TWO ; SUN CHARM

"I FINISHED WASHING the moon rock for you, Nene!" Her mother called out from the kitchen, placing the rock down on the table with a cloth underneath to dry it.

Quickly, Nene hopped off the couch and rushed to the table, already missing the mere rock. Nene felt anxious the whole time her mother washed the dishes and tossed her moon rock along with with it. What if okā-san accidentally drops it and flushes it? What if the rock cracks to pieces? She thought with her lip bitten so hard that it turned red and swollen.

Her mother sighed, seeing Nene hug and nurture her rock as if it was a child of her own. It must be really precious to her to push Nene into this state of overprotection over a rock. A rock. "Are you going to keep that rock as a pet or something, Nene?" She gently asked, bending to reach her daughter's height. "You could name it Tobi or something."

"No, it'll be my good luck charm!" Nene exclaimed. "I have to give something to Amane-kun back when we meet again! I have to, I have to!" Nene glanced at the rock.

I love you! the rock said.

Okay, Nene replied.

Name me Tobi or something! The rock begged.

Nene felt torn.

Nene's mother chuckled and carried her to her bed room. "Okay, I get it. We're going to find something to give to Amane-san back." She pinched Nene's cheeks as the girl whined, bursting into a fit of giggles. "Okā-san is very happy to see you make a new friend but do you know how old was the boy?"

Nene blinked, suddenly nervous. "No. Why? Is it important?" That's not good. Maybe Nene can guess and say he's seven, but that would mean lying to her mother and Nene didn't want that! Amane looked like he was around her age, and Nene just turned seven, like Amane's favorite number.

"If he's 10 then tell okā-san, alright? You're going to reach that age soon and you have a lot to learn," her mother told her and left her room without any more explanation, the sound of her feet fading as she entered her own room.

Nene could only longingly stare at the rock sitting idly on the desk near her lamp, a smile making its way to her tired face. It almost glowed, Nene noticed, the light gave the rock light, too, like they were sharing light or something—Nene wondered if the rock was able to glow the way the moon did, or chase after the sun and never reach it.

Nene was sure of one thing, though. Nothing can shine brighter than Amane's eyes.

—

Nene stared at the heaping mess on her bed with displeasure.

As soon as Nene woke up, she remembered she had dreamt about a memory of her step-father collecting some charms to give to her as a gift—Nene always marvelled at each one her dad brought home—and she recalled her favorite sun charm. Her mother offered to make it a necklace or an accessory of some sort but Nene declined and said she liked it better when she's holding it like a lucky charm. The sun charm, as she remembered, hadn't been used since the day her father left abroad, which meant it was buried somewhere, deep within the stack of charms she had gained throughout the years.

She rummaged through the pile, her small hands digging and digging until she spotted a bright yellow ( and unfortunately rusty ) sun charm. Nene beamed and snatched the charm away from her now-dusty bed. Her mother would get mad if she ever saw this—

If she ever saw this. Nene evilly laughed inside her head.

Nene carelessly placed the charms back on the highest drawer on her desk, smiling proudly as she held the charm in her fist.

She hoped Amane would like it.

Nene trudged outside and carefully made her way downstairs, her steps so precise that in each step of the stair she made sure to land two of her feet first. Nene heard her mother softly humming from the kitchen, the rays of the sun illuminating her mother's graceful features, her face almost glowing because of the bright sun.

Yashiro Nanako was always the graceful woman. High cheekbones, long eyelashes, perfectly-shaped nose, taller than most women, a gentle voice that can lull anyone to sleep in an instant, and a calming scent of vanilla. Nene wanted to be like her mother someday, a strong but beautiful woman.

Nene was the complete opposite of her mother. She had round cheeks, short eyelashes, small nose, fat ankles, and doe-like eyes compared to her mother's half-lidded ones. She was clumsy by nature, had a high-pitched voice, and she didn't even know what she smelled like.

Amane told her she smelled like her mama, but what did his mama smell like? Maybe mint? Lavender? Rose? Honey? All of those are good smells. But what if her mother's perfume was a smelly sock? Expired milk? Rotten egg? Fish that had been left out for weeks?

Nene shook her head. Doesn't matter. Amane seemed to like her smell so she thought nothing of it—not that she needed Amane's approval or anything like that. If Amane liked smelly fish then Nene wouldn't mind smelling like smelly fish.

"Okā-san, what do I smell like?" Nene asked her mother as she sat on one of the chairs, looking up hopefully at her mother, curiosity dripping in her tone. She fiddled with the charm, hiding it underneath their glass table, hoping her mother couldn't see . . . past the glass table.

Nanako skillfully handed Nene a plate full of her favorite breakfast, never tripping nor stumbling, never even hesitating—Nene remembered her mother's past ambition as a ballerina. Maybe Nene should also start ballet? She might need her mother's opinion on that.

"What do you smell like?" She repeated the question, her tone sounding cheery than usual as her scent seemed to bubble nicely. Nene could feel warmth surround her—not too hot, not too cold; just perfect to relax in. Nene thought again, it smells like joy. "Why do you ask?" Her mother questioned. Nene didn't realize her mother was attempting to avoid the subject.

Nene absentmindedly reached on her pocket, where a small rock was lying on. "Amane-kun told me I smell like his mama's perfume. I don't know what I smell like, but I know what you smell like." Nene babbled on. "Is that normal? I didn't smell anything from Amane so I don't have super smell."

Nanako sighed and dropped on the seat across Nene's. "Do you really want to know about second genders?"

Nene perked up. Her mother had mentioned second genders before, about two years ago. There was something about her mother classified as an onega– omeka– omega ( whatever that is; Nene found it too weird to pronounce back then ) and her father was a beta—there were three second genders ( what a confusing thing to say ) and Nene didn't know anything aside from what her mother and father are classified as.

"Remember what I told you?" Nanako asked. "There's a boy and a girl. We're girls, we're women, we're female. Your dad is a man, he is a male. With second genders, you have alpha, beta, and omega," she told Nene, who intently listened with wide eyes, itching to grab a notebook even though she wouldn't be able to catch up. She wished her mother wouldn't use hard words. "You can change your first gender, you can be a boy. But your second gender is the gender you can never change."

"What am I, okā-san?" Nene asked, blinking owlishly. "Am I a beta like outo-san? What do betas do?"

Nanako giggled at her daughter's excitement. "How about we eat while I talk to you about it? Your school will teach you about it, though, there's no rush."

Nene and Nanako clasped their hands together, muttering a thank you for the food before Nene dug in, patiently waiting for her mother to continue with no intent to wait until school to learn about second genders.

"You'll only know your second gender once you're past ten. At least, that was my case. Your mother is an omega, remember? Omegas are the lowest. When you're an omega, you're seen as weak." Nene gasped, offended on her mother's behalf. Her mother is far from weak! Nanako chuckled. "It's okay, I don't think I'm weak either. Your father is a beta, they're in the middle. Now there's alphas. They're the highest in the chain, like leaders. If you're an alpha, you're strong."

Nene wanted to be an alpha. She really wished she could be an alpha. Just the thought of being looked up to, the thought of being strong and beautiful like her okā-san; like a protagonist of her story. It raised stars in her fuchsia eyes.

Nanako's smile dimmed. "Amane-san might be an alpha." She said it sadly, like she didn't want it to be true. Why was that? She said alphas aren't bad, she said they were amazing!

The cream-haired girl's eyes widened in amazement. "Really? Amane-kun's an alpha? He does seem super strong. He caught a moon rock for me!" She pridefully reminded her mother again. "I want to be an alpha, too."

Nene was glad to see her mother's smile again. She didn't like the bitter smell that lingered in the air. It reminded her of her first father, it was a smell Nene didn't like and Nene wanted to forget. It seemed as though her mother had thought the same—in the haze of her mother's eyes, she could almost grasp the harsh memories that flashed in her mind.

"Even if you aren't an alpha, will you promise okā-san that you'll stay strong for me?" Nanako's voice is so sweet and quiet, like a sad, gentle whisper. Nene wanted to wipe the tear that rolled down her mother's naturally flushed cheeks. "You promise me that you won't get bossed around, you promise me that you will carefully choose the people you want to stay with forever, okay?"

Nene nodded. "Okay, okā-san!"

—

Amane gushed at the sun charm on his palm, his eyes still wobbly with disbelief. He looked like he was about to cry at the mere sight of the charm, Nene hoped he wouldn't cry, she didn't know how to handle kids who cried, despite the fact that Amane is probably around her age.

"How old are you, Amane-kun?" Nene asked, awkwardly patting the sniffling boy on the shoulder. "I'm seven years old! You look like you're seven."

Amane shook his head, sobbing and holding the sun charm tightly. "No, I'm still six. I'm about to turn seven, though. Tsukasa and I will turn seven soon." Again, Nene didn't know who Tsukasa was, but nodded nonetheless. "Thank you for the gift, Nene!" He cried out, hugging Nene as the girl yelped.

"Eh? Since when did Amane-kun start calling me Nene?"

"Your mama called you that so I called you Nene, too!"

"What are you two doing?"

Nene and Amane turned to the source of the voice, startled. Nene gaped at the sight of the boy that seemed to be a carbon copy of Amane—scabby-kneed, around her height, bright golden eyes, messy, black hair—save for the detail of his eyes. Who is he!? Nene screamed in her head, panicking. Did Amane clone himself?

"Tsukasa!" Amane exclaimed in surprise, letting go of Nene, embarrassed. Tsukasa grinned in his response, giving Nene a perfect view of his sharp fangs. Amane didn't have fangs.

"So you're Tsukasa?" Nene wondered aloud. The two boys turned to her and she almost flinched. Almost. Nene won't let Amane and Amane's clone, Tsukasa, know that she is intimidated by their doubled presence.

"We're twins."

"Oh."

Amane skipped to Tsukasa's side, both of them raising their shoulders and grinning, the eerie similarities between them giving Nene a big headache. If she didn't see Amane walk up ( and if she never memorized the details in Amane's eyes ) she never would've known which is who. They both acted the same and—like Nene said—are complete carbon copies of each other. No originality.

Nene sniffed the air, a strong smell reaching her nose. It smelled like mint and grass mixed together, Nene didn't really know what to make of the strong scent that came from the two boys. Now that it wasn't cold, Nene could smell a little bit better ( she still can't smell herself ) and Amane and Tsukasa's scent whirled around each other, so close and so hard to tell apart.

"Should I give you a charm, too?" Nene asked Tsukasa.

Amane quickly gasped and shook his head, flailing his arms around. "No, no, that's our thing!" Nene giggled and nodded as Tsukasa just watched her with piercing yellow eyes.

Nene noticed that Tsukasa didnt have bruises on his neck to shoulder like Amane did.

—

AUTHOR'S NOTE: i don't actually know Nene's mother's real name ^^; if they mention it in the manga, i'll change it!! ( even tho i don't think that'll happen. )