Author's Notes: This chapter was written in a rush!! So forgive me for the grammatical errors and again, sorry if everything seems a bit… clichéd?
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o - "A Memory in Time" by 'loveREMIX- - o
Chapter 2: "New Days"
The sun shone brightly in Makan Village. It was a beautiful day; the clouds were looking puffier than usual and the sky seemed bluer than ever. The villagers were doing their usual daily routines, going around the village, and mostly, to the market place…
"Kaika! Hotaru!" Shouko yelled, barging into the twin brothers' bedroom. "C'mon, wake up you sleepy-heads!! You promised me you'd go to the market and do the shopping!"
Upon hearing this, Kaika quickly got up and fixed his side of the bed. Hotaru shrugged and decided not to get up. What kind of person would cut their sleep short to go to the market in the wee hours of the morning?! Hotaru knew he wouldn't.
"Oi! Hotaru! Better get up before mother gets a fit!" Said Kaika teasingly.
Hotaru groaned.
"Atta boy, kaika!! You are such a good son!" Shouko praised, giving Kaika a tap on the back. She called out to Hotaru, who still didn't respond. "Honestly…" She said, sighing. "You boys are twins, but Kaika is more responsible and hardworking! Hotaru is so lazy and never listens to anybody!!"
Hotaru buried his head under the pillows. "Give me a break… I still want to sleep."
Shouko sighed yet again. Then, a brilliant idea struck her! "Since Kaika's gonna help, he'll get to have the biggest food servings every meal time for the whole month and doesn't need to do the chores! And Hotaru… hmmm, since he's not helping, Hotaru will be stuck eating only RICE the whole month and will do Kaika's share of chores too!"
Hearing this, Hotaru quickly changed his mind and dashed out of bed. "Fine! Geez, have it your way…" He mumbled, slowly getting up. "But, you have to give me a reward!"
Shouko smiled. "Good."
"Here's the money for everything" Shouko handed the boys 16 pieces of gold ryo. "Take care now!"
"We'll come back soon!" Kaika waved his mother goodbye.
Hotaru responded with a yawn. Guess that was his way of saying "take care too".
Houjun, their neighbor, decided to stop by Sorata and Shouko's place on the way to the field and had caught sight of Kaika and Hotaru entering the market square.
"Good morning, Houjun!" Shouko greeted him.
"Good morning, old friend!" Sorata greeted him too.
Houjun just smiled in response.
"Are you here to join us for lunch?" Inquired Shouko. "The boys are still out to buy food."
Houjun blinked. "No, no! I'm not here to eat. I just happened here on the way to work." He pointed out. "I just walked past the boys on my way here. Kaika and Hotaru seem to be doing good." He stated.
Shouko smiled. "Why, yes, of course." She nodded. "It has been a while though, hasn't it?"
Sorata gazed out to the sky. "Yes… almost one month to be exact."
Yes, indeed. It's been about a month since the twins were found unconscious that night. They had already known Kaika, but Hotaru was a completely different story. Sorata and Shouko decided to name Hotaru* the way he is because there were a lot of fireflies the night they had found him, and it was those fireflies that had led them to the twins.
Houjun chuckled lightly. "Glad things are workin' out for your family."
"Yep." Sorata smiled. "By the way, how are your children? Have they gotten used to living here in the village, rather than living in the crowded Sairou Main Town?"
"Oh!" Houjun snapped. "They're just fine! My Ren-Ren and Maru are out shopping too. But they sure have gotten attached to the twins ever since they came here, ya know!"
Noticing how much time Houjun wasted talking, he quickly ended the conversation and headed towards the fields. "Well, see ya two later! Got me some workin' to do!"
"Ah, two fishes fresh from the ocean!" The fish-seller exclaimed with a smile. "That would be 2 gold ryo please!" Hotaru held up his hand and handed the fish-seller the money.
"Hey, Aniki*!" He yelled, turning to his brother. "Do we have any more things we need to buy?"
Kaika grabbed the shopping list from his pocket and checked to make sure. "Nope." Kaika stated. "Nothing."
Hotaru smirked. "Hey, since we're free, why don't we go-"
"PLAY!" A high-pitched voice cut in. She was short, petite, with wavy ebony-black curls tied up neatly with a maroon-colored ribbon. She was wearing the traditional Sairou clothing – a light-pink-colored frilly flowy dress decorated with tiny gems and ribbons.
"Maru!" Hotaru cried. "Stop with the sneak-attacks, will ya?!"
The girl, known as Maru, smiled sheepishly and clasped her hands together. "Ehe… sorry, I guess…"
Kaika smiled. "Are you alone today?"
Maru shook her head. "Nope. Big sister Ren-Ren's with me! We went to buy a couple of things in the market before it got soooo crowded! But, she's waiting for me at our secret hideout! Why don't we go there?!" Wasting no time in hearing their replies, she grabbed Kaika and Hotaru's sleeve, and dashed out of the market place, running so fast, she was like a speeding torpedo.
"W-Where the hell are you taking us?!" Hotaru yelled, fearing for his life. "SLOW DOWN!"
Kaika sighed, going with the flow. "If this happens everyday, Hotaru, you always gotta be prepared for it."
"Are you prepared to hear the news, Lady Yui?" Nakago asked, taking a seat beside Yui's bedside.
Yui sat up weakly. "What news?" She looked pale and apparently, wasn't feeling very well. She was really tired and weak since she had just summoned Seiryuu the other night*.
"About your warrior, Suboshi, your eminence." The blonde general replied.
Yui frowned. "W-What happened to him? Is he alright?"
"Do you remember the task I had given him to find the location of the Priestess of Suzaki about three weeks ago and he'd suddenly disappeared?"
Yui nodded.
Nakago narrowed his eyes. "One of our spies in Sairou has found him and his twin brother, Amiboshi, who in terms, is still alive, living in a hidden village deep in the borders of Sairou… it seems that he has abandoned our side…"
Yui clenched her fists. "You mean, Suboshi's not gonna come back to us?" A hint of disappointment and sadness was evident in her voice.
"He seems to have forgotten everything about us, about Seiryuu, and even about you, your eminence."
Yui blinked. She didn't understand the last statement Nakago was babbling about. "Forgotten? What do you mean?"
Nakago gave a small smirk, and took out a cup filled with greenish liquids and grinded herbs.
Yui looked at it bewilderedly. "What the hell is that thing?"
"In the village of Makan, deep in Sairou's borders, a potion called the 'Forgetfulness Leaves' is used to erase all memories of a person who is suffering from past traumas." Nakago replied. "It was created intentionally to erase one's memory about everything."
Yui gulped. "D-Does that mean that cup there-"
"Yes, my Lady." Nakago cut in. "It seems that Suboshi and his brother, Amiboshi, have took the potion and have erased all their memories from the past."
'How? How could Suboshi just go without saying goodbye? And right after he… told me he loved me…' Yui frowned slightly. She could feel the tears begging to escape from her eyes, but she tried her best to fight it back but to no avail.
Nakago had noticed this, however. "Shall we go destroy his peace and give him a lesson or two for disobeying you, lady Yui?" He asked.
Yui shook her head. "No… that won't be necessary, Nakago… but before we proceed with our plan to crush the Suzaku Seven, can I please visit Suboshi and see him one last time?" Yui requested.
Nakao nodded. "As you wish, lady Yui. We will make preparations to go to Makan Village immediately."
(Guide to those who are lost…)
* Hotaru – This is supposed to be Suboshi's false name (like Amiboshi's false name is 'Kaika') given to him by his foster parents, Shouko and Sorata. The old couple decided to name him "Hotaru" because the night he was found, there were a lot of fireflies. "Hotaru" roughly translates to "Firefly"
* Aniki – I was planning on making this an English-only fic (meaning, everything here's supposed to be all English, without the honorifics and etc.), but if 'Hotaru' were to refer to 'Kaika' as "Big brother" it would make him sound childish. So I'll be using "Aniki" here. "Aniki" roughly translates to "Older brother" and is often used by boys in their younger teens.
* In this fic, Yui had just summoned Seiryuu (without Suboshi), and since it had passed one month, Yui's summoning of Seiryuu had been prolonged…
**Notes: This fic will consist a lot of my own characters, so please, don't be confused!!