On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Side Eighty-Eight – Oshiro Sapphire Aiko

“This one looks nice, how about it?” I said, looking at the two girls with me. Kana-chan was wearing her shrine maiden hakama, so ordinarily would have stood out, but not in current Kyoto, as we passed multiple groups of them. It was strange, as quite often the groups would eye each other warily, as if looking at some sort of rival. Wow, you can cut the tension with a knife.

“Yes, it seems pleasant enough.” Eri agreed, checking out the small café, with pretty coloured lights in the window and charming old-fashioned tables. More to the point, those parfait and drinks look good!

“I don’t mind. It’s my treat, after all.” Kana-chan shrugged. The bell on the door rang, and a waitress rushed over to seat us. “Over there, I think.” Kana-chan said, pointing to a more isolated corner, as there were several tables occupied by gaggles of shrine maidens. Damn, my bro must be loving it here right now, I’m sure he has a thing for shrine maidens, the way he’s going about gathering them…

As I slandered my big bro in my thoughts I pulled open a menu, admiring the pictures. “So, yeah, I’ll have the jumbo chocolate parfait and a fruit juice combination.” I picked mine, getting a look from Kana-chan.

“What? I’m not going to go easy on your wallet, Kana-chan.” I giggled. “Besides, I know my bro has been giving you all pocket money for attending his training school, and you and Marika-chan get the most, right? He spoils you.”

“Keomi-chan too. She’s always getting him to buy her cake…” Kana-chan said sourly, picking out her own treats, Eri too. As the server came over to take our orders, Kana-chan looked down at her hands, frowning. “So, are we going to talk…”

“Not right now, right?” I said, stopping her. She looked at me in surprise, but I didn’t want to talk about it right now. We’ll all calm down a bit first, and there’s other stuff to mention as well. “It isn’t often that we get to hang out, Kana-chan. So… how did you find it? Battle, I mean.”

“That’s a question, isn’t it?” Kana-chan sighed. “It… well, it was frightening, but I guess I knew Akio was watching, so he wouldn’t let me get hurt?”

“Yeah, bro’s just stupidly overprotective. It’s actually getting worse too, now that he knows what dangers are really out there, even if he is trying his hardest to fight against it.” I shared a glance with Eri, who smiled. “He really didn’t want to let Eri fight in Nishimorioka alone, so he got her all sorts of armour and weapons, and insisted she had the followers from the shrine go with her.” I sighed, a long exhalation. “Totally overprotective, but…”

“… but it’s better than having him not care.” Eri finished for me. “I love him for it, even if it frustrates me!” Eri declared boldly, and I was once more struck by just how much she’d changed. Her appearance too. She’s cut her hair a little differently, the bangs over her eyes are shorter, making her look a bit less timid. Not that my bro said anything to her about it, I bet. Wow, for a guy who is six-timing her, or is it seven, now, he can sure be dense. Case in point… I looked at Kana-chan, who seemed to understand the sentiment.

“Yes, I have to admit, he does make me feel safe. Even though the whole mess with the yakuza was his fault!” she pouted, and I had to admit she looked great even doing that. I was used to being around other pretty girls, Eri and I, our mothers, the two from school… but Kana-chan wasn’t beaten by us. She’s younger but doesn’t really look it, she’s got a mature air about her. Is that because she’s from Tokyo?

“Though…” Kana-chan continued. “… the next time there was trouble, I never saw any of it. He and Shaeula had beaten them down before they got anywhere near us. Some sort of Special Forces soldiers too… it is reassuring.” She stopped talking as the server brought over our treats, and as the rich and surprisingly huge parfait was placed down in front of me I wiped my mouth, hoping I wasn’t drooling.

“Right.” Eri had a fruit one, which looked equally good, stuffed with cut strawberries, grapes, raspberries, mango and more, all slathered in cream, honey and chocolate sauce. It’s no good, I’m going to have to… I leaned over, spooning out a mouthful of hers and eating it triumphantly, earning a look from Eri, and a brief giggle from Kana-chan.

“You two sure are close.” She said. “I guess that makes sense. You are always together, right?”

“Don’t make it sound weird.” I protested. “Sure, Eri is super cute, and if I was into girls and she wasn’t my bro’s woman, I’d eat her up like that parfait.” I grinned to show I was joking, well, mostly, anyway. “But that’s a topic for later. Battle.” I reminded them. “Do you think… you want to get stronger?” I asked the serious question.

Kana-chan spooned in a mouthful of her own dessert, following it with a gulp of iced coffee, giving herself time to think. “I didn’t before, but now... I’m not a proactive girl, I admit it. I’ve coasted along on my looks and charm. But what I want doesn’t matter that much now, does it? Since that day I saw your brother…” her eyes suddenly changed. It wasn’t like when Shaeula did it, or now my bro, there was no hugely noticeable glow, but I could see flecks of colour in her brown eyes. It was pretty.

“… everything changed. He’s even helped me control my gifts, that I thought were useless. And he tells me… he tells me that sight-type abilities are amazing, and I should be proud of them, and I found somehow I was, at least a little. I used to hate all this shrine shit.” She confided, voice low. “We were poor yet my father and grandfather were always putting on airs about our legacy and our bloodlines. I’d have traded it all in a heartbeat for money.” She poked at her parfait idly. “Now we have money. I guess you know what it’s like, right? Akio said you were pretty poor.”

“Pretty poor? An understatement, at least your family owned land.” Eri complained. “If it wasn’t for Akio’s family helping us out… well, I never had anything as a child, other than some hand-me-down books and toys. But Akio… he made life bearable and fun. So I can’t say I never wanted money. But money doesn’t buy happiness…” she scowled.

“I know. Though without it, happiness is hard to find.” Kana-chan shrugged. “Now, I have another gift. I can’t control it that well, even with the help of the Chirurgery, but… sometimes it comes, much more frequently than it used to. And I don’t even need it now, but here we are.” She looked at Eri, her expression calm, but I was sure I could see nerves and tension under her placid surface. “You really don’t like me much, do you, Eri-chan?”

I nearly spat out my juice at her bold declaration. Wow, not the time for that!

“No, not really.” Eri agreed calmly, and once more I nearly did a spit-take.

“Hey, no need for that, we are all…”

“Oh, do be quiet Aiko.” Eri said, shutting me up. Her black eyes had gone hard, and I knew Eri could be surprisingly stubborn. I suppose it’s good to get things out in the open. After all, Kana-chan, she…

“I thought so. It’s not jealousy, right? I’m sensitive enough to know that.” Kana-chan laughed, a touch bitterly. “After all, I’ve been living with that from the day I started school. Being beautiful is a curse, I guess you two know that as well.”

“Yes, I’ve had my fair share of problems. Eri too.” I admitted. “Even so, I‘d rather be beautiful than not.”

“I agree.” Kana-chan said, thinking. “I’ve always done my best to keep in shape, to dress as well as I could afford, to be charming and funny. Though thinking about it, that was all to appeal to other people. Not for myself. I guess I am shallow and false like you told me before, Eri-chan.”

“You are.” Eri agreed, once more surprising me. Seriously, go easy on her, Eri! “And to be honest, I don’t like the idea of you and Akio at all. But…”

“… but?” Kana-chan asked, surprised at her candour.

“… there’s lots of things in life I don’t like. At first I didn’t like the idea of Shaeula and Akio. But in the end it turned out I actually didn’t mind sharing him with her. Strange. I wonder when I started feeling that way?” she shook her head. “After that, there were those noble girls… I feel conflicted about them, but they are sheltered, well-bred girls who understand how to give me my due as his first. So even if I don’t much care for it, I can live with it. The dream of having him to myself died when I accepted Shaeula. Now it’s just… managing it.” Her dark eyes glittered, and I fancied I could see hints of dark blue within, darkness energy, maybe. “Hyacinth… I don’t care about her sharing at all. She’s devoted to Akio, and will never overstep her bounds. She’s overjoyed just to play as our maid. And…” her face went hot and red, which was adorable. “… I was there when they first had sex. I even joined in. I… I kind of liked it.” She whispered.

Whoa, seriously? I know Eri told me she and Shaeula have been with my bro together in a threesome a few times, but… well, I guess it’s always the shy ones that are the dirtiest in bed, or so Rika-chan and Yae-chan tell me anyway. Not that they’d know, they are still pretty sheltered and inexperienced really. Their posturing is kind of adorable… just like our little scarlet Eri right now.

I wasn’t the only one who thought so, Kana-chan was amazed too. “That… well, that surprised me.” She admitted. “You don’t seem the sort, Eri-chan.”

“I know.” She nodded. “I never dreamed of it either. But… what else can I do? Akio would have refused the others if I had insisted. I know that. But the guilt would have crushed us both. I would have grown more and more needy and selfish, until even Akio was sickened by it. I know. As for this new girl, Shiro. Her… she worries me. Akio actually loved her it seems, and she’s part of his life I don’t know much about. But I will know. We have to fight for what we want, Kana-chan. Can you do that? Will you do that?”

“Fighting again, huh? I just wanted to be pampered, go shopping, nice meals in flashy restaurants, expensive holidays abroad, a foreign car. I seem so shallow when I think about it.” She sighed. “But… fighting. In that Boundary? I’m scared but… I’m also not stupid. My grades at school are only middling, but I like to think I have a good grasp of how to be successful. And it tells me that if you are like Akio in the new world that’s coming… well, that’ll soon be like being a billionaire. Hell, Akio is a billionaire because of it, already, so if you don’t follow his path then you’ll be nothing. I don’t want to be nothing. Is that so wrong?”

“I don’t think so. I get it too.” I agreed. “I wanted to win respect as a sportswoman. I love kyudo, volleyball, even stuff like kendo and basketball. But… well, I had to quit competition, even though it’s my last chance in high school. I’m different now. I had an archery duel with Shaeula’s brother, a weasel prince! Got my ass kicked…” I laughed bitterly. “…but I made shots that would have been Olympic records. No way I can compete like that, it’s cheating and unfair. Damn, now I’m depressed and forgot my point.” I laughed again.

“No, I think you’ll be able to compete soon enough. So cheer up, Aiko-chan.” Kana-chan said, surprising me. As I looked at her, open-mouthed, she explained. “It’s only a matter of time before the world learns about what Akio and the others can do. And sport will have to adapt. I wouldn’t be surprised if new events such as magical archery and combat became mainstream. Like MMA, right? Just with more boom!” she said happily, and I felt my mood instantly improve.

Shit, she is cute! My bro would be a fool to let her get away, really. Wow, I’m fully corrupted like mom, now I can’t help but want my bro to grab them all. Ugh, looking at Eri it makes me feel bad, but hearing her story about Hyacinth and how it turned her on… My treacherous mind wandered to an image of Eri and Kana-chan both in bed with my bro, and I hoped I wasn’t blushing. “Thanks Kana-chan. Yes, that’s right!” I pumped my fist, before shovelling the slowly-melting parfait into my mouth. “It’s too soon to give up! Though then… I’ll be competing against Candidates. If there’s one with an archery god’s blessing, I’d get my ass kicked again. Ugh, I wish I could get more powerups from bro.” I puffed my cheeks. “Oh well… I can’t but… others can.”

“That’s the thing. I don’t want to fight, but those that don’t… they’ll never be the cream of the crop.” Kana-chan graciously ignored my flushed face, while Eri rolled her eyes at me. “And Akio, he’s the only one who can empower us like this that we know of. There are undoubtedly more, but we know Akio can do it. I was impressed, Eri-chan.” She said then. “Seeing you in that dress, swinging that axe, bravely facing those scary things, when I could barely jab them from metres away with that spear… you were kind of cool. Shame you hate me, right?”

“Yes, a shame.” Eri agreed, not batting an eye at that obvious hint to say something like “No, I don’t actually hate you that much”. But then if she did that, she wouldn’t be Eri. “So are you saying you want to learn to fight like us?”

“Want to? No. Will I? Yes.” She decided. “Though I want Akio to give me armour and weapons like you two. I can’t afford to get hurt and scarred. My beauty is all I have. No… well, my gifts too.”

“You think you are worth that? Aiko is his precious sister, and I’m his first wife. Of course we get pampered. You? You’re just one of many shrine maidens he’s gathered. Sure, you are more attractive than most, but… get cheeky and I’ll cut you down!”

“Are you sure you aren’t bipolar or something?” Kana-chan mocked her. “One minute you ask me whether I’d made a decision on both fighting and… well, Akio. The next minute you are warning me off and threatening my life. Make up your mind, Eri-chan. Akio must really struggle keeping you happy. If you weren’t his childhood friend, he wouldn’t look twice at you, otherwise he’d have made a pass at me, I know it!”

“You really do need your high opinion of yourself cutting down to size.” Eri growled back, and as they started to argue again, I burst out laughing.

“Aiko?” Eri asked me, when I could finally breathe again.

“Oh, this is just too perfect. You know what?” I said through my gasping breaths. “I think you two fight because you are so alike.”

“Me? Like her?” Eri said, shocked, and Kana-chan also denied it.

“No way. Eri-chan and I are very different!” she insisted. “Though… now you mention it…” Kana-chan actually considered it after the initial hasty denial.

“Yeah. You both are single-minded and selfish.” Ignoring my best friend as she gasped at my words, I continued. “Kana-chan, you honed yourself to perfection aiming for one thing. An easy life, but I think it’s actually something more. I think you crave someone to protect and take care of you, because you found the world wasn’t kind, and it scared you. Eri, doesn’t that sound familiar? Only you decided it had to be my bro early on, and you made less effort than Kana-chan did. You waited for your prince to notice your feelings, and nearly missed your chance. Hence why you dislike Kana-chan, I think. She made efforts to be ready for her prince, and find him herself. Though… I think she has, and you hate that even more.”

“I… I can’t say I put in any effort.” Eri admitted. “We talked about this on the plane back from Las Vegas. I let Akio worry about me. In fact, I loved it when he worried. Ugh, now I feel bad.”

“That was then.” Kana-chan said. “Now nobody can say you haven’t made an effort. Just look at you throwing yourself into that scary battle just to be useful. You even accepted his infidelity. If anything I hate you because… you make me jealous. There, I said it.” Kana-chan pouted. “You won. You got what you wanted, and damn, if it isn’t sweet. Look, I’m shallow, I get it. I’m selfish. Tell me something I don’t know! I’m vain! I have a right to be vain at least! I lie as easily as I breathe to make boys like me. Then I feel like I have value. But… since Akio saved me from the yakuza, I’ve never lied to him, have I? I even told him… to take responsibility. And then I see you all lovey-dovey with him, and it hurts, all right? Shit!” she cursed. “When did this happen to me? When did my brain turn to mush?”

“Blame my bro.” I said, drinking down the last of my juice. “He’s damn heartbreaker now. But… Shaeula likes you. My bro likes you. Eri… be honest.”

“I… I don’t hate you.” Eri managed. “I hate the sort of girl you were, but…”

“Thanks, Eri-chan. Like I said, I’m just jealous. Really, you were cool as hell swinging that massive axe, your eyes were bright and you were smiling. Scary too, but cool.” She grinned impishly then. “Of course, the image was spoiled by you confessing to a sexy threesome. I’ll have to ask Akio about it…”

“Don’t you dare!” Eri squealed, and I nodded, happy. A breakthrough! This couldn’t go on, could it? I know my bro, Eri does too. The other shrine maidens, he’s nice to and all, especially the younger ones, he’s looked after us enough to be really great with younger kids, especially girls, but with Kana-chan, my bro acts a bit differently. I think he’s into her, even if he’d never admit it to himself. I could see why too, Kana-chan was the archetypal girl that boys like my bro fell for, the sort that was naturally flirty and the shy idiots misinterpreted that and fell in hopeless, doomed love. Akio met her before he came back to Nishimorioka and started going out with Eri, so he didn’t have any experience or resistance then, and my bro is the sort that when he starts to like someone he’ll never stop. The idiot. She got to him early, and he won’t admit it. He can’t admit it.

I was going to voice that, but it turned out I didn’t need to. Eri was on top of things. “Kana-chan. I don’t want more women in his life, but you said it yourself. Akio is one of the few, the chosen. He’s too important, and not just here. Shaeula’s a princess, right? And Akio will be a prince. This other world, the beings that live there are going to start flooding Earth sooner or later. Be it Fae like Shaeula, or this elf she’s going on about… or more noble girls, or even celebrities… Akio will attract more, seeking his power, safety and security in a changing world. I’ll stop those I can, Hinata will help to weed out the users and the bitches, but… I can’t stop them all. So if you are serious, and you can promise me you’ll never betray him… then…”

“I’m still not sure.” Kana-chan said, her own parfait finished now. We signalled the waitress for more, as we had a lot more to talk about. “But… I think I’m nearly sure. Thanks for being honest with me, Aiko-chan, Eri-chan. Even if you were a bit of a bitch, senpai!” she giggled wickedly. “Though to be honest… yes, I like Akio.”

“Want me to crush your head like an eggshell?” Eri joked. “I can do it…”

“I’m sure you could, Eri-chan. So let me be honest too, and keep my head from getting smashed. I like Akio, sure, but I’m still young, and I don’t have much to offer. Besides, Akio said he wasn’t going to accept any more women after that Shiro woman, right? To be honest, I don’t really want to be the one to make him break his word.” Her smile was bright, though I noticed her trembling a little. “I’ve not known Akio that long, but it’s been a rollercoaster. And he does make me feel safe, and I know he’ll look out for me… so I want to give something back. But you know… I don’t have to be his girlfriend, he has pretty girls like you, Eri-chan. No accounting for taste, I guess.” she grinned. “So I am going to talk to him. I’m going to beg him to accept me… as one of his trusted disciples, train me like he trains you and Aiko-chan, Eri-chan. I’ll finally do something I can be proud of, and repay him.”

Okay, that was not exactly how I saw this going. I was sure she had confessed her love. In fact, she did, but then I guess she’s not wrong. We are young yet, we have all the time in the world… more than that, if Shaeula is right. “I see. Well, I get it.” I said, shrugging. “Though I was sure you were going to confess to my bro.”

“I am. I do like him.” She said impishly. “But… I’m looking for different things. For now. I’ll be content to be a winner in this new world, and if I stay by his side and work hard I can be. Work hard, listen to me! I’ve changed so much since I met him and Shaeula, and even you two.”

“You chose the harder path.” Eri remarked, and surprisingly she seemed a little sour. You’d think she’d be happy that Kana-chan isn’t going to muscle in on my bro, at least for now. “Without Lovers’ Link, you’ll struggle to grow strong.”

“Sure, but… I’m pretty lovable. You have a level in it, right Aiko-chan, and I don’t think you’ve banged your bro, have you? Uhh.. maybe if it’s you, I can’t be sure…” she said, giggling.

“Hey, rude much?” I moaned, faking offense. “Seriously, you know my bro and I aren’t like that. Huh, if it’s you, I bet you can charm him into liking you enough. You’ve got talent.”

“Yep. Besides…” she was serious now. “I know I said I’m young yet, and I don’t have to make a move, but… I still have my pride. It’s all that’s carried me over the years. I think I can settle for not having him to myself, but… I can’t face having to ask him to go out with me. He should be the one begging me! And if it takes a month, or a year, or even ten… so be it. Who knows, if he takes too long to see me as worthwhile, I might well find someone else.” She grinned, and I found myself respecting her quite a lot. Eri did too, I could tell by her bitter expression.

“Well, don’t regret it.” Eri warned. “Like I said, there’ll be others. We offered you a shot now, but later on, there might be no room for you.”

“If that happens, it just means either I wasn’t good enough, or Akio has worse taste in girls than I thought.” She chuckled. “Aiko-chan, Eri-chan, please take care of me. Damn, I’m doing this! I’m really going to ask to fight, to be trained hard! It’s true what they say, love rots the brain. Mine’s gone soft!”

Laughter echoed at that, and as she reached out a hand, Eri and I took it. “Fine then.” Eri said. “I’ll explain it to Shaeula. I guess she’ll support you. She’s strange like that. As for training… all right. Tomorrow, ask to come along to that shrine again. If you could get an element, it would really help you…” as they continued to discuss Kana-chan’s options, I smiled, surprised to find myself a little sad my bro looked like he wouldn’t be getting another cute girlfriend just yet…

Now that the mood has taken a turn for the better, let’s change the subject. We can come back to this later. “Hey, remember that guerrilla concert? I think I’ve got the info.” I said, showing them my phone. “Looks like it’s being held tomorrow evening. I wonder if we should ask Akio to come? It might be the perfect atmosphere for something, you know?” I smirked.

“The first day of Conclave should be over by then.” Kana-chan mused. “But is Akio into… no, stupid question. He’s an otaku, I saw his room. No way he wouldn’t be into idols. Plus he just loves shrine maidens. It’s a double threat.”

“True,” Eri agreed. “Maybe I should dress up too?” she was looking at my phone screen. “So, it’s held at the park opposite the Kyoto Imperial Palace? Neat.”

“Well, the Conclave is being held in the Palace, the shrines and temples have a lot of sway here in Kyoto.” Kana-chan said. “And if the lead of Red and White is a shrine maiden from Tokyo like they say, chances are her shrine will be at Conclave. Not that she’ll get to speak, no more than I would.” She sighed. “Father will be representing Shirohebizumi, and normally I’d be pleased I don’t have any work to do, but… I actually feel like getting involved, you know?”

“Guess you are growing up, Kana-chan.” I said pretentiously, and she gave me a flat glare.

“You aren’t that much older than me Aiko-senpai! Seriously though, I think I’ve decided. I’m going to take over the shrine when I’m older. I’ll be a powerful shrine maiden in this new world, a beautiful, refined and strong catch, who any man would want!” she smiled.

“Any man, huh?” I said, referring to her earlier words, and she blushed, looking down.

“Well, it’s up to your brother, isn’t it? I can’t believe I’m even saying it. These last weeks have been crazy.”

“Well, I approve.” Eri said, surprising Kana-chan. “Not about Akio, but… well, I can respect your determination to hold onto your pride. Though I think if you are waiting for him to confess to you, you’ll be waiting a long time, but growing stronger and being helpful… yes, that’s good.” She held out a hand, and Kana-chan took it. “Let’s work hard together to help Akio.”

“Help with what?” I chuckled. More treats and drinks were brought over and as we dug in, I teased my best friend. “Last I heard, you were planning to just be a housewife!”

“That was then.” Eri pouted. “I was feeling insecure, but…” she giggled. “Being able to fight gives you confidence, right Aiko? You’ll see soon, Kana-chan.”

“Speaking of, I’m going to ask Shaeula if there might be any other ways Kana-chan and I can grow stronger. If anyone knows, it’d be her.” I rapidly typed out a message and fired it off. “So anyway, what are you thinking now, Eri?”

“Well, I’m going to be his personal assistant. I’ve thought about it before, but… he needs someone with him who looks after him. I’m smart, everyone says so, so I can learn what I need. I know he has Karen-san and the others, but… they work for money.”

“And you work for love, right Eri-chan?” Kana-chan giggled.

“Well, yes.” Eri admitted, unphased. “But I’d feel better knowing I was helping. After all, when it comes to fighting, we can’t compare, but when it comes to money, making deals and keeping secrets… well, Akio isn’t the best.” She admitted.

“I’ll say.” I grinned. “Even when my dumb bro was lying to us about all of this, he kept doing stupid things like coming back injured when we were in Inuyama. If we didn’t already know we’d have worked out something was very wrong. Even Yae-chan and Rika-chan did.”

“Exactly. Hinata is going to look after his financial decisions, which I guess makes sense.” Eri shook her head, eyeing her dessert. “But that leaves a lot of room for other problems. I can help with those.”

“And that means you get to spend a lot more time with him, right?” Kana-chan asked, and Eri flushed.

“Yes, there is that.” She admitted boldly.

“But can you do it?” Kana-chan pressed. “I might not know you that well, but I get that you… aren’t exactly a people person, Eri-chan. ”

“Rude.” She snorted. “But true. I don’t really care much for spending time with people I don’t know. Or even most I do know. But then, when you know you can break someone in half if they cause trouble, it makes you feel better about it! And as for the skills I’ll need, I can learn. I can take courses, do training.”

“Was she always so violent?” Kana-chan asked me, and with a gently mocking smile I answered.

“I never thought so, but then… she has quite the wicked tongue when she’s annoyed, and I’ve often caught her looking like she wanted to hit people who were bothering her. And as for when I mentioned my bro might have a girlfriend in Tokyo… she sure had the yandere eyes then. A true yandERI no less…”

“Aiko, don’t talk about that! I feel so embarrassed…” Eri waved her arms frantically, and Kana-chan and I laughed loudly.

“So that’s Eri-chan and I. What are you going to do, Aiko-chan?” Kana-chan asked. “You said you wanted to continue with your kyudo and sport, but is that all?”

“No way. I’m going to go to Uni in Tokyo. So you’ll be seeing a lot more of me, Kana-chan!” I declared proudly. “I want to get into sports science and physical training or teaching. But… you were right about magical sports. So… magical training too. I’m going to be the world’s greatest authority on magical enhancement and training. But for that, ugh…” I groaned. “I have Ether Healing, but I’ll need to learn Chirurgery as well, and my bro and Shaeula both say learning and using it without special Eyes is really hard. Wow, I envy your eyes, Kana-chan! Want to trade? I can scoop them out, ninja-style!”

“That sounds like some stupid otaku reference, so no thanks. My eyes are too pretty to trade, even for your blue ones, Aiko-chan. But… I guess I’m happy to hear that my gift is appealing to someone. It makes me think my choice isn’t wrong. Though I must say, learning all these skills… Akio really spoils you, Aiko-chan. No wonder everyone thinks he’s a siscon!”

“Well, he likes you, so when you ask him to help you out, he’ll jump at it!” I protested. “It isn’t just me, my bro is just generous, all right.”

“Well, he’s seen me in some shameful states, so about taking responsibility...” she smirked. “…I’m not going to push him into anything, my pride won’t stand it, I can win hearts on my own merits, but… at the least, he can teach me! If I’m going to put aside my lifetime of hatred for the shrine and be a true shrine maiden, I’m going to be the strongest, best, most beautiful one I can be. So, skills…”

“Just be warned. Learning Ether Healing hurts a lot!” I warned, and Eri echoed me. “So anyway…” I continued. “Now we’ve talked about the important stuff, want to just hang out and gossip?”

“Sure, that sounds nice.” Kana-chan agreed. “Damn, Mio-chan and Asami-chan are going to be annoyed they missed out. Keomi-chan too.”

“Well, why not invite them? Hinata organised a contract with a taxi firm, all we need to do is call, and voila…” Yep, having a rich, cute sister-in-law is the best. As for Kana-chan… well, we’ll see. But I still think my bro would be a fool to let her slip away. But… not my business really. In any case, looks like we’ll all be working together a long, long time…