Two Hearts, One World

Chapter 1

It was a Friday. A young girl with long brown hair and ocean blue eyes wearing a white blouse, a tie as well as a small silver necklace with a heart around her neck, and a plaid skirt walked home from Destiny Islands High School one night, heading for home.

Rain stung her face as she headed for home alone. Sure, it was raining, but she didn't care at all if she got wet. She loved being out in the rain. She was tired and angered, for she had received detention for the fifteenth time this school year and was forced to stay after school once again. She had gotten into a fight with another girl over a boy and the principal had caught her, forcing her to attend another session of detention while the opposing girl was set free.

Her parents would be furious the moment that she walked through the front door, knowing that she had probably caused more trouble at school.

She opened the front door and closed it behind her. She looked over to her right and saw a young boy with spiky red hair and blue eyes sitting on the floor, watching television and laughing up a storm from the violent shows.

"Hey there, Manami." The boy said.

"Dad come home yet?" The girl asked, walking right past the boy on the floor.

"Not yet. Mommy just told me that he should be coming home pretty soon. Where were you? Mom was getting really worried, thinking that you could've been kidnapped." The boy said to the elder girl.

"Oh, shut up, Takeshi. You know very well why I came so late. Detention again." Manami said angrily, throwing her backpack to the ground and storming upstairs.

"Aw c'mon, it can't be that bad!" Takeshi said.

"Takeshi, you're only six years old and still in elementary school. I'm fourteen and I'm just starting my freshman year of high school."

"Means nothing to me!" Takeshi said.

"Basically… YOU HAVEN'T HAD ANY DETENTION COURSES YET! You receive them until when you go to Destiny High like I do." Manami exclaimed angrily.

"MANAMI ERI HIKARI! GET YOUR BUTT IN THIS ROOM RIGHT NOW!" An angered woman called out to her.

"Ooh, mom's mad... Good luck up there, sis. I'm gonna miss ya after mom kills you. Can I have your bedroom?" Takeshi said, putting a hand on Manami's shoulder.

"NO WAY!" Manami said angrily. "Besides… I'm not going anywhere for another few years, got it munchkin?"

"Sure, whatever. I'll be watching Inuyasha if you need me, alright?" Takeshi said.

"Sure thing." Manami said, walking upstairs.

Takeshi Hikari, Manami's faithful little brother and aide to her, was most like their mother in many ways. For starters, he was very cheerful and rarely ever got mad at anyone, and when he did, his anger faded quickly. He never really got into trouble either, because his teachers saw him as an innocent six year old. Manami hated that about him.

Manami Hikari, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of her little brother Takeshi. At only fourteen years old, she was mostly like her father, in appearance and in personality. She got angry easily and did anything to stand up for the ones that she loved. She also wanted to be an all powerful warrior one day, which was why she took her anger out on people that insulted her or just plain made her mad.

--

Manami sighed heavily and then opened the door to her mother's room. "Yes?" Manami said, slightly annoyed. She walked into the room to face a woman with long red hair and blue eyes. She looked furious as she stared over at her daughter.

"Take a seat." Manami sat down nervously on her mother's bed, remaining silent. "I just got a call from your school principal, and he said to me that you've gotten detention once again. What did you do this time?"

"Uh..." Manami began to say. The woman stared at her daughter with angered eyes. Manami gulped and sighed. "Okay... I... Got into a little fight with this girl Kaede, but it was for a good reason this time, I swear!"

"And the reason?" The woman asked.

"She was flirting with this boy named-!" Manami began.

"No excuses on boys this time, Manami! This is the fifteenth time you've gotten detention marks this school year! And school just started two months ago! This strange behavior of yours has to stop and I mean now." The woman said.

"But mom, it wasn't even my fault!" Manami exclaimed angrily.

"That's enough. Leave, please." The woman said. Manami was about to reply to this comment, but then she just left the room, slamming the door behind her as she left. "AND DON'T SLAM MY DOOR!"

"Whatever..." Manami muttered to herself as she walked back downstairs. When she had arrived there, she saw Takeshi asleep on the floor with the television still turned on the show Inuyasha. She sat down on the couch, sighing. "Oh well... Might as well get my mind off of what mother said to me."

--

A few moments later, Manami heard the door open and there stood a man with spiky brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a suit and a raincoat. She glanced back at him and then smiled when she saw who it was.

"Didn't think it would rain THAT hard tonight... Sora Hikari, you are one brave man..." The man said to himself, removing his wet jacket and hanging it up in a closet.

"Daddy!" Manami exclaimed happily, leaping off of the couch she sat on. Sora glanced over and saw his daughter running towards her. He smiled at her and then lifted her off the ground, hugging her.

"Hey! How's my favorite little girl doing today?" Sora said happily.

"Uh... Don't wanna talk about it." Manami replied.

"You got in trouble again today, didn't you, Manami?" Sora said, not exactly surprised if she said yes. Manami looked into her father's eyes and nodded. Sora set her back on the ground and giggled. "What for this time?"

"I got into a fight..." Manami said, looking at the ground.

"Oh, I see... Was your mom mad at you for hearing this kind of thing happening again?" Sora asked, kneeling beside the young girl.

"Yes sir... But I don't blame her for being angry. This is the fifteenth time I've gotten detention in two months!" Manami said.

"Well, I'm not mad at you. I used to get into a lot of trouble in my first year of high school too, to tell you the truth." Sora whispered.

"No way! You?" Manami said, giggling. "I find that hard to believe."

"Yep." Sora replied.

"Wow..." Manami said, her eyes lighting up.

"Sora, don't encourage her to be bad like you were!" The two heard a female's voice call out. Sora turned his head slightly and saw his wife.

"I'm not encouraging her to be bad, Kairi. I'm just telling her that she's not the only one who went through a lot of trouble in freshman year of high school." Sora said, standing up. He walked towards Kairi and whispered to her. "Mainly because of those reasons I will not mention to Manami or Takeshi right now. I missed my freshman year."

"That reminds me. You missed the first year of high school. Which I'm still really mad that you and Riku left me here for that one reason." Kairi whispered back.

"I WAS ASLEEP!" Sora exclaimed angrily, still whispering.

"Pfft... Excuses, excuses..." Kairi said angrily.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be upset in my room..." Manami said.

"Manami, can you do me a favor right quick? Can you take Takeshi upstairs and put him to bed, please?" Kairi asked.

"Sure thing, mom." Manami said, walking over to Takeshi's sleeping body on the floor and taking him upstairs with her.

Sora and Kairi continued to argue about how he had left her on the island for a year, and Manami watched in spirit as Kairi walked out of the room, possibly a little angered at her husband.

"IT WAS IN THE PAST, KAIRI! Let it go already!" Sora called out.

"So what? I won't let go of my precious memories!" Kairi called back.

"Kairi!" Sora called back, running after her. Kairi let out a heavy sighs and then walked into the kitchen, Sora following. Manami sighed heavily at this scene and then walked upstairs, Takeshi still in her arms.

"I can't believe this is happening..." Manami whispered to herself.

It was nearly one in the morning. Manami sat in her bed, dressed in her pink pajamas, about to go to sleep for the evening. Something that burned in her mind kept her awake, and she didn't want to sleep until she got answers.

"I wonder why mom and dad were arguing about the past earlier... What did they even mean by the past? I wonder if something happened." Manami asked herself.

"Mommy and daddy had a dark past, Manami." A small voice called. Manami turned to see Takeshi standing in the doorway, a blanket in his hands.

"Bad dream?" Manami asked.

"No. Not this time." Takeshi said.

"Then what happened? You're usually always asleep around this time." Manami asked her young brother.

"I was asleep and when I woke up, heard mommy and daddy talking downstairs. I went to see what they were talking about and... They were talking of the past and what had happened many years before we came along." Takeshi said.

"Are they still talking?" Manami asked.

"Yeah." Takeshi replied.

"Good. I kinda wanna eavesdrop on some of this conversation that they're having." Manami said, walking out of her room. "Are you coming?"

"Mhm!" Takeshi said, running after Manami.

--

Manami and Takeshi sat down at the very top of the stairs, listening in on what their parents were really talking about.

"Alright... We're in the clear now. So, keep quiet and don't screw things up, Takeshi." Manami warned Takeshi.

"But... Don't you think now is a good time to tell them about the past too, Kairi?" Sora asked Kairi. Kairi sighed heavily.

"I don't think it's the right time yet, Sora. I mean, Manami just started high school and Takeshi is still just a child." Kairi replied.

"But, Kairi, if we don't warn them of what happened in our past, then it could affect what could happen to the future." Sora said.

"What could happen in our future? Like what?" Takeshi asked Manami.

"I dunno. I really don't." Manami replied.

"Should you tell them about yours first, or should I? They have to know both sides to the story either way it goes." Kairi asked.

"I wanna know this story so bad." Manami said.

"We need to know what's been going on." Takeshi said.

"I just wanna know why they're always talking about the past. Ever since I started high school two months ago, they've been doing that sort of thing." Manami said.

"Me too, sister. Mommy and daddy have been hiding things from us ever since we were younger, and it's high time we found exactly what it was." Takeshi told Manami.

"Exactly." Manami replied.

"This story of theirs oughta be a little interesting." Takeshi said.

"No way. Stories of the past that people tell are always BORING! There's no way mom and dad are gonna make the story they wanna tell us any more interesting. All stories of the past stink..." Manami said.

"Don't say that about the stories that could change the future, sister. They all have a meaning to them." Takeshi said.

"Hmph. Yeah, that's right, little brother. And the meaning would be to bore us." Manami said, staring back down to eavesdrop on her parents.

"No... They predict our future..." Takeshi whispered.

"I say you should tell them first. I mean, your story's not nearly as long as mine. You tell them in the morning, and then I'll explain mine to them later on that evening." Sora replied. Kairi nodded in agreement.

"That we shall. Right after breakfast ends." Kairi replied. The two kissed each other on the lips and Manami only sighed at this.

"Aw crap... That wasn't exactly the type of evidence I was looking for... Well, at least we'll find out what they've been hiding from us tomorrow... What do you think, Takeshi? Do you think-" Manami whispered. Then she glanced over at Takeshi and saw that he was dozing off on her lap.

"Pancakes..." Takeshi muttered in his sleep.

Manami smiled at Takeshi's sleeping form on the floor and then lifted him off the ground, giggling as she did this. Takeshi didn't budge while he was lifted off the floor. "C'mon, little brother. You can sleep in my room. But just for tonight."

"Yes, sister Manami..." Takeshi muttered to her sleepily as the two siblings walked into Manami's room.