Second Chances

Chapter 1

"Do you think we have the right ingredients?" Akihiko asked as he looked at the grocery list given to him by his cousin Ai.

"I think so, but I can't be sure. Aiko's handwriting is worse than Ai's," Akihiro replied as he looked at his list of supplies.

"Do you think they'll notice if we don't have all the supplies?" Akihiro asked.

"Yes!" Akihiko immediately replied.

"Maybe, we can make some substitutions. I'm sure they won't mind," Akihiro said.

"That's not an option. Don't you remember what happened last time?" Akihiko said as he tried to mask the fear in his voice.

"We agreed never to speak of that day ever again. We just have to suck it up and if we're lucky, maybe they won't notice the missing supplies," Akihiko said.

Today was their mother's birthday and they wanted to make it special. Their last attempt at a surprise party ended with their mother almost burning down their house because he thought an intruder had made it through the barrier. Today was their chance to make up for giving their mother a heart attack. With the help of their cousins, Ai and Aiko, this would be the best birthday party ever. Their cousins had a flair for party planning.

They could turn the dullest event into a loud and out of control shindig, which is why they weren't left alone for extended periods of time. When Akihiko suggested throwing a party for their mother's birthday, Ai and Aiko already had a list of all the things they would need. They divided the party planning duties between the four of them. Akihiko was in charge of getting food, Akihiro was in charge of getting decorations, Aiko was in charge of entertainment and Ai was in charge of getting the house ready.

Their grandfather Iruka and their uncle Shino were helping them with the party as well, and as a result it was taking them a long time to find all the supplies they needed. If you were to exclude the twin's handwriting, most of the ingredients on their lists were very hard to find. Their grandfather was an amazing cook but he was very picky when it came to ingredients, the same goes for their uncle.

Their uncle had a flair for décor but you wouldn't know it because of his fascination with insects. Most of the supplies they needed weren't sold in the Land of Flowers even if they were, it was very unlikely that the villagers would sell them anything but they had no choice. If they wanted their mother's birthday to be amazing, they would have to find all the supplies on their respective lists.

When they got to the Yamanaka family's flower shop, the twins made their way inside. They were immediately greeted by the sweet smell of flowers. Hearing the bell ring indicating that someone just entered, Chika, the store owner put on a bright smile ready to greet whoever entered the store but when she saw the twins she frowned.

"Excuse me boys, but you can't be in here," she said politely, masking her disgust with a smile.

"Oh! We're sorry, we didn't realise that the store was closed. We'll be leaving now," Akihiko said ignoring Chika's displeasure.

With that, the boys left the store.

"Did you get them?" Akihiko asked.

"Yes, but the ones in the store aren't the same colour as the ones uncle Shino wants," Akihiro replied holding a bouquet of white roses.

"That's a shame, and to think we went through all that trouble to steal them. Maybe uncle Shino won't mind," Akihiko said.

"Who knows? Well in any case, these are beautiful. Maybe, we can give them to uncle Naruto. I'm sure he'll love them," Akihiro said as he put the bouquet in his basket.

"Let's get going before that lady notices that she's missing some flowers," Akihiko said.

By the time the twins finished their shopping, it was already noon which meant they were late. They ran as fast as they could towards the forest in hopes they'd still make it in time for their grandfather to finish baking the cake. Their home was located deep in the forest, on the edge of the village. The forest provided them with protection from any unmated or rogue alpha. It wasn't safe for their mother, uncles or grandfather (who were all unmated omega) to live in the village because they would be in danger of being taken by some unworthy alpha.

The village itself wasn't a cruel place per say but there were some villagers who made it unbearable to live there. These villagers looked down on them for being the children of an unmated omega. The Village Leader was a kind alpha who protected their family but there were some who looked down on him for harbouring not one but two unmated omega with children in the village.

The omega in their blended family were seen as a bad omen, from their grandfather who had never been able to find a mate, their uncle Shino who was rejected by every alpha who he had been arranged to marry, to their uncle Naruto and their mother Kurama who were both abandoned by their respective alpha. Their inability to find or keep a mate was seen as a disgrace to any and all omega in the village. Although they were seen as bad omens, that didn't stop any rogue alpha from trying to take them.

Akihiko and Akihiro managed to make it to the forest in time. As they were about to open a door through the barrier their mother had created to protect them, they heard a twig snap. Being trained shinobi, the seemingly natural sound of twigs snapping put them on high alert. Not wanting to let their pursuers know that they were aware of their presence, the twins kept walking and used a little trick they learned from their uncle Naruto; feigning ignorance.

"Hey Akihiko, did you remember to buy the almonds?" Akihiro asked discretely looking around to find out where their pursuers were hiding.

"Almonds? Why would we need almonds?" Akihiko asked discretely scenting the air to find out where the scent of almonds was coming from.

Luckily, a breeze blew through the forest blowing their pursuers' scents directly at the twins, making it easier to deduce how many they were.

"You can't be serious! The recipe requires almonds, peppermint, basil and lilac," Akihiro said.

"Are you sure? I only got basil, peppermint, tobacco and lilac," Akihiko said.

"You realise that grandpa would kill you the second you brought tobacco into the house," Akihiro said.

"Fine then, let's go back to the market. I'm sure we can find some other flammable plant," Akihiko said nonchalantly.

Akihiro abruptly stopped and stomped his foot on a hidden trip wire with feigned annoyance.

"You can't be serious! You don't know what these ingredients are for do you?"

"Aren't they for one of uncle Shino's insect experiments or something?" Akihiko asked seemingly confused.

"How many are they?" Shino asked as he made his way out of the genjustu barrier.

"Five," Akihiro replied.

Shino sent out a wave of his insects to search the forest for the intruders. Said intruders jumped out of the trees ready to attack only to be stopped by a small prick on their necks causing them to fall on the ground paralysed.

"Let's get going," Shino said.