"Where have you two been hiding?"
The stern female voice interrogated Arlo and Aya.
A woman with golden locks and obsidian eyes, stood before them, her attire impeccably coordinated with her high heels.
"Mom!!!"
Aya cried out joyfully upon recognizing her and sprinted to embrace her.
Arlo, taken aback by the sight of his mother, spotted a man standing behind her. The man had black hair and brown eyes, much like Arlo's own, and was dressed in a crisp white shirt, blue trousers, and a necktie. Arlo was surprised to see that the man hadn't even bothered to remove his shoes.
Bewildered, Arlo queried, "Father, Vivienne, why didn't you inform us about your visit today?"
Just as Arlo was inquiring about their well-being, his mother cut him off.
"SLAP!"
She landed a forceful slap on Arlo's face and demanded angrily, "Where did you take my daughter?"
As she chastised Arlo, her voice amplified, drawing the attention of the nearby residents who emerged to investigate the commotion, while Arlo stood rooted at the doorstep.
"Vivienne, let's continue this conversation indoors," Arlo's father suggested, gesturing for them to enter. As they stepped inside and shut the door behind them, Vivienne resumed her tirade.
Once inside, Vivienne voiced her anxiety, "Do you realize how concerned we were about Aya? Why did you take her away? When we returned home after a long absence to see Aya, she was nowhere to be found. We saw on the front porch camera that an unfamiliar woman had taken her outside. We were… shattered."
As Vivienne broke down into tears, Arlo's father comforted her with a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"But Mom, Bunny sister and I exited through the back gate," Aya interjected.
This revelation caused everyone to pause, and Vivienne shot Arlo a threatening look before reprimanding Aya,
"Aya! Go upstairs, don't speak when adults are talking."
In that moment, Arlo had an epiphany. Arlo's father motioned for Arlo and Vivienne to settle on the couch to continue the discussion.
As Vivienne continued her rant, Arlo and his father remained silent, absorbing everything she had to say.
Growing increasingly irritated, Arlo mused, "Why do I have to listen to this woman? Old man, why are you staying silent? Tell your wife to stop."
Vivienne roared, "How many times must I remind you to refrain from meddling with my experiments?"
"Experiment?" Arlo was startled by Vivienne's declaration.
Arlo rose from the table, deciding to exit the room. As he made his way out, Vivienne grew agitated, hollering,
"Where do you think you're going? Come back here!"
Ignoring her, Arlo spun around, shooting Vivienne a frigid, lethal glare, causing her to shudder in fear. Arlo placed his index finger on his lips and cautioned,
"SHUT UP!"
Feeling the immense pressure from Arlo's single word, Vivienne collapsed to her knees after Arlo's departure, while Arlo's father observed calmly.
Arlo ascended the stairs, he noticed Aya sitting on the stairs, her eyes covered, sobbing.
"Brother, because of me, you got scolded and slapped. I'm sorry for causing you trouble," Aya apologized.
Arlo responded with a tender smile, patting Aya's head, and asked, "Did you enjoy today's match?"
"Hmm," Aya responded.
"Do you wish to watch your brother play again?"
"Hmm."
"Then don't shed tears. Seeing your smile today was worth more than just a mere slap on my face," Arlo encouraged Aya to stay strong.
"But Brother, but…" Aya stuttered.
"Let's leave the past behind and focus on the future!" Arlo declared.
Arlo hoisted Aya onto his shoulders and announced, "Let's devise a strategy to avoid getting caught next time!"
"Brother, if you raise your voice, Mom will overhear," Aya cautioned.
"Who cares!"
They shared a moment, they climbed the stairs and arrived at a door with a sign that read, "Aya's Castle."
Arlo gently set Aya down and instructed her, "Go play in my room. I'll clean up your room, okay?"
"Hmm," Aya nodded and scampered off to Arlo's room.
Arlo ventured into Aya's room to search for something, exploring her two-tiered space connected by curved stairs.
On the first floor, he discovered a spacious lounge, a playroom, and a learning space with a black screen mounted on the wall. The ceiling was adorned with a glass screen displaying stars and a moon that seemed to float within them.
Observing the extravagant setup, it was evident to any outsiders that they were not an average-class family.
Despite scouring the first floor, he found nothing of interest. He then ascended to the second floor, which featured a large bed area in one corner and a restroom and bathroom in another corner.
The floor was equipped with motion and shadow sensors, projecting predefined images such as lion shadows and Aya's favorite cartoon characters, which followed them like shadows wherever they walked.
Arlo hadn't set any special images, his normal shadow appeared on the floor and ceiling, mirroring the setup below, including the moon and stars. Despite this, he continued searching for something of interest on the second floor.
Feeling disappointed as he couldn't find anything, he went and laid down on Aya's bed.
Arlo gazed at the ceiling, the stars shimmered in gold and the moon in brown, hovering inside. However, Arlo noticed something peculiar.
To confirm his suspicions, he grabbed a chair, climbed up, punched through the screen ceiling, and ripped it down. What he discovered inside made him punch the ceiling several times in frustration, shredding his hand.
Arlo found cameras mounted everywhere, along with various sensors including position sensors, pressure sensors, temperature sensors, and even a mana regulation sensor.
Despite this revelation, Arlo felt frustrated but remained calm, as he had expected such behavior from Aya's parents.
He wrapped his injured hand with a towel and went to see Aya in his room, and said to Aya,
"Aya, from now on, let's sleep in my room. We'll have a sleepover here, okay?"
"Yeeeeahhhhh!" Aya exclaimed with shining eyes, jumping up and down on the bed.
Arlo's room, unlike Aya's, was also two-floored but lacked high-tech ceiling screens or floors.
Instead, it contained a normal TV, a couch, a mini gym, a dining hall, and a bed on the first floor. The second floor featured a football turf for practice.
Arlo placed headphones on Aya's ears and instructed her, "Aya, listen to some songs for a few minutes and don't come out until I come for you."
Arlo prepared and grabbed a Voidstone flash grenade to disable all electronic devices, a precaution he had taken by bringing it from Remi's father, expecting such a situation to arise.
Arlo yanked the ring from the grenade and hurled it into Aya's room. The device blinked ominously with alternating red and blue lights before erupting into a deafening explosion.
"KABOOOOOM!"
The sound of the blast sent Vivienne sprinting towards Aya's room, only to find Arlo nonchalantly standing there. He flicked the grenade's ring at Vivienne's face, making her flinch.
"You ungrateful son of a bitch! How dare you meddle with my experiments? Aya isn't even your blood sister!" Vivienne's voice was a mixture of fury and disbelief.
Arlo's lips curled into a smirk, "I didn't do this for Aya. I did it to get under your skin. Did it work, woman?"
"Arrrgghhh!" Vivienne's frustration was palpable.
"Arlo, leave our house," came the composed, authoritative voice of Arlo's father.
[End of Chapter]