Kitty: I thought I failed at the last chapter, but my beta (I love you so much, Iron Reaver) said it was full of opportunity! I just posted it up, so I don't know how the rest of you feel, but well, I might as well finish it, eh? Just two more to go, including this chapter! So, at the end, you'll be one chapter to go! Yay! Cross your fingers for some yummy yaoi, lol. WHOOT! A chapter finally longer than 13 pages! ENJOY!
PS: The last line is dedicated to Iron Reaver who believed a last line should be there. I changed it slightly to be more in character with Koushiko, but it only exists because of you, The Muse. ^.^ And yes, the title did change as well.
Chocolate Covered
Chocolate Covered Questions
Taichi sat in the bleachers, sweat sliding down his face, having just finished soccer practice for the day. Their team manager was walking around the large soccer field gathering up the soccer balls as Tai's eyes roamed restlessly over the grounds, watching passersby walk on the sidewalk. Cars whipped by, barely catching the yellow light, and students from his community college were slowly filtering out of the buildings. It was almost four and the bulk of the classes were over for the day. The other soccer players were already leaving the showers, joking and laughing, but he only watched them go without really seeing them. For the past four days, he had avoided all his friends and ignored the exorbitant amount of calls he'd received. He frowned down at his cell phone as once again Sora's name flashed on the small screen.
"Don't they get the point? I don't want to hear it!" Tai growled. He shoved his phone back in his duffel bag. He ran a hand through his sweaty hair and sighed. Laying back against the bench behind him, Tai stared up at the blue sky.
"Taichi!" Tai's heart stopped, then, resumed its normal beat when he recognized the voice.
"Koushiko-chan, hey," he said as he pushed himself up onto his hands and smiled down at her as she climbed the bleachers. His brows lowered when noticed how much her limbs were shaking. "Are you doing okay? Is it worse, Shiko-chan?"
"Nothin' I can't handle, darlin'," Koushiko grinned and flopped down next to him.
"It's too much, isn't it? Goin' straight all at once?" Tai whispered, pushing sweaty red bangs off her forehead. She flushed slightly.
"Nah. It's cool. Thanks for caring. I know you don't really want-"
"Stop saying stuff like that! I would've come back no matter what. Koushirou just didn't come with me, only diff," Tai interrupted angrily.
Koushiko quieted immediately and just sat watching the sun glow on his brown skin with a tiny smile on her face. After a while, though, the hot sun was too much, and though she knew he didn't like it, she pulled her long hair up into a ponytail off her neck. She knew he didn't like it because it made her look even more like Izzy, but, well, so much hair on her neck was aggravating.
"So, when you gonna call Sora back, Taichi?"
"Shiko-chan!" Tai whined. Koushiko laughed.
"TAI YAGAMI! YOU GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE AND DON'T YOU THINK ABOUT RUNNING AWAY!"
Tai and Koushiko jumped to their feet and stared down the bleachers. A tall, blonde, furious Yamato stood on the field below.
"Yamato?" Tai blurted.
"No, your mother. Of course I'm Yamato! Why the hell haven't you been answering your phone? And Koushirou, why the hell haven't you dragged him to the hospital yet?" Yamato snapped at Koushiko. He suddenly froze, his mouth falling open.
Koushiko shuffled her feet. She was wearing rather boyish clothes- a brown, T-shirt and jean shorts-, but it still pissed her off.
"Hospital? Why, what happened? Is it Kari?" Tai ran down the bleachers, almost tripping and rolling down.
"N-No… it's Mimi- Who the hell is that?" Yamato exclaimed.
"The name's Koushiko, okay?" Koushiko snapped.
"Kou…shi…ko?"
"She's a friend, Yamato. What hospital, what happened?" Tai demanded.
"Odaiba General. She had a miscarriage-"
"A WHAT? She's pregnant? But… she's still in high school!"
"She was pregnant, Tai. She had a miscarriage." Yamato reminded him. They shared a look.
"No wonder you guys have been calling. I thought it was to yell at me about the break up." Tai muttered. "Let's get my stuff."
"Wait, break up?" Yamato grabbed Tai's shoulder. "What break up?" Tai stared at him, perplexed.
"I thought… Iz-Koushirou took all my stuff back to my parents, didn't he?"
"Not that I know of. Everything is still there."
"B-But…" Tai stammered. "Koushirou… Koushirou dumped me four days ago. I went back for clothes on Monday while he was in class, but I figured he'd thrown the rest of it out by now."
"Koushirou dumped you? What the hell? Koushirou hasn't said anything to anybody. He's been spending a lot of time in the hospital, almost all of his free time, actually. I just thought you were off sulking because of the fight-"
"Wow, you must think a lot of me if you'd think I'd sulk about sex for FOUR DAYS, Yamato!" Tai snapped.
"Then, where have you- her? You've been with her? She's looks exactly like him. What kinda asshole are you?" Yamato growled, thrusting a finger in Koushiko direction.
"Look, it's none of your business, Yamato. I need to go see Mimi." Tai muttered shrugging his shoulder out from under Yamato's hand.
"Wait a minute, Tai. I want to know what the fuck happened!"
"Obviously Koushirou doesn't want you to know, so I won't tell you either!" Tai yelled.
"Hey, whoa, calm it down, boys!" Koushiko hurried down the last steps, lugging Tai's duffel. She tripped, her legs still too shaky for exertion, and Tai quickly grabbed her before she hit the ground.
"You okay, Shiko-chan? Did you hurt yourself?" Tai asked worriedly, his anger suddenly gone. He looked her over with anxious brown eyes while she blushed.
"Yeah, man. Jeez, don't be such a mom," Koushiko grumbled with a smile on her mouth.
"Don't be such a klutz. And don't carry that! It's heavy!" Tai ordered taking his duffel.
"What am I five? Jeez," Koushiko scoffed, rolling her eyes, but her shoulders sagged in relief when he lifted the weight away. She blanched suddenly as her knees gave out and Tai had to grab her again.
"You just had to push yourself, didn't you? I said I'd be home by four thirty!"
"I wanted to see you practice! I missed the stop because I fell asleep on the subway and I rushed here as a fast as possible, but it was too late! Don't be such a hardass!" Koushiko explained.
"I said I'd come with you so you could come to the game this Saturday-"
"I don't need your permission to do nothing, Taichi!" Koushiko snapped shoving a finger in his chest.
"You fell asleep on the subway, Koushiko! You could've been mugged, or gotten lost, or kidnapped-"
"KIDNAPPED!?" Koushiko burst into laughter, doubling over and clutching Tai's arms for support.
Yamato stared at them, his eyes wide, wondering what the hell was going on. Tai was acting like this girl was his younger sister, not a lover. And Koushiko, the more he listened to her, the more different she became compared to Koushirou. She was loud, foul-mouthed, and talked rather like a yakuza. If it wasn't for her face, hell, even her physique, he never would've thought she was anything like Koushirou. Not only that, she was shaking like a junkie off the drugs. She even had the hollowed-out, anorexic look he usually saw on hard-core users.
"Is it visiting hours at the hospital, Yamato?" Tai asked looking over at Yamato.
Yamato shook his head briskly to clear the fog. "Yeah, it's visiting time. You should… You should bring Koushiko." His blue gaze narrowed on Koushiko as she regained her balance. "I think Mimi would love to meet her." I think they all would. Why does she look so much like Koushirou?
Koushiko paled even more. "I… I couldn't, Taichi. I don't know any of them and if Izzy-" She cut herself off.
"Shiko-chan, aren't you going to tell me one day? I know you know him."
"No, I don't! I don't want to! Damn it, Taichi, no!" Koushiko exclaimed, shaking her head. Yamato's eyebrows rose. Tai wants her to meet Koushirou? What the hell is going on? Why hasn't Koushirou told anyone they broke up? Does he know about her?
"Come with me anyway. Izzy, I mean Koushirou, is probably at school or at his company for interning. I don't want you on the subway alone again," Tai begged.
"I can take care of myself, Taichi."
"Yeah, I know, but it'd make me feel better knowing you were safe. I hate how often you fall asleep in random, public places. It's dangerous."
"What are you, narcoleptic?" Yamato joked.
"You could say that," Koushiko agreed, grinning.
"Well, let's go then." Yamato announced. "What's your surname, anyway?" Yamato asked.
"You can call me Koushiko, it's cool." Koushiko shrugged.
"At least I'm not the only one she doesn't tell," Tai muttered as Yamato's eyebrows rose again.
&&&
Miyako and Hikari stood outside the entrance of their school, waiting for Ken, Takeru, and Wallace to show up.
"They're so late, jeez. Don't they remember the others are waiting for us on the other side of the island?" Miyako whined, shifting her feet anxiously.
"You know Ken-san has soccer club. And Wallace-san and Takeru-kun are in Mathematics Club. They skipped the past two days, so they can't today," Hikari pointed out calmly, reading her English text and leaning against the brick wall behind them.
"Yeah, just, well, I want to get to the hospital." Miyako grumbled.
"I know you're worried about her, but Mimi's fine. She's probably going to be released very soon," Hikari replied, turning a page, her lips twitching.
"You know very well it's not because of Mimi!" Miyako exclaimed. "Since yesterday, when they said she was stable and Kido-san stopped drinking coffee like smokers smoke cigarettes, I knew she was okay, but, c'mon! You've got to have noticed Koushirou-san! He's been acting like a zombie, and it ain't because of Mimi!"
"Well, yeah, I noticed. He'll tell us if he wants to, Miyako-san," Hikari said calmly.
"Yeah, right," Miyako snorted. "It's definitely about Tai-san and s-e-x, so he'll keep it all bottled up inside and then explode!" Miyako emphatically disagreed.
"Miyako-chan!" Wallace called out, waving. "Hikari-san! We're done!"
"He's gotten much better, hasn't he?" Hikari noted, closing her book and stuffing it into her bag.
"He came here before. It was only a matter of time," Miyako huffed, angry at the change of subject.
"Sorry about the wait, Miyako-chan," Ken apologized as they got even with the girls. Miyako blushed at the honorific at the same time Ken did.
"Y-yeah, it's cool," she muttered.
"Well, Saiwa-chan and Iori-kun are waiting, so we should get going," Wallace reminded them, shoving Miyako along as she protested loudly.
"That was totally my line," Takeru grinned. "You'd think it was his boyfriend we were keeping waiting."
"Well, he and Saiwa-chan are getting close. Maybe it's his girlfriend we're keeping waiting?" Hikari giggled.
"Not yet, actually. She's too young, still. I'll wait until she's in senior high with us," Wallace said, winking at them over his shoulder. Hikari and Takeru laughed.
"Isn't he such a heartbreaker?" Miyako growled. "Now, stop shoving!"
&&&
Mimi sat up, looking around Jyou's shoulders as the door opened behind him. Sora stood on the other side of the bed, a grin on her face at the younger girls rushed forward.
"Miyako-chan! Hikari-chan! Everybody! Konnichi wa!"
"You're definitely feeling better today, then?" Miyako asked anxiously.
"You changed your clothes. Are you being released today, Mimi-san?" Hikari asked eagerly.
"I brought some flowers, where would you like me to put them, Tachikawa-san?" Saiwa thrust forward a large bouquet in Mimi's face.
"Oh, thank you, Akizuki-chan. I'll take them. Yes, I am being released today, Hikari-chan. I'm definitely feeling a lot better, Miyako-chan. I have to wait for my paperwork to go through, but they're finally letting me go," Mimi answered, smiling widely. Jyou touched her shoulder gently and they smiled at each other.
"Glad to hear it, Meems, sorry it took me so long to visit," Came a voice from the doorway.
"TAI!" Hikari exclaimed running forward. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WE'VE BEEN WORRIED SICK!" She threw her arms around his waist and squeezed.
"Whoa, whoa, Kari! It's cool! I'm fine. I was at a friend's house to cool down. Everyone meet Koushiko, without a last name," Tai grinned.
"Great introduction, Taichi, next time I'll do it myself," said a dry voice. Everyone's eye widened as she came up from behind him. All the girls let out audible gasps.
The long-haired, female version of Koushirou rolled her eyes. "And this was another reason why I didn't want to come, Taichi."
"Aw, come on, Shiko-chan. I acted the same way every time we ran into each other. They'll get over it. This is my sister, Hikari. And that's Daisuke, I told you about him before, right?"
"Yeah. He does look like you," Koushiko grinned.
"Not as much at you look like Izumi-san!" Daisuke blurted. Koushiko flinched slightly and then grinned again.
"I get that. So… the girl on the bed must be Mimi?"
"Yes. That's me" Mimi agreed faintly. Koushiko walked up and placed a plastic bag on her lap.
"We didn't have a lot of time, but I made Taichi and Yamato stop so I could pick you up something," Koushiko explained, blushing faintly. Inside the bag were strawberry mochi. "They said you like sweets."
"I do. Thank you," Mimi smiled at Koushiko uncertainty. "I'm sorry about our rudeness. We weren't expecting you at all."
"Yeah, no problem." Koushiko shrugged. "And who are all the rest of you? If I forget your names pretty quick, don't blame me. There's a whole hell of a lot of you to remember."
With that, the ice was broken and everyone laughed and introduced themselves. After a long while of just talking, Tai finally forced himself to ask the question he'd been wanted to ask.
"What happened, Meems? I didn't even know you were preggo!" Tai exclaimed. Mimi laughed and Jyou looked rather uncomfortable.
"Ectopic pregnancy," Mimi said easily.
"What the Jesus H. Christ does that mean?" Koushiko asked baldly.
"It means the fertilized egg was 'out of place.'" Jyou explained. "In Mimi case, and like many others, the egg settled in her fallopian tube. Luckily, her body recognized something was wrong and was able to abort the egg, but her reproductive organs were damaged. She was kept in the hospital for monitoring, in case she needed surgery."
"Surgery?" Tai asked, his eyes wide.
"Yeah. There was some talk that I may need to have one of my ovaries cut out. But, no go. My body's fine, just needed to recoup," Mimi grinned.
"That's great. Thank god, Meems. I shoulda answered my cell," Tai fell on the bed next to her and hugged her.
"It's okay. But why didn't you? And why isn't Koushirou-kun here, too? Jeez, how dare he let you introduce his sister without him! He probably just didn't want to face me! Keeping a secret like having a twin sister from us! I could kill him!" Mimi exclaimed. Tai stared at her.
"What?"
"What?" She blinked. He turned to Koushiko who was staring at Mimi like she's grown a second head. Everyone else was turned to Koushiko with wide eyes. "Duh" could almost be seen written across their foreheads.
"You… Koushiko… that's why!" Tai jumped up. Koushiko shook her head.
"N-No! No, I'm not! She's fucking crazy!" Koushiko yelled.
"Hey! That's not nice!" Mimi pouted.
"What do you mean? How else can you look just like Koushirou-san? Of course you're related! Are you cousins or something?" Sora asked.
"But Koushirou-kun's family died in a car crash." Jyou interrupted. "He told me last year the only family he had were his aunt and uncle, his now adoptive parents."
"What?" Everyone exclaimed turned to stare at Jyou. Yamato and Tai nodded.
"Why didn't we know about this? I didn't know he was adopted!" Miyako whined.
"Then, who are you? If his family died?" Ken asked, looking at Koushiko.
"I'm not his family!" She screamed.
"What's going on in-" Tai's spine straightened immediately and Koushiko turned away from the door. Sora saw her face turned ashy and her whole body shake.
"Kosuhirou, you're here! Maybe you can tell us! Isn't she your sister or cousin or something?" Miyako demanded pointing at Koushiko's back.
"I don't have a sister," Koushirou blurted, staring at Tai's profile, his hands clutching the straps of his backpack.
There was strangled noise and Kosuhiko ran towards the door, pushing Koushirou to the side.
"I hate you, Izzy!" She shouted as she ran.
"W-What the…?" Koushirou choked. Tai ran after the fleeing redhead.
"K-Koushiko, matte!"
"Sh-She… She looked just like me…?" Koushirou murmured.
"Well, duh! Isn't she like your twin- OI!" Miyako growled as Koushirou raced after Tai. "I'm getting tired of the twenty questions without answers game we're playing."
"Oh, let's follow! I want to see what happens!" Mimi exclaimed, jumping up. Jyou grabbed her arm.
"You shouldn't be running. None of us should be running after them!" Jyou barked as Miyako turned to race after them instead. She ground to a halt and grumbled. "This is between them."
"Yeah, there's something weird going on. Koushirou and Tai broke up on Sunday and I think that girl has something to do with it," Yamato told them all, almost as an afterthought. The entire room erupted.
"WHAT?"
&&&
"I don't have a sister," Koushiko rubbed at her streaming eyes, her chest straining with sobs. Asshole, asshole, asshole! It's really like I never existed to him at all!
"Shiko!" A large hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. She stumbled and fell onto a wide chest. "Don't run, you'll fall, Shiko!"
She let her hair fall to cover her face.
"Shiko, look at me. What was that back there? Why are you angry with him? Why won't you face him?" Tai demanded gently.
"None of your business!" She snapped.
"I think it is, Koushiko. I haven't forgotten Sunday morning. You wanted me to leave him for you, Shiko. You wanted to take what he had and I want to know why."
"So, is that the reason you came back? So you can figure out why I wanted to ruin his life? So you could save your precious Izzy from heartbreak? You didn't come back for me at all, did you? You still love that asshole, don't you?" She screamed, turning around and hitting his chest as hard as possible with her fists. She felt satisfaction fill her as the breath left his lungs in a whoosh.
"Koushiko… I also came back for you!" Tai gasped. He grabbed her wrists and shook her until her head fell back.
Patients, visitors, and hospital employees stared at the two teens.
"H-Honto ni?" Koushiko sniffled.
"Yeah. Koushiko, you need someone. I know that. You're lonely and you're… you're in pain. I saw it the first day we met and every time after that. I want to help you. I really do care," Tai whispered. Tears spilled over and fell down her cheeks.
"I'm not invisible to you? I'm not just Koushirou's face?"
"You never were. Well, not after those first two seconds," Tai grinned.
"That's good enough. B-but… you're not… you're not in love with me, are you?"
"No. I'm sorry!" Koushiko shook her head.
"No, don't be. It's enough… I'm not invisible. I exist to you. That's enough."
"Koushiko, please, tell me, what do you mean by that?"
"I want to know, too!" panted another voice. Koushiko wobbled on her feet and Tai wrapped an arm around her waist and then looked over his shoulder.
"Izzy," Koushiko flushed in shame hearing the pain in Tai's voice. "You followed?"
"You wanted me to meet her, right?" Koushirou gasped breathily, bent double and looking up at them. "Well, now, I want to. What's going on?"
"Leave me alone!" Koushiko snapped. She hid her face in Tai's chest. Tai looked down at her and then looked over at Koushirou. Koushirou looked just as bewildered.
"Excuse me. You're making a bit of a scene, and well, you're in a hospital," a nurse interrupted. Both boys flushed. Koushiko sunk to the floor, almost taking Tai with her. "Oh my, what's wrong?" The nurse exclaimed as Tai let out a wordless cry of surprise.
"She fainted, or fell asleep, or something. She does it a lot, but she refuses to go see a doctor," Tai explained. The nurse frowned.
"But why? She looks horribly ill!" The nurse asked, aghast.
"She doesn't like hospital or drugs. See, she's…" Tai looked around and then leaned towards the nurse. "She's in withdrawal. She got into some bad stuff before I knew her and she's trying to get clean and it's messing her up," The nurse's eyes widened.
"I see. Yes, many teens like her don't trust medical facilities. Well, the least I can do is give you an empty room until she comes to. Can you call her parents?"
"No, I'm sorry. She said she doesn't have any. She lives in Tokyo with some other girl," Tai said. Koushirou's eyes widened.
"Oh, all right. Well, when she wakes up, see if you can convince her to stay. If she agrees, just push the nurse button. Here, room I234 is open. It's right around the corner," She led them to an empty private room.
"We… we don't have any money to pay you," Tai said as he laid Koushiko on the bed. The nurse smiled.
"It's no problem. She's not being examined yet. You're just borrowing a bed for a few minutes. If a patient needs this room, then I'll have to kick you out, but it should be fine for now."
"Thank you!' Tai breathed. The nurse frowned down at Koushiko and then turned to leave. She gave a small start seeing Koushirou in the doorway.
"Oh… but you must be related to her. Maybe you can explain her condition?" The nurse asked, looking slightly appalled the contrast between the almost-invalid girl on the bed and the well-fed, well-dressed boy in the doorway.
"N-No… I've never met her before," Koushirou whispered, staring at Koushiko. The nurse didn't look convinced, instead, her mouth turned down farther.
"Of course," She turned back to Tai. "Remember, push that button for anything. We'll find a way to help you both out. Do you know how old she is? If she underage, it'll be a lot easier to help," Tai shook his head.
"Maybe eighteen?"
"I turn eighteen in December," Koushirou whispered. The nurse frowned again.
"Well, I don't know if that helps, as she isn't related to you," The nurse walked out.
Koushirou walked numbly to the bed and sat on the chair next to it. Tai sat on the bed next to Koushiko and silently pushed her hair off her face.
"Is… Is she, Taichi? Is she related to me?" Koushirou murmured.
"I don't know. I don't know her real last name. I don't know her birthday. I don't know anything. I've only really known her four days."
"But… you said…" Koushirou looked up at him.
"Yeah, I ran into her a couple times before Saturday, but only for a few seconds. I kept meaning to bring her up, because I was always so shocked to see her. She looks just like you, you know? But whenever I met up with you afterwards, I always forgot," Tai sighed and ran his hand through his hair… again.
"Tai… I need to go. I… I'll be right back. I have to call my parents." Koushirou jumped up and ran out. Tai watched him go, his mouth tight.
Koushirou raced out of the hospital, waiting for his cell to get the signal back. Finally, a bar appeared and he flipped open his cell. Within seconds, the phone was ringing and, finally, his mother answered the phone.
"Moshi moshi! Koushirou-kun, is that you, love?"
"Y-Yeah, Kaasan, who's Koushiko!?" Koushirou blurted immediately.
Dead silence answered him. After a few agonizing moments, she spoke.
"How… How'd you find out, Koushirou? We… We meant to tell you, oh, baby, did you see it online? Your father told me we had to tell you when we told you were adopted, but I just… Oh couldn't Koushirou. I thought two deaths were enough. I didn't want to add a third. Not yet," she burst into sobs on the other end as Koushirou felt his fingers go numb.
"A… a third?"
"Yes, I'm so sorry, baby. You had a younger sister. We used to joke that you were twins, you looked so alike. We would… we would dress you up in the same outfits and… you both liked the same foods. She was barely nine months younger than you. And you were both so small." Her sobs got worse. "She… she followed you around like a puppy. We… we used to… we used to say she learned how to crawl and walk so quickly so she c-could follow you around."
"I… I had a sister?"
"Y-yes. Yoshiiko named her Koushiko, because it was so much like yours and you both looked so alike, even when you were babies. The same black eyes, the same red hair. The only difference was Yoshiiko would dress her up in dresses sometimes."
"A-Are you sure… sh-she's dead?"
The sobbing stuttered to a halt.
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"Are you sure she's dead!?" Koushirou shouted. His mother squeaked.
"K-Koushirou, what's going on?"
"JUST ANSWER ME! Did you or did you not bury her!?"
"N-No. She… she didn't die immediately. She was in a coma, but her brain activity was dropping everyday and she was only one. You were so sick and hurt from the wreck that you had to be taken to a better hospital. Your father and I went in the helicopter with you back to Tokyo. The doctor there… he promised to call if anything changed, but he was sure she wasn't going to make it. We didn't even go back for your parents' funeral. You were in and out of hospitals for two years because of the wreck. We tried to call the doctor back a few months later after the wreck, but we couldn't get a hold of him. Your father went back to Hokkiado to see about Koushiko, but when he asked the hospital, they said the Ameretsu's were buried in a cemetery on the other side of town. Your father was anxious to get back… and… he didn't…it was too soon after the accident, so he came back without visiting the graves. We've been meaning to go back, but we didn't want to go without you, and we'd figured you'd ask when you were ready."
"A-Ameretsu?"
"Yes… that was the name you were born with."
"Kaasan… what if… what if Koushiko didn't die?"
"… Baby… what are you talking about? We would've been called. They had our contact information."
"Kaasan, I think you should call them back and ask about her directly," Koushirou told her.
"Koushirou, what are you trying to say? Do you know something about Koushiko? How'd you find out about her, Koushirou?"
"I met… I just saw a girl who looks exactly like me," Koushirou forced out, his fingers tightening around his cell phone.
"I… I'll call that hospital. Don't let her out of your sight!" The phone line went dead.
Koushirou trudged slowly back to hospital and room I234. Tai jumped up from the bed. As Koushirou walked towards him, his dark eyes glanced over and saw Koushiko's face still slack in sleep.
"What'd they say? Did you get a hold of your parents?" Tai asked.
"Yes, my mother," Koushirou stopped and stared at Koushiko's face, his face almost. The longer he stared, though, the more he could see subtle differences that maybe even Tai couldn't see. Like the way her chin had a slightly more stubborn line, the way her eyes curved just slightly upwards, and there was a tiny, almost invisible, scar just below her bottom lip. The scar was so small, he wondered how he even saw it… it was like he knew it was there.
"Well? What did she say!?" Tai exclaimed. He quickly snapped his mouth shut and looked over at Koushiko, who continued to sleep.
"I… I don't know if I'm supposed to use past tense or not looking at her," Koushirou shook his head. "I had a younger sister, barely nine months younger than me. After the wreck, when my biological parents died, I was hurt very badly and had to airlifted to a hospital here in the city. Koushiko, my younger sister," Tai's eyes widened and his mouth fell open, "was in a coma in the Hokkaido hospital. She was barely one year old and the doctor said she was most likely not going to make it. Her brain activity was falling drastically."
Koushirou shuddered to a stop and stared at the girl sleeping on the bed. He slowly continued. "But my parents… never actually went back for my biological parents' funeral because of me. Not only that, but they never actually got a hold of the doctor who was watching over my younger sister. I'm sorry to say they didn't try very hard."
"But she was your sister! Their niece! Why didn't they?" Tai gaped.
"My mother said my father went back to the hospital a few months after the wreck. When he asked about my family, a nurse there said that the Ameretsu's were buried in a public cemetery, but my father didn't go himself to see the graves because he didn't want to go without my mother."
"Ameretsu!" Tai choked out. Koushirou frowned.
"Yes, it was my biological last name."
"B-But.. that's the name she used. When she first told me her name or… maybe the second time, I don't remember, but she definitely used that name."
"Are you positive?" Koushirou asked.
"Pretty damn positive," Tai vehemently agreed. Koushirou gnawed on his lip.
Silence fell between them. Suddenly, almost at the same moment, their eyes met, then, looked away, as if aware of everything that stood unsaid between them. As if aware of how odd it was to be in the same room, talking about the girl that forced them apart, who was lying on the bed unconscious.
"Wh-" Tai quickly cleared his throat as the words stuck there. "Why didn't you tell them?"
Koushirou contemplated acting dumb, but realized rather quickly he probably couldn't pull it off. He sighed. "Because… I didn't want to say it aloud."
"Why not? You're the one itching to break up with me. I'm surprised you aren't dancing for joy 'cause of it," Tai muttered bitterly.
"I didn't want to break up with you! You're the one who made the poor choice!" Koushirou gestured towards the bed.
"Oh, a poor choice, huh? So I'm the one at fault, am I? Are you too perfect to take any blame?" Tai snapped.
"I didn't say that, either, Taichi," Koushirou murmured, his hand falling back to his side. "And that's why I thought it best that we… I messed up just as badly. Taichi, it didn't work!"
"I didn't work because you didn't want it to!" Taichi hissed, trying to keep from yelling. "It was like you never wanted it to work."
"That's not true! How could you think that, Taichi?"
"I felt like I wanted so much more than you did, Izzy. Like, I wanted everything and I wanted us… to go that next step, right? I wanted us to be more, you know? I just… I just kept feeling like... every time you said no to sex… it was like you were saying no to me." Koushirou's black eyes widened slightly. "I felt… I felt like you didn't want me, that you didn't want that next step because… because you didn't want me, Koushirou. Every time you said no, or you were busy or you were tired, it was like I wasn't good enough to be first, like everything else came first. It was like… jeez, Izzy, like you were throwing how much of a life you had into my face. It was like… you were so smart and had so much else on your plate, why'd you need me? What could I offer you, you couldn't get for yourself?" Tai dragged a hand through his hair. "You made me feel worthless compared to the rest of your life, like I was too much of a hassle."
"Taichi… why didn't you just say that?" Koushirou whispered, stepping forward.
"Because I felt pathetic! Why do you think? I'm eighteen years old and I felt pathetic that I had to beg you to have sex with me, to open up to me, to make me important to you! I felt like a stupid girl or something!" Taichi exclaimed. Koushirou snorted, and then burst into laughter. "It isn't funny!"
"No… it's not." Koushirou agreed, still chuckling. He sobered quickly, taking a quick breath. "I'm sorry, Taichi. I should've… I should've realized this. I am a genius."
"Maybe that's the problem," Taichi joked weakly. Koushirou stepped closer and looked up at Tai with dark eyes and twisted, self-deprecating smirk on his face.
"Yes, maybe that's part of the problem. The real problem was… I was scared, Taichi. I was scared of what would happen afterward. Taichi, what I feel for you… what's happened between us, it's like a dream. I fell in love with you when I was only four, and ten years later, I was able to find you, and then have you all to myself." He reached out and laid his fingertips against Tai's chest. "I was scared that I'd give too much. Everything we have is based on a dream, Taichi! I didn't want it to become real… because then you might've woken up and gone. Then, all I'd have left is an empty dream about a little boy and chocolate onigiri, wishing that I hadn't gone all the way, because I'd had given you everything I had and it wouldn't have been enough for you to stay. Taichi, you were straight! You didn't want me to be a boy. You fought with it for months! I was scared, if we finally have sex… you'd… you'd be disgusted," Koushirou finally managed to blurt out, his face crimson.
"It looks like we both should've said something," Tai whispered. "Come here."
Koushirou looked up, his black eyes glassy. Tai grasped Koushirou's hand that lay on his chest and then bent down. Their lips met and Tai's other arm wrapped around Koushirou's waist. The world melted around them and, once again, Tai could taste the memory of chocolate onigiri on Izzy's lips.
"That's real, Izzy. It always has been. I was wanting to make it more real because I was scared it wasn't real enough, and you were scared to make it more real because you thought I'd leave you, but you know what? We're no different than any other couple out there. Our beginning was just a little more…"
"Idealistic?"
"Like something outta a manga?"
Both laughed. Koushirou laid his head on Tai's chest and sighed.
"I'm sorry."
"I know," Tai grinned when Koushirou eyes rolled and exhaled in annoyance. "I'm sorry, too."
"Look, it's real sweet and all, this whole making up thing, but can you not do it in my face?" drawled a wry voice.
"Koushiko! You're awake! Are you okay?" Tai and Koushirou moved apart and Tai ran to Koushiko's side. She was sitting up, her legs hanging off the side of the bed.
"Fit as a fiddle," Koushiko rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance. Tai grinned. She and Koushirou were a lot alike.
"Koushiko…Ameretsu?" Koushirou asked. Koushiko stiffened but said nothing. "Please, are you Ameretsu, Koushiko? That's the name of a sister I had…"
"I thought you didn't have one."
"I thought so, too, but I may be looking at her and I need to know."
"Why?" Almost identical black eyes met and tears gathered in Koushiko's eyes. "Why would you care after sixteen years?"
"No one told me you existed until today," Koushirou whispered. Koushiko bent over and covered her face with her hands and sobbed.
"Because I never existed, that's why! No one wanted me to exist! You were all happier without me, huh?" Koushiko shrieked.
"Please… who are you?" Koushirou grabbed her wrists and she looked up at him, startled. She sniffed once and looked away.
"Fine. Not like it's a flaming secret."
