My brother and I were born twins, pulled apart by just a few minutes. I was born just a bit before him, and in the Ogawa family, the first born, being a twin or not, is to inherit everything and live a prestigious and prosperous life. At least, that's how it should have been.

As Kohaku and I grew up, my parents found that he far excelled me in abilities. He was a genius. High IQ, passed all his tests, and had a strong desire to obtain more and more knowledge. Even though it had always been my dream to become a Pokémon researcher, my parents completely ignored my dreams and tried to force Kohaku to be the researcher. I knew how badly Kohaku wanted to just be a normal trainer, yet he refused to fight back. He listened obediently and spent all his time studying.

Meanwhile, my parents were preparing to get rid of me as soon as possible and send me off on a Pokémon journey. They had our ideas completely switched around. Though, I never resented Kohaku for getting all the attention. He was brilliant. I wanted him to continue growing. That didn't mean I didn't want to prove myself though. I worked my ass off and tried to get noticed.

I found that everything I did, Kohaku did better. I learned about hacking and tought him some stuff and he soon surpassed me. Every bit of information and trivia I gathered, he'd remember and expand his knowledge upon those subjects. But even though he kept getting ahead of me, I never hated him. Only myself.

We were always very close. Most twins seem to be. When our parents weren't forcing him to study and the likes, we'd just sit together and talk about anything and everything. We'd discuss our worries, things we were excited about, share secrets, cry in each other's arms, laugh together, etc. He was my best friend and our family situation wouldn't get in the way of it. I'll always love him. Even if I'm crushed into the dirt because of his superior intellect. I'll never stop loving him. I repeat, never.

I knew he felt the same way as well. Any time our parents bad-mouthed me, he'd stand up for me. The parents never thought much of it, but there was one incident were things got very heated.

Kohaku had been locked up in his room for a week straight, doing as mom and dad said. We were far passed the age of setting off on a journey, and I would have gone off by now if I weren't waiting for him. I could tell that everything was really getting to him. He was stressed out. He wanted to break free. And he got the chance after our parents enraged him. Once again, they were talking smack about me and he wouldn't stand for it.

I told my parents I wanted to be a Pokemon researcher, the thing they had always prepped Kohaku to become.

"You? A Pokémon researcher?" Mother scoffed at me, laughing like I'd told the best joke she'd ever heard. "Please, Tsubaki. Who are you kidding? You aren't anywhere near as smart as Kohaku. You don't stand a chance."

Why? Why did they always have to look down at me? I was always trying to show my worth, but they never bothered looking at me. It's not fair.

I was progressively getting more and more angry and I clenched my fists. I was trying to hold in all the evil thoughts I was thinking about them. I was trying not to make a scene.

"You've never shown any interest in research before," Father continued. "What? Are you jealous of Kohaku? Poor you. Because you know he's our favorite."

He was dead wrong. I'd always loved Pokémon research. If he'd open his damn eyes to me, he would have seen that. I was so angry that I started to cry, tears falling in a drizzle and dropping onto the carpet. I hung my head low, trying to hide my tears from them.

Father just kept going. "Get over yourself. Why don't you make use of yourself and...wait. You're useless. You've never done anything except live in Kohaku's shadow. Usually, in the case of twins in this family, the oldest becomes the heir...never thought we'd have to make an exception. All because of one worthless child."

The tears poured endlessly. Before father could say any more harmful words, a voice called out of nowhere. "Shut the hell up!"

Kohaku stormed over, looking completely enraged, so much so that his glasses even seemed to be fogging up. I watched in paralyzed shock as Kohaku raised a fist and punched father square in the nose. Blood immediately shot everywhere and father was now sitting not-so-gracefully on his royal ass.

"My Arceus!" Mother screamed in a panic. She bent down to meet his royal hiney-ous. "Darling, are you alright?" Mother's gaze shot over to Kohaku. "What's wrong with you?!"

"You're what's wrong with me!" Kohaku spat at them. "Both of you are awful! How could you say such cruel things to your own daughter?! Tsubaki...she's a lot smarter than the two of you and she could easily surpass me. Her IQ was only a few points lower. She has better social skills than me too...and she's always wanted to be a researcher! You assholes just never listened to her! I hated all that researching. That isn't what I want! I just want to be a normal person travelling on a Pokemon journey! That's all I ever wanted to be..."

He was praising me, defending me, setting the record straight. I heard all the things I'd always wanted to hear and I could tell how much he loved me. Mother and father were in complete shock, speechless. The bastards didn't know what to do with themselves.

"...So I'm done being cooped up with you fuckers. Come on, Tsubaki. Let's go follow our dreams..."

He grasped my hand tightly and started pulling me towards the door. We were leaving home now, I know, leaving everything behind. I didn't mind that though. I'd go anywhere alongside Kohaku, wherever he was taking me right now.

I wanted to thank him, but I couldn't form the words, so I remained silent until the two of us settled in in a hotel room. Kohaku and I made plans to receive starters from Prof. Pine and finally begin our long-awaited Pokémon journeys. We were staying nearby the lab, so we'd be able to pick them up very soon. However,our peace did not last more than a few hours.

The windows broke. Shattered glass flew everywhere. Unfamiliar people in lab coats started rushing in and surrounding us. An infinity sign was printed boldly on their clothes. Kohaku hit the floor, having passed out either from shock or from the glass shards that had cut at us. I called out worriedly at him.

"Step back and give us the boy," One of the people hissed, pointing a stun gun at me in warning.

"What do you want with me brother?" I hissed, taking a protective stance in front of his fallen figure.

The grunt sighed and shook his head. "That's Kohaku Ogawa, correct? His intelligence and hacking skills are well-known and our boss requires them. Now you can hand him over nicely, or I'll have to take him by force."

I stood firm. "What's this business of yours?"

"We are Team Millennium. It has been made our goal to exterminate all Pokémon in the world so that no humans will suffer again. With Kohaku's intelligence, we can locate all the legendary Pokémon and make sure every last one is eliminated?"

Destroy all Pokémon? These guys are crazy! "I won't let you take him!"

The guy sighed and starting inching closer with the stun gun. "Then we'll do this the hard way!"

There was no way I'd let them take my brother away. My brain swirled as I tried to think of a way to get out of this situation. There was only one method I could think of to save my brother, but it would require sacrificing myself.

"Wait! Let's make a deal!" I begged, holding up my hands in surrender.

"Oh?"

"You say you want Kohaku because of his intelligence and hacking skills...and it just so happens that I possess the same skills, just as potent. So, please. Leave my brother alone and take me instead."

The man looked thoughtful and turned to his comrades. "What do you think?"

"The Ogawas are a prestigious family that are very well-educated. It appears they are twins, so I'm sure she'd be just as good as him. No one in the Ogawas has ever been called stupid or average," one of the other members returned.

"Fine then," the first guy sighed. "We'll leave Kohaku alone and take you then. And your name is...?"

"I am Tsubaki Ogawa, Kohaku's twin sister, older by five minutes. I have spent my life studying computers and doing Pokemon research. I will assist you so long as you don't touch a hair on his head."

"Alright then, Tsubaki. From now on, you'll be working for us. However, I have to ensure you won't break your deal."

The man signalled for me to move, and I reluctantly did. He took hold of Kohaku arm and pulled something out from his pocket. He then injected something into Kohaku's skin.

"What are you doing?!" I cried.

"Relax," he hissed. "I'm putting a tracking device in his arm. If you ever try and escape, we'll be able to hunt him down and exterminate him. This way, you won't get any funny ideas. Now, come with us."

"Wait," I urged. "Can I at least write him a good-bye letter?"

"Fine, but don't include any mention of our Team or whereabouts. In fact, I'll be reading through the letter once you're done."

"Understood," I returned with a nod.

I looked around and grab a sheet of paper and a pen. With a heavy heart, I began writing, all my emotions now sinking in. I might never see him again. Not only that, but I was joining some evil organization and who knows what will happen to me. Fear and sadness consumed my being and I tried to sound as upbeat as possible in the letter, but definitely failed. I somehow managed to hold back my tears, knowing that all these grunts were watching me. I finally finished the letter and it was approved.

Dear Kohaku,

They aren't going to allow me to tell you much. I can't even tell you who "they" are. I'm sorry. This note is probably only going to confuse you more, but I'm sorry. From now on, you're on your own. I'm long gone by now, and I'm not sure that we'll ever meet again. That thought saddens me, but trust me when I say this is for the best. I'd never lie to you unnecessarily. I don't know what they're going to use me for, but some plan will be sprung into action very soon. And I fear that we may become enemies in this endeavor. Please, just try and forget about me. All I want is for you to follow your dreams and become the best trainer you could be. I'd be one proud sister if you bested the champion. I'm sorry that things have to be this way. Goodbye.

With love,

Tsubaki Ogawa

The grunts moved my brother's body to a new hotel room and sprawled him out on a bed. They then set the note somewhere he'd be able to find it. I was then put in handcuffs and they took me somewhere far away where I'd spend the rest of my days in darkness.

My hours were spent in a dark room in front of a computer screen, stuck with a roommate who was both annoying and captivating. Ishi. The only person who could understand me. The only person I'd ever found myself falling in love with. He made the hell possible to live through. We talked, laughed, cried, did everything together. We even managed to sneak ourselves Pokémon to use; a Piplup and a Charmander. He was sort of like a replacement Kohaku at first, but grew into so much more.

I cried a lot, but he put up with me. I got irritated when he started flirting with other women (he never flirted with me), but he withstood my rage.

And on that day in that dark place where I finally told him that I loved him, he immediately answered that he loved me too. He allowed me to cling to him and cry happily for as long as I wanted, allowed me to sit on his lap, sort of straddling him, just continuing to cry until he said something to stop those tears.

"Ssssh. You're okay. You can keep holding me if you like, but please don't ruin that pretty face with all those tears. Your glasses are all foggy and your cheeks are so puffy. That doesn't become you."

I later found out why he only flirted with other women and not me. It was too embarrassing to flirt with me because everything he'd say would be genuine. Hah. I could hardly imagine Ishi getting embarrassed, but the thought was cute.