My Brother Is The Hero Of Earth

The first time Gustavo saw me fighting the rank six golem, his mouth hung open the entire time. He usually fought the fourth rank, sword and shield golem, but he could handle the fifth with the support of his magics, the problem was with his reserves. To his credit, he managed all of that with his own skills where I was relying on the defense of my scales. It was scary how fast he improved at combat since four years ago he worked at a lousy sandwich shop and never had fought more than a few school yard scuffles.

For whatever reason, I tried to avoid. I couldn"t give you a solid reason why because it kept changing. My bloodline was screaming out to find her and do all sorts of things... and that scared me, but there was more than that. The real me also wanted to get closer to her. It may have just been her innates, but there was something about her that drew you in when she talked and her smile could light up the room... and yet another reason why I avoided her.

I was so tired of watching all of the girls fall for my brother while I got the leftovers when he was busy. Don"t get me wrong, I considered everyone in the house as much my family as Gustavo and I would put my life on the line for any of them, but it wasn"t the same. Alice, Terri, Sophia, and Lesedi care for me in a deep, special way, but I could see the difference when they looked at me versus Gustavo. My train of thought was shattered when the bottom of Gustavo"s sword hilt slammed my jaw and I fell back on my b.u.t.t.

"You okay? You seem off today," Gustavo said, sheathing his sword.

"No kidding," I said, rubbing my jaw and finding a lump already forming.

He offered a hand which I took and he pulled me to my feet. "Really, are you okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Just got some stuff on my mind."

"Wanna blow this off and have a few beers in the usual spot then?"

I nodded then "let" my bloodline settle, returning to my true "human" form. We both pulled out our silver hoverboards and flew up onto the roof. There were only two ways out of the training field, the main entrance to the road or slipping through the bamboo to the onsen area, because of the layers of formations and wards. Only two feet of roof was "inside" the training field, so when we reached the roof, a shimmering, transparent wall could barely be seen, preventing us from going any further, but that just meant we had a backrest.

We both plopped down on the edge of the roof with our feet hanging off the edge. Gustavo pa.s.sed me a beer as another appeared in his hand. I cracked the top, but the beer exploded, sending a wave of foam into my face, which caused him to fall over, onto his side, laughing.

"Jacka.s.s," I said, wiping my face, before I shook up what was left of the beer and poured it on him. I pulled away as he cursed and I took out a beer from my storage ring.

"It was just a joke, Becca," he whined.

"It was just a joke, Gustavo," I mocked.

He gave me an almost pouty look before he cracked and started laughing. "You remember that we were playing Soul Caliber and I kept beating you?"

"It wasn"t that you were beating me, it was that laughing and shaking me by my shoulders. I only spilled water on you, imagine what I could do now," I laughed as I summoned a tiny bolt of crimson electricity.

"You think if Katye hits you with other magic, you could get it too? Like your lightning?" Gustavo asked.

"I asked "One" about it and, while yes, it is possible, it will take a lot more than the lightning did since my "family"s" bloodline has an affinity with it. Before you ask, because I see that twinkle in your life, I asked him about you and no, you won"t suddenly develop a dragon bloodline. Only the royalty of the dragon clan could use other magics and they died out before the "Great War"."

"d.a.m.n, well, you can"t blame me for hoping. I"d be unstoppable with your crazy scales," he laughed then took a swig of beer. We enjoyed a relaxed silence for a while before he turned to me and said, trying to sound casual, "So, Kiara"s birthday is next week..."

I sighed then took a gulp of my drink. "Haven"t you learned anything in the past few years? You always have to come to me about your girls," I said, annoyed.

"I know, I know... It"s my ideas never seem good..." he said quietly.

"What have you thought of already?" I asked with a sigh.

"Well, she had mentioned wanting to see the Mughal Gardens in India... I should be able to barrow Sophia"s door for a day, if I promise her a favor."

"See, that"s a great idea, just research a really nice restaurant, probably along the same theme, and you"ll be golden. Do not, I repeat, do not forget to get some money from Alice in the right currency if you are going to India."

"Thanks, Becca."

"Yeah, yeah, nominate me for "best sister of the year"," I said as I leaned back against the invisible wall and re-summoned my hoverboard to be a foot rest.

We sat back and drank beers for nearly an hour, bringing up funny stories to make fun of the other. I had more, but his did make me look bad a few times on account of my anger issues. Since we had started in the early afternoon, by the time was starting to set, both of us were rather drunk.

"So, tell me about Katye, I haven"t had the chance to spend any real time with her," Gustavo asked.

"Dude... don"t ask me about her. If you want to know about her, you do the work," I grumbled as I crushed my empty can.

"It"s not like she is easy to approach. If I can get pa.s.sed her "Charm", there is still her mana control problem."

"Don"t you have enough women?" I snapped.

"Whoa, Becca, I didn"t mean it like that. If you like her, I won"t interfere."

"Because if you did, I"d have no chance? F*** you," I said then jumped off the roof before I did anything else.

I was ready to punch him in the face, but it was only the fact that I could my talons digging into my palms that I didn"t. While I had no real problem hitting him since it wouldn"t really hurt him and I felt he deserved it, with signs of my bloodline appearing, I had to control it or it would control me.

By the time, Gustavo snapped out of his shock, I was already at the sparring ring. He jumped down and chased after me as he shouted, "d.a.m.nit, Becca, I didn"t..."

I cut him off with a bolt of lightning aimed at the ground in front of him. "I don"t need your f***ing pity. Leave me alone!" I yelled as I pulled out a control talisman and enclosed the three barriers.

He pounded a fist on the outer barrier, but it was silent within the ring. I called over my normal golem, one of the only things that could pa.s.s through the erect barriers, as I ignored him. He probably didn"t mean to upset me, in fact, I knew he didn"t, but that did not sooth my anger. I charged straight at the golem, shifting forms as I ran, and threw a punch straight into its face. The golem went soaring out of the ring while I nearly chased after him, but the barrier stopped me. Looking back, I saw Gustavo was gone and I let out a huff.

It wouldn"t be long before Alice would show up since he was gone. My whole body crackled with crimson lightning as I paced around, waiting for the golem to return. It increased to the sixth rank before it reentered the ring, but I didn"t give a moment to ready itself as I dashed around the edge of the ring and kicked it towards the center. We traded punch for punch, kick for kick, as I released all of my anger.

"I"m getting tired of finding you like this," Alice"s tired voice broke through the fog of my mind.

"Just leave me in here, Alice. I want to be alone," I said as I continued to punch away at the golem.

The barriers rippled then vanished, one by one. The golem stopped attacking, but I didn"t, pushing it back by a half-step with each hit. I heard her step closer then she placed a hand on my shoulder which was no longer electrified, but my scales were still out. I didn"t just shy away from her touch, I managed to activate my Flash Step unconsciously and appear on the other side of the golem.

"Alice, please, just leave me alone for the night. I locked myself in as a precaution in case I lost control, not because I thought I was going to," I pleaded.

"If this is about Katye..."

"F***! This isn"t about her, it has nothing to do with her! I"m p.i.s.sed because he is a G.o.dd.a.m.n b.a.s.t.a.r.d! How many f***ing women does he need? How are you okay with this? How are any of you okay with this? What makes him so G.o.dd.a.m.n special while I have to watch all this s.h.i.t and be alone?!?" I screamed.

Alice gave me a pained expression while I stared her dead in the eyes. "Becca, you know we all love you," Alice said quietly, "I love you."

"You know exactly what I mean," I snapped.

"Your life isn"t hopeless, Becca. Unless you are killed or seriously injured, you would likely live to thousands of years old; you"ve been alive for twenty-four. Give yourself some time! You won"t always be in the manor," Alice said.

I sighed as my anger faded and was replaced with guilt. I forced my bloodline to settle as I shifted back t my "human" form. "I"m sorry, Alice. I... I love you too."

She walked over with a light smile and ran a finger down the center of my chest then leaned forward, kissing me. "Your only problem with the "house" is that you are a woman. If they all didn"t want children at some point, you would have more permeant takers."

"Yeah," I sighed. I brushed a few piece of hair out of her face then kissed her again.

"About Katye..."

"Alice, I don"t want to talk about her."

"But..."

I sealed her lips with my own as I pulled her close. "How about we skip dinner and claim the onsen for ourselves?" I asked in her ear.