FALLEN ANGEL Chapter 9: Sister

“Hold still so I can tie your shoes!”

Yukiko said firmly but gently to the girl who sat bouncing her butt on the bed and fidgeting her feet excitedly while Yuki fiddled with the laces of her black and white converse sneakers. Again, Yukiko went to loop one lace underneath the other but those feet fidgeted excitedly again. Huffing a little, Yukiko took hold of the feet by the ankles and lifted her head with a stern look in her eyes.

“Tsuki-chan!”

She didn’t shout. She didn’t show anger. Absolutely not. She only spoke firm enough to get the girl’s attention sitting on the bed. The girl that looked down at her always made it like looking in a mirror but at the same time, it wasn’t. Not when the girl sitting on the bed had entirely different hair. Longer flowing and black as midnight, in contrast to Yukiko’s shoulder length, platinum blonde. Yukiko tried to maintain a firm composure as the girl met her gaze but the wide, sweet smile on her face made Yukiko unable to help but smirk back up at her.

“May I tie your shoes?” Yukiko asked gently.

“Are we going to sing karaoke?!” Tsukiko Kusanagi asked in a soft, almost whisper of a tone. She lightly clapped her hands together with an innocent joy in her eyes. It was a question she had repeated for probably the third time in the past five minutes.

Yukiko smiled and nodded. “Yes. We are going to sing karaoke but you need your shoes tied, first. Can you hold really still for me? Like a statue?”

“Like the statue game?” Tsuki asked, craning her head to the side with a finger to her lip.

“Yes! Let’s play the statue game!” Yukiko said with the light bulb going on in her head.

“But I thought we were going to karaoke?” Tsuki asked with a saddening pout, suddenly confused as to why her sister was switching things up on her. She didn’t like that. She didn’t like that at all!

“We are! We are, I promise!” Yukiko acted quick, keeping her gentle tone and patted Tsuki’s knee with a smile. “Let’s just play one round of the statue game before we go.”

“And then karaoke?” Tsuki pointed a finger, narrowing her eyes and pouting her lips as if telling her twin sister she’d better not be trying to trick her again.

“And then karaoke.” Yukiko nodded. Tsuki nodded in response and Yukiko started the game. “Okay.” Yukiko said. “Wun, tuu, sree, freeze!” Yukiko said, practicing her English - even as much as the subject bored her in school, Tsuki loved hearing her use it and she wanted to have her sister teach it. But Yukiko said ‘freeze’ and Tsuki threw up her hands in a dramatic pose, her eyes went wide and intense, her lips pursed out like almost like an overexaggerated kiss and she went completely still, not even blinking. ‘Got her!’ Yukiko mused inwardly as she acted quickly. One shoe was tied within a matter of seconds, bunny ears and tucked into the sides the way Tsuki liked it on the left foot. The right shoe was tied equally as fast but Yukiko tucked the loops of those laces underneath the top cross laces so that they flopped out like bunny ears but didn’t drag on the floor. Once both shoes were tied, Yukiko clapped her hands and threw them up in the air. “Aaaaaand game over!”

“I win! You moved, onee-chan!” Tsuki chirped victoriously and clapped her hands again. She threw hand in the air and tilted her head to the side. Her ponytail bobbing to the side as she let out a happy giggle.

“Awwww, I did?” Yukiko played the part of the loser and put on a pout for her sister.

“Heeeeey, it’s okay!” Tsuki patted her sister’s head. “Just keep practicing! Like you tell me!”

Yukiko said nothing. She just smiled warmly up at her twin and thought about how much she adored this girl. Tsuki broke her out of her moment of reiteration, however, when the bubbly fourteen year old noticed something upon looking down.

“Hey! My shoes are tied! Can we go to karaoke now?!” She bounced on the bed again, clapping her hands in sync with each bounce on the Western styled mattress. It was the only way she slept peacefully. She didn’t like being low to the floor like was common in Japanese society when it came to sleeping and sitting.

“Yes.” Yukiko gave her sister a big, confident nod. She didn’t need a hair tie like Tsuki did. Her hair reached just barely passed her jawline. It was how she liked it. It made things easier at school. “Let’s go sing karaoke!” Yukiko held out her hand. Tsukiko took it and wrapped her fingers in with her twin’s. Yukiko stood up and the pair of fourteen year old sisters made their way out of their shared bedroom. “Oka-san! We’re heading out!” Yukiko called over to their mother as Fumiko sat at the living room table, copying down recipes from her friend’s cookbook. Not far off, their three year old little brother Yujiro was sitting on the floor playing with his toys.

Her hand flew across the paper as she jotted things down but the woman paused and looked up to her daughters. She smiled warmly at them both. Tsukiko waved and bounced on the balls of her feet. “We’re going to karaoke!” She said excitedly. Fumiko smiled and removed her reading glasses. “Don’t stay out too late. And don’t spoil your dinner!” She said kindly but firmly. “Yukiko.” She directed most of her attention at her white haired daughter, as it was her responsibility.

Yukiko nodded with a smile. “We’re just gonna go hang out at the karaoke joint for a bit.”

“That sounds wonderful! You girls have fun. Do you need any money?” Fumiko asked, slowly reaching for her purse.

Yukiko shook her head. “We’re good. Thanks, mom!” She still had money left over from her last payment, helping out at the local gym. She couldn’t be put on the payroll yet, officially. Too young. But the owner of the gym had her down as a volunteer who helped keep things tidy a few days of the week during off weeks from school. He was happy to pay her a little under the table. His wife was friends with Yukiko and Tsukiko’s mom so it kind of just worked out perfectly.

“Alright then. Put your coats on! It’s freezing outside.” Fumiko warned her girls but Yukiko already had her jacket on and the hood up and was helping Tsukiko into her puffy powder blue coat. Yukiko fixed her own hood more then pulled Tsukiko’s wool knit cap with the flaps on the sides that ended in little puffy balls. Tsukiko lifted her eyes as her sister adjusted the cap.

“There we go.” Yukiko smiled and nodded to her sister. “All set! Bye mom!” She waved to their mother. “Bye Yuji-kun!” Yujiro looked up with a big wave. “Onee-chaaaaaaaan!”

“Bye mom!” Tsukiko echoed with a more enthusiastic wave as she was carefully lead on through the door of their house. The walk to down wasn’t a long one. Sure, they could have called for a taxi but both girls enjoyed the walk.


“Where’s Yujiro-kun?” Tsukiko asked as they walked, holding hands with Yukiko and swinging their arms.

“Back at the house with mom.” Yukiko said. Anyone who didn’t know her sister would have thought it was a silly question but Yukiko knew it was in the norm.

“Think he’ll come to karaoke with us when he grows up?” Tsukiko asked with excited hope in her voice.

“Oh I think he will.” Yukiko said, looking to Tsuki with a smile.

“Yay!” Tsuki bounced happily. The poofy balls on her winter hat swaying as she did. “Are we going to karaoke now?”

“Sure are!” Yukiko confirmed as they walked, already halfway to where they needed to be. She stopped in her tracks when she saw something up again. Tsukiko kept walking until she ended up tugging herself on her sister’s arm and stopped to look at her twin. “Shit.” Yukiko said softly as she stared ahead at a group of teenagers up ahead, probably about a hundred or so yards up.

Tsukiko gasped. “That’s a bad word!” She said in a hushed whisper. “Yuki-chan! You said a bad word!”

“I know. I’m sorry. Don’t tell mom, okay?” Yukiko asked and put her arm around Tsukiko, keeping her eyes on the group of four teenagers who seemed to be caught up in their own conversation. They didn’t notice the twins. “Let’s go this way.” Yuki said, guiding Tsuki by the hand down another road to the left. It would add a few minutes to their journey but in Yuki’s mind, it was worth it.

“Oh look! More kids!” Tsukiko chimed, now noticing the group that Yukiko was trying to avoid. “Are they the same age as us? HELLO!!!” She called out with a wave. Tsuki suddenly felt herself tugged hard and Yukiko was running. She was running. She had to in order to keep up with her sister.

“Tsuki-chan, no!” Yukiko said in desperation and lead the way down the new street. A quick glimpse over showed the four starting to look over in their direction but they didn’t seem to be approaching. Yukiko gripped Tsukiko’s hand and ran like the wind. She felt tension on Tsuki’s arm telling her that her sister could barely keep up but she didn’t stop. She didn’t stop until they’d ran the rest of the what was left of their journey into the district they needed to be in. When they were there, Yukiko was out of breath. Leaning against the wall, she closed her eyes and started catching her breath. She could feel her heart beating inside of her chest. Yukiko counted to ten slowly until she felt herself calming down. When she was ready, she opened her eyes, Tsukiko was looking at her wide eyed with innocent curiosity. Yukiko reacted, initially, on sheer instinct.

“Tsuki-chan! You can’t keep doing that! Not everyone is friendly! Not everyone is nice!” Yukiko said, letting her annoyance and anger get to her.

Tsukiko fiddled with her fingers in front of her, withdrawing a little. “But...but they were friends.”

Yukiko sighed. “No, Tsuki-chan. They weren’t friends! Not everyone wants to be friends!”

This made Tsukiko look up with a shocked expression on her face. “They don’t wanna be friends?!” She looked like that news was about to make her cry. Yukiko knew she had to change her approach.

“Not those kids.” Yukiko said softly, calming down when she saw Tsukiko about to get upset. Her eyes getting misty. Yukiko stepped forward and took Tsukiko by her shoulders. “Listen to me, onee-chan. There’s different people in the world.”

“Bad people?” Tsukiko said, watching her sister.

Yukiko nodded. “Yes. Good people too...but...lots of bad people. Then there’s people who it’s hard to tell…. Okay?”

“...You’re mad at me.” Tsukiko whimpered, tentatively lifting her eyes up to her twin.

Yukiko immediately felt a sting of pain in her heart and she hugged Tsukiko close but gently. Tsuki didn’t like tight hugs. “No! No no. I’m not mad at you. I just...I got scared is all.”

“You got scared?” She heard Tsukiko whisper in her ear since her face was right near it in their hug. “Were you scared of those kids?”

Yukiko hesitated but she nodded and stepped back from Tsukiko, holding her shoulders still. “Yes. I know who they are and they are not very nice. They are very mean at school.”

“Mean to you?” Tsukiko asked with a curious expression. Yukiko nodded and Tsukiko’s jaw dropped. Her eyes went as wide as saucers. “People should not be mean to onee-chan! You are very nice! You always do things for me! You walk me to school and to my class! You sit with me at lunch! You tie my shoes for me! You help me pick out my outfits! You buy me ice cream! You sing karaoke with me!” Tsukiko was counting on her fingers until she got to the last one and she perked up, looking at Yukiko again. “Oh! Onee-chan! Are we going to karaoke?!”

“Tsuki-chan, Tsuki-chan!” Yukiko spoke gently and cupped her sister’s face in her hands. Tsukiko scrunched her shoulders up as her sister’s palms touched her cheeks. “Sorry. Cold hands, I know.” Tsukiko nodded and shivered with a noise that sounded like a contained squeal. Yuki put her hands on Tsuki’s shoulders then. “I know I am nice to you. Others know I am nice to you. They don’t care. It is just how it is. But it’s fine. We don’t need anyone else. We have each other, right?”

“Oh yeah!” Tsukiko said as if it were a welcome revelation. “What about mom and dad? And Yujiro?”

Yukiko nodded. “Yes, them too. We have our family. We have each other.”

“Family needs to stick together!” Tsukiko bounced happily before she remembered something. “Are we still doing karaoke?”

Yukiko smiled and couldn’t help but giggle softly, booping Tsuki on the nose. “Yes, we’re still going to karaoke. Come on.” She took Tsukiko’s hand again and started leading the way again.

“I love you, Yuki-chan!” Tsukiko said sweetly, beaming big at her twin.

Yukiko smiled softly and warmly. “I love you too, Tsuki-chan.”

“You’re the best sister ever!” Tsukiko squealed, bouncing again.

Yukiko laughed and pulled Tsukiko in and hung an arm around her neck. “I’m your only sister.”

“Oh! Right. You’re right. But I still love you because you’re MY sister!”

My sister….

My sister….

My sister….

Sister….

Sister….

Yukiko’s eyes opened slowly as she awoke and instantly felt regret for doing so. Only a dream…. A dream of a memory she remembered vividly. One of many. Tsukiko loved karaoke. She had a hard time grasping a lot of things but when she had a microphone in her hand and was allowed to sing, she was like a star on the stage. She probably could have been an idol if not for factors in life that made her reliant on others. Sadly now...that wasn’t the case.

Yukiko blinked as she lied there in bed. She felt a drop of moisture run down the side of her face from her eye to her ear. She wiped away the tear and sat up on her futon mattress in her New York apartment. The moment she shifted, pain wracked her body but she made no sound. Other than a hiss and a sigh. She gave herself a once over. Small patches on her arms and legs where tiny cuts were still healing from her last two matches. A cage match and a street fight that may as well have been considered baby’s first deathmatch when she, herself, introduced the barbwire. Yukiko reached over by her low nightstand and grabbed the bottle of water she’d set there the night before. She also grabbed the bottle of painkillers, poured a handful and choked them down. Chugging the bottle of water made that easier. Fuck this job. Yukiko cursed inwardly as she pushed herself to her feet and moved to the trash can of her studio apartment and threw the bottle in. She didn’t bother getting dressed. She wasn’t going anywhere today. Screw it. She stayed in the black tank top and underwear she slept in as she went through her usual morning rounds. She did her rounds in the bathroom; toilet, changed the bandage patch on her face and rewrapped her hand. Two wounds that were probably going to be the only ones that left scars, no matter how faint or noticeable they were. Yukiko was surprised at how well the hole in her hand was ‘filling’ as it healed. Then again she didn’t know how fast wounds like these healed. She’d never exactly had anything pierce through one side of her damn hand and come out the other before. Thanks Jinx. Yukiko thought bitterly until she reiterated mentally that she had the son of a bitch’s belt now.

She finished with her bandages and brushed her teeth. She stumbled back out into her apartment, still groggy and grabbed her cigarettes as she sat down at her computer and woke it up. When the screen lit back up, Yukiko found herself staring at a photo of her next opponent in the wrestling side of things. A young woman new to the company she and Yukiko “Angel” Kusanagi were meeting in but not new to wrestling. Danni Anderson. Or as Yukiko referred to her as on social media, the Flower Girl. Yuki did this for a couple reasons. Danni’s online handle was Sugary Pink Rose, so that was one. And two? Maybe it was just Yukiko but Danni Anderson kind of reminded her of one of her favorite video game characters. That wasn’t why Yukiko was suddenly interested in learning about the girl she was set to face, however. It was something Yukiko picked up on when she approached the girl over social media with the intention to do what she did with every opponent. Get into her head. Taunt her. Torment her. Mock her. Threaten her. Tell her she was going to rip her apart. But...Danni didn’t respond the way everyone else did. She was so laid back and casual in her responses. Yukiko couldn’t place it. She was just...innocent. Almost oblivious to some things that Yukiko was throwing at her. So Yukiko decided to try and do some digging on her. She wasn’t a hacker or able to dig up secret information but it didn’t take much to bring up different fan pages for Danni Anderson the wrestler. It lead to other things that fans linked to the woman. Key words that stood out to Yukiko. Aspergers. ADHD. Autism Awareness. ASD. It immediately confirmed Yukiko’s suspicion. She’s just like Tsuki….

Yukiko dragged on her cigarette as she skimmed over pages again, refreshing her recent memory after she’d stopped reading and went to bed last night. One page she scrolled over was a news article speaking of tragedy that Danni had suffered. Something about the recent death of her boyfriend. A man named Markus Rael. And now Danni was the guardian of Rael’s daughter. Yukiko felt a tug at her heartstrings. She knew she couldn’t let any of this get to her. Yukiko still needed to beat this woman in the ring. She was still her opponent. That and Yukiko still had her own problems she had to deal with and get through. She needed to get back to Japan and take care of things regarding her sister. Though she knew after her last run-in with the Suzuki Family, she probably had a target on her back with the entire Yamamoto Kai aiming at it.

Yukiko brought up a single image of Danni Anderson and just stared at it as she smoked. What was she going to do when it came to her? You don’t deserve what everyone else does. That wasn’t a thought from her mind to belittle the kind English woman. It was true though. Danni Anderson didn’t deserve what Yukiko usually brought to the ring. The aggression. The anger. The pent up animosity for mankind that she used as a weapon against whoever stood across that ring from her. Even Cali-Kate, whom had shown her nothing but respect and honor, wasn’t excluded from Yukiko’s taunting and her ruthless approach to things. But Danni. She reminded Yukiko too much of Tsuki to wanna go into the ring and break her to pieces. Yukiko didn’t want to lose, either. Finish her quickly. Yukiko told herself as she dragged on her cigarette and touched the picture on her screen of the Pink Sugarplum Fairy. I will not hurt her. But I will not cave…. She lifted her gaze then to the door to her computer desk where she kept her things. Yukiko’s gaze lingered on a picture of her and Tsukiko tacked to the wood. They were both smiling with Tsukiko smiling big, her arms wrapped around Yukiko from the side. Even she, herself, was smiling. Yukiko reached up and touched the picture. Sister….