On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Side Seven – Oshiro Sapphire Aiko

I took the hands of Shaeula and Eri-chan and ushered them towards the bathroom. Behind me mom giggled.

“Your father and I will clean up, you girls go have some fun. But don’t stay up too late, we all have to help clean the shrine for the festival in the morning. Your party until dawn will have to be put on hold, I’m afraid!”

I know, I know! “Yes mom, we’ll get some sleep, I promise. But first…” I led them into our small bathroom. Eri-chan and I had bathed together many times in the past… “Hmm, I guess we are too big to fit in our small tub together. I guess if we all wash each other off and take a quick soak, then we can make it work.”

I released their hands, pulled out some bath stools and set them up. “You know where the shampoo and stuff is don’t you Eri-chan? Can you get those while I finish here?”

It didn’t take long before we had everything we needed, and I started to remove my clothes. Seeing as the others hadn’t moved I decided to motivate them. “Come on, don’t be shy, we are all girls here. And if we don’t finish up before my big bro comes back, he might try and peek…” Nah, he wouldn’t have the guts. Well, to be fair, my big bro isn’t the sort of bad guy who would do such a thing…

Taking off my underwear I was now naked. Folding it neatly I looked at Shaeula, who had taken off her dress and was removing her own underwear, which looked pretty fashionable. And expensive. Wow, I feel kinda inadequate now.

Feeling her gaze, Shaeula looked over, making no effort to hide her own nakedness. She was eyeing me up and down, which made me feel hot. Wow, I hope I’m not blushing, that’d be embarrassing, we are all girls here. But wow, just wow, she has the body of a model. Her skin is flawless!

“Your muscles are impressive indeed-indeed.” Shaeula said, interrupting my thoughts. “I can see you have put much effort into your arts.” Shaeula strode over, naked and unconcerned, to suddenly grab my arm and back with her small, pretty hands. Wow, so sudden. And her hands are so smooth… wow, where are you touching?

I bit down on a squeal as one hand slid down my back, stopping just above my buttocks. Her other hand was touching my arm in various places. “Wow, I know we are all girls, but that’s bold, Shaeula!”

Eri-chan was laughing openly at me, now in her own plain underwear, causing me to pout. Wow, I’ll have my revenge, see if I don’t!

“Akio mentioned that you practiced the arts of archery.” Shaeula said, stepping away, satisfied. I let out a sigh of relief, yet… wow, for some reason I feel empty. I’m not into girls, seriously. But if I was… shaking my head to clear those intrusive thoughts I replied.

“Yeah, I’ve been doing it since elementary school. I tried kendo and judo as well, and they are kinda fun, but archery is the best fit for me.”

“She’s even been in tournaments.” Eri-chan piped up, looking proud. “She didn’t win, but she’s always done well.”

“I’d love to win one before I finish high school, but if not maybe I can join a Kyudo team when I go to university. I’ll stick with volleyball too, it’s nice to be on a team.”

I sat Shaeula down on one of the stools, Eri-chan on the other, and I started washing her long pale blond hair, which seemed to be tinted with orange and gold. I’d never seen hair quite like it, and it was gorgeous, feeling like fine silk. Shaeula squirmed a little under my touch, giving me the urge to tease her, but I held back under Eri-chan’s knowing gaze. Spoilsport. But I guess you know me too well…

“You know, I always used to be pretty confident in my looks. My mother is gorgeous, and I got the best of my appearance from her. Eri-chan is probably the cutest girl in town, but I never felt I couldn’t measure up. But seeing you… that hair, those eyes. You could be a model.”

“You should not speak such foolish words.” Shaeula twisted to look at me, her amber eyes peering directly into mine. “You are quite the attractive girl yourself indeed-indeed. And being a skilled warrior is far more important than trivial appearances.”

Skilled warrior? Does she mean… my archery? I was puzzled again by this mysterious girl my brother had brought home with him, but when she said I was attractive, there was no mockery in it, no looking down on others like people who knew they were gorgeous often did.

“That’s right.” Eri-chan agreed. “I’ve always thought you were wonderful and pretty. Besides…” she laughed softly. “… plenty of the boys in town really want to go out with you, Aiko-chan.”

Wow, pot calling kettle much? “Tch…” I threw a pail of water at Eri-chan in retaliation, and as she looked at me like a drowned rat I smirked. “You don’t get to tell me that when you are the most desirable date in the entire neighbourhood. My brother is a lucky guy…”

Eri-chan retaliated by throwing water over me too, much of which missed and soaked Shaeula, and for the next while we engaged in a playful water fight, before finally bathing…

********

Later we were back in my room, dressed in the pyjamas mom had laid out for us. Eri-chan had spare clothes left here as she stayed over a lot, and Shaeula was wearing a yukata which my mom must have found in her bags. She looked so adorable I could just squeal, lying on the futon in my room with a can of beer in hand.

Anyway, bath time was fun, but now for the real, important talk… “Since it is just us girls here, I wanted to ask something.” As they turned to look at me I firmed up my resolve. “No messing, I want us all to promise we’ll only speak the truth in here tonight. There are some things we need to talk about, and I want to take everything said here as an honest answer, all right?” If I don’t prod Eri-chan into action now, it’ll be too late, and Shaeula and my big bro are definitely keeping secrets from me…

“I thought we were in here to have fun and do this ‘girls talk-talk’?” Shaeula asked, taking a swig of beer. Wow. Her Japanese is great, but that speech quirk… is she trying to make me die of cuteness overload? And damn, why does she get to drink booze? I’ve always been envious of big bro getting to enjoy it…

“Oh we are, Shaeula, we are. But I did want to ask a few things first. So if I may…” I noticed Eri-chan shrinking in on herself, ready for what I wanted to ask. Yeah, it’s like we can read each other’s minds. But this has to stop…

“So, Shaeula. Seriously. Are you and my brother dating? You seem really close. I know you said you weren’t, but my intuition tells me something is definitely going on.”

“Hmm, so that is what you wanted to ask-ask.” She took another gulp of her beer. “No, we are not dating, as you would put it-it. I am merely under his care, and we work together for our common goals.”

Under his care? “But you do like him don’t you? it isn’t like you’d be opposed to it, right?” beside me, Eri-chan had caught her breath, waiting for the answer.

“I must admit, Akio is quite the male-male, he is strong, attractive and resolute. I could have no objections to him as a mate, but my… family situation is complicated. My Father and my siblings would never stand for it-it.”

I knew it. You do like him! “I see. So you do like my big bro. and I can tell he is definitely sweet on you. So, family squabbles eh? Your Japanese is great, but with your looks… you must be from a foreign country I’d guess?”

“My mother is from this land, though I have not seen her in many years.” Shaeula replied, with a long sigh. “My father is… from a noble bloodline, so…” she trailed off, and I was sure I could see a hint of melancholy in her amber eyes. Damn, I think she really DOES like him, like wow, a lot.

“So, you are a half like me and my big bro then. That makes sense.” I sympathise. It can be tough, being mixed.

I then turned to Eri-chan who was looking gloomy, clutching a pillow tight to her chest. “And what about you Eri-chan. I know you like my big bro, but do you want to date him?”

“I… err, no… I…” she began. Wow, annoying. But not this time. Shaeula told us how she felt…

“Honesty time Eri-chan. What you say now I’ll take as what you really feel. So be very careful if you want my support.” No running away this time. Otherwise Shaeula or someone else will take my big bro. I feel happy for him, yet it’s… kinda sad at the same time… like he’s gone far away from me…

For a long moment Eri-chan just looked between me and Shaeula, before she nodded. “I… I love big brother… I mean Akio. I think I always have. You remember… the dog?”

Oh, no honorifics. And yeah, how could I forget that dog? I was so scared… I think I peed myself, not that I’d ever let anyone ever find out… my big bro… he was like a superhero to me then, facing down that huge beast for us…

“How could I forget? He was really shining then.”

“Oh, do tell. This sounds interesting, I would know more about my master.” Shaeula said, cracking open another beer.

Maybe she’ll give me one if I ask her nicely? And why does she keep calling him master, I’ve noticed it a few times. “Oh, when we were young… around six or so, Eri-chan, my big bro and I were all out playing. Eri-chan and I had wandered away, when this huge dog came out of nowhere and tried to attack us. We screamed and my brother came running. He was always pretty scrawny as a kid, and he didn’t have any weapon or anything to use, but he threw himself in front of us, taking a blow from the dog’s huge paw. I thought he’d fall, but he took one look at Eri-chan and me, gritted his teeth and stood up, facing the dog. It hit him again and again, and in the end even bit him pretty badly, but he never let it get past him, he just kept hitting it in the face with his fists, elbows, even his head.”

As I recounted the tale, remembering my brother as he stood against the wild dog, smiling so as not to worry us despite the pain he was surely feeling, Eri-chan began to cry.

“He… he… I thought he was going to die.” Eri-chan wailed, lost in her own memories. “His side was torn open, there was so much blood. His head too, it had split where he had struck the dog. He was so hurt… but when he saw us crying he patted us on the head and told us it’d be all right, that he’d always look out for us… I remember blacking out, then when I woke up… I found out he was hospitalised… protecting us.”

I made to hug the suffering Eri-chan, but surprisingly Shaeula-chan beat me to it, enfolding her in a warm embrace, patting her back gently. “There, there Eri.” She said gently, and I thought I felt a soothing breeze stir in the room, rustling our hair and clothes. I must have imagined it… surely. Wow, she must just be that comforting…

“A deed like that is more than enough to win the heart of a young woman-woman.” Shaeula continued, gently wiping away Eri-chan’s tears with one soft hand. “And he has always been there for you since, I presume?”

“I’ve always been shy… and my family is poor.” Eri-chan continued when she stopped crying. “Other girls bullied me for my looks and the boys would … well, they weren’t kind…”

Yeah, every boy that reached the age they started to take an interest in girls wanted to date Eri-chan. But then I got my fair share of attention too. Strange, now I think about it, this town seems to have way too many attractive girls for its size… even that shrine maiden elementary-schooler was really cute… wow, getting off track here a bit…

Eri-chan was continuing. “But Akio and Aiko-chan would always protect me, and they never left me alone. Our families were close, so we did everything together. I thought we’d always be together… but then Akio got accepted to a university in Tokyo and moved away. It was then I knew… I wasn’t good enough for him, and I’d always hold him back… so… I had to let go…”

So that’s it. I thought you were just shy.. and well, you are… but your insecurities are deeper than that. You know, I always thought we’d be together forever too, the three of us, and it hurts to think that isn’t the case…

“He comes back when he can, like now…” Eri-chan was pouring out her heart in Shaeula’s arms, perhaps because she was a rival who understood her love for my brother? “But… it isn’t enough. But if I can’t… be his support, like he has been for me… I should let him go. But it’s hard. I don’t… want to…”

She started crying again. “I want him to be mine, only mine! But you’ll take him away from me, I just know it!”

Worried at what Shaeula might say I opened my mouth to speak, only for her to gently rub her head. “Hush now, foolish little Eri. I have no intentions of taking him away from you-you. A man of such calibre as Akio would hardly be satisfied with just one woman. My father, he has many concubines and brides. Those of power are always well-loved by women-women. It is the natural order of things.”

Wow wow wow wow wowowowowowowowowwwwww! What did I just hear? Shaeula thinks my brother needs a harem, and she’s putting herself and Eri-chan forwards for it? Oh damn, I’m red hot. I’m so blushing right now. I feel faint…

Eri-chan was looking at her, dumbfounded. I doubt she expected the answer she received. But Shaeula continued on anyway.

“My meeting with Akio was as dramatic as your dog. I made three oaths that day, which my people do not break, and I shall stand beside my master until the end. There shall be no other. That is all I shall need-need.”

“Wowowowowowowowowowowowwwwwwwww!” I couldn’t keep in my squealing this time. “That… that was a proposal. I thought your father wouldn’t let you…” I trailed off as Eri-chan had gone limp, the shock too much. “Eri-chan, don’t die, it isn’t worth it. You can propose too! The festival… or Las Vegas! You won’t lose!” What am I even saying? I think my brain has melted…

Shaeula laughed. “I find you both very amusing indeed-indeed. You are both much as master said you were. As for my father… for now we do not have sufficient power. But in time, we shall exceed even royalty and take what we desire. As for you, little Eri… I do not feel you would hold back Akio, and he cares for you deeply, even if he is too dense to realise this-this, but if you feel you are unworthy… then simply become worthy.” She took Eri-chan’s hand in hers. “Let us both aim for what we desire. For in life, no-one will give you what you wish for, you have to take it-it.” With that Shaeula released the dazed Eri-chan and finished her drink. “Now, I grow weary of talking about this. We should be playing should we not? I can fetch my games console should you wish-wish?”

Uhh… yeah, I think we need a subject change. I wanted honesty, but there was… a little too much of it. Wow, how will I face my big bro when I see him next after this?

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