Family Bonding

CHAPTER 7

He returned late that night, quite not unusual knowing his current situation at the clan. His mom was rarely at home, and to his sister, he was nonexistent. The only one who ever talked to him was Aoi, but then again, it was simply to give him orders and warnings.

He had been deemed a troublemaker by many, and he just couldn't help it. Now what he wanted to do was to visit the dojo once again and watch the other kids train immediately after he trains the next morning.

" I'm home." He said, quickly folding the umbrella as he walked into the house.

There wasn't any Mrs Aoi present to nag at him for many reasons but aside from that, everything was as it always was. His mom was home and arranging the dining table while his sister was standing behind her with keen observant eyes.

They both immediately turned their gazes towards him as soon as he walked in as his voice had already caught their attention.

" Megumi." His mom said with a bright smile on her face as she removed her hands from the blanket and slowly walked towards him, "Don't tell you stayed late training again."

She stopped as soon as she stood right in front of him, placing her hand on the top of his head as she bent down slightly. She ruffled his hair slightly, quickly pulling him closer to her.

Immediately, she raised both of his hands and began checking his entire body to see if anything had happened to him while he was away. After she was done, she took his hand and took him to the table.

" I should give you a shower before we begin eating." She said, quickly attending to the table once again, " I'll... get to you once I'm done."

He simply nodded with a smile to her words, with his gaze slowly shifting towards his elder sister, who didn't seem to care about his presence as usual. Her gaze was intently fixed on their mother and it remained unshifting until she was done.

" Come on Megumi." She said, quickly taking hold of his hands, " Let's go give you a shower."

He couldn't object to that as it had gone long like that for a while now. For some reason, they would let a five-year-old play with a blade alone but got worried if he was alone in a tub, it was something he couldn't get his head over.

Not only that but for some reason, his mum had rather strict orders placed around him compared to his sister. And to be honest, he was only glad that she was as easygoing as she was, no matter how possessive she would seem at times.

" Who knows, maybe she knows about someone who's planning to steal me from her?" He thought, slowly stepping into the tub.

She quickly picked up a sponge, slowly stroking her right hand through his hair with a bright smile on her face. She then proceeded to slowly scrub his back while keeping keen eye contact with him.

There was still a smile present on her face as she gazed into his eyes and he didn't even realize it when his face began turning red. He quickly turned with his face now burning hot, but she wasn't going to go there.

" Mum... stop." He mumbled under his breath, trying to hold back his laughter.

"Aww, that's my boy." She teased, slowly raising her hand to pinch him slightly on the cheek.

She quickly raised his hands, trying to stop her, but she was faster than usual and landed her hands at the intended spot before he could even move his hands. She pulled slightly on his cheek, forcing an awkwardness across his face.

She began laughing immediately after that at how stupid his face looked and his face only went to a brighter red as he quickly turned away his face as soon as she let go.

Their little play continued on for a few more minutes for a few more minutes before she finally decided to finish his bath and they both quickly got out.

He changed into some fresh clothes and they both walked back to the dining room where their meal had already been served while his elder sister sat waiting for the both of them; it turned out that they had far more time than anticipated in there.

" Sorry for keeping you waiting." He said, slowly taking his seat next to her.

Their mom quickly kissed her on the cheek as she took her own seat as well turning towards the both of them with a bright smile on her face.

Dinner was opened, and he wasn't surprised at that point by what it was: seafood again with Japanese curry, vegetables and meat, and unagi over rice. It looked delicious and smelled extremely nice.

Though he had already tasted most of them, the sweet aroma he got from every meal left him craving it in an instant and it never disappointed him. He had cherished it either way; everything would simply go to how it used to be the next morning, and there wasn't any telling as to how long it would be before she would come back home.

They went to bed shortly after their dinner, waking up the next day feeling refreshed as ever. His mom had already left early in the morning leaving nothing but orders as to his training schedule.

He got up from his bed, stretching his limbs as he looked across the window of his room. He could see through it that his sister had already begun her own training, but for some reason, no one had come to wake him up.

" That's weird." He thought, quickly exiting his room.

He went to the front yard where his sister was and began watching her as her training session went on. Unlike him, she was exceptionally but in terms of internal and external energy manipulation, her talents were one he couldn't rival.

She was the main reason why he was very determined to finally attain his external awakening, seeing that hers blessed her with great versatility, and due to her possible soon-coming talent awakening, she was now focusing on her external (light energy).

He was wearing his pajamas with his right palm on his lips as he constantly let out subtle yawns; he still felt very tired after waking up.

But he was still very much interested in his sister's training. At the moment he could feel external energy much more efficiently and could feel them slowly flowing towards his sister as she stood in the middle of the field.

The pressure around her continued to build up until it began to blow up the dust around her. It flew into his eyes prompting him to immediately close his eyes. What happened after that happened so quickly that he wasn't able to see, but just as he opened his eyes again, the sight left was truly one to behold.

" Well done Riki." Aoi said, clapping her hands as she slowly approached the both of them from the side, " It's only a matter of time before you fully master the technique."

" Technique?" He thought, quickly turning towards the woman who just spoke, "What technique?"

Aoi slowly turned her gaze towards him with a stern gaze. He had never seen her smile once since his rebirth and it freaked him out to even maintain eye contact with her.

He turned away his gaze at her and looked toward his sister once again only to hear her speak up immediately after that.

" Rikiyo, how about a spar with your younger brother?" She asked, walking closer to his sister.

" What the hell?" He thought as his eyes immediately widened in shock at what had just been said.

In an instant, Riki nodded her head in agreement as she turned to look at him. It was decided at that moment and there was nothing he could do about it.