[AKI'S POV]
I groaned and slowly started to open my eyes. The sunlight was blinding. I blinked a few times to help my eyes adjust to the sun and started to sit upright. "My head hurts," I whispered to myself.
I must have fallen asleep last night. I looked around my environment...and this isn't my room! My room has white walls!
Wait.
WAIT.
WHAT?! I'M STILL HERE?!
My eyes immediately shot wide open the moment I realized where I am. "Damn. I'm still in this world. Yesterday wasn't a dream," I whispered to myself as I massaged my forehead.
A part of me was desperately hoping that dying and going to this world was a dream. Even though this new world was amazing and all that...I still wanted to stay in my old world. I could freely relax there in an air-conditioned room while eating chips and watching anime.
"This new world is such a drag," I complained as I got up from my bed and went towards the circular table near the window. On top of it were clothing and footwear that (I'm guessing) Akari prepared for me. Unlike the beige dress yesterday, a jet black dress with a deep v-cut on the neckline was prepared for me. It was made out of stretchable material that had white crystals and gems at the hems of the sleeves and skirts. Meanwhile, the footwear was simple nude sandals.
This little sister of mine never fails to act like a mom. After my parents divorced and we were forced to stay with our Father, Akari took it upon herself to be my stand-in mom. I bitterly smiled as I remembered all of the struggles we had to face growing up.
I got the thin rope placed on top of the fresh clothing and tied my hair into a ponytail while letting a few strands fall gently on the sides of my face. This world doesn't have hair ties so the least I could do is make use of the thin rope that I got from Akari. I took the remaining rope and tied it around my left wrist.
Once done, I yawned and looked back at my room's window. The weather was beautiful outside. The sun was up but the heat wasn't too hot or uncomfortable.
I went outside my room to look for Akari. But instead, I was greeted by Fia again.
"H-Hello!" She shyly said while carrying another bucket of milk. She was wearing a long-sleeved brown dress that reached her knees this time. Her brown hair was still in a typical half ponytail, but this time, decorated with a cute white bow.
I went near her and ruffled her hair. "Let me get that for you. Where does this need to go?" I asked.
With her little hands, she pointed on top of the dining table. I gave her a smile and a nod before placing the bucket on top.
"Thank you, A-Aki," she said while fidgeting with her fingers. I was about to pet her head when I noticed that she was looking at the status ring on my index finger.
"Do you wanna take a look?" I asked.
She vigorously nodded as her eyes widened with amazement. I chuckled at her reaction before tapping on my ring.
"W-Wooow," she whispered to herself, obviously too shy to even show her emotions to others. She was just looking at my status and verbalizing all of my data.
I guess even in other universes, kids will still be kids.
"You can try tapping on it if you want!" I told her.
"Oh! No, it's okay. I don't want to bother you," Her words say she doesn't want to but her face tells a different story. She was looking down and close to making a pout.
I knelt to meet Fia at eye level. "It's fineeee. I don't mind at all, okay? You'll just double tap on the ring," I encouraged her.
After some careful thought, Fia was finally able to build the courage to move. Her nose scrunched up as she reached for my ring. I watched in anticipation as she slowly tapped on it and flashed a big smile at me.
"Good job, Fia!" I praised her and patted her on the head.
For a while, she was smiling victoriously before blushing and looking down again. "S-Sorry! My older brother doesn't like it when I touch his things. So I just got a bit...excited."
For extrovert kids, this act seems like a small deal. But for introverted ones, engaging in conversations with strangers is a challenge.
I giggled which kind of startled her. Her demeanor reminded me of my sister back when we were still kids. Akari used to be so timid that others will tend to bully her. Hence, as her older sister, I had the duty of shooing rascals away.
I stood up and gave Fia a thumbs up. "I'll be an adventurer like Alrick soon. I can let you play or check some of my things," I told her.
Her eyes widened and sparkled with joy. She tried to hold in a squeal before hugging me and running away to go to her mother in the kitchen. I smiled as I watched her go farther from me.
"Careful!" I gave myself a facepalm because Fia almost fell on the floor while running.
Man, shy kids will do ANYTHING just to get away and hide themselves. I experienced that first hand from Akari.
Before walking and leaving, I first got something from the table and strapped it to my thigh using some of the leftover thin rope.
"Alright. I'm good to go. Time to find my sister," I thought to myself as I walked towards the door leading outside.
Once out, I walked for a bit until I could see the tree that Akari slept on yesterday. As I expected, she was there training—or should I say murdering the poor scarecrow. In place of a punching bag, my dear sister resorted to a scarecrow.
"Akari!" I called out to her. She looked back at me and waved.
As soon as she reached me, I immediately tapped my status ring and showed her the screen. "Look! I'm already at level 2 and I have a new ability."
She looked at my status with curiosity. "I didn't know there was that kind of ability," she commented.
I gave her a smirk as I held my chin. "Well, of course, the great Aki knows no bounds. She is ephemeral, filled with wonders, and— " I got cut off because my dearest sister hit the back of my head.
"Stop it with your nonsense," she said while giving me the side-eye.
I faked a cry. "That hurts, you know!"
She just shrugged my complaint and proceeded to continue her training.
"HEY! Give me attention!" I demanded while pouting. But my sister pretended she heard nothing.
I tried poking her and yelling to get her to notice me. I even tried to playfully pull her hair. But alas, all my efforts failed.
Well, time to push her buttons!
"If you're not going to notice me, then I'll...go on adventures," I said with an evil grin. Her shoulder immediately stiffened.
Gotcha!
"Off I go!" I exclaimed just to give her one last push. She turned to face me with her brows furrowed.
"No way are you going on quests alone and inexperienced, Aki," she said with a deadly tone.
I feigned ignorance. "Oh, so we're on speaking terms now?"
My reply made her stomp her foot and frown. "You. Are. Not. Going," she said with firmness. If I had my phone, I would've taken a picture of her already and sent it to my mom!
"Then there's only one way to solve this." I held my chin again as I let out an evil laugh.
Akira raised her eyebrows. "You don't mean..."
"Oh, yes." I looked at her intently. Growing up, she and I had lots and loooots of fights. The only way we fixed our problems was through... "a duel," I uttered with determination.
My Father trained us with martial arts since we were 10 years old. So Akira and I are accustomed to fighting and training with each other already. We don't take it to heart whenever we duel. It's just child's play, after all. And since I'm the challenger in this duel, Akira gets to pick the terms of the battle.
She rolled her eyes and sighed in defeat. "Fine. First to give a punch to the face wins."
I nodded to her in response as I proceeded to take my fighting stance.
"Ready when you are," I told her. I could feel the adrenaline slowly pumping throughout my body as I stand in anticipation of Akira's first move.
A flurry of air lightly brushed the loose strands of hair that framed my face. The atmosphere between me and my sister is instantly filled with deadly seriousness. If looks could kill, then both of us would have butchered each other already.
Don't get me wrong, though. I love my sister with all my heart. But the thing that I hate the most is losing. I'm sure Akira feels that way too. That's why we often get too carried away and take things to a different level whenever we get competitive with each other. If given the chance, I know we would only stop fighting if one of us is already at the brink of death.
"Focus," I whispered to myself to brush the thoughts away. I'm always in a tight spot before every fight, given that I tend to overthink and overanalyze things. Akira knows this all too well and sometimes uses this habit of mine to turn the tide in her favor.
I have to be careful. I can't give Akira an opening for an attack.
As I took a deep inhale to keep myself in check, Akira suddenly lunged towards me. Luckily, my reflexes were fast enough. I jumped backward to avoid her attack and proceeded to walk further until we were approximately 10 feet away from each other.
I felt a mild stinging pain on my left shoulder. I looked over and saw a shallow wound. "Okay. So that's how it's going to be," I said before grinning wickedly. My grin only grew bigger when I saw Akari holding a knife that resembles a karambit.
So that's how she wounded me. Akari held the knife backward—the handle was on top while the blade was below, aligned to her arm. So whenever she moves her right arm, the knife would be there as both defense and attack.
She licked her lips before smirking. "This is a duel, after all." With that, she swiftly ran towards me and gave a roundhouse kick without hesitation.
I was a split second late in moving away so I was forced to cover the left side of my face with my left hand and receive her kick. My head lightly felt numb because of the impact.
Blood and adrenaline were now rushing throughout my body—making me feel the tingling sensation of excitement.
Well, I certainly hate dangerous and life-threatening situations because I still have Akari to look after. But if there's one thing I secretly enjoy, it'll be a good and intense fight, more so if it's with my sister.
"You asked for it, Akari." I removed the thin rope around my thigh and got the peeling knife that I picked up earlier from the table.
It's not as sharp as Akari's but this will do. Father trained us to always have weapons at the ready. I'm in a different universe—of course, I'll always have safety measures. I'll never know when monsters will pop out.
"I hope you're ready to lose," Akira arrogantly said.
"You wish," I retorted as I launched my counterattack. I noticed that Akari's stance was wider than usual. I used that as an opening to immediately bend down on the floor and make a sweeping kick to make her fall down.
The moment she fell on the ground, I didn't give her a chance to recover and instantly delivered an ax kick on her left shoulder. I stepped back and was supposed to land a kick to her face when she defended against it and pushed my leg away. I continued to grin as I saw her use that chance to get back up on her feet.
Oh, well. Doesn't matter. We are in close combat—my forte. Whatever Akari does is beyond me. I'm winning this duel.
"Aww. Did that ax kick hurt, little sister?" I asked to annoy her.