So, I realize this one might be a difficult pill to swallow for many hardcore Inu/Kag fans. (In which case, why are you even reading this? Real case of 'dead dove: don't eat' here). Especially with the somewhat recent revival of the fandom with Yashahime coming out. (Which I honestly have not even bothered to watch. We do diverge a bit from cannon here, in case that wasn't already obvious. I'm not touching Sess/Rin though. Not with a ten foot pole). That's not even speaking of the fact that most OCs are generally abhorrent in fanfiction as a rule. And then there's the dreaded twin-sis fic trope that happens all the time, and to all that, I'll have to say...sorry, not sorry! This is just something that happened, and I'm not going to waste time pretending to be apologetic about it. How about, instead, I work on cranking out a damn good story where after you read it you won't have to wish for brain bleach?

We all good? Yeah? Okay then. Happy reading.

CHAPTER ONE

A Great Big Tangled Ball of Thread

If the sun and the moon were like two sides of the same coin, so too was it for Rinna and Kagome. One soul in two bodies, she found herself thinking one day, not without fondness as she spotted her older sister through the window to class 3-A. As if feeling her eyes, her twin turned to meet them, grinning and giving her a jaunty wave where she sat eating lunch with her friends.

From the start of their scholastic education, their instructors knew they would need to separate the two. Rinna, shy and withdrawn by nature, used to rely on Kagome much too heavily when involved in any social situation. She knew that now, and had eventually come to understand their teachers' decision, even if it still left her feeling adrift and lonely at times. Rinna was not like Kagome, who could probably even befriend an angry wolverine if she tried hard enough. Over the years, she had come to realize that perhaps the friendships Kagome made were just not possible for her, though she often wished otherwise. Lately, she was trying harder, reaching out to others, even finding success in joining a high school club that promised to sponsor her for early graduation to their prestigious Sakura Gakuen. Although, for all her efforts she'd been met with...mixed results in the social sphere.

She was glad she had someone like Kagome and her tenacious, upbeat attitude to keep her mind off it. Feeling a wave of affection welling in her chest, Rinna gave her a faint smile and a tentative wave back.

"Is there something out that window more important than Nobunaga and the Tokugawa Shogunate, Miss Higurashi?" her instructor intoned with heavy disapproval written on his face.

Though she wanted to say yes, just about everything else, Rinna blushed and shook her head, hiding behind a dark curtain of hair to avoid the stares of her classmates, some of whom regarded her with scorn and catty giggles and some others—all boys, she noted—who did so with the sort of interest she had no desire to interpret too deeply. One stare in particular, she went to great lengths to ignore...

Once again, she was glad for the distraction of her sister, who was amusing herself by making silly faces at Rinna in the window across the courtyard, to which she had to hide a smile in her sleeve lest she anger Tokuma-sensei yet again with her inattention. She was pleased to receive even an ounce of Kagome's attention during school hours, which she usually reserved for just her friends. And Rinna...respected that.

Though far from antagonistic, their relationship was not perfect. She knew sometimes it was hard for Kagome to understand her. It was enough that they shared a tiny room at home, so elsewhere, she tried to give Kagome her space. It worked better when she did not impose herself in Kagome's social life. Though Kagome had never deliberately excluded her, and perhaps it was not even a direct correlation, but Kagome's friends—along with most other people not related to them—tended to find Rinna strange and awkward, and she noticed the two of them seemed to have less arguments and tension when she kept to her own interests and left Kagome to hers.

It was a bit lonely sometimes—she often longed for someone to spend time and share things with—but after a lot of soul searching and growing up, Rinna concluded it was not fair to put something like that on Kagome.

Her loneliness and lack of social aptitude were her own crosses to bear—and, she thought with resolve, my own challenges to overcome.

Several months ago, on Tanabata, she'd tied her wish to the Goshinboku. But more than just a simple wish, it was a personal ambition to become a stronger person. And by some miracle of the divines, her quiet determination to do so had not wavered since. Rinna knew nothing in this world came for free—not even wishes on Tanabata—so she fully intended to work for it until she could grant it herself. She could not let anything stand in the way of her ambition.

When class was finally over, Rinna tried to pack her things as quickly as possible without looking frantic. Unfortunately, Aoyama Michiko 'accidentally' bumped into her desk with a giggle, sending her entire pencil case spilling onto the floor. Her busybody and intrigue obsessed classmate probably thought she was doing her a favor, when, much to her despair, Akaito Souma immediately moved to help her.

Of course, she couldn't bring herself to feel irritated at him—that would be cruel. Akaito—fondly nicknamed 'Sou-kun' by many of the girls in their class—was more mature and good-natured than most, always polite, never crass, nor did he (as far as she knew) like to play pranks on the girls, like some of the other boys did. After a good bit of harassment over her early middle school career, Rinna had become wary of male attention, as it rarely turned out to be a good thing for her. Her one farce of a relationship had turned out to be some kind of cruel joke concocted by the girls in her former homeroom class to humiliate her. She had spent the entirety of that summer break crying alone behind the enshrined well house on their property wishing to never be so toyed with by others again. As a result, she found herself deeply cautious of Akaito's interest in her, but could not, as well as she had learned to judge another's character over the years, detect any red flags in his behavior. It was perplexing, and left her so very unsettled in her heart.

Smiling politely when he handed back her pencil case, she thanked him and tried to excuse herself as gracefully as she could but was dismayed when they found themselves among the last to leave the classroom.

And so it was no surprise when Akaito called out after her, "Higurashi-san...have you given anymore thought to what I said the other day?" She slowly turned to face him, and he gave her a hopeful smile. "I truly mean it, you know. I've admired you for a good while now... Won't you please consider giving me a chance?"

Rinna, clenching her hands around the straps of her school bag, felt her heart give a guilty lurch. With dark hair that fell past his ears in neat, inky lengths, and intense, slanting eyes, Akaito was not bad looking at all, and what's more, he had a kind, gentle smile that reached those eyes too. She had no reason not to be attracted to him. But ever since her bad experience with Natsuhara Ichiro in first year, she'd had trouble feeling attraction towards...well, anyone. The idea of being with anyone like...that left her with a persistent bad taste in her mouth. Perhaps things might be different in high school, where she didn't know anyone, where nobody knew her either, where she had a fresh start. But as things were...

"I...have considered it," she said, her voice faint, her eyes falling downwards. "Thank you...I'm very flattered that you told me your feelings. I don't think I'd be brave enough to do something like that on my own."

"I think you're very brave, actually," Akaito was swift to interject, pointing out, "You approached those Sakura Gakuen sempai all on your own and auditioned into the Traditional Music club, right? My older brother talked about how skilled you are with the fue. He said you played beautifully, and it must be true because Onii-san doesn't talk like that about just anyone. He said the president offered you a seat right on the spot? How exciting."

"Akaito-san's..." older brother? "Oh. I didn't realize that's who that was..." she said, remembering an older boy with longer dark hair but eyes like the boy in front of her. "But yes, that's right... It's still very new. I haven't been introduced to everyone yet... What a coincidence."

"Fate, maybe?" Akaito said with a chuckle that tapered off at Rinna's dejected silence. "Well...maybe not."

Wincing with remorse, Rinna blustered out, "I'm so sorry, Akaito-san—"

"Call me Sou-kun," he told her, though his eyes looked resigned.

"S-Souma-kun..." She looked him in the eye. It was all she could muster, and the least she could do. "Maybe if...if we had this conversation a few years from now, my answer would be different, but for now, the timing is..."

A cold sort of disappointment crept its way into Souma's eyes when he supplied the word her silence would not.

"...Inconvenient."

She hid her face in one hand as a mortifying sort of despair washed over her.

"That sounds so...horrible when you say it out loud." Looking up suddenly with earnest eyes, she confessed, "The truth is, I think Souma-kun would be a wonderful boyfriend—" to someone, somewhere out there in the world "—but me...being so focused on school and myself right now..." She trailed off with a sigh, shaking her head. "It doesn't seem fair to subject you to that..."

Souma's lips twisted in a subtle pout as he thought over her words—a quirk which was, admittedly, a little alluring if she dared to focus on it for too long—but much to her dismay, when he met her eyes again, they were relit with the spark of determination.

"What is and isn't fair to me...shouldn't that be my decision?" He asked her, his bangs brushing over his dark eyes as he tilted his head at her in question. "If that's your only objection..."

"I...I don't..." She stammered, easing back a step unconsciously at the intensity she saw there.

She inhaled sharply when his hand shot out to encircle her wrist—not at all harsh or grabby, an apologetic look crossing his face. "Please, Higurashi-san...all I want is a chance to see a smile on your face." With a deprecating quirk of his lips, he added, "And maybe be the one to put it there."

With that, Rinna felt the moment her resolve capitulated and collapsed like pillars of sand, and it was a punch to the gut.

Who in the world could withstand that kind of talk? Clearly not her. She never thought she'd be the sort to be moved by sweet words, but when spoken with such warm, genuine eyes, and gentle fingers caressing at her racing pulse point...?

"T-tomorrow," she heard herself telling him in a halting, unsure voice, "Tomorrow is...my birthday."

His face lit up with genuine joy. It sent an unpleasant pang of uncertainty through her chest that she did not know what to make of.

"Tomorrow then," he said, beaming at her. "Shall I take you someplace nice after class? I'll bring a surprise for you."

"Please, Souma-kun...don't go to any sort of trouble for me," she protested, looking away and gently extracting her wrist from his warm grasp, holding it to her chest as if she'd wounded it somehow. What was wrong with her? Was she really agreeing to this? Why?

"It's no trouble at all!" he said, and with the elated gleam to his eyes, she could believe he meant it. How someone could be so enthusiastic about doing something nice for her, she had no idea.

"T-tomorrow, then..." she murmured, taking another step back and making to turn away, yearning to flee from the situation. "I should go. My sister will be wondering where—"

"Higurashi-san, please wait," Souma took her wrist one more time, sending a jolt up her arm when his fingers slipped down to her hand. "One last thing before you go..." He waited until she took her eyes off where his long, slender fingers held hers and slowly met his eyes. "From now on, may I please just call you Rinna?"

"...Y-yes?" she said, face burning red, agreeing on autopilot because she did not know how to refuse. She murmured as a nervous aside, "B-but only because people have enough trouble telling me apart from my sister as is, even without calling us by the same name."

"I don't know why that could be..." Souma said, his eyes creasing in a cheeky smile. "Obviously, Rinna is the most beautiful."

For a moment, Rinna thought she might faint from how much blood was flooding to her cheeks. She wasn't quite sure how she made it to Kagome's side, floating along in a numb sort of 'oh-god-what-the-hell-have-I-just-done' fugue state.

"Are you okay?" her sister finally asked, eyeing her perpetually rosy cheeks with concern. "You look like you just stepped out of an onsen."

Slowly, she looked over at her sister, and said, "...I need to learn how to say 'no' to boys with pretty faces."

"Eh? Rinna-chan, did you get asked on a date?" Kagome asked her in astonishment.

"A date?" Eri and Ayumi echoed on the other side of her, exchanging bewildered looks.

She let out a soft moan of despair through the hand that covered her face.

"Why does it sound like you're in pain?" Yuka asked, blunt as ever, but with an uncharacteristic amount of intrigue in her eyes as she looked over at Rinna. Kagome's friends were usually never this interested in her.

"Who is it?" Eri asked, a vivacious curiosity alight in her eyes.

"Do we know him?" Ayumi added with interest.

"Hey..." Kagome gave them a weak smile as Rinna floundered for some kind of response, "c'mon guys, leave her alone. I'm sure it's nothing." When she met Rinna's eyes, she conveyed the clear message, 'we are SO talking about this later.'

Fortunately, Rinna was all too skilled at avoiding members of her family when the need arose.

All except for Souta, for some odd reason.

"Why are we hiding?" he asked, curled up beside her in the space between the dryer and the wall. Buyo had somehow squeezed herself between the two of them, and altogether, with the appliance on the tumble-dry setting, it was almost a little too cozy.

"Onee-chan's trying to interrogate me," she confessed in a whisper under the sound of the rattling machine.

"'Bout what?" Souta whispered back, pulling out a particularly violent manga he knew damn well Mama didn't like him reading.

"Girly things and boys," she answered with a grimace.

Souta made a similar distorted face. "Yuck."

"Right...?" She chuckled and gave him a tired grin, nudging him with her shoulder. "This is why you're my favorite." Buyo meowled at her, pawing at her skirt in complaint until she heaved her up and plopped her down in her lap to scritch behind the ears. "Yes. You too, you ridiculous, fat, silly thing..."

Buyo just purred.

She turned a wistful look on Souta, and murmured, "You're lucky you're still little. Things are simple when you're little. Grownups are too complicated."

"Hey," he pouted at her. "I'm not that little."

"Savor it while you can," she forewarned him, letting out a bitter sigh. "Won't be long now 'til suddenly all your free time goes up in smoke, and everyone wants something from you, and nobody gives a crap about anyone else." She let her head fall back against the thumping dryer and her voice turned a little more melancholy. "Sometimes, I wish I was born a few centuries earlier where all I'd need to worry about was a little hard labor and marrying into a good family..."

"Yeah, but then you'd also have to worry about famine, war, disease, oh, and don't forget about getting eaten by hungry, perverted youkai if you believe anything that comes out of Jii-chan's mouth..." Souta pointed out astutely.

They met each other's eyes blankly before they both burst into hysterical giggles.

"What are we laughing about?" Kagome whispered, squeezed in on the other side of them.

"Jii-chan's hungry, perverted youkai," she and Souta said at the same time.

And perhaps it was loud enough to carry over the sound of the dryer, because the next thing they knew, Jii-chan was hollering, "Youkai? Youkai? Did somebody say youkai? NOT IN MY HOUSE, YOU DON'T! I won't have any tanuki with their unnaturally shaped private parts after my girls! OUT! OUT, I SAY!"

"Father! Did you take your blood pressure medicine today? You're awfully pink in the cheeks..."

Kagome snickered, "Sound's like Jii-chan's been partaking a little too much in his special medicine..."

She met Rinna's eyes and they both let out snorts of laughter.

"What special medicine?" Souta asked, his eyes round and innocent.

The two of them laughed harder.

Rinna managed to choke out, "You'll find out when you're a little bit more grown up..."

"I AM grown up!" he protested.

"Ooh, watch out," Kagome taunted with a big grin. "There's a big, strong man in the house! I guess this means no more wetting the bed, eh, Souta?"

"You're the worst!" Souta flailed his tiny fists at her which she easily avoided by holding him away by his forehead.

"Oh, don't tease him, Onee-chan," Rinna admonished her, tugging her affronted little brother under one arm and patting his head gently. "I vividly remember it wasn't too long ago you still wet the bed—and that was when we still shared the same bed." She crinkled her nose at her in distaste.

"That's a lie, you lying liar!" Kagome lunged herself over poor Souta to launch a vicious attack against Rinna's (formerly) straight, neat hair, sending Buyo screeching from her lap, all claws and panic.

Over the din of the sibling's commotion and Jii-chan's paranoid hysteria about youkai came Mama's cheerful voice.

"Dinner's ready!"

Just another day in the house of the Higurashi family.

The sun raised, and the sun set.

And as for tomorrow—just like a dozen other tomorrows—none of them would've expected anything different from the day before it.

But the next day, exactly fifteen years from the day of their birth, would be the day that changed...everything.

Fue – a Japanese flute

Onsen – a Japanese sauna/hot spring/communal bath

Drop me a review if you're feeling altruistic and want to make my fucking day.