"Heyyy! Zuzu! Wait! You're too fast!"
"You're just too slow Hanako."
"Shut up! Are we almost there?"
"Yeah, just over this hill."
...
"Alright, we're here." The small boy said as he sat down on the grass. A girl the same age sat down across from him, playing with her hair. "Are you sure you want to do this? Mom and Dad are probably gonna be mad."
"Yes! I don't like my long hair. I want it short like yours…" The girl mumbled. The boy sighed and took out a pair of scissors that he'd stolen from their mother's drawer. He ran a hand through his short brown hair, trying to smooth down the one piece that always stood up stubbornly.
"OK. Turn around." When his sister obeyed, he wrapped a towel around her neck, like he'd seen the hairdressers do before. "I'll do my best…."
Two hours later and the young girl had an almost identical hair cut as her brother, even with an ahoge. The girl giggled happily as she ran her hands through her short hair, seeming very pleased. She hugged her brother tightly, making him let out a small sound of annoyance.
"Mom and Dad are going to kill us."
"Worth it. Thank you Izuru… you're the best."
"Hey… Izuru… can I talk to you about something?" A girl, who looked about the age of a middle schooler, stood in the doorway of a small bedroom.
A boy, the same age, sat at a desk, doing some kind of homework. He looked up from the papers and turned to his sister. "What is it?" He had never seen his sister so… scared. The girl closed the door quietly and locked it tightly.
"I… I don't think… I'm a girl."
"Huh?"
"I think… I feel like I should be… a boy… I-I mean, being a girl, it doesn't… feel right. I-I don't know why I feel like this but I found a book in the library and it said something about being 'trans' but I couldn't find any other books and I'm so confused…" The teenager said all in one breath.
"Hanako…"
"And that! The name, it doesn't feel right. It's a girl's name and-and I don't think I'm a girl. It-it doesn't feel right! I feel like I'm… I'm a boy. Like you… I'm sorry, this is dumb, I should just-" The other suddenly grabbed his twin in a hug.
"It's not dumb… If that's how you feel, then I'm not going to make fun of you for it. We've had our differences, we've argued and fought, but I would never do anything that would actually hurt you. You seem serious about this so… I won't put you down for it." The red eyed boy leaned back and smiled as his brother. The other's green eyes were filled with tears and he rubbed his eyes.
"Thank you… Izuru, you're the best brother I could ask for."
"You're the best brother I could ask for too."
Their parents were indifferent. They didn't accept Hajime, but they didn't try and kick him out either. They only gave disapproving stares when Hajime cut his hair like Izuru's, when he managed to convince the school to give him a boy's uniform, and when he would try and correct them when they called him 'Hanako'.
The students at school made fun of him at first, until Izuru stepped in and things broke into a fight.
It was not long after that that the twins were accepted to Hope's Peak.
Chapter 1: END
15 Alive
When Hajime awoke that morning his head was pounding, and his chest was sore. He groaned, rolling over. He felt his body hit something else, and whatever it was hit the floor with a thud.
"Dick." The voice was muffled, but it was still clearly Izuru's. Hajime lifted his head and saw Izuru laying face down on the floor, not moving.
"Sorry…" Hajime mumbled, not sounding sorry at all. The shorter twin buried his face in the pillows, trying to go back to sleep. Izuru got up off the floor, and got ready while his brother sulked in the bed sheets.
When Izuru got out of the shower, Hajime was still curled up in the bed, making Izuru sigh. The Monokuma announcement came on, but Hajime only covered his head with the pillows to ignore it.
"Hajime, you gotta get up. Sulking in bed like this all day isn't going to solve anything. Besides… everyone's expecting us at the restaurant, and I doubt Byakuya is going to let us skip the meeting." He grabbed Hajime's arm and pulled him up, making the other groan.
"Fine… fine…" Hajime stood and dressed. He winced when the binder dug into the marks from the previous day, but it didn't seem like Izuru noticed.
After Hajime finished dressing, the two left their cottage. They didn't see anyone on their way there, and the only ones in the restaurant were Byakuya, Kazuichi, Nagito and Mahiru.
"Ah… good morning." Mahiru greeted, sounding tired.
"Good morning." Hajime mumbled back, sitting at a table and staring at the food, not having an appetite.
No one spoke for a long time, even when the others arrived, sans Fuyuhiko as usual.
"Jeez, why does everyone have such a long face? It looks like you've attended two funerals in a row!" Hiyoko finally broke the silence, her tone light. Izuru glared at her.
"That's pretty much what happened Hiyoko." His tone was cold, not in the mood for her attitude.
"Still, Teruteru deserved it. He killed Sonia in cold blood, don't you guys hate him?" The dancer questioned coldly.
"I do." Kazuichi replied.
"You are only saying that because he killed Sonia. If it were anyone else you wouldn't hate him." Izuru commented with a bit of bitterness in his voice. "Hating Teruteru will do nothing. Monokuma used a weakness of his against him. Teruteru was manipulated by Monokuma. Any one of us could have been manipulated if Monokuma had the right thing to hold against us, if he knew our weaknesses he could use them to get us to commit murder. It's as simple as that."
"So… what do we do about that? I mean, if we could be manipulated so easily, then what do we do?" Nagito asked.
"We need a plan. We're all trapped on this island together, and distrusting panicking and being suspicious of one another is going to cause problems." Byakuya proclaimed. "Working together to try and find a way off this island is top priority. When all of us have a common goal it is easier to work together."
"I'm sure we all have the same goal. However, the methods of which we go about reaching that goal may contradict. Some might be more desperate than others…" Izuru stated darkly. This seemed to chill everyone to the bone.
"Still, being suspicious of each other isn't going to get us anywhere. We're all just going to be walking on eggshells around each other out of fear. We all have weaknesses yes, but we shouldn't let them drive us to kill!" Hajime shouted, determination lacing his tone.
"Plus, if someone were to kill, there's no way they'd get away with it. It would only be them nailing shut their own coffin." Izuru continued. "Working together to find a peaceful way off this island is important."
"Exactly." With Byakuya's final words, the discussion seemed to be over.
"Um…" The voice was familiar by now, and they all turned to where Monomi was standing the corner. "I'm very proud that you are all going to work together but… getting off this island… it's… it's impossible now."
"What do you mean?"
"It's impossible… B-but! The good news is that you now have access to a new island!" Monomi chirped happily.
"YOU! You're the one who destroyed my Monobeast?!" Monokuma was suddenly standing behind her, fury radiating from him somehow.
"That's right! I took care of that nasty thing and-" Before she could finish, Monokuma punched her with all his might, sending her flying. Izuru stared at the fight between the two animals, before standing up and grabbing Hajime's hand.
"Huh? Where are we going?"
"Monomi said there was a new island to explore yes? That's where we're going."