This first chapter is the prologue, and set in second year, but most of the story will be in third year. It's pretty depressing, but I promise the rest of the story wont be like that.

Chiriko Asano followed her father and brother into the house, that seemed to large yet so empty. It was like a completely different world compared to the small but homely apartment she'd shared with her mother, back when mother was alive. The listless grey walls, and dull rooms looked so cold and impersonal to her, Chiriko felt as if she was going to burst into another fit of tears, but she really didn't want to, because she knew it would make her father annoyed and her brother uncomfortable.

"Your room is the second floor on the left. It is yours to decorate how you please. But I do not tolerate untidiness in this house." Her father said, his voice devoid of any emotion. He wore the same neutral expression he had the whole time throughout his ex-wife's funeral. Chiriko couldn't believe this was the same man who used to take her and her brother on walks around the park, and taught them to ride bikes and play piano. "I have work to do. Ask Asano-kun if you need any assistance with your bags. You will attend your new school on Monday."

With that, the man turned and walked away to his office, as if he were completely unconcerned that the daughter he hadn't seen in seven years was now living with him, as if he didn't care that his children had just been to their own mother's funeral. Chiriko didn't know what she expected; A hug maybe? or some words of reassurance? Instead she was left standing in the hallway, feeling abandoned. She felt tears sting her eyes.

Oh great, now I'm going to cry again.

"I'll take the heavier bags, you just carry the lighter ones." Gakushuu said, breaking Chiriko out of her thoughts. He was probably worried she was going to cry again, every time she had started sobbing at the funeral, he had looked on edge, and awkwardly offer her a tissue.

"T-Thank you." Chiriko replied, not trusting herself to say any more than that. The boy before her looked like a stranger to her. The brother she remembered was Shu-chan, six years old, always smiling, practically identical to her. But after eight years of not seeing each other, Gakushuu had grown a lot. Now he was Asano, a handsome teenage boy who was taller than her, who seemed almost as cold as their father. They only thing they had in common was their eye and hair colour.

"Since we'll be living together, and going to the same school, I'll be happy to show you the ropes and give you any help you feel you need." Gakushuu said to her, but he didn't sound helpful, he sounded as if he were saying it out of obligation. His tone was too polite, too indifferent. Chiriko sighed. This didn't feel like living with family at all.

If Chiriko thought back far enough, she could remember a time when all the Asano's had been a family. Daddy was a teacher at a cram school, he didn't make a lot of money from it, but that didn't matter because he loved his job (plus he made a fortune doing grown-up business stuff like investments), and Mummy stayed at home and wrote books. It would be hard for her to get a normal job, because she was from America, so her Japanese wasn't exactly perfect, but Mummy didn't care anyway, because she always said she'd rather write than work in some boring office.

Growing up like that seemed to pass by like one happy blur; Family outings, starting school, playing with Shuu and the other kids in the street. Chiriko and Gakushuu were always together, they looked so identical, that if they wore the same clothes nobody could tell them apart.

But all of a sudden, out of nowhere, everything changed. It happened on a day like any other; Gakushuu and Chiriko, aged four, were sat playing together with their toys when they heard the door go.

"Daddy!" The twins both jumped up to greet him. Their father had come home late today because he was visiting an old student of his, Ikeda. Instead of leaning down and scooping the siblings up like he usually did, their father just pushed past them with a dark expression on his face, ignoring their cries for attention.

"What's wrong, Daddy?" Chiriko asked, looking at her father confused. He'd never ignored them like that before.

"Did we do something wrong?" Gakushuu questioned, looking a little hurt. Their father just looked at the two of them with cold violet eyes, that sent a shiver up Chiriko's spine, and made her feel scared of her father for the first time in her life. Gakushuu took her hand, so she could tell he was feeling the same.

"Just leave me alone. Please." Their father said. He sounded as if he were straining to keep his voice even, as if he were trying not to shout. He walked upstairs without another word, leaving behind the twins who shared a confused and upset look.

Later that night, when the twins were in their beds, Mummy came to tuck them in.

"Were's Daddy?" Chiriko asked, since normally both parents tucked them in together.

"Is he mad at us? Did we do something wrong?" Gakushuu asked, looking worried. Their mother's expression softened. She looked sad for some reason.

"No, sweetie, he's not mad at you two." Mummy said, sitting on the edge of the bed. It looked as if she'd been crying. "Something sad happened to him. So he might be a bit off for a little while. But we all have to be there for him, and give him space when he needs it. Can you do that?"

The twins both nodded- They'd both do anything for their father.

Being a bit off for a little while turned into their Father acting like a completely different person for days, then weeks, and then months.

For the first few days he stayed in his room, not even mother's best cooking or the twins sparkly 'Feel better soon' cards could coax him out. Then, out of nowhere, he decided to close down his cram school a few weeks later.

"But I thought it was doing really well, and you really loved it!" Chiriko had protested. Her father gave her a cold look.

"That establishment was just a representation of my weaknesses and failures as an educator. If I want a truly successful school that raises truly successful students, I will have to first have to learn to be come strong myself, and then start again from scratch." Father had replied. He used big words that Chiriko and Gakushuu didn't quite understand. He had been doing that a lot lately, when he wasn't ignoring them.

After that, their father wasn't home often. He was always away 'learning the meaning of strength'. Chiriko didn't understand, because she thought her father was amazing, and already the strongest Dad in the whole street, and Gakushuu agreed, and he was the smartest kid she knew. Him being away all the time made Mummy sad too, even though she pretended to smile. The twins could often see tear-stains down her face. Her and Daddy were arguing more and more. They had a big argument after he missed the twin's birthday, and new years eve (Which were on the same date, basically). No ammount of birthday cake and presents could make Gakushuu and Chiriko any less dissapointed.

"I wish Daddy would stop being off. He hasn't played with us in weeks." Chiriko complained to Gakushuu one time when they were riding their bikes up and down the streets. Gakushuu scowled.

"I don't think he likes us any more. And I don't like him any more!" He huffed. But Chiriko knew the latter part wasn't true because Gakushuu was always after their fathers attention.

Then, all of a sudden, their father went from ignoring the twins, to becoming very interested in them. But he didn't play any more. He wanted to know their height, and their weight. He kept gave them lots of tests on paper with numbers and big words, and measured how fast they could run. It was hard and boring, but both of them were just glad Dad was paying attention to them again.

"These results are very disappointing." Father told them, when they completed their tests. He had them sit opposite him in his office, like they were school children being chastised by their head master. "Gakushuu, your academic results are only that of a first grader, and Chiriko, you are below even that. And both of you had poorer physical results than a child in the first grade. In short, you are both failures."

The twins both flinched at the harsh words.

"That's because we're not in the first grade yet!" Chiriko complained, annoyed she had spent all day doing boring tests just to get told off.

"That is irrelevant." The Chairman said, using another big word the five year old twins didn't understand. "You are my children. I expect you to be better than the rest. You must be better than the rest if you wish to do well in life. More than that. You must be the best."

"We can't be the best at everything!" Gakushuu frowned.

"Not unless you work at it." Their father said, leaning back in his seat and crossing his fingers. " I have devised a regime to ensure you fulfill your maximum potential."

After that, the twins care-free life was filled with cram-school, and extra sports clubs, and music lessons, and tutors. There was no time to play any more. Everything was work work work. And nobody was happy. Their mother and father argued even more about the children's upbringing.

"For heaven's sake! They're children! You're pushing them too hard! You are ruining their childhood."

"You are the one ruining their potential by coddling them, and stifling them."

Chiriko started getting in lots of arguments with father too, for bunking off from her lessons and running away from her tutors. It wasn't her fault they were all so boring and she wanted to play! Besides. She didn't run away from all of them, just the really nasty tutors who yelled at her every time she made a mistake. Her father gave her countless lectures on how she was going to become a failure, but Chiriko was too annoyed to listen most of the time.

Even Chiriko and Gakushuu had started arguing. He always did whatever father said, never bunking off from his insane scheduled to play with his sister like they used to, even though Chiriko knew he was bored and tired.

"Why wont you skip just once, and we can go play by the lake like we used to?"

"Because I hate it when Father calls me a failure so much! I have to prove him wrong and show him he's an idiot for ever thinking I'm weak!"

It carried on like that for another year; Their father opened a middle-school and a high-school, the twins entered first grade, and their mother filed for divorce.

Chiriko wasn't exactly sure how the divorce proceedings went- She was too young to understand such things. But at the end of the process, her mother won custody of her, and her father won custody of Gakushuu.

The twins were distraught when they were told they had to move away from one another. They even attempted to run away together, but that wasn't very successful.

The day Chiriko had to move out was the worst. Her father and Gakushuu stood by the door to see them off. Daddy had a tight grip on her brother's shoulders, as if he were afraid he was going to try and leave with them. Gakushuu kept looking as if he were going to cry, but their father tightened his grip on his shoulders every time he sniffed.

Chiriko ran over and hugged her brother. "Why can't Gakushuu come with us?" She asked for about the hundredth time. Gakushuu hugged her back, tight as if he didn't want to let her go.

"Because your mother is intent on tearing this family apart by divorcing me." Their father said, his voiced laced with a cold malice.

"Gakuhou! Please!" Their mother shouted at him. She knelt down next to Gakushuu and Chiriko, pulling the two into a hug. "I love you both so much."

"Then why are you leaving me behind?" Gakushuu whimpered. Chiriko could feel her mother crying.

"I promise, I'm not. Not forever. I just need to go through some more court-proceedings, and I'll be able to look after you too." Their mother sobbed. Their father scoffed.

"Well. We'll see." He said, a cold smile on his face, he looked completely untouched by the scene before him. "Now hurry up and leave before I call the police to have them escort you off my property."

"I can't believe you. You monster." Their mother hissed, taking Chiriko's hand and standing up. "And if you dare hurt my son, I will hurt you even worse!"

"The only thing I want for Gakushuu is for him to be strong." Their father bit back, as their mother was already tugging Chiriko to the car. In that moment, the twins eyes met, and at the same instant, both of them tried to escape their parents and run to each other, but their parents both held them back.

"No! Chiriko don't go!" Gakushuu shouted, trying to escape his father's grasp. Chiriko tried to get to him, as her mother pulled her into the car, crying.

"We can't leave Gakushuu behind! Mummy! Please!"

But in the end, they were just kids, who had no say in their future.

Chiriko was sure that Mummy meant it when she said she was going to fight the courts in order to get custody of Gakushuu, but not long after they moved out, she started to get sick, and all of the measly money they had went on rent and medical bills. They didn't have money like they used to, but Chiriko was happy. She still missed Gakushuu and even Daddy a lot, but it lessened over time, and the raw pain became a dull ache.

Living with her mother was happy, nothing like the hellish life before, were her father forced her to do work all time. Chiriko quickly made friends at her new school. She spent time hanging out with them, and doing fun things with with Mum. She started getting good at cooking, and doing housework, because sometimes Mum got to ill to do it.

By the time Chiriko was thirteen, she was regularly taking time of school to look after her mother. She didn't have the best grades, but she was mature beyond her years, if a little bossy, and was always looking after others. Her friends jokingly called her the 'mother' of the group.

That all changed when all of a sudden, her mother became seriously ill. All at once, Chiriko's whole happy life seemed to shatter. And now she was back living at the very house she had thought she had escaped.

Review if I should write more!