I took longer than I'm willing to talk about making my sisters understand the real reason I wanted my school invited: the fact that I'm new, have one guy friend, and needed to integrate socially.
Obviously, I lied. I couldn't deal with their incessant quips and the inevitable violence that would ensue if a classmate was judged by Sistin's moral standards or Cily's mood.
We spent the rest of the day talking about their trips to the Americas. It was all very boring, but they did bring a lot of fancy American candy, snacks, and a T-shirt saying 'SisCon' (Sister Complex).
I appreciated the effort.
I let them settle in and went outside to the former gardens to train. Remy had made certain changes, removing most trees and rare flowers to create an acceptable place for swordsmanship training.
I thought about my mother's parents, the traditionalists who disowned her, and why Grandfather hadn't told me where to find them. He obviously knew the location of the family whose martial art he demanded I master.
I loved training with the sword now, though it wasn't always like that. I used to laugh, telling myself that all I needed was my ability. How laughable. My powers left me with no defense. Its range, sight, and destructive speed were impressive, but I had too many weaknesses.
The fight yesterday with the guards showed me, yet again, my vulnerability. If not for their crippling fear—not just of dying themselves, but of the consequences for their friends and families, who would be condemned to a cruel, slow death in a deep mine—they would have shot me like a dog.
Overcoming automatic weapons with a sword will never happen. Though the sword is useless against the Mimiks and Subiton, it works just fine against Evolveds. I hoped one day I could catch an entire line of fire with my ability, but unless I risk a wide-area attack that might hurt innocents, that might never happen.
Being Evolved was nice, but death still hunted us all. I need to be stronger, not just against monsters for our family's future, but against other Evolved who would eventually try to kill me for political gain.
The problem is, I can't accept or initiate duels for training purposes. My power is destruction, not fighting. My only chance for live combat experience is to join Black or, when I'm much better, a Yellow Portal Rip. That, or the inevitable war. I have plenty to protect, not to mention I asked Grandfather to actively involve me. Getting stronger fast was a must.
I tossed the training sword up in the air. When it reached its maximum height, my power tore the wood into particles, leaving no trace. I need more training. I missed my mother, even her insane training methods.
~
The next morning, I ran into a problem before school.
"...You want to come to school with me?"
""Yes!"" they chirped in unison.
"No, no, no! Stop! You can't! Find something else to do. I will not have my idiot schoolmates die for ogling my sisters. No means no! Absolutely not!"
On my way to school, I looked behind me at my two smiling sisters.
I couldn't believe they got permission from that flame muppet, Father. Of course, he'd say yes; it was my fault for not anticipating something this insane. By underestimating them, I'd have to go to school with them.
I did manage to negotiate a Thursday and Friday only visit. Also... I looked at their matching, floor-length black cloaks and dark sunglasses. They could have been men, women, or anything in between. I felt this was the only way to save people's lives. I felt righteous about this.
"You will listen, please. I want you to repeat the rules. A single mistake will throw this entire agreement into the trash. Go."
"No flirting... like we ever do that," Cily started dismissively.
"No babying you on school premises," Sistin continued.
"No telling real or made up stories about childhood."
"No fights until home. That's for you, TOO, STIVI!"
"Good. Eighth time's the charm. Obviously, Sisi, if I commit social suicide, it won't be because of you two. I have a feeling four years will be plenty of time to do that naturally. Now... Goddamnit... here we go! No, no hand-holding! Are you kidding me? You will act your age!"
I can't believe this is happening. Rules or not, cloaks or not. These two days will be the opposite of fun.
It started immediately. I saw Ranni's group not fifty feet from us. She saw me and waved. I almost panicked, but I was a man. Whatever happens... Shit.
"Morning, Stivanstin... and bodyguards?" Ranni asked, sounding perfectly unsure.
I didn't look behind me, but I felt them shaking with repressed giggling.
"No, I don't need... no. They are my sisters, Sistine and Sicily Avesta. They came as obserr... observers for the Empire. They work in, umm, education. Girls, please take that silly getup off and introduce yourselves."
They did just that, and doing so stopped about thirty people in a fifty-foot radius.
I need to find something to blackmail them out of this!
"Hi, girls. I'm Sistine! Thank you for taking care of my brother. We'll be here in your school a lot, so let's be close friends." My social little psycho wasted no time.
What was worse .. Sicily. "Hmm. I'm Sicily Avesta. Pleasure." Cily was stone cold. I wanted to turn back time and curse myself for this entire situation.
Ranni didn't even flinch.
"Ranni Castill, Healing Awakened. The pleasure is mine, my ladies. It's my honor to take care of him," she said, giving me a little wink.
I didn't even see how her two friends responded. She was perfect. Not flustered one bit and collected against women I'd seen make grown men cry. I also didn't miss her pronounced emphasis on my honor to take care of him.
Cily definitely noticed. She turned her head away and looked at me with distaste, her eyes promising vile words later.
"Oh my... I see we might need to get used to your presence by our brother. You seem lovely, and I hope to see you at our party this Friday, and of course, your friends." Sistin was doing her best to calm the tension.
"I'll be happy to attend. After all, it was my idea," Ranni replied.
She was right. I needed this moment to end.
"Alright then! Hahaha. Good meeting, short meeting. Let's all see each other later today at some point."
I took my sisters by the arms before either of them could do something unladylike.
"I see you didn't waste any time, you lecherous insect," Cily hissed.
"Shut up, Sisi. Don't make me go after your collections again."
Cily immediately grabbed my shoulder's weak spot, where the bones met, and pushed her thumb in deep. I went down like a sack of potatoes.
"God... I swear one of these days..."
"One of these days W.H.A.T?" she cut me off, leaning close enough to let me see the madness in her eyes.
The woman is unhinged. I kept my mouth shut. Cily was crazy, and you can't reason with crazies. Just let them vent their frustrations and offer sweet words after they're done.
I spent the next fifteen minutes being called every mean-spirited name for a man's humiliation in the good book. Blah blah, "you're a gigolo." Blah blah, "I won't accept her." The headache was immense.
"We are officially on school grounds. The fight is suspended until we get home. That gives you five hours to search the web for more nicknames."
"Good thinking, you horny munchkin. Last one... for now," Sistin added quickly.
"Cily...?" I turned to the other.
"Hmph."
Good enough.
~
Walking in, most people, luckily, used Ranni's line of thinking and assumed I had bodyguards. It annoyed me but I took the win. We made it inside the classroom with minimal commotion.
I found it strange how my seating area had been changed to accommodate five if necessary. Isherwell...
We took the seats and prepared ourselves. Neither Tetsuya, the twins, nor Ranni were present. They must all be sick, huh? I still hadn't seen Aviv since the first day. Did Sol already take care of him? That reminded me—I needed to call Sol and invite him to the party. He might relax a bit and maybe find someone.
"Class, we welcome a new student. She was sick with the flu that keeps so many home today and couldn't attend the first few days. Please..."
A tall girl, with curly black hair and glasses framing her face perfectly, walked in.
"I'm Lillybeth Avant. Please call me Lilly. It's nice to meet you all."
Damn it.
Lilly Avant. It clicked.
That girl from the balcony from that party, and she was now in my class.