April 15, 2025
The shrill sound of a ringing phone cut through the morning air.
"Ring... Ring..."
Sam grabbed his phone from the table, slightly annoyed. Allya, had already left for school.
"Yes, Mom?" he answered.
A stern female voice immediately shot through the speaker. "Hello, Brother. Where are you? Why aren't you taking my calls?"
"Rika? Hold on, I only missed one call," Sam countered.
"So what? You have to always answer your younger sister's calls! She misses you so much," Rika insisted.
Sam sighed. "Now what did you do?"
"I want to meet the siblings, so I'm coming to India! It's been so long. I haven't even gotten a chance to talk to them, and you're living with them. This is so unfair," she complained.
"Just try to come. Mom will beat the hell out of you," Sam warned.
A weaker voice, their mother, cut in on Rika's end. "Mom, I want to go…" "No, not now," Sam's mother stated firmly.
Sam let out a small, smug chuckle. "Hehehehe... Any other bright ideas?"
"Okay, now, no more jokes. Talk to Mom. She wants to talk to you," Rika said, relenting.
"Okay." Sam took the phone as Rika handed it to Fatuba (Sam's mother).
"Hello, Shinkai." "Hello, Mom. How is your health, Mom?" Sam asked. "I am alright, and taking good care of my grandchild," Fatuba replied, her voice soft and gentle. "Sure, but sometimes they give me a hard time, especially Allya," Sam admitted.
Fatuba chuckled. "Yeah, she totally looks like her mother." She smiled gently.
Rika piped up in the background. "Ohh, Brother got scolded by a child only. Listening to that gives me relief!"
"Shut up, Rika. When are you going to mature?" Sam snapped. "Hello, I'm already twenty! I'm so much more mature," Rika huffed.
"Just looking at her reminds me of her mother," Fatuba murmured. "Yes," Sam agreed, watching Allya walk off to school. "And how is Kirito doing?"
"Ah, that boy… He's a copy of Rika, but with little brain, Just an update," Sam joked.
"Oye, what do you want to say?" Rika shouted at Sam, confused if he was paying a compliment or an insult.
Fatuba tried to keep them both in check. "What brought you to say that, Sam?"
"Hmm. He acts before thinking and is always carefree, but on missions, nobody knows what happens to him—he enters a total serious mode. But he loves his sister too much. If somebody says something wrong to her, I recently got a lecture from him," Sam confessed.
"What have you done, Sam?" Fatuba questioned. "First, you will not get angry at me," Sam pleaded. "Oh, fine. I will not say a single word to you," Fatuba conceded.
Sam looked relieved. "Rika, how many members of your squad are here?" "Hmm… No one," Rika replied.
"Then I'm safe. The thing is, I hid Allya's awakening from everyone, and now she can use Water Magic," Sam revealed.
"What?!" Rika exclaimed. "Shinkai, you know how important this is, and you hid this from me too!" Fatuba scolded.
"Mom, I already got a long lecture from Kirito, and now you, too," Sam sighed.
"You are going to die! I will kill you with my bare hands!" Rika threatened, entering a rage.
"Rika, I'm sorry! Don't do anything stupid," Sam begged. "Mom, say something to her!" "Now, she is your problem. Deal with her alone," Fatuba simply said.
"Rika, leave him. Shinkai, you have to come to Japan for a month," Fatuba ordered. "Why? What happened?" Sam asked.
"There is some work here that you have to do," Fatuba explained.
Rika quickly interrupted. "Mom, say it directly! There is an event where investors and businessmen from the whole world are coming. Sam wants you to go to attend that event from our side."
"That's understood, but what about them? Who will be here with them? Leaving them here will be foolish," Sam argued. "Shinkai, you are being too protective. They can handle it. They are safe," Fatuba assured him.
"Mom, leaving them is not the case. The ones who hurt them are already chasing them. Their only safety is their protection," Sam insisted.
"My niece and his friends are Dark Knights, and they can easily beat those pigs," Rika boasted.
"Yes, I admire that they are Dark Knights, but they aren't that strong. Last time, Akira personally came to attack Alliya," Sam reminded her. "If that is the case, leaving them alone will be dangerous," Fatuba agreed.
"Then I can go there," Rika offered. "No, Mom, she will tell everything," Sam opposed.
"Here, you are right. But I have an idea," Fatuba said, a plan forming. "An idea! What is it?" Sam asked, intrigued.
"I will send Rika to India, but she will stay in the inn near your house. This way, she can keep an eye on them without being noticed," Fatuba revealed.
"I have no complaints," Rika readily accepted. "I will be okay with this until she doesn't do anything stupid," Sam muttered.
"Just believe in me," Rika said, trying to sound trustworthy.
"Wh… Okay, I will leave day after tomorrow. Bye," Sam said, ending the call, a complicated plan now set in motion.
"Bye," Sam said, hanging up, then smiled at the thought of leaving for Japan. He started preparing his bag.
It's been a year since I've gone home. I should take some gifts for Rika and Mom, he thought happily. What should I take with me? Uhh, I will take Allya with me, she can help me with this.
In the afternoon, Allya returned from school. She threw her bag on the couch, changed her clothes, grabbed food from the kitchen, and started eating lunch while watching TV.
Sam came out of his room. "Alliya, are you free today?" he asked. "Yes, but why?" Allya replied between bites.
"I am going back to Japan for a month. So, I want to take some gifts to take back with me," Sam explained. "Oh, but did you bring the groceries?" Allya asked, taking another bite. "No." "Issh, why not?" "First eat and then talk," Sam instructed.
Allya quickly swallowed the food and drank her water. "I'm saying that let's go and also bring the groceries. If I ask brother to bring it, he will only delay it," Allya said. "No, I should keep the necessary items at home before I leave," Sam insisted.
Soon, they both left for the market. First, they went to buy groceries, then to the local market for gifts.
Meanwhile, Kirito and the others had arrived back at the house, but they didn't have the key. Allya had forgotten to give the spare key to the watchman.
"Where did she go?" Kirito wondered. "The car wasn't here, either. I think they have gone somewhere near," Reno observed. "Have you called them?" Asuna asked. "Hmm, Sherry broke the screen of my phone, so I can't," Kirito replied. "Mine was dead," Reno added.
"What do you guys even do at the academy? Wait, I will call them," Asuna said, taking out her phone.
As Asuna took out her phone, a sudden notification popped up, showing a Devil nearby. The orders were simple: Neutralize it.
They all looked at each other, wondering who should go. Reno spoke first, seeing the notification had come to Asuna. "The notification came to Asuna. Asuna has to go."
"Don't be foolish, Reno. Its entitlement is 6.2. All of us have to go," Kirito stated, already in mission mode.
They placed their bags in front of the gate and left for the neutralization zone. "Guys, at the roof," Asuna commanded. "Understood," Reno affirmed.
Reno spotted an iron rod at the corner of the road. "Kirito, get ready, levitate," Reno said.
Reno made the iron rod float and increased its velocity, firing it to attack the Devil. He knew it wasn't enough to kill it, but it was the best way to create an opening for Asuna and Kirito.
"Atomic Rail!" Kirito yelled.
Kirito dashed above the Devil in the blink of an eye. He turned his slime into a sword and directly attacked the Devil's core. The attack, however, did not kill the Devil.
"Holy shit! I missed the core!" Kirito cursed, quickly degrading his feet to land safely. "Kirito, watch out!" Reno yelled.
The Devil struck Kirito with its tail, throwing him onto another roof.
"Ray of Justice!" A powerful voice boomed.
A yellow light destroyed the core of the Devil in a single shot. "Thanks, Asuna," Kirito called out.
"But that's not my doing," Reno corrected.
Suddenly, a figure appeared. "How pathetic. You call yourself a Dark Knight?" The voice belonged to Lucious, a white-haired boy.
"Reno, who is this white hair?" Kirito asked. "He is from our class," Reno replied. "That boy, Fito. You missed him on the first day," Asuna clarified.
Just then, Asuna got a call from Allya, demanding they come back home fast or she wouldn't open the door. They all ignored Lucious and went back home.
"How dare they ignore me! I will make them pay for this insult of mine, Lucious," the white-haired boy seethed.
April 17, 2025.
Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi.
Sam took his luggage and walked towards his flight. On the way, he encountered Rika.
"Take good care of them, Sis," Sam said. "I will. Mom is waiting for you, big bro," Rika replied.
Rika stepped out of the airport with a huge smile on her face. "Now, this freedom is mine! Wait, I have to take my next flight. Oh man, why did I come out now? I have to go through that long security again," Rika muttered to herself.