All the present observed the stage of the second test. Through the metallic fence, they could observe the big gnarled trees, so dense that the forest looked dark with barely any clearings. Everyone was nervous, including Hanako and her friends. She felt the cold sweat in her hands and gulped before seeing Shisui preparing to explain what the test would be about.

"F-Forest of D-Death?!" one of the participants shouted. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked in a lower voice but equally scared. Shisui smirked.

"It means that..." he seemed to ponder a little bit but then shook his head. "Well, they gave it this name for a reason. But you'll figure it out soon."

"Yeah, and that makes me feel slightly better." Kazuki commented as he watched the boy who asked the question; he was stepping backwards, looking at the forest with wide and scared eyes. Hanako nodded at his statement without taking her eyes off the boy. Seeing how scared he was made her wonder if that place was really as bad as it looked. Hanako stared at the village protector on his forehead. It had a big stone in it with a smaller one beside it, he was from Iwagakure.

For a moment, Hanako saw in her mind the images of the Iwagakure ninjas that ambushed her and her father's team near the border with Kusagakure and she shivered. She had to focus on something else. This wasn't going to be like that time. None of them was going to die there.

"Well, it's time for me to explain this test," Shisui said, finally calling everyone's attention. This time he was serious. "To begin, there are two types of scrolls." Shisui showed them the two scrolls that he was holding, one on each hand. "This is the Earth scroll," he said as he lifted the blue scroll that he had in his left hand. It had a white stripe in the middle with a big kanji of "earth" [地] written on it. "And this is the Heaven scroll." He lowered the Earth scroll as he lifted the other one he had in his right hand. This one was white, with a lighter shade of a white stripe and the kanji for "heaven" [天] written on it. "Each team will be given one of these scrolls, either Earth or Heaven. Your mission consists in completing a set of scrolls. A set meaning one Earth and one Heaven scroll." He lifted the scrolls again as he emphasized the word 'and'. In other words, they would be given one scroll but they needed both. "When you get both scrolls, you must rush towards the tower in the middle of the forest."

"Wait a second." Takeshi muttered as he bit his lip, thinking about something. "If each team will be having at the beginning only one scroll, and we need both to be able to go to the tower, then it means that at least the half of the teams won't have any scrolls by the end of the test..." he said as he slowly processed what Shisui just said.

"Wow Takeshi you're a genius." Kazuki muttered, faking his amazement. "I didn't think about that..." Takeshi glared at him.

"Shut up..." Hanako told them before they started arguing in the middle of the explanation. Shisui heard this and his face formed an evil smirk.

"Half of you passing would be an overstatement," he added with his smirk. "This forest counts with a twenty kilometer diameter and the tower is situated in the center," Shisui explained as he tossed the scrolls he had in his hands to one of the Chunnin next to him. "As you may have noticed, there are numbered entrances, from one to forty-four. When you receive your scroll you will also be assigned a random entrance. Any questions?" All of them shook their heads. "Good. Now, on with the rules," Shisui said as he cracked his knuckles. "First, you have five days to complete the task. It is eight in the morning, we will give you a break so you guys can think of a strategy before going inside and, as we hand the scrolls and the assigned entrances, you might be going inside at about three o'clock. The test will be over in five days from today at three o'clock. If you arrive at the tower after the set time, you'll be disqualified." Shisui smirked. "Second, when you arrive to the tower, if you do, the team must be complete, safe and sound, with no severe injuries of any kind that would not let you continue. If one member dies or isn't okay to continue, the team will be automatically disqualified." His grin was starting to scare Hanako a bit. "And last but not least, it is strictly forbidden," he narrowed his eyes as he said this. "To check the content of the scrolls. That could bring grave consequences, without mentioning that you'd be immediately disqualified." His voice had become deep and scary, but he quickly shook it off and smiled again. "I'll give you a form to sign before the test. You will then exchange it for the scroll. Good luck."'

One of the Chunnin started to hand out forms. When Hanako received hers, she sighed. It was a form that would excuse the Village in case any of the participants died inside the forest. Takeshi and Kazuki were standing one next to the other, reading the paper. They all signed their forms and sat down next to a big boulder.

After a while, everyone was starting to get nervous and walk around trying to focus their minds in something else that wasn't the forest. Hanako caught sight of Itachi, he was walking away from his team and then sat alone near the fence. Hanako was interrupted from her staring when someone sat down next to her. Hyori. Hanako looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Do I need to say something?" she asked as she looked sideways at Itachi. Hanako looked at her in confusion. Hyori rolled her eyes. "Go talk to him. Ask him if he's ready, wish him good luck, I don't know." She shrugged before pulling her up with her and then pushing her towards the Uchiha boy. Hanako turned to her with a frown, but Hyori had already sat back down and started conversing with Kazuki and Takeshi. Hanako bit her lip. She kind of owed it to Itachi, he had been kind to her, and so she should be to him. She could talk to him, just some trivial chat, they were friends after all, weren't they?

Itachi had his eyes closed and his breath was steady, like if he was meditating. Hanako approached him and quietly sat beside him. He didn't move, he just sat still with his eyes closed. Hanako raised an eyebrow. "Are you meditating, or just sleeping in a very uncomfortable position?" she asked. Itachi opened of his eyes to look at her.

"This isn't an uncomfortable position," he said, closing his eye once again.

"Then you are sleeping," Hanako felt a smile tugging at her lips. "Didn't you have enough rest last night? Let me guess, you stayed up late training again." She shook her head. "You're such an idiot, didn't I tell you to rest?"

"I'm not sleeping," Itachi opened his eyes with a small smirk. "I'm planning a strategy, something you should also be doing."

Hananko grinned. "My team and I are more of the type to adapt to the situation," she said. "Besides, things not always go as planned, so why waste my time on it?" Itachi chuckled.

"You should plan things, that way you'll be prepared for any possible outcome." He shrugged. "Just a small advice."

"Oh, I have a plan," Hanako shrugged. "Attack other teams and take their scrolls." Itachi sighed.

"And if you face my team? You think you can defeat us and take our scroll?" he asked looking intently at her.

"I do have some pending business with your teammate," Hanako smiled. "That girl got into my bad nerves; I've got to put her in her place." Itachi tilted his head.

"Koharu? What did she do to make you mad?" he asked curiously.

Hanako looked down. "Well, she was rude to us. And I told her that if she thought she was stronger than us, then she should prove it." When Hanako looked back at him, she almost blushed at the look he was giving her. It wasn't a particularly special look; he was just looking at her. But it was the first time she got to see the detail in his frame. She remembered Izumi saying Itachi was the cutest boy in their generation, and she couldn't help but to agree with her.

"Cute..." she mumbled unconsciously, and looked away with a blush when she realized what she had said. Itachi just stared at her dumbfounded. "I am not afraid of facing you, or your team," said Hanako, going back to the previous subject. "I will beat you if I have to, for the scroll."

Itachi chuckled. "Fine, I'm also not afraid of fighting you," he said. "Let the best one win." Hanako smiled, and looked back at him. Itachi stood and offered his hand to help her up. "Also," he added with a small smile. "I think you're cute, too." Hanako froze in her movements and looked at him. But he had turned his back to her and walked away before she could see his face.

"Tsk." Hanako smirked, "Weird."

"It's time to begin. Line up to hand in the forms and get your scrolls." Hanako heard Shisui's voice and turned her head slightly to look at where he was. A glimpse of movement suddenly caught her eyes. She looked at two teams of Iwagakure Genin who were gathered nearby, talking secretively ¾as if they were plotting something. Hanako narrowed her eyes at them.

"Hey, Hana-chan!" Hanako heard Takeshi's voice and turned her head to him. From the tips of her eyes, she saw that one of the Genin of Iwagakure was staring at her, probably suspecting she had been listening to their conversation. "What are you waiting for?"

"Nothing," Hanako smirked at the Genin and walked towards her teammate. "I'm coming."

Team 4 stood at the entrance number 23 after receiving their scroll. Kazuki had decided he would be the one to keep it, since no one would suspect of him.

"We have the Earth scroll," Kazuki said. "So we're only missing Heaven." He hid the blue scroll in his kunai pouch.

"The first thing will be to figure out who has that scroll," Takeshi said. They all nodded.

* * *

Team 3 stood in front of the entrance number 14 after having received the Earth scroll. Hyori looked at her teammates, hiding the scroll in her kunai pouch. They were debating about the teams that might have the Heaven scroll.

"There is already someone I have my sight set on..." Hyori suddenly said, getting into the conversation. Her teammates looked at her with wide eyes.

"Really?" Kaichi raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"If my eyes don't fool me, Hanako-san and her team have the same scroll as ours. At least that's what I saw. If we go after them, we'd be wasting our time." Ren crossed his arms, looking at Hyori seriously.

"I know, I wasn't talking about them," Hyori sighed tiredly, thinking of the white scroll that was handed to Itachi's team. Hyori smiled internally when she thought about the Uchiha boy who Hanako seemed to have a weakness for. "I'm talking about one of the teams we met yesterday before the written test."

"Koharu's team?" Kaichi smirked. "Sounds like fun to me."

"What are you thinking, Hyori?" Ren inquired. "Why them?"

"Because they have a Heaven scroll, why else?" Hyori rolled her eyes. "And because..." A small smile crept into her lips. "I bet she's heading there too."

* * *

"I can't believe they made us walk here...Couldn't they assign us a gate a little bit closer to the main entrance? I mean, we walked near three kilometers to get here!" Koharu's squeaky voice was starting to become annoying, but Team 2 was almost close to their entrance, number 5. They had agreed Koharu would keep the scroll, so Hiroki and Itachi could do the fighting and protect them both.

When they finally reached the location, Koharu kept nagging to the air about why they had made them walk there. "Koharu-san, we are already here so you can stop your whining now," Itachi said dryly, getting her to finally shut up. He finally relaxed.

"Itachi, are you sure about letting Koharu keep the scroll?" Hiroki gave him a questioning look. Itachi frowned, he thought they had already reached an agreement. "I mean, I noticed that one of the teams was looking at us when they handed us the scroll, and I noticed that they had the Earth scroll. It won't be long before they come after us," he finished saying and Itachi sighed.

"Whoever they are, they must be far away from us. Besides, it took us a half hour to get here. If we run at the moment they open the gates, there will be no way they may found us. And if they do, it will be a while before that happens. We'll have time to think about something."

"Yes," Koharu affirmed, "and also remember that we have Itachi-kun in our team. Nothing will happen. If they come after us, he will defeat them, we'll take the Earth scroll, and we'll finish the test without breaking a sweat." Hiroki sighed at their teammate's overconfidence.

"Fine, if you say so..."

* * *

"When will they open?" Hanako asked as she watched impatiently the gate. They had been waiting for almost an hour, until a creak was finally heard.

"Now," Kazuki said after the creaking sound was over and the gate opened. Hanako swallowed hard, and when the gate was totally open she turned to look at her teammates. They looked back at her.

"Shall we?" she asked, trying to calm her nerves. They both nodded and together they got into motion towards the large forest. After a couple of minutes, they stopped.

"Well...what do we do?" Takeshi asked. "We need to look for other teams, maybe hope that they have the Heaven scroll."

"Leave that to me," Hanako said and made a hand seal to concentrate her chakra. She closed her eyes and focused on feeling the presence of various teams around them. "The closest team to us is about two miles at two o'clock." She opened her eyes and looked at her companions. They nodded at her, and started to jump away from branch to branch.

When they approached the team, Hanako signaled her friends to stop and hide on top of the trees to observe the Genin. They were walking and planning how they would look for the scroll they were missing. Unfortunately for them, they were careful enough not to mention which one it was...they weren't as stupid as they seemed.

Hanako smiled playfully when she felt the urge to fight rise within her insides. This was the Iwagakure team that had asked Shisui about the Forest of Death. However, now they didn't seem as terrified as they did before. Their attitude towards the place had changed completely, this time their aura emanated pure hatred and disgust. Hanako's smirk was immediately wiped off her face. Had they been pretending their cowardice from earlier?

The three ninjas halted abruptly, making Team 4 believe they had been noticed. They go into their fighting stances. Hanako relaxed when she realized that they hadn't. One of the Genin was shaking, and his muscles suddenly tensed. He closed his hand into tight fists and gathered chakra into them, just to release it all at once when his fist came in contact with the ground, causing it to crater. Hanako's eyes widened; she made a mental note not to ever let this guy land a hit on her.

"Isao-san?" another Genin from the team spoke to him. Suddenly worried about his sudden reaction.

"I hate this stupid village...this village that has left Iwagakure in shame since the Third Shinobi World War..." Isao stood up and spoke, this time with a much darker and resent filled voice. They all started to talk among themselves, without taking notice of them. Team 4 remained silent, listening carefully to their conversation. Maybe they had something to do with the other two teams from Iwagakure conspiring together, or that's what Hanako hoped.

"You don't mean it's because of your father, right? Because, I mean... There's no way to blame someone in particular-" Isao started laughing as he turned toward his teammate with a twisted smile.

'For a thirteen-year-old, this guy is really scary,' Hanako thought as she tried to regulate her breathing.

"You think I'm a fool? Tomoya...it's crystal clear that someone of this village did it... After all, they were trying to retreat a Konoha scroll that had been stolen. The village has to take back what belongs to it, doesn't it? The only thing I have to do is find the one who did it, so I can take my revenge." Isao turned around, his back to his teammates. "It has to be a Jounin..." he tightened his fists once again. "Not anyone can burn a whole town down to ashes...and a fire technique of that level can only be reached by a..."

Hanako stopped listening; she knew what he was talking about. A Konoha scroll, Iwagakure Shinobi, a town and a ninja who burned it down to ashes... Isao was looking for revenge...on her. She was the one who killed his father; he died on that fire that she caused. He was looking for her. But he just didn't know that.

Hanako pursed her lips, thinking about what would happen if Isao realized that she was the one to blame. She didn't get to deepen her thoughts since Isao had gathered chakra into his fist, and with all his might he hit the trunk she was hiding on, making it tremble. The force of the hit made the tree break in half and fall down to the ground, taking the Uchiha with it. Hanako landed on her back and released a low groan. She then felt a hard breeze hit her face. When she opened her eyes, they widened as she noticed that a closed fist was right before her face, just a few inches away. Hanako looked beyond it to find Isao looking down at her with a twisted smile. Hanako felt chills run down her back.

"It looks like we have found a spy," Isao's grin widened. "Girl, if you give me your scroll, I'll let you go..." he seemed to ponder for a moment. "After you promise you'll keep your mouth shut," he added as his eyes fixated on the Konoha symbol in her headband.

"Hanako!" She heard Takeshi shout, and her two teammates came out of their hiding spots, landing right behind Isao's team. Hanako's eyes widened when she saw Takeshi holding a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it.

"Don't!" Hanako yelled, but it was already too late. Kazuki had disappeared from her sight and Takeshi nailed the kunai right where Isao's team was, making them scatter. Isao finally let go of the Uchiha. At the same time, Hanako felt someone had gripped her arm and pulled her away from the kunai, only seconds before it exploded. Hanako covered herself with her free hand from the shockwave that pushed them back a few meters.

"Are you okay?" Hanako heard a voice beside her ear and turned her face to it. Kazuki was lying on the floor beside her, panting. His hand was still wrapped tightly around her arm. Hanako could hear footsteps nearing them in quick steps, and looked around to find Takeshi running in their direction.

"Are you guys both okay?!" he asked.

"There's no time for that," Hanako said as she focused on the three silhouettes inside the smoke. "First, we have to deal with them."

"She's right," Kazuki nodded. "They won't leave us alone without a fight." Isao laughed at this.

"Quite the clever ones, indeed. As expected from Konoha Genin. But don't think we'll go easy on you just because you're brats." Hanako felt her blood boil, Isao's wicked grin was starting to get on her nerves.

"Don't underestimate us," she said through gritted teeth. "You still don't know about our abilities." She closed her eyes for a second and reopened them with her Sharingan activated. The Iwa ninjas were rather surprised.

"Those eyes... You're an Uchiha?" For the first time, Shun spoke.

"You know about them?" asked Tomoya.

"The Uchiha Clan is one of the most feared clans of Konoha because of its Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan. It's a visual prowess."

"Hmph, you seem like an interesting child." Isao looked intently at the brunette. His chakra then started to flow quicker throughout his body, which let Hanako know that he was preparing himself to perform a technique. She got into a defensive stance. In a fraction of a second, Isao vanished, making her raise her guard.

"Behind you..." A shallow voice spoke to her ear, making her body tense. Hanako started to turn on her heels, but she was too slow. Isao landed a kick on her stomach and sent her flying backwards. The Uchiha flipped in midair and successfully landed on her feet, skidding backwards a few meters because of the force of the impact. Hanako straightened herself and looked at Isao with narrowed eyes. 'He's fast,' she thought. 'Even faster than me.'

"That Sharingan doesn't seem to be such a big deal," Isao laughed. "You can't even follow my movements." He vanished once again, and Hanako jumped to one of the highest branches of the nearest tree. Isao attacked the empty spot she was previously in, which made Hanako smirk.

'Looks like he moves so fast that he can't even see where he's going. That's why he memorizes his enemy's position before attacking; but if the enemy moves, then the attack fails.'

Hanako jumped again towards another branch.

'As long as I keep moving, there shouldn't be a problem.'

Isao halted beside a tree trunk and Hanako stopped to observe him from another tree. He narrowed his eyes. The Uchiha focused on trying to feel his chakra, knowing the reaction it would have when he used his speed. Isao smirked.

"Not bad... You seem to have realized. For a brat, you do have the ways of a ninja." Isao made a hand seal before disappearing. "Meisaigakure no Jutsu."

After he performed the jutsu, Isao's body disappeared from everyone's sight. Hanako could still see his chakra with her Sharingan; he was moving towards her teammates. Kazuki and Takeshi weren't aware of him, they were concentrated on the other Genin from Iwa. Hanako gulped before following him and warning her friends about Isao. He was going to attack Takeshi, but Hanako landed in front of him just in time to block his kunai. Isao reappeared with his wicked smile that made her stomach churn. Kazuki ran towards them.

"Are you all right?" Takeshi and Hanako only nodded.

"Kazuki," he immediately turned to look at the Uchiha. "Give me the scroll." He was surprised by her words, but gave it to her without saying anything. Hanako tossed the parchment towards Isao, who caught it at once. "Take it," she said. Isao eyed it carefully. "Take it, but leave us alone." Hanako was sure about her decision. Isao looked at her, and pulled out of his jacket a scroll that looked just like theirs.

"I would," he started saying as he tossed the scroll back to her. "But as you can see, we don't need it. We have the same one." Isao put his manuscript away again. "We'll leave you alone under one condition." Isao narrowed his eyes at all the members of Team 4. "You won't say anything about this conversation, or our little encounter. I wouldn't be happy if people found out that I let you get away." He smirked. "In contrariwise, after the exams your bodies will be lying six feet underground." He laughed evilly before focusing his eyes on Hanako. "You, I want to fight you. We'll meet again." Isao turned his back to them, and disappeared with his mates into the forest.

"What the..." Takeshi muttered after they vanished. Hanako let out a long breath she didn't she was holding.

"I'd like to say this is over, but it's barely the beginning." The Uchiha looked at her teammates, who were panting and trying to regain their breaths. "I'm sure a lot of teams will come after us for their convenience, but we're not weak and we'll show them that." Takeshi and Kazuki looked at her surprised. "Are you ready for this?" They both nodded with a smile.

"We're in this together," Kazuki said with a smile.

"I wonder..." Takeshi muttered. "What would be of Wood Girl and her team?"

"Who knows...?"

* * *

Hyori ran through the trees, followed by her teammates Ren and Kaichi. Her objective was to catch up to a certain team that kept the scroll they were looking for: the Heaven scroll. The three of them were so fixated on it that they didn't notice the ninja who followed them. Three ninja appeared in front of Team 3 and attacked them with kunai. Hyori widened her eyes when she saw them; however she quickly pulled out a kunai and used it to block the upcoming knives.

"Heh...not bad..." one of the attackers muttered while he jumped to a high branch in front of Hyori. "Girl, give us your scroll and we'll leave you alone," he said with a cynical smile.

"What if I say no?" The Senju challenged him. The ninja crossed his arms, keeping his smile.

"Believe me, you don't want to know." He played with a kunai as he readied himself to attack again.

"Oh yeah?" Hyori chuckled. "Well, you don't want to know who you're messing with."

"As if a girl like you could intimidate me!" The ninja scoffed.

Hyori put away her kunai in her pouch and started performing some hand seals for her Mokuton Jutsu. A hand was suddenly placed over hers, stopping her. She looked confused at Ren.

"What do you think you're doing?" The Senju narrowed her eyes.

"Save your chakra for later, these guys aren't as strong as they claim to be," Ren said calmly. "If they were, they wouldn't pick up a fight with us, having so much better options."

"You're underestimating us, brat." The ninja with the kunai narrowed his eyes.

"Although, you're too intelligent...for a brat," another ninja said, standing next to the one holding the kunai. "What's your name?"

"Ren."

"Ren? Interesting," said the ninja, with a malicious grin. The one with the kunai, Daichi, looked at him, imitating his grin.

"You look excited, Kenshi. What's going on in your mind?" he asked him.

"Well, being a strategist comes with its advantages." Kenshi chuckled. "We're retreating this once. But...beware of your backs. We'll come back for the scroll," he finally declared. The ninjas then submerged in the tree trunks until their traces disappeared completely. The members of Team 3 looked at each other.

"It'd be better if we just continue. Even though this wasn't a battle, there will be fights," Kaichi said and everyone else nodded.

"Let's go," said the Senju as she started walking into the trees once again. The others followed her.

* * *

Outside the fence of the Forest of Death, Shisui rested his back against the bark of a tree as he gazed up at the sky. The Genin had gone into the Forest almost an hour ago, but he had to be there for at least five more days before he could actually rest. He took the chance to take out the file Fugaku had given him about Amane and eye it a little bit more. During her training, Hanako had not shown any weird behaviors. Nothing that could possibly link her to Amane.

Hikari watched him from a couple of meters away, without letting him notice her presence. She stayed there for a few minutes, under the false illusion that Shisui didn't know about it. But he noticed her presence. "Are you just going to stand there observing me, or is there any specific reason for you to be here, Hikari?" Shisui asked, making the girl jump slightly out of surprise.

"Actually, I just came by to check how everything was going...and maybe say hi, since it's been awhile since we last talked." She walked towards him. Shisui looked at her and smiled, putting the file away.

"Everything's fine. They went in a few moments ago and there haven't been any problems yet." Hikari nodded as she watched the creepy forest through the fence. She had seen the file Shisui had in his hands but decided not to ask about it. "Hanako will definitely pass this test. I trained her before the exams started, so I know she has the potential." Shisui stared at the forest with a smile.

"Undoubtedly, Dad would be so proud of her." Hikari turned to face him, meeting his eyes. "She'll be powerful." Shisui nodded, and looked back at the sky.

"I'd like to continue her training. There's still so much she can learn, and so much I can learn."

"Why so much interest in my sister, Shisui?" Hikari asked as she took a seat beside him. Shisui just shrugged. He knew he couldn't tell Hikari about Amane Uchiha, for much that he wanted to. He only needed to come up with something believable to satisfy her.

"I just know a kid with potential when I see it," he said. "It would be a shame to let such a genius go to waste just because they didn't have the proper training..."

Hikari frowned. "Does it have something to do with that file you're hiding?" Shisui tensed, making Hikari look at him. "I know you and Itachi are hiding something from me. I want to know."

"You can't," Shisui spoke sternly.

"You seem to be forgetting whose sister she is," Hikari frowned. "Shisui, if it concerns Hanako them I have a right to know."

"Hikari, I want to tell you, believe me." Shisui sighed. "But I cannot, this is confidential information Fugaku trusted me. I'll tell you when I figure if Fugaku's theory is true. I promise."

Hikari pressed her lips into a thin line and sighed. "Fine, but it's a promise..."

Shisui looked at her and smiled at her flustered face. "You can't be jealous."

"I'm not!" She glared at him. "Why would I be?"

"Who knows?" Shisui shrugged, a playful smirk decorated his fine lips. "Maybe because this means I get to spend more time with her than I do with you?"

Hikari shook her head and stood up. "I have to go, Mom expects me for dinner," she said as she started to walk away.

"Don't be mad at me, Hikari. I was just kidding!" Shisui hurried to say at her retreating figure.

"I'm not," Hikari turned to look at him from over her shoulder. There was a smile in her lips.

"I like talking to you," Shisui said. "Hope I get to see you soon." Hikari waved her hand at him.

"Yeah, me too."

When Hikari got home, she found her mother waiting for her at the main door with a white envelope in her hands. Her face was bright with happiness.

"What happened that got you so happy?" Hikari asked, at this her mother gave her the envelope.

Hikari looked at Akira strangely, but opened it. There was a paper inside, and when she read its contents, her eyes widened. It was a medical pregnancy test, and the results were positive. Hikari looked back at her mother to find her smiling widely.

"I'm having twins," she said.

"T-Twins?" Hikari was shocked. Akira nodded in excitement. "W-When did this happen?"

"I have a little more than four months already," she said, caressing her still small stomach. "At least now I know I wasn't getting fat."

"That's incredible..." Hikari was out of breath. "We're having twins..."