15 Family

There's something rather mortifying about waking up to find your mother standing by your opened door, staring at you and the girl sleeping on your bed with a raised eyebrow. "I found her yesterday," I said, clearly showing that we clearly didn't sleep together. "She was sleeping outside." I continued under my mother's disbelieving stare.

And it was even more mortifying when I went to try and wake Akeno up, only to get my arm swept into a tight hug as the girl continued to sleep. I turned to find that my big sister was also standing there, clearly amused, and I felt a portion of my soul vanish into the ether.

Akeno woke eventually though, not quite sure why I was pressing my forehead into the wall.

That aside, eventually, I had to actually explain what was happening. I told my family how I found Akeno and how she was basically homeless. Of course, I omitted anything about magic and her pursuers.

Thankfully, my parents, in their infinite kindness, were more than happy to take care of Akeno. They heard her story, and they immediately went off to prepare.

And I do mean immediate. My father heard the word 'homeless' and went into immediate attention. He began making sure Akeno was doing alright, identified that she was heavily malnourished, and vanished out the house to buy groceries before anyone else could get a word in.

(Thankfully, I'd remembered to use a 'Healing' Ofuda on Akeno the night before. I think my father would've actually gone on a riot if he saw all the bruises and scars Akeno had before.)

My mother is no different. She rushed over to the kitchen and began preparing a heavy breakfast for the girl. Akeno tried to stop her, but my mother is the most stubborn person I've ever met. Akeno's words were met with a hug, and soon she was too occupied with keeping her tears held to deny the food.

I'd worried that my big sister would be harder to convince, but the opposite turned out to be true. She was more than happy to finally have a 'little sister' and promptly pulled out all her smaller clothes for Akeno to wear.

By the end of it, a large breakfast was served, and Akeno was once again crying as she ate.

Of course, school was still a thing, and I needed to go. Akeno was a little reluctant to see me leave, but I promised to head straight back after school was done.

So now here I am, sitting at my school desk as the teacher drones on.

It feels…weird to be here, to be in school after the previous night. The blood of three people sticks on my palms, and here I am acting like an ordinary student.

I don't feel remorseful; those pursuers were little more than unfeeling drones, their minds broken years prior. All I've done is free their souls to be fed back to the cycle of Samsara. I don't feel terror either. Against the cosmic malignity of the knowledge my eyes have shown me, something like death almost feels like a minor issue.

Instead I find myself thinking.

I can't fight; at least, not properly. I can throw a good punch, but that's pretty much it. My recent bout with the three pursuers has shown me that. Strength won't be enough. I need skill and technique as well, lest I be bodied in the future.

The issue was that I had no one to teach me. I could use my eyes, of course, but I didn't know where to start. Pulling information from something or someone I haven't encountered is harder than drawing information from those I did know. It's the reason why most of my information gathering is done alone. Those often lead to headaches, and nosebleeds. A lot of nosebleeds.

Trust me, training in the middle of a pounding headache isn't good. Learnt that the hard way when I nearly smashed my forehead on a rock when I passed out once.

If I want to use my eyes without hurting myself too much, I need something that I'm familiar with. It'll be even better if it's something I can touch.

And I just happen to have the shortswords and knives Akeno's pursuers were carrying.

Earlier, I woke up and realized I'd left three corpses and a small pile of weapons at the edge of the town. Granted, basically no one goes there, but there is a chance someone might stumble onto that and call the police.

So I went back there in the early mornings and burnt the bodies using my Ofudas. The stench was horrid, and not something I want to experience ever again. I was about to do the same to the weapons, but an idea had sprung up in my mind, and I instead brought them away, carefully hiding them in the small forest I frequent.

With those weapons, I can use my eyes to dive into their histories without splitting my head in two. The lessons their wielders underwent, their training, their experience; they're all free for me to watch and learn from.

As I've said, the Eyes of God are a cheat.

But I've promised to immediately head home today. So I do. School eventually ends, and I head straight home.

Only to find the house completely empty. I blink for a moment, surprised, before I use my eyes to find out why.

It's nothing malicious, I find. My mother, realizing Akeno needs more clothes, brought her out to the nearby shopping mall. I smile slightly, happy that my parents are going so far for a girl they've only met just today.

Having parents like this; it's a novel feeling, I admit.

(I wonder if my mother loved me like the Hyoudous do. I wonder how she'll react, seeing the boy she gave her life to turn into who he was.

I don't really want to know.)

I decide to draw some new Ofudas as I wait for Akeno to return. It's still an inefficient process; I haven't found a way to easily push Primal Energy out of my body, but I am getting faster.

Although I am running out of materials. Buying paper isn't that big of an issue, but I am burning through pens at an insane rate. I've considered other options, of course. Buying ink, using paint, crayons, even my own blood, just to name a few. Alas, those alternatives carry their own set of issues. Using a pen is the easiest option at the moment.

Eventually, just as the sun sets, my mother and Akeno come home, and I'm there to greet them. As my eyes have told me, my mother is carrying a few bags of clothes in her hands. Akeno is wearing some new clothes as well; a white and purple shirt accompanied by a red skirt. It suits her quite well.

Akeno practically lights up as she sees me, and again tears begin building in her eyes. She quickly wipes them away though, and her smile is bright as she walks up to me and pulls me into a hug.

I gape. Because what else can I do?

In the corner of my sight, I can see my mother sweeping her arms around, mimicking a hug. She's grinning as she does so, and I can almost hear the amused giggles she's barely holding back.

In the end, I sigh and give in. I hug the girl back, and Akeno giggles as she leans closer.

Things…don't get better after that.

My big sister comes home from school, and she grins ear to ear as she sees us hugging. "Looking good." She says. She then walks over and pats me on the back. "But be careful, lil' bro. Don't wanna get the cooties, right?"

I sigh. "Cooties aren't real." I say simply.

My big sister huffs. "Such a buzzkill." She shakes her head and gives me an exaggerated frown. "You need to liven up a little!"

Akeno giggles.

Then, my father 'coincidentally' comes home just to see Akeno and I hugging, and everything just goes downhill.

And amidst all the warm familial chaos, all I can do is sigh and smile.