Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Through A Mirror Darkly ❯ Plans Are Made ( Chapter 3 )

She walked along the paths that criss-crossed their way through the lush gardens which populated thisworld like a flowering paradise. Fountains flowed and gurgles all around and sent a relaxing feeling all through those who walked it's paths eiher alone or with their twin selves.

As she walked, Toshi gazed longly at the couples around her, many different species, many different walks of life. All whole and with each other because they knew who they were. Some, when they were called, choose to stay in thisworld instead of going through the mirror into otherworld, where she longed to be.

She paused to pick up a stone and skip it across the surface of the fishpond, watching the lazy fish swim around and scatter as the rock coursed across the top. She sighed and sank to her knees, gazing at herself in the water's reflection. Her white hair was sticking up on her head as usually and her dark eyes looked pale in the water. Her tail, the same hue as her hair, flapped absently behind her.

"Toshi! Toshi!" She turned as she heard her name and smiled as she saw her cousin, Kyoko and her dark twin, approach.

The little kitsune twins, their shape that of normal human girls now, having decided to show up without their bushy black tails and perky dark fox ears like normal, approached Toshi and she could see just by looking at them that they had some juicy bit of news they just couldn't wait to pass on.

They sank to their knees besides the girl in the grass, slipping off their shoes and dipping their toes into the sun-warmed water of the fishpond. Kyoko smoothed back her silvery-black hair and her twin repeated the gestured with own dark locks, "Did you hear about Mara?" She asked, her eyes glittering, she was always the little gossip of the family, "She tried to call her twin and was refused!"

Toshi gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. There could be no worse thing in the world than to call and be denied! She felt her stomach churn in fear of her own twin's rejection. She felt sorry for their friend. "Poor Mara…"

"I know!" Kyoko said, her eyes wide, her twin's eyes mirroring her own as she nodded beside her in the grass, "Her mothers say she won't even come out of her room! She hasn't eaten in three days!"

"Oh, no!" Toshi said, "We can't let her starve herself! We have to help her, Kyoko!"

"How?" The smaller girl spread her hands, "What's done is done. Mara called and was rejected. How can we help her?"

Toshi shook her head, uncertain. She had her own problems to deal with, didn't she? But Mara was like a sister to her…she'd helped care for her after her parents and their twins were killed…She'd known Mara had been trying to coax her twin to call her for years, just as she had been trying to get her's to summon her. But, she had not ever been directly refused before!

"To tell you the truth, cousin," Kyoko was saying, and her twin was nodding and looking grim, she finished the for her twin; "I think she should just kill herself and save our family the shame…"

"Kyoko!" Toshi cried, scandalized over her cousin's words; "How can you be so heartless! Mara's suffering right now and she needs us!" She got to her feet and brushed the grass cuttings from her skirt, glaring down at her little innocently looking relative, ashamed to be of the same blood.

"Where are you going?" Kyoko's twin called out.

"To see Mara." She answered, not looking over her shoulder, "To let her know that not all of us are ashamed of her!"

Had she looked back, Toshi would have seen the look of hurt that passed over both faces behind her, but she did not. She continued on towards where she knew her friend lived with her mother and her dark twin. She couldn't imagine the pain the older girl was going through…she hated to think what it would be like…but she curbed that train of throught. Just because her twin hadn't yet realized she had been seeking him didn't mean he'd rejected her!

No. She still had time. Maybe she could help Mara as well. She didn't know, but she could try. Nothing bad could come of trying, could it?

She knocked on the door and Lucia, Mara's mother, opened it, she always seemed to glow with the light of an inner warmth and made Toshi feel at home and comfortable. Her twin was behind her, holding a basket of flowers she was in the process of arranging for a the mantle over the fireplace. Toshi nodded a greeting towards Maria and asked about Mara.

"She's in her room." Lucia sighed, looking forelorn, "She hasn't come out in three days…and she refuses to answer her door…"

"Can I talk to her, Lucia?" Toshi asked, touching the woman's arm gently, "Maybe I can help."

"Maybe," She agreed, "Go ahead. She might talk to you since you are nearly the same age…"

Toshi nodded. She wasn't near the same age as Mara, in fact, she was young enough to be her daughter, but since, in thisworld people did not age as they did in otherworld it made little difference. She took the stairs two at a time and rapped upon her friend's bedroom door with her knuckles.

"Mara?" She called, "It's me, Toshi! Can I come in?"

"Go away!" Came Mara's muffled cry and Toshi thought she might be laying with her face buried in her pillow. "I don't wanna see anyone! I should be dead!"

"Don't say that, Mara!" Toshi cried, "It's going to be okay! Let me in, okay? I think I can help."

Silence. She could hear sniffing behind the door and movement. Finally, Mara unlocked the door and opened it. Toshi tried to disquise her shock at her friend's apperance. Mara's dark locks were bedraggled and hanging in greasy strings down her pale, gaunt face, her eyes were hollow and dark-rimmed. She had creases about her eyes and mouth as she stared at her friend across the doorway. "Well? What do you mean?"

Toshi moved passed Mara and sprawled out onto the bed, playing with the pink ruffled comforter for a moment before answering. "We could do a double summoing."

Mara gasped, her hand to her throat. "Toshi!" She cried, "Those are dangerous! And even if we don't manage to end up…scattered…what if we're caught? My mothers would skin me alive!"

"Just a minute ago you wanted to kill yourself." Toshi said, sighing, "What's the big deal. The least we can do is try!"

"Yeah, but…"

"You want your twin or not, Mara?" Toshi said, cutting swiftly to the heart of the matter.

"Of course."

"Then we'll do it." Toshi said, her own heart racing at the thought, what if we're successful? She grabbed Mara's hand in her own, "Tonight. At midnight. Come to our secret place in the forest…bring the mirror."

"And you bring yours." Mara sighed, giving in, she could not hide her heart's desire, "I hope this works, Toshi…"

Toshi smiled. It will. It had to!