Chapter 93: The Lovestruck Little Sister & Big Brother Duo
Fishing, grilling, underwater hide-and-seek, cliff diving, leaf-whistle concerts… Even though it was the dead of night in the mountain forest, Takumi experienced a completely different kind of date from anything daytime could offer. He was having so much fun he completely forgot why he'd even come looking for Shigure in the first place. Only the next morning, back at Ryōzanpaku and fully awake, did it hit him.
"Damn it, I completely forgot to ask Shigure to help me train evasion against ranged weapons. Ugh… the lap of luxury really is the hero's grave."
Shigure preferred being nocturnal, so she spent most of daytime sleeping. Takumi didn't want to disturb her, so he shelved the training plan. Dealing with one injured criminal shouldn't be that big a deal, right? With that half-hearted reassurance, he washed up and headed to the main hall.
Eating together every day was basically Ryōzanpaku's house rule and tradition—built team spirit or whatever. Miu handled most of the cooking, and whenever Takumi tried to help in the kitchen she'd chase him out with a broom. Lately Keni had started pitching in to lighten Miu's load… except for breakfast. The masters were all the "no breakfast" type anyway.
So mornings usually meant just Takumi and Miu eating together. Ever since they'd started dating, breakfast time had turned surprisingly sweet—provided Keni wasn't playing human light bulb.
The moment Takumi sat down, the food arrived almost instantly. Miu always woke up earlier than him. Today's spread was the classic Japanese breakfast: one sunny-side-up egg, a bowl of rice, a piece of grilled fish, a small plate of vegetables, a tiny dish of pickles, and miso soup.
Pure traditional stuff. Sure, Western influence meant some people—especially the younger crowd—went for toast with butter or jam and a glass of milk, but Takumi had never been into that. Thankfully Miu never made it either.
"Thanks, Miu. Itadakimasu."
"Today's breakfast isn't from me. Keni made it."
Miu smiled gently toward Keni. Takumi blinked. Ahhh, that explained why the grilled fish had that lovely charcoal accent. But of course he wasn't about to kill the mood.
"Really? Then I'll eat it with extra gratitude."
He took a bite of rice—fine. The fish was a bit burnt but still tasty. The veggies were under-seasoned, but that actually balanced nicely with the slightly over-salted fish. When he finished he set his chopsticks down.
"All done."
Suddenly Keni was staring at him nervously.
"Kouichi-kun… how was the taste?"
"Mmm, really good. It's missing just a tiny bit of Miu's special flavor… but that's only because she secretly adds her 'love seasoning.' Keni, your cooking is already more than qualified. No worries about ending up an old maid—you're totally bride material."
Takumi couldn't resist teasing when he saw her anxious expression. He flashed a big thumbs-up.
'Bonk!' Miu's chopsticks landed square on his forehead.
"What's with the 'love seasoning' talk first thing in the morning? So cheesy."
Takumi glanced at her—she looked half-pleased, half-annoyed. Women were impossible to read. Meanwhile Keni had gone beet-red, covering her face and refusing to meet his eyes. Wait, why was she this embarrassed over a compliment?
"Alright, Takumi. Since you're skipping training today, go buy some rice, oil, salt, and daily necessities. Here's the money. Starting today I'm personally training Keni."
"When did you two get so close? Well… girls can become besties in like five seconds flat."
Takumi took the cash, left the hall, and with a few leaps hopped up onto the roof overhang above the main gate. That's when he spotted two suspicious figures skulking in the corner of the wall. One was a huge, muscle-bound guy roughly Shio's size and build. The other was a middle-school boy standing on the big guy's shoulders, peeking over.
"Rei, see anything?"
"Nope. The yard's huge but super old. Is this really a dojo?"
"Should be the right place. I tailed them here the day before yesterday."
"These past couple days when Nee-chan called to say she was safe, she sounded calm… but I'm pretty sure she was crying."
"Unforgivable! Making my cute daughter cry!"
"Dad—don't move so much! I'm gonna fall!"
Takumi walked over along the wall, deadpan.
"If you want to look, please use the front gate."
"No way, that damn gate is way too heavy to push, and we can't let anyone spot us!"
"Rei, who are you talking to?"
"Huh?"
The boy caught sight of Takumi and freaked out like he'd seen a ghost. He flailed, lost balance—and plummeted.
"Rei! You okay?!"
The big man hurriedly caught his son. Takumi crouched on the wall.
"So who exactly are you two looking for?"
"N-nothing! Just looking! Haha… ha…"
The man broke into a cold sweat, laughing awkwardly as he tried to scoop up his kid and bolt. Takumi leaped down and planted a foot squarely on the man's back, pinning him flat.
"You're not going anywhere until you explain."
"Damn it—let my dad go!"
The boy roared and threw a punch at Takumi. Takumi let it land. He felt nothing. The kid, on the other hand, clutched his fist and hissed in pain—his knuckles already turning red. Underfoot, the big man thrashed desperately but might as well have been a turtle stuck on its shell.
"What's all the noise outside? Kouichi, what happened?"
Miu's voice carried over the wall.
"Nothing big. Just caught some suspicious people."
"We're not suspicious! We came to find my big sister Keni!"
The boy shouted, then immediately clapped a hand over his own mouth.
Next second—
"Rei…? Is that really you?"
Keni's voice rang out. The very next moment Miu leaped over the wall with Keni in tow. Keni spotted the man pinned under Takumi's foot and rushed forward.
"Kouichi, quick—let him go! That's my dad!"
"Oh. Should've said so earlier."
Takumi hopped off and—very 'politely'—helped the big man up.
"Oji-san, sorry about that. Thought you were some shady intruder."
"Ughhh… my daughter saw me in such a pathetic state… I should just die to preserve my honor!"
The man covered his face, looking mortified. Takumi couldn't help but deadpan.
"Hey hey, father and daughter really are cut from the same cloth. Same lines and everything."
"Alright, Dad. Spill it. Why are you here—and you even dragged Rei along?"
"We were worried! You suddenly got taken into some sketchy dojo and are wasting your precious summer vacation. Nee-chan, what's so great about this rundown place? Let's just go home."
"Please don't say such rude things, Rei. I'm not going back. I'm going to train here and become strong."
Keni spoke firmly. Then she turned to introduce them.
"Sorry about this… This is my dad. And this is my little brother, Shirahama Rei."
Takumi's jaw dropped.
He distinctly remembered the protagonist only having a little sister. Where the hell did a little brother come from? And now that he looked closely… Rei looked exactly like the main character from History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi—just aged down from high-school to middle-school.
Takumi couldn't stop himself.
"Does your little brother happen to have a friend who looks like an alien?"
"You mean Niijima? Yeah, he does. Though 'friend' is generous—he mostly just bullies Rei, right?"
Takumi slapped his own forehead.
Okay, brain officially broken. Was Keni the real protagonist? Or was Rei? Had Keni somehow been gender-swapped from the original Kenichi all along? Wait… did that mean his initial assumption about "gender-bending" was completely off-base from the start?
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