37 The past that never was

It was a day to be remembered, for all the wrong reasons.

There were no signs or indications that that particular day would be a life-changing one for a certain black-haired boy, but it nonetheless happened.

"...what?"

On that particularly sunny day, a certain letter was delivered to the family home of the Pahlavi's by a messenger sent from the Daria Company.

They thought that it would simply be a response to the weekly letter that they sent to his parents, but the somber face of the messenger gave away to something a lot more serious.

"...she passed away, Kismet. Last night, in her sleep."

And what a serious news it turned out to be.

'The daughter of the current head of the Homayani Family, Dunyarzad Homayani, has passed away due to Eleazar at the young age of fourteen. Funeral rites shall be conducted today posthaste.'

It was sudden. It was abrupt. It was unexpected.

And yet, it happened.

"...you're lying…."

The boy could hardly believe it. After all, the last time he visited, she looked just fine, as cheerful as she always was with that beautiful smile on her face.

She's fine. She was supposed to be. And yet…

"...I'm sorry, Kismet. I'm really sorry."

Despite the warmth of his parent's body enveloping his own, he felt cold.

To Kismet Pahlavi, that day is the day that the world has lost its color.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Ah, if it isn't my favorite landlord! To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting you on this fine night?"

Inside a dreamscape of a certain puppet, two identical faces were currently standing across from each other.

"Come, come!" With a wave of his hand, one of them suddenly conjured an entire table set, not forgetting to add a variety of food as well. Samosa, Butter Chicken, Tandoori Roast, all kinds of Sumerian dishes were served alongside drinks made out of Zaytun Peaches.

"Take a seat. It would be unbecoming for the host to not treat their guest, no?"

"...hmph, show-off. Is this how you get your kicks?" Despite the jab he threw towards him, he complied and sat down, slowly picking up the utensils on the table and gently tapping on them, marveling at how real it seemed.

"But of course!" Laughing off his twin's scathing words, he sat down and waved his hand around. "Look around you, Yuu, there's nothing in this place to entertain myself with. Sure there's the occasional TCG match with myself, but there's only so much you can do to entertain yourself in this dreadful place you know?"

"...you have Genius Invokation TCG?"

"Yep! All thanks to you, actually. If you want, you're always welcome to visit and play with me, you know?"

"Tempting." Gingerly taking a bite out of the Samosa, Yuu slowly chewed on them before swallowing. "But if the price for that is a searing headache, then I'll have to decline."

"Aww… not even willing to accompany your tenant? Even if it's just a weekly thing?"

"Hmm…." Seeing Yuu looking around the table for something, the twin snapped his fingers and a napkin materialized next to his plate. Muttering a thank you in return, he wiped the food from his mouth before focusing his gaze on his look-alike. "Ah, what the hell, if it's just once a week, I might consider it."

"Aha! I knew I chose the right landlord!"

"Just because I'm considering it doesn't mean I'll actually come."

"I know, I know. Any chance I have to alleviate some of my boredom is always welcomed." Taking a bite out of his Pita Pocket, he gazed at the bouquet of Padisarah at the center of the table before getting to the point. "So, what brings you here then?"

"I have a question. Hopefully, one that you'll be able to answer."

"Alright then, shoot."

"What am I exactly?"

"Hmm." Tapping the base of his chin, he tried his best not to show his amusement at the situation. "Why ask? You never questioned it back then, so why now?"

"Things… happened. Let's leave it at that."

Despite Yuu not elaborating himself on the matter, he already knew it must have something to do with his consciousness, most likely an emotional outburst of some sort. After all, he could feel the dreamscape tremble as a result of it.

It would be better for him to not lie on this one. Then again, not telling the whole truth doesn't count as a lie, right?

"Eh, sure, whatever. Basically, other than some modifications that would make it a lot more human, your body is still that of a mechanical puppet.

"See." Standing up from his seat, the twin walked around the table and placed his hands on Yuu's shoulder. "What do you think would happen when, say, an organ transplant occurs and the difference between the transplanted part is different enough compared to the original?"

"The body… will reject it."

"Exactly. Because the body thinks that it is a foreign object, and therefore, will attack it." Patting his shoulders twice, the twin takes a seat next to his landlord. "There's not a lot known about how exactly the consciousness, or rather, the soul of a human, works. Therefore to prevent anything from going wrong, I made some changes.

"After all, how would you operate something that you don't know how to? You're accustomed to unconsciously piloting your body, letting the brain do most of the work, but what if that's not possible? What would happen then?"

Hearing no answer coming from the otherworlder, the twin continued. "Oh, now that I think about it… the comparison to organ rejection might not be correct after all." Rubbing his chin, he thought about it for a bit before shrugging his shoulders. "Eh, close enough. You get the idea though, right?"

"Uh… yes."

"You're better off not thinking about these things, Yuu. For all intents and purposes, you are no different than a regular human."

"...is that why I still have biological needs despite being a puppet?"

"Yep. As I said, you're used to operating your body in a certain way, and I had to compensate for that. Which means everything that a human can do, you can too."

Before the otherworlder could reply, the twin snapped his finger in realization. With his eyes lit up in understanding, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What's so funny?"

"Ahahahaha! Oh, dear archons, of course that's what this is about!"

"What?"

"Hahaha… okay. Ahem. Okay, listen to me, Yuu. I did say you can do whatever a human can, so you don't have to worry too much, okay?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Sex." He said, with all the seriousness he could muster. "Isn't that what you're worried about? Don't worry, you should be able to have sex just fine. Though… I'm pretty sure you can't get someone pregnant… I think."

"That is not what I'm asking this for."

"Come now, don't be shy, we're all adults here."

"Oh my god, you're just like her…."

"Aha!" Practically launching himself off of the chair, he grabbed his clothes in excitement. "So it is a girl! Come on, you just have to tell me about her! What's she like? Is she pretty?"

"Huh. You don't know?"

"Why would I? I did say I wouldn't pry on your life." Releasing the otherworlder from his hold, he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "Could it be that you don't trust me?"

"Well, saying it is one thing, but actually doing it is a different matter, you know? Besides." Straightening his wrinkled jinbei, Yuu looked him straight in the eye. "It's rather hard to trust you. Who knows what kind of scheme you're plotting inside my head? In fact, you could be lying right now."

Despite the tense atmosphere, the twin didn't seem bothered. In fact he seems to find the situation amusing. "Ahahaha! Well, fair enough." Going back to his seat, he continued eating his Pita Pocket, unbothered by the stern gaze of the otherworlder. "It takes time to build trust, so we'll just have to go about this slowly."

"Trusting you might end up being a mistake."

"Probably. But the reality of the situation is clear. I'm stuck here, whether I wanted to or not. And there's nothing you can do to kick me out other than probably killing yourself." The twin declared so, with a finality in his tone.

"So what are you going to do, Kamiyama Yuu?"

The atmosphere was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Both twins looked at each other, one gaze filled with suspicion, while the other was relaxed, more amused than anything.

Eventually, the silence was broken.

"Nothing."

Hearing his answer, the twin couldn't help but smile.

"Smart choice."

"Hmph, don't take this as a sign of trust."

"Of course. As I said before, these things take time."

Staring at him for the last time, Kamiyama Yuu turned around and walked away, before suddenly stopping.

"What's your name?"

Pausing at the question, he couldn't help but think of the past, of a time that no longer exists. Shaking himself out of his recollection, he focused his attention back towards the otherworlder. "I don't have one. At least, not anymore."

"What should I call you then?"

"Well, since I call you Yuu, you can call me Kamiyama. We're practically one and the same after all."

"I see." With that, the otherworlder continued his walk before eventually vanishing from the dreamscape, leaving the twin alone under the fake stars, with his image reflected on the ground.

"Name, huh."

Waving his hand, everything that he had conjured disappeared, save for the table, the chair he was sitting on, and a single stem of the noble flower she loved so much.

"I wonder."

Picking up the Padisarah from the table, he looked at it with a gaze filled with nostalgia when suddenly, the illusion he'd been wearing the entire time started to fade away.

What was once a traditional Inazuman clothing turned into a black long-sleeved dress shirt covered by a neutral gray robe that parted in two in the middle going all the way to his shins.

The dark shorts were replaced by a black pants with a single chain connecting the belt with his right pocket. Inlaid on the side of the pants are gold four-pointed stars of various sizes that slowly fades away the lower it gets.

"Do I even deserve to be called by that name anymore?"

The indigo bowl cut faded away, replaced by shoulder length black hair that slowly turned white at the tips, his now golden eyes nearly covered by the gray-white bangs. Pinned on top of the gray cross tie is a symbol of mockery given to him by the gods.

"What do you think, Dunyarzad?"