I drank my hot chocolate slowly, since I wasn't in the mood for tea, but Neko-chan had insisted I drank something. He sat beside me on a black leather loveseat, his wig off, since the room was almost pitch black. "Now that you've settled down, care to tell me what happened? You were so pale when you came through the door, I thought you were having a heart attack."
"I don't know. I was with Hikaru at the garden..and he tried to kiss me.. I-I think I was going to let him do it, but then I freaked out for no apparent reason and ran." I tried to explain what just happened. "I felt so cold and scared." I didn't sound as distressed as I felt.
"H-hikaru, you say? As in Hitachiin Hikaru?" his tone became worried, almost scared.
"Yes, the only Hikaru I've met so far." Was he hiding something too?
"Mitsuko-chan... I think it's best if you stay away from those twins."
"Why? Are you hiding something from me?"
"N-no. Not exactly." I inched closer to him.
"Neko-chan..." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Tell me."
"Oh, I wish it wasn't me telling you this..." he started. "I know! Beelzenef can tell you!" he took out the the little cat-like puppet and hid behind the couch, so only the puppet was facing me.
"You see, most of us, being of the privilleged kind, went to preschool together. Umehito-san, being a year older, watched over you, since his father and yours are such good friends." he said in a disturbingly high-pitched voice. "One day you befriended one of the Hitachiin twins, I don't know which one, when the other was absent. You even introduced him to Umehito-san, but the kid didn't get along with others aside of you. You two were playmates for almost a week, until the other twin arrived." he stopped talking.
"What happened then?" I asked. He put the puppet away, and faced me.
"Well, it was a winter morning, and the teachers took everyone to the park. I was sitting under a tree, because the sun made me weak. All the other kids were playing in the snow, making snowmen and such things, but you and the twins were playing near the frozen lake. I tried to warn you that it was dangerous, but the sun was too bright. Before I could do anything, one of them pushed you into the lake, you went through the ice..."
I couldn't bear anymore. I remembered the cold, burning sensation of falling into the water, how hard the ice was as I broke through it, how I almost drowned if it wasn't for... I didn't remember. Who saved me?
"Who saved me?" I asked.
"You did. You came out from the same hole you made. By then the twins had already gotten the teacher and told her that you slipped and fell. You were in shock, so you couldn't even defend yourself. No one believed me when I told the truth, so your mother got you home and filed a complaint after I told her what I saw. Of course, the principal was not going to listen to a complain based on what one child saw, so it was treated as an accident. You came back a couple of days later as if nothing had happened. You didn't remember what had happened, you didn't even remember the twins. Everyone was told by the teacher not to talk about it, you made new friends and went on with your life."
I sat there, astounded, trying to process what I've just heard. I wanted to know the reason. Why would they do something so terrible? Had I done something wrong? I had a terrible urge to know. Did they remember? There was only one way to know...
"Mitsuko-chan, please..." He started, but I didn't stay to listen to the rest. I got up from my seat and ran back to the garden.
...
After searching the whole garden, and failing to find Hikaru, I dragged myself back to the classroom. I'd missed Japanese and Geography, but had gotten back in time for Literature.
The teacher was not there yet, so everyone was out of their seats, chatting and laughing at jokes I couldn't hear. My sight wandered around the classroom until I found them, standing next to Haruhi's desk, talking about something she clearly wasn't interested in. I walked towards them, looked them in the eyes, my fear gone, and uttered one word.
"Why?"
Hohohoho! Cliffhanger! So, one cat is out of the bag, but there're more to go! But will the twins remember what happened so many years ago? REVIEW PLEASE...
