Chapter 75: Going Home with Mitsuri
After a few long moments, the storm of emotion that had swept through Mitsuri began to subside, though the aftershocks still trembled within her.
The pure, unadulterated joy of their reunion had been so overwhelming that it had completely bypassed her usual inhibitions. But now, the sheer audacity of her own actions—throwing herself so boldly into a man's arms—finally caught up to her, flooding her mind with a tidal wave of shyness. Her brain simply… short-circuited.
Her arms, which had been locked around Akira's neck, fell away limply. Her entire body went boneless, slumping against his chest as if all her strength had evaporated. A faint, almost invisible wisp of steam seemed to curl up from the crown of her head.
Startled by her sudden collapse, Akira quickly wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her from falling. A helpless, fond smile touched his lips as he watched the girl's brain seemingly overheat.
"Mitsuri? Mitsuri, are you alright?" he called out softly, giving her shoulders a gentle shake.
His voice finally pierced through the fog. Her eyes, which had glazed over, slowly regained their focus.
"Ugh… I-I'm fine… I'm so sorry, Kanzaki-oniisan! That was so rude of me! I'm very, very sorry! Did I hurt you?"
The moment she came to her senses, a horrifying thought struck her. In her excitement, she hadn't held back her strength at all when she'd hugged him. A knot of panic tightened in her stomach.
A few months ago, Mitsuri had finally made a few friends her age. But during a game, caught up in the fun, she had lost control and accidentally broken one of her friend's arms. After that, no one dared to play with her anymore. The memory was a fresh, painful wound.
And now… if she had injured Akira, too… she would lose the very last friend she had.
"I'm fine," Akira said, his voice a calm reassurance. Seeing the genuine worry and self-reproach clouding her face, he offered a gentle smile and shook his head. He could guess, with a fair amount of certainty, why she struggled to make friends. With that kind of monstrous strength, if not properly controlled, any normal ten-year-old would be in serious trouble after a single enthusiastic hug. Even if her family was wealthy enough to cover any medical bills, few parents would let their children play with her.
"Really? Kanzaki-oniisan, you're so amazing!"
Seeing that Akira showed no signs of discomfort, Mitsuri's eyes, which had been shimmering with unshed tears, widened. The crushing weight of worry evaporated, replaced by a brilliant, sun-drenched relief. It seemed she wouldn't lose her last friend after all.
"Thanks for the compliment," he chuckled. "However, you still need to learn how to control your strength, Mitsuri. Otherwise, you might end up hurting your family, right?"
"No! I'm usually very, very careful," she insisted, shaking her head so vigorously her pink-and-green braids whipped through the air. "It was just… I haven't seen you in so long, Kanzaki-oniisan, and I got too excited…"
"But," Akira said, his voice softening as he gently ruffled her hair, "if you have to be so cautious all the time, even around your own family… you must feel unhappy inside, don't you?"
His words struck deep into her heart, finding the secret ache she never spoke of. Her family. The people she should have been closest to, the ones she should have felt most at ease with. Yet, because of her overwhelming power, she always had to hold herself back, a constant tension humming beneath her skin. She loved them too much to ever risk hurting them.
Seeing the flicker of sadness and disappointment in her trembling eyes, Akira revealed his plan. "Your strength is immense. It's a talent, an advantage. But if you can't truly master it, it will only ever be a burden."
He paused, letting the truth of his words sink in. "So, as compensation for not visiting you for so long, how about I teach you some methods to help you master your own power?"
Seeing that it was still early in the day, Akira didn't mind taking the time to help the sweet, troubled girl before him.
"Eh—?!!! R-Really?!" Her head snapped up, her expression a mixture of shock and hope.
"Of course."
"Yay!" Mitsuri leaped into the air, pure joy radiating from her.
"In that case," Akira suggested, "how about you take me to your house? It would be a more suitable place for training. And I could meet your family, too."
While the basic exercises for improving body control weren't complex, they couldn't exactly be taught on a public street.
"Okay…" Mitsuri agreed instantly, her heart soaring. But a second later, the full weight of his words landed. "Wait… Kanzaki-oniisan is coming to my house?!!"
"Yes," he nodded, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "It's not very convenient to teach you out here on the street. Besides, I'm your friend. There's no problem with me meeting your family, is there?"
"That's true, but… bringing a boy home… Ugh—!"
Seeing her face flush and her brain threaten to short-circuit again, Akira quickly backtracked. "If it's too much trouble, we don't have to. We can just find an empty field nearby where there aren't many people."
"No!" she blurted out, shaking her head frantically. "It's not… it's not troublesome at all! I'd be very happy to introduce Kanzaki-oniisan to my family."
He was her only friend. She couldn't bear the thought of disappointing him, not even a little. It was the same reason she had cried alone under the bridge—she hadn't wanted her family to see her upset and feel sad for her.
…
Mitsuri's home was situated in the town's most prosperous district, not far from the river where the two had first met. The estate itself was expansive, covering a considerable area, with a charming, man-made stream meandering through its courtyard.
"I'm home!" she called out cheerfully. "Welcome, Kanzaki-oniisan."
Having made up her mind, Mitsuri's earlier shyness had vanished. She pushed open the courtyard gate with a natural ease and invited Akira inside.
The garden's design strayed from the region's traditional, austere dry landscapes, embracing a more natural, pastoral style. Though it was deep into autumn and the flowers were no longer in vibrant bloom, a carpet of golden fallen leaves lent the courtyard a different kind of beauty. A small, arched wooden bridge crossed the stream, and while it didn't quite capture the classic poetic imagery of "a small bridge over flowing water beside a cottage," it was undeniably poetic in its own right.
Unfortunately, Akira, who had only received nine years of compulsory education in his past life and hadn't exactly been a diligent student in this one, could only look at the exquisite scenery and think, 'It's really beautiful.'This was immediately followed by a silent, more pragmatic thought:'They're really rich.'
Of course, if Akira ever wanted such a residence for himself, he knew Kagaya would have one built for him without a second thought.
As Mitsuri led him across the little wooden bridge, two small children with pigtails tied high on their heads came running toward them, deep in the middle of a playful squabble.
"Sister, Sister! Shota stole my snack again!" the younger-looking of the two cried, running straight to Mitsuri and tugging on her clothes to complain.
The other boy was quick to defend himself. "I didn't! I just saw that Hikaru couldn't finish it, so I was helping him!"
"Eh?" they both chirped in unison.
Before Mitsuri could respond, the two boys simultaneously turned their heads to stare at the unfamiliar young man standing beside their sister. Little question marks seemed to pop up over their heads.
"Sister, who is this big brother?" Shota asked, expertly changing the subject, knowing he was in the wrong.
"He's the Kanzaki-oniisan I told you about before."
"Is he the first friend you told us about?" Hikaru asked, his eyes wide.
"Yes, he is."
The two little ones were now staring at Akira with immense curiosity. Mitsuri took the opportunity to make the formal introductions.
"Kanzaki-oniisan, these are my two younger brothers, Kanroji Shota and Kanroji Hikaru."
After speaking, she turned back to her brothers, not forgetting Hikaru's earlier complaint.
"Shota, you're the older brother. You shouldn't bully Hikaru. If you don't have enough snacks, you can just tell me or Mom and Dad, and we'll buy more for you."
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