by Cind-chan

Disclaimer! Fushigi Yuugi is the property of Watase Yuu, Bandai, Flower Comics, and others. No infringment was intended in the writing of this fic.

Koutoku clung to his father as the man ran down the street. Looking over his father's shoulder, he saw his mother a few steps behind. She was carrying his younger
twin, Shunkaku. She had a frightened look on her face. That scared Koutoku more than the soldiers with the swords. She tried to smile at him and reassure him with,
"it's alright, Kou. We'll be fine," but the fear in her eyes belied her words.

He looked behind his mother and saw a soldier coming up fast behind her. Shunkaku also looked over her shoulder and saw the man with a sword raised. The twins
screamed out in unison. "Mama!!" Both of their parents looked behind. Their mother screamed in terror. Their father grabbed her and pulled her out of the way just
as the sword swung down. He pulled her into an alleyway. Both were breathing heavily.

The older man slowly set Koutoku onto the ground. "We can't keep carrying these boys around."

The woman followed suit by setting Shunkaku down. "But we can't expect them to keep up with us!"

"We won't. We'll have to leave them here."

"No!" She slapped her hands over her mouth and looked down the alley to see if the soldiers heard her. Seeing that no soldiers appeared, she continued quietly.
"What if the soldiers saw them? They might be ki--" She stopped and looked at the twins, hoping they wouldn't understand. "We can't leave them here! We can't
leave them to the soldiers."

"We won't. We can hide them and then come back for them when the soldiers are gone."

The twins, arms interlinked, watched their parents. Their father looked around the alley and found a nook that was big enough. He gently, but firmly, pushed the two
boys into the nook. Both of the parents got down on their knees to look at their sons. "Now stay here," their father said. "And don't come out until we've come back
for you. Understand?"

The twins nodded. But as soon as the parents got up and started to pile some stuff from the alleyway in front of the nook, Shunkaku cried out, "Mama!" The woman
bent down and said, "it's alright, Shun. Mama and Papa will be back soon. Kou, take care of you brother." Kou nodded and the two adults ran off.

Shunkaku tried to get out. "Mama!!"

Koutoku wrapped his arms around him. "Shhhhh! You have to be quiet. Remember what Mama and Papa said. We have to stay here till they come back."

"I want Mama!!" Shunkaku managed to get the stuff pushed out of the way and ran out of the nook. Koutoku ran out also. Leave it to Shunkaku to act before
thinking. He looked around but his twin had already disappeared. Still, Koutoku knew where to go. He and Shunkaku had always known where each other were.

Sensing where his brother went, Koutoku ran down the alley and out onto the street. The soldiers, too busy attacking the adults, didn't notice the small boy. Koutoku
ran along the street, sensing that Shunkaku was nearby. He turned a corner and saw his brother not too far ahead. He ran faster and grabbed his twin. "Mama and
Papa told us to stay where we were. What will they think when they come back and we're gone?"

"But I want Mama," Shunkaku insisted.

"Mama and Papa will return after the soldiers go away. Now lets get back to the hiding place." Shunkaku nodded and linked his arm through Koutoku's. They slowly
made there way back, not really sure where the alley was that their parents hid them in.

They stood in the streets looking around them. As they watched, a soldier rode by and stuck a woman with his sword. They watched the woman fall to the ground.
A few more people were struck down by sword or bows as the twins watched. It began to rain and the soldiers rode off, but the people on the ground didn't get up.

"Aniki," Shunkaku said. "Why aren't they getting up? What's wrong with them?"

Koutoku looked around. "I don't know. I think they're dead." Neither were really sure since they'd never seen a dead people before. Shunkaku started shaking and
sniffling.

"I want Mama," he whispered. "Aniki, I want Mama."

"Okay, lets go find Mama and Papa." Unsure of where to look, the two began to wander around on the street. Everywhere, there were dead people. Only now,
were the survivors coming out to look for their loved ones. It wasn't long before the boys found their parents. Their mother was laying face up, in a puddle of red
water, on the street. Their father lay across her. Neither moved. Koutoku froze, knowing that they were dead.

Shunkaku ran to them. "Mama!! Papa!!" He dropped down beside them, grabbed his mother's robe, and began shaking her. "Mama!! Wake up!
Maaaaaaamaaaaaaaaaaa!!"

Koutoku walked up behind him, too shocked to react. Shunkaku screamed hysterically and began to beat his fists on her chest. "MAAAMAAAA!!"

Koutoku wrapped his arms around his twin. "She's dead," he said in a choked voice. "Mama's dead. Papa too." Koutoku leaned his weight back and managed to
pull Shunkaku away from their mother. "They're dead," He whispered in his brother's ear. Tears began to run down his face, but he forced himself to stay calm.
"They're both dead."

Shunkaku tried to push away from his older twin. "NOOOOO!! I WANT MY MAMA!!" He began to cry uncontrollably. "MAMAAAAA!!" Finally he stopped
struggling and wrapped his arms around Koutoku. The twins cried over the bodies of their parents.
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With the help of some of the village men, the twins' parents were buried. But noone offered to take them home. Koutoku was scared and confused. The last thing his
mother told him was to take care of Shunkaku, but how? His brother was still sniffling, so Koutoku link his arm through Shunkaku's. He made a silent vow to his
parents that he would take care of his younger twin, no matter what it took!

Exhausted and drained to two boys made their way to their house. Much of what belongings they had were smashed. They took what was left of the mattress they
shared and tried to restuff it with the hay scattered on the floor. Koutoku had found the flute that their mother used to play, the one she had been teaching him how to
play. He began to play a melody she taught him. Soon, Shunkaku was asleep. Koutoku stopped playing, set the flute down, and crawled in next to his twin.

In the middle of the night, Shunkaku began fussing in his sleep. Koutoku woke to hear his brother softly sobbing. He rolled over and put his arm around his younger
sibling. "Shhhhhhhhh," he said, sleepily. "Aniki's here. Aniki will take care of you."

Shunkaku rolled over and put an arm around Koutoku. "You promise?"

"Promise. I'll take care of you and I'll never leave you."

"Never?"

"Never." Shunkaku snuggled closer to Koutoku. "Everything will be alright, Shun. I promise."
************************************************************
"Anikiiiii!"

Koutoku straightened up from where he'd been weeding the garden for the Widow Hitsuke. He and Shunkaku had been living with her, helping her, for the past two
months, when they first came to this village. They had stayed at their old village for a couple more years, till the soldiers attacked again. Koutoku, then, decided that
they should leave and go elsewhere. For food and a place to sleep, they did chores for the widow.

Shunkaku ran up to his older twin, throwing his arms around Koutoku with such force that both nearly toppled over. "Aniki, can I go play with some of the boys after
dinner?"

"Did you finish your chores?"

"Hai! All the wood's been chopped and piled."

"Okay. You can go." Shunkoku again threw his arms around his brother. Koutoku winced a little from the bear hug, but couldn't help smiling a little at his younger
twin's joy. With his arm still around Koutoku, Shunkaku half dragged hhis brother into the house.

After dinner, Shunkaku took off to play with some of the village boys. Koutoku and Widow Hitsuke stood in the doorway, watching him and the other boys run off.
The widow clicked her tongue in annoyance. "He goes off to play with the others and leaves you here to clean up. It's disgusting that you have to do all the work,
while he has fun."

"I don't mind," Koutoku said, gently. "He should have fun."

"And so should you. You're the same age. You shouldn't have to work for your keep while he goes and plays."

"I want him to play. It makes him forget his fear for a little while."

"Fear? That boy has no fear. What can he possibly be afraid of?"

"Of losing me," he whispered. "Just as I am afraid of losing him." The widow looked at him, but he had already turned and was heading for the kitchen. He had the
table cleared and the dishes in the sink by the time she joined him.

They washed dishes in silence for a while, then the widow cleared her throat. "I hate to have to bring this up, but I don't really have a choice." She paused for a
moment. "As you may have heard, my son's village was attacked by soldiers. He and his family are all fine, but their home and much of the village was destroyed. So,
they are moving in with me."

She found it difficult to go on, but Koutoku finished for her. "We can't stay here anymore, right?" He saw her head jerk towards him and her mouth open to say
something. He smiled sadly at her. "You don't need to appologize, I understand. You will have your family with you, and you can't afford to feed yet two more
mouths." He looked back at the plate he was drying. Softly he said, "family is important." A fond smile spread across his face as he thought of Shunkaku. A took a
deep breath and looked at the widow again. "When will they be here?"

Her gaze returned to the dishes. "In two days."

"Then Shun and I will stay till then. And please don't worry about us. I've taken care of Shun for many years now. We'll be all right."