Zenga Kataki

[Kyoki]

I am still thinking about the name of this story, so most likely I will come up with another name for it in a day or two. It's not very good, but here it is. I hope it's ok...

Chapter One: Why Me?
Why did this have to happen to me? Was it because I was friends’ with Hikaru, the prince of our country? If that is the case, then I don’t regret being his friend at all. Not for a second.

But why did I have to die? Why would someone kill me? I was always nice and polite to everyone. Why me? I don’t want to die yet. I have so much to do, and I have so many things to tell Hikaru…

I have to find the ones who killed me and make them pay. I will not rest until my final wish is complete.

I can feel myself go back down. Maybe I’m not totally dead…maybe I’m now just a wandering spirit…a spirit out to get revenge…
* * *
“Ayumi! Earth to Ayumi!” A girl with long dark brown hair said running after a girl who was a few feet ahead of her. The girl was wearing a school uniform that was a purplish color. The skirt went down to her mid-thigh. Her shoes were a bright pink color. Her hair was in loose ponytails that had pink hair bands. Her fingernails were also painted pink.

The girl was running down a hallway in a school. There were only a few other students in the hallway.

“Huh?” Ayumi asked as she turned around to see her friend run toward her. Ayumi had short black hair that went to down to an inch below her ears. Ayumi‘s uniform was much like Maaya‘s, except her skirt went down to a little below her knees, and a black jacket that was tied around her abdomen. She also had black shoes on. She pulled her headphones off so she could hear her friend.

“I thought we were going to walk to class together,” her friend said.

“We are, I, uh, just got preoccupied and forgot.” Ayumi said. “I’m sorry.”

“You forget too easy. I don’t see why I put up with you,” she teased. “You’re always off in your own little world.”

“Maaya! I said I was sorry.” Ayumi whined. “You know how I am, don’t blame me for being like this. Blame…blame…” Ayumi looked around for something to blame. “Blame…”

“Hatori.” Maaya grinned. She stopped walking, and unconsciously, so did Ayumi.

“No, it’s not Hatori’s fault. It’s-” Ayumi began.

“No, I mean Hatori-kun is here.” Maaya smiled. “Hi, Hatori, please excuse my…odd friend.”

“What’s my fault?” Hatori stood in front of the two girls. He smiled. He had short, spiky, black hair. He had light brown eyes that reflected the light and made them glimmer. He was wearing his school uniform as well. But instead of it being purple, it was dark blue. His pants were rather baggy at the bottom. He had on black boot type shoes. One of the laces of the shoes was competently untied. He smiled. “It’s ok. She’s not that odd. Most of my other friends are odder.”

“Oh, uh, nothing. It was nothing, just girl talk…” She was too embarrassed to say anything else. This always happened to her when she and Maaya first talked to him. But within a few minutes, she would feel normal again. Ayumi had had a major crush on Hatori Mikage since they were in fourth grade. They were now in tenth grade. Ayumi thought having a crush for that long was kinda weird and that she should began to like someone else by then, but Hatori was just the nicest, sweetest, funniest guy in the world that she had ever met. She couldn’t help but like him.

Hatori looked at Ayumi. “I’m sorry, we’re talking about you and you’re right here. Please forgive me.”

“Oh, i-it’s fine.” Ayumi managed to smile.

“Don’t worry about Ayu-chan. She’s use to having people talk about her right in front of you, aren’t you?” Maaya elbowed her in the side.

“Umm…yes.” Ayumi said. Her face began to blush.

“Before I forget, I wanted to ask you something, Ayumi.” he said.

“O-ok.” she said.

Maaya grinned. Finally! He’s going to ask her! Yay! I didn’t think this day would ever come! It’s about time!

“Ayumi, I was wondering-” he began.

Before Hatori could finish his question, the event that would change Ayumi’s life forever happened.

As Ayumi listened to Hatori, her body suddenly became cold all over. She shivered as she felt her conciseness fade away.

Ayumi passed out and began to fall forward. Luckily for her, Hatori caught her.

He then gently laid sat her down and had her back lean against a locker.

“Ayumi? Ayumi? What’s wrong?” Maaya knelt down next to her and shook her friend gently to try and wake her up.

“Has this ever happen to her before?” Hatori asked. He quickly checked her pulse to make sure it was normal. “Her pulse is normal. But her skin…it’s so cold.”

“Never before. She’s always saying how she never gets enough sleep, but this isn’t something that normally happens.” Maaya said very fast. “Are you sure it’s normal? How do you know? Why is her skin so cold?”

“My aunt is a doctor and whenever she comes over, she talks about all kinds of doctor stuff. I have no idea about her skin temperature though. We need to take her to the nurse.” he told her.

“Yes. We need to hurry. I don’t know what I would do without Ayumi. We’re always been together. Always…” Maaya began to cry.

“She’ll be fine,” he told her. “Now listen, I’ll carry her there. I’ll need you to get the doors for me. Ok?”

Maaya nodded. “Yes.”

Hatori smiled. “She’ll be fine. I promise.”
* * *
Ayumi opened her eyes. She was in a room she identified immediately. The medical room at her school. She was lying on the bed they kept for sick students.

“Oh my God! Ayumi! You’re finally awake. Are you ok? What happened? Do you feel ok? Any nausea? Are you hungry? Can I get you anything?” Maaya fired questions away at her. “Don’t ever scare me like that.” she hugged her best friend.

“I’m fine. I feel a little different, but I’m sure this is how you’re suppose to feel after you pass out.” she said. “Calm down. You’re acting like my mom.”

“I’m just relieved that you’re awake. That’s all.” she smiled.

“How long have I-” Ayumi stopped. She sat up quickly. “Hatori! Was he there when I fainted? Did he see that?! He must think I’m weird now…”

“You’ve been out for a hour. Yes, he was there and no, he doesn’t think you’re weird. He was really worried about you. Hatori and I have been waiting in here for you to wake up. I talked him into go getting us some pops. You should lie down. Get some rest. You might pass out again.”

“Oh.” she lay back down. “How’d I get here?”
“Ha-kun carried you. It was so cute when he carried you!” Maaya smiled. “It’s romantic!”

Ayumi rolled her eyes. “Did something like this happen in one of your romantic books?”

“No, not quite. But it’s still romantic.” she said.
“What am I going to do with you and your romantic obsession?” Ayumi sighed.

“You’re going to listen to my advice and tell Hatori how you feel about him.”

“No, I don’t see that happening. Ever!”

“Oh, if only you knew the truth.” Maaya looked at her watch. “I hope he gets back soon. I’m thirsty.”

Ayumi’s body began to twitch and feel strange. “What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.” She said nervously.

“Maaya…my body feels weird.”

“Should I get the nurse?” Maaya stood up.

“No, it’s nothing serious. It just feels weird.”

Without Ayumi’s doing, her arm began to rise.

“What are you doing?” Maaya asked.

“I don’t know. My body is moving on its own,” she said.

Ayumi’s legs moved on their own over the edge of the nurse bed. Ayumi’s body then sat up. It then stood up rather wobbly.

“Ayumi, you should really lay down.” Maaya told her friend.

“I know…but my body…it won’t do what I want it to do.”

“That’s not normal…” Maaya said. She looked at her friend and gasped when Ayumi’s eyes began to turn to yellow. “Ayumi?”

“Who’s Ayumi? Who are you? Where am I?” “Ayumi” asked. Her voice was different.

“Ayumi, you’re scaring me.” Maaya took a step back.

“Hey, sorry it took me so long. The machine wouldn’t take the money at first. But I got it to work.” Hatori said as he entered the room. He noticed Ayumi’s eyes. “Why are your eyes yellow?”

She closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were back to the normal color.

“What happened?” Ayumi asked. “Did I faint again?”

“No, your eyes changed color and it seemed like you had amnesia.” Maaya told her. “Do you have control of your body now?”

“Huh? Did she loose control?” Hatori asked.

“Yea. Her body was moving totally on its own.” Maaya told him.

Ayumi’s legs began to walk on their own.
“No! My body’s doing it again! Why is it doing this?” Ayumi whined as her body kept on walking into the wall.

“Are you…ok?” Hatori was dumbfounded. “Maybe I should go get the nurse.”

“No! I’m fine, really.” Ayumi quickly said.

“She doesn’t like nurses or doctors.” Maaya said. “But Ayumi, you really need help!”

“I’m fine. This is just a side effect or all that’s been happening in my life right now. Yea. That’s it. It has to be…” she said.

“I’m not sure that’s why. This is very peculiar.” Hatori said.

Ayumi’s body turned toward Hatori and began to walk toward him. When she was a foot away from him, she outstretched her arms. She then rushed forward and hugged him.

Hatori, startled that she hugged him, almost dropped the three pop cans. He managed to keep them all in his hands. ”Umm… Ayumi…”

“Ah… I’m sorry.” Ayumi backed away. She began to blush. “I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s ok.” Hatori’s face began to turn a light pink.

Maaya grinned at the two of them.

“Hey! I can move my body again!” Ayumi said as she moved her arms at her own free will.

“Way to kill the mood.” Maaya said sadly.

“What?” Ayumi asked.

“Nothing! Nothing!” Maaya said quickly. “Can’t a girl say things out loud?”

“H-here’s a pop. I got them for us.” Hatori handed one to Maaya and Ayumi.

“Thanks.” the two girls said.

“Hello. You must be Ayumi, right?” the school nurse said as she walked in.

“Y-yes. That’s me.” Ayumi said.

“We called your mom. She said you should go home. You’re in walking range, right? Your mother said she couldn’t get out of work to drive you home.”

“Yea. I live down a block or two.” she said.

“Ok. Since you passed out, your two friends here will have to walk you home. But they’ll have to come right back.” the nurse said. “Can you two do that?”

“Yes.” Maaya grinned again as her mind planned how to get Ayumi and Hatori’s romance cooking.

Hatori nodded.

“Good. I’ll need you two to sign a paper saying you left the school to help Ayumi home. And Ayumi, you will have to sign a release paper. So if you come with me, we can get started and you can go home.”

“Ok.” the three of them said at the same time.

The nurse walked out into the main office. The three students followed.

The three of them quickly signed the papers needed. The nurse then ushered them out of the school. She told Maaya and Hatori to hurry and get Ayumi home. She then ran back inside.

They began walking toward Ayumi’s home. Maaya and Hatori walked on either side of her.

“You two don’t have to walk me home. I’ll be fine on my own.” Ayumi said.

“No. We’re going to walk you home.” Maaya said. “Stop being so damn independent and stubborn.”

“I’m not. It’s just that…my house is dirty. It hasn’t been cleaned in days.” Ayumi tried.

“Hun, you’re a neat, cleaning freak. Your house is clean.” Maaya said. She then looked up at Hatori. “It’s nothing personal, Ha-kun, she just gets nervous when people come over to her home. Don’t take it personal.”

Hatori smiled. “I understand.”

“You two have a odd habit of talking about me while I’m standing right here, did you know that?” Ayumi asked looking at both of them.

“Sorry.” Maaya and Hatori, said at the same time.

“It’s ok.” she smiled.

They walked the rest of the way to Ayumi’s house. They talked about their classes and other things.
They got their with not problem.

“Well, this is my house. You guys can go now. I’ll be fine.”

“Nah-uh. We’re going to walk you in. It’s our duty to help you.” Maaya said. “Right, Ha-kun?”

“Yep. We’re not leaving until we walk you safely into your house.” he smiled.

“Fine, but be warned if they’re home.” Ayumi mumbled.

“They? Who are they?” Hatori whispered to Maaya as Ayumi began to unlock the door with her keys.

“Her twin older brothers. They like to tease Ayumi a lot.” Maaya explained.

Ayumi opened the door. “Come on in.” she walked around to ahead of them to make sure her brothers weren’t home.

“Ayumi, your house is so clean! If you ever want to do extra cleaning, you can always come over to my house and do your magic.” Maaya teased.

“Thanks, but no thanks.” Ayumi said. She sighed in relief that they were not home. “It’d probably take me a week just to clean your room. Do you want anything to eat or drink while you’re here?”

“No thanks.” Maaya said. “And it would take two weeks. Don’t discredit my horrible organization skills.”

“Nah, I’m fine.”

“Fine.” Ayumi smiled.

“We’d better go back now. We don’t want to get in trouble. And Ayu-chan, you better rest. Don’t make me have to come here and pin you down and give you tranquilizers.” Maaya teased.

“Fine. I’ll rest. You don’t have to threaten me.” Ayumi said.

“Yea. I do.” Maaya said. “Me and Ha-kun are going now. We’ll talk to you later.” Maaya hooked her arm around Hatori’s.

“See ya later, Ayumi. I hope you get better.” Hatori smiled.

“Thank you. I’m sure I will.” she smiled back. “Thank you for walking me home.”

“No prob.” he told her.

“I’ll call you later, Ayumi-chan.” Maaya wave as she and Hatori left the house. Maaya closed the front door with her foot.

Ayumi began to feel the skin on her face prickle. She walked over to the mirror over a cabinet in the living room.

She gasped at her reflection in the mirror.

“What the hell?! What’s going on?! Why is this happening to me?”

Ayumi began to feel lightheaded. She grabbed onto the cabinet for support. Her eyes staring at her reflection in the mirror.
- * - * -

[Kyoki]

Chapter Two: The Double Trouble Twins Have Come
In the mirror was not her reflection, but that of a girl who she had never seen before in her life. The girl in the mirror had long medium-brown hair that went down to her mid-back. Her eyes were a murky yellow color. It was only there for a few seconds.

That girl was very pretty. I wonder who she was and why did I see her in the mirror… maybe my house is haunted. Nah! It cannot be that…right? But, seriously, what is going on? Why is my body moving on its’ own? Why was there another girl as my reflection? Ayumi thought. She felt like she was about to faint, but that feeling went away as she saw two dark figure appear right behind her.

Ayumi gasped and whirled around to see if the figures were really behind her or only another illusion in the mirror.

She sighed in relief when she realized that it was only her older twin brothers, Takai and Yasui.

For the most part, her brothers were identical. They both had short blond spiky hair. They both were five foot eleven. Both of their bodies were of a medium build. The only differences were their eyes. Takai had eyes were brown while Yasui’s eyes were blue.

“You really shouldn’t turn around so fast in your condition or you might faint again.” Yasui said. He looked at his sister worriedly.

“I’m fine. You should not sneak up on people! What are you two doing home? Did your college end early this semester?” Ayumi asked.

“No, college is still going on. We’re just staying here to take care of you while you’re sick.” Takai said. “And you shouldn’t leave the front door wide open if you don’t want people to sneak up on you.”

“But… the door was closed. Maaya closed the door. I saw her!” Ayumi said in a terrified voice. “What if someone got in here? Remember that one girl who lived across town and that guy murdered her.” Ayumi hugged onto her oldest brother’s arm.

“Ha! Got ya! We opened the door.” Takai teased.

She let go of his arm, glared at him and then punched him on the arm. “That wasn’t funny Takai! You’re not funny…”

Takai rubbed his enjoy arm. “Owww…Damn, you‘re pretty strong for a fari-”

Yasui quickly kicked him in the shin to shut him up.

“What the hell? Is this beat Takai-up-day?” Takai whined.

“Anywho… we’re going to take the subway to class for awhile.” Yasui told her.

“But I’m fine. Really. I don’t want to be any trouble for the both of you.” Ayumi said. “And how did you know about me fainting?”

“Mom called us after the school called her. She wanted us to check up on you.” Takai said.

“She didn’t tell you to scare the crap out of me…” Ayumi mumbled.

“It’s times like this I wish mom’s job didn’t make her travel around so much.” Yasui said.

“Yea, me too.” Takai agreed.

“Well, you checked up on me. I am fine, as you can see. So you can go now.” she smiled.

“I feel loved…” Takai said miserably.

“I’m getting the feeling that you don’t want us here-” Yasui began.

“No! No…it’s not that.” Ayumi hastily said. She said as she hugged them both quickly. “I’m glad that you came to check up on me…”

“-but tough luck for you cuz we’re staying home for a few days.” Takai finished.

“Oh, fine. Stay!” Ayumi said.

“Besides, we had to come home so we could get our Halloween costumes ready.” Yasui said.

“Who are you two going as?” Ayumi asked.

“We haven’t picked yet. But we can do it now since we have time, can’t we?” Takai smiled.

Ayumi began to feel light headed again. She did not want her brothers to know because she knew would get very serious and worried about her for the rest of the day. And she did not want to do that. So, she causally walked over into the living room and sat on one of the couches.

Her older brothers followed her. They sat on the couch across from her.

“So, do you have any ideas what you two are going as?” Ayumi wondered.

“We were thinking that the three of us could go Trick-or-Treating together and dress up as characters from the same anime or manga or video game.”

“We do that every year, which I love cuz it’s lots of fun. But I thought you two had other plans this year?” Ayumi wondered.

“Something came up, so we had to change out plans back,” he said.

Takai and Yasui looked at each other and then spoke at the same time.

“We were thinking about going as characters from Kingdom Hearts.”

“I want to go as Leon.” Yasui said.

While Takai said, “I want to dress as Sephiroth.”

“Who do you want to go as?” they asked.

“Hmm… well, I really like Aeris. And her outfit in Kingdom Hearts is really awesome. So I suppose I’ll go as her.” Ayumi smiled.

“Good choice, Ayu-chan.” Takai smiled.

“We’ll stop by the cosplay store when we go to our classes tomorrow and put in the orders. Ok, Mi-chan?”

“Ok.” Ayumi replied.

“So what happened at school today? Mom told us you fainted, but that was all.” Yasui said.

“It was nothing. I just felt dizzy and fainted. Maaya and Hatori were there so they caught me and took me to the nurse. They walked me home. So here I am.” Ayumi said.

“There’s more, I think.” Takai leaned forward.

“Yes, I agree.” Yasui also leaned forward.

“Something happen between you and Hatori, right?” Takai asked.

Yasui elbowed Takai on his side. “We’ll get to that in a minute. Right now we’re worried about Mi-chan’s health right now.” Yasui snapped.

“I know. I was just wondering…” Takai said. “Our little baby sister never had a boyfriend before, so we have to protect her from the evil perverted guys out there.”

“Yes, I agree.”

“Excuse me! I can take care of myself. So, don’t worry about me. It’s not like there are lots of guys who hit on me or stalk me.” Ayumi interrupted them.

“So what about your fainting spell are you not telling us?” Yasui said getting very serious.

“Oh, fine. But promise me you won’t tell mom.” Ayumi told them.

“I promise.” Takai grinned.

“I promise not to tell mom as long as it’s not life threatening.” Yasui said.

“Fine. Ya-kun, Ta-kun, after I woke up, my body began moving on its own for a few minutes.” Ayumi told them.

“Moved on it’s own? Whoa…” Takai said, amazed.

“How’d you get it to stop?” Yasui asked.

“I didn’t. Not really. I hu-, I mean, I bumped into Hatori and I regain control.” Ayumi said.

“Have you lost control since then?” Takai asked.

“No. And I’m sure it won’t happen again. I’m sure it was just a side effect of fainting.” Ayumi told the twins.

“We’ll keep an eye on you and if it gets worse, we’ll take you to a doctor.” Yasui said. “Ok, Mi-chan?”

“Fine. But you won’t have too.” she said.

“So nothing happened with you and Hatori?” Takai said.

“No.” Ayumi said impatiently. “He and Maaya walked me home. That is all.”

“Is that all?” Yasui asked.

“Yes! I have known him since first grade. It is not as if anything is going to happen. So stop bugging me!” Ayumi snapped.

“Fine. But be careful.” Takai said. “Guys can do bad things around cute girls.”

“Thanks for the warning. But does that mean you’re one of those guys that I should be careful of?”

“Hell no! Where the hell did you get that from?” Takai said.

“Oh, just wondering. By the way you said that, it sounds like you’re kinda…I don’t know, experienced with that.” Ayumi teased.

“Whatever.” Takai said. “I’m watching TV.”

He grabbed the TV clicker and turned it on. The channel that was on currently had the news on.

“Now going over to the business/country affairs with Kazu Wakaba.” the female reporter said.

The camera switched to a news reporter who had dark brown hair and eyes. “The weather appears to be nice now, but with hours, it should get really cold.” he smiled.

“Ah…Kazu, I did not say weather, I said business/country affairs…” she said.

“Uh, well, that box thing told me to talk about the weather… anywho. Ah! I see now, they fixed it. A small company has been closed today and was the building was brought by Akuma Corp. Akuma Corp has now opened a new office building in Utage. This should increase the companies’ profit by a lot. The mother building is on Fatae Island. That is all for business. And, now on to country affairs. King Roi was out of town this weekend. He went to Kasei to talk about a peace treaty. It did not turn out well and it looks like there is going to be a bit of a battle. We will keep you in touch with any further developments. Back to you…other news reporter who I can never seem to remember her name… Is it Kimono?”

“Kimiko! It’s Kimiko damnit! Can’t you remember one damn name?! Grow up and at least remember your coworkers names!” She yelled.

“I love this news channel. It’s very entertaining.” Takai laughed at Kimiko’s outburst.

“Me too.” Yasui laughed as well.

“It’s…rather…odd…perhaps.” Ayumi said. Not sure if she wanted to laugh or not.

“Calm down, Kimiko, we’re still on air. Just try to calm down, ok?” an executive yelled from the sidelines.

“Can’t you cut to a commercial until I calm down?” Kimiko asked someone.

“No, afraid not. We just took one a few minutes ago. We have to plow through until the next one, Kinoko. Hey! I think I got your name right that time.”

“It’s Kimiko! You bastard!” she yelled. She banged her fist on the counter.

“How long have those two been working together?” Ayumi asked.

“Umm… I think she has been a news anchor for about a year and Kazu has been on for about seven months.” Yasui said.

“So he hasn’t remember her name in seven months? That’s funny.” Ayumi laughed.

Kimiko took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She began to slowly count to the number ten. When she was finished. She opened her eyes and smiled sweetly at the cameras. “Please forgive me for my rude outbursts. In addition, I apologize if any children were watching and heard my unpleasant language. I am fine now and I will continue with the news.” She cleared her voice. “Prince Hikaru Magnanime’s best friend, Aura Doko died mysteriously the other day. We could not get a hold of his Highness, but his sister said that he would be available to talk in a day or two. She said that he is going through a very tough time right now.”

Takai was about to get up to go get something to eat but decided not to when he saw Ayumi rapidly walk over to the TV. She then kneeled in front of it.

“Ayu-chan? What’s going on?” Takai asked.

“I don’t know. My body moved on it’s own when the TV reporter mentioned that Hikaru guy.” she explained.

Takai and Yasui looked at each other and then back to their little sister. The three of them sat in silence, not sure what to do at a time like this.

“And now, Kazu, if you would be so kind to read the weather, now that it is time to read them.”

“Ok, Kamiko. As I said earlier, the weather appears to be nice now, but with hours, it should get really cold.”

Kimiko growled when Kazu said his name wrong again.

“Weather in Rokam is exceptally nice today. Tonight it’s supposed to get cold, so bundle up. In Neru they are going to be expecting small rain showers, but no one else has to worry about those cuz they will pass right on by in to Erabu’s territory. And that is all for the news.”

“That is all the news for today. The news will be back on at eleven o’clock. So don’t miss it.” Kimiko said.

“See you later, Kimako.” Kazu smiled.

Kimiko growled, spun towards Kazu and punched him. “MY NAME IS KIMIKO, DAMNIT!”

The broadcast suddenly went black.

Ayumi stood back up. “I got control again,” she said happily.

“Hmmm…Interesting.” Yasui said.

“Yes. Very interesting.” Takai said. Takai thought for a moment then said, “Well, I’m going to go play a video game. Call me if you start to move on your own again.”

“Me too.” Yasui said. “Call me too.”

“Ok.” Ayumi said as they got up and went to their bedrooms. Ayumi grabbed the TV clicker and put it on a cartoon channel.

There she sat on the couch for a few minutes, wondering about her day.

Today has got to be the longest, weirdest day of my life. I’m not even kidding. I bet this is just a dream and I’ll wake up in a few minutes. What am I going to do if my body keeps moving on it’s own? Do they have doctors that can fix this type of thing? I hope they do. Hatori probably thinks I’m some kind of weirdo now. And Maaya probably is really worried about me. I hope other student’s don’t find out about this. They will probably talk about it for days and days since they have nothing better to do…

The phone rang, snapping her out of her thoughts.

She stood up and raced over to the kitchen counter where the portable handheld phone was. She pushed the on button and held the phone to her ear.

“Hello, Yuumei residence?” Ayumi said courteously.

“Ayu-chan? It’s me dear.” the person one the other end said.

“Hi, mom. How are you?” Ayumi asked. “How’s work?”

“Hello. I’m great! Work’s good. We just finished shooting this awesome scene. But how are you? You’re the one I’m worried about. How is everything? Did your brothers arrive safely?” her mother asked.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Yes, they got here safe and everything.” Ayumi said.

“Your fainting today was all my fault,” she said.

“How is it all your fault?” Ayumi asked, confusedly.

“It’s all my fault because I’m never there and you’re all alone at the house while your brothers are away at school. You must be under a lot of stress about that and school. Are any of the kids at your school giving you any trouble?” her mother said. “I’m so sorry for not being home a lot. I’ll try to be home more.”

“No one is giving me any trouble. Mom, it’s not your fault. I was just tired and I fainted.”

“Ayumi Kira Yuumei, do not argue with your mother. When I say it is my fault, then it’s my fault!” she said.

“Aru Suki Yuumei, I’m your daughter, so please don’t argue with me. And it wasn’t your fault because I said it is not your fault!” Ayumi said back.

Aru laughed. “I love you, sweetie.”

“I love you too, mom.” she said.

“Oh, Matsu just came in and said that I’ll have next week off. So I’ll be able to see you then. You and me can go out and shop and have whole kinds of fun. How does that sound?” Aru said.

“That sounds like lots of fun. I can’t wait!”

“Oh dear! It looks like mommy has to go now. I’m sorry. You take extra care of yourself. I love you and I’ll see you later.”

“Ok, mom. See you when you get here then. I love you too.” Ayumi said.

“Bye, hun. Take care, ok?”

“Ok. You too.”

“Bye!”

“Later.” Ayumi said.

Ayumi hung up the phone. Ayumi then hung up the phone and went back over to the couch and sat down.

She began to doze off when there was a knock on the door.

Ayumi got up and answered the door.

It was Maaya.

“Hi, Maaya. Come in.” Ayumi stepped aside as her friend entered.

“Hey Ayumi. Sorry for not calling and coming over so late.”

“It’s ok.” Ayumi smiled.

There was a bump and laughter from a room in the back of the house.

“Ayumi! Someone is in your house!” Maaya said. She grabbed Ayumi’s arm tightly. “We have to get out of here!”

“It’s only Takai and Yasui. They came home to make sure I was ok.” Ayumi clarified.

“Oh, I see. Are you fine though? Is everything ok now? Did anything else weird happen?” Maaya asked.

Ayumi nodded. “Come to my room. I don’t want the twins to come out here and over hear me about this.”

“O-ok.” Maaya said as she followed her friend to her room.

Ayumi’s room was nothing like the rest of the house. While the other parts of the house were perfectly clean and organized, Ayumi’s was none of that. It looked like a tornado had just went through it. There were books, clothes, pens, pencils, anime cases, manga, video game cases, CD cases, and many other things scattered throughout the floor, desk, dresser, anywhere there was a flat surface, was many of Ayumi’s belongings.

“Every time I walk into your room, it’s like I’m in another world.” Maaya said as she looked around Ayumi’s room.

“Huh? What do you mean by that?” Ayumi said curiously.

“Well, the rest of the house is so clean and neat, but then you come into your room and it’s so different it’s like you’ve been teleported to another house or world.” Maaya laughed.

“I spend the most time in my room. That is why it’s like this. Plus, it’s more easy to find things if it’s all spread out.”

“I know. You don’t have to explain that to me. My room is the same way.” Maaya sat down on the desk chair. “So what happened?”

Ayumi sat down on the edge of her bed. “After you and Hatori left, I walked out into the living room and I looked in the mirror. It really creeped me out because the mirror didn’t have my reflection, but that of a girl I’ve never seen before. It’s crazy, I know, but it happened.”

“Whoa… that is weird. But I believe you.” Maaya said.

“And then when Takai turned on the TV the news was on. They talked about Prince Hikaru and then my body ran to the TV. Then my body walked over to the TV and kneeled down in front of it. Then after they were finished talking about him, I regained control,” she said.

“Very usual…” Maaya said. “I don’t know what to say, except that it’s unusual and weird.”

“I know I’m sure this will pass over soon though.” Ayumi said.

“Oh yea! Minoru wanted me to give you this.” Maaya dug through her purse for a packet of papers. “It’s that one fair or carnival thing he asked you to help him with.” Maaya held it out.

Ayumi took the papers. “Thanks. If I’m not at school tomorrow, tell him I’ll work on these at home and give them back to him as soon as possible.”

“Ok. I think you should have been Student Council President and not him.” Maaya said.

“But I didn’t even run for it.” Ayumi said.

“You should have. I know most of the school would have voted for you. You should try to run next year.” Maaya said.

“Uh, I don’t think I would want to. I like working in the background.” Ayumi smiled.

“Suit yourself.” Maaya said. “Oh! I wanted to tell you how cute Hatori was during the walk back to school. He was really worried about you.” Maaya said.

“Really?” Ayumi leaned forward.

“Yep. And that Hatori fan club leader…Miru or something, was freaking out!”

“Freaking out? Why?” Ayumi wondered.

“Because he left with you and me for a unknown reason. That fan club is just a bit too over obsessed with him. It was hilarious when she began asking Hatori a million questions about if he was ok and what not.” Maaya smiled as she recalled the memory.

“Those girls scare me.” Ayumi shuddered.

“Me too. They got a male member the other day. Did you know that?” Maaya said.

“No, I didn’t know.” she said. “Interesting. They finally got a male member.”

“Yea.” Maaya said as her wristhingych began to beep. She looked at the time. “I have to go home now. My mom warned me about not being late to dinner. I’ll try calling you late, ok?”

“Ok.” Ayumi smiled. “Thanks for stopping by.”

“No problem. You’re my best friend. This is what friends do.” Maaya smiled back.

They both got up and headed to the front door.

“See ya later.” Maaya gave Ayumi a quick hug before stepping out on to the porch. “See ya later.”

“Later, Maa-chan.” Ayumi said.

Maaya walked down to the sidewalk and then turned around. She waved up at Ayumi.

Ayumi waved back.

Maaya then continued on her way while Ayumi closed the door.

“Hey Ayumi, is everything ok?” Yasui said as he walked over to her.

She nodded. “Yea. I’m fine. I’m going to start making dinner.”

Yasui put his palm on her forehead. “Good, your temperature is normal. If you need any help, just let me know.”

“Okie dokie, Ya-kun.” Ayumi smiled as she thought about Yasui’s horrible cooking.

Yasui turned and walked out into the living room to watch TV.

Ayumi woke up the next morning feeling like it was another morning and that the events the previous day did not happen. It felt like she could make it to school without any incident.

But as she stepped out of her room, her body began to move on its own.

Her body bumped into the hall wall, then made its’ way to the living room where it bumped into the coffee table and the couch.

“Ayumi? What’s going on?” Takai asked as he and his younger brother came out from their bedroom.

“My body, it’s moving on it’s own again.” Ayumi whined.

Her two brothers looked at each other.

Ayumi’s body began to keep walking into the wall.

“Ayu-chan… You should stay home from school…” Takai said.

“…I’ll call your school to let them know, Mi-chan.” Yasui said as he walked over to the phone.

Takai ran over to his sister before she could walk into the room again. He wrapped one arm under her back. He then pulled her back, and then he then put his arm under her knees. He carried her almost as if she was a big baby.

Her legs kept on moving slowly as if they were still walking.

“Thanks Ta-kun.” Ayumi smiled.

“No prob. It looked kinda scary watching you keep walking into the wall like that.” Takai said.

A few minutes later, Ayumi’s legs slowly began to stop moving. Ayumi’s eyes began to droop slowly. He closed her eyes and rested her head on Takai’s shoulder.

She slowly opened her eyes halfway. “Ta-kun, I’m tired. And… hungry.”

“Ok. I’ll take you to your room and in a little bit I’ll bring you some breakfast.” he said.

“Ok.” she said.

Takai carried to her bed and put her back in. He then out a blanket on her.

Takai was about to leave, but Ayumi grabbed his sleeve gently.

“What is it, Ayu-chan?” Takai said, leaning down so she could see him better.

“Please…don’t…let …Yasui cook breakfast.” she smiled tiredly.

Takai laughed.

Yasui walked in with a big smile on his face. “I’m not that bad of a cook, am I?”

All three of them laughed.

Ayumi fell asleep in mid laugh.

Takai and Yasui quietly left the room.
* * *
Meanwhile, at school, Maaya was on her way to Ayumi’s locker to see if he friend was at school yet.

She squeaked when someone behind her wrapped they’re arm around her stomach and pulled her toward the person to give her a backward hug.

“Sorry about having to cancel our date last night.” the person said. “My mom grounded me at the last moment for something I did.”

“Oh, hey, Camui. It’s ok. I had to check on Ayumi anyway.” Maaya said.

Camui removed his arm from around Maaya’s stomach so she could turn around. “Is there anything wrong with Ayumi?”

Maaya nodded. She quickly told her boyfriend what happened the previous day.

“I’m really worried about her.” Maaya said when she was finished. “I was just on my way to her locker to see if to see if she was here yet.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. I was just in the main office and I over heard a message. It was her brother calling to say that she wasn’t going to be coming today.” he said.

“Oh, that bites.” she said. “But that’ll give us some time in math class to plan our Ayumi-Hatori Love-Love Plan.”

“You came up with a name? Nice!” Camui said happily.

“We’ll get Ayumi and Hatori together if it’s the last thing we do! Right?”

“Right!” Camui said. “My cousin Hatori has liked Ayumi for a super long time. It’s about time he confesses his feelings.”

“Yea. Ayumi too.” Maaya said. “Now, let’s plan!”

“Alrighty!” Camui said unwaveringly.

They walked down the hall toward their math class in a very determined manner.
* - * - *