Perhaps I should have. Perhaps the logical thing would have been to back down, ask for time, choose a side. But when I saw them there, facing each other, so alike and yet so broken in opposite ways, I understood something with a clarity I'd never felt before.
If I chose only one, I would lose them both.
I held out my hands.
Hikari looked at me first, surprised, with that fragile expression she only showed when her smile wasn't enough to protect her. Kuro, on the other hand, frowned, as if she already knew something was about to slip out of her control.
I took both hands at the same time.
"Jaika..." Hikari murmured, "What are you doing?"
Kuro tried to pull away, but not forcefully.
"That's not how it works," she said. "You can't..."
Before either of them could finish the sentence, I gently pulled their hands toward me and wrapped them in a hug.
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't sudden.
It was steady.
"Relax..." I whispered. "Just breathe."
Silence fell like a warm blanket.
I felt them both tense up at first, like wounded animals unsure whether to flee or attack. Then, little by little, their bodies relaxed. Hikari rested her forehead on my shoulder. Kuro let out a long, tired sigh.
When I stepped back a little, I saw them.
They were both blushing. Hikari's blush was as red as a tomato, while Kuro's was barely noticeable, but still present.
"This is absurd," Kuro murmured, looking away.
"Jaika..." Hikari said, "you're going to get confused."
I smiled gently.
"No. For once, everything makes sense."
I took their hands again and led them home. Neither resisted. The air was different. There was no hostility. Just nervousness... and something akin to the fear of being truly seen. The walk was silent through the streets, now dark as night fell.
I didn't force them to speak, knowing how delicate this was, so I let them remain silent, at least until I opened the door and we sat down on the sofa in the living room.
"Speak," I said. "Both of you."
Hikari tightened her fingers against her skirt.
"I didn't want you to find out like this..."
Kuro let out a bitter laugh.
"She never wanted anyone to know."
I glanced between them.
"Then start from the beginning."
The silence stretched on. Then Hikari spoke.
"There was a time," she said, "when the pain was too much."
Her voice was soft, but trembling.
"We lost something important. Something that defined us. I didn't know how to bear it... so I smiled. I pretended. I decided that if I acted like everything was okay, someday it would be."
Kuro closed her eyes.
"And someone had to carry what you left behind," she added. "The anger. The fear. The guilt of still being alive."
Hikari looked at her.
"I didn't want to leave you..."
She murmured softly. Kuro just looked into her eyes before taking a breath and answering quietly.
"But you did."
The words weren't spoken with hatred. They were spoken with weariness.
"I kept the memories," Kuro continued. "The sleepless nights, the unanswered questions, the 'why?' You kept the light."
"Because I thought that's how I would save us," Hikari whispered.
I looked at them, and the truth settled inside me like a final piece.
"You're not two people," I said. "You're the same person..."
They both nodded.
"Two ways of surviving," Hikari said.
"Two halves that should never have been separated," Kuro said.
I stood up and knelt in front of them.
"So listen to me now."
I took their hands again.
"I don't want to choose which part of you to love. I want to love all of you. The part that smiles... and the part that remembers. The part that comforts... and the part that hurts."
Hikari began to cry silently.
"What if we hurt you?" she asked. "What if we're not... easy to love?"
Kuro stared at me.
"We're not pretty," she said. "Not together."
I smiled.
"No one real is."
The air seemed to break.
Hikari leaned toward Kuro, hesitant. Kuro looked at her, tense... and then, for the first time, didn't look away. Their foreheads touched.
"I'm sorry," Hikari whispered.
"Me too," Kuro replied.
Something shifted. They didn't disappear. They didn't merge into light or shadow. They reconciled. I smiled and sat on the edge of the sofa.
"She never wanted anyone to know."
I glanced between them.
"Then start from the beginning."
The silence stretched on. Then Hikari spoke.
"There was a time," she said, "when the pain was too much."
Her voice was soft, but trembling.
"We lost something important. Something that defined us. I didn't know how to bear it... so I smiled. I pretended. I decided that if I acted like everything was okay, someday it would be."
Kuro closed her eyes.
"And someone had to carry what you left behind," she added. "The anger. The fear. The guilt of still being alive."
Hikari looked at her.
"I didn't want to leave you..."
She murmured softly. Kuro just looked into her eyes before taking a breath and answering quietly.
"But you did."
The words weren't spoken with hatred. They were spoken with weariness.
"I kept the memories," Kuro continued. "The sleepless nights, the unanswered questions, the 'why?' You kept the light."
"Because I thought that's how I would save us," Hikari whispered.
I looked at them, and the truth settled inside me like a final piece.
"You're not two people," I said. "You're the same person..."
They both nodded.
"Two ways of surviving," Hikari said.
"Two halves that should never have been separated," Kuro said.
I stood up and knelt in front of them.
"So listen to me now."
I took their hands again.
"I don't want to choose which part of you to love. I want to love all of you. The part that smiles... and the part that remembers. The part that comforts... and the part that hurts."
Hikari began to cry silently.
"What if we hurt you?" she asked. "What if we're not... easy to love?"
Kuro stared at me.
"We're not pretty," she said. "Not together."
I smiled.
"No one real is."
The air seemed to break.
Hikari leaned toward Kuro, hesitant. Kuro looked at her, tense... and then, for the first time, didn't look away. Their foreheads touched.
"I'm sorry," Hikari whispered.
"Me too," Kuro replied.
Something shifted. They didn't disappear. They didn't merge into light or shadow. They reconciled. I smiled and sat on the edge of the sofa.
And then they both turned toward me. I smiled, confused.
"What's wrong?" I asked with a small smile, and then watched as they both approached.
They looked at each other nervously. Hikari was the first to make a move; she came closer and sat on my lap before kissing me—a soft, trembling kiss, full of relief. I blushed instantly; I could swear I looked like a tomato.
Then Kuro approached. She sat behind me, her arms around my waist. Then she carefully brought her face close to mine and kissed me with a restrained, honest, deep... raw... intensity. Something very... Kuro...
"What's wrong?" I asked with a small smile, and then watched as they both approached.
They looked at each other nervously. Hikari was the first to make a move; she came closer and sat on my lap before kissing me—a soft, trembling kiss, full of relief. I blushed instantly; I could swear I looked like a tomato.
Then Kuro approached. She sat behind me, her arms around my waist. Then she carefully brought her face close to mine and kissed me with a restrained, honest, deep... raw... intensity. Something very... Kuro...
There was no jealousy.
No rejection.
Only acceptance.
I leaned closer to Kuro as my hands gently began to caress Hikari's hair, feeling how, for the first time, light didn't deny darkness... and darkness didn't reject light.
That night, the mirror of my dreams didn't show one reflection.
It showed two...
Ending 3: "Loving you meant accepting all versions of you... even the ones you learned to hate."
No rejection.
Only acceptance.
I leaned closer to Kuro as my hands gently began to caress Hikari's hair, feeling how, for the first time, light didn't deny darkness... and darkness didn't reject light.
That night, the mirror of my dreams didn't show one reflection.
It showed two...
Ending 3: "Loving you meant accepting all versions of you... even the ones you learned to hate."
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