"Huh? Sakura-chan, Lorelei, what are you doing?"
A familiar voice, an affectionate address, belonging to one person in the world.
Sakura and Lorelei could hardly believe their ears.
He—
He—
He—
How could it be?
First, let's describe the state of Sakura and Lorelei.
Lorelei was facing the Matou family's door, retreating backward, while Sakura was pushing her from the front. Since Sakura had just begun to develop and Lorelei was already fully developed, Sakura was completely blocked by Lorelei. Both girls couldn't see what was happening behind them.
Byakuya and Kariya were different. They were taller (relatively speaking, at about 173-174 cm, which isn't very tall for adults) and standing at the doorway, so they could see clearly what was happening outside the door.
When they saw the short figure cloaked in gray, with only a pair of deep blue eyes visible, they were filled with surprise and joy.
"My son!"
"Shinji!"
"Hey, Dad, Uncle, did you know I was coming back today and came out to welcome me?"
Shinji waved his hand and walked past the two girls, who were so stiff they seemed petrified.
"By the way, is there anything to eat? I haven't had lunch yet, and I'm starving."
This action broke Sakura's "petrification." She took a step to the side and blocked her brother's path.
"Brother, is it really you?"
"What, you can't even recognize your brother? And here I thought I doted on you so much," Shinji said, reaching out his left hand to ruffle his sister's hair.
Feeling the familiar touch, Sakura's world instantly brightened. All the pain and sadness vanished without a trace, replaced by overwhelming joy.
"Ah, it is my brother, my brother is back. Brother, I missed you so much."
Sakura held Shinji's hand and kept nuzzling her head against his palm.
"Alright, alright, stop being so clingy. I've only been away for a month."
While comforting his sister, Shinji noticed Lorelei staring at him in a daze and smiled.
"Long time no see, Miss Lorelei. What are you doing here instead of receiving the Crest inheritance at home?"
"Shinji, is it really you?" Lorelei murmured.
"Uh, why do you all keep asking the same question? And Dad and Uncle have those weird expressions. It seems something happened that I'm not aware of. Anyway, let's talk inside. It's a bit shabby compared to the historic Barthomeloi family, so forgive the modesty, Miss Lorelei."
Shinji said, taking his sister's hand and walking into the house.
Following behind him, Lorelei shook her head repeatedly—she didn't mind, not at all. At least it felt much better than the Barthomeloi main house. Besides, the fact that you returned safely was more important than anything else.
Thinking of this, Lorelei's steps became exceptionally light.
The Matou residence, which had just been shrouded in a gloomy cloud, suddenly cleared up, becoming bright and sunny.
The scene shifted back to the Matou family's living room. Broken teapots and teacups were still scattered on the floor, and tea had spilled under the coffee table.
Under Shinji's curious gaze, Sakura stuck out her tongue in embarrassment and ran off to get a mop.
As they sat down again, Shinji, while munching on fruits from the coffee table, continued his earlier questioning: "So, what's going on? How did you end up in Japan? What happened before?"
Lorelei, the lord of the Department of Policies, had already regained her composure in the few minutes it took to move from the door to the living room: "You're asking me? I should be asking you! From that night until now, you haven't come home or gone to London. Worse, you didn't send any messages. What have you been doing?"
"Uh, it seems you already know about that incident. You can't blame me for that," Shinji said after swallowing a banana. "You know better than I do how troublesome that old monster Ortenrosse is. I've been busy running for my life."
"Even so, you should have sent a message. Even if we couldn't help in time, at least your family and I wouldn't have been so worried."
Lorelei's words resonated with Byakuya and Kariya.
"Miss Lorelei is right. We were all very worried when you didn't send any news for a month."
"Yes, especially Sakura. She'd wait by the phone every day, afraid of missing your call."
As if on cue, just as Kariya finished speaking, Sakura, who had just cleaned up the floor, ran out of the kitchen. She sat next to Shinji, holding onto his arm tightly.
"Brother, why didn't you call home for so long?"
"Because my phone got damaged by water," Shinji scratched his cheek. "I spent most of the time in water and was worried that Ortenrosse's minions might find me. I didn't dare to go anywhere inhabited. I drifted along the Po River for half a month until my injuries stabilized. Then I sneaked onto a flight to Japan, hiding in the cargo hold."
"Brother, you're injured!" Sakura's expression changed instantly. She reached out to pull Shinji's cloak. "Where are you hurt? Let me see, is it serious?"
Shinji quickly restrained Sakura's hand, preventing her from lifting the cloak: "You'd better not look. I'm afraid it'll scare you."
"No, I want to see," Sakura insisted.
"I'm not letting you," Shinji refused.
The siblings immediately started to tussle.
However, while Shinji could fend off Sakura, he couldn't guard against another worried girl.
Seizing an unguarded moment, Lorelei quietly left the couch, circled behind Shinji, and yanked off his hood.
Then, Lorelei was stunned. Sakura was stunned. Byakuya and Kariya were also stunned.
"Sh-Shinji..."
"Brother..."
"Your hair—"
"—And your eyebrows, where did they go?"
Indeed, hidden under the cloak was a bald head, completely devoid of hair, smooth and shiny enough to reflect Lorelei's face.
"So that's why I told you not to look," Shinji said, rubbing his new hairstyle, despite having no hair. "While I was drifting, I didn't even dare to look at my reflection, let alone you guys."
"You still haven't explained how you lost your hair," Lorelei pressed.
"Ortenrosse did it. Escaping from that millennium-old monster's minions comes with a price."
Shinji spoke casually, but to Lorelei, it didn't sound so casual.
Shinji's head was very clean—no wounds, no scars—indicating that his head hadn't suffered a direct injury. But he said Ortenrosse caused it, and despite the passage of time, his hair hadn't grown back. There must be a reason for this.
Lorelei shifted her gaze from the conspicuous bald head to other parts still covered by the cloak, noticing one area in particular that drew her attention.
PS: Shinji: ONE PUUUNCH!