[12] Absurd Decisions

Chapter 12: Absurd Decisions

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"Mm… mhm."

An expression of distress passed through her sleeping face, and Arima Kana finally opened her eyes.

For a split moment, her eyes were clouded by confusion, then she jumped up from the bench and looked around in fright.

Where was that creepy man? And Aqua? He just murdered that guy!

There were no signs of blood on the spot the creepy man had fallen after death. No blood anywhere, in fact. Huh?

It was still nighttime; it's not been that long since school ended.

"So it was a nightmare in the end…?"

She heaved a heavy sigh. Of course, it was a dream, how could such things be real? It was very clear, she remembered every bit of it, but she has heard about Lucid Nightmare before, this must be one of those. After all, a four-winged bird, a devil, and Aqua with magical powers? Obviously a dream.

She blushed a little. "Why did I dream of him coming to save me though…?"

Was God giving her a sign that Aqua was the savior she needed in these hard times?

Then, wearing an ever-growing blush as she recalled Aqua from her dreams, what he had told her, Arima Kana walked back to her home with her head filled with weird thoughts.

* * *

I watched the short little girl leave the park from a distance. It's good that she's alright– even though she is pretty dumb to come to a place rumored to be weird.

When she left, I returned my attention to the scrapes of artifacts and the dead body of a bird behind me. I was currently in the middle of a cluster of trees that hid me from the eyes outside. The body of the devil, who I didn't even know the name of, was nowhere to be found. Because I have turned it into ashes after scavenging him for loot.

Unfortunately, there weren't many things of interest to him. Since this world poses to be normal on the surface, magical artifacts aren't easily get your hands on. Even then, these were scraps. He only had three artifacts anyway; one was a ring with properties that created a scary aura around him. The other one was much more interesting, it was a box filled with herbs of different kinds. The ring didn't interest me at all, but I can see many uses for the herbs. In fact, there is even a hundred-year-old ginseng.

The third one was a box too, except… It was weird.

“Hmmm,” I held the golden box, designed to fit perfectly in any Mesoamerican Myths, and tried to open it. “Won’t budge. Sealed with some of divinity. Interesting how such a weak devil has this type of possession. Maybe he stole it from his dead King?”

I didn’t know what the box held in itself. It was as long as my forearm, and just as deep too. So it might be a small artifact, or maybe a long weapon if there was spatial manipulation going on inside it. Curious. Still, I couldn’t open it as I was; this wasn’t something my knowledge or Spells would help with, I needed to be at least at the Underlord rank for this.

No matter, that wasn't the main loot. The main loot was the bird. It lay dead, with its soul essence leaking out of it. Earlier, I had put a seal on its body to slow the leaking as I wanted to wait until Arima Kana would leave, otherwise, all essence would have left by now.

I sat down near the bird in a crossed-leg motion. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in. My body breathed in the aura in the air, the remnant energy of the bird, and even its soul.

The moon glowed high in the sky, and half an hour passed. The bird's body looked the same as before, but all its life force that was yet to leave, its mana, and even its soul was now gone. Nature would have claimed it in a usual scenario, but it was me instead.

My body brimmed with Qi, the energy was on the verge of breaking free. I breathed in a very strict pattern, the Heaven and Earth Purification Wheel followed my command as I deepened my Qi pool. There was a wall, like the floor of a well, that I pushed for the first time in seven years with the help of the just-consumed lightning essence of the bird.

My Qi Pool caved in, and an aura burst out of my body like a spear of light. The sky went bright, and nature sang with the wind. Dark clouds gathered, lightning danced, and then rain fell. It all happened in a split second, as I opened my eyes with a strange electric blue glint in them.

I have reached Gold. I could train on three new techniques now.

I stood up, feeling rain trickling down my nose and hair. I looked up at the sky, which roared when it met my gaze. The sound of thunder, the smell of rain, and all my other senses were at an all-time high now. My Copper Sight was brighter than before, and my Jade Perception was more descriptive. I could see the insects in the leaves in the distance, and more than that, I felt as if I could split the earth's core with my bare hands.

"Beautiful."

The Foundation stage made one's body strong. Copper heightened your spirits. Iron caused your body's growth again, and Jade focused on your spirit. On Gold, however, both body and spirit are enhanced.

The [Gold] stage was divided into three, unlike any other ranks. It was Low Gold, High Gold, and True Gold. Due to how long I've been holding my advancement back, my Qi pool was large enough to enter the rank of True Gold from the get-go. This was the reason why I held back for so long because there were no actual drawbacks once you advanced.

The rain grew stronger. I could tell it would rain until tomorrow, my advancement had the sky reacting. I can return right now, but I decided against it. A few more minutes.

"This is…"

There was an invisible aura around me. I couldn't even see it with my Copper Sight, it was truly hidden from one's eye until it would flare up in case of an attack.

This was the [Gold Sign] of the Path of the Raging Sky. I gained access to this passive aura of electricity, that’d calm the nerves of those in my close proximity by sending slight shivers of relaxation by default. The passive aura can turn actively offensive too, and pulverize any sudden attack or attacker.

"Very useful." It really was.

Then, I looked at the box of medicine, the ring, and the dead body of the bird near me. I can surely just vaporize the bird, but its bones may be useful in the future. However, I didn't have a spatial ring to keep it stored. Such a thing would truly have been useful, so I suppose I'll just make a spatial realm for myself.

I couldn't have done this before. Gold was a phenomenal stage; it was the "peak" for the majority of the martial artists in the original world from which I picked this power system from. So it provided a lot of benefits, more so for me who owned the legendary Grandmist Body.

Grandmist is Infinity, it is creation. On a truly high cultivation level, I would be able to create literal universes within myself. It was the original purpose of the body, to begin with. At Gold Stage, I wasn't on that level yet, but I could surely make a spatial inventory to store things in.

I sat down again, and this lasted about five minutes. This process required experience above all, and if I was anything it was experienced. I spent the next five minutes in hyper concentration to imagine a square room with walls that showed fake stars and the cosmos as a whole. It was a large room, a kilometer long on all sides, and I'll be able to make it larger over the ranks.

When I was done making it, I stood back up and touched the bird. It vanished in the air and was stored in that space. The area lacks the concept of time, so it will stay as good as new forever. I did the same with the box of herbs, the ring, and the divine box.

Will keeping the strange divine box with me be safe? Maybe not. Will some random God come hunt for me? Maybe. Do I care? No, I like how the box looks, so I’ll be keeping it in my space until I can open it.

"Hmm, I can't just keep calling it 'space'. What's a good name?"

Soon, I decided on [Void Storage] since it truly was a small void universe turned into a storage room.

I stretched under the rain, taking in a deep breath while a grin filled my face.

"Advancing feels good, ayy. Just five more ranks and I will complete this."

* * *

I used [Whirlwind Blink] to run past roofs toward home. The sky embraced me as I ran, and the wind carried me gently, but I was still late.

By the time I reached home, soaked like I just walked out of the washing machine, the rain had grown to its strongest. I felt a little hesitation when I went to ring the bell.

Dammit. Ai will be mad. I could handle it if there was no rain since I had an excuse prepared, but this is troublesome.

I rang the bell anyway and waited for the sound of footsteps. However, there were no footsteps heard, yet the door opened right away. Someone's been waiting right behind the door for the bell to ring.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

Of course, it was Ai. She wore a scary scowl, her eyes filled with anger and worry as she grabbed me by my ear. The situation didn't allow me to dodge as she pulled my head by my ear, and yanked me inside.

"First day at high school, and he thinks he is so big now. You rebellious little shit, just you wait and see what I do."

What she did was put me on the couch and dry my head with a towel while yelling at me like every mom should in this situation. More than annoyed or angry, I just laughed at her threats and insults.

Apparently, Ruby didn't tell her the reason I suggested she tell. That little shit didn't do as ordered because I didn't take her with me, what an unreliable dumbass.

I received a small break from the lecture so that I could change my wet clothes. After I got changed into warmer clothes, however, I was once again pushed to the couch. I sat, and Ai jumped to sit on top of me, facing me. That's a bit too intimate of a position for our relationship, but such boundaries never really existed in her mind due to how young she was when she had us.

I felt her body relax as she sat on my lap. It was the effect of my Gold Sign, though she didn't even realize the effect. She was used to feeling relaxed around her children.

Ai put her hands on my shoulder as she looked into my eyes with intent as if this was a good position to assert her dominance over me. "Why did you not come home right away? You know, Ruby complained about it the moment she got back."

Of course she did, that little shit. I'll delay the next teaching session as a punishment. But that's for later, now I decided to be harsh with Ai about the truth.

"You are being too controlling, don't you think? This is why I didn't go with you to America, so I could have enjoyed my time without being monitored all the time."

Ai frowned in shock. "N-no way, I am not controlling. It's your fault that you just vanish without any trail every now and then, I have to be careful. I don't want to lose you to any accidents. Stupid. Wait, do you actually have a girlfriend or what? Why else would a teenage boy stay out of the house alone, without any friends, and not even take his sister along?"

What is this stupid situation? I sighed as I put my hands around her waist. She didn't react, she didn't care, I was her son, and I could touch her anywhere and she wouldn’t mind. She was weird like that.

"Mom, these muscles can kill." I showed a demonstration by squeezing her waist, and her face reddened just a little, but she shook it off. "I won't get into any accidents. And why do you care so much if I have a girl or not?"

Should I actually just get a girlfriend to get under her skin? That'd also let me have free time outside as an excuse. Actually… that's not a bad idea.

"Why shouldn't I care?" She scowled. "You won't get it since you're a guy. Also since you're a kid. I just want to make sure the girl my son is out with isn't a weirdo, and also that my son is treating her well. And… I want her to know that, if she were to get pregnant accidentally, she doesn't have to worry. We will have the child, and you will marry her."

That made me feel uncomfortable. Not for any personal reason, but because I suddenly understood why she was always so curious if I had a girlfriend or not. She had Ruby and me in private, she didn't have a family, and she received no support. Well, other than President Ichigo. My biological father didn't even come to see her when we were born, and I'm sure she also knows that the shut-in from years ago was somehow related to our father because we changed houses right away and she never called him again.

Ai just didn't want her tragedy to repeat. However, she actually wasn't too controlling about it either. If she was, she would have banned dating for Ruby and me until we were a bit older, but she was fine with it, she just wanted to meet our partner to give them her support. She was being a sweet mother, a very good one.

I stared at her in silence before sighing in exaggeration. "I was out with a friend; it is a girl but not my girlfriend. Maybe I'll get a girlfriend soon though… If I find a girl I like, I'll bring her to you when we are official, alright?"

Ai's eyes were twinkling by the time I finished, she leaned over and kissed me on the nose. "Ummah! Yes, of course, I'll wait. Until then, don't forget to use protection."

Saying so she got up, and left the living room while hopping around. Weirdo. I like her a lot.

I didn't technically lie just now. I was out with Arima Kana, kind of. As for the latter part, I don't like anyone romantically even though I know a few who liked me in turn. Tsubasa was one of them, I'm pretty sure her signs are positive, but I'll feel bad to date her just as an excuse to go out any time. Plus, she lives just nearby, so I can't run far from home.

Hmmm, should I start interacting with girls more than usual? Maybe I'll find someone I find compatible.

Alright then, it's decided.

* * *

It was morning, and my eyes fluttered open faster than usual. The drowsiness one would feel when waking up was almost nonexistent compared to yesterday.

However, I didn't wake up naturally. It was the annoying voice of Ruby, whom I took the chance to smack the face of.

"Aqua! Aqua! Aq- ak!"

She smacked me back in return, though I easily dodged it, but she didn't try to hit me again. Her expression was frightened, and she was dying to tell me something.

"Hey, wake up, Onii-chan! Come see what mom did!"

What the fuck is going on? I growled and got up, realizing she has been sitting on top of my abdomen, and me getting up put her on her back, creating quite an… interesting scene, that I broke by hopping off the bed.

"What's going on?" I asked while rubbing my eyes, staring at her.

I ignored her last night thanks to what she did, yet now she had the guts to come wake me up. I'll be pissed if it's something silly she is doing to get my attention.

"G-go ask her yourself, bastard!" She was blushing thanks to the weird position just earlier as she yelled.

Huh, maybe it really is something serious. I walked out of my room and found Tsubasa already waiting at the dining table, dressed in the school uniform and drinking tea, as she waved at me. Ai was just there too, putting sandwiches together for me.

"Mom, what's going on? Ruby disturbed my sleep and said you did something."

"Oh, Aqua's up!"

Tsubasa showed me an apologetic smile when I talked, while Ai cheered. Tsubasa's reaction was worrying, did Ai really do something stupid again?

"Hey, look at this." Ai ran at me with her Gmail app opened. She got too close to me, but I was used to it, as she showed me her latest mail. "Last night, after talking to you, I emailed an old director acquaintance with a request, and he agreed to help me out. I mean, of course, he did, it's Ai Hoshino reaching out to him. Anyway, see this."

I stared at the email, blinking, rubbing my eyes again to make sure I wasn't sleepy, and then snapped my head at Ai with a baffled face.

"You got to be fucking kidding me!?"

"Hey, language, brat. It's just a Dating Show, it's not that bad. Who knows, maybe you will find someone you like there? Even if you don't, you will gain popularity from acting there, so when the show ends you will have so many girls after you! Then you'll be able to get a girlfriend. I'm such an awesome mom, I know."

No, what is this? I am not going to act on a fucking Dating Reality Show. What the fuck is this woman thinking?!

In the end, no amount of arguing saved me. I had to agree to another of her hastily taken decisions for the umpteenth time, and also realized that avoiding some canon events was a lot harder than I thought it'd be.

Oh well. I guess I'll go. I can save a life if I go, plus Ai did have a point when she said her logic for this.

Good luck to me, I suppose.

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