Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How're you all doing this fine day?
----------------------------------------
And with that all said and done, we can finally get on with this chapter.
God damn it, I don't know why but I have such a bad feeling about this.
I promise to god this isn't gonna be an April Fools joke.
Hell, I don't intend to make a mess out of this chapter at all...
But hey, I didn't intend to turn Eadom into an angel... or make it so the sword is forged out of his flesh.
And it still happened anyways.
Oh well.
Anyways, here comes the next chapter of EUPHORIA! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
----------------------------------------
Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...
----------------------------------------
Mere Moments afterwards... - The Hayabusa Residence - Leonardo's Point of View..
----------------------------------------
What at first appeared to be a mansion turned out to be a rather plain, normal large house.
Which for some reason had the same mansion-like walls surrounding it. Huh, guess mother really does have a paranoia problem.
We walked out of the car and towards the front door but just before we entered, mother turned around with a nervous face."J-just... don't cause a scene, okay?"
Tilting my head in confusion but deciding to nod in order to answer her, I watch with interest as she opens the door slowly to reveal a rather rich living room, with crimson and white couches in the middle of it, a giant plasma to my left, the entrance to what could only be the bathroom to my right and an elaborate kitchen plus dining table behind the couches.
And here I thought every entrance into a Japanese home begins with the place where you take your shoes off.
A black-haired man that looked to be somewhere around forty years of age was sitting on the white couch, a TV remote in hand, mother's current husband, if I had to guess.
An ever-so-adorable baby girl sat playing with her dollies near the door, her gaze immediately going upwards, eagerly meeting that of her mothers. Ah, this must be my little sister.
A girl my age stood in the kitchen paralyzed in a motion which showed that she was about to wave, but stopped as soon as she saw me. She stood at around one point seventy, had c-cup breasts, full black hair tied into a ponytail much like my own. Her eyes were a pale kind of blue and shone with equal malice as they did warmth.
The sister who is my age.
Nobody said she was also very much alike, thought I'd best keep quiet. Mother possibly has no idea.
I feel my own eyes flare for a moment as her soul bursts into my vision, showing that there is another tied to it, much like mine and Eadoms.
A sudden cough broke the seemingly everlasting fraction of time that we've all been trapped in."A-ahem.. Isamu, Kaede, Yuko... I know that this might seem a little bit sudden, but I'd like you all to meet my son from my previous marriage, Leonardo Zatara."
I blinked. Make it twice.
Nah, make it three times before my brain caught on. I turned around towards mother and just tilted my head, utterly stupefied by what just happened."Just.. wha?"
Only to continue as she turned around to face me with an even more nervous look on her face."You.. you didn't tell them that I was coming. Yet you said it was okay for me to co-"
She interrupted me with a glare and I shut up.
Turning my head around and towards Isamu, I noticed that the man in question had adopted a look much alike to my own stupefied self a moment ago.
As such, after letting out an immense sigh of annoyance, I walked up to him and extended my hand."Sorry this happened as it did. Anyways, you must be moms current husband, correct?"
The man blinked, promptly closed his mouth and shook my hand, still shell-shocked."Y-yeah. The name's Isamu, as you've h-heard just now..."
Then he turned around and said."Err Yuko, could you go get Katsuro to come downstairs?"
She nodded, still maintaining her aura of malice and silence."Yes, father."
Then he turned back towards mother."Mayumi. I will not ask why or how this happened as it did, what is done is done. But please, as the one who caused this, maybe you should really start explaining on your own!"
He didn't yell, but he may as well have with the force with which mother shook."Er mom, does this have anything to do with what happened earlier? With the scan and all?"
"The scan?" Isamu turned towards me while mother looked away, causing us both to sigh loudly. Hearing each other sigh caused us both to let out a laugh."Well mother apparently thought I was a robot or something... so she had me scanned head to toe. In short; I wasn't one, but considering the fact that she hadn't told you that I was coming, she didn't account for that possibility at all."
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
He let out another sigh, this time an even greater one."Yep, that sounds just about as insane as I've come to expect of her by now. In any case, you are our guest and I'd very much like to know about you. Can I interest you in some beer?"
Raising my hands up and lamely scratching the back of my head, I replied."Err, I don't really drink beer or alcohol in general. I'll gladly take cola or any kind of juice if you have some though."
His jaw fell down."Don't drink? Young man, you have no idea what you're missing out on!"
"Or so I'm told... well, not drinking or not, I might be coerced to go out for a drink if the company is right." I sent him a grin to which the older man replied with a chuckle."Sure, why not. I'm free tomorrow after work at around eighteen."
"Well expect me to be here at that time then." Another carefree laugh escaped us as mother couldn't believe her eyes.
Looking on as if the imagery in front of her wasn't plausible enough to be real.
Meh, no matter where you go, men will be men and we don't like to complicate things like this.
A small, gentle tug was what I felt on my left leg as I looked down only to find myself staring into wide blue-green eyes. Little Kaede seems to want my attention but as soon as she got it, she turned her head away towards mother and pointed towards me with a finger."Biggur brothr?"
Mother let out a breath she forgot she was holding in and took Kaede into her arms."Yes Kaede, this pale-haired boy is your newest big brother."
Beaming mother and Kaede a smile, I patted the baby girl on the head, ruffling through her short maple-colored hair, her namesake."Well hello there, little one. You know, mom told me that you like fluffy bears, is this true?"
A child-like blush and a nod was my reply, all that I needed to turn around and take a teddy bear me and mother bought earlier today out of the bags we carried into the house."Well then this new mister teddy is just the gift for you."
Her eyes beamed with joy as she grabbed the bear out of my hands and hugged it, forcing me to bite myself in order to regain a level of manliness where I managed not to hug her and just smiled back at her instead."Thanks, big brothr! I'll tweasure it, fowrevr!"
Mother then nods at me happily and walks off with little Kaede in hand as Isamu's voice comes from behind me."Well? What are you still standing around for? The game's on TV so sit down, boy."
"Right. Although, I still need to introduce myself to the other two." A furious set of footsteps raged on downwards from the upper level. Someone likes to stomp on stairs in order to appear dominant, I assume."What's this about a new brother yo?! I was in the middle of a game, dammit!"
A rather short boy around the age of twelve walked down with an aura of arrogance and fury. Something which immediately died down the second he saw me. His green eyes darted around me, checking me out if I dared to say so myself.
Although, I believe him checking me out was not the gay kind."Cheh, a fucking exercise freak. Of course you'd have to be like that."
He sighs and puts a hand onto his forehead, looking as if hes got it all figured out. I merely quirked an eyebrow."Excuse me?"
"Katsuro?! Watch your language, young man!" Isamu exclaimed, shame clear in his tone as I let out a deep chuckle, causing the obviously hormonal NEET, to turn to look at me."What'cha laughing about, huh? You got something to say to me?"
I grinned."Oh, who? Me? Naah, I guess not. After all, what kind of guy would I be if I gave this 2k+ GameRoid points card to someone like you. Nah, I'm just gonna go ahead and keep it for myself."
Waving the card around as I sat down onto the couch per Isamu's earlier request, I nearly busted out laughing as Katsuro's eyes went wide, realizing that the card is legit."Uhh.. may I please beg for your forgiveness, oh kind and merciful god... whatever your name is?"
His begging frame made me bust out laughing as I promptly threw the card in his general direction. As he greedily swiped the card mid-air, I said."Sure, whatever. And the name's Leonardo, or just Leo for short, if the entire thing is too long for your brain to comprehend, mortal."
His tilted head spoke volumes of just how effective my burn there was, but I got to say that he brought it on himself."Nice one."
A silent, new voice suddenly echoed in front of me as I turned my head around to see the last un-introduced member of the family. Her black hair seemed to shine, reflecting the light around it like a beacon.
Pale skin, white as mine."Thanks. You must be Yuko, right? 'tis nice to meet you."
"Huh, so she really did name a child after me." Yomi's surprised voice echoed in my mind as I blinked in confusion at seemingly nothing."But her name is Yuko.. although, I guess it still works."
She blinked."'tis? I thought you were Italian?"
I waved my hand."That is sadly a very outdated term. European is more accurate... granted, considering that I'm half Japanese and that my grandmother was Russian while I was raised as an European... well, I'm many things."
"I see." She replied, her voice seemingly disinterested as she quirked an eyebrow at me before sitting down next to me, a glass of water in her hand."So? What's you?"
Blinking at her strange question and spending a moment to think on it, I replied."Well, much like your younger brother I'm a video gamer, though I only play one game at the moment, that being the ever-so-unpopular Euphoria. I ... nope actually, that's about it."
"So you don't exercise? No job? Nothing?" She asked with a tone of curiosity."In all honesty, I do exercise somewhat, but not nearly enough to call me a freak. As for a job, well I am a streamer, relying on donations and subscriptions for my cash."
"Ahh, so many kids these days are trying to be successful while doing that... so very sad, although I suppose that does not matter for you." Isamu entered the conversation as he put a glass of coke in front of me."I mean, I earn anywhere from five hundred to ten thousand per week, all depending on my viewer count... though, I haven't really been streaming any for the last couple days."
They both blinked in surprise."That's... more than I thought you'd be capable of earning. This is in dollars, yes?" A nod towards Isamu as Yuko asked me."Why did you stop? I mean, if you're earning that much cash..."
"Euphoria's finally entered into its non-beta stage but there were plenty of bugs still left when they ended the beta... I figure I might as well wait a couple more months before leaping into the fray." Was my nonchalant reply to which she quirked another eyebrow."But the beta ended two years ago?.. hmm, seems like you might be hiding something."
Her inquisitive stare made me quirk an eyebrow of my own right back at her."Hmm, maybe I am, but before I answer that, I have to ask. Are you a player of Euphoria?"
She shook her head in negative."Nah. I tried to get my parents to buy me a capsule but they say its just too expensive... even if it wasn't expensive for us to get that ridiculous wall around the house just 'cause of moms paranoia."
"But if we didn't get the wall built, your mother would be even worse off. I mean, look at what she did to Leo-san." Isamu replied to her, yet another sigh escaping him as the woman in question had the decency to look away in shame.
This is how the conversation went on through the night, carefree and yet, slightly-awkward.
Though that much is to be expected, I suppose.
----------------------------------------
Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...
----------------------------------------
And here we are once again, at the precipice of 4AM in the morning.
With me typing down a chapter for you guys.
Oh well, a promise is a promise.
A SINCERE THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO REPLIED TO MY QUESTION! :)
----------------------------------------
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!