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Chapter 1

A day that by all rights should have been boring and normal was NOT normal at all when the parents of the somewhat infamous Miyagi twins greeted their children home from school. Said children had always been a bit… slower than the pack.

Ever since birth, their eyes had been dull and unfocused and though they could by all rights speak as well as the next person, they rarely did so. The Miyagi parents had long since resigned themselves to children that were emotionally and part mentally dead to the world.

And knowing this, to have two lively, rosy-cheeked twins arrive home from school one day was very startling to the unsuspecting parents.

"We're homeee~!" their voices called out as they burst through the door.

Baffled, the parents watched the twin hurricanes sweep past them, only pausing to flash them a pair of beaming smiles. A loud bang rang out as their bedroom door was closed none too gently.

They cringed before glancing at each other to make sure that, no they weren't dreaming.

Clasping their hands with each other, Mrs. and Mr. Miyagi murmured in excitement.

"Perhaps they only needed to reach a certain stage of maturity to grow out of it?" Mrs. Miyagi whispered eagerly, face drawing closer that of her husband's.

"Or- or maybe the gods have looked kindly at us?" Mr. Miyagi hummed, releasing his wife's hands to cup her face. Their eyes were shining in remembrance of the brightness in their children's eyes that hadn't been there the day before.

A quick smooch and the pair hurried to prepare dinner. The faster it was ready, the faster they could have an excuse to observe how they'd act now. Feverishly, they hoped this wasn't some kind of fluke.

Meanwhile, a pair of tiny twins relaxed on the bottom bunkbed. Feet dangling off the edge, they laid back to stare up at the top bunk.

"We're in some kind of cartoon, "Arisu, the taller of the two, murmured. Her long hair stretched out around her.

"Uh-huh."

"Or anime."

"Uh-huh."

"The style we're drawn in seems more anime, though."

"Uh-huh."

"Are you- are you going to say something?" Arisu twisted around to lay on her side, deceptively calm, even as her wavering voice gave her away.

Makoto swallowed thickly, but met her eyes.

"Hug?" Makoto asked, her voice a notch above a whisper. She stretched one arm on the bed to extend towards Arisu, the other hovering in the air uncertainly.

Arisu scooted closer and wrapped her arms around Makoto's stomach. She pressed her face to Makoto's collarbone and allowed some of the tension to dissipate. Makoto's arms circled around Arisu's shoulders, combing some of her hair.

"Scary, right?" Makoto hummed, pressing her lips to the crown of Arisu's head in comfort. A terse nod being her answer. She turned her head to lean her cheek against the dark hair, continuing to play with the strands.

They spent a few minutes like that, soaking in each other's warmth, before Arisu pulled away.

"By the way… why are you wearing the boy's version of the school uniform?" Arisu questioned and glancing down to examine the gakuran Makoto had on.

Makoto pressed her lips together and waited for Arisu to finish and meet her eyes again.

"I have a dick, "Makoto informed her.

A blink. Makoto could just see the buffering symbol spinning.

"What?!"

Dinner was a simple affair, yet louder than ever before.

Arisu and Makoto bartered over certain parts of their dinners, doing their best to ignore the hushed awe coming from the other half of the table that threatened to turn into an awkward silence.

Mr. and Mrs. Miyagi had given up any semblance of eating to watch the ever changing expressions on the twin's faces.

Soon dinner was over- FAR too soon, in the parents' opinion- but contrary to what they had thought would happen, Makoto offered to wash the dishes and Arisu helped clear the table.

It was… strange to have their children chatter away at whatever had caught their attention that day at school. It wasn't hard to catch his wife's eye over the fluffy dark heads of their children. Was this how it was, for normal parents?

His wife looked away, but he understood. Maybe.

The chores done, the adults watched Arisu and Makoto exchange a nervous look, but what did they have to be nervous about?

With determined expressions that were just too cute to be real, the twins dragged their parents to the dinner table so they were across the twins. Makoto scooted closer, straightened her back, and pinned them with a look far too intelligent for her age.

Or perhaps this was their inexperience with children of normal intelligence talking.

"Mother, Father, "she addressed them, placing her hands on the table in a sign of sincerity, "I don't want there to be any future misunderstandings about this, but I'm a girl."

Perhaps- perhaps if they had had normal children, they would have rejected such a statement. Perhaps if Makoto had taken longer in bringing this up, they would have argued, but right now? Right now they just wanted two healthy children. Presented like this, on the same day and with that conviction on Makoto's face, it felt like a bargain. Two girls or two empty shells of a boy and a girl.

"Of course, "his wife agreed, voice stuttering, and the contract- be it with a god or a devil- was settled.

And the two beaming smiles they received? They made it all worth it.

That weekend, the females of the family went shopping. With their girls being so alive now, it felt fine to splurge a little, in celebration of course. Buying a few decorations for their bedroom and a small, new wardrobe for Makoto wouldn't poke much of a hole in their savings at all.

They had more than enough in the bank to live the rest of their lives comfortably, but should any kind of accident or disaster occur, it would be best to save as much as possible.

When they'd mentioned this to the girls, Arisu had asked them, "What do you guys do for a living?"

And Mrs. Miyagi wasn't entirely surprised by her question. During the time the parents got to see them these last few days because of school, it'd appear that not all information from the last twelve years had been retained. Fortunately, most of their knowledge of school subjects was kept, though the girls seemed to be struggling a bit with Japanese.

"We create and improve computers. It's our little family business, actually. We can take you for a small tour of the office later, "Mrs. Miyagi answered, running a hand through Arisu's hair, "Now, let's get Makoto some cuter clothes first, shall we?"

Steering the girls into Store C, they quickly made a bee line to the section of clothes with large hanging signs shouting 'Sale!'

"Er... mom? Don't you find something… weird with the naming of the stores?" Arisu broached.

"Hmm?" She pulled out a nice, teal dress, "What do you mean, Arisu? Oh and, what do you think of this one, Makoto?"

Makoto stepped closer and felt the cloth between her fingers, "Hmm." She turned to the nearest mirror and held up the dress.

"It's just they all seem to be named with a letter of the alphabet, "Arisu struggled to word herself properly.

"Don't be silly, Arisu. That'd how things work, what else would they be named?"Mrs. Miyagi rebutted and turned to Makoto, "You can try it on before you decide, okay dear?"

"They could- ugh, never mind, "Arisu grouched. She added a few skirts to the growing pile of 'potentials.'

"These should be enough for now, right? At least before they're tried on to 'thin the herd' and all that, "Arisu questioned.

Makoto grinned at her in agreement and shoved some of the pile into Arisu's arms.

"What-?"Arisu started before Makoto began to pull her along to the dressing rooms.

"Mom, Arisu can help me in the dressing room, "Makoto called out, rushing from the scene before their mother could get a word in edgewise.

Arisu squinted at Makoto.

"'Help'? What kind of help- oh, "Arisu realized.

"Yep, come try some stuff out with me. These clothes are supposed to be for me, I know, but we're sisters now and it wouldn't be so strange to share clothes… " She paused, a wicked grin stretching her lips, "And if you end up using some outfits more than me, well, that's just the way the cookie crumbles, "Makoto drew herself up, though there wasn't much she could straighten when it came to her posture, she already walked with a straight back.

Arisu grinned back and quickened her pace.

They snatched one of bigger dressing rooms and laid their respective piles on the bench. A thought occurred to Arisu.

"Hey, are you okay with me being here?" She asked, worriedly, "Like, are you comfortable with the whole-"

"Ah, yeah, it's fine, "Makoto replied, gripping the hem of her shirt, "I've tucked- and technically, I don't need a bra, so…"

"Okay, if you're sure, "she gave one last glance before turning to the clothes she really wanted to try.

The beaming pair and mother made their way out the store. They stopped briefly by the bathroom so Makoto could don one of her new outfits, and strolled to Store H, known for its wide selection of home décor.

They picked a few items like a corkboard, some new drapes, and the occasional knickknack to give their room a more 'lived in' feel. As it stood now, it only contained their bunkbeds a desk and a computer. Kinda jail-like, but at least the walls had some color.

It was in the Clearance section that they ran into a vaguely familiar face.

"Hey-" Arisu started, pointing at the boy, "he's in our class, right?"

Said boy was in the corner, examining the blankets on sale.

"Hmm, I think so, "Makoto agreed, squinting at the direction she had pointed, "…I like his hair. Very anime."

That startled a laugh out of Arisu.

"You do realize that everything is anime here?" she teased before waving her hand at Makoto in a 'shoo'-ing motion, "Why don't you go tell him? You're all about the 'complimenting strangers' thing."

Makoto beamed at her and made her way to the boy. She glanced at the glanced over the various, colorful blankets. Even on sale they were pretty pricy.

"Hi!" Makoto gazed up at him, lacing her hands together, "I like your hair."

The boy stared down at her, confusion freezing his expression in place. She kept her expression warm and bright, and hoped it would convince him of her sincerity.

The silence stretched on. It was getting awkward, time for her to make an exit.

"I should go, but..." she paused, partially turning away, "what's your name?"

If nothing else, the question seemed to register enough for him to answer.

"Saitama."

No last name?

"Ah, well, it was nice meeting you!" she gave him a small wave and hurried to her family. Maybe he wasn't used to compliments?

How… sad. A frown tugged at her lips. If she saw him again, she would compliment him again. Though it'd have to be on something different next time.

As she neared, Arisu turned to her.

"So how'd it go?" she asked.

"Good, "Makoto replied. The boy seemed nice enough, if a bit socially awkward.

"So was he cuter up close?" Arisu teased, gently poking Makoto's cheek. Squishy.

Makoto grinned and settled her hands on her hips.

"Yep!"

Let's hope this fic goes well. :D