Boo!
Mah…I was late…sorry. I got short of ideas right after the first two paragraphs. And inspiration too. I'm so lucky to be getting at least three reviews per chapter. Thank you thank you thank you to those who have supported me and read my fiction even when I was dead and gone, especially the three who reviewed my last chapter. (The reviews go down with every new installment. Why?) Anyway, I hope reading this makes you happy. I just want to please people. I only write when I think I can do so well, and I always proofread my stories and check for errors (I miss some, but I try my best.) I also try to keep my liking for FY strong, even when I stray to other favorites. I recently re-watched the Bus Trips, and they made me laugh. I know why FY is such a great anime. (I keep wondering, though, should I put a disclaimer? But who's gonna sue me anyway, right? Nobody does, so I don't. I should put dedications, though.) Well, I better stop chatting now. Hope you stick with me as I continue this!
~ Sable Knight, doing my best
This chapter is dedicated to my late Fifth Grade Reading teacher…Mrs. A. M. May you rest in peace.
Chapter 6. The Other Side of the Looking Glass
"Ouch!" Shun rubbed his cheek, which was growing puffy.
He stared at it in the library's bathroom mirror. It was bright red. Yui-sama -- I mean, Yui-san, can sure pack a punch. Kotou was at his side, fussing. "Oh Shun-chan! Do you always have to butt in on other people's business? You wouldn't have been slapped if you'd just kept to yourself!" On a less hysterical tone, he patted his brother on the head. "Here, it won't hurt as bad." He produced a mentholated patch from his pocket, and placed it on his brother's cheek. The seemingly younger twin blushed. "Stop it, aniki. It's just a slap. And don't call me chan. I'm just as old as you are." Kotou crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow in a jokingly superior manner. "No, you aren't. I'm five minutes older, and you know it. " They laughed. "Really, though. Please keep out of getting into fights. I know that Miss Hongou is attractive, but Shun -" He sighed. "- I feel odd when I'm near her. It's like I should feel scared. Like that girl is powerful, has power - an extraordinary attribute, one that I'm unsure of. And even more than that, I feel..." "...like I have a past with her. Like I've known her before. I know." Shun completed his brother's sentence warily. Kotou looked at him in silence. "I don't know why I feel this way, aniki. I know it might seem really strange. But when you think about it...I mean, you know about that letter that I found at home, right? And you know that we can speak and write in an ancient Chinese tongue without knowing how. Plus you and I...I think, crazy as this sounds, that we have powers."
Kotou stiffened. He knew that magic wasn't real, and knew that if ever happened to be real, it meant trouble. "You know that isn't true, Shun." The jock looked away. "Oh, it isn't? Then how do you explain the time when everybody stood and sat and clapped and spoke at the same time during one of your concertos? And I was able to open a locked door using my mind. Doesn't that prove anything?" His twin's gaze shifted. "I think it's just coincidence, Shun. Nothing more than that." "But--!" "All right. I believe you. But now isn't the right time to discuss this. We're working, remember? We can talk later." He clapped a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder and left.
"She knows something that I don't, doesn't she...?" Shun questioned of his reflection in the mirror.
It shrugged right back at him.
***
Their apartment was a good two and a half miles from the library. Shun longed for the exercise, but Kotou wished not to grow tired, so they hailed a bus and stepped on, identical heads both a bit damp from the rain. They settled down nicely, watching the glum roads roll by outside. Well. Actually, Kotou was, and thinking that it was a very sad rainy day indeed. Shun appeared to be staring blankly at the weather too, but actually he was imagining Yui's face, red with anger, and the slender hand that had struck him, which had belonged to her. What did I do? I was only sticking up for her. She has got some serious issues, that girl. Maybe Kotou IS right. I mean, I've had more than one ruffle with her already and I've only known her what? Two days? But it's so strange, this stupid attraction. I just know I've seen that face before. But where? WHERE? Good lord, please help me. I can't keep on having this crazy liking if I don't understand why.
"Our stop. Come on," Kotou said coolly, jerking his dreamy brother back to reality. They hustled down the aisle, paid a light tip to the bus driver, and stepped off to their stop, where they trudged wearily to the apartment building. After two flights of stairs, they had reached their own quarters. Shun paused for a bit, staring at the Hongou's posh door with some longing. "Shun? Hey, stop it. No wishful thinking." "I wasn't. I was just admiring the lovely architecture of their home. In we go, then." He forced a pleasant smile at his brother who, in turn, grinned at him disbelievingly. "Whatever you say." The knob was twisted, the door swung open, and the floor puddled as the twins stepped inside. It was dark and silent in there, except for some squeaks and eeks from the rats, who were evidently not falling for the mouse traps they had put down. "I'll call an exterminator later. Right now, I have to take a bath," Kotou muttered. "I'll go after you, aniki. First I'll unpack my bag." "Yap." He crossed over to his room as his brother started the shower, laying down his key chain and button-laden backpack. It had few contents, so he finished emptying it quickly.
Murmuring, he lay down on the double bed he shared with Kotou, not really minding the fact that his clothes needed washing. On his bedside table he could see the letter - or message, whatever it was - that he had found the day they moved in. It was on a piece of thick, withered parchment - old Chinese characters written with red ink. He knew the writing was very peculiar because he had asked his parents if it was another language. "Why, Shun-chan, that's odd. Where'd you find that?" His mother had looked it over with little interest. "On the floor. It was by the door; I thought it was a flier of some sort." "Hey, I know that language. Strange indeed," Mr. Takada had peered at it with an interested face. He was a history teacher at a junior high school, and knew plenty of old dialects and characters. "How interesting. That's ancient Chinese writing, if I'm not mistaken. It dates way back to the time of the reigning cities, Konan and Kutou, when people still worshipped the four gods. Nobody knows how to read it - even I only understand a few of the characters. That could be priceless. Keep it, son, it might do us good someday." He had laughed, and the family had cheerily continued with their moving in.
But Shun had bit his tongue, staring at it wordlessly. An odd fact had hit him. Nobody knows how to read it, huh? Then how come I do? "Excuse me. I'm going to look ahead and see what condition this house is in." Nobody had gone against it, so he had rushed inside, and had read it quickly as time would allow. Kotou had also entered the house after a while, and had spied his brother translating the script effortlessly. "Are? But how -" "Aniki! Can you read it too?" Looking over it, his relative had nodded slowly, amazed. "How am I doing this? Didn't dad just say that no one could possibly understand it?" His twin could make no reply. "Burn it, Shun." Kotou had said suddenly, his tone alarmingly tense. "Or at least throw it. It sounds like a threat, or a warning. This could mean misfortune or trouble for both of us, or worse, our whole family. Maybe even this whole apartment." Shun had laughed it off. "Don't be superstitious. I think its cool that we can read it. Besides, its just a letter. Harmless. Maybe we were scholars in our previous lives. Or something."
Our previous lives...that could be it, you know. It explains that whole bit with Miss Yui. But that's only in fairytales. It couldn't possibly be true. Could it? "Daydreaming again?" Kotou was drying his hair, in a much better mood than he was a while ago. The athletic boy hopped off the bed. "No. Just resting my aching body." "Ah. But did you have to rest on the bed? You aren't exactly squeaky clean, you know." "I will be, now that I'm going to bathe." "Fine, fine. I'll let you off for now." "Thanks, aniki!" He punched his brother on the shoulder to show his gratitude, then bounded off to the comfort room. The receiver of the punch smiled pleasantly. "Shun's a great kid. I don't understand why that Miss Yui's so hung-up about him." Hanging the soaked towel over his chair, the musically inclined Takada brother picked up his wooden flute off the desk and, pausing only to sigh a bit, played a flighty tune, one he had composed himself. The sound of music always comforted him.
An apartment away, Yui Hongou was busy snipping her hair, in a wild fury.
Apparently, song therapy didn't have any effect on her.
***
Dinner that night was wonderful Italian cuisine, as anticipated. In addition to being a medical technician, Mrs. Takada was a great chef, and had prepared the meal herself. "Itadakimasu!" They crowed happily, before wolfing down their food. "How was your first day as library helpers?" Mr. Takada was eager to know. "Great, dad. We'll get our first paycheck at the end of the week. And the head librarian, Mrs. Futori, is real nice." "That's good to hear. So, no trouble at all?" Kotou stole a look at his twin while slurping up a noodle to see if the petty fight that had happened was worth mentioning. It might worry his parents, after all. Shun shook his head slightly, signaling a 'no'. "Yep. No trouble," They answered in unison. "By the way, dad. Where were you? You were home late today." Their father broke out into a happy smile. "Ah! Glad you asked. I was meeting my new client, Mr. Fines. You know that aside of my job at the university I'm offering to translate stuff for people. He had a request - a funny one, but worth doing. It's going to take a lot of research, actually, but he's paying a lot, and in dollars too."
"Dollars?" "Yeah. He's a foreigner. Says he's traveled around the world a lot. He's a very good-looking man, mind you. Something struck me about his appearance, though. He's quite overpowering." He finished his clam soup, and Shun poured him a new one. After thanking him gratefully, the junior high teacher continued. "He asked about my family, and when I said I had two twin boys by the name of Shunkaku and Kotouku, he was mighty interested. He seemed pretty disappointed when I said you two were just regular high school students. Oh! And I remember - he asked me to give you this." He withdrew from his pocket a little envelope, and handed it to Kotou. "I think it's just his business card. If I remember right, he teaches science at a high school somewhere." Sucking in the last of his pasta, Shun looked over at the quaint little letter. "Hey, it has the symbol of Yotsubadai High on it. Maybe he's teaching at our school?" "Dunno. Let's open and see what he has to say." There was a single paper inside the envelope, and it was folded over twice. When Kotou opened it, two identical charms fell onto his lap.
"Hey, dragons! Cool. Check out the little blue gems on its eyes." Shun said, admiring the accessories. "S-Shun. Look!" His brother's tone was shocked. "What is it, aniki?" The batter's eyes rose to read the letter - and nearly bugged out when he did. "What does it say?" Mrs. Takada questioned, as she left the table to refill her bowl. The twins exchanged harried glances. "We don't understand it," Shun offered quickly. "I might," Mr. Takada said, taking it from them and wearing his glasses. "Hmm. This is in the same dialect that he wanted me to translate. Strange that he would send you this. He must have been mistaken." "Oh my! That's real crystal!" Their mother had returned to the table, and, chancing a glance at the tiny tokens on her son's lap, had suddenly emitted a gasp of surprise. "It was definitely a mistake," Mr. Takada said decidedly. "It isn't possible that he'd want to give those away. I'll have to give both the letter and the charms back. Sorry, kids. I know you'd like to keep them."
He held out his palm for the tiny dragons, which Kotou gave him hesitantly. "Um - could we just borrow the letter for a minute, dad? You know. To look it over. Since it isn't going to be ours anyway." "By all means." He gave them the paper without much thought, for the crystal monsters in his palm held him in rapture. The two boys scampered away to their room, in a mad rush. "Was I right, honey? It is real silver, ne?" Mrs. Takada asked while clearing away the dishes. Her husband nodded. "Fascinating. If I'm not mistaken, these are miniature original replicas of a great crystal statue of Seiryuu, the East god. The statue adorned the shrine of Seiryuu in the Kutou palace. I was told that it had real sapphires for eyes. But that artifact was destroyed eons ago...nobody could ever even prove that it existed. This isn't an ordinary charm, though. So why does Mr. Fines have it? And how did it come into his possession...?"
***
"Come on, come on!!" Shun muttered tersely as the computer blinked on. Kotou was setting up the scanner beside him. He turned to his sibling, who was drumming his fingernails on the table repetitively. "Move, Shun! Do something!" "Like what?" "Get me some fresh paper from the closet. I have to re-install the printer software." Shun turned to him looking horrified. "What? It's not installed? Are you sure?" His twin nodded grimly. "The source got deleted when we unplugged it back in our old home. We haven't had time to fix up our computer since we came." "Aw, man!" The former Seiryuu seishi stuck his hands behind his head and strolled away to the supply closet. Kotou, in turn, was clicking away with the mouse. Ack! He's bogged up our computer again with all his files!! Hey...what's this?? A blinking icon on the side of the interface caught his attention. He clicked on it unwittingly...
"SHUN!!!"
Upon hearing his name the boy trotted back. "What is it? Saw a dead rat?" "No," His brother replied hotly. "How do you explain this?" Shun walked over calmly, but once he saw the screen started sweating away. "You're blaming me? That's not fair! I don't download sick stuff like that!" "Well, I wouldn't all the more! And when I tried deleting it...it just...giggled!" Kotou's expression was beyond mortification; his face was terribly red. Shun was pretty good at playing dumb, but was betrayed by a small smile. "Giggled?" "Yes! So you get rid of it now!" "She's wearing a bikini, aniki." "That's still indecent! Plus it could have a virus!" "Hey, we're running out of time here. I've got your paper, so we deal with the window sitter later and cover the letter now. Okay?" Grudgingly, his brother turned back to the screen, still a bright shade of scarlet. Careful to avoid the waving female on the side, he set up a few things more, then fed the paper into the scanner. Clicking on print, the printer sputtered, then inked out an exact replica of the letter. "Success!" Shun whooped. "Thank goodness," Kotou murmured, wiping his brow.
"As for that desktop enhancer...you know what to do, Shun."
"Ah! Yes!"
***
Strength. Time. Earth. Will.
If you receive this, then you must know...you've broken the powers of age.
This world is not your place. A strong bond with something here might have done the trick - otherwise you couldn't have gotten past time's barrier. So strong you are - not even magic could stop you entering this world. Or perhaps magic itself pushed you here. The glass oracle's power surpasses even ours, so we are unable to tell. You might, but this way you can't contact us. If it's true that fate brought you here, though, then we'll let you go. But if not...you must lose this life. Immediately. Why? Strictly speaking, it was taken unfairly. You've cheated someone out of their place here; your time has passed, you've lived your life, and no one is supposed to be given a second chance. Suppose you were drawn here because of a connection - it can't continue. Promises, friendships, enemies and anything you made before are nothing now. They all disappeared when you did, so you have no reason to push on.
Staying here longer will make you waste away. We won't allow it. Stop while you still can.
No, you say? Do you really believe you deserve to keep this life?
Then prove that you can. Show us your power...
...Star Warrior.
Compliments,
Suzaku, Seiryuu, Genbu, Byakko
. ***
Twelve panes of cracked glass
Scratched and bleeding I push on
Time cannot stop me (for)
I made a promise
I swore upon my being
I'd come to see you...
~ Mirrored Promise (2 haikus)