[Bonus chapter]A rebellious brother

They make a deal.

A terrible affair where both draw the short stick – to put it loosely, it doesn't go anywhere. He tries to swindle Aria; she tries to cheat. It's a cluster-fuck and Aria has no patience left for finesse.

So, she stalks to the balcony slamming the doors open, the house too claustrophobic, too much like a clay museum.

The thought of someone watching her sends adrenaline spiking through her bloodstream until her hands are shaking and her every other thought is a concentrated calming mantra.

The cloud of nicotine swirls in the breeze, the cigarettes nicked from her morning paramour, she closes her eyes, slowly breathing in.

"Shitty star, since you brought me to this world take responsibility."

"My name is Rin," the system vehemently corrects.

Aria rolls her eyes. She taps the butt of the stick on the railing, scrummy ashes soaring high.

"Rim, Ram, or whatever the fuck, you better fix this."

The star laughs. The sound hallow, mocking. Aria's skin prickles.

She feels like a cat balancing on the edge of a tall building, entirely in the wrong skin, only one tail left to spare and the choice of a lesser or greater evil behind her.

"I can't fix it."

"You will."

"No."

"You two cent, discount, fake – "

"You have to fix it," the star cuts in.

Viciously, she stubs the cigarette out; she's taken no more than three drags too.

"What is in the out-building?"

"You'll complete the mission?"

Aria hurls the crumbling nicotine over the balcony, she glances at the half empty carton. Another one, she'll take one more and that will be the end of it. Aria has stayed from the cancer sticks for a good ten years, she's not about to relapse. Spreading her legs, she inhales deeply, and her muscles relax, even as her mind is whirring words that are harsher with each ticking second. People used to call her a vicious witch behind her back. She never knew when to shut up.

Patience, her thoughts whispers.

"I'm doing you a favour, buddy."

"I doubt it," the system responds snidely.

She takes a deep drag, slowly releasing the smoke to form a short-lived cloud.

"I don't think you understand. I'm not asking you; I am merely using free resources to speed up the process."

She cocks her head, leaning on the railing, hands tucked in the pockets of the jacket.

Pressure builds around Aria's wrists, a heartbeat, then two and it releases harshly. His voice is not mellow, kind, or genteel, that practiced coolness gone, a certain heated edge fills his words, a certain sort of anger, and they slur and blur.

"Do you think we're all fools playing to your piped piper tune?"

"That's not very nice little system," Aria croons.

"My name is Rin."

Aria nods but she's already moving for the entrance, furtively sliding the balcony door to peer inside; the pink monstrosity of a bed is messy, covers kissing the floor, the doors to the wardrobe are open wide, the drawers left ajar, rumpled clothes scattered everywhere. There is nothing to see, nothing that could hint at the eyes watching her. Goosebumps travel over her forearms.

"You tell me what I want and I'll think about your request."

"No."

Ten minutes later and she's heading out, bundled in an oversized coat, hat, mask, and glasses, vague plans of finding alcohol and a quiet corner to enjoy it ruminating in the back of her mind, after she gets the brat back to his house she'll be free to do as she pleases. She's pissed and dressed too fancy for a basic errand in town, people warily step to the side watching her intently as one would a zoo animal.

They're in the rougher parts of the neighbourhood, the streets are littered with filth, homeless men and women idle at every corner, a powerful stench prevails. The shops she's seen through the windows are cramped; dingy things manned by rumpled, unshaved, fat men. Aria curses softly, she does not want to garner more attention.

Up ahead, a towering building stands ominous, the metal bars twisted into hungry ghouls in the dark – the billboard on the bridge, a ragged rusty thing, boldly announced of a new redevelopment plan. The date on it frozen to 3 years ago.

Aria swivels as a gaunt man titters in her direction, promptly changing direction for the main street. If the dammed system hadn't been such a prickly little bastard, she could have avoided this entire debacle.

Tentatively, they had come to agree that Aria will get her information if she first completed a task. The little brother of the original host has been gone nigh on three days. She can drag him home by the ear if she must, whatever will keep him safe as per the second mission of this whole transmigration endeavour. It's ridiculous. Even if she's strong armed into the secondary mission, she has absolutely no plans to carry it out to the end.

Rin, the useless star, directs her to a two storey building. The walls are dark with grime, the sign above is missing half the letters, and the door creaks, she double checks it hasn't broken. Inside, a cacophony of noise greets her, men of all sorts milling around either playing pool or vulgarly boasting, their pints of beer sloshing everywhere.

"Here? You want me to find that twerp here?" she asks, turning a full circle around.

"Go to the left, he's upstairs."

She hears the glee in the system's voice but lets it go. This is no place to pick a fight. Already, two men had given her a double look.

On the second landing, the rectangular room is stuffed and cramped with computers; most rows are empty save for the majority of those at the back.

The people on them are hunched over goblins, their faces starkly illuminated by blue lighting. The only oddity are the two brats in the furthermost corner heatedly arguing. She dismisses them, taking another sweep of the room.

"Which one."

"You already saw him."

"Stop playing games."

"Like I said -"

The brats' volume increases, her attention unintentionally caught. The contents of their fighting is muffled by the general murmur of the room, Aria sits at a desk.

"You bastard! How dare you pretend to be my wife?!"

The taller teenager has messy-I-just-woke-up but spent an hour to style it hair, his V-neck shirt hangs low to reveal a well defined chest, his cuffs are rolled up empathising the girth of his biceps, and his slacks well fitted; Aria does a double take at the peach roundness of his behind.

"You fucker! Wasn't it you who proposed?"

The shorter teen wore a large hoodie and joggers, his black hair fluffy, carefully framing a face made of pure sin with long, sharp eyes, smooth skin and pouty red lips – Aria only sees glimpses of it reflected in the black screen of a computer. She expects him to be thin, yet unexpectedly his shoulders are broad, his thighs just as thick. Even if the oversized outfit hid the teen's body, one could tell at a glance he could be an athlete.

"Proposed my ass. You said you were a woman!"

The taller teenager pushes forward, roughly pressing their foreheads together. Aria scoots over a couple of chairs.

"I never said that."

From her vantage point, Aria can see the way his Adam's apple moves as he swallows, can see the slight shift in stance as he leans in. Their breathing is laboured. The shorter teen glares heatedly. The nostrils of the taller teen flare.

"Really, then what does this say? XICI, the woman of your fantasies," the taller one says, eyes searing holes into the shorter boy.

He shoves until the shorter teen falls on the desk. Then he does something unexpected. He kicks the other boy's legs apart and slots into the empty space, looming over him, his hands busily clicking away at the computer next to them until a profile pops up. Pointedly, he taps the screen.

Aria covers her mouth, barely suppressing her laughter. These brats really make it feel like she is watching a drama. Now they just need to kiss.

Their argument cuts short, a group of badly bleached thugs burst through, clamouring in their direction. The teens break apart, frowns etched deeply onto their brows.

Oho, the good show's plot twist has come!