Alright, I'm supposed to put an MASSIVE! applogy here, but I don't think I can apologise enough for this. But...I'M SORRY! REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, TRUELY SORRY!
I didn't actually forget about this story - in fact half of this chapter was written up last Summer. It's just I couldn't find the inspiration to write more of it. Actually, I'm quite disappointed at how this chapter has turned out. But I suppose it'll do for now. It introduces Hajime and the siblings, so I guess it isn't too much of a filler.
Also, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out. I've got a vague idea of how it's going to go, but I have yet to type it up. At the moment though, I'm mostly taken up with my Protector of Silence story, which is reaching it's epic climax. Once that's over and done with (which should only take another 10-12 chapters or something) I should be able to focus on this story more. So hopefully I'll be able to buck up the pace of these chapters by about late-summer or September. So I'm really sorry to all my faithful readers but you'll just have be patient. Until then, I'm always happy for reviews (which keep me in high-spirits) and to answer any question you have via PM. But thank you to all those who bother to remain faithful to this story!
But, for now, I have decided my OC Shouta should do this disclaimer. So Shouta, show us your stuff!
Shouta: For a simple disclaimer? Ugh, fine. Sharkey52 doesn't own Beyblade, but she does own the plot and her OCs like me, unfortunately.
Me again: So with that, I'll leave you in peace to read the chapter.
The Light and Darkness Chronicles
Chapter Sixteen - New
"Are you sure you know where you're going?"
"Positive...sort of."
"What do you mean, sort of?"
"Well, I wrote these directions myself...when I seven."
"Oh, that's a comfort! Following the directions written by an albino seven-year-old with no sense of direction!"
"I'm not an albino."
"Yeah you are!"
"My hair's silver, not white."
"I stand corrected, you're not an albino, you're an old man!"
"I am not!"
"You are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Who are you, Yu?!"
"Well at least he can write a set of directions!"
"Are we nearly there yet?"
"SHUT UP HOKUTO!"
Hokuto snorted and turned up his nose in disapproval, trotting at Hyoma's heels. Said boy rolled his eyes, his pale fingers on the strap of his rucksack, listening as Tsubasa and Hikaru now bickered about the logics of blue hair.
'They're at it like an old married couple' he thought. He froze, his lilac eyes wide. 'Wait, does that mean...?' He shook his head and began walking again 'Not yet. That gives me some time at least.' He looked at Hikaru and sighed 'Tsubasa, possibly Ginga and who-knows who else - so much so competition.'
"Keep your eyes to yourself."
Hyoma glared down at Hokuto.
"What do you know about the subject!"
"I'll have you know I have lots of experience on the subject!"
Hyoma stared at him for a few seconds before shaking his head.
"I don't wanna know" he muttered. The two looked at each other again as they heard a yowl of frustration.
"Hikaru?" they both questioned before racing ahead to where their companions had shot on ahead without them. Hikaru had snatched Tsubasa's instruction sheet, which was written in blue crayon, and was positively screaming at the older boy whilst flapping her arms like a dying duck.
"Turn left at the giant tree!?" she screamed at the poor guy. Tsubasa shrugged.
"It seemed like a good landmark at the time" he commented.
Hyoma gave a long sigh and introduced his palm to his face. The pair had been acting like kids all day! The kick-off had been on the train journey here when they started playing Uno. Whilst Hyoma was good at many card games, he wasn't familiar with Uno and failed miserably; the flashy colours didn't help. This left the stage clear for Tsubasa and Hikaru to compete like their lives were on the line. The competition soon broke down into a battle of words between the two over the subject of cheating so Hyoma had contented himself for the rest of the train journey curled up in his seat, playing around with Hikaru's phone and jumping every time the touchscreen responded to the tap of his fingers. The others however at been at each other's throats since then, including the full three hours they had been walking pretty much lost.
"We're lost, aren't we?" Hikaru asked, obviously seething in anger.
"Well, maybe a little" Tsubasa admitted.
"Well which way do we have to head?" Hikaru asked, rather impatiently "North, south, east, west? No time like the present!"
"How should I know?" Tsubasa shrugged "I don't even know which way is north anymore."
"Well get the compass out then!" Hikaru complained, resuming waving her arms in an unladylike fashion.
"We don't have a compass" Tsubasa pointed out. Hyoma considered reminding them that the reason they didn't have a compass was because the two of them had dragged him out of the house before he could grab one. He had barely enough time to write a note to Shouta explaining where he was going and certainly not enough time to make Hikaru her midday coffee, which was clearly a big mistake.
As the duo dissolved into another war of words and flailing arms, Hyoma rolled his eyes for seemed like the thousandth time that day and cleared his throat to get their attention. They both snapped their heads to look at him.
"Haneko Village is in a valley, right?" he asked. Tsubasa nodded. Hyoma set his backpack down on the ground and removed from it one of Hokuto's yellow rubber balls. He set it down on the ground and took a step back. Slowly, the ball began to roll to the right before Hyoma stopped it with his boot.
"That way" he said, picking up the ball and pointing to the right. Hikaru raised an eyebrow in question. Hyoma sighed.
"In a valley, the land carves downwards. Therefore, we should be heading in the direction where land drops. Make sense?" he explained. The other two nodded in understanding.
"How do you know that?" Hikaru asked.
"Nature boy, remember" Hyoma slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed right "Now, are you going to kill each other before we get there or will Hokuto and I be turning up with extra baggage?"
"Watch what you say" Tsubasa pointed out to him, following "According to Kenta, the last time someone called their companions baggage, they were chased around for two hours by wild bees."
"Benkei kicked their nest with a stick" Hyoma blinked.
"Keep this up, and it won't be the bees that kill you" Hikaru mumbled at the back.
"Don't suppose you've got any coffee, have you?" Tsubasa murmured to Hyoma.
"Do I look like a portable coffee machine? Now come on! Where's this giant tree we're supposed to be turning left at?"
After another half-an-hour walking, they finally found the village. The four of them stood on top of a cliff, overlooking a beautiful village. It was similar to Koma, but it appeared to be more compact and made of out of red bricks and cream concrete than Koma's wood-brown and green grass. In the centre of the village was a town square with a fountain and flower boxes and there was a river starting at the small lake to the north, carving through the village which people were kayaking on.
"Thank Pegasus, we're here" Hyoma exhaled. Then the scenery was automatically ruined as he heard arguing behind him. He felt something snap and he whirled around "Can you two knock it off for just two seconds?! We're here now!" The quarrelling racket abruptly stopped.
'Wait, that's all it took?' Hyoma blinked as he thought that 'If I'd known that I would've yelled at them ages ago.'
"Home" Tsubasa breathed, rushing over to the cliff-edge, grinning with his eyes sparkling with happiness "I'm home!" Hikaru joined him at his side, smiling too.
"You know, if I'd been in charge, we would've got here sooner."
'Aaaand, we're back to square one' Hyoma sighed as the two slipped back into the realm of anger and argument 'All this over a pack of plastic colourful cards.'
"Trouble."
"Huh?" Hyoma down at Hokuto, who was sniffing the air and not proving his point about not being a dog very well.
"Trouble's coming" the dog elaborated.
"What kind of trouble?" Hyoma pressed, making a mental reminder not to fall asleep for fear of another nightmare. Not like he could easily sleep with the way his heart was pounding in his chest like it was now. "Honey-bear trouble or destruction-of-Koma-Village trouble?" Hokuto sniffed ground, circling around as if chasing his tail at a slow pace. Then he looked up, his head sticking up in a periscope-like manner.
"Trouble as in someone else being here" he confirmed "But leaning more towards honey-bear." Either way, that set alarm bells ringing.
"Quick, in the bag" Hyoma ordered, kneeling down and opening his backpack for Hokuto to climb into. Hokuto narrowed his eyes in a 'your kidding' manner. Hyoma shook his head urgently. Rather reluctantly, Hokuto climbed in.
"If you forget about me and jiggle this bag around, I'll bite you" the dog warned as Hyoma slipped his arms through the straps.
"Bite me and I'll make the rest of this trip extremly unpleasant for you" Hyoma calmly shot back. Hokuto didn't have a witty comeback for that one.
"And I just—" Tsubasa stopped his arguement with Hikaru and raised his head, sensing a disturbance in the force. "They found us."
"Who found us?" Hikaru asked through gritted teeth, still fired up from their 237th argument that day.
"The people I didn't want to find us" Tsubasa muttered, moving to stand at Hyoma's side. Hikaru joined him there.
"Well they probably heard us well before they found us, the racket you two have been making all day" Hyoma muttered. Tsubasa frowned, but didn't say anything. Hikaru was too focused on what was coming up the hill.
"Attack of the killer monks!"
If Pavo had been here, that's probably what she would've said. The 'monks' were completely covered in black and had their hoods draw up so their faces weren't visible. They carried golden staffs with black decorations coiled around them. In fact, besides the gold on said staffs, the only thing on them that wasn't black was the purple crest on the 'forehead' of the hood. Hyoma didn't know the symbol and couldn't properly describe it other than a group of lines and swirls, but his fingers were subconsciously drawing the symbol in the air at his side.
"Who dareth enter Haneko?" The voice that greeted them was that of an old man two inches from death. It made Hyoma's heartbeat raise to a dangerous rate and his chest tighten.
"An ally" Tsubasa answered, his chin raised and his face blank of emotion "I am Otori Tsubasa, son of Otori Kazuo. This is Hasama Hikaru, a close cousin on my mother's side, and Hyoma...um..." He looked at Hyoma awkwardly. It was then he realised the other boy was finding it hard to breathe.
"H-Hayden!" Hyoma finally coughed out, and after that the coughs wouldn't stop. He was starting to understand how heart-attack victims felt.
"Hayden Hyoma, guardian of Koma Village" Tsubasa finished for him. But his voice was laced with worry and a clear message for the monks: you're somehow making my friend sick so go away because I'm done explaining. Hyoma meanwhile felt if he stood one more second he was going to faint, so he got down on one knee and clutched his chest with one of his hands, feeling as if his heart was going to pound right out of it.
"Your friend requires medical attention" the lead monk with the horrible voice stated. Tsubasa stood in front of his suddenly ill friend defensively.
"We will be fine" he said calmly but threateningly "We'll just be on our way now." The monks seemed to take that as a cue to leave, because they did - down a little side-trail.
"Can you die a little quieter please?" Hikaru placed her hands on her hips and looked at Hyoma, but he could tell she was concerned.
"Sorry!" he apologised between coughs, feeling like he could throw up "Just gi-give me a minute!"
It took a full five minutes before Hyoma could walk again, and Tsubasa and Hikaru walked either side of him just in case he showed signs of relapsing.
"Who were they?" Hyoma asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Village guardians" Tsubasa explained "They work for the Temple of Zebrus. They function as the village's guardians, but last time I checked, nobody really wanted them there."
"Wait a minute, hold the bus" Hikaru spoke up "Did you say Temple of Zebrus?"
"Yes" Tsubasa nodded "It's on the northern side of town. Never been, only the guardians go there. It's on the verge of collaspe."
"But, the legend—"
"Is a whole load of nonsense. I've heard it a billion times. It's a story made up to scare little kiddies around here."
"Uh-huh" Hikaru nodded uncertainly "If you say so." Hyoma smiled at that.
'Well, at least they haven't started arguing again.'
Haneko Village hadn't changed a bit, Tsubasa realised. Not one brick.
"Duck!"
Halfway across a bridge, Tsubasa stopped. He knew Hikaru was quite an honest person, so he hit the dirt.
"No! Not the verb! The noun!" Hikaru ran past him and pointed over the edge of the bridge "Duck!"
Tsubasa peered over the edge of the bridge also and saw a family of ducks in the water. He sighed and looked at the delighted Hikaru.
"There's a river back home" he pointed out. Hikaru shrugged.
"Yeah, but no ducks" she pointed out.
"Are you two coming?" Hyoma called back to them, already across the bridge. Hikaru swiftly followed him, but Tsubasa was slower to - wanting the enjoy the scenery and the feeling of being back home.
"Tsubasaaaaa!"
One second Tsubasa was walking behind Hikaru, the next he had suddenly disappeared. Well, actually he'd just been tackle-hugged. The force of the surprise impact had sent him and his attacker rolling across the ground until they hit the base of the bridge's railing which was essentially a waist-height stone wall to prevent people from falling into the water as they crossed the bridge. However, when you smash into it with your back, it hurts. The crash caused Tsubasa and his attacker to stop rolling and the silver-haired blader to realise he had someone sitting on his stomach.
Hyoma wasn't sure of how to react. He didn't recognise the boy who had 'attacked' Tsubasa. Light-brown eyes, pale complexion and wild dust-brown hair; none of it was familiar to him. Though it was to a wide-eyed Tsubasa.
"H-Hajime?!" he gasped "Hajime Aimura?! Is that really you?!" The boy tipped his head to the side slightly and gave him a grin.
"In the flesh!" he grinned, jabbing a thumb towards his chest.
"I-I don't believe it!" Tsubasa gasped, possibly for air "You...I mean...how old are you now?!"
"Thirteen" the boy named Hajime answered "And I'm guessing you're fifteen, correct?"
"Yes. Golly, you have changed a...OW! Oh get off me! You're like a young elephant! Argh! No, not like that, you idiot! You'll break my ribs! That's better!" Hajime clambered off Tsubasa and held out a hand to help the silver-haired boy to his feet.
"Gonna introduce your new friend Tsubasa?" Hikaru asked as she walked over with Hyoma.
"Oh, guys, this is Hajime Aimura" Tsubasa introduced them "He's a childhood friend of mine and a good blader last time I checked."
"A powerful blader" Hajime grinned, reaching into his pocket "Black Tucana and I are unbeatable!" He showed them a white attack-type bey with a black spin-track. On its face-bolt was a black long-billed bird with yellow outlines and a wide white circle for an eye.
"Black Tucana huh?" Hikaru asked "A toucan."
"Yeah, people round here tend to fight with bird beys" Hajime explained, jamming his hands in his jeans' pockets and scraping his trainer along the dusty ground.
"Hajime, these are two friends of mine" Tsubasa continued the introductions "Purple-head is Hyoma Hayden, the guardian of Koma Village."
"Koma huh?" Hajime asked "You sure get around a lot, don't you now Tsubasa?"
"He sure does" Hyoma and the Hanako Village resident shook hands "Hyoma, it's nice to meet you."
"Hajime, nice to meet you too" Hajime smiled, then it vanished into a frown "Uh, Hyoma. You do know your bag is moving?" Hyoma blinked, then realised what Hajime was talking about.
"Oh gosh! Hokuto!" he hurriedly took off his backpack and removed the disgruntled white dog from it.
"FINALLY!" Hokuto gasped with exasperation before sniffing around the town square in an investigation.
"A talking dog? Well, now I've seen everything" Hajime commented "Oh yeah. Where's Eagle, Tsubasa? Isn't he always, like, glued to your side?"
"Oh, he'll be off hunting. He'll be back in a minute" Tsubasa answered, then noticed Hikaru tapping her foot with her arms folded impatiently "Oh! Sorry! I didn't finish the introductions! This is Hikaru Hasama. She's my boss' secretary and my closest friend." He added the last three words because he knew Hyoma wouldn't mind and Yu was miles away from here. He blinked as he thought he saw the lightest of blushes on Hikaru's cheeks before she shook hands with Hajime.
"Hi, I'm Hikaru, Tsubasa's cousin" she played along. Hajime blinked.
"Cousin?" he asked "Since when did Tsubasa have a cousin? Or even an aunt and/or uncle for that matter?"
"You know, my Okkasan's brother, remember" Tsubasa hoped Hajime would leave it at that.
"What? Since when did your Okkasan have a brother?" Hajime blinked again.
"My Okkasan's brother's child" Tsubasa repeated in a 'just play along' tone. Hajime's light-brown eyes widened as he understood.
"Oh yeah! Your Okkasan's brother!" he smiled "Old Uncle Kaede! How could I forget?!"
Tsubasa leant across and whispered something to Hajime that neither Hikaru nor Hyoma could make out. Hajime's eyes widened further as he plainly understood.
"Righty-o then! I'll go right now!" he nodded before sprinting off down one of the side streets, jutting off of the square.
"He's gone to tell his family that we're staying" Tsubasa explained "He lives with his mother, and she should be okay with it. Only thing is, there's only two spare beds." Hikaru sighed.
"You take it, it's my turn to take the sofa" she sighed.
"Are you sure Hikaru?" Tsubasa asked "'Cos I can easily..."
"No, it's fine" Hikaru shook her head "You took the sofa at Koma Village, I'll take it here."
"You are sure, aren't you?" Tsubasa repeated "Because I thought a girl like you wouldn't want..." He stopped as one of Hikaru's blue eyebrow twitched.
"Oh, so that it, is it?!" she growled, her face as red as fire "You think I'm too ladylike for such things! Don't you?!" Tsubasa looked taken back.
"No! I-I didn't say anything like that! I just..."
"Well you were thinking it!"
A fully-fledged argument broke out between the two of them. Hyoma stayed quiet in the background. He didn't particularly want the sofa, he'd done his fair share of sleeping on it in the previous few weeks.
A few minutes later, Hajime came back. He must have had time to brush his hair, because it seemed slightly neater and darker than before.
"Hey! Tsubasa!" he grinned. It was almost like a greeting. He hadn't been away that long, had he? Hikaru shook her head and forced the thought out of her mind.
"So, Okkasan went out but she's happy to have any friends of Tsubasa over" Hajime went on "Come on, you remember where our house is, don't you?"
"Yeah" Tsubasa nodded "Lead on." Just as they were about to turn down the side street Hajime had appeared from, they heard Hokuto bark:
"Get away from me you runts!"
"Oggie! Oggie!"
They looked back and saw Hokuto positively pounding towards them, his black eyes wide with fear and annoyance. As he took cover behind Hyoma, they saw his pursuers. Two children, possibly brother and sister, both about four or five-years-old, both chasing after Hokuto with enormous grins on their faces. The boy looked like was the older of the two as well as the taller. He had dark hair and aqua-coloured eyes. The younger was the girl. Her hair was honey-blonde and tied back in a ponytail, contrasting with her sparkling baby-blue eyes.
"Oggie! Oggie!" They both cheered, pointing at Hokuto. Suddenly they realised that the white dog was hiding behind someone and they ground to a halt in front of Hyoma.
"Oggie!" they unisoned, pointing at Hokuto.
"That's Hokuto" Hyoma explained.
"Kuto! Kuto!" They both began calling "Oggie! Kuto!"
"Yes, Hokuto is a dog" Hyoma nodded with a smile. The little girl bent over and slapped Hokuto on the head - multiple times.
"Hyoma! I think it's attacking me!" Hokuto growled.
"I think she's petting you" Hyoma offered, trying to avoid bloodshed. This didn't seem to reassure Hokuto one bit.
"Leave me alone you pesky brat!" the dog barked at the girl, but this just made her giggle even more.
'They're so innocent' Hyoma thought with a smile, glancing between the girl and the boy. 'How I miss those days...'
"Alright, that's enough you two" Hajime said, frowning with disapproval. He removed two biscuits from his pocket, making the two kids' eyes shine with delight. He tossed them some distance away down a side street and the kids went racing after them, Hokuto no longer interesting enough.
"Who were they?" Hyoma asked, mostly out of curiously.
"Some orphans that have been hanging around here. Don't give them too much attention or they'll never leave you alone" Hajime stated, turning northwards and beginning to walk away from them. "C'mon, my house is this way."
The trio followed him hurriedly, Hyoma waking in front of the others in case they started arguing again. It was at least a minute before Hajime decided to try and be social again.
"So, Hyoma Hayden, right?" Hajime asked, taking a step back so he could walk more-or-less alongside Hyoma. "What an usual name."
"That's only half of it" Hyoma groaned "Try Hyoma Hiama Hayden. —And don't laugh!" he added as Hajime looked like he was trying very hard not to.
"Relax! I wasn't going to!" he chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender as he sped up his pace again.
"Hyoma Hiama Hayden?" Hikaru looked at him in a disbelieving fashion "Seriously?"
"Don't remind me" Hyoma pinched the bridge of his nose "Hiama's a family name, unfortunately. It's been on of the biggest banes in my life. Ginga took great pleasure in calling me 'Triple H' when we were kids."
"And you wonder why the others call you an oddball" Tsubasa grunted.
They went around a corner, and for a few seconds Hajime was out of sight before they saw him again. He seemed to be walking differently now, his pace faster and his arms swung more as he walked. This encouraged the trio to also speed up.
"I am not a oddball" Hyoma reminded him through gritted teeth "And what do you mean 'call'? As in present tense?"
Tsubasa had a knowing look in his eye. "Draw your own conclusions, but don't shoot the messenger."
Hyoma couldn't stop a small growl from escaping his throat, something Hikaru found highly amusing. But all that froze to a halt as Hyoma's head jerked up, eyes seemingly flashing silver in the sunlight as an impassive look came over his features.
"What's wrong?" Tsubasa asked, instantly concerned. "You sense something?" Hyoma paused for a second, still walking though, before asking:
"Is this part of the village new?"
"How new?" Everyone jumped as Hajime's voice came from behind them. Sure enough, Hajime was just a metre or two behind them and had sped up a little to catch up with them.
'He would've had to walk around the whole cluster of houses in the space of a few seconds to do that' Hyoma mentally frowned, but shook his head. It didn't really matter. "As in, a couple of generations ago? After...after a fire or an earthquake or some sort?"
Hajime raised an eyebrow at this, but eventually answered: "Yes, this whole side of the village had to be remodelled after Zebrus. It tore most of the old buildings in this area down. Why the curiosity?"
"Zebrus?!" Hikaru helped, but her cry went ignored.
"I just saw things differently for a second there" Hyoma explained "There weren't very many houses, and they looked really old-fashioned and burnt out. But I saw what looked like a temple carved into the mountain in the background. And flowers. Lots of flowers."
"Ah, flowers - Haneko's namesake" Hajime sighed, his gaze distant for a moment. "Legend says, this place was built by monks looking to build a temple to worship some kind of god. They were told to built it near an enormous patch of flowers, which they found here. The temple became known as Haneko's Shrine. But these days, it's typically known as the Temple of Zebrus."
"So, it was...a memory?" Hyoma murmured, turning away from Hajime and hanging his head. Hikaru and Tsubasa shared an uncertain glance.
"In the daytime?" Hikaru asked "I thought you only got them at night?"
"That's true" Hyoma confirmed "At least...until now..." An awkward silence.
"Well, at least it wasn't a bad memory" Tsubasa tried to think of a positive. Hyoma nodded, but kept his gaze trained on the ground and said nothing. Another awkward silence.
"So, about this whole Zebrus thing" Hikaru spoke up finally "Is there any logic behind it?"
"Oh yeah. Loads of it" Hajime grinned from...in front of them?
'I swore he was behind us a minute ago' Hikaru frowned, but chose to ignore it "Really, like what?"
"Well, it's said to be home to one of the Three Saviours" Hajime tried, but at the looks of confusion he was getting he went on: "The Three Saviours were the three beys and their wielders said to have defeated Zebrus. They each came from one of the villages. The bey of the sky was said to have come from Haneko, whilst the earth bey came from Koma and the sea bey from Nanami Village - another ancient village long since swallowed by the sea. But it was said Haneko was where they fought Dark Zebrus. They forced Zebrus' darkness back into it's bey and sealed it in ice in the Temple of Zebrus, hence the name. Of course, no one can verify this 'cos the only ones allowed into the temple are those dumb old guardians and they," he shuddered "they just give me the creeps!"
Tsubasa felt a tug on his sleeve and he looked over his shoulder to see Hyoma was gripping it. The lilac-haired boy was shivering, and this wasn't unnoticed by Tsubasa.
"What's wrong? You cold or something?" he asked.
"No, no that's not it" Hyoma shook his head, the shivering slowing ever so slightly "I just thought of something. I-I'll tell you later, okay."
Tsubasa frowned, but agreed to it. "Alright, but you can tell me if you're holding something back. Okay?"
"Yeah, I know" Hyoma nodded, but Tsubasa wasn't entirely certain. Thankfully the tenseness was broken by:
"So, are we nearly there yet?" Hokuto had been so surprisingly silent that everyone had almost forgotten he was there.
"Nearly, just around the corner." Everyone jumped as they realised Hajime was behind them again.
'Is he messing with us or something?' Hikaru couldn't help but think.
"Okkasan should've finished dinner by now." Everyone's heads zipped forward again as suddenly Hajime was in front of them again.
"You have to try her boiled rice and salmon - it's the best meal from here to Osaka!"
"There's two of them?!" Hikaru spluttered, looking back and forth between the two Hajimes. One of them (the one behind them) was smirking whilst the one in front looking like he was holding back hysterical laughter. Which was more than Tsubasa was doing.
"N-Nice going (gasp) T-Taro!" Tsubasa spluttered out between his roars of laughter.
"Tsubasa? What's going on?" Hyoma asked, as confused as Hikaru was. Tsubasa tried to calm himself down and righten himself, and had almost succeeded as he grinned:
"Guys, did I forget to mention Hajime's a twin?"