The Problem with Jackals

Chapter One

"Yo, yo Kagetsuna! You awake in there or what?" Katakura Kojuro could distantly hear a girl's sardonic voice call to him and he blinked in confusion. He looked around to see the Mouri twins calmly sitting in front of him.

The younger twin, Kanon, sat to his right and the other, Suzume, asked from his left, "Kojuro-kun, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he finally grumbled to Kanon as she tapped his head lightly. He brushed her hand away and she grinned with that catty smile of hers. He shook his head and smoothed back his brown hair, which had become slightly mussed up from the autumn wind that blew into the open window of the classroom.

She sat back down in her seat and teased, "I bet you were having some sort of dirty dream about Suzu-chan, weren't you?"

"K-Kanon!" Her elder sister stuttered as she turned a somewhat attractive shade of red.

Kojuro sighed as he felt his own face heat up and said unwaveringly, "Of course not, I would never-"

Kanon sighed as she continued to mock, "That's right, because it was obviously about me then, since I'm the better looking twin." She nodded as if to agree with herself and Kojuro sighed again as Suzume rolled her eyes slightly.

"Honestly, Kanon," she admonished. The silver bells keeping her hair up jingled gently as she shook her head disapprovingly.

Kojuro reflected briefly now how different these two were. Whereas Suzume kept her long, ebony black hair half tied together with a red ribbon, Kanon kept it completely up in a high ponytail.

While Suzume's brown eyes always looked innocent and considerate, Kanon's somewhat amber eyes glinted mischievously and looked somewhat primal; as if she knew things about you that even you didn't. Suzume's smile was gentle but Kanon's never faltered before a mischievous, mocking smirk. It was how she got her nickname 'jackal'.

Although they were identical twins physically, Kanon was very much a different story from the composed and mature Suzume in terms of personality. Actually, now that he thought about it, they were really nothing alike. If he were asked to compare them to something, he'd say that they were more like water and oil, and yet they worked together as well as a perfect key and lock. Their controversies attracted.

Kojuro looked back out the window at the stormy weather and explained calmly, "No, Kanon-sama… I was only wondering how bad this storm will be today."

"Are you worried about your vegetable garden?" Suzume asked and he nodded slightly.

"It's gotten cooler and with so much rain I'm afraid they might drown before I can take them out."

"Would you like some help?" Suzume asked considerately.

Kojuro blushed again as he said quickly, "N-no, that's alright, Suzume-sama… I wouldn't want to inconsiderate-"

"Not at all," Suzume said brightly. She smiled and said, "I'd love to help you… Kojuro-kun."

They smiled at each other and Kanon suddenly teased, "I'd like to help too, but unfortunately, you know how I am with plants."

Kojuro shuddered slightly. If Kanon wasn't overfeeding plants she was underfeeding them and in the end, the plant always died. He winced slightly and said, "Yes, I am well aware."

"Anyways," Kanon said brightly and ignoring his pessimism, "I have a job to do tonight, and don't you have a violin recital tonight?" she turned to her sister who nodded.

"Yes, but it isn't until eight…"

"Oh, well, I'll try and make it, okay?" Kanon promised.

"Are you busy tonight?" the older twin asked.

"Yeah, I've got a job to do, but I should be able to make it by then."

Suzume raised an eyebrow and asked suspiciously, "And, this job of yours… What do you-"

"Things," Kanon said dismissively.

The twins were practically through with their freshman year, but Kojuro was a year ahead of them. It was hard to believe so much time had passed since he met these two. Ever since her freshman spring, Kanon had been working some mysterious job at the antique store across from the Kai Café. She never described what it was that she did, but it always required her to disappear for days, weeks at a time. No one, not even her own twin, knew what it was that she did and she always evaded any questions about it.

It was amazing how she stayed in school at all.

Suddenly the school bell rang and Suzume jumped. "Kanon, we have to go, class is going to start soon!" She started leaving but paused to wait anxiously for her sister.

"Oh, right," Kanon got up to follow her sister and she called back, "Well, see you later then Kagetsuna!"

Kojuro sighed a he waved back and corrected, "It's Kojuro now, Kanon-sama."

She stuck her tongue out at him and mimicked, "It's Jackal now, Kojuro."

Kanon's satirical laugh followed behind her and Kojuro couldn't help but smile.

A/N: the debut chapter of a story that I would like to follow Kojuro through his high school days with my OCs, the Mouri twins. It's to support them during their roles through my original series The Problem with Smart Girls which, if you've read, follows Date Masamune through his high school years.

As you have guessed, this is an alternate universe during modern times.

And so, I dedicate this series to my favorite, useless leek, Katakaura Kojuro.

- Jackal

(To be called a 'leek' is an insult, by the way. And Kojuro just happens to be a giant one. :))