Disclaimer: I only own the twins.
~*~*~*~*~*
Kimi stood at the top of the hill, looking down at the scene below. She was wearing all black, even over her face. The only things showing were her green eyes. She was hardly visible against the dark night sky.
Keiko came up behind her sister. "When do we strike?"
"Now." They jumped down from the hill, landing softly on the ground below, very much like a cat. Kimi crept slowly down one side of the cart and Keiko went on the other side. Kimi gave the signal and she flung herself onto the man kneeling down in front of his broken cart wheel. She elbowed him in the back, and he fell down, unconscious. Keiko did the same to another man there, but it did not work as well. He got up, and struck her back. She fought him, and in the end, he held her in a headlock. Keiko struggled, and then suddenly, he fell over. Keiko turned and her sister stood there, giving her the look that said, 'You still need work, little sister'. Keiko blushed, and they headed towards the back of the cart. There, a woman and her two twin daughters huddled, frightened to death of the pair clad in black. They looted the cart of its food, ignoring the family. But as Keiko left, she glanced back. The woman pulled her daughters close to her and they clung to her, their green eyes staring at Keiko.
~*~*~*~*~*
"Mom, we're home!" Keiko called into the hut. Soi got up from her chair. "Oh, I'm so glad!" "Look at al this food we got!" Keiko exclaimed, expelling her contents on the small table. Kimi paused, and silently put her loot on the table, too. Soi's eyes lingered on her for a minute, and then they turned back to the food.
"You got all this?" she asked. Keiko nodded. Kimi, feeling awkward, changed the subject. "Where's Dad?" "He's out back, whittling another flute. What else?" Amiboshi stepped inside.
"Hey, girls," he said. They smiled at him.
~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Ok, I know it's awkward to see him called "Dad", but I mean, they grew up with him! He cared for them! He might as well have been their biological father. They think he's their real father because he's the only one they ever knew. And well, he got his happy ending. He and Soi ended up together. So if you don't like it, then don't read!
~*~*~*~*~*
At dinner that night, the girls were silent. Soi looked worried about them. Amiboshi sensed it. "So, what did you girls do today?" he asked cheerfully, making a daring attempt to salvage their dinner. The girls knew it, and looked over at him, pitifully. "Well, we practiced this morning. And we went on the raid this evening," Keiko said, trying too.
"Good for you," he said, smiling. Keiko nodded and smiled back.
After dinner, Kimi went outside to be alone. Keiko same outside too and sat next to her. They stared up at the stars.
"Still troubled?" Keiko asked finally. Kimi nodded. "Mom's told us a thousand times. She and Dad have lived out here ever since their house was burned. You know that." Kimi looked down. "I know, but.....it just seems like that's not right. I feel like it's not the truth. I don't know. It's just...." She looked back up. "I feel like they're hiding something from me." Keiko was silent for a moment. "Will you go over the wrestling tactics with me tomorrow morning?"
"Sure," Kimi smiled. It felt good to be needed. Her younger sister depended on her. Kimi and Keiko were just about to get up when they heard a crash in the hut. Amiboshi's voice carried through the grass walls.
"Girls!" They ran inside. Soi was lying on the floor, her eyes closed. "What happened?" Kimi asked frantically. "She just collapsed," Amiboshi said. Kimi felt her mother's forehead. "She's hot and her skin looks yellow." She gasped. "She could be sick from the yellow fever disease," she said.
"O Seiryu, she's dead!" Keiko cried, and ran around the hut screaming "O Seiryu O Seiryu O Seiryu!"
"Keiko! Calm down! Go outside and get some of the spices behind the house," Amiboshi said. Keiko nodded and dashed outside. Kimi and Amiboshi lifted Soi onto her bed. Kimi put a cold compress on her mother's head. Keiko dashed back in again. Amiboshi held the spices up to her nose ands she stirred. He knelt next to her lips.
"She's breathing," he said, and Kimi and Keiko let out their breath. "But I want you two to go out and try to find a doctor." Kimi and Keiko skulked. They knew that this was code for: we need some time to talk alone. There was no one anywhere around for miles. They stepped outside and waited.
~*~*~*~*~*
The next morning, Soi was sitting up and looking much better. But she was still weak. Kimi and Keiko both sat with her. After a long pause, Keiko asked, "Mom, what happened?" Soi sighed.
"I am sick, girls. And, I don't think I have very long. I do have yellow fever." Her twins bit their lips. It was bad. Real bad. Everyone who had ever had the yellow fever disease had never lived to tell the tale.
"But I want to tell you something before I go." She looked into each of their eyes. "I have something to show you." She pulled back the thin blanket and pushed away her cloak. On her leg was a character.
"What is that?" Kimi asked. "It's my sign. Girls, I am a celestial warrior of Seiryu." They stared at her. "So is your father. We didn't want to tell you before."
"I knew it. You were hiding something from me," Kimi said. Soi nodded sadly. "You see, before we came here, we actually lived in the capital city palace." "Wow, you lived in the palace?" Keiko asked with awe. Soi nodded.
"Your father live there too, with Suboshi." "Who?" "His brother." "Dad had a brother?" they asked. "Oh yes. They were twins, in fact." "Well, now we know where we got the genes from," Keiko said. Soi bit her lip. "Not exactly...." She said softly. But the twins weren't listening. "Wow, Dad had a brother?" "I wonder what he was like?" "Probably like Dad, dumbo. They were twins, after all." "But why did they leave?" "What happened?" they turned their eyes on their poor mother.
"Well....." She started. "The emperor was....well, he was the father of our current emperor. And he was very...selfish, perverted, cheap, you get the idea. And, well, you weren't really allowed. I had to hide you when you were born. When the emperor found out, he...." She couldn't bring herself to say it. "Well, I was locked up. But your father helped me escape. We left and fled for the hills." She left out the most important part. Him. But He didn't matter. Her girls were safe and happy. Poor, but happy. And they didn't need Him.
~*~*~*~*~*
A week later, Soi was dead. They tearfully buried her in the backyard. Afterwards, Keiko and Kimi were melancholy. Amiboshi was also depressed. She had been his light. His fire. He had nothing left. The only things were the girls. But even they seemed distant. And they weren't really his. He felt alone. For the first time in 15 years, he missed his brother.
Amiboshi couldn't lie to them anymore. They depended on him, and he needed to be truthful. So one night, he sat them down, and told them. He did not leave out Nakago's part, even though it pained him to talk about him.
"What?" Keiko asked, her lip trembling. "What are you talking about? You're our father!" Amiboshi looked down. "In theory, yes. But not really."
"I knew there was something else. What she told us. It wasn't all," Kimi said softly, staring ahead. Amiboshi looked forlornly at her. "I'm sorry. We didn't think you would ever need to know. Or that this would come."
"But it did." Kimi got up and walked out. Keiko looked despairingly at Amiboshi, and went after her sister.
She found her, sitting at the edge of the woods, looking at the stars. She sat next to her older sister and put her head on her shoulder.
~*~*~*~*~*
The next morning Kimi rose early and left. Keiko was awakened by her sister's movements and got up to follow her. Before leaving, she kissed her father on the head.
The sisters spent the day walking around. They didn't have much to say to each other. They just walked in silence, but it seemed to be enough to them. They came upon an overturned cart filled with clothes, food, and baskets. They smiled. It was good luck. They knocked out the man and took all the goods.
"What's that sound?" Kimi asked. A distant and faint sound like music drifted through her ears. ""What sound? I don't hear anything," Keiko said, still loading the cloth. Kimi shook it out of her mind. They strolled back up to their home, talking in good spirits now.
As they cleared the hill that gave a good view of their house (if you knew where to look), Kimi stopped. Keiko stopped too. "What's wrong?" she asked, biting into an orange. Kimi dropped her basket, eyes still transfixed. She started to run forwards. Keiko caught sight of the scene and dropped her basket, too. They ran down the hill.
~*~*~*~*~*
They stumbled over the wood and remains of their house that littered the ground. That was all that was left. Food splattered the dirt and a sickening red was mixed in, too. "Dad!" cried Keiko. Kimi was shoving away the rubble. A faint murmur came form under one of the piles. The twins yanked and shoved the wood away, finally revealing Amiboshi.
"Dad!" they cried. He had blood coming from almost every part of his body, but a deep gash was in his side. He opened his eyes.
"Hi....." He winced. "Dad, what happened?" Kimi asked. "The....royal guards.....they came....searching for....us.... They...destroyed...everything...." Keiko bit back her tears. Kimi ran around the corner of the hill, trying to find any traces of the guards, but she found nothing.
She ran back to where her sister and father sat. "You must.go.You.cannot stay here. Please.go." Amiboshi gasped. Keiko shook her head. "No. We're not leaving you," she said, her voice quivering. But he closed his eyes with a final sigh.
Keiko sat for a moment with him. Kimi couldn't bear to be near him. She ran into the woods and sat down on a lone tree stump, crying softly to her heart's content.
When she returned a few hours later, Keiko had been gathering the possessions that were not ruined. She looked up when Kimi exited the woods.
"So what do we do now?" she asked. Kimi paused. "I think we should..." She didn't know how her sister would take her idea. "Well?" "Find Nakago." A moment's pause. "Why?" "He was our real father. And besides, I think we should get even. He is the general of the guards." A sly grin crossed Keiko's face. It was a new thing to her. She was always the more innocent and shy one of the two. She rarely ever did anything worse than stealing food and such from carts.
Kimi was surprised to see her sister's face, but she liked it. They shared the same look of malevolence, and each decided that was what they were going to do.
~*~*~*~*~*
They both decided that it was too painful to bury Amiboshi, so they made a shrine around him. Silently, Kimi made a vow that she would not rest until her father was avenged. Even if that meant death. That evening they set off in search of the capital. Along the way, all Kimi could think about was her mother and imagined what it must have been like for her to go through all the pain of betrayal. But she vowed that it would end here. They walked into the night, each with the same thought: revenge.
~*~*~*~*~*
Liss: Ha ha, Soi's suffering in BOTH worlds: here, and in the story! lol I'm just joking. Please review!
~*~*~*~*~*
Kimi stood at the top of the hill, looking down at the scene below. She was wearing all black, even over her face. The only things showing were her green eyes. She was hardly visible against the dark night sky.
Keiko came up behind her sister. "When do we strike?"
"Now." They jumped down from the hill, landing softly on the ground below, very much like a cat. Kimi crept slowly down one side of the cart and Keiko went on the other side. Kimi gave the signal and she flung herself onto the man kneeling down in front of his broken cart wheel. She elbowed him in the back, and he fell down, unconscious. Keiko did the same to another man there, but it did not work as well. He got up, and struck her back. She fought him, and in the end, he held her in a headlock. Keiko struggled, and then suddenly, he fell over. Keiko turned and her sister stood there, giving her the look that said, 'You still need work, little sister'. Keiko blushed, and they headed towards the back of the cart. There, a woman and her two twin daughters huddled, frightened to death of the pair clad in black. They looted the cart of its food, ignoring the family. But as Keiko left, she glanced back. The woman pulled her daughters close to her and they clung to her, their green eyes staring at Keiko.
~*~*~*~*~*
"Mom, we're home!" Keiko called into the hut. Soi got up from her chair. "Oh, I'm so glad!" "Look at al this food we got!" Keiko exclaimed, expelling her contents on the small table. Kimi paused, and silently put her loot on the table, too. Soi's eyes lingered on her for a minute, and then they turned back to the food.
"You got all this?" she asked. Keiko nodded. Kimi, feeling awkward, changed the subject. "Where's Dad?" "He's out back, whittling another flute. What else?" Amiboshi stepped inside.
"Hey, girls," he said. They smiled at him.
~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Ok, I know it's awkward to see him called "Dad", but I mean, they grew up with him! He cared for them! He might as well have been their biological father. They think he's their real father because he's the only one they ever knew. And well, he got his happy ending. He and Soi ended up together. So if you don't like it, then don't read!
~*~*~*~*~*
At dinner that night, the girls were silent. Soi looked worried about them. Amiboshi sensed it. "So, what did you girls do today?" he asked cheerfully, making a daring attempt to salvage their dinner. The girls knew it, and looked over at him, pitifully. "Well, we practiced this morning. And we went on the raid this evening," Keiko said, trying too.
"Good for you," he said, smiling. Keiko nodded and smiled back.
After dinner, Kimi went outside to be alone. Keiko same outside too and sat next to her. They stared up at the stars.
"Still troubled?" Keiko asked finally. Kimi nodded. "Mom's told us a thousand times. She and Dad have lived out here ever since their house was burned. You know that." Kimi looked down. "I know, but.....it just seems like that's not right. I feel like it's not the truth. I don't know. It's just...." She looked back up. "I feel like they're hiding something from me." Keiko was silent for a moment. "Will you go over the wrestling tactics with me tomorrow morning?"
"Sure," Kimi smiled. It felt good to be needed. Her younger sister depended on her. Kimi and Keiko were just about to get up when they heard a crash in the hut. Amiboshi's voice carried through the grass walls.
"Girls!" They ran inside. Soi was lying on the floor, her eyes closed. "What happened?" Kimi asked frantically. "She just collapsed," Amiboshi said. Kimi felt her mother's forehead. "She's hot and her skin looks yellow." She gasped. "She could be sick from the yellow fever disease," she said.
"O Seiryu, she's dead!" Keiko cried, and ran around the hut screaming "O Seiryu O Seiryu O Seiryu!"
"Keiko! Calm down! Go outside and get some of the spices behind the house," Amiboshi said. Keiko nodded and dashed outside. Kimi and Amiboshi lifted Soi onto her bed. Kimi put a cold compress on her mother's head. Keiko dashed back in again. Amiboshi held the spices up to her nose ands she stirred. He knelt next to her lips.
"She's breathing," he said, and Kimi and Keiko let out their breath. "But I want you two to go out and try to find a doctor." Kimi and Keiko skulked. They knew that this was code for: we need some time to talk alone. There was no one anywhere around for miles. They stepped outside and waited.
~*~*~*~*~*
The next morning, Soi was sitting up and looking much better. But she was still weak. Kimi and Keiko both sat with her. After a long pause, Keiko asked, "Mom, what happened?" Soi sighed.
"I am sick, girls. And, I don't think I have very long. I do have yellow fever." Her twins bit their lips. It was bad. Real bad. Everyone who had ever had the yellow fever disease had never lived to tell the tale.
"But I want to tell you something before I go." She looked into each of their eyes. "I have something to show you." She pulled back the thin blanket and pushed away her cloak. On her leg was a character.
"What is that?" Kimi asked. "It's my sign. Girls, I am a celestial warrior of Seiryu." They stared at her. "So is your father. We didn't want to tell you before."
"I knew it. You were hiding something from me," Kimi said. Soi nodded sadly. "You see, before we came here, we actually lived in the capital city palace." "Wow, you lived in the palace?" Keiko asked with awe. Soi nodded.
"Your father live there too, with Suboshi." "Who?" "His brother." "Dad had a brother?" they asked. "Oh yes. They were twins, in fact." "Well, now we know where we got the genes from," Keiko said. Soi bit her lip. "Not exactly...." She said softly. But the twins weren't listening. "Wow, Dad had a brother?" "I wonder what he was like?" "Probably like Dad, dumbo. They were twins, after all." "But why did they leave?" "What happened?" they turned their eyes on their poor mother.
"Well....." She started. "The emperor was....well, he was the father of our current emperor. And he was very...selfish, perverted, cheap, you get the idea. And, well, you weren't really allowed. I had to hide you when you were born. When the emperor found out, he...." She couldn't bring herself to say it. "Well, I was locked up. But your father helped me escape. We left and fled for the hills." She left out the most important part. Him. But He didn't matter. Her girls were safe and happy. Poor, but happy. And they didn't need Him.
~*~*~*~*~*
A week later, Soi was dead. They tearfully buried her in the backyard. Afterwards, Keiko and Kimi were melancholy. Amiboshi was also depressed. She had been his light. His fire. He had nothing left. The only things were the girls. But even they seemed distant. And they weren't really his. He felt alone. For the first time in 15 years, he missed his brother.
Amiboshi couldn't lie to them anymore. They depended on him, and he needed to be truthful. So one night, he sat them down, and told them. He did not leave out Nakago's part, even though it pained him to talk about him.
"What?" Keiko asked, her lip trembling. "What are you talking about? You're our father!" Amiboshi looked down. "In theory, yes. But not really."
"I knew there was something else. What she told us. It wasn't all," Kimi said softly, staring ahead. Amiboshi looked forlornly at her. "I'm sorry. We didn't think you would ever need to know. Or that this would come."
"But it did." Kimi got up and walked out. Keiko looked despairingly at Amiboshi, and went after her sister.
She found her, sitting at the edge of the woods, looking at the stars. She sat next to her older sister and put her head on her shoulder.
~*~*~*~*~*
The next morning Kimi rose early and left. Keiko was awakened by her sister's movements and got up to follow her. Before leaving, she kissed her father on the head.
The sisters spent the day walking around. They didn't have much to say to each other. They just walked in silence, but it seemed to be enough to them. They came upon an overturned cart filled with clothes, food, and baskets. They smiled. It was good luck. They knocked out the man and took all the goods.
"What's that sound?" Kimi asked. A distant and faint sound like music drifted through her ears. ""What sound? I don't hear anything," Keiko said, still loading the cloth. Kimi shook it out of her mind. They strolled back up to their home, talking in good spirits now.
As they cleared the hill that gave a good view of their house (if you knew where to look), Kimi stopped. Keiko stopped too. "What's wrong?" she asked, biting into an orange. Kimi dropped her basket, eyes still transfixed. She started to run forwards. Keiko caught sight of the scene and dropped her basket, too. They ran down the hill.
~*~*~*~*~*
They stumbled over the wood and remains of their house that littered the ground. That was all that was left. Food splattered the dirt and a sickening red was mixed in, too. "Dad!" cried Keiko. Kimi was shoving away the rubble. A faint murmur came form under one of the piles. The twins yanked and shoved the wood away, finally revealing Amiboshi.
"Dad!" they cried. He had blood coming from almost every part of his body, but a deep gash was in his side. He opened his eyes.
"Hi....." He winced. "Dad, what happened?" Kimi asked. "The....royal guards.....they came....searching for....us.... They...destroyed...everything...." Keiko bit back her tears. Kimi ran around the corner of the hill, trying to find any traces of the guards, but she found nothing.
She ran back to where her sister and father sat. "You must.go.You.cannot stay here. Please.go." Amiboshi gasped. Keiko shook her head. "No. We're not leaving you," she said, her voice quivering. But he closed his eyes with a final sigh.
Keiko sat for a moment with him. Kimi couldn't bear to be near him. She ran into the woods and sat down on a lone tree stump, crying softly to her heart's content.
When she returned a few hours later, Keiko had been gathering the possessions that were not ruined. She looked up when Kimi exited the woods.
"So what do we do now?" she asked. Kimi paused. "I think we should..." She didn't know how her sister would take her idea. "Well?" "Find Nakago." A moment's pause. "Why?" "He was our real father. And besides, I think we should get even. He is the general of the guards." A sly grin crossed Keiko's face. It was a new thing to her. She was always the more innocent and shy one of the two. She rarely ever did anything worse than stealing food and such from carts.
Kimi was surprised to see her sister's face, but she liked it. They shared the same look of malevolence, and each decided that was what they were going to do.
~*~*~*~*~*
They both decided that it was too painful to bury Amiboshi, so they made a shrine around him. Silently, Kimi made a vow that she would not rest until her father was avenged. Even if that meant death. That evening they set off in search of the capital. Along the way, all Kimi could think about was her mother and imagined what it must have been like for her to go through all the pain of betrayal. But she vowed that it would end here. They walked into the night, each with the same thought: revenge.
~*~*~*~*~*
Liss: Ha ha, Soi's suffering in BOTH worlds: here, and in the story! lol I'm just joking. Please review!