A/N: This is an AU, but some elements are going to be from canon. Note that the actual romance won't start until around Chapter 12, or basically around the end of the whole childhood arc.

This story will eventually contain violence, death of main character(s), and non-consensual sexual activities between minors.

This chapter contains bullying/misgendering.

Headphones on, he always strode out the door without even a goodbye. Or a good morning, for that matter. Her eyes followed him every day, and sometimes he thought she would say something – express her concern, her fear? Her disappointment?

She would tell him, at first – "Aoba, you can't get in any more fights." – "What happened to all those nice boys you used to be friends with?" – "You need to start planning to go back to school someday, Aoba."

Her nagging slowly trickled away, until it was stopped up for good. He knew he would tire her out eventually. Sure, there may have been a part of Aoba that felt ashamed, even guilty, that he was putting dear Granny through this; however, that part hadn't been seen by anyone in a long time.

"Hey, Aoba!"

The familiar voice of his childhood friend graced his ears through the pounding music, and Aoba reluctantly moved one speaker off his ear to respond.

"Yo." Monotone; just how he always had been for years now. Mizuki didn't seem to mind, and still slung his arm around Aoba's shoulder. The few men standing around Aoba – his "friends" for lack of a better term – eyed him wearily, but didn't object. They knew that if they did, Aoba would probably just throw them a punch and leave with Mizuki.

"So, you are still coming to the Dry Juice meet tonight, right? I mean, you didn't answer my text…" Mizuki talked loudly, with a nice-guy smile, so Aoba knew that he was just trying to keep up his appearance. That was how all of these "gangsters" were, though; it couldn't be helped. Aoba was deeply disgusted by it, but couldn't complain; after all, he did the exact same thing.

"I don't know. Why do you need me there?"

"Because you're an expert on Rhyme! I thought I told you about this…" Mizuki's voice died down. The other men seemed to have thrown suspicious glares his way; a Rib leader mentioning Rhyme was something to be concerned about. Aoba saw this and scoffed.

"I'm not an expert on Rhyme, asshole. Fine, I'll come."

"Really? Thanks, Aoba!" Mizuki ruffled Aoba's hair in happiness, before backing off at his groans of revulsion. The men were starting to look more threatening as time passes, so he followed up with a, "Well, I don't want to cause any unnecessary trouble here! Catch ya later!" before jogging off.

Aoba sighed loudly, about to put his headphones back on properly, before one of the men caught his attention with a nudge.

"Oh, here's the place?"

A dark blue puff of fur popped out of Aoba's hoodie at the question, turning to look up at him. The dog's deep, hollow voice responded, "Yes, this is the proper address. However, business hours were not listed in any databases I was capable of contacting. Do you think they are open?"

"Does it matter?" Aoba sneered at his AllMate's question. "We'll get in either way." The men around him murmured in agreement, and Ren's ears drooped.

"Aoba…"

"Shut it, Ren. Why do you always have to criticize my ideas? Don't you want to see him too?"

"Of course, Aoba, but this method is unprincipled. And I also believe it would be best if we told Mizuki-"

"No thanks. Just do what you're told."

"Of course, Aoba…" Ren automatically agreed as Aoba knocked on the door. The building was small, but pretty, with flowers surrounding the bench in front of the large window. All of the flowers were in separate pots, as if each one was grown by someone different. There was a handmade sign next to the door that explained the specials of this week – but no business hours.

"Tch… How unprofessional. And of course no one answers…" Aoba grumbled to himself, before gesturing one of the men behind him to the door. Ren whined quietly from inside Aoba's hoodie as the man smirked, pulling out a crowbar. It started to drizzle lightly, but none of the boys bothered to pull up their hoods.

With a sharp crack, the door opened.

"Flimsy…" Aoba muttered, craning his head in. It's dark inside, but he made a few steps into the shop. From somewhere deep inside him, his breathing stuttered.

"Anyone home?"

Aoba knew he was different from most children, but he didn't always think that way. It was Sei who made him realize how unique they both were; after all, Aoba was never as observant as his brother, he could admit.

Neither of the twins looked particularly strange – Aoba thought the birthmark on his right hip was shaped far too precisely like a six-pointed star to be a coincidence, but Sei quickly assured him that it was no big deal. No, the problem was how strange they felt. The sensations that ran through them whenever someone touched or tugged on their hair too hard were enough to keep them both from attending pre-school for two weeks, before Mom and Granny finally caved and decided to let them stay home until the next year. Dad never cared as much; he seemed to understand, which was probably why he grew to become the favorite parent.

Still, Aoba never considered that he was any different from any other kid until Sei pointed it out. All of the other kids had hair that doesn't hurt them. None of them could speak telepathically to their siblings, either; although, as Aoba grew older, he was unsure of whether the telepathy was just a product of their combined imagination or the real deal.

Perhaps it was these differences that made the two twins so quiet in their early years – never reaching out to make any other friendships, simply staying close to each other throughout their days. Haruka worried and worried about her precious boys becoming recluses and never having any relationships other than their own, but Nain and Tae-san always assured her that she was simply overreacting. Children developed all at their own rate; most likely, Sei and Aoba would need a little more time before they decided to open up out of their little world and become social with other kids.

In the two years that Haruka and Nain were raising the twins, however, that did not happen. Five-year-old Aoba, tears running down his chubby face, would have to constantly run to Sei in order to escape the relentless bullies insistent on pulling his bangs. Sei fought them all with a cold expression; unless they were older or threatened them with scissors, in which case Sei would grab Aoba's hand and run for their young lives. The playground the two frequented would usually be swarming with kids their age during the day, especially on weekends, so Sei decided that they would only go out to play in the mornings and evenings. He didn't trust any one of those kids anymore, and Aoba was inclined to agree.

Sei and Aoba never talked to their parents or Granny about any of the bad things; home was a place for fun and happiness, after all. So there was nothing Haruka or Nain could do. In fact, nothing did happen to change it until the young couple left Midorijima.

"Are mommy and daddy really gone?" Aoba asked his brother in an unobtrusive, wobbly voice. It was nighttime, both of them laying in the twin bed they shared, facing each other. Granny wasn't in the house at the moment, so they could probably be as loud as they want, but it was always custom to whisper when they talked at night.

"Yes. They left this morning, remember." Sei's answer was unemotional, because he was too busy searching his brother's face for any sign that he might cry.

Sure enough, tears were welling up in Aoba's large eyes. "Okay… But they will come back." He said it to assure himself, but it didn't seem to work too well, and he started sobbing quietly.

Sei pulled Aoba into his arms and tried to cuddle him to sleep; it usually worked whenever he was crying about being bullied, so Sei hoped it would work this time as well. Sei already cried himself out to Granny that morning, anyway, so he didn't feel like shedding any more tears.

At first, Sei didn't know what to say to calm Aoba's fears. Then, "I'm positive we'll see them again someday."

After Haruka and Nain left to travel, Granny had to provide for Sei and Aoba more than ever. It was almost impossible for her to do alone; she still had her own job to do, and she couldn't bring the twins to and from school every day. This led to her giving Sei the job of protecting them both – something Sei had already gotten used to doing, so the routine turned out to be quite effective. Walking to and from school was easy enough for them when Sei would shoot unfriendly glares at any kid or adult coming within four feet of them. All of the harassment they had endured made Sei distrustful towards most people; it was likely they would hurt him or his brother.

One particular day, though, not three weeks after Haruka and Nain left, someone managed to break down the walls Sei had put up.

"Aw, look at her! I think she's actually about to cry! What a girl…"

"What kind of boy has this hair, anyway…?" There was a sharp yank, and Aoba yelped in pain, a tear streaking down his face. He almost wanted to yell, but he could never get his voice to work in situations like this.

"Is it even a boy or a girl, anyway? How can you tell?"

"No boy is this wimpy! Just look!" Aoba was pushed on his back, and gravel dug into his palms. He heard the other boys laugh maliciously and sobbed; the things they said usually didn't get to him this much, but Sei wasn't there to protect him this time. He had to stay in for recess because the teacher wanted to talk to him about something. Whatever it was, Aoba wished more than anything that they would hurry up. Either that, or for the ground under him to just swallow him up forever.

"Well? Get up." A kick made contact with his side, and Aoba jerked in pain. All he wanted was for Sei to come, for a teacher to look his way, something! His eyes closed tightly and he waited for another kick, but…

"Hey! What do you guys think you're doing?" Another boy's voice reached Aoba's ears, but this one sounded even older than the bullies.

"What do you mean?" The kid who was kicking him asked, sounding honestly confused.

"Yeah, we're just having fun…"

"This is fun? Knock it off! Quit beating on a girl; you don't deserve to be called men! You need to treat girls with respect! What is wrong with you?" The rescuer's speech was likely more than enough to intimidate the bullies, and they ran off, a couple of them bowing to the rescuer in apology. Aoba, still sobbing brokenly, stayed on the ground until a hand reached out to him.

"Hey, are you okay? Those guys were just jerks. Can you stand?"

Aoba looked up hesitatingly at the patient voice, and saw a black-haired boy reaching out to him encouragingly. He looked like one of the older kids in the school, and Aoba felt too intimidated to take his hand. After an excruciatingly long amount of waiting, though, he realized that his savior wouldn't leave without an answer, so Aoba shakily allowed himself to be pulled up.

The boy smiled at him in approval and held on to his shoulder, seemingly looking him over for injuries. Aoba shied away, feeling like he was about to cry again. Inside, he felt more than grateful to this person for helping him, but where was Sei?

"Well, my name is Koujaku. It's nice to meet you. What's your name?" Koujaku, noticing Aoba's reclusiveness, tried his hardest to sound soft and comforting. Aoba relaxed noticeably and inhaled.

"It's… Aoba. Seragaki." His voice was barely audible, but Koujaku was listening hard, and managed to catch his name.

"Aoba. Why would those boys hurt you, Aoba? Did they have any reason?"

Encouraged, Aoba quietly replied, "It's because… I look like a g-girl…"

"…You're not a girl?" In his surprise, Koujaku forgot to make his voice gentler, and Aoba looked away quickly in fear. Surely, now that he knew Aoba was a boy, Koujaku would be like the others. Surely, he would want to beat Aoba up too.

Seeing Aoba's renewed fear, Koujaku laughed nervously and tried to fix his mistake. "N-No! I didn't… That's a really stupid reason to try and beat someone up! I'm still going to protect you, okay? I promise I will!"

Aoba looked back at him in shock at his declaration, and Koujaku was smiling kindly again. This boy… This hero came to save him! Aoba felt a flutter in his small chest, and opened his mouth to reply…

"Hey! What are you doing to my brother?"

Aoba's arm was taken by a familiar hand, and he felt himself calming again. Sei was at his side, glaring at Koujaku with all of his intensity. There was a second boy who came with Sei; he looked a bit older than the twins, and had darker skin with dark purple hair. Aoba had never seen him before in his life, but wasn't made nervous by the stranger, because now Sei was there.

"I'm not doing anything, I promise. He was being bullied, and…" Koujaku held his hands up and tried to prove himself, narrowing his eyes a little.

"This guy saved me, Sei…" Aoba whispered so softly to Sei that only the two of them could hear. "He's a hero…"

The anger immediately left Sei's dark eyes at his brother's words. Still holding Aoba's hand, he now faced Koujaku with a grateful expression. Everyone was silent, awaiting his words.

"…Thanks."

With Sei's approval, the hero Koujaku quickly became a steady presence in their lives. As they learned, Koujaku was eleven years old and had just moved to the island with his mother. He was respectful towards everyone, but not afraid to step up to someone he didn't like – qualities that made him rank up drastically in Sei's book. The other, purple-haired boy who had been following Sei at the time turned out to be a nine-year-old named Mizuki, who was assigned to be Sei's student tutor and help him with his homework. The teacher had called him in to introduce them; Sei was very smart, Aoba knew, but he just didn't enjoy academics. Aoba at least could tolerate schoolwork; Sei, on the other hand, usually quit his work halfway out of boredom or frustration. He was never one for listening to directions, and preferred to do things his own way.

Nevertheless, Mizuki was there to help Sei actually finish his homework, and he also gradually reserved a place in the twins' life. Within a year, Sei and Aoba had acquired the first two friends they'd ever had outside of themselves. Granny was astounded, and constantly pestered the twins to invite them over. Koujaku and Mizuki were always eager to come and visit anyway, since Granny's cooking was so delectable.

Obviously, both siblings had to change their routine to get used to their new friends; they had always been alone until now. Sei was still reluctant to let Mizuki or Koujaku so much as touch Aoba, and Aoba was still quick to get nervous even when the boys were just playing around. But Mizuki and Koujaku quickly understood and respected their boundaries – something that assured their positions in the twins' life, and allowed Sei to let himself be friendly towards them.

Koujaku's promise to protect Aoba rang true, and both siblings found themselves being saved by him regularly. Mizuki helped on some occasions, but he never hung out with them as much as Koujaku did, so it was mainly Koujaku supporting them. Aoba grew to like Koujaku a lot because of this, but was even more grateful to him for being someone Sei could confide in. Sei was always babying Aoba – never the other way around, and though Aoba liked it that way, he was still worried that Sei would never have someone to do the same for him. Koujaku ended up being that person; Sei seemed angry and embarrassed when Aoba brought up how he hugged and cried into Koujaku that one time, but Aoba was just happy that Sei didn't have to act as strong anymore.

Koujaku and his mother also helped the twins realize something else that set them apart from the other kids. Koujaku's mother and Granny quickly became close friends, so Granny often left Aoba and Sei under her care when she was too busy working to watch them. Koujaku's mother was the first to explain to Aoba and Sei that they had been adopted by Haruka and Nain – different from Koujaku, who was his mother's biological son. At first, the boys didn't understand the difference completely, but Granny helped explain it to them as well.

Aoba didn't see it as a big difference; Haruka and Nain were still their parents, no matter what, so why did it matter? Sei was more concerned, though; they had to have come from somewhere, right? Who gave birth to them? What was their life like before they were adopted? Neither Aoba nor Sei could remember anything beyond living on the island with their parents and Granny. Sei yearned to know more, so Granny told the twins the story of how Haruka and Nain showed up on her doorstep, during a frosty winter's evening, toting two five-year-old boys with them. The couple had been previously traveling for a few years, so seeing them come back out of the blue with young children was almost enough to make Granny's heart stop. But she quickly ushered them in and gave them a place to raise their new children; where those children came from, she couldn't say for certain. Nain told her that they came from a faraway country, and they needed parents – simple as that. End of story. Sei and Aoba had no choice but to accept Granny's explanation and leave it be; perhaps they would never know of their birth parents, but it wasn't something to dwell on.

The twins soon forgot to worry about their origins anyway, when Sei's health started deteriorating even more. Aoba knew Sei's immune system had always been weaker than his; luckily, with Granny being in the health-care profession, as often as Sei caught sicknesses, he was never ailed by them for very long. When they turned nine, however, it became harder to fend off a common cold or stomach bug.

That's why Aoba decided he should maybe try and take care of Sei just as much, if not more, as Sei took care of him.

"Hey! Anyone home?" Young Aoba knocked on the russet door vigorously, hopping out of nervousness and excitement every couple seconds.

After a short moment, the door opened, and Koujaku appeared. "Yeah, yeah. I'm here. Let's go!" He spotted Aoba's fidgeting and grinned delightedly. "Someone's excited."

Aoba blushed and pouted indignantly. "Not! I've just been waiting out here for forever, that's all!" His anger quickly left him and he smiled enthusiastically again. "So, do you have money? What AllMate are you thinking of getting? I really want a blue dog, or a blue cat-"

Koujaku laughed loudly to cut off his rambling and led him away from the house. "Whoa there, slow down! Mom gave me enough money. You're not even the one buying an AllMate today, remember?"

Aoba grabbed Koujaku's wrist to keep himself from tripping on the curb like he always did, and whined, "Yeah... But why can't I? I really want one!"

"You're not old enough to get an AllMate yet, Aoba. Do you really think you can maintain a complex one? We already told you, you could get a small automatic-"

"But those aren't cool!" Aoba stomped his feet and groaned, making Koujaku chuckle again. "They aren't customizable or anything, and they all do the same thing! Those aren't real AllMates, you hippo!"

"Oi, don't call me a hippo." Koujaku turned the street corner and tugged Aoba along, trying to change the subject. He knew Aoba would just become relentless if it carried on any further. "We have to pick up Sei and Mizuki, remember? How is Sei today anyway?"

Aoba, pouting, didn't want to yield. "Granny was giving him his medicine when I left. That stuff is so gross… But he agrees with me! He thinks we both should get AllMates the same time as you!"

Koujaku groaned in exasperation. "You can't fool me, Aoba. I know Sei doesn't think that."

"Fine… But why does Mizuki get to buy one today too? He's only eleven!"

"Eleven is old enough. Mizuki is smart and mature for his age. Aoba, once you turn eleven I'm sure Tae-san will get you and Sei both AllMates of your own, okay?"

Aoba sighed as they neared his front door. "Okay…"

At the store, Koujaku ended up buying a small red bird AllMate, after much consideration. Mizuki spent less time choosing his, striding for the "reptilian" section and picking out a bearded dragon AllMate almost twice the size of Koujaku's bird. Aoba fumed with envy the entire time, while Sei laughed quietly beside him at his jealousy, occasionally coughing.

"Aoba… We'll get ours soon enough, okay?" Sei commented to console him as they waiting for Koujaku and Mizuki outside the shop – Aoba couldn't stand the tempting sight of all the AllMates any longer.

"I know…" Aoba mumbled dejectedly, before brightening up and looking to Sei in eagerness. "And I've already decided what mine is going to be, too! A cat or a dog – they have to be blue! And they have to be really smart, too!"

"I don't think you should be too certain of what your AllMate is going to be like, or you might be disappointed..."

Aoba frowned at his brother's logic. "I guess… What do you want yours to be like, nii-san?"

Sei sighed and tried to humor him. "Uh… I'd like a fish."

"A fish?" Aoba laughed a little. "A fish won't be able to do anything, silly! That's just like having a normal pet…"

"Fine… Maybe a… butterfly?"

Remembering his dad's story of a blue butterfly, Aoba smiled in approval. "That sounds neat! And it has to be blue!"

Sei nodded happily in agreement. "Yeah. And big enough so that no one squashes it…"

"Ooooh, big enough to ride!"

The older twin made a face and then laughed. "Not that big, Aoba!"

Aoba pouted – he thought it was a good idea – but agreed reluctantly. "I guess not… Okay, if I forget in two years, remind me to make Granny take us here to buy them, okay?"

Smiling at his brother's exuberance, Sei replied, "Okay."