Swallowing the Sun
5th Sunrise: Two Peas in a Pod (Part IV)
Yesterday was my Birthday (September 25) and this was supposed to be posted on that day but whatever, anyway, enjoy!
From the day they went to Italy it wasn't long before Maurizio married Miya.
It only took a month and the two were then officially married, the woman was ecstatic all the way while Ayana and Haruno were both indifferent with the new arrangement, Maurizio doesn't seem too far off in the happiness scale when they vowed together at the eyes of the Lord.
The wedding itself wasn't grand. Only a few friends of Maurizio and Miya, both parents of both parties weren't present, Maurizio because of undisclosed reasons and Miya because both of her parents are long gone.
(Sometimes the woman laments about her loss on one of her drunken bouts, crying and throwing a pitiful party. The twins had long learned to leave her alone during those moments.)
A picture was taken containing the four of them, with both adults smiling at the camera while Haruno stared on with a somber gaze, hand holding his sister's, while said sister also gazed at the camera, a small smile on her lips but her eyes were a different story.
It was a photo of a picture perfect family, but really, it was nothing more but for show as it turns out to be.
And Ayana is proven to be right in her judgement.
(She hates it. She hates that she's right and she hates that she wasn't proven wrong. It didn't even take a year before she was proven right. It just took a week to prove that she's right.)
SMACK!
"Stop crying already you dumb fuck! I told you to be quiet and you what?! You fucking screamed!"
Another hit made it home to Haruno's cheek making him cry out in pain, his arms instinctively covering his head for protection. Ayana seethes, anger fueling her to get up from her slump position, shielding Haruno as much as she can.
Scum.
Piercing eyes roamed Haruno's form, zeroing easily on the large red mark imprinted on the boy's cheek. She curls in further to him, tears pricking at her eyes and threatening to spill. Ayana doesn't let it fall, but she lets it linger, lets herself look pathetic for this scum to appease him. She looks back at the horrid man, face already arrange to show weakness, submissiveness, vulnerability.
She knows what type of man Maurizio is, she had seen his breed before.
He's the type of man who revels in the fear and pain of others that he deems less than himself, revels in power and the fear he invokes on others, but in his truest form is just a filthy coward. A piece of shit that likes to make himself feel better by stepping on others.
(Just like him. Just like the piece of shit that killed her.)
Haruno's eyes continue to spill salty tears, filled with fear and pain. She hates this, she hates it. It's happening all over again.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"
"Speak Italian! We're now in Italy!" A hand smacks soundly to her cheek, the sting familiar on its own way. Ayana doesn't cry out but with the force of the hit, the overflowing tears in her eyes falls.
She lets it fall on her stinging cheek and beneath her, Haruno squirms; good thing she had already covered his mouth or else they would be in more trouble.
"I've had enough of humoring your Japanese asses on my damn house! Didn't Mia already taught you about how to say sorry properly?!"
Biting her lip, she bites down the urge to make a sarcastic reply. It wouldn't help, the man would just get angrier at them for it.
(Apparently, Miya's actual work is as a call center agent for the foreign affairs, she also part-times as an interpreter for tourists, the main reason how Maurizio met her.)
She breathes in and breathes out, Ayana looks through her lashes, gaze cast to the side and with trembling lips she speaks with perfect inflection and softness.
"Mi dispiace, Papa."
The man staggers to the side, the alcohol in his system doing its work.
"Now that's more like it! Easy right?" He whacks her head for good measure, making the huddled duo almost topple over. "Now stay fucking quiet and go to your fucking room. I'm not over with my morning drink yet."
I hope you choke on it and die.
Despite her want to bare her teeth and snarl at the man, she settled for a look of submission. "Yes Papa."
With a sloppy kick, the man hobbled away, leaving the twins to huddle in their small shared room with a slam of the door, Haruno still whimpering on Ayana's hold.
Once the lumbering steps were faraway, Ayana unfolds herself, letting the boy's lips free from her hand yet his hold on her was still strong. Her heart twinge at the sight, her anger at the horrid man growing even more. Haruno's eyes were closed as he trembled in fear, teeth biting his lower lip worryingly, it was a sight that Ayana doesn't want to see again in this life.
With careful fingers, the girl threaded her digits to the boy's sweaty hair, knowing very well that Haruno loves it when she or Madonna does the gesture.
"Hey now Haru, he's gone. You can open your eyes now." She murmured softly, little hands still massaging his head gently.
After a few more seconds, the boy opens his wide seafoam eyes, his thick dark lower lashes sticking to his cheeks from the tears. Ayana wonders if her eyes were just as beautiful as his.
"I'm sorry." He said softly, worry in his eyes as he stared at the large red imprint left on her cheek. "It's my fault." Carefully, he placed a hand on the bruised cheek, Ayana suppresses the urge to hiss.
Looking straight at her brother's concern eyes, she gave a gentle smile, one only reserve to the people she truly cherishes. "It's not your fault Haru. The one to blame here is Maurizio. He's the one that hurt both of us, not you."
"Are you okay?" He asked still looking at the bruise.
"Yeah, so don't worry about it. Wanna see something cool?" Ayana asked redirecting the boy's attention to something else, a smile still plastered on her face.
"What?"
In an instant, Madonna materialized behind the girl with a white glow and touched Ayana's reddened cheek. With wide eyes, Haruno watched his sister's face melt like candle wax before his eyes and almost screamed in alarm if she isn't looking at him with the same smile and eyes that said 'everything is fine'. Before he could even make another sound, her cheek reassembled and became normal. Once done, Madonna removed her hand to reveal flawless smooth skin, devoid of the bruise from earlier.
"Dojyaaan~ See, I'm not hurt anymore." Then Ayana grinned, showing the few gaps between her teeth.
Haruno's eyes remained on her cheek, the worry was replaced with wonder as he cautiously reached out to touch the warm skin.
"It doesn't… hurt anymore? The hurt… disappeared?" Haruno's eyes sparkled with childish wonder, the gloom in them chased away in an instant.
Ayana's eyes were full of warmth as she stared at her other half, smiling as she placed her hand over Haruno's hand on her cheek. "Yes, the hurt disappeared. Now, I'm gonna make yours disappear." Carefully she placed her small hand over Haruno's swollen cheek, a faint white glow encased it as skin slowly liquified and instantly turned back to normal.
She removed her hand to reveal unmarred skin. "Does it still hu—"
"N-No! No, it doesn't!" Haruno placed a careful hand on his cheek, voice lowered down in an almost whisper but still carrying the awed tone, eyes impossibly bright and curious. "Y-You healed me! You can heal Aya, that's amazing, you are amazing!" His hands gestured wildly at his sister.
"B-But how?"
Ayana's seafoam eyes glowed with warmth and delight at her brother's sudden positive energy, behind her was Madonna, elegantly seated at the dirty rag beneath their feet.
"It's all because of Madonna."
"Madonna?" The boy blinked, his gaze transferring towards the quiet spirit guardian. "What?"
Madonna's lips quirked upwards, hand already stretching to reach out to her brother's smooth hair, Ayana's hand tingled.
"As you know Haruno-kun, I am not human."
The boy nodded in agreement.
"Myself and Ayana-chan don't exactly know how but I have this special ability that can turn the things I touch into solid, liquid or gas." Seeing the confusion at Haruno's gaze, Madonna explained. "Haruno-kun, solids are those that have a fixed shape, things that you can touch without them slipping through your fingers like water. Liquids are those that can get you wet, like water, tea and oil. And gases are those we can't see but around us, like the air you humans are breathing in to keep alive."
Madonna's hand stopped its petting motion but remained on the boy's head.
"Do you get what solids, liquids and gases now?"
The boy hesitated for a moment before nodding, Haruno sort of getting what she meant. Slightly stomped, Madonna decided to give a demonstration.
"Haruno-kun, do you remember what I said about gases?"
"Yeah, those are the things we can't see but is around us right? Like the wind?"
A smile graced Ayana's and Madonna's face.
"That's right Haru. You really are smart, aren't you?" Ayana praised her brother, causing the boy to blush. She inwardly squealed at the sight.
"Now, I'm going to turn that gas into something solid. Watch closely okay?" Madonna instructed and gave an approving nod at his clear interest.
The unnatural being, presented her empty hand right in front of the boy. Activating her ability, white light emitted from the hand and never once did Haruno blinked his eyes, but once the glow died down, Madonna is now holding a chunk of ice in her palm.
"Now, I'm going to turn it into liquid." Another glow and water trickled from Madonna's open palm, Haruno's seafoam eyes still filled with wonder. "Do you get it now, little one?"
The boy would have screamed in excitement if it weren't for the earlier happening, so he settled for an enthusiastic nod that shook his dark hair out of place.
Madonna smiled, as maternal to the figure she was named after, letting her hand glow once again and the water in her hand disappeared, changing into water vapor that's always present in the air.
"Haruno-kun, what I've done earlier is not healing, what I did earlier was changing your skin and damage muscles into liquid for a short moment and returning them into their original state, making it seem that I've healed you. Do you get it now little one?"
"Un."
Small kind warm hands scratched the boy's scalp, looking up to see Ayana's eyes glowing with warmth, pride and kindness.
"You don't have to worry now Haru, Madonna and I are gonna use this power to protect you. To protect us. So why don't you smile for us, my smarter twin."
He did just that. Smiling for her. The awful memory of the event from earlier quickly vanishing at the sight of her brother's delight, the trust in those identical looking eyes made her tear up just a little bit.
She smiled in return, hoping to convey her own happiness by simply stretching the fibers of her facial muscle and hugging the boy towards her, carding her fingers through his hair just the way that he likes it.
It is her promise of a lifetime to protect him at all times, one that she vowed when she first reached out her hand towards him as infants. One that Ayana will ensure to keep as long as she lives.
Being held by his sister, feeling her warmth, her fingers through his hair made the bubble of heat in his chest grow even further until it had spread all over his body.
Really, Haruno can't describe how much he loves his sister.
And Haruno believes her every word, never once did his sister lied to him, she's always been honest with him, though he has to disagree on one thing.
He isn't the smarter twin, Ayana is. She's always had been the smarter one. Knowing what something is even though no adult had explained it to her.
It's weird but that makes her all the more amazing in his eyes, his sister who also stands as more of a mother than their actual mother. His sister who has an unseen by most people guardian angel on her side – because what else could Madonna be? His sister is the kindest person he knows (not that he knows a lot of people) and kind people warrants Guardian Angels, or at least that's what he thinks.
Haruno also thinks that Ayana is his Guardian Angel.
And Haruno isn't being bias when he states that his sister could pass off as a Guardian Angel. One, his sister is very, very, very kind. Did he say very kind? No, she's the kindest. And two, his sister looks like one. With her golden curls, beautiful eyes, pink cheeks and warm smile, she looks like one of the paintings of angels he saw on a Museum when Maurizio took them on a trip.
Ayana is a real life Guardian Angel and nothing could convince Haruno otherwise.
So that's why he'll take every praise she gives him with pride.
He means, who wouldn't want to get complimented by an actual angel?
Perhaps the devil. The devil that this new place's beautiful buildings' – where they called churches? They look more like a castle to him – preached about in the lectures, creatures that tempts humans to do bad things, ugly things, creatures that God and angels stood opposite against.
He's not entirely sure about the concept behind what makes the devil but he guesses that the devil advocates doing bad things to humans, the opposite of God and angels.
And his sister, Ayana, is certainly an angel.
An angel that he could get behind complimenting him without it feeling false.
(Ayana had never told him a lie.)
It made him feel special, more special than anyone else to have a guardian angel like her.
A/N: Hey y'all here's just a reminder to always take care of yourselves. I'm still recovering from my relatives passing and I hope I delivered alright despite last month's shit. Love y'all and let me know what you think so far.