Help from Hidden Writers

Memories and Bonds, Part 2

Amano Keisuke was not the type to worry for his sister. 

Well, that's what most people would tell you, but Touma and Akinori knew from their time in Genbu's old palace that he could get really worried for his sister when he wanted to show it. He had only shown this side when his sister, Touma, or Akinori started feeling homesick, so they were grateful for his support.

That's why when his dad told him that his sister had gone missing last night, the first thing he did was to rush to his room and call Akinori and Touma, asking if they had seen his sister last night, while trying- and failing- to keep the worry out of his tone.

"Huh? Keisuke, what happened?" Akinori asked the 11-year-old. He had never been so rudely awakened like this before, but it sounded urgent; Keisuke sounded like he could burst into tears any second now.

"Did Natsume disappear or something?" Touma was personally worried too.

"Y-Yeah..." Keisuke honestly replied. "S-She went to get her textbook at school... Touma, Akinori, I-I'm so worried. W-What if S-Soranaki got to her?"

That question struck at their hearts.

That was very possible. Soranaki had begun aiming towards Natsume, and it had already resulted in a casualty, Douketsu. Natsume herself had begun getting desperate for Shuka's power, which was a bad thing, since they didn't know ANYTHING about Shuka aside from the general information. Translation, they knew next to nothing about her.

To be honest, Keisuke hated that his sister was so desperate for someone else's power. Despite everything they've been through, he couldn't help but feel wary about Shuka. He didn't care about Soranaki. He preferred his sister over Shuka.

"... I think I'm going to call Haruya to see if he's seen Natsume," Touma decided.

"Please do," Keisuke whispered. "I'm so worried about Neechan."

"Don't worry about it, Keisuke. In the meantime, let's meet up at my place," Akinori suggested.

"...Okay then. What about Ayame-san?" Keisuke inquired.

"She's still helping Jorogumo, Rasen, Mister Movien and Ungaikyou with renovating Genbu's old palace, remember?" Touma reminded. "She'll be there for a good amount of days, so we can't ask help from her."

"Right. Okay then. I'll go get ready then head off to your place, Akinori," Keisuke made his decision.

"Same here. I'll just call Haruya at your place," Touma nodded.

"Okay then. See you soon, Touma, Keisuke," Akinori ended the phone call.

Keisuke took in a deep breath, calming himself and trying to get into the right mindset. He couldn't afford to be this fragile. Not with Soranaki now going after his sister.

He kept on reminding himself of that as he grabbed some Arks from his bed-stand, before he remembered that Natsume had left the Elder watch in her room, so he headed there and opened the door.

"Sorry Neechan," he whispered as he took the Elder watch and wore it on his left wrist. Despite not being used to wearing it, Keisuke felt that this was an emergency. 

After that, he went out of her room and headed downstairs, only to be greeted by an unbelievable sight. 

His sister was standing at the foot of the stairs. 

The only thing he could feel then was relief over her safety.

"NEECHAN!!" he yelped out in happiness as he rushed to hug her, but she dodged and pushed him to the ground. He looked at his sister, puzzled over her actions as he gently rubbed the sore spots he had gotten from the fall.

"What?" she snapped upon seeing his gaze.

"Neechan? You okay?" he asked. 

"I can never be okay when I live in the same house as YOU," she growled at him.

"What are you talking about, Neechan?" Keisuke tried to reason with her, but she put her right foot on his face and started to press. 

"You're a horrible younger brother. I don't know why I wanted to protect you in the first place. You would gladly leave me for anyone stronger, wouldn't you?" Her words stabbed his heart. 

"No way-"

"Shut up. I don't want to talk to you. You are no one to me now."

Those words shattered his initial happiness.