Chapter 1: The Hat
I have found in life that one man's madness is another man's reality. Another is that crazy people do not know they are crazy. I know I am crazy, therefore I cannot be crazy. With that, I will recount the events that occurred of my twin brother, Sergei, and I.
I woke up in the early morning and stretched, yawning and running a hand through my black hair as I looked around my room. It was November 30, 1939 as I got up to go wake my twin brother, Sergei, in the bed across my side of the room.
"Sergei, it's time to get up, we gotta check the news" I said as I kicked his bed, still yawning slightly.
"...Wha-?" He said while still half asleep.
"Get up; it's already five o' clock. We need to check the news and then get to school." I said while walking towards my half of the room to my closet, pulling out a black v-neck shirt with a dark green hoodie and a pair of jeans. He let out a long groan and then sat up, rubbing his eyes.
"..Fine, I'm glad it's Friday though and almost December." He said as he pulled on the same kind of shirt and jeans, but he had a purple hoodie with a blue checkered scarf.
"I'm glad too, looking forward to the weekend" I said in agreement as I headed downstairs. Today my brother and I turned 18. We had gotten our registration cards in the mail for the army. We could now be drafted into the war, and we were looking forward to it unlike some of our friends.
"I don't like the way I look in this picture... do you think they will let me do a retake?" He said, holding the card really close to my face. I stepped back a bit while making breakfast and took a good look at the card before sighing.
"That's my card you've got in your hand you dolt." I said as I took it from him and turned off the stove, placing the eggs and bacon on the two plates.
"Oohhhhh... Mine looks really good" He grinned, looking at his now. I simply face palmed and shook my head, handing him the plate as I grabbed a fork and ate my food. After taking a few bites, I turned the volume up on the radio.
"Today starts the war against Finland as a result of us invading Poland; soldiers are now drafting any eligible people who are physically fit and healthy enough to be in the war." The news reporter said on the radio news station.
"Well maybe after school we will get drafted. If not, we can go and volunte- Are you even listening to me!" I said as I hit him on the head. He coughed somewhat and then looked at me.
"What was that you were saying?" Sergei said as he put our plates in the sink. I got up and grabbed my book bag, handing his to him and opening the door.
"Never mind, let's just get to school before we are late. Make sure to keep your registration card on you." I then shut the door behind us and locked it. Our parents were hardly ever home at all, always staying at their job which we still did not know what they did, but apparently they made good money. They sent money every year for our birthday ever since we were 15 years old. They wrote to us twice a week to check up on how things were going.
As we walked to school, we both stopped in the street at the light where a vase with a flower sat. It was for a little boy standing by the street lamp. Ever since we were about 5 years old, Sergei and I could see spirits, and this boy was one we saw regularly on our way. I poured a little more water in the vase as we passed and walked into school just in time for the bell to ring.
My brother and I got into class just as the teacher began to call the roll for attendance so we took our seats and it was not long before our names were called. It being the new school year, we also had a new teacher and like every new teacher, we waited for our names to be butchered in pronunciation. She stared at the roll for a minute or two before finally trying it out.
"Aleh-ister Cayehlos? Sergei Cayehlos? I am sorry if I mispronounced it. Are you here?" She said, glancing up from the paper to roam her eyes over the class. We raised our hands at the same time and I stood up as I cleared my throat and corrected her.
"It is pronounced Aleister and Sergei Caelos, ma'am. Pronounced Cay-los." I said before sitting back down. My brother and I looked exactly alike in almost every way. We both had slightly tan skin and were both 6'2" with a slightly more than average muscle build. We even had similar tastes in clothes we wore which made it worse. Sergei however had grey eyes with black hair, while I had icy cold blue eyes and black hair. The teacher then continued on the roll until she had called everyone's name. When she got to Ichigo Kurasaki, no one answered and so she set the paper down and introduced herself.
"I am Mrs. Mallory and I will be your art teacher today. We also have a new student joining our class and she will be hear sho-." Her words were cut off as there was a knock on the door just before it was opened. A girl with black hair walked in, wearing a dress and had her school books in hand. For a moment she stopped and her eyes went wide, looking over at us. I looked at my brother as he caught it too and he shrugged and we looked back to her as she continued walking again.
"Class, this is Rukia Kuchiki, some of you may already know her. She switched one of her classes to art along with Mr. Kurasaki who is not here today." She said, handing Rukia a class expectations sheet and her art sketchbook she would be using for the year, as all of us already had. I watched her as she came and sat right next to me like nothing happened before. I felt... strange though, like the feeling when I was around spirits.
"She must be like us, able to see and talk to spirits!" I thought to myself as I turned my head to pay attention to Mrs. Mallory's lesson. I started feeling awkward though because every time I glanced over at Rukia, she was watching me with a hardened expression. Her black eyes did not make it any better either. "I will ask her after class about why she stopped so suddenly and why she looked at us, as well as why the heck she is still staring at me." I decided as we worked on our paintings. I had drawn a hat I saw in my dreams countless times. A black silk top hat that was slightly tattered with a grey ribbon around it and a red flower on the left side.
Sergei had decided to draw himself with a katana in his hand, facing a large black creature with a white skull looking mask. Or perhaps that was its face, I could not really tell. We laughed and had a good time and I saw Rukia look over at Sergei's painting and her eyes widened again. She muttered something under her breath that neither of us could hear but I guessed it had to do with the creature he painted.
Once the bell rang, I packed up my stuff and glanced at Sergei and he gave a nod, knowing what I was thinking. Everyone says that twins have a sort of telepathy but you cannot really see it in most twins. My brother and I can just look and know what the other is thinking. I got up and walked outside of the room, leaning on the door as I waited. My brother passed by and so I gave him a brofist.
"I'll be there in a bit Sergei; I gotta clear up a few things first." I said as more people passed us by; he nodded then gave me a two fingered salute, telling me Rukia was coming out.
"Rukia, right? Mind if I ask you some questions real quick?" I asked as I walked with her to the lockers to grab our stuff for the next class. She fidgeted for a moment with her dress and stayed silent before looking up at me.
"Sure, I guess so. I'll try to answer them as best as I can...uhm... I never caught your name actually." She admitted as we got to study hall. We looked around and sat at an empty table away from everyone else. I saw my brother look over at us a moment and then continue working.
"Aleister Caelos, my twin brother is Sergei." I answered the moment we sat down. I looked around once more to make sure no one else could hear our conversation. Once I was satisfied, I thought for a bit on how to word my questions before asking them.
"This may sound... odd, but can you umm... see spirits?" I asked and got ready for the worst like her running off or looking at me like I was crazy.
"Why do you ask?" she said quietly in response as she rested her chin on her hand. Well at least she did not run off or look at me weird so that mst mean she can. I thought to myself.
"I ask because I can see and hear them. Ever since I was five I've been able to." I decided not to mention Sergei could as well, becase that was his to share. "I sensed the same energy from you when you stopped suddenly, but stronger." I admitted and just waited. She was about to answer me when a kid walked in. He had orange hair and brown eyes and wore black pants, a white dress shirt, and tennis shoes. He looked over at us then walked over and sat down. I introduced myself and told him about my brother Sergei. Rukia told Ichigo that we could see and talk to spirits. It was at this point that I called my brother over to join us. He packed up his stuff and sat next to Ichigo.
"This is my brother Sergei." I said as he sat down with us. Ichigo turned and grinned at him.
"I'm Ichigo, Aleister was telling me about yourself." He said as Sergei nodded and leaned back.
"Yeah, that's me." He said with his arms behind his head. Ichigo nodded then Rukia looked at me.
"So how long have you been able to see spirits?" She asked the both of us. I looked at Sergei and thought for a moment before my brother spoke up.
"Thirteen years." He said casually as Ichigo and Rukia trned to him and so I just sat and listened.
"Really?" She asked him with a raised brow.
"Yes, like I said before, we've been able to see spirits since we were 5 years old." I told her again. Rukia then looked nervously at Ichigo and then back to Sergei.
"What do your parents do?" She asked as he just shrugged which would have been my response as well.
"We don't knkow, all we know is that they stay there and rarely come hom. They send us money and letters to check up on us." He said honestly. Rukia nodded and looked at Ichigo.
"What are you guys doing after school?" He asked us both. I leaned forward and grinned at them.
"We were going to go register for the army." I said as the thought thrilled me. The thought of going into battle and killing as many enemies as possible. Ichigo nodded and Sergei was going to say something but a roar in the distance caught our attention and he started to shake as we looked out the window.