Seki Kitawa kept his head down and listened. He was uncomfortable sitting on his knees, directly on the floor, but he wasn’t someone that would draw attention with complaints. No, Seki had adapted to his life by shrinking away from the spotlight. Each of his older sisters took a different path to navigate their complicated family, but keeping his head down was his own. In comparison to his subdued approach, his eldest sister had been forced to embrace the focus of their elders while his middle sister rebelled against the pressure to meet expectations.
For Seki, being the forgotten youngest child was his ideal. He was content to simply listen, as he was once again. Hiding behind a mop of combed black hair, he tried to catch snippets of the conversation that was occurring between his eldest sister and his uncle. If only the middle sister would be quiet so he could hear. Without moving his head, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
Rather than sitting on her knees, his middle sister sat with one knee bent and the other stretched out into the middle of the hallway, with no consideration for how anyone would pass, leaning her back against a wooden post. “This is a waste of time.” She grumbled, not really looking for a response. Her bright pink pigtails and black makeup clashed with the monotone traditional clothes that they were both forced to wear while within the family compound. She had refused to remove the steel and black piercings that decorated her ears, nose, and lip, and wore her regular clothes underneath. Her punk aesthetic really was out of place among the tatami floors and ornate wooden ranma panels above the sliding fusuma doors. At least she had left her combat boots at the entrance. He would feel bad for the attendants that would have tried to get her to cooperate if she had insisted on keeping them.
His extended family had enjoyed generations of success, bringing wealth and prominence to their name that required careful management. Before the assimilation, his father had been the head of the family while his mother worked as the president of their corporate holdings. They were both highly focused people who Seki believed would have been ideally suited for leading the family through the current turbulent times. Surely, they wouldn’t be in their current predicament if they had their wise leadership present.
When they had their first child, a daughter, they had raised her with the express purpose of turning her into their successor. Reina Kitawa had risen to the occasion, unbending beneath the spotlight, growing from the ideal child to the heir apparent. She was sent to the most expensive private schools where she blossomed into a star thanks to her diligence. She was perfect in every way, becoming class president, valedictorian, club captain, and achieving every scholastic accolade available. If she wasn’t so patient and kind she would have been easy to hate. She had been on track to complete her college program a year early and begin working within the family business before mana arrived and disrupted her life plan.
Even her fiance, who had been arranged by their families, was perfect. An allstar athlete with an easy smile who was also the valedictorian of his own school and the heir of his own family’s business, he nearly matched up with Reina. At least he came as close as humanly possible. Like Reina, people couldn’t help but like him as well.
It was completely impossible for Akari Kitawa, the second daughter, to live up to the ideal that Reina had established. She wilted under the combined pressure of their parents’ expectations, rebelling to the point that she had been expelled from two different schools before begrudgingly graduating from a third. Akari hadn’t gone to college after graduating the year before mana arrived, delaying their parents’ plan and instead finding an equally delinquent boyfriend. Her routine was centered around disappearing for weeks at a time until she would show up again after running out of money.
Really, Seki was thankful for both of his older sisters and their completely opposite attitudes. If it wasn’t for their ability to occupy their parents’ attention, he wouldn’t have been able to live his own preferred life. He was only 14 years old, with four years separating each sibling, but he had been able to avoid the same concentrated mindfulness that had driven his sisters to their extremes. As long as he maintained decent enough grades to stay under the radar, he could have continued to pursue his interests while letting his parents prepare Reina for the future while doing their best to keep track of Akari.
Unfortunately, they were gone. Both of the siblings’ parents were killed as the first monsters revealed themselves. They barely had time to mourn. His father’s younger brother, a man of contradictions, had taken over the organization, and together, the family had claimed the civilization shard. In the time since, they had established one of the world’s most powerful settlements, largely on the backs of Reina and Akari who had grown into what were essentially superheroes.
Seki suspected the settlement would be one of the most organized on the planet, thanks to some of the more traditional values instilled in the population and the previous respect their family had engendered. He hadn’t believed the possibility at first, but he and his sisters had made some friends that brought news of other places. The struggles they described were beyond his imagination. Almost all of the violence around Tokyo had been humans fighting monsters, but it sounded like the political machinations that had been occurring behind the scenes had translated to violence elsewhere. They were lucky to have avoided such strife locally.
Those foreign friends were the subject of the meeting between his eldest sister and his uncle. Seki recognized the issue, but he still thought it was stupid. Their uncle’s position wasn’t as secure as it would have been for either of the siblings’ parents. He was threatened in particular by the group of Chosen who had arrived at the start of the siege and proven themselves to exceed the strength of all but the most powerful members of the settlement. They had demanded a peaceful handover of the Champion status, but had been rebuffed and had instead been biding their time, making allies and negotiating deals while others focused on survival. As he understood it, the same type of conflict had occurred elsewhere, and had quickly devolved into conflict. The combined power of Seki’s party was too much for them to dare try anything beyond threatening violence, but they had finally found a method that could give them leverage.
The truth was that with the three siblings cooperating, they were unstoppable in combat. Reina had taken responsibility for the siblings immediately after their parents died, proving herself to be even better at considering their feelings than anyone else had ever been. She had experienced the same pressures as them and was uniquely situated to relate. Previously, the sisters had something of an antagonistic rivalry, but the truth was they loved and respected each other for the choices each had made. Reina thought Akari brave and fiercely independent while Akari saw Reina as impossibly strong and dependable. In a way, Seki was the odd one out, but he was the one that had arranged their party. He wouldn’t admit it, but he had guided them using strategies meant for turn-based role playing games, but they had given him the respect to listen to his ideas, something he hadn’t expected.
Seki had made Reina their main dps carry based on the fact that she was the only one with any sort of formal combat training, though it was a traditional sword-based ceremonial practice. She wielded an enormous nodachi as long as she was tall that she reinforced with exotic mana, turning the long blade into a weapon of enormous magic damage. The sword had already proven itself by splitting everything up to Raid Bosses in half with dramatic sweeping strikes that had earned many accolades.
Not to be outdone, Akari had developed into their offensive support and sub-dps, debuffing their targets and headhunting weakened foes while dual wielding a katana and wakizashi. She was concentrating on quick critical attacks and high mobility to smoothly navigate battlefields. Seki had imagined her as more of an assassin, but she was even flashier than Reina, probably due to some lingering feelings of inadequacy. Both Reina and Akari were equally strong and were recognized as a pair more than anything.
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They didn’t fight alone though, as Seki had coordinated their entire party. Reina’s fiance was their support and buffer, investing entirely into defensive magic and various reactive shields that allowed him to protect the sisters from the midline. They had equipped him in the approximation of a western knight with an enormous shiny shield and matching straight sword. He embodied the stereotypical honor-based role of a supportive paladin and frankly his shining personality made it all the more fitting. Naturally, he had many fans.
Akari’s boyfriend, on the other hand, continued to look like a delinquent wielding a metal baseball bat, inseparable from his black jacket with a personal emblem embroidered onto the back. He was a second offensive support and sub-dps, just like Akari, but he was invested into ranged abilities, keeping the party structure balanced. He stayed with Reina’s fiance and though he would never admit it, his baseball bat was really more like a wand that allowed him to conjure ranged attacks from safety making him a sort of affliction mage that applied damage over time with baseball shaped spells.
Seki was left in the back until he received his class, but for the time being, he was essentially the party’s commander. The party was already balanced without him, but they lacked a true healer. If he had the option, he would take it, but the particular archetype seemed exceedingly rare.
As he considered how he would best contribute to the party, the tone of the voices in the room changed as the discussion was finally concluded. The decorated door slid open and Reina stepped through the threshold.
Akari was quick to her feet. “So? How’d it go?”
Seki didn’t need his eldest sister to answer as he also rose off the ground. Their uncle was doing his best to catch up with Reina, causing his graying hair to become disheveled while he shuffled his feet. It was obvious that he had believed he could manipulate the usurped heir apparent, but she had proven true to her principles.
“It is exile.” Reina responded calmly. She stood with perfect poise, not even a single strand of her long dark hair out of place, despite the complete change that her life’s trajectory had undergone in recent times.
“Told ya’.” Akari stated dryly. “The bastard only ever cared about himself.” She spun and offered to lead the way back out. “Let’s ditch this joint.”
“Wait! Reina!” Their uncle shouted as he caught up. Seki thought that forcing Reina to sit at the other end of the massive recessed table as some kind of power move had been an amusing mistake, causing the old man to cover unnecessary ground as she walked out.
Reina turned and gave him a respectful bow that caused Akari to make a disgusted sound with her teeth. “Goodbye, uncle. Best wishes to you and the family.”
“Reina-” He started, but was interrupted by Akari’s raised hand, pointing directly between his eyes.
“Back off, old man.” She stated, not bothering to hide the threat she presented.
“You… You’ve always been a pain, Akari, an embarrassing stain on the main family.” He spat, growing red in the face.
Akari just laughed as she followed after Reina. “Looks like you’ll finally be rid of me.” She lifted her hand over her shoulder and flipped him off.
Seki was left alone with his uncle for a moment. The old man just looked at him, but obviously didn’t have anything to say. Seki would have been surprised if his uncle even recognized him as family. He followed after his sisters without a word.
The meeting had been about accepting foreigners into the settlement’s territory. Seki’s party had discovered a large group and openly offered them aid before ultimately becoming friends. The rest of the world seemed like a violent cauldron and they merely sought safety from monsters and people alike. However, the influx of some extremely powerful individuals had thrown off the strange equilibrium of strength among the factions chasing power within Shinjuku Gardens. Despite the settlement’s stability, they weren’t interested in offering aid without demanding personal benefits from them. Reina in particular was disappointed with the opposition and made it known. Instead of compromising with one of the stars of the settlement, the family had tried to reel her in to appease the other groups, threatening her position to force her hand and hopefully manipulate her into utilizing the newcomers for their own games. In the end, Reina was calling their bluff.
Outside of the family compound, they reunited with the rest of the party and headed for the port. “How did it go?” Reina’s fiance asked.
“Either I accept my place as a mindless sword or I have no place.” Reina responded in the calm monotone voice that had people assuming she was cold before they got to know her.
Akari’s boyfriend spat on the sidewalk. “Ya’ll sure we don’t just crack their heads and take over?”
“Stability is important for the residents.” Reina responded, not shying away from killing as much as she concentrated on the consequences. “We shouldn’t be the ones to start down that path.”
Akari’s boyfriend grunted and put his arm around Akari’s shoulders, gave her a kiss on the cheek and took his place in the back. They were leaving the settlement and making a bit of a show of it. Both sisters marching down the middle of the street immediately drew the attention of the residents.
People cheered for them, recognizing the heroes who had already defeated countless monsters and assuming they were simply going on another hunting expedition to defeat greater threats that no one else dared to challenge. Not every face was friendly, many of the Chosen still harbored a desire to be rid of the Unchosen faction that had organized the settlement on the backs of the Akari sisters. Seki expected they might have a chance sooner than they expected.
“Show us the Gaze of the Waning Moon!” A spectator shouted, hoping to witness the signature attack of Reina Kitawa.
“Akari! Over here! We’re your biggest fans!” A group yelled. “The Blossoming Blood Moon is the best!”
Reina simply bowed her head politely whenever she returned a look with one of her fans and Akari bounced side to side from the middle of the street, waving, high-fiving, laughing, and pointing. The settlement would survive without them, at least as long as the situation continued to escalate in a predictable manner. There were 25 million residents in Shinjuku Gardens and they were all united in their desire for the settlement to survive. Even if there were countless groups who wished to be the ones at the top, they would all come together if necessary. It was the only settlement in Japan and its territory would eventually encompass the entire landmass, already covering nearly half, centered on Tokyo.
Originally, they had believed they had experienced the worst of the assimilation, losing so many people to the invaders in the early days as remote settlement shards were destroyed, but they now understood the situation was even more precarious for many others. The members of the Kitawa party each had their own reasons for being willing to leave their home behind, but one of the obvious reasons was to gather even more strength in order to save lives. This was a big sticking point for them with the leaders of the settlement, who were embracing the insular attitudes of most of their history.
By the time they marched the three miles to the port, their exit had turned into a festival-like parade. The Kitawa sisters were essentially idols that represented the settlement’s strength, as they maintained their positions on the global leaderboards while keeping the citizens safe.
At the docks, old merchant ships were waiting for them. Hai Yun and Irina were the main cause of discomfort among the leaders of the settlement, as both of them represented power that rivaled the sisters. After the party boarded, Reina turned back to the onlookers and bowed respectfully.
“I’m sorry.” Hai Yun apologized, feeling guilty for being the catalyst for the events that led to the split.
“It’s fine. This result was inevitable given the isolationist policies that are being embraced.” Reina responded cooly. “It is natural for the strong to continue quelling dangers even if it takes them on a journey.” She smiled sadly. “First, we’ll clear the Mount Fuji Mana Well. Then, we’ll go to the next place. Together.”