Ugghhh, my hand is numb. Did I slept in a weird position? Zack thought as he slowly opened his eyes. Slowly, he felt someone beside him. Before even looking, he knew why his hand was feeling numb—his sister probably came beside him again and slept with him. Hmm, but why can't I even see anything when I have opened my eyes? Ugh, what is this fur? Geez, Lurvi, don't sleep on my forehead!
Zack, with his free hand, picked up Lurvi and placed her on his chest. Sigghh, can't even sleep peacefully, he thought as he shook his head while smiling. Then he saw Sasha holding his hand like a pillow and sleeping peacefully. Sigghh. He barely sat up and leaned with his back against the wall, putting Lurvi on his thighs, while Sasha subconsciously moved up with his hand.
Pheewww! What a day! He thought about all the things that had happened and started thinking about how to deal with that dreadful man. Every time he thought about him, blood rushed to his head. He saw his sister smiling in her sleep. He gently patted her head and lost himself in his own world.
After some time, he heard a voice. "If you keep patting my head, then my hair would fall off, Zack."
Big sister Sasha woke up as she yawned and stretched her arms. "Ufff, my body feels good now. I guess I was recharged with my brother's hug," Sasha said as she also sat beside Zack and took Lurvi and placed her on her thighs, slowly patting her.
"Are you okay?" Zack asked while looking out of the round window.
"Hmm, I am fine now!" Sasha answered sincerely.
"Hmm, even going through such a horrifying experience, you recover quickly haan, my big sister!" Zack smiled as he wanted to be 100% sure.
"Hehe, what do you think? I'm strong, right?" Sasha smiled, flashing her teeth. Then, in a softer tone, she added, "We have to be okay. If not—if every time something like this happens, we let it make us sad—then we'd never be happy. Do you know how many times a woman gets harassed?" she asked, looking at Zack. Zack simply shook his head in silence.
"Hmm, I also don't know, hehe, because it's hard to count and hard to say which can be considered as harassment by others. If I take men checking my body with lustful gazes in a day, then there is no need to count—it's probably reached an astronomical number. Then there are people who approach you with vulgar eyes, trying to talk to you. Then there are people who touch you in the crowd, saying it was a mistake. Then there are creeps who openly harass you. Then there are the worst of the bunch!! Just know that a woman has to go through a lot in day-to-day life," Sasha smiled as she told Zack about her problems and other women's problems.
She kept smiling as she spoke. "Of course, that doesn't mean I'm blaming men for all this. It's in our nature. Women are made beautiful by nature, and men are made to approach us. We have to live by the law of this world, and there's nothing wrong with that. We women also like when someone tells us we're beautiful. Nature balances us, and it's only when that balance is broken, problems arise." She paused, remembering her night, and continued, "But, there are also people who try to fix it when something bad happens, unbalancing the nature law." Leaning on Zack's shoulder, she added, "Don't put everything on your shoulders. Everyone's with you, and don't you dare think this beautiful sister of yours is weak. Next time, I will personally kill that man," Sasha said, her eyes blazing with determination as she looked at Zack.
Zack heard everything carefully and smiled. "Oooh, is that so? My sister is strong, then what iiifff..." Zack was about to finish his sentence when he suddenly started to tickle her waist, which made Sasha jolt in shock as she threw Lurvi in the air. Lurvi subconsciously floated and slowly opened her eyes, seeing what was going on.
"Hahahahahhaha, zaaccckkk, stooopp! Hahahaha, stooppp itt! Hahahahah, oooowwww, owwwww, hahaha, my stomach is aaahhhh hahahah hurting, Zackk! I am goonnnaaa kill yoouuuuu, hahhaha!" Sasha rolled on the ground as Zack tickled her hard, not leaving her. "Grraannndddpppaaaaa, hahahhaha, grannndddpppaaa, oowwoowww!"
Zack finally left her and said, "Ohhh, you can't even defeat this little brother of yours, then how could you defeat that man?"
Sasha, with tears in her eyes from laughing hard, glared at Zack and started chasing him. "Youuuu brraaattt, coommeee here! I will beat youuu!"
"Hehe." Then started a cat-and-mouse chase, running around the house as different stuff was thrown and happy laughs sounded in this house...
After running a lot, both sat on the sofa, gasping for breath. As both looked at each other, "Heheheh," and laughed.
"Looks like Grandpa isn't home. What do you think? Should we go to Fia's house and eat there, or should we cook?" Sasha smiled.
"Hmm, let's go to theirs. I will also check on Fia's condition. Ah, and yes, I will work on the fields today after eating, so yeah," Zack just informed her.
"Oohhhh." Sasha, getting reminded of how much Zack used his tools to capture Tyra, said in a frustrated voice, "Shit, I forgot to take compensation!"
"Hahah, leave her alone. She is already under a lot of pressure," Zack said while sighing.
"Hmm, then maybe after everything is over, I will take it from her," Sasha said, making a promise to herself. "And I will also go with you. We could earn together." Sasha ran away to change, giving no chance for discussion.
Zack smiled as he also went to change.
Zack came out in a sleeveless gray tank top that showed his toned arms, paired with dark cargo pants that had several pockets and straps. A brown belt with pouches was slung loosely around his waist, and he had a black wristband on one arm. Goggles rested on his head, giving him a rugged explorer look. He made sure he took everything required to work on a farm and saw Sasha after a while who was wearing a loose dark-blue tunic with short sleeves and simple stitched patterns along the edges. The tunic had a lace-up neckline and was tied at the waist with wide leather belts that held small pouches. Her pants were gray and slightly baggy, tucked into tall brown boots with straps and folded tops. She also had leather wraps on her forearms and a necklace with Zack's marble around her neck, giving her a practical yet adventurer-like look.
"Let's go," Sasha moved forward, tapping his shoulders.
When they reached Muscle Sibling house, they saw Fia sweating heavily doing a one-hand stand. Her muscled, toned body shimmered in sunlight as her hair tried to touch the ground. Her long legs and naked abdomen, with breasts trying to fall out from her tight sports bra, made her look enticing.
"Uwwwaahhh, Zack, close your eyes! Here is a maniac doing weird things!" Sasha tried to close Zack's eyes with one hand while holding Lurvi with the other. Zack didn't bother and kept looking at her in a relaxed manner.
"Hmmm." With her world upside down, she saw her friends coming. Seeing them, she smiled and straightened herself. "Phheewwwww, that was good. Hey there, fellas! Did you come here for Mother's food? Sadly, she is out and hasn't returned. Why not cook ourselves? We have an excellent cook on our side," she pointed at Sasha and added, "and Big guy inside, who is still sleeping."
"Hmm, sure." Zack came forward. He came towards her and raised his hand. Fia, seeing this, smiled, and CLLAPPP! Both clapped as they went inside, talking and laughing.
Geezz, am I being ignored or what? Sasha pouted in anger as she also went inside.
"I am going to take a bath. Sasha, can you wake my brother up? Zack you can start preparing," Fia ordered as she went inside the bathroom.
"Hmm." Sasha went inside Big guy's room and saw him sleeping like a bear. "Oh, it's time for the special waking technique." Then she just pulled a string lever present at one corner, and suddenly the wind inside the room stopped, making the room hotter and less comfy.
"Agghhh." Big guy slowly woke up and saw Sasha smiling in front of the door. "Big sister Sasha, you can wake me up normally, you know," Big guy yawned and got up with his huge body, scratching his belly and head.
"Hey, hey, why should I use my strength just to wake you up? Let's go, we are making lunch," Sasha turned after saying it.
Big guy walked behind her and said, "Are you okay, big sister Sasha? Zack was really angry. I don't know what happened, but I am sorry to not be able to do anything."
Sasha smiled and said, "It's fine. You can protect us next time, Big guy." She patted his arms, smiling.
"Hehe, sure I will do that." Big guy also smiled warmly as they went together, laughing and smiling.
Sasha and Big guy were the main cooks while Zack and Fia helped with other things, making the scene beautiful and warm. They talked a lot about various things. Big guy and Fia heard they would work on the fields, so they also joined.
"Ah! Brother Zack, Sio was also looking to buy some tools. Can you help her find some good ones with a good discount?" Big guy remembered Sio's talk and asked Zack.
"Hmm, sure, I will do that. I will take her with me when I go there," Zack nodded.
Zack also shared the details about that dreadful man, but not going deep—just saying little info for Sasha's sake—making the muscle siblings get very angry. After lots of talk, they calmed down.
"So, what is your plan, Zack?" Fia asked while cutting some vegetables with slight anger still present in her head.
"I have talked with Oliver about this. We can't really depend on the forces—not that they are incompetent or not doing anything, but we have to do some things with our own hands. We can't just sit as we keep getting hit. Of course, we need everyone's help. We have to go deep into the rocks to find some information, especially on that representative and other people who must have come trying to kill Natalia and little princess."
"Hmm, sure, let's do that." Everyone nodded in agreement.
Everyone cooked food and ate together, enjoying their time and the meal. The warmth of friends and family filling the room chased away the lingering shadows of the previous night, if only for a little while.
END OF CHAPTER
Author's Note: The narrator would like to remind everyone that emotional support and tickle fights are both valid forms of therapy. The Royal Medical Board has not approved this statement, mostly because they're still arguing about whether Lurvi counts as a medical professional. (She does not.)