."
End