To love a sword

Chapter 40: Little Brother?

Beta read by Shigiya, Paragon of Awesomeness and FabledLife

.

.

.

-Sainan-

(A few days earlier)

“Hahaha, this is some wonderful tea, isn’t it, Tearju?” Ryouko’s laugh was light but carried a clear effort to lift the weight of the room’s atmosphere. She sat together with Tearju and Emiya in the modest living room of her house, a tea set neatly placed on a low table between them. The aroma of steeped leaves curled upward… something she hoped would help to give the room a more welcome and relaxed feeling.

Ryouko alone maintained a cheerful tone, though her attempts at easing the mood did not seem to be as effective as she would have liked. Across from her, one figure sat quietly, keeping her gaze on the rim of her cup. Beside her, a young man with his arms resting on the table held a deceptive expression of calmness, his eyes fixed steadily on their guest. Yet she knew full well that he was capable of springing into action at a moment's notice.

“Alright, this is going nowhere,” Ryouko muttered under her breath after letting out a small sigh. She had tried twice now to spark some kind of normal conversation, but both parties offered only clipped replies or had nothing to say at all. She wanted a bridge built between them, some mutual ground, but the atmosphere stayed rigid.

“You two are acting like this is some kind of divorce settlement where both of you are fighting over who gets custody of Yami. That’s obviously not what this is, and I’d appreciate it if you both stopped behaving as if it were.” She took a measured sip of her tea, part of her wishing she could slip in a small splash of rum to dull the tension, at least for herself.

“Yes, um, I’m not here to forcefully take Eve away as you might be fearing,” Tearju said at last, her tone steady, hoping to chip at the wall between them.

Emiya inclined his head slightly, letting a few seconds pass before speaking. “Perhaps I came off too strongly at the start. Your sudden presence just put me on edge after what I heard from Yami, and how you had supposedly vanished — I had to voice them immediately.”

His words lacked any sort of anger, instead giving her some space to explain herself. Ryouko noticed it and felt a small relief that at least he had the maturity to step back. “But I was serious earlier,” he continued. “That girl is content here and has adapted to her lifestyle on this planet. Your being here is suspicious, to say the least.” He leaned forward slightly, his hands folded together now rather than flat on the table.

“Even if I wanted to, I don’t believe I deserve to take her away,” the blonde scientist answered. “I… I failed her. The fact that she became the infamous Golden Darkness known across the galaxy is proof enough of that.” Her eyes drifted downward, fingers tightening faintly around her cup.

“She is no longer an assassin. She has moved on from that past,” he reminded her, his tone softer after seeing that the woman at least sounded genuine. He knew exactly how much effort Yami had poured into taking those first tentative steps into a new life. He would not allow her to be dragged back into the mess that was her life she had left behind. Even while entrusting her with protecting Mikan was a good way to keep her occupied, he also carried an obligation to safeguard the family as a whole.

“I know,” Tearju said quietly, glancing up at him. “I’m glad that you saved her.”

“She has changed a lot in this short time,” Ryouko added, breaking her silence with a faint smile. Her hands rested on her knees, posture softening as she spoke. “Their first meeting wasn’t exactly ideal and quite the shocker. Never in my life would I have believed that someone like her would get defeated by a human. Still, he managed to achieve something quite remarkable in the end. One could say it was treated as an impossible task by many.”