Ketsueki gave her little brother an odd look and said. “A steel barrel?” She placed her hand back on top of Reiki’s head. He tried to move his older sister’s hand on top of his head, Reiki said. “It’s a lot cooler than it sounds.” He tried to move Ketsueki’s hand but couldn’t even make it budge, Reiki thought. Onee-chan, you’ve already placed your hand on my head. Ketsueki ignored her little brother trying to move her hand away as she used her hand to comb Reiki’s unkempt and scraggly hair. She said. “... Sure, I’ll trust you on that…”

 

She watched her little brother trying to move her hand away as Ketsueki’s lips curled into a playful smile. Reiki was using both his arms to pry his older sister’s hand away from his head, he said. “I can tell that was sarcasm.” He thought. Why can’t I move her hand away? Reiki used a bit more force as Ketsueki had a hint of surprise in her eyes, she thought. He’s gotten stronger from all the exercise he does every day. She watched her little brother struggle to move her hand as Reiki stopped and let out a long exhale, he thought. I give up.

 

Ketsueki moved her hand away from the top of his head and poked the tip of Reiki’s nose, she said. “Don’t forget to turn the computer off when you’re done with it.” She turned around and made her way to the kotatsu table while Reiki stole a glance at her older sister’s butt. He quickly sat back down on the chair while Ketsueki stood near the kotatsu table and saw the chair spin as Reiki faced the PC. She sat back down on the floor, picked up the book on the table, and started reading.

 

Ketsueki thought. I hope he brings some souvenirs from Umeda. Reiki grabbed the mouse as he started to delete a few tabs on the browser, he glanced at the time at the bottom right of the computer and thought. … Make that eleven days since it’s past midnight. He opened a drawer and said. “Onee-chan, do you have a pen and paper in one of these drawers?” Reiki glanced at his older sister from the corner of his eye while Ketsueki flipped to the next page of the book she was reading. She said. “No.”

 

She felt her heart skip a beat as her little brother reached for the bottom cabinet. Reiki froze as she felt the cold glare her older sister was giving him, Ketsueki said. “Reiki, open that cabinet. And you’re going to be grounded forever.” Reiki slowly moved his hand away from the drawer, he thought. From that reaction, I’m fairly sure I know what’s in there… Ketsueki let out a long breath as she went back to reading while Reiki did the shortcut key for the browser history and started deleting a few things he searched.

 

Reiki thought. To make sure Onee-chan doesn’t think I was searching for porn while she was away, let’s delete some of the history at random. After a few clicks, he closed the browser and turned the computer off. Ketsueki glanced at him as she saw the monitor was off while Reiki stood up from the chair, she said. “Done?” Reiki tucked the chair by the work table and said. “I am, thanks for letting me use your PC. Onee-chan.” He thought. I need a nail gun, a metal baseball bat, a hammer, lightbulbs, two burner phones, a couple of prepaid sim cards, zip ties, a drill, and a razor shaver with a few extra blades.

 

Ketsueki kept her gaze on the book she was reading as she gave her little brother a nod, she said. “No problem, if you want to use it again. Tell me first, I need to type the password.” Reiki made his way to the door leading out as his gaze wandered onto the cover of the book she was reading, he spoke in a soft tone and said. “... Ark?...” He made his way to the kotatsu table and squatted down while Ketsueki flipped to the next page. She said. “I asked Namida if she has a book lying around.”

 

Reiki stared at the cover that had a large wooden ship on the cover as the writing ARK was designed to look gold. He said. “I’m surprised he has a book.” Ketsueki let out a chuckle and said. “Despite his brash way of talking from time to time, he is well-read. That’s mainly the reason why I asked for a recommendation.” Reiki started reading the synopsis on the back, he said. “What’s it about?” Ketsueki kept her eyes on the page and said. “It’s about Noah, who’s called one of the first beast tamers. His wife Naameh is one of the early records of mages who can control nature.”

 

Reiki moved his gaze onto his older sister, he said. “So, Noah used his skills on the pairs of animals to get onto the boat while Naameh. His wife was responsible for growing trees so that they have materials for a boat big enough.” Ketsueki nodded while she was reading on the right page of the book, she said. “There’s more to the story, but that’s more or less the main gist of it.” Reiki stared at the book his older sister was reading, he said. “Can I borrow it after you’re done?” Ketsueki flipped to the next page and said. “Sure, I’ll give Namida a heads up.”

 

Reiki stood up as he made his way toward the door while Ketsueki pretended to read as her little brother closed the door behind him. She listened to the sound of footsteps outside getting farther away as she placed the book onto the kotatsu table and appeared near the work table. Ketsueki pulled the chair back, sat down, and took off one of the indoor slippers she was wearing as she used her big toe to push the power button on the PC chassis which was below the desk on the floor. Ketsueki thought. Alright, time to see if he searched for porn on my computer.

 

________________________________________________________________________________

Reiki’s Room

 

Reiki closed the door behind him, walked toward the bed, and sat on it. He let out a yawn without bothering to cover his mouth, Reiki thought. Ender, can you give me an example of creating a mana string between the palm of my hands? Ender’s voice rang in his head, he said. [I’ll be borrowing your hands for a moment.] Reiki watched his arms move, he thought. How do you move my hands without possessing me?

 

Ender said. [I use the mana you’re emitting.] Reiki watched as both the palms of his hands were enveloped with a thin layer of mana. He clasped his hands together as they slowly pulled apart as a string of mana was formed between his palms, Reiki thought. The mana circles I can understand since it allowed me to familiarize myself with magic on both hands. What does this do? A tattered pouch flew out of his pocket and floated in mid-air, Ender said. [Watch.] The pouch spewed out a gold bar as it landed on the bed.

 

Reiki watched his hands do one loop around the bar of gold, with a gentle pull the gold bar was split into two. The layer of mana on his palms instantly vanished along with the mana string, Reiki stared at the gold bar and picked up one of its halves with his right hand. He moved the bar near to his eyes and inspected it, Reiki thought. … That’s one clean cut… He picked up the other half and used his thumb to feel the lacerated area, he continued his train of thought. Ender, you could’ve just told me it can cut metal. How am I supposed to trade this for money now?

 

The tattered pouch that was floating mid-air dropped to the bed while Reiki’s hands started moving on their own. His hands connected the gold bar back into one piece as a faint light blue glow appeared in the area where it was cut in half. Ender’s voice rang in his head, he said. [There.] The gold bar slipped through Reiki’s hands as he reflexively grabbed it mid-air, he let out a sigh and tapped the bar against the palm of his hands a couple of times. Reiki thought. Does this method only work on metal?

 

He turned his head to the left, saw where the tattered pouch was, and picked it up. Ender said. [Have enough control over your mana and you can stitch together a corpse that’s been chewed up by Q.] Reiki stared at the gold bar, he thought. I doubt it, I’ve seen Q eat a couple of times and no one can fix those bodies. He let out a chuckle while a black tendril was growing on the bed behind him and slapped the back of his head.

 

[System: User has received 10 Damage.]

 

Reiki placed a hand on the area where he was hit, he turned his upper body sideways and saw the black tendril on the bed. He said. “It was a joke Q.” The tentacle stretched as it gave Reiki a couple of pats on top of his head, he thought. Ender, how long has Q been able to understand language? The black tendril slowly shrank in size as it slithered its way into Reiki’s shirt. Ender’s voice rang in his head, he said. [A few seconds after she connected with you.] Reiki placed the gold bar into the tattered pouch and pocketed the pouch.

 

He thought. … I just hope she doesn’t spout profanities every time she opens her mouth. Reiki took off the indoor slippers, laid down on the bed, and went to sleep.

 

________________________________________________________________________________

Kitchen

 

~Four Hours And Thirty Minutes Later~

 

Reiki had a towel draped over his neck as some drops of water fell onto it while he placed a cover on top of four lunch boxes. He used the towel around his neck to dry his damp hair and thought. That’s the girls' bento’s done. Reiki made his way to the living room as he saw Ketsueki and Shiro in the middle of eating breakfast. He said. “Shiro, Onee-chan. The bentos are by the sink, Remind me to get them.” Shiro was in the middle of eating a toast with some butter on it as she nodded at him while Ketsueki took a sip of a cup of water. She said. “We will.”

 

Reiki walked toward the staircase and said. “I’ll finish drying my hair in my room and join after.” He made his way up while Shiro placed her half-eaten buttered toast on top of the bacon that was beside the eggs, pancakes, and hash browns. Ketsueki placed her cup of water on the table and glanced at her little sister’s plate which was drenched in syrup, she said. “Shiro, would you like some pancakes for your plate of syrup?” She let out a chuckle while picking up her knife and fork resting on a piece of tissue.

 

Shiro gulped down a mouthful of food as she stared at her plate and reached for her glass of orange juice, she said. “It’s fine, Onii-chan will put the excess syrup on his plate.” She took a sip of her juice and used a tissue to wipe her mouth. Ketsueki used her knife and fork to slice off a triangular shaped piece of what remained of the stack of pancakes on her plate. She said. “You forget, Reiki doesn’t have a sweet tooth.” She used the fork to stab the pancake she cut off and ate it.

 

Shiro had a look of realization on her face and glanced at the large plate next to her that easily had four times the amount of food on it. The sound of footsteps came from the flight of stairs as Reiki reached the bottom of the stairs and made his way to the dining table. He said. “What did I miss?” He pulled the chair next to his little sister and sat on it. Ketsueki used her knife and fork to cut the pancakes into smaller bites, she said. “Shiro and I were talking about the amount of syrup on her plate.”

 

Reiki picked up his knife and fork as he glanced at his little sister's plate, he said. “I’ll just use some pancakes to mop it after she’s done eating.” Shiro’s eyes lit up as she hugged her older brother and said. “Onii-chan loves me the most.” Reiki placed the knife onto his plate and gave Shiro a couple of pats on her head. He said. “Yeah yeah… Finish your plate of syrup and your side of eggs, hash browns, bacon, and pancakes.” Reiki let out a laugh while Ketsueki let out a suppressed chuckle.

 

He used a fork to stab a hash brown on his plate and took a large bite out of it while Shiro carefully moved her arms back from hugging her older as she was still holding onto a knife and fork. Ketsueki used her fork to stab a piece of bacon, she said. “Shiro, anything happening at school today?” Shiro thought for a moment and said. “No, the teacher told us in advance that the entire day is self study since the festival is right around the corner.”

 

Ketsueki ate the bacon on her fork, she thought. I need to give Reiki some pocket money since he’s going with her. Shiro was staring at a piece of bacon on her fork that had half of it covered in syrup, she thought. … Maybe I did use a bit too much syrup… She took a bite of the bacon that had syrup on it and was surprised by its taste, Shiro continued her train of thought. This is pretty good.

 

She dipped the rest of the bacon in the syrup on her plate while Reiki was in the middle of chewing while cutting the pancakes on his plate with the knife and fork. Shiro ate the bacon dripping with syrup while Ketsueki gulped down some food in her mouth, she said. “Reiki, what do they teach in majutsu academy?” Reiki finished cutting the pancakes on his plate as he stabbed a hash brown that had a bite taken out of it. He said. “... Mostly basics, a lot of learning about monster anatomy…”

 

Shiro’s brow furrowed as she gave her older brother an odd look and said. “One of the librarians in my school told me those books usually cost around six figures depending on the edition.” Ketsueki’s eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at her little brother while Reiki let out a sharp exhale and said. “The school only has that one book, and the teacher just draws it on the chalkboard.” He thought. There are editions of monster anatomy? Reminds me of college where they just reprint the same book with slightly different wording.

 

Ketsueki was about to say something when Reiki interrupted her and said. “If you two keep asking me questions, there won’t be any desserts for three days.” His sisters immediately went quiet as they continued with their meals, Reiki thought. Oh, that actually worked.

 

~Twenty Minutes Later~

 

Ketsueki watched Shiro put on her black leather shoes as Reiki made his way to the front door. Ketsueki moved her gaze to her little brother and said. “Reiki, thanks for doing the dishes.” Reiki nodded at his older sister, he said. “It’s fine, it took me five minutes tops to do all of them.” Shiro was adjusting the strap of her leather shoes, she said. “Just a little more.” Ketsueki placed a hand on top of his head and smiled at her little brother, she said. “I don’t doubt it.”

 

Reiki watched Shiro trying to figure out how to adjust the strap of her shoes, he thought. I wish we could renovate this house… If we did have that kind of money, it would be better to move to a different one with a peaceful neighborhood… Shiro managed to adjust the strap as she smiled and said. “I did it!” Ketsueki moved her hand away from the top of her little brother’s head and extended it toward her little sister, she said. “Let’s go, Shiro.” Shiro smiled at her older sister, she said. “Yes.”

 

She grabbed Ketsueki’s hand as Shiro slowly stood up from the ground while Reiki pointed at the back of his little sister’s skirt. Ketsueki saw her little brother pointing at something as she leaned toward him and saw some dust on her little sister’s skirt, with a snap of her fingers the dust on Shiro’s skirt vanished. Ketsueki said. “You two have everything?” Shiro patted the pocket of her blazer and said. “I have everything I need for school and Mio and Yuki’s bento.”

 

Ketsueki moved her gaze onto her little brother, Reiki said. “I didn’t forget anything.” Ketsueki placed her hand on the doorknob, opened the door, and said. “Reiki, you’re going out first.” Reiki gave her older sister an odd look, he said. “But I didn’t even put on my shoes yet.” Reiki pointed at the white indoor slippers he was wearing while Shiro looked down at her older brother’s footwear. Ketsueki snapped her fingers as the indoor slippers Reiki was wearing turned into slightly old sports shoes. She said. “Out, you’re getting the floor dirty.”

 

Reiki had a hint of disbelief in his eyes as he stared at his shoes, he moved his gaze at Ketsueki and said. “What was the backup plan if I wasn’t wearing any socks?” Ketsueki pointed outside, she said. “Out.” Reiki made his way out of the house, he said. “I was just asking a question.” Ketsueki moved her gaze onto her little sister and said. “Tell Yuki and Mio. Reiki and I said, hi.” Shiro nodded at her older sister, she said. “I will, Onee-chan.” Shiro walked out of the house as she saw Reiki staring at a highschool girl walking down the street.

 

Ketsueki used a key to lock the door while Shiro stood beside her older brother as she stared at the highschool girl Reiki was staring at. Shiro said. “... Onii-chan, why are you staring at her?” Ketsueki’s eyes had a hint of coldness in them as she glanced at the girl from the corner of her eye. Reiki let out a yawn and said. “Her uniform, it’s my first time seeing a different one around here.” Ketsueki pocketed the key as the cold look in her eyes instantly vanished.

 

She made her way toward her siblings and said. “Shiro, Reiki. You two know staring at people is rude.” Reiki felt a cold sweat trickle down the back of his neck, he thought. … Close call… Shiro looked up to her older sister, she said. “Onii-chan said it’s his first time seeing her uniform.” The highschool girl took a right turn as she disappeared from their sights, Ketsueki said. “Ok, you two can talk while on your way to school. If I get a message that either of you are late, you’re going to be in big trouble.”

 

Shiro said. “Yes, Onee-chan.” She tugged on her older brother’s shirt and continued. “Onii-chan, let’s go.” Reiki held out his hand as Shiro smiled and grabbed it as the two of them walked down the street while Ketsueki watched her siblings with a smile on her face. She thought. … Now I have to deal with Ahma… She let out a long sigh and vanished.

 

…

 

Reiki and Shiro were holding hands as they walked down the street, he thought. With all the things I listed… I’ll find everything I need at… Akihabara… The two stopped at a red light as a man wearing a suit stood beside Shiro as her grip on her older brother’s hand slightly tightened. Reiki used his thumb to gently rub the back of his little sister’s hand which made him look up to him. Shiro said. “Onii-chan?” Reiki smiled at her as he spoke in a warm and assuring tone, he said. “Don’t worry, Shiro. I’m here.”

 

Shiro didn’t notice the smile on her face, she said. “... Yeah…” The light stop turned green as Reiki pointed at the other side of the crosswalk and said. “This is where we part ways.” Shiro held onto her older brother’s hand for a few more seconds before letting go and crossing the street. Reiki watched his little sister walking down the street. Reiki narrowed his eyes as he saw a figure sprinting at full speed while noticing they were wearing the same uniform as his little sister, he thought. Is that?...

 

Yuki quickly caught up to Shiro as she wrapped an arm around her as the two were all smiles. Reiki let out a chuckle as he made a half turn and walked down the street, he continued his train of thought. Now I have to take a three hour train ride… How much was it again?