"I don't know how much pain you're feeling. But it's not embarrassing to ask for help."
---
The next day, the twins decided to go under the bridge, where Housen and Oya High previously fought, to talk to Erika in private.
The girl didn't hesitate to go and meet them. The twins were right that they didn't need to persuade her into coming.
Erika shows up fifteen minutes after the twins as she comes with two thugs behind her. Kiko and Nozomi looked at each other and shrugged it off. They can take them down if they need to.
"What, been wondering how I got away?" Erika questioned with a smirk on her face.
"No, we just wanted to talk," Nozomi calmly replied.
"What do you fucking want to say, huh?! Didn't I make it clear that I don't like you when I pushed you down the stairs?!" Erika yelled as she glared at the younger twin.
Kiko's jaw tightened in anger as she stepped forward causing Erika to glance in her direction.
"We're not here to fight you, alright?" Kiko told her. "We're just here to talk if that ain't clear to you."
"You're just wasting my time!"
"I'm sorry!" Kiko exclaimed. "I'm sorry for everything! For what happened to Mari!"
Erika stared at her as she felt her heart quicken at the mention of her dead sister's name.
"Shut the fuck up!" she yelled.
"No, I won't! Look, I know you're still hurting about what happened to your sister but you know! You know yourself that this is not what she wants for you!" Kiko yelled back.
"I SAID SHUT UP!" Erika screamed as she ran towards Kiko and slapped her. Nozomi gasped and was about to walk to her twin but Kiko stopped her.
She looked at Erika with a calm look. "Mari was a nice person and you were lucky to have her as your sister. She was a good friend of ours, too."
"SHUT UP!" Erika yelled and punched her in the face causing Kiko to stumble a bit but she regained her balance and pinned her gaze on the young girl.
"I should have known what you were feeling when she died but I was too swallowed up with my own grief that I forgot someone else was hurting too until my sister helped me to realize it." Erika punched her once again but Kiko didn't falter. Nozomi looked at her sister with tears brimming in her eyes.
"It's not embarrassing to ask for help."
Erika cried as her fist hit Kiko's side lip although this time it felt so weak.
"Don't you forget that someone is ready to listen to you," Kiko whispered as Erika sobbed while glaring at her.
"No..." Erika's voice broke. "You don't know what I am feeling!"
She was about to land her first on Kiko's face again when Kiko held her knuckles.
"Then let us know! Let us know what you're feeling! You don't have to let someone get hurt and let them experience the same pain!"
"Just shut up, please..." Erika muttered as she kneeled on the ground while sobbing. Nozomi slowly took a step forward and crouched down at her height.
"We don't want you to feel alone," Nozomi whispered.
"I'm sorry..." Erika looked up at her and cried.
"It's alright," Nozomi told her and gave her a light smile.
---
After a long conversation with Erika about what she had been through when her sister died, the twins decided to go home but not without taking the younger girl home. The two thugs that were with Erika ally nice. They weren't really there to beat the twins if shit was about to go down.
They were just there to make sure that Erika was safe because they know that she was scared to confront the twins. They were working at a construction site near Erika's house and they are just two years older than them.
The twins found out that their report was trashed because Erika's parents paid the police to clear her name. Erika's life was a bit rocky when Mari died, her parents were disappointed with how she turned out and it became usual for them for her to get into trouble.
The twins offered to go with Erika to talk to her parents but Erika refused, saying that it got to be only her and that she had to own up to all her problems.
"Ouch!" Kiko exclaimed as Nozomi poked her cut lip with cotton that was damp with antiseptic.
"Stay still for a bit! I'm working with one arm here," Nozomi reminded her that her left arm is still in a cast.
Yuken then entered their house and stopped in the living room where the two are sitting down.
"What the fuck happened to you?" Yuken questioned as he looked at Kiko's face.
"Okairi!" Kiko grinned but then winced when she felt the wound sting.
"We talked to Erika," Nozomi told her brother as she lightly treated Kiko's bruises on her face.
"She did that to you?" Yuken asked as he felt anger rising.
"Yes," Kiko said. "But we're all good now so no need to get angry. Although, she packs a punch, dammit."
The twins then told him what happened with meeting with Erika. Yuken calmed down when he heard the full story and replaced Nozomi in treating Kiko's bruises.
"You should be glad that Mom and Dad are not coming home today. If they see your face, you're dead," Yuken told Kiko who let out a sigh of relief.
"Well, I guess I'm lucky today," Kiko grinned.
---
After the events that occurred yesterday, the twins decided to go for ice cream near the shrine where they stumbled upon Tsukasa and Fujio.
"Oh!" Kiko and Fujio exclaimed as they pointed at one another. Both of them have clear bruises on their faces.
"What the heck happened to you?!" Fujio questioned.
"I'd like to ask the same thing of you!" Kiko countered.
Nozomi and Tsukasa looked at each other and smiled.
"I fought Motoaki," Fujio answered. "What about you? Did you fall out of your bed?"
Kiko glared at him and punched his arm causing the boy to laugh at her. "I fought someone, too!"
"It was more like you let that someone punch you, actually," Nozomi voiced. Tsukasa and Fujio frowned in concern as they looked at the twins.
"What happened?" Tsukasa asked.
"We talked with Erika," Nozomi answered.
"What? Why? So, she hurt you?" Fujio asked as he pointed to Kiko in worry.
They sat down at the benches near the shrine as they explained to Tsukasa and Fujio what happened yesterday.
"We settled it already," Nozomi said after they told them about the events yesterday.
"That's a relief," Tsukasa nodded. "The situation feels familiar, though."
Fujio glanced at the blonde and smirked. "Yeah."
"So, you settled things with Sakata Motoaki, too, huh?" Kiko questioned.
"Yep, it's all good," Fujio replied with a smile.
"Can I meet him?" Nozomi questioned causing the trio to look at her in surprise.
"Why do you want to meet him?" Tsukasa asked a bit worried.
Nozomi shrugged and smiled. "I'm curious."
"Oh, I want to meet him, too!" Kiko excitedly told them.
Fujio and Tsukasa looked at each other in confusion. Nozomi noticed it and she let out a light chuckle.
"I wanted to thank him," Nozomi said causing the trio to frown. "I told you guys he was the one who called the ambulance for me? If he didn't do it, I don't know what will happen to me."
Kiko nodded. "Then, I also want to thank him for saving you."
---
Hello! How are you all? How's the story so far?
School's a bit mean to me, I'm basically loaded and busy. :<
I'll probably make some time to edit my stories when I finished all my school-related work.
Stay safe, everyone! <3