CHAPTER 11
The soft, gentle touch of her hands on his face had fully woken him, and those last words she had spoken left him completely dumbfounded. He was lost as to what to say as he knelt there, staring at her.
That ever-so-awkward distant smile and those burning crimson eyes that never seemed to carry any emotion. But… that was only a perception he had built of his sister over his years of observing her from afar for so long.
Really, she was only a girl who had life thrown at her from a very young age. This façade she had created was her way of combating life, and he had come to realize this far sooner.
Yuki never loved reading because she picked up a book one day and fell in love with the story—it was a defense mechanism; rather, it was something she began doing to shield herself from reality.
But whatever it was, what his sister Rikiyo was going through had forced her to isolate herself from people and slowly create this personality to hide herself away even more. Just how much of her walls was she crumbling to force that smile on her face right now?
He raised his hands slowly, grabbing hold of her wrists with a smile on his face. They both got up from the ground together, and standing in front of her now, a sudden realization was starting to hit him.
Well, it wasn't a realization, just something he would usually forget most of the time due to how much of a rival he tended to see her as—what had driven this resolve to surpass was one etched into his burning desire to grow stronger; he still had to come to terms with the fact that she was his elder sister and was trying her best to be just that.
'I was just beating myself up about losing to her a moment ago, and now I see her smile once, and I suddenly feel so happy…'
He let go of her wrists as his gaze gradually trailed downward, the smile slowly disappearing from his face. It stopped on his palms, and then he spoke slowly; his voice a bit shaky.
"I wasn't beating myself up, so there's no need for you to worry about me… About me having so much to learn, though, what exactly were you planning to show me?"
Rikiyo didn't give him any reply; rather, she simply turned around and slowly began to walk away. It was only after she was a considerable distance away that she finally decided to speak.
"You're free to come with me."
Megumi heaved a sigh as he slowly dragged his feet across the ground, following behind her. They passed through the woods, cutting down a hill until they arrived at a small river.
Rikiyo bent down and began washing her face with the clear running water. She lifted her head high after she was done, letting out a gasp as her wet hair came down, covering half of her face.
Then, she turned around, gazing at her younger brother, and gestured for him to come and do the same. Megumi was hesitant, a bit paranoid, but it was only due to how weird this sister of his was.
He knelt down right next to the edge of the river and proceeded to dip his hand slowly into the water. However, he stopped midway as soon as he caught sight of his reflection in the water.
His sister's resounding voice quickly broke him out of his daze.
"I came here once when I was four, and I have since come here every day to look at myself mirrored in the water, and then all I see is myself, no one else. Ever since then, I've felt free—free from the constant burden of a fate I never once asked for—and more than that, I feel stronger… So tell me, Megumi, what is it about me that makes you think I'm better than you? Why do you look at yourself and believe that you are inferior to me?"
For a moment, he froze completely, his lips left slightly apart, but no matter how hard he tried, words refused to come out. He was going through self-reflection, thinking back to everything that had happened to him up until now.
After a few torturous seconds, he decided to let go, dipping his hand deep into the flowing water and splashing it straight across his face.
"I really don't have an answer for you. Perhaps I simply admire you, maybe even envy you a bit. But I'm sorry, Rikiyo; could it be that we just see the world differently?"
A moment of silence loomed over as soon as he was done talking, with nothing but the sound of the flowing water and rustling leaves to fill the void. Rikiyo slowly got up, dusting off her knees, and turned around, walking toward one of the trees in front of her.
"I never asked you to embrace my ideologies, just that you look back at every step you've taken thus far and realize that you're different from everybody else. It's time you stopped thinking about what's best and instead began to imagine what is best for you and you alone."
Megumi also got up, watching her closely as she stood before the tree. Then…
'Bang!'
Her fist smashed against the base of the tree, causing a reverberating thud. But even at the impact of her punch, the tree was still unshaken, or so he thought.
In the next second, the same thud he heard resounded once more, and then a third time, and then… 'Snap!' The tree trunk broke off, and it fell to the ground.
'What the hell was that?' he thought, his jaw left open.
She turned around as the tree toppled over, gazed at him intently, and said,
"It's not a fighting technique, but I can still teach you what I did just now. How you implement it into your style is entirely your business, but I believe it would really suit the way you fight…"
She paused, slowly taking a step forward with her gaze still fixed on him. Standing just a few feet away from him, she placed her hand on his shoulder and shrugged.
"Well?"
"What do you say to a little training?"