Chapter Text
"Happy birthday, older sister," Kirari says, looking at the photo of her and her twin sister Ririka taken at their high school graduation. This is one of the few photos the two of them are in together. In Kirari's childhood photos, Ririka was never present with her. Her sister was nobody to the Momobami family, just an extension of Kirari Momobami's persona, nothing more.
This behavior that the family had towards her sister always disgusted Kirari. Ririka was the only person in that family that Kirari cared about, the only person she would like to be close to. But because of the way her sister was raised, Ririka was not attached to anything. Sometimes Kirari wondered if her sister loved her.
Her twin had always been so cold to her, only talking to Kirari when asked for her opinion on something, never initiating any affectionate gestures. She seemed like a hollow person, and this way that her sister had hurt her deeply. She wished that the two of them could be friends, in fact, best friends, and talk about trivial things like "How was your day, sister?"
But that never happened. The closest they ever got was in high school when the girls moved to an apartment far from the Momobami estate.
Kirari took advantage of the fact that Hyakkaou Academy was far from the family property and convinced the elders of the need to live near the school for the two of them to learn.
During that time between the new home and the school, the two of them became a little closer, but it wasn't anything like Kirari imagined. Ririka remained distant, only speaking when she was asked, not opening up to Kirari even with all the effort she made to get closer to her sister.
Many times she wondered, did my sister ever love me?
It has been over 7 years since they last saw each other. Her sister disappeared after a fight with the bitch Mary Saotome. Ririka disappeared without a trace, not even saying goodbye to Kirari. What kind of person doesn't say goodbye?
"Was there ever a moment in your life when you cared about me?"
The white-haired woman looks at the photo on the bedside table in the room she shares with her wife Sayaka Igarashi.
If it were up to her wife, the photo wouldn't be there.
Sayaka's words are always the same, Kirari, you should remove Ririka's photo from our bedside table. Every time you see that photo, your expression changes, and it brings back bad memories. Sadness is not good for you.
"Sayaka is always so worried about me," she speaks softly, remembering her wife.
However, the idea of putting that photo on the bedside table is not to make her sad but to remind her that she failed the person she loved the most - her sister Ririka. She should have tried to protect her sister from the Momobami Clan more. She should never have allowed the family to treat her as nothing. She let Ririka wear that mask that seemed to have sucked all her personality. She blames herself for it, and that's why the photo is there, just to remind her of her guilt.
If she had protected her sister better, who knows, they might be together now.
.....
"Sayaka, did you cancel the meeting this afternoon?" Kirari asks, looking at her executive secretary.
"Of course, President."
"Sayaka, I've told you before that you don't have to call me 'president' when we're alone in the office. There's no one here, and there's no need for so much formality."
"President, I work for you at the Momobami Corporation. That's called respect," Sayaka said, defending herself. "We're not at home. We're working here. I'm just your executive secretary, and you're the president of the company. I like to respect hierarchy," the woman added.
"You're the executive secretary because you want to be. I've told you to change your position. You're too qualified to be just a secretary. Why not be the director of this company? What do you think?" the woman said, approaching and smiling at her wife.
"I like being your secretary so I can organize your personal and professional life. If I were a director, I couldn't do that."
"Ah, I see. You're a controlling woman, Sayaka," Kirari said, approaching, holding the other woman's waist, taking some strands of her hair, and smelling it.
"You're taking care of what's yours," Kirari hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.
"Stop being silly," Sayaka moved away from her wife. "I'm not jealous, not too much. I trust you. I'm your secretary so we can align our schedules since I'll always be by your side as a secretary."
Kirari shrugs indifferently while looking at her large aquarium. "If my secretary and wife says so, then it must be true."
"Sometimes, Kirari, you are so..." Sayaka stops herself from saying something she might regret.
The office phone rings. "Aren't you going to answer it, President?"
"I thought my dear secretary would answer it for me," Kirari says, winking at her wife. "Hello, you may speak."
"Madam President, your cousin Terano Totobami is here. She wants to speak with you. May I let her in?"
"Yes, let her in," Kirari says, surprised by her cousin's visit, as they rarely see each other in person.
"Sayaka, Terano is here. Could you leave us alone? I believe this conversation is important for my cousin to come all the way here."
"Of course, President. I'll be leaving," Sayaka says, opening the door to Kirari's office.
When she sees Terano and Yumi Totobami, Sayaka senses a heavy atmosphere and feels that something serious has happened.
"Good morning, Igarashi," the women greet her together. "Good morning, Terano. Good morning, Yumi," Sayaka says, closing the door to the president's office.
"Good morning, Kirari," Terano greets her, and Yumi bows to the head of the Momobami Clan.
"Good morning, cousins. How are you doing?"
"Well, thank you. I need to talk to you. Yumi, please leave us alone," the tanned woman with blonde hair bows again and leaves the office.
"What was that? Are you okay? I sense that something is bothering you. How can I help?"
"Kirari, this is difficult for me, actually it's painful," when the woman in the wheelchair said this phrase, Kirari sensed that a hurricane was about to pass through her, she would need to be strong, very strong.
"Please tell me what you came to talk about. You're making me curious," she says, smiling to disguise her tension.
"We found Ririka." When Terano spoke those words, Kirari felt a mixture of happiness and disbelief, but something wasn't adding up.
Terano started the conversation with the word "painful." But why? Her cousin shouldn't be unhappy about finding Ririka.
"Go on," the woman spoke as if she had forgotten how to breathe.
"Where is my sister?" Kirari approached her cousin and held her by the shoulders as if she wanted to extract all the information.
The twin looked directly into Terano's eyes with huge expectations. Finally, she would be reunited with Ririka. She had been without information about her older sister for years, and it was eating her alive. She had waited for news from her sister for so long, and finally they had come.
Kirari had wondered every day if Ririka was okay. Was she eating well? Was Ririka finally feeling happy?
But why did her sister's happiness mean distance between them? Did it hurt her? Was that why she left without saying goodbye to her? There were so many questions that sometimes she thought she was going crazy.
Terano was frightened by Kirari's behavior. Her cousin had never shown anxiety before, and Kirari was hurting her, even though Terano knew that the white-haired woman wasn't doing it out of malice. Kirari looked pale at that moment.
Kirari recognized a sad expression on her cousin's face, which worried her. Was Terano going to start crying?
"Ririka is dead, I'm so sorry." Terano said, feeling tears falling down her face.
Kirari's eyes widened. She turned her head to the side as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing, an automatic smile appeared on her face, and she immediately let go of Terano. It was like she was falling into an endless hole. "Dead, Ririka is dead."
Kirari's eyes became blurry. What was that, tears?
"Get out of here, Terano. I need to be alone." When her cousin was about to say something more.
"Get out!"
Terano took a deep breath. "She's shaken," the wheelchair-bound woman said to herself.
"Okay, one more thing. Ririka had a daughter. The girl is alone in Thailand, and I need you to come with me to get her. The child is a part of the Momobami Clan, just like her mother. We can't leave a member of our Clan alone and helpless in another country."
"Wait, what did you say?" Kirari blinked as if she couldn't believe what she heard. She turned to her cousin with her face all red.
"I have a niece?"