64 A Sickly Teacher, Basara's New Sisters

"I'm amazed that Kurono found a way to make things work with Ikki and Stella," Otto muttered in surprise, as unlike the original setup, Ikki and Stella aren't roommates.

Kurono had transferred Ikki to another dorm with a male partner and Stella with a female partner, anticipating that Stella would complain if she ever had a male roommate again. Her expectations were shattered by the mock battle, realizing that the events to follow would not align with her original plans.

"Still, why do I feel like the director is somewhat hostile towards you?" Brynhildr commented, observing that Kurono seemed to avoid Otto whenever they crossed paths.

"I don't know," he shrugged nonchalantly. Kurono was his Time-based power provider, allowing him to adapt to the time attribute. He couldn't be mad at her, as the benefits he gained were substantial.

"If you say so..." Brynhildr said sadly, as she also wanted Kurono to join his harem.

"Where are you going?" she asked as Otto started changing his clothes.

"Did you forget that I entered Hagun to do some shady work?" he asked, reminding Brynhildr that he was here to kidnap the princess in the first place.

"Oh right... the villainy thing with the Rebellion," Brynhildr said, momentarily forgetting Otto's plans.

"So what's with the sudden change?" she asked, noticing him slicking his hair back and donning his disguise.

"I'm going to be Aizen today, so don't follow me, okay?" he stated, giving Brynhildr a goodbye kiss on the forehead.

"Hmmm~ alright!" she replied obediently, even though she could accompany him by temporarily leaving her body and becoming a spear. They remained connected even after the body-soul transference.

Of course, Brynhildr would need to return to Otto for him to use her Curse Techniques and the Sacred Gear Canceller she had absorbed.

"Oh, don't forget that classes start tomorrow," she reminded him, not wanting to be apart from him for an extended period.

"Yup, see you later," Otto nodded softly, aware that this might be the first time Brynhildr was apart from him in seven years.

...

A couple of hours later, Otto wandered the Academy as Sosuke Aizen, trying to find Stella Vermillion and Nagi Arisuin.

"It's quiet..." he muttered, feeling quite lonely for the first time as there was no Brynhildr nagging him constantly.

"Hello, Student Sosuke Aizen," A beautiful young woman with long black hair, wearing a long-sleeved blouse and a long dark skirt, greeted him. She recognized Aizen, as one of the few A-rank students who had enrolled a month earlier.

"Hello, Miss Yuri," Aizen greeted her respectfully, as any normal student would.

"It's been quite some time since you were away from the Academy. Did the director assign you to a dorm?" she asked, covering her mouth with a bloodied handkerchief.

"I actually forgot to apply for that..." he admitted, finding it potentially troublesome to stay in a different place. Most of the time, he preferred to be with Brynhildr, an arrangement personally made by Nene initially so they could spend time together more often.

"Would you like me to arrange it for you? It must be troublesome to walk miles from your house to the Academy every day," Yuri Oreki offered, assuming Aizen was staying in a residential area far from the Academy.

"Oh no... I don't mind," Aizen tried to refuse the offer.

"No, no, Student Sosuke, the process is relatively fast with a staff member's help," Yuri insisted, always eager to assist her students to the best of her abilities.

"Well, if Miss Yuri insists so much, then I can't really refuse, can I?" Aizen sighed, acknowledging her persistence.

"Great. Do you want to come with me, or are you busy? I can handle it alone if you prefer," she asked.

"I—I'll come and join you. I haven't explored the entire school properly since I enrolled," Aizen replied, seizing the perfect chance to snoop into staff-only areas without arousing suspicion.

"Alright, I'll show you around as we go then—" Yuri began, smiling softly before coughing up blood.

"Are...you alright, Miss Yuri?" he asked in a confused tone, not expecting her to vomit a large amount of blood. He knew she suffered from an illness that caused her to vomit blood daily.

"No, no, it's normal for me—cough cough," she reassured him, insisting it wasn't a big deal.

'How can she live like that for years, losing that much blood?' he thought, considering that a normal person would have died from excessive blood loss.

"Are you sure? It looks worse," he said, concerned as she tried to cover her mouth.

After some time, Yuri finally stopped vomiting after losing about a liter of blood. Aizen helped her to the Nurse's Office.

"Sorry about this, Sosuke-kun. I can't tour you around the academy," Yuri apologized while being helped by the nurse.

"No...it's fine, Miss Yuri. Just rest up as the School Nurse said. After all, there isn't any work today," he replied, hiding his slight disappointment at missing the chance to explore the staff-only rooms.

"Y-Yeah, I'll do it myself later, Sosuke-kun," Yuri said.

"I'll excuse myself now then, Miss Yuri," Aizen said, walking out of the room. He wondered what kind of illness Yuri Oreki had, as it seemed deadly to an ordinary person, and wanted to know more about it.

...

Meanwhile, at a family restaurant in Tokyo, Basara and his father Jin were waiting for Basara's new sisters.

"What's with the sudden siblings?" Basara asked, feeling a mix of curiosity and irritation as he waited.

"Hey, didn't you say you wanted a little sister?" Jin replied, his eyes glancing away nonchalantly.

"I did not! Why would I ever want that?" Basara retorted, content with being the only child.

"Well, you did say it yourself. It was about ten years ago," Jin smirked, clearly enjoying the moment.

"Why the hell would I remember something from that long ago!?"

"Anyway, I have good news. They should be here soon." Jin checked his phone.

"Well, they better hurry..." Basara grumbled, feeling the urge to use the restroom.

"Where are you going?"

"To the bathroom, obviously," Basara replied.

In the restaurant's bathroom, Basara was so lost in his internal complaints that he neglected to read the reminder sign on the door. Opening it, he was greeted by the sight of a woman with long crimson hair, pink eyes, and a curvaceous figure. She was using the bathroom with a surprised expression on her face.

Panicking, Basara decided to cover the woman's mouth before she could scream and cause a scene.

"Wait, don't scream, please—calm down, it's not what it looks like," Basara pleaded. "I didn't know there was someone here, okay?"

The woman nodded, slowly calming down and composing herself. She wanted to pull her panties up, having been interrupted mid-pee.

"I'm glad you understand." Basara sighed in relief, letting go of her mouth.

The woman pulled her panties up and then punched Basara in the face.

"Why?" Basara clutched his left cheek in pain.

"Why? You walked in on me, covered my mouth, and told me not to scream. Just think about what you did," the redhead woman angrily retorted, kicking Basara in the leg before storming out of the bathroom.

"Ouch," he groaned, feeling both annoyed and wronged.

As he exited the bathroom, Basara noticed the reminder sign on the door. "The lock is currently broken, so please knock."

"I see..." he muttered, realizing his mistake. The door had been green, indicating it was unoccupied, which had thrown him off.

"Oh, he's back," Jin said cheerfully, talking to the two girls who had just arrived.

"Hey?" Basara froze, recognizing the redhead woman from the bathroom.

"Is there something wrong?" Jin asked, puzzled by their reactions.

"Nothing..." Basara and the woman said in unison, looking away from each other.

"A pleasure to meet you, I'm Maria Naruse," the black-haired loli introduced herself happily.

"I'm Naruse Mio... A pleasure," the red-haired woman said, hiding her displeasure behind a strained smile.

"Toujou Basara," he replied sheepishly, still reeling from the bathroom incident.

"Heh—look at him blushing. This guy loves cute little sisters," Jin teased, mistaking Basara's embarrassment.

"I'm not!" Basara immediately shot back, earning smirks from both Jin and Mio.

"Anyway, you're almost 17 now. Maybe it's about time you found yourself a girlfriend," Jin said slyly, hinting at his plans to leave Basara and his new sisters alone in their new house.

"What's it to you?" Basara retorted, embarrassed to discuss such a topic in front of his new younger sisters.

"Well, I've heard that Otto-kun got himself a girlfriend, or maybe even a wife," Jin sighed, as if it were common knowledge.

"How did you even know that?"

"Even though you're younger, aren't you supposed to be the one who knows these things? The news is all over the internet," Jin said, showing them a picture of Otto and Brynhildr at Hagun Academy that he had found online.

Mio and Maria exchanged glances. The Otto they were discussing was indeed the same one who had won the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival.

'They know that guy?' Maria thought, remembering how Otto's Disaster Flames had reminded Mio of the incident with her parents.

"Look, you're even being beaten in the game of life. Otto already has a potential wife," Jin teased, using it as motivation for his bet with Bismarck.

"Tsk, whatever." Basara grumbled, taking a sip of his coke.

As they returned to their new house.

"So, what are your plans now that we're living together?" Mio, trying to change the subject, spoke up, 

"Well, I guess we'll just take it one day at a time. It's going to be an adjustment for all of us." Basara looked at her, grateful for the diversion. 

"I've never had a brother before. This is going to be fun!" Maria smiled, her eyes twinkling with curiosity. 

"Yeah, it should be interesting. Just...let's try to avoid any more bathroom incidents, okay?" Basara chuckled, feeling a bit more at ease. 

"Pervert." Mio's cheeks flushed slightly, as she muttered.

Jin, noticing the shift in conversation, leaned back in his chair. "Just remember, Basara, life is full of unexpected surprises. Sometimes, you just have to roll with it."

"Yeah, yeah," Basara muttered, but he couldn't help but feel a bit more optimistic. Maybe having sisters wouldn't be so bad after all.

Jin watched them with a satisfied smile, confident that Basara would rise to the occasion. As awkward as the start had been, he knew that his son had a good heart and would do his best to take care of his new sisters. But was worried that his son wouldn't make a move on his beautiful sisters, and become a herbivore.

...

-Chapter End-