Chapter 8. Swing

"Hotaro-kun!" a small girl squealed, and before I could even process what was happening, a mess of black hair barreled into me, knocking me flat and stealing the air from my lungs.

"Ake... no," I wheezed, my voice strained as I desperately tried to pry the girl off me. She had wrapped herself around my torso like a clingy koala. The best I could manage was to squirm just far enough to take a breath, and then I began to beg, "Let me go... please."

How embarrassing... A guy who was mentally over twenty years old, pinned to the floor by a six-year-old girl, pleading to be released.

"No!" Akeno fiercely shook her head side to side, protesting with all her might — or so it seemed at first glance. In reality, she was just snuggling into my chest, rubbing her face against me like a cat.

How did it even come to this? I thought, reflecting on how my day had unfolded. Or rather, how it had continued after I woke up as an Alchemist of Atlas…

After my shower, when I finally rid myself of the stench that clung to me, I locked myself in my room for several long hours. What was supposed to be a simple exercise in adapting to my newly acquired abilities turned into a grueling trial.

Honestly, I hate myself for making Stay With Me by Miki Matsubara the first song I listened to with my enhanced hearing. Now it's a trigger that sends shivers down my spine! It's like using your favorite song as an alarm clock — absolute stupidity!

The next disaster came when I tried adjusting to my heightened sense of smell. After successfully getting used to the loud music in my headphones and the blinding light from my ceiling lamp, I foolishly thought that adapting to smells wouldn't be too hard. But no! My idiotic self didn't think that through at all! I still cringe remembering how I stuck my head out of the open window and took a deep breath of the crisp morning air... Only to be hit with the stench of cat urine, dog poop, and bird droppings.

All in all, it was a battle with myself, but by the time I left my room, I had fully "settled in" with my newly enhanced, borderline superhuman senses.

"Everything okay, sweetheart?" my mom asked with mild concern as I stepped into the kitchen.

"Yeah, everything's great," I replied, despite some regrettable "choices," I was feeling better than ever! "Why? Did something happen?"

"You just went to take a shower in the middle of the night and stayed in there for about half an hour," Mom shrugged and gave me a sideways glance as she continued making coffee. "I thought something might've been wrong."

"I was so excited about yesterday that I couldn't sleep," I replied, smoothly delivering the cover story I had already prepared. "Plus, even though it's nighttime, it felt a bit stuffy, and I ended up sweating a lot. So, I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone: take a shower and relax to help me fall asleep."

"I thought it was because you awakened your magical energy," Mom suddenly smiled in a way that suggested she'd caught me red-handed.

"Would I really run to the shower just because I awakened my magical energy?" I tilted my head in "surprise."

Of course, I wasn't trying to hide the fact that I'd awakened it, and even if I wanted to, I wouldn't have been able to. So I decided to just let things unfold naturally. Besides, there wasn't anything suspicious enough to warrant a full interrogation. According to Tomoe, you could consciously awaken your magical power through something as simple as self-hypnosis or "meditation." You just had to focus on yourself and imagine it "flowing" through your body. This method only worked for those with magical ancestors or users of Sacred Gear, though.

"By the way, why do you use the term 'magical energy'?" I asked, remembering that Tomoe had used the term "magical power." The difference seemed small, but in a world where human magic is such an exact "art," I didn't believe even minor discrepancies were just coincidence.

"That was a mistake on my part," a voice chimed in from behind me — Tomoe's voice.

"Good morning," I turned to greet my sister, her hair still messy from sleep. With her slightly squinted eyes and the pillow marks still visible on her right cheek, she looked absolutely adorable.

"Morning, bro," she smiled sweetly before darting into the kitchen. "About your question… magical power and magical energy are pretty similar terms. So similar, in fact, that I didn't even think about it when explaining magic to a novice like you. My bad," she finished, scratching her cheek in embarrassment.

Later, during breakfast, Tomoe explained it more thoroughly: magical power refers to the parameter that shows how much magical energy a mage, Sacred Gear user, or church member possesses and can manipulate. Mages consider magical power as their "ammunition" and the capacity of their fuel tank. On the other hand, magical energy is just one of many forms of energy contained within living beings. The amount of magical energy someone has is determined by their physical, mental, and spiritual development.

In magical society, people rarely distinguish between the two terms, at least not in casual conversation. So it wasn't surprising that Tomoe didn't go into detail. After all, she's just a ten-year-old girl, albeit a pretty smart one for her age, not a professor.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" I asked with undisguised enthusiasm, glancing between my sister and mom.

"Don't look at me. It's your sister teaching you magic, not me," Mom deflected my enthusiasm straight onto Tomoe, effectively throwing her under the bus.

"I have something in mind," Tomoe tapped her chin thoughtfully, a mischievous smile creeping across her face. "You really want to learn more about magic, right?"

"Yeah..." I dragged out the word, immediately sensing something was off in her tone.

Now that I could fully take in the details of Tomoe's face, it was clear she was weirdly excited, almost giddy — like she'd just cooked up some prank and was already confident it would be a success.

"In that case, today you're going to the park… to the children's playground!"

Yup, I was screwed. Who could've known Tomoe would be sharp enough to use my weaknesses against me in a situation like this? Right, everyone who even remotely knew her! Unfortunately, my "obsessive-reader disorder" had already kicked in, and I was desperate enough to agree to almost any deal just to get my hands on those coveted magic textbooks.

"Just make sure the price is worth it," I reminded her.

"Of course," Tomoe replied with a confident smile.

"You gave in too quickly," Mom grumbled, clearly unimpressed with my surrender.

I simply raised an eyebrow at the shamelessness of my own mother.

What the hell does she want with the playground? I wondered, as Akeno dragged me along to who knows where.

Okay, I mean, I could understand why, but I really just wanted to complain. After all, Tomoe is a very responsible older sister, which, given who our mother is, makes sense. She's always worried about the fact that I don't socialize with kids my age or make any friends. When I asked her to look at me and honestly tell me if I needed to bother with snot-nosed brats, she simply replied that no matter how smart or mature I was, if I didn't socialize, I'd end up like Mom. And let's be real — that was a hell of an argument! But! There's one big "but"! Socializing with kids? What am I, John Wayne Gacy? No thanks.

"C'mon, hurry up!" Akeno shook my hand, pulling me out of my thoughts and quickening her pace. "We're almost there."

Honestly, I was practically running to keep up while she casually walked ahead toward this "interesting" place she kept mentioning.

Himejima Akeno — six years old, the girl I met a couple of months ago. She's been clinging to me ever since the moment we first crossed paths. Though I kind of get it. According to her: "All these boring kids do is play with sand and plastic toys. And when they play something active, they change the rules on purpose so I can't join in! Hmph, dumb kids!"

I had similar problems. Any games the other kids invited me to play lost their appeal almost immediately because of my total dominance. Sure, I could have held back, but that was all part of my grand plan — to use the situation as an argument during debates with my sister, like: "They don't like me, so I won't bother playing with them."

Akeno's case was a little different. Unlike me, who couldn't care less about spending time at the playground, she was a real kid who craved attention from her peers. So, it genuinely upset her when she was ignored, even if she tried not to show it. In short, as they say: "We're not the same."

Still, Akeno didn't see it that way. The moment she realized I wasn't part of the group of dumb kids, she started spending all her time with me. At first, I tried to shake her off, but her physical strength was something unnatural. After just two encounters, I gave up... Yeah, I didn't last long.

Thinking about it now, after everything I've learned about this world, it all makes sense. There's just one question left — who exactly is she? I mulled over the thought, finally connecting the dots about this girl who'd been plaguing — sometimes literally — my life for the past few months.

"We're here!" Akeno exclaimed in satisfaction as she finally let go of me. "Look!"

I took a few seconds to catch my breath, bending over with my hands on my knees. After straightening up, I glanced around. We were in a small grove, a little off the main path in the park. In the middle of a small clearing stood a large tree with a thick, leafy canopy. On one of its sturdiest branches, a swing hung lazily, swaying slightly in the breeze.

Ah, now I see why she brought me here, I couldn't help but smile, remembering Akeno's love for swings.

Unfortunately, the swings at the playground were always taken. And kids — well, they can be cruel enough to ostracize anyone who doesn't fit in.

"Hey, did you think something bad about me?" Akeno suddenly tugged on my sleeve, frowning as she stared at me.

Sorry, Akeno, but you're a six-year-old girl, and any attempt to look serious or upset only makes you look adorable. It's impossible not to smile.

"Not at all," I shook my head and raised a hand, gently patting her on the head, smoothing out a few strands of her black hair that had gotten tangled during our "blitz" to the grove. "I'm just happy you found such a cool spot."

Akeno's face lit up with a radiant smile at my words.

"Then let's go!" she pulled me along again. "I'm swinging first!"

Watching her skip along, filled with excitement, I realized that not all kids were as annoying as I thought. At least, I couldn't feel that way toward Akeno — not after spending two months getting to know her. After all, no matter how irritating a child might be, they still deserve the right to live a full and joyful childhood.

Yeah, I guess I'd grown attached to her, but I've always had a soft spot for outcasts like her. She wasn't excluded because she wanted to be, but because she was different. I knew what that felt like — after all, even teenagers deal with that same kind of crap, like ostracism. And having something weird in your head certainly doesn't help your social image. So, if I had the chance to give Akeno the feeling of what it's like to play with a friend, I wasn't going to turn that down. After all, whatever she may be — devil, yokai, or fallen angel — she's still a kid... And honestly, she's not as annoying as the rest.