Yay updating! People! We've broken the 1000 views point and the 30 reviews point! I am so proud of everyone! xD I'm strange, I know... But I'm so glad that so many people read and love this story....it really means alot... ^^''
Anyway, this chapter is a flasback for a majority of it. So, I kept those parts in italics, and then the last part is back in present time. I labeled them so you don't be confused ^^
I feel like I tried too hard with this...but oh well! Review, favorite, whatever! The more you do, the more inspiration I get! And most of all...ENJOY! :)
12 Years Before
Yuzuha Hitachiin frowned down at her two four-year-old sons, "Now Hikaru…Kaoru…are you going to behave for our guests?" The two boys held onto each other's hand tightly as they responded, "Yes Mommy…" Their mother smiled and nodded, "Good. I'm sure you'll like the little girl. She's quiet but very sweet."
She left the boys' room and the two boys sighed. Hikaru turned to face his younger brother, "I don't wanna meet this family…" Kaoru scrunched up his face as he nodded, "Yeah, they sound really weird…" Regardless, they promised their mother they would behave…so they would.
Sighing, the twins left their room and made their way through their mansion, hand in hand. Halfway to the front foyer, they heard the doorbell chime throughout the place. The twins glanced at each other as they continued walking and heard their mother exclaim, "I'm so glad you could make it Yuna-chan! Why hello Ayame-chan! You've gotten so big! Hikaru, Kaoru! Come down you two!"
Right on cue, the twins descended the stairs and joined the group. Their eyes scanned the two new people in their home: the older woman's complexion seemed slightly aged and she seemed really tired as she smiled at them. The littler girl who must have been their age had shoulder length brown hair and really bright green eyes.
Yuzuha walked behind the two and placed her hands on their heads, much to their dismay, "Yuna, Ayame, this is Hikaru and Kaoru." Yuna, the older woman, smiled politely, "My, you two are so cute. Go on Aya-chan, say hi."
Ayame studied the twins carefully and, instead of introducing herself, she asked, "Which one of you is which?" Yuna gasped slightly and silently scolded her daughter, but Yuzuha only giggled, "Don't worry Yuna-chan, many people ask them that."
Hikaru and Kaoru's eyes narrowed slightly as they chimed and pointed to one another as they spoke, "Hikaru…and Kaoru." However, the twins had lied and flip-flopped one another's identities. And, as they expected, nobody noticed. Then, Ayame smiled slightly in a strange way and nodded, "Nice to meet you two… I'm Ayame Hirano!"
Yuna smiled down at Ayame, "Why don't you three go play some place?" The twins cringed slightly but Ayame nodded happily and approached the two boys. There was a silence between the trio for a few moments, but then the twins turned around and began to walk away as they chimed, "Well, let's go then." Ayame blinked confusedly, but then shook her head and ran after them.
Ayame trailed behind the two brother closely, making sure she didn't get lost. She bit her lip and finally said what she had debated on speaking of, "Uhm… Why did you two…lie before?" Hikaru and Kaoru suddenly stopped walking, but didn't turn around to face Ayame. Instead, they chimed, "What do you mean we lied?" Ayame frowned, "When you introduced yourselves… You said you were Hikaru…" She poked the twin on her left on their shoulder and then turned to the one on the right and poked him in the shoulder, "…and that you were Kaoru."
The twins cringed when she poked them but chimed once again, "And? That's who we are…" Ayame crossed her arms, "When you did say that, both of your eyes seemed frustrated and…mischievous I guess. So…I think you guys lied." The auburn-haired boys blinked as they turned halfway to look at the brown-haired girl.
She was smiling innocently at the two and they felt an uneasy feeling in their chests. Hikaru turned away from her stubbornly, but Kaoru turned around completely so he now faced her, "We're tired of nobody being able to tell us apart. So…since not even Mommy corrected us when we switched our names…"
Hikaru cut him off as he turned around quickly to look at Ayame as well, "…then what does it even matter if we switched or not?! We're the same person." The boys caught each other's hand in their own as they chimed monotone, "We're one…"
Ayame looked between the two, interested. She had met strange kids her age before, but none quite like these two brothers. Her smile grew wider as she played with the idea of seeing if she could befriend them successfully.
She grinned this time as she walked right between the doppelgangers, breaking apart their locked hands as she strode her way down the hallway, "Well…what are we gonna play Hika-chan…?" Her eyes locked with Hikaru's and then she locked them with Kaoru's, "Kao-chan…?"
The twins cringed as she, once again, labeled them correctly. They really didn't want to let her into their world at all; it seemed too risky. But as she laughed at their silly blank faces, what they really wanted to do was pull her in through their door further…see what she was like.
2 Years Later
Ayame ran down the hallway as fast as her legs could allow her, then turned a corner and pressed her back against the wall as she breathed deeply.
When she relaxed, she held her breath as she poked her head around the corner, searching for her hunters. In the distance, she heard two identical voices yell, "Ayame-chan!! Give it back!" Ayame giggled to herself as she raised her voice, "You have to catch me first!"
She clutched the prize closely to her chest as she pressed her back to the wall once more. She could hear two sets of foot steps getting closer and closer to her position. But then suddenly, they sounded like they were fading.
Ayame got confused and poked her head out from the corner again, but then gasped when two pairs of arms grabbed her and tackled her down to the floor. She laughed loudly as those arms were tickling her stomach violently, "H-Hikaru…K-Kaoru…st-stop!!"
Each twin was straddling one of her legs, preventing her from getting up. They smiled mischievously as they persisted with their tickling and chimed, "Give us back our lollipop first, Aya-chan!" Ayame couldn't stop laughing from the ticklish feeling all around her body, but she lifted the large lollipop up in the air in front of her, "F-Fine, just t-take it!"
Hikaru was the one to take as he looked at Kaoru and grinned in victory. Kaoru grinned back, but the two boys didn't get up from Ayame, but had stopped tickling her. Ayame caught her breath as she looked up at her two best friends. They were licking the lollipop in a teasing manner, one twin on each side of it.
Ayame pouted, "Can you guys get off of me now?" The twins froze, both of their tongues still attacked to the lollipop. But then they stuck those tongues out down at their dearest friend and chimed, "Not a chance! That's what you get for stealing it!" Ayame gasped and then produced fake tears in her eyes, "You're so mean!"
After a few minutes, of teasing and begging of the lollipop, the two boys got up from Ayame and each held out a hand for her to take to tell her up. Ayame smiled up at them as she took both of their hands and they lifted her up. However, neither of them released her hand.
Ayame sighed as she predicted the time, "It must be about 6 PM. Mommy and Daddy wanted me home soon. Sooo…you gotta let me go now..." Hikaru and Kaoru frowned as they released Ayame's hands but then wrapped their arms around her shoulders. The way they were positioned, the entire scene looked perfectly mirrored.
Hikaru leaned his head on her shoulder, "Don't leave yet Aya-chan!" Kaoru did the same as his older brother, "Yeah Aya-chan… I know! Why don't you just live with us!" Hikaru grinned, "That's a great idea Kaoru!" Ayame giggled, "Sillies…you know I can't live here! I mean, I love being with you guys, but I love Mommy and Daddy too! They would be so sad if I left them."
The two boys held onto their best friend tighter, more protectively as they chimed softly, "But we love you more than they do…" Silence fell upon the three kids, but it was interrupted by a woman's loud voice, "Awww, what a cute scene! Thank goodness I have my camera on me!" The three looked ahead of them and saw the twins' mother approaching them.
She giggled as she held the camera up to her face, "Now stay just like that and…!" A flash went off and the three kids blinked to get their vision back. The older woman giggled again as she got closer to the group, "You three are so cute! I'll make an extra copy for Yuna!"
Ayame smiled up at the woman, "Is Mommy's driver here for me yet Hitachiin-san?" Yuzuha nodded as she smiled back down, "Yup! Let's go then sweetie!" She held out a hand for Ayame to take and Ayame nodded in response. She tried to get free from the twins' hold, but they just tightened their hold.
She sighed deeply, but then smirked as she turned her head to Kaoru. He gave her a strange look but then she leaned in quickly and pressed her lips lightly to his cheek.
Kaoru's breathing ceased for a moment as his face turned a light pink. Hikaru's eyes narrowed in jealously but then Ayame turned her head to him and pecked him on the cheek on well, leaving him pink in the face as well. Ayame took this chance to break free from their grasps and take Yuzuha's hand, who was giggling like a little girl as she led Ayame downstairs to her ride home.
Hikaru and Kaoru both lifted a hand to their own cheeks where Ayame had kissed them, causing them to flush deeper.
A Few Days Later
The two doppelganger boys ran up to their mother's office and knocked on the door in a frenzy. Yuzuha answered the door with a pained expression on her face. Hikaru and Kaoru didn't notice her face though and chimed, "Why haven't we been able to see Ayame-chan lately?! We want an answer now!"
Yuzuha looked down at her sons, contemplating something. Finally, she sighed and knelt down to their level, "Hikaru…Kaoru… I didn't want to tell you until later on but…Yuna-chan has…cancer." The twins' eyes widened in shock; they've watched enough TV to know what cancer was…and how lethal it can be.
Hikaru gulped hard as he spoke, "Will Yuna-chan…" Kaoru finished off the statement hesitantly, "…die?" Yuzuha sighed as she felt tears forming again, "I don't know. The doctors can't be sure yet. And Ryoma-san told me that Ayame has been devastated by the whole thing and refuses to talk to anybody."
Hikaru and Kaoru refused to take that as an answer as they quickly ran down to their foyer and demanded one of the butlers drive them to the Hirano estate. After a few minutes of arguing, he finally agreed. Before they all left, Yuzuha came down to the foyer and gave a piece of paper to Hikaru, "Give that to Ayame-chan to give to her Mommy then, okay?"
The two boys looked at the paper and saw it was the photo that their mother had taken of them and Ayame a few days ago. They nodded up to their mother and then they were on their way…
The boys ran up to the front door and pounded it. After a few moments, a maid answered and led the two to Ayame's room. She seemed skeptical as she knocked on her door, but then Ayame answered it and the maid gave a silent sigh of relief.
Ayame saw the two boys and her eyes widened slightly, "Hitachiins…" Hikaru and Kaoru blinked, confused; Ayame never called them by their last name before. Regardless, they took a deep breath and chimed, "We heard about your mom. We're really sorry Ayame-chan…"
They drew closer to Ayame to hug her, but Ayame foresaw this coming and cringed immensely and stumbled backwards. The doppelgangers stared at their dear friend in shock as they chimed hushed, "Ayame-chan…what's the matter…?" Ayame crossed her arms in front of her torso defensively as she whispered, "I-I don't…"
She didn't finish her statement as she cringed again and her eyes clamped shut. Hikaru and Kaoru bit their lips in fear; it hurt them to see their friend in so much pain. They went to go closer to her again, but she only stumbled backwards again and exclaimed, "D-Don't come near me…! Don't touch me…"
The Hitachiins stared at Ayame in even more shock and hurt. However, they obeyed her and stood their ground. Hikaru dug into his pocket and took out the photo. He held it out to her, a small smile on his face, "Here Ayame-chan… Give it to Yuna-chan…"
Ayame gulped and reached out her arm and took the photo from his hand in a flash. She examined the photo…examined her face, the twins' faces…the way their arms snakes around her shoulders and held her tightly between the two of them…no chance of letting her go…
She gasped and, unconsciously, ripped the photo right down the middle. She sobbed loudly as she suddenly ran out of her own room, in between the two boys, and down the hall, dropping the two halves of the photo behind her.
"Don't ever come near me again!"
Present Time
Ayame could feel tears forming in her eyes as the memories came flooding back into her mind. Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin…her closest childhood friends…
And she hadn't remembered them in the slightest.
Hikaru and Kaoru stared at Ayame and the wave of realization slowly taking over her facial expression. Truthfully, as soon as they saw Ayame when they went into their homeroom late that one day, they had recognized her immediately. And it didn't surprise them that she didn't recognize or remember them.
The boys had loved Ayame as kids. In those years, they always questioned the feelings that they felt, but as they grew older, they didn't forget Ayame and they certainly didn't forget their feelings for her. It was those feelings that made them respect Ayame's decision and…not go near her again.
And they did listen, they really did. But after she showed up at the club, something was begging them to pull Ayame through that door of theirs again. They wanted to see if Ayame would let them into her door as well, like so long ago.
Dammit, they wanted to know why the girl they loved pushed them out of her life without explanation…!
At first, they decided to play it cool, smooth, indirect…try and make her remember slowly at first and them probe answers out of her. But when they saw she was still like she was on the last day they saw her, they knew it wasn't going to be easy.
But then…today came. She correctly labeled Hikaru and she didn't even know she had.
They knew that deep down, she remembered them. So, they gave her the torn photo from 10 years before that they refused to throw away and, sure enough, she remembered.
Now, the main question remains: why did Ayame, their only and oldest ex-friend, leave Hikaru and Kaoru alone as they once had been without explanation?
Indeed, a good question...but I think we all know the answer... *coughfathercough* .
Well...super duper quick sneak-peek for next chapter!: Hikaru and Kaoru stage a personal intervention with Ayame, and when they don't get the answers they want, they go to...drastic measures... :O
So, just another reminder to review and all that stuff. Hope you liked it! ^^
