On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Four Hundred And Twenty-Eight

“Feeling strange?” Shiro asked Tsukiko, who was sitting elegantly in seiza in our living room, sipping some tea. Shiro on the other hand was on a chair, legs lazily crossed, and when she saw me looking at her slim legs clad in her customary white jeans, she grinned, before lazily uncrossing and recrossing her legs. “Bet you wish I was wearing a skirt now Aki. But anyway…” She turned her attention back to Tsukiko. “It must be difficult for you.”

Tsukiko nodded slowly, her expression rather complicated, a mixture of joy and trepidation. “Yes, I was pleased to be able to talk to Yasuhide on the telephone, but I did not expect that he would start to weep.” Her face was tinged slightly red at the memory. “I have always seen him as a parental figure, so…”

“Yeah, the parents, huh? I get that.” Shiro let out a bitter sigh. “I have to do something about mine as well. Having shitty parents is hard. But even crappy parents are still parents.”

“It’s not so bad as that.” I interjected. “Tsukiko’s parents didn’t treat her like yours did, Shiro. In fact… from the funeral I could tell they loved you, Tsukiko, but they never knew how to deal with you. Being so religious and having a daughter that was effectively the Oracle of the Gods… there was no way they could have a normal relationship with you. But that’s over with. If you want it, you can have it. You’re Tsukiko now, not just the Diviner.” I reiterated.

“Yes.” She nodded politely. “Yasuhide is going to contact them. That will be a difficult conversation, I imagine.”

“I would think so.” I felt a bit bad for him, but the old man was always amusing himself at our expense, so it served him right. He’s the best person to do it anyway. He knows them, and can explain it in religious terms, at least to gain their acceptance. We’ll have to change the way they think of Tsukiko though… “If you need help or support, let me know. After all, your parents are my parents now too.”

Tsukiko ducked her head, neck now crimson. Shiro snickered nastily, joking that I had more parents than an average small town, and I waved off her joke. Tsukiko, when she had recovered from her embarrassment, a feeling she wasn’t used to, raised another issue, one that was playing on her mind. “I have a retainer, Etsuko. She has been serving and taking care of me ever since I was a child. My passing must have brought her great grief. She has no family of her own, so…”

“I understand. You want her to know you’re alive, and see if she still wants to look after you, right?” At her nod, I continued. “That’s no problem. So long as she’s happy to show the same consideration to Shiro and the others. We need to recruit some loyal staff for the estate anyway. The timing is good.”

“Yeah. It’s moving day.” Shiro grinned. “Eri’s totally losing her mind over it. She’s ready to prank your sister and her parents with her recovery. As for me…” Shiro was a little pale, and she turned to Tsukiko for support. “…you’re in the same boat, girl. Meeting the parents is a big deal!”

“Actually, I met some of his family briefly in Kyoto, such as his sister.” Tsukiko said, and Shiro sighed.

“Damn, did you leave a good impression? Our boy here is a total siscon, so if Aiko likes you, you’ve got a head start.”

“We had little time together, merely a meeting in passing, but I believe I did not perform unfavourably.” Tsukiko said, but her white knuckles as she held her mug of tea gave away her nerves. That’s sweet. A normal worry, that anyone could have, not about matters beyond mortal understanding.

“So Eri’s getting ready.” I mused. “Kana, Hinata, Motoko and Natsumi will be at school for the morning. You two are here…”

“Daiyu’s tagging along with Hyacinth, Asha and Shaeula sorting out the events at the Spring this evening. She wanted to take a look at it before the place was crowded, she thinks studying it will help her techniques.” Shiro continued. “So everything’s pretty much in hand. All the stuff we wanted to furnish our rooms has been delivered, although…” she looked at Tsukiko. “...you’ll be wanting to have your stuff brought over, right? Anything you don’t have, Aki will pay for. You are staying with us, right?”

There was a momentary embarrassed pause, before she agreed. “Yes, where else would I go? After all, if I am to discover the joys of being ordinary, of love, I must be with the one I want.”

“That’s the spirit. Damn, all I can think of is how pissed off and jealous certain other people will be. I think my brain is broken.” At that moment, Tan, who had been silent for a while, briefly agreed, her eyes flaring red for a moment. As Shiro chided her for being rude, I looked at Tsukiko warmly.

“Ordinary happiness, maybe. But none of us are ordinary. That just means we need to grasp extraordinary happiness.” I remembered the feel of her lips and tongue, and her voluptuous body. No, that’s for later. Today there’s just too much going on. Even now, my Astral body was attending to the many matters that required my input. “I’ll speak to Yasuhide and get him to send over your things. He should have kept them safe because I promised you’d return. As for anything else… well, the estate is right in the heart of Tokyo, so shopping should be no problem.”

“Great. We can hit Akiba too.” She grinned at Tsukiko. “If you’re going to get used to being out in public, you might as well give the poor otaku there some beauties to gawk at. Don’t get jealous, Aki!”

“Yeah, whatever” I ignored her usual teasing. “I’m confident enough you’ll never leave me.” I winked, and Shiro nearly fell off her chair as she laughed, shouting that this side of me was one that she didn’t see often enough. Setting that aside, I took a look at my phone. There was a message from father, saying they had started their journey. It won’t be long now. The whole family, together again. Once more I looked at Shiro and Tsukiko, pondering their circumstances. Their families too… what do we do about them?

********

“You nervous?” I said to Eri, who, quite unusually for her, was wearing a dress, with short sleeves and a rather high hemline, the skirt only draping down to her thighs. “And aren’t you cold?”

Eri shook her head. “Not really. Aren’t you the same? With high stats we don’t really suffer from the temperature.”

“That’s true.” I agreed. “I guess we’ll save a fortune on heating bills this winter.”

“You have the money. Don’t be stingy. Otherwise Hinata will freeze.” She smiled, and turned her attention to Tsukiko and Shiro, who were waiting with us. “There’s no need to be nervous. I expected this, ever since Akio was crushed by the guilt of failing to save your life. I only get angry over things that can be changed. Otherwise I’d just be miserable and frustrated.”

“That is a… mature… attitude.” Tsukiko said, a little surprised. “I know it cannot be easy, a newcomer such as myself intruding in your lives, but…”

“Don’t worry about it.” Eri cut her off. “Like I said, it’s inevitable. There’s four more I’m certain of too, I’m not an idiot. These other Princesses.” Eri sniffed. “What happens twice will happen again and again. But hopefully after that we can stop expanding. I don’t want to have to compete for scraps of your affection, Akio.”

I took her hand, ignoring her insinuation about Eleanor and Yukiko-san. It’s not like that. Though… I had to admit, since I had saved Eleanor in London, her attitude towards me had thawed significantly, but there was no way she’d ever consider polygamy, she was staunchly against it. Although… she did accept Tsukiko. No, that doesn’t matter right now… “I know I’m terrible, I never thought I was so greedy. But I want to make Tsukiko smile, and…”

“Yeah. You are greedy.” Eri sighed, squeezing my hand back. “And so am I. That just means you’ll have to make it up to me. You still owe me that trip, just the two of us.”

“Eri’s in charge, supposedly.” Shiro advised Tsukiko, as with my keen eyes I could see a helicopter coming towards us, and soon it was audible as well. “You need to get her approval before you’re in. Luckily, she’s extremely dishonest, so…”

“That’s rude!” Eri pouted, insulted, and Shiro shrugged.

“Sorry, I meant tsundere. I’m just teasing you Eri, we’ve grown pretty close, haven’t we? We’ve got a lot in common after all. Both Aki’s premiere friends, and we also had to look out for each other when we were injured. And now we’re both back to maximum hotness! But you have to admit, you growl and bark like an angry dog, but when it comes down to it, you’re quite the pushover.”

“I’m not.” She denied it, but her onyx eyes were wavering.

“Sure, if it makes you feel better. But…” she continued advising Tsukiko. “…Eri here is a sucker for girls with a sad past. I blame Aki, he’s obviously been influencing her in all the wrong ways.” She rolled her eyes, teasing us. “So she gets on well with me, Hyacinth, Daiyu, Asha and Shaeula, and can even show sympathy with the noble girls. Her and Kana are like oil and water, but… they’ve settled into a truce.”

“Kana… she isn’t as bad as I thought. And it’s mostly your fault anyway.” Eri actually punched me gently in the side, surprising me. “You were always toying with her heart, so you had to take responsibility! So stop doing that. I just hope the two Princesses we haven’t seen aren’t bitches. It hurts my stomach just thinking about it…”

“All right, I get it. But Tsukiko was special…” The girl in question reddened at my words, and I was happy to see her freely expressing her emotions. It’s actually very cute. Though I shouldn’t forget she’s actually quite a bit older than me, even if she’d pass for the same age easily enough. As Tsukiko’s eyes sharpened, I was once again shocked by women’s intuition, and hurriedly changed the subject. “…and now we can safely say there’s no more girls I’m interested in. Now, let’s greet our family, right Eri? You sure you want to tease them?”

Eri nodded. “I do. It’s their fault for not believing in you! Besides…” she grinned. “I’ve not seen Aiko in a while, and she’s the one with a Divine Favour, so she deserves a bit of punishment.”

“Jealous?” Shiro laughed, and Eri nodded.

“Of course I am. Though I’ll work hard. I’m not going to be a liability again.” She looked at Tsukiko then, her expression completely serious. “I know you understand. You carried the same burden as we did, no, maybe even more. I don’t want to know the future. I think that’s a curse. But… power is what matters. If you were strong enough, you wouldn’t have died. If we were stronger, then we could have prevented it. So… no more tears. No, that’s not practical. We’re going to suffer defeats and setbacks. I’m not a child, I know that. But we need to make sure what we lose isn’t those we can’t live without!”

“Those are wise words.” Tsukiko agreed, as the helicopter landed outside. “And now we know that with enough resolve, we can change any future we do not desire.” She paused, looking embarrassed. “I admit, I am desiring to not be here right now, or at least have my veil. This is a feeling I never thought I would experience.”

Shiro slapped her on the back gently. “I’m feeling it too, don’t worry. Meeting the parents, it’s a big step in any relationship…”

As they consoled each other, trying to keep calm I stepped out into the pale morning sunlight, greeting the visitors who had left the helicopter. The first was my sister, who had raced over to me like an eager puppy. She then paused as she was about to go in for a hug, blinking as she saw Shiro and Tsukiko following me out.

“Wow, so who’s that? She’s as hot as you, Shiro!” my sis said, stunned. “Bro, you haven’t been snaring more beauties, have you? Mom’s going to flip out…” I could actually see my mother with a bright face watching on behind her, though auntie Hana didn’t look quite so happy, nor did her parents. I haven’t seen them in quite a while. Keeping secrets from them didn’t feel good, but they’ve always been gossips…

“You know it, dear sister.” Shiro smirked, and my sis flushed.

“Dear sister, wow. I’ve only seen girls called that in manga. It feels kind of good though, especially from a hot older girl like… no, no, losing track of my thoughts!” my sis declared. “So, she’s one of my bro’s?”

“You’ve met her before, actually.” I said cheerfully. “This is Matsumuro Tsukiko.” I raised my voice as the family caught up, all standing around us in a semi-circle. “She was known as the noble Lady Diviner, centrepiece of Japan’s traditional faith. So she’s kind of a big deal.”

“She was also kind of dead!” my sis said, with her usual lack of tact. “But then you did say your Kin Restoration could work miracles. Damn… I’m happy for you bro.” A few tears glittered in Aiko’s blue eyes as she looked brightly at her. “And wow, keeping yourself covered up was a sin against humanity, Tsukiko-chan, you’re super stunning!”

“You are very similar to your brother, I see.” Tsukiko said wryly, feeling a bit overwhelmed by her hurricane-force personality. “But yes, I shall hide myself no more. I accept I am a woman, as well as a Diviner.”

“I see. Well, I always welcome more gorgeous daughters-in-law!” Mom grabbed her hand, shaking it, leaving Tsukiko a bit bemused. “I’m Emily, but you can call me mom if you want! If not, Emi or Emily-chan is also fine!” She turned to Shiro. “I’ve heard about you. My son’s university friend, huh? If I’d have known my Aki was hanging out with girls as good as you, I’d have been bragging to the whole town!”

“That’s all very well…It’s a pleasure to meet you both.” Auntie Hana said, though it clearly made her a little uncomfortable. “But where’s little Eri? Shouldn’t she be here to greet us? You aren’t neglecting her, are you?”

Before anyone could answer, Eri’s voice rang out clearly. “Of course he isn’t, mother, don’t be absurd.” Everyone turned, only to see Eri in her dress walking out confidently. On seeing that, everyone froze, and I realised why she was wearing such a revealing summery dress despite it being deep into autumn.

“Eri, you’re… you’re walking.” Uncle Junpei said, voice cracking with emotion, as auntie burst into tears and rushed at her. Eri took the hug, pouting but clearly happy for the affection, and she patted her mother on the back gently.

“There’s no need to fuss. I’m fine. See?” Eri’s bare arms and legs showed no traces of injury, her skin smooth and soft. “Akio promised you I’d recover, and so I have.”

“I know.” uncle said, hardly daring to believe his eyes. “But you can’t blame us for worrying, can you? You’re our precious daughter.”

Eri let out a sigh. “I guess not. Now I feel a little bad about this.”

“So, how long have you been deceiving us?” My sis butted in. “That’s so not cool!”

“Only a few days.” Eri promised. As Hana finally released her hug, looking Eri over, even bending down to touch her legs, Eri sighed. “I was getting better slowly, but then the rest happened all at once. Akio thought I should tell you, but…” her smile was both apologetic and wicked. “…I wanted to surprise you. And isn’t it a good one? Aren’t you happy?”

“Wow, yeah, she’s definitely learning bad habits. That sounds like something Shaeula would do. Speaking of… where is she?” my sis asked.

“Busy.” I explained briefly, before Tsukiko, rather uncomfortable at the scrutiny, but eager to make a good impression, invited everyone inside for tea…

********

“We spent a few days touring Japan. It was an interesting experience. Especially with a guide.” Grandfather Jack was saying. “Fortunately the man was bilingual, so we didn’t have any difficulties.”

“I told you dear, we’re going to have to learn more Japanese. We can’t be lazy anymore.” Grandmother Evelyn said gently. “Still, I do want to thank that gentleman, he was so well-spoken and polite.”

“He would be.” I laughed. “He’s surely one of Fujiwara Security’s best. So, what stood out the most?”

“You need to ask? Here of course.” Jack said, surprised. “I’ve seen many strange things since you came to visit with those girls. But doesn’t this trump all?” They had seen the Fae working around the shrine, and their jaws had nearly hit the floor in shock.

“I’m more impressed by you, Eri dear.” Evelyn said to Eri, who nodded happily. “Our Emily was always bragging about you as if you were her own daughter. You’re adorable in photographs, but in person I think you’re prettier. Akio is a lucky boy, having such a childhood friend… oh, and a friend from university as well.” Evelyn finished at Shiro’s pleading look.

“Yeah, Aki is friends with the best. Come to think of it, perhaps he was destined to be a protagonist from the moment he started stacking up the top-tier friends.” Shiro mused.

“I don’t think our parents get it.” My sis said gently. “You might want to tone down the humour, Shiro.”

As Shiro looked down, my mom piped up that she indeed did get it. “I also have another question.” mom said afterwards, looking at the guest who was with us, sitting beside Tsukiko and drinking tea with us all, as though she belonged there. “Why is Princess Mikasa, our Imperial Princess, in your house? Are you collecting Princesses or something?”

At that Eri nearly spat out her drink as she snorted, and some got up her nose, choking her. As my sis slapped her on the back, trying to help her breathe again, Tsukiko and Shiro exchanged glances, before Shiro started snickering.

“Do excuse me. I’ve been rude.” Yukiko-san put on her best manners. “Akio-san here is a colleague of mine, and a friend, I should say. Tsukiko is also my dearest friend. As for why I am here…” She nodded at me, and I explained that she was attending an important event in the Seelie Court with us this evening. Beside her, Azuki was sipping tea from a tiny cup, the size of a thimble, though how that worked with her doll body I wasn’t sure. Best not let Ixitt see or he’ll dissect her… It was handy having Azuki at the Shrine, since it allowed easy communication between the Boundary and here, although the need for that has diminished with so many people able to come and go freely. It’ll be useful having her in our parents’ house for emergencies.

“Wow, that’s so awesome. Bro, can I go? Please?” My sis wheedled, and I found myself smiling. Nothing ever changes my sister, does it? I find that reassuring. I found myself staring at her face, my thoughts going to something I had been considering for a while, and she flushed. “Hey, I know I’m pretty, but stare at Eri and the others, I’m not your girlfriend!”

With a snort of derision and a shake of my head, I dismissed that. “You sure think highly of yourself, sis, that I’d be considering a taboo act in front of our parents. No, I was just thinking about a request you made of me…”

“I requested something else? Uh… okay, I don’t remember, but… can I go? I’ll be no trouble, I promise!”

As father told her off, I stopped him by raising a hand. “Fine. As celebration of the whole family being together again, even our grandparents, you can come as a guest. I’m sure Shaeula won’t mind. Besides, you can at least defend yourself long enough for us to come to your rescue if there’s any trouble.”

“Are you expecting trouble?” Shiro asked, and I shook my head.

“No. With all the powerful dignitaries like Shaeula’s father there, it should be very safe. For everyone but me.” I said, a touch nervously.

“Why is that?” father asked, and I explained.

“It seems Shaeula’s father Shaetanao is … very… doting and overprotective of his daughter. It’s ironic, considering he let himself be manoeuvred into nearly getting her killed by his enemies, so if he starts any crap I’ll fire back with that, but…”

“Oh, if he’s anything like Shaeraggo, you’ll be fighting a duel.” My sis understood, laughing. “Don’t worry, your darling sister will cheer for you bro!”

“Before that…” Eri’s grandmother, Haruyo-san spoke up, her voice frail. “Wataru and I were left out, even our daughter and son-in-law knew, but not us. Aren’t we family, Akio-kun? I remember babysitting you when you were young.”

It did happen, though as soon as I was barely old enough to be responsible, I took over babysitting duties for my sis and Eri. To be fair to them, they’ve never been healthy, and looking after energetic kids is hard. “Sorry, a lot has been going on. We weren’t deliberately keeping you in the dark. Even my parents only knew for a couple of months. The government wanted to keep things under wraps, so we’ve been erring on the side of caution, isn’t that right, Yukiko-san?”

She gave me a why are you throwing this at me look, but she handled it well. “That’s right. Other than some very important people, knowledge was kept restricted to prevent public panic. It’s only now after London those restrictions are lifted, and even now, keeping knowledge to those who need it is standard practice.”

“That’s right, mother.” Auntie Hana was a bit flustered, but she supported us. “We went through all this. There’s no point holding grudges. We’re all together now. And… little Aki, you’ll be sure to help mother and father recover and be healthy again, won’t you?”

“Of course. In fact, why don’t I do that right now? I’ll leave you all to chat.” Though you’ll regret it, at least in the short term. But then, there’s no gain without pain…

********

I was now in another room, just with my father, uncle Junpei, and Jack. It was just us men, but Wataru-san was missing, as the Chirurgery was hard on him and his wife as I expected. There were a lot of areas of weakness and wear and tear that needed regenerating, and their lungs were especially weak. Fixing that was extremely painful for them. The two of them were lying down recovering, while the girls were all chatting.

Cracking open the seal on a fine bottle of whiskey, I poured out some glasses of the amber liquid. “It’s a bit early in the day for booze, but I guess we’re celebrating. To the family, and to Eri’s recovery. I’d like to celebrate Tsukiko too.” I’m not going to explain that she was dead, but if I explain she was like Eri, in a bad way, they’ll understand.

“She seems a good woman.” Jack said. We were all speaking English, so there were no problems with understanding. “But how many is that now, my boy? Ten?”

“Eleven…” I admitted, and uncle flexed his fists.

“I really get an urge to punch you now, Aki. But that wouldn’t do any good. And it’d just hurt my fists. I have to face facts. You kept your promise. Eri is healthy again. Seeing Hana fuss over her until she was red in the face, demanding she stop… I felt relief at last.”

“As did I. Letting Eri suffer such injuries was a grave mistake, son.” My father said, and I nodded.

“I know. But we learn from them. In the future, it might happen again to some of us, what we are going to face will be terrible, but… it won’t be for such a foolish, valueless reason, I promise.”

“I don’t feel good about this, not at all, but…” uncle sighed, and Jack took over.

“You’ve seen London on the news, I’m sure. Somebody has to step up. And I think you’d rather want your daughter to be strong.” He reached down and held the crucifix he had around his neck. “By God, I worry about the world. But… I’m happy to know my grandson is doing his best to protect it and the people who live here.”

I agreed. “If we do nothing, then we can’t respond if we get caught up in something like Kyoto. That’s why we train and fight, so we aren’t just at the mercy of events, but can choose our own path.”

“A man should be bold, yet always think of caution.” My father said. “I used to think you were too timid, son. It seems I was wrong.” At the distant, reminiscing look in his eyes, we let him gather his thoughts. As he took a swig of the whiskey, rolling it around his tongue, he reached a conclusion. “Son, Akio. I have always felt it is the role of a man to provide for his family. Junpei too.” At his nod, my father continued. “Now, such views are likely seen as old-fashioned, especially in the West.” Jack agreed with that.

“Our families have always been poor, but we’ve raised three good children between us.” Father continued, and Junpei sighed.

“I would have said so, but Eri has learned some bad habits. Worrying us like that just to make a scene…”

“She depends on you too much, Akio.” Father continued. “That is a heavy burden.”

“I know. And one I wasn’t prepared for. I was damn immature, I admit it. But I can’t afford to be any longer. As for providing for my family, I know. I can’t just rely on Hinata’s money, I have to earn to make us all happy and prosperous.”

“It’s not just financial, the man, the head of the household, he has to provide emotionally. And that’s going to be hard for you now.”

“He’s right, Aki.” Junpei agreed. “Even keeping Hana happy is a full-time job, and you have eleven. If you don’t give everyone proper care and attention… your life and theirs will be miserable.”

“I think it’s more nuanced than simple numbers.” I objected. “Though I do understand and worry about it a lot. It’s like when you had us, father, you and mom had to split your love between each other, Aiko and me. Love’s not finite, though time is. All I can say is, I’m going to do my best, and I’m lucky…” I grinned at uncle. “…Eri’s a good girl, they all are. She’s come a long way, from her tantrums with Shaeula, to being a girl who extends a hand to the others who have had a tough, sad time. I’m not alone. I have to be the anchor, just as it’s the centre of a Territory, but an anchor can’t protect a Territory alone. Besides…” my smile turned wry. “…I have a big family now to lean on.” Hell, with Shaeula’s family alone it already gets complicated…

“I see. In that case, all I can do is hope you hold to your resolve, and do not backslide.” Father said, raising his glass. “A toast them. To family.”

“To family!” we echoed, and I took a swig of the rich whiskey, feeling a warm glow that wasn’t entirely the alcohol…

********

“…so bro, I know you’re worried about Nishimorioka and Chairoakitara shrine, but… I kind of solved the problem, I think?” She tilted her head cutely, and I sighed.

“Why don’t you sound sure?” Beside me, Shaeula was laughing, while my mother was talking to Daiyu, Hyacinth translating for her, Asha listening silently. We were in the back of one of several limousines Hinata had sent for us, and we were being transported to the Jonan hills, to formally move to our new homes, although I would be commuting back to Shirohebizumi shrine most days and staying there sometimes. Although my Astral body is in the Boundary there at the moment, which gives us greater security.

“No, I have.” She corrected. “I was taking Rika-chan and Yae-chan for a last tour, when I ran into an Oni. She was tough as hell, bro, she was wrecking my golden sister army like they were toy soldiers. I was a bit scared, to be honest…” She shuddered theatrically, before continuing. “Anyway, luckily that pendant you gave me seemed to do the trick, bro, and she stopped fighting. Turns out she’s impressed by you, and she wants to meet you. She hopes you can introduce her to some Oni called Red, from the Night Parade? I think she’s got a crush on him…”

On that big guy? Great… I wonder what Blue would do about that. I’m not sure if they are brother and sister, or lovers, but the way Blue spoke about Red’s brother we killed, it didn’t seem like he was her brother too… As if agreeing with me, Shaeula chortled happily. “A fortuitous meeting indeed-indeed. That I would dearly like to see. We shall have to arrange it. Far be it for us to miss-miss such an entertaining spectacle.” She then peered at Aiko, serious. “Do you think this Oni is trustworthy? I would not-not have Chairoakitara destroyed, nor have Rika and Yae harmed.”

“I think so. Until she gets bored, anyway. She doesn’t strike me as the patient type. So best make the trip over in good time, bro.” my sis warned. “As for her, all she needs to do is keep the area around the shrine free of troubles, and I did say to Rika-chan and Yae-chan they could see if she’ll escort them to the source of fire element to train. I warned them not to go alone.” She paused, before smiling slyly. “Yae-chan’s still pining for you bro, you sinful man. Why not snatch her up?”

I shook my head. “Yae’s a nice enough girl, but I barely know her.” Sure, I barely know Tsukiko too, but the situation is different. We’ve been through life and death together, carry the same burdens. Yae is an ordinary girl. “She’d be better off with any number of other guys.”

“Wow, poor Yae crashing and burning. Oh well, if she gets up her courage to ask you out properly, don’t be a loser big bro moonstone and fob her off to spare here feelings. Give it to her straight, either way. It’s better to know and not have false hope, although of course, it’s even better to be accepted. Wow, been a while since I was able to call you a moonstone.”

“Well, my little sis sapphire…” I shot back. “Your brother, believe it or not, is quite good at handling girls now…” I ignored Shaeula’s noise of disbelief beside me. “I’ve sorted the Kana and Asha situations, and I didn’t have any problems with Tsukiko. Your brother can learn, you know.” I said dryly. “Anyway, good job, but she sounds a bit volatile, so we’ll take a trip out there and sort the mess as soon as we can. As for you now…” I ruffled my sister’s hair, and she pouted, though she made no move to escape. “…you have to finish your schooling and do your exams, but other than that, you can help us in the Boundary, and we’ll look for the perfect spot for your Territory.”

“Great bro! You’re the best!” she flung her arms around me, and I had to listen to more laughter from my mom and Shaeula, as the limousine pulled ever closer to our destination…

********

“Wow, it’s better than the photos! It’s like some super-secret fortress!” My sis exclaimed, looking out of the window as the convoy of limousines pulled up into the estate. We first passed through a very secure gate, the massive composite structure, looking like black metal yet made from the most advanced impact and cutting resistant materials, was set into an impressive wall, which was scattered with cameras, infra-red sensors and more.

“That’s right, Ai!” Mom was also glued to the window, blue eyes wide. “You mom is finally going to live a life of luxury! Surrounded by an entire football team of daughters-in-law!” Azuki, who was held in her lap, mom having taken a liking to the doll, rolled her red eyes at her enthusiasm.

“Yeah, but doesn’t a team have substitutes?” My sis said unhelpfully. “You’re allowed five, right? Bro had better try harder!”

Once past the gate, we were greeted by a number of beautiful gardens, full of trees and bushes. Due to the season, they were a little threadbare, but Asha seemed interested, her yellow eyes taking them in. It was hard for a Dryad to be too far from her Tree for long, though the stronger the Tree and the Dryad, the further and longer they could be separated, so Asha would be returning to Shirohebizumi frequently, but she had no wish to be apart from me all the time.

Past the gardens were a number of smaller houses, though to call them small was doing them a disservice, as they could quite easily hold an average family in some luxury, and they were larger than our home in Nishimorioka. Finally, the limousine pulled to a stop, and I could see that father and the others had got out of their own vehicles and were taking in the view of a multi-story mansion of great elegance, with an even larger footprint than the training school, which for central Tokyo was obscenely large. No, this whole estate must be worth many billions of yen. I think we need to get Ixitt’s factory rolling, or I need to heal some more wealthy businessmen…

Further down the hill, I could see a smaller, two-story mansion, which was where our families were going to live, just a few hundred metres away. Seeing my gaze, Aiko shrugged. “Don’t worry bro, your darling sister will be just a mere moment away. I’ll come over to play often!”

As Shaeula cackled that she was sure Aiko would, our door was opened by some of the Fujiwara Security personnel that were present. Waiting for us was Hinata, there with her grandfather, Motoko and Natsumi behind them, wearing training hakama in blue and white, as well as Kana, who was looking around in a daze.

“Well then.” Hinata bounded over to us. “Mother-in-law, welcome to your new home. I hope you can look kindly on me, as I am eager to be a daughter you can be proud of.”

“You’re so well-mannered Hinata-chan. You two as well. Motoko-chan, Natsumi-chan, don’t be shy.” Mom opened her arms, offering a hug, being rather more tactile than the Japanese. Hinata, currying favour, cheekily reciprocated, and seeing that, even the more reserved martial arts duo joined in. My mom was glowing with happiness, and my sis and I exchanged embarrassed looks, before bursting out laughing. Damn, mom can be such a free spirit at the most inappropriate times. What made me laugh harder was Azuki, who managed to slip away, falling to the ground, after nearly being smothered by the hug. But still, everyone being together at last, that’s surely something to celebrate…