4

  “Nee-chan, do you hate Yamato clan?” asked Nino.

  I didn’t reply.

  “Nee-chan, aren’t you happy being here?” he asked again.

I was busy solving my math assignment so I didn’t reply.

 “Nee-chan, do you like Shun-iinchou to be your boyfriend?”

  “Quiet!” I shouted, unexpectedly. It surprised Nino.  I don’t want to offend him so I explained myself. “I mean, why are you asking such questions?”

“I heard you have a non Yamato boyfriend. Is that true? Who is he?” asked Nino, so tamely. In my eyes, he was sixteen but act as a child.

“Yeah, it’s true” I confessed. “I have a boyfriend outside Tama. He is senpai Yuta. Do you know him, don’t you?”

“He’s non Yamato. Are you sure you like him?”

“Yes”

“Are you happy with him?”

“Yes” I answered.

“Then, no more question” said Nino flashing a smile.

            Nino knew it. Once I marry non Yamato, I can leave the town. I didn’t want to leave my family, as well as my friends but I hated being Yamato.

            *

            People outside Tama hated the clan. There were lots of reasons. Some said because they are favored by the government, they are violent- some creates crime and so on. Yamato clan had bad image outside Tama. This was the reason why Yuta left me.

            “They are staring” said Chen as she saw the students of Morino Gakuen. Everybody had strange glances.

“It’s because we’re Yamato. Our school uniforms reveal our identities” said Nino. He and Chen Yin entered the school to find Yuta.

“Nino, do you think we can find that guy?” asked Chen, uncomfortable. She hated those glances.

“Don’t worry, this is my old school. I know how to find him”

IN THE BASKETBALL COURT: They found Yuta with a girl.

“Nino” said Yuta as he saw his ex younger brother. “What are you doing here?”

Nino didn’t give the answer. “Is she your new girl friend?” He asked.

            Yuta hesitant to answer looked first at the girl then to Nino “Yes”

“But why…How could you do this to my sister? She likes you a lot” said Nino, helplessly.

            “I just realized that I don’t like her” said Yuta.

“Don’t like her?” Nino questioned before switching. “You’ll pay for this!!!” he snorted as he hardly punched Yuta.

Chen was shocked. “What happened to Nino?” She saw the changes in Nino’s eyes. The tame boy changed to wild man.

*

[Flashed back]

“Nino, are you okay?” I asked.

Nino didn’t answer.

“Nino, what’s wrong?” I asked again but didn’t hear any respond.

Nino was 11; I was 12 when we discovered his multiple personality disorder.

The doctor explained: “Multiple personality disorder (MPD) is a chronic emotional illness. A person with MPD plays host to two or more personalities called alters. Each alter has its own unique style of viewing and understanding the world and may have its own name. These distinct personalities periodically control that person's behavior as if several people were alternately sharing the same body.
The process by which one of these personalities reveals itself and controls behavior is called switching. Most of the time the change is sudden and takes only seconds. Sometimes it can take hours or days.”

[End of Flashback]

“Nino, stop it!” shouted Chen. Nino gave Yuta consecutive punches. “He might kill him” thought Chen, she ran and grasped Nino but she was easily thrown by him.      

“Stop!” Yuta’s new girl friend interfered. She pulled Nino away. “You don’t understand. Yuta is doing this because he loves your sister.”

It worked. Nino stopped.

 “Mao will only suffer if she stays with Yuta- since every member of the family hated your clan!”

Nino stared at her and to YUTA extensively “If you can’t defend my sister then you made the right choice” he said then walked away.

 Chen followed him. “Hey Nino, What happened? Are you okay?”

Nino looked at her.” Who are you?”

“What are saying? It’s me, Chen Yin.”

“You’re Chen Yin?” Nino stared at her.

“Yes, I’m Chen Yin, your sister’s best friend. I’m not aware you know martial arts?”

 “You’re pretty” said Nino then he kissed Chen Yin’s lips.

It lasted for 5 seconds.  Chen Yin got mad. She gave Nino a sturdy punch.

“MPD does not disappear without treatment, although the rate of switching seems to slow down in middle age. The most common treatment for MPD is long-term psychotherapy twice a week.”

“W-what happened?” asked Nino returning to his own self. “Where are we?”

“Are you kidding me?” said Chen Yin angrily.

“Wait, Chen Yin- Believe me, I don’t know what happened.”

Chen closed her ears for further explanation.

*

[Flash back]

“Doctor, what is the cause of my son’s disease?” asked Father.

“Most people diagnosed with MPD were either physically or ually abused as children. However, if the abuse is repeatedly extreme and the child does not have enough time to recover emotionally, the disassociated thoughts and feelings may begin to take on lives of their own. Each cluster of thoughts tends to have a common emotional theme such as anger, sadness, or fear. Eventually, these clusters develop into full-blown personalities, each with its own memory and characteristics.”

I didn’t understand what the doctor said, but I know I was the reason. They always bully Nino, but he never change. His alter shown up only if I’m in danger.

“Nee-chan, do you know my Alter?” asked Nino.

“Yes” I nodded.

“Nee-chan, I’m afraid.”

“Don’t, I’ll protect you, I promise.”

But in the end, my promise was a failure. All can I do was to say SORRY.