Jasper Whitlock - Blog Posts

We'll start with forever...

We'll start with forever...

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MtF reader who is nervous about bottom surgery, (any depth) and so she starts to wander around the forest to work out the excess energy.

Jasper who's used to them pacing around the forest simply waits for them to go to the same spot they usually do. This time instead of letting them not talk about it he tells them they need to talk about it. Since she's so scared of surgery.

a/n: Okay, so I usually don’t write for fem readers, but I thought this idea was super sweet. As a queer person myself, I really love the idea of the twilight vampires being accepting of queer people. I hope I did this ask justice, and to any trans people who are worried about hormones or surgery I hope this is comforting to y’all. 

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comfort 

mtf!reader x jasper hale (fluff)

words: 823

summary: you’ve been nervous about your upcoming bottom surgery for a while now, so Jasper, the concerned lover he is, makes sure to comfort you and talk you through every detail.

Jasper sat atop one of the trees, waiting for any trace of her to alert him. It was no surprise when he smelled her familiar scent before he could even see her. This secluded spot in the forest was where she always went when she was feeling nervous. Jasper looked down to see her, the beautiful girl he’d grown to love so deeply, walking quickly back and forth as she mumbled to herself. Jasper jumped out of the tree, and in an instant, he was next to her.

“You scared me,” she said breathlessly with a red tint covering her face. He could feel her embarrassment, but more than that he could feel her nervousness. 

“You seemed nervous, darlin’,” Jasper replied as he held one of her hands in his. “I wanted to check on you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, brushing him off. “It’s nothing.”

“Seems like somethin’,” he said playfully, trying to lighten the mood. “You know you can tell me anything,” he said softly. She smiled at him and with shaky hands she brushed some of the hair away from his face. She let her hands fall back down to her sides, working up the courage to tell him what was really going on. Unbeknownst to her, Jasper was using his power in an attempt to make her feel calmer.

“I just need comfort, not advice. We don’t have to talk about it,” she assures him. 

“Sweetheart,” he says softly, his southern accent pouring out, “I can comfort you too, but clearly somethin’ has been botherin’ you for days. We need to talk about it or it won’t get any better,” he tells her as gently as possible, trying not to work her up.

“I’m just worried about my surgery,” she says with a sigh, causing Jasper’s eyes to widen in surprise. Soon, she’d be undergoing bottom surgery, and she was so excited about it, but now it was clearly causing her a lot of stress.

“I thought you wanted the surgery?” Jasper asked, looking into her eyes.

“I do,” she responded hurriedly, “it’s just this is a big operation, and something could go wrong, or I might not be happy with the results, or maybe you won’t be happy with the results and-”

“Darlin’, I will love you no matter what,” Jasper said, cutting her anxious rambling off. “It doesn’t matter if you get the surgery, if you don’t, or how it turns out. Despite how much I love your body,” he says lightheartedly, grabbing a hold of her waist, “that’s not why I stay with you. I stay with you for this,” he says, tapping her temple with his index finger. “You have the most beautiful mind I’ve ever encountered in my 160 years.”

“So things will be the same between us even after my surgery?” She asks hopefully.

“Not exactly,” Jasper says, causing her smile to fade. She gives him a concerned look and he quickly elaborates, “there might be some new things I’d like to try in the bedroom,” he says with a wink, causing her whole face to go red.

“Oh knock it off,” she says, playfully pushing his chest away with her hand, causing him to pretend to be shocked, except he can’t stop smiling at her. “You aren’t worried about me getting hurt?” she asks him. “It’s a serious surgery, what if I die?”

“I know for a fact no one has ever died during bottom surgery,” he comforts, leaning in closer to her. “And even if that somehow did happen, Carlisle and I would rush right over to the hospital and turn you. Even death can’t save you from me,” he tells her jokingly, but they both know that Jasper really would do that for her. “Besides, Carlisle has been a surgeon for like a million years, so that should be comforting,” he informs her. She laughs as she places her head on his chest.

“This is comforting,” she responds. 

“Perfect,” he responds, lightly kissing her on the top of the head after. She stays pressed up against his chest, and he begins to gently stroke her hair as they talk out some of the finer details of the surgery. Not only does he provide statistics about the surgery for logical comfort, but he also provides loving, emotional comfort. It’s clear Jasper won’t let anything bad happen to her. He’ll drive her to the hospital, hold her hand as she gets put under anesthesia, and as soon as the surgery is complete he’ll go back to her room and hold her hand while she wakes up. During the recovery process, he vows not to leave her side the entire time, even when she insists he doesn’t have to do that. She’s his whole world now and this surgery is just a small part of their story. Even if it’s scary, she can rest assured knowing nothing bad will happen to her. 

I read your love bites and apologies story and I was thinking something similar but opposite!! Reader loves the hickeys and can't get enough of them! Like reader is always covered in hickeys!!! Maybe there's a situation with reader's parents or something, and reader uses it as a way to rebel or something! Idk! Just do whatever you want!!!

If you don't want to write this, that's totally cool!

💖💖💖

a/n: Thank you so much for this request! It was so fun to write and I hope you like what I came up with lol. I also am really glad you enjoyed one of my other stories!

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marked up

gn!reader x jasper hale (smut)

words: 910

summary: you decide to rebel against your parents by letting Jasper mark you all over, but it quickly turns to even more than that.

“Woah darlin’, calm down now,” Jasper tells you, keeping one hand in your hair. Your mouth is on his icy cold neck, leaving kisses everywhere. He doesn’t have blood, so he can’t get hickeys, but if he could then he would’ve been covered by now. He tried again to tell you to calm down, but all he could focus on was your warm breathe on his neck.

“You always cover me in hickeys, so maybe it’s my turn,” you tell him with a smirk. You’re sitting in his lap, the two of you on his bed, and despite the fact you’re looking down at him, he’s in full control.

  “You don’t like when I leave marks on you?” he asks, already knowing the answer. He gives that perfect smile that’s been burned into your memory. 

“I love it,” you whisper sensually in his ear. You hear a low moan in the back of his throat as he grabs you by the waist. He lifts you up and roughly places you down on the mattress below him. 

“Sweetheart, I’m gonna leave you covered by the time we’re done here. Everyone will know you’re mine,” he tells you. 

“I was hoping you’d say that,” you respond. 

“Why’s that?” he asks with a grin. You think back to the fight with your parents you’d had before you’d left home. You fell asleep without a shirt on, your parents noticed one of the hickeys on your chest, and they were not pleased. You assured them that it was fine. You still had amazing grades, great relationships with your friends, and your own hobbies, but they hated the idea you were having sex, especially not with someone they didn’t trust, like Jasper.

Jasper lifts up your chin, kissing you your jaw, bringing you back into reality.

“My parents and I are fighting about you again,” you say between breathy moans, “they think you’re a bad influence.”

“I am,” he said while slipping his hand under your shirt. You wanted to listen to his thick southern accent forever, hearing him call out your name in it. You tugged at his shirt, lifting it up. He quickly took it off, and you did the same with your own. Your chest was now exposed and he began kissing you all over. He left hickeys up and down your chest, your waist, your neck, everywhere. Anywhere he could reach your soft, warm skin he pressed his tongue to it. He knew neither of you would be satisfied until you were fully covered in hickeys.

He pulled away from you, slowly unbuckling his pants just to tease you. He unbottoned your pants next and pulled them off you, leaving kisses along your hips. He pulled down your undewear just enough to expose you and began to kiss you there. He licked your bare skin slowly, causing you to buck your hips with excitement. 

He moved back up to your neck, kissing and leaving hickies there again, but he kept a firm grip on your hips. His mouth trailed down to your collarbones, and left more marks there. You knew he was trying to tease you. As he pulled away to let you gasp for air you looked noticed a tent in his boxers, and you knew you craved him. He began to slowly grind against you, his hard pressing up against you in the most satisfying way, causing you to beg for him.

“Please Jasper, I need you,” you moaned out. He began to kiss and suck one of your nipples. You jumped in pleasure as he put one of his cold hands between your thighs, roughly spreading them open. He stopped kissing your chest, and began to kiss you. His tongue was in your mouth, his hard cock was rubbing against you, and you were in pure bliss. He pulled away from the kiss and pushed a few strands of hair out of your face.

“Oh darlin’, I’m not even done with my tongue yet,” he told you before moving back down between your thighs. He grabbed you by the hips and began to tease you with his tongue. He traced it along your inner thighs, causing your hips to jump again.

“Please, Jas,” you begged. You saw him smile up at you before begining to give you head. His tongue moved in the most perfect ways. He kissed and licked you everywhere, and you had never felt more pleasure. His hands were firmly gripped on your thighs, and his tongue moved swiftly. You let out shaky mones as your got closer to your climax, but his movements never faltered. Before you could even register the thought, you had already came. Your legs were shaking from the pleasure.

He sat up, brushing more hair out of your face. He wiped some sweat off of your face before gently kissing your forehead. It was hard to tell if you liked him more gentle and sweet or rough and dominating. You sat up, resting in his arms. The two of you peacfully laid there, skin to skin, for what could’ve been forever. He shifted and got out of bed, having to force himself to let go of your hand. 

“It’s getting late,” he told you as he gathered both of your clothes. “You should get home before it’s dark, or else I might have to punish you next time,” he whispered seductively as he left a final hickey on your neck. 

Jasper Hale and gn! reader they're looking around the stream and they see some Quartzite and reader gets excited (it's their fav.. rock)

typically its found in the mountians

a/n: This was so fun to write! This was actually my first request, so I'm glad to get to write it. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy!!

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i could listen to you forever

gn!reader x jasper hale (fluff)

words: 535

summary: you find your favorite rock along the river's edge, and Jasper can't help but listen to you ramble.

“Jasper,” you whisper shout to him. Your eyes are only partially open, but you still see something shining in the sunlight towards the bed of the stream. “Jas,” you urge again, this time shaking his shoulder. You aren’t sure why either of you decided it’d be a good idea to rest here, out in the forest, but it’s been some of the best sleep you’ve ever gotten. 

“What is it love bug?” Jasper asks in a soft, sleepy voice. Vampires can’t sleep, but sometimes he gets so relaxed with you that he feels like he could. You yawn, stretching your back, and stand up. One second you’re looking at Jasper resting against a rock, eyes barely open and strands of blonde hair in his face, the next second he’s stood next to you with wide eyes. His vampire speed might be something you never get used to.

“I see something shining over there,” you say excitedly. You absolutely loved all things rocks and crystals, and Jasper knew that well. 

“Well, let’s go look and see what it is, Sugar,” Jasper tells you with a smile. He loves to see you get excited over what you care about, and you love when he calls you those sweet nicknames. The two of you quickly make your way over to the river's age. The sun is hitting just right, and Jasper begins to sparkle just as much as the rock in his hands.

“Is that what I think it is?” you ask him happily. You watch as he rubs his thumb over it, and then holds it up to the light. 

“Why yes, I do believe so,” he says with a smirk, leaning in closer to you. You laugh and gently kiss him. He places the rock in your hand and you begin to exam in it.

“Did you know this is my favorite?” 

“I think you’ve mentioned it,” he says with a smile, “maybe I’ll get it made into a ring for you.” You laugh at his comments, but deep down you know that sounds amazing. “Why don’t you tell me about it?”

“Haven’t I already told you about it?” you ask genuinely. You could talk about this sort of stuff forever, but you don’t because you don’t want to annoy Jasper.

“You have told me about it, but I wanna hear it again,” he tells you as he grabs you by the waist and kisses the top of your head.

“It’s Quartzite, typically found in the mountains. It’s a metamorphic rock, meaning it’s formed by being subjected to high heat and pressure, that’s made from quartz rich sandstone. Sometimes it’s used to make kitchen countertops.” 

“You sure do know your stuff, sweetheart,” he says with a smile. His southern accent is more prominent then ever when he’s calling you his sweetheart. 

“You don’t mind when I ramble?”

“Darlin’, I could listen to you talk about rocks for the rest of my life, which I’d like to point out is the rest of forever.” He kisses you on the top of the head again and holds you close.

“Well, I guess you’ll be learning a lot about rocks,” you joke.

“I can’t wait,” he says, syrupy sweet. 

love bites & apologies

gn!reader x jasper hale

words: 1960

summary: when Jasper accidentally leaves marks on y/n’s neck after kissing them, he has to figure out how to make it up to them and their parents.

“Sugar, you are so sweet,” Jasper’s words came out like a husky southern growl, just centimeters away from your face. Slowly, his hands push through your hair as his icy lips move down your neck. He sends a chill down your spine with the feeling of his cold touch, and yet your whole body feels hot with pleasure. Just as Jasper begins to pin you down, his lips still grazing your warm neck, the sound of someone clearing their throat startles both of you. The two of you turn to face the person quickly, and embarrassment adorns your face when you realize who caught you. Jasper releases the firm grip he had on you and raises his eyebrows at the towering lean figure standing in the doorway.

“Y’know, I can hear all your thoughts, and usually that would be helpful, but I don’t want to hear,” Edward pauses to glance between the two of you, “those thoughts.” Your face flushes with embarrassment, and Jasper’s would too, if he was still capable of it.

“I’ll have you know, from the moment you met Bella, I could feel every emotion you felt about her, and that was ten times worse. Do you know how awkward it is to feel lust emitting from the house, just to find out it’s coming from your brother?” A smirk is still etched onto Jasper’s face as he finishes drawing out the words with his charming Southern accent. Edward tenses with embarrassment, and he doesn’t say anything for a long time, considering what Jasper knows. Then, as he begins to look back between the couple sprawled out on Jasper's bed, he begins to laugh.

“Why is he doing that?” you ask in a low mumble. Jasper gives Edward a look of confusion, before turning to you. The second he sees you, his face drops, no longer smirking, and he is in utter shock.

“Oh, Emmett is gonna love this,” Edward says between laughs. Before Edward even finished his sentence Emmett was standing at his side with just the mention of his name. When he looked into the room, he burst into laughter too.

“Nice one, Jasper!” Emmett exclaims as he pats Jasper’s shoulder with intense force, almost knocking Jasper, who is in a trance-like state, over. “It’s like you’re all grown up. Quite the cowboy,” He says, sarcastically. Your confusion is palpable to the brothers, but before you can even ask, Edward is pointing a small handheld mirror at you, giving you a great view of your neck. It’s almost entirely purplish-red from all the places Jasper had been kissing you. You let out a gasp that causes all laughter to cease.

“I’d love to help you,” Edward said with a smile, almost as if he was enjoying this moment, “but since Vampires don’t have blood, we don’t have this problem.” As his brothers spoke, Jasper stood to the side, continuing to look down at you with a slight horror at the mistake he made.

“We could try makeup? I know Rosalie has a ton somewhere around here,” Emmett suggests, at least trying to be helpful.

“Going home with pasty white makeup all over your neck is almost more suspicious than just letting people see the hickeys,” Edward said to Emmett playfully. “And also, curfew is in fifteen minutes, so I’d hurry home,” Edward says to you, knowing this will only be worse if you also break your curfew.

Before you’d even had time to think of a plan, Jasper was already ushering you to the car. He raced down the slick asphalt to your house in the silver Jeep. The car was completely silent the whole drive, but Jasper kept a firm grip on your thigh with his right hand. Emmett and Edward were in the back, and as you pull into the driveway, you can only hope your parents won’t kill you.

“Hold on,” Jasper says, his cool hand touches your jaw, and he leans in to give you a soft, cold, longing kiss, “just in case it’s the last time,” he mumbles into your ear as he reluctantly pulls away from the kiss.

“They can’t ground me for as long as you're alive,” you remark playfully.

“Yes, but they can ground you for as long as you’re alive,” he says, with a sweet syrupy quality to his voice. His hand slowly and delicately traces down your jaw until it's back in his atmosphere again. You crave to grab his hand or to press his skin against yours for just one last second, but you know you can’t look like this and be late. You climb out of the Jeep, step inside your house, and close the door behind you, but Jasper doesn’t take the Jeep out of park.

“What are we doing, Jasper?” Emmett questions uneasily.

“Jasper wants to know what y/n’s parents are going to feel when they see what happened,” Edward explained, already knowing what Jasper was thinking, which was helpful because Jasper would give anything not to speak right now. No one said anything for a moment, but then Jasper tensed, sitting up a little straighter. Edward slumped back, seeming almost uncomfortable by what was happening. Emmett could tell this meant that your parents had noticed, and things didn’t seem good.

“I can feel their emotions. It’s so strong that I can hardly distort them, at least not from this far.” Jasper paused after the words left his mouth, but he didn’t move. “What are they thinking, Edward?”

“I don’t want to say,” Edward said monotonously. Emmett stiffened, and for someone so hard to miss, he seemed to wash away with the tension of the moment.

“Tell me,” Jasper demanded. The brothers sat very still for a very long time before anyone spoke again. The sound of chirping crickets filled their ears, and the stars shined down on them. However, they didn't notice any of their surroundings, as they focused their attention on what was happening in your house.

“They think you’re a freak,” he paused, for what felt like centuries, before saying, “They want you two to break up.” Before Edward can continue, Jasper put the car in reverse and sped home so fast that even Edward wanted to suggest slowing down.

“What am I going to do?” Jasper asked as he opened the front door to the Cullen's house. Emmett and Edward shuffled in behind him without a word.

“You’re going to have to make it up to y/n’s parents,” Emmet advised.

“You’re going to have to make it up to y/n too,” as soon as the words escaped Edward's mouth Emmett and Jasper were staring at him, waiting for an explanation. “When I was listening to their thoughts, y/n was mad that you weren’t more careful.”

“I’ll figure something out,” Jasper said, his voice full of exasperation.

A week passes, and somehow Jasper finds himself standing next to Carlisle at your doorstep.

“Jasper, I’m surprised you asked me to do this for you,” Carlisle says quietly as he taps his stone-cold hand against your front door. “This relationship must mean a lot to you.” The door opens before their conversation continues, and they’re greeted with your father's presence. Days had passed since Jasper had gotten to see you. After what happened last week, Jasper called your house, but when your father answered, he told Jasper to never call back again. Jasper had hoped he’d be able to talk with you at school, but you anxiously avoided him, and he wasn’t looking to upset you anymore. It was the slowest week of his 160-year-old life.

“It’s great to see you. I’m Dr. Cullen, Jasper’s father. I was wondering if we could have a word?” Your father is hesitant at the question, but allows the two of them to come inside. The three of them sit at the dining table that your mother is already occupying. As they sit, Jasper nervously fumbles with his hands, worried that his plan to involve Carlisle as his ‘father’ wouldn’t work the way he hoped.

“Jasper,” you say as you walk into the kitchen, surprised to see them, “and Carlisle, what’s going on?” You make your way to the table and sit down on the far end, with Jasper on one side of you, and your father on the other. Jasper could feel the nervousness emitting from you, and it almost matched his own. He wanted to grab on to you and never let go as he took in your intoxicating scent and warm skin, but instead, he settled for inconspicuously placing a hand on your knee and hoping your family didn’t notice.

“I wanted to discuss with you all what happened last week,” Carlisle said, looking more serious than you’d ever seen him. When he said the words, almost everyone in the room had their eyes on your (no longer purple) neck. Except for Jasper, who was looking deep into your eyes as if they could heal him or ease his pain. “What Jasper did was irresponsible, and I do not condone that kind of behavior. We have both raised two very responsible, mature, and sensible kids. As disapproving as I am, what they did was not dangerous. Our children had the self-control to stop themselves before things got too out of hand. I know these kids make each other happy, and I believe we should continue to let them see each other.” Carlisle hardly gave anyone time to speak as he felt the disapproval radiate off your parents. “And if it would make you more comfortable, they don’t have to be together at my house anymore. At least not alone.” There was a long pause after Carlisle finished speaking, as if what he said compelled everyone to silence. Jasper gently squeezed your knee and glanced at you hopefully.

“I’ll agree that they continue to see each other, on the condition that they can only be alone together in public, or at our house, with the doors open, while we are home.” It might sound like a big ask, but Jasper knew how secretive and creative Edward was with Bella, and for someone so special to him, he was willing to try and be just as sneaky for you. The idea of sneaking into your bedroom late at night filled him with excitement, and he quickly thought of all the ways he could climb into your bed without your family noticing.

“I think we can agree to that,” Carlisle said with a wide smile and stood up to shake your father’s hand. Jasper smiled eagerly as he stood up, beckoning you to stand too, and wrapped you into a hug. Even if his skin was glacial, he still warmed your heart. You attempted to suppress your excited laugh as Jasper kissed your cheek.

“Hey,” your father called out disapprovingly, causing Jasper to loosen his grip around you.

“What?” you mused, “the doors are open?” Jasper tried to hide his smile in your hair as your parents let out a collective sigh.

“Don’t push it you two,” Carlisle said just loud enough for only you two to hear. He threw the two of you a knowing wink as he made his way back to the front door. Jasper smiled in a way you’d never seen before and slightly adjusted so his back was facing your parents. Gently, he leaned down to kiss you one more time. This time, he let his cold lips meet yours, and even if it was just for a second, you could feel every ounce of his love.

“See you soon, darlin’,” he said with a hushed sultry southern accent. Next time you two were together, he planned on continuing what you never got to finish.

i’m glad we get forever

gn!reader x jasper hale (fluff)

words: 387

summary: y/n and Jasper realize that being a vampire isn’t so bad when you have someone to love.

I twirl his silky golden hair between my fingers as he's intertwined with me. As a vampire, he can’t sleep, but I can tell he's at peace.

The Cullen house is quiet, and we’re the only people home. As you’d expect in Forks, you can hear the whirring of air and gentle raindrops tap against the windows from inside. The weather creates a tranquil ambiance for us to find comfort in. There’s a soft static on the TV that we keep on just for the background noise. It provides a dim glow that barely illuminates the room as we lay together.

Jasper and I are sprawled out on the pliant couch, halfway sunken into the seats. I feel his hands on me, and his soft maroon sweater brushes against my skin. For a brief second, I close my eyes and admire the sweet smell of fresh-cut flowers that lingers on all his clothes. I open my eyes again because I don’t want to take them off him.

His eyelids flutter open, and his soft, honey eyes meet mine. I smile and brush more hair away from his forehead. His skin is smooth, and my hand lingers on his temple. I can feel him hold onto me tighter, and his hands grip me more, but I don't mind. I feel secure in his arms, and it’s just so easy to relax with him.

Vampires are inherently cold creatures that don’t have a heartbeat, but he has the warmest heart I’ve ever known. I know he could make anyone feel this serene if he wanted to, but I wholeheartedly believe I feel this way because of my genuine love for him.

“I wish we could do this forever.” His words are soft and barely audible as they leave his mouth, but I can still make out his sticky sweet southern accent. Before I respond, I take a long minute to stare at his cold, soft lips. I don’t kiss him, but rather admire him just as he is.

"Jas, we really do have forever. We can do this for as long as you’d like,” I reassure him while feeling him lean into me and rest his head between my collarbone and jaw. The following words he says are muffled, but I cherish them regardless.

“I’m glad we get forever.”

WHEN JASPER TOLD BELLA SHE WAS WRONG AND THAT SHE WAS WORTH IT

jasper: *tries to bite bella, again*

esme and carlisle: 

Sunrise | Twilight J.H

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VI. Midnight Circles

By four o’clock in the morning the two sisters had created what they thought was a solid plan in how to break the news to their mom. The most important part of the plan was that they should definitely wait until morning, rather than waking her up at nearly four in the morning.

“Could you sleep with me tonight?” Mitsuko asked as she slipped into bed, unwilling for Hoshiko to leave her side just yet. She didn’t want her to disappear again.

“I can’t…” Hoshiko replied, her face suddenly distressed. “I mean, I can’t sleep.”

“At all?”

She nodded before elaborating further, “I tried to, yesterday, but… nothing.”

“Could you…” Mitsuko hesitated for a moment. “Lie with me anyway?”

The younger sister simply smiled at her sister softly before stepping forward and sinking into the empty space next to Mitsuko. The eldest pulled the cover over them before reaching across and pulling the younger sister close.

However, as soon as Hoshiko was pulled close to Mitsuko’s throat, she tensed suddenly in her sister’s arms. Concerned, she pulled away to look at her sister in concern, only to be met by dark black eyes.

“Hoshi, is everything okay?” She asked her sister, who still hadn’t moved.

“You smell so…” Suddenly Hosiko interrupted herself by nearly flinging herself across the room, hitting the wall behind, causing the house to shake.

Mitsuko stood to follow her sister but was stopped by a deep growl coming from the younger girl, “Stay back!”

“I don’t under—“ This time Mitsuko was cut off by a furious pounding on their front door.

The two sisters were still for a moment, staring at each other as they listened to banging on the door. As they simply stood there, the distinct sound of their mom's door opening echoed through the house, followed quickly by her footsteps.

“Mom!” Mitsuko called out, moving to her door and stepping out from her room, her sister cautiously following behind her, still keeping a sizeable distance.

By the time the sisters had moved from her room and downstairs, their mom was already at the door and opened it.

“Doctor Cullen?” Their mom said as she opened the door, “It’s the middle of the night!”

“I am aware, Mrs Tanaka; apologies for disturbing you,” Carlisle said with a neutral expression. “I need to speak to your daughters.”

“I’m Carlisle, but only Mitsuko is here; Hoshi is—“

“Right here!” Hoshiko spoke up, stepping forward with her eyes now narrowed at the people at the door. Carlisle wasn’t alone; next to him on either side stood Emmett and Jasper.

Not noticing the sudden tension, Chiyo quickly turned her head to look at her youngest daughter. “Hoshiko… Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!”

Yet before she could approach her daughter, Carlisle grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him. “Mrs Tanaka, please stay where you are.”

As Carlisle pulled Chiyo behind him, Jasper stepped forward, eyes focused on Mitsuko as she stood in front of her sister. “Mitsuko, please come here.”

“No.” She refused, “She’s not going to hurt me!”

“Suki…” She turned to face her younger sister, who was looking at her with a deeply pained expression. “You should go stand with them.”

Mitsuko took a moment to look at her sister, really look at her. Alongside the pained expression on her face, Mitsuko realised that Hoshiko was gripping the bannister of the stairs so strongly that she was nearly snapping the wood in half.

Suddenly she found her body becoming stiff and beginning to move without her trying, turning around and walking towards where Jasper and Emmett were standing. As she got closer to them, she felt a cold hand softly wrap around her wrist before pulling her the rest of the way. Now she found herself hidden behind Jasper, who was standing protectively between her and her little sister.

“Will someone tell me what is happening?” Chiyo exclaimed as she looked rapidly between her two daughters in concern.

"I'm afraid we can't tell you…" Carlisle responded cryptically, "But it's imperative your daughters come with us right now."

Instead, she forcefully pointed at the doctor, something she usually only did to her daughters when they were in trouble. “No, they’re not going anywhere until you tell me what is going on.”

“I’m a vampire now, aren’t I?” Hoshiko suddenly questioned, causing everyone’s attention to shift towards her again. “I’ve read Dracula before; I’m not stupid.”

Mitsuko noticed her mom become quiet at Hoshiko’s question, her body stock still at the mention of vampires. Yet before she could ask her, she was interrupted when Carlisle spoke up again, “Mrs Tanaka I really must insist that your daughters come with us right now.”

“But it’s four in the morning!” She spoke again, gesturing to herself as a way to emphasise that she was currently only in a nightgown.

“Listen, we need to get her out of here before a certain group finds Hoshiko here.” Jasper spoke with authority, speaking to them all as if they were officers in the army. “So get dressed if you have to, but we need to leave now.”

This was how Mitsuko found herself sitting in the back of Carlisle Cullen’s car, Jasper next to her as a way to separate the two sisters, something she still didn’t understand was necessary.

Within ten minutes they were already pulling up in front of the Cullens’ woodland house. Outside stood the rest of the Cullen family; they were in a uniformed line and clearly on guard.

When Mitsuko stepped out, she was quickly accosted by Alice and Emilie, who pulled her between them and held her firmly in place. Jasper followed, now standing behind her, creating a protective triangle.

“Why’d you bring her? She’s just a stupid human.” Rosalie had muttered quietly, yet despite being on the other side of the semicircle, Mitsuko heard her crystal clear and bristled slightly.

“Hey!” She couldn’t help but yell at the blonde, whose eyes widened slightly in surprise, “There’s no need to be rude!”

“How did you—“ “Rosalie.” Carlisle interrupted before she could finish her question, “Not now; we have something more important to discuss.”

At that moment, Hoshiko finally stepped out of the car but stayed stock still in front of it. Her eyes flittered between each person with a cold, calculated look in a way Mitsuko had seen her do countless times, usually when she felt trapped.

“We’re not here to hurt you,” Edward spoke up, seemingly reading her distress. “We just want to know what happened.”

Yet before Hoshiko could even begin to explain, Edward’s face changed, and he spoke again, “She found the army.”

“In Seattle?”

“Someone turned her, but she didn’t see who; the only person in her memories I recognise is Riley Biers.”

“What do you mean by her memories?” Mitsuko spoke up again, “Matter of fact, nothing you’re saying is making any sense. Can someone please explain?”

“Hoshiko is right,” Carlisle began to explain. “She has been turned into a vampire, just like my family and I.”

Pause.

“You’re saying my sister is a vampire now?” She asked, “Like from Buffy?”

“We’re way cooler than that.” Emmett spoke with a grin, earning a small slap on the back of his head from Rosalie.

“Right… But wait,” she continued, giving Emmett a small smile before continuing, “Was I attacked by a vampire that night?”

She tried to ignore how Jasper stiffened behind her at the mention of that night and moved to take his hand into hers, providing a comfort she instinctively wanted to give.

“You saw Riley that night, didn’t you?” Edward asked her, but it was clear he already knew the answer.

“Yeah, he seemed… different, angrier. I don’t think he even fully recognised me.”

“He's a newborn, still within his first year,” Carlisle began to explain. “He wouldn’t have been in full control of himself.”

Her face furrowed in thought as she tried to remember that night; in all the fury and violence, there was one thing that was clear: Riley’s teeth sinking into her neck. So she asked the question, “Does everyone that gets bitten turn into a vampire?”

“To my knowledge, yes.”

That made Mitsuko pause in thought, nervously wetting her lips before speaking, Then why didn’t I?”

At her question, she noticed how Carlisle glanced from her to Jasper with an indecipherable expression before looking back to her, answering honestly, “We don’t know yet.”

Turning around, she narrowed her eyes in suspicion as she analysed the expression on Jasper’s face, which seemed to be intentionally as neutral as possible. They weren’t telling her something.

So after letting out a small huff, she pulled her hand away from his own and began to walk away back towards her sister. She only made it one step before a strong pair of arms reached out and pulled her backwards into his solid form.

“That’s a bad idea, darling,” Jasper's voice drawled in her right ear, “You’re going to be good and stay right by me.”

She tried not to let his words affect her; after all, this was neither the time nor the place. She didn’t try hard enough.

“I was just…” Mitsuko trailed off awkwardly as she made eye contact with Emmett, who began waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Now embarrassed, she tried to pull away again, to which Jasper tightened his grip. It wasn’t enough to hurt her, but it was enough for Mitsuko to fully understand just how strong he was.

So strong. She wondered what else he could do with those hands.

Despite her best efforts, all her mind could think about now was possibilities, like how possible would it be for Jasper to use those hands the right way if Mitsuko begged sweetly enough? Maybe she could get him to put his hands on her-

On the other side of the group, Edward began to choke on thin air. Mitusko thought it almost sounded like he was gagging. The others simply ignored the boy's struggling.

"Is he okay?" She asked which was simply answered with a collective laugh from the family.

As the laughter died down, Carlisle explained once more, "Edward can read minds."

"Oh…" If her cheeks could get any redder, she looked severely sunburnt.

“Unfortunately”, Edward spoke up from where he had finished fake gagging.

“He’s just being dramatic,” Alice spoke up, trying to comfort Mitsuko. “I’m sure what you were thinking wasn’t that bad.”

Edward started gagging again.

“Will you stop that, Edward?” Rosalie yelled at her adoptive brother, “God, you are always so fucking annoying.”

“Hello, teenage vampire going through a crisis here.” Hoshiko waved to the group, causing them to quieten down. “Could we please get back on topic?”

Mitsuko blinked to rewire her brain. “Sorry, you’re right.” She spoke, turning to Carlisle once more, “What exactly is the plan here?”

Before he spoke this time, Carlisle turned to Esme, waiting for her to nod and then stepping forward, “We’re willing to offer you a place in our family. You’d stay with us and learn to control your lust for blood, but we would expect you to follow our diet.”

She tilted her head in confusion, “What’s that?”

“We don’t drink human blood and hunt animals instead.” He clarified.

“I’m okay with that,” She agreed immediately, a haunted look appearing on her face. “The things I saw when I first woke up… well, I’d rather not talk about it.”

“We’ve all been in similar situations, Hoshiko; we understand,” Esme spoke, stepping forward, only turning back to reassure Carlisle, who had instinctually reached out to pull her back. Walking forwards until she was in front of Hoshiko, “In time, if you like, we can talk about it together.”

If she could cry, the younger Tanaka would have tears brimming in her eyes, “That would be nice.”

Ever the maternal figure, Esme didn’t hesitate before pulling Hoshiko into her arms and hugging her with nearly all her strength. The fledgling vampire could have sworn her now-diamond skin creaked from how hard she was hugging her, yet she could not help but lean in further into the embrace.

Still standing in Jasper’s arms, Mitsuko couldn’t help as the tears flowed; they were both her own and on behalf of her sister. She felt a jumble of emotions in that moment: sadness, confusion, relief and happiness. Yet as seconds went by, she felt an overwhelming sense of calm through her, and clarity hit her. Turning around one more time, she looked intently into Jasper’s golden eyes.

“It’s been you the whole time, hasn’t it?”

Jasper seemed hesitant to explain, “I can control people’s emotions, but I’ve only ever used it on you as a way to calm you.”

“I’m not mad.” She responded instantly, leaning further into him, “But could you ask me for permission next time?”

“Oh,” he said, surprised by her response, “Of course, if that’s what you want me to do.”

Mitsuko nodded before turning back to look at her sister as her small smile drooped into a frown. Jasper stepped around and looked at her from the side. “What’s wrong?”

“Will I ever be able to be near my sister again?” She whispered to him in hopes he would be the only one to hear.

Yet it seemed since she was in the know about vampires, the Cullens had decided to drop all pretences. From the complete other side of the large circle the group had formed, Edward decided to speak up, “It might be for the best.”

“What kind of suggestion is that?” She yelled out once more, stepping forward; this time Jasper decided to let her go. “She’s my sister; you can’t just expect me to abandon her!”

“She’s a newborn,” Edward hissed at her as he stepped forward. “She’s at the strongest but most uncontrollable she will be as a vampire.”

Yet, Mitsuko wasn’t one to be pushed around, so she stepped closer. “We’re sisters; we’d never hurt each other.”

“It would take much; it wouldn’t even have to be on purpose.” Edward pushed closer, now fully encroaching on her space. “I mean, it wouldn’t even take me a second to kill you. Think what a newborn at full strength could do.”

Within a millisecond, Jasper was at Mitsuko's side, pulling her behind him as he growled furiously at Edward, “Who do you think you’re threatening?”

At the same time, Hoshiko yelled out, “Back away from my sister, arsehole!”

He stood his ground for a moment longer before the rapidly darkening look on Jasper’s face made him back away, but not before speaking again. “She needs to understand how dangerous this is.”

“I think she’s already well aware of that.” The blonde spoke in a dangerously measured tone, “Or are you forgetting what she’s already been through?”

Feeling overshadowed in the conversation, Mitsuko leaned around Jasper slightly to emphasise, “Not that it’ll work anyway.” Before she was gently pushed back again.

Edward continued to stare at Jasper for a moment longer, his eyes flicking to Mitsuko behind him, to which she decided to flip him off. By this point it was clear that the tension would not be diffused by any three of them, so Carlisle stepped forward.

“That’s enough,” he spoke firmly, but his face remained soft. “We have larger issues at hand; I see no reason for Hoshiko and Mitsuko to spend time together so long as one of us supervises.”

“Carlisle”. Edward pushed back at his creator.

“We welcomed Bella with open arms into this family.” He responded instead, “ I expect you to do the same for Mitsuko.”

“You can just call me Suki!” She called out from behind Jasper again, earning a bewildered smile from Carlisle before he spoke again.

“I expect you to do the same for Suki.” The girl in question smiled widely at his correction.

It was a moment before Edward finally conceded with a forced, “Fine.” Before he turned around and ran deep into the woods.

“Where the hell is he going?” Hoshiko asked with a confused tone.

“Probably to visit Bella,” Esme explained, “He stays with her most nights.”

Once Jasper deemed Edward far enough away, he turned around and lifted Mitsuko’s chin up so she was looking at him. “Are you okay there, darling?”

She was awestruck by his touch; his presence was so overwhelming to her, but all she wanted to do was step closer and breathe him in. Instead, her body shook from the cold, and she let out a small yawn. After sighing slightly at the fact she ruined a potential moment, she spoke, her voice quiet and clearly drained, “Tired.”

Jasper smiled again. She’d liked it when he smiled, especially when he smiled at her. God, she was tired.

“Yeah, I think we should get you home.” He spoke, reaching forward to place his hand against her forehead, and Mitsuko leaned forward into his freezing touch instantly.

“You’re so cold,” she shivered, yet before he pulled away, she reached forward and grabbed his hand. “No, no, no, it’s nice... you feel so nice."

Before she could run her mouth anymore, Jasper wrapped his arms around her before hoisting her up and carrying her back towards the silver car. "Right, let's get you in the car."

"M'kay," she said as she burrowed further into his chest and closed her eyes, sleep quickly taking over.

Carefully, Jasper opened the door to the car and was able to settle her in the front passenger seat. After making sure she was buckled in and draping his jacket over her sleeping form, he took his place in the driver's seat.

Before he could pull away, though, a knock on the window caused him to turn and come face to face with Hoshiko’s suspicious glare. With a neutral expression, Jasper rolled down the window and simply stared.

“I need you to promise me something,” she said firmly, before her face softened, “Take care of my sister.”

He answered without hesitation, “Always.”

Sunrise | Twilight J.H

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Chapter 5. Minor Complications

Mitsuko had been in the hospital for three more days before Dr. Cullen finally came in with the good news: she was going home.

Yet when Charlie walked through the door to collect her instead of her mom, her relief quickly turned into an uncertain sense of fear. As they walked down the hallway together, several nurses stopped what they were doing and looked at her in sympathy.

Surely nurses would look more relieved than sympathetic when a patient has been deemed healthy enough to leave? At least that's what Mitsuko thought.

It was worse when she got home. Her mom was home; her car was in the driveway, which meant she could've come to get her, but for some reason she didn't.

Charlie guided her into her house and straight into the living room, where her mother was sitting, but she wasn't alone. In the room, sitting on the opposite couch from where her mom was sitting, were two other officers. One of them had a notebook open with several lines of writing on its pages, but Mitsuko was too far away to see clearly what it said.

Her steps slowed until she halted just at the entryway of the living room; she looked around cautiously as she spoke, "What's going on?"

As she spoke, all heads moved to where she was standing; Charlie moved past her before turning back to her with a strange expression on his face, "Why don't you take a seat, kid?"

"No," she refused. "Just tell me what's going on!"

It was at this moment her mom stood and took a step towards her: "It's Hoshi."

The pit in her stomach grew. "What about Hoshi?"

"She left three days ago, said she was having a sleepover," her mom explained, choking up slightly as she spoke, "but she hasn't come home, and the girl she said she was staying with hasn't seen Hoshi since Monday last week."

The room grew silent as they awaited Mitsuko's reaction to the news, but she found herself frozen, unable to speak or even move her face. Concerned, her mom stepped forward and grabbed onto her arm, shaking her slightly to get her attention. "Miko, honey, do you understand what I told you?"

She shook herself slightly before finally responding, "Hoshi's gone missing?"

"I'm afraid so, kid," Charlie chimed in. "We've got officers canvassing the area, and we're also in touch with Seattle police in case she's ended up there."

Seattle. Of course.

At the mention of the city, Mitsuko's eyes shined with recognition. She thought back to the conversation she had those three days ago in the hospital room. Hoshi had promised she wouldn't do anything without her sister, but Mitsuko had forgotten how stubborn her little sister could be.

All she could do in that moment was slowly nod her head before speaking with a slight tremble, "I'm... going to head to my room."

She began walking away, only turning around when her mom called after her, "I just need some time to process... this."

Turning back around, she climbed the stairs and made her way into her room. Where she stayed for nearly two full days. After the second day, Angela and Jess had come to visit her, having heard the news and wanting to check on her.

Instead of seeing the usual smiling face, the two were greeted by the sight of Mitsuko staring intently at a map of Seattle she'd pulled up on her computer.

"Suki?" Angela had called in an attempt to get her attention, "Everyone's really worried about you; your mom says you haven't come out in two days."

When that didn't get a response, Jessica sighed and stomped over and yanked the computer's power cord from the wall. "Seriously, Suki, this isn't going to help anyone!"

That seemed to have gotten a reaction from Mitsuko, who twisted her head to face her friends with a dark expression.

"What do you want me to do, Jess?" Her eyes quickly filling with tears as her face crumbled. "I can't act like nothing has happened; she's gone!"

"We're not asking you to do that!" Jess argued back, "But we both know Hoshi wouldn't want you torturing yourself over trying to find her."

"I'm just so afraid she'll end up like..." She couldn't finish that sentence, but it was clear her friends understood at least to some degree. Yet they'd never understand just how much she didn't want Riley and Hoshiko to share the same fate.

"You shouldn't think like that." Jess chastised her again, "The investigation is still ongoing; for all we know, she's run off to watch one of those bands she likes so much on tour."

It was so like Jess to think that way; there was always a best-case scenario that she would remind people of. Maybe it was because she hadn't experienced much hardship, or maybe that was the only way Jess knew how to comfort her friends.

"Maybe you're right," Mitusko finally admitted, "I just can't stand the thought of her being alone and hurt somewhere."

Angela stepped forward again, pulling her friend into a tight hug. "We know, but we, as your friends, have a responsibility to make sure you're okay."

All she could do was nod before burying her face into her friend's shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes, with Jess eventually joining in and making it a group hug. After a while they pulled away, and Angela gently reached out to wipe away her friend's tears.

"How about we have a nice night in and watch a cheesy chick flick?" She suggested, to which Mitsuko smiled softly and nodded.

The three of them spent the night curled up on Mitsuko's bed as Legally Blonde played on the small TV in her room. When the movie had finished, it was already dark, so Angela and Jess bid their friend goodbye and left.

With her friends gone, the silence became suffocating once again, but the presence of her friends had helped heal at least a little bit of the damage in Mitsuko's heart.

She'd finally crawled out of bed to have a quick shower, groan in pleasure from finally feeling clean again. With her hair still wet, she'd then thrown her pyjamas on and shuffled back under the covers. After only a few minutes, she felt herself drifting off in a deep slumber.

Knock knock knock

Mitsuko's eyes flew open at the sound of the furious banging against her bedroom window. Disoriented, she glanced at the clock on her bedside table to see it read 3:46 am.

Thinking it was just the branches of the tree outside hitting against the glass, she simply pulled the cover over her tighter and closed her eyes. Thankfully she was tired enough that it didn't take long for her to begin drifting again.

Knock knock knock

The banging continued, but it seemed to be getting louder and more frequent. This time she sat up and reached over to flick on her bedside lamp. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust before she could stand and slowly approach her window. It was too dark for her to see what was outside, so all she could do was unlatch it and swing it open.

The moment she did, she was almost knocked to the ground when a large body jumped in through the now open window. Before she could shout in alarm, a cold hand covered a mouth, followed by a harsh hiss.

"Shhh," The voice whispered, "It's me, Suki. It's just me."

Her eyes focused on the face in front of her, and her breath hitched in surprise. She tried to speak but was muffled under the hand on her mouth. "Hoshi?"

"If I move my hand away, you're not going to scream, are you?" Her sister asked, to which all she could do was nod.

The hand was slowly removed from her mouth as Hoshiko took a step away, keeping what she deemed a safe distance from her older sister. The distance also allowed Mitsuko to fully take in her sister's appearance.

Although she looked similar to how she did only a few days ago, she was also somehow completely unrecognisable. Yet the thing that stuck out the most, the thing that made the pit settle back in Mitsuko's stomach, was her eyes. The once dark brown, almost pitch black, was gone, replaced by a startling crimson red. Just like Riley's.

"What happened to you?" Was all she could say, breaking the silence that had fallen between them.

"I don't know..." Hoshiko muttered, even her voice was different, "It's all just like a blur; one moment I'm talking to you in the hospital, and the next I'm... burning."

She bit her lip from her nerves before speaking again, "Hoshi, your eyes are..."

"I know..." her sister spoke, "I saw them in a mirror, not long after I woke up."

The expression of absolute confusion and defeat on her sister's face made Mitsuko's heart ache once more. Without thinking, she took several rapid steps forward before pulling her little sister into her arms.

"Fuck..." She couldn't help but cry out when the rock-hard body slammed into her, "Sorry, you're like a boulder."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Her sister rested her head on her shoulder but kept her hands at her side, not trusting her newfound strength. "Turns out I'm like super strong or something now."

Mitsuko pulled back from the hug to look at her sister once more. "How did you even get back here?"

"I ran." Was all Hoshiko willing to say at the moment, "I think I have super speed too."

"Are you saying you've turned into some kind of superhero or something?"

"I think mutant might be a more accurate description." Hoshiko joked, a small smile on her face.

"Shit." The oldest said, looking down with a stressed expression, her hands going to rest on her hips.

"Yeah, I know." She sighed, running her hand through her hair. "But I think with some practice, I can learn to control it.

Instead of agreeing, Mitsuko shook her head before speaking again, "No, I mean how are we gonna tell Mom about this?"

Pause.

"Shit."

Sunrise | Twilight J.H

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Chapter 4. A Sisterly Agreement

When she reopened her eyes, the first thing she did was immediately close them again, too blinded by the fluorescent lights above her. Mitsuko groaned as she tried to lift her hand to rub her face, quickly becoming confused when she felt resistance.

Slowly opening her eyes, she realised she wasn't at home in her own bed; in fact, she had no idea where she was. Alarmed, she tried to sit up but winced when a burning pain spread from her shoulder through the rest of her body.

Before panic could fully set in, she was able to turn her head and spot her sister sitting at her bedside. Hoshiko was busy looking at something on her phone, so she hadn't yet realised that Mitsuko was awake.

“H-hoshi?” She tried to speak, but she found herself struggling to speak. “What’s... What's going on?”

Hoshiko looked up from her phone at the sound of her sister's voice. Jumping out of her chair, she was quickly by Mitsuko’s side. “Oh my god, you scared us so much.”

“Am I in the hospital?” She asked as she continued looking around rapidly. When looked down, she realised the resistance she felt was from all the tubing connected from her hand to an IV.

Her sister nodded before explaining, “You got attacked by some kind of animal, lost a lot of blood; we thought you were going to die.”

As her sister spoke, a flash of red eyes appeared in Mitsuko's mind, and an overwhelming sense of fear settled in her stomach. “Riley… I saw Riley.”

“What?” Her little sister pulled away from her slightly, looking at her with a confused expression.

“He was there!” She exclaimed as the heart monitor’s beeps began to grow louder and faster slightly.

Hoshiko began to gently stroke her sister’s hair as she whispered in attempts to calm her down, “Hey, it’s okay; if you saw him, I believe you.”

The two sisters were silent for a moment, broken when Mitsuko suddenly turned to Hoshiko with wide eyes as she spoke.

“I think it was him…”

“What do you mean?” Her sister’s brow furrowed with confusion, eyes full of concern for a sister’s well-being.

“I think Riley… attacked me.” She whispered to her sister, afraid that someone would overhear them. Her mind was still going back to that night; Riley looked so different than the last time they’d been together. He seemed colder and more dangerous, two words that Mitsuko never thought she’d use to describe someone she’d known her whole life.

“Suki, what are you talking—“ Before Hoshiko could finish her question, the doors opened, and Dr. Cullen walked into the room flanked by two nurses.

Upon seeing that she was awake, the two nurses began to flutter about the room, checking her chart and adjusting her IV. Carlisle stepped closer to her bed and spoke softly, “Miss Tanaka, it’s good to see you awake. How are you feeling?”

“I feel fine, just a little sore is all.” She said simply, before continuing, “When can I go home?”

“I want to keep you in just for a few more days just for observations; if all goes well, I’ll be happy to discharge you.” He said as he grabbed her chart and began the required checks.

"Your injuries were quite extensive, but I'm happy with how quickly you've been able to recover," he spoke as he carefully shined a small torch in her face, directing her to follow it with her eyes, "and although I did have some concerns about internal bleeding, it seems you got out relatively unscathed, other than the rather nasty wound on your neck."

As he pointed it out, Mitsuko couldn't help but look down as she realised her neck to her shoulder was thickly bandaged, further limiting her movement.

Carlise continued the checks silently, only speaking every now and then to check her pain levels. Mitsuko wasn't in much pain; she was just overcome with a sense of confusion and fear about what had happened that night.

When he checked her right ankle, she let out a sharp hiss as he adjusted it slightly. "Looks like just a sprain," the doctor explained. "Must have happened when you fell; you're lucky that it's not broken."

"Don't exactly feel lucky…" she pessimistically murmured, earning a small slap on the arm from Hosiko, who was still sitting close to her side. "Sorry, I'm just tired.

Dr. Cullen took her attitude in stride, "It's normal to feel this way, especially after a traumatic experience."

Next the nurse carefully lifted her into a sitting position so that Carlise could listen to her heart. As he placed the stethoscope against her, she couldn't help but shiver. Amusingly, she thought his hands felt colder than the metal.

Once Carlise seemed happy with his assessment, he looked at her softly before speaking, “All your friends have been quite worried about you. I imagine you’ll have a lot of visitors these next coming days.”

“Oh gosh,” she exclaimed as she realised where the incident happened, “I ruined the graduation party.”

At her words, Hoshiko jumped forward to grab her face, forcing Mitsuko to look at her. “You didn’t ruin anything; whatever attacked you did.”

“Speaking of which,” the doctor spoke again, causing the two sisters to look at him again, “the police are here to ask a few questions, but only if you’re comfortable, of course.”

“It’s okay…” she replied with a small smile, “You can let them in.”

With that, Carlisle walked out of the room for a few minutes, only to come back followed by Charlie and another partner.

“How you doing, kid?” He asked once he approached her bed, “I know your mom’s been beside herself worrying about ya.”

“Where is she?”

“At work, said she needed to, so she was distracted.” Charlie explained as he looked at her sympathetically. When all she did was nod in understanding, he cleared his throat slightly before speaking, “Do you think you could tell us exactly what happened?”

“I was at the party; erm, I was feeling a bit lightheaded, so I went outside,” she began to explain. “And I don’t know why, but I found myself walking into the woods.”

“Why?” He asked, his face furrowed with clear confusion.

“I don’t know, just like a… feeling, I guess.” She responded before continuing, “Anyway, I ended up in a clearing and…”

Mitsuko paused; as much as she trusted Charlie, she also knew how crazy she would sound. If she told them about Riley, they’d just put it down as a hallucination from grief or something, and the next thing she knows, she’s in the psych ward.

So, she took a breath and lied, “It’s all hazy from there… sorry.”

Charlie nodded in understanding, but next to him, Carlisle had a strange expression on his face. As if he knew there was more to her story, but before she could question it, he was already leading Charlie and his partner out.

"What the hell was that?" A voice broke Mitsuko from her thoughts, and she turned to face her sister. "Why didn't you tell them what you told me?”

"'Cause I know how crazy it sounds." She replied in a hushed whisper, "If I'm going to find out what happened, I think I need to do it alone."

Hoshiko almost laughed at her older sister's sheer audacity, "Absolutely not; if he tried to kill you, there's no way I'm letting you do this alone."

Shaking her head rapidly, she quickly rejected her sister's offer, "No, I'm not letting you put yourself in harm's way."

"You either let me come with you, or I go out those doors and tell everyone what you told me."

As much as she wanted to call out Hoshi's bluff, she knew her sister. If summer camp ten years ago had taught her anything, it's that Hoshi will do anything that she says she will. So with a heavy sigh of resignation, she nodded her head, "Fine, but if anything goes wrong, I told you so.”

Hoshiko nodded in understanding, "So when do we start?"

"Seattle, I think, but not till I get out of here," she said simply. "For now, you have to promise me something..."

"What?"

"Don't do any investigations without me, okay?"

Hoshiko simply rolled her eyes, so she repeated herself, "I'm serious, Hoshi, don't put yourself in danger for me; this could be some massive crime gang or something."

With a small groan she agreed, "Fine, I'll be careful, promise."

"Thank you," she said gratefully. "Now get out of here; you can't stay here all day; besides, you have school tomorrow.”

Before she shooed her sister out of the room, Mitsuko made sure to pull her into a tight hug. Closing her eyes, she savoured the feeling of having her little sister cradled in her arms.

As they pulled away, they looked at each other one more time before Hoshiko finally pulled away, "I'll see you later, oneesan."

"See you later." With that, her sister left the room, leaving Mitsuko in silence.

Left alone with her thoughts, all she could do was think back to that night again. She knew Riley was there; that was a fact she knew. Yet, as she thought more about that night, she still had no idea what made her walk into that clearing in the first place. It was as if her subconscious knew Riely would be there and guided her to him, but why?

"Stop thinking so hard." She whispered to herself in comfort, "Just go to sleep; everything will be fine."

Pulling the covers up, she shuffled further under them and closed her eyes, letting sleep take over her as her mind still raced.

Elsewhere, a young girl with black hair approached the service desk. The woman at the desk acknowledged the girl carefully before asking, "Where'd you need to go, darling?"

The girl paused before finally answering, "Seattle. I need to go to Seattle."

Hoshiko knew she'd be breaking her promise, but if Riley was who Mitsuko saw in the woods, then she needed to find him and quickly. It was only right to start in the city where he vanished.

Hopefully, there she'd find some answers.

Sunrise | Twilight J.H

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Chapter 3. Deadly Party Crasher

She tried not to think about Riley as much anymore. It had been a month, and the majority for the police had declared it a dead end; only Charlie was still investigating. Mitsuko wished he’d come back, but she knew the chance of that was slim now, and so she tried her best to move on.

Throwing herself into graduation planning and work, she did anything to distract herself. Mitsuko was elated to be finally graduating; as much as she loved her friends, she was excited to have the freedom that high school never gave her. The ceremony was amazing; she smiled brightly as she and her friends threw their caps in the air as several parents took pictures.

Once she’d gone home, she enjoyed a little celebratory meal with her mom and sister. After dinner, she spent some time with Hoshiko, who helped her get ready for the afterparty. She pulled a white blouse with puffy long sleeves from her closet. Pausing for a moment in thought, she turned back to her closet and pulled out a pink corset that had gold and pearl detailing. 

After dressing, she allowed Hoshiko to do her makeup. It was similar to her everyday look, but her sister added some extra shimmer to her eye makeup and highlights. While her makeup was done, she braided half of her hair up and tied it in place. Just as she finished getting ready, she got a text from Jess saying her dad was on his way to pick her up. She stood up and checked herself in the mirror one last time before making her way downstairs.

"You look beautiful!" her mom exclaimed as she made her way downstairs. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, Mom, don't worry; I'll be fine." She reassured her that ever since she learnt about Riley, their mother had been hyperprotective of her two daughters. After sharing a quick goodbye, she ran outside where the car was waiting for her.

Now she found herself drinking from a red plastic cup as music blasted through the Cullens’ woodland house. Although Mitsuko thought that ‘house’ was an understatement, she’d spent some time just wandering around, and while she didn’t go into any of the rooms, she was blown away at the amount of doors alone.

She sighed as one particular Cullen popped into her mind. She hadn’t yet seen Jasper, but she knew he was here; at least he said he would be. Mitsuko presumed he was out on the balcony since she'd seen the rest of the Cullens head that way.

“SUKI!” Jessica yelled towards Mitsuko, breaking her from her thoughts, “COME OVER! MIKE MADE US SHOTS!”

She smiled towards her friend and quickly made her way over, face clear with surprise at the suspiciously neon green shots in front of her. “Mike, what the hell did you make?”

“I actually don’t know, but it does have tequila in…”

“Who cares?” Lauren butted in as she grabbed a glass, “If it’s tequila, I’m drinking.”

The group cheered and followed her lead, each grabbing a glass before clinking the glasses together and each taking a shot. Mitsuko quickly downed her drink, gagging slightly at the strength and sourness of the shot, and then giggled as she watched her friends do the same.

“Mike, what the fuck was that?” Jessica asked her boyfriend, still gagging from the shot. “My throat is burning.”

“Yeah, I think you just gave us pure ethanol.”

“Well, at least my sinuses’ are cleared now.” Angela added, trying to be positive. “Wait, there’s Bella!”

Mitsuko followed behind her friends as they approached the brunette; they each hugged her, which allowed Mitsuko to slide in at the end and pull her into a tight embrace. “Happy graduation, Bella; glad to see you here.”

“Thanks, Suki…” Bella whispered in reply, giving her friend a genuine smile when they pulled away.

“So where’s your boyfriend?” She asked, raising her eyebrow suggestively, earning a mock punch from her friend. Before her friend could reply, Jessica jumped forward to speak to Bella.

“Hey. What did you think of my speech? Too easy-breezy, too self-helpful? You may admit it.”

“No, you pretty much nailed it.” Bella complimented her friend, creating a large smile on Jess’ face.

“Yeah? It's like I was born to lead, right?”

A song began to play, which got Angela's attention. She lit up before turning to her friends, “Oh, great. I love this song; let's go.”

Mitsuko was about to follow her friends, but she noticed Bella hadn’t moved. “You coming, Bella?”

“In a sec, I just need to talk to someone.” Mitsuko noticed her looking at the door where Jacob and two other boys had just entered. She nodded to Bella in understanding before making her way to the dance floor.

Angela pulled her close into a mini group hug with Jessica, all three spinning around together to the music. She danced for a while, sipping on a drink that Mike had passed her. As much as she enjoyed hanging around her friends, she hadn’t seen the Cullens at all, even Jasper, despite his promise.

“I need some air; I’m gonna head outside for a minute.” She turned to Angela, who looked at her in slight concern and offered to come with her, which she had graciously declined.

Mitsuko pushed her way through the crowd and eventually made her way to the front entrance. Stepping outside, she breathed a sigh of relief as she stood by the tree line. “I should probably check on Hoshi,” she murmured to herself before pulling her phone out of her little white bag.

Just as she was about to hit the call button, she heard a strange rustle come from deep within the forest; at first she ignored it, looking back to her phone. Yet, the rustling persisted alongside the strangest whispering as if a voice was calling her name. She didn’t know what came over her, but she found herself walking deeper into the woods in an almost trance-like state.

She continued walking until she found herself in a large clearing and quickly turned her head as a twig snapped, revealing a familiar figure standing on the other side of the clearing.

“Riley?” Mitsuko called out to him as she began to step forward, “Everyone’s been worried sick. Where have you been?”

“Don’t lie. No one’s even missed me,” he answered her, suddenly standing right in front of her.

“What are you talking about? Of course we have... She trailed off as she looked into his eyes, “Are you wearing contacts?”

“It doesn’t matter; you weren’t supposed to be here.” Riley ignored her question, “But she won’t be happy if I leave a witness.”

“Riley, what are you talking about?” Mitsuko was feeling afraid now, unsure if she’d be able to run in her current state. “You’re starting to scare me a bit, Riley.”

“I’m sorry for what’s about to happen.” His face changed into a snarl as he suddenly lunged towards her.

Elsewhere, a few minutes later…

Jasper rolled his eyes discreetly as he was forced to feel the tension between his brother and the young shifter. It was exhausting having to deal with teenage hormones on a regular basis, let alone the heightened hormones of two supernatural boys. He inhaled sharply in annoyance, eyes widening at the overwhelming scent that hit him. Blood and lots of it.

“HELP ME!” A shout got the attention of everyone on the balcony, looking down, spotting Mike Newton running from the woods, cradling something, Jessica running just as quickly behind him. “SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE!”

The group quickly made their way down and outside, where a crowd was forming around the Newton boy. Although some of his family opted to stay back as the metallic smell of blood grew stronger the closer they got. Jasper followed closely behind Carlisle, who was making his way through the crowd.

Once the crowd parted, he froze at the bloody sight. Mike was holding Mitsuko in his arms, her body and hair almost unrecognisable from the sheer amount of blood.

“What happened?” Carlisle asked as Mike placed the girl on the ground. Jasper stepping forward and kneeling by her head.

The southern blonde heard Edward whisper a sharp, “Jasper, stay back.” But he ignored it; Mitsuko was someone he cared about; her blood wasn’t affecting him as he was too concerned with her well-being.

“I don’t know; some kind of animal attacked her; me and Jess heard a scream, and we just found her on the ground bleeding.” The young boy explained, trying to hold back tears at his friend’s condition. “She’s conscious, I think, but she’s not responding.”

“Honey, could you go grab the first aid kit?” Carlisle called to Esme, who moved back inside the house. She reappeared quickly, able to use her vampire speed since everyone was distracted outside. He thanked her gently before tearing the box open and pulling the gloves on.

As her began to clean the wounds, the young girl began to stir, muttering something, “Riley… don’t…” Jasper heard her mutter, as did his family, indicated by the sudden feeling of tension that spread through them all. It was at this moment that Carlisle wiped her neck clean and discovered a distinctive bite mark on her left side.

“Why isn’t she in pain?” Jasper quietly whispered to Carlisle so no human could hear; he was hyperfocused on her emotions as he was sending the young woman wave after wave of calm.

“I’m not sure, but she needs medical attention...” The other vampire whispered in reply, and he continued to take care of the young human.

Alongside her bite, she had several scratches and cuts across her body as if she’d been thrown around. What concerned Jasper most was the damage Riley was able to inflict without any of them becoming aware.

The ambulance drove rapidly down the drive of the Cullens house before the paramedics raced out with the gurney. The crowd parted once again as they approached the injured woman. Recognising the doctor, the older paramedic spoke to Carlisle as the other began to place Mitsuko on the gurney, “Dr. Cullen, how is she?”

“She lost a lot of blood before. I’ve wrapped a lot of the major wounds; she’ll need a transfusion for sure.” He explained as he followed them towards the ambulance, “What I’m most concerned about is the possible internal bleeding.”

“Understood. We’ll get to the hospital as quickly as possible,” the paramedic replied as they lifted the gurney into the back. “You wanna ride with us, doctor?”

“Yes, if that’s all right.” Carlisle agreed as the paramedic nodded and allowed him into the back of the ambulance.

As the ambulance raced back down the road, Jasper followed it with narrowed eyes. Everyone else had begun to rush toward Mike, who was drenched in Mitsuko's blood and clearly traumatised. Yet, despite the continuous commotion, the southern vampire’s thoughts remained solely on the young girl that lay in the ambulance.

‘Why didn’t the venom affect her?’ These were thoughts that crossed his mind as he moved his stare toward the puddle of blood she’d left behind, but another thought appeared in his mind, instilling curiosity and a small amount of dread: ‘Was she immune?’

Sunrise | Twilight J.H

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Chapter 2. Jasper

Mitsuko had spent most of the weekend at home, both comforting and receiving comfort from her family. She’d also spent time with Riley’s parents, doing the same as she did for Charlie only a couple months ago. She even helped them with the missing posters.

Her friends had messaged to check on her after she’d left school early; she’d decided to be honest with them. In their friend group chat, she’d informed them about Riley and was thankful for the support they showed her. They also told her about how Edward had taken Bella out of town, explaining her lack of response in the chat.

By Sunday, she’d given herself enough time to comprehend the situation. Yet her dreams grew worse night by night. It was the same every time: blood was everywhere, upturned or smashed cars covered the car park, and people kept screaming. She saw figures clawing at each other, tearing them apart before throwing them into fires.

A particular shriek always shocked her awake, the same pitch every time, and Monday was no different. Her eyes flashed open in fear, and she quickly sat up, her pink floral duvet gathering by her legs. Bringing her hands to her face, she wiped the sleep from her eyes and moved the hair from her face.

‘Shit’ she thought as she looked to her bedside alarm clock; she’d woken up late. She scrambled out of bed to her vanity table, quickly putting on her everyday makeup and brushing her hair out.

After she was dressed in a simple white skirt and floral blouse, she made her way downstairs. She greeted her mom brightly and graciously accepted the piece of toast offered to her. Hoshiko was already sitting at the table eating a bowl of porridge, lifting her head to smile as her sister took the seat opposite.

They ate breakfast quickly and made sure to clear up their dishes after they ate. Hoshiko raced out of the house with a simple “Hurry up, we’re already late” before hopping into the passenger seat of the Mitsuko’s Mini. The drive to school was full of simple chatter and a mixture of pop and alternative music, a demand made by Hoshiko last year.

Hoshiko was busy telling Mitsuko about her classes for next year when they’d pulled up to school. The sisters parked next to Ben’s car, stepping out to greet their friends.

“Yo Suki, who do you think would win?” Mike immediately asked her instead of a greeting.

“What are you talking about?” She asked confusedly before turning towards where Mike then pointed, “Is that?“

“Edward and Jacob Black? Yep, I don’t know what they’re fighting about, but it seems pretty tense.” Jessica interrupted before she could finish.

Jacob's voice began to elevate as he got angrier, alarmed that her friend was close to a possible fight. Mitsuko stepped forward to try and intervene but was stopped by a strong grip on her wrist. Gasping at the sudden touch, she turned around, only to come face to face with Jasper Hale.

His face was stern and almost worried; brows furrowed, and he stared at her before speaking, "Don't; they know better than to get physical.”

“How do you know that?” She replied back, feeling confused again.

“Just trust me.” He smirked at her, causing a blush to spread across her cheeks.

“If you say so,” she conceded, pausing before continuing. “You have English first, don’t you?”

He didn’t speak, only nodding in reply. “Do you think I could walk with you? We’re in that class together.”

“I know.” Jasper spoke up. “And I don’t mind.” She smiled shyly at his response before gesturing for him to take the lead. It was only as they began walking that she realised Jasper hadn’t let go of her wrist the whole time they were talking, only letting go once she turned away from Edward and Jacob.

His touch returned as she walked up the front steps, a single hand placed on the small of her back to steady her as she walked. Jasper held the main doors open, which allowed her to step inside. It was then Mitsuko built up the courage to say what she’d been wanting to say to him since Friday. “Thank you, by the way.”

His steps faulted slightly as he turned to her, “What for?”

“It’s stupid,” she shook her head, “but on Friday you really helped me ground me, so thank you.”

“It’s not stupid, but you don’t need to thank me.” Jasper looked at Mitsuko deeply as he spoke. She had seen the Cullens eyes before, but Jasper’s seemed so much more intense than the others. It was like she could stare into the pools of amber all day.

‘You barely know him,’ she remained herself, unsure where these sudden feelings came from. Ever since Friday she’d felt a subtle itch under her skin as if her body was craving something; it only faded when she’d seen Jasper’s face.

Ignoring her rapid thoughts, she continued to walk next to Jasper down the corridor. Eventually, the pair arrived outside her English class. Stepping in, she noticed that her seat partner was absent today. Sighing, she sat down and prepared herself for a quiet class.

When she crouched to place her bag under her chair, she nearly jumped when she stood and found Jasper now sitting in the chair next to hers.

“You don’t mind if I sit here, do you?” He asked, looking intently.

“Not at all.” Mitsuko replied, smiling softly at him. They sat quietly next to each other while their teacher loaded up the movie on the monitor. As soon as he hit play, Jasper turned to her and whispered softly.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better than Friday, but I’ve been struggling with those episodes for a while, so I’m used to it.” There was something about Jasper that put her at ease; she couldn’t help but tell the truth.

“What exactly happened to you, if you don’t mind me asking?” He continued to whisper; neither was even attempting to watch the movie. Mitsuko hesitated slightly before answering.

“I get these... hallucinations sometimes,” she explained. “It’s not often, but when they happen, they tend to overwhelm me.”

“How do you deal with them?” Jasper asked, genuinely curious.

“Mostly medication, but it doesn’t work as well as it used to.” Mitsuko answered truthfully, and Jasper listened intently, his face full of concern. “I’ve kind of had a hard week.”

"Oh, do you want to… talk about it?”

“It’s…” She paused as a shot of grief ran through her. “My friend Riley Biers went missing in Seattle almost a year ago, and I’ve only just found out.”

“I’m sorry that happened.”

“I just wish I’d known sooner, you know?” Mitsuko explained, to which Jasper nodded in understanding, “Maybe I could’ve done something.”

Jasper lent towards her, cautiously placing his hands on her. She shivered under his cold touch but didn’t pull away. “Don’t do that to yourself; you have nothing to feel guilty about.”

“I don’t feel guilty.” She tried to state it firmly, but she knew it was a lie.

He smiled slightly. “Hate to break it to you, darling, but you wear your heart on your sleeve.”

She blushed and looked down at their hands were connected, noticing how he was softly stroking the back of her right hand. They sat there in silence for the rest of the lesson, just enjoying the comfort they felt from each other.

When the bell rang and the rest of the class began to stand, their hands finally separated. Jasper stood first, grabbing Mitsuko’s bag before grabbing his things as well. She smiled brightly as he helped her put the bag on her right shoulder before following him out of the room.

They walked side by side down the corridor, earning some strange looks from the other students. Yet the dark-haired girl paid them no mind and simply kept walking. 

"You know," Jasper started, "people are staring at us."

Mitsuko simply smiled at him before replying, “Just ignore them; they have nothing better to do.”

He glanced over to her again, studying her profile as they walked. "You never get bothered by people watching you?"

“Of course I do, but if I let it affect me all the time, I'd never go anywhere.” She explained matter of factly before continuing, “You know they’re probably only staring at you.”

“Me?”

The dark-haired girl looked at him with an amused expression. "Yeah, we’ve never hung out before, and now here you are escorting me down the hallways like a boyfriend does.” but before he could respond, she continued, "Not that I mind."

"Well, my apologies," he replied with a smirk, his southern twang coming out slightly. "Maybe I just realised you were someone worth paying attention to."

“Thank you.” She blushed slightly but played it off once she realised that they’d arrived outside my classroom. "Well, this is my class; thanks for escorting me here.”

“Anytime Ma’am.” The blonde replied, dipping his head slightly in a small bow.

With a bright smile, she made her way into the class, but not before giving Jasper a small wave goodbye. For the rest of the day, Mitsuko had an extra pep in her step but also couldn’t stop thinking about Jasper.

As much as she enjoyed his company, she was confused. Ever since the Cullens returned from wherever they had disappeared, Jasper had suddenly become very interested in her, and she’d definitely noticed.

At lunch it was the same as always, the group laughing together except with a new addition. Jasper had taken the seat next to Mitsuko again, listening intently as she joked with her friends, and gently placed his hand on her back again, following the same circle motions he used yesterday. She couldn’t help but lean into the touch, feeling wave after wave of comfort and contentment.

“So Jasper,” Jessica spoke up, causing him to finally look away from the girl next to him. “Will you be there at the graduation party?”

“Um, yeah, I’m sure Alice will find a way to make me come,” he answered a little awkwardly.

Angela looked at Jessica with a bemused expression. “You know it’s happening at his house, right?”

“Well, yeah, I was just wondering; he usually keeps to himself,” she responded before trying to Jasper, “no offence though.”

“None taken.” He replied politely with a small nod.

Hoping to diffuse the tension, Mitsuko turned to the blonde and smiled at him, “It’ll be nice to see you there.”

Jasper relaxed visibly when Mitsuko spoke up. It was clear he had been feeling a bit tense from the conversation with Jessica, but her words put him at ease.

"Yeah," he agreed with a small smile. "It will be nice to see you too.”

After Jasper spoke, the bell rung, so everyone began making their way out of the cafeteria and to the next classes. Jasper again took on the duty of escorting Mitsuko to her next class. The pair walked in silence until they stopped in front of her classroom.

“We probably won’t see each other after this.” She began, “I have a committee meeting after school, but I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, of course.” He nodded, “I will see you tomorrow.”

The two shared a smile, both excited for tomorrow but especially the party next week.

Sunrise | Masterlist

The Tanaka sisters have lived in Forks their whole lives, it's a quiet town where nothing interesting happens. That is until the night of Mitsuko's graduation. Now both Mitsuko and Hoshiko Tanaka find themselves entangled in the world of the supernatural. As the pair learn more, one mystery still remains. Why is Mitsuko immune to the bite?

Chapter List

I. The Tanakas II. Jasper III. Deadly Party Crasher IV. A Sisterly Agreement V. Minor Complications

Can also read on: AO3 and Wattpad

Sunrise | Twilight

Return to Masterlist | Next Chapter Chapter 1. The Tanakas

In all the time since the Cullens had moved to Forks, Mitsuko Tanaka had probably spoken to them once. Even when Bella Swan had moved into town and had somehow quickly become entangled with them, Mitsuko still only ever saw them in passing.

If it wasn’t for a friend’s severe mental state, she probably wouldn’t have noticed when the Cullens left a few months ago. She’d tried to be there for Bella, often appearing at her house with various baked goods, but her friend remained unresponsive. Instead, she began to help Charlie around the house since Bella was unable to help in her condition.

This continued for nearly half the school year, Mitsuko’s worry never lessening even after Bella rejoined the group’s table. Then suddenly one day she’d arrived at school to discover that the Cullens had suddenly reappeared, their table occupied once more.

She’d asked Bella what had happened, but her friend simply excused that The Cullens had simply missed their friends too much. ‘What friends?’ She remembers thinking. The only people the Cullens interacted with was Bella, and that was mainly because she was dating Edward.

Yet, despite the mysterious disappearance and reappearance of the Cullens, the strangest thing Mitsuko experienced was that Edward would now follow Bella to their group's table at lunch. Mitsuko had never even had a single conversation with this guy, and now he was suddenly sitting with them at lunch. Additionally, even then he never really spoke to her; he simply held Bella’s hand and would listen to the rest of the group interact.

She tried to ignore her overthinking and focus on her studies; graduation was coming up, and she wanted to be prepared for college and enjoy her time with her friends before some moved away.

Mitsuko had grabbed her lunch bag from her locker before going to the cafeteria and sitting down at her usual table. She uttered a ‘Hi’ to Bella and her boyfriend, who was already sitting down, before joining in with the lively conversation.

"Jess, are you still worried about your speech?” She’d asked her friend, and she scribbled away on a notepad.

“I just don’t want it to be a stereotypical graduation speech, ya know?”

“You’re getting too stressed about it, here." Mike spoke before stealing the notepad from the girl, “My fellow students. Cool. Right? We are the future. Anything is possible, if you just believe.”

Both Mitsuko and Angela laughed at his antics, with Angela adding a sarcastic “Nice” between her laughter. Ignoring the two, he continued, “Blah, blah, blah, and you got yourself a speech.”

He passed the notepad back to Jess, who ripped the bag out before speaking, “No, this will be my speech. When I want everyone to throw diplomas at my head. So, thank you.” As she spoke, she crumpled the piece of paper and threw it back at Mike’s face.

He ignored the paper and smiled smugly before replying, “Ya gotta embrace the cliches, Jess.”

“They have the bread and butter of all valedictorians,” Eric chimed in from next to Angela, causing her to also chime into the conversation. “And that is why you are not valedictorian.”

“Give the guy a break, Ang,” her boyfriend Ben spoke up, his arms wrapping around her shoulder.

“And Jess doesn't need clichés. Speech is gonna be epic.” Bella spoke up, smirking at the boys, earning a proud smile from Jess.

“Epic? It'll change lives.” She stated confidently.

“I’m sure it’ll change mine." She nudged Jessica as she spoke, earning an appreciative side hug. The group was interrupted from continuing when three other Cullens approached the table and sat down.

Alice and Emilie would occasionally join their group during lunch, mainly so Alice could spend time with Bella. However, Mitsuko found herself getting along with the pixie’s gorgeous girlfriend the more they spoke. Today, Alice had somehow managed to drag Jasper to the table as well, pushing him down into the seat next to Mitsuko.

“I’ve decided to throw a party.” Alice announced brightly as she took her seat.

“After all, how many times are we gonna graduate high school?” Emilie smirked as she spoke, and Mitsuko heard Edward stifle a laugh. Weird.

“A party? At your place?” Angela asked, confused by the sudden invite.

Jessica had immediately perked up at the invitation, “I’ve never seen your house.”

“No one's ever seen their house.” Eric leaned in, replying to Jessica.

“I’ve heard it’s in the woods or something…” Lauren spoke up in mock disgust, but Mitsuko knew she was just as excited as Jessica.

“Another party, Alice?” Edward uttered, seemingly annoyed with his sister, to which Alice insisted, “It'll be fun.”

“Yeah. That's what you said last time.” Bella spoke, agreeing with her boyfriend’s hesitation.

“I think it’ll be fun…” She began to encourage when she noticed Alice start to zone out, probably upset at the less than enthusiastic reaction, but trailed off when she noticed Jasper stiffen next to her. “Hey, you okay?”

Surprised at the sudden question, the blonde turned towards her.  "Apologies, just had a sudden thought.”

“Oh yeah, I get those too; don’t worry.” Mitsuko comforted, unconsciously patting his arm in comfort. He stiffed again, and she was going to apologise until a feeling of dread washed over her. “Hey Angie, could you pass me my clear bag?”

Her friend furrowed her brows in confusion but still pushed the clear bag towards her. Mitsuko quickly unzipped it to pull out a strip of tablets. Before she could take her tablet though, a loud pained scream blared into her head, causing her to jump slightly and cover her ears.

"Suki, are you okay?” Katie whispered to her gently to avoid too much attention, “Did you miss your dosage this morning?”

Her close friends were the only ones aware that she took medicine due to her auditory hallucinations. She’d had from the age of fifteen, just before the Cullens had moved to Forks. Her mother had consulted with several doctors who had all come to the conclusion that while it wasn’t schizophrenia, they didn’t have any other diagnosis; she’d been on a prescription ever since.

The scream was continuous and getting louder, joined by various other screams making Mitsuko press her hands into her ears harder. Her head was pounding from the noise, and she was completely unaware of what was happening around; expect for a single comforting hand on her back rubbing her in circles. She tried to focus on the motion of the hand, forcing the screaming to quieten, allowing her to remove her hands and lift her head back up to face a table of concerned faces.

“I’m sorry guys, I don’t know what happened." She said quietly, still recovering from her small episode.

“It’s okay, we’re just worried about you, is all. Maybe you should go home and have some rest?” Angela suggested gently.

Mitsuko nodded in agreement and gathered her things, and as she stood, the hand finally moved from her back, and she realised who it belonged to. Jasper Hale had been the one gently rubbing her back; he was the hand that had grounded her. ‘Don’t overthink it; he’s just being nice,’ she chastised herself mentally before her mind could reel.

As she was walking through the cafeteria, she spotted her younger sister, Hoshiko, sitting with her own group of friends. She figured she should tell her sister rather than letting her worry, plus she was her ride home. “Hoshi!” She called to her sister, getting her attention.

“Suki, are you okay?” She asked as Mitsuko got closer. Hoshiko was aware of her older sister’s mental health and hallucination issues, but Mitsuko had made sure it didn’t affect her life too much. As the older sister, she felt her sister should always come first and had also instructed her mom as such, even when they were only a year and two months apart.

Mitsuko waved her sister off before reassuring her, “I’m okay, but I am going home early today, so could Rory give you a ride today?”

"Yeah, that’s fine." Hoshiko nodded in understanding, “Just message when you get home, okay?”

“Of course.” She then placed a soft kiss on her sister's head before heading to the nurse office. After she got the okay from the nurse, not that she really needed one, Mitsuko left the building and began walking to her car. It was a little white Mini Cooper; she was lucky enough to find one she could afford that was still in pretty good condition. She opened the doors and tossed her pink shoulder bag onto the pink leathered back seats, which she had done over the summer.

She tried to ignore the leftover feeling of dread from her episode and listened to the music on her custom CD on the way home. It was luckily a very relaxing car journey. Lucky because as she pulled in to her house, she noticed a police car waiting outside.

Concerned, Mitsuko scrambled to grab her and things and got out of the car. As she stepped into the house, she was greeted by Charlie and her mom sitting down in the living room, pausing in their conversation when the door audibly latched.

“I um had an episode today,” she said meekly, explaining her early arrival home. “What’s going on?”

“What don’t you sit down?” The police chief offered as her mom shuffled on the couch to give her daughter room to sit. Cautiously, she walked to the couch and gently sat down, preparing herself for the obviously bad news. “It’s Riley Biers; he’s gone missing.”

As Charlie spoke, Mitsuko felt the felling of dread return. She let out a small gasp in disbelief. “He’s studying at UW; he should be in Seattle.”

“Nobody’s seen him since last November,” he replied grimly. “Have you heard from him at all?”

“We haven’t really talked since he moved; he said that he’d been too busy with his friends.” She answered, rubbing her lips together while trying to stop the tears. “Why are you only telling us now?”

“His parents were mainly talking to the Seattle police, but they’ve just closed the case." He explained, his voice measured and calm, “So they’ve contacted me, and Forks PD are going to take the case.”

Mitsuko nodded in understanding, but her mind began to buzz, overwhelmed with her emotions. Her mom pulled into a hug, and she finally broke down as a sob escaped her lips. They stayed there for a few minutes, Charlie wanting to let her calm down before he left.

“I’m sorry, kid; let me know if you need anything.” He said to her a final time before heading out the door. Still buried in her mom’s tight embrace, she barely lifted her head to nod before burying her face again when she heard the click of the lock.

“I’m so sorry, Mitsuko.” Her mother whispered softly to her, pulling away. She allowed her mom to gently wipe her tears away. “How about to get some rest and make you some tea, okay?”

She nodded as much as she could with her face cupped in mom’s hands. Her mom stood and made her way to the kitchen to get everything ready. Mitsuko made the decision to get off the couch and make her way upstairs to her room; she pulled back her covers before lying down. Under the comfort of her bed, she felt her eyes grow heavy; the day had clearly taken its toll on her. 

So tired, she fell into a deep sleep, only awoken when she felt some pull back the covers again and crawl into the bed next to her. She opened her eyes to come face to face with her younger sister’s concerned face. “I guess mom told you what happened?”

“Yeah…” Hoshiko whispered back, “I just can’t believe it.”

She nodded before reaching out and pulling her sister into a tight hug. The sisters had always been close to Riley, having been his neighbours since they moved to forks at the ages of ten and nine, respectively. While Riley had drifted from them as he grew up, he still contacted them every now and then, always making the same joke about how they were only a year away from being twins. Neither of them would get that message again.

Yet as they held each other close, their pain washed away. While the world was harsh, the Tanaka sisters would always have each other.