Chapter Text
Hina woke up before her alarm went off. The first thing she did was check her temperature as the memories of the events that had taken place the day before came back to her. She remembers being taken home by Kaoru, and having her elder twin take care of her while she is down with a fever yesterday.
Back when it was Sayo who manifested the electricity control, it took a day for her to recover. She took care of her when the nurses were not around, not caring about the wounds she had herself. Compared to that time, they’ve gotten much stronger now. Hina confirmed it after seeing her temperature has gone down to normal now. But there is one problem left.
“Hina, I’ve brought some porridge.” Sayo opened the door with a tray on her other hand.
Oneechan still woke up earlier than me. But… “Oneechan… Knock first before you enter the room.” It feels really strange for her to be telling her sister off like this. And normally she wouldn’t care about this too but her current state of mind says so.
“I see that you are awake now. How are you feeling?”
“I’m a lot better now.” She answered, showing the temp reading on the thermometer to her twin.
Sayo released a sigh of relief as she settled on Hina’s bedside. “Now take a whole day off so you can have full recovery.”
“I can’t. We have a scheduled rehearsal later. And like I said, I’m feeling better already.”
“But you are not boppin’ today.”
“I am boppin’ today.”
“Oh~ because Oneechan took care of you?” Sayo teased, wrapping her arms around Hina’s neck.
This bubbly and clingy Sayo is too much even for her normal state, except, she would have been more straightforward and accept this affection. But right now, Hina felt her embarrassed and it is overwhelming for her.
“Mou Oneechan! Just start preparing for school now or we’ll be late!”
Sayo gave her a pat in the head. “Make sure you don’t overdo it Hina. And eat the porridge. I cooked it just for you.”
This warm smile. At least this smile is something Sayo would sometimes show to her. Hina knows deep inside she is happy to get to see it even with their current situation.
They walked together to school only parting ways when they had to, promising each other not to do anything unusual. Hina is hoping that they will be back to normal after about twenty-four hours which is around their lunch time. But being the worrywart at this situation, she sent a message to the ones she can be open about this, and at the same time knows about special abilities.
Shirasagi Chisato was having a pleasant morning. She would not admit it openly but knowing that they will have a band rehearsal afterschool is something she always looks forward to recently.
The cool air she was flowing as she walks by, was suddenly interrupted by the vibration of her phone on her pocket. She took it out to check immediately, thinking it could be from her manager, or something like that. But then, it was Hina.
She heard what happened yesterday from Kanon. Honestly, Chisato doesn’t know what to expect. She can’t really imagine the Hikawa twins acting out of their usual selves. At the same time, she is curious.
Good morning Chisato-chan. Sorry for the sudden request, but can you look after Oneechan for today? Please tell me if anything happens.
Yeah, it is still hard for Chisato to imagine Hina being this polite on a text message. If not for the Oneechan part, she would think this is Sayo texting her from Hina’s phone.
Before she could think of a reply, her attention was drawn to the commotion by the school gate. The disciplinary committee members are doing uniform check on the students as they enter the school grounds. That is a normal thing except for a certain teal haired committee member. The strict and serious Hikawa Sayo is smiling and happily greeting back to the students who greets her. And the reactions of the students to that reminds her that of fangirls.
Thinking that this should not be a big deal, Chisato decided to let this off and just replied to Hina with, Okay, I will let you know right away for anything.
“Good morning Sayo-chan.” She greeted with a small smile.
“Good morning Shirasagi-san! Mm~ proper as always.” Sayo nodded after examining Chisato’s uniform.
Yes, it must be that smile and enthusiasm. The blonde thought to herself leaning forward to stare at Sayo’s face.
“U-Umm, Shirasagi-san, is there anything on my face?”
“Nothing. But I just wanted to make sure just in case.” That you are not Hina in disguise.
“Making sure of what? I would prefer not to get caught on any misunderstanding, or love triangle.”
W-what? Losing her composure with a blush forming on her cheeks, Chisato turns her head towards the direction Sayo is now pointing at. There she found Maruyama Aya who is looking at them with confusion.
“Sayo-chan, you just shut up there.” The blonde warned turning back to Sayo with a glare. Never did Chisato imagined that she will get to say this to the elder Hikawa. And for a second, she regretted what she said if not for the said teal haired smirking on her.
That smirk feels like Hina-chan too.
“Good morning Maruyama-san!”
“G-Good morning Sayo-chan.”
“We better go now Aya-chan. See you later in class Sayo-chan.”
Chisato almost dragged Aya away from Sayo out of embarrassment. With Sayo’s current state, who knows what she might say.
Once they got inside the school building, Chisato told Aya about everything she knows so far. She found out that Aya also got the same text message from Hina which is the reason why she feels so confused especially when she saw Sayo. Thankfully for the blonde, Aya didn’t seem to have heard what Sayo said back there. Or at least, the pinkette might have just forgotten.
When Sayo got in the classroom, she was still wearing that bright smile, and a lively greeting to their classmate. As expected, everyone was taken aback, but was also followed with some fangirling squeals.
“Fuee— Chisato-chan, what should we do?” Kanon whispered to Chisato worriedly.
“Let’s look out for now. I don’t think we have anything to worry about yet.” Chisato said, mentally face palming.
Chisato noted on their classmate’s reactions, and it seemed that everyone concluded that Sayo might just be having a great day. Most likely, no one is suspecting anything so far.
Lisa on the other hand, is full of worry as usual. Not being on the same class as Hina limits her chances to watch over her. Not to mention, her childhood friend has been eyeing her weirdly since they got to the classroom. The moment the bell rung for the lunch break, she almost immediately got up from her seat but was stopped by Yukina.
“Lisa, wait up.”
“Yukina?”
“Can’t you tell me what’s wrong?”
The genuine worry on her childhood friend’s face made Lisa guilty. She knew everything and yet she’s been keeping it from her.
“Yukina, you see—”
“Imai-san, Minato-san, Hikawa-san is looking for you.”
Yukina and Lisa stared at each other before turning their attention to the classroom door. Even though Lisa already knows the current situation, she was still surprised to hear that Hina asked their classmate to call for them when normally she would have just barged into the room if she had something to tell them.
“I will tell you everything when I can, Yukina. For now, let’s go.”
Yukina could only nodded and followed the brunette, making their way to Hina. She’s getting a hunch that this must be related to what Lisa is worrying about.
“Lisacchi, Yukina-chan, sorry for suddenly calling you out.”
“S-Sayo?” Yukina blurted out which she immediately followed with, “A-Ah sorry Hina, I seriously thought you were Sayo for a moment.”
“It’s okay Yukina-chan. More importantly, does Roselia have rehearsal planned later today?”
“Yes. We are scheduled to have rehearsal over the weekends as well. A live coming up in two weeks. You didn’t hear from, uh… from Sayo?” Yukina responded, still feeling conflicted talking to Hina like this.
“She told me about the live, but not her schedule.”
“Is that all you came here for to ask us?”
“Not really. Actually-”
The brunette who had been unresponsive since the two started conversing couldn’t hold her laughter anymore, cutting off Hina.
“Ah, this isn’t good, pffftt…”
“Lisa/Lisacchi?”
Lisa had seen a bit of it the day before. It was a shock to her then. But seeing it again this time, how Hina is acting all polite and serious like Sayo while talking to her equally serious childhood friend, she now finds it amusing. She’s been having fun watching them talk. It was also noticeable to her how Yukina is conflicted at the current situation but tries hard not to show it. At the same time, she was reminded of that one time they banned Sayo and Yukina to talk about anything related to music. She finds this as hilarious as that.
“Sorry, I just couldn’t hold it~” Lisa said brushing away a tear that formed from her laughter.
Hina got the hint for the reason of the bassist’s laughter and gave her a glare to which Lisa answered with a wink.
“Can anyone tell me what’s going on.”
Clearing her throat, Hina turned back her attention to Yukina. “I was just worried that Oneechan might have caught my cold from last night. She may act strange, but please take care of her for me.”
Lisa knows that was not the case. The fact that Hina is still not back to her normal self must mean the same for Sayo. Yukina gave Hina assurance. The teal haired left after thanking them.
“Lisa.”
“What is it Yukina?”
Yukina examined the face of her childhood friend. She is aware of how Lisa always goes out of her to help others. Knowing that, she chose not to press on anymore.
“Nothing. Let’s just eat lunch now.”
She felt that it must be something they could not discuss openly yet.
Nothing too out of place happened during their classes. It is normal that the teal haired is taking notes, and actively participates on class discussions. It is just the way she speaks. Their classmates and teachers could only see this as Hikawa Sayo loosening up a bit from her usual strict demeanor. But for people who have met Hina, it can’t be helped if they are constantly being reminded of her.
After school came, much to Chisato’s relief, and probably Kanon’s too. She noticed how the drummer has been worried for Sayo the whole time. And it looks like even Roselia’s keyboardist is concerned too. Chisato can see that Rinko is a bit flustered with Sayo being clingy around her. She couldn’t help but be worried about RInko instead because apparently, they are going to band rehearsal today. As they left the classroom, some of the other students fangirled when Sayo waved goodbye to them. Chisato did not have to do much other than watch over Sayo. But she thought she should at least let Hina know about small changes, so she sent her a text message saying:
Hina-chan, if it is Sayo-chan’s image you were worried about, it’s fine. She behaved well today, except, she got more fangirls now.
When she arrived at the studio together with Aya and Eve, the other two were already in the middle of their rehearsal. As they were getting ready to join in as well, Chisato couldn’t help but feel that something is off.
Hina should have been back to normal by now, right? Or…
After a whole hour of practice, they decided to take a break. Right away, Hina invited Chisato out to talk. The other did not even had time to react.
Aya who also knew what’s going only, started worrying. She figured that HIna is still not back to normal yet. It was obvious during their practice.
“Aya-san, Maya-san, it could just be me, but don’t you think something is off with Hina-san today? Did you know if anything happened?”
“Actually, I think so too. Her rhythm is so accurate, as if she is perfectly following the music sheet.”
“A-Ah but isn’t that a good thing?” Aya nervously interrupts.
“Yes of course. Just that, I’m not sure. Hina-san’s performance, and her current umm… Aura? It feels different from her usual self. Something about it reminds me of Sayo-san.”
“That’s right Eve-san! The truth is, she’s been like that at school too.”
Maya was relieved to see that Hina came to school today, and she seemed all better now. She heard from Kaoru that Sayo had to take her home because of fever. And she also noticed how uneasy Hina appeared to be, earlier that day. But her worry came back right away when she talked to her.
“Hina-san, good morning! How are you feeling now?”
“Good morning Maya-chan. I feel better now. Oneechan took care of me last night. Sorry if I made you worry.”
She was taken aback. Hina is smiling, but not her usual smile. And most of all, she sounded so polite. And then she started thinking that Hina might just be pushing herself and is still sick.
But, Sayo-san would not have let her go to school.
“Maya-chan, is something wrong?”
“A-Ah, well, are you sure you’re really fine now? Don’t you have to rest more?”
There was a pause before Hina responded again with a tap on Maya’s shoulder. “Mou Maya-chan, I am boppin’ today! You don’t have to worry, okay?”
“O-Oh okay of course.”
That one sounded a bit more like the usual Hina. But still the drummer can’t shake off the feeling. When classes started, her focus was on the teal haired. Nothing much happened, except everyone in their class even the teachers seemed to have noticed how well-behaved Hina is today. One usual occurrence is Hina asking lots of questions on very interesting topics for her, or the teal haired looking bored in class. But today, she was being serious and diligent. During lunch time, Maya went to look for HIna as soon as she finished eating. On her way to the student council room, she bumped into Tsugumi with a somewhat concerned expression.
“Hazawa-san!”
“Oh, Maya-senpai! Hello.”
“Did something happen?”
“Umm… Maya-senpai, are we sure Hina-senpai went to school today and that is not Sayo-san pretending to be Hina-senpai?”
Maya could not deny that idea right away even if she would consider that it is not something that the older Hikawa would do.
“T-There’s no way Sayo-san would do that… Right? And, what happened for you to think that way?”
The keyboardist is showing a worried expression. It was just yesterday when Hina went missing for a while until she was found, only to be taken home because of a cold. And now she is acting unusual enough for Tsugumi to think that it could not be Hina.
“I went to the student council room because I had some documents that Hina-senpai needs to review. But I did not expect to meet her there and saw her working hard! It is as if she is making up for yesterday! Maya-senpai, what should we do?”
“C-Calm down first Hazawa-san.” Maya said putting a hand on her junior’s shoulder. “Hina-san might still be sick and is forcing herself. Don’t worry I will talk to her.”
After reassuring her junior, Maya went to check on Hina. Much to her worry, she found the teal haired resting her head on the table. She rushed to her side and tapped gently on her shoulder.
“Hina-san? Are you ok? If you’re just resting, let’s go to the infirmary.”
“Ah, it’s you Maya-chan.” Hina said slowly looking up. She gave a small smile to Maya trying to reassure the drummer. “I was just getting a bit sleepy after finishing all of these.”
“Aaah- good work Hina-san. Sorry for interrupting you.”
“It’s fine. But, please do me a favor.”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Wake me up when the bell rings.”
“Oh, okay, leave it to me!”
Hina immediately went back to resting her head on the table. Maya decided to sit beside her while waiting for the bell. The rest of the afternoon were the same with Hina still being her serious self. Even on their way to the studio was unusually quiet, which is why Maya is still worried.
“I may not know how Hina-san is at school, but that certainly is unlike her. I wonder if anything is wrong?”
“Hina-chan could just be really just tired! Yes, that! Like what you said Maya-chan, maybe she hasn’t fully recovered yet. We should let her go home early today. What do you think?”
Outside the room, Chisato and Hina were listening to their conversation. Both sighed to themselves at how obvious the pinkette is. Thankfully, Maya and Eve seemed to buy her lie.
“Well, that’s Aya-chan for you.” Hina said now pulling Chisato along with her to walk away from the rehearsal room. Without questions, the blonde just let her.
“As you can tell already, I don’t feel like I am back to normal yet. So most likely, it is the same thing for oneechan.”
“How long was it supposed to take?”
“This is only the second time this happened to Oneechan, and first for me. It only took a day for Oneechan back then.”
Chisato watches as Hina rested her chin to her fist, probably doing further analysis by herself. It came to her that this is such a rare moment to see, Hina with a stern expression. There is no way she is letting this chance pass by. As swiftly as she could, she took out her phone, opened her camera app, and tapped on the capture button the moment she was able to place her phone in a good angle.
The sound of shutter caught the Hina’s attention and it didn’t take her a second to realize what happened. She glared at Chisato only to earn a stifled giggle from the blonde.
“What was that for Chisato-chan…”
For the bassist, this is yet another rare thing to see, Hina being mad. She may feel guilty about what she did, but she feels like she accomplished something by being able to witness this as well.
“Sorry Hina-chan, I didn’t mean to fool around. As an apology, let me tell you something.” Chisato paused, letting her giggles die down before going on. “I am not sure if this will be applicable for you two as well, but I myself have experienced side effects from my own ability when I use it too much.”
Hina went from being mad to to being fully interested.
“I tested my limits in the past, and the drawbacks I have experienced depended on how much I used my ability. Therefore, I think for you and Sayo-chan’s case, it isn’t just a matter of when, but also how much.”
“I see. That makes sense. This time I could tell that we had much more exposure to high voltage electric current compared to when it happened with Oneechan. And she was not exposed for so long.”
“Is this why you asked me to come with you? Because you know I might have more experience about this thing we have?”
“Ah, yes…”
The way Hina had averted her eyes from her made Chisato suspicious that there is something more to it.
“But also…” Hina added, noticing the suspicion from the blonde. “I’m worried about Oneechan.”
“I already told you, she was doing fine in school earlier.”
“Not that.”
“What is it?”
“I will try giving her a call right now. Please stay with me while I do. Because, if my feeling is correct, we will be back to normal soon. And we might lose consciousness for a few minutes. So please watch over me.”
Feeling the urgency from Hina’s tone, Chisato decided not to ask anymore and just gave her affirmation to the teal haired.
On the other hand, the Roselia band practice is on as well. They have been on it for almost an hour straight with the occasional pauses before deciding to take a real break. Lisa could tell that there is a confusion within everyone with how their performance is going today. Even she could tell that something is off, but at the same time it is not bad, just different.
“Sayo…” Yukina called out for their guitarist facing her direction.
“Yes, Minato-san?”
Ako and Rinko had just came out of the room then when the vocalist had called Sayo. Lisa who was about to take out the cookies she had brought stopped and turned her attention to the two, unsure of what is about to unfold.
“Nothing. Just that, Hina told me what happened. So, I want to let you know, if you need some rest, you may leave early.”
“Ah, okay. Thanks, Minato-san.”
Yukina just walked out after that without saying anything more. The brunette can tell that there is something else that her childhood friend had wanted to say but for whatever reason, she decided to keep it to herself. She proceeded on taking out the cookies she brought to share with everyone. Much to her surprise, a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind.
“Imai-san~” the not-so Sayo-like cheerful voice came from behind her. Lisa almost thought earlier that the teal haired is already back to normal when they got to the studio. She found out only from their performance that it may not be the case. And now, getting a hug from the guitarist proves that the Hikawa twins are not back to normal yet.
“S-Sayo, don’t surprise me like that, I could have dropped these cookies you know.” Lisa was flustered, but she is not sure if it is because her bag of handmade cookies almost fell into the ground, or the fact that, that Hikawa Sayo is being clingy to her. Probably the latter. This is something Hina does normally with her. So why is it different when it was the older twin?
“Sorry~ I just feel so relieved that I can finally let loose.”
Let loose? “That was you holding back?”
The guitarist who have now pulled away from Lisa sat on the nearest empty chair. “Was my guitar that off? I tried my best to play as faithfully to the sheet as possible.” Sayo answered with a soft smile.
That’s exactly the reason. That smile, that attitude, that carefree aura you are emitting. Lisa was not complaining, rather, she finds herself wanting to capture this moment. I was the one who asked her to try smiling a bit more in the past after all.
Realizing the others are still out anyway, she settled down the cookies on top of her bag once again and sat on the chair beside Sayo.
“Yes, it was still a bit off. I bet Yukina had noticed it too but chose not to say anything.”
“Hmm~ I see.”
As the guitarist had said that, her gazes fell on Lisa and it stayed on her long enough for the brunette to notice. Trying to suppress the heat coming to her face, she decided to voice out her worry instead.
“Sayo, don’t you think the side effect is taking too long to wear off? Are you sure you are okay?”
“That’s true.” Sayo shifted her position to face Lisa properly. “The only reason I could think of is the level of exposure we got yesterday. It’s probably more than what I had experienced before.”
Lisa wishes she knew more about these stuffs. Despite her coming from ancient blood, she mostly only knows about the history of their family. The existence of the new generation is still a mystery.
“Having said that—”
The voice of the guitarist brought back Lisa from her thoughts.
“It’s not like I am not really myself right now.”
“S-Sayo?”
Surprised is an understatement if Lisa were to describe what she felt the moment Sayo held her hand with both of hers. Someone’s phone was probably ringing but they couldn’t be bothered. The warmth of Sayo’s hands on hers left her glued on their spot. It doesn’t help that the guitarist is staring at her again.
They just stayed like that for almost a minute. It seemed to her that Sayo was about to tell her something important, but at the same time, she is holding it back. She just waited for whatever it is Sayo would say. A light blush crept up to the guitarist’s face before she finally spoke again.
“I will do my best, Imai-san.”
After saying that, Sayo collapses. Acting on reflex, Lisa catches her with her arms. “S-Sayo?” she tried calling out still shocked. That is when she realized that another phone is ringing. This time she recognizes that it was her phone. Adjusting Sayo to lean more on her left arm, she used her now free right hand to grab her phone to answer the call upon seeing it was Hina.
“Hina? Your sister—” Lisa got cut off when she heard a thud from the other side of the line and the voice of Chisato.
“HIna-chan?!” she heard once again coming from the other line.
Looks like the same thing happened with Hina. Does this mean? “Hello? Chisato?”
There was a sound of wind whirring before she got to hear the blonde greeted her back.
“Sorry Lisa-chan, I didn’t know you already picked up her call. Hina-chan just collapsed. The same thing might happen with Sayo-chan over there. Is she with you right now? She wasn’t answering her phone.”
“Ah yes. Actually, she already did. Wait, so you knew they would collapse?”
“Yes. Although Hina-chan just told me about it. They are most likely back to normal now. But she didn’t tell me how long they will be out.”
“I see. So, she called because she was worried about Sayo?”
“That is right. Also, I’m sorry Lisa-chan. I will have to hang up now. I need some help with Hina-chan.”
“Ah right. Okay. Thank you Chisato for telling me.”
Thankfully, the other three members of Roselia went back shortly after Lisa dropped the call with Chisato. She asked for their help to bring Sayo home. As for Hina, Chisato asked Aya and the others to get help from the staffs. This brought conclusion to the other members that the Hikawas were just sick that day, resulting to the strange behavior.
The twins woke up later that night on each of their room realizing that they are back to normal. Sayo would be face palming on herself, meanwhile Hina can’t help but feel excited to see how the people would act around her tomorrow. But first things first… She made her way to her sister’s room and barged in without knocking.
“Oneechan!”
“As I thought you would come here. But please remember to knock first before—”
Hina cut off her sister as she plunges herself to Sayo and hug her tightly.
“Hehe~ Let me off this time.”
“What more can I do anyway?”
“Thank you Oneechan!”
Thank you too HIna.