Fubuki recounted what happened after Tatsumaki left.
Tatsumaki listened while hiding the Snow Globe in the refrigerator.
"That Ice Cube Bastard agreed to teach you?"
"Just suggestions, like the development of Moves and such."
Fubuki looked at her sister, who still seemed a bit distracted.
After hesitating for a moment, Fubuki spoke up:
"Sister, about that misunderstanding today..."
Before she could finish, Tatsumaki interrupted, her face turning red instantly:
"Don't mention it! Forget about it!!"
"Sister, let me finish first."
Fubuki had expected her to have a strong reaction.
She hurriedly continued:
"Actually, it's fine. It was just a misunderstanding; many people have had them."
"Stop talking!!" Tatsumaki buried herself in the sofa, covering her head with a throw pillow.
"That guy definitely laughed at me, didn't he!"
"I'm going to beat him until he has amnesia!!"
Fubuki gently shook her body, her tone helpless.
"That's not the point."
The scene was a bit like a mother who had worked hard all day coming home to take care of a daughter throwing a tantrum.
"The point is, how do you view Aokiji, Sister?"
"His head is full of ice, he makes people angry as soon as he opens his mouth, a total bastard—!!"
Without even thinking, Tatsumaki blurted out the insult.
Fubuki shook her head and asked back:
"If someone else liked you, Sister, what would you think?"
"What do other guys have to do with me?" Tatsumaki lifted the pillow, frowning with disdain.
"That's exactly the point."
Fubuki stared into her eyes.
Two pairs of identical emerald pupils reflected each other.
"Since you don't care at all about others' affection, why did you think about playing a prank on Aokiji after thinking he liked you?"
"That guy is infuriating, I wanted to get back at him and mess with him!"
"But would you do that if it were someone you truly hated, Sister?"
Fubuki knew her sister's irritable personality very well.
She wouldn't even spare a glance at irrelevant people.
As for people she hated, she would give them a beating and then say they were disgusting.
She would never act like she did with Aokiji, thinking she had caught him in a compromise and wanting to tease him.
Tatsumaki fell silent.
Tatsumaki's face was overheating!
"Are-Are-Are you trying to say I like that bastard?!!"
Her skin was very fair, so even a little bit of blushing was very conspicuous.
Her Psychic Power unconsciously began to leak out of her body.
The unintentional pressure caused the stress on Fubuki to suddenly increase.
"That's not what I meant!" Fubuki quickly soothed her.
"Sister, didn't you say you've only known each other for a week? Generally, one wouldn't fall in love so quickly..."
"Whether it's a week or a year! No matter how long it is, I will never like that guy!!"
Tatsumaki waved her arms and declared loudly.
"I know, I know."
Fubuki helplessly comforted her reactive sister.
"What I meant was, maybe you care about Aokiji a bit, Sister..."
"It's caring, not liking!"
Fubuki made sure to emphasize that point.
She was afraid Tatsumaki would explode again.
"Because you've always been too strong, Sister, no one has been able to interact with you as an equal. Even a slight release of your Psychic Power is more than others can bear."
"Aokiji is different; he's also very strong."
"So you're more relaxed when you're with him."
"For example, when Aokiji was joking during the day, you subconsciously used your Psychic Power to lift such massive stone slabs to smash him, and even brought down a meteorite."
"For an ordinary person, that would be a lethal attack."
"But for you two, it's just within the realm of normal play between friends."
Tatsumaki turned her head and muttered, "That guy and I are not friends..."
Fubuki asked again, "If you were very angry with me, Sister, would you use an attack of that magnitude?"
Tatsumaki: "..."
She only had this one younger sister.
How could she possibly launch an attack of that level against Fubuki?
Fubuki summarized:
"Because it's the first time you've met a peer with the strength to interact with you as an equal, and since Aokiji likes to joke around, your interactions seem full of conflict, but the atmosphere is actually quite harmonious."
"It's probably for these reasons that you care more about Aokiji, Sister."
Tatsumaki held the pillow in her arms and lowered her head in thought.
It was true; sometimes she couldn't wait to crush Aokiji to death.
But after a round of bickering, she soon wasn't very angry anymore.
According to her usual personality,
it wasn't over until she killed anyone who annoyed her.
What Fubuki said seemed to make some sense... it was just caring!
Right! The kind of caring between friends!
While thinking, Tatsumaki unconsciously grabbed and kneaded the pillow.
The movement of her hands paused.
But wouldn't that be equivalent to admitting I consider that guy a friend?
Tatsumaki began to feel conflicted again.
This term, which was somewhat unfamiliar to her,
made Tatsumaki, who had always borne everything alone, feel strangely embarrassed.
Still, it was better than being thought to like that guy.
After she finished thinking, Tatsumaki suddenly asked:
"Fubuki, how do you view him?"
"Huh? Me?"
Fubuki was stunned.
She never expected the topic to shift to herself.
"I've only met Aokiji a few times..."
"Just say it!" Tatsumaki urged.
"You analyzed me thoroughly, so of course you have to talk about yourself too!"
Fubuki had no choice.
After a brief pause, she began to speak:
"I first saw Aokiji at the Hero recruitment test. At the time, I thought he was very lazy and probably wasn't very good at training his Psychic Power."
"Then the testing began, and I realized he was very strong."
"Then I thought his lazy appearance meant he must be... must be an arrogant person who looked down on everyone."
"Once he officially started Hero work, reports about him came out one after another."
"He's either defeating Monsters or catching criminals; it's like he never stops all day. Even small things like helping residents are described as him being very proactive in the reports."
"At that point, I just thought it was a show put on to cooperate with the Hero Association's publicity."
"Until today," Fubuki rubbed her fingers together, "he brought you to find me, Sister."
"Listening to him analyze the conflict between us and persuade us to communicate and understand each other."
"Actually, there was no need for him to do that, right?"
"As long as he brought you to find me, even if he did nothing afterward, you would still owe him a favor, Sister."
"So my view of Aokiji changed again."
While Fubuki was thinking,
a bit of confusion surfaced.
"Actually, I don't know how I view him myself..."
"But I think the profession of Hero suits him quite well."
————
"The Monster farming plan can start immediately!"
Hanging up the call from Flash, Aokiji excitedly said a line that only a villain would say.
As expected of a ninja.
He was fast at gathering intelligence.
Not even a day had passed, and he had already investigated the location of the House of Evolution.
The night was deep.
Aokiji cut through the packed earth of the backyard.
He brought along the Vengeful Chicken, which was inside the ice block and filled with numb emotions.
He set off toward the location Flash had scouted.
At this period, for the House of Evolution,
it was unclear how many artificial Monsters had been cultivated.
But it didn't matter.
The founder of the House of Evolution—Dr. Genus.
He was the most valuable target of the House of Evolution.
He was also an indispensable aid for Aokiji's Monster farming plan.
...
(Throw some stones)