The second day of the Tournament arc was already underway. Our next fight wasn’t scheduled until the next day, so we had a little free time. We had decided to take turns watching the fights today to see who our potential future opponents might be. I had spent the morning shift with Shin-san and now was free to walk around. Shin-san and Junkers had already gone off to sit with their family in the audience. Trash-chan and I had decided to catch up with my sister and were now walking in the shopping area outside the arena.

To call it an area was a bit of an understatement though, the giant collection of tents and booths circled the whole arena as if it was a colossal donut, or at least that is how I had to figure how it looked from above. There was no way I could tell how big the area was while in the middle of it. From where I was standing, it seemed more like it was a straight line of booths rather than a circle, which was a testament to how large this area was.

“Big brother! Look at that!” my sister shouted as she pointed at one of the many booths. They were selling commemorative t-shirts with various waifus printed on them. Many sellers made goods to remember the event, which were cheaper than those sold in the arena. Some sellers sold food, and others sold random goods. The collection was completely random as the Tournament Arc did not officially support the shopping center. It was popular, however, so the officials didn’t mind people setting up their shops.

“What about it?” I asked.

“Do you think they would have Trash-chan?” she asked.

“I doubt it; they usually only do popular waifus.”

“Aw, can’t we look anyway?” my sister asked with a frown.

I rubbed the back of my head and looked around the area. I never did get a chance to answer, however. Trash-chan had already walked up to the booth and was eyeing the shirts.

“Hey, Trash-chan, don’t just walk off!” I called out to her. She didn’t hear me or ignored me; either way, she did not respond to me. My sister, upon seeing Trash-chan was already at the booth, ran over to join her. I sighed. As long as they didn’t make me buy anything, I guess it was okay. I had to take some time off work for this Tournament Arc, so I needed to be more frugal.

“Main-kun! Look, there have Junkers and Estouls, and… Raphine,” Trash-chan said to me as I walked up to the booth.

“Can we buy one?” my sister asked.

“Why not buy them all!” Trash-chan added with a smile.

“No, we are not buying any of them!” I said firmly.

“Oh, come on… Big Brother…” my sister said while giving me a sad look.

“No, we are not buying anything,” I repeated.

“But Big Brother, I hardly have any casual clothes to wear,” my sister pleaded. I gritted my teeth.

It had always been hard to make sure she had proper clothes. I somehow had to balance my check from work on so many expenses that I usually had bought her clothes from wherever was cheaper. Then, to add to the difficulty, many of her clothes burned up in the fire that torched our apartment. She had been using some of the Naka family’s spare clothes for the time being. She, of course, knew all this when she made her plea.

“Fine, one shirt,” I grumbled. I owed her more than a shirt anyway. If she at least smiled from it, I could at least be content with that.

“Excuse me, sir! Do you have any shirts with Trash-chan?” my sister asked the guy at the booth.

“Who?”

My sister gestured to the green-haired waifu who stood next to her.

“This is Trash-chan!”

“Never seen that waifu before in my life, kid. If you want, I can take a picture of her and print a custom shirt, going to cost you extra, though.”

My sister smiled and looked in my direction. I sighed and pulled out my wallet.

“How much extra?” I asked in a low tone.

“Double the regular price.”

“Fine.”

The man pulled out a small camera and aimed it at Trash-chan. She fiddled with her hair for a moment before striking a pose. She bent down and crossed her arms while leaning slightly to the side.

“Oh, wait!” my sister shouted after the guy had taken the first photo. “We should all be in the picture!”

“There’s no need for-,” I began to say.

“Great idea, Sister-sama!” Trash-chan said.

Before I realized it, I was dragged into the range of the camera as well. My sister stood on Trash-chan’s left. She moved one leg forward and held one arm up in the air. I just stood there.

“Come on, Main-kun; you need to strike a fun pose!”

I turned around and looked back at the camera.

“Is this good enough?” I asked.

“Can I just take the picture?” the man asked in a disgruntled voice.

We stayed silent as he took the picture. In a short while after, he handed my sister the printed shirt. She gleefully took it and slipped it over her current shirt.

“This is great! It’s like a family picture!” she said happily as she pulled on the shirt so she could look at the picture upside down.

“Hey, Sister-Sama, look at that over there!” Trash-chan suddenly shouted as she ran off to whatever distracted her. My sister followed behind.

“Hey, wait until I pay at least!” I shouted at them, but they just ran off. I shook my head as I turned back to the guy who patiently held his hand out in front of me.

I handed him the money, and he just replied with a quick:

“Thanks.”

“By the way, would you be able to send that picture to me as well?” I asked.

“Sure, but it-“

“How much extra,” I said sharply.

He had to think about it before replying.

“A third of the shirt’s cost.”

I looked down at my wallet. If it had a head, it would be shaking it to tell me ‘no’ right now. I sighed and pulled it open.

“Fine, but you better give me a digital file for that cost.”

“Sure thing, I’ll even email it to you right now if you want.”

“Please do.”

After that exchange, I headed in the direction my sister and Trash-chan had run off in. It wasn’t too hard to find them. Trash-chan and my sister were gleefully laughing off in the distance.

When they finally came back into view, they were standing off to the side watching a waifu strumming on a guitar. As I walked closer, the sounds of her guitar and her voice became more evident in addition to those sounds. I also heard sounds of other instruments—a drum, bass, and piano.

“Where are those other instrument sounds coming from?” I asked as I walked up to the other two.

“Main-kun! It’s such a beautiful song, isn’t it?”

“It’s lovely, Isn’t it, big brother?”

The waifu finished strumming her song and stopped. She made a polite bow to the other onlookers and us.

“Wow! That was great!” A waifu from the crowd stepped forward. She looked like an angel. That is to say; she had large, white, and feathered wings on her back. She wore what looked like a robe, but it had been cut to look more like a short dress, and on her head was around a yellow hat.

The angel reached out and grabbed the guitar waifu’s hand. They exchanged an awkward handshake. Then the angel turned our way. The waifu with her guitar took the opportunity to slip away as the angel came over to us. Or rather, she appeared suddenly in front of us. In front of Trash-chan, it had looked like stained glass shards appeared and assembled into the shape of the angel. Meanwhile, farther back, the waifu had appeared to break apart into the same shards. This is how it came across, at least; it all happened so fast that I could not say for sure I saw it right.

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She put her hand on her chin and bent over to look at Trash-chan. Up close, this angel towered above all of us.

“I feel like I’ve seen you before?” the angel asked.

“No… you must have the wrong waifu,” Trash-chan said while avoiding looking at the angel in the eyes.

“I guess so! Well, sorry about that!” the angel said with a smile. She gave a small wave as her body seemed to break apart into shards again. She had teleported somewhere else, I guess.

“Let’s just go back to the arena; it’s almost time for us to watch a match anyway,” I said while shaking my head. My sister and Trash-chan didn’t offer any resistance as we began to walk back to the arena. However, both had their heads hanging low throughout our walk. I considered trying to say something to cheer them up, but nothing came to mind.

We just continued our walk in silence as we entered the arena and began to go down a long hallway. I thought we would quietly shuffle along like this for a while, but we were interrupted by someone yelling out to us.

“Tai-kun! Emiko-chan!” the voice yelled out. I tensed up and froze. It probably would have been better to run, but my sister and Trash-chan were already turning around to see who called to us.

“Come on, let’s go,” I said to them, but it was already too late.

In an instant, Trash-chan was kicked into a nearby wall, causing to crack upon impact, and both my sister and I was grabbed for a forceful hug. Other people in the area suddenly shouted out. Some ran off, but most began to pull their phones out.

I turned around as well as I could to face the one hugging us.

“Amplifier, let go!” I firmly shouted. With a frown, the waifu let both of us out of her embrace.

“Tai-kun, you used to love getting hugs!” she said with a pout. She crossed her arms and took a small step back. She had another waifu in her company. A purple girl with sharp teeth and two thin horns were coming out of bushy hair. This purple waifu only stood behind Amplifier shaking her head.

“Hey, you!” Trash-chan yelled out to Amplifier. She stomped over from the cracked wall and pointed her finger close to Amplifier’s face.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were there,” Amplifier said coolly.

“You! Do you want to finish our fight now?” Trash-chan put her fists up.

“Oh, please, I’m sure Tai-kun and Emiko-chan don’t want to see you get beaten to a pulp here. Or maybe they do…”

“Amplifier, Trash-chan, don’t fight!” I said while looking around. All around, people had started to watch and record the events. They probably thought they would get a rare chance to see an impromptu war today. I had no desire to give them what they wanted.

“Fine, but only because you said not to, Tai-kun.”

Amplifier started to back away finally, and Trash-chan moved so that she stood next to my sister and me.

We continued staring at each other without saying a word. I had stopped them from fighting, somehow, but we still had to get away from here. Around us, the crowd was beginning to leave. They must have realized there was not going to be a fight.

“My, my, what have we here?” a voice came out from the dispersing crowd. It was not a voice I wanted to hear.

My mother came walking up to us from where the crowd was breaking apart. She wore a long skirt and dress shirt, and her hair was up in a bun.

“It’s her!” Trash-chan shouted.

“I’ve been looking for you Taikutsu-kun, I wanted to talk to you about where you hid my darling daughter. I guess it doesn’t matter, though, because here she is!”

My mother pushed past Amplifier and the other waifu that accompanied her and stopped in front of us. She looked down at us with a twisted smile. I think it was supposed to appear like a friendly smile, but it didn’t come off that way.

“Good to see you, mother,” my sister said softly as she took a step back.

“Oh Emiko-chan, I was so worried about you!” our mother cried out. She took a step toward my sister. My sister responded by sliding behind Trash-chan.

“Big Brother already told me about you wanting me to go, but I don’t want to go!” she shouted from behind Trash-chan.

My mother frowned. She crossed her arms while tapping her foot.

“Well, that is unfortunate. However, I’m trying to do what’s best for you.”

“I don’t want to go!”

“Emiko-chan, please listen to reason…” my mother said in a manner that sounded like she was pleading. Her face, however, showed a bulging vein as she gritted her teeth.

“I don’t want to go! I want to stay here with Big Brother and Trash-chan and the Na…” she stopped suddenly and covered her mouth. She didn’t want to give away where we were staying currently.

“It’s a shame neither of my children can be reasoned with. Amplifier, we will have to take her by force then,” my mother said while backing up.

“But, Madam…”

“Did I stutter, Amplifier-chan?”

Amplifier sighed and took a step forward to us. Trash-chan answered her aggression by taking a step forward as well. She stood in front of my sister and me. The hallway could have caught on fire, and I wouldn’t have been surprised. The two waifus stared at each other with such intensity that anything could have happened.

The air around Amplifier began to shake as she walked. Trash-chan summoned her Trash-whip and pulled on it so that it snapped in the air. I don’t think I could say anything to stop these two right now. It seemed like they were determined to fight at this rate.

“Well, this is a sight for sure,” someone calmly said as they walked past me. In a swift movement, they were between the two waifus. Amplifier stopped suddenly at the presence of the newcomer.

“Who might you be?” my mother said calmly with the vein on her head still bulging. I did not have to ask the question myself; I recognized this person from the Waifu Draft.

“You can just call me Kalen,” she answered.

“What are you doing here,” I said quietly.

“What makes you think you can step into this family matter?” my mother asked in a tense tone. She was no longer trying to hide her frustration.

“Family matter? You don’t even think of Emiko Juyo as your daughter anymore.”

How did she know my sister’s name?

“Don’t be ridiculous; I’m her mother!”

Kalen sighed.

“I’ve read up a little on your family. You’re an interesting bunch.”

“I don’t have to listen to this nonsense. Amplifier, take Emiko-chan.” The sound waifu sighed and began walking to us again. Kalen put out her arm to stop Amplifier.

“The Juyo family. At first, I thought it was interesting that their son would have someone like Trash-chan as his waifu,” Kalen began to say.

Amplifier stopped trying to walk forward and looked at Kalen.

“Trash-chan, do you know her at all?” I whispered to Trash-chan. She just shook her head. Her body language told me she was as confused as I was.

“But as I kept looking into it, it all made sense,” Kalen continued.

What exactly made sense? That is what I wanted to ask, but Kalen didn’t elaborate. Instead, she just said:

“Things like this are why I know I’m on the right path.”

I figured I should speak up, but I didn’t get a chance. We were interrupted by yet another person joining the conversation.

“Come on, Kioshi-san, they said the disturbance was down this way!” the voice shouted out. Again, I recognized it. What was even going on today?

Marigold-san and Kioshi-san from Waifu Services ran down the hallway to us. I’m pretty sure both my mother and Kalen made a tch sound, but I wasn’t a hundred percent sure.

Marigold ran past my mother and stopped by Amplifier and Kalen. She assessed the situation then shouted out.

“Ah, it’s you again!” while pointing at me.

“You know her too, big brother?”

“Unfortunately, I seem to be running into lots of people I know right now.”

Kioshi-san tapped Marigold’s shoulder and pointed to Amplifier, Kalen, and Trash-chan.

“So, what’s going on here? It looks like we have some waifus trying to fight?” Marigold finally asked. Kioshi pulled out a notebook and began to write in it.

“Oh, it’s nothing to trouble yourselves with! I’m sure you security volunteers must be busy!” my mother said in a singsong voice.

“They were trying to kidnap my sister,” I told them bluntly.

I might as well have been stabbed with the glare my mother gave me. Kalen began to laugh and stepped back.

“I like you, Taikutsu Juyo,” she said through laughs.

“Well, kidnapping is a serious crime… and using a waifu to do it only adds to your charges…” Marigold-san said casually to my mother. My mother nodded at Amplifier, and she responded with a sigh. Kioshi-san stopped writing in his notebook. He slid it into his pocket and rolled up his sleeves. Underneath, it appeared as if he had some plastic armor on him.

My mother changed her demeanor on seeing the armor. She smiled and gestured for Amplifier to back off. I, too, put my hand on Trash-chan’s shoulder and gently pulled her back. She seemed to get my meaning, and her Trash-Whip disappeared.

Kioshi-san responded with a nod and rolled his sleeves back down.

He was so quiet; I would have never suspected he was wearing that armor. It was a particular type of exoskeleton that could enhance an average person’s capabilities to allow them to go toe to toe with a waifu. It was a rare item made out of unobtanium, and very few people were allowed to wear it. Kioshi-san showing it to us in this situation was about the equivalent of driving a tank right into the hallway.

Marigold-san sighed.

“Kioshi-kun, did you need to show that off here?” she asked in a grumbled voice.

It was necessary, Kioshi-san said by holding up his notebook and showing what he had written.

“Anyway, I do have to thank you for coming here today!” my mother stammered out. “You see, we made a bet about taking care of my daughter there a while ago, but my son went against his word!”

“You made a bet with your son about your daughter?” Kalen asked while leaning against the cracked wall. She didn’t bother hiding the disgust in her voice.

“Was it an officially sanctioned bet? If so, I can look it up in the system.” Marigold-san asked.

“Well, no, but…” my mother stammered.

“If it was not official, all I can do is have Kioshi-kun stop you from fighting here. If you must fight, you will have to take it elsewhere,” Marigold-san said firmly.

My mother gritted her teeth for a moment before making a smile.

“Well, now that we have an official here, why don’t we make another bet, Taikutsu-kun?” she asked me.

I sighed.

“Fine, but… Marigold-san gets to decide the conditions,” I said. My mother wouldn’t have let me make conditions, and I certainly wasn’t going to let her decide either. I would have to hope Marigold-san would make a good call.

Marigold-san took a step back and looked around. She looked at each of us, then to Kioshi-san. Kioshi-san shrugged and scribbled something down. He showed it only to Marigold-san.

“I know, but…” Marigold responded. Kioshi-san turned the page in his notebook. “Fine. You don’t have to be that way about it!” she grumbled to him. With a cough, she cleared her throat. “Alright, how about the first team to lose a match in the Tournament Arc is declared the loser?” she asked.

My mother chuckled and nodded in agreement. I nodded to confirm as well.

You need to give your conditions for the bet. Kioshi-san held out his notebook to us.

“Well, when we win, my daughter will come to live with us. She will be a valuable… ahem… I have missed her dearly.”

“When we win, you and that guy have to give up all your waifus… and husbandos… and you can’t partner any of the same ones after the bet that you were before the bet…” I stammered out the harshest condition I could think of. My mother’s vein bulged again, and Kalen began to chuckle.

“Hold on there, Taikutsu-kun. I don’t think that deal seems fair. Shouldn’t you just bet to have your sister stay with you?” my mother hissed.

“My sister can do whatever she wants, and I’m not going to make a win condition that decides for her. If you want to add to our lose conditions, you may.”

My mother didn’t answer and just turned around to stomp off. Amplifier and the purple waifu chased after her.

“Well… Kioshi and I will go process paperwork!” Marigold-san said. She took off while pulling Kioshi-san along with her.

“Big brother! Thanks!” my sister said while hugging me.

“Don’t thank me yet. I would rather not make a bet at all… now we have to win as much as we can…”

“Don’t worry, Main-kun, we were planning on winning this thing anyway!” Trash-chan confirmed with a smile.

“You did alright. Although, it would have been better if you didn’t have to make a bet,” Kalen said after walking over and smacking me on the back. It stung a little.

“Thanks…” I said.

“Don’t worry, soon we will live in a world where such things don’t happen,” Kalen said with a smile before she walked off. It was a little of a strange sentence, but I figured I would just let it go.

“Oh, we need to get back!” I suddenly realized.

The match we were supposed to watch would be starting soon. We all took off in a sprint down the hallway.