"Alright, so let me get this straight to make sure I'm not hearing-"

I paused as I watched Takeyasu flip the bacon, flinching each time I heard the grease sizzle. As much as I love Takeyasu as a character, the fandom base often headcanon him setting the kitchen on fire. It was funny as a joke and a meme, but seeing him cooking in my kitchen, in reality, I can't help but feel paranoid.

"...things..." my eyes looked away from the stove and turned to Nagayuki. "A mysterious dude in a top hat showed up at your door, claiming to be the organizer of something you were going to attend and that he was there to fulfill a wish you two had as well as a third person's wish, then comes back an hour later and teleports you two into my dimension?"

"You left out the part he was a hologram but yeah, you got everything else," Nagayuki confirmed getting out the plates.

"Okay, that explains things," I muttered thinking back to the dreams I had the day prior.

"You actually believe us?" Takeyasu questioned, glancing at me over his shoulder and raising a brow.

"Uh- Takeyasu, the food-" I voiced my concern to make the younger Tatsumi brother turn his attention back to the breakfast cooking on the frying pans. Shaking my head to focus back on the topic, I replied to his question. "I sorta had a dream...? Vision...? Usually, I get these kinds of things when I sleep which happen later on in the future and when it happens at the moment it's just this freaky deja vu. I guess you could say I had that but it was exactly what you guys just told me."

"Oh, so you have an ability like us?" Takeyasu guessed as he turned off the stove, seems like the food's done.

"I- no- no, I don't have any superpowers." I waved my hands in front of me. "People in this place don't have supernatural abilities like where you come from. I'm just some random person who writes stories on the internet, I don't have superpowers."

If anything, it's just a coincidence that happens. Everyone gets deja vu from time to time so it's nothing special. Then again, there were a few times when I did something subconsciously and my friends jokingly asked if I was physic. I'm not physic, right?

"If you say so." Nagayuki didn't let the topic press further and opened the fridge, getting orange juice. I felt a bit relieved.

"Hey, you know our names but we don't know yours!" Takeyasu pointed out.

"I-" I turned away, now realizing that too. 'Have I really gone on this long without mentioning my name?! Geez, I knew I had a problem remembering to mention important stuff but this is just sad.'

"Did you forget your name or-?"

"No, I'm just- never mind." I shook my head. "My name's [Name]."

"[Name]?"

"[Name]..." Takeyasu repeated after his brother. "Hm, weird name."

"It's not that weird," I grumbled. "You're just from a different world."

"Then what are-"

"Are you two going to continue flirting with each other or are we going to have breakfast?" Nagayuki intercepted and placed the glasses of orange juice on the table

"We're not flirting," I said, averting my eyes.

"Whatever you say," the elder twin shrugged and took his seat as the other gave him his plate. "Not bad bro."

Takeyasu then placed a plate of bacon, eggs, and sausages in front of me. A warm aroma engulfed my senses, I could practically taste the delicious food from the smell alone. Could it be the fandom was wrong or is it because he's from an Anime that the food he cooks is automatically better? Poking my fork into one of the sausages and taking a bite, I was greeted by a sensation of flavour.

"Mmmmm, this is good," I complimented.

"See, now you know I'm not making this up," Nagayuki nudged his brother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So about that 'proper sleeping place'," Takeyasu began as he placed his dishes on the counter.

"What?" I inquired confused since my mind was preoccupied with putting dish soap in the sink to clean dishes with.

"Remember yesterday you said we'd get a 'proper sleeping place' tomorrow," Takeyasu reminded me.

"Oh, right... I did say that... uhhhhhh-" I racked my brain trying to come up with what to do for them since Takeyasu clearly wasn't satisfied with the quick arrangements I made last night.

"You did have something in mind, right?" Nagayuki questioned, placing his dish next to his brother's.

"Well... there is a futon in the gaming area that could fit in my room, I'd need help bringing it up to my room though," I tell them putting the soap back in the cupboard.

"We can get it in your room no problem," Takeyasu smirked.

"Just show us where it is and leave the rest to us," Nagayuki added.

"Alright- uh- follow me."

Leading the way to the basement stairs, I opened the door and climbed down the steps. Passing the guest room and furnace room, we entered the open gaming area. I gestured to the futon off to the side, though I don't think that's what they're looking at-

"This place is like an arcade!" Takeyasu exclaims shuffling through the video game collection.

"You even got some of the classic consoles," Nagayuki commented as he checked out the Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis sitting next to each other amongst the various systems.

"Y-yeah, me and my brother are pretty big gamers," I explained. "It's great for when our friends come over, but most of the time it's just me and my brother hanging down here."

It's been a while since I've been down here with my brother, I mean I did come down here once or twice over the break, but I don't hang around this place as much as I used to. I think it started back when I started watching Anime, I suppose that means I prioritized being a weeb over a gamer. I do miss the endless days of gaming away with my brother though, it seemed those days were when the world was simple to us, I wonder where they went...

"[Name]," Takeyasu called my name and turned around holding up a familiar Wii game. "How good are you at Mario Kart?"

"Well~" I smirked. "Not to brag but I get 1st place every time. The only worthy opponent I have is my brother."

"We'll see about that," he smirked with a challenging sparkle reflecting in his teeth.

"You guys sure are big Mario fans," Nagayuki commented seeing a large amount of Mario games in the collection.

"Yeah, I mean Mario games are perfect multiplayer games for four people..." I paused, I felt like I'm forgetting something. "Oh! The dishes!" I had left the tap on when I went to the game room, it's probably overflowing now. I darted for the stairs. "The futon is in the corner, you guys! You're just gonna have to bring upstairs yourself."

Sliding into the kitchen, I could see the bubbles overflowing into the opposite sink. I turned off the tap in the bubbly sink and then moved it over to try and clear the other from soap. Once that was down I started to place dishes in the bubbly sink. My brain tuned out the world around me, my mind fixated on the task at hand thanks to the mini adrenaline panic that shot into my veins when I realized I left the sink on. Scrubbing away at the dishes, I almost missed the loud bang behind me, I flinched and glanced back.

"Oi! Be more careful!" I scolded the twins. Thankfully, they only hit the railing.

"Sorry," Nagayuki apologized.

I sweatdrop seeing the elder twin flying up the steps while his brother carried it normally. I don't know about you, but that seems unbalanced if you ask me. I shake my head and turn back to the dishes. Knowing me, I'd just get anxious watching them move that futon the way they are, I just have to trust they know what they're doing. Oh, would you look at that, the dishes are washed.

Draining the sink, I hang the wet cloth over the faucet and rinse the bubbles down the drain. Sliding over to the cabinet, I reach in and take out a drying cloth. I took a quick glance behind me to check on the brothers' progress and it seems they made it up the stairs. I grab a frying pan, beginning to dry the dishes when I notice my phone on the table light up. Putting the pan away and grabbing another dish to dry, I walked over to my device and tapped the screen.

'Great, it's on 5%,' I grumbled in my thoughts. My eyes gazed over the time, 1:03 pm.

'Shit!'

A text from my brother.

"We're on our way home."

'Shit! I gotta dry these dishes faster!'

I slip my phone into my pocket and put the dish in my hand away, hastily picking up the next one. They can't see the pans or spatulas out. They know I don't cook breakfast, I just get myself cereal! Or toast if I feel like making something. It'd be hella suspicious if pans were out. I can't let them see this-

"Hey [Name]-"

"AH!" I jumped and hugged the pan close to my chest, trying to grip myself to reality. Turning around I see Nagayuki floating behind me, no wonder I didn't hear anything. "Yes?"

"Where do you want us to put the futon?" Nagayuki asked, he probably said something after that but I didn't have time to know what he saying.

That door is going open any second and they're going to see Nagayuki standing in the kitchen! Well, not right away since the garage door is in the staircase to the basement. Still! I need to get the dishes done and for Nagayuki not to be here out in the open.

"Just put the futon in my closet and put your blankets and pillow with it," I instructed as I put the pan away, moving onto the plates. "And hide whatever stuff you have for now. I'll figure it out later. Just not right now, they're almost home and my phone is basically dead so I can't see their text, and I need to get these dishes dried-" I glance back and find he's gone.

Did... Did I imagine them? Were they hallucinations? No, no, hallucinations can't make dishes dirty. That and I can smell his scent. Wait, that sounds weird.

"[Name], we're home!" mom announced entering the main floor from the garage.

"AH!" I jump and then scramble to put the rest of the dishes away, dry or not. I catch my breath once I finish and lean against the counter just as they enter the kitchen. "Y'all startled me."

"Oh, you're down here," mom said surprised to see me somewhere that wasn't my room.

"Y-yeah, I just got up and finished breakfast," I half lied.

"And you did dishes," she acknowledged glancing at the clear counters.

"Yeah, I thought, might as well, ya know?"

"Hey sis, you wanna watch Code Geass?" [B/n] piped in before my mom could question me.

"Sure." I nodded with a smile, grateful that he interjected.

"Great, I just gotta put my stuff away," he told me, leaving the kitchen.

"Alright." I should turn on the TV then- wait... HE'S GOING UPSTAIRS! "Wait! Wait!"

I dashed up the stairs after him. He's going to see them! He's already upstairs and heading down the hall to our bedrooms! If the door's open he can just glance inside and see them vibing. Sweating bullets I slide down the hall only to see my door is closed.

"Phew..." I lean against the door relieved until I felt myself fall forward because the door wasn't properly closed! "Ow..."

"You okay, [Name]?" my brother asked popping out of his room to check on me.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." I reply rubbing the back of my head.

"Since when do you make your bed?"

"Huh?" I followed his gaze into my room, both of us confused.

All the sheets were neatly tucked and the pillows were plush and in the open, quite the foreign sight. Usually, if my bed did get made, the sheets would still be loose at the ends and cover the pillows. I know I didn't make my bed, that means someone else did. Right, the Tatsumi Brothers!

'Wait, where are they?' I wondered scanning my room and finding no trace of them. 'They couldn't have vanished, right?'

"Whatever, I'll meet you down there." My brother shrugged off the anomaly, walking away from the scene.

"Okay, I just gotta do something..." I wait until he's out of sight before slipping into my room and closing the door behind me. I do another sweep around my room, plugging in my phone while I was at it. I couldn't find them.

"Guys, he's not around anymore, you can come out." Just as I began to think they weren't real, I heard the window slide open. Spinning around, I see the twins climb down into my room.

"That was close," Nagayuki commented.

"Yeah," I agreed as I sat in my beanbag. "Where did you guys hide exactly?"

"On the roof."

"Smart- well as long as no one saw you on the roof- no one saw you guys up there, right?"

"Relax, sneaking around is our specialty," Takeyasu reassured me. "We never get caught."

"It wouldn't be hard if you learned to be more cautious," Nagayuki stated, sitting down in the desk chair.

"Hey, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't know where to go to avoid the opposition," the younger twin countered, pointing a finger at his brother. Before they could argue further, I clap my hands together bringing their attention to me.

"Alright, it's daytime, my family is home and doing things around the house, y'all can't get caught so you need to stay in my room," I remind them.

"Can't we go outside?" Takeyasu asked.

"Did you forget what I said yesterday about you two being fictional characters that need disguises?"

"[Name], we packed other clothes," Nagayuki deadpanned.

"Well, I still don't trust you two to be out 'n' about on your own," I said standing up and folding my arms. "I know you're warriors where you come from but you don't have that title anymore and half the things you did from what the Anime shows are illegal. I don't want to end up in jail for hiding criminals."

"I don't th-"

"Alright, we'll stay here, [Name]," Nagayuki interrupted his brother. The younger twin was about to protest when he continued. "As long as we get to go out tonight."

"I can work with that," I nod and unfold my arms.

"What are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Takeyasu inquired, raising an invisible brow.

"Uhh..." I went through my mind trying to think what would entertain the Tatsumi Brothers. 'What do they like? What do they like that's not hazardous?' My brain played clips of their episodes when I recalled how much they like to do stuff involving money. "You guys know about stocks and crypto, right?"

"Yes and no," they both answered in sync.

"Well-" I moved to my laptop opening a new browser window and clicking a few bookmarks. The tabs were: A YouTube playlist for learning about cryptocurrency, stockmarket charts for cryptocurrency, and a website where you can buy crypto. "You guys can learn about crypto and their markets then buy & sell them."

"We don't have bank accounts registered yet."

"That's fine, you can use mine," I told them, they both seem taken aback by this.

"Are you sure?" Takeyasu questioned after exchanging a glance with his brother.

"Yeah, I mean you guys are probably better with money than I am. Besides, I've been meaning to get into this stuff but I never make time to learn about it."

"Can't trust us to go for a walk but you trust us with your money, I wonder if that says something more about us or you," Takeyasu mumbled under his breath as he takes a look at the stock market with the elder brother.

He's got a point. Should I be trusting them with my money? It's not like they're going to rob me, they're just learning about crypto. Besides, I know Nagayuki at least will be intrigued by this concept.

"Someone's coming," Takeyasu alerted, pulling me out of my river of thoughts. "It's your brother." He must've known from the weight of the footsteps.

"I'll be back later with food," I promised as walked to my door. I look back to see them nod, I smile and creak my door open, slipping out and closing it behind me.

"Hey, what took you so long?" [B/n] asked, stopping halfway in the hall.

"Sorry bro, I got distracted by notifications," I lied, beginning to head down the stairs. "You got it set up?"

"Yup, just waiting for you sis."

"Great," I grin as I follow him to the living room.

Who knew having fictional characters around would be stressful?