The Two Brothers: The Beginning

CHAPTER ONE: One Like the Other

A dim lamp was turned on. The room was barely filled with light, but it still seemed bright.

"I thank you so much, Athena. How can I ever repay you for this?" A woman said. She was sitting up in her bed, blankets covering her waist and below, holding two newborn babies in her arms. Athena Pierce stood in front of her, smiling sincerely.

"Nothing much, I suppose. I have only helped you very little with this. There is one thing, though." She said, her face suddenly hiding in the shadows. The other woman shuddered slightly.

"W-what would that be, Athena?" she stuttered, trying to force a grin on her face.

"Your two baby boys, the twins, will be educated at my bowman school." The female in bed looked at her two sons.

"What…? They're male…?" She muttered, her eyes widening every second. Athena had a solemn look on her face.

"Yes. I know, Meiryl. Only female clerics can carry on the legend in your family. Perhaps even priestesses can too."

"All I can do is have another child. Adopting isn't the key either. They must have the Kaito blood." Meiryl stated, her voice shaking. Athena sighed.

"What shall you name them?" she asked, glad that she had change the subject.

"This one…" Meiryl whispered, pointing to the child with wisps of blue hair on his head, " He looks like his father. I shall call him…Kaien. And this one…" she said, pointing to the other baby, who had a few strands of silver hair, "I shall call Miyuki"

"Very well. I shall be waiting for the boys at the Bowman Instructional School when their time has come. Good night." Athena waved good-bye, and left the house.

"Good night." Meiryl called out. She placed her babies in their newly made crib, covered them with a soft blue blanket, and strode over to her bed, settling in and falling asleep.

XXxxxxXXxxxxXX (Author's Note: Kaien means ocean depths. Miyuki means deep snow.)

14 years later…

"Brother! Wait up!"

"No way! Ha ha ha!"

Kaien and Miyuki jumped over the fence surrounding their house. They were 14 years old now, with a 12-year-old sister named Ushio.

"Guys! Mom told you not to do that anymore! Remember when you jumped onto Auntie Tara's back and she had to go to Niora Hospital?" Ushio stated, placing her hands on her hips. Kaien just grinned mischievously.

"Aww, who cares, Usi! We got home! On record time!" he announced, flipping a lock of azure hair away from his face. Miyuki came up to him and whacked him with his asianic bow. His brother immediately fell to the ground, hard. He yelped, then leaped to his feet.

"Hey! Why'd you do that! You got a problem, Miyuki-chan?" Kaien yelled, smirking at what he called his brother. Miyuki flinched, then looked at his brother with a solid expression.

"Don't make fun of my name. And we should listen to Ushio. She's right about jumping over fences. We don't want to get Mother angry. After what she did to us…" he said, his voice dripping with some sort of venom. Kaien's temper lowered, remembering what his mother did to them, itching the scar on his shoulder blade. He looked down, feeling his brother's cold tone swirling around him.

'Come to think of it, Miyuki-kun was always like this. His characteristics, and even his name reminds me of the frigid and unforgiving winters we've had here in Henesys sometimes. His hair is kind of spiked and silver, his eyes piercing blue, and his skin kinda pale. Gosh, I'm good at this describing stuff…I should-'

Kaien's train of thoughts were cut off when he noticed both of his siblings just standing in front of him, staring. He grinned, waving his hand behind his head.

"Nyah, c'mon let's just get inside. Mum's probably waiting-"

"Damn right I am." Kaien turned around slowly, just to look into the face of a brown haired, middle-aged woman.

"Hey Mum! How are you today?"

"Not well, because I'm looking at you and your brother's face! Now, you two! You better listen to Ushio. She's carrying on the legacy of the family, so you better treat her right! She's probably smarter than you two, too! You know you shouldn't jump over the fence to get into the house! You are supposed to greet me at the front door! Now, as for your punishment, go to your room! No dinner till 10:30! You shall do your homework until I call you down! Is that clear, boys?" Meiryl yelled, crossing her arms at the end of her statement. The twins lowered their heads, replying with a mutter.

"Crystal clear, Mother."

"Good! Now go!" The duo ran into the house, and up to their room.

XXxxxxXXxxxxXX

"Why'd you force me to use the fence to get into the house?" Miyuki asked Kaien, trying to make his voice as soft as possible. Kaien opened the closet, stuffing himself in to look for clothes.

"Because I didn't want to deal with her. But, God! That hag is more intelligent than I imagined!" Kaien let out a laugh, then pulled out a crimson t-shirt with black words that said 'You just wasted 5 seconds of your life just reading this', and tossed it to his brother. He pulled out a dark blue long sleeve for himself, vermilion flames running down the sleeves. He skidded over the dresser, pulled out two pairs of denim pants, tossed one to his brother, and began to undress. Miyuki pulled his clean shirt on his chest, then went over to his school bag to pick out a textbook.

"Hey Kai?" Miyuki said, having an attempt to hold his book and change his pants at the same time.

"What?" Kaien answered, sitting at his desk when he finally put his top on.

"Answer this: Name 3 abilities that you obtain when you make your 3rd job advancement."

"Strafe, Puppet, Arrow Rain."

"Yeah, something like that. I don't have the answers with me."

The two of them studied until 8:21, when Miyuki fell asleep with his book on his head. Kaien grinned, poking his twin in the face. He turned over in response, literally rolling onto his brother's lap. The golden-eyed (Kaien) boy laughed, then started to lie down, feeling sleepy himself. And then, rather right after hit the bed, he fell deep into slumber.

XXxxxxXXxxxxXX (A.N. That was weird. I started laughing after realizing that I could've made a shounen-ai scene. I'd start to roll all over the floor, laughing. O.o)

"Get up, you two! NOW!"

The twins both sat up abruptly, looking groggily at their mother.

"I told you two to study until 10:30! You shall not ha-"

"I don't care, you friggin' hag! You need to get a damn life! I hate you!" Kaien yelled out, his voice beginning to shake as he got closer to the end of his insult. Meiryl was not pleased.

"So I'm a hag now, am I? You little brat! I should have never given birth to both of you! Get out of my life!"

(A.N. So dramatic… . )

"Fine by me…" Miyuki suddenly spoke, crossing his arms, a cold glare forming on his face. It seemed like his hating gaze was throwing icicles at Meiryl, for she was twitching and looked like she was being hit by something. She let out a bellow, then stomped out of the room, slamming the door forcefully behind her. Kaien had his trademark grin on his face again.

"WHOA! Go Miyuki! You use that glare at her! Whoo!" he cheered, tackling Miyuki with all his weight. That wasn't a lot, but he was still knocked to the ground. A smile spread across his face.

"I know. That was good. But what are we gonna do now? She's bound to hurt us so bad that it'll kill us." He stated, sighing afterwards. Kaien just snorted.

"We run away." Silence.

"Run away? To where?"

"You know what she said earlier something about some prophecy? Something to do with Ushio?" Kaien received a nod.

"Well, who cares what gender we are, or what class. We're gonna be the first to accept that destiny. Or die trying!" Silence again.

"Die?" Miyuki whispered, sapphire eyes widening. Kaien ogled at him.

"Yeah. What happens if something goes wrong? We die."

"GOD! KAIEN! Don't be so blunt about this! We could get ourselves killed! Never to come back!"

"Well, SORRY! C'mon! Let's get to Ellinia to find more info on this prophecy, before-"

"QUIET DOWN!" screamed Meiryl in the other room. Both the twins grew quiet.

"You really think she heard our plan?"

"Not sure. C'mon, let's pack up."

XXxxxxXXxxxxXX

Soon enough, Kaien and Miyuki stuffed their books, clothing, weapons, and food (they hid some in their room just in case) in their sacks, jumped out the window, and climbed down the vines on the wall of the house. When they touched the ground, a rustling sound was heard behind them.

"Uhh…Kaien?"

"I know. I heard it too." They both turned around slowly…

"Hey guys!"

"USHIO!" they whispered loudly, staring at their sister with scared eyes.

"What are you guys doing out here at 10:55?" she asked her lavender hair bouncing around her dark violet eyes.

"Err…" began Kaien.

"We're…" Miyuki mumbled.

"You guys are running away, aren't you?" Ushio said, looking at her feet, a sad expression on her face. The twins jumped in shock, but then relaxed afterwards, realizing how their sister felt.

"Aww, don't worry Ushi! We'll come back soon enough. Preferably when that witch stops treating us like shit." Kaien exclaimed, trying to put happiness into the conversation. Ushio smiled.

"Of course. I'm really starting to despise her too. She's treating me with utmost respect. But with you two…" Ushio sighed, a tear rolling down her cheek, "…I really wish that she'd appreciate you two one day. Just for an hour, a minute, a second. Really." Both of the boys felt like crying. Kaien rubbed away the tears on Ushio's face. They quickly embraced her, kissed her on the forehead, then waved good-bye, running onto the path to Ellinia.