Naki clutched the toilet as he heaved out the day's breakfast, this was the second time it was happening.
He couldn't stomach any sort of food with Rita's burnt corpse still fresh in his mind.
He was not okay, and he didn't think he would be for a long time, but if he had to put up a front for his sister and great-aunt, then he was going to pretend to be okay for as long as it took.
After flushing, he brushed his teeth for the second time that morning then washed his face with cold water, taking a while to stare at his reflection in the mirror.
Yeah, he wasn't fooling anyone.
Walking back into his bedroom, he put on a light jacket and some comfortable shoes before leaving his apartment to get his sister.
On the other side of the floor, Taki stared at her brand-new smartphone, feeling conflicted.
Himari had helped her set up her phone to her liking and now all that was left to do was to add the contacts of those she wished to talk to, and that's where the conflict came in.
On one hand, she wanted to talk to the stranger that saved her life and get to know him, but on the other hand, she didn't want to add one more person to worry about in her life.
She was far from normal and could do things average girls her age can't even dream of doing, she did not want to drag him into the mess that was her life, and better yet, she did not want him to find out about her 'specialty' and choose to want to have nothing to do with her.
So you see, she rather just play it safe instead and not chase after something that she knew would end in a horrible crash.
"Taki, Sarah hates tardiness," Naki called from outside her door.
She shoved her phone and the piece of paper with Kenji's number on it into the pocket of her coat and left her apartment, locking the door behind her.
"Did you eat the breakfast I made for you?" She asked as they took the elevator to Sarah's office.
Naki nodded, "you did not have to do that, but thanks I appreciate you."
"Of course, I had to do it, I'm your older sister, I have to take care of you," Taki pulled a dreadlock from his hair.
"Ow!" He smacked her hand away, making her giggle.
"Hey whatever happened to that guy?" Naki asked when the elevator stopped and they walked out.
"Which guy?" she asked despite knowing exactly who he was asking about.
Naki clicked his tongue, "you know, that fancy guy with the pretty hair and eyes?"
"You think his eyes and hair were pretty?" She raised an eyebrow.
"You don't?" He too raised an eyebrow.
Taki scoffed out a laugh, he did have pretty hair and even prettier eyes.
"Mh yeah but his smile takes the cake," she had a girlish grin on her face and her twin grimaced.
"You're twenty-two, please don't tell me you're having a schoolgirl crush at this age?"
"First of all, we were homeschooled so you don't even know what that means," she held up a finger then another "and second, I'm not crushing on that Alan Shirahama wanna-be."
"Aha! I knew he looked like someone I saw on TV, I just couldn't put my finger on it," Naki nodded.
"Who's crushing on who?" Sarah opened the double doors to her office.
"Taki likes a boooyyyy."
"Oh shut it, dog!" She snapped walking past him and into the office.
"And if I don't? Will you put a curse on me, witch?" He bit back, following in after her.
Sarah sighed as she shut the doors, "lesson number one, don't argue in my office, this will be the sacred room," she told them as she took her sit, "which means no negativity of any sort, no cursing; no belittling; no side eying, nothing!"
"Now with that being said, let's start by talking about your abilities and why you're so afraid of them?"
The twins shared a look, not knowing where to start.
"I'm not afraid, it's pretty cool being able to turn into a werewolf whenever I want," Naki shrugged, "it's just the keeping my anger under control and trying to ignore the urge for human blood that's the problem."
"I see," Sarah nodded as she typed down some notes on her computer, "do you feel the same way when you're in your human self too?"
Naki thought for a while, "no not really, I'm calmer when I'm human."
Sarah then turned to Taki, "what about you Taki, what are your struggles?"
"I just wanna be normal."
"Can you elaborate on that?"
Taki sighed, "I don't- I just want to be a normal girl," she stood from her seat, "I'm sorry, I gotta go."
"Taki wait!" Naki stood up about to follow after her as she left.
"Let her go Naki, your sister needs some time to find herself, she's struggling the most with who she is out of you two," Sarah stopped him before he could walk out.
"What can I do to help?" he asked as he sat back down.
"Nothing but show her your love and support," she smiled, "for now, let's focus on you. What do you mean when you say urge for human blood?"
Naki hesitated, his eyes shifting between Sarah's face and the view of the city through the large windows behind her.
"When I'm in my wolf form and I get triggered negatively, I-I want to kill people."
Sarah cleared her throat, she was expecting the answer but hearing it come out of his mouth still made her feel uneasy.
"Have you ever acted on that feeling?" she was almost afraid to know what the answer was.
Naki smirked, "I can hear your heart thumping in your chest you know?"
"Oh."
He sighed getting up, "no I have never killed anyone, but then again," he stood up and walked to the doors, "I've been isolated on a farm all my life, now, I'm in the wonderful populated city of Tokyo," he smirked as he left.
"Oh dear," Sarah took a deep breath, although she could tell he was only playing around, she couldn't help but feel a bit worried.
"Himari, did you see my sister?" Naki asked when he got down to the lobby.
Himari looked up from her phone, "what am I her bodyguard?"
"Oh, the old Himari is back," his eyebrows raised in amusement.
"She left a while ago," she rolled her eyes.
Naki slid his hands into his pants pocket, walking up to Himari's reception desk.
"What do you want weirdo?" she asked before he could say anything.
"There's something in the air between us, do you feel it too?" he tried turning his charm on.
"You will never get girls if you continue talking like that," she scoffed.
"Why would I want other girls when I can have you?"
She fought back a laugh, "and it gets worse."
"Well if you want, you could walk me through the steps of sweet-talking a lady...on a nice walk to that ice cream parlor," he gave his best boyish grin.
Himari's eyebrows raised, a small smile on her face, "that was smooth, not a bad start," she nodded approvingly.
"So we're going?"
She looked around at the empty lobby, "nobody's looking for apartments on a Wednesday morning anyway," she shrugged, "let me just pack up."
Naki's smile widened.