fight between siblings

... "Oniichan~"

"What's up, Komachi?"

"Look, look! This!"

Komachi runs up to Hachiman and shows him something in her hand.

"This is... a Choriste Light Weapon, right?"

"Yeah! Dad bought it for me! Look!"

With that, Komachi activates the Choriste Light Weapon.

"...A handgun-type gun, huh?"

"Yeah, I really like this!"

Komachi strikes a pose with the gun, looking happy. Seeing her like that, Hachiman is filled with a sense of unease.

"Hey, Komachi."

"What is it?"

"...Isn't the training too tough for you? If you don't want to do it, should I talk to Dad on your behalf?"

Komachi started her training a little while ago. She seems to be enjoying it now, but Hachiman worries if it will continue that way.

"It's okay! I have a goal, you know!"

"A goal?"

"Yeah! Mom and Dad always come home late from work, right?"

"Yeah, they work until late every day."

"So, I'll go to Asterisk and become famous, and I'll make things easier for Mom and Dad!"

Hachiman pats Komachi on the head, proud of her.

"I see, you're amazing, Komachi."

"Hehe~"

Komachi looks happy, and seeing her like that, Hachiman makes a decision.

"...Well then, big brother will support you, Komachi."

"Really?!"

"Yeah, no matter what happens, no matter what occurs, I'll support you, Komachi. So do your best."

"Okay!!"

A small promise made between siblings in their childhood. On that day when the innocent smile of his little sister appeared and she resolved to work hard for their parents' sake. Though Hachiman felt uneasy, he decided to support his sister.

And time passed...

Hachiman's concerns turned out to be valid as Komachi's behavior started to change. Winning a small tournament became the turning point, and their parents' expectations turned into pressure. The pressure created stress and affected Komachi inwardly. As a result, her academic performance began to stagnate.

And the stagnation of her grades only increased the pressure from their parents.

Still, Komachi kept trying. She increased her study time and the intensity of her training. She trained under the guidance of a coach from the Starpulse Generation and continued to participate in tournaments.

But the results didn't come.

Unable to achieve results, Komachi became anxious, and her lack of composure started to show on her face.

The smile vanished from her face.

She appealed to their parents, but her pleas were rejected and ignored. The underachieving Starpulse Generation held no value in their eyes.

Hachiman regretted it. Even if he wanted to become a substitute for his sister, he couldn't change anything. He had burdened his sister with all the responsibility because of his own actions.

That's why he thought it was inevitable for his sister to resent him. He had done enough to deserve it.

But even if his sister treated him with hostility, even if she hated him, his actions as a brother wouldn't change.

Because it's only natural for a brother to protect his sister...

"Why?"

Without thinking, Komachi voices the doubt she harbored within herself. However, there is no one to answer her question.

She herself isn't expecting an answer.

"Why?"

She repeats it again. Is the scene unfolding before her eyes truly real?

"Why won't they hit!?"

In response to her own cry, she pulls the trigger. The light converges from the barrel of her Choriste Light Weapon and transforms into a bullet, shooting out.

The discharged bullet, as intended, heads toward its target—

Only to be deflected by Hachiman's swinging wooden sword.

With each bullet shot, which is fired repeatedly, her heart grows more confused as they are deflected. She had some expectations. After all, a letter of recommendation had come from a prestigious Asterisk school, so there was no way her brother had no talent. The scouts weren't that foolish. She herself could understand that much.

However, the fact that the bullets, fired unilaterally over a hundred times, couldn't even graze their target was beyond her comprehension.

And that fact instills fear within Komachi Hikigaya.

—Perhaps her own abilities were truly insignificant?

—Or maybe her brother before her was such a terrifying existence?

These two thoughts corrode her heart. Her broken heart is further disturbed.

"Uwaaaaaaah!!"

Crying and screaming, she continues to pull the trigger of her gun-like Choriste Light Weapon. With each pull, shining bullets are generated and fired.

Impact.

The bullet of light that struck the ground gouges the earth and creates a cloud of dust. However, it didn't hit the target.

—Then, she'll just keep shooting.

Driven by her emotions, she pulls the trigger again and again. Each time, the bullet is fired toward the target.

Eventually, the target's figure is completely concealed by the swirling dust.

But still, she doesn't stop.

Crying, screaming, she continues to pull the trigger.

"Haa... haa... haa... haa..."

Closing her eyes, she lowers the Choriste Light Weapon she holds in both hands and breathes heavily.

By giving in to her emotions and continuously firing, she has consumed a large amount of star power.

She opens her eyes slowly. The dust completely shrouds the area ahead, and she can't make out what's inside.

A minute passes. The dust still hasn't cleared. Her brother doesn't make any movements.

"...Did it hit?"

She mutters.

Suddenly, she feels a gust of wind from the front. The wind turns into a gust and blows away the dust.

The blown-away dust spreads in the surroundings and approaches Komachi.

She raises her right hand near her face to protect herself from the dust as much as possible.

As the gust subsides, the dust gradually clears. She lowers her right hand and looks ahead.

There, she sees—

Her brother, unharmed, looking at her.

"It won't last long..."

Amidst the swirling dust around him, Hachiman analyzes the current situation.

While he continues to block his sister's attacks, he is far from being relaxed.

Just looking at the wooden sword he holds in his right hand makes it clear.

The part above the hilt is covered in cracks, barely maintaining its original form.

He doesn't know how much longer he can endure. He needs to come up with a solution before he runs out of weapons.

He has a rough idea of his sister's state.

Mentally cornered, she has fallen into a state of frenzy beyond her limits due to stress.

It was the same back then.

—"Oniichan is always unfair."

A sharp, painful sound resonates, causing a pang in the heart. It feels as if I'm repeating the same mistake from the past, and I find myself questioning it internally. But I ignore those thoughts. I can regret all I want after I help my sister.

If she's in the same state of frenzy as before, I should handle it in the same way. However, it's challenging under the current circumstances. The distance between us is about 10 meters. The closer I get, the more difficult it becomes to intercept her attacks, making it challenging to approach.

"...What should I do?"

Anxiety taints my voice.

My sister's mental state, the condition of the wooden sword, and above all...

"Guhhh!!"

Since earlier, I've been feeling something wriggling inside my chest each time I use star power. I clench my back teeth and desperately endure it.

Time is running out. If that something emerges, everything will be over.

This unshakable premonition continues.

I look at the wooden sword in my hand. My partner since childhood is filled with cracks, barely holding its form.

"I'm sorry... Please hold on for a little longer..."

I plead as I keep my eyes on the wooden sword...

—A certain scene flashes through my mind.

The sight of myself and my mentor facing each other with swords.

My resolute gaze.

My mentor assuming the stance of Iaido.

And...

"It's nostalgic... But that was..."

I smile wryly and mumble. However, after a moment of hesitation, I quickly make up my mind.

Time is running out. In that case...

"...I have no choice but to do it."

I release the remaining star power. Flowing through my entire body, I pour star power into the wooden sword this time.

I swing the wooden sword horizontally. The resulting blow generates a powerful gust of wind, blowing away the dust.

I confirm that my sister is looking at me in astonishment.

"Sensei... Mentor... Lend me your strength."

I steady my breath and relax my entire body.

While recalling my two mentors, I assume the stance of Iaido.

And I whisper...

"Toufuu-ryuu Iaido... 'Oriha'"

When Hachiman's figure comes into view, Komachi Hikigaya's heart is consumed by fear.

That emotion gradually surfaces, and her body trembles naturally. The trembling in her arms, especially with the Choriste Light Weapons, is severe, making it difficult to aim properly. Nonetheless, she manages to align her sights with Hachiman—

—But suddenly, Hachiman appears right beside her.

"...Eh, why!?"

Uttering that sentence is the most she can muster. She reacts too late to Hachiman's sudden appearance and allows him to approach from the side.

And then, she takes a strike from his swinging wooden sword—

—Right before that, his figure disappears like a mirage.

Faced with an incomprehensible situation, her thoughts freeze. But Komachi's body, albeit delayed, reacts and moves.

Controlling her trembling body, she scans her surroundings. Then, she discovers Hachiman's figure, which surprises her.

—Hachiman Hikigaya hadn't moved at all while maintaining his Iaido stance.

"I surrender..."

Focusing star power in my legs, I dash forward.

Toufuu-ryuu Iaido Oriha...

The essence of Toufuu-ryuu lies in guiding the opponent through eye contact, breathing, preparatory movements, and gestures.

Taking it to the extreme is Toufuu-ryuu Iaido—creating an illusionary sword that gives the impression of being unsheathed when it's not.

Oriha uses one's sword aura to project illusions, inducing reactions from the opponent and creating openings. It can even cause phantom pain by having the illusions attack the opponent. However, there's no way I can do that to my sister.

Still, I've only seen this technique once, when my mentor made me experience it firsthand. Of course, this is my first successful attempt. While feeling relieved about that, I advance toward my sister.

Closing the distance between us of 10 meters. However, due to the lack of star power, my speed is slower than anticipated.

Komachi's gaze captures me. If I miss this chance, there won't be another. Determined, I increase my speed.

The remaining distance is... half.

Only 5 meters left.

Komachi aims at me once again and starts firing indiscriminately.

4 meters remaining.

Reading the trajectory from her eye movement and the position of the gun, I guard the trajectory with my wooden sword. The cracks in the sword deepen as I deflect the light bullets.

3 meters remaining.

I defend against the light bullets once again, but the impact shatters the wooden sword. The next bullet approaches right in front of me.

2 meters remaining.

I barely avoid it by turning my head, but it throws off my balance. The following bullet cannot be evaded. I predict its trajectory and focus star power precisely.

1 meter remaining.

The bullet hits exactly where I anticipated. Despite suffering, I continue forward, ignoring the pain.

And I reach my sister's side. Reaching out to her, who is fearful and trembling—

—That's when I embrace her.

"...Huh?"

Faced with this unexpected turn of events, Komachi Hikigaya completely freezes.

Then, she becomes aware of her own situation. Right now, she is being embraced by her brother.

Realizing this, Komachi tries to distance herself, but...

"Why...?"

The grip of her brother's hands around her back is very weak. If she wanted to, she could easily break free. However, her body won't move. Amidst her bewilderment and confusion, two thoughts arise within her.

—Why am I not being attacked?

—Why do I feel so relieved?

Despite the turmoil within her heart, her brother, standing before her, speaks up.

"I'm sorry... Komachi."

"...What...?"

"About everything... About the Service Club... Everything."

"...That... isn't..."

—No.

"I knew you were suffering. But I couldn't do anything."

—That's not it.

"The same goes for them. My selfish actions disappointed them."

"All of it is my fault."

"It's not true!"

I found myself shouting before I realized it.

"It's me... It's my fault!"

I knew it deep down.

"It's my weakness... It's my fault for not being able to live up to Mom and Dad's expectations... But I'm so pathetic..."

My brother is not to blame.

"It's the same with Yukinoshita and the others... There's no way my brother would betray them... I knew there had to be a reason..."

But I couldn't stop it.

"That's why... That's why..."

Tears overflowed, and my words faltered. There are so many things I want to convey, but the words won't come out.

Hachiman responds by tightening his embrace around Komachi, as if answering her.

"It's okay now..."

"But... But..."

"I understand... So it's okay."

Komachi is my sister, whom I've spent so much time with. Even without words, I can understand her.

Words are unnecessary when it comes to conveying feelings.

Komachi continues to cry in her brother's embrace, seeking solace.

And so, the sibling quarrel comes to an end.

The tension between them disappears, and a safe resolution is reached.

Or so it should have been.

"Hnnngh!"

"O... Onii...chan?"

Suddenly, Hachiman starts to suffer. He releases Komachi and holds his own chest, crouching in pain.

"Komachi... Get away..."

"Eh, but!"

"Just get away!!"

Hachiman pushes Komachi away.

The moment Komachi is pushed away from Hachiman—

Vast amounts of star power and... something black overflow from Hachiman's body.

The overflowing star power forms a massive pillar, rising into the night sky.

At the same time, the black substance, as if violating the star power, begins to erode. It emanates from Hachiman and spreads to his surroundings.

"Onii-chan!"

Komachi rushes towards her brother's abnormal state but can't get close. Something black becomes a barrier, blocking her way.

"Onii-chan! Pull yourself together!!"

But she doesn't give up. She pounds on the wall in front of her and calls out to her brother.

However—

"Kyaaaah!!"

As if rejecting her voice, the wall in front of her changes shape. It compresses, turning into a black mass, and assaults Komachi. She manages to defend against the black mass with star power, but she can't withstand the impact. The impact blows Komachi away, and her body bounces and rolls on the ground.

And then, Hachiman Hikigaya stands up.

"U... Uuu... Uuuh..."

Komachi groans in pain. The impact from being blown away was severe, and she can't get up.

Struggling to open her eyes and look up at her brother—within her hazy consciousness, she realizes.

What envelops her brother is darkness.

And the state her brother is in, shrouded in darkness, is irrational and insane.

"Onii...chan..."

In her fading consciousness, the last thing Komachi Hikigaya sees is...

—Approaching her, looking down on her.

—Raising something resembling a black sword in his right hand.

—And her brother swinging it down.

For Haruno Yukinoshita, her childhood home is not a place of comfort.

Although she has returned to her parents' house since coming back to Sobu City, her feelings have only grown stronger. Today's dinner was a rare occasion of the three of them—mother and daughters—having a meal together...

"...It wasn't delicious."

Lying on her bed in her room, Haruno muttered.

They were never a family that engaged in much conversation. Both her sister, Yukino Yukinoshita, and herself are not good with their mother and don't actively engage in conversation. It naturally falls to their mother to initiate conversation.

"...She's always so focused on the family."

Haruno feels disappointed by her mother's unchanging nature.

The Yukinoshita family is one of the subsidiary organizations under the Galactic, a conglomerate enterprise.

In this world, where conglomerates known as Integrated Enterprise Consortia have emerged due to the decline of the state, it is natural for the thoughts of these enterprises to become the trend of the times. As a result, the profit-oriented mindset of the corporations is highly valued. And Haruno's own mother is deeply influenced by that.

After her sister, Yukino Yukinoshita, left the dinner table, Haruno recalls what her mother said to her.

—Why did you choose Kaihin High School instead of Hoshinoumi?

—Quit Kaihin and come back here.

—Fan Xingru? Stop associating with such monsters.

Currently, she is a member of Kaihin High School, Seventh Institute.

Haruno takes pride in that fact, and she is not so rotten as to be unaffected by her mentor being belittled. As a result, a heated argument broke out.

It was the first time she had ever defied her mother so strongly... but she didn't feel bad about it.

Amidst her bewilderment over her own changes, at that moment, she felt happy.

"What... What is this star power!"

Haruno Yukinoshita felt the immense star power released in the distance and jumped up from her bed.

She quickly opened the window, leaned out, and surveyed her surroundings to determine the direction and distance. It was quite far away.

She had never felt such a strong star power outside of Asterisk.

While regular Star Pulse Generation individuals like herself could sense the star power of others, the range was limited.

To have noticed it at this distance, it only showed Haruno's exceptional ability.

"...Should I go check it out?"

She immediately made up her mind. She minimally unleashed her own star power and jumped out of the window, landing silently.

Without anyone in the house noticing, Haruno Yukinoshita began to run.

"What... What am I doing...!?"

Hachiman's black sword, which he had swung down, narrowly missed Komachi and stuck into the ground nearby.

He regained his senses just before his right hand, holding the sword, swung down towards his sister.

Faster than his thoughts, he used his left hand to restrain his right hand, forcibly altering the trajectory of the sword, barely avoiding a disaster.

But if he had been a little slower, he would have killed his sister. Hachiman was shocked by that fact.

"Is this star power...? And... what is this black sword?"

Only now did he finally notice his own condition. He was enveloped in vast star power and held something resembling a black sword in his right hand. But he had no recollection of it.

The only thing he had in his hand was a wooden sword, which shattered earlier except for the hilt. He let go of the sword-like object in his right hand. As he did, the sword slipped from his grasp and disappeared into black particles, as if it had never existed. He had one idea about this phenomenon.

"...Is this the ability of a 'Magician' (Dante)?"

"'Magician' (Dante)"—they are a rare type of Star Pulse Generation individuals who can directly link with the elements. They are called "Witch" (Strega) if female, and "Magician" (Dante) if male.

Such knowledge flashed through his mind, but he had no recollection of being one. He was a Star Pulse Generation individual, but he was not a magician. At least, that was the case when he was young.

"Komachi... Kuuhhh!!"

As he tried to confirm his sister's condition lying in front of him, the power once again began to rage out of control.

The power violated the star power, overwhelming it. And a murderous intent towards his sister surged, eroding his sanity. He averted his gaze from his sister, desperately trying to suppress the murderous intent.

"Uhh... Uuu..."

At that moment, he heard Komachi's groaning. It seemed she was still breathing. He wanted to check on her in detail, but he couldn't. If he stayed here, he would undoubtedly end up killing his sister.

"Komachi... I'm sorry."

Reluctantly turning his back on his sister, Hachiman could do nothing but leave.

"This will do..."

Hachiman leaned against a wall on the roadside and operated his mobile device.

After fleeing from his sister, he had the idea to call an ambulance and made the call.

Not knowing what would happen if he saw someone's face, he conveyed the location through voice ONLY. At least now, his sister should be fine.

"However... there's no one here... Was something... going on?"

While he was too absorbed to notice earlier, there wasn't a single person around when he looked around.

He found it strange, but it was convenient for him.

If someone were to witness him in his current state, wrapped in densely compressed star power and activating his abilities, they would undoubtedly call the police.

"What's this... a message?"

Then he noticed that he had received a message. He opened the spatial window and checked the message.

"A bank robbery... so that's what... it is."

It was a message sent to all the students from Soubu High School.

There was a bank robbery taking place in the city. It made sense why the town seemed strange.

"Is this... a video?"

Among the floating windows, he found one video.

Judging from the title, it seemed to be a video of the ongoing bank robbery.

He clicked the window and played the video.

The video displayed the exterior of a building as seen from outside the bank.

Light that seemed to be emitted from dazzling arms leaked out from the bank windows. Screams could be heard from inside the building.

People fleeing from inside the bank to the outside. But they were being captured and brought back inside by the robbers.

Among them, a girl was captured on camera. And Hachiman recognized that girl well.

"Rumi... Rumi?"

The figure of Tsurumi Takanashi, the girl he had met during summer vacation, was there.