Days turned to weeks, which turned to months. Much of the time spent was rather uneventful. Prota continued to train to the point where she was confident in her mana absorption abilities. While she still avoided physical touch, she no longer jumped every time someone brushed by her on the street or bumped into her while she and Quarta walked down the streets. She no jumped when he shook her awake or pulled back when he grabbed her hand, although she was still reluctant to voluntarily touch anyone.

The snow outside was melting as spring came. The weather turned warmer, time passed by, but still nothing really changed. Every day passed by the same, until a conversation changed everything.

“Say, Prota. When’s your birthday?”

She turned around a soapy dish in hand. She’d gotten more used to cleaning up around their home, and although still clumsy insisted on helping out.

“...birth…day?”

“Uh… have you never celebrated one?”

“...I have…” she remembered.

“Do you, uh… remember when it was?”

What had started as a normal, innocent question was now somewhat of an awkward conversation. How had it gotten to this point?

“...it’s somewhere in May…”

She was almost seven.

“Ah- oh,” Quarta said, freezing up. “Oh, shit,” he muttered under his mouth. “Prota, do you remember what day it was on?”

“...Monday?”

Quarta facepalmed. The question hadn’t been specific enough. “Uh… here.” He rummaged around for a calender. He never really used one since his system had one built in anyways, but he was sure he had one somewhere…

“Here!” he said triumphantly, pulling a dusty calendar out. It was two years old but that was fine. He just needed a number. “Which number?”

She hesitated, and then pointed. “There.”

May 20. One week away.

“Ah.” Quarta smiled but it was just a mask for the fear that shot through him. “Ok, thanks for letting me know!”

Prota nodded, confused, then went back to doing the dishes.

“Zero man please please please help me out you have to help me out,” Quarta said quietly. He could see his soul’s smirking face in his mind.

“Yeah? You want help?”

“...I swear to god if you make me do something batshit crazy again…”

“...”

Quarta could see Zero thinking in his mind.

“Zero…”

“Pay me fifty dollars,” Zero said tauntingly.

“What do you even need money for?”

“Hey, fifty dollars is fifty dollars.”

“Dollars don’t even exist in this world!”

“So?”

“Just do it for free, man,” Quarta groaned. “Is it really that hard?”

“Ugh, fine,” Zero conceded. “I’ll think of something.”

Prota observed it all. She was used to seeing Quarta go silent, then engage in a conversation no one else could see. It was amusing at times, to see Quarta’s face change expression as if practicing to be an actor in a play, but she knew he was having some kind of heated discussion with Zero.

“Oh, yeah, Prota,” Quarta said suddenly.

“Hm?”

“We have to register you as a citizen, you know.”

She froze. Somehow, that thought had eluded both of them. For a full five or six months, Prota had never been registered. Maybe with her old family, she had had a birth certificate or ID of some sort, but that would be long gone by now.

“...”

Zero popped out. “Oi, Quarta.”

“Yeah?”

“I have your idea.”

~~~

For the next week or so, the bar was closed. There was chatter among the people as to why, but no one could say that they knew the reason for sure. Some whispered he’d gone out of business or had been arrested for the fiasco that had gone on months before. Others said he’d disappeared, just like he’d appeared out of nowhere. Others still took a more logical approach to it and said he was just renovating the place.

They were all wrong.

Quarta could be seen leaving the place, muttering to himself and going unknown places. Prota never tried to follow him, mainly because he was too quick, but she trusted that whatever he was doing was important.

She’d been a bit disappointed. In her opinion, they’d gotten closer over the past few months. She saw him as an older brother, someone who was reliable and took care of her. While she still avoided physical touch with other people but was totally comfortable with Quarta now. This just showed how much trust they’d built through their relationship. That being said, she’d gotten somewhat excited when Quarta had asked her about her birthday, which she’d totally forgotten about, only to disappear most of the time.

He was always muttering to himself, and she could never hear him. She would sometimes pull her map up on her system to see where he was going, but it was usually in locations she hadn’t been to yet, so that was useless. She did see him go to the markets once in a while, but he could’ve been doing anything there.

“...”

She fell onto her bed, bored out of her mind. Quarta had said he would be back in an hour, and there were still ten minutes to go. She could’ve been reading but she wanted to catch Quarta when he came back, so she could see what he was up to.

When he came back, there was nothing in his hands. Disappointed, she went back to reading.

“Hey, Prota. Were you waiting for me?”

She just pouted and turned the other way.

“Oh, come on. I promise you I’ll tell you what I was up to tomorrow, ok?”

She turned around and looked at him.

“What were you doing?”

Quarta winked with a smile. “A secret.”

She turned back with a “hmph” and kept reading. Quarta walked back downstairs.

“So, it’s coming tomorrow?”

Quarta grinned. “Yeah. It’s all set up, like I said.”

“I told you it was a good idea.”

“You know, I’ve never seen Prota smile yet. She’s still cute with her monotone poker face, especially when she’s begging for something but I wish she would laugh or smile. Her voice is always flat. It’s almost like she’s a robot or something. It’s cute, but…”

“Maybe she’ll smile tomorrow.”

Quarta grinned. “Yeah. Maybe. That would be a sight to see.”

Despite the grin on his face, Quarta was visibly nervous.

“Oh, come on, man, it’ll be fine.”

“...you sure she’ll like it? I mean, we’ve only been together in the same house for, what, six, seven months…?”

“That’s not an issue.” Zero sighed. “Quarta. You swore a long time ago you wouldn’t care for anyone again, and yet here you are, going out of your way to help someone who can’t really give you anything in return. That’s not like you. You never do work unless you know the work will be worth it, and even then, you look for the option that results in the least effort possible. Despite all of that, look what you’re doing for this girl. You care for her. She cares for you. As long as it came from the heart, that’s what makes it a good gift. And since it came from me, and I’m your soul, it’s a good gift.”

Quarta grimaced. “You were sounding real wise there until that last part.”

Zero shrugged. “I’m not here to be your philosopher. I’m here… hell, I’m not entirely sure why I’m here.”

~~~

“Rise and shine, Prota,” Quarta said, shaking the small girl awake.

She’d grown since he’d first seen her, although not by all that much. Her white hair had grown out, now somewhere around her hip, and was even more messy than usual this morning.

“Mm,” she muttered, rolling over again.

“Oh, come on, it’s morning already,” Quarta said with a grin, pulling the blankets off of her. Grumpily, she got up and trodded over to the washroom.

“Ok, Prota. Big day today. You were wondering what I’m being doing for the past few days, right?” he said as she went into the washroom to clean up. Hot water streamed out as she washed her hair.

Despite not showing any reaction, she was excited. Maybe he had something planned?

“I need you to run a chore for me, ok?”

Her excitement dropped.

“Ok, do you remember that granny we visited? The one who gave us the beef?”

Prota nodded. She could see it on her map.

“Ok, I want you to go visit her and ask her for a package, ok?”

Prota nodded glumly. “Ok.”

Her hair dry and fresh, she wrapped herself with her cloak, magically adjusted for spring like weather and headed out. It was refreshing to be out on her own, something Quarta rarely let her do, and so it was pleasant. However, it wasn’t pleasant enough to cover up her disappointment.

“Ah, hello dear,” the granny said as Prota approached her stall. “You want a package, yes?”

Prota nodded. The granny rummaged around, then came out with a small box. “You’re a lucky girl today,” she said with a glint in her eye. “Here, a snack for the way back.”

Prota took the piece of meat with a gleam in her eye as the granny laughed. Yummy foods were her weakness. “Go on home, dear. Quarta’s waiting for you.”

She went back home wondering what the granny meant.

~~~

“Surprise!” Quarta and Zero exclaimed, throwing confetti everywhere. Well, Quarta threw confetti. Zero just threw his arms up uselessly. There were banners strung up everywhere and balloons floated in various locations. She dropped the box she was holding in surprise, her eyes wide like saucers.

“Happy birthday!” Quarta smiled, walking over and giving her a big hug. She was so surprised she didn’t even react. He squatted down to her height and gave her a long headpat. “You thought we forgot, didn’t you?”

She started sniffling as she wiped her eyes.

“Hey, hey, we can’t have you crying yet. Let’s eat!”

On the table were all sorts of good foods. A plate of steaming roast beef wrapped with bacon, red and juicy, baked potatoes, skins bursting and trickling with golden butter, a basket of freshly baked bread, soft and fragrant, pitchers of juice, a bright salad with all sorts of vegetables, and more. Her mouth began to water just looking at all of it.

“Let’s dig in!”

Quarta laughed as Prota ran over and started eating with ferocity. Prota didn’t quite smile, but it was the happiest Quarta had seen her in a long, long time. It was different from when he’d saved her and taught her how to control her power. While those times were more expressions of thankfulness towards a saviour, this was more joy at experiencing love for the first time in a while. Her eyes shone every time she looked up, and although her face was still passive she practically radiated joy.

“I told you she’d like it,” Quarta heard Zero’s smug voice say in his mind, inaudible to Prota.

“Thanks, Zero,” Quarta sent back with true appreciation. Normally, he would never thank his soul unless it was said sarcastically, but this time he really meant it.

As the table started getting cleared up, Quarta walked over to the fridge and pulled out a small chocolate cake.

“Let’s see that package you brought,” he said. Prota hopped out of her chair and obediently brought it over. Quarta opened it slowly, bringing out seven candles.

“Seven,” he grinned. “For seven years old. Where I come from, seven was a lucky number.”

They put the candles in together, then Quarta got up and brought out matches. They closed the blinds and lit the candles.

“Make a wish, Prota,” he said as she blew them out, her cheeks all puffed up.

They ate the cake bit by bit, stuffed to the brim but not wanting this golden moment to disappear.

Quarta went downstairs and came up with a long thin box and a small box.

“Here,” he said. “Open both of them.”

She reached for the larger present first, opening it carefully. In it was a wooden staff with a gnarled top, pulsating with mana.

“It’s a staff,” he said. “Perfect for storing mana. I thought maybe I’d start teaching you magic,” he said with a smile. Prota just stared at it with wide eyes before slowly putting it aside and reaching for the other box. She didn’t notice Quarta looking at her with bated breath and a slight tremble.

Inside was a piece of parchment.

“...?”

“Read it,” Quarta said, his voice a bit nervous.

{Citizen of Solarium: Prota Char

Sex: Female

Height: 134 cm}

It continued with a bunch of other information about her.

“You’re an official citizen.”

She looked up at him with shining eyes. “Keep going,” he said.

{Family: Older brother: Quarta Char, Parents: unknown}

He pulled out another piece of paper.

{Citizen of Solarium: Quarta Char

Sex: Male

Height: 189 cm

~~~

~~~

~~~

Family: Younger sister, Prota Char, Parents, unknown}

“I hope you don’t mind an older brother.”

Prota looked up at him, her eyes shining, and for the first time, she gave him a hug.

It didn’t sound like a lot, but she had never initiated physical touch with Quarta. It was always him giving her headpats, hugs, wakeup shakes and whatnot. Even though she didn’t say anything, he knew what her answer was.

“So it’s a yes?” he said, just to make sure.

Tears fell out of her eyes as she buried her face into his chest, squeezing him tighter. He hugged back, tears falling out of his eyes too.

Family didn’t always have to be bound by blood.

~~~

Later that night, they took a walk through the market. The granny caught Prota’s eye and winked. She’d been a part of the plan the whole time.

“Quarta, can I…” she said, pointing at the granny.

“Go ahead,” he chuckled, turning around to look at another stand. Suddenly, there was a cry. Quarta whirled around, his heart pounding, but his worst fear had come true.

“Where? What?” Quarta practically yelled, dashing over to the granny’s stand where Prota had just been standing. The granny had fallen onto her back, shaking.

“Two… two of them, in white… they- they- without a sound, they just appeared- they took her-

Quarta leaned in very, very close.

“All white? All white…” time slowed down as the speed of his thoughts sped up.

“Was there a yellow circle on their arms?”

The granny shook her head, indicating she didn’t know, but someone else spoke up.

“Something like that, yeah. I don’t know where I’ve seen it before, but…”

She was gone.

~~~

“Thank you for your information,” the head priest said to the drunkard from before. “We have found her. She will be captured and disposed of now, before she can become a demon lord and threaten all of humanity. You have our thanks.”

The man grinned. His months of humiliation were coming to an end.