Chapter 1: Strange Guest

Peering from behind the railing on the spiral staircase, a young boy and his older brother watched as their loving parents opened the front door. The weather was currently harsh with the heavy storm. So they knew it couldn't be any friends or their tutors at the door. But instead, two boys holding each other's hands, and each held a single black suitcase.

"Michi, Aki, please come and meet our special guest," their mother spoke elegantly as she gestured a gloved hand towards the two soaking wet kids standing by the entrance of the house. At their feet were large puddles as they stood there with curious eyes scanning the room. "Are you two hungry?" They only shook their heads.

Michi did as he was told, guiding his younger brother as they cautiously walked down the marble steps and towards the strangers. He wasn't comfortable with being introduced to who he saw as unwelcome guests. Even though he was just only eight years old, he felt a dangerous aura radiating from their expressionless faces. His copper-colored eyes stared daggers into the eyes of the boy with unnatural cyan hair. He looked more feminine with how his hair went past his shoulders. Michi's young brother stayed behind him as his small hands clenched onto the stuffed panda bear's paw with his trembling grip.

"Greetings. My name is Yani and this is my twin brother Yang. We're both 13 years old." The cyan-haired male introduced himself and his orange-haired brother, who sneezed right after he was introduced by his brother.

"Oh right, a bath! Dear, please go get a warm bath ran. You two stay here alright?" The well-dressed man hurried up the stairs closely followed by their mother.

The four boys stood in silence as they had an unannounced staring contest. Although, it seemed that Yani was less interested in the two boys standing in front of him and more fascinated by the stuffed toy that Aki held. It looked soft and gentle. He stared at it with interest, a glint of life sparked in his eyes. His lips parted with a small inhale entering his lung to speak, but bit his tongue and tore his eyes away from it to stare down at his soaked shoes.

Aki took notice of his staring and got a burst of courage, letting go of his brother's hand and shyly approaching the taller guest. "H-his name's Jacob. I like to hold him when I'm scared. Do you need to hold him too?" he asked in a small voice as he held the stuffed animal up to Yani, whose teal eyes had revealed a brief bright green glint of interest. His hand slowly reached out for the bear, but out of his grasp once Michi had jerked his younger brother back and glared at Yani.

"Don't touch them, Aki. They're dirty." Michi gripped tightly onto Aki's hand and tugged him back up the steps. His entire body shuddered his disgust knowing that both twin's eyes still stared even as they moved further away. Aki on the other hand, shyly looked back at the mysterious boys, mostly focusing on Yani who seemed to badly want to hold his favorite toy. A small smile appeared on Aki's face, hoping to reassure Yani's hopes in holding the panda toy soon.

Just before Aki disappeared, Yani's heart suddenly raced when seeing the smile on the young boy's face. He felt a sudden warmth inside his cold, soaked body, and his eyes shined a bold green. "This feels strange," he admitted to himself, staring at his wet trembling hand. Yet almost too soon, the unknown feeling disappeared and his eyes dulled once again.

"What's wrong brother?" Yang asked peering at his brother. Yani looked at him, dropping his hands to his side.

"Nothing, the cold is bothering me" he lied before looking away.

Moments after, The mother hurried down the marble staircase. The sound of her heels clicking against the tiled floor echoed in the grand entrance. "So sorry it took so long, I was worried seeing my kids running off," she explained. "Follow me! Your parents would be furious if we allowed you two to get sick, especially on your first night here!" She laughed lightly as the boys did as they were told, following her into a marble white bathroom. "You boys can take a bath here. I'll have one of my sons wait for you and lead you to your bedroom once you're finished."

Yani and Yang both went into the bathroom, Yani closing and locking the door behind him. "Just do as she says," Yani muttered as they kicked off their shoes and got into the bath in their clothes.

"This is ridiculous, why did we even agree to this again?" Yang asked as he grabbed a bottle of soap from the edge of the tub and poured the liquid into the warm water. "There's nothing we gain from being in this world. Plus these humans are already bothering me," he added. Seeing as he didn't get a response, he glanced back at his bother. He scoffed as he saw that Yani was more interested in the rubber duck than listening to his brother's complaints. "Idiot," Yang muttered as he splashed the soapy water in his brother's face. The water soaking his already damp hair.

Yani winced before squeezing the yellow toy over and over again. The sound was terrible. "I don't care. We're already here so let's just get it over with," he replied as he placed the duck on the surface of the water. "Also, one older boy is suspicious of us. He's already eavesdropping as we speak. Perhaps he wishes to join our conversation?" The twins glanced at the bathroom door as they heard the sound of footsteps quickly fleeting. Shortly after the sound disappeared, the two sank and grew tired from the comforting water, and drifted off into a deep sleep in the bathtub.

An hour passed as they slept with their hands resting on the cold rim of the tub. The sound of a door banging didn't even make them stir in their sleep. But the touch of a warm hand on Yani's neck made his eyes fly open and looked up to see Aki with puffy red eyes and tears running down his flushed face.

"A-are you okay?" He asked sniffing. "M-mama says falling asleep in a tub is dangerous. I'm sorry for coming in, I thought something bad happened. Please don't do it again," he advised after fully shaking Yang awake as well.

Yani stared up at the small boy and got out of the tub, stepping onto the soft mat. Yang did the same while Aki quickly wiped his tears and drained the tub. "S-shouldn't you take your clothes off when you bathe?" he questioned, looking at their drenched clothes. Hearing him say that, Yani began unbuttoning his black shirt, which Aki quickly stopped him from continuing by grabbing his hands tightly. His cheeks were burning a bright red and his gaze towards the floor. "P-please not while I'm in here!" he stuttered. "I-I'll wait out h-here." He then quickly left and slammed the door.

Once the boys finished dressing in the dry clothes they had been given, they walked out of the bathroom and followed Aki into a guest bedroom. The room had two twin beds and a small coffee table with stools surrounding it. Yang head straight to bed while Aki and Yani stayed up to talk.

"Your brother, Michi, seems to see us as untrustworthy. What did we do exactly?" Yani asked while sitting at the edge of the made bed. Aki climbed up and sat next to him trying to think of an answer.

"Well, big brother has always been very protective. He's always mean to new people he meets. I'm sure he'll like you soon though. And your brother." Aki smiled. He glanced up and saw Yani's hair in a loose bun. "How long is your hair?" he asked curiously. "My mama lets me braid her hair sometimes. Can I braid yours?" he grinned in excitement.

Yani knew the boy wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. In defeat, he sighed and hooked his index finger under the hair tie, breaking it with ease when he gave it a small tug. Soaked cyan hair falling like a waterfall of dark blue hair. Without hesitation, Aki quickly became excited and grasped at the strands of hair carelessly. Yani grimaced in pain as the strands were grabbed and shoved Aki back onto the bed.

"Be careful!" He warned in a threatening tone, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. Aki moved back to the opposite end of the bed as tears returned and easily swelled in his eyes. Yani slowly relaxed and his expression softened while he sighed. "I'm sorry. But you were aggressive with it," he admitted sitting closer to the scared boy. "Can you carefully braiding my hair?" he asked gently with a smile.

Aki sniffed and hesitantly crawled towards him. "O-okay…" he stood on his knees and carefully parted Yani's long hair. "Your hair is really pretty," he complimented. Carefully braiding his hair. Yani stayed silent by biting down on his hand. Drawing blood from his harsh biting, he endured the painful sensation and waited as Aki finished braiding it.

"T-thank… y-you." He mumbled drool mixed with blood trailed down from the corner of his lip. "I-I'm very tired now… can I rest?" Yani laid down hiding his hand under the white pillow. Aki nodded and slowly left the room. Whispering a quiet 'goodnight' before closing the door.

[Journal #1]

[I think that's all I can remember from the night we first met the twins. I'm still embarrassed for thinking they were normal humans. I wish they were. But I couldn't have been more wrong. All it took was one year to learn the hard way...]