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On January 22, it was the twin’s birthday. Anaashi was thrilled by the news she’d gotten just the day before that the doctor’s were going to allow her to leave the hospital for that day.
An alarm went off immediately causing Bokunoo to jump out of bed. He was super excited to blow out the birthday candles with his sister again. He got dressed in a comfortable hoodie and sweatpants. He planned to spend the first half of the day with his bro, Konore and the other half with his sister.
Anaashi, likewise, planned to spend the first half of the day with her girls Oila and Sammy and later hangout with her brother.
Anaashi rubbed her eyes open looking around at her surroundings. Her eyesight had gotten much better but she was still sensitive to the dark. Just then she saw the door to her room get slam open revealing two completely styled girls. “BESTAYYYYYYYYYYY IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAYYYY!!!” Yelled Sammy. She ran up to Anaashi and hugged her. “YUUUUHHHH WE GONNA PARTYYYYY!!” replied Oila. Anaashi face palmed herself. “Oila, Sammy, this is a hospital not a club.” Oila put her hand on her heart, acting as if the words deeply hurt her. Sammy covered her mouth in embarrassment. “Bestayy-” Whined Oila. Anaashi rolled her eyes smiling. Sammy looked at Anaashi and looked at her outfit. The poor teen was stuck wearing the dress that most patients wear when arriving at the hospital. “First on our list is to go to the mall to find new clothes for our poor bae-” She said. Oila gasped. “OMG yes! I mean you’re allowed to wear normal clothes instead of that hospital gown right?” Anaashi nodded. “Ya. Plus, I don’t really like my style anymore..” Oila clapped her hands together grinning. “Then it’s settled. Let’s go to the mall.” Anaashi started getting pumped. She was finally gonna get to go out again. Anaashi changed into one of her clothes that she’d bought in Russia with Lev. Once she finished getting dressed she walked out earning a gasp from Oila and Sammy. “Bestay, that actually looks super cute!”
Anaashi smiled. “Thank’s.”
Then they were off. Anaashi was very cautious on how she was walking. She was still trying to get used to walking again. They hopped onto the metro and left the hospital. Anaashi felt free, like she just entered earth again.
As their stop was coming all three of them had a plan on where they were gonna go. They planned to go to their ultimate favorite store in the world. Altar’d State. As the metro stopped the girls fashionably headed over to the store. It was the only store that sold girl clothing in their town. But it was also runned by boys which was a little sad. But luckily they were more of feminism boys who enjoyed girls' styles.
As they entered they were greeted by one of the workers. They loved how the store was always empty. The only thing you would hear was the background music they had. Plus some cashiers talking to each other, but that was really it. All three of them dragged Anaashi over to the light academia ayle. Anaashi looked around and shook her head at most of the things there. “I’m not sure..” She said, “I kinda feel like that’s not my style anymore-” Oila’s eyes widened. “Dang okay! New style we can do that right Sammy?” Sammy nodded and pointed to a certain aisle. “I think you would look really good with the Dark Academia style!” Anaashi tilted her head a bit to the left. Oila lightly started to push her to the aisle.
They looked around at the section for a bit and Anaashi picked out a good amount of clothes to try on. After trying them on, Anaashi ended up buying a lot of clothes from that section. “I think that this is my new style..'' said Anaashi. Oila and Sammy fist bumped each other from behind and grinned. Anaashi checked her watch. She had three hours before she met up with Bokunoo. She thought of more things she would want to do with her trio. She gasped. “We should go get some boba.” Sammy squealed. “YES! YES! YES!” Oila nodded. “Wait but like the one that’s two hours away?” Anaashi shook her head. “We don’t have enough time to go all the way over there. Maybe the one next to Sammy’s house?” Sammy nodded and smiled even wider. “I love that Boba shop!!!” Oila gave them both a thumbs up. “Then it’s settled!” Sammy was about to jump on Anaashi but Oila quickly stopped her, giving her a “no” look. Sammy quickly stepped back in embarrassment remembering the state that Anaashi was in. Luckily, Anaashi was on her phone when Sammy’s attempt failed so she didn’t feel as embarrassed as she would have felt.
While the girls were in the Boba Shop Oila made a tik tok and in the middle of it Sammy barged in it sticking her middle finger and tongue out at the camera. At the end of it they both pulled Anaashi in it whose face was confused. Oila laughed and posted it with a caption of;
It’s my girl's b-day!!
When Oila pressed the posting button right away thousands of people started liking and commenting happy birthday to Anaashi or wondering why she was out of the hospital. Anaashi peeked over Oila’s shoulder. “Is that why you randomly took a picture of me?” Oila nodded proudly. “You’ve only posted once and that was when you were nine.” Anaashi shrugged. “I dunno. I’m just not that big of a fan with social media.” Oila gasped in a dramatic way. She fanned her face and rolled her eyes. Anaashi face palmed. Sammy took out her own phone. “I’m in the middle! I post every like three days or so but I’m not crazy like Oila!” Said Sammy. Anaashi looked at her phone and scrolled through her apps. “I think I deleted tik tok actually-” She double checked but saw no social media apps in sight. She only had messages, facetime, and notes, plus, school apps and youtube for when she got bored. Sammy stole Anaashi’s phone and quickly downloaded tiktok, somehow logging into her account. Anaashi looked at her in confusion. “How did you-” “I may have been watching you when you had put in your password a few years ago~ Hehe.” Anaashi looked at Sammy, her eyes widened. “I- uh nevermind then. Anyways, what do you even do on here?” Anaashi said, taking back her phone from the shorter girl. Oila pulled up her tiktok page and showed Anaashi what she posted which were dancing and blogging videos. Anaashi looked at her own tiktok. She had gotten at least fifty-six million followers. Anaashi stared at her only tiktok post. She was at the store and she was doing the renegade with Oila. She cringed, tempted to delete the only video there. Sammy clicked on an aesthetic sound and said, “Use this sound and sing along to the lyrics or something.” Anaashi shook her head. “I don’t wanna post something to be frank.” Oila gently grabbed Anaashi’s phone and started to find another sound. “Use this one instead.” She said, Anaashi sighed heavily and took her phone back. “Fine.” She said, “But only this once.” Oila and Sammy glanced at each other and nodded, both of them grinning.
Anaashi rolled her eyes and clicked on the sound pressing play. The song was Nowhere to Run''. She started to mimic the voice and eventually at the end Sammy and Oila made a “dramatic” entrance. In the end, Anaashi posted it without having a care in the world about how it looked. Almost immediately, She started to get millions of likes and thousands of comments hyping her up. Anaashi was shocked. Why was everyone liking her post so much? Oila and Sammy liked her video as well and watched as the likes went up and up. Anaashi watched the screen for another good three seconds before turning her phone off and munching down on her cinnamon that she bought alongside her boba. Oila and Sammy looked at her in confusion but they let it slide for the time being.
After another hour or so at the boba shop the girls decided to go their own ways since Anaashi had to meet up with her brother soon. They waved their goodbyes and Anaashi was off. She pulled out her phone again to text Bokunoo where to meet at. She kept hearing ringing sounds from the app. People were still liking her videos. She tried her best ignoring it and ended up setting the app to silent. She sighed and sat at a nearby bench waiting for her brother to respond.
While she was waiting she saw two kids who looked roughly the same age. One had blonde hair as well as the other. One was a boy and the other was also a boy. Behind them, another shy, small boy slowly followed, his head looking nowhere but straight down at the ground. Anaashi felt sad for the poor boy and tapped on his shoulder. The boy quickly flinched backwards revealing a red face with tears running down his cheeks. Anaashi panicked and asked, “Are you okay?” The boy rubbed his eyes and pointed towards his ears. It took Anaashi less than a second to realize that the poor boy was deaf. Anaashi rubbed his head with her hand and sat down on the floor. The boy did as well but still kept his distance from her. Anaashi smiled and raised her hands up. She signaled to him. (Are you deaf?) The boy’s eyes widened and he nodded. Anaashi thought for a second and started signaling. (It’s alright I know ASL.) The boy smiled and rubbed his eyes, wiping the tears off his face. He signaled her asking. (Why do you know ASL?)
(I wanted to learn it as a sign of respect to other people.) The boy sniffed a bit and signed to her again saying. (I’m Tanwu!) Anaashi nodded. (I’m Anaashi,) The boy scooted closer to Anaashi as a sign of trust. Anaashi was glad. They both ended up signing to each other for a while until his parents came up. They thanked Anaashi for keeping him company while also telling her how hard it had been for him. “You know he’s been to the hospital many times from his eardrums. They seem to be badly infected and the doctors are doubting that he’d be able to even have ears in the next five years.” Anaashi gasped softly. The parents then went on to ask. “How old are you? And aren’t you Anaashi Bokuto?” Anaashi sighed. “Yes that is me, today I turn 17 actually.” The parents congratulated her and spoke a little longer. Just then when the family was about to leave Bokunoo snuck up behind Anaashi and yelled. “BOO!” Anaashi shrieked and kicked Bokunoo in his ankle faintly. Bokunoo laughed and hugged her. “Happy birthday lil sis!!” Anaashi twitched her eye. “Like i’ve said at least a MILLION times you’re only five minutes older.” Bokunoo laughed and stuck his tongue out. “You were taking too long to reply so I decided to meet you here instead.” Anaashi checked her phone seeing many texts from Bokunoo. “Sorry..” She said. Bokunoo shrugged. “Ehhh whatever let’s just go to the park-”
Anaashi hesitated a bit which caught Bokunoo’s attention. “I-I'm sorry we couldn’t go to the amusement park… maybe if I wasn’t so sick-” Bokunoo grabbed Anaashi’s arm and spun her around so that she was facing him. You could see the worried expression on his face. “Anaashi stop. None of what’s happened to you is your fault. I would go into a deeper conversation if it wasn’t our birthday, so just relax okay? I can literally go to an amusement park any day. Though being able to see you out of the hospital is nowadays rare. So please for the love of god, ReLaX~” Anaashi hit Bokunoo. “Damn, okay Bokunoo being mature all of a sudden-”
“HEYY!!! I’ve always been mature!”
“Uh, keep telling yourself that.”
“You’re so mean Ana!”
“Am I though?”
Bokunoo huffed in defeat. Anaashi poked him to signal him to follow her. “If you’re done pouting let’s go walk around.” Bokunoo stuck his tongue out but jogged towards his sister who was way ahead of him now.
Most of the time they shared past memories with each other, or funny moments that the other twin had. After their walk they headed towards the train station, heading to their favorite restaurant. Mogo-hakona. It was a nice, small restaurant deep in the forest that contained many plants and flowers inside it. It was almost like a green house except there was a kitchen and seating. Either way Bokunoo and Anaashi went there ever since they could barely speak Japanese. But they hadn’t visited the restaurant ever since Anaashi had gone missing. So for the twins, it was special for them being able to return to their favorite restaurant. Bokunoo kept an awe expression on his face while they followed the path that was leading them towards the restaurant. “Hey, remember when we would jump from stone to stone trying not to touch the grass?” “Uh huh. And how id always fa-“ Anaashi lost her balance and fell over. Bokunoo was quick to grab her though. He pulled her up laughing. “And how you’d always fall? Yup! And for now, hold on to my arm. We don’t wanna give the doctors another chance to see you today.” Anaashi frowned but laughed.
The two stopped when they were in front of the restaurant, a smile creeping through their faces. “AHhhhhhHh~” Said Bokunoo. He smelled the air and closed his eyes laughing. Anaashi stared at him with a confused expression. “What’s so funny?” She asked, tilting her head. Bokunoo shook his head wiping the tears that were falling from him laughing so much. “Nothing. Let’s go.” He said, grabbing Anaashi’s hand and dragging her into the small, cozy, restaurant.
As the two entered they were greeted by the owner whom they’ve known since, well, forever. Her name was Aki and she was around sixty years old by now. She’s always energetic and enjoys people’s sense of humor. Especially Bokunoo’s.
When they walked into the restaurant Aki was dusting of some shelfs while humming a nice, soothing lullaby that she would always sing when missing someone. Bokunoo smelled the air and grinned, ringing the old bell that may soon fall off from how loose it became of old age. The scent there smelled like a fresh rainforest that was just starting to get rained on with clean water from the sky.
Aki slowly turned around smiling saying. “Welcome to my res-” Before she could finish Bokunoo tackled the poor women into a hug. “AKIIIII!!” He said. The old women laughed patting Bokunoo’s back. “Why what a surprise?” She laughed pushing him back. “Now, now. I’m not as strong as I used to be…” Anaashi stood beside Bokunoo and waved. “Hello Ms. Aki. Hope all is well,” Aki covered her mouth. “Well isn’t this a great birthday surprise! You never grew did you?” Anaashi tried her best to not complain about her height to the women. Is that the only thing she needed to work on? Her height? Aki seated them both and then took out her pen and notepad. “Well what can I get you both on this very special day?” She asked while winking. “Awww don’t play like that Ms. A!!” teased Bokunoo. “Don’t worry Bokunoo i’ll get you your strawberry lemon tea with half sugar and a spoon of ice cream of vanilla.” Bokunoo squinted, smiling wide. “Yup!” Aki sighed shaking her head. She turned towards Anaashi. “And you would like your milk oak honey mint savor, correct?” Anaashi nodded slightly. Aki the tapped her pencil onto the notepad and walked away. Bokunoo and Anaashi looked at each other, both bursting out in laughter. “Why are we laughing?!” coughed Bokunoo. “I don’t know!” Replied Anaashi. They both calmed down and Bokunoo looked at the menu. “Oh! They added new recipes to the menu! Ana do you see it?! Do you?!” Anaashi sighed heavily. “Yes Bokunoo but calm down this is still a restaurant. And there are a handful of people here so keep your voice down.” She said while pointing her finger in front of her mouth. Bokunoo looked down and banged his head on the table making the younger sibling jump back in fear. She quickly lifted his head up and rubbed his forehead. “Bokunoo what did I literally just say.” Bokunoo gave his sister his best puppy eyes. She furrowed her brows. “Look. I’m sorry~” Not even a strong second later she was strangled into a hug by her brother. As confused as she was, Anaashi patted his back still not understanding why he all of a sudden decided to hug her, in the middle of a restaurant, and not to mention he was just in his emo-mode. “Uh, Bokunoo… Why are you hugging me?” Bokunoo tightened his grip on her. “Just glad that you’re my sister.” Anaashi gave him a questioning look.
Honestly,
what is life these days?
It seems unreal that just a few years ago she actually got taken away.
It’s confusing that she’s fighting for her life.
It’s terrifying that at any moment she could die.
Nothing seems real anymore to anyone. But the worst part is that those thoughts lingered through Bokunoo’s brain every.single.day. that he lived. Though he refused to tell anyone, including his best friend Konore. As much as people thought of him as a goofy, confusing person. He wasn’t clueless nor was he that confusing. Especially when it came to his family.
The twins talked about random things as they waited for their food to come. They had already gotten their drinks and were sipping (or slurping) on it happily. They both talked about random things like what books interest them or how hard school was for Bokunoo. But there was one specific topic that was important to both of them. “So um, is it true that you’re going into deep surgery to hopefully finish your recovery?” Anaashi’s eyes sparkled. “Ya actually I completely forgot about that. Yeah, I think it’s on the 5th of february.” Bokunoo jumped out of his seat. “HEY HEY HEYYYY!!!” Anaashi facepalmed her face, whispering under her breath. “Dad’s influencing you too much these days-” and quickly pulled him back down into his seat and shushed him again. “You’re gonna be the death of me.” Bokunoo shrugged and smiled. “I’m hungryyy what’s taking them so long?!” Anaashi giggled. “Bokunoo we just ordered could you be a little more patient about it?” Bokunoo groaned trying to entertain himself by playing with his fingers.
When the food had arrived Bokunoo wasted no time in chomping down on his food. Anaashi thanked the lady for the meal. After saying a quick prayer, she as well started to chew on her delicious meal that was made just for her.
After they left the restaurant the twins had decided to stroll around their town a bit and enjoy each other’s company. They had decided that they would want to eat dinner together as well but at home. Apparently their paps had a “special surprise” for them so they needed to go home for it. Thankfully, their dad had canceled all of his games and meeting’s that he would have had on their birthday to make sure that he could hang around and just be near them. Both of the twins couldn’t wait to be able to have a family dinner all together again.
The twins were finding themselves at their old secret hide out that they’d had as kids. Really it was just a forest. But for some reason, they thought it was their home. Their palace. Their harbor. They knew most of the creature’s that roamed around the forest and even though some were new creatures, none of them had bothered to harm them. Besides, they weren’t scary animals or anything. There were snakes, rabbits, deers, frogs, toads, ravens, blue birds, and the twins' personal favorite; owls.
Bokunoo had taken out his phone and started scrolling through his instagram page and frowned. He was missing a post with something. Or maybe someone… After around five minutes of him staring at his phone and trying to figure out what he was missing, he turned to his sister who was feeding some of the carrots that they’d bought earlier at the grocery store to what looked like a new rabbit. He wrapped his arm around Anaashi’s neck in a soft way and gently pulled her near him. Then, with the sound of a click! Bokunoo had taken a picture and posted the photo that he had taken. “There.” He said. “My missing piece.” Anaashi ignored what he’d said and saw a text come up from her phone. It was strange how they had wifi in a forest- but they were both glad that they did have it for some reason. Anaashi typed in her password then opened her messages.
“A text from Ostun…”
Hey Love, Happy Birthday!
Anaashi smiled at the nice message her boyfriend had sent. She replied saying,
Thank you.
Right as she was about to turn her phone off again she had received another text from her boyfriend.
I wish that I was with you right now..
Anaashi’s smile faded away with that message. They hadn’t seen each other in a year and although it seemed like nothing to some it felt like years to them. They never liked long distance relationships. But Anaashi hated the fact that he couldn’t be with her on her birthday. With a sad smile she had decided to reply to his text.
I wish you were here too. But you know how far we live from each other. And besides, it’s just another day. Nothing that special other than I'm turning a year older.
She sighed and rubbed her temples. The sun had started to set and it seemed as if Bokunoo was about ready to head to their house. “You ready to go?” She had asked. Bokunoo turned away from the harmless snake and nodded. “Yup! Though I wish that our owl friends were here..” Anaashi nodded. Where were their owl friends today? Strange. Maybe they had passed on to another life. The thought of that made Anaashi upset. But just as she was about to overthink it the twins started hearing numerous owl noises making them both jolt up. Two owl’s flew down and on the twins' shoulders. The twins both laughed. “Fashionably late are we now?” Asked Bokunoo as he petted an owl named Hoopers. Hoopers had been with Bokunoo for most of his life. But he wasn’t a pet. He was a friend of Bokunoo. Anaashi on the other hand had her own owl named Harp. The twins had both believed that the two owls were also related and could have possibly been twins like them.
The twins had started to walk back to their house with the two owls tagging along on each of the twins' sides. As they walked past the old streets that they knew they both started to grow eager to know about their paps ``surprise” that he’d had planned for them. Their slow walking began to be normal walking, then quick walking. Once they’d reached the house they quickly entered, leaving Harp and Hooper to hangout on a tree. Anaashi was panting. She hadn’t walked that far in a long time. And she wasn’t supposed to according to the doctors. Bokunoo quickly gave her his new water bottle that he never drank out of and she gladly took it. The house was dark. Extremely dark. Were their parents not home? That couldn’t be. They said that they’d be home at around eight since Anaashi had to return to the hospital at midnight the latest. The twins took a few steps forward. Bokunoo called out. “Pap! Dad! We’re home!” He kept walking forward and decided to take a look at the kitchen, her sister following right behind him.
Strange.
No one was there either…
They decided to check the dining room. Maybe they were eating? The twins looked at each other then took a step forward into the dining room.
No one was there either.
“That’s it, I'm turning on the lights.” Said Bokunoo. “Okay.” shrugged Anaashi. He turned on the lights and right as he did Six people jumped out at them screaming. “Surprise!!” Anaashi jumped backwards while Bokunoo’s eyes sparkled at the sight. There in front of them stood their parents, Sammy, Oila, Konore, and..
Anaashi’s eyes became glossy and she covered her mouth. What? How? “Ostun!”
Anaashi ran up to him and tackled him in a hug. Ostun laughed and lifted Anaashi up. He spun her around then placed her down letting go of the hug. He pulled her in and leaned in, embracing Anaashi with a passionate kiss. Anaashi let herself get carried into the kiss, both completely forgetting about everyone else in that room. The kiss was soft, and gentle but still strong.
Once they both pulled out of the kiss Ostun was greeted with glares coming from Bokunoo and Koutarou. He quickly wiped his mouth and put his hands up in retreat. “Sorry! My bad.” Keiji laughed and punched his husband. “Let them be hun.” Anaashi wiped her eyes and heard giggles come from Sammy and Oila. She quickly turned around only to find Oila posting something with a mischievous grin planted on her face. Sammy on the other hand was quickly trying to hide her phone from Anaashi. She rolled her eyes at the friends and blushed in embarrassment. Konore laughed and slapped Bokunoo’s back. “Brooooooooo don’t be so overprotective with her!” Bokunoo raised an eyebrow only to get slapped in the back of his head by his paps. “Paaaa-” He said, pouting. Keiji fixed his glasses. “Anyways! How do you two like the surprise?” Anaashi laughed. “I liked it, thanks paps.” Bokunoo nodded at the statement that his sister had made. “Yeah, but how were YOU able to get here?” He said pointing to Ostun. Bokunoo earned a glare from his paps and he quickly looked down at the floor. Ostun laughed. “Oh um, actually I took the train that had left this morning. My parents had given me an excuse to come and skip classes. Though I do have to return in two days.” Bokunoo smirked. “Well I mean you made my sister happy so I guess I can’t be mad at you-” everyone laughed. Koutarou patted his son’s shoulder and looked at both him and Anaashi. “Okay kiddos, go sit down next to each other. It’s cake time.” The twins quickly sat next to each other. They’ve been waiting for this moment for who knows how long. Everyone gathered around the table and Keiji brought out the special cake. One side had vanilla and the other had chocolate. Just how the twins liked it. Bokunoo loved vanilla and the other had always loved chocolate.
Ostun stood behind Anaashi but was quickly pushed over a bit by Sammy. “This is MY place. I’ve always been here and I ain’t letting no boyfriend steal my spot.” She huffed and hugged Anaashi behind letting her orange-like hair swing behind her face. Anaashi patted Sammy’s hands and partly hugged her back. But she was too busy talking to her pap’s to notice anything that was happening. Oila patted the boyfriend's back. “There, there. You’ll get a special place in this family soon..” Ostun shrugged his shoulders. “Alright then.” Keiji lit two candles that were specifically close to each other. Just then, the lights went out and Keiji started to film. Then on the count of three everyone except for the twins started to sing.
“Happy birthday to you!”
“Happy birthday to you!”
“Happy birthday to the twinnsssss!!!”
“Happy birthday to you!!!”
Just then the twins leaned into the cake and they both blew out their candles together. Everyone started screaming and cheering with some congratulating on the sides. Finally, 17… The twins were overjoyed with excitement.
But then, Konore came from behind and shoved Bokunoo’s face in the cake as did Sammy with Anaashi. The twins quickly lifted their heads from the cake and earned laughs from everyone at the table. The twins turned to each other who both were greeted by a completely caked human.
They both immediately turned to the two imposters who were slowly backing away from them. “Yeah maybe we planned this-'' Said Sammy. Konore started to whistle and walk to the other side of the room with Sammy. Anaashi took her finger and scooped some of the cake that was on Bokunoo’s cheek and licked it. “Mm. The cake’s good.” She said shrugging. Everyone burst into laughter as Bokunoo took some cake from his own face and tried it. “Oh, yeah it is.” Then he turned around to the two and smirked. “Just know, we’re totally gonna get pay back.” Anaashi nodded. The other two grinned. “Game on!'' said Sammy. Ostun came from behind Anaashi and handed her a paper towel so that she could clean herself. Oila gave one to Bokunoo carefully so that she wouldn’t get cake on her new turquoise dress. Bokunoo took it and almost immediately started rubbing it against his face, getting rid of any piece of cake on his face. “Um, so what's gonna happen to the cake?” Koutarou asked impatiently. He secretly had been super excited to have cake. Keiji laughed. “Oh don’t worry love those two sneakers told me their plan so I bought another cake. Koutarou sighed in relief.
They all had some cake and played some games at the house until it was time for everyone to leave. They all said their goodbyes but Anaashi and Bokunoo were surprised to not see Sammy and Oila walking home together. Instead Oila walked home by herself. But what had surprised the twins even more was that Konore and Sammy were walking home together and holding hands. “What the-” questioned Anaashi. Bokunoo snapped a picture of them and laughed like a maniac. “I am SO saving this for blackmail.” Anaashi giggled. “Wait, please send that to me.” Bokunoo nodded and seconds later Anaashi heard a ding from her phone with the picture of the two. She saved it to her photos. Keiji walked up behind the two twins and hugged them tightly. “Aww my two twins are all grown up!” He said, squeezing the hug. “Paaa-” Complained Bokunoo. Anaashi on the other hand enjoyed the hug. She didn’t wanna go back to that awful hospital. At least not alone. “Oh! It’s almost midnight.” Said Keiji. Great. Ostun walked out of the house with a black backpack and hugged Anaashi. “Can I walk you there?” He asked her. Anaashi nodded shyly. Ostun looked over to Keiji to allow his approval. “May I steal your daughter sir?” Keiji laughed. “Just call me Keiji dear. And sure. I don’t want her going back there alone.” Ostun nodded and Anaashi said goodbye to her family. Then they were off.
The two walked to the hospital in silence. But a comfortable one. That is until about half way there Ostun broke it. “Why you?” Anaashi looked over. “Huh?” “Why did you have to be the one stuck in a hospital. Why couldn’t it be me? You could be living your life but no. You’re stuck at a stupid hospital. Maybe if I-” “And you think that you’re getting a free pass out of this?” Anaashi interupted. Her voice was stern which surprised Ostun. “Are you just that used to going to a physical therapist everyday and getting different shots from hospitals on weekends? You think that’s normal?” Ostun stayed quiet. “That’s what I thought.” She said. They walked in an awkward silence for a few minutes before Anaashi stopped. “You know.. Sometimes I wished you didn’t sacrificed yourself so much for others..Especially us.” She said. Ostun’s eyes widened as he turned to her. “I mean, you’ve taken many bullets for me. And honestly. I’m over the moon grateful that you hadn’t ended up stuck in a hospital as well as me.” She said sniffing. She didn’t look at Ostun at all and started to walk again. “Who’s us?” asked Ostun. “I mean, didn’t you sacrifice yourself to go to the lab instead of your sister?” Ostun’s mouth hung open. How did she know that? “If I remember correctly, originally they were aiming to get your sister. But they didn’t. Because you begged them to take you instead.” Ostun closed his mouth. “I couldn't let them take her.. Besides, her life's more import-” “Exactly.” Interrupted Anaashi. “You always put others first than yourself. Which is one of the reasons I love you so much.” Ostun blushed. “But it’s also a reason why I hate you.” Ostun eyes jolted up. “Huh?” Anaashi pinched her nose from the light snow that had been falling down. “Don’t get me wrong Ostun I love you. But sometimes you just risk your life too much without even knowing it.” Ostun was about to complain until Anaashi spoke up again. “Do you know how much your parents worry about you? They worry so much! And one of them had helped you with all of your mistakes and fix them but you never noticed because you’re too careless to actually notice.” Ostun looked down. “I’m sorry,” “We both should be.” Anaashi started to laugh. “I mean. We both screwed up and made our parents worry like hell.” Ostun wanted to laugh but he couldn’t. He needed to apologize to his parents when he got back home. Instead he shrugged and kicked a rock. “The least we can do is be with them as much as we can.” Ostun looked over. Anaashi was staring right into his eyes. “You know? To make up for all the lost time. It’s the least we can do.” Ostun nodded and walked closer to his girlfriend. “Ya. I guess you’re right.”
“Oh sweetheart, I'm always right.” Ostun chuckled and pulled her close to him right as they arrived in front of the hospital. In a hushed voice he kissed her head and whispered,
“Yeah, you always are.”