Thank you to catspats31 for the reminder. It has been a while since I wrote my first stories and the electronic way of publishing is new to me.
Although this lessens the visualization a bit (I think I write stories and visualize them more as a music video), I have removed the lyrics. I hope everyone still enjoys.
Just a little background of what is "Otome", Otome (as per my search) refers to "maiden". As such, Otome games are those that target the female population. They are dating games wherein you can choose who among the male characters you will date/have a relationship with.
In that aspect, the following are given in this fanfic:
The game is from Arithmetic and the overview is that the character who is playing the game finds herself in a contract marriage with 7 (incredibly cute) guys. This ultimately ends up in a good ending with the guy the player chooses.
One route for this story-telling game is the Toya/Haruto Kagurazaka route wherein they are twins.
Haruto Kagurazaka is a rock star while Toya Kagurazaka is a composer. The siblings have very different personalities and are often bickering.
This story is IF you (the character playing the game) chose Toya. I have chosen Toya for the meantime but further along I go into the game, the more that I am having second thoughts—seeing as both are very captivating characters.
Aside from this semi-spoiler, this story takes the setting for when the player finishes the route and Haruto is not chosen.
I recommend you search the game in Google Play and App Store (both available in android and iOs) and see the wonderful characters this game has. I consider it wonderful because I love anime and the drawing of the characters in this game is really good.
I hope this clears up some confusion, sorry, I was just really caught up in the game that I was not able to make proper introductions.
Pardon me, this is my first attempt at writing again after several years. Please feel free to critique my work, I think that criticisms will make me improve. ^_^
Lastly, the setting is in Japan, although I do not know a lot about the country, I absolutely love everything about it.
A shower of disclaimers:
I do not own this beautiful song "Where My Love Goes" by Lawson; neither do I own the beautiful characters of Arithmetic's "7 Hotties All My Husbands" namely Haruto Kagurazaka and Toya Kagurazaka.
(In some alternate/imagined universe where the artist for the song is Haruto).
Twins by Ravn Archer
Inspired by LAWSON "Where My Love Goes"
"Ok, that's a wrap! Good job everyone! Good luck tomorrow!" the manager exclaimed.
A certain blond-haired band member visibly relaxed and just stood in place for a while. Expressionless, his handsome profile stands out—but looking closely, and if you knew him, he looks lost… and somewhat miserable.
Haruto Kagurazaka sighed for the nth time throughout the day.
"C'mon, let's paaartaaay!" a band member shouted, and the energy was slowly spreading to everyone present.
Haruto smiled. The usual, album-cover/magazine-cover dazzling smile. This has been his best defense. Always disarming, always unexpected. The perfect cover for everything.
"I think I'll be heading home. We can party harder tomorrow after the show." Haruto said.
"Aww, man. Just a little?" another band member chimed in.
Haruto smiles.
"I just want to be at my best tomorrow. That's all…" Haruto dismissively said, pulling out his celphone to call his butler Keita. "Hey, Keita, can you bring the car over? Yup. I'll be out in 15. Thanks." Closing the celphone, Haruto proceeded to the dressing rooms to fetch his stuff.
"Haruto, we love you!" shrill screams came from one end of the hallway. Turning his head, he spots a group of girls in the designated fan area.
Haruto smiles.
More shrieks. Haruto waves to no one in particular.
More shrieks. Haruto turns around and walks to his dressing room.
Not now. He just can't deal with fans right now.
He remembers. He remembers as clear as yesterday.
Rina. The girl whose entrance in the mansion and into his life was as stormy as her exit.
I'll be the one to save ya
Haruto smiles. This time, a real sad one. A smile that is only seen if you are not close to him. He thought that he would be the one for her. He took his time. He was always there. He protected her.
But of course, not all things go the way that he expects. And somehow, this time, he was not enough.
Another sigh
It has been precisely 2 years. Two years since she came and went.
Two years since his twin brother Toya finally found "the one" for him and she mutually shared his brother's feelings.
It's not like he let her go just because his twin brother Toya also liked her. He tried his best, and did not hold back during the last part.
What's admirable to her, he has felt from the start that she has always liked, and honestly loved Toya. She has always been so faithful once she came out of the confusion of unexpectedly stepping into their world.
Gathering his belongings, he hurried to the secured passage and out into the cold evening air.
Haruto remembered when he composed the song.
"This is really good…" Haruto's manager commented. "It's not rock but I can see you singing this song and further increasing your fans..." the manager added. It has been 6 months since the Rina and Toya married. Maybe it's true that when girls get depressed, they immediately show it—and that when boys get depressed, it rarely shows and manifests at a much later time. Certainly, he felt like this is true for him.
Haruto felt like could not do anything right around that time. Yes, he can practice with the band and perform properly. But it was extremely tiring. After all, everything had to be the perfect façade.
Finally, he tried his hand at composing. The lyrics came in naturally. All the things he wanted to say to Rina, he poured it all in the song. He did not care what Rina or Toya thought. It was his last shot in being honest to himself. For closure.
"Hey, this is not revenge against Toya, right? You're not getting back at him for doing most of your songs before?" one reported asked him during interview.
"Of course not. He will always be my overly talented twin." Haruto answered.
"So is this based on your personal experience?" the reporter asked him.
"I think all good songs have some personal roots." Haruto answered.
"Is this about the girl your twin brother Toya married?" same reporter asked.
Haruto put on a confused face. "Me and Toya share a lot of things, we fight like normal brothers. But, I would never go against him like this." Haruto answered. He flashed his trademark smile.
Girls who were at the edge of their seats shrieked.
'Liar,' he told himself. Deep inside, he felt his true self retreating. But Rina does not deserve to be put in the spotlight again like this.
"Master Haruto, are you ok? You look tired." Keita asked him. It immediately cut his daydream.
"I am tired…" he responded. "But can you wait for me for an hour while I go to the mall? I'll put on my disguise. Anyway, it's getting late. I don't think there would be a lot of shoppers anymore." Haruto said. He was craving something.
"Sure. Be careful. I'll be dropping you off near the basement elevators. I'll be waiting there after exactly one hour." Keita said, maneuvering the car.
"Thanks, Keita." Haruto said before disembarking. He pulled his baseball cap down and adjusted his glasses.
He was craving for something sweet. There was a particular bakeshop he liked. Of course, he could always ask Keita to buy for him. He also felt like walking like a normal person before he again put on a show as a rock-star tomorrow.
Tomorrow would be exactly 2 years since the last time Toya agreed to play in a concert with him. During that time, he felt that Rina pretty much made up her mind.
So tomorrow is another major concert—without Toya, who is currently happy being in the shadows again, composing… and is happily married to Rina.
Haruto let out a huge sigh. Two years has been long enough. Somehow, with his schedule and all the pretending related to the entertainment industry, he never got himself to be serious about any relationship. He wanted honesty and no pretenses. This is difficult to obtain with his current work and status.
Shaking his head, he headed out to the bakeshop.
His craving satisfied, and with an armload of paper bags full of pastries, Haruto started to make his way back to the elevator.
Balancing the paper bag of pastries, someone hurriedly went past him. In that exact moment, Haruto felt a bump on what he was holding and something started to fall from his paper bag.
"Oh…" Haruto said, trying to catch whatever it was that fell.
"I'm so sorry, I'm in a hurry…" the girl said. She stopped and spun around to help him. For a moment, they stared at each other.
Haruto's heart stopped. It was her.
"Rina…?" He called out to her.
She smiled at him, confusion written on her face. "Sir, you must be talking about someone else. I'm not Rina." The girl said. Her accent is different. She was wearing sports clothes that were clearly from abroad. There was something different about her but she is a splitting image of her. Rina.
"C'mon, Robyn, the store's about to close!" another female voice called out further ahead.
Haruto looked up to see a familiar fan, Maya something-, the female volleyball prodigy, near a sports shop. She was obviously waiting for Rina, no, Robyn.
"So sorry…" the girl said. She held out a small bag containing a chocolate éclair. Dumbfounded, he took the bag and for a moment, her hand slid against his. She then turned and ran to the volleyball prodigy. For a moment, the volleyball star squinted at him, as if being reminded of something. Then, they disappeared into the shop.
Who… what… was that? Haruto thought.
"My love goes out of my heart and into the wind, out my guitar and under your skin…" Haruto sang. He was scanning the huge concert crowd. Maybe, just maybe, they would be here… he thought.
There she is! He spotted the volleyball star. He had seen her in almost all concerts and events for VIPs. A recent interview with her revealed that she is one of his biggest fan.
But the person he was looking for was not beside the volleyball star.
I'll find a way to sort this out, Haruto decided.
"Master Haruto, I did not know that you were into female volleyball…" Keita mused. They were in some sort of stake-out mission, outside the court where a certain volleyball star was practicing.
"I'm not really…" Haruto answered.
"Then why have we been here for almost three hours?" Keita asked. "If not for her…" Keita motioned at the sports magazine with the prodigy at the cover.
"We're not here for her." Haruto answered. The team finally came out, signaling the end of practice. It was some minutes before the prodigy came out, talking to the coach and…
"Miss RINA?!" Keita exclaimed. Haruto was alarmed at the volume of Keita's voice.
"Shush, it's not Rina. Well, I'm not sure…" Haruto distractedly said. Everything about her looks like Rina—but the mannerisms are very different. He was confused. He glanced at Keita and it was obvious that he too was very confused.
"I didn't know Miss Rina worked with a sports team…" Keita said.
"She doesn't. She is into design. And I bet, if we call her, she'd be either at her office or with Toya." Haruto said. Suddenly having an epiphany, he asked Keita to call her.
"Hi, Keita! Why are you calling? Is everyone ok?" Rina's voice rang out from the speakerphone.
Both Haruto and Keita froze. Clearly, the girl who was conversing with the coach and the volleyball star was not on the phone.
"Hello?" Rina said.
"Wrong dial. So sorry Miss Rina…" Keita hurriedly said and ended the call.
It was some time before the coach, the player and the doppelganger parted ways.
"Drive closer to her…" Haruto told Keita. Keita obliged.
When they got closer to her car, they saw that clearly, something was wrong with her car. All the others have gone but it seems that she could not start the engine.
"Stop the car…" Haruto said. He got off the car, confused at what to do but moving, just the same.
"Hi, miss. It seems you have a bit of car trouble…" Haruto said.
The girl was still trying to start the engine. She had her window down and her earphones on and she was humming a very familiar song. His song. The first he composed.
"My love goes out…" she softly sang. For a moment, he just stood there waiting. He smiled because the song sounds so different when somebody else is singing it.
Realizing she could not hear him, he tapped on her shoulder.
"Oh, God!" she exclaimed. Her eyes widened and she put her hand to her chest. Her face showed a second of relief when her eyes widened again with realization. "Oh, God!" she exclaimed again. She removed the earphones. "Mr. Kagurazaka!" she exclaimed.
"You know me?" Haruto asked.
She motioned at the CD case she had in the car. It was his band's album. "Your song really speaks out." She said, simply.
'Definitely not Rina.' Haruto's mind said. It just didn't fit Rina's personality to say something like this during a first meeting.
"Besides, Ms. Maya—my patient, has been very persistent that I get an education on the local music scene. Starting of course with her idol…" she said with a smile. "Oh, sorry, what was it that you need? Gosh… where are my manners…" she rambled on, removing the seatbelt and opening the car door.
"Good afternoon, I'm Robyn Griffiths. Pleased to have your acquaintance Mr. Kagurazaka…" she said, holding out her hand with a big smile. "I'm sorry I don't speak the local language, I am not from here. Although I know that you speak English very well." She said.
Haruto shook her hand. Her mannerisms are clearly not typical of a local person.
"You missed my patient by a few minutes. She already went home." Robyn said. It was then that Haruto realized that he wasn't speaking.
"Y-your patient?" He asked.
"Yes. Ms. Maya. I assume that is why you are here?" Robyn asked. "You must know that she is one of your…"
"…biggest fan?" He finished for her. She again smiled.
"Yup." She said.
'What is it with this girl and her smiles?' Haruto thought. It didn't seem like she was smiling because she is interested in him and is trying to attract him, it looked more like he is a specimen in a museum. And she thinks that he is here for the prodigy…
"Actually, I am here to talk to you… but it seems like you're having car troubles…" Haruto finally was able to say.
"ME?!" Robyn said. "And yes, I'm having car troubles. BUT, I can't ask you for help. What would your country say after I made their celebrity help me out? And to help out an ordinary foreigner, for that matter…" she was mumbling again.
'This is very confusing. Refreshing but confusing,' Haruto thought.
"Then, since I want to speak with you, would you mind riding with me?" he asked, gesturing at his car. Keita rolled down his window, and had a curious look on his face. "I admit I do not know much about cars. Keita does…" gestures towards Keita "…but I'd like to talk to you in a quieter place. Well, not at the side of the road, for that matter…" this time, he was the one mumbling.
She seemed to be thinking things over. "Ok, I'll grab my things." She agreed after a short while.
Haruto and Keita was very confused with this very intriguing person.
"So you're a Physiotherapist?" Haruto asked, a few minutes later. They were at a small café, which had an area where VIPs can have some privacy.
"Yes. And I am very fortunate to have been assigned here. It was just really luck that I met Ms. Maya." She answered.
"You've never been here before?" he asked.
"Nope. Never. But it has always been my dream…" she answered, looking directly into my eyes. She seemed to do it to emphasize her point. She did not show any trace of the usual googly-eyes fans usually have.
She clearly did not have the mannerisms of a local. She is the spitting image of Rina but is not her.
'And I'm repeating myself over and over… because all of this is very confusing.' Haruto thought.
"This next year is going to be very interesting…" she continued, concentrating on her hot cocoa.
"Oh, how so?" he asked.
"This year will be my deciding factor if I am staying or returning abroad. I need to gauge if I can work properly in this foreign setting. Honestly, I love your country. I feel like I was born here and got shipped off abroad. But your language is proving to be my most challenging hurdle…" she smiled to herself, eyes lowered, tracing her finger over the table napkin, where the café's name is printed on.
Then, she looked up, a puzzled look in her eyes. "But sir, you haven't yet told me what is it that you wanted to talk about…" she asked.
'This time, if I'm good enough, can I keep her?' Haruto's mind asked.
"By chance, do you want me to introduce you to Ms. Maya?" she asked, with a teasing smile. Suddenly, her nose wrinkled. "But why would you need something like that? She clearly likes you. A lot." She emphasized. "And it's not like you need an introduction…" she added.
Haruto frowned.
"I'm sorry, am I too direct?" she asked. "I'm sorry, I think I still need a lot of learning to do when it comes to your culture… And I'll stop rambling… now…" She shut her mouth, still with a smile on her face, seeming to be urging him to talk.
'You remind me of someone…' Haruto wanted to say. However, he stopped himself, knowing that across most cultures, the word 'rebound', pertaining to a relationship is not something good.
"I am interested in you." Haruto simply said.
He needed to think. He wanted to get to know her.
Her refreshing personality makes him want to get to know her. Her resemblance to Rina was just a minor factor. It was a shocking similarity but this conversation clarifies that she is very different. He was actually surprised with himself that he finds her candid openness unusually attractive.
She raised an eyebrow. "…perhaps you need therapy also?" she asked.
'Therapy'. Haruto almost laughed out loud.
He sighed loudly and relaxed. "Maybe that's it." He answered.
"How could you be so direct like that?" he muttered, using his native tongue.
She frowned. "Sir, I don't get what you are saying."
"You can call me Haruto. All this 'Sir' thing just seems so business-like." He said. He was starting to get comfortable.
"If you are going to be my patient, I don't' think I can call you anything else other than Sir…" she countered. "But of course, my main contract will be with Ms. Maya…" she added.
Haruto nodded. "Then we can have consultation during your down time or if it's off season." He decided.
"Ok. I don't think that would be a problem." She answered.
"Also, I'd like for us to be friends." He smiled, genuinely this time.
"Having a friend would be nice. Oh, don't worry about me blabbing, I am very strict about patient confidentiality, and I would really like to concentrate on getting this chance right, so you don't have to worry about me leaking information to the media or to anyone else about your therapy…" she said.
'On getting this chance right… There you go again, going bull's eye on what I am feeling,' Haruto thought.
"I wouldn't want to mess this chance up either…" Haruto blurted out.
Robyn frowned a bit and tilted her head to the side. "…my chance?" she asked.
"Yes, your chance." Haruto confirmed, seeing how she would react.
'You're not fair, how can you be so direct and open to someone you just met? Are all foreign cultures like this? Are we the only ones who have a culture of strict conservatism?' Haruto thought.
She still looked confused. "I am not sure what you mean but… Arigatou…" she said, trying her tongue on the local language. It brought a smile on my face. Her pronunciation was passable.
"So… friends?" Haruto asked, holding his hand out for a hand shake. She took it without missing a beat and grasped his hand in a firm grip.
He admired how little she thought about holding my hand and how she did not shy away.
I am not going to mess this chance up.
I am going to take my time.
Aside from Keita, who has already seen her, I don't plan on bringing her to the mansion.
Hopefully, this can be just a regular friendship, away from prying eyes of those in the mansion.
The media will be another thing.
Her origin is a big mystery. One mystery I want to solve if she permits.
But this time, this time, perhaps I can make things go my way.
One year to find what these feelings really are.
-END?-
Special Thanks to (and again I DO NOT OWN any of them):
Lawson and to their awesome song "Where My Love Goes"
Arithmetic and their awesome game "7 Hotties All My Husbands"
Haruto Kagurazaka
Toya Kagurazaka
Keita