Shimiko's Apartment

They had a feeling that man had run away, they never really did like him his aloof attitude pissed them off to no end, but they knew Shimikos heart hurt right now. They had thought of an idea to cheer her up first the ice cream then some scripture reading but the final thing would be a sacrifice, they had noticed she had not had much time to do such things lately. There were several fitting candidates in jail to be executed.

"I am so sorry Shimiko we won't ever leave you, we owe you our bodies and mind we would give anything to you we can. We think after you calm down and eat some of this ice cream we should read some scriptures and go visit the jail and do sacrifice, you have been so busy lately you have not taken any time to do this."

They would wait to hear what she would say with her hugging them tight they enjoyed the embrace cuddling into her. They loved her more than anyone in the world, she eas their light in the darkness, she was their hope in the world and she was their family.

Yui and Yua re-affirmed that they would never leave her and offered her some ice cream. She broke the hug and then nodded as she reached for the ice cream. As for reading scripture and performing sacrifices, she had been there and done that. Shimiko was one of the most devout followers of the Orthodoxy but this was not something that could be fixed by praying the pain away. She needed to immerse herself in what little family she had left. She didn't want to put the twins in a position of having to take care of her. Instead, she decided she'd bring joy to them and in doing so maybe she would feel better about events as of late. Shimiko wiped her eyes on her dress shirt sleeve and stood up to get a couple of bowls and spoons for the ice cream. As she got up she said:

"Thank you Yui and Yua. You two are my world....I won't ever let anything happen to you guys". She needed to get stronger to protect them and if she couldn't protect them, she'd make damn sure that they'd have whatever they needed to survive in this cruel world. "I'm not in the mood for sacrifice or scripture readings today, to be honest." she said with a sad smile. She returned from the kitchen with two bowls and two spoons. She got a couple of scoops for the twins and a couple for herself. In the typical fashion of a depressed young woman, she went to town on the ice cream. The rich, creamy, and cold flavor dampening the emotional pain that tore her up inside. After finishing the ice cream she did feel much better.

"I have a few gifts for you guys" She pointed to the scythe-ax that lay against the wall. The weapon had a large red bow on it indicating its status as a present. Shimiko hoped that they would like the weapon, after all, it was an instrument of fine craftsmanship. It was just one of the many pleasant surprises she had planned for them.

To hear her say she did not want to read the scriptures or sacrifice worried the twins, she never said such things normally. Still, she ate the ice cream and the twins had some with her, she would finish the food before pointing out a Scythe, the pair's eyes opened wide as they moved toward it and gripped in their hand, they could easily swing it with their strength but it had some unique features as she saw what appeared to be a place where they could run blood into the blade. They rushed over and snuggled into Shimikos chest clearly happy. They did not deserve such a good gift failing the exams after all.

"We do not deserve such gifts, we failed you with our failures at the exams, thank you for such a gift but we feel bad you spent so much on such failures. We love you Shimiko with all our heart and only wish you to be happy, we are fine with being unhappy if it means your life is great."

They knew she would want this for them, however, no matter what they said they knew she would give them gifts, they would just become good at using it and proving their value t Shimiko. They would show the world the power of Jashin and their love for their god.

Shimiko smiled as the twins grabbed their new weapon and played with it. Then they rushed over to her and hugged her. She embraced them warmly and found herself on the verge of tears again, only this time they were tears of joy. The twins refused to believe that they were worthy of such a gift. They brought up their previous failures and Shimiko shook her head vigorously at the thought that she would ever trade their happiness for her own.

"I promise you guys that as long as we're together, you'll never have to worry about being unhappy for my sake. I'm so proud of the shinobi that you're becoming. One failure is just a small setback. I'm going to be giving the two of you a lot more attention and I'm going to make sure that the next time you're up for a promotion you'll be ready for it."

Shimiko gave them an extra tight squeeze and stood up to get their next set of gifts.

"That's only my first gift." she said sweetly while wiping her eyes. "I have some more. Close your eyes Yui and Yua. This one is going to be a surprise!"

She made sure that their eyes were closed before running off to the bedroom and retrieving two gifts. The first was gift-wrapped in black and red with a large bow on it. The second was a small box which emitted an occasional yelp. Shimiko set the gift-wrapped present on the table and presented the box to Yui and Yua. She lifted the cover and retrieved the gift...a puppy!

The puppy was white and well-groomed. It had the cutest beady black eyes and a small red bow indicating her gender. Shimiko placed the adorable little pooker in her twins' hands and said:

"Open your eyes!"

The twins had their eyes closed as they could hear the rustling sound before they felt something soft in their hands as they opened their eyes that would squeeze the puppy tightly with it licking their faces. It was clear as day how happy they were with them petting the puppy and enjoying his kisses to their faces. The pair could not be happier hugging the puppy between and Shimiko as they couldn't be happier, they did wonder what the last gift was.

"Thank you so much Shimiko we promise to take good care of her we still don't think we deserve all of these gifts."

They waited eagerly for the last gift as the pair continued to give the puppy all the love it could ever want. One thing was clear they soon would be heading to the mountains for this long-planned trip with Shimiko to become part of the family.

Joy. Shimiko could see it in the twins' eyes. That pure, loving joy, that had eluded her for the past few days. Part of her was jealous that they could find comfort in such simple things. But part of her thanked Jashin that they could find that sort of refuge. Seeing them so happy made her happy, and when the cute little puppy began to lick their faces she elicited something between a gasp, laugh, and cry. The scene was so pure and good that it made her emotional. Shimiko didn't want to startle them with another fit of sobbing so she hurried over to grab the final remaining gift. She handed it to them and told them:

"You deserve everything Yui and Yua! You both have been an absolute blessing in my life. This is the last one, I hope you like it!"

The gift was rectangular with black wrapping paper and a red bow. Once the twins got a chance to unwrap it they'd find some new clothes and a card. The clothes were made by one of the finest tailors in the village and had been stylized after the apparel of the Church's early altar girls. It was a feminine paladin outfit complete with a dainty habit that bore the crest of the Church. It had a bell in the center, a lavender collar, and a few frills, not too much but just enough to look cute. She had gotten three pairs in total: one for Yui, one for Yua, and of course an extra. Shimiko would have loved for Ryuko to add some more protective features but...No! I can't think about that right now! Happy thoughts! Stay strong for the twins!

Shimiko pointed to the card that was nestled within the clothes.

"That's for you as well, take a read." she said with a smile.

Card

Spoiler:

They were so happy with all the gifts as Shimiko handed them the last gift they would set the puppy down before reaching for the outfits. Between them was a letter as the pair would begin to read them they would tear up a bit, they finally had a family. Her clan was going to adopt the pair of twins into it, never did they think two years ago would they ever be accepted as part of a family but here they were about to be introduced into Shimiko clan. They quickly began to strip their clothing off, they showed no signs of shyness as Shimiko had seen them naked plenty of times before.

Once changed they would do a spin as the bells would lightly jingle before dashing over and hugging Shimiko tightly. They were so glad to have her in their lives and now they had an even bigger family, they could not be more excited to meet everyone.

"We gladly accept joining your clan Shimiko, we are so happy they accepted us and most of all we love you very much. We would be very mad if anything ever happened to you, please don't ever die on us. We will do our best to make you and your clan proud and we promise to get stronger, we also promise to remain devoted to our religion and our god lord Jashin."

Shimiko was glad that the twins were not bashful around her. It meant that they felt safe and comfortable when she was near. It was clear from their reaction reading the letter, and from the words that followed, that they were thrilled to be admitted into the clan. Shimiko held them tightly as she found herself overwhelmed with emotion. It wasn't pain or loss though. It was a fulfilling and joyous feeling. It made her weep even though she tried to fight back the tears. No amount of sacrifices or brutal murderers could replace the high she felt at this moment. For a brief second, all of the worries of the world had been washed away. All that mattered now was her being there for the twins, and the twins being there for her.

"I swear I won't ever leave you guys. I'll always be there for you, I promise."

Shimiko knew that the natural course of the world was for people to die. For them to get old and perish away. It was a harsh reality but not one she would let them face anytime soon. While it was true that the Church taught such inevitabilities could be reversed or staved off through the glory of Jashin, Shimiko wasn't sure she was worthy of receiving such a blessing. The most devout and worthy of Jashin would be willing to sacrifice anything for their Lord's sake. And for the first time in her life, Shimiko had found the only people that she would never sacrifice. It was a blasphemous thought, and Shimiko knew better than to dwell on it. Yet in her heart, she knew it was true. No matter how small or fleeting that belief was, it was the honest truth.

Shimiko broke the hug and wiped her eyes, re-centering herself.

"Okay so, soon we'll be heading off to the mountains to meet the rest of the Clan. I'll get everything packed and ready to go. You can take your new puppy along with you as well if you'd like. You should give it a name by the way!" she said sweetly. Shimiko then worked to tidy up the apartment and get their stuff ready for the trip. She'd stay close but give the twins the time and space they needed to play with their new pet. Once everything was packed and ready to go then they'd head out the door to embark on their journey.

Exit

Shimiko cried again but this time it appeared to be in joy, they cried along with her holding her tightly while also holding their puppy. They eventually would let her go as she mentioned they were leaving for the mountains soon, the pair nodded their heads as they would begin to think of a name for the puppy. They had no idea how to name another living thing but they would think on it for a while, they wanted to pick the best name for the puppy. She also said she would never leave them and they already knew that, just like the twins would never in a million years abandon Shimiko, she was their entire world.

"We will think of her name, we want to pick a good name so we will think about it for a while. We are ready to leave anytime Shimiko, we cannot believe we have been accepted into the family, we never thought anyone would accept us until that dark night when you did."

They prepared to leave as they would head to their room and begin to prepare for the trip, this would be a changing time for the pair. They would learn a lot on this trip and soon their fates would change in an even greater way. The pairs destiny was set in fate, just what would happen no one would know but one thing was certain they were some of the most devote members of the Jashin religion.


-Exit Thread-
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