Chapter 4: Who is responsible?

The shrill cry pierced Eon and Gallah's ears, causing them to freeze in place. They turned their heads in unison. Adrienne chest heaved up and down while heavy tears formed in her eyes. She frowned, "How can you guys fight each other!!"

Gallah's raised an eyebrow. "Uh…"

Eon immediately rattled his memories for information. The next instant he murmured, "Sister…"

Gallah's jaw fell open, his eyes bulging.

"Hmph", Adrienne huffed, scrunching her eyes. Her expression tightened in an unsuccessful attempt at stopping her tears. Wiping her eyes sloppily, "You still call me sister when you guys make me- sniff -so worried and now you guys are- sniff sniff -fighting and hurting each other."

"That…", Eon began, his thoughts failing to align with his speech as he was still accepting the existence of an entirely new sibling. Gallah was further behind, staring blankly into space. As fresh tears formed while her old tears dripped down her face, Eon allowed instinct to take over.

"No no no, we were not fighting or hurting one another."

"Huh? What?", Gallah blurted.

Eon ignored him, stepped off the platform, hurried over to her, and delicately placed his hands on her shoulders. Patting rhythmically, he continued, "Do not worry, we were only sparring together."

"Sp- sniff -parring- sniff?"

He nodded with a small smile.

"Would you like to see us spar?"

"But what if you guys hurt each other…", her voice shook.

"You can watch us fight and if you deem the fight too dangerous you may stop us whenever you would like."

Adrienne tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows, tears twinkling in her eyes. "Big brother Dirty you're talking so weird."

Eon's smile twitched. He rattled his memories and narrowed his eyes soon after. Gallah roared with laughter as he doubled over, clutching his stomach. He pointed at Eon, "Ahaaa! Hahahaaaa."

"Huh? Did I say something funny, big brother Trash?"

Gallah's laughter became stuck in his throat as he coughed violently.

Eon smirked wryly, "Yes, what could possibly be so funny dear brother Trash?"

Scrunching his eyes in disbelief, Gallah scoured his own memories and was not pleased.

"Dear little sister ah… Adrienne! Adrienne, you should not call us by those names anymore."

"Hm? Why?", she tilted her head in pure curiosity.

"That is because we have decided upon new names."

"B-but, the elders will punish you guys for doing that…"

"Really? Just for that?" Gallah questioned.

"Yeah that's how it's always been. Did big brothers suddenly forget?"

"Err", Gallah began. Eon placed his hands on his knees and bent over to her eye level, "If that is the case, how about you call us by our new names when only we three are together?"

"Hmm?" Her eyes lit up, "Like a super secret?"

Eon couldn't help but grin. "Yes, a super secret. Pinky promise."

He brought up an extended pinky and Adrienne eagerly interlocked it with her own. "Pinky promise!"

"That's a good girl. You can call me big brother Eon and call him big brother Gallah from now on."

"Mm", she nodded.

"Mm, who?"

"Mm, big brother Eon!"

"That's a good girl." Eon ruffled her hair; Adrienne giggled. "Now watch me and Gallah."

Eon approached Gallah who wore a puzzled expression. "What's a pinky promise?", he whispered once Eon was near.

"A symbol representing a pact between two people in this world. You must process the information in your mind if you hope to assimilate our new lives."

"Yes yes, dear brother", Gallah surrendered as they approached the platform again. "By the way, how did you calm her down so quickly?"

"Living with five female siblings did help me learn a bit."

"Five!?", Gallah jumped. "Why have I never heard of them?"

"Hey why are you two whispering without me!"

They turned their heads to see an adorably pouting Adrienne.

"We were just confirming a safe plan to prevent any injuries", Eon assured.

"Hmm…", Adrienne doubted.

Eon placed a hand on Gallah's shoulder and murmured, "Perhaps I'll explain one day." He then pushed lightly and assumed a position on one side of the platform. Gallah shrugged his shoulders and distanced himself as well.

Adrienne held her breath and not a moment later, Eon and Gallah kicked off the platform.

-Thok- -Thok-

Blows exchanged with resonating force. "Ah!", she yelped instinctively.

"That's too har-", she began but stopped; her eyes opened wide. Eon's movements flowed so smoothly the pole swam through the air like a fish in water, yet the impact heard was similar to a crashing wave. Unfazed by the blow, Gallah struck back with intimidating and unyielding ferocity.

-Thok- -Thok-

-Thok- -Thok- -Thok-

Their exchanges continued until the sun nearly set. Gallah deflected Eon's overhead blow, retreated several steps, and peered at the fleeting sun. "Wow where did the time go?"

"Indeed", nodded Eon. "Any further would be unproductive. My current eyesight is incapable of piercing the darkness which could lead to unforeseen injuries."

"Yeah that sounds about right. It's already getting a little hard to see, how annoying."

"You as well? It appears that we will require time to recover our previous eyesight."

"So how was it Adrienne? Were your big brothers cool?", Gallah called out. He turned, lowering one sword and resting the second one over his shoulder. "Hm? Are you okay there?"

Adrienne blinked rapidly. "W-when did big brothers become so strong?"

"Strong? Oh… we uh… ate something really weird!"

"Really?", Adrienne eyes shined. "Does that mean I can become that strong too? Can I eat some?"

"That, um-" Gallah scratched his head.

Eon stepped past him, raising his pole at an angle to cover Gallah's mouth. "Gallah was fooling around. In actuality, we have been practicing in secret to give Adrienne a big surprise."

"Wow, I'm really really surprised!"

"Yes yes, surprise, haha!", Gallah puffed his chest, "that's exactly what this was."

Eon lowered his pole, shaking his head. "We should head home before it becomes too dark."

"Okay! I want to try and make something I saw the cooking aunties make!"

"The cooking aunties?" Eon asked as they walked.

"Yeah, I've been secretly learning how to cook from them, hehe."

"Oh, have you now? Who're you keeping this a secret from?"

"Of course it's from big brothers… Ah!", she clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes moistening. "Hngg, it was supposed to be a secret."

"Wha-what, it's okay you don't need to cry", Gallah panicked, extending his hands in reassurance. "It's just a little secret, everything's okay."

"B-but I've been working so hard to k-keep this a secret."

"No but… what I mean is… um-"

"What Gallah meant to say", Eon stepped in, "was that me and Gallah have already shown you our secret, correct?"

"Yeah.."

"So now that you have told us yours, we both know each others secrets."

"Hmm", Adrienne averted her eyes in thought, "I-I think I get it. But now I won't be surprise big brothers."

"How about this?", Eon smiled, "You can head back first, prepare the meal, then call us when you have finished. That way we will not know what you prepared until the last minute."

Adrienne nodded along to his instructions then paused in thought. She grinned brightly, "Okay, deal! I'll be really quick don't worry!"

With that being said she spun and ran off.

"Make sure you take care of your hands!", Eon hollered.

"Okay~", her reply echoed in the distance as she turned a corner.

Gallah blinked rapidly and stepped up to Eons side. "What just happened?"

"I assisted you from encountering another crisis."

"...You really have to teach me how to do this."

"This is not a skill one can impart onto another. Worry not, we have more than enough time at the moment. You will eventually learn the skills of an older brother."

"But, I'm not good at that."

He placed a hand on his shoulder, "Then there is no time like the present to improve."

"Oh come-"

"Speaking about improvement", Eon stopped. "Now is the perfect time for you to incorporate your new memories."

"Huh?"

"Adrienne requires time to cook but if we continue at this pace then we will arrive before she finishes. However, if I allow you to lead the way then we should arrive at an appropriate time."

"Wait, what?", Gallah frowned. "But you already know the way."

"That I do, incorporating my own memories. Now it is time for you to do the same. This will be beneficial for both of us because there are many more memories for me to comb through."

"Finee", he surrendered. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration. After several seconds, "You're enjoying this aren't you."

"Possibly."

"Hmph, I'll show you." Taking his first step confidently, Gallah walked with Eon in tow.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rows of rusty brick houses stood uniformly in the silent night. The uneven brick roads were empty and dark, save for the flickering lights that shone through their windows. Houses with strong bright lights emitted a mild but distinctive scent of food while very few were fortunate enough to emit fragrant scents.

As the night progressed, two boys traversed along the brick road and stopped in front of one of the more fragrant houses. Gallah took a deep breath, "This is the one right?"

Eon's mouth curved slightly. "It took some time, but congratulations."

"Finally…", he heaved exasperatedly. "I wanted to turn here about half an hour ago, why didn't you say anything?

"Lessons are better learned through mistakes, not answers."

"Yeah, yeah, you old geezer."

-Tap tap tap-

A soft flurry of footsteps neared the door of the house. "Is that you big brothers?"

"Yeah it's us. Are you ready yet?"

"Yup, I just finished!"

Eon stepped forward first and turned the doorknob, turning his head as he did so. "Appropriate time."

"Appropriate time", he repeated mockingly.

With the door opened, the fragrant scent grew stronger and more pleasant. The interior of the house was simply decorated with nothing but bare necessities; three quantities of kitchenware and chairs, a single table, a small stove, a sink, and one long mattress. Their eyes followed the source of the scent and widened.

On their old wooden table laid a glorious meal; plates of fish, meat, and vegetables assorted and topped with colorful ingredients. Eon and Gallah stared at Adrienne in disbelief. Seeing the look on their faces, Adrienne puffed her chest and beamed with pride.

"Are you guys surprised?"

"Very surprised", Gallah answered, his mouth agape.

"Indeed", Eon nodded.

"Hehe."

"How in the world did you acquire these ingredients? They do not appear to be things we are able to afford."

"No no, don't worry it's nothing", Adrienne quickly shook her hands at them. "The aunties that show me how to cook sometimes gives me things to take back. I've been saving and hiding everything so that we can eat good food together!"

Gallah took a good look at everything. Having incorporated more of his memories on the way, he understood the food before them was much more valuable than how she portrayed them to be. He estimated she must have saved for several weeks to gather this meal.

Overwhelmed with emotions, Gallah rushed forward and gave Adrienne a meaningful hug. "You, Adrienne, are the best little sister any big brothers can ask for."

Adrienne eagerly hugged him back with a wide smile and shimmering eyes. "Hehe, I like this a lot. Big brother never hugged me before. Does that mean if I keep cooking I'll get more hugs?

Gallah felt like his heart was nearly torn from his chest. He hugged her more tightly, "What do you mean? I'll hug you as much as you want from now on!"

Adrienne giggled under the increased pressure. Eon, stunned the entire time, tapped Gallah's shoulder, "You will crack her ribs at this rate, how about letting our little sister breath for a second?"

Gallah reluctantly released her and allowed Eon through. Eon knelt and stared into Adrienne's beautifully innocent blue eyes. He brought her towards him and held her softly; Adrienne instinctively rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you."

A few tears rolled down her cheeks as she held onto him tightly. Seconds ticked by when suddenly Gallah's voice sounded. "The foods about to get cold so it's okay if I start eating first right?"

"Hey!", Adrienne's sprung up from Eon's embrace. "We have to eat together!"

"Haha, okay okay. I was only joking."

"Gallah's right, we should quickly eat the food before it grows colder."

They sat down and Adrienne began to divide portions. Eon stopped her midway and took the utensils from her hands. "You did enough work Adrienne, allow me."

"Hrmm, okay", she hesitated at first before accepting and sitting down.

Eon swiftly divided bits of each dish onto their plates.

"Alright that's enough waiting, let's chow down!"

Without waiting another second Gallah plunged his fork into his first victim. Sticking a piece of beef into his mouth, his eyes jumped along with his body. "Oh my gods, this is amazing."

Eon placed a piece of his own into his mouth and was equally as surprised. "I agree, this is nothing short of exemplary."

"Yay! I'm happy you guys like it."

"Like it? I love this! I'd have to be the biggest fool in this world if I didn't love it."

"Hehe, I have a question though", Adrienne suddenly faced Eon, "What does exemplary mean?"

Eon smiled while Gallah took a second to laugh. "Heyyyy, I'm serious. What does it mean?"

The night continued with sounds of laughter, delight, and happiness. Soon enough, before they even knew what happened, the plates were empty. "Wow that meal was so damn good!", Gallah exclaimed for what could have been the umpteen time that night as he slouched in his chair.

"Gallah you should really mind your image."

Adrienne laughed as she collected the dishes. "It's okay, big brothers can rest while I wash the dishes."

"Allow me to help."

"It's okay I got this!", Adrienne hopped away from his assistance. Misjudging the distance, she lightly hit the side of the sink and winced.

Eon's eyebrows jumped, "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay."

"Let me see", Eon reached over to her hip.

Adrienne retreated rapidly. "It's okay really, I'm okay."

Eon furrowed his eyebrows as Gallah sat up in similar worry. With a speed she was unable to match, Eon lifted the hem of her shirt. "No!", she immediately pulled away but Eon was able to make out a blackish yellow mark on her body.

His expression darkened, "Who is responsible?"