Swallowing the Sun
2nd Sunrise: Two Peas in a Pod (Part I)
Emi remembers when Ken was still a baby, still but a tiny needy human. He had always been either sleeping or crying. Ken was a grumpy baby and her Mom had often complained about it back then. She would often say something about how when Emi was a baby, she wasn't that much of a wailer. How she would just cry when she's hungry or had soiled herself.
Now, Emi is putting that into practice, since her twin is doing the greater part of the wailing already. Not that Haruno – that's how the young Japanese woman, their mother, had referred to him in an irritated tone – is always crying, though he's as well-mannered as a baby could ever be.
Just that he often tries to reach towards her and whenever he fails to do so, he would wail endlessly until he was tired out.
It was an odd behavior which she couldn't come to understand until recently.
The two share the same rickety secondhand crib since they aren't really that big, and according to the woman, (who is too lax, too disgruntled and put off with them. There's no way that they were planned.) she won't be spending any more than what they just need because apparently, partying it up with her friends are far more important.
In her words, "I wouldn't be chained to you both just because the two of you exist."
The first few times that Haruno had tried to reach out to her, Emi (or is it Ayana now?) ignored it and was utterly confused. It happened again and again, the infant never giving up and crying at the end when he didn't get what he wanted.
After the nth try, Emi had given in and let it be. She reached out with her tiny pudgy hand to his and he quieted down. She later realizes why he would always try to reach out to her.
She felt whole… the piece of hole that she had been looking for had been beside her all along.
When Emi first woke up to this new world, she often felt a disconnection, something in the back of her mind was niggling at her that there's something she was missing.
Something clearly important.
It would sometimes lead her to confused frustrated tears since she has yet to control her own actions and emotion due to being a tiny needy human being. Baby hormones were hard to control, the impulse to just do this and that were often followed through and the stress that's at the backburner wasn't helping one bit.
But now, holding her brother's soft little hand with her equally small ones she felt reassured, complete and at ease.
Emi had read somewhere before that twins (they were fraternal seeing as that they don't have the same thing down there, but they looked identical that the woman had often mixed their names up. Semi-identical perhaps, studies showed that they do exist) have a strong connection, built by their same journey at growing in the womb and seeing that they were semi-identical, genetically built by the same egg cell and two sperm cell, the two of them would always have an intangible bond from the very start.
It was nice, really nice.
A reassurance that Emi wouldn't have to face this new world all on her own, that she has someone to share it with.
(It seems like I won't stop being a sister, older or otherwise.)
Haruno never came to her as a replacement to her own baby brother from the other life. Ken is Ken and Haruno is a different person. Her mind automatically cataloging that fact just as her Mom is different from this stranger for a mother.
Haruno is her family now, her brother, whether she is a few years older or younger, conceived at the same time, he's under her care from now on.
Emi… no, Ayana gave a comforting squeeze to their joined hands, and slowly Haruno's cries quieted down until he was gurgling cutely. Ayana could just reply with a giggle.
Don't worry Haruno, I'll made sure to take good care of us.
The woman is neglectful.
And it was a good thing that she had thought of leaving them to their middle-aged neighbor who happens to have only one son who is now a fully grown adult.
Ayana thinks that she, Yuuka-san, just took pity on them and just agreed to it. She would have it in her conscience if something does happen to them just because she declined. It would totally fit the woman's maternal personality to help them out.
Yuuka is very patient, always very mindful of feeding them and changing them, which Miya (their mother) wasn't very keen on doing whenever she feels like taking 'care' of Haruno and Ayana.
Unfortunately at this moment, Yuuka wouldn't be able to attend to the twins at this time, she's currently on her three month vacation with her son.
Ayana's first thought after hearing the news was, we will starve to death and also, who's going to clean us up now?
And she wasn't wrong on that assessment.
(God, she wishes that she was.)
It's only been a few days – perhaps three – since their caretaker left. And it hasn't been a full week, yet they were already starving. Don't get her started with their current hygiene it's… it's a serious health hazard and she could already tell that there are rashes starting to grow in her rump and there's this mounting frustration that is starting to consume her. Haruno hasn't stop crying for the past thirty minutes and it's doing a great job of giving her a headache.
This is a disaster.
Why can't their other neighbors take them in? Did Miya even thought of asking the others? Did their health even cross that woman's mind?
What do I do? What do I do? We might actually die by the end of this week!
Ayana would be lying if she felt disappointed at this life's mother. She doesn't hate her per say, Ayana is indifferent when it comes to her at the moment, but it's just not her who needs caring for. There's two of them and at this point of their lives, three months old, they both need special attention. The two of them are still very vulnerable to anything that even by just having a fever could kill them.
It's not just Ayana's health that is on the line but also Haruno's.
It frustrates her to no end at knowing her helplessness, to remotely know that she wouldn't be able to do anything to stop the two of them from having early health problems, malnourishment and the likes. Crying as loud as they can wouldn't get them anything, only tiring them both out.
She needs to do something.
But how?
The only thing she's good at, at her current state is crying and screeching, that's the only thing she's capable of.
At this point, Ayana misses Emi's tall stature, her calloused hands from all the time of practicing the guitar and the violin, she misses Emi's capability of controlling her own bodily functions and most importantly, she misses Emi's independence of taking actions.
The whole time this goes on and on in her head, but instead of losing hope it only strengthened her will, her want for ensuring both of their survival. Her resolve. It continued to build up until something clicked inside of Ayana's being.
A flash of white and then she was suddenly at two places at the same time.
It, no, she (from her body shape alone, her curviness was giving it away) loomed over them, surprisingly not casting any shadows over them despite it being nighttime in fact, she glowed, giving off white light and illuminating the dark messy apartment. Ayana can't see the glowing lady's eyes behind the veil that somehow casted shadows onto the woman's face despite her glowing self, but Ayana could feel the figures eyes, staring at them with focus and attention.
The glowing woman feels ethereal in every sense, the unnatural beauty she held despite the casted shadows on her eyes are very undeniable. Gold lines ran over her cheeks like tear tracks all the way to her neck that met at her collar bones. Her shapely bluish lips were drawn in a mysterious smile as if she knows something that Ayana doesn't, below it, on her chin was a blue tattooed heart. Long wavy pale blonde hair fell down her back is held by her long white veil that becomes more translucent and sparkly as it goes down, blowing at the nonexistent breeze. Ayana isn't able to see how long it was because of her limited point of view, but the hem of it was designed with interchanging black and gold crosses, a symbol that is very prominent in her overall outfit. A creamy white long-sleeved off shoulder dress clads the woman's curvaceous body. The long sleeves were designed like wings going inwards her shoulders with the insides of the sleeves cut off to show her pale glowing skin with running gold lines. Below her chest, crisscrossing black and gold ribbons (with white cross designs in them) met at her hips, disappearing to the loose brown leather belt that has a golden embellished cross as a buckle. Her skirt was really strange, made entirely of silver ribbons with black crosses along its length. Because of the way that she's standing, one pale blue leg peaks out with non-discernible gold Hebrew scriptures. And yes, Ayana is sure that it is Hebrew, her knowledge of different languages from around the world coming in handy. Her Mom, a professor and a sometimes tutor, had taught Emi most of what she knows, had shared the love for learning different cultures with her since she was very young.
(Emi was supposed to follow her mother's footsteps, a professor in the linguistic arts. The dream that's now flushed down the drain because of circumstances. But maybe on this life she can make it come true.)
Is she an angel or a God?
Given the woman's ethereal appearance and the theme of her clothes, it was a reasonable conclusion. The woman gives the aura of serenity and calmness that even Haruno, who had been crying for a while, quieted down when she simply touched his cheek and hummed. Printed on the back of that hand (the right) were golden words that read in Hebrew as 'DAUGHTER OF GOD' another clue that's pushing the idea that this woman is some sort of Goddess.
She's not going to harm us is she?
"You don't have to worry," Ayana stiffened when the melodic voice addressed her or she thought is addressing her, Haruno's bewildered cry makes her conclude that he can also see her.
She chuckled, amused. "I am not here to harm both of you nor am I a Goddess or an angel. I am simply here because you asked me to."
What? That doesn't make any sense. And how is she hearing my thoughts? What is she even really?
Before Ayana can even gurgle anything, the familiar texture of a teat brushed her lips and giving in to her instincts, she started to suckle, her hunger presenting itself. Beside her, Ayana could hear Haruno's satisfied grunts.
The still unknown woman held the bottles in place, their baby selves still unable to do the action for themselves. "Even I myself don't know what I am, for I only know what you know."
What?
"Exactly, that's because I am you or a part of you." Huh? She took the bottle once they were finished. Drowsiness introducing itself once the hunger was solved. Ayana gave a yawn that had her twin echoing it.
"Please don't sleep just yet." She said softly, lifting Haruno up from the crib. Strangely, the baby was not even bothered by the unknown being who was carrying him, looking entirely peaceful with the arrangement.
The image of the Virgin Mary caring for her son popped in Ayana's mind, it fits for some unknown reason, her long veil and maternal aspects just giving her the vision of Madonna herself caring for her own child.
Ayana tried her best not to close her eyes just yet, making sure that the being would by no means attack or drop her brother.
(Even if she's entirely powerless if the woman does attack, Ayana swears to find a way despite the odds.)
But to her surprise, the ethereal woman placed Haruno on her shoulder and started patting his back making him burp. Carefully, she settles him back down beside Ayana and proceeds to pick Ayana up and repeats the action.
That was new.
Their stranger for a mother would often forget about burping them, leaving them in a mess afterwards leading to some irritated taps from the woman.
It was strange. But a good kind of strange.
After being settled down, despite her want to stay awake and question the woman. The crying from earlier had tired her out and her settled stomach made fighting sleep an uneasy battle.
"Sleep now child, you can question me later." She whispered softly and started singing a soft lullaby.
A very familiar lullaby.
How does she… how does she know that song?
That was the last of Ayana's thoughts before she gave in to the call of sleep.
Death is a strange concept. It's a thing that looms over you no matter what. There's an end to all things and that is death. A concept that everyone tried to guess what it entails to. Heaven. Hell. Nirvana.
But no one was able to tell how it was really. Just a bunch of convoluted hypotheses because no one had ever come back from the dead and walk to tell the tale.
(Well, except for Jesus.)
If death is strange, whatever could be said about reincarnation?
It's stranger. Stranger than death, what are the odds that you'd get reincarnated with your memories intact?
Very slim. Very, very slim.
Yet Ayana managed to do just that. The slimmest of all the slimmest chance. It's a blessing and a curse. A blessing in a way that she's not entirely ignorant. Wiser and knowledgeable.
(You can't break something when it's already broken. Maybe just shatter it into a bajillion pieces and put it inside the mightiest of grinders, then maybe it can be done. But that's the point, she already knew how it was broken and the many ways it can be broken. She'll know what to look out for.)
It's a curse for sometimes… sometimes, she had dreams, she had nightmares or sometimes she sees something that wasn't there. Waiting for a familiar voice to come and call her for dinner. Wondering why Ken wasn't grumpily stomping to her doorstep to convince her to go outside.
("Come down Emi! Dinner's ready! Get your ass out of that piano stool or I swear to God I would find a way to throw away that old thing!")
If she's without her memories she would have been more optimistic, simple and ignorant. Like the baby that she was supposed to be.
I will take care of us if she won't.
Haruno continued to cry beside her, hungry and soiled. Their mother, no, Miya is out with her friends yet again and won't be back 'till morning. It was frustrating. What happened last night was a mystery, it couldn't have happened didn't it? That a glowing goddess-looking woman suddenly appeared and fed them.
It couldn't have happened. It must have been a dream, a hallucination born from hunger and desperation to be comforted.
"It seems like I would be doing this regularly now." A melodious voice suddenly spoke, cutting off both of their wailing.
What? It can't be. This must be another dream.
"I assure you," The woman said, a smudge of amusement tilting at her pale blue lips. "This is very much not a dream."
Beside her, Haruno giggles.
Ayana just stared blankly.
The woman started changing them with quick efficiency and in no time have them both changed. Ayana's brain has yet to start working, unable to compute that last night's surreal dream is actually a reality.
After all, when humans are placed with the impossible, they rationalize it. Try to make sense and hope that it doesn't break their reality.
It took Ayana five minutes of staring at nothing – but what to her brain felt like agonizing hours – before she dealt with it and accepted it.
She died. Been reincarnated and now a baby once again with a twin brother. Who's to say she was reincarnated in an entirely different universe and in that universe, what's happening to her is that universe's reality.
And if it wasn't, Ayana's open minded enough and adaptable enough to accept it and roll with it.
"Here you go little ones." The woman offered them their bottles, nudging it to their lips before they started to instinctively suckle on the teat.
So, it wasn't a dream or a hallucination. The woman turned baby stared intently at the woman's face. More questions rather than answers popping in her mind, mostly concerning the what and the how but most importantly…
W-who are you?
A/N: Did y'all expect that?
Tbh this story is inspired by another story it's called Across the sea of space and time done by KorvaCthonic, you guys should check it out, there's a whole canon divergence going on in there with an OC who knows the whole story.
But of course I've only taken the inspiration of Giorno having a twin but that's about it, I have a whole different plan for Ayana here who doesn't know wtf is going on and has no knowledge of future events.
She's completely going in blind so to speak. But anywho, thank you for supporting and reading this so far and I'll try to keep the chapters all short compared to my other fics which takes me really long to update. Let me know what you guys think so far in the reviews.
Take care everyone and see you next chapter~