8. Screaming with Sirens (1)

I got beaten by Mom yesterday. I don't know why, but I had proved that all reason passes through wild beast's ears.

It was Saturday today. This time, I woke up early again. Since Sera came here, Mom never flattened another object on my butt. Was it because I was sleeping on a mattress, or did it feel like my sanctuary was being threatened?

It was my policy not to oversleep by nine in the evening. I even developed the habit of sleeping by the 20th hour. There wasn't a rule printing that an otaku should stay up all night and fight their sleep debt. Those who say so were the real retards.

I sleep early not because I want to. My health required it. If I don't… an entity scarier than MagnusK will be born.

I'm grateful that by now, I could hear ethereal music before sleeping. The audio in ClouTube was fake and inaudible. Sera's music had originality like it merges the universe and I. I should thank her soon.

When I opened my eyes, the sunlight illuminated my room. The smell of spoiled underarms vanished. I sat up straight and saw Sera sitting at the corner of the room and my bed.

Dark circles surrounded her eyes. She wore casual pajamas lent by Mom to her. Mom taught her how to take a bath, though her panties… For now, it wasn't a problem.

"You didn't sleep?" I asked.

"I—I can't sleep. I'm… concerned about Veniara… She was wounded…"

I sighed. "You won't last in the otaku society. It was only one out of billions of stories, only the surface of an iceberg. I assume you can count, yes?"

"I know my age! But… It was unbelievable. Billions of stories? I couldn't even imagine it. Don't you ran out of papers?"

I smirked. "Rather than I telling you a story from a book you can't even read, how about you let the story tell itself to you?"

"The story will tell itself to me? Don't be absurd! Stories couldn't even talk."

"How much do you underestimate humans? We had forms of entertainment not only in books. We're in the age of moving pictures. With VR, you can even immerse yourself in it."

"Moving pictures!? That's… Impossible!"

I took a disk from the movies section of my shelf and gave it to Sera. "This is what I've been talking about."

Sera opened the disk case and saw the disk on it. Tilting her head to the side, she spun the disk with her finger. "You're right, Kou-nii… It was moving."

"Idiot!" I swiped away the disk case from her and closed it. "Don't dirty this! This was once a mega prize from the Capricio event I took when I was a kid!"

"I—I took a bath yesterday, you know!?"

"You sound like you've cleaned yourself for a whole century. Just so you know, a normal person bathe once or twice per day."

I held the remote and opened the flat-screen TV beside my computer. Sera squeaked and stepped away as the TV emitted a noise. "K—Kou-nii… What's that!?"

"Ah! That's called the Television, TV for short. A TV shows you moving images with sound. Look at it—Wait… Did you just say Kou-nii?"

My eyes bulged and dazed at her drawn eyebrows. I gasped with a burn on my cheeks. The fear in her vanished when our eye contact didn't break.

"Kou-nii? Is there something on my face?"

"Urgh!" I groaned and held my chest like I was stabbed. "Can you say that again, Sera?"

"What should I say again, Kou-nii?"

"URGH!" For a moment, I became like Mom. My face blushed. I breathed deeply and smiled with relief. Arigatou, okaasan!

I punched myself to change the subject. "By the way, Sera, do you now understand what a TV is?"

"I knew that it was a magic tool to show moving images, but… why did you punch yourself?"

"Never mind that. Anyway, it was, like you said, a MAGICAL TOOL that doesn't need magic! It was developed by geniuses to show actual stories happening."

"Where was the story, Kou-nii? I could only see… a bald person."

"Urgh!"

"Could you please stop groaning?"

The TV showed us a program regarding the updates on a car accident. The news reporter was bald. She could understand the words, but not the ideas they uttered.

"This was the story," I smirked and raised the disk cover before her. "Watch me what I'll do!"

I turned on the DVD player and set the TV to AV input. The player ejected its disk tray.

"It moved!" Sera exclaimed and hung her mouth open.

"Can you think of a better subtext?" I put the disk on the tray and closed the tray by the remote. Sera clenched her fist and watched the movie introduction.

"For a lucky girl like you, this was a fantasy story. You could understand the story without asking each second."

"What was the story all about?"

"You'll soon find out. Haven't you heard of show, don't tell?"

My phone rang. I opened and read the notification containing Minoru's message: 'I'm at your home. Where are you?'

"That motherfucker! I told him to wait at the station," I muttered. "Sera, if you want another story, you can ask Mom."

Sera stuck her gaze to the TV, ignoring every gesture I made. I brought my bag and exited. I was confident that she wouldn't do anything without asking for Mom.

I stepped down and witnessed Minoru sitting on the couch. He waved his hand at me and greeted me. "Yo, the best brother in the universe!"

"I told you to wait at the station… and why are you wearing gardening gloves?"

"Maki-san let me in. I came after the thought that if I visit the Sugiyama residence, there's a chance that I'll meet your sister."

"Never in your life. I told you, right? She's a born shut-in."

"And? Who was that?" Minoru asked and pointed his finger toward the gap of the upper stairs.

I gazed up and saw Sera peeking. She flinched back with dilated eyes. "Kou-nii…"

I gritted my teeth and growled. "Go back!" Frightened, she ran back to my room. I shook and turned my head towards Minoru, thinking of a reason how to explain her appearance.

Minoru tilted his head. "Kou, why the long ears?"

"Wait for me, Minoru. I will do some deadly sermon," I said and stomped my feet back into my room. The movie continued playing, but Sera shivered in fear at the corner.

"What are you doing, Sera? Don't you hate humans? Are you jumping down your cliff?"

"But Kou-nii… I'm thirsty."

"Mom was in the other room. Aren't you listening to what I've said?"

"I'm so—No, I won't depend on you anymore!" She boasted, puffing her cheeks. What in the world entered her mind?

"What's with the sudden change of heart?"

"I will understand this story on my own! I don't need your help! I will prove it to you."

"Fine, fine… Do what you want other than causing trouble," I said and left the room. When I got down, I encountered Mom leaving the bathroom.

"Oh, Kou-kun, did something happen while I was releasing my inner thoughts?" Mom asked.

"…You should scold Sera often, Mom. She peeked down while Minoru was here."

"So, Kou-nii," Minoru giggled, "why the long ears?"

"That's… S—She's an aspiring cosplayer… a die-hard Shizu-sama fan! Right, Mom?"

"Oh, that's right, Minoru-kun. She's a c—cosplayer…" Mom laughed to hide her nervousness but it became obvious instead.

"You two stuttered like faulty machines. What did you eat—"

"And don't call me that again, Minoru! That's disgusting to hear from you!"

"You're going to Akiba, right, Kou-kun?" Mom asked, cooperating with my facade. "Can you buy Sera her clothes too? Medium-sized clothes from Atle might be good for her."

"Minoru, you hear that? Remind me after our agenda today."

Minoru pinched his chin and grumbled. "Hmm… her name was Sera-chan, and her clothes were medium-sized…"

"Never go creep mode to my sister, Minoru."

Minoru exclaimed, "Right, right! Sorry, Kou-nii, the best brother in the universe!"

"That's right, Minoru-kun! Kou-kun was a lovely brother to her sister! He's just shy about it!"

"I said stop it, Minoru! And Mom, don't join his antics!"

We prepared for our leave, but Mom smiled and followed up with another request. "Kou-kun… Don't forget the undies… Her D-cup sized bra… and the panties, Kou-kun… the PANTIES…"

"Minoru, raiding my home was the worst choice you ever made."

Minoru asked me to invade a surprise convention held at Akihabara. It has been nearly a week since the cosplay industry experienced its peace. MagnusK rested for days already. Also, I wanted to see again the EcoManiac in action.

On our way towards the station, we encountered the intersection of the road and the crosswalks. Right now, we're the only two pedestrians that will cross.

I asked and squinted, "W—Why are we here, Minoru? There's a safer overpass a few steps away from here." Crossing crosswalks was the thing I hate the most.

Minoru sweated and shouted. "But this was the fastest way ahead! We're going to be late! Why would you prefer crossing three overpasses than passing through a crosswalk!?"

"We aren't in a rush, Minoru. No raider attends earlier than their targets."

"We may not be rushing, but it's not my policy to be late—Oh, I forgot that you're Kou. I'm sorry." His raging aura popped away like bubbles.

I squinted. "You intentionally said it."

"R—Right, Kou! It was just a joke," Minoru laughed. "I'll be careful next time."

We crossed three overpasses and went to the road leading to the train station.

'Arrived at Akihabara Station…'

We stepped out of the station and breathed the air full of radiation, though it was our lifeline. Various colorful commercial buildings greeted us lively.

Residents, foreigners, and leafleters flood the L-shaped street. We landed our bags on the ground, clenched our fists, and gazed up at the sky.

"Mission start."