Over the River and Through the Park
It was very obvious, as soon as the twins stepped off of the train, that they were not where they wanted to be. First of all, they were in an underground station. Their planned stop was supposed to be outdoors. Well they were a pair of eight-year-olds, it would be rather simple for them to get lost. Their heads hardly reached most adults' waists to be totally honest, and the boys were beginning to feel a little like oversized footballs, the way they were being kicked and knocked around.
The younger brother clasped the older's hand tightly. They weren't supposed to be out this far away from home, the older one had been wracked with nerves at the thought of one of their parents finding out, yet in true little brother fashion (even if by only a few minutes), he managed to convince him otherwise.
We're responsible, niichan! he had said.
It will be like an adventure, he had grinned.
How hard will it be? he had concluded.
Well, that was where you boys messed up, by tempting fate. Luckily this isn't a horror movie.
"Just a little further, niichan," the younger brother pulled him along, squeezing in between the taller, stronger, and sometimes wider forms of the adults around them. A quick ticket scan at the exit and - freedom!, fresh air, and an absence of grown-ups crushing them from all sides. They ran further up the street just to be sure that they had escaped, finding a park and a stone bench to rest and catch their breath.
Maybe the twins had not been the first ones to feel suffocated down there, that park bench was awfully convenient.
The boys were identical at first glance, but not. Then again, that's rather typical with most twinsets. Their eyes were a very clear navy blue, and lashed almost girlishly. Both wore their hair long, but while the older left his hair loose, the younger kept his back in a short ponytail. The flyaways annoyed him, but he hadn't yet found a way to keep them out of his face without looking like a girl. Both boys wore blue shorts, but different colored t-shirts; one wore yellow while the other sported red.
"This is the last time I listen to you, Kouji," the older one, wearing red, declared. His voice was soft but firm as he rubbed sweat off of his forehead. His brother, assumably Kouji, wanted to roll his eyes. His big brother always said the same thing, anytime he became the least bit uncomfortable with a situation. However this time, Kouji could support the sentiment. "Do you know where we are?"
"Um... no."
Well. That was obvious.
"So we really are lost then..."
"Come on," Kouji jumped off of the bench. "We'll go back to the station and figure out where we messed up and get right back on track."
"Kouji, we only have enough to get us home," the big brother admonished. Kouji deflated. His dad and step-mom had taken him to the zoo last month and he had promised his brother that he would take him too. Sure, they weren't actually supposed to be outside of Shibuya, and initially he'd planned on his father taking the both of them to the zoo, but you know, semantics, details, it was all rather irrelevant now. Kouji just hated seeing his big brother looking all sad-like, and offering to take him to the zoo had been sort of impulsive. Definitely not the sort of thing Kouji usually did.
"I just hate that I disappointed you is all," Kouji sighed, sitting back down sadly. "I thought that going to the zoo could make you smile. Niichan's been so sad." The older brother did smile then. A small, you're-too-kind-to-me sort of smile, but a smile nonetheless.
-0-
Wandering listlessly around the very same park was a boy, the same age as the twins. He tended to be a rather hyper boy, the sort one would swear had entirely too much energy and needed to be drugged... with Ritalin, Aderall, cannabis, something, perhaps a bit of wine, something strong... oh, but that one could just make him even louder...
But yes, he was simply wandering the park, oddly calm for once in his life. His thick, burgundy hair stuck up in all directions and dirt was smeared across a leg of his khaki shorts. The blue t-shirt was dusted with sand. His warm brown eyes held a mischievous sort of curiosity to them and he had a very caring, good-natured, even helpful energy about him - you know, once you move past his ADHD.
Kid must be a demigod or something, son of Dionysus or something, sheesh.
Anyhoo, this kid just so happened to be walking along when the twins came running into the park. This boy is not particularly perceptive, and he's fairly oblivious for the most part, but if there was one thing he could recognize, it was a person who needed help. Not only did these kids look like they needed help, but they looked lost. He could tell lost because he spent a lot of his time as such: lost in his apartment building, lost on video games, lost in class, lost his train of thought... He and Lost were practically best friends.
It was with this in mind that the boy approached the two new boys and - dude, were his eyes playing games with him or were they clones? - approached the boys and caught the tail of their conversation.
"I thought that going to the zoo would make niichan smile."
The zoo! That's where the clones were headed, and the boy knew exactly how to get there! Uh, sort of.
Personally, I don't want anyone who is supposedly best friends with Lost to guide me anywhere, even out of a paper sack.
"I know how to get to the zoo!" the burgundy-haired boy declared loudly, surprising both boys off of their bench. It had been mentioned that this kid could be a rather obnox - er, loud. Very loud.
"We don't... We can't take another train..." the soft-voiced, older twin - or clone, depending on who's being asked - spoke.
"That's fine, I'm not allowed to take the subway anyway," the boy shrugged, then offered to pull the boys up. Kouji stood on his own, but his clone, er, brother, took the hand. "My name is Motomiya Daisuke, but you can just call me Daisuke!"
"I'm Kimura Kouichi," the one in a red shirt introduced himself, "and this is my little brother-"
"Kimura Kouji." Kouji grunted in response. And lied. Daisuke doesn't need to know that, but it was a lie nonetheless. Kouichi raised an eyebrow at his brother, the question clear in his eyes. Minamoto Kouji rolled his eyes and shrugged in response.
"Great!" Daisuke jumped behind the boys and began pushing them towards the park exit. "Let's go then! By the way, do you guys know you have the same face?"
-0-
Do you know that one person in your life whom you aren't necessarily friends with, but you don't particularly dislike them either? You get along okay when you're together, but if offered a choice you could think of maybe another ten people you'd prefer to spend your time with. Or maybe there's someone who, as soon as they see you, starts a conversation and will not let you go? Or the infamous clingy friend?
Let's just say that any of these could describe one Motomiya Daisuke. Er, in Kouji's mind anyway... But sheesh, the kid just won't shut up! It started with a hundred questions about the twins being twins, not clones, thank you, and continued with a thousand more about where they were from and what that was like and did they like school and did they want to join any clubs and what was their favorite class and why the zoo? and what animals did they like and boy you guys are lucky your parents let you take the subway alone!
That one clearly left Kouichi a little shame-faced as they boys did not have permission to be out in Odaiba, as they'd learned, but of course Daisuke did not need to know that either. Then again, knowing this kid, he'd probably think that was the coolest thing ever and ask a series of questions about sneaking out and how many times have they and are they afraid to get caught and why the zoo?
-0-
Kouichi gazed around in slight confusion. He supposed he could enjoy himself here, but it was hardly worth the long train ride they had taken to get there. And sure, the animals were attractive, but well...
"What the hell is this?" Kouji growled. Kouichi felt relief that this place was not what his brother had been excited about.
"Uh..." Daisuke trailed off, uncertain. He was sure he'd been going the right way...
Except only, you know. He hadn't been.
"I think," Kouichi murmured, "that this is an event. A pet adoption event."
Indeed, an assortment of cute and cuddly - and not-so-cuddly - domestic animals littered the park; dogs on leashes, cats in carriers, rabbit hutches and caged birds. In spite of himself, or perhaps because of his more gentle nature, Kouichi approached a pile of puppies, knelt before them and began rubbing the head of the closest one. After a short moment, he was covered in small dogs all begging for :
"I thought you said that you knew your way to the zoo?!" Kouji hissed.
"Hey, I do!" argued Daisuke. "So I might have made a wrong turn. No biggie."
"We did not pay you to make a wrong turn,"
"You didn't pay me at all," shrugged Daisuke. "Not that I'm expecting you to or nuthin'."
"Do you still know how to get to the zoo?" Kouji asked, attempting to calm down.
"Of course!" Daisuke gave a grin, one that was surely was meant to be reassuring, and in a few years, it might just do its job. But right now, it just gave Kouji a feeling of foreboding. Maybe he should have listened to his brother and just gone home. Speaking of,
"Niisan?" his brother had just been there...
It was a good thing that Kouji was not older than his brother, and by years, otherwise this story could have taken a rather dramatic turn. Thankfully, Kouichi's loud shout of surprise from being mauled by love-starved puppies, caught the boys' attentions. A glance in that direction had Daisuke rushing over to join in the fun and Kouji fighting a smile at his brother's situation.
"Need help, niisan?" he asked as he stood over his seated brother. Four puppies still clambered for his affection, reaching up onto his chest, licking his face, and knocking one another out of the way.
"Please," Kouichi looked to his brother gratefully, a small, amused smile playing at his lips.
-0-
"I could be wrong," Kouichi called sarcastically (although it's questionable whether eight-year-olds understand sarcasm), "but I don't believe the zoo can be found in the mall."
No, Kouichi, it actually is pretty unlikely the zoo is inside of the mall.
"Daisuke..." the tone of Kouji's voice was very similar to an aggressive dog's growl. The sound was muffled because once again,they were a bunch of pipsqu- I mean, children, a bunch of short children, er, small children traversing a crowded mall... during sales week... Safe to say they were very nearly drowned in the throng.
"Guys, trust me, this is a shortcut," Daisuke expertly pushed himself through the crowd. His voice carried easily over the mall din, but it did little to reassure either of the twins. He looked back over his shoulder to flash a grin; Kouji got a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Just leave it all to me!"
"I've been leaving it to you all morning," Kouji grumbled.
A particularly hard shove from the side tore Kouji's hand from his brother's. He reached back to grab it once more but only succeeded in grasping some teenager's purse strap, and a sound smack for his trouble.
"K-Kouji?" Kouichi's fearful tone only barely reached his twin's ears, but it was enough for him to pinpoint a direction, at least.
"Niisan" Kouji rubbed his stinging cheek but did his best to navigate the mass of bodies to get to his brother. He did not make quite the headway Daisuke did, but what Kouji lacked in execution, he made up for in effort. "Niisan!" And enthusiasm. Or perhaps that's desperation?
"Hey, while we're here, are you guys hungry?" Daisuke called to his companions once again. Naturally, he completely failed to notice the drama behind himself. "Huh? Guys?" Realizing that neither boy was as close as he'd expected, Daisuke elbowed and shoved his way back where he came from to find Kouji, with a surprisingly menacing expression on his face, in spite of the tears in his eyes.
"Kouji, what's wrong? And where's Kou-"
"Niisan is lost because of you!" the boy did not shout at him. Daisuke actually would have felt better if he did. He knew how to deal with shouting and tempers, his whole family was a rather loud, hot-headed, and short-tempered lot (sounds a lot like a pack of rabid chihuahuas) (Or my family at Sunday dinner). A shout would have preluded a fight, and Daisuke could hold his own in a fight. But the eerie, frightening calm that Kouji exuded gave the redhead pause. No, no, that calm nearly made Daisuke want to cry himself, in fear, regret, and disappointment. He always managed to screw things up, especially when he was making new friends.
"I-I-I'm sor-s - " Daisuke stuttered over his words.
"Save it," grunted Kouji. "Just help me find him, and then get us out of here."
"Alright," Daisuke swallowed the lump in his throat - and every chance he had at making new friends - and pulled them through the crowd.
-0-
If anyone was to ask Kouichi how he ended up in his current predicament, he doubted that "I was looking for the zoo" would pass for a plausible answer, even if it was the truth. Infact, he knew that answer was unacceptable, as evidenced by the gaggle of teenaged girls giggling at his explanation. Unfortunately, Motomiya Daisuke's reputation had yet to precede him.
"Oh, he is just so adorable!" cooed one. She was tall, with her pale pink hair in low, pin-straight pigtails. She reached forward to pinch one of Kouichi's cheeks while another, this one a vertically challenged brunette, mussed his hair. In total, there were five of them, all most likely in middle school. The blonde pinching his cheek could be a third-year.
"You're a long ways off if you're looking for the zoo," a girl with unruly chestnut curls giggled in agreement. Kouichi never felt smaller in his life. He and his brother had always been short for their age, but sheesh, this is the first time he'd felt so conscious of it.
"Please, I just want to find my brother and our friend," Kouichi spoke, but he was certain the girls weren't listening. A fourth girl had begun petting his head as if he were a pet, and he had the strange suspicion that the blonde girl was preparing to play dress-up, if her sudden interest in children's clothing was any indication.
"Look at his eyes," the fifth girl shoved her face so close to Kouichi's own that he stepped backwards, into the fourh, in surprise.
"Oh, stop Yuna-kun! You're scaring the poor boy!" Correction: you all are.
"But look at them! They're just so clear and deep... and those lashes!" Yuna pressed even closer so that there was hardly a centimeter between their noses. "So beautiful..."
"Let me see!" the first brunette shoved Yuna aside, standing a less unsettling distance from Kouichi's face.
"Aihara-chan!"
"Oh, Yuna-chan, you're right!" Aihara breathed. "Do you think he'd mind if I used a bit of eyeliner and mascara, you know to make them really pop?"
"Oh, that's brilliant!"
No, that's twisted.
"He's a boy, of course he minds!"
"Aw, Rina-senpai..." the girls chorused. Kouichi on the other hand breathed a sigh of relief. If the price for Rina-senpai's protection was for him to stand there and let her pet his hair, then that was absolutely fine with him. Hey, it was even starting to grow on him a bit. The soothing strokes of a gentle hand...
"Princess dress or princely tux?" the initial blonde returned holding a very poofy lavender and gold, sparkling, dress in her right hand, and a hanger with a pair of crimson slacks, white button-down and crimson blazer in her right. What looked like gold brushes sat over the blazer's shoulders.
"Tux!"
"Dress!"
The votes were split two-to-two, and Kouichi nearly groaned in protest.
"Can you please just help -"
"He's a boy," insisted Rina-senpai. "Why would you want him in a dress?"
"Because," huffed Aihara, "he's such a pretty boy! I mean it, look at him!" Before Kouichi realized it, Aihara and Yuna had seized and turned him around to face Rina-senpai as well as the short brunette.
"I really just want to - " Kouichi tried again only to be cut off again.
"His face really is rather girlish..." the small girl reluctantly acknowledged. Rina-senpai sighed.
"This is true..." she trailed off. "But it won't change my vote."
Won't change mine either. You know. If narrators counted.
"We could just put him in both..." the pigtailed-girl suggested, and Kouichi had the misfortune of watching three pairs of eyes light up
-0-
The excited squeals of these middle school girls could put Daisuke's boisterous voice to shame. Honestly, that frequency probably had every canine within two miles whining in protest. As it was, one Kimura Kouichi stood red-faced, presenting himself as a freaking princess to the five girls. It seemed that his soft-voiced, timid protests did very little to deter them from their objective.
But gee, who would wonder why? Goodness, Kouichi, say it with your chest! Put some bass in your voice! And... gosh, lavender is a really good color on you.
Rina-senpai bit her lip, trying her hardest to not actually look at Kouichi. The boy wondered if it was because he looked bad in the damned thing, but if the noise from her companions - or the other store patrons - was anything to go by then Kouichi looked absolutely darling in it. All he could do was be thankful that Kouji was not there to see him so compromised. Of course, if Kouji had been there from the beginning, the girls wouldn't have taken advantage of Kouichi in the first place.
But of course if it had not been for Kouji, the twins wouldn't have been lost in Odaiba... No, wait, that's sort of Daisuke's fault, isn't it?
"Look at him..." the blonde, Kouichi learned that she was Uo-senpai, taunted Rina-senpai.
"You know you want to..." the short girl was Riyeko-chan to everyone, although now Kouichi had the impression that she was a second-year. Uo and Rina were older while Yuna and Aihara had to be younger.
Uo-senpai and Riyeko-chan took turns goading Rina-senpai until finally: "I can't okay? He's just too darned cute!"
-0-
On the bright side, Kouichi was treated to a filled fruit roll for his trouble, as well as a promise to finally help locate his brother. Of course, that last came only after Rina-senpai coaxed his voice above a wind-blown whisper, but hey, a deal's a deal, yeah?
Kouichi had only just cut into the fruit roll, the girls giggling around him and Rina-senpai once again playing in his hair when a distinctive voice cut across the foodcourt din.
"I FOUND HIM! HE'S OVER HERE!"
Kouichi paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. "Daisuke-kun?" He couldn't quite pinpoint where the voice had come from because, well, as it's been stated, the kid's got a great pair lungs on him, but there was one thing Kouichi knew with certainty. Whoever the boy was talking to had to be Kouji.
-0-
After an episode where Kouji, in all of his four foot and three inch glory, soundly scolded the middle school girls for supposedly kidnapping his brother and then promptly swarmed for being so effing adorable - the three boys split the fruit roll between them then headed out, once more, for the zoo. Rina-senpai had been hesitant to send them off alone, but in the the end, the devious glints in the eyes of Uo-senpai, Yuna, and Aihara, convinced her that the boys were better off on their own. She had the sneaking suspicion that Uo wanted to put the twins in those outfits together. Fortunately, she also had the suspicion that the other twin was liable to bite.
-0-
After another thirty minutes, seven wrong turns, four more "this is a shortcut, I swear!"s, eight glares and two outbursts from Kouji, a dead-end and a run-in with a police officer (don't ask. Seriously), the boys finally caught sight of the first sign proclaiming that the zoo was close. You know. Finally. After three hours total. And lots of interference from Lost.
"Hey, what did I tell you?" Daisuke cheered, clearly proud of himself and completely oblivious of the poisonous daggers Kouji was glaring at him. "I said I could get you to the zoo and here we are, huh?"
"Yeah, after you lead us everywhere else but the zoo." Kouji reminded him bitterly.
"Well yeah, but that's besides the point. You guys could have just gone home this morning and spent the rest of your day all sad and bored."
"I'd rather be bored than lost."
"Aw, you don't mean that. Anyway, my job's done. We past the train station on our way down the hill, so you should have no problem getting home."
"Especially since you won't be with us," Kouji mumbled under his breath.
"Huh?"
"Nothing just... thanks." You could tell exactly how much it hurt Kouji to say those words to Daisuke, by the way his face screwed up like he tasted something awful. Kouichi stepped forward then.
"Yes, thank you, Daisuke-kun. I had a lot of fun."
Wait, seriously?
"Niisan, seriously?"
"Yeah, seriously?" Motomiya Daisuke might be a little on the slow side, and perpetually lost, but he is not stupid. He knew he'd been messing up all day, and that Kouji was getting increasingly pissed off at him as well. He just figured that if he did actually get them to the zoo - because Daisuke could, he just wasn't very good at it - then maybe most of the day's chaos could be forgiven. He had not been expecting the twins to enjoy the day, even if he did, especially not Kouichi. The kid got lost for crying out loud.
"Hai." Kouichi smiled, a small, shy thing, but a genuine smile nonetheless. "Kouji was right, we did have an adventure today. The mall was a little scary, but otherwise I had fun. I hope to see you again, Daisuke-kun." Don't say that, it might just happen.
A smile stretched across Daisuke's face. "We did have an adventure, huh? Well I'll see you around. Have fun!"
"Good luck getting home!" Kouichi smiled after him.
-0-
Ít was late afternoon when the boys stepped off of the subway close to their home in Shibuya. It wasn't a long walk back to their mother's and gram's apartment, but it was long enough in their exhausted state. The boys had spent three hours wandering among the crowds and animals at the zoo before deciding it was time to head home. They should beat their matrons home; at the very least they'll arrive before their mother.
"Niichan... I want a nap," complained Kouji.
Wow, tough guy, whining about being sleepy.
Kouichi smiled at him fondly, playfully tugging on Kouji's ponytail. "I know. We had a long day."
"Next time I suggest going to Odaiba, don't listen to me." Kouji groaned.
"I'll consider that."
"And if we ever see Motomiya Daisuke again... run."
"I dunno, I rather like him."
"You don't."
"I think you liked him too."
"The hell."
"You needed someone to argue with."
"I'll argue with you."
"I don't argue nearly as well as Daisuke-kun."
"But he's so exhausting..." Kouji groaned again. Kouichi chuckled. "You're laughing at me."
"No, I'm not, I'm honest," was the unconvincing reply.
"You're laughing." Kouji sighed, resting his head back on his brother's shoulder as they walked. "But niichan's happy again, so that's okay."
Thank you to Flaming Platinum, who beta'd this story before I posted it initially. Sorry for not mentioning it before v.v Another thank you goes to Soulfire72, for being completely honest in their review, even if I hadn't taken very kindly to it initially. Everyone, please remember to leave a review with any questions, comments, or criticisms. I can only get better from here :)