My Enigmatic Life

     Once again, a new day brings me to the Hisakawa Temple. I came here today, so that I could spend some extra time with Take.

“Haaa!”

“Easy, Take. Don’t get too wild with your movements.”

Take aims a hefty hack at me, but I evade it effortlessly. He tries a thrust next, but it’s blocked.

“Don’t ever let your moves become redundant. It makes you predictable, and in combat predictability can get you hurt.”

“What does redundant mean?”, he asks.

“Oh, it means the same thing over and over again.”, I explain. “I’m saying that you ought to use feints and counters more often.”

Take tilts his head to the side in thought. I laugh lightly and ruffle his hair.

“Don’t expect to make changes so quickly. You’ll get the gist of it soon, I’m sure.”

A little ways away, Hisakawa-san is practising with her bow. From what I can see, she’s a crack shot. She’s hit every bullseye!

“Oi, Hisakawa-san!”

“Oh, are you finished, Colen-san?”

Upon hearing me call out to her, she lowers her bow and walks towards us, peering at me through her bangs. I wonder if her hair gets in her eyes? I hope she doesn’t cut them, she looks super cute with them like that. But I’m not her boyfriend to have any influence over her decisions like that.

I like it when girls have long bangs. I wonder if that’s why Red, Sunni and Yokie have them?

“Yeah, we are. But I want you to spar with me a bit.”

“Spar? Are you sure?”, Hisakawa says with uncertainty.

“Definitely.”

The fight I had at the scrapyard showed me that I need to learn how to deal with long-ranged opponents.

“Cool! Ani-ue and Ane-ue are going to fight!”, Take says excitedly, jumping up and down.

“No, we’re not fighting like that, Take. I’m just going to try and close the distance, and your Ane-ue is going to try and prevent that.”

After gaining a good amount of space between each other, Hisakawa-san and I assume our battle-stances. Take stands away from us, acting as a far too exuberant referee.

“Ready….GO!”

I dash toward Hisakawa-san with a full head of steam, she knocks two arrows into her bow with surprising speed and efficiency and lets them loose. I dart under them and keep my forward momentum going.

!

I hastily hit the brakes and duck in to avoid the returning arrows. Woah! I forgot that she could do that! Good thing that I’m good at Detection, or else I might not have sensed the subtle change in mana.

Hisakawa doesn’t stop though, she continues to rain down on me with arrows. Certainly the easy-going type, isn’t she? Well, I have the counter for that..

“Guardian Attack!”

Unleashing a flurry of one-handed swings, I basically form a shield in front of me and break all of the arrows shot at me. I’m sure that Take will recognise that move, huhuhu.. And as for Hisakawa-san, she’s clearly taken aback. Now’s my time to act!

“⌈Fierce and dominating winds, I call on you to bring my foes to their knees. Gale Shield.⌋”

An Incantation! And it’s a Wind elemental one to boot! Howling winds begin to push me back with overwhelming power!

Damn! What force! All that I can do is dig my heels in so that I don’t get blown away! But why isn’t Hisakawa-san firing any arrows?

After a while, the wind relents, allowing me to relax. Take comes running up to me, looking to be quite giddy.

“Cool! I can’t believe you actually withstood Ane-ue’s spell!”, he says. “I always get blown away so easily! And you used another move from Hyper Sentai!"

Yeah, I can believe that. Hisakawa-san joins us, looking at me strangely.

“I actually put more mana into that Incantation than usual. Are you from some special family, Colen-san?”

“Me? No, not at all.”, I refute. “The only thing special about us Colens is that we tend to live long. Say, why didn’t you shoot any arrows at me while your Incantation was active?”

“Well, I was expecting my spell to blow you away…And besides…”

Her voice suddenly starts to trail off. Is something wrong? She then looks up at me, her face slightly flushed.

“...I wouldn’t feel good about doing that to you…”, she says shyly.

Now, it’s my turn to start blushing. Is it legal for her to look so cute? It can’t be!

“I guess that I’m considered a friend now, eh? In that case, call me Daisuke.”

“Wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww-WHAT?! A-a-a-are you sure?!”

“Huhuhuhuhu. That’s certainly a reaction.”, I laugh. “I’m definitely sure.”

“I see. Then you can call me Shizu-I mean, Shizuku.”

“Alright, Shizuku-san. We’ll be in each other's care.”

“Still -san…Hmmphh.”

Shizuku-san mutters something, but I couldn’t hear because-

“Does this mean you’re going to be my Ani-ue for real now?!”, Take asks loudly.

He was answered by Shizuku-san’s loud yelp, and subsequent reprimanding.

“No, it doesn’t, you idiot!”

“Oi, I’m not an idiot! Take it back!”

“That’s right, Shizuku-san. You should take it back.”

“I’m sorry..”

     Now that we’re done with our sparring session, it’s time for work to be done. Shizuku-san is working on her English lessons, Take’s doing home-work and I’m practising my Curative Magic. I’m starting to get the gist of it, which is wonderful, because I’m getting tired of biffing myself in the face.

Of course, you have to apply the Principles of Magic when using it, namely the Visualisation principle, so you have to imagine the thought of applying a bandage to a wound. That’s the easy part, the real issue is applying a constant, controlled flow of mana.

“⌈Bandage.⌋”

The bruise on my face fades away, and the pain follows suit. It worked! It took me a week, but I’ve finally cracked it. In my moment of quiet celebration, there’s a tugging on my sleeve.

“What’s the matter, Take?”

“May you look over my home-work, Ani-ue?”, Take asks, holding out a workbook.

Shizuku-san’s head snaps up swiftly, looking at Take and I in a mixture of disbelief and annoyance. What’s up with that?

“Isn’t that something you’re supposed to ask your big sister, Take-chan?, she says bitterly.

“No, not while Ani-ue is here at least.”, Take replies honestly. “I trust him more because he’s more mature.”

With those words, Shizuku-san proceeds to have a minor conniption.

“Haaa?! Take-chan, you’ve been very mean to me ever since you’ve started referring to Daisuke-san as Ani-ue! And how could he be more mature than me when he literally watches tokusatsu shows with you?! He even adds his own sound effects!”

Oi, it’s fun to do that, you know? You shouldn’t knock it if you haven’t tried it. But before I could say anything along those lines, Shizuku-san rounds on me.

“Daisuke-san! How old are you?!”, she queries aggressively.

“I’m nineteen.”, I answer hastily. “My birthday was last month.”

Shizuku-san hangs her head in defeat at my answer.

“Two months older than me…”

“Geez, Ane-ue! I was only joking!”, Take sighs. “I just want Ani-ue to look at it because it’s English home-work.”

Taking the workbook from Take, I scan over his work and am quickly impressed. Everything is perfect! Not an error in sight. And here I was worried that the English troubles would be hereditary.

“Oi, good job, Take! You’ll get full marks with this!”

Take puffs himself up proudly, obviously chuffed to the bit. With a hearty grin, I ruffle his hair playfully and he begins to laugh happily. I suddenly feel someone staring at me intensely, and when I look over, it’s Shizuku-san, with her face formed into a…pout? With a swiftness that exceeds what she displayed during our sparring match, she gets to her feet.

“Daisuke-san, I’ve gotten much better at reading and pronouncing my words in English! As a matter of fact, I’ll get the book you gave me and I’ll show you just how much matter I’ve got!”

With that, she speeds out of the room, nearly knocking Mrs.Hisakawa over.

“My, my, what’s the rush? I just brought some snacks for everyone.”

Mrs.Hisakawa rests down a tray laden with steamed bao and onigiri, along with some oolong tea. Take greedily reaches out for some food, but Mrs.Hisakawa stops him.

“Wait until your sister gets back, Take-chan.”, she says, waving her finger.

“Awwww…”

“If that’s the case, I’ll go to the washroom.”

Receiving directions from Mrs.Hisakawa, I made my way to the washroom and now I’m returning to Shizuku-san and Take. But, wow, Hisakawa Temple sure is huge. It may be larger than the old Renford Mansion.

!

That’s strange… I’m picking up on a mana that I’ve never sensed while being here, but yet it’s-

“Come in.”

A man’s voice, and it’s coming up from a bit further up the corridor. Following where it came from, I come across a door and the words I heard repeat themselves.

“Come in.”

“I’m coming in. Please excuse me.”

Doing as instructed, I enter the room. It’s a small one, with only a nightstand, a radio, a chair and a bed inside. Sat up in said bed is a elderly gentleman with grey, parted hair and dim eyes that narrow upon seeing me.

“A foreigner, eh? What’s yer name, sonny? And why have ya been comin’ around so much?”

As expected, he can sense mana.

“My name is Colen Daisuke, it’s nice to meet you, sir. And as for me coming here so regularly, I’m currently tutoring Hisakawa Shizuku.”

“So, yer tutorin’ my granddaughter. But does a foreigner have a Japanese name? Are ya a *Hafu?”, the old man asks, his eyebrows raised.

So, he’s Shizuku-san’s and Take’s grandfather. Take does resemble him a little, actually.

“No, sir, I’m half-English, half-Indian. I have a Japanese given name because of my uncle.”, I say listlessly.

“What nonsense. My name is Hisakawa Mafuya, but ya will call me Old Man Hisakawa.”

“Isn’t that disrespectful, sir?”, I suggest gingerly.

“Just do as yer told, sonny.”

“Yes, sir.”

With that, Mr-I mean-Old Man Hisakawa lies down in his bed and closes his eyes.

“I’ll be wantin’ ya to visit me regularly, ya hear?’, he says sharply. “I want to know what a fighter is doin’ in my home.”

“How do you-”, I begin.

“I just know, of course. Now go, yer disturbin’ my sleep.”

…Right. I turn to leave but-

“Oi, sonny.”

“Yes, sir?”

“What’s yer name again?”

“Colen Daisuke, sir.”

“Ah, right. Now get lost, will ya?”

“Yes, sir.”, I nod and promptly leave.

After that interesting conversation, I join Take and Shizuku-san. The former looks a little terrified and the latter frowns at me coldly. She gets up and thunders over to me with large, but swift strides.

“What took you so long? Were you trying to avoid hearing me read?”, Shizuku-san says darkly.

Woah?! What’s up with this sudden pressure?! And why is she so upset?!

“No, I was just talking to your grandfather.”, I say, taken aback. “He wanted to know what I was doing here.”

“Jii-chan?”, Take says, blinking repeatedly.

“That’s strange. He usually doesn’t reveal himself to guests.”, Shizuku-san mutters to herself. “Why do it now?”

Despite her confusion, she grabs me by the wrist with a vice grip like strength, and forcibly drags me over to the table! She’s surprisingly strong!

She sits me down and stuffs a bao into my mouth (It taste really good), giving me an eerie smile all the while. Her grey eyes are wide and intense, yet deep and dark like an abyss.

“Well, forget about that for now. You’re going to listen to me read, Daisuke-san, and don’t even think about trying to escape…because I’ll find you and drag you back.”

What’s with this sudden possessive behaviour? Anyway, I guess that I’ll have to give her some praise in order for her to go back to normal.

But what’s really bothering me is Old Man Hisakawa, I still don’t understand how he knew I’m a fighter. Did he just judge me based on appearance? Or is it something more?

And strangest of all, why is his mana exactly the same as mine? Is that even possible?

Well, never mind that for now, I need to listen to Shizuku-san so that she reverts to her usual self.

 

     After showering a giddy Shizuku-san with praise, I leave the Hisakawa Temple and head to HQ. Of course, Yonaguni immediately chastises me upon my arrival.

"Oi, Inko, why are you always the last one here, idiot?!"

"This may come across as a foreign concept to you, but most people have these things called 'jobs'."

Yonaguni opens his mouth to say something that I'm certain will be benign, but he's stopped by Shirogane-senpai.

"Don't mind Nariki, Daisuke-kun. You're just in time.", she says with a smile.

Following them into the main area, we shortly come across the others. Miyamura-senpai has a collapsible table set up with green papers rest upon it. At this point, I'm familiar with what those do.

"Alright my dear kouhais, step right up and grab one of these sheets of paper! By merely touching it, your compatibility for Curative Magic will be revealed!"

The first to step forward is Haruhi-chan. She picks up a sheet and peers at intently, in a second or so, the green recedes and forms into a six.

That's 'Surgery' level. Pretty good, but unfortunately Haruhi-chan isn't a Combatant.

"Incredible! You're so amazing, Haru-OW!"

"How about you next, Naoya-kun?"

Yonaguni's usual antics gets shut down as Shirogane-senpai promptly strikes him in the neck. Naoya follows her suggestion and picks up a sheet. The number that forms is a two, which is 'Bandage' level.

"Is that any good?", he asks.

"Having access to Curative Magic is good by default, but we'll go in more depth after everyone's done."

Yokie and Red take their turns and get a four and one respectively. An one from Red is a little disappointing, if I'm honest. I was hoping that more of us would be above 'Bandage' level, but like Shirogane-senpai said, having Curative Magic is beneficial no matter what.

Akai sets up to the plate next. With bated breath, he grabs a scrap of paper and stares into it deeply, as if it holds some form of forbidden knowledge. The green shifts and forms into a ten. A ten! That's 'Rejuvenation' level!

"Nice, Akai-kun! Level ten Curative Magic is incredible", Miyamura-senpai says brightly. "That's only one level lower than Kazuya's!"

So, Ninomiya-senpai has level eleven? That's incredible.

"Oi, oi.", Naoya interrupts brusquely. "Doesn't that mean that Akane-chan and I have shitty levels?"

"No. It's just less effective.", Miyamura-senpai says patiently.

"I'm impressed Akai-san.", Sunni says. "I  just have level nine."

"Just?!", Naoya echoes, sounding incredulous.

Akane nods her head proudly.

"That explains why Onii-chan can't use Elemental Magic! All of his experience points went into healing!"

"So he's a paladin, then?", Gege adds.

Sounds like Red is enjoying her first RPG. She normally plays platformers, so it must be a nice change of pace for her.

"So, we've got a level one 'Bandage', a level two 'Bandage', two level four 'Bandages', a level nine 'Rejuvenation' and a level ten Rejuvenation.", I say, listing off our options. "Not too shabby, I'd say."

Hmm? What's up? Why's everybody looking at me like that?

Shirogane-senpai breaks the silence.

"I didn't know that you were so well informed, Daisuke-kun."

"And judging by Arianne-chan's face, she doesn't either.", Yonaguni says sharply. "How the hell do you know about Curative Magic levels, and how do you know yours, Inko?"

Oh, I see.

"Ah, my bad. I got a bit of head-start on you lot, didn't I? As a matter of fact, I can already use it."

"Eh?! You can use it?!", Naoya yells.

"That's great, Daisuke-kun.", Miyamura-senpai says quickly. "But how did you manage that?"

"It's all thanks to Shizuku-san. She taught me all about-"

My statement gets cut off abruptly by a sudden change in the room's atmosphere.

"She...?"

"What's that?"

"Shizuku-san?"

Well, I saw this coming eventually, of course. The problem is find a way of fixing it. Gege then graciously adds fuel to the fire, his face plastered with a crooked smirk. Don't try to agitate things if you're scared, you pillock.

"You don't mean Hisakawa-san, do you? Since when did you get so close with the Crown Jewel of Class 3-A?"

"Is Hisakawa-san a dangerous girl as well?"

"Inko! You womanising bastard!"

Will you shut up? Stop making things worse for me on purpose, bast-

"OWOWOWOWOWOW!"

Ah, wonderful! I'm trapped in a triple pinching session, just what I was looking for! I escape, but I'm pressed back by Yokie, Sunni and Red, who look up at me with empty eyes.

"Where does she live?", Red asks coldly.

"Don't worry, Aniki, we're not going to hurt her too badly.", Yokie says slowly. "We'll just be...teaching her a lesson."

"That's right.", Sunni smiles. "We're just going to let her know that we don't tolerate thieving cats."

This jealously is both terrifying and cute. Certainly, I have mental issues, but let's disregard that for now.

"Not happening. I can tell that you lot are the type to take out the one your partner cheat with you on, and then you lock your partner away for a pre-ordained amount of time as punishment. Am I right?"

"Naturally. Why should we want to kill you, Daisuke-nii? You're going to be with us forever, like it or not..."

"Who did you think I learned that chain Incantation for? You're not allowed to go anywhere..."

"But don't fret, we'll take perfect care of you, Aniki..."

Of course I am.. These girls are far too mental to be left unchecked, blimey..

"Listen, you three, leave her alone, okay? She's just a friend, I don't see her that way, and neither does she me that way."

They stare at me for a tick, as the slowly the light begins to return to their eyes.

"Well, you are a feelings first person, after all. So if that isn't there, then there's nothing to worry about.", Yokie surmises.

"That is true.", Sunni concurs.

"Hmph! A-a-as if I was worried that our Daisuke-nii would be swayed by some slag!", Akane stammers.

Good, they've calmed down. I'm probably going to be latched onto heavily later, but that's more of a reward than anything.

"Woah, he really is a Yandere tamer. Incredible.", Gege marvels. "But what's a slag?"

"See? I told you! Govvy was made for this!"', Naoya gestures.

You know, I'm starting to think that Naoya might be correct. Maybe I am a Yandere magnet. And what's really concerning to me is that I may like being one, and I like it a great deal at that.

I'm definitely a bit bonkers, aren't I?