Hello Satoshi
Jan. 6th, 2018 08:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hanarashi25Title: Hello Satoshi
Pairing: Juntoshi, Yama
Rating: PG
Genre(s): gender-switch ; a little angst?; high school AU
Summary: It started with Shoko who wanted her identical twin sister, Junko, to pretend to be her and be close to Satoshi.
(Sorry, I couldn't think of a better summary.)
Note: Thank you, Cherry Pie-nee for helping me with some parts!
This concept is kind of interesting for me (twins always amaze me!). I'm not sure whether this is my first Juntoshi fic but this surely is a scary step because lj is still a stranger to me even after many years of having it. Nevertheless, please allow me to share it here on Dreamwidth (hahahah) to you guys and sorry for the grammar lapses since English is not my native language. This idea just came to me when I was eating bread...LOL... Yoroshiku! <3
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"Please..."
"No."
"Pleaaaaaaaaase... Jun-chan, please please please! You know that I can't do it and besides, you know me very well so it won't be a problem," Shoko begged for the nth time with her rounded puppy eyes, something that her twin sister could never resist.
It had been 2 weeks since Shoko talked non-stop about their senpai, Satoshi. At first, Junko understood such since it was her first time to actually like someone. However, hearing her sister with that request was just too ridiculous for her to handle.
"Shoko-chan, you know that I always do everything for you but this time...I can't. I'm so sorry," Junko sighed again.
"But why not? I promise I won't do anything stupid to harm you and your precious image at school. Jun-chan, no matter what I do, I really can't find the courage to talk to him and I think I will never have the guts to ta---"
"If you like him then you must have the courage to talk to him!", Junko interrupted her as she started to lose her patience. "Shoko-chan, I think it's not that difficult to confess to someone."
"Huh? How can you say that? Have you ever tried doing that?"
"Nope, but I always believe that it'll make you feel better if you say what you really feel. Besides, I've heard that that senpai is not the famous type so it wouldn't be difficult for you since you don't have rivals..or maybe few if there are. Just be yourself," Junko tried to enlighten her with encouraging words.
There was a sigh and a long stretch of silence. Then...
"But..but...I can't, Jun-chan. I can't," Shoko said as she tried to stop her tears due to frustration.
For all these years, Shoko had been relying on her with almost everything since she's the confident type. She's also the president and the best actress of the drama club, making her popular and admired by her fellow juniors and even seniors. Meanwhile, Shoko was her complete opposite.
At that moment, Junko realized that it was just useless to continue such talk since she knew that Shoko would just end up crying the more she refused her. It might even cause a big trouble once their parents found out that her twin sister cried miserably for the first time.
"So...," Junko unconsciously rubbed her face out of frustration. "Let me just make this clear. You...you want me to pretend to be... you, and be closer to him through text messages,... right?"
"Ye . . . Yes, Jun-chan. You know everything about me so it shouldn't be difficult to pretend to be... me. Besides, it's only in text messages. Tell him that I'm too shy to talk to him in person and he wouldn't suspect that it's actually you," Shoko looked up to her as she felt hope bubbling in her chest.
"See? It's only in text messages so I don't see the point why it has to be me who should do that for you and---,"
"I promise that I'll be the one to do it someday...I promise," Shoko hastily raised her right hand, looking so desperate to make Junko agree.
"For once..just once... please... Shoko-chan do it on your own and I can also guarantee you my sup---..."
"I already told you that I can't. Even in text messages... I can't. For me, it doesn't make any difference if I talk to him in person because I'll still feel very nervous and I might screw up," it's now Shoko's turn to cut through Junko's words. It made her room more gloomy as Shoko's melancholic tone mixed with the atmosphere .
"Shoko-chan..."
"It's alright Jun-chan," Shoko said when her knees met the cold floor with her head hanging low.
"How I wish...I..I..was born as confident as you are, Jun-chan."
Junko stared at her twin sister as she silently shed her tears, one after another. She wanted to help her but...she couldn't. She just couldn't. She wanted Shoko to do it on her own and maybe one day . . .
"Sorry for bothering you, Jun-chan."
She must have been drowned in her own thoughts that she didn't notice her sister making her way to the door.
She cursed inside her head as she considered herself a useless twin sister who couldn't lend a hand to her sister's growing feelings for her first love. With that thought, she came up with a decision.
"I'll do it. Just don't hate me, Shoko-chan."
Junko thought that this could be the biggest challenge of her acting career.
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On the next day, Junko found another doodle on a torn page of a notebook on her desk. This time, it's a cat with a silly grin on its face and Junko couldn't keep her lips from forming a smile immediately followed by a heavy sigh. It was one of those few...no...many random things she received since they transferred to that school. It had been almost three months and these doodles would come three or four times a week. She sometimes wondered about who could that be but she never bothered herself from finding it out. She's too busy taking care of everything, especially her dear twin sister.
As her classmates were coming inside the classroom, she quickly stuffed the paper into one of her bag's side pockets. She smiled again as she thought that there would be another addition in that box of doodles in her room.
Yes, she kept all of them.
She would sometimes stare at them when she feels too tired to study her homework, to relieve herself from pressure or just because she wanted to have good thoughts before falling asleep at night. "What a nice person," she told herself dreamily and---
"Junko-chan!"
She found herself staring at a cellphone screen with someone's number on it.
"I got it," the owner of the cellphone proudly said.
"Perfect. Thank you so much, Mari-chan. Like I said, it's a secret OK?"
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"Hi! Is this Ohno Satoshi-kun?"
It was just another ordinary night for Satoshi when he heard his phone beep and saw that message flashed on the screen. A frown formed quickly on his chubby face as he sent a reply.
"Yes. May I ask where you got my number?"
"I got it from one of your friends. ^_^ "
The simple frown made his eyebrows meet each other in a rather annoyed fashion. How can this person forget introducing their name in the first place? This must be Kazuko's fault, his one and only best friend. That girl was notorious for giving his number to other students at school so that he could "finally" get "friends" apart from her.
"What's your name?"
Satoshi waited longer than the usual for the other person to reply. He stared at his phone and thought that this was just another useless joke until...
"I'm Shoko. Nice to meet you, Ohno Satoshi-kun!"
"Call me Satoshi."
"Hello Satoshi!"
And that's how it started.
Satoshi couldn't explain why he was unable to stop himself from responding to Shoko's messages. He even immediately offered to be called by his first name. For him, there was some sense of "distant familiarity", as he called it, while pressing the buttons on his phone.
Unlike before, having another potential girl friend apart from Kazuko never sounded appealing to him but now, he couldn't get rid of those giddy feelings when texting Shoko. He didn't even ask about her intentions of texting him in the first place, especially when she mentioned that she was Junko's twin sister. If Shoko were Kazuko's friend, he would really thank his best friend for introducing her to him. If she weren't, it wouldn't matter to him anyway. He felt overwhelmed about having another friend-... no it's not just another friend. It's Shoko being his new friend and she was Junko's twin sister. She's Junko's twin sister!
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"Am I doing the right thing, Shoko-chan? I already exchanged some messages with him and he didn't suspect anything weird about it. I think it's going well", Junko fidgetted on the edge of her bed facing Shoko who was sitting on her purple couch across the bed.
Shoko approached her and enveloped her in a tight hug, smiling widely through Junko's hair.
"I can't thank you enough for this Jun-chan," Shoko said as she loosened the hug to look at her twin sister.
"I need to strengthen my acting skills, though..if we don't want to be caught", Junko smirked.
"I fully trust you with this, Jun-chan. You know me very well and I promise that I will be the one to take charge of this as soon as possible."
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On the next day at their usual spot for eating lunch, Satoshi thanked Kazuko for making him exchange messages with somebody like Shoko the previous night. However, his best friend denied it, saying she had already gone tired of introducing new people to him and she had accepted the fact that her best friend preferred hanging out with his doodles and his "imaginary mermaid" apart from her.
"Oh-chan, if I were to introduce another one for you, it would be Junko-chan instead of her twin sister. You like her, right? It's just that I can't do it because you always stop me". Kazuko nudged Satoshi's side with her elbow while wriggling her eyebrows in a playful manner.
"Let's just hurry up and go back to our classrooms."
"Oh come on, Oh-chan! You can never hide anything from me. I caught you many times when you sent your doodles to her. You know how sneaky I can ge--. Oi! Oh-chan!"
Satoshi had already left before Kazuko could pry into things he himself couldn't fully distinguish. Yes, he had immediately put a liking on Junko ever since he set his eyes on her for the first time but.... there's something with Shoko that drew him closer to her. Was he starting to divert his feelings to Shoko? He shook his head as he made his way back to his classroom. He just knew Shoko last night and he couldn't just "cheat" on Junko.
It's probably because they're twins. There would always be something that connected them in many aspects, he thought.
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Shoko texted him again on the next night, asking him about how his day and talked about random things concerning their interests and everything under the sun. Satoshi couldn't help but ask about her day with her twin sister and Shoko excitedly talked about going to the restaurant with Junko and their parents after school.
The days passed and the two continued to exchange messages. Satoshi would talk about how he was scolded by Sakurai-sensei for failing their weekly Math exams, how he fell asleep with his eyes open whenever he's bored during classes and how he loved to spend his leisure time daydreaming or doodling on anything. Shoko would talk about her homework in English, the dinner cooked by her mother and how her twin sister stressed herself out when preparing for exams and the activities at the drama club. Both of them knew about almost all of the basic things even their respective addresses. It made Satoshi happy. It's not just because he could get some information about Junko's whereabouts but also because Shoko was actually a very nice friend. It's even funny that he could see Junko around school but never Shoko. Perhaps she's too shy to show herself or...
His eyes were only fixed to Junko. Such thoughts amused him.
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After several weeks, it's finally the twins' birthday. It was Saturday but the twins woke up early to exchange birthday greetings and tight hugs with each other. They also hurried in preparing themselves for the day, as they would be going to Disneyland with their parents to celebrate their birthday.
Junko had texted Satoshi about their family's plans the night before and even expected the other to send her a birthday greeting on the next day but she didn't receive any. It was frustrating and it made her very disappointed. Did Satoshi forget her birthday or had he gone tired of having this kind of setting? They never talked in person since she would always expertly dodge such topic whenever Satoshi brought it up. She usually saw him at school though since he had to pass by her classroom before reaching his in the morning. There was even a time when they bumped into each other in the corridor. Her eyes widened and almost greeted him but managed to close her mouth immediately, reminding herself that it was Shoko whom Satoshi was talking to and not her...although it had always been her in the first place. They silently bowed to each other and quickly parted ways.
Meanwhile, Junko felt uneasy about not reading any of Satoshi's messages on her birthday and the thought that Satoshi "forgot" it almost made her cry. Shoko was also sad about Satoshi not sending any messages on that day but Junko looked more hurt compared to the former. Was she harboring feelings for Satoshi?
They had fun at Disneyland and the day passed by so quickly. As they arrived at their house, she kept on glancing at her phone as she entered her bedroom, tired from all the rides they had tried. Shoko even insisted on riding the Splash Island for the third time even though Junko had been struggling to stop the tears from coming out her eyes because of not hearing anything from Satoshi.
She noticed that she was too much of a drama queen for the whole day.
Perhaps it's because of their birthday.
Perhaps it's because of the moments she had shared with her family on that day or...
Perhaps it's because of Satoshi.
As she finished undoing her ponytail, she heard her phone beep and she immediately grabbed it in the hopes of receiving a message from Satoshi. When she opened it, she found herself crying for real as it was just one of her classmates asking about their homework in World History. She angrily sat on the side of her bed, not because of Satoshi but because of her being a crybaby. How can she cry because of such trivial thing? Satoshi was just a friend and he's not even her friend. He was Shoko's friend! OK, that even made her cry harder while clutching her mouth in order not to invite any suspicions from outside her room.
When her unexplained burst of emotions had finally come down, she heard her phone again and she gathered her remaining strength to look at the caller's name on the screen.
It's Satoshi.
Her eyes widened in utter shock.
This was definitely the first time Satoshi's calling her. This was definitely the first time she'd be hearing Satoshi's voice.
This was definitely the first time.
Maybe it's because she missed Satoshi that she didn't hesitate pressing the answer button. Well,,, one day was quite long, right?
"Hello... Sa-- Satoshi?"
"Shoko-chan, I'm sorry for not saying anything until now."
Satoshi could hear her sniffing over the phone.
"A-- Are you OK, Sh-- Shoko-chan? I'm so sorry that I..."
"It's fine, Satoshi. I think I caught a cold after a long day." Junko had stopped crying as soon as she heard Satoshi's angelic voice.
"I thought you would never talk to me again."
"Of course not!" Satoshi chuckled.
"Yokatta."
"Say, Shoko-chan... Are you in your room now? I'm now staring at the night sky. The stars are twinkling beautifully at the moment."
Junko walked to her window and slowly opened it. She looked up and smiled as she was welcomed by the gentle wind on her cheeks. She smiled even wider when she saw the stars shining in full contrast to the dark night sky.
"Yeah. They're really beautiful, Satoshi."
"Hmmm...I'm glad that I could see you smile for the first time, Shoko-chan."
Junko giggled.
Then something snapped inside her brain.
"Wow... Are you-- Are you watching me from some- Ah! What do you mean?!"
She only heard a chuckle from Satoshi as she slowly led her eyes downwards... to the person standing outside their house across her bedroom's window and...
That was when her teary eyes met Satoshi's gentle ones.
Satoshi smiled even wider, his eyes forming cute little slits, his chubby cheeks becoming more prominent and his teeth... oh his teeth... How could they be so damn cute?
Junko had always thought that her heart beat the fastest whenever she hugged Mickey Mouse. It's her favorite Disney character after all.
However...
This boy was by no means in close resemblance to Mickey Mouse. Why did her heart beat like it's going to jump out of her chest the moment she met his mesmerizing eyes and his squishy chubby cheeks?
"Happy Birthday, Shoko-chan." Satoshi said as he raised a blue box for her to see.
Never mind the box.
Junko didn't notice that her mouth could have been the favorite lounging area of the fireflies that night if not because of Satoshi's gentle voice that woke her up from her dreamy state.
"Shoko-chan? As far as I can remember, I haven't taught you how to sleep with your eyes open." He chuckled again.
"Ah-- Satoshi. Ahmmm... Th-- Thank y-you...Ahmm.. Chotto matte kudasai! I'll get back to you after a few minutes."
"OK."
Junko left her window open and hurriedly went to Shoko's room. As she was passing through the corridor, she couldn't erase the idiotic grin plastered on her face. However, as she was about to open Shoko's door, it suddenly struck her that...
It wasn't her that Satoshi wanted to meet.
It's Shoko.
The last time she checked, her name was Junko and for the first time she regretted being given such name.
She quickly got back to her sanity as she noticed another tear threatening to fall from her eyes but managed to erase it with the back of her hand.
She knocked first but immediately flung Shoko's door open with a blank expression on her face.
"What's wrong, Jun-chan?" Shoko asked as she was brushing her hair.
"Satoshi's outside. He wants to meet me---. I mean, he wants to meet you."
It only took a matter of seconds as Junko witnessed how all the blood was magically drained from Shoko's face. Her eyes were so wide as if she had seen a ghost standing behind her twin sister.
"Huh---Haaaaaa???" Shoko weakly rubbed her face with her hands.
"What should we do now, Shoko-chan?" Junko took a deep breath as she asked her but at the back of her mind, she really wanted to say...
Please let me meet him.
"Jun-chan..."
"Yes?" Junko could her own heartbeat banging through her ears.
"I know this is too much and I'm really sorry but...but..."
"Yes?" Junko thought that her heart stopped for a second and...
"I can't meet him ... for now."
Shoko cried hard, feeling guilty that she was about to make her sister do something against her will for the second time.
"Please meet him for me, Jun-chan!" Shoko burst into tears, harder this time.
Junko thought that all the stars shining at that moment were just freaking grateful when she smiled at them a while ago. She could even hear them cheering for her as she approached Shoko and hugged her to calm her down. They'd be in trouble if their parents were awakened.
"You...You don't need to beg again this time, Shoko-chan." Junko told her softly. "I will meet him if-- if that's what you want...but you have to help me to look like you."
"How can you say that? We're already so much alike." Shoko succeed to let out a nervous chuckle. Ahh.. What a relief! Junko thought.
"I mean,,, I can't meet him with a ponytail. It's my hairstyle. I can't even go out wearing pants, either. It's my kind of fashion. Help me to look like you."
"Ah! I see! No problem, Jun-chan!"
That was the first time Junko had seen confidence flashed in her sister's eyes and it somehow scared her.
Knowing that they shouldn't keep their unexpected but adorable visitor waiting outside, Junko quickly changed her hairstyle into Shoko's pigtails. Shoko even lent Junko her favorite dress and another pair of eyeglasses.
She's ready... and her chest was too engulfed with excitement that she thought she's about to pass out. There's no turning back! Junko tried cheering herself.
As she was finally out and closed the front door, she nervously turned around and flashed her sheepish grin to Satoshi. However, instead of finding a cheerful-looking Satoshi just like moments ago, he looked at her with serenity and a small smile accentuating his chubby cheeks.
While she was slowly trailing the small path to their gate, to Satoshi, she couldn't stop wondering about what Shoko found so attractive about this guy who was standing a few breaths away from her at that moment.
Well... he's definitely cute, with sleepy but mesmerizing eyes, a gorgeously shaped nose, thin lips and soft-looking chubby cheeks. She would occasionally wonder how it would feel like if she poked those cheeks. As she got too immersed in her thoughts, she silently let out an inward sigh as it seemed impossible for her to find the reason why this boy had somehow gained a tiny but precious space in her heart. Teenager feels,,,maybe?, she thought.
However, as Satoshi showed his most sincere smile, with his crooked teeth and the warm atmosphere he was able to radiate towards her, she told herself, Ahhh...I see.
This was just Satoshi after all.
The boy who shone brighter than all the stars combined during that night.
"Junko-chan..."
She was abruptly snapped out of her daze as she heard what Satoshi just said. She didn't even notice that she had opened the gate and Satoshi was just standing a step away from him.
"I mean... Is Junko-chan asleep? How about your parents?"
"Ah...They're... Yeah...They're already sleeping. Today was so tiring , you know."
"Oh! I'm so sorry for disturbing you this late! I think I should just come back tomorrow."
He stepped back, quickly bowed and turned around but Junko immediately grabbed his right arm.
"Satoshi," Junko said. He could see her round eyes turning a bit watery as she continued.
"I...I'm so glad that you decided to see me today."
"Hmmm?"
"I mean...You didn't say anything to me for the whole day. I was worried and then you're here. It made me feel relieved."
Satoshi just stared at her for a moment and flashed his mind-shattering smile again. Soon, they found themselves sitting at the patio right beside the persimmon tree in their small garden.
"I'm sorry for not making any sound for the whole day. Ah! By the way, it's because of this." Satoshi set the blue box on the table, making Junko frown due to curiosity.
"Please open it." Satoshi requested.
Junko could only stare with wide eyes at the baby blue colored cake when she opened the box. Its design was a drawing of her and her twin sister under the persimmon tree.
"And who's this head poking behind the tree?" Junko asked with a chuckle.
"Ahhh..that one?...Hmmm do you really have to ask?"
Both of them laughed and it gave Junko the chance to wipe the unshed tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She was too happy for this night to end. Besides, it would be very difficult for her to sleep, as what was happening at that moment wouldn't definitely allow her to sleep that easily.
As if everything was a blur, Satoshi reached for her face and wiped the tears with his thumbs on either side of her face. Sensing that Junko didn't flinch with such act, he let his hands stay on her cheeks.
"Again... Happy Birthday, Ju-- Shoko-chan...Ah sorry I'm just really nervous," Satoshi said as he slowly withdrew his hands from her face.
The loss of the warmth that once lingered on her cheeks made Junko disappointed. Then, it was immediately forgotten when she saw the band aid on Satoshi's index finger.
"Were you hurt?" Junko grabbed his wrist and took a closer look at his finger.
"This one? It's OK. I accidentally cut myself this morning while I was making the cake...but this is too small. I'm fine...really." Satoshi smiled.
Junko nodded and lowered her head, feeling guilty all of a sudden since it was because of her -- ah...Shoko.
"Shoko-chan? I'm really OK."
She could feel Satoshi smiling again with the warmth emitted by his voice. She slowly lifted her head, looked at Satoshi in the eyes and after a few seconds, reached out to touch his left cheek with her right hand. As if by reflex, Satoshi leaned into the touch and raised his right hand to do the same to Junko's left cheek.
There was a shy exchange of sheepish grins and loving stares.
Not long after that, their left hands did the same. Satoshi enjoyed caressing Junko's cheeks with this thumbs while Junko lightly pinched his cheeks.
The staring contest continued until the air turned awkward and Junko couldn't seem to find a way out of it. Since she didn't have any choice, she playfully pinched Satoshi's cheeks hard while letting out an abnormally amused laughter. Both of them let go and Satoshi automatically reached for his cheeks, rubbing them to get rid of the redness. It must be because I pinched him too hard. Junko told herself but at the same time hoping that it must be due to the same feeling she was having.
Junko apologized and thanked him again for the cake.
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Junko couldn't forget that contented look on Satoshi's face as they bid goodbye to each other, with a promise that they would talk again if there was a chance.
She was still in cloud nine when she finally entered Shoko's room. It was quite and she could see her sleeping soundly in her bed. She was about to leave when she noticed something on her twin sister's face. For a better view, she quietly approached her with light steps and...
There were tears in her eyes.
She instinctively covered her mouth to prevent herself from gasping.
Perhaps, I got carried away too much. I'm so sorry Shoko-chan.
After staring at her sister's sleeping face, she got out and headed to her own room. She sent a short message to Satoshi and slept, hoping that she could see him in her dreams.
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Their relationship became even closer after that and it had become a habit for the both of them to text each other whenever they can. It was so natural that even random and completely trivial things became so interesting for Junko as long as it's Satoshi talking to her.
They weren't able to talk in person again after that night. They had their individual lives to think about and they were also very busy with school. Then, something felt unnatural when it came to Shoko. Junko would sometimes suspect that her twin sister was just clinging onto her the whole time so that she couldn't meet Satoshi again, which made her slap herself for thinking about unpleasant things directed to her sister. Nevertheless, it didn't stop Satoshi from passing by Junko's house most of the time to wave at her and see her face before ending his day. At least they still communicate and that's the little piece of heaven that Junko enjoyed in the midst of her busy school life.
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"Jun-chan, what do you think of Satoshi senpai?" Shoko asked her. They were in Shoko's room for a movie marathon since their exams had just finished.
Junko diverted her eyes away from the television and stared at her.
"Well, Satoshi is... Satoshi... he's really a nice guy! He has a gentle aura and his voice is really amazing. Shoko-chan, you should really... you should mee-- meet him in person. It is such a waste that I'm the one hanging out with him...instead... instead of you. You like him, right? Based on his atttitude, I don't think that he'd be bothered if you don't say anything at all," Junko said.
Shoko looked unconvinced, at least that's what Junko saw in her eyes. It was uncomfortable with the way her twin sister was sporting a blank expression towards her...long enough to give her the creeps. This time, Junko couldn't tell what was in her sister's mind and it really made her worried.
"Hmmm. I see. Don't worry Jun-chan. I've learned a lot from you and I can feel that I've built enough courage to face Satoshi-senpai sooner than expected", Shoko said and she slowly approached Junko then rested both her hands on either side of her slightly bent knees so that she could look at Junko eye to eye. After staring at her again for a few seconds, she said:
"He's supposed to be with me, the real one...right, Jun-chan?"
Junko could swear that she saw mischief flashing through her sister's eyes.
"Ah---yeah. About time for you to say that. I-- I've been waiting."
"Hmmm...yes! Just be ready Jun-chan. You're about to get your normal life back. Thank you so much!" Shoko hugged the other and Junko couldn't erase the anxiety that she got just by thinking about not meeting Satoshi anymore.
Conversely, things that were yet to happen never scared the hell out of Junko unless she saw them unfolding in front of her eyes. If she never got to see Satoshi anymore, then so be it. However, for now, Satoshi was hers even though her name was not Junko when she was with him.
Their setting continued just how it was supposed to be until late November came. It was Satoshi's birthday.
Junko called Satoshi at 12 midnight to say her greetings. She even sang a Happy Birthday song to him and another song called "Kimi No Yume Wo Mite Ita". As her song finished, she thought that Satoshi had fallen asleep again but to her surprise, the young boy was crying while saying he wanted to meet her on the night of his birthday. Junko seemed to be cornered by Satoshi's crying voice that she hastily agreed.
On that night, Junko found herself running to Shoko's room once again.
"Jun-chan, I can see Satoshi outside now." Shoko calmly said as she stared outside the window.
"It's his birthday, Shoko-chan and I lost the will to refuse his request to see me-- you tonight."
"I see. Why don't you go back to your room and use the clothes I lent you before? For sure, Satoshi-senpai loves those." Shoko calmly said, who looked so much different from the first time such visit happened.
"Are you sure, Shoko-chan? Don't you want to be the one to meet him this time?" Junko nervously asked while secretly hoping that Shoko would refuse once again.
"I'm still thinking about it, Jun-chan", Shoko directed her eyes to Junko again. "Please go now before Satoshi starts suspecting."
Junko immediately went back to her room and started preparing herself. When she finished, she sent a message to Satoshi saying she's on her way out. As the door of her room was opened, she found herself staring at Shoko who was now wearing the same clothes as hers.
"Sho--Shoko-chan?"
"I'm sorry Jun-chan. I suddenly realized that I should be the one to meet Satoshi... starting from now on." Shoko said nothing else as she confidently made her way to the door and pushed it open.
Junko was left unmoving at her door. She never thought that this day would come sooner. Tears started to come out from her eyes but she tried wiping them away and went to her window only to find Shoko hugging Satoshi so tight.
She unconsciously gripped the curtain by her window and whispered to herself.
"Am I doing the right thing, Junko-chan?"
She swore she could see Satoshi staring at her while in Shoko's embrace.
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After that night, Shoko finally took over Junko's habits of texting Satoshi using her own number, saying she just switched to a new one and Satoshi didn't question it any further.
Meanwhile, Junko received another doodle on her desk. It was a sad-looking fish holding an umbrella under the rain. The drawing just made Junko sigh again and she wondered whether the person who kept on sending her doodles could also feel her sadness. She had been avoiding Satoshi's stares whenever he passed by her classroom and even ran away from him when they accidentally met in the corridor. She had had enough of listening to Shoko's stories about her conversations with Satoshi while bearing the sadness of not being able to talk to him anymore. Seeing him at school just made her feelings worse.
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Satoshi was surprised of Shoko's sudden changed of habit. Apart from exchanging messages with her and being called "Toshi", she would often pass by his classroom or sit with him at the library and eat lunch with him and Kazuko. He sometimes found it difficult to make his doodles since Shoko would suddenly appear behind him, making him stop drawing in order not to be found out.
"I don't get it." Kazuko said as she finally got the chance to eat lunch with Satoshi alone.
"Hmmm?"
"I thought you like Junko-chan. OK, I know you're friends with her twin but I didn't expect her to be this clingy. Oh-chan, tell me what's happening."
"Nothing is happening."
"I don't believe you."
"Junko-chan is avoiding me. I'm just worried that she might have found out that I'm the one sending her those doodles."
"You're not answering my question."
"I think she just silentely rejected me."
Kazuko stared at him for a few seconds and sighed.
"I see... so now you're trying to enjoy her sister's company."
"Maybe. I feel so horrible, Kazu-chan."
"If you feel horrible, why do you have to give false hopes to her sister?"
"I'm not doing that. Nothing's going on between us. I'm just trying to be friends with her." Satoshi said as he leaned on the table
"Because she looks exactly like Junko-chan?"
Satoshi's head automatically perked up, slowly directing his eyes to his best friend.
"I don't know." That was all Satoshi could say and left Kazuko who was shaking her head.
----------------------------
The box that contained the doodles was accidentally dropped on the floor while Junko was looking for something in her cabinet. Consequently, Shoko immediately went inside her room to help her with the mess. While they were busy picking up all the doodles that were scattered on the floor, Shoko gently held one of them and blankly stared at it.
"I'm confessing to Toshi tonight, Jun-chan." Shoko slowly said while looking at the doodle of a cake under the stars.
Junko stopped what she's doing and forced a smile as she looked up at her sister.
The day that Junko feared finally came and there was nothing she can do about it.
----------------------------
Junko thought that it wasn't good to eavesdrop while Satoshi and Shoko were having their moment outside their house. However, she failed to stop herself from secretly following her sister outside. She even managed to hide behind the big rose bush near the persimmon tree, the perfect spot to listen to whatever the two were going to say. She already had her heart broken from the moment Shoko started meeting Satoshi. If this was the only way to make sure that her sister could get her happiness in the end, she would be glad that she had helped her even though she had to listen to her heart shattering into pieces once Satoshi accepted Shoko's feelings.
"Toshi-senpai, I cannot believe that this time would finally arrive. You know, I've always liked how you look so serene and gentle at the same time. Thank you very much for giving me the chance to be friends with you. However, I would like you to know that I really like you, Toshi-senpai."
Junko silently listened as she blinked the tears falling from her eyes.
"Thank you, Shoko-chan. However,..."
Satoshi suddenly kneeled in front of Shoko and bowed his head.
"I am so sorry for not telling you earlier, Shoko-chan...but I already knew about this whole setup with Junko-chan."
Shoko's eyes widened and...
"How did you know,... Toshi-senpai?"
"I had suspicions during the second meeting, my birthday. The Shoko that I texted with and met for the first time was full of confidence. She was gentle though and had a smile that reached her eyes. Most of all, she called me Satoshi, not Toshi-senpai. My suspicion was confirmed when I walked you home for the first time and you waved goodbye to me from the other window, instead of the one I looked up at for the first time during your birthday. Because of that, I discovered that it was Junko-chan whom I met for the first time."
"I'm sorry for doing that Toshi-senpai." Shoko bowed her head with shame and was on the verge of crying. I did that because I couldn't get the confidence to face you personally. Jun-chan agreed to help me and she really did a lot in teaching me how to be strong, which is why I'm here in front of you now."
"I'm very sorry, Shoko-chan. I'm very sorry." Satoshi was now crying.
It took Shoko by surprise. She should have been the one crying because of shame and not Satoshi.
"Toshi-senpai, you don't have to cry. You didn't do anything wrong. It's my fault."
"No, it's also my fault for taking it this far." Satoshi sniffed and willed himself to continue. "I am so sorry for giving you this false hope. You are really a nice person Shoko-chan and I really appreciated the days I spent with you but... no matter how you look so much alike with Junko-chan, you are not Junko-chan. Again, I'm so sorry for being a coward. I will understand if you will hate me--."
"Please stop. I've always known, Toshi-senpai."
Tears started falling from Shoko's eyes as she showed him her sad and bitter smile.
"At least I can finally hear it from you now...the truth. I've always known, Toshi-senpai. I know it was you who kept sending doodles to my sister. Somehow, I wished that I could be the one receiving those. However, I thought that even if I can't be the one receiving your doodles, at least I can do my best to get close to you...but what can I do? It's not me."
"Shoko-chan..." Satoshi slowly stood up.
"We're even now, Toshi-senpai. Thank you very much for everything and I hope we can still be friends after this."
"Ah---Of course. I would be glad to --- "
"Jun-chan likes you too!"
"Haaaaa? How - - ?" Satoshi sudddenly found his voice back.
"Again...I've always known, Toshi-senpai. She's my sister so it wasn't difficult to find out." Shoko genuinely giggled.
"I'm so sorry for not telling you, Shoko-chan." Junko was suddenly heard from behind Shoko. Satoshi was so shocked that he suddenly blushed so hard.
"I thought you would just stay there behind the rose bush, Jun-chan. I'm glad that you finally managed to show yourself." Shoko playfully winked. She's really a smart girl. As Junko was still standing like an idiot in front of Satoshi, Shoko hugged her and said, "I do like him, you know...but I can't believe that I had to go as far as lying about confessing to him in order to make you honest about your feelings. You're the one who told me to be honest about my feelings, right?"
Shoko threw a playful gaze to Satoshi and directed her eyes to her sister again.
"You have done so much for me, Jun-chan. This is the only way for me to repay you for eveything." Shoko stretched her body and yawned.
"I think I'm sleepy now, Jun-chan."
Shoko just smiled at Satoshi again and made her way to their house's front door while muttering "Today's such a long day" and went inside, leaving the two of them with another silent staring contest like the first time they met.
After a few minutes...
"So it's you, the doodle boy. Thank you for giving them to me. They were really nice."
"You're welcome."
Another few minutes of silence and...
"I think it's late. We have school tomorrow. Good nigh---..."
"What's your answer, Jun-chan?"
"Answer?"
"What's your answer?"
"Hmmm...? Could you say it agai--"
"Hello, I'm Satoshi."
Satoshi could see Junko's eyes shining.
"Oh... Hello Satoshi. I'm Junko."
"I like you, Junko-chan."
"I see. I like you, too."
Note: I can feel that there's really something wrong with the way I wrote this whole thing. Sooooooooorrrrryyyy!!! Anyway, thank you very much for taking the time to read this. It's kind of long so thank you very much! <3
Pairing: Juntoshi, Yama
Rating: PG
Genre(s): gender-switch ; a little angst?; high school AU
Summary: It started with Shoko who wanted her identical twin sister, Junko, to pretend to be her and be close to Satoshi.
(Sorry, I couldn't think of a better summary.)
Note: Thank you, Cherry Pie-nee for helping me with some parts!
This concept is kind of interesting for me (twins always amaze me!). I'm not sure whether this is my first Juntoshi fic but this surely is a scary step because lj is still a stranger to me even after many years of having it. Nevertheless, please allow me to share it here on Dreamwidth (hahahah) to you guys and sorry for the grammar lapses since English is not my native language. This idea just came to me when I was eating bread...LOL... Yoroshiku! <3
----------------------------
"Please..."
"No."
"Pleaaaaaaaaase... Jun-chan, please please please! You know that I can't do it and besides, you know me very well so it won't be a problem," Shoko begged for the nth time with her rounded puppy eyes, something that her twin sister could never resist.
It had been 2 weeks since Shoko talked non-stop about their senpai, Satoshi. At first, Junko understood such since it was her first time to actually like someone. However, hearing her sister with that request was just too ridiculous for her to handle.
"Shoko-chan, you know that I always do everything for you but this time...I can't. I'm so sorry," Junko sighed again.
"But why not? I promise I won't do anything stupid to harm you and your precious image at school. Jun-chan, no matter what I do, I really can't find the courage to talk to him and I think I will never have the guts to ta---"
"If you like him then you must have the courage to talk to him!", Junko interrupted her as she started to lose her patience. "Shoko-chan, I think it's not that difficult to confess to someone."
"Huh? How can you say that? Have you ever tried doing that?"
"Nope, but I always believe that it'll make you feel better if you say what you really feel. Besides, I've heard that that senpai is not the famous type so it wouldn't be difficult for you since you don't have rivals..or maybe few if there are. Just be yourself," Junko tried to enlighten her with encouraging words.
There was a sigh and a long stretch of silence. Then...
"But..but...I can't, Jun-chan. I can't," Shoko said as she tried to stop her tears due to frustration.
For all these years, Shoko had been relying on her with almost everything since she's the confident type. She's also the president and the best actress of the drama club, making her popular and admired by her fellow juniors and even seniors. Meanwhile, Shoko was her complete opposite.
At that moment, Junko realized that it was just useless to continue such talk since she knew that Shoko would just end up crying the more she refused her. It might even cause a big trouble once their parents found out that her twin sister cried miserably for the first time.
"So...," Junko unconsciously rubbed her face out of frustration. "Let me just make this clear. You...you want me to pretend to be... you, and be closer to him through text messages,... right?"
"Ye . . . Yes, Jun-chan. You know everything about me so it shouldn't be difficult to pretend to be... me. Besides, it's only in text messages. Tell him that I'm too shy to talk to him in person and he wouldn't suspect that it's actually you," Shoko looked up to her as she felt hope bubbling in her chest.
"See? It's only in text messages so I don't see the point why it has to be me who should do that for you and---,"
"I promise that I'll be the one to do it someday...I promise," Shoko hastily raised her right hand, looking so desperate to make Junko agree.
"For once..just once... please... Shoko-chan do it on your own and I can also guarantee you my sup---..."
"I already told you that I can't. Even in text messages... I can't. For me, it doesn't make any difference if I talk to him in person because I'll still feel very nervous and I might screw up," it's now Shoko's turn to cut through Junko's words. It made her room more gloomy as Shoko's melancholic tone mixed with the atmosphere .
"Shoko-chan..."
"It's alright Jun-chan," Shoko said when her knees met the cold floor with her head hanging low.
"How I wish...I..I..was born as confident as you are, Jun-chan."
Junko stared at her twin sister as she silently shed her tears, one after another. She wanted to help her but...she couldn't. She just couldn't. She wanted Shoko to do it on her own and maybe one day . . .
"Sorry for bothering you, Jun-chan."
She must have been drowned in her own thoughts that she didn't notice her sister making her way to the door.
She cursed inside her head as she considered herself a useless twin sister who couldn't lend a hand to her sister's growing feelings for her first love. With that thought, she came up with a decision.
"I'll do it. Just don't hate me, Shoko-chan."
Junko thought that this could be the biggest challenge of her acting career.
----------------------------
On the next day, Junko found another doodle on a torn page of a notebook on her desk. This time, it's a cat with a silly grin on its face and Junko couldn't keep her lips from forming a smile immediately followed by a heavy sigh. It was one of those few...no...many random things she received since they transferred to that school. It had been almost three months and these doodles would come three or four times a week. She sometimes wondered about who could that be but she never bothered herself from finding it out. She's too busy taking care of everything, especially her dear twin sister.
As her classmates were coming inside the classroom, she quickly stuffed the paper into one of her bag's side pockets. She smiled again as she thought that there would be another addition in that box of doodles in her room.
Yes, she kept all of them.
She would sometimes stare at them when she feels too tired to study her homework, to relieve herself from pressure or just because she wanted to have good thoughts before falling asleep at night. "What a nice person," she told herself dreamily and---
"Junko-chan!"
She found herself staring at a cellphone screen with someone's number on it.
"I got it," the owner of the cellphone proudly said.
"Perfect. Thank you so much, Mari-chan. Like I said, it's a secret OK?"
----------------------------
"Hi! Is this Ohno Satoshi-kun?"
It was just another ordinary night for Satoshi when he heard his phone beep and saw that message flashed on the screen. A frown formed quickly on his chubby face as he sent a reply.
"Yes. May I ask where you got my number?"
"I got it from one of your friends. ^_^ "
The simple frown made his eyebrows meet each other in a rather annoyed fashion. How can this person forget introducing their name in the first place? This must be Kazuko's fault, his one and only best friend. That girl was notorious for giving his number to other students at school so that he could "finally" get "friends" apart from her.
"What's your name?"
Satoshi waited longer than the usual for the other person to reply. He stared at his phone and thought that this was just another useless joke until...
"I'm Shoko. Nice to meet you, Ohno Satoshi-kun!"
"Call me Satoshi."
"Hello Satoshi!"
And that's how it started.
Satoshi couldn't explain why he was unable to stop himself from responding to Shoko's messages. He even immediately offered to be called by his first name. For him, there was some sense of "distant familiarity", as he called it, while pressing the buttons on his phone.
Unlike before, having another potential girl friend apart from Kazuko never sounded appealing to him but now, he couldn't get rid of those giddy feelings when texting Shoko. He didn't even ask about her intentions of texting him in the first place, especially when she mentioned that she was Junko's twin sister. If Shoko were Kazuko's friend, he would really thank his best friend for introducing her to him. If she weren't, it wouldn't matter to him anyway. He felt overwhelmed about having another friend-... no it's not just another friend. It's Shoko being his new friend and she was Junko's twin sister. She's Junko's twin sister!
----------------------------
"Am I doing the right thing, Shoko-chan? I already exchanged some messages with him and he didn't suspect anything weird about it. I think it's going well", Junko fidgetted on the edge of her bed facing Shoko who was sitting on her purple couch across the bed.
Shoko approached her and enveloped her in a tight hug, smiling widely through Junko's hair.
"I can't thank you enough for this Jun-chan," Shoko said as she loosened the hug to look at her twin sister.
"I need to strengthen my acting skills, though..if we don't want to be caught", Junko smirked.
"I fully trust you with this, Jun-chan. You know me very well and I promise that I will be the one to take charge of this as soon as possible."
---------------------------
On the next day at their usual spot for eating lunch, Satoshi thanked Kazuko for making him exchange messages with somebody like Shoko the previous night. However, his best friend denied it, saying she had already gone tired of introducing new people to him and she had accepted the fact that her best friend preferred hanging out with his doodles and his "imaginary mermaid" apart from her.
"Oh-chan, if I were to introduce another one for you, it would be Junko-chan instead of her twin sister. You like her, right? It's just that I can't do it because you always stop me". Kazuko nudged Satoshi's side with her elbow while wriggling her eyebrows in a playful manner.
"Let's just hurry up and go back to our classrooms."
"Oh come on, Oh-chan! You can never hide anything from me. I caught you many times when you sent your doodles to her. You know how sneaky I can ge--. Oi! Oh-chan!"
Satoshi had already left before Kazuko could pry into things he himself couldn't fully distinguish. Yes, he had immediately put a liking on Junko ever since he set his eyes on her for the first time but.... there's something with Shoko that drew him closer to her. Was he starting to divert his feelings to Shoko? He shook his head as he made his way back to his classroom. He just knew Shoko last night and he couldn't just "cheat" on Junko.
It's probably because they're twins. There would always be something that connected them in many aspects, he thought.
---------------------------
Shoko texted him again on the next night, asking him about how his day and talked about random things concerning their interests and everything under the sun. Satoshi couldn't help but ask about her day with her twin sister and Shoko excitedly talked about going to the restaurant with Junko and their parents after school.
The days passed and the two continued to exchange messages. Satoshi would talk about how he was scolded by Sakurai-sensei for failing their weekly Math exams, how he fell asleep with his eyes open whenever he's bored during classes and how he loved to spend his leisure time daydreaming or doodling on anything. Shoko would talk about her homework in English, the dinner cooked by her mother and how her twin sister stressed herself out when preparing for exams and the activities at the drama club. Both of them knew about almost all of the basic things even their respective addresses. It made Satoshi happy. It's not just because he could get some information about Junko's whereabouts but also because Shoko was actually a very nice friend. It's even funny that he could see Junko around school but never Shoko. Perhaps she's too shy to show herself or...
His eyes were only fixed to Junko. Such thoughts amused him.
----------------------------
After several weeks, it's finally the twins' birthday. It was Saturday but the twins woke up early to exchange birthday greetings and tight hugs with each other. They also hurried in preparing themselves for the day, as they would be going to Disneyland with their parents to celebrate their birthday.
Junko had texted Satoshi about their family's plans the night before and even expected the other to send her a birthday greeting on the next day but she didn't receive any. It was frustrating and it made her very disappointed. Did Satoshi forget her birthday or had he gone tired of having this kind of setting? They never talked in person since she would always expertly dodge such topic whenever Satoshi brought it up. She usually saw him at school though since he had to pass by her classroom before reaching his in the morning. There was even a time when they bumped into each other in the corridor. Her eyes widened and almost greeted him but managed to close her mouth immediately, reminding herself that it was Shoko whom Satoshi was talking to and not her...although it had always been her in the first place. They silently bowed to each other and quickly parted ways.
Meanwhile, Junko felt uneasy about not reading any of Satoshi's messages on her birthday and the thought that Satoshi "forgot" it almost made her cry. Shoko was also sad about Satoshi not sending any messages on that day but Junko looked more hurt compared to the former. Was she harboring feelings for Satoshi?
They had fun at Disneyland and the day passed by so quickly. As they arrived at their house, she kept on glancing at her phone as she entered her bedroom, tired from all the rides they had tried. Shoko even insisted on riding the Splash Island for the third time even though Junko had been struggling to stop the tears from coming out her eyes because of not hearing anything from Satoshi.
She noticed that she was too much of a drama queen for the whole day.
Perhaps it's because of their birthday.
Perhaps it's because of the moments she had shared with her family on that day or...
Perhaps it's because of Satoshi.
As she finished undoing her ponytail, she heard her phone beep and she immediately grabbed it in the hopes of receiving a message from Satoshi. When she opened it, she found herself crying for real as it was just one of her classmates asking about their homework in World History. She angrily sat on the side of her bed, not because of Satoshi but because of her being a crybaby. How can she cry because of such trivial thing? Satoshi was just a friend and he's not even her friend. He was Shoko's friend! OK, that even made her cry harder while clutching her mouth in order not to invite any suspicions from outside her room.
When her unexplained burst of emotions had finally come down, she heard her phone again and she gathered her remaining strength to look at the caller's name on the screen.
It's Satoshi.
Her eyes widened in utter shock.
This was definitely the first time Satoshi's calling her. This was definitely the first time she'd be hearing Satoshi's voice.
This was definitely the first time.
Maybe it's because she missed Satoshi that she didn't hesitate pressing the answer button. Well,,, one day was quite long, right?
"Hello... Sa-- Satoshi?"
"Shoko-chan, I'm sorry for not saying anything until now."
Satoshi could hear her sniffing over the phone.
"A-- Are you OK, Sh-- Shoko-chan? I'm so sorry that I..."
"It's fine, Satoshi. I think I caught a cold after a long day." Junko had stopped crying as soon as she heard Satoshi's angelic voice.
"I thought you would never talk to me again."
"Of course not!" Satoshi chuckled.
"Yokatta."
"Say, Shoko-chan... Are you in your room now? I'm now staring at the night sky. The stars are twinkling beautifully at the moment."
Junko walked to her window and slowly opened it. She looked up and smiled as she was welcomed by the gentle wind on her cheeks. She smiled even wider when she saw the stars shining in full contrast to the dark night sky.
"Yeah. They're really beautiful, Satoshi."
"Hmmm...I'm glad that I could see you smile for the first time, Shoko-chan."
Junko giggled.
Then something snapped inside her brain.
"Wow... Are you-- Are you watching me from some- Ah! What do you mean?!"
She only heard a chuckle from Satoshi as she slowly led her eyes downwards... to the person standing outside their house across her bedroom's window and...
That was when her teary eyes met Satoshi's gentle ones.
Satoshi smiled even wider, his eyes forming cute little slits, his chubby cheeks becoming more prominent and his teeth... oh his teeth... How could they be so damn cute?
Junko had always thought that her heart beat the fastest whenever she hugged Mickey Mouse. It's her favorite Disney character after all.
However...
This boy was by no means in close resemblance to Mickey Mouse. Why did her heart beat like it's going to jump out of her chest the moment she met his mesmerizing eyes and his squishy chubby cheeks?
"Happy Birthday, Shoko-chan." Satoshi said as he raised a blue box for her to see.
Never mind the box.
Junko didn't notice that her mouth could have been the favorite lounging area of the fireflies that night if not because of Satoshi's gentle voice that woke her up from her dreamy state.
"Shoko-chan? As far as I can remember, I haven't taught you how to sleep with your eyes open." He chuckled again.
"Ah-- Satoshi. Ahmmm... Th-- Thank y-you...Ahmm.. Chotto matte kudasai! I'll get back to you after a few minutes."
"OK."
Junko left her window open and hurriedly went to Shoko's room. As she was passing through the corridor, she couldn't erase the idiotic grin plastered on her face. However, as she was about to open Shoko's door, it suddenly struck her that...
It wasn't her that Satoshi wanted to meet.
It's Shoko.
The last time she checked, her name was Junko and for the first time she regretted being given such name.
She quickly got back to her sanity as she noticed another tear threatening to fall from her eyes but managed to erase it with the back of her hand.
She knocked first but immediately flung Shoko's door open with a blank expression on her face.
"What's wrong, Jun-chan?" Shoko asked as she was brushing her hair.
"Satoshi's outside. He wants to meet me---. I mean, he wants to meet you."
It only took a matter of seconds as Junko witnessed how all the blood was magically drained from Shoko's face. Her eyes were so wide as if she had seen a ghost standing behind her twin sister.
"Huh---Haaaaaa???" Shoko weakly rubbed her face with her hands.
"What should we do now, Shoko-chan?" Junko took a deep breath as she asked her but at the back of her mind, she really wanted to say...
Please let me meet him.
"Jun-chan..."
"Yes?" Junko could her own heartbeat banging through her ears.
"I know this is too much and I'm really sorry but...but..."
"Yes?" Junko thought that her heart stopped for a second and...
"I can't meet him ... for now."
Shoko cried hard, feeling guilty that she was about to make her sister do something against her will for the second time.
"Please meet him for me, Jun-chan!" Shoko burst into tears, harder this time.
Junko thought that all the stars shining at that moment were just freaking grateful when she smiled at them a while ago. She could even hear them cheering for her as she approached Shoko and hugged her to calm her down. They'd be in trouble if their parents were awakened.
"You...You don't need to beg again this time, Shoko-chan." Junko told her softly. "I will meet him if-- if that's what you want...but you have to help me to look like you."
"How can you say that? We're already so much alike." Shoko succeed to let out a nervous chuckle. Ahh.. What a relief! Junko thought.
"I mean,,, I can't meet him with a ponytail. It's my hairstyle. I can't even go out wearing pants, either. It's my kind of fashion. Help me to look like you."
"Ah! I see! No problem, Jun-chan!"
That was the first time Junko had seen confidence flashed in her sister's eyes and it somehow scared her.
Knowing that they shouldn't keep their unexpected but adorable visitor waiting outside, Junko quickly changed her hairstyle into Shoko's pigtails. Shoko even lent Junko her favorite dress and another pair of eyeglasses.
She's ready... and her chest was too engulfed with excitement that she thought she's about to pass out. There's no turning back! Junko tried cheering herself.
As she was finally out and closed the front door, she nervously turned around and flashed her sheepish grin to Satoshi. However, instead of finding a cheerful-looking Satoshi just like moments ago, he looked at her with serenity and a small smile accentuating his chubby cheeks.
While she was slowly trailing the small path to their gate, to Satoshi, she couldn't stop wondering about what Shoko found so attractive about this guy who was standing a few breaths away from her at that moment.
Well... he's definitely cute, with sleepy but mesmerizing eyes, a gorgeously shaped nose, thin lips and soft-looking chubby cheeks. She would occasionally wonder how it would feel like if she poked those cheeks. As she got too immersed in her thoughts, she silently let out an inward sigh as it seemed impossible for her to find the reason why this boy had somehow gained a tiny but precious space in her heart. Teenager feels,,,maybe?, she thought.
However, as Satoshi showed his most sincere smile, with his crooked teeth and the warm atmosphere he was able to radiate towards her, she told herself, Ahhh...I see.
This was just Satoshi after all.
The boy who shone brighter than all the stars combined during that night.
"Junko-chan..."
She was abruptly snapped out of her daze as she heard what Satoshi just said. She didn't even notice that she had opened the gate and Satoshi was just standing a step away from him.
"I mean... Is Junko-chan asleep? How about your parents?"
"Ah...They're... Yeah...They're already sleeping. Today was so tiring , you know."
"Oh! I'm so sorry for disturbing you this late! I think I should just come back tomorrow."
He stepped back, quickly bowed and turned around but Junko immediately grabbed his right arm.
"Satoshi," Junko said. He could see her round eyes turning a bit watery as she continued.
"I...I'm so glad that you decided to see me today."
"Hmmm?"
"I mean...You didn't say anything to me for the whole day. I was worried and then you're here. It made me feel relieved."
Satoshi just stared at her for a moment and flashed his mind-shattering smile again. Soon, they found themselves sitting at the patio right beside the persimmon tree in their small garden.
"I'm sorry for not making any sound for the whole day. Ah! By the way, it's because of this." Satoshi set the blue box on the table, making Junko frown due to curiosity.
"Please open it." Satoshi requested.
Junko could only stare with wide eyes at the baby blue colored cake when she opened the box. Its design was a drawing of her and her twin sister under the persimmon tree.
"And who's this head poking behind the tree?" Junko asked with a chuckle.
"Ahhh..that one?...Hmmm do you really have to ask?"
Both of them laughed and it gave Junko the chance to wipe the unshed tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She was too happy for this night to end. Besides, it would be very difficult for her to sleep, as what was happening at that moment wouldn't definitely allow her to sleep that easily.
As if everything was a blur, Satoshi reached for her face and wiped the tears with his thumbs on either side of her face. Sensing that Junko didn't flinch with such act, he let his hands stay on her cheeks.
"Again... Happy Birthday, Ju-- Shoko-chan...Ah sorry I'm just really nervous," Satoshi said as he slowly withdrew his hands from her face.
The loss of the warmth that once lingered on her cheeks made Junko disappointed. Then, it was immediately forgotten when she saw the band aid on Satoshi's index finger.
"Were you hurt?" Junko grabbed his wrist and took a closer look at his finger.
"This one? It's OK. I accidentally cut myself this morning while I was making the cake...but this is too small. I'm fine...really." Satoshi smiled.
Junko nodded and lowered her head, feeling guilty all of a sudden since it was because of her -- ah...Shoko.
"Shoko-chan? I'm really OK."
She could feel Satoshi smiling again with the warmth emitted by his voice. She slowly lifted her head, looked at Satoshi in the eyes and after a few seconds, reached out to touch his left cheek with her right hand. As if by reflex, Satoshi leaned into the touch and raised his right hand to do the same to Junko's left cheek.
There was a shy exchange of sheepish grins and loving stares.
Not long after that, their left hands did the same. Satoshi enjoyed caressing Junko's cheeks with this thumbs while Junko lightly pinched his cheeks.
The staring contest continued until the air turned awkward and Junko couldn't seem to find a way out of it. Since she didn't have any choice, she playfully pinched Satoshi's cheeks hard while letting out an abnormally amused laughter. Both of them let go and Satoshi automatically reached for his cheeks, rubbing them to get rid of the redness. It must be because I pinched him too hard. Junko told herself but at the same time hoping that it must be due to the same feeling she was having.
Junko apologized and thanked him again for the cake.
----------------------------
Junko couldn't forget that contented look on Satoshi's face as they bid goodbye to each other, with a promise that they would talk again if there was a chance.
She was still in cloud nine when she finally entered Shoko's room. It was quite and she could see her sleeping soundly in her bed. She was about to leave when she noticed something on her twin sister's face. For a better view, she quietly approached her with light steps and...
There were tears in her eyes.
She instinctively covered her mouth to prevent herself from gasping.
Perhaps, I got carried away too much. I'm so sorry Shoko-chan.
After staring at her sister's sleeping face, she got out and headed to her own room. She sent a short message to Satoshi and slept, hoping that she could see him in her dreams.
------------------------
Their relationship became even closer after that and it had become a habit for the both of them to text each other whenever they can. It was so natural that even random and completely trivial things became so interesting for Junko as long as it's Satoshi talking to her.
They weren't able to talk in person again after that night. They had their individual lives to think about and they were also very busy with school. Then, something felt unnatural when it came to Shoko. Junko would sometimes suspect that her twin sister was just clinging onto her the whole time so that she couldn't meet Satoshi again, which made her slap herself for thinking about unpleasant things directed to her sister. Nevertheless, it didn't stop Satoshi from passing by Junko's house most of the time to wave at her and see her face before ending his day. At least they still communicate and that's the little piece of heaven that Junko enjoyed in the midst of her busy school life.
------------------------
"Jun-chan, what do you think of Satoshi senpai?" Shoko asked her. They were in Shoko's room for a movie marathon since their exams had just finished.
Junko diverted her eyes away from the television and stared at her.
"Well, Satoshi is... Satoshi... he's really a nice guy! He has a gentle aura and his voice is really amazing. Shoko-chan, you should really... you should mee-- meet him in person. It is such a waste that I'm the one hanging out with him...instead... instead of you. You like him, right? Based on his atttitude, I don't think that he'd be bothered if you don't say anything at all," Junko said.
Shoko looked unconvinced, at least that's what Junko saw in her eyes. It was uncomfortable with the way her twin sister was sporting a blank expression towards her...long enough to give her the creeps. This time, Junko couldn't tell what was in her sister's mind and it really made her worried.
"Hmmm. I see. Don't worry Jun-chan. I've learned a lot from you and I can feel that I've built enough courage to face Satoshi-senpai sooner than expected", Shoko said and she slowly approached Junko then rested both her hands on either side of her slightly bent knees so that she could look at Junko eye to eye. After staring at her again for a few seconds, she said:
"He's supposed to be with me, the real one...right, Jun-chan?"
Junko could swear that she saw mischief flashing through her sister's eyes.
"Ah---yeah. About time for you to say that. I-- I've been waiting."
"Hmmm...yes! Just be ready Jun-chan. You're about to get your normal life back. Thank you so much!" Shoko hugged the other and Junko couldn't erase the anxiety that she got just by thinking about not meeting Satoshi anymore.
Conversely, things that were yet to happen never scared the hell out of Junko unless she saw them unfolding in front of her eyes. If she never got to see Satoshi anymore, then so be it. However, for now, Satoshi was hers even though her name was not Junko when she was with him.
Their setting continued just how it was supposed to be until late November came. It was Satoshi's birthday.
Junko called Satoshi at 12 midnight to say her greetings. She even sang a Happy Birthday song to him and another song called "Kimi No Yume Wo Mite Ita". As her song finished, she thought that Satoshi had fallen asleep again but to her surprise, the young boy was crying while saying he wanted to meet her on the night of his birthday. Junko seemed to be cornered by Satoshi's crying voice that she hastily agreed.
On that night, Junko found herself running to Shoko's room once again.
"Jun-chan, I can see Satoshi outside now." Shoko calmly said as she stared outside the window.
"It's his birthday, Shoko-chan and I lost the will to refuse his request to see me-- you tonight."
"I see. Why don't you go back to your room and use the clothes I lent you before? For sure, Satoshi-senpai loves those." Shoko calmly said, who looked so much different from the first time such visit happened.
"Are you sure, Shoko-chan? Don't you want to be the one to meet him this time?" Junko nervously asked while secretly hoping that Shoko would refuse once again.
"I'm still thinking about it, Jun-chan", Shoko directed her eyes to Junko again. "Please go now before Satoshi starts suspecting."
Junko immediately went back to her room and started preparing herself. When she finished, she sent a message to Satoshi saying she's on her way out. As the door of her room was opened, she found herself staring at Shoko who was now wearing the same clothes as hers.
"Sho--Shoko-chan?"
"I'm sorry Jun-chan. I suddenly realized that I should be the one to meet Satoshi... starting from now on." Shoko said nothing else as she confidently made her way to the door and pushed it open.
Junko was left unmoving at her door. She never thought that this day would come sooner. Tears started to come out from her eyes but she tried wiping them away and went to her window only to find Shoko hugging Satoshi so tight.
She unconsciously gripped the curtain by her window and whispered to herself.
"Am I doing the right thing, Junko-chan?"
She swore she could see Satoshi staring at her while in Shoko's embrace.
----------------------------
After that night, Shoko finally took over Junko's habits of texting Satoshi using her own number, saying she just switched to a new one and Satoshi didn't question it any further.
Meanwhile, Junko received another doodle on her desk. It was a sad-looking fish holding an umbrella under the rain. The drawing just made Junko sigh again and she wondered whether the person who kept on sending her doodles could also feel her sadness. She had been avoiding Satoshi's stares whenever he passed by her classroom and even ran away from him when they accidentally met in the corridor. She had had enough of listening to Shoko's stories about her conversations with Satoshi while bearing the sadness of not being able to talk to him anymore. Seeing him at school just made her feelings worse.
----------------------------
Satoshi was surprised of Shoko's sudden changed of habit. Apart from exchanging messages with her and being called "Toshi", she would often pass by his classroom or sit with him at the library and eat lunch with him and Kazuko. He sometimes found it difficult to make his doodles since Shoko would suddenly appear behind him, making him stop drawing in order not to be found out.
"I don't get it." Kazuko said as she finally got the chance to eat lunch with Satoshi alone.
"Hmmm?"
"I thought you like Junko-chan. OK, I know you're friends with her twin but I didn't expect her to be this clingy. Oh-chan, tell me what's happening."
"Nothing is happening."
"I don't believe you."
"Junko-chan is avoiding me. I'm just worried that she might have found out that I'm the one sending her those doodles."
"You're not answering my question."
"I think she just silentely rejected me."
Kazuko stared at him for a few seconds and sighed.
"I see... so now you're trying to enjoy her sister's company."
"Maybe. I feel so horrible, Kazu-chan."
"If you feel horrible, why do you have to give false hopes to her sister?"
"I'm not doing that. Nothing's going on between us. I'm just trying to be friends with her." Satoshi said as he leaned on the table
"Because she looks exactly like Junko-chan?"
Satoshi's head automatically perked up, slowly directing his eyes to his best friend.
"I don't know." That was all Satoshi could say and left Kazuko who was shaking her head.
----------------------------
The box that contained the doodles was accidentally dropped on the floor while Junko was looking for something in her cabinet. Consequently, Shoko immediately went inside her room to help her with the mess. While they were busy picking up all the doodles that were scattered on the floor, Shoko gently held one of them and blankly stared at it.
"I'm confessing to Toshi tonight, Jun-chan." Shoko slowly said while looking at the doodle of a cake under the stars.
Junko stopped what she's doing and forced a smile as she looked up at her sister.
The day that Junko feared finally came and there was nothing she can do about it.
----------------------------
Junko thought that it wasn't good to eavesdrop while Satoshi and Shoko were having their moment outside their house. However, she failed to stop herself from secretly following her sister outside. She even managed to hide behind the big rose bush near the persimmon tree, the perfect spot to listen to whatever the two were going to say. She already had her heart broken from the moment Shoko started meeting Satoshi. If this was the only way to make sure that her sister could get her happiness in the end, she would be glad that she had helped her even though she had to listen to her heart shattering into pieces once Satoshi accepted Shoko's feelings.
"Toshi-senpai, I cannot believe that this time would finally arrive. You know, I've always liked how you look so serene and gentle at the same time. Thank you very much for giving me the chance to be friends with you. However, I would like you to know that I really like you, Toshi-senpai."
Junko silently listened as she blinked the tears falling from her eyes.
"Thank you, Shoko-chan. However,..."
Satoshi suddenly kneeled in front of Shoko and bowed his head.
"I am so sorry for not telling you earlier, Shoko-chan...but I already knew about this whole setup with Junko-chan."
Shoko's eyes widened and...
"How did you know,... Toshi-senpai?"
"I had suspicions during the second meeting, my birthday. The Shoko that I texted with and met for the first time was full of confidence. She was gentle though and had a smile that reached her eyes. Most of all, she called me Satoshi, not Toshi-senpai. My suspicion was confirmed when I walked you home for the first time and you waved goodbye to me from the other window, instead of the one I looked up at for the first time during your birthday. Because of that, I discovered that it was Junko-chan whom I met for the first time."
"I'm sorry for doing that Toshi-senpai." Shoko bowed her head with shame and was on the verge of crying. I did that because I couldn't get the confidence to face you personally. Jun-chan agreed to help me and she really did a lot in teaching me how to be strong, which is why I'm here in front of you now."
"I'm very sorry, Shoko-chan. I'm very sorry." Satoshi was now crying.
It took Shoko by surprise. She should have been the one crying because of shame and not Satoshi.
"Toshi-senpai, you don't have to cry. You didn't do anything wrong. It's my fault."
"No, it's also my fault for taking it this far." Satoshi sniffed and willed himself to continue. "I am so sorry for giving you this false hope. You are really a nice person Shoko-chan and I really appreciated the days I spent with you but... no matter how you look so much alike with Junko-chan, you are not Junko-chan. Again, I'm so sorry for being a coward. I will understand if you will hate me--."
"Please stop. I've always known, Toshi-senpai."
Tears started falling from Shoko's eyes as she showed him her sad and bitter smile.
"At least I can finally hear it from you now...the truth. I've always known, Toshi-senpai. I know it was you who kept sending doodles to my sister. Somehow, I wished that I could be the one receiving those. However, I thought that even if I can't be the one receiving your doodles, at least I can do my best to get close to you...but what can I do? It's not me."
"Shoko-chan..." Satoshi slowly stood up.
"We're even now, Toshi-senpai. Thank you very much for everything and I hope we can still be friends after this."
"Ah---Of course. I would be glad to --- "
"Jun-chan likes you too!"
"Haaaaa? How - - ?" Satoshi sudddenly found his voice back.
"Again...I've always known, Toshi-senpai. She's my sister so it wasn't difficult to find out." Shoko genuinely giggled.
"I'm so sorry for not telling you, Shoko-chan." Junko was suddenly heard from behind Shoko. Satoshi was so shocked that he suddenly blushed so hard.
"I thought you would just stay there behind the rose bush, Jun-chan. I'm glad that you finally managed to show yourself." Shoko playfully winked. She's really a smart girl. As Junko was still standing like an idiot in front of Satoshi, Shoko hugged her and said, "I do like him, you know...but I can't believe that I had to go as far as lying about confessing to him in order to make you honest about your feelings. You're the one who told me to be honest about my feelings, right?"
Shoko threw a playful gaze to Satoshi and directed her eyes to her sister again.
"You have done so much for me, Jun-chan. This is the only way for me to repay you for eveything." Shoko stretched her body and yawned.
"I think I'm sleepy now, Jun-chan."
Shoko just smiled at Satoshi again and made her way to their house's front door while muttering "Today's such a long day" and went inside, leaving the two of them with another silent staring contest like the first time they met.
After a few minutes...
"So it's you, the doodle boy. Thank you for giving them to me. They were really nice."
"You're welcome."
Another few minutes of silence and...
"I think it's late. We have school tomorrow. Good nigh---..."
"What's your answer, Jun-chan?"
"Answer?"
"What's your answer?"
"Hmmm...? Could you say it agai--"
"Hello, I'm Satoshi."
Satoshi could see Junko's eyes shining.
"Oh... Hello Satoshi. I'm Junko."
"I like you, Junko-chan."
"I see. I like you, too."
Note: I can feel that there's really something wrong with the way I wrote this whole thing. Sooooooooorrrrryyyy!!! Anyway, thank you very much for taking the time to read this. It's kind of long so thank you very much! <3
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Date: 2018-01-06 03:30 pm (UTC)hope we can do this again imouto... :)
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Date: 2018-01-06 03:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-07 12:08 am (UTC)Thank you for writing and sharing this, hope there will be a lot more after this ^__^
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Date: 2018-01-07 02:26 am (UTC)I'm not so sure about this one but maybe it's because I'm really not used to posting my stories online. I've actually written a lot in the past especially when I studied literature. The writing style when I did those stories was different from this one though...I also hope I can write more. I've been keeping some prompts here in my computer for quite a looooong time and I just don't know how to start writing them. LOL ! Thank you for taking the time to read this! <3
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Date: 2018-01-07 04:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-08 04:32 am (UTC)I don't wan't to promise anything but I'm trying my best to make a continuation of this one. ^_^
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Date: 2018-01-09 11:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-11 01:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-11 09:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-11-24 02:26 pm (UTC)It's the nicer that I can do, because Jun really doesn't need to change gender to be a girl. He is so hot with his feminine aura already that putting make up on him just doesn't do the trick.
Ohno was so adorable!!!
Thank you for sharing!!!