Kenkō stood in shock for another minute, mouth dropped. She could not fathom Kakunō’s arms dealing with the most wanted Earthly Mytho. They even talked about recent moments in their lives.

Elon laughed and fitted the last bolt of the crossbow. “Quite a little brother you got, mate. Mine back on Earth blamed me for everything.”

Kakunō marveled at its gold plating and stored it. “Thanks, man. Your craft’s the only thing that can protect my family.” An idea popped within him. “Oh! Do you wanna visit our—”

“Hold it!!” Kenkō walked with heavy steps. Her brother tried to talk her out of grabbing the broker’s shirt. “Listen up, bastard,” she pointed, eyes agleam. “I don’t give two fucks why you’re here. But I’ll never forgive you!”

She pulled out cuffs via runes, but it went nowhere. No matter what, the broker grinned and moved his hands everywhere. Even at blinding speeds, she could not keep up. She found herself restrained instead, panting in sweat.

Elon continued grinning, a brow raised. “Please don’t, mate. The last time I endured anti-magic stuff, I suffered withdrawal. I can never imagine life without it.”

Kakunō unlocked the cuffs with their keys. He held her shoulder. “That’s enough, Sis. He’s scum, no doubt. But he’s the underground’s #1 king.”

Surprisingly, she listened even during the reveal. That only the broker had information. Baffling as it was, the city depended on it. She recalled every exsanguinated cadaver in the morgue.

She turned to Elon. “Excuse us for a minute.” Outside the store, she sighed at Kakunō with crossed arms. “Fine… I’ll let him off the hook. But just this once. What he did to Yukichi deserves execution. Same for everyone that night.”

He smiled calmly and walked past her. “Can’t complain, Sis. Shielding criminals won’t affect our pay grade anyway.” He stopped just by the door and looked back. “So, care to accept a new member in our house?” He smirked as it slowly closed.

Her eyes narrowed, veins bursting. “Don’t even think about it, country boy!” She went inside, cheeks reddened.

Back inside, her brother talked with Elon for hours. She crossed her arms again, hoping it had now ended. At first, she heard the long-sought details. Then, it devolved into Kankunō fanning over weapon prototypes.

“It’s cool, ain’t it?” asked the broker, showing a gem-encrusted shotgun. “The jewels aren’t decoration, mate. You press, and ruby fires ever-flaming rounds. Sapphire shoots liquid nitrogen that sticks, and….”

Kenkō tapped her arm faster and grunted. The two in front got startled by her thunderclap. The wind blasted many evergreen macaws from their cage perches. “Could you fuck off to orbit, you slow bastard!” She seethed with clenched teeth.

Elon raised his palms. “Easy there, mate. Fate already told me you’d be mad just like your sister. No need for—” He looked beyond his door’s window and sweated bullets. The siblings raised their brows upon realizing he would not move.

Kakunō waved his hand over his eyes but to no avail. Kenkō turned around yet saw no one. Luckily, her archmage expertise came into play. She closed her eyes and sensed every resident outside. She could even “feel” their laughter and quarrels.

Seconds in, she sensed nothing but heavy magic. Pressure not aimed at oneself usually took hours to detect. Her hand felt the sting of hot metal. She flinched with eyes open and tried reaching Kakunō.

In the nick of time, Elon gasped and fell to the floor. He crawled back up to his table, exhaling loudly. “Oh, Christ. That was horrible, mate. I was like a cookie in an oven until charcoal.”

Kenkō looked at her brother once more. Feeling impending doom, she stood tall with stern eyes. “Tell us everything, Mr. Gatsby. You’ll have our full protection for now.”

He cracked his neck and sighed. “No need whatsoever. The guy’s coming for my head. All you need to know—is that he lives in Drury Lane. But he’s right there.” He pointed outside his shop.

Kakunō sensed a sinister amount of mana next. He smiled and pulled out his black gauntlet; determination had peaked. “Ready for folktale hunting, Sis?” He fitted the weapon.

Kenkō tightened her gloves, and they spawned darts on the fly. “You don’t need to say it, country boy.” Smiling too, she opened The Every Hub screen for her favorite song.

They readied their stances against the man outside. He had a perpetual disgusted look with drooping eyes and mouth. To complement his chef garb, he had gold rolling pins. “KISS THE REAPER” emboldened red on his apron.

Hours ago, above the city, another Earthly Mytho had his hands full. Still, Läufer kept his grin. His chains proved more than enough against the Minagawa couple. Each had a constantly chomping bear trap.

Haruto deflected two at once with his silver blade’s razor wind. Now gold, he closed in the distance. Despite the outward swings, he freed his sword upon every chain lock. He did so again by twisting the handle and throwing a downward slash. It had now become a falchion.

The enemy staggered full of red across his shoulder. Tokino had flash-stepped before him. She thrust thirty times at his stomach within seconds. Next, her rapier moved to the biceps and wrists. Second chances were unwelcome.

“Now, honey!” she exclaimed, calling for her husband.

“Right!” With a gold blade, the divisive tactic commenced. Whenever Läufer “teleported,” Haruto swung from behind and even above. If it had failed, Tokino always got a successful stab upfront.

The couple smiled, unable to feel the bear traps ripping their flesh. If anything, they remembered a beautiful fight against another couple. They reminisced about their friends without losing footwork. Haruto swung to the left, followed by Tokino’s eye stab.

Even so, Läufer smiled as well. In fact, the upper hand provided him quicker than they thought. His body “teleported” once more. It was like his limbs and torso reappeared away from their swords.

Tokino lost sight of him well beyond her foresight. Curiously, she failed to predict again. “Picking up anything, honey?” she called her husband internally.

He heard her voice within and shook his head. “Not a scent anywhere. I can’t even feel his magic—” Suddenly, he felt a shooting pain in his gut. Entrails had spilled.

She gasped. “Haruto!” In a flash, she caught his fall. Her hand healed the area as if instinct. She panted in sweat and rushed the recovery. Tears welled up as she heard his mouth gurgling red.

The skin had mended, but she could not hope to stop more bleeding. Internally, she cursed herself for the “lackluster” runic skills. Then, from afar, such arrays had formed.

Läufer came out of the runic circle like another dimension. He smiled again and shrugged. “What? Never seen portals in your life? Speed blitzing more your thing?” He caressed his chin. “Hmmm… Now that I mention it, you’ll never beat me in that department.

“Why? Because I outrun everything!” He crushed a giraffe fly ten meters away. Killing more, he slowly walked toward Tokino. “See what I mean, babe? It’s all trivial to me.”

In her arms, Haruto’s pulse went quieter. Her breathing worsened by the second. Her soul raged like wildfire, and she glared into the enemy’s own. Clock hands appeared within her corneas. She gently laid her husband. However, she felt warmth in her arm.

“Save your anger…” said Haruto, faintly. Before his wife’s eyes, blue flames clad him everywhere. “I feel it, too. It’s consuming me.” He grew fangs. His sclera turned cyan, and his corneas became cross-shaped.

“Run.”

Tokino shielded her eyes as dust flew everywhere. Now, her husband growled at the enemy. Eyes wide, she recalled when he had fought their brother. She covered her mouth, seeing the flames burst all over him.

She reached out a hand. “Honey, no!” Alas, Haruto threw a right hook at Läufer’s face. With the enemy high in the sky, he roared in pursuit.

At the central park, dusk had darkened. The two children returned with more pistachio cones. Hayato moved a hundred fireflies to his level; Yukino giggled and jumped for a catch. Telekinesis had never been so exciting. A hundred more got pulled down.

On the other hand, one felt slightly unnerved at such power. Hokori moved no inch from his bench, hand below the chin. His eyes squinted for a better look. No matter how they laughed, darker thoughts remained.

Yukino twirled as Hayato moved the fireflies around her waist. Before he knew it, his hand got grabbed. He only wanted his sister to have fun, but he giggled along. Eventually, dizziness caught on. They rolled on the grass apart from each other.

Hokori observed further and sighed. “Aight, y’all! Uncle’s got somethin’ to say before dinner.”

The two ran toward him with smiles. Yukino sat on the right. “I saved this just for you. I hope you like it!” Unfortunately, storing waffle cones via runes would not stop the melting. Her eyes frowned and ached to say sorry.

“No worries, kiddo,” he patted her head. “The sweet tooth wanes with every age number.” He held them closer and turned to Hayato. “Anythin’ to report, man?”

He shook his head. “Not a lot. But Sis got another call from Calico! She even said the four-letter word.”

Her cheeks reddened to their peak. “N-N-No! That’s not true. Papa wondered if I knew the answer to a crossword puzzle. Of course, I’d say I love him!”

He smirked to his peak. “Oh, really…? Never seen puzzles with the words ‘date’ and ‘meetup’ close together. And Papa’s voice doesn’t crack.”

Somehow, her cheeks went beyond the limit. She shook in place. “N-N-No! That was just. Well, uh. Ummm….” Flustered even more, she covered her face away.

Hokori looked up with closed eyes. “Hahahahahahaha! Don’t sweat it, kiddo. Let your feelings run free.”

As her head got patted again, she turned back and smiled. Unexpectedly, Hayato returned the notion. Her eyes now ached to say endless thanks. She did so with a hug.

Their uncle sighed once more. “I wonder, kiddo. Do you trust your brother? Remember what I said?”

She let go and stood in front of them. “Of course I do! And you said trust is stronger than fire.”

Hokori chuckled lightly. “Indeed it is, but our fatal missions… bloody escapades ain’t gon’ end soon. We’ll die even before it stops.” He went on to explain both their sheer naivety. It always felt easier to run and escape to a wonderland. He sought to crush it there and then.

Hayato tried resenting his uncle’s claim. No word came out, and he found no error. His sister had shown joy for months never seen. For a year, he only saw her cry three times. Two were out of happiness in her sleep.

Yukino’s heart raced. Her eyes narrowed a little. “So what of my dreams!? They make us happy, don’t they? And I wake up the same because of all of you!”

Hokori hunched his back, fingers tented below. He returned her eyes with disappointment. “Slow down, kiddo. It ain’t like we can give it to ya 24/7. Crying all the time’s no good, but know your age. I can’t tell ya to act like it. Your choice.”

She clenched her fists but lowered them down. “I don’t care! We were all happy until you brought this up. I’m nearing thirteen, but so what!? Lil Bro looks up to me, but we’ll play forever till the end!

“It’s like you said! We’ll climb mountains, cross oceans, fly to the sky, and. And…….” She remembered the original phrase and fell to her knees. A waterfall of sorrow followed.

Hayato got off the bench for her aid, but Hokori’s arm blocked him. His uncle had once again nestled a broken bird. He felt right to give them space. Luckily, a forest lay nearby.

He killed time watching two emerald stag beetles fight on a tree stump. Somehow, he kept losing his bets. Then, he would lose more than expected. His body shook for a minute—until he regained control.

“I hate you,” his teeth clenched. “I won’t let you harm them!” He put his hands down. The herd of red-tailed deer before him ran into the darkness. Still, they had marks on their necks and had trouble breathing.

He panted on his knees and sweated bullets. He could not hope to shake off the deep voice within.

“Harm? No, no, child. Your family’s ever so fun. I still remember their faces at their wits’ end. And I’ll see it again soon.”

Next, Hayato could not hope to open his eyes—lying on the grass. Far away, a man failed to express joy over his time bomb. The whistle of Auld Lang Syne echoed throughout the woods.