One Hundred And Six
“I guess this is the beauty of staying in a very expensive Suite room. Twenty-four hour room service.” I poured my sister another glass of champagne from the fresh bottle that I had brought to us. “Still, you definitely pay for convenience.”
“I don’t find that convincing coming from soone who has two bags stuffed full of money just lying about their room.” My sister retorted, taking a sip. “So why’d you fetch it from outside? The poor guy looked put out until you tipped him.”
“Oh co on.” I snorted. “You think I can let him co in? This place slls like a damn brothel.”
“And just how do you know what a brothel slls like, eh big bro? You haven’t been keeping secrets from us, have you?”
“It was a figure of speech, all right? You know I’m not interested in that sort of thing.” I responded, protesting my innocence, only to be t by a vicious grin from my sis.
“I know, I’m just ssing with you. I think you owe that much after tonight, right bro? If I was to tell our dad just what you got up to here…” she winked at slyly.
“I get it, I do. This wasn’t the ti or the place for… for Eri and I. I said I’m sorry, didn’t I?”
“Yeah well, I’ll have you both make it up to . Shaeula too. I thought I was safe out here, and then…” she flushed, covering her embarrassnt by taking a long sip of the champagne. “Hey, this is really good. Did you get an expensive one?”
I had to smile at her reaction. But yes, It was expensive. “Only the best for my very forgiving sister. So anyway, you wanted to ask so questions, right? I suppose I can answer them while Shaeula works on Eri. I had dressed myself in casual clothing, and Shaeula had helped the exhausted Eri put on pyjamas, and they were now using the small bed I slept on in the other bedroom, Shaeula working intensely on stabilising the wildly overloaded chakra network Eri had awakened through our love-making and Kin Bond.
“Wow, oh where to begin? I have so many questions, they’ve been running through my mind non-stop all week. It’s good school hadn’t restarted yet, or I’d have flunked my entrance exams, and it would have been your fault that everyone would have said I was a dumbass. Anyway, first I guess…” her gaze went to the closed door, behind which Eri and Shaeula were working. “… just how the hell does this chakra stuff even work? I an, if it was as easy as just the visualisation exercises Shaeula makes us do, then magical girls and wizards would be everywhere, right? Co on, explain it to bro, you should know.”
I sure wish it was that simple. Wow, this champagne is really good… Taking a drink I nodded. “Oh, there is more to it I’m sure. I guess I’ll have to start from what I’ve been told by Shaeula, and also priests and kami from the shrines.”
“Hold on, back up. You’ve spoken to kami? Like, actual, honest-to-goodness real gods? Wow, that’s… I can’t even deal.”
“I don’t see why you are so shocked. I think Shaeula is close enough to what we would call a kami, isn’t she? I’ve not t a major god from myth or anything like that… but we are getting off topic. Basically, and get ready, for I struggled to process this one myself… our ideas of history seem to have so major flaws.”
“Not just history, science too, I’d say. Hey, you think if I wrote a paper on all this I could win a Nobel prize or sothing? The first Nobel prize-winner in magic… sounds cool, huh?”
“I think you might be drunk.” I reached out and put my hand on her forehead, trickling in aether. As she shivered as warmth perated her, I carried on talking. “Anyway, it seems that up until around fifteen hundred years ago, give or take, there was a lot more spiritual presence to the world. I don’t want to make it too complicated, but there is at least one more reality that is connected to our own, called the Astral, as opposed to where we live, the Material. And it used to be overlapping far more than it does now, so a lot of tales of faeries, yokai, kami and sorcerers… they had so basis in truth.”
“I see. So sothing changed, right?” she asked, leaning into my hand.
“Yeah. I’m not sure what, but it seems that humans started persecuting those that had powers or were spiritual beings. There were wars and horrible genocides on both sides… but in the end it seems humanity won out. Whether that caused the Astral to recede from the Material, or it was this recession that weakened the mystical and emboldened us humans… well, unless we find soone or sothing old enough and wise enough to ask, we can’t know for certain.”
“It’s just like a manga.” My sister sighed. “It still doesn’t answer my question about how it all works though.”
“Well, spiritual power seems to be connected to the Astral… well, the Boundary, we call it now, the point where the edge of the Astral and our Material worlds et. As it has declined, so has the abilities of those born with special powers. It may shock you, but magic did exist still, even before this, even if Kana-chan does say it’s pathetic, it’s only use to get you captured and dissected as a guinea pig in so underground laboratory.”
“Okay, that’s cool and all, but who is Kana-chan? Is this another one of your girls, big bro? You’ve committed to Eri now, best get rid of any temptations hanging around!” my sister pouted.
“It’s nothing like that. She’s a shrine maiden at the shrine near my house in Tokyo, and she’s from a long bloodline of mystics. Her gift is the ability to see spiritual strangeness, so she spotted us one day and from there I was introduced to the shrine.”
“Got a thing for shrine maidens, haven’t you bro, you big perv. That one at our shrine too. Though I bet Eri would look gorgeous in a shrine maiden cosplay. You’d like to see that, wouldn’t you bro? I bet you’d have her in bed in… ugh, oh god, now I’m thinking of that again! My poor brain!”
Actually, yes I certainly would. Shrine maiden attire looks best on traditionally beautiful Japanese girls, and Eri fits the bill perfectly. But that’s for another ti… “Cheer up sis, I said I’d make it up to you. Tomorrow you can go wild when we go shopping.”
“I’ll hold you to that bro. anyway, you were just telling about your insatiable lust for shrine maidens…”
“No, I don’t think I was. But anyway… it turns out that the shrines have been keeping the bloodlines of those who can use mystic abilities from disappearing. They have almost no power, but it does tie in to what you’ve asked , I think. Anyway, the shrines that do have old blood, going back to fifteen hundred years ago when everything changed, they keep in contact with each other, and so that’s why I’m now heavily involved with them. Not to hit on girls, okay?”
“I guess I’ll believe you. for now, anyway. So, sum it up for bro, I’ve heard a lot of interesting history, but not much about how magic works?”
“Well, I think that those who have mystical abilities have a rudintary chakra network already. I think we all have the potential within us, but without a functioning root chakra we can’t draw in any energy to stimulate it. So Shaeula uses her own aether, which is what we call the form of the energy we use, to kickstart your root. From there on you do the exercises to draw in aether from the surroundings, gradually activating the rest of your chakras. After all, the Astral, from where aether flows down into the Boundary and then a trickle cos to the Material, seems to be a realm of the mind. Your strength of mind, insight and ntal image are what gives aether form and compels it to act.”
“I see. That… kind of does make sense. It’s a little similar to the stages of kyudo, I thought that before. Although I’m only at the second stage, and even then only sotis. When I am in that zone, where the arrow truly pierces the target, the Kanteki, it feels a bit like when I am drawing in this aether, like Shaeula taught us.”
“Maybe kyudo is a technique inheriting so spiritual knowledge? I daresay you’ll only get better as you train. Anyway, with Shaeula’s eyes able to detect problems as they arise, I think it’s very likely you’ll be able to use aether eventually. I rember when Shaeula looked at the work Exposition-san had done activating my network, she was disgusted at how poor a job it was. Apparently if you draw in too much and your network isn’t properly constructed, it can cause you great damage. Strange really.” I mused. “Exposition-san said that they could have given more power to start with, but that would limit my growth. You’d think they’d have done a better job of it, then… or maybe Shaeula is just really particular about what makes a functioning chakra network… I don’t know…”
“That’s all very well bro.” my sister leaned in, having emptied her champagne. “And I think I get it now, but you also said you were almost killed tonight earlier, so how about we talk about that, huh? You’ve been trying to keep us safe, but haven’t followed your own advice, eh? Well, why don’t you tell your very loving little sister all about it?”
Oh yeah, I did ntion that. Oh well… still, you’d be more convincing if the front of your pyjamas weren’t covered in stains…
********
“I believe-believe we have succeeded.” Shaeula led Eri out into the lounge area. “For now the network has been stabilised, the chakras in harmony, if rather strangely ford. Still-still…” she continued, looking over Eri with her glowing eyes once more. “If she does not regularly draw in aether to strengthen herself, and continually adjust her chakras until they normalise, I fear-fear she may damage her subtle body.”
“Thanks a lot, Shaeula.” Eri thanked her, bowing to her and then wincing, her legs twitching. She then walked over to stiffly, her gait strange and bow-legged. Sitting down beside she leaned against , her hair now down and tickling . “Sorry to worry you Akio. I’ll be fine now.”
Pulling her into a hug I kissed her gently, this ti just a brief peck on her lips. “It’s my job to worry about you, isn’t it? Anyway… you were walking a bit stiffly. Does it still hurt?”
She nodded. “A bit. It still…” she looked down shyly then, reddening once more. “… it still feels like sothing is inside .”
“I’ll help.” I let my aether flow into her, repairing the damage our first ti had caused. She moaned, feeling an itching inside as her body repaired itself with the aether. Her body heat was transmitted through the thin cloth we were wearing, and I found myself thinking back to our lovemaking, getting aroused again. Eri shifted, flustered, but Aiko and Shaeula were quick to shoot down.
“No! bad bro, bad! Eri needs rest, and I need ti to recover from the trauma!” my sis protested.
“You can not-not be reckless with her now.” Shaeula also stopped . “Should you pour more energy into her through your Bonds, my efforts will be wasted and her safety may be imperilled.”
The thought of hurting her imdiately dampened my ardour and I nodded. “Sorry Eri.”
“Don’t be sorry, I’m just happy you want .” She answered, smiling sweetly despite her discomfort. Hell, she’s such an angel. Now I’ve moved beyond seeing her as a little sister, a young girl, to seeing her as a woman, her charms are blasting my resolve non-stop!
“I would ask that-that you use your Kin Examination skill upon Eri.” Shaeula said. “My eyes can see much, but a different perspective might also prove helpful.”
“All right.” I nodded. “This might feel a little strange, but it isn’t harmful, okay?” I held her hand.
“You can see anything of mine you want to.” Eri agreed, coyly. “After all, you’ve seen everything on the bed.”
All right then. I concentrated, and as aether left silvery letters ford, spelling out Eri’s status for . I’m shocked it worked, I guess this proves she has entered the battle for the future of Earth. I’m worried for her, but also happy she can stand at my side and I don’t have to keep secrets anymore…
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