12] Dear Brother

(Shin POV, Shin's room)

(A few hours ago.)

I was sleeping in my room when I heard a voice.

???- "-ession in this world will skyrocket!" I open my eyes suddenly, not knowing when this guy showed up. When I look to him, the things that stood out were his eyes. Eyes exactly like mine, with an abyss black hair color to match. 

We look at each other, not really sure what to say, until I realize something.

Both- "Brother?" A wicked smile appears on both of our faces, but I quickly cover mine.

Shin- "What happened? Why is there a portal, are you my brother?" I ask, not really sure whether I'm just in a dream or not.

Brother?- "I can't say for certain... Was your father a sociopathic madman who forced us to become freaks of nature?" I think back to his abuse, and it causes my expression to darken. But then I realize that he really is my brother.

Shin- "Yeah! Wait, so you truly are my brother?" He just shrugs.

"Why are you so... small? And are you wearing Soul Reaper clothes?" I start to laugh, not noticing his sigh.

Brother- "A LOT has happened. I'm basically the Head Captain of the Gotei 13, and I'm only fifteen and a half." I flinch at this.

Did he really accomplish so much in so little time? What have I done meanwhile? Killed a couple heroes? 

But then I notice something, he's the same age as I am.

Shin- "You're the same age as me? How long were you in this world?"

Brother- "Ten and a half years, you?" Wait, so I'm not a failure? Thank God! My expression returns to normal after unknowingly having been shocked before.

Shin- "Ten years? I've only been here for half of one!" His face morphs into a shocked expression.

Brother- "You've only been here for six months, yet you radiate such danger? What training did you do?" I activate [Aura Manipulation] to read his Aura, but he surprisingly doesn't have any.

Brother- "What the hell was that!? How did your eyes do that!?" He must have been referring to my eyes, I guess I can tell him.

Shin- "Oh it's a Flair I stole from my not-sister... By the way, why do you have no Aura?" I look all around his body, surprised not to see anything at all.

Brother- "Aura? Flairs? You're in an alternate universe. Is there an outside media from our original world that you think you're in?" I scoff.

Shin- "Think? I know I'm in 'The Weight of a Tempest', it's not hard. What world are you in?" He taps his chin thinking about something.

Brother- "I'm in Chrono Trigger... What's... Yours? Like, an anime or something?" I laugh at his ignorance.

Shin- "Mine's a novel." I can almost see the lightbulb above his head.

Brother- "I see. I wouldn't know anything about it, as I'm not really too into novels. I'm more of an anime/manga/game enjoyer." I chuckle, amused with his reactions.

Shin- "I'm the same, just replace the game part with novel."

We sit there and catch up, telling each other of our exploits.

Bro- "Damn! You ripped his spine out and killed someone else with it? HAHAHA! Nice! I'm definitely doing that later!"

Shin- "You're not much better. I think you're actually worse! The way you tort- *Ahem* Trained those people... Even I feel bad for them, and I have a problem with my savagery."

Bro- "You do really need to get that worked out bro, you can't be doing that without control." My head droops, embarrassed at the truth of his words. I motion to my bloody room.

Shin- "Why do you think my room looks like this? My walls were white!"

Bro- "Who did you do this to?" I freeze, not really expecting this response.

Shin- "...Myself... It's the only way to force myself to not have those urges in a timely manner, I have school!" He shakes his head, I can only assume in disappointment.

Bro- "I understand, but I have to say that it is kind of disappointing... By the way what's your name in this world?" He quickly changes the subject, much to my enjoyment.

Shin- "Oh! I'm Shin Hohl Vide! What's yours?" I answer a bit too enthusiastically, and his response is just clicking his tongue.

Bro- "Bragging with your full name... It's just Zero, no middle or last name." What? He only has one name? That's pretty weird... I try to change the mood to a more joking one.

Shin- "But at least your name is cool."

Zero- "Yeah, I picked it. But your name isn't bad either. True Hollow Something, pretty banger." He knows the majority of my name? I didn't know he spoke other languages... Did he say he could pick his name? Did his mom wait until he was old enough to name himself?

Shin- "My name means True Hollow Void, how did you know? Also, you got to pick your name? What the heck?"

Zero- "I learned Japanese and German, but you didn't get to pick your name?" I shakes my head. 

"I picked mine when I met my ROB, didn't you meet one?"

Shin- "Who's ROB?" He facepalms.

Zero- "Random Omniscient Being." I nod slightly, understanding the meaning now.

Shin- "I see. No, I didn't meet a ROB. I just woke up in this guy's body after dying in a way that I don't wish to recount." Just thinking about my death almost paralyzes me in fear.

He tells me how he died, and the only thing I can think of was: 'lucky.'

"At least you died quickly." He seems a bit taken aback, so I change the subject before he pries too much into it.

Shin- "Anyway, about that girl I was telling you about."

Zero- "Which one, the one that you were having a dilemma about?" I nod.

"So, what about her?" I hesitate for a moment. Why did I bring this up again, this isn't nearly as bad... But still!

Shin- "Should I do it? You're the expert on our family's emotions here, is it possible?" He shrugs, a slight smirk making it's way onto his face.

Zero- "You know, you're lucky. I can't get the chance to even come close to falling in love within the next two years." Why not? Oh, he might be in a difficult situation. He's saying I should just do as I can before I lose the chance.

"You should go for it while you have the chance, if the world is as dangerous as you have told me. I say do it, the world could take her away from you at any moment." I literally just thought that... Wow. I hang my head slightly, pondering his words more seriously.

"What about sparring with me for a while, if you win, I'll teach you some techniques." I nod, getting up. I rush to my desk and begin writing a note for Hikari, leaving to put it on the table. 

I then make my way to Hikari's room, making an artifact that allows the user to have [Shadow Manipulation]. I use my [Darkness Manipulation] to put the ring in her pocket. The ring is pretty big, but if she puts it on her finger it'll adjust to the right size.

On my way back to my room I look for the acceptance letter for Hikari, finding it in a hidden drawer. I then fold it and put it in her pocket as well.

I go back into my room and start looking for something to cover the magic hole in the wall, which is directly above my bed before remembering that I should probably make sure Hikari won't wake up anytime soon. Once I cover the wall I run back into Hikari's room, and she's already stirring.

I place my hand gently on her chest, absorbing the Aura directly from her. By [Aura Manipulation] gets stronger, and it cause her to go into a deep sleep.

I make sure to absorb enough so she doesn't wake up until at least 9:00 AM-ish. Quickly, I make my way back to the portal. I try my best to not knock the shirt down. 

Yes this shirt will work just fine, as it's as red as the walls. I slip past the shirt, feeling the cold night air on my skin.

I look around and see that we're standing in the middle of a clearing in a forest, and the moon is big and bright. He looks to me, as if bringing up his question again.

Shin- "Okay, you're on!" I climb fully through the portal, stepping on the soft grass.

Zero- "Why'd you do that?" Do what? Oh, the shirt thing?

Shin- "Oh, nothing much. I just don't want Hikari to find out about the portal, luckily she won't look too hard in my room. Plus, coating the whole room in my blood makes it hard to see anything out of place." He nods his head.

Zero- "Very good idea, but... We should probably sleep until the sun comes up at least. I want us at top shape before we fight." He smirks devilishly, but I brush it off.

Shin- "Great idea, do you want to stay at my house? I've got comfy beds and AC. You shouldn't have to worry about being quiet, I made sure Hikari was asleep. She won't wake up until around nine~ ish... I'm not to sure on the exact time, but it should be fine if we leave by eight."

Zero- "I'll also be needing some money to buy some modern luxury. Do they have anime there?" I laugh as I answer all of his questions... And boy where there a lot... I'm going to spare you from them... Wait, who am I thinking to?