Chapter 75 – Asleep Again?
"I don't really mind." Aokiji shrugged.
"But do you really think this is fine? Tatsumaki obviously has a hang-up about this; if the two of you aren't on the same page, acting on your own will only make things worse."
"The relationship between you sisters might end up even worse than before."
"I…" Fubuki was lost for words.
How could she not have thought of that?
But in the middle of the argument, being dismissed by Tatsumaki again made her lose control of her anger.
Yes, her older sister was right.
The skills she had practiced during this period were nothing more than instincts Tatsumaki had been born with.
Awakening her Psychic Power at five, she had worked hard for fifteen years.
Yet she still couldn't compare to Tatsumaki as a child.
The gulf-like gap left her feeling unworthy.
Everything she enjoyed hadn't been earned by herself.
From Fubuki's perspective, it felt like charity casually handed out by her sister.
Although she knew deep down that Tatsumaki would never think that way.
The inferiority complex simply wouldn't go away.
Even after Aokiji mediated and their relationship improved, allowing them to tolerate each other for a while.
After today's quarrel, Fubuki disappointedly realized that her sister still didn't understand her.
Just like a Genius can't comprehend why someone still can't learn calculus at fourteen.
This realization made Fubuki give up on the idea of mutual understanding.
Yet… to truly abandon this blood connection was something she couldn't do.
Fubuki seemed to lose all strength at once.
She slowly squatted down, hugged her knees, and buried her head deeply, saying nothing.
A picture of withdrawal.
Aokiji gazed at her crouched figure.
Clearly an aloof, queen-like woman, now curled into a tiny ball, looking terribly pitiful.
He couldn't resist the urge to grab her shoulders… and play leapfrog.
Aokiji shook his head, dispersing the mischievous thought.
He simply flopped backward, lying on the fairly flat reef.
Hearing the movement, Fubuki lifted her head slightly.
She exposed her eyes to look at Aokiji.
"Take your time thinking; I'll sleep first… zzz…"
Before he finished, Aokiji closed his eyes.
Fubuki jabbed his cheek hard with a finger.
I'm so upset and he's napping next to me without a care?!
She kept poking, knowing Aokiji had thick skin and showing no mercy.
Just fallen asleep, Aokiji was woken again.
"Sigh—" He rubbed his eyes helplessly.
"I've gone cruising with you, listened to your troubles, said I'd give you stuff, but you can't make up your mind—what else do you want me to do?"
"Can't you offer some friendly advice?"
She was still poking his face, apparently letting off steam.
Mentioning friends reminded Aokiji of the "mutual patching-up" between him and her sister.
Of course, that was not something he could say aloud.
"Advice, let me think… zzz…"
Poke poke poke poke—!!
"Stop, I'm thinking."
Aokiji yawned without conviction.
He pondered for quite a while.
Just when Fubuki thought he'd fallen asleep with his eyes open, he finally spoke:
"Go act cute and coax Tatsumaki."
"?" Fubuki's face filled with question marks.
"That's your grand plan after all that thinking—go whine to my sister?"
"Then should I do it?" Aokiji shot back.
"A guy nearly two meters tall who could poke the ceiling if he transformed—want to watch me act cute?"
"Pfft—" Fubuki couldn't hold it in.
She wouldn't dare even imagine it.
The banter eased the weight in her heart.
She sat down on the reef and said:
"Whining won't work; my sister's immune to both soft and hard tactics, practically no one ever persuades her."
Actually, she did occasionally yield to hard tactics.
Aokiji, unruffled, pillowed his hands behind his head and analyzed:
"Tatsumaki's a pragmatist; she wouldn't strongly reject using an enemy's tech, she just hates feeling manipulated."
The Tsukuyomi Leader's final words back then
had been meant to prove their research had value so Tatsumaki wouldn't destroy it.
But to Tatsumaki it felt like scheming, hence her irritation.
"So first act cute to lower her resistance."
"Then convince her to reframe it: those techniques aren't traps left by the enemy, they're our spoils of war."
Aokiji slowly laid out the rough plan.
Fubuki listened, lost in thought.
Judging by her sister's personality
it… might actually work?
But she was already twenty; going to act cutesy with her sister—
so embarrassing… yet she couldn't think of anything better.
If she'd had a workable idea, she wouldn't have run away from home last time.
"…"
Fubuki lay down as well, staring blankly.
The two of them rested quietly on the same reef, starlight mirrored in their eyes.
Wind, waves, and the sound of breathing—
those were the only noises in Fubuki's ears.
"Aokiji." She wanted to ask something more.
"Zzz…"
She turned her head: Aokiji had, once again, fallen asleep.
Fubuki was speechless but didn't poke him awake.
"Seriously, he can nod off even on a rock."
He solved my problem in no time, yet he's still like a kid.
Last time he'd said he shouldn't get involved in family matters between my sister and me.
Now he's offering advice.
Was it because something happened with my sister…?
Fubuki studied his profile, thinking.
She wasn't blind; Tatsumaki's odd behavior hadn't escaped her.
The sister who never did housework had stealthily slipped out at night to do laundry.
Plus traces Tatsumaki herself hadn't noticed—
Fubuki had seen through them without much effort.
If they were officially a couple, Tatsumaki might keep quiet, but Aokiji wouldn't deliberately hide it.
So their relationship… Fubuki could roughly guess.
Though she'd never imagined
her proud, disdainful sister who never showed anyone a pleasant face would be… with Aokiji. Yet the evidence was overwhelming.
She couldn't deceive herself.
Did Aokiji and her sister really match?
The question popped into her mind.
Fubuki quietly shifted closer, comparing their size difference.
She couldn't picture how the even more petite Tatsumaki managed.
However—
since they weren't officially together,
then I… should be fine, right?
The tide was rising.
Soon it would submerge this reef.
Fubuki had no choice but to use her Psychic Power to float Aokiji and herself away from the area.
—Sis.
—Everything you've given me has always felt like charity.
—Of course, that's not how you think.
—But what I truly want, I'll claim for myself.
——
——
"An unfamiliar ceiling."
The first thing Aokiji said upon waking.
He lay in bed a few minutes to clear his head, then got up.
He slipped on his clothes, walked to the window, and gazed at the ocean view.
Yep, a seaside resort hotel.
He yawned again, unsure whether he'd slept well or not.
He'd only been asleep, not unconscious.
He remembered everything clearly.
Still, he followed his usual policy:
Don't initiate, don't refuse, don't label.
Hmm… the last one might be negotiable if they could accept each other.