Mayuhorin

Chapter Three

A girl with bright white hair and teal eyes grinned as the bus pulled to a stop. Toushiro and Momo immediately grabbed their bags and stepped out. Almost as soon as they did so, the girl ran from the side of the man standing next to her and practically tackled Toushiro as he stepped out, giving him a big hug.

"Toushiro! It's you, it's you, it's you!" she said excitedly. Momo stepped forward as the girl embraced Toushiro.

"It's great to see you too," Toushiro said as she hugged him, "It's been a long time."

"Are you Mayuhorin?" Momo asked. The girl turned to look at her.

"My real names too long. Just call me Rin," she said, extending her hand, which Momo took and shook.

"It's nice to meet you Mayu…Rin," Momo said, "I'm Momo Hinamori."

"Well, it's certainly nice to meet you." Mayuhorin looked like a female version of Toushiro. Her hair was a bit longer, but it was spiky like Toushiro's, with several beaded braids hanging near her left ear. Her face was a little softer and less brooding than Toushiro's, but the nose, cheeks, and other facial features were still largely the same. Her eyes were the same brilliant blue-green as Toushiro's. Momo suppressed a giggle when she realized something else about her.

"Hey Toushiro," she snickered, "Even your twin sister is taller than you." Toushiro scowled, but knew that she was right. Mayuhorin was a little taller than Toushiro, though still shorter than Momo.

"Well, we're not identical twins," Mayuhorin said, "We look similar, but that's just coincidence. We're fraternal twins."

"Okay, come on," the until now silent man standing nearby said, "We need to get your things to the house before it rains again." Toushiro and Mayuhorin immediately complied, picking up their share of luggage and walking across the wet pavement towards a parked car nearby. Momo quickly followed.

"Is that you and Toushiro's dad?" Momo whispered.

"No, that's Juushiro Ukitake, our dad's cousin. I think that makes him our second cousin," Mayuhorin replied, "I'll tell you more when we get to the house, we should probably concentrate on loading the car right now." Momo nodded and followed behind them.

As she walked, she couldn't help but smile. This place was really beautiful. Everything seemed to have much more personality. The buildings each looked different. Some were made of concrete and artificial materials, some were brick and stone, and others made of weathered wood. Each building was unique, and seemed as if they each had their own personality and story to tell. There was a small wooden shack nearby with a sign advertising bait and fishing gear, and next to that a rustic looking pub. Next to that was a red-bricked building that was several stories high, and across the street were several houses made of gray bricks and stones. Everything seemed so much more…alive. It might be lovely and diverse architecture in the town. Maybe it was the bright green grass, lush bushes, verdant trees, and moss covered stones. Perhaps it was the fresh, cool, moist feeling in the air. This town felt alive. She knew its population was about the same size as the town she and Toushiro lived in, but it felt incredibly different.

Momo had always liked her town, but this place…the two were incomparable. Momo's town was located in an area of grassy plains and hills in a rather dry climate, while this place was located along a rocky coastline amidst a forest full of many lakes and rivers. Her town was full of nearly identical houses with large yards all over the place with a few small stores and a school downtown, whereas here there were unique houses, stores, and restaurants located all over the place, and in a higher concentration too. The yards and space between buildings were smaller, but somehow this didn't make it feel any more crowded. Maybe it was just the sense of wonder of the unknown, but Momo was already feeling excited about this place.

"Watch your step Momo!" Toushiro said, interrupting her thoughts. Momo immediately stopped, and a small toad leapt out from right where her foot would have landed moments later.

"Thanks for the heads up Toushiro!" Momo said. They walked over to the car and packed their things in the trunk before getting in. Ukitake started the car and pulled out of the place they were parked.

"So how was your trip up here?" Ukitake asked Momo and Toushiro.

"It was pretty good," Momo said.

"Okay overall," Toushiro said.

"I bet it was quite the drive up, especially with that storm earlier. The lower lying areas of forest are completely flooded. The river and lakeshores are pretty flooded too, not to mention my basement. Not too much, but you should keep an eye on your place to make sure it doesn't flood too," Ukitake said.

"Um, where is Mr. Hitsugaya?" Momo asked.

"Well…" Ukitake said slowly, as if unsure how to respond.

"Father takes a lot of business trips and is usually out of town," Mayuhorin said for him, "When he is here, he generally keeps to himself, so Mr. Ukitake comes to take care of me when he can, even though I'm independent enough to live on my own."

"Well, I wouldn't feel right leaving a twelve year old on her own," Ukitake said, "By the way, how many times to I have to tell you that you don't have to call me 'Mr. Ukitake'; we're family, you can call me by my first name."

"Sorry, but it's become a habit Mr. Ukitake," Mayuhorin said, putting emphasis on his name. Ukitake chuckled.

They drove down mainstreet, going to the other side of town. Momo and Toushiro's faces were practically pressed against the windows as they looked at the town. They made a turn onto one of the smaller roads, and then again on a road that went to the more forested edge of town. Here the houses were more spread apart, several hundred feet separating each one. They had not gone very far down this road when Ukitake slowed down and pulled into the driveway of one of the houses.

"Is this it?" Toushiro asked.

"Yep, this is home," Mayuhorin answered.

It was a very large wooden house that had two floors and sat atop the edge of a gully. Behind the house was the dense forest, with tall trees towering behind it. In the front, there were smaller trees and bushes. The house was made of a dark, reddish-brown wood and was quite attractive. A short maple tree, a poplar, and several bushes sat on the grassy front lawn, with the back side of the house separated by the steep slope of the gully. Momo and Toushiro immediately stepped out, staring in awe. They walked over to the edge of the gully and looked over the edge. The house sat on top of it, and the basement opened up to the bottom via a sliding glass door. An elevated porch was at their level, a set of stairs going down the side to the bottom. The gully was fairly wide, and on the other side wasn't nearly as steep, instead forming a hill. At the bottom of the gully there were scattered birch trees and some wild bushes, and higher up in elevation were numerous pines, spruces, and other conifers as well as maples and other trees, with the treees getting denser as the forest went on.

"You two going to help?" Ukitake called. The two turned around, and realized that Ukitake and Mayuhorin were already unpacking the car. Embarassed, they immediately ran over to help.

"Sorry," Toushiro said sheepishly, grabbing the bag containing his clothing while Momo picked up one of her bags and put her backpack over her shoulder.

They went up to the door with Mayuhorin and Ukitake, each carrying a bit of luggage. Toushiro was in the front, and opened the door on the side of the house.

"Hi!!!" a girl with orange hair shouted just as he opened the door. Toushiro stumbled and fell backwards, dropping the bag. When he looked up the girl was leaning over him, her face just inches from his.

"Oh, hell Orihime; you're here already?" Ukitake said. The girl stood up, a grin on her face.

"Yup, I wanted to be here to greet you!" Orihime said, "That was a super awesome storm earlier! Don't you just love watching storms? Well anyways, welcome to your home away from home guys! I take it you're Toushiro and you're Momo, right? Great! Let me get those bags for you!" She bent down and picked up the bag that Toushiro dropped.

"Who-who are you?" Toushiro asked as he stood up. Orihime turned to him, a confused look on her face.

"Who am I? What kind of question is that? Didn't they tell you already? I'm Orihime Inoue, your babysitter!"

"Babysitter?!!" Momo and Toushiro said together in shock.

"No! You're not our babysitter! You're just staying with us at the same time!" Mayuhorin protested, "We're old enough not to need a babysitter, and besides you're only four years older than me!"

"Four and two-fifths of a year older than you," Orihime said, resuming her big smile. Now come in, I have to get you all settled in so that we can all have lots of fun! I live only a few houses away, so it's no problem for me to take care of you guys in my spare time!"

Orihime led them inside. The doorway opened up into a path to the dining room, with the kitchen to their side, counters forming the boundary between the small table of the dining room and the kitchen. Beyond that was a fairly large living room, with several couches, reclining chairs, a TV, a fireplace, and a bookshelf. A sliding door went to the back porch, which they knew was elevated above ground. A hallway led to the front room of the house, and another went the other way, continuing past the living room. A set of stairs nearby went upstairs and another right next to it went downstairs to the basement, which due to the nature of the gully the house was situated upon contained a door that opened up to the bottom of the gully.

"This place is huge!" Hinamori commented, "I can't wait to check everything out, I bet there's a ton of cool stuff in this place!"

"Wait a moment before you start anything," Ukitake said, "You only just got here, so first you'll have to pack away all of your clothes and other things in your rooms. Then, we'll have to familiarize you two with the town and how things work around here so that things go smoothly. It won't take long, but we will have to work a bit before we can relax."

Everyone groaned at the prospect at having to work when they were already so excited. Suddenly the rumbling sound of thunder echoed in the distance.

"Damn! This bad, I can't let my basement flood again," Ukitake muttered, scratching his head and glancing at the other, "Okay…I have to go back to my house on the other side of town. Orihime, can you handle things from here? Make sure everyone packs their things away and go over the rules and everything?"

"Yes sir!" Orihime said, giving a mock salute to him. Ukitake nodded.

"Okay, thanks. I'll call you guys tomorrow to make sure you're doing alright. Sorry I couldn't help you out more. It was great seeing you again Toushiro! And nice meeting you Momo!" Ukitake said, walking briskly towards the door just as it began to lightly rain outside. After he left, Orihime clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention.

"Okay guys, so this is the beginning of our summer together! I know we're all going to have a bunch of fun!" she said.

"Hey, can you show me around?" Momo asked, "We can pack our stuff later, and besides I need to get familiarized with the place and pick a room to sleep in."

"Great idea! I've always wanted to go exploring in this house! I bet there's a bunch of trap doors and stuff! Let's go!" Orihime said, running up the set of stairs with Momo following behind her. Toushiro and Mayuhorin stayed behind.

"Your friend is certainly energetic," Mayuhorin said, "She's almost as excitable as Orihime."

"She's usually more mellow, she's just excited because she's never been in a place like this," Toushiro explained. They remained silent for a minute.

"So…" Mayuhorin said, "You're finally here." Toushiro nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so…" he said. They weren't sure what to say to eachother. It had been so long since they had seen eachother, they didn't know what to say. No words or actions could really express the way they felt. They were twins after all, and for years they had been separated. Should they be jumping up and down in excitement? Sitting down and having a nice chat? Just spend time together? Everything felt unreal somehow.

"I'm…I'm really glad that I got to see you again," Toushiro said, walking over to the mantlepiece extending from the wall above the fireplace. He picked up a photograph and looked longingly at it. It was a picture of their entire family. Their parents stood behind them smiling, and a much younger and more innocent-looking Toushiro and Mayuhorin were grinning in the foreground. In their mother's arms was baby Yuuki, then two years old and already possessing flowing white hair in contrast with the spiky hair of her siblings. The photograph was taken only a year before little Yuuki's death would shatter the family.

"You wish things were the way they were back then?" Mayuhorin asked. Toushiro nodded.

"Every day," he said, "Every day I wish we could all be together again. That mom weren't sick, that Yuuki was alive, that dad was back to his old self, and that we were all together again. I guess it's just a stupid wish. Things will never go back to the way they were before." Mayuhorin put an arm around her brother's shoulder.

"Well…not completely, but hey, we're together again, aren't we?" Mayuhorin said.

"Yeah, I guess so. It's just that…seeing you again, it just reminds me of old times," Toushiro sighed.

"Worry less about old times, and concentrate on new times," Mayuhorin said, "You and I have a bond that cannot be broken. All we need is eachother, and things will be fine. There is nobody who knows you better than me Toushiro, even after all this time, and just know that I'll always be by your side." Toushiro gave a brief smile.

"Thanks Rin," he said. Mayuhorin gave him a hug as they stared at the old picture of their family.


Thanks for reading! Thank you to AznVKai, Assault Godzilla, Merciless Ruby, DW64, animelover24271, and Momo21 for reviewing! The story takes place near an ocean coastline, but since I've never been to a northern area of ocean (only florida, lol), I'm basing the description on the coastal areas of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, particularly Lake Superior's southern shore. I based the town on Munising, Michigan. Please review!