ATOQ: Airi's Valentine's Special 2017

Good day to you, stranger. My name is Airi Hirayama, the younger sister of Keiichi Hirayama. You may have heard of me. Take a sit by the fire, won’t you? I’m in a story-telling mood at the moment. This tale concerns my relationship between me and my brother and how I reached this point. It won’t take long, I promise.

Contrary to popular belief, I was not a strong child. While my birth was normal as can be, the healer spirits knew something was wrong when they saw my shallow breaths, the paleness of my skin and the way even the slightest bit of physical activity could reduce me into a state of exhaustion. After some investigation, they diagnosed it as anemia—the lack of red blood cells in my bloodstream; a genetic disorder passed down from a far-off relative. From the moment this fact came to light, my fate to a lifetime of bed rest and inactivity was sealed.

There would be no running in the open fields, no chances of feeling the sunshine upon my face, no way to attend school with the other children. Things that most take for granted became forbidden; I could only experience them second-hand from stories. I had burgeoning magical talent, but with my condition there was no way I could utilize. All I could do was split open my skin and let my blood flow, anyway. A useless technique; it only made my condition worse.  In short, the little countryside house my family shared became my personal gilded cage.

It was a profoundly miserable experience. My parents tried all they could to cheer me up, but what joy was there in sitting in bed, skimming over the words in my books while knowing that fun and adventure lay beyond the walls of my bedroom, walls that I could not leave? I wanted to thrash around in my blankets and throw a tantrum, but I didn’t even have the energy to do that.

There was one special light in my miserable life. My older brother: Keiichi Hirayama. My onii-chan. The two of us were fraternal twins, me being born seconds after him, thus deigning me the role of the little sister. He was always there to take care of me. There was no reason for him to—my parents insisted on taking this responsibility away from him, yet he insisted right back.

When I was suffering from illness, he helped feed my medicine. Whenever I felt well enough to go outside, he would hold my hand and stroll with me. He fought back the bullies that mocked me and even went as far as skipping school just to stay at home with me.

The memories of him are fondest I have. I remember following him wherever he went, trailing behind him like a lost little puppy.

“Onii-chan, onii-chan!” I called out, one afternoon.

“What is it, Airi?” He replied in that serious, but curious tone of this.

“I love you, onii-chan!” I smiled, throwing my arms around him. “I love you lots!”

“Gah! Get off me, Airi!”

“Do you love me too, onii-chan?” I asked, still clinging to his back.

“That’s…uh…”

“Because Mama said onii-chan loved me too. She said you loved me lots, too…”

“Um…it’s sorta…embarrassing to say this…”

“Then…” Oh, how the tears gathered at my eyes. I was a silly, naïve little girl at the time. “Do you not love me?”

Keiichi hated to see me cry. It’s why he stopped fighting the bullies. I wasn’t because our parents told him to stop, it was because I begged him not to after seeing the wounds he bore. I couldn’t bear to see him hurt. The instant he saw my tears, he backtracked.

“Y-yeah, I love you, Airi.” He mumbled out. “Don’t cry, geez…”

My mood brightened in a flash. I hugged my brother tighter. “Yay! Thank you, onii-chan!” I cried.

 “You’re going to make me trip! Oh no!”

Yes, I truly did love my older brother. In a field of listlessness and agony, he was the only reprise. He was my salvation, the lighthouse in the dark sea, my warmth and my comfort. He was more than a simple sibling; he was the person I trusted the most in the world, more than my parents.

Because of Keiichi, I was able to meet my spirit partner and cure my anemia. Because of him, I could stand on my two feet. Because of his support, I could train and become the strong girl I wanted to be as a child. I could feel troubled, but a few encouraging words from him and I would bounce right back. We went everywhere growing up. We were a pair of inseparable siblings.

As the years went by, puberty took hold of me. I began to see onii-chan in a different light. I noticed how I was paying more attention to his smile, his compliments, the way he carried himself and the physique of his body. At the time, I dismissed them as mere appreciation for my twin. Yet, I could not help myself and often found myself lost in him.

I soon realized these emotions were not of familial love, but were instead of romantic love. Denial was instant. I blushed, I stammered, I ran away to hide and think. From the perspective of our society, siblings are not meant to hold such attractions toward each other.

But, I could not ignore the evidence. The dreams I had about our time together as a youth. My daydreams about spending time together in cafes and beautiful locations. How I memorized his every word and felt my heart flutter at his praises. The way my hormones reacted to him, both at day and night. Whenever he left my side, my mood dimmed and I found myself unconsciously counting the seconds until he returned.

There was the time saw a wedding dress in a shop window and imagined myself wearing it amidst a perfect summer day. The next instant, I imagined my brother dressed in a white suit, gently holding my hand. There was a golden band on my ring finger, too. We leaned forward, close enough to feel our breaths and slowly our lips grew closer and closer…

“Airi, where the heck are you going?”

“Sorry, onii-chan, I need to take a shower!”

“You just had one before we left home! Hey, come back! You’re going to be late for school!”

Despite harboring these feelings, I didn’t take much action on them. Onii-chan was always by my side and we were living our daily lives in harmony. I am ashamed to say that I took him for granted. I honestly believed the status quo would remain undisturbed forever.

I was naïve, foolish little girl. A day came when my whole worldview was shaken.

Imagine my shock when Keiichi came home with a girl his age at his side, explaining that she was Akasha-Alea, his new spirit mentor. I could barely speak. I merely watched, stunned, as the two of them signed the contract in blood and became bonded for life. Those last three words hurt me, like all the world’s poisons and steel had been thrust into me at once. Deep within my heart, something vicious and voracious roared and struggled against its chains. I found my hands drifting to the hilt of my blade. Then, I saw a vision of myself drawing my blade and slitting Akasha-Alea’s neck. It was an illusion, but it seemed oh so very tempting at the time.

Thankfully, Akasha-Alea seemed intent on having only a mentor-mentee relationship with onii-chan and drew the line at that. Her teachings did bring onii-chan out of his sudden, mysterious slump, so I grudgingly tolerated her presence. Not that I could do much about her; she was magnitudes more powerful than me and to challenge her head-on would be suicide. She ended up not having much of an impact on my daily life, anyhow.

But it was thanks to her that I discovered how much I loathed the idea of onii-chan being with another girl. I experimented with this. I took myself to a training field and tried to make myself think of a life where onii-chan married to another woman. Where I would be an afterthought in their blissful happiness.

The next thing I knew, all the training dummies in the field had been reduced to piles of rubble. My wrists were bleeding and the hilt of my blade had carved intends in my palms.

Those were some dark terrible thoughts I had, like a thunderstorm in the deep sea. Yet they gave me strength, will and energy. They were empowering, I found, and they only made the desire to be with onii-chan flourish stronger.

I didn’t tell my parents about this. As I grew older, they noticed how frequent I hung around onii-chan. They called this ‘unnerving’, ‘questionable’ and ultimately ‘unhealthy’. Several attempts were made to get me into other hobbies, or make other friends. I refused every single time. What did they know about us? They didn’t have anemia as a child, nor had they been confined in their own home. They had never been with him as long as I had. They didn’t understand how loving and caring he could be. They knew nothing of the depth of our bond, of how much we relied and balanced out each other. They were reliable in the sense they kept us fed and clothed, but when it came to onii-chan they were useless.

Instead of talking about my thoughts—an exercise in futility—I let those thoughts plant their seeds and bloom within my heart. It was a wise decision. They gave me the strength to move forward.

“Hey, onii-chan?” I said, one afternoon after training.

“Yeah, Airi?”

“We’ll always be together, won’t we?”

“Why are you asking this?” He asked, perplexed. “Haven’t we always?”

“But will we in the future?” I pressed.

“Is this about Akasha-Alea?” He said. “Don’t worry about her. She’s agreed to butt out of our business.”

“Is that a yes?”

“If you want it to be.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t see why we wouldn’t be together. You’re always looking out for me. I’d be hopeless without you.”
I felt my heart swell. I held out a pinky. “Promise, onii-chan?”

“Is it really that serious?” He asked.

“Please?”

“Yeah, promise.”

When we made that promise, I felt my heart swell with the ultimate happiness. I felt as if our bond had grown to something that could not be surpassed, not unlike marriage. I wanted to cherish and protect it forever.

Fate, unfortunately, had different ideas.

In 2015, my parents decided that we required a better education and made preparations to True Hearts Academy, one of the most prestigious magi private schools in Japan.  Despite the challenge it would bring, I admit, I was very excited to experience the big city after spending my whole life in the countryside. It was a fact that I made very clear to onii-chan, much to his exasperation.

“Okay Airi, I get you’re pumped. Can you shut up about it for five seconds?”

“But it’s the city, onii-chan! It’s Shibuya! We haven’t been there in forever and now we’re going to live there!”

“Big deal. It’s just like the countryside, except with more people.”

“That’s a realy big difference, onii-chan.”

Onii-chan coming along to study with me was the icing on an already wonderfully tasty cake. We were to stay in our own apartment as well! Finally, a chance to dote on my onii-chan without meddling from my parents! Shibuya seemed like a golden opportunity.

Then we arrived, met with the people there and became acquainted with reality. It was then a hidden talent of onii-chan’s came to surface.

To sum it up, how was I supposed to know he would be so popular with the ladies?

I should have known something was up the moment he walked through the front gate on his first day at our new academy and accidentally groped the most popular girl in the second grade. My foolish, younger self, angry as she was, dismissed it as an accident. But it didn’t stop there, no not at all! They just kept on coming onto my onii-chan! First it was the school diva Michiko Tsukiwaki, then the shut-in Nina Takai and finally the rich heiress Florence Rutherford.

“You really don’t know anything, Keiichi…fine, I’ll help you this once!”

“Keiichi, let’s hang out. I’m bored today.”

“My my, what a coincidence to meet you here…”

They surrounded my onii-chan on all sides, chatting with him, feeding him their cooking, playing games with him, clinging to him, and ultimately drawing his attention away from me! I lost count of the number of times I forced myself to watch my so-called ‘lady friends’ flirt with Keiichi, my teeth grinding and blood boiling beneath the surface of my skin. There were occasions where I grew so enraged that I had to excuse myself and find some street thugs to take my anger on.

“Airi, is that a bruise? What the hell happened?”

“Oh? This? I…uh while going to the store, I…tripped and fell down some stairs!”

“When were you this clumsy? Sheesh, go and see a doctor!”

“Thank you for being so considerate, onii-chan.”

“Just go, damn it!”

I made sure to dispose of the evidence, of course. Getting caught would only inconvenience onii-chan and I certainly couldn’t have that!

Thankfully, the night was ours alone. Our parents assigned us a small apartment they owned to live in. Cooking dinner, helping each other with homework, light training and washing his clothes…they were all done together. With the promise of those blissful moments at the end of the day, I was able to grit my teeth and endure whatever trials the day chose to throw at me.

Or so I thought. Turns out the other three girls wouldn’t even let me have that! Clearly unsatisfied with the attention my brother was giving them, (how ungrateful! He was being far too considerate already!) decided to rain on my parade and come to our apartment. At first, it was Michiko asking for study sessions. Then she was staying behind to help clean and cook. Nina Takai showed up, holding a game console and a bag of candy. Before long she was being invited into onii-chan’s room! I caught her sitting on his lap as they watched a romance movie! Florence Rutherford heard the word through her spider’s web of contacts and she showed up in her limousine, holding entry invitations to a luxury hotel! She didn’t even have the decency to invite me!

And that’s not even getting into what my brother got up to during the day! Locking himself in a storage room with Michiko and pressing his face into her breasts! Opening the bathroom door in Nina’s apartment and seeing her naked in the shower! Walking in the rain with Florence without an umbrella and letting her be soaked, thus granting him an earful of her undergarments! I loved him, and still do, but sometimes even I grew frustrated at his antics. Was he doing this on purpose? Was he trying to get me killed through a combination of fury, despair and stress?

Events reached a point where a girl was visiting onii-chan every single night. Gradually, our time together was dwindling more and more. It had a disastrous effect on me. I bit my fingernails, a habit I outgrew as a child. I put on weight, much to the chagrin of my stamina. My appearance, which did not help the comparisons between me and the other girls. I began to have nightmares with my brother eloping with one the other girls, leaving me behind in that dark, lonely abyss I was born into so long ago. I tried to console myself with the knowledge they were mere delusions, but it didn’t quell the tears that gathered at my eyes in the dark.

Was…was onii-chan leaving me behind? Did he like the other girls more than me? Was he forgetting the promise we made? What did I mean to him any more? I didn’t know. I simply didn’t know. For the first time in ages, I felt lost.

And just when I thought things had already hit rock bottom…

One morning, my brother commented how he was thinking about getting a girlfriend. It was mentioned in passing, most likely, but for an instant I swore my heart stopped in my chest.

“Hey, Airi? Are you okay?”

“Ah…oh …”

“You look pale. What, did you not get enough sleep? Again?”

“Oh…no…I’m fine, onii-chan.”

“…you sure?”

“Yeah. Perfectly fine. Ah. Ah ha. Ah ha ha ha ha…”

His comment echoed through my head throughout the morning, distorting itself with each reverberation. It replaced everything in my mind. The sounds around me floated through one ear and disappeared out the other. I still don’t remember what happened that day, but it wasn’t important.

I had tolerated the girls so long with no small amount of grudge and hatred, but if they were going to put those kinds of thoughts into my wonderful onii-chan’s head…stealing him away from me…then enough was enough. Decisive measures had to be taken. The girls had to go.

A tiny voice, belonging to the weak and feeble girl that laid in her bed all day, asked if I was truly willing to commit to this. I quenched it with the flames of my determination. I swore upon my love for onii-chan I would accomplish this or die trying.

My spirit partner, Shesmur, had his obvious objections. I smiled and listened patiently to him. Then I grabbed him by the neck, crushed his body into pieces and devoured his soul, thus granting me his full arsenal of blood powers.

It was time to begin.

…

…

…

Michiko Tsukiwaki was the school diva of my academy, respected by all. And yet, compared to Nina Takai and Florence Rutherford, she was the most normal of the girls onii-chan knew. It was easy for me to break into her house at the dead of night, drug her into unconsciousness and ‘escort’ her to a private hideout of mine.

A tiny fragment of me felt guilty about this. Disgusting advances towards onii-chan aside, she had been reasonably friendly to me. There had been…enjoyable times we spent shopping and eating together. If she hadn’t harbored such an obvious crush towards onii-chan, we could’ve been great friends.

I owed her for giving me fashion advice, to the point where onii-chan genuinely complemented a summer outfit I swore, so I granted her a small amount of mercy. Instead of taking her life, I merely destroyed her vocal cords and burned her skin and hair. Her two main charm points were ground into dust. No longer would onii-chan hear her melodious voice, nor be awestruck by her beauty. In the blonde diva’s place was an unrecognizable mannequin of scars and dry flesh.

It was enough.

Michiko later disappeared from Shibuya. From what I heard, bullying and ostracization at the academy drove her into a corner. With her only real purpose in life gone, she committed suicide where no-one saw her.

Onii-chan and I attended her funeral. He was devastated. Silent tears dripped down his face and he clenched his fist so hard his fingernails dug into his skin, drawing blood. He didn’t move from her gravestone for hours, standing in the rain.

“That idiot…why didn’t she tell me? Why didn’t she pick up?” he choked out. “I would’ve helped her!”

Because I didn’t let him, of course! Michiko could’ve easily used onii-chan’s sympathy to trick him into loving her! I couldn’t have that, oh no! I did feel horrible about driving such sadness into his heart, but as the saying goes: time heals all wounds. He would get over Michiko one day. I would make sure of it.

As his little sister, I made sure to stay by his side, comforting him with my embrace.

One down, two to go.

…

…

Nina Takai was a prodigy. A young master of the psychic arts. She could lift up entire vehicles and toss them around like rag dolls. Any blows that came to her were repelled by her psychic aura. Then there was her Ultimate Skill, which had overpowered me in the past. Fighting her was not an option.

However, her body was weak. Her physical prowess was that of an ordinary human, perhaps a little weaker. If rid of her magic, she would be a sitting duck. I decided to take advantage of this weakness. Like the operation with Michiko, I snuck into her apartment and kidnapped her. However, I made sure to cover her fragile body with mana-blocking seals.

How did I dispose of her? Be patient. I’m getting to it. There was a human trafficking ring operating in the murkiness of Tokyo. They were awful excuses of human beings; engaging in rape, drug abuse, pedophilia…you get the picture. It made me sick to associate with them, but for onii-chan’s sake there were no levels I wasn’t willing to stoop to.

They were very willing to take Nina off my hands, even paying me for my trouble. The girl woke up as the transaction was made. I still can see the pleading, agonizing sense of betrayal in her frightened eyes. I merely waved her off with a smile. For the crime of fraternizing with onii-chan, she deserved to be punished. She was a worthy opponent, so I made sure to look her in the eye as she was dragged off.

What happened to her? I’m sorry to say that I don’t know. It’s of no interest to me. Regardless, alive or dead, she was out of picture. I was satisfied.

Only one enemy remained.

…

…

…

After Michiko and Nina were disposed of, I couldn’t but help note that onii-chan’s meetings with Florence Rutherford grew more frequent. Likely because onii-chan had run out all of his friends at school—Hideki had fled the area after catching wind of my plans—and had no-one to talk to.

I shadowed them one time. Onii-chan usual caustic bite was noticeably subdued. Whenever Florence tried to jab at him, he just…accepted it, unable to muster up a single retort. To think this depression would defrost the heart of the icy queen and make her develop feelings of empathy…it was unprecedented for the girl and posed a great risk to my plans! I had to get rid of Florence as fast as I could before her family took onii-chan under their wing!

But how?

Of all the girls, Florence seemed the most difficult to take down. Strong in body, ruthlessly intelligent, pragmatic and manipulative…it was perfect set of qualities for the heiress of a powerful family to have. That’s not even getting into the resources—money, personnel (bodyguards, especially), land and connections—she had her disposal. She reminded me of Akasha-Alea. Trying to eliminate her head on would be suicide.

Yes, this was not a task I could accomplish alone. Once again, I was forced to consult the darkness that lurked in the underbelly of Tokyo. I had to employ mercenaries. There was a six-man cell that had escaped from a maximum security magus prison in Arizona, USA. They were desperate for money. I paid them with all the money I received from selling off Nina to get rid of Florence. When they became apprehensive, I stole my parents’ savings and paid them with that.

In the end, a starving dog will eat the most rotten of meat.

Three days after greenlight, Florence Rutherford was found in her family home, poison in her veins and a suicide note on the bloodstained carpet.

The operation was a resounding success.

And like that, my mission was complete. Onii-chan was mine, now and forever.

…

…

…

“What have you done, girl?”

“What are you talking about, Akasha-Alea?”

“I am asking you why my mentee has lost all of his will. What did you do to him?”

“I did nothing.”

“Is that so? Why is it that every time one of the boy’s friends dies, you always appear next to him for comfort.”

“I’m just doing my duty as his younger sister.”

“It seems awfully convenient, doesn’t it?”

The three girls had been taken care of, but there was still one obstacle I had overlooked. It was so obvious I almost smacked myself. Akasha-Alea, onii-chan’s spirit mentor. Initially, I had to be careful as to not draw her attention. It was a very difficult task, but my persistence willed it to happen. Her silence while I was operating had made her slip from my mind. But the shift in onii-chan’s mood must have alerted her that something was up.

“Do you have any evidence?”

“…”

“That’s a no, isn’t it?”

The woman had a direct line to onii-chan’s thoughts…oh, the rivers of blood I would spill for such a privilege! I hated the spirit the day I met her. What arrogance to think she knew the best for onii-chan. Such audacity to butt into the tranquil life we had and impose her values upon him. The sheer heresy of claiming that the bond she shared with onii-chan could not be classified as love, as it was too weak of a description!

“If I find evidence that you have been harming Keiichi, then I will not forgive you, even if you are his younger sister.”

And yet, I knew this was one obstacle I could not hope to overcome. Akasha-Alea was a high spirit, an existence that represented humanity’s imagination of violence, brimming with the power that seven straight centuries of faith had delivered her. Nothing had changed; I lacked the power to stand up to her. Indeed, she threatened that if I ever got in the way of her teachings, she would take onii-chan away to some place I would never find him.

I discovered I despised her. I wanted her to burn. To destroy her soul and crush her essence into dust. Yet, I feared her. If she ever found out about the way I had gotten rid of the three girls, there was no doubt Akasha-Alea would hunt me down and interrogate me. I would be tortured, then perhaps killed. There was nothing the woman wouldn’t do for onii-chan’s benefit. In a way, she was like me, I grudgingly admitted. Still, I needed to get rid of her immediately.

I thought and I thought. If I couldn’t destroy Akasha-Alea, then why not sever the connection she had with onii-chan? A spark of enlightenment flared inside my heart. Then it shone bright and grew into a raging inferno of persistence and determination.

There was only one way it could happen. It sickened me, but once again I knew I had no choice.

On a certain fateful day, I kidnapped my brother, just like I had done with Michiko and Nina. I covered his body with mana-sealing tags to temporarily shorten out the connection he had with his mentor. I took him to a secret place.

I tied him to a table. I prepared my tools. I tried to quell the tremors in my hands, the tears in my eyes, the thumping of my heart.

“Airi, what the hell is going on?” He said, as he woke up.

I walked over to him, a syringe containing a murky purple liquid in my hand. I sniffled. “Please forgive me, onii-chan, but this is for your own good.”

“W-what? What are you doing, Airi? What’s in that needle? Point it away from me!”

“I’m sorry, onii-chan! I’m so sorry!” I wailed.

With a single thrust, I shoved the syringe into his body and injected the toxins within.

Onii-chan screamed. He writhed in agony for twenty-four hours straight. He pulled against his chains, smashed his body against the concrete floor, tore his skin and let his blood flow. It was all I could do to sit outside and let the tears trickle down my cheeks. His cries of pain were daggers that pierced my heart. I wanted ts badly to run in and inject him with the antidote. But there was simply no going back. If I stopped him, his bond with Akasha-Alea would remain, and she would be free to claim him.

When the process finished, screams of agony ringing through my ears, onii-chan’s magic was gone. His circuits were burned clean; they would never recover. He would never form a contract with a spirit again. Akasha-Alea’s voice was now a distant memory in the corners of his mind.

“Why, Airi?” he croaked, uncomprehendingly, as I walked back in. “Why?”

“Because I love you.” I said, sincere.

“You love me? What is that supposed to mean?” He shrieked, straining against his restraints, “What did you do to my magic? Why can’t I hear Akasha?”

“I took it away from you.” I said. “You’ll never see Akasha-Alea again. You don’t need to.”

“What? What the hell are you talking about?”

“You don’t need her. Just like you didn’t need them. You only need me. We made a promise, remember?”

“Them? Michiko, Nina, Florence… what the hell did you do to them?” His eyes widened in realization. Fear began to overtake him. It stung. “Did they die because of you, Airi?”

“They were threatening the bond between us. If I let them run loose, they would have separated us forever.” I tried to explain.

“You…” You swallowed. “You did this, Airi. You killed them.”

“Yes, it was me.”

“Why?”

“I had to, onii-chan!” I exclaimed. “They were getting in the way of us.”

“I didn’t fucking ask for that!” He roared, now burning with anger. “I didn’t fucking ask for any of this! What have you done, Airi?”

“I have done nothing that isn’t for your own good.”

“My own good? You’ve done nothing but kill everything I care about! Are you really my sister? Oh god, somebody tell me this is a nightmare!”

“Yes, I am your sister. I’m the girl you’re always cared for. I am the girl who now loves you more than anyone else in the world!” I shouted back. “Onii-chan, don’t you understand? I killed them because I love you!”

“What did they ever do to you? They were your friends!”

“They were not my friends. They wanted to take you away.” I whispered, shaking. “I couldn’t let that happen. I didn’t let that happen! Why aren’t you happy about this? Didn’t we promise to be together forever?”

“What promise?”

I stopped. “The promise! The one we made before we came to Shibuya to be together forever! Onii-chan, don’t you remember?”

“That promise? You took it literally?”

“Of course I did!” I screamed. “How could I not?”

“We were kids! We didn’t know shit!” He roared. “How was I supposed to know you would take it that far! Besides, that decision was not yours to make! If I wanted to love the other girls, that’s my own decision!”

“You…you thought that little of it. Onii-chan, I did all of this because of that promise! I did it because I love you!” I wailed.

He let out a dark, strangled and bitter chuckle. “You think I can love someone like you back? Look at what you’re taken away from me! My magic, my friends, everything! I fucking hate you, Airi!”

I hate you, Airi.

I hate you, Airi.

I hate you, Airi.

That’s all I could hear. Onii-chan must have ranted at me. He must have wanted to kill me in his rage. I didn’t hear him. I couldn’t hear him. I couldn’t hear anything except those four words. My body was frozen. Why? Why couldn’t he understand? What did I do wrong? This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He was going to leap into my arms with joy and then we were going to be happy forever.

Did…did I make a mistake? No, that couldn’t be true. It was impossible. Impossible, out of question, intolerable! My love for onii-chan had never led me to do anything bad. I did what I had to go and I had no regrets! I guess I should have explained it all to him at the start. That way, he wouldn’t be so shocked right now.

Ah, that was it. Onii-chan was just surprised. Who wouldn’t be? I mean, I did just take him from his warm bed and tied him to a makeshift surgeon’s table. He needed some time to calm down. We need to go somewhere private and once I explained my plans it would be all fine. It would be fine. Everything would be perfectly alright in the end!

I twitched. I giggled. I laughed for what seemed like an eternity.

“What the hell are you laughing for?”

“Don’t worry, onii-chan, it’s nothing. I know you’re so confused right now.”

“Confused? What…”

“It’s okay. It’s my fault for not telling you from the very beginning. But, onii-chan, we really need to change the way you think. You need some rehabilitation.”

“Hey, what’s with that look? What are you doing? Get the hell away from me!”

“I want nothing but to see you safe and happy, onii-chan…”

Even though the bond between onii-chan and Akasha-Alea was gone, it didn’t mean we were in the clear. Spirit mentors, especially powerful ones, hate having their mentees taken away from them. Akasha-Alea was no exception. No doubt she was already hot on my trail, murderous intent overflowing. I had only brought ourselves a little bit of time to escape.

Any normal person would say I was only delaying the inevitable, but what did they know about me? Through the use of the most potent dark magic, I had a magus open a portal to the furthest reaches of the Spirit World. A land of wild magic, where everything from the geography and the atmosphere is in constant chaos. One does not navigate here; they merely stumble around until their skin wastes and their bones decay. Even the most toxic of spirits are wary of entering this place.

Therefore, it was the perfect retreat for Onii-chan and I.

I sit in the shelter I have constructed, watching the roaring fire. It’s a light magenta, the color of fertility and feminity. My brother is sitting on the rock next to me. He was thrashing around a lot before this, so I have restrained him until he can find it in himself to calm down. Foolish onii-chan. His moans through his gag are so adorable.

I giggle and rub my hands in anticipation.

“Hey, onii-chan…do you know the reason why humans cannot stay for too long in the Spirit World?” I croon. He does not answer. Silly him. “It’s because doing so erodes humanity, eventually transforming the victims into common spirits. That’s exactly what we want. Our bodies will soon detach themselves from everything that has shaped us from the human world. We shall transcend into immortal existences, fated to roam these desolate plains for all eternity.”

In other words, we shall truly be together forever. I giggle and blush. Our promise can still be kept. I didn’t fail at all! This calls for a celebration! I grab my brother’s head and stare lovingly into his eyes.

“Don’t worry, onii-chan. It’s going to be just fine. It’s now my turn to take care of you.” I let out a small laugh and lovingly caress his cheeks. Ah, he’s trembling so much. He must be cold. I nudge my body further and embrace him, breathing in his wonderful scent.

“Let’s stay together, onii-chan.” I whisper, resting my head on his shoulder and smiling. “Just the two of us. Forever and ever and ever…”

>>ROUTE XX: DEAD END.

>> http://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/1690684