Nijuusei

Chapter 15: Reflections in the Living Room

By Kaen

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Oi, I know I've been unproductive (aka utterly and unforgivably lazy)… *quickly changes subject* Anyways, before the new chapter starts, I just wanted to explain that this story (so far) has only taken place over the course of roughly a week from starting point to where we are now, which isn't a very long time, so please don't tell me about how awful I am. I know I tend to be a little long-winded, but everything that's happened so far is important and can't be cut out to narrow the timeframe! With that said, please enjoy the new chapter! … and brace yourself for a few surprises. ^.~

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"Time for hot chocolate?"

"Definitely time for hot chocolate."

"Where to then?"

"My house is a wreck, since we just moved in a few days ago…" Hiashi explained hesitantly.

Actually, that wasn't quite the truth. The truth would be something more like: "My house looks like the site of a bomb raid." Besides, it'd be pretty awkward with just the two of him while he tried to figure out how to turn on the stove.

"Really? Where did you move from?" Yui inquired, perking up slightly. She had been huddling in her seat in the car, her knees drawn up to her chest, trying to get warmed up ever since they had come back down from the roof of the famous skyscraper.

"California," he replied happily, a glint of longing in his midnight-blue eyes. "It was nice there, and much, much warmer."

She giggled at his comment, reaching a hand up to tuck a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. Despite the casual action, however, in her mind, doubts were rapidly forming. It was "bad form" to kiss anyone on the first date, so she spent her time pondering things that didn't have to do with it and acting like it didn't happen. It was a simple temporary solution that she took refuge behind, which she follow until she got home at least. How could she explain to Kokuei that she had kissed his twin brother, which he didn't know he had?

"So, why'd you have to move here?" Yui started up again, forcing her mind to focus o another topic.

Hiashi sighed, casting a quick glance down at the speedometer.

Straightening his back in a small stretch, he said," My dad lost his job in California, so we had to come all the way out here for him to able to take the new one offered to him."

"Do you miss California?" Yui asked, feeling sympathy for the young man sitting beside her.

"I miss the west coast, but if I hadn't moved, I wouldn't have been able to meet you, so I guess it's all good. I just wish it weren't so cold here!"

He winced as he vaguely gestured to the frost that was coating the borders of the car's windows.

"So, how about you? You're new to the city too, aren't you?"

"I've only been here about a month. I was born and raised in Japan, and I'm just staying in this city until I can move into my dorm on campus. This was the closest I could get until the new school year starts," she told him, making various facial expressions throughout her short tale.

"Japan's a long way to come from to study. Was there a university here that you really wanted to attend?"

"I… have me reasons to be away from home," Yui replied quietly, a pained expressing flashing across her lovely face.

Upon sensing her sudden silence, Hiashi simply nodded in acknowledgement and decided to not inquire anymore about the subject, although he did have to admit he was more than a bit curious.

"Turn right here," Yui instructed as they approached her apartment complex's residential parking lot.

Since Yui obviously did not have a car, she always had an open spot that was empty, though reserved for her use only. Hiashi pulled into the narrow spot slowly, careful as to not come to close to the other haphazardly parked vehicles. Putting the car into "park" and turning off the ignition, he pushed open his car door and stepped out into the snow-laced wind. Always the gentleman, Hiashi wasted no time in rounding to Yui's side of the car and held open the door for her as she stepped out, a hint of pink across her features. This Hiashi noticed, but simply attributed it to the freezing conditions.

That is, until Yui slipped a hand into his and informed him, "I'm not a princess, you know. You don't need to be so… polite."

Hiashi countered quickly: "Whoever said that you were not a princess? You're certainly beautiful and kind enough!"

He flashed a warm smile and tightened his grip on her hands reassuringly.

"I'm no princess," Yui repeated again, but this time the comment seemed more directed to herself than Hiashi. Noticing this, Hiashi again fell silent, questioning how accurate his abilities to read the girl were.

When they reached the entrance to the lobby of the complex, Yui quickly punched the code and the glass doors slid open for them.

Hiashi was taken completely off-guard by the sheer size of the main floor, and was understandably startled when Yui abruptly asked, "Do you ever feel like there's something incredibly important missing from your life, but you could never figure out what it was?"

His eyebrows were first raised in surprise at the seemingly random question, but then creased as he carefully contemplated the inquiry. He responded momentarily, "I suppose many people spend their whole lives searching for themselves or true love. Well, according to songs and poetry, that is."

Yui looked into his expressive eyes. "But I want to know if you've ever felt like this. You, personally."

Hiashi lowered his eyes. He appeared to be in either great concentration or some sort of inner battle, maybe both. Several times, he appeared to be ready to say something, but each attempt only began and ended with a brief stammer of "I"s.

"You won't call me insane if I tell you, will you?" he asks sincerely, his eyes and hands focused on the task of buttoning and unbuttoning the top facet on his jacket.

Yui shook her head no solemnly. Clenching his jaw subconsciously, Hiashi set to work unbuttoning the rest of the clasps on his jacket and removed it, tying its sleeves around his lithe waist in order to keep a hold on the garment. He waited until they had both stepped in to the elevator and the door closed behind him that he proceeded. Yui waited to press any floor numbers on the control panel as she watched him intently while he was rolling up the arm of his long-sleeved shirt. Thrusting his exposed arm in front of her where she would be sure to see whatever he was about to reveal, he began yanking and unraveling the bandages that covered his entire forearm.

Letting them fall to the floor, Hiashi traced the long scab with the index finger of his opposite hand, explaining quietly, "I don't know where this wound came from. I've never hurt myself in this area before. I was sitting at the dinner table when this wound began to gush from a force I know nothing of."

Expecting Yui to be shocked or even revolted, Hiashi diverted his eyes to look at the ceiling, the buttons on the panel, the loose bandages on the floor- anything but Yui. He gasped in surprise when she lifted the arm that had fallen limply to his side, holding it gently close to her. She, too, lightly traced the cut with a small smile on her pink lips.

"And you want to know what it is, right? You want to know what's causing this, don't you?" she stated in a knowing voice, one that hinted more of a declaration than a question.

Hiashi could only nod numbly. Why wasn't she scared? He was scared, so why wouldn't she be? He voiced none of these questions, but merely stood quiet and slack-jawed.

"But," Yui continued, seeming to be oblivious to Hiashi's reaction. "Do you think you're ready to understand? Do you really want to know?"

Her pale hand had risen during her words and had pressed the appropriate button on the elevator panel, thin fingers lingering over it for a little while even after the orange light had appeared. Hiashi did not say anything more, but simply nodded slightly. What did Yui know that he didn't? It just didn't make sense. He's just met this girl a couple days ago, and now she knows his deepest secret? And the solution to it as well? Such things seemed improbable, but no other explanation was any more logical.

The elevator stopped at their floor with a soft, high-pitched "bing" before the doors slid open and Yui stepped out, tugging on Hiashi's hand to signify that he should hurry up. He knelt down, stuffing the bandages into his coat pocket and as Yui watched him, a few locks of wheat-blonde fell into her eyes. Even so, the bright shine in the cerulean depths were unmistakable.

"You shouldn't be afraid, Hiashi," she comforted him. "Today will be a good day, for you both."

"'You both'?" Hiashi repeated, an expression of nearly comical confusion overtaking his features.

Yui smiled and made a soft noise n the back of her throat that sounded almost like a chirp. She walked down the hall at a bouncy and steady pace, her positive façade hiding the fact that she was just about as nervous about the quickly approaching situation as Hiashi.

"This is it!" she announced, swinging her mini-backpack off her shoulders and fishing for the key within it.

Holding the key with slightly trembling fingers, she slid it into the lock and turned it firmly until the satisfactory sound of the deadbolt sliding away was heard. Pulling the key out again, Yui stole a quick glance at Hiashi, who stood stiffly next to her with a determined look on his face.

"Relax," she advised him, standing up on her tip-toes and pressing a light kiss to the young man's cheek.

He blushed in response, but managed a meek nod as he allowed his shoulders to slouch forward a bit, just to prove that he wasn't strapped to a board. Yui grinned at him one more time before grasping the handle of the door and turning, pushing the heavy door open. Even she was uncertain of the situation within her living quarters, though, so she stayed very quiet as she slid off her soaking boots. She motioned for Hiashi to do the same, but to wait there while she sidestepped the strewn textbooks and magazines that covered nearly the entire entryway hall. It was then that she noticed the faint noise coming from the room well-lit living room. Listening closer, she reasoned it to be the television.

And before the color screen of twelve inches sat a half-clothed Kokuei, his wide eyes fixated on the glowing screen as if it were about to reveal the meaning of life. He sat balanced on the balls of his bare feet that poked out of his long baggy jeans, swaying back a forth slightly as is fixated in some trance. He had a pink towel draped over his presumably wet hair, but it also covered a fair amount of his bare back.

"Um… Kokuei?" Yui cleared her throat in order to get his attention. He jumped at her voice and spun around the best that he could, but only succeeded in loosing his already precarious footing and falling square on his jean-clad butt.

"Oh, Yui!" he greeted her with a toothy grin, rubbing the backs of his head with the hand that was supporting him. An awkward silence passed between them as Yui observed that Kokuei still hadn't found a shirt to wear and Kokuei confirmed that the television indeed DID make noise and WAS in color.

"Kokuei," Yui finally began a little while later softly. "We have a guest this afternoon that I'd like you to meet. His name is Hiashi, the young man that I went out with earlier this morning. "

With the mention of the phrase "went out", Kokuei face contorted with barely hidden jealousy. But the name "Hiashi" was so familiar… and… Yui suddenly had the boy's full attention; he didn't even protest when she turned off the beloved television.

Pressing on, she continued, "Please go get dressed in the bathroom, okay? I'm going to make hot chocolate, and it should be ready by the time your done dressing."

He nodded absently as he picked up the first shirt off the top of the pile, draping it over an arm as he retreated into the bathroom, pink towel still adorning his head.

When the door had clicked shut, Yui walked a few steps to where she was visible to Hiashi and turned to him as she explained, "He – Kokuei- isn't quite decent yet. Why don't we just get started in the kitchen for now?"

Hiashi, who had formerly been scrutinizing the array of magazines and books on the floor, looked up and offered a quick nod in agreement. He pushed a few books aside with his sock-clad feet as he made his way to the small kitchen, where Yui had already began to rummage through the cabinets for the hot cocoa mix and a saucepan. She was humming lightly to herself, but once again, this was only an act to conceal her nervousness. She was beginning to have second guesses that what she was doing might not be the best thing, of that something would go horribly wrong. What if she had somehow interfered with the twins' destiny further? She flinched visibly at the thought. Everything was her fault before, and she definitely didn't want to have to take responsibility again.

Hiashi had sensed her emotional storm rising and when she had set three mugs down on the counter, he stood to her right and slipped an arm around her slender shoulders. Entwining a few locks of soft hair between his loose fingers, he questioned what was upsetting her. She merely shrugged it off and offered a bright, but rather pained smile.

"It's nothing," she told him. "Nothing at all. I'm just a bit… nervous, I suppose. Why don't you go take a seat in the living room? It'll more comfortable than sitting around this tiny table."

She vaguely gestured to the small table that resided along the wall near the kitchen and then waved him away to the living room with the two denim-colored sofas, never hearing the click of the doorknob turning…

Hiashi attempted to exit the kitchen as per Yui's orders, but was having some difficulty. Evidently, he had not remembered the full-length mirror that was at the entrance of the tiny room. He tried to find a way around it, but to no avail. Finally, he found himself turning back to Yui in order to ask her how to get out of her kitchen, as silly as the question seemed. But his words were frozen on his tongue when he took in the girls facial expression; shock, apprehension, nervousness were all vividly expressed in her wide eyes… Why in the world were those all there?

Hiashi turned back to the mirror to try again, noticing his wide-eyed expression reflected. He wrinkled his brow, and his reflection did the same. So what in the hell seemed so wrong here? He raised his hand to touch the glass, and his reflection did the same. But when the hand lay flat against its surface, the glass was warm and textured. Their expressions transformed into one of utter bewilderment at the unexpected sensation…

And then the raised hand of the reflection moved, the fingers knitting together and locking.

Yui winced, already bracing herself.

3….. 2….. 1…..


And a great scream, matched perfectly in pitch like none ever heard before, echoed down the halls of the large apartment complex, leaving clumps of dislodged plaster from the ceiling and walls in its wake.

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I apologize for how long this chapter took. You have my permission to abuse me, but please submit a review to do so! All in all, I'm pretty happy with the way this chapter came out. It was very natural to write, so I hope all of you readers found it enjoyable. I hope to have the next chapter out a lot sooner! I already had part of it written, so I should be a bit more productive. Thank you for reading and following this fic for so long!

Oh, and a special note to Beach Fradis: Congratulations! Your good news may be the only reason that this story is still going, so I dedicate this chapter to you! Thank you so much for everything!