I faced them again.
They'd switched sides this time. Different stances. One had his arms crossed, the other had his hands in his pockets.
I smiled.
They took on the other’s mannerisms to trip me up. Very clever.
I pointed to the one with crossed arms. "Aki."
Then to the one with hands in his pockets. "Yuki."
Aki's arms dropped to his sides.
Yuki pulled his hands out of his pockets, and frustration covered his face.
Meanwhile, Hiro widened his eyes in shock. “You reallycantell the difference?”
"One more time," Aki said, and now there was an edge to it—like I'd poked at something that mattered more than I realized.
I turned.
This time they were completely silent. No shuffling. No fabric sounds. Nothing.
Then: "Done."
I turned back.
They stood perfectly still, faces blank, giving me absolutely nothing to work with except. . .those scars, which was all I needed in the first place.
"Yuki." I pointed to the left and then to the right. "Aki."
Yuki's expression cracked first—something between shock and irritation bleeding through.
Aki just stared at me, his jaw working like he was chewing on words he didn't want to say.
"How?" Yuki demanded.
"How did you do it?" Aki's voice was quieter, but sharper.
I hesitated, suddenly aware that I'd just stepped into something I didn't fully understand. But they were both watching me now, waiting, and I couldn't exactly back out.
"Your scars," I said carefully.
They both went very still.
"You both have identical scars on your chins. Slanted the same way. Same location."
Neither of them moved.
I swallowed. "But Yuki's scar is. . .much deeper."
The hallway felt colder suddenly.
I kept going, even though every instinct told me to stop. "I’m just. . .I don’t know. In my head when I first saw your scars I hadthis story in my mind. It’s kind of how I can remember things and. . .to me. . .it looks like someone put the scar on Yuki’s chin there. And they. . .didn't care how much pain he was in."
Yuki's face didn't change, but something in his eyes flashed—pain maybe or sadness.
My throat tightened. "And Aki's scar looks like. . .and again. . .this is just the story I told myself but. . .it looks like maybe he put that scar there himself. To match you."
