Chapter L: Inelastic Collision

            The rain had finally started to dwindle as the night crept its way up the sky. Kevlar and Sheldon stayed behind at the mansion so that they could begin preparations for their departure toward the Plaguelands tomorrow morning. Sheldon was setting up the radio station in the shed at the back when his comrade noticed that something was missing. After searching around the house for possible areas where it may have been dumped, Kevlar got tired and decided to ask Sheldon.

 

            “Hey, have you seen a crucifix lying around here somewhere?”

 

            “There’s one hanging on the front porch”, Sheldon answers as he plays around the dials on one of the various apparatus for the station.

 

            “No, not that one. I got this gold one I bought the other day.”

 

            “You bought a gold cross? What are you gonna use that for?”

 

            “It’s... Well, I won’t be the one using it...”

 

            “Oh, I get it. It’s for Violet, eh?”

 

            “...Yeah, pretty much.”

 

            “Dude, you’ve been at this same pace since last year. Don’t you think it’s about time you told her about how you feel?”

 

            “No. I promised Mein Furher that I’d wait until the job is done. Feelings are very complex in our line of work, brother. And if I end up dying, I want to keep the piece of me in her heart as small as possible.”

 

            “Wow. I always thought you were a cynic. I didn’t think you’d think too hard about something like that.”

 

            “I guess you could say she changed me.”

 

            A few static waves emanate a sound through the speakers of the radio, and after a small adjustment with the dial, contact was made with the other side.

 

            “Anyeong.”

 

            “Bonjour.”

 

            “Guten tag.”

 

            Each one offers the usual greeting.

 

            “Winston, it is good to hear your voice again, brother”, Kevlar greets through the microphone.

 

            “Save the sappy talk for Violet. How are preparations?”

 

            “Ready to move out at 0700 hours R.W.T. tomorrow.”

 

            “Very good. Violet’s headed your way at 0500. Make sure to greet her.”

 

            “Is she free?”

 

            “What, you gonna ask her out or something?”

 

            “No”, Sheldon grabs the microphone. “We found the ‘marks’. Seven out of eight confirmed; the other one’s still pending. I think it’s best if she took them to ‘Paper Fortress’ once they’re gathered.”

 

            “Hey, you got the keys to the toy, don’t you? You deal with her. I don’t wanna be the one to sweet-talk her after we almost lost the mark at Quinholm.”

 

            “Fine, I’ll talk to her, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll make Kevlar take them.”

 

            “I’m not good with children”, Kevlar retorts.

 

            “Then how do you expect to have kids with Violet?”

 

            “I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”

 

            “Who knows? Maybe by the time your field duty is over you two can settle down and start a family.”

 

            “Wishful-thinking is a long way from reality, brother. Mein Furher is generous, but He wouldn’t go as far as to spoil a man. Just look at Master Tim, for example.”

 

            “He’ll be fine. Old-Man-Tim’s got enough life in him for a couple more years... if his eccentricity doesn’t kill him. Anyway, I got a few jobs to do at Draconia tomorrow but Old-Man-Tim hasn’t given me any details. He says it’s something big. I’ll be busy for a couple of days so you should report directly to him when the job’s done.”

 

            “Alright, then. See you when I see you, brother”, Kevlar bids.

 

            “Take care of yourself, Winston”, Sheldon says as he puts down the mic.

 

            “Will do.”

 

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            “This is the place.”

 

            Yvaine led six Elementals into their room at the inn, but as she opened the door, Crisostomo and Naiya were nowhere to be found. It’s just Sticky, sound asleep in one of the beds.

 

            “Is that him?”, Mea asks.

 

            “No, that’s my um... distant cousin. That girl must have gone out with Cris... For now, why don’t you guys wait here? Those two probably just reported to the embassy. Make yourselves comfy. I’ve got business to take care of.”

 

            With this, Yvaine grabs her coat and heads for the bathroom at the corner of the room with Kat, probably to stow her prize.

 

            “Me first”, Sierra proclaims as she jumped on the empty bed.

 

            “Hey, move over. I wanna lie down too”, Anna says as she takes a spot on the bed.

 

            “Me too!” Therese climbs up the bed and falls on top of Sierra.

 

            “Ow! Get off me, Therese!”

 

            “Make me”, Therese challenges her. She then points her significantly larger rack in front of Sierra’s face as a demonstration of dominance.

 

            “Get those cancerous growths out of my face!”

 

            Sierra smacks the left ‘cancerous growth’ with her right hand.

 

            “Ahn~” Therese’s voice slips out her lips while biting her lower lip in pleasure as she falls on top of Anna instead. Interestingly, her rack lands on Anna’s face.

 

            “Mmf! You dare flaunt these sacks of fat in front of me!”

 

            Anna smacks the right ‘sack of fat’ with her left hand.

 

            “Mmhn~” Therese lets out another one and lands on Sierra again.

 

            “You shameless cow-tits-girl!”

 

            *Smack*

 

            “Hyaa~”

 

            Lands on Anna.

 

            “I am not interested in your breast-ticles!”

 

            *Smack*

 

            “Kyaa~”

 

            Lands on Sierra.

 

            ...

 

            And it goes on like 10 divided by 3.

 

            While this was going on, Mea was sitting on the bedside where Sticky was sleeping... Looks like she found herself someone new to fantasize about...

 

            “What is this creature... Itoko-san... W-Watashi no karada ga... atsui~!!!!”

 

            Credo, Solis, and the rest of the Anima stood by the door as the events took place.

 

            “I’m gonna go outside”, Solis says as he opens the door.

 

           Right as he pulled it open, he found himself staring into his own reflection as if he’s having a flashback...

 

            When he came back home after running away, the only thing he brought with him from his one-year trip was a box with a heart symbol on its lock. Megumi Raya gave it to him as a parting gift, and it contained the extra-small size uniform of students from Colegio de Rizal. When he put it on and showed it to Osiris, it was only then that he realized... it was a girl’s uniform! A white dress, a skirt, a pair of white thigh-high socks, and doll shoes. The only thing different from the reflection he’s seeing was the lack of socks.

 

            He immediately shuts the door.

 

            “What’s wrong?”, Credo asks.

 

            Solis takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. The moment he felt the air in his lungs had stabilized, he pulls open the door.

 

            His reflection was still there, this time with an embarrassed expression and a gentle shade of pink emanating from its cheeks.

 

            “U-Um...” The reflection audibly tries to speak.

 

            “Haaaah... I’m tripping too hard...”

 

            Solis has fainted!

 

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            “Will do.”

 

            Winston takes a deep breath as he shuts down the radio station. After he got back to Xenovia as the entourage of Lady Lena, he reported back to Mayor Lavoisier and collected his wages for the week. Now that the day’s labor is done, he took off his vest then pulled the plug on the radio station.

 

            In his line of work, it’s useful to always pack up lightly. The reason for this is because you’ll be constantly relocating to do jobs from place to place. He found himself lucky this time since lodging was provided by the organization. His employer, the king of The Upper Kingdom, doesn’t usually give generous amounts of funding, but these days there seems to be an excessive amount of budget for their current mission: To eradicate King Orion Gremorie and his Demon army.

 

            The organization he works for has existed since the fall of the Kingdom of Xan and was founded by a man named Don Saturnino. Its objective is to “act in the name of freedom when no one will”, and Don Saturnino named the organization as “Avian”.

 

            There are four divisions in the organization:

 

            The Crows as gatherers.

 

            The Falcons as hunters.

 

            The Nightingales as speakers.

 

            The Emus as defenders.

 

            As of now there are only two living Nightingales and one of each for the rest of the divisions.

 

            Winston and Tim are both Nightingales; Sheldon is a Falcon; Kevlar is a Crow; and Violet is an Emu. This lack of man power is due to the fact that most of the members were among the Fallen Forty-Four.

 

            “It’s only a matter of time before I lay down my life as well”, Winston thinks to himself out loud as he heads for his bed. The place he’s staying at is a small shack right inside Xenovia’s newly repaired Mirage Field. It would be impossible for a Demon to suddenly come up and stab him, but his senses told him otherwise... There was no shift in temperature or wind pressure within the area, but he oddly feels too calm at the moment, so he looks out the window and scans if there’s anything within proximity.

 

            There’s definitely something out there. He can feel its bloodlust. As someone whose job requires you to know how to kill people, Winston knows the feeling all too well.

 

            Searching under the bed covers, he grabs his vest and puts it on, along with a pair of combat knives placed on either side of his waist pocket. He steps outside the shack, and he realizes his chances of surviving the night have gotten a bit slim.

 

            “Zdravstvuyte.”

 

            The greeting of an Emu wearing a uniform matching his own.

 

            A few years ago, one of the Emus went missing, and it was reported that he had been captured by one of King Orion’s people. His name was Tristan, and the last time Winston saw him, he was at Mount Madre at Quinholm.

 

            At that time, when Solis got stabbed in the gut by Osiris’ doppelganger, he and Violet rushed to the scene unnoticed by the rest of the Elementals as they were preoccupied by Lycomedes and the swarms of Stygians at the foot of the mountain.

 

            When they reached the peak, Solis had already fallen and the doppelganger was about to walk away with the amulet. They could have stopped him from getting away if Tristan hadn’t intervened.

 

            And now, Winston finds himself slightly shaken. Tristan’s eyes were just as dead during their meeting at Mount Madre. His old colleague’s face was expressionless, but the murderous intent inside him is silhouetted in his body as if his shadow had come to life.

 

            “Tristan...”

 

            “My mistress wants your head on a plate”, Tristan speaks with a dead tone.

 

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            A good nap always gives the brain the extra kick it needs. The writer usually does this after a long day of writing only to realize that what he wrote is borderline soft-porn that barely conforms with the R-16 policy that I implemented. After his nap, the next thing he does is release sexual frustration, preferably using H-doujins that contain the ‘Brother x Sister’ tag.

 

            Please stop portraying me as some sort of pervert.

 

            Like the writer, our main character is currently taking a nap in order to rest his mind from the sudden revelations coming at him like a rapist in [1] Tondo, Manila. Forty-nine chapters ago, he saw himself as just some weird kid who lives with his weird cat out in the woods. A young man who lived in total isolation, completely oblivious of what’s going on with the world. He shut himself out when he caused the death of his friends while out in the field. That’s when Solis decided to keep everything between Tenenbaum and himself out of self-pity rather than asking for help. After all, no one really gives a damn about someone with no connection with the outside world other than his job.

 

            He doesn’t seem to realize the value of his own life... But there are people who value his life more than he does.

 

            His eyes open.

 

            From his wake, it felt like it’s only been a few hours since he passed out. He blinked a couple of times, but for some reason his vision remains in sight of total darkness!

 

            This is because he’s lying prone on his face.

 

           There was no sound to be heard. The soft surface where he was lying confirmed that someone had carried him to a bed when he fainted. He turns his head to the right and his nose is tickled by a familiar scent. The last time he passed out like this, there was a writhing pain somewhere around his gut, and that same sweet scent calmed him down, just as it did the last time. Solis’ eyes slowly adjusted to the light, causing the blurred image to come clear.

 

            The face of the woman (he thinks) he loves, Megumi Raya, looking intently into his eyes. The two of them seem to be under the same blanket, and the temperature is slowly rising. Her cheeks were flushed red as she breathed heavily at the sight of him. He could feel her urge to touch him as her hot breath teased his skin like a....

 

            Wait, this isn’t romantic at all!

 

            “WAAAH! MEA!”

 

            The blanket folded back as he instantly jumped into a sitting position when he saw her face uncomfortably close to his. He awkwardly looked away from her only to find someone else lying next to him on the opposite side.

 

            The girl was asleep. She was wearing the green shirt Mea lent her and a pair of trousers similar to the one from Solis’ Hunting Guild uniform. The sudden loud commotion woke her up, and as her eyes eased open, she realized the predicament she was in.

 

            Fortunately she’s got an excuse to turn things around.

 

            “S-SOLIS! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED!”

 

            “WHAT? I PASSED OUT EARLIER! I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW I GOT HERE!”

 

            “YEAH? I BET YOU SNUCK IN HERE WHILE I WAS ASLEEP, YOU PERVERT!”

 

            “NO, I DIDN’T! WHY WOULD I DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!”

 

           Sierra blushes red from his question. She looks away from him and mumbles something under her breath. Solis couldn’t quite make it out so he follows it up.

 

            “What did you say?”

 

            “Because... I’m not wearing...”

 

            “What?”

 

            “You couldn’t help yourself so you came here because I wasn’t wearing a bra, didn’t you!”

 

            Solis scratches his head, given up at how wrong the situation is. Breathing a heavy sigh, he yields to her argument.

 

            “Look... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you say something like that... I really don’t remember how I got here, but I understand that a situation like this is bad for you.”

 

            Mea suddenly sits up and proposes something before Sierra had a chance to react.

 

            “Maybe I can explain.”

 

            “What the hell? Mea- I mean... Eve, why are you here?”

 

            “I snuck in and crawled under the blanket while you were sleeping.”

 

            “That doesn’t answer my question!”

 

            “Don’t.... D-Don’t misunderstand, okay? It’s not like I was worried about you or anything...”

 

            Ah, the sh*tty out-of-character tsundere act that’s always been super effective on our main character. I couldn’t have done it better myself.

 

            Solis didn’t know how to react so he just sat there silently while forcing himself not to smile like an idiot.

 

            “Since when did you get here, Eve?”, Sierra questions as Solis bashfully tried to find a proper reply.

 

            “Hmm... Right before you snuck in here and... stared at Solis while he slept for about five minutes until you just couldn’t help yourself and snuggled up next to him like a lost puppy who finally found a shelter to sleep in, through which you whispered to yourself: ‘Just a little bit’, but then inevitably succumbed to the enjoyment of sleeping next to him.

 

            “Does that answer your question?”

 

            Oh, crap.

 

            Sierra’s crying.

 

            To make matters worse, her sister just got in the room. Therese thought she’d check up on Solis, but what she found was her sister crying painful tears as she was in bed with Solis and Mea. What’s more, Solis wasn’t wearing his inner vest nor his coat, leaving his top stripped off (Mea stripped him in his sleep!).

 

            This can’t be good.

 

            “Hey”, Therese spoke in a low threatening tone with a spiteful look on her face. “What the f*ck is going on here?”

 

            “Therese... *sob* Eve said... *sob* Eve said...”

 

            “Eve said it was okay just because you put a condom on?! That’s not how virginity works, stupid!”

 

            Wow.

 

            There are a lot of dirty jokes in this chapter. If you’re not getting of this, please consider reading something else. This sh*t is way over the R-16 policy that I put up.

 

            “Hey! I never said anything like that! If anyone’s gonna take Solis’ ‘first time’, it would be me!”

 

            “First time? But I already had my first time.”

 

            Upon Solis’ declaration, the whole room went silent.

 

          The door suddenly burst open as Anna entered the room and started running her mouth on Solis out of confusion. It seems she’s wearing a new black-clothed one-piece and a pair of gauntlets to replace the one that burned off back at Origami Canyon.

 

            “You! You, of all people, already had your first time!?”

 

            Anna rants with her finger pointed at Solis. Right behind her, Credo entered the room with a pitiful look on his face. He was somewhat surprised with what Solis said, but he knows Anna has a habit of spouting nonsense at things she doesn’t understand so he tries to divert her attention by changing the subject.

 

            “Alright, everyone, dinner’s ready. Anna made some adobo flakes-“

 

            “Don’t try to stop me, Credo!” A fire brushed against her tongue both figuratively and literally.

 

           “Yeah, stay out of this”, Therese backs her up. “Solis has some confession to do!”

 

            “Solis”, Mea says as she approaches him, locking her eyes with his. “Tell the truth. When, where, and with whom did you have your first time?”

 

            “I guess I’ll be honest...” He sighs and reflexively looks at Sierra. She seems to have calmed down but there are still tears in her eyes.

 

            “W-What are.... What are you looking at?”

 

            “It was late at night at the Hunting Guild outpost. After Sheldon got rid of the Raviente, they decided to celebrate. At the time, everyone already left and I was walking around looking for my sword, that’s when I tripped over one of the members that was passed out from drinking too much. It... It was Sierra. I landed on top of her and I accidentally...”

 

            His face was blushing in pretty pink as he confessed. Everyone else’s reactions were quite interesting as well.

 

            Anna was slumped in a corner, surprised at the contrast between what she thought of Solis and what he really is.

 

            Credo was performing an epic face-palm.

 

            Mea was crying over his sudden revelation while calling him a pervert: “Lis-kun no baka! Ecchi!”

 

            Therese was completely dazed with her eyes losing color as she repeatedly says: “My sister has been defiled-My sister has been defiled-My sister has been defiled-My sister has been defiled...”

 

            Sierra was... glaring at him as if she’s pointing a dagger at his throat with one arm covering her chest and another covering her crotch.

 

            “I’m sorry, okay! I didn’t mean to do it!”

 

            “How do you intend to take responsibility?”, she asks him with a serious look.

 

            “What? Take responsibility?”

 

            “You... After what you did to my body... You’re just gonna throw me away?”

 

            “I. DID. NOT. DO. ANYTHING. TO YOUR BODY!”

 

            “What? Then, when you fell on top of me-“

 

            “I ACCIDENTALLY KISSED YOU, ALRIGHT! IT WAS MY FIRST TIME! I’M SORRY!”

 

            Well, that makes more sense. It seems like everyone else thinks the same.

 

            “You... You kissed me? You didn’t do anything else?”

 

            “What the hell else was I supposed to do?”

 

            “Why didn’t you tell me?”

 

            “I... I didn’t want to stress you out... You’re annoying as hell but you’re still a girl, and I don’t think any girl would want to know that she was kissed by someone she doesn’t like! Plus, it’s me we’re talking about here...”

 

            “I like you a lot, stupid.”

 

            “What? Speak clearly-”

 

            A knock on the door interrupted him, and as the door opens...

 

           “Dinner’s ready. Your cats already started without you”, Yvaine announces. Meanwhile, Naiya was peeking from behind Yvaine’s long coat as if she were her younger sister.

 

            “Who’s that?” Solis points out the girl behind Yvaine.

 

            In response, Naiya immediately takes cover.

 

            “Oh, that’s right. You haven’t met yet.” Yvaine enters the room, dragging Naiya behind her. “Come on, I thought you wanted to introduce yourself properly.”

 

            “Uh... I don’t really...”  Naiya mumbles senselessly as she grips tightly on Yvaine’s coat.

 

            Yvaine abruptly pulls her from her cover and she makes eye contact with Solis. Seeing the same eyes as hers, she gathers her courage and speaks up.

 

            “I... I would like to ask why you... s-shut the door when you saw me earlier and passed out when you saw me the second time...”

 

            “That’s... I mean, we look alike.” Solis gets off the bed and stands in front of her. “I kind of freaked out earlier. I’m sorry...” He awkwardly laughs with a wry smile. “Hey... uh... You wouldn’t happen to be-“

 

            “My name is Naiya!” She tactfully looks up at him, trying her best not to stammer. “The reason we look alike is because the two of us are fraternal twins! This means that I am your-“

 

            “Sister...” Solis finishes her sentence.

 

            “Yes, and you are my-“

 

            Her statement reminded him of his meeting with Osiris in Purgatorio. He was happy when he heard that he still has one member of his family left alive, but for him to actually meet her... Solis was just overjoyed. He wrapped the girl around his arms and held her tightly. Naiya was surprised at first, but as she felt the warmth of the only person she’s been thinking of for the past three years, after all the pain she’s left to bear from Edith’s death, all the feelings she’s kept bottled up inside...

 

            She just couldn’t help it. She ended up crying. Overcome with joy and relief from the uncertainty that made her think she wasn’t going to make it... They were going to kill her. They were going to take her life away, and she’s not even sure if she’d already escaped the dread that haunted her since she was caged. But this feeling of comfort dulls the anxious desire to lose herself once more. This sense of security gives her hope that she will have peace one day...

 

            “Kuya...”

 

            Naiya looks up Solis. He had his eyes closed the whole time, but when he heard her speak, he realizes he just hugged a complete stranger out of the blue.

 

            “Whoa! I’m sorry!” He puts his hands back to himself. “That was really inappropriate of me-“

 

            “-I love you-”

 

            “-I really shouldn’t have.... What did you just... Mhmf!“

 

            ...

 

            F*ck.

 

            What the actual f*ck...

 

           Naiya just kissed him. Passionately. On the mouth. For five whole seconds.

 

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            Dinner was ready, although the current situation was left unresolved. As a matter of fact, everyone just got out the room and headed downstairs after the incident. Mea gave Solis a brief explanation about how Credo carried him over to the mansion belonging to the two gentlemen. They also informed Elias, Maise, and Lanette that they’d be staying there for a while in order to get to know their new comrades, Yvaine and Naiya. Earlier, Anna found some leftover adobo from the fridge and thought she’d prepare a meal in celebration of their meeting, and as they ate dinner together as a complete set, everyone just pretended that the incident in the bedroom didn’t happen at all... except for Naiya.

 

            “Kuya, you have a bit of rice on your cheek.”

 

            “Oh, thank you.” Solis probes his left cheek and fails to find it.

 

            “It’s right here.” Naiya picks up the morsel and puts it in her mouth.

 

         “Excuse me”, Sierra says with a polite yet irritated tone. “May I say something, Miss Naiya?”

 

            “Yes?”

 

            “Solis is your brother, right?”

 

            “I believe so.”

 

            “Okay...” Sierra speaks with mitigation. “Don’t you think you’re acting a little too clingy with him?”

 

            “I see no reason why you’d believe that I am too ‘clingy’ toward him.” She looks at Solis and sees another morsel on his cheek. “Ah, there’s another one, kuya.”

 

            Naiya picks it off... with her lips this time.

 

            “Uh... Thanks”, Solis says while blushing.

 

            “You’re welcome”, she thanks him with an innocent smile.

 

            “What the hell was that just now!” Sierra slams the table in frustration with the other hand pointing at Naiya.

 

            “Oh. What seems to be the problem?”, Naiya questions.

 

            “You basically just kissed him again!”

 

            “Is there an issue about me kissing him?”

 

           “Do you realize that what you’re doing right now is completely incestuous?”

 

            “Yes. Yes I do”, she answers sternly.

 

          Her agreement to incest basically caught everyone’s attention at this point. The fact that she answered with such a serious tone even made Sierra give up and sit back down.

 

            “Hey, Yvaine, has this girl always been like this?”, Anna asks her to break the silence.

 

            “I... I don’t really want to give a damn. You’ll get used to it eventually”, Yvaine replies, dodging the subject whilst taking another spoonful. “Hmm... This is pretty good.”

 

            “Miss Naiya”, Mea calls out. “Do you really understand what you just agreed to?”

 

            “Again, I am totally in agreement with incest. In fact, I would be glad to have his seed as soon as possible. If there’s anything to be surprised about, it’s that fact that none of you even cared to copulate with my brother, right kuya?”

 

         “I’m not familiar with the words you just used so I don’t really understand”, Solis answers with a serious tone. Seriously though, he doesn’t know what incest and copulate means; moreover, he’s not familiar with the figurative meaning of ‘having someone’s seed’.

 

           “To put it simply, I would like to make babies with you using the conventional way of sexual intercourse.”

 
               “Um..."

               “Let me rephrase: I want to f*ck!"

            “Wait... You want us to....” Solis’ mind can’t handle saying something as lewd as the suggestion of having intercourse, so he takes his index finger and inserts it into the makeshift hole he made with his other hand and fingers.

 

            “I would like that very much!”

 

            “No way! I can’t just do that with someone I haven’t married-“

 

            “Let’s get married!”

 

            “B-But we’re siblings!”

 

            “Is there a problem with that?”

 

            “There’s... Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t think there is...”

 

            His failure to reason caused everyone to shout at him in unison.

 

            ““““““OF COURSE, THERE IS!””””””

 

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 1. A city in the Philippines. Lots of crimes happen here.

Reviews

[❀Subaru_Nyaa!
..]

"sacks of milk in front of me!"
I feel like calling it "sacks of fat" would be more insulting.

"hatsui~!!!!"
熱い, Atsui.

"have my his seed as soon as"

[Oran]

Fixed it. Thanks.