PLAY 22: TWO LITTLE ROYALTIES

The girl's voice immediately became as high-pitched as before. "I'll take that as you'll listen to us, Jun-chan."

I was frozen in shock, unable to speak. I had never opened my mouth about my family name in this era-so how the heck did they know? Moreover, I was one-hundred-percent sure that it was the first time I'd met them. Almost.

"Do I know you?" My narrowed eyes shifted from the little girl to the boy. He looked back at me, expressionless, before turning his attention to the tree behind him.

Yuri shrugged. "Like I said, we know you, but you don't know us." Her hands in fists, she brought them in front of her face to mimic a cat. "Eri and I are in charge of you, nya!" As if on cue, Eri followed suit, letting out an emotionless 'nya'.

"N-Nya?" I shook my head, suddenly dizzy. "I...don't understand. Could you start from scratch or something?" Eri gave me a look that said, "God, can this girl get more stupid?" while Yuri grinned as if nothing was wrong.

She cleared her throat dramatically, and began her speech as if reciting from a play...no, she was imitating me. "Oh, dearest Romeo, please." She gestured to her brother.

"We're the twin heirs to the Byakko throne." Eri sighed in exasperation. "Our father is the king, and he's the guardian of time and space."

I froze. Byakko? White tiger? Time? Space? I glanced at them from head to toe, trying to see if they had any fangs or claws or anything resembling a tiger, but there weren't any.

Yuri giggled. "You can't tell just by looking at us, Jun-chan."

"We usually don't interrupt with human affairs, but because of Yuri's mistake we are here to guide you back home." Eri continued.

"By the way, you can't know what I did, or we'll have to kill you!" The little girl cut in naturally, a hand to her mouth, looking mischievous.

I swallowed upon hearing that, and Eri sighed, slightly annoyed that she interrupted him again. "Anyway, you and Yukimura Chizuru were supposed to be dead. However, somehow the two of you switch places instead." His red eyes flickered to his smiling sister.

"Currently, Chizuru-chan is in a coma back in your world!" Yuri placed her hands on her hips. "And you..." Her eyes narrowed and she smirked. "You should be in the same state as her. Yet you are still..." She trailed off, for once looking emotionless. "It has to be related to..."

"Yuri." Eri warned, not even glancing at his sister once. "As I was saying...We can't directly switch the both of you back into your rightful worlds, so we can only lead you to the portal, back to where you belong. This portal only appears once a year, at a particular place and time."

I fell to my knees. There were just so much to absorb. Chizuru and I had switched places? She and I was supposed to be in coma? I clutched my head desperately. What in the world was going on?

"Do...my parents know?" I found myself asking.

Eri looked away from me. "We conceal the fact that you two switched, so no. Everyone is under the illusion that it is Akamine Jun in coma, not Yukimura Chizuru."

I let out a scoff before I could stop myself. Of course. Even if these two...creatures didn't hide that, they still wouldn't care. But Daisuke...he must be worried to death. And Satoshi...How about him? Was he by my-no, Chizuru's bedside now?

"How do we get back then?" I pushed away my depressed thoughts.

Yuri let out a giggle. "The easiest way is to die, but it's only a twenty-percent guaranteed success." She hopped towards the tree. "We are currently trying to locate the nearest portal that will open."

"You can only wait." Eri met my eyes, knowing that I wanted to help them out too. "This portal thing is all Byakko stuff, so humans can't interfere." He reached into his sleeves. "This is a Byakko claw. It'll protect you from disease and sickness."

"Take really really good care of that, will you?" Yuri's voice was serious. "I expect it back in one piece."

I glanced at the small pink pouch hesitantly. "Is it yours? You can have it back then-"

"Take it. If you don't..." Her eyes shone so bright that it might glow in the dark.

"Yuri." Eri gestured the pouch to me without looking at her. "Control yourself."

I took the pouch from him and felt the claw under the fabric. It was smooth and sharp, not to mention that it was almost as long as my middle finger. I gulped nervously, trying very hard not to look at the petite-size girl in front of me. If this was really hers...All her threats were not empty then. She could just send me to heaven or hell immediately.

"While you're staying here, you better not say a thing about this." Yuri pouted at her brother, folding her arms in displeasure. "If not, we'll be forced to take measures."

Something tells me that the 'measures' included killing me.

"Try to stay alive until we meet again." Eri turned away from me and jumped onto the tree. "Yuri, we need to go." She followed along, and waved me a goodbye.

"When will we meet again then? When will the next portal open?" I couldn't help but to ask, even though I knew they might not know the answers to my questions.

"We don't know." Eri mumbled. "We will meet when time comes." I felt my heart drop to my stomach.

"By the way, Jun-chan. We have a piece of really good advice for you." Yuri's smile was almost mocking me. "I know it's really hard to control your desires in a house full of handsome men, but..." She looked down at me, her green eyes warning me. "If you fall in love with anyone here, you will definitely regret it. Don't say we didn't warn you now!" The twins turned around simultaneously and disappeared into thin air, leaving me still in the state of confusion.