Buckle up buckeroos, this chapter is kinda long, kinda sad, and kinda emotional so get your crying caps ready.
Tsuki POV
After a few hours of catching up with Kyoka and a couple of on and off examinations from my nurse and doctor, I'm finally given the ok to be discharged from the hospital along with my dad. I slip on the change of clothes Uncle Mic brought for me earlier and head for the exit to wait for him and dad.
They arrive a few minutes after I do with dad being wheeled out in a wheelchair by an overly amplified Uncle Mic. Though I can't see his face through all of the bandages, I can sense his irritation from a mile away and can't help but giggle to myself.
Being wrapped excessively to the point to where he's borderline mummified has to be insanely uncomfortable, and I can imagine having to deal with Uncle Mic's antics without being able to properly shoot him a death glare, middle finger, or a smack to the head must be eating the poor man alive.
Tragic really.
"HEY HEEEEEY DOLLFACE, YOU READY TO BOOGEY ON OUT OF THIS PLACE?" Uncle Mic screeches.
"That would be nice." I smile, massaging my eardrum.
"You don't have to be so loud idiot, we're the only ones out here...AND WE'RE RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF YOU." My dad huffs in annoyance, raising his voice ever so slightly to get his his point across.
"...Oh right. MY BAD. You know how I get when I'm EXCITED." The tall blond cheers, giving us overly enthusiastic jazz hands.
"Oh yeah...we know." I mumble under my breath.
"I'm just glad to see my best friend and niece finally leave this place. It's only been two days but it felt like two yeaaaars." Uncle Mic whines while encasing us in a group hug.
"Hey, not so much! Tone it down a bit will ya?" I growl, giving him a soft bonk to the head. "I might be fine, but dad is still severely injured so be careful."
"Oh right...oops." He chuckles nervously.
"Moron." My dad deadpans.
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"Ugh, finally. Home sweet home." I sigh, dragging myself through the front door. My father not too far behind me.
I hear a rush of paws heading our way from upstairs before I'm suddenly attacked by a very excited Mochi jumping into my arms and met with a visibly annoyed Crash.
"Yaaaay, you're here! We've missed you!" Mochi exclaims, snuggling her head into my neck while Crash just props himself up on my leg.
"Where the hell have you been? And why do you guys looks like shit?" He hisses at us.
"Aww, well I missed you guys too. I'll fill you in on what you missed later. Right now, I am about to take a much needed shower." I reply, giving the two a few more scratches to the head before letting Mochi down from my arms and heading for the stairs. "You're gonna be alright until I'm done, right dad?"
"Yeah I'll be fine. It's not like I'm a capable adult or anything." He retorts, resting himself on the couch.
"Okay." I giggle, "I'll be back down in about an hour or so to make us some dinner. Is yakisoba ok?"
"Sounds good."
I climb the stairs and enter my room, immediately stripping myself of my clothes before heading into the bathroom to get the shower running.
I remove my bandages and stop in front of the mirror to examine my body, only now seeing completely for myself just how much damage I actually took on.
A few small loose scars can be seen scattered across my arms, one stray cut still in the process of healing across my right thigh and one permanent looking scar resting comfortably on my left eyebrow, slightly above my eye. Not to mention some light bruising here and there, which is pretty much expected considering how many hits I took.
After I'm finished with my shower, I dry myself off, replace the bandages for my thigh and grab myself something comfy to wear.
I towel dry my hair as make my way downstairs only to find my dad passed out on the couch with a few files sprawled out across himself and the coffee table.
'You never know when to give yourself a break, do you?'
Setting the towel aside on the end of the couch, I grab one of the blankets that we had folded up and make my way back over to the sleeping man.
I gather different papers, grouping them together and tucking them away neatly into the folder on the coffee table. That is, until a few draw my attention.
'What in the-...That's a lot of locations, this must be a really big case. Is this why he's been taking so may night shifts?...Huh?...'
"...twelve years ago?" I mindlessly mumble out loud, the sudden sound of my voice causing my father to stir.
"Tsuki?" He yawns.
"Shit. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
"No, you're fine."
"What is all of this? Whatever it is, it looks pretty big. Is this what you've been working on with Uncle Ritsu?"
"It is. I was thinking it was about the right time to tell you. This isn't exactly how I'd imagined you'd find out, but that doesn't matter right now." He sighs, sitting himself upright. "You may want to sit down for this. It's kind of a lot to take in at once."
"Ok, sure." I reply, a bit more worried than before. I take his advice and settle down in the empty spot next to him. "What is it?"
"There's not really an easy way for me to tell you this, so I'll be frank. All that I ask is that you try your best to understand." He speaks firmly, looking to me in confirmation that I'm following.
I just give him a small nod in return, encouraging him to continue.
"Alright then.....The little girl, that you've been having dreams about? She isn't just any little girl. And those 'dreams' aren't really dreams, they're deeply embedded memories that your subconscious is trying to get you to remember."
"O-kaaay....so what are you trying to tell me?"
"The truth is...you're not an only child...You have a twin sister."
"...w-wait, I have....a s-sister?"
"You don't remember her too well because she was kidnapped twelve years ago when the both of you were only two years old."
"Bu-"
'Then...all of those dreams...were real events in my life once upon a time?..'
"-I'm not sure what her quirk is since you both were still so small. The two of you were born with cat-like features, so I can only assume that they are similar if not the same."
'Our quirks are similar? Wait if that's so then...the cat from the alleyway...the familiar smell...the white fur with the black patch...T-THAT WAS HER.'
"-your Uncle and I believe that we have a pretty good idea of where they may have her located. Though we can't be too sure since the organization is known to switch up their whereabouts fairly often to avoid being tracked down, so the process has proven itself to be fairly tricky to a good amount."
'The scent! Her fucking scent. Mom taught me about kinscent when I was little. The familiar and distinct scent that family members share. Of course! How did I forget? I knew I wasn't crazy. And to think, she was right there in my face...'
"Oh my God..." I choke out barely above a whisper.
By now my dad has stopped talking completely, now looking to me in concern as the realization finally starts to resonate within me.
"...Why?" I mumble, staring off into space. "Why are you just now telling me this?!"
A plethora of mixed thoughts and emotions are racing through my mind a million miles a minute. Much so that I didn't even realize that I began pacing back and forth across the living room.
"I've been going through my days making it appear as if everything is all good on the outside, while deep down on the inside I've been having this feeling of emptiness. Like something's missing from my life. Like I'm incomplete. And now I know why, because I am."
"Every time I'd mention this to you, Aunt Keina, or Uncle Ritsu you guys would always brush it off and try to cover it up like it was nothing. Like I shouldn't worry about it. You'd always play it off with the same old, 'Maybe it's because you still miss your mother' line all the time. But I knew there was something more. There was always something more to it." I finally stop pacing to look at my father as I feel my level of anger beginning to rise rapidly.
"DO YOU KNOW HOW CRAZY THAT MADE ME FEEL. DID YOU GUYS EVEN CONSIDER MY FEELINGS AT ALL THROUGH ANY OF THIS?"
"I know sweetheart." He starts in a cautious tone in attempt to somewhat calm me down. "I understand that you may be in shock at the moment, but please sit down and let me finish explaining."
"NO, YOU LIED TO ME! YOU'VE BEEN LYING TO ME FOR YEARS. FOR TWELVE. YEARS."
"Tsuki just listen to me-"
"AND NOT EVEN JUST YOU, EVERYONE ELSE TOO."
"Tsuki-"
"NO!"
"TSUKI, SIT. DOWN."
The sudden raise to his voice catches me by surprise as the both of us grow silent. It isn't until now that I'm finally able to clearly sense his chemosignals: Anguish. Guilt. Sorrow. I was so caught up my own anger that I allowed myself to lose it. The room was so clouded by my own emotions that I wasn't even able to sense his.
'Damnit Tsuki. You're supposed to be more composed this. Pull yourself together for fuck sake.'
Looking now into his eyes, I can see that he's crying. And from the looks of it, these tears are fresh. Each one more heavy and forceful than the last. Knowing him he was probably trying his best to hold it all in and keep those tears locked away for my sake, but my blatant anger may have been the final breaking point in allowing them to escape.
'Nice going idiot.' I mentally scold myself. I silently take my seat next to my father without uttering another word.
He uses this time to take a moment to compose himself, breathing in deep, slow breaths to calm down before speaking again.
"Yes, I did lie and I'm sorry. Your mother and I thought it'd be easier for you to forget and move on rather than have to carry that pain with you. So we decided to bear it ourselves and we asked your Uncle Ritsu, Aunt Keina, and Uncle Mic to not talk about her around you. I realize now that the choice was completely irrational of us, but we just wanted you to grow up without having to worry about the past."
"The day it happened just about tore your mother and I to pieces. Having lost your sister just like that, seeing the heartbreak in Riya's eyes, the confusion of the situation on your face, and not being able to do anything about it right then and there. It was just too much. Not being there when it happened only made things worse. The most recent dream you had about her? That was the day she was taken. You mother and I had both been called out to work that day, so we had to leave the two of you with my parents. Instead of keeping you both cooped up in the house for the rest of the day until we got back, they thought it'd be fun to take you girls to a nearby festival. But since you had only just turned two and were still fairly small, it wasn't long before they managed to lose you girls to the large crowd of people there. Eventually a pro hero in the area found you crying by yourself and tried to help you find your sister and grandparents. When they couldn't, they asked where we were and you told them who we were. They immediately contacted us and filled us in on the situation and we got there as soon as we could. But, we were too late. By the time we arrived, a few officers had already found the bodies of both of your grandparents and your sister was long gone from the scene."
"The guilt from not telling you would constantly eat me alive every day. Every time I looked you in your eyes and pretended that everything was fine. I realize now that I should have never done that. I thought of telling you the truth after your mother died, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. You already looked so devastated, I thought by telling you then it'd just be adding more salt to the wound. As if losing one child and my parents that day wasn't enough, but then I had to lose my wife too, your mother, a few years later. I could only image the pain you were going through. I'd look at myself in the mirror everyday, every damn day and see myself as unfit to call myself a husband, father, son, hell or even a hero for that matter. I'd ask myself: what kind of hero can't even keep his own fucking family safe?"
"As time progressed, the pain became unbearable. I felt like I had to prove to myself that I was worthy, hoping that by taking more night patrols and investigations I'd finally be able to catch the bastards behind all of this. But I didn't even realize how distant it was making me seem from you. And look what's become of it now. What I thought as a viable solution of protecting you from the pain of the past ended up coming back to bite me in the ass. I'm such a fucking idiot. All that did was make things worse."
"Regardless of what I say, I know there's no excuse for what I did. And if you end up resenting me because of it, I completely understand. I deserve it. I'm sorry sweetheart. So, so sorry."
By now his silent tears have transformed into painful, load bearing sobs. It's as if almost instantly the walls and borders he's been building up for the past twelve years has begun crumbling down. Brick by brick, stone by stone, until there's nothing left to hold it all in.
'This whole time...he's been holding himself accountable. Blaming himself every day. Holding in all of this frustration. But...it couldn't be helped. Him and mom were both still so young, both fresh into their careers. So of course they had to go. Plus, who would've known something like that would end up happening? No one in their right minds would've seen it coming. It's not their fault.'
"No. We can't change our past, but we can still change our future. That's something mom used to tell me all the time." I say, breaking the silence and reaching over to wipe his tears before embracing him. "I don't hate you, resent you, or any of that. We're blood. You're still my dad and I'm still your daughter at the end of the day whether either of us likes it or not."
I let him go and wipe the tears that are now threatening to fall from my own eyes before continuing.
"I forgive you. You meant well, despite my better judgement. I understand now and I'm sorry for lashing out. I allowed myself to be so blinded by my own anger that I didn't even take into consideration of how you must've been feeling all of these years or just how much you had to go through. Yeah it hurts just finding out the truth about all of this just now, but I can't even begin to fathom how much it must've hurt to keep all of this in for so long. And no. You're not an unfit father, husband, son, or hero. You're the strongest person I know by far. You've carried so much weight on your shoulders by yourself for this long and still managed to maintain a career as both a UA teacher and a pro hero. All the while taking care of me, making sure I was well provided for, and still managing to search for my sister for the past few years. So thank you, dad. Thank you for showing me what true strength looks like and for telling me the truth."
"No, thank you honey." He replies wholeheartedly.
Even though I can't see the entirety of his face through his bandages, I can feel him smiling warmly at my words. The feeling causes me to do the same in return, feeling more at ease than before.
"So. Wow. I have a sister....I can't believe it. Even just saying still feels foreign to me. I guess it still needs some time to sink in."
"Here." He fiddles around with one of the folders before handing me a picture.
"What's this?"
"That's the last picture the two of you took together."
(A/N: I know this is outside in the rain somewhere, but let's just pretend that it's not.)
"It was a little bit after we moved into our old house, the one your mother and I bought. While we unpacked a few things in the living room and kitchen, you girls decided to have yourselves a little adventure of your own around the house. By the time we decided to get you two washed up for bed, you were already down for the count. All tuckered out and curled up together in a box in the hallway."
"We were so little..."
"Yes you were. You know, your sister could never seem to go to sleep without you. Every time your mother and I would put the two of you down to sleep at night, she'd always end up right back in the bed with you. We thought it was the cutest thing ever."
"She looks just like mom, just with cat ears and a tail like me."
"That's what I told your mother after the two of you were born. She said that you took after me too so we both had a mini twin of our own in a way."
"Do you want to know her name?" He asks, earning a curious nod from me.
"You already do." He states knowingly.
"I do?" I ask perplexed, cocking my head to the side.
"Yep."
"But the other day when I told you about the dream, well memory now I guess, you asked me then if I remembered and I couldn't think of it."
"What did we tell you that your name, Tsuki, meant?"
"Moon."
"Mhmm. So what's a name for sun?"
I sit there in thought momentarily until it finally comes to me.
"Taiyo."
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Word count: 3153
•~•A/N•~•
Hi loves! I want to apologize once again for taking so long to finish and get this chapter up and out. I've already explained why a few times now, so I'm not going to say all of that again.
I just hope that you enjoyed this chapter and the long awaited reveal. Tsuki has a twin sister named Taiyo. Moon and Sun. It feels good to finally be able to write more about her now. I've been waiting for this moment for MONTHS and now it's finally here.
But on that note, please don't forget to vote and let me know if you enjoyed this chapter. I love and appreciate every single one you guys and I'll see you all in the next chapter!!
Carter xoxo