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-Anii

Chapter 3: Diva

Diva bent her head low as she stepped through the corridor of the hospital. The little girl from earlier was happily licking away at a large ice cream beside her father, David. Lewis chuckled at the girl, licking his own ice cream.

Saya came up beside her sister and David's head lifted. "I assume Julia explained everything?"

"A little." Saya answered.

David nodded, "Of course she'd leave it to me." However, a smile lifted the corners of his mouth and he turned to his daughter. "Honey, why don't you go with Uncle Louie and let Daddy talk to these girls, alright?"

The little girl hopped up, "Alright, Papa." She turned to Lewis, "Uncle Louie, can we go to the petting zoo?"

"Of course, Anna." He said with a thick Jamaican accent as he picked the girl up high into the air.

Anna squealed in delight and the two left the depressing hospital. David shifted in his seat before standing and leading the girls away into a secluded room with a single man in it. The man sat in a wheelchair and he smiled at the approach of the girls and David, "Hello, you three."

Saya lifted a hand, "Hello, Joel."

Diva winced; she hated that man's name. Joel turned back towards the computer screen which had the school Julia had shown Saya and Diva plastered all over it.

"Cross Academy." Diva blurted.

She snapped her mouth shut but David didn't miss a beat, "So Julia told you that much. Yes, this is Cross Academy. We already have two operatives inside but we can't seem to figure out anything about the recent chiropteran uprisings."

"That's because we don't have the two Queens there to scope it out." Joel said with a laugh.

David pressed on, "We would like you girls to join the Academy as Guardians."

Diva tilted her head to the side, "What's a Guardian?"

Joel stepped in, "The Headmaster will explain everything to you. He's a friend of mine, although a bit eccentric." Joel smiled at Diva.

Diva pursed her lips together in a thin line and abruptly turned on her heels to face her sister. "I'll do it. How about you, Saya?"

Startled, Saya could only nod. David grunted softly, "Good. We'll take you there as soon as Kai gets home tomorrow evening and the Headmaster will brief you."

Diva pushed gently past her sister, stepping out into the silent hallway of the hospital. She tucked a loose strand of long black hair behind her ear.

She lowered her head as a group of doctors passed by her and she shuddered when one of them mentioned a "mouse"- the code name for a chiropteran. Saya stepped out of the room and touched her sister's shoulder, "Diva, why don't you come back with me to the shop?"

Diva shook her head, unable to look at her sister. "I'm not welcome there."

"You're the one who hasn't let us welcome you. Kai and Riku are good people-."

"How can they ever forgive me for what I've done?" Diva snapped, more out of fear and self-loathing than anger.

Saya released her sister's arm, "Forgiveness comes with time, Diva. You haven't even seen Kai or Riku. How do you know they haven't already forgiven you?"

Diva's shoulders sagged, "How can I forgive myself?"

Saya wrapped her arms tightly around her younger sister's shoulders, "Let's not worry about that right now. You're doing the best you can to make up for what you've done- we both are. Now let's go home and I'll have Haji make you something warm to eat."

••••••••

Diva and Saya had to push their way through the main entrance of Omoro. Diva gasped softly as an elbow was jabbed into her rib cage but patiently nudged her way through the crowd. Inside, Haji and Riku were struggling to keep up with the loud, obnoxious customers demanding food.

The usually stoic man, Haji, looked quite comical as he hustled around the tiny kitchen to produce the food at an alarming speed with a bandana on his head and an apron around his waist. Saya dashed behind the counter and threw on her bandana as well, working with the two to finish off the food for the hungry customers.

Diva, seeing the chaos bustling around her, opened her mouth and did what she knew how to do best: sing.

Her voice echoed around the small restaurant and the humans immediately stopped squirming to listen to her. Haji thrust out an order for one man, who didn't even take notice that his food was completed. Saya wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and smiled at her sister. Diva closed her eyes, willing her voice to raise higher. With this distraction, Haji, Saya and Riku were able to fill the orders from their demanding customers and regain control over the shop.

Saya handed Diva a glass of clear water, smiling whole heartedly. Diva took the glass from her sister timidly. Riku collapsed on the counter. "Will Kai be back tomorrow?"

"Knowing him he should be here any moment." Haji said as he pulled the bandana from his head.

Saya chuckled, stroking Haji's wavy jet black hair. When Saya had gone into her sleep, she had assumed Haji was dead- killed when a building fell on him as he saved Saya's life. One day, when Diva had gone to visit her sister, who slept in the Miyagusuku crypt, she had found a fresh pink rose resting near the entrance with a blue ribbon tied around the stem. The same blue ribbon now tied back Haji's hair. Diva couldn't help but smile slightly.

Since confessing to Saya at the Metropolitan Opera House, Haji had taken on a slightly more energetic role. Saya claimed he was like he was before at the Zoo- before he was changed into a chevalier. Diva's head lowered, she hated to think about the Zoo and she hated to think about the Metropolitan Opera House even more. (Anii Note: the Zoo is a nickname for where Saya and Diva were raised. Diva was rasied in a tower with no human contact while Saya was raised like a princess. The first Joel wanted to experiement with the twins. Neither knew about the other for a long time.)

"Diva?" Saya waved her hand in front of Diva's face.

Startled by her own name, Diva stepped back and bumped into something solid, causing her to drop the water. The glass shattered against the floor and Diva winced at the sound. Kneeling, she moved to pick the fragments of broken glass up from the floor.

"Leave them. I'll sweep them up later." Said a rough, male voice behind her.

Diva's body froze, poised to pick up a piece of glass.

"Kai!" Riku ran around the counter of the kitchen and flung his arms around his big brother.

Kai dropped the duffel bag on his shoulder and hugged his brother with one arm, leaving the other open. Diva, not moving from her spot, glanced at her sister. Saya's eyes were wide and filled with tears, much like they had been when she had first seen Haji, Riku, and even Diva after waking up 5 days ago. Saya ran into Kai's open arm and he pulled his siblings close to his chest, tears forming in his eyes as well.

"Kai," Saya sobbed, "You look so old."

This story might fill the hole in my heart that Spirited Away left lol hopefully -Anii