AN: I've been reading Sekaiichi Hatsukoi again and decided to give this story a try.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Warnings: Yaoi, mentions of a transgender character (I don't mean to insult anyone and I'm sorry if I do by accident), some AU, self-insert OC.

She woke up underwater.

For a moment she could only stare dazedly at the golden sunlight dancing on the surface above her. Long strands of brown hair rose up around her as she sank further away from the light and deeper into the darkness that she could feel laid in wait. Muddled confusion and slight panic made her heart beat wildly in her chest as she realized where she was. She jerked for a moment to try and swim up-

-peace little one, you're safe-

-was what overwhelmed her and made all her chaotic emotions disappear and mind fall into a half-sleep once again. Her body relaxed as comfort and pure belonging rushed over her, the only sound she heard was the rhythmic beating of her heart singing a soothing lullaby within the soundless depths.

Distantly she could remember dying, the pain and pleading as she tried to talk her way out of death. Why had she been so afraid? Death came to everyone, right? She was only a single person within the great scheme of the world, no better then any other human that walked beside her.

A little girl with brown hair and excited blue eyes stared up at her with arms raised and gaze pleading.

"Up!"

Longing shot through her body and she suddenly wanted to grab the small being up into a warm hug and never let go. Family had been the reason why she didn't want to leave, they had been her anchor within the chaos of life and stress of work.

A man was idly pressing keys of a piano, long fingers nearly floating each note he played. A soft smile played on his lips, making his blue eyes light up with life and caused her heart skip a beat.

Her husband had been a sweetheart and her best friend when she was in college, though just like any other human being he had his faults, they had been happy.

Loss wasn't a stranger to her, but it was different sort of loss that she felt this time. Instead of losing someone she was the one who took the wrong path and couldn't find her way back.

She wouldn't ever find the path to her family again, it was closed off forever. They would eventually release themselves from their grief and move on with life. Her daughter would grow up to be a strong woman and perhaps even have a family of her own while her husband would watch for the both of them since she wasn't around. She knew without a doubt her husband would be fine, he wasn't one to linger in the past after all and that gave her hope.

If her family was happy she'd be happy.

Idly she wondered if she'd stay conscious the entire time she was...well wherever she was. And if so, how long? The thought of staying underwater for eternity with only her thoughts as company wasn't exactly exciting in her opinion.

Sleep child.

That was probably a good idea, sleeping always made things go by faster. Beside she rather liked closing her eyes and allowing her mind to wander and body rest.

I have something exciting planned for you little one.

That didn't sound very comforting, she'd rather just stay here forever in the warmth and forget about everything. She lived her life right? She didn't receive any awards or become a legend but neither did she regret any choices she made either. She was content with being a normal human and fading away just like everyone else did.

Perhaps, but now it's time for you to go on another adventure, become someone different.

That sounded suspiciously like reincarnation to her, and surely she wasn't special enough to earn such a gift. Heroes were the ones who got to have another chance at life and she most definitely wasn't a hero.

Not only heroes little one, many humans are given the chance to try again while others rest for eternity without a worry.

That sounded like a good idea, she'd rather not have all her memories erased. They were who made her her, she wanted to be able to remember her daughter and hum the melodies her husband played on the piano. Though she knew that she wouldn't miss them if her memories were gone, just imagining not having any relocation of them made her heart clench.

Do not worry, I will not take those memories from you.

How did that make any sense? Wasn't reincarnation about a fresh start and not having the regrets of your past life hinder you in your future one?

For some yes, but for others that isn't the case. Memories are what make humans stronger, allow them to stand up when they're pushed down and face their foe. For this situation those memories are what will help you in your journey.

The more information she was told by the strange voice, the more she just wanted to stay where she was. Having her past memories while living another life sounded complicated. If she was reborn didn't that mean she would be forced into a child's body with an adult mind? She'd be forced to allow someone to baby her when she had spent so long being an adult and making her own choices.

Calm little one, everything will fit into place eventually. For now, sleep, you will awaken when the time is right.

Without her permission she could feel her consciousness start to slip out of her grasp and her eyes start to grow heavy. She would do as the voice said and sleep, hopefully forever.

She woke up in a dark room.

For a moment she stayed where she was, covered in sheets she didn't recognize on a bed she'd never laid on and just stared at the ceiling. Memories of a life she wasn't familiar with ran through her head, a strange asian woman hugging her, a stiff-looking man dressed in a suit telling her to get better grades, a boy with green eyes and brown hair laughing as he ran away from her.

My name is Onodera Ren.

It was odd having two memories converge upon each other so suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped and suddenly she could remember everything. The past with a daughter and husband, along with her present, a twin brother to a boy named Ritsu with a strict father who owned a rather well-known business.

She was a male in this life apparently but she couldn't find it in herself to fully accept the change. She wasn't just Onodera Ren, a quiet boy of ten who liked to read, she was also a twenty-five year old woman with a daughter. She was neither but also both people. Would this be called being transgender? Feeling like she was the opposite sex then what outsiders saw her as, she was pretty sure that's what people would label her as. If she actually came out and told people she thought that way of course.

A body shifting beside her caught her attention and she turned her head to look at the small boy beside her. His face was lax with sleep, brown hair falling down to form side bangs framing his face while his hands rested beside his head. He looked so peaceful, like he didn't have a care in the world.

Ritsu right? For some reason that name sounded familiar to her but she couldn't place it.

The love Ren felt for his brother filtered to her as well, as if she really were the twin brother of the boy beside her and hadn't been anything different. In her past life she never had any siblings, but at the moment she couldn't recall what it felt like not to have a brother beside her.

Ritsu stirred under her gaze and she watched his eyes twitch for a moment before they opened and looked at her sleepily.

"Why are you awake so early Nii-san?"

She shrugged. It came from waking up everyday for five years at the same time thanks to her job, eventually she never slept past eight which was heartbreaking for her since she loved sleeping so much. "I just did."

Ritsu yawned and rolled on his back. "It isn't even a school day Nii-san, you should be sleeping."

Now that was the logical thing to do she supposed, but once she got up there was no way she'd be able to fall back asleep. Not when she woke up in a strange room, with memories of two lives running through her head. She sat up and stretched her arms above her head while glancing around their room. It was nicely decorated in shades of green that matched her brother's eyes and had a few pieces of expensive furniture against the walls. From what she remembered her family was well off since their father owned a publishing department.

It was a change from her past life, that was for sure.

"Man it's way too early. " Ritsu grumbled as he got up and ran a hand through his hair.

She rose a brow his direction. "You could just go back to sleep."

He huffed. "Yeah right, you know that I can't fall asleep without you next to me."

Now that he mentioned it she did recall that, being twins meant they had a very close bond especially since their parents weren't exactly the warmest people on earth. As young children they would comfort each other and eventually bonded so close that they shared the same bed despite the fact that Ritsu had his own room. She couldn't find it in herself to be annoyed by the fact and actually found it nice. Being so close to a family member was a something you couldn't replicate even if you tried.

"I suppose we should head down stairs." She spoke and pushed the sheets away from her body. "Do you think mother and father are home?"

Ritsu shrugged. "Maybe mother but I highly doubt father is."

It was a good thing that she and Ren were so alike when it came to personality, he had always been more mature and quiet then his brother which helped her immensely. Even though adapting was her specialty she didn't think she'd be able to pull of being an excitable child who ran around all the time. She wasn't an actress in the least.

She did wonder why out of all the times to wake up she did so now. She supposed it was better then being an adult in a babies body but at the same time she couldn't help but hope that she didn't just take over some kids body.

Eventually they headed out of their room and downstairs, she followed Ritsu as he headed toward the kitchen so as to take in more of her surroundings. Though she could remember where the bathroom was and what photos contained pictures of her and Ritsu, seeing it in person was different. In all honesty all her memories of her current life felt like a dream while her past was more fresh.

A woman with her hair tied up in a bun turned when they entered the kitchen, her brown eyes curious as she stared at them. "You two are up rather early."

Ristu smiled at her cheerfully. "Yep!"

Akiko was more open then their father but she still held the same air about her, one that wouldn't allow them to pull off any nonsense and expected them to act mature despite their age. It came with their father being so important thus making them have to show the world that they were well-raised and lived up to the Onodera name.

She never had to deal with that sort of pressure, in her past life she was just another human being in the world. People easily forgot about her and didn't think bad of her family if she made a bad first impression, but then again her family was normal as well. Her mother had been a happy woman while her father was a mechanic and tended to listen to ACDC rather loudly when he worked on cars. This current life style was already so different then what she was used to she wasn't quite sure how she would be able to handle it.

"Would you like something for breakfast?" Their mother asked making her loose her train of thought.

Ritsu nodded and instantly headed toward a bowl full of what looked like oranges, instantly she felt her mouth start to water and her feet moved instinctually. She loved oranges with a burning passion that probably wasn't very healthy and apparently it passed onto the boy she was reincarnated as.

Akiko smiled slightly and grabbed a couple before handing them each one. "Here, don't make a mess."

Ritsu nodded happily. "Okay!"

She looked down at the orange in her hand and turned it absentmindedly. Though she was hesitant to fully come to terms with her situation it wasn't all too bad. She had Ritsu and a roof over her head, more then some people in the world. Something was still nagging at her though, for some reason her brothers name rung a bell in her head as if she had heard it before in her past life. Perhaps it was a common one? Well she certainly hadn't met any Ritsu's in Japan before so she wasn't too certain about that.

What could it be...?

Ristu Onodera...Onodera...Oda...

Her orange fell out of her hand and onto the floor with a muted 'thud.'

Holy crap.

"Nii-san?"

She turned to look at Ritsu and actually looked at him. Brown hair, wide green eyes, father who owns a publishing company...

She was in Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.

She tried to recall everything she knew about the Manga, Ritsu was going to meet Takano in High School and fall in love with him immediately, they'd have a small fling before Ritsu would take something Takano did wrong and run off to study abroad. Ten years later they would meet and then...lot and lots of yaoi.

Ren Onodera was the twin brother Ritsu had never had in the Manga, she was the main character's sibling.

Well wasn't that just great? She had to deal with her brother getting attacked by a man who wanted to get into Ritsu's pants constantly, in fact she was pretty sure she'd need to break Ritsu out of 'I can only sleep with you' habit very soon. Homosexuality was fine in her books but there was no way she'd sleep in the same bed when they were going at it like rabbits.

Maybe she shouldn't move in with Ritsu when he got older since he and Takano had sex everywhere seemingly whenever the mood hit them.

Out of all the Manga and Anime out there she was put in this one, a very peaceful but dangerous universe for those who were Uke's. At least she didn't get put into something like Naruto or Tokyo Ghoul where she'd have to learn to survive or be killed. Still this was dangerous since real life also held it's predators called Seme's, she wasn't certain anyone would try to attack her but she felt for her brother. It must be tough having that much sex with such an enthusiastic partner.

A hand placed on her fore-head broke her out of her thoughts and she blinked up at her mother's concerned face.

"Are you okay Ren?"

She nodded dazedly.

Akiko pursed her lips with concern. "You looked like you were in shock for a moment, did anything happen?"

"No I just remembered something important." She replied honestly. "I'll be okay."

Her mother sighed and stood up. "If you say so."

She watched as the older woman walked back to cleaning the dishes and then looked down at the orange she had dropped. Slowly she crouched down and grabbed it, a million thoughts racing through her head as she examined the fruit in her hand.

She'd have to be very careful not to change anything, everything happened for a reason and she wasn't about to play God on the characters. Maybe from time to time she'd try to help Ritsu figure out some things but otherwise she'd just keep to herself. There really wasn't anything for her to do here anyways, no one to save or try to find, this world was peaceful compared to some Manga she had read.

"Are you sure you're okay Nii-san?"

She got up and turned toward her brother, forcing a small smile on her face. "Of course, just thinking."

Ritsu eyed her for a moment before seemingly accepting her answer. "Wanna go outside?"

"Sure."

Though she had no idea why she was placed here she'd make the best of it and try to live life to the fullest, there were so many things she could do here. The first thing she'd aim for was joining a swimming team, since that was her second favorite thing, and then she'd try to figure out if she wanted to follow Ritsu into publishing. It would be a good chance to be around the characters but also not make it her life goal to meet them, she loved reading and writing so publishing was something she'd be good at.

For now she'd relax and enjoy her freedom, she didn't need to worry about bills or going to work right now she could be a child again.

AN: So this idea just came into my head as I was writing this chapter and I couldn't help myself. Sorry for any mistakes and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Any thought of who Ren should be paired with?