Chapter 6: Fate & its Defiant
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[Third Person Point of View – Ai Hoshino]
It has been two years since her son did that acting gig, and it was better received than she thought. Though sadly for her son, she stole his and, well, even the main actress' limelight with her own acting.
'My cuties will have to try harder than this if they want to match up against mommy.'
Ai couldn't help but giggle as she walked into the telephone booth located at the side of the road. She couldn't use her own phone for this call she was about to make.
Both her children were geniuses, maybe a bit too suspiciously so, but they were still kids. Ai was avoiding this for a long time but… it was time she introduced them to their father.
More than once, she had heard the two kids talking about their father. Usually, it went about Ruby bad talking about him, asking Aqua why that man would leave someone as bright as their mama, while Aqua told her to forget it.
Frankly, her relationship with that man was strange. Maybe that'd be an understatement. Logically speaking, it was her fault that she didn't have the abortion for the kids, so the father isn't obliged to do anything. To begin with, they weren't married, just two teens who didn't know the best for themselves and made a mistake.
So, she felt a little awkward calling him now of all times. Still, it was for the sake of her kids. Aqua was lost once last year, and she felt like her world had crumbled. She looked everywhere, but he was nowhere to be found. At last, when he returned the next day with tattered clothes that had flowers sticking to them, she hugged him tighter than ever while crying.
In the last four years, Ai hadn't regretted giving birth to them even once, so she was going to take this mother's job seriously.
She hesitated after fully dialing the number and then called. It rang for a long minute but was ultimately picked.
["Hello? Who is this?"]
The voice sent various shivers of emotions across her heart. Ai took a shivering breath in and began to talk.
"Hey… it's me, do you remember?"
["...Ai?"]
He did remember! Well, she would have been mad if he didn't, given he was the father of her children.
For the next few minutes, they talked in an awkward tone, until she managed to pull the courage to get to the point.
"So, you know… the kids grew up. They are four years old now. I was wondering if they should meet their father once."
["Hey, are you…"]
"I'm not s-suggesting we get back together. We both know it won't work out. Just… I am asking for a visit. To manage a few hours of your schedule and come see us."
There was a long silence from the other side, and for a moment she wondered if he had cut the call. Just when she was about to ask if he was there, his voice returned.
["Sure. Tell me your current address."]
* * *
[First Person Point of View – Aqua]
A year has passed since I advanced to Iron. I do hate the fact that my growth is so slow, that I wasn't a Jade yet, but there is nothing to change this.
I don't really have any sparring partners, and thick storm auras are rare. So, I have decided to teach my little sister some tricks. I wouldn't have done this if this was a truly normal world, but if DxD was real, then that means there were mages in this world, there were Heroes, Gods, and Devils. The smart choice for me would be to teach Ruby some tricks so that she can protect herself.
Besides, it's entertaining to train someone. I did have a few disciples in my earlier lives when I grew too bored and old, and those were somewhat of a fun time.
"Hey! Teach me some magic already, this is doing nothing!"
Yet, teaching her was annoying. She had no respect for him as her Master and just yelled to teach her magic when she hadn't even formed a Mana Core.
"This is the 13th time I am telling you, you need to form a mana core first. Without it, you can't cast jack-shit."
She gasped. "Don't curse."
"...Oh right, my bad." I knew better than to not curse, in case Ai or Miyako heard.
He had chosen to teach Ruby Magic and not Martial Arts, because her body is more mana sensitive than qi sensitive. She could sense mana with ease and had learned how to do so after a week's worth of training. It seems her good genetics went further than just her looks.
I said quietly this time, "You need to form a Mana Core in your heart."
"But I can't do it!"
She threw her hands around, and if she was anybody other than who she was, I would have thrown her out of the window at this moment.
I've regained some of my memories from my 4th to 8th life. In my 4th life, I was dragged into becoming a wandering hermit, it was a humble life. However, in my 5th life, I was called the Sorcerer of Eternity. People would sell their daughters for a single lesson from me, and yet this puny mortal dares to…!
I quickly dispersed those thoughts when I looked outside the window. It was night and the stars were twinkling at me. Indeed, in this entire cosmos, I am the most benevolent one. Why must I be mad at this innocent soul?
I turned to look at Ruby again, smiling.
"I understand, my cutest imouto-"
"Eww, creep!"
She screeched in fright and dashed off the room. How rude.
* * *
Last night was fun when I got up and ran after her. She kept yelling until she began to cry in Ai's arms. It weirded her out when I act too nice because usually, something bad happens afterward.
However, when I woke up today none of last night's smile remained. There was a bell I heard that startled me awake.
Since the day of my acting, doorbells have been my utmost priority. Whenever I hear a doorbell, I rush to the door before anybody. Nobody was suspicious as children usually did that a lot, so I got away with it.
However, today a bell rang when I was sleeping. I am an early riser, so someone at the door when I was sleeping is rare. In the four years of my life, that has happened a rare few times.
I jumped awake from my casket and leaped across the door. I couldn't take any chances.
I soared through the air, leaving a trail of lightning behind me. I was supposed to pause before a turn and take a sneak peek, but my enhanced nose picked up a scent that told me not to waste time. I made a sharp drift in the air and found myself facing the door.
"Good morning, Ai. How are the twins doing?"
My mother, Ai was just there, and the world was slow as her smile was vanishing and her eyes were widening. She had just accepted a bouquet of white roses from the hooded man at the door, which were quickly turning red from the splash of blood coming from her abdomen.
My mouth widened for a moment before I shut my lips tight. My eyes went cold as I found myself moving like a trail of lightning. I side-stepped near Ai, pushing her away with a gentle push, while my hand leaped out to grab the bastard in a choke.
"Augh!"
The idiotic son of a bitch who had come to kill Ai just because she had kids because she had fallen in love and wasn't a virgin, groaned as I pushed him against the grass outside our house.
I was old, I have lived through a lot. Only a few things made my emotions stir, and this happened to be one of them.
"Pathetic shut-in bastard!" He'll pay with his soul for this foolishness.
The disgusting loser tried to say something, but my strength was beyond any normal human now. I wasn't here to listen to him talk, I wasn't Ai, I wasn't going to talk to him about the wrongness of life, the lie of love.
I am only here to destroy his soul. Qi swelled up on my palm as I emptied out half of my core with a single attack. The raging Storm Qi rushed out of my channels in a specific pattern, as I performed one of the basic three techniques of my Path.
[Wrath of the Roaring Sky]
Electric blue energy spread through the loser shun-in in a split second, the sound of meat sizzling filling the air, as the garden was lit up as if another sun had risen here. The otaku's body was pulverized into fine dust a second later.
Not even bones remained as mere ash rested on the grass, my hand clutching down on it.
I stood up, turning my head to look at the bleeding woman leaning against the wall. She looked frightened at the sight, her eyes locked on the ashes, and she gulped. When her eyes met mine, she paused, hesitating before she called.
"A-aqua?"
I walked over to her when she spat out blood trying to say my name. She was too careless, too innocent. If I hadn't intervened, she would have recognized the face of that loser and would have talked to him nicely instead of calling for help. Naïve.
I walked over to her and suddenly felt angry at myself instead. She… wore an apron, and from the scent I got from the kitchen, she was making a cake just now. She was making a cake for us because it's a holiday.
Her white apron was red; a knife was sticking out of her abdominal aorta. It was a serious injury.
"Aqua-"
"Don't speak."
I didn't meet gazes with her. I will just pretend to have been possessed later, for now, I had to pretend to be someone else and save her. I wish this didn't come to this, that she wasn't stabbed and I would have taken care of that lowly loser earlier.
I grabbed the knife and pulled it out. She tried to tell me to stop because the wound would bleed more with the knife out, but I didn't listen. I then grabbed her apron and gently took it off over her outfit.
Why the hell is she wearing a maxi?
It would have been easier if she was wearing a tee shirt, but fine. I grabbed the hole in the maxi through which the knife had penetrated, and tore apart the fabric. I accidentally tore it apart too much, but my eyes were focused on the wound alone.
I gently placed my palm over the wound.
"Aqua, I-"
"Shh."
I couldn't help but look into her eyes once.
"You are fine."
I didn't want to admit it back when I chose my Path, but one of the main reasons why I chose the Raging Sky path was because of the healing properties. Without this, she would have died today.
[The Pure Storm Baptism]
A warm light emanated from my hand, in a circular shape, and Ai took in a sharp breath. It must hurt like hell, but her eyes went wide for something else. She realized what was happening to the wound as she stared at me in shock.
I sped up the process, cursing in my head at how much energy such simple healing was required since she herself didn't have any Mana or Qi until I lifted my hand a minute later.
No wound remained on her skin, it was as clean as ever.
I smiled and then felt my body falling over, exhausted and out of Qi. Only for a moment did I realize that my face had fallen on her naked chest before I passed out.
Today, I have once more defeated fate with ultimate ease. Truly, Cannon Events are no match for the most venerable one in this cosmos.
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Master4thWall: DROP SOME POWERSTONES! IT'S THE FIRST SUNDAY FOR THE STORY! If we reach 200 powerstones under 24h, I will post two chapters tomorrow!! Three if we reach 400 stones!!
With this, the childhood arc is done! My drive to write this was unmatched for the past few days since I just wanted to come to this scene where MC would stop Ai's death. Now I can relax.
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