Crimso's Notes:
Okay, so at the time of writing this, chapter twelve has not been uploaded. Why? …I actually don't know. I just want to get a head start on this chapter before I go ahead and upload the next, and I think it would be better to give you a little gap between chapters. Better to have them spread out than all at once, I suppose.
One: I'm going to try to pick up the pace, while at the same time figure out where I'm going. I think I'm less busy than I say I am. …Sometimes, I just have other non-important things to do, which are actually kind of important… I actually think it may be better for me just to slow down while I figure things out.
Two: This chapter is freaking important.
Three: Get ready for the turning point in BFB.
~~~~X~~~~
Chapter 13: A New Life
It was after school the day after Keiichi had resolved to save the twins, and Keiichi had found himself walking behind Takeru as they headed to the great Sonozaki Manor. Keiichi was now considered a frequent visitor there, though he had to admit that the only reason he really went was to check up on Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight, and not to be with Takeru. He felt bad, but he had Takeru to talk to at school along with everyone else. And besides, today was the day he was going to launch his plan, a plan that he had spent all night thinking up of.
"Are you sure it's okay for you to come, even though you'll have to leave before my work is done?" Takeru asked him as he walked along the dusty paths of Onigafuchi. "We usually get to spend some time together after my training has ended. Now, you're saying you have to go home before then. We'll only get to spend a bit of time together."
Keiichi shrugged. "As I said before, it doesn't matter. Your house is ten times cooler than my old house. I mean, you have a freaking forest as a garden as well as a mansion that might as well house thirty people!" he cried out as he followed his best friend down the path. "Besides, I think it would be more fun than waiting around to do work for my parents. They said to be home by five from their trip, which I can manage."
"Well, I can see your point there. I'm supposing you'll just talk to my parents," he replied. "Do you really like them all that much? I think it's boring to be around my parents. Not that I dislike them. It's just that… they're my parents."
Keiichi raised an eyebrow. "I can see where you're coming from. But your parents love you," he told him. "They're really happy to have you, after all, after what happened with their previous children…"
Takeru stiffened, and it was clear to Keiichi that the subject of his sisters was one that made him feel uncomfortable. Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight had told him that Takeru had been down there several times and had seen them. It was possible that he just didn't know that they were his sisters, but really, that seemed unlikely. They were identical twins with green hair and green eyes very close to their mother's, and they resembled her quite a bit. Green hair was something only the Sonozaki family had. It would be too obvious to anyone if they saw them that they were the twins who were supposed to be dead.
"Ah, I'm sorry," he replied. "It must be terrible, knowing that you had two older siblings that died."
Takeru nodded robotically. "I suppose so. Though please, it would be better if you didn't talk about my dead sist-… siblings. They're dead now," he responded.
Unfortunately for Takeru, Keiichi caught his little slip up there. Akane had told him that she didn't know the gender of her twins as they were taken from her before she even got to see them once, so Takeru shouldn't know that the twins were female. It just added on to the evidence that he knew who the twins were, and just wasn't telling anyone about it. He wondered why he would do that, but when he thought back to why he decided not to tell Akane about them, he understood. Akane might be horrified to find out that her young twins were turned into ferocious demons and might be infuriated when she found out they had been suffering all their lives.
He pretended he didn't hear that, however, and moved on. "Oh, sorry again. I won't mention your twin si… blings again," he spoke. He too had almost called them his sisters, but he was able to catch himself before he finished his word, thankfully.
"Thank you," replied Takeru.
The two friends reached the gate of the Sonozaki Manor, and soon reached the manor itself. When they got inside, both of them instantly walked towards Takeru's room, and Keiichi automatically assumed that it was going to be as messy as the last time he went. There was always the chance that he decided to pick up a little bit after he had left the other day, and Keiichi wondered if Takeru actually decided to do so. He didn't seem like the type to be so lazy that he wouldn't bother picking anything up after a long while, after all.
Unfortunately, Keiichi was proved wrong as he once again saw that Takeru's room was a complete and utter mess. He sighed, wondering why his mother didn't scold him for not picking up a thing. "Takeru, have you ever considered cleaning the place up?" he asked him in a joking manner, so that he wouldn't offend his friend with his words.
Takeru grinned at him. "I picked up last night. But then it got ruined again this morning," he told him.
That statement made Keiichi wonder just what he had been doing in the morning, and how it was possible to once again make such a mess. His friends were so strange at times. "Ah well, I think you should try again, and actually make an effort to make it stay clean. You know, like most people do," he suggested.
He shrugged. "Maybe someday. But I don't want to talk about boring things like cleaning up. Let's talk about something fun."
The two boys sat down on top of Takeru's futon, away from the piles of paper and homework that was thrown about. Keiichi could see the homework assignment that he was supposed to turn into that day on the floor, which he had told his teacher that he couldn't find. His nightwear from the night before had been tossed into a corner of the room carelessly, and the clothing drawers of his dresser were all the way pulled out with clothing inside, clothing that he had cleaned up from the floor before. Unfortunately, the clothing wasn't folded and everything was a complete mess. It seemed to him that he had just tossed it in without bothering to do so.
Keiichi sighed, trying to ignore it. "Like what?"
Takeru grinned. "Like girls. Now there's an interesting topic!" he declared loudly. "Did you hear the pick-up line I used on Rena the other day? I think it was genius!"
Keiichi narrowed his eyes. "You mean the cheesy one that you got out of some horribly written romance manga?" he asked him.
Takeru grinned nervously. "Of course. But it works better when I use it, you see, because I'm a handsome dude, unlike that guy." He then narrowed his eyes at Keiichi, observing him closely. "Hey, I think it would work if you used it to. Got a girl that you have your eyes on?"
"There aren't any other girls here aside from Rena, and you know that I'm leaving her for you," he responded. Having a crush on the girl his best friend liked wasn't a very good idea. He had read many books where such a thing happened, and it never ended well. Besides, Rena didn't really seem to be his type, anyways. "So no, I don't have a girl that I like…"
"How about Satoko? Or Rika?" he suggested. When Keiichi shot him a look of horrification for suggesting that he was some kind of pedophile, Takeru just laughed. "Oh, don't be that way. They can still be beautiful to some people even if they're little kids."
Keiichi looked horrified. "They're cute girls, but that's because they're… what, nine? I wouldn't ever date a nine-year-old girl!" he protested.
Takeru laughed at him. "Oh, well some people like little girls. I guess not you, then," he replied.
"Those some people being creepers and pedophiles," Keiichi reminded the boy.
Once again, Takeru broke out into a fit of laughter. "Oh, I know, I know. I was just teasing you, Keiichi!" he replied, a friendly smile on his face as he finished laughing. "I don't think that you would be the type of person to date a little girl. I don't think there's anyone like that in Onigafuchi, and I sure hope that would be the case."
Keiichi decided to smile back at him. He sure was glad that it was joke, because otherwise, he would be wondering if there was some part of him that made him seem like a pedophile. Had he done something to give off that impression in the past? If anything, Keiichi wanted to find a nice girl around his age. He wasn't sure what type of girl he would like to date, but he knew that he would find out once he found the one. Sure, there weren't any teenage girls aside from Rena, but it was possible that he could meet some.
Well, there was Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight, but they weren't exactly human. Even though he believed that they should be treated as such, it might be a little weird to a human like him to date a demon. He hated thinking that way, though. He realized it made him sound no different from the people who fed demons once every month and trapped them in cages all their lives, so he decided to forget about the idea all together.
On the topic of Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight, Keiichi was now wondering where Takeru kept that second key. Sure, the key to the basement was in the same drawer the whole time, but where in the world did he keep the key to Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight's cell? Judging by the fact that the key to the basement itself was in his room, he could assume that the key to the cell where the two twin demons were kept were in the very same room. It would be a challenge to find it through all the stuff that was thrown about the floor, but he had to do it. He couldn't turn back now that he had already made up his mind and planned everything out.
He wondered if they were sleeping together, curdled up next to each other like usual, in order to feel that warmth. He was sure that they were referring to the feeling they got, and not the room temperature. Also, he had figured out that that warm feeling was a feeling of love for each other. They had been together since birth, enduring pains that they had always received together. They both had a strong attachment to each other, but they couldn't understand the feeling that was binding them together. They just thought it was some kind of warm feeling, and that was it.
But today would be the day the first step was taken into changing them. He didn't know if it was possible to turn them into a human again, but he knew that he could at least teach them what it was like to be human. And today, he had decided on exactly what he would do for them. Every thing was already set in stone. He just had to wait for Takeru to go off for his training.
"My grandmother expects a lot of me sometimes," Takeru sighed. "I'm only fifteen. I feel like I have a lot of pressure on me sometimes."
Keiichi could understand where the boy was coming from. Being the heir of a huge family like the Sonozaki family could certainly put a lot of pressure on someone. He felt bad for him. He would never want to be the heir to a huge, messed up family that had strange traditions like killing twins at birth. If he were in any family but one of the three great ones, he would be wandering about Onigafuchi happy, following his two older sisters as they too explored the outside world.
"It must be tough. I'm sorry," was all he could say.
Takeru nodded. "Today, my grandmother is going to lecture me about controlling the money and all that stuff. How fun," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Really, it's not fun at all. I don't want to be the head of this family if it involves crap like money and economics. I'd much rather be the head for the title of it, you know? I'll go down in history books and all that!"
Keiichi laughed at him. "That's the good part, I suppose."
Takeru nodded. "That's the good part." He suddenly paused and turned his head to the clock. "Darn it, I have to go now. It was nice talking to you, and I suppose we won't be able to talk to each other again until tomorrow because of the things your dad wants you to come home for."
"Unfortunately, yeah," Keiichi replied. "So I suppose I'll see you tomorrow at school?"
"Right. Tomorrow at school," he said. "Well, I should be going now. See ya!" Takeru then got up from the futon and began to make his way towards the sliding door.
"Wait!" Keiichi called to him before he could walk out.
He turned around. "Yes?"
"Where are your parents right now? Are they in the same room as before?" he asked him, thinking back to the time where he had first met them and how they had the conversation about the twins, who were supposedly dead.
"Same room as where you first met them. It's the third room on the left when you go down the hallway. My dad isn't here today, but my mom is. Yasuo is out in town picking up a few things right now, so it'll just be her today," he explained to him.
Keiichi felt relief when he mentioned that Yasuo wasn't there. He may get suspicious of what he was about to do if he were there. "Thank you. Bye, Takeru!"
"Yeah, bye!"
He walked out of the sliding door, and closed it behind him. Keiichi sat there on the futon for a little bit, waiting for the boy's footsteps to disappear before he went to see his mom. It would be fine if just Akane were there to talk to today. She was the only person Keiichi needed to see at the moment. When his footsteps disappeared, Keiichi got up from the futon and walked towards the dresser. He instantly knew where the key to the basement was, but that wasn't the problem.
He pocketed the basement key and began frantically searching through his things for another key. There were so many papers within the dressers. He had to wonder how much paper he had with the ones in the dresser combined with the many sheets that were now scattered about the floor. With a sigh, he closed the drawer. The key wasn't in that one. He opened up another drawer and went through the many objects within. There were things like old toys in there that Takeru hadn't bothered to get rid of, but as Keiichi found, there was no key. He opened up the next one only to discover that that one contained no key either, and then proceeded to find out the same about the next one.
He sighed when he finished all the drawers, not finding a key in any of them. He began to go through the things on the floor, moving around the papers and other random items that were scattered about. He lifted up papers to look underneath them, only to find nothing. He looked in the many folders that he had on the ground, and even in his backpack, but there was still no key. He began to grow very frustrated. He couldn't give up here, when he had already brought everything he needed for the successful escape! Growling, he began to look through the pile of clothing Takeru had been wearing from the night before, wondering if it was anywhere in there. It wasn't there, either.
In frustration, Keiichi fell backwards onto Takeru's futon, grumbling a few words to himself. He had come all the way here only to find out that the key was lost. Perhaps Takeru or Yasuo knew where it was, but Keiichi hadn't the slightest clue. Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight were just going to have to wait, then. He shook his head when he thought of that. He couldn't let them suffer any longer! He had promised himself he would free them from what horrors they had been subjected to their entire lives. Now, he was just giving up! He wanted to go on, to find the key, but he just couldn't! In frustration, he punched the ground with his fist, his teeth gritted together.
And that's when he felt his fist come into contact with something underneath the futon. Curious, Keiichi lifted it up. And surely enough, underneath the futon was a shiny, silver key with the words "CELL #18" written on it. His whole body filled with joy and relief the moment he saw it, and in a matter of seconds, he had already snatched it up and pocketed it. He wasn't sure if the demons' cell was number eighteen, but that didn't matter. Why would he have the key to an empty cell just sitting there, anyways? It had to belong to Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight. It just had to.
With the two keys in his pocket, he grabbed his backpack and then he walked out of the room, shutting the sliding door behind him. He wore a grin on his face, knowing that he could go on with his plan. Of course, he also knew that the search for the key was just the beginning. It would be tricky getting Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight across the garden, especially when the two of them would be spending a lot of their time looking around it. The sight of it would intrigue them.
He came to the third room on the left, and he slid open the sliding door. It was the meeting room, and apparently Akane was in there. When the door opened, the green-haired woman who was inside instantly whipped around to see who it was, and she smiled when she recognized the brown-haired boy in front of her. "Ah, Keiichi. Have you come to see Takeru?"
Keiichi nodded. "Yeah, but he's at work now," he replied. "…May I talk with you?"
"Of course," she spoke. "Come sit down."
He did as she said and sat down across from her at the table. Akane was sipping hot tea, and it looked as if it had just been made. She placed it down on the table after taking a small sip and then focused her attention on the boy in front of her. "How's my son been doing at school? He doesn't tend to tell me very much."
"Ah, Takeru is fine," Keiichi responded, deciding to start up a little conversation before moving on to asking the question he needed to ask her. It would seem too strange otherwise. Besides, the topic of Takeru could lead to the topic of her two previous children. "You know how that guy is. He's always fooling around and all that, but we like him for it. He's nice to be around."
Akane smiled. "I'm glad. I was afraid that he was depressed or something and was trying to hide it from me. You know how you guys can be sometimes. I'm sure you hide things like that from your parents," she replied before taking another sip of her tea.
Keiichi stiffened as he thought of the memory of the model gun. A topic like that had brought back the memory from him. He hadn't told his parents about his suffering, and that was what led to him doing such a terrible thing. "Ah, yeah," he said, trying to shake the memory out of his head. "But nothing's wrong with him at all, so you shouldn't worry about a thing. He's still good old Takeru."
"Haha, Takeru hasn't changed much since he was a kid. He was such a cute little boy back then. He was always getting into trouble because he was so curious." She looked down into her cup of tea, remembering events of the past. "There was this time where one servant went down to check on the demons and he accidently left the door unlocked. Of course, little Takeru took it as an opportunity to go and explore."
"And I suppose he didn't like it very much down there. It must have been a little scary for him," he commented.
Akane shook her head. "He tried to help out… but he got into trouble with two of the demons, said one of the servants," she answered. "He was trying to play some game with them, and they apparently didn't take it too well. One of the servants said that it looked like he was teasing them. In any case, one of the demons got so mad that she scratched him really hard, right down his chest."
Keiichi winced. Demons claws were really sharp. It must have really hurt. "That sounds really painful," he commented, not sure of what else to say.
Akane sighed and nodded. "They took him up to me instantly, and he wouldn't stop crying. He kept insisting that he was only trying to play with him… but…" she swirled her cup of tea in her hand. "The servants said that it looked like the demons took offense to what he was doing. He still has a scar from it, too."
He had to wonder what Takeru had been trying to do with the demons. Was he just trying to play with them, or was he really trying to tease them? "Well, I don't think he's like that anymore. He doesn't go around doing such things," he joked. "But seriously, I think that you should tell him to go and clean his room."
As soon as the topic came up, Akane rubbed her temples. "I told him to clean up last night, which he did, but he managed to get it all messy again this morning. I don't know how he manages to do it, but I don't think that he really cares."
"I guess guys like me can be like that sometimes. I try to clean up as best as I can, sometimes," commented Keiichi.
"Sometimes, I wish I had a daughter," she murmured. "I mean, I love Takeru, but I think it would be better if he was born a girl. He's so much work sometimes that… argh." She paused. "Please don't tell him I said such a thing. I really do like him, and I've gotten used to having a son like him."
"I won't," he replied. Then, he said nothing for a little bit. He decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to ask his question and move on from the topic of Takeru. She was speaking of a similar subject, so it wouldn't be strange if he changed it now. "Uh… speaking of children… about the twins you had…"
She stiffened. "Yeah, what about my little ones?"
His heart broke when she called the twins her little ones. She still was attached to those two, even if she had never met them or seen them at all. "…I know this is going to be a painful and strange question, but… ahaha, I'm curious…"
"Ah, that's okay, go ahead and ask," she replied, though it was clear that the subject of the twins was a hard one for her. The idea of them still broke her heart. He couldn't imagine how terrible it would be for a mother to lose her child, and even worse, both of her children. She looked as if she was trying to hold back painful memories.
Keiichi felt bad for bring up such a topic, but it needed to be done. "…When you were still pregnant, did you… um… think of names for them? Just in case they ever lived."
Akane instantly nodded. "Of course I did. I was hoping that I would be able to protect my babies after they were born, but I failed and they were taken away from me. I actually planned out what I'd do and all that," she answered. She was looking down at the table, and it looked as if she was struggling with her emotions. "Of course, I never found out if they were boys or girls, or a boy and a girl. I never learned if they were fraternal twins or if they were even identical. I had a lot of names planned."
"Uh…" Keiichi was trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to without it sounding strange. "…Okay, so let's say that the twins you gave birth to were both girls, and that they were identical twins. What would you name them in that case?"
Akane was still looking down at the table, and she didn't answer for a little bit. "…If they were identical twin girls, I had my heart set on the names Mion and Shion. I would name the older one Mion, and the younger one Shion." She let out another sigh. "I would love to have little identical twin girls. It would be just so adorable. They would be so precious and sweet…" She placed a single finger on the table and began to trace the characters for their names out, and Keiichi watched her do so carefully. "You'd write their names like this, you see?"
Mion and Shion. Those were the true names of Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight. Those were the names they were supposed to have. Hearing Akane speak of the idea of identical twin girls broke his heart, especially since she really did have two identical twin girls that were both alive. At that moment, he really wanted to spill out the truth to her, to tell her that both of her little girls were still alive, but he just couldn't.
"Those are beautiful names," he commented.
Akane nodded. "Aren't they? I spent forever coming up with them. I think they're lovely names for little identical twin girls. Of course, my babies may have not been twin girls or identical. They could have been identical boys or fraternal girls, but I really had my heart set on those two names. I was hoping that I would give birth to little twin girls… but I guess it didn't matter in the end, huh? Because I couldn't save them…"
Keiichi clenched his fists. Hearing her talking only strengthened his resolve to give Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight the rights they deserved. Perhaps one day he would introduce them to Akane. How would she feel, then? Would she be scared of them, or would she be hurt to know that the Sonozaki family had taken away her children, only to turn them into demons instead of just allowing her to have them?
Don't worry, Keiichi thought to himself, I'm going to save your little girls…
"I'm sorry for bringing it up," Keiichi told her.
She wiped her eyes, which were beginning to well up with tears. "Don't worry about a thing. It's completely fine," she replied. "Besides, I'm really happy with Takeru now, even if he's such a teenage boy at times. …After I had the twins, I didn't want to have another child ever again. It was just too painful. But since there was no one else to lead the Sonozaki family after my mother, I had no choice. I'm glad I decided to have him."
He could understand why she wouldn't want to have another child. The idea of having another child after losing two seemed tough. "Takeru is a good guy, and he's a great friend. I'm glad that you had him, too. I don't think that things would be right without him in our group of friends."
Akane smiled. "I'm glad you feel that way about my son…"
Keiichi looked to the clock on the side of the room. He didn't want to leave the conversation at such an awkward place, but he had to be home before his parents came home and he needed to grab the twins before anything else, as that was the reason why he had come to the Sonozaki Manor in the first place. "I'm sorry, but I have to be going now or my parents will be upset," he lied to her. In truth, he didn't need to be there for another hour or so, but he had to get running if he were to sneak the twins out and be home before the time his parents came back. He didn't actually have anything to do; he just didn't want his parents to see the twins. "But thank you for talking with me."
"You're welcome. And thank you for talking to me, too. I feel glad knowing that my son is fine, and I like to know what people think about him," she said before taking another sip of her tea, which she hadn't done since she started speaking about her twins. "Farewell, Maebara Keiichi, and I really do hope you stop by again. My son enjoys your presence."
Keiichi smiled at her. "No problem, and you're welcome. Good bye," he said before he opened the sliding door and left. Now that he had the information he needed, he could move onwards with his plan. He clutched his backpack and placed a hand over his pocket containing the two keys he needed. Now was when the real part of the plan started, the part of the plan that would be much, much trickier than the previous parts.
He walked out of the Sonozaki Manor and across the garden, reaching the forest. He quickly opened up the steel doors when he got there, knowing that it would be the last time he had to do so. The twins would be free after this. He walked down the steps until he got to the wooden door, which he then opened without a problem. The twins said that they had used to guard that door, and that was the furthest they had been away from their cell.
Today, that's going to change. Right here, and right now.
He couldn't wait any longer. He dashed through the rows of cells, wanting to tell the demons the news instantly. The moment that he got there, he would rip open the cage and set them both free. Of course, there was a lot more to that, like getting them out of the garden without being spotted, and then sneaking them into his house, but right now he had other things on his mind. Eventually, the boy came to the cell, only to find that both twins were still asleep, cuddling together as usual
Keiichi didn't hesitate. He took out the second key and stuck it in the lock. A sigh of relief was let out when he found that it fit in perfectly, and he twisted the key. A large clicking sound was heard as the door unlocked, followed by the creaking of the door as it was pulled right open.
One of the demons opened up her eyes, thinking nothing of the sound. But as soon as she spotted the boy there, standing in front of the open cage with a grin on his face, she shot up.
"Kei-chan?" Number Twenty-Seven said, her voice filled with shock. "What are you doing…?"
He gave her a grin. "Wake your sister up. We're getting the hell out of here, all three of us!"
"H-Huh?" was all she could say.
"You heard me right! We're all leaving this place, forever!" he told her once again.
Number Twenty-Seven's eyes went wide. As quickly as she could, she shook her sister awake, who grumbled. She clearly didn't like the idea of being woken up. She blinked her eyes open, gazing at her sister with clear exhaustion. "What is it, sis? Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked her, seeing the shock and excitement in her twin's identical eyes.
She pointed to the open gate. Number Twenty-Eight followed her sister's finger until her gaze rested on the open door and the boy, and her eyes instantly shot open, not showing a sign of the exhaustion there was before.
"What's going on? !" she cried out.
"You guys are getting out of here!" he told them both. "I'm taking you both to my house, where you won't have orders and all that stuff! I'm freeing you!"
They both looked at him in disbelief. Were they really going to leave the cursed place that they had been bound to their entire lives? They looked at each other, not sure what to say.
"It's fine, no one like Yasuo is here to stop you. Now get out of the cell!" he told them both.
As soon as they said that, both of the twins scrambled out of their cell as fast as they could. They stood before Keiichi, finally being able to see him and talk to him without having those annoying bars in the way. Keiichi closed the door and locked it, sticking the key in his pocket with great speed. "Okay guys, sit down for a moment. We'll get out as soon as this is done."
They both looked confused, but they obeyed and sat down on the ground.
Keiichi threw his backpack on the ground and began to take out some of its contents. There was a piece of paper, a pen, and some tape. There were a few other things he had brought, but he kept those inside of it for now. The two demons stared at the materials, puzzled by them.
The boy ripped a small streak of paper off, and then another one about the same size. He cut off four strands of tape, and attached them to the dispenser for now. He brought his materials closer to the demons and sat right in front of Number Twenty-Seven, who was now trying to figure out what in the world her friend was planning to do with the things he brought. She couldn't make any sense of it at all.
Keiichi held up a strand of paper over the spot her number was engraved in, and then taped it over it. He took out his pen and slowly began to write on that piece of paper as he talked. "You know, I was speaking with your mother just a little bit ago. Yeah, you guys have a mother, just like I said before," he told her gently. "She said she always wanted a pair of identical twin girls like you. I feel so bad."
They said nothing.
"And she also told me something interesting," he said as he continued to write. Then, he capped the pen and moved towards Number Twenty-Eight and began to do the same exact thing to her. "Well, rather I asked her for some information and she gave me something interesting, but it's the same thing, right?" He finished whatever he was doing to Number Twenty-Eight's collar and capped the pen once again, throwing it back into his backpack along with the tape and the piece of paper.
He stood back and admired what he had done to their collars. It looked a little messy, but who cared? "There, all done! It's all perfect now."
The demons looked down at their collars, trying to read what had been placed on it.
"Do you like it?" Keiichi asked them both as they read what he had written on them. "You see, those are your names. You know, your real names. Not Number Twenty-Seven or Number Twenty-Eight or any of that. They're real, genuine human names. And they are your names," he explained to them both. "The interesting information was that mother told me what she would have named you, and those names are now written on your collars."
He turned to Number Twenty-Seven and pointed at her. "Number Twenty-Seven! From now on, you won't be Number Twenty-Seven anymore! Your name is Mion!" Then, he switched over to Number Twenty-Eight and pointed at her. "Number Twenty-Eight! From now on, you won't be Number Twenty-Eight anymore! Your name is Shion!"
Both twins looked at their names in wonder.
"Those are the names your mother wanted to give you, and judging by the fact that Mion had a lower number than Shion, I figured that she was older," he explained to them as the two of them admired what Keiichi had done to their collars. They both looked a little confused, but they didn't protest. They were too interested in what was written on their collars to even comment.
"Mion, Shion! Let's get out of here!" he told them both.
Neither of them moved.
"That's you guys! You're Mion and Shion now, not Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight!" he explained to them once again. "Do you not understand?"
"No," whispered the demon previously known as Number Twenty-Seven.
He paused for a moment. "Huh?"
"No," she repeated, touching the name that was now written on her collar. "I understand. It's just so… incredible… to have a name."
"Mion," he whispered. He could see clear happiness in her eyes, and it pained him to know that she didn't recognize that happiness. He allowed both of the twins to look at their names for a little bit more before he cleared his throat. "All right guys, we're going to move out now! Don't you want to see what the outside looks like?" he asked both of them, causing them to both turn their vision away from their collars and at him.
"Hold on one moment," the demon who had been Number Twenty-Eight before said, causing confusion to grow in Keiichi. She ran over to another room that was connected to the demon storage area, and disappeared in there for a little while. She then came out, carrying two rather heavy sheathed katanas. She attached one to her back, and then handed the other to her sister.
"Just in case," she told the confused boy.
He blinked at them. Well, it made sense to want to have a katana with them, he supposed. "Well, with that done, do you think that we're ready to go?"
They both looked up at him with large grins on their faces, full with determination.
That was enough for Keiichi to know that they would be coming with him. He gestured for them to follow him as he walked down the rows of empty cells. There were now no more demons inhabiting the Sonozaki Basement. Sure, they would be surprised when they found out about the disappearance of their only two demons, but he knew for a fact that they wouldn't be able to find out it was him. They both were chattering to each other excitedly as they talked about what they may see outside.
"Now, we're going to have to sneak past the servants, so there's no time to pause and look around. You can look about as we go along, though, understand?" He knew that they would be disappointed to hear this, but there was no way around it. "I promise you two that after we get out of here and to my house, I'll allow you to look around a little more. What matters right now, though, is that we don't get caught. You'll be sent back here and I may be executed, and then you won't ever get to see the outside."
They seemed to accept this explanation, even if they were excited to get their first look at the outside world. If they didn't, then they wouldn't ever get to experience the luxuries of the outside world. Soon enough, the trio reached the wooden doors, and Keiichi pushed them open. They began to climb up the stairs as the twin demons commented on how they hadn't ever been further than the entrance to the area of the basement where the demons were kept. This was their first step into a world they didn't know about, a world they hadn't been able to picture.
Keiichi stood there in front of the steel doors, ready to burst them open. He knew the moment he did would be a significant moment in the twin demons' lives. They were waiting eagerly, both of them wanting to know what could possibly be on the other side.
"I wonder what it's like," commented Shion as she looked at the metal doors.
"I bet it's beautiful, unlike this old basement," replied Mion as she too braced herself for what was to come.
"Me too, sis, me too…"
And them Keiichi opened up the meal doors, allowing the twins to experience their first rays of sunlight. It was very bright to their eyes, as they had been in the dark basement for all of their lives. Instantly, they ran out into the open world, wanting nothing more than to leave their old home forever. Keiichi was shocked by their speed. He figured it was okay, as no one ever entered the forest except to check on the demons.
Mion and Shion were now observing their surroundings, their eyes wide with excitement. All the colors around them contrasted heavily to the dull basement, and to their eyes, it was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen. The outside world hit them hard, like an explosion. He could see the excitement and wonder in their eyes as they looked about, and their smiles as the warm rays of bright sun hit their bodies for the very first time.
"Well, what do you think?" he asked them both as he walked over to them, standing in between the two twins.
"It's…" started Mion in awe as her curious green eyes continued to glance around her. "…It's just so beautiful… I never imagined it to be like this…"
Shion pointed to the sun in the sky. "Hey, sis? Didn't he tell us that this was the sun, and that it lit up the whole planet?" she recalled.
Mion nodded. "Yeah, and it goes down at night. Then you can see the moon, and the moon is silver."
Keiichi chuckled at the two of them. They truly were enjoying the sight before him, and it broke his heart to have to move them forwards. Of course, they would enjoy the garden, but they really needed to rush through it right now. There were probably several servants gardening, and such a thing could become a problem.
He stuck his hands into his pockets and threw the keys on the forest floor. The Sonozaki family wouldn't need them anymore, after all. Besides, they would figure out that someone had broken into the Sonozaki storage with or without the keys lying about, so why did it matter? They would never know it was him, after all. Keiichi began to walk onwards with the twins closely behind him. He peaked his head out of the forest, observing the servants that were currently working on the garden. There were around three of them at the moment. They were all tending to the flowers in various areas of the garden.
"Okay, so get down low to the grass," he told them both. "…That's the green stuff on the floor, remember?" he reminded them when they both shot him a rather confused look. They nodded as they pressed their bodies to the ground. Their green hair blended in quite nicely with the green color of the grass, even if it was just a little lighter. The grass was long enough to conceal their bodies, for the most part. "And I bet if you crawl slowly, very slowly, you can reach the gate over there. I'll stand up. There's no reason for me to hide, as I'm a human, and my brown hair won't go well with the green grass."
And so, they began their plan.
The twins crawled through the long grass very slowly, with their stomachs touching the dirt. It was probably staining their bright white kimonos, but he couldn't worry about such a thing right now. He strolled leisurely through the grass, hoping that not one of the servants would suspect a thing. They seemed really interested in their work, anyways, so what did it matter? He would surely be able to make it by. If the twins were caught, however, it would be quite alarming. The servants may know about Akane's story, and if they were to see two identical twins with bright green hair similar to their mother's, they would instantly know who they were. Of course, there was about a ten percent chance that if they knew, they may think it was just a strange coincidence, and then there was a high chance that they just didn't know about the twins in the first place. Even so, the collars would probably give it away. It wasn't every day that you saw a human wearing a spiked collar, after all.
They went by the first servant without her noticing a thing. She seemed to be too interested in finishing her job well, anyways. The twins were doing a good job of trying not to run around everywhere asking what things were, and were instead focusing on escaping through the gate. They knew that the moment they were caught would be the moment they would go back to the cell forever. And if they were to be caught, it would become obvious that he was the one trying to get them out of their cells. He gulped as he remembered the fate of the man who tried to steal a demon, now known as Number Fifty-One. He had to stop himself from shuddering when he thought back to the time where he had tried to attack Satoko. He was attacking like just another demon, threatening to kill him and obeying orders. He didn't seem like the way he was before.
If I were to be caught… would they turn me into a demon, or would they just kill me?
He wondered what it would be like as a demon. Seeing as he attempted to steal from the Sonozaki family, it was likely that he would be kept with Mion and Shion and treated just like him. Perhaps in a few days he would forget about the outside and forget about the emotions he used to have. He didn't want such a thing to happen, ever. So I have to make sure I can get this done without being caught. If I can… then… Mion and Shion can finally get the happiness they deserve.
"Hey, sis, did you see that thing over there?" whispered Shion.
"Huh, what thing?" replied Mion.
"The thing that was orange. That lady was pouring water on it," she whispered right back as she paused to take a look at the orange thing, which was a rather brightly colored flower. Mion raised her head a little to take a look at it, causing her whole face to become visible.
An alarm went off in Keiichi's mind the moment she did such a thing. He felt bad for having to stop her from doing it, but he had no choice at the moment. He would be sure to show her all the beautiful flowers back at home, where everything was safe. "Mion!" he reminded at her quietly, causing the girl to remember what she was supposed to be doing. She placed her head back down in the grass, hoping that the servant hadn't seen the commotion.
She looked up from her work, and raised an eyebrow at Keiichi. She recognized him, as he had been to the Sonozaki Manor many times before, but she was sure she had heard him say something to someone, though rather quietly. He simply smiled at her, hoping that she would look away and that she wouldn't notice the twins.
She sighed and went back to her work, causing relief to build up in Keiichi. As they began to walk further, however, the servant looked up at him again, her eyes narrowed. She slowly focused her eyes downwards, noticing something funny about the texture of the green grass.
Keiichi jumped, causing Mion and Shion to realize something had gone wrong. They ducked their heads down further, hoping that the grass would conceal them further that way. "Sorry to disturb you. I'm just walking home," he told her. The servant mumbled something after nodding in understanding, and then went back to her work, this time not bothering to look up again. Keiichi sighed with relief.
They continued to sneak through the grass. They had gone by two of the servants, and they were hoping the third wouldn't notice. The two twins began to crawl a little faster, though they were getting tired. Keiichi sighed when he noticed this. It couldn't be helped, could it? He tried to walk faster as he went by the third servant, who didn't seem to notice them at all, thankfully, with Mion and Shion struggling a little behind.
A little after they went by the three servants, Keiichi noticed the tall grass was beginning to get shorter and shorter. Glancing at the distance they had from the gate, he realized that it was possible to get away without being seen. He held up a hand to tell the twins to stop moving, which they did, and he then walked over to the gate. He opened it and turned to the twins.
"Run," he mouthed.
And so they did.
The demons sprung up and ran for the gate as fast as their legs could take them, while Keiichi began to eye the servants nervously. Would they see them? They dashed by him in a flurry, wandering out onto the paths. They then went to the trees on the side of the path, hiding behind one of them. One of the servants looked up, seeing Keiichi holding the gate open for some strange reason, but he thankfully didn't see the twin demons, so he went back to his work, wondering what could have made a sound so similar to running feet.
Keiichi closed the gate and ran over to Mion and Shion, who were now poking their heads out to get a look. They had gotten so far away from their basement, the place where they used to live. This was something that was totally new for them, something completely different. They both looked at each other with more excitement in their eyes. They had never thought that they would be able to leave the basement. And now, here they were, a long way away from the basement, even outside of Sonozaki property.
"All right, guys. This isn't the end. Let's run through the trees and get to my house."
They nodded and begun to do so. Keiichi was in front of them, eyeing the roads carefully so that no one would catch them. He was also making sure that they were on the right way. They would have to leave the trees and dash through the opening eventually, but usually people weren't around his area at this time of day. Most people were near the Furude Shrine or shopping over in Okinomiya. He hoped that his parents wouldn't come home early, and that he had enough time to sneak them up to his room. That was where he decided they'd stay for a while. He didn't know quite where in his room, but he would figure that out later. What mattered right now is that he got the twins safely to his house.
He went by about three people as he went through the trees, but none of them seemed to notice him. Eventually, he came to the point where he would just have to run out in the open. He gulped, knowing there wasn't anything he could do besides run for it and hope that no one saw him or Mion and Shion. He looked at them both, and they were staring at the road with determination in their eyes. It seemed to him that they had already figured out what they needed to do, and Keiichi just shot them a reassuring grin.
"All right, guys. Follow me, but be as fast as you can," he told them both.
And then, he ran for it. He could feel his feet hitting the dusty paths, sending up clouds of dust as they did so, creating a storm of dust when combined with how fast the twins were running. They were both trying to go as fast as they possibly could, though the weight of the katanas on their backs was weighing them down a little bit. I guess it's good for them to keep weapons with them. After all, Number Twenty-Sev… no, Mion said that she was great with sword fighting. Heh, I'd love to see her fight!
He could have sworn he saw someone in the distance, which caused him to quicken his pace as much as he could. When the two demons noticed this, they tried to do so as well. The Maebara house was now in sight, and Keiichi didn't see a sign of his parents there. "That's my house! That's our destination!" he cried to them both as he desperately tried to move forward. He was getting tired, but he knew he couldn't give up now. He was so close!
He dashed to the front of his house and whipped out his keys from his bag as fast as he could, opening the door within seconds. He practically threw it open and rushed Mion and Shion inside, sensing that no one else was inside the house. He slammed the door shut as soon as they got inside, and he leaned against it. He was panting, and he was sweating more than he had ever sweated before. I really, really hope that no one saw us. It would be just terrible if they did…
But that wasn't something to be concerned about now. "…Haha… we made it…" he spoke, whispering at first. "WE MADE IT!" he then bellowed out with excitement. His plan was a success. He had saved the twins.
Mion grinned as she looked about the house. It was much different from any place she had been indoors. Of course, the only place she had been indoors was the dark basement of the Sonozaki family, so it was obvious that she was shocked by how different it was. There were a whole bunch of objects scattered about that he didn't know, and curiosity was beginning to get the best of them. "Follow me, I'll show you guys the place that you are going to be staying in," he told them both.
He led the two of them up the stairs and into his room, allowing them to enter before he did. They set their katanas down and began to glance about at the many things contained inside. He had a lot of stuff, though Keiichi tried his best to make it as neat as possible so that it didn't turn out to look anything like Takeru's room. If that happened, it would surely be a disaster. "Feel free to look around. It's a lot more comfortable than that old basement you were in," he told them. As they began to explore, Keiichi opened a door to his closet and pulled out an extra futon. He only had one, but judging by the fact that the two twins preferred to sleep next to each other, he figured that they wouldn't mind. He put it out on the floor next to his own.
"You see, this is a futon," he explained to the two demons that were now gazing at it curiously. "It's where you guys sleep. It's really comfortable and all that, but it might be a little small for you guys. I'm sorry if that's the ca-."
Suddenly, the demons dashed for it. Mion threw the covers up and over herself, snuggling into the warmth of the blankets. Shion followed her, cuddling up against her sister. It was a rather small futon, so it was a little hard for them to both fit on it, and they were squished together, but it looked like they didn't mind one bit. He was taken aback by their immediate response, but he figured it was only to be expected of them.
"This is so much better than that old basement floor," Mion said as she hugged her sister.
Shion nodded. "I like this a lot better. Thank you, Maebara Keiichi," she replied as she snuggled closer into her sister.
"You can just call me Kei-chan, like Mion does," he told her with a wink. Maebara Keiichi sounded too odd at this point in time, considering the fact that they had gotten to know him well.
"All right, Kei-chan. Well thank you, Kei-chan. …I don't think that after feeling how comfortable this is that I could even bare to sleep on the hard floor," she replied. She was clearly enjoying the fluffiness of the sheets around her. He could only imagine how much more comfortable she felt. He would never want to sleep on a hard floor like the one in the basement, not ever.
"You're welcome," he whispered as he gazed upon the two demons. They were identical without a single flaw, and the sight of them so close together was shocking to the eye. They looked perfectly symmetrical at that moment, with their bodies snuggled close together.
Shion closed her eyes and fell asleep almost instantly. It seemed to him that she would be getting a lot more sleep now with a much more comfortable bed. However, Mion stayed awake for a little while longer, looking at Keiichi with a smile on her face while she held her sister close. "Thank you, Kei-chan, really. I knew that you would save us. I knew it from the moment I first met you that you were different, that you would let my sister and I free from that basement. You've really done more than I expected," she told him gently.
Keiichi smiled back at her. "It was my goal from the moment I first laid my eyes on you, too. I knew that I couldn't leave you guys in the basement like that. That would just be cruel," he told her gently, staring at her. Her smile made him feel really happy, even if she didn't know what the expression on her face meant. Seeing such a thing reminded Keiichi of the fact that he was not done yet. No, he was far from being done here.
Mion fell asleep shortly after, exhausted from having run so fast. Today was a day of thrill for them both. They had been saved from the clutches of their basement, they had seen the outside world for the first time, they had gotten their true names, and they had finally gotten the chance to sleep in a real bed. However, he knew that there was much more he needed to do. He wasn't halfway done. After all, Mion and Shion still were unaware of their own emotions. Getting them to recognize the fact that they existed was high on his list.
That's one thing that's stopping their happiness. He thought to himself as he gazed upon the identical girls. He needed to teach them the way to learn, the way to their emotions. It was impossible for them to be fully human until they did. However, judging by how they had been acting before, it would be tough. His explanation of love hardly did anything for them, and if he couldn't explain such a simple thing, how was he going to explain happiness and sadness to them? He sighed. There was so much more for him to do. It was a heavy task, but he knew he had to go through with it.
After all, he wanted them to be happy.
~~~~X~~~~
Crimso's Corner v.2
CLEARING UP CONFUSION THAT MAY BE PRESENT: Mion is the Mion that is currently Mion in the series and Shion is the Shion that is Currently Shion in the series. Keiichi assumed Number Twenty-Seven was older because of her number. He was wrong. Does this make sense to you? Twin swaps are the most confusing thing in Higurashi, after all..
Phew! Now that was the longest chapter I have written of BFB yet, but I highly doubt I can beat chapter twenty-six of Green-Eyed Demon in terms of length. That chapter was fifteen thousand words long! That's quite a bit, you know. It's hard to write ten thousand words. It's tiring at times. I'm surprised it even got to be this length, but I'm happy with it. I may wait until a little later to upload this, actually. Not that it matters to you, really, as it's clearly uploaded if you're reading this now.
Man, today was crazy. I felt sick, so I slept in until the end of first period. Then, I went to school and stayed in my second and third period. I went to the Nurse's Office after that instead of English, since I was feeling kind of sick. They told me to lie down, and then after fifty minutes, they told me to get back to class. I was still feeling pretty bad, too. Sigh. Then it turns out I had an in-class essay in English class that I forgot about. CRAP.
Yeah, now it's going to be hard to figure out when to write that AND my history essay that we were working on in class. Sigh. Life has been busy for me, as you can see. I wish things would calm down a bit, but there's really nothing I can do about that. I'm surprised I managed to write up this chapter. I was working on it all night last night, and since I got home. It's 6:06 PM right now. …Yeah, that took a little while.
Okay, this is getting way too long, so I'm going to tell you right now to review! Why? Because when you review, you get a plushie Mion. And you want a plushie Mion. Seriously, think of all the things you can do with a plushie Mion. You could place her next to Keiichi and then pretend to make them do romantic things, for one. I think I've been getting a little better with typos, but if you point any out, you can get a fake katana. …Don't worry, there may be a real one coming out in future chapters : P. Please tell me what you thought and all that!
~Crimso
P.S: ...100,000 words get? I think so, at least. That was my goal. Have 100,000 words by chapter thirteen. Why? Because Chapter Thirteen in Green-Eyed Demon (Titled Envy) was the chapter where I hit 100,00 words. They were also huge turning points in the series.