"Merry Christmas!" Momo shouted as she spun around the room, completely untamed and full of energy from all the holiday chocolate. She laughed as she ran around the room.
"But Momo, it's only Christmas Eve. We don't celebrate until tomorrow!" Kori explained.
"Oh, let her have a little fun.' Daisuke's father chuckled. "It's good for their to be some energy in this party!"
Daisuke sighed as he looked around his living room. The other day, his father had gotten a sudden interest in his school life, and when Daisuke told him how many friends he had, his father demanded that there had been a Christmas party of Christmas Eve. Luckily, they had all accepted and were able to go. On the bad side however, they had all been able to come. Daisuke was hoping that maybe a couple of people wouldn't be able to make it to the party, just to keep things down a little. Like Josh and Momo. Josh, still stating that he loved Momo, wouldn't give her up just yet. So, he did everything in his power to try and win her back. Same with Andrew and Kori. Not as obvious, but not very subtle either.
Daisuke's father invited Hakura, which meant Yuki was coming. But with Yuki and Yuri in the same room, only two and a half months left to declare Daisuke, and win his heart. And with future holidays left, and possibly the last time to see him, the two had informally announced this as the last battle between the two. First, it would be a mental thing, but deep down, they had known that it would turn into a real fight. It was all a matter of time, and not too much was allowed for the battle to hold out on. They stared at each other most of the night, not giving dirty glances, but almost a "good-luck" kind, a good sportsman way.
Ryuku had still been incredibly quiet for him. His father had found him a little shy, and a little boring. "Like Daisuke sometimes," was his fathers words. The whole group laughed, knowing it to be the very opposite. But Daisuke had thought about the other night. The night where Ryuku had saved the day. What did he mean he was intertwined with a past Demon Hunter's spirit? Was that even possible? If so, was it even healthy? Did it control him at all? So many questions, but Ryuku had always been so distant from the group when Daisuke had thought of it to be the right time to bring anything up.
There was something weird in the air, and Daisuke wasn't entirely sure what it was. Yuri had always complained that she had never met Hakura before, but she hadn't seemed like she had taken any interest in her since she had came. Daisuke didn't question her, making sure she wasn't pulling a stunt just to talk to Hakura in person, alone. She did that sometimes. She liked to make people believe that she wasn't interested, but instead, she truly wanted to talk to that person more than anything. Girls, Daisuke thought. They're so weird.
Speaking of girls, it had seemed that Josh and Andrew were always planning something, or giving each other tips or something in the corner as they looked at their two "Exes". Daisuke couldn't help but ask what was going on as he looked at them in curiosity.
"We're going to get our woman back!" Andrew said with pride when Daisuke asked.
"What are you talking about? You guys never had them in the first place!"
"What are you saying? That we aren't capable of having girlfriends?"
"No." Daisuke said, looking for the right words. He paused for several seconds, trying to think it over, but no words came. "Wait, I guess I am." He said with a smile.
"Thanks." Josh said in a sarcastic tone. "But for your information, I would like a little belief in my friends."
"Aw, c'mon you guys. You know that I didn't mean it like that. It's just that, well, you guys didn't seem like you were too attached to them before you guys went out. I mean, even Hiru and Deíji are kicking it off better than you."
"Whatcha talkin' about?" Ryuku asked as he walked up with a cup of eggnog in hand.
"That these guys can't get back with Momo and Kori." Daisuke explained, not noticing how harsh it had sounded when he said it.
"Well," Andrew said out of defense. "What about you, huh Daisuke?"
"Huh?" Daisuke looked more confused than usual. "What do you mean?"
"You've got two girls hanging all over you. What are you going to do. I mean, you're leaving in less than three months. You have to choose one of the two by then."
"Why?" Daisuke asked.
"Well," Josh said. "If you don't choose anybody, you're going to leave us with the mess of them fighting all the time, trying to decide who gets you."
"And I swear, Daisuke," Ryuku added. "I'm already getting driven insane by those two constantly nagging."
"Are they really that bad?" Daisuke asked.
The three looked at him with a harshly dry look as they lowered their eyelids, their expression saying "No, duh." In unison, the three had replied, "Yes."
"Well, what do you want me to do about it?"
"Choose one!" They yelled, completely surprised that their friend had still not understood what they had meant.
"Choose one what?" Yuri asked as her and Yuki walked over with some punch in their hand.
"Daisuke was…uh… thinking if he wanted to go to San Francisco or Oakland when he got to America." Andrew said, covering for his friend at the moment.
"Yeah." Josh said. "Both are both so lively in different ways."
"Yeah…" Yuri said, not hiding the fact that the whole thing sounded rather boring. "Sounds great." She directed her attention to Daisuke. "So, Daisuke, did your dad find a new girlfriend?"
"Girlfriend?" Daisuke asked. His face was growing uncomfortable with all the confused looks he had been giving all day.
"That lady over there. She seems really nice." She pointed to Hakura. Daisuke was even more confused. Didn't she understand that the woman she was pointing to was Hakura? As Daisuke looked in Hakura's direction, her eyes had glared into Daisuke's. Don't say a word was what her eyes were saying to him in a threatening way.
Daisuke couldn't understand why Hakura would be wanting him not to say anything, but he remained silent. Her wise words from a months ago rang in his mind: "No matter what it seems like, I'm doing it for you." She had to have a reason. Daisuke didn't know why he had always remembered that, but he did.
As he continued to look at Hakura, she stood up. Her glare had become more inviting, as if he should follow her. She had started to go out onto the balcony, and he followed her. When he stepped outside, the wind had slapped him a little more awake. The brisk cool air had made him all the more alert as he looked around. He could tell that Hakura had something important to say. He wasn't sure what it was, but something about the way she stood had said that she had something very important in mind of telling him.
"So, almost two months before I leave, huh?" Daisuke started off, walking towards her. She stood at the edge of the balcony, leading onto the railing. She gazed out into the streets of Tokyo, still as filled as ever.
"Yes. And you know your importance there, am I correct?" she questioned without looking at him. She didn't need to. Her sternness had told him how important the news she was about to deliver was.
"Of course. Do you I really leave you wondering and worrying that much about me? If so, I'm not doing a very good job at being a Demon Hunter."
"No, of course not. It's not that at all. But as you've already been able to tell, there's something drastic that needs to be told."
"Drastic, huh?" Daisuke said, now leaning on the bar as well. His voice was light and airy, almost as if he was just enjoying a good conversation. "What do you mean by 'drastic'? As in Kagori news?"
"No. News about things revolving around you and your friends."
"What is it?" Daisuke asked, suddenly serious. Her tone and the way she said the sentence had made it sound bad.
Hakura paused before she headed on. She wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to say or how to deliver what really needed to be said.
"What I'm about to tell you is life changing, Daisuke."
"Life changing?" he asked, letting go of the railing, and standing up, looking at her. Her hair blew with the wind, but she didn't even glare in his direction. "How bad is it?"
"Sometimes I wish I didn't even have to bring this up at the moment." Hakura said, and Daisuke wasn't sure if she was talking to herself or to him, or perhaps both. She still didn't look at Daisuke, and for some reason, that worried Daisuke a little more than it should have.
"Well…" Daisuke said, trying to get her to go on with her sentence. "What's wrong?"
"I'm not entirely sure how to put this." She said. Daisuke knew she was staling for time. But this wasn't like Hakura. She usually knew what she wanted to tell him, and did it, regardless of his feelings or anything else.
"Well, if you don't think you should tell me quiet yet, you know you don't have to."
"I'm perfectly capable of understanding that, Daisuke." She snapped. Daisuke's body shook as she roared, and she could sense the fear. She shook her head gently. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell like that. It's just very heavy news."
"Than just tell me and get it over with." Daisuke said, putting a hand on his shoulder. This had been the first time that Daisuke had ever made contact with Hakura physically. It was pretty comforting to know that your boss isn't some fake.
"Hey," Yuki said, coming outside with Ryuku. "What's going on."
"Nothing," Daisuke said as he looked at Hakura. Had she wanted to invite Yuki, she would have done it in the first place, right.
"No," Hakura said. "She needs to hear this. It revolves around her, too."
"What revolves around me?" Yuki asked as she closed the sliding glass door behind her. Ryuku had looked interested as well.
"Daisuke," Hakura said his name in a pretty light manner. She wasn't stern and to the point like usual. She had said it with a little bit of light inside. "You have two gorgeous girls fighting over you. They have been for the last matter of months."
"Oh, great." Daisuke feigned a pained sigh. "You're on my case as well?"
"You're leaving for ten months, Daisuke. I think that you deserve to tell them just who you plan on staying with. It's obvious that you want to be with one of them, but it's who you want to be with that's hard."
"Well, how do you guys expect me to make such a huge decision in such a small amount of time?" Daisuke questioned, slightly frustrated with himself. "I mean, I've always followed the same two rules most of my life: do unto others as others do unto you. I can't just choose one. That would leave the other heartbroken. I can't go living a lie to myself."
"Did you ever think that maybe one day, the rejected person could pick up and move on?" Ryuku asked. "I don't think they'll be in pain all their life. I mean, it's high school. There's drama everywhere you look. You just have to think about it who you really want to be with and choose that person to be with you ."
"It's not that easy either," Daisuke said, looking at everyone. He shook his head, and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to think. Then he looked at Hakura. "What does this have to do with your news, anyway?"
"Aw, yes." Hakura said, pretending to forget what she was getting at. "The infamous news. Before I tell you, you must tell me who you would choose."
"I don't think I would be able to choose at the moment."
"Would you like help?" Hakura said, as she raised a brow. She saw the look on Daisuke's face. She struck a chord.
"How could you possibly help me in this situation?" Daisuke asked, wondering where she was getting at, acting skeptical about the whole thing. But then again, it was Hakura. She had known what was right and whatnot. Hakura grinned, and she closed her eyes, facing toward the city. Her news was finally being conjured, and the group had prepared for the worst.
"It's obvious. You should choose Yuri." Hakura said. Yuki gasped, and then looked away in hurt. How could the person she trained with, the person who had known her better than any other person on the planet, say that she should be rejected. But Hakura kept going. "because you, Yuki, are Daisuke's sister."
"Pardon?" Daisuke asked, making sure he heard right. The other two had been completely stunned, and couldn't talk, let alone move.
"You head me. You two are brother and sister. Twins, actually."
"T…twins?" Daisuke questioned. "What are you talking about! I'm not a twin! How could you say that we're twins!? Wouldn't my dad say something about this!?"
"You're joking, right, Hakura?" Yuki said. "This is one big joke."
"Afraid not. This is the complete truth." She said.
"How could you just drop it like it was something like Kagori attacking USA or something like that! That's something a little more believable. But this…? You expect me to believe this!?"
"Are you saying that I'm lying to you?" Hakura asked. "I thought that you'd be able to believe me a little better than that, Yuki."
"But this is so weird. Me and Daisuke, brother and sister?"
"How?" Ryuku asked. "How is this possible?"
"Well, when you two were born, Yuki had been mistaken for dead. Since I had known your mother, I thought that I sensed some Demon Hunting aura in Yuki, and brought her out from the hospital from disposing her. But soon after, me and your mother had gotten into a fight, and I thought it would be my revenge to get Yuki into adoption, getting back at your mother. She never believe that you were alive, Yuki. She always thought you had died in peace, going on without suffering. That's how should would have liked you to go."
"You put me up for adoption? Because you and Daisuke's mother had gotten into an argument?"
"As silly as it sounds, it was also a type of competition for us. Who could raise the better Demon Hunter. Although your mother had said she didn't believe me, I think she knew somewhere in her heart, you were alive, and were being kept alive. Daisuke enough was hard to get by in life. Your mother and father could barely afford to live with Daisuke, but they made sure to get by. If they had Yuki as well, it would be impossible to live with even the small apartment you lived in during your younger years, Daisuke."
"So, you put me up for adoption?" Yuki asked, still in disbelief. "And you've known me since birth?"
"Known you, watched you. There's no difference."
"So, the day we met… it wasn't a coincidence? You've known me my entire life."
"I've known you and instructed you most of your life without me knowing it. Your adoptive family were fellow Demon Hunters, you know. A group of friends me and Taki had been involved with for a while during school. Even then, Taki had never believed either of us. She thought we were crazy, saying her dead daughter was turning six."
"So, that's who got my mother flustered on that day." Yuki said, thinking back on the memory. "She talked to somebody on the phone, and she seemed real angry the rest of the day, and father was careful to what he said around her."
"So, me and Yuki, or brother and sister?" Daisuke asked, one last time, trying to make sure everything that was going on was true.
"How many times much we say it?" Hakura asked. "It's completely utterly, true. Every single word I speak of it."
"So, that means…"
"Yuki is the one that Daisuke is destined to go out with." Hakura replied. But her reaction had suddenly changed as she had spoken of Yuki. Her eyes shifted in emotion. Her lips became purse as she spoke. "But I would be careful with her, Daisuke. Don't do anything you wouldn't want your father to see."
Before Daisuke could even question what she was talking about, she headed back inside, closing the door behind her. Daisuke went inside after her for further questioning.
Ryuku watched Yuki as he stared from the inside. She had been out there for almost an hour, and apparently, she hadn't moved. But then again, she just received one of the biggest news she would ever get in her entire life. She had a brother, and it was Daisuke was the real punch line. All those years of friendship… Man, Ryuku thought. It had to be the most shocking thing to ever experience. Bigger than finding out that Po had some feelings for Daisuke.
Ryuku then decided maybe he should talk to Yuki. At first, he didn't know why he felt this way. Than something inside had screamed out the reason. He knew exactly what he need to do. Ryuku stepped outside, and he sat on a chair next to Yuki's. The snow had started to finally fall about a half hour ago, and it fell lightly. The whole city had seemed a little foggy, as if the whole thing was a slight illusion.
"You alright? He asked casually. "You don't seem too well."
"Just thinking." She said plainly. Ryuku wasn't sure if it was a leave-me-alone kind of plain, or just simply too deep in thought and concern to tell him how she really felt.
"Yeah, I understand." He said, trying to get her to say something, anything at all. "You really are in shock, aren't you?"
"I'm not going to lie to you. Of course I am. I wouldn't have thought of any of this as Hakura's news. I swore it was some really bad news about Kagori."
"I'm pretty sure we all did." He said assuringly. "But you know, it's kind of comforting, right? I mean, at least you're related to a nice guy like him, and not Kagori. Imagine how bad that would be."
Yuki cracked a grin at the thought. Now that's better Ryuku thought. That's what I want to see: some reaction.
"So, what are you going to do now?" He asked, trying to get her to open up some more.
"Well, there's only one thing I can do at this moment." Yuki sighed. "I'm going to have to give up Daisuke to Yuri."
"Well, he is your brother. That would be kinda kinky, wouldn't it?"
"I suppose. Now that I think about it, I've always loved Daisuke. I guess I just automatically thought it was romantically. I never thought that it could be relative-like. Do you know what I mean?"
"Of course. I mean, I may not be in your shoes, but I think I get the general idea."
"I don't think I'll be able to speak to him for a while. I want to get everything straight. And I don't think I can look at Yuri either. I mean, we've fought for so long. I don't think that those thoughts of Daisuke are all of the sudden going to go away just because I found out he was my brother. Yuri still feels like my rival, even though she really isn't. It's stupid, but it's just how I feel."
Ryuku let a pause take over. He stared out at the city again. It had been only five minutes, but the, most of city had been blanketed with snow. It was a sight worth seeing as the neon signs had brought life to sheer white of the ground. The people had seemed happy enough as they walked around in the snow that had been long delayed. Ryuku didn't know why it had taken so long for the snow to fall, but at least it came. It would have been weird had it not come at all. And what better night than Christmas Eve?
"You're taking this a lot better than most people would, you know."
"I have to." Yuki said. "I've lived by myself for the last couple of years, and I have to learn to take on any changes that is thrown out at me."
"You've been forced to grow up quickly, in other words?" Ryuku offered, knowing what Yuki had been going through.
"Pretty much. But all of this is so overwhelming, that I just want to be a kid again. Before all troubles had started. Back when the swing-set was the biggest problem of my life. I just want some more of my childhood." Yuki took in a shaky breath. It sounded like she was in pain. "I just… just want to be able to cry again." Her statement had struck a questioned look on Ryuku's face. But he let her continue. "I haven't cried since my parents died. It showed weakness. And I couldn't show any weakness at all. Any vulnerability was worth my life, especially in the demon hunting world. I just want to know what's it like to cry again."
"I… I'm sorry." Ryuku said. He couldn't find any words at all to express what he felt. So, he did what his feelings told him to go along with. He didn't even know what he was doing until it was too late. He wrapped his arms around her shoulder, and held her close. She turned her face into his shoulder, and she began to sob. Soft sobs at first, and he could feel her warm tears leaking through his shirt. And then sobs turned into cries, and then finally evolved into small bawling. She cried for a few minutes, and Ryuku held her through the whole thing.
When she was able to get a hold of herself, she dried her eyes, and looked at Ryuku.
"I don't know what to do, Ryuku. I'm so lost. I need help. But I can't ask for help from Daisuke, Yuri, or Hakura this time."
"Shhh…" he said tenderly. He patted her shoulder, trying to make her feel better as he got her to calm down. "It'll be okay. Alright?"
"You promise?" Yuki asked, sounding no older than five. Something again drove Ryuku to do something he didn't realize he had done until it was over. He leaned in, and kissed her. Their lips lingered for a couple of seconds, and then he pulled away. He stood up, and he turned and looked at her with a smile.
"I swear."
He started to head toward the door. But as he gripped the edge to hold to open the sliding glass door, he stopped there. He turned around and looked at her in the eyes. Something in them had said what his heart was saying, but he said it verbally anyway.
"Yuki… I love you."
And with that, and a slight nod of his head to make sure she understood he was finished, and headed back inside.
"WHAT!?" Yuri shouted as Daisuke had brought her outside. "You're joking, right."
"No, this is no joke. Yuki is seriously my sister."
"I don't believe this. And twins at that! Why didn't you ever put two and two together? You have the same birthdays, don't you?"
"I never really thought about it. I just thought was all coincidence. I never thought about it seriously."
"I can't believe you wouldn't think of something like this. I mean, you're the great observer, aren't you?" she turned away from him, looking out unto the city. It was their turn on the balcony, and Daisuke had reserved it after Yuki came inside and headed for the bathroom.
"I guess. But, think about it this way." Daisuke said, standing behind her. He wrapped his arms around her stomach and enclosed them, gripping his fingers together. Yuri had turned her head enough to look at him with a slightly shocked look. He hadn't pulled a move like this in a while. "I don't have to act stupid anymore."
"So, it was all just a joke? You did know that I liked you?"
"For the most part." Daisuke grinned. "I never knew how much you really liked me."
"Well," she said, looking forward, feigning snooty anger. "I suppose that you're going to have to pay penance."
"Alright." Daisuke said, ready to take his punishment as she broke his arms free from around her. "What is it you want me to do."
Yuri then kissed him on the lips, and when they were finished she looked back at him and smiled.
"I guess that's fair, isn't it."
"I don't know." Daisuke said, pretending to sound skeptical. "I mean, was it really that bad of a punishment. I think I deserve something a little worse."
She quickly kissed him again, and then backed up, putting her finger to his lips.
"You're not getting anymore than that tonight." She said.
"Oh," Daisuke whined. "That's not fair. Only you can make the kissing laws?"
"Of course." Yuri said with pride. "I'm the girl. I make all the rules in the relationship."
"Oh, well since we have that cleared up, what do I get to do?" Daisuke smiled, wrapping his arms around her again, connecting them at the lower part of her spin, above her butt, not wanting to touch anything he shouldn't.
"Do?" Yuri laughed. "You're the boy. You should know your rules by now. You have to buy me everything with all of your money." She teased as she poked his nose gently.
"Speaking of buying." He said. He "conveniently" pulled out the jacket he bought her with his work money. She looked at it in awe as she slowly touched it, almost not believing it was real.
"This is for me?" she questioned.
"Yep. Worked an entire week at McDonald's for that jacket, so you better appreciate it. I took a lot of verbal abuse to get that for you."
"You work at McDonald's?" she asked.
"Well, Hakura said I mean might need some extra money in America, so I thought I would get a job, and buy some presents and get some stuff for me with the rest of it. Besides, it might look good on my reputation.
"I guess we really haven't seriously talked in ages." Yuri said as she looked at the jacket. "There's no way I can accept this. It must have cost you a fortune."
"Do we have to go through the whole verbal abuse talk again? There' some old people with a quick and harsh tongue that can cut even Kagori in half."
Yuri laughed. She looked at him in the eyes, and he looked back. She placed her hand on top of his.
"I've really missed this, Daisuke."
"And so have I. But I couldn't just blow off Yuki like she was nothing. She was a good friend before all this happened. And now she's my sister."
"And here you thought you were an only child, huh?"
"Well, I've always asked my mom for another sibling. I just didn't expect to get one out of the blue and without my parents talking about it first. And since my mom's gone, I figured I'd never have another one."
"Well," Yuri said as she looked at the complete snow-filled city. Every inch had finally covered with snow. "I uses Santa had a big sack of Christmas gifts for us all."