Subaru スバル
Subaru spent most of his afternoon keeping an eye on Sora and making sure that she didn't assault any of their other classmates.
Jeez, he thought irritably as he watched Sora help pass a note across to the student sitting beside her. Who hugs someone they just met anyway?
For most of the day it had felt as though God didn't want them to experience this first day together; there was always someone who wanted his sister's attention - for better or worse. First it was the boy who had helped her find the school on the exam day, then the cheerful giant that she had decided to hug right away, before being dragged to the other side of the cafeteria to be introduced to another boy. Asides from Nanami, how many girls had Sora actually spoken to since arriving here?
I suppose she'll have her roommate at least. And then his brotherly instinct really kicked in and before he knew it, his form had bolted upright, "WHO'S GONNA BE HER ROOMMATE?!"
The entire class burst into laughter and when he came to and realised what had happened, blood rushed to his cheeks. At the front of the class, Ringo-sensei appeared half-annoyed, half-amused. The cross-dressing idol made his way to Subaru's desk and shook his head in disbelief.
"Thinking about girls already? Tch, tch." The idol flicked his perfect hair across one shoulder and wagged his finger at Subaru, who was self-conscious of every student's eyes on him - including his sister's. He lowered himself back into his chair and avoided meeting anyone's gaze.
Ringo-sensei smiled and stole a glance at Sora, who was torn between embarrassment on behalf of her twin, and amusement at the entire scene.
"You two are the Shimono twins, aren't you?" Ringo-sensei asked playfully. "The twins who overcame all odds - both mental and physical - in order to pursue their love for singing!"
He tapped on the desk expectantly for Subaru to lift his head, "Isn't that right, Su...ba..ru?~~" He accentuated each syllable with a cheeky twinkle in his eye.
"I- I don't sing," was all he could mumble back.
"Oh~~?" His teacher turned their attention to Sora instead, "Is that right, Sora-chan?"
Her eyes widened and her lips hesitated to form words until she managed to squeak out, "We're a double act."
Ringo-sensei clapped his hands and laughed triumphantly, "Is that so? Well, I'm sure we'd all love to hear you sing." He looked to the other students, "Right, minna?"
They nodded enthusiastically - including the two boys who Sora had spoken to at lunchtime.
Subaru swallowed hard, trying his best to use his twin abilities to tell Sora to make up a valid excuse - she'd always been more imaginative than him when it came to excuses. Surely she knew enough to know that he wouldn't sing - that he couldn't sing? Not since last June. Not since...
But Sora had already bounced up and was looking to him with her usual playful expression, "Let's do it, Nii-chan!"
He shook his head roughly, "Absolutely not."
"Please?" Her eyes were bright, eager to prove and determined. It had all been the same that last time too; she'd begged to sing one more song while the summer festival cheered for an encore and then--
"NO!" He shot up and before she could say one more word, had marched out of the class - out of the building, intent on going anywhere that wasn't... there.
He exhaled heavily as he followed a path that led down towards a lake. The school building could be seen in the distance, and the trees around him helped him feel sheltered from his sudden vulnerability.
How many times had he told Sora that he wouldn't sing anymore? That he wouldn't perform?
She's pressed him over and over again, sometimes becoming seriously upset when his answer never changed, and yet she'd so casually approached the topic in class.
He'd come to this school to compose. If he could no longer be part of the duet act that he and Sora had promised to create when they were older, then he would compose for her instead. He thought that it had seemed fine that way; that she had seemed fine with that plan too.
But no, her plan was always to sing with him. To make him sing again no matter what his thoughts about it were.
He wondered if this had been what she'd planned all along, and that making him join the Composer Program was just a way to make him enrol in the academy in the first place.
I wouldn't have put it past her, he thought bitterly. She never listens when she wants something. She never considers the feelings of others. Why can't she ever act like an older sister?
Subaru sighed again, regretting the way he'd shifted his bitterness onto Sora instead. It wasn't like it was her fault - she just wanted to pursue their dreams together. It was frustrating. Not singing was frustrating.
He stopped and watched as a black cat rubbed its head against a wooden post that belonged to the dock; purring as it erased the itch behind its ear before stalking off into the trees.
The water was crystal clear; as tranquil as the day everything had fallen apart at the summer festival last year.
The tune found Subaru and before the sound could be flattened and quenched in his throat, he began to sing the last song he'd ever sung:
On the summer's day that still echoed with sorrow
Mada kanashimi ga nokotte iru natsu no hi ni
You came back from the dead
anata wa shi kara modotta
A silver angel
Gin no tenshi
Tugging on her red string
kanojo no akai himo o hippatte
Blessed by the sky.
sora ni shukufuku sa reru.
Earth, Sky
Chikyū, sora
Yin, Yang
Onmyō
We are two
futaridesuga,
But really one.
hontōni hitori
And I missed the voice that matched mine;
Watashi no koe ni atta koe ga kikoenakatta
Our lullaby.
OYUA RARABAI
A moment of long awaited silence hung over him before his ears caught another sound. It was a voice - a proud one.
"HA! Shimono-san: I have been waiting for this moment!"
【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】
Sora 天
To her utmost surprise, Sora was lost again. After Subaru stormed out of class, Ringo-sensei had said that he'd let everyone go to their dorms and begin properly moving in. Sora had wondered if maybe she should search for her brother, but then she remembered how his expression had darkened when she'd suggested they sing together, and she decided to let him come to her when he was ready. It wasn't as if she'd even know where to begin looking for him anyhow, and knowing her she'd end up getting more lost.
As it was, she'd managed to follow Nanami out of the main school building, which is where she found a large group of students checking the noticeboard for their dorm room assignments.
This was something she was excited about! Roommates always ended up being great friends in all the manga she had read while in hospital, and she'd made friends with the few children that passed through her ward at times, before they'd been discharged.
She hoped that the same would happen for her here.
Better play it safe and wait my turn, she decided, not wanting to reply what had happened in the cafeteria. Her legs trembled with anticipation as each student in front of her read the name of the person they'd be rooming with until graduation.
She bounced from foot to foot, humming her lullaby under her breath. I hope they're nice. I hope they don't mind helping me get around when Subaru can't. OH! And I hope that we can have a midnight feast one day and tell lots of stories and jokes and--
Her daydream was cut off when the last student in front of her disappeared, leaving her alone with the noticeboard. She could barely keep the buzz of her brain silent enough to concentrate on the characters. Her name was simple enough to read: 下野 天.
However, her fidgeting mind refused to slow down, which is why it took awhile for her to spot her name at the bottom of the list - with the space opposite it completely blank.
Her heart sank.
"Sonna..." She trailed off, the disappointment weighing down her tongue. How had she gotten this unlucky?
Taking her room number into consideration, she managed to find her way to the front of the girls dorm - mostly by following other, more functional human beings who didn't rely on her brother to get them from point A to point B.
I hope he finds his dorm okay, she thought, taking a step inside the door. It was a simple enough building layout, with a small lobby for visitors to sit and wait. An elevator was to her left, while she spied a set of stairs on her right.
She'd never gone up a huge number of stairs before - probably because Subaru had always insisted she use an elevator or that he carry her himself when it came to actions that might impact her health.
But Subaru isn't here right now, she reminded herself. So why shouldn't I try it? I'll go slow, and prove to myself that I can do something this simple.
She remembered her room number: 221.
But what floor does that mean it's on? She'd completely forgotten to check and she mentally kicked herself.
Thankfully, she'd be free to wander about without needing to drag her suitcase about with her - all luggage had been delivered to the rooms that morning while they were in class. The only thing she had to worry about was delivering herself there.
Sora clapped, "Yoshi! I can do this!"
She took a deep breath the way Syo-kun had instructed her, and began her ascent.
~ 76 stairs later ~
Sora wanted to die.
"Why would anyone willingly use these things?" She panted, leaning against the doorway of the second floor.
She had made it. Unharmed - more or less.
She found her room tucked away at the other end of the floor, next to a smaller staircase labelled:
To the rooftop.
After checking that her stuff was indeed all there, and tucking her room key into her school blazer pocket, she decided to risk her possible death by stairs and go further up.
Surprisingly, the door to the rooftop was unlocked, and she sighed in relief as the wind reached out to her; ruffling her hair and making her school skirt flap violently. Her laugh echoed and the wind carried it away, towards the forest.
She properly took in the sight below. There was a forest, but also a lake with it's own little dock, and a cute little gazebo a little ways off from it. For a moment she thought she saw the shadow of a person, but quickly put it down to a trick of the light. It was almost night after all, and the moon could already be seen peeking out from a stray cloud.
Except, there was something that she could see and it definitely wasn't a figment of her imagination.
Nanami, the shy girl from her class, was chasing... a cat?
There was no way she'd imagine something so silly, right?
"I have to make sure I'm not hallucinating from using stairs," she told herself, running towards the door.
This time she used the much appreciated elevator that happily hummed to her as it moved her all the way back down to the ground floor.
She hurried outside only to be greeted by the full bloomed moon. But this wasn't the time to be appreciating the moon - this was the time to be making sure that she wasn't in some sort of lonely-induced hallucinatory state of mind.
Or so she told herself. Part of her just really want to explore.
The path to the lake was easily marked and luckily lit by easy to follow lanterns. Unless she was a total idiot, there was no way that she'd not be able to find her way back safely to her room.
It was as she thought. Nanami seemed to be in awe of something however, and it wasn't a cat.
Sora's legs almost gave out, but she managed to finish making her way towards Nanami, but that didn't make her stop stuttering herself bright red under all that moonlight.
There was a tall man, with perfectly styled hair and distant eyes.
"HAYOTO-sama!" Both she and Nanami squeaked out at the same time.
He glared at the pair of them, both quivering as they faced the idol in total awe.
"I am Ichinose Tokiya." He said, after they'd composed themselves somewhat. Sora's heart was trembling, and the sweat that was gathering at the base of her neck was giving her a chill.
Beside her, Nanami didn't seem to understand, "Huh?"
'Ichinose Tokiya' stood but still refused to face them, "Do not compare me to that frivolous man."
"But... aren't you HAYATO-sama?" Nanami pressed on. Sora studied her carefully. She was the sort of huggable person like Shinomiya. Totally pure and innocent and... well, a lot like herself, doubly so if they were fans of the 'infamous' HAYATO.
Another voice answered her question, "Oh, no. You are wrong!" The human whirlwind that followed frightened the life out of poor Nanami. At the end of the display, Sora recognised the principal Shining Saotome, with his usual brilliant stage smile and savvy sunglasses.
Nanami was overwhelmed, "What? Principal? When did you get there?"
He brushed off her concern, "I've been here the whole time."
Sora decided not to say any sentence that included the word 'creepy' in it, just to be safe.
"He is not HAYATO." Shining continued, "He is HAYATO's younger twin brother, Ichinose Tokiya."
How many twins are in this school? Sora wanted to yell. There was some merit to the story, but it did still feel like a cover up. She tried to tune in to Shining's explanation but her ears couldn't focus and she found herself hearing a soundless drone. This ALWAYS happened. Why was she so unfocused all the time? It was annoying.
Still, when Nanami shook her back into reality and suggested that they turn in for the night, she didn't complain. Tomorrow was going to be full on.
She was in high spirits despite it all, until she reached her empty dorm room and she remembered that she would be by herself for the entire year. Just like she had been in the hospital.
This wouldn't do at all.
Where is Subaru? I thought he'd at least make sure I found my room.
Maybe she'd been leaning on him too much recently; perhaps she should go out and look for him - or maybe visit his room?
Although there's probably rules about that stuff here, huh? Stuff like no girls in the boys dorm. Although... I AM his sister so maybe...
She grinned and dashed out of her room for the second time that night.
【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】