"There's someone in the room here" Mawata whispered, shifting closer to me, her technique noticeable in the faint buzzing she emanated.
For once, phoenix was silent… that scared me more than anything else since he always kicked around me like a soccer player with anger issues.
I looked over at Mawata, her eyes hard, breathing heavy but controlled, eyes locked on the corner of the room…
Right where my headaches/ancestors were standing like confused backdrops.
…
Wait…
What?
"Mawata… by any chance… the person in here with us, are they a male with grey hair and a woman with blue hair?" I spoke cautiously, in case I was wrong.
Mawata blinked.
Jigoro blinked.
Makoto sneezed.
"That's… oddly specific. Can… can you see them too, Ten?" she blinked, easing slightly but still tensed.
I sighed. At least it's not some big bad I have to fight this early in the morning. That would make me hate Saturday mornings as much as Mondays. A truly heinous crime indeed.
Mawata swallowed. Slowly. "Tensei," she said, not taking her eyes off Makoto, "you want to explain why two god-level spirits are casually haunting your bedroom?"
I rubbed my face. "In my defense, I did not invite them."
"That's not a defense," she replied.
Anyways, I now have to introduce everyone.
I sighed and walked over to them. Mawata relaxed completely upon seeing that as I continued "Allow me the torture to introduce Jigoro and Makoto. Apparently, they're my ancestors."
The two people in question were silent…
Until Jigoro cackled.
"Interesting!" He barked.
"Huh? What's interesting?" I asked confused.
"This girl can both see and interact with us, spirits!" he continued, leaving me… confused.
I just fought him… if you can call that a fight, and now he's talking like seeing him alone was some divine feat.
I was about to say something…
Until he gut-punched me… again.
"Jigoro! Stop punching our descendant!" Makoto chastised him from across the room as I doubled over, coughing and wheezing.
"Idiot boy! You can see us and interact with us and only us since we are linked through our technique. Seeing and interacting with spirits should not normally be possible."
"Well, the WHY did you punch me??!!" I sputtered.
PUNCH
I collapsed.
Meanwhile, Makoto was… silent. She took measured steps towards Mawata, containing her celestial aura as much as possible.
Mawata, on the other hand, was speechless. The people before her were clearly on another level. Even higher than Tensei, had been that exam day… and he evaporated a whole damn CITY with one hit.
Even then, she saw the woman, aura and all, walking towards her, the universe seeming to follow her every step., she couldn't help but say.
"Beautiful…"
Makoto froze. Did… she just hear that right?
'Beautiful? Through all the power. The years she'd seen? The battles she's fought? I'm…?'
She chuckled.
It wasn't loud. It wasn't proud. It slipped out of her like a reflex she hadn't used in a very long time.
"Beautiful," she repeated quietly, tasting the word.
Mawata flushed immediately. "I— I didn't mean like— I mean—"
"You meant it," Makoto said gently. "That's enough."
She took another step forward.
Mawata's technique flared on instinct. Not aggressively. Like a guard dog standing up because it sensed something too big to bark at.
Interesting.
Makoto noticed.
Her eyes narrowed just a fraction.
"You don't fear us," Makoto said.
Mawata frowned. "I do. Just… not like that."
Jigoro clicked his tongue. "That's worse."
I pushed myself up from the floor, rubbing my ribs. "Can someone explain why everyone keeps talking about her like she's a puzzle and not a person?"
Makoto glanced at me. Her smile vanished.
"You feel it too," she said. Not a question.
I stiffened. "Feel what."
She didn't answer.
Instead, she turned back to Mawata. "Tell me," she said. "When you look at him… what do you see?"
Mawata didn't answer right away.
She looked at me.
Really looked. Past the sarcasm. Past the explosions. Past the part of my soul that made Phoenix shut up when things got quiet.
"…It's like," she said slowly, "I don't know… but something doesn't sit right."
My stomach dropped.
Makoto closed her eyes.
"Not broken," Mawata continued quickly. "Just… off. Like something that's supposed to be ordinary is layered wrong. Like it keeps folding in on itself."
Jigoro sucked in a sharp breath.
Makoto opened her eyes again.
"And?" Makoto prompted.
Mawata shrugged. "That's it."
"That's it?" Jigoro snapped. "You sense a malformed being tied to ancestral techniques and you just— accept it?"
She turned to him, unimpressed but still smirking. "Yeah. I recently learned to accept spiritual bullshit like it's a normal Tuesday."
Silence.
"…Why?" Makoto asked.
Mawata smiled. Small. Certain.
"Because he's still him."
Something shifted in the room.
Not power.
Perspective.
Makoto stared at her for a long moment. Then she laughed. Properly this time.
"Oh," she said softly. "So that's how."
I frowned. "How what?"
Makoto straightened and stepped back, the pressure easing like a held breath finally released.
"Nothing you need to worry about," she said.
I hated that sentence. Bad things usually happen after that sentence.
Jigoro didn't look happy either. "You're letting this go?"
"For now," Makoto replied.
She glanced at Mawata one last time.
"Stay close to him, please." she said.
Mawata nodded. "Was planning to."
Makoto smiled again.
Then she turned to me.
"Tensei," she said, voice neutral. Calm. Dangerous in a very quiet way.
"Try not to die too creatively."
"…Excuse me?"
Jigoro grinned. "Good advice, kid."
Phoenix stirred.
And I had the sudden, awful realization that whatever they weren't telling me…
Was worse than anything they could've explained.
--
It took me about two hours to re-evaluate my life choices. When I was done, I realized that the two uninvited relatives in my life were quiet.
I turned to Mawata, she had a smile on her face.
I hated that smile. Things tended to blow up when she smiled like that. My mental health tended to drop when she smiled like that.
"Mawata… no…" I begged.
Then she said it. The four cursed words. The four words that have started and ended wars in the past. The words that has caused global depression and sadness. The words that has erased civilizations and destroyed nations.
"We have school tomorrow"
I lunged at her.
She dodged… three times.
I face planted.
Phoenix laughed.
"Help…" I thought-shouted to any of the ancestors that would hear me.
Jigoro appeared, floating, sipping tea that, I'm pretty sure, was made of the concept of 'You're on your own'.
Fucking traitor.
Jigoro smiled. This boy can get stronger… but for now?
His spiritual body was incomplete.