Back for chapter 12!! Haiz… I'm really annoyed because so much is going to happen in this chapter, but I don't have enough space!!! What should I do… Anyway, thanks for your reviews, people! ade5kira will have updated the moment I did, so check it out!
On to chapter 12!
Chapter 12: Siblings
England
Lyzerg's phone vibrated violently, and, stealing a glance at his homeroom teacher, who was facing the blackboard, Lyzerg answered the call in a whisper.
"Hello?"
"Lyzerg," Ren's voice said from the other end of the receiver, "are you free now? Jun and I have located Hotaru."
"I'm having class now!" Lyzerg whispered, slightly annoyed, "Besides, overseas calls are not very cheap, Ren! Message the information to me, ok?"
"Fine."
Ren sounded annoyed, and relieved that his teacher haven't caught him using his phone, Lyzerg ended the call and stuffed the phone back into his pants pocket. Matilda, who sat behind him, kicked his chair, and Lyzerg saw a questioning look on her face when he turned.
"Ren and Jun have found Hotaru's whereabouts," He whispered loudly to Matilda, who nodded and replied in a louder whisper, "We should tell Mari and Kanna later, then…"
"MATISSE! DIETHEL!!"
Their homeroom teacher barked; Matilda and Lyzerg jumped out of their skins, and Lyzerg turned around hastily to face the front, "Go stand outside the class since you both don't seem to want to pay attention! OUT!"
Lyzerg bit his lip and stood up, Matilda right behind him.
"Miserable old bat," Matilda said bitterly, stuffing her hands huffily into her pockets as she stood outside the class, beside Lyzerg, "We barely whispered! Whispered! And she threw us out! Hmph!"
She glanced at Lyzerg, who had taken out his phone. "What are you doing?" She asked, peering curiously over his shoulder.
"Ren messaged me the information on Hotaru," Lyzerg explained, scrolling down the message, "he said that the girl is now studying in Japan, but the foster parents are still in England, so it's up to us to find them."
Matilda nodded eagerly. "Let's get started right away, then!" She said excitedly, "Mari and Kanna are staying over at my place, we can easily sneak out of here and…"
"And we'll get detention if we leave now," Lyzerg interrupted with a frown. Matilda pouted.
"You're such a wet blanket, Lyzerg," She said, kicking a stone on the floor, "I just thought it would be fun…"
She cast a sidelong glance at Lyzerg, who took a look into the class through the window, catching sight of their form teacher, writing on the blackboard again. There was a flicker in his eyes, and Matilda knew that she had almost convinced him.
"Come on," She coaxed, "It's worth it… Let's go…"
Lyzerg took a last glance at their teacher, then sighed, and nodded. "Let's go," He decided reluctantly, "just make sure no one sees us…"
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Kanna pulled open the door of Matilda's house, and stared in surprise when she saw Matilda and Lyzerg panting heavily outside.
"I never knew Lyzerg was the type who would skip classes," She commented as Lyzerg and Matilda pushed past her and flopped onto the sofa tiredly, "What happened?"
Without saying anything, Lyzerg handed Kanna his phone, and she stared at the message shown on it.
"What? You two rushed back because of this?" She asked, amused, as Marion peered over her shoulder to take a better look.
"We…We thought it would be good to find her foster parents as soon as possible," Matilda said, still panting slightly, "So we rushed home. Do you think you can drive us to that address stated in the message? That's where the Hotaru's foster parents live."
"Sure," Kanna said as Marion took the phone from her and stared at the address. Then, she gasped, startling Matilda, Kanna and Lyzerg.
"This address," Marion said, her eyes widening in shock, "Mari knows this address…It's where the Takahashi family lives!!"
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Hokkaido
Yoh glanced at Anna, who sat at the balcony of their room, staring out at the field where Hao and Kahori is, sitting opposite each other amongst the tall coltsfoot plants. There was a long silence, until Yoh spoke up.
"Would you like to go there?" He asked, beckoning at the field. Anna shook her head.
"I'm tired," She replied flatly, getting up and making her way to where the futon was, "I would like to take a nap…"
She stopped when Yoh grabbed hold of her hand, pulling her back. "What is it?" She asked, not looking at Yoh, her eyebrows raised.
"Let's get married," Yoh said simply, and Anna's head snapped up, looking surprised and shocked, "We've been engaged for too long a time," He added, grabbing hold of her other hand, "It's time, don't you think?"
"No, Yoh," Anna replied after a shocked pause, "We're eighteen… eighteen, for goodness' sake, this age is too young…"
"But I don't think it's too young," Yoh said pleasantly, not letting go, "I think it's just right. It would be good to spend more time together as a married couple, don't you think?"
Anna blinked and stared determinedly away, refusing to look at Yoh. What should she do?
"Hey, why not we do this?" Yoh suggested, grinning, "When Hao and Kahori hold a wedding, we'll hold one with them too!"
"As in, like, a double wedding?" Anna asked dryly, and Yoh nodded and laughed, "But I doubt they would wed so early, Kahori is only 16, you know…"
"We'll wait, then," Yoh told her, "Since you think 18 is too young for us to wed, we'll wait till Hao and Kahori are ready."
"And what if they never wed?"
There was a long pause after Anna's question, and although both of them were sure Hao and Kahori would never break up, there was still uncertainty in Anna's eyes, and Yoh squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"Then we'll wed without them. Either way, we're going to get married, I promise, so you needn't be too worried, Anna."
"Who said I was worried?"
Anna whacked Yoh lightly on the head, and turned away, a blush rising on her face, "Stay away, I want to take a nap. Just remember to keep your promise, or you'll never hear the end of it."
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Kahori looked around, and spotted the long stretch of road leading down a hill. Hao followed her gaze, and grinned when she smiled at him.
"Aren't you bored, sitting here with me?" Kahori asked, brushing a strand of black fringe off her face, and Hao shrugged.
"What makes you say that?" he asked, not answering her question. Kahori cocked her head to one side thoughtfully.
"You just don't strike me as the sort who would sit down with a girl in a coltsfoot field and enjoy the scenery." She said with a laugh after a short pause. Hao made a face which plainly said, "You don't look like the sort who would sit and enjoy sceneries either, you know."
"When do your trainings start?" He asked, changing the topic abruptly. "When school reopens," Kahori replied, leaning forward to fiddle with a broad leaf of the coltsfoot plant, "Hey, are you really sure you want to walk me back after every training? Won't that waste a lot of your time?"
"Nope," Hao said immediately, "I wouldn't have much to do, anyway. In case you didn't realize, I spend my time loitering around and picking up girls when I'm not hanging around you...I'm sure you won't like that, would you?"
"You know what's going to happen if I catch you," Kahori said warningly, positioning her hands as if she was holding her Crosse, "I'll never let you off." She swung her hands forward, as if swinging her Crosse to shoot, and Hao laughed.
"Scary," He commented teasingly, reaching out to hold her hand, "But you don't have your Crosse now, do you?"
Kahori blushed as Hao leant closer. "Stay away," Kahori said, but Hao ignored her. The tip of their noses touched, and Kahori blushed dreadfully as Hao tilted his head slightly and planted a kiss on her lips.
Kahori had a sudden urge to pummel him, but, as Hao pulled back, she held back the desire to hit him by punching the ground.
"What?" Hao asked, amused, when he saw her punching the ground, "Want to hit me?"
"I don't want to," Kahori retorted, standing up, her fists clenched, "But if you make me…"
Hao laughed, and stood up as well. "Wanna go in now?" He asked, and Kahori nodded. Taking her hand in his, they strolled back, Kahori's face still slightly red.
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Chitose poked her head into HoroHoro's room, and saw him sitting on his futon, staring into space. A silly idea struck her, and, sneaking behind him, she raised her hand, and…
"Raaarr!!!"
Chitose yelled, and HoroHoro jumped, and scrambled away, staring wildly around.
"It's you," he said, a hand on his chest, "I got a shock! What's up?"
Chitose laughed and sat down beside him. "I saw you spacing out,' She said, "So I decided to give you a fright. It seems like I succeeded, huh?"
"A fright? I got a heart attack!!" HoroHoro said, laughing feebly, "So are you having fun here? Is your wound ok?"
HoroHoro pointed at Chitose's plaster, and she nodded. "It wasn't that big a deal," She said, "But you were panicking, so…"
"I was shocked because the blood didn't stop flowing, that's why…" HoroHoro said, looking away, and Chitose grinned.
"HoroHoro…" She said suddenly, "Did you know that…"
She stopped abruptly, remembering that Pillica told her to keep it a secret. HoroHoro stared at her curiously.
"Know what?"
"…Nothing."
"Are you hiding something from me again?" HoroHoro asked suspiciously, and Chitose shrugged uneasily.
"Don't tell Pillica I told you… But did you know that she liked Ren?"
The look on HoroHoro's face told Chitose the answer. "No?" She guessed, and HoroHoro shook his head, looking grim.
"You're not pleased about this pairing?" Chitose asked, and HoroHoro's face darkened.
"It's not that," He said, his voice low, "I just don't like the idea of handing Pillica over to someone like him."
"But Ren isn't too bad, is he? I think he's just acting tough, and he can actually take care of people if he wants to…" Chitose said thoughtfully, and HoroHoro gave a low growl. Chitose grinned sheepishly, unsure if she should continue since he was in this mood.
HoroHoro's handphone rang, and Chitose, relieved that she needn't say anything else, reached out and handed him the phone. HoroHoro took it, and saw that Matilda was calling.
"Does this hyper bunny think overseas calls are free or something?" He said as he hit the answer button, and Chitose laughed.
"What's up, Matilda?"
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England
Kanna sped down the deserted road, towards the school, where Hotaru's foster parents, Takahashi Kasumi and Takahashi Shun, were working at. Her thoughts were messed up; Marion had explained, as they got into the car 5 minutes ago, that the people who lived there were Kahori's parents, who were lecturers in Matilda and Lyzerg's school. "What does this mean?" Kanna thought in frustration, "is Kahori the younger sister Chitose have been searching for all these while?"
"Kanna, slow down!" Lyzerg said in alarm as Kanna's car almost whammed into an oncoming truck. Still, Kanna's feet stayed glued firmly onto the acceleration pedal, and Lyzerg sighed in exasperation.
"I don't understand," Matilda said with a frown, gripping Kanna's seat as she leant forward, "Is Kahori Hotaru?"
"Unless the couple has another daughter," Marion said in a small voice, "But all the evidences we have point to Kahori. Besides, according to Chitose, Hotaru is two years younger than her, and Kahori is two years younger."
"We've reached," Kanna said finally, swerving into the school's parking lot. Matilda gulped.
"Err, Lyzerg?" She said, "We just played hooky, and if we're caught…"
"A little too late for regrets, don't you think, Macchi?" Lyzerg interrupted dryly as they got out of the car, "Anyway, since we're already here, we might as well settle things for Kahori and Chitose, then talk about our detention later…"
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The office was empty, and Kanna, giving the door a heavy push, let herself in with Lyzerg, Marion and Matilda. The only two teachers working quietly at the end of the room looked up.
"May we help you?" The woman, who wore glasses, asked, standing up, her big, black eyes blinking at them from her square spectacles.
"We are looking for Mr. Shun Takahashi and his wife. May we know where they are?" Kanna asked before anyone else could say anything. The male teacher glanced at the woman, and stood up as well.
"I'm Takahashi," he said, "And this is my wife, Kasumi," He added, beckoning at the woman with spectacles, "Who are you? And aren't you both supposed to be in class?"
He looked at Matilda and Lyzerg, who exchanged uneasy glances and hid behind Kanna.
"Forget about classes, sir," Matilda said boldly, poking a head out from behind Kanna, "We are friends of Kahori's, and we have a question to ask you both."
When neither of the teachers spoke, Matilda took a deep breath, and asked, "Is Kahori related to you by blood?"
There was a loud slam, and Kasumi's legs gave way; she collapsed onto the floor. The look of shock on their faces confirmed their theory of Kahori being Chitose's younger sister.
"A red jewel," Lyzerg asked quickly, "A red jewel…Kahori should have it… Where is that red jewel?"
"We took it away…" Shun said finally, "Because we didn't want her family to take her away from us, so we took it away…"
"So where is that jewel, dammit?" Kanna asked, slamming her hand forcefully onto a nearby table, "Do you know how long it took for her older sister to find her? How can you just take away the only thing bonding Hotaru to her real family?"
"We still have it, stashed away in a cupboard that we rarely open…" Kasumi said, supporting herself as she stood up shakily.
"Give it back," Kanna ordered, and Kasumi and Shun stared at her, pleading and helpless, "Return Hotaru the red jewel. Do you know that her real mother passed away around a week ago? Aren't you going to tell her the truth yet?"
"We knew," Shun said, "Kahori told us, and we sent a wreath…But we have no intention of letting Kahori go back! She's all we can depend on now!"
"That's too selfish!" Marion said, her soft voice unusually sharp and cutting, "Chitose has suffered enough in order to find Hotaru. And when we've finally found her, you aren't going to let Hotaru return? Mari hates selfish people!!"
"I'll call HoroHoro," Matilda said harshly, pulling out her phone from her skirt pocket, her hands trembling uncontrollably, "I'm going to tell him to tell Chitose about this! And then we'll let Kahori…No, We'll let Hotaru decide where she wants to go from here on!"
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HoroHoro's hand went numb in shock, and he knew his face was paling; Chitose stared at him curiously, and her hand gripped his in concern.
"Are you absolutely sure about that?" He asked, trying to keep his voice steady, and his hand tightened around Chitose's unconsciously.
"Are you joking?" Matilda shrieked through the receiver, "Kahori's foster parents admitted it themselves! Of course we're sure!"
HoroHoro closed his eyes, trying to let this shocking information sink in. Kahori is the younger sister Chitose had been looking for… I was right about Kahori looking like the baby Hotaru in the picture…
"Matilda… I'll….I'll get back to you… This is too incredible…" He said at last, and hung up.
"What's up?" Chitose asked, concerned. HoroHoro shook his head, unsure of how to break the news to her.
YAY!!!! Finished! At last! Aah… I liked this chappie… I'm sure it didn't shock some people too much, right? Anyway, see you guys in 13! BYE!!!!!
