Chapter 2: Let´s Start

Part 1

A week had already passed since our mother was taken away, I committed to take care of my sister, both my sister and I were no longer going to school for 2 different reasons:

1. we didn't have time.

2. We were afraid that the men in black would show up and try to take one of us away.

So for the last reason neither of us would allow ourselves to leave the house.

But already our food supply was running low and we had no money to buy anything from the super market around the corner.

So the next week we ate once a day.

-Onii-chan I'm hungry.

-I know, but you have to hold out until tomorrow, sorry.

-No, no.

She shakes her head at me.

-Don't be sorry, I know you are doing your best for us to survive.

She grabs my arm. She's been acting like this lately, I feel like she's depending on me for everything, I don't know how to make her act on her own, but it is what it is. Right now we can't be separated from each other, otherwise I won't be able to take care of her.

But if she depends a lot on me when she grows up she won't know how to do anything on her own.

Shit, so many complications, if only we had more freedom than we have now this wouldn't be happening.

"Knock... Knock...".

Someone is knocking at the door, it could be the men in black, I didn't think they would come so soon.

It seems that my little sister was thinking the same thing, as she looked paranoid, in her eyes you could see tremendous fear, not to mention that she was shaking, her skin was bristling and her eyes had little tears on the sides.

I ran from the table to the kitchen plateau, which had a knife on top, I quickly grabbed the knife.

"Knock... Knock... Knock... Knock... Knock..."

They are knocking on the door more frequently and in an impatient manner, it's definitely those bastards, this time I will kill them, but first..."

I ordered my sister to hide somewhere in the house, she quickly nodded and without a second thought she hid in one of the big drawers that the closet that was in our parents' room had.

They weren't very big, but a 5'6" girl would fit in there just fine.

"Knock... Knock... Knock... Knock... Knock... Knock...".

More and more, they knocked more frequently and each time louder than the last.

Finally they decided to open the door by themselves, but they noticed that there was no one in the central hallway of the house, nor in the kitchen which opened directly into the central hallway.

Where was I?

Behind the front door, the door through which they had entered.

Turning their backs on me was their biggest mistake, sons of bitches.

From the sound of their footsteps I can predict that they are 3 people. Obviously I can't take them all 3, but at least I'll try to give Kyouka a chance to run away, I just need to stab one of them, if I stab him it would be one less problem for my little sister to escape.

No, I will make Kyouka survive at the cost of my own life if necessary, that's my priority right now.

Let's see, let's rank the men 1st, 2nd and 3rd. This is in order of entry.

When the 1st man enters, I will come out from behind the door and stab him in the ribs, this should alert the 2nd and 3rd man who upon seeing the scene will proceed to try to attack me, as a face to face confrontation is not possible, I will climb the stairs until I reach the 2nd floor, near the stairs is a pile of empty boxes, I will take advantage of the 2nd and 3rd man being up the stairs to throw the boxes at him and thus slow one of the two down. Once this is done I will pounce on one of them with an air attack and stab him, this will leave me with only one man standing. The problem here is "how to get rid of the remaining one". I guess I will come up with something.

If I'm quick nothing can go wrong, I have to think about the good of my little sister, I have to take care of her, I have to protect her!

Or so I thought, but...

-Humm.

With a grumble, the first man who entered, managed to detect me before I approached him, in a fraction of milliseconds, I felt a great electric shock that ran through the inside of my leg, essentially in the calf area.

This cramp immobilized my leg movement and I had no choice but to stay still, prostrate on my knees on the ground. 

Damn it! Now I can only hope that they don't find my sister. But most likely they will find her. Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! 

- Is this how Akigami's son greets his guests? With a knife?

He said that with shattering disdain, but I didn't care much about that, the man standing in front of me knew my father's name.

- Who are you?

-You try to attack people and then ask them by name, no doubt your manners are subtle and I thought your father was splendid in that respect.

The man, well, rather, the gentleman standing in front of me was someone with an upper class appearance, he was a gentleman who could be 50 to 60 years old, his hair was a grayish brown color, and his voice was powerful like the roar of a dragon. He didn't have the aura of being a bad guy like the men in black, but still something about him made me uneasy, maybe the way he tried to scold me with his presence, but even so when I saw him I relaxed a little, although I hadn't let my guard down completely.

-My name is Takanashi Riochiro.

-I'm Kisaragi Ryugamine, an old friend of your father's.

Part 2

To make a long story short, the old man and I had a typical talk, in short, he's just like he said, he's an old friend that my dad hasn't seen for a long time, but he owed him a favor, so mom contacted him before she was taken away.

He couldn't come at the time because he was on a business trip when the events happened, so he was delayed.

I tried to ask him about my mom, but every time I try to ask him, he interrupts me or changes the subject, it's a bit annoying, but surely, I could get some information out of him if I interact with him more.

-Well, it's about time to get macho, both you and your sister are coming with me, kid. 

You can't refuse or we'll deal with you by force. 

I had no choice but to go with him, although at first I did not want to leave the house, but thinking twice about the situation we were in, we had almost no food left, the house was messy and we could not sleep well, for fear that the men in black would show up, besides if we go to live with him, surely we would be safer in his house, than living on our own.

When we left the house just in front there was a luxurious car, it was more than five meters long and two meters wide, it was not even a limousine, but it surely fell into the classification of luxurious cars.

Although you could tell from old Ryugamine's dress that he was a wealthy, upper-class man, you couldn't imagine that car in his possession.

- What are you waiting for? Let's go, I have a meeting at 4:00.

2 hours later

It was quite a long time to get to our destination and they brought us in a car, but after arriving we were shocked both my sister and me.

To put you in the picture, you could forget that old Ryugamine, having money, would also have a very big house, but you wouldn't expect that house to be an entire city block devoted entirely to the Kisaragui family condominium.

-Grandpa Ryugamine, what the hell is all this?

-You ask as if you didn't expect it from the Kisaragi.

-It's your family name, but does your family have that much money?

-It's the last straw, your mother didn't tell you anything about "The great families" either.

"The 13 great families" or better known as 'The upper business class' in short, they are the wealthiest families in the whole world and this that was in front of us was nothing but the Kisaragi's country house.

The house was composed of a large mansion, which connected with a stone tiled path to the entrance of the Kisaragui's domain, halfway the path had two deviations, on the right path, one led to a large labyrinth, its walls were handmade walls of bushes (For excellence of the gardener).

To the left, we would have a building roughly on the scale of 20m long x 16m wide with approximately 5 stories. Old Ryugamine told me that the 4 floors of that building were used for storage of the Kisaragui's things, the 5th floor was empty.

In the middle of the intersection of the 4 roads was a fountain of beautiful artistic representation, at the base was carved in stone an exact replica of "The Creation of Adam Michael".

We arrived at the front of the mansion, which left me in awe. Its structure was Greco-Roman, the pillars that surrounded it were very shiny and of a beautiful material similar to Ivory, if you approached them, I can bet you could see yourself reflected in them.

I stood for a brief moment observing the mansion, gawking at its beauty and dazzling appearance.

-HELLOAAAAAAAAA!!!!

A very loud shout was heard in the direction of the entrance of the mansion, although the expression in the shout was very masculine, the voice I heard was that of a girl.

When I looked at the entrance of the mansion, there she was standing, a girl about the size of my sister and she looked to be about our age.

-Oh, my dear and beloved granddaughter, Rikka. Come give your grandfather a welcoming hug.

The girl was approaching us, her way of walking had a certain grace and elegance, it was not tiring or annoying, there were times when the wind moved and disarranged her shiny light blue hair, every time this happened, she shook her hair gracefully.

Undoubtedly, I am in front of one of those ladies, fine high class and with airs of grandeur.

She stood right in front of me and my sister.

-A Dwarf, really?

That offensive line went through my chest like an arrow, and with the same disdain as her grandfather, well I guess they share genes with old Ryugamine for a reason. Although I don't know why I feel like she? looks over her shoulder at me.

She glared at the old man.

- So the one I'm going to train is the girl?

-No, as I told you, you will train the older brother.

-It's obviously the girl, you can't see it with the naked eye.

Wait. Train? I don't quite understand what they meant by the term "train". Rather, they seem to be arguing, to choose which one to train. I don't quite understand the situation, but I won't force myself too much, I'm very tired.

-I told you, the boy is the oldest.

-Yes, I know about your terms of chivalry and all that, since the man, even if he is a minor, has to protect the lady....

-It's not about my terms of chivalry. -Really, the boy is the eldest!

Rikka, by her expression, seemed to give her grandfather as a hopeless case. It seems that for old Ryugamine, his terms of chivalry were everything.

She walked towards us and took my sister's hand with some kindness.

-Hey girl, what's your name?

-Takanashi Kyouka.

-What a beautiful name, by the way, Kyouka-chan, how old are you?

Kyouka is currently 8 years old and will be 9 next month. She was born one year after me in June. According to what my mother told me, I am the only one in my family who was born with white hair, while my sister was born with the same color hair as my mother, a nice dark blue.

-I am 8 years old, Miss.

-I see.

He looked at me. Again that look of contempt, why would she look at me like that?

Looking away from the way she was looking at me, it was already more than obvious the question she was going to ask me so I got a little ahead of the situation.

-I'm Takanashi Riochiro, I'm 9 years old.

- Are you the same age as me?!

Part 3

I woke up with a nostalgic feeling, I felt a certain warmth on my face, and a certain softness under my head, it was like when I fell asleep on my mother's lap, while appreciating the sunset. 

But a cloudy feeling flooded my mind, I remembered everything that had happened in the last few hours, and how I had been taken away from my sister.

Just remembering that, I opened my eyes quickly.

-Oh, you're awake.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the face of Rikka's bastard, just remembering the pain she put me through is enough for me to hold a grudge.

I tried to get up quickly, but my body felt like I had been beaten up by 5 people, so trying to get up, I felt a stab of pain all over my body, making me wince.

-Careful, your body still hasn't recovered from the paralysis of my electric waves.

-Shut up, you wretched - AGH!

I can't even speak, my jaw and chest muscles ache every time I try to talk.

-Just be quiet and lie down here.

He takes my head and rests it in his lap, where I originally woke up.

-You should be able to talk if you relax and get yourself at the right angle. Try talking now.

-A

Well, I had to try, this was a test to see if it hurt to talk, don't take this the wrong way, but it turns out it hurts less to talk. However...

- May I know why so much kindness Bi- Miss Rikka?

The tone of voice with which you are talking to me is very different from the one you used when I first met you, practically before you spoke to me with contempt and haughtiness, now you speak to me with a softer and more affectionate tone. The height of Bipolarity.

-I'm sorry for my rudeness before, I just... misunderstood you.

- Misunderstood? (What kind of expression is that?)

-This... you see it's a very long explanation.

-Go ahead, we have all the time in the world until my body recovers from the beating you gave me. 

- Do you know how the Kisaragui family came to be one of the 13 families?

-No.

"I've only just found out about the 13 families and you come out with the story of one, it's impossible for me to know how they came about."

-Well, you see...

"The Kisaragui family was one of the poorest families in the entire area of Japan, that was until one man, Kisaragui Takashiro, decided to travel the world solving problems and doing people favors."

- And what does that have to do with today?

She continued her story, even though I had interrupted her, I guess she was very focused.

"Takashiro, I elevate the Kisaragui family high and mighty for their exploits, only by doing favors for people."

-Takahiro, he is my great-great-grandfather and a legendary figure for the Kisaragui family.

"But the Kisaragui family went from doing favors to owing favors, because of my great-grandfather, Kisaragui Yamada, he raised the family as a standard and made it what it is now, but he did it at the cost of owing favors to the noble families that were around at the time."

-I still don't understand what she's getting at.

She went on again without paying attention to me, she was ignoring me for sure, but well her story seems interesting so it's worth attending to.

"On his deathbed Yamada swore to repay all the favors to the noble families that had helped him, transferring their responsibilities to the next generations and reaching up to the present day."

-As I was saying What is the point of this conversation?

"My grandfather owes a lot to several noble families some charge him a certain sum of money to pay the debt, others ask to get something specific, which would normally be difficult to get in their area and others send their children here. You see, the Kisaragui 

Kisaragui is one of the big links in the educational, political and economic system, it turns out that our family also owed a favor to your family, that's where the link between your father and my grandfather was born, and days before your mother was kidnapped he contacted us to which our family agreed to take care of you."

-So, your family has the best teachers among the branches of your family tree, and about our family, what did we do so that they would owe us a favor?

"Me, I am in the process of training to be an exceptional teacher, since my 5 years I have been training and studying to exhaustion, but the truth is I don't mind, but every time someone sends one of their children I am in charge of instructing them to contribute to my training process as a teacher."

- So you are tired of your routine as a teacher?

-That's not it.

"Every time I tried to instruct them, all of them, ABSOLUTELY ALL of them are the same, they annoy me, they underestimate me for being less than them. All those kids are so arrogant, they think they are so much just because they live an affluent, above average lifestyle, they think they are special, being absolutely nothing in life."

She must have had to endure several uncomfortable situations with the other boys who came before me. From what she said, most of her "students" seem to have harassed her.

He sees how she frowns; she must have immense anger towards them.

—So you thought I was another kid with delusions of grandeur?

—Exactly, but seeing how your sister reacted and the desperation you had when you tried to attack my grandfather, I knew what was happening to you wasn't normal.

—My sister, where is she? What happened to her?

—When you fell unconscious, your sister cried uncontrollably, and when my grandfather released her, she went to you and hugged you with all her might. She must have thought the worst. After my grandfather tried to separate her from you, she bit him several times, but he used the same technique on her that I used on you.

—Hey, if you hurt her as much as you hurt me, rest assured I'm going to kill you.

—Calm down, she probably didn't even realize she fell unconscious. My grandfather only applied electricity to a certain part of the consciousness nerve, practically just clouding it enough for her to fall unconscious. Your sister didn't feel any pain.

What she explains makes sense. At first, when I thought they wanted to separate me from my sister, my mind didn't reject the possibility that they worked with the men in black. But if you think about it coldly, Ryugamine mentioned my father's name.

In today's society, whenever someone dies, their entire record and name are erased from government information records so that there's no trace of that person. For the government of every country, death is the end. Everything that existed of that person went with them to the grave. Although some cultures believe in reincarnation, for the government, it's just "beliefs."

The men in black probably knew about my father, and that's why they took my mother. But my father uses an alias in his official ID; Ryugamine said my father's real name, Akagami. With that idea in mind, I have to trust him.

Because I've been on high alert for the past few weeks, my head can't think clearly. That's why I attacked him, but...

—Hey, why didn't you use the same method Ryugamine Ojii-san used to knock out my sister on me?

—Because you would have dodged it.

—How could I have dodged a blow from someone who appeared like a ghost behind me?!

—I don't think so. When you attacked my grandfather and I appeared behind you, you momentarily detected me, despite me hiding my presence. You even managed to look at me. If I used that skill, you had a chance to dodge me. I couldn't leave you with any possibilities if I wanted everything planned to go well. You're more adept than you think. It's as if your instincts sharpen themselves to prepare your body for the worst situation.

No matter how you look at me, I'm a normal guy. My grades are normal, my performance at home is normal, my performance as a human is normal (this is according to my point of view). The only thing that stands out is my appearance. I'm short, my hair is white, my eyes are red, and my face is the most similar to a girl's.

Apart from my appearance, everything is normal. I'm not a superhuman; more like a Skiller user (Homo Seres). I haven't shown any signs of my evolution. They say my abilities should start manifesting around age 8.

I've been overthinking it; I should ask Rikka about the situation.

—Rikka, when you and your grandfather were talking, you mentioned some "training." What did you mean?

—Exactly what I said. I'm going to train you.

—But why did you have to separate my sister and me by force?

—It's one of the conditions your mother mentioned when she contacted my grandfather.

—My mother asked you to do that?

Now that I think about it, my sister was starting to depend on me. Maybe Mother sensed that, and that's why she asked the Kisaragui to separate my sister and me, so we could act independently. I was also depending on my sister, what irony. The only thing I'm unsure about is the training; my mother could never have asked for that.

—Did my mother ask you to train us?

—No, the training must be something between my grandfather and your father. Although I don't know all the details...

—That's enough.

Father, with your promise, you put a huge weight on my shoulders. Holding back my tears hasn't been easy, you know?

—Riochiro, right?

—Yes.

—I will tell you all the details tomorrow. For now, rest.

—Alright.

For now, as she said, a good rest wouldn't hurt. It's been weeks since I've slept well. If this continues, my body won't be able to take it. Wait a moment... she's still here, and I'm still lying on her lap.

—Um... Rikka-san, shouldn't you go rest too?

—I will stay with you until you fall asleep. Then I'll leave.

I don't know what she's thinking, but it's very uncomfortable to sleep on her lap. If it were my sister's lap, I would accept it, but sleeping on the lap of a stranger I just met about 3 hours ago is something...

—Better let me lie on the bed pillow.

As I'm lifting my head from her lap as slowly as I can so my body doesn't hurt too much, she forcefully pushes it back onto her lap.

—No, you should stay still for a while. Once you fall asleep, I'll move you to the bed, but you need to sleep so it doesn't hurt as much and I can adjust you without any discomfort.

Well, I should just relax. She probably won't leave me alone until I fall asleep, so I just need to concentrate and forget that I'm on a stranger's lap.

—There, there, good boy.

As I was falling asleep, she moved the hair from in front of my eyes, gently stroking my head with a motherly softness until I finally succumbed to sleep.

Part 4

I woke up feeling renewed, as if I had been born again. My body didn't hurt, and I could move without any problems. It seemed the paralysis from the electric waves had completely vanished.

I also noticed some things around me, since last night my vision was focused solely on Rikka, who had me on her lap, so apart from her face, I couldn't see much else.

The room I was in had a very curious layout. It only had a bed, a gas stove, and a handful of food items, and a bathroom next to the kitchen. In front of the kitchen was a small coffee table with a chair. The walls were what caught my attention the most; they were made of bushes like those at the entrance maze of the Kisaragui mansion. The ceiling was made of concrete and was supported by pillars in the corners of the room.

—Good morning!!!

A very energetic shout echoed through the door of the room where I was. It was Rikka's voice.

A few seconds later, she forcefully opened the door, enough to make it bounce off the wall.

—Oh, you can move already.

—Yes, my body moves without any problem! And thanks to sleeping well last night, I feel as light as a feather, ready to start training!

—That's the spirit, but first...

She took a Bento lunch box out of a backpack she was carrying on her back.

—You need to have breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day; it's where you get all your energy from.

I took the Bento from her hands, sat at the table, opened the lunch box, and saw many types of food I hadn't seen in days, like cooked octopus, among others.

—Itadakimasu (Bon appétit).

I took the first bite as decently as I could, but upon tasting the food and savoring flavors I hadn't tasted in more than two weeks, I started devouring the Bento voraciously.

—Yum, yum, yum…

—Is it good?

—It's delicious. Did you make it?

—No, my grandfather did.

Seriously? He even cooks better than my mom. Ryugamine Ojii-san, you would be a worthy rival for the busiest housewives in the kitchen. You're incredible; someday I want to be like you.

After breakfast, my body felt more energized than ever, completely renewed, 100% ready to start my training. My body was in optimal condition. I don't know why, but I was very eager to start the training without knowing what lay ahead.

—Well, it's time to go out. Are you ready, Riochiro?

—Oh yes!

When Rikka opened the door, she went out first. I followed her. As I stepped outside, the dazzling morning sunlight hit my eyes, blinding my vision. It was logical; I hadn't seen intense sunlight in 14 hours.

After adjusting to the brightness, I looked around. Giant walls of bushes, surely over 15 meters high, surrounded the area where we were. A spacious rectangular area, approximately 34 meters long and 20 meters wide. On the left and right, the walls cut off in the middle of the area, with two paths to advance.

We were definitely inside the Kisaragui family's maze. They had locked us in here to ensure that neither my sister nor I could see each other. If I tried to navigate the maze alone, I would surely get lost in its tangled paths. At first glance from the entrance, the maze looked enormous and imposing.

The only ones who knew all the exits and entrances of the maze were Rikka, Ryugamine Ojii-san, and the gardener.

In several seconds, my mind was filled with questions about how I could get out of the maze, but I reached only one conclusion: until I finished the training, I wouldn't be able to leave.

—Rikka, this place is...

—Yes, this is where you will train for 5 years.

—5 years?!

—Exactly. For the next 5 years, you will train with me here and won't be able to see your sister.