Chapter 6: Siblings Conversation
In what felt like a mere blink of an eye, three weeks had already passed since Ai's unforgettable live performance.
Aikara played with his toys on the floor, his face radiated with joy and his movements were filled with boundless energy.
He seemed to be completely lost in the moment, his young mind fully absorbed in the wonders of his playthings. From time to time, he would look up at his surroundings with an innocent curiosity, his eyes scanning every inch of the room with wonder.
Suddenly, the playful atmosphere was interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice. Aikara looked toward the source of the voice, and he saw Ai, carrying Aqua in her arms.
As Ai cradled Aqua in her arms, she couldn't help but notice how adorable he looked. She smiled down at him and asked, "Are you hungry, Aqua? Do you want me to give you some milk?"
Aqua strongly shook his head, his face reduced to a blushing mess. Ai curiously tilted her head at his response "What, you don't want any?" Aqua nodded his head to her question, his blush still present.
AI nodded in understanding and gently lifted Aqua from her arms, placing him gently onto the floor. She then walked over to the table and picked up his bottle, filling it with warm milk before returning to the crib.
"Aqua really loves his bottle," AI remarked with a smile as she watched him suckle contentedly, his little hands wrapped tightly around the bottle. Aikara couldn't help but chuckle at the hilarious sight.
But then, the sound of a baby crying caught their attention. Aikara turned to see his little sister, Hoshino Ruby, crying in the crib, trying to get the attention of AI.
Ai turned to Ruby, noticing the baby's restless movements in the crib. "Yes yes, you want more milk." she asked, making her way over to the crib and lifting her gently into her arms.
Ruby's eyes lit up as she eagerly nodded, her tiny hands grasping at Ai's shirt.
Ai started cradling Ruby in her arms and began to nurse her. As Ruby continued to get nursed, Ai's milk flowed freely from her breast, and she watched as her little one drank deeply, her soft lips forming a perfect seal around her nipple.
The soft sounds of her sucking and swallowing filled the room, and for a moment, all was right in the world.
That was until Ruby's attention suddenly shifted to Aqua and Aikara, a devious smirk spreading across her face.
Aqua couldn't help but think, 'This girl.'
In response to Ruby's smirk, Aikara flashed her a charming smile. Ruby's expression faltered for a moment, but then she turned her attention back to Ai and resumed her sucking.
Finally, after a few minutes of nursing, Ai gently placed Ruby down on the bed. The baby girl had a content expression written on her face, her little hands balled up in fists. As Ai got up, Saitou arrived at the apartment and reminded her that it was time for work.
After Ai left, Aqua started to crawl toward Ruby, a deadpan expression on his face.
"You should at least hold back a little." He told her.
Ruby turned her attention toward him, "Why? I'm her daughter, it's only natural for her to breastfeed me. I was given this right." She stated with such a matter-of-fact tone that Aqua couldn't help but sweat. He was caught off guard by her question and didn't know how to respond.
Suddenly, Ruby turned her attention toward Aikara, "Also, why are you only speaking about this to me? Doesn't Aikara also get breastfed?" Aqua also turned his attention to Aikara, his face asking for answers. Aikara stopped crawling and sat down, stopping his baby persona. He looked up at Ruby and Aqua and took a deep breath.
With a charming smile, he shrugged his shoulders and exclaimed, "I mean, what's the big deal with suckling from mom's breast? It's not like I'm doing it for any other reason than nourishment. And let's be honest, I only do what's necessary to get by, nothing more." His energy was contagious, and his words came out with such confidence that it was hard not to be convinced by him.
They couldn't help but believe in his words, but Aqua still had one more question to ask.
"It's nice to know you don't suck Ai's breast with ulterior motives unlike a certain person," Aqua said, shooting a pointed glance at Ruby who rolled her eyes in response. "But let me ask just in case, were you a girl in your previous life?"
With a bright smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, Aikara confidently shook his head and declared, "Nope, I've always been a dude, in this life and even in my past life!"
The moment they heard he was a dude in his past life, Aqua and Ruby recoiled with different expressions etched on their faces. Aqua looked shocked and slightly disturbed, while Ruby's face twisted with anger at the thought of a male being involved with Ai's body.
"Are you sure you're not having any lewd thoughts?" Aqua asked, his doubt and concern evident in his tone.
"Yep, you can trust me on that one!" Aikara exclaimed, a bright smile on his face. Suddenly, his expression changed and he looked down at the ground. His once energetic demeanor was replaced with a hint of sadness.
"I'm an orphan, you know," he continued, his voice softening. "Growing up, I never knew what it was like to have a mother's warmth, to feel her arms around me and tell me everything's going to be okay. But after being reincarnated, I finally got to experience what it's like to receive motherly love, and it's something I never want to let go of." A small smile played on his lips as he closed his hand into a fist. "I'm going to cherish it and hold onto it as tightly as I can!"
He looked up again, his eyes shining with determination. "And who knows? Maybe one day, I'll be able to give that same kind of love to someone else who needs it."
Hearing Aikara's words, Ruby and Aqua both fell silent, lost in their own thoughts. Ruby's mind drifted to memories of her previous life when she fell ill and her parents seemed to drift away from her. It hurt her deeply to think about how alone and abandoned she felt during that time. Aqua, also reflected on his previous life, how he never had a mother to care for him, only his aging grandparents.
The room fell silent as both Ruby and Aqua processed their emotions. Minutes ticked by as they sat there, lost in their own thoughts. Gradually, Aqua began to recover his composure, perhaps due to his more mature mental age of thirty. But Ruby remained quiet, her emotions still raw and unresolved. It was clear that she needed more time to process the memories that Aikara's words had stirred up within her.
Aikara noticed that Aqua had snapped out of his thoughts, and leaned forward with a look of concern in his sparkling eyes. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked with a sympathetic tone. "I'm sorry if I brought up some unwanted memories for you. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but know that I'm here to listen if you need someone to talk to."
Aqua's eyes met Aikara's, and he could sense the genuine warmth in his words. He took a deep breath, feeling a sense of comfort and support that he hadn't experienced in a long time. "Thank you, Aikara," he said, his voice soft but grateful. "I'm okay, really. It's just that sometimes, the past can catch up with you."
Aikara was about to respond with words of encouragement, but before he could, Ruby's beaming smile interrupted their moment. Aikara smiled warmly at Ruby, happy to see that she also recovered her composure.
"I hope you will be able to give that kind of love to someone who needs it, Aka nii," Ruby said, finally breaking her silence. Her words were simple but heartfelt.
"Thanks, Rubes!" he exclaimed, his voice brimming with energy and cheerfulness. "I promise to work my butt off to make this dream a reality!"
There was silence for a few moments until Aikara suddenly asked, "Oh yeah Ruby, were you a girl in your past life?"
"Yep" Ruby nodded.
"I guess that's fine then." Aqua muttered, but Ruby caught on to that and radiated smug energy.
While smirking, she started to speak "I guess that's fine? Your jealousy is so gross! I mean, it'll be bad if a guy who is old enough to know better got breastfed, no offense Aka nii! Oh thank God I was born as a girl with the lawful right to savor breast."
Ruby continued talking, oblivious to Aikara and Aqua's conversation.
"Whoa, that's pretty bad from a moral point of view," exclaimed Aikara, looking at Aqua with a small smile. "Right, Aqua?
Aqua shook his head in disbelief at Aikara's response. "Like you're one to talk, Aikara. Even though you may not have lustful thoughts, as Ruby pointed out earlier, it'll be bad if a guy who is old enough to know better got breastfed"
Aikara simply shrugged his shoulders, seemingly unfazed. "Well, at least I don't have a creepy smile on my face like Ruby over there," he retorted, pointing at Ruby who still had a dreamy expression on his face.
"I feel so bad for her, I'll definitely protect her my whole life.." Ruby trailed off, staring into the distance.
Aqua turned his attention back to Aikara. "She's definitely worse than you," Aqua deadpanned, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
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Authors note
In case you're wondering why I'm doing third POV instead of first POV, it's because I reached my limit as a first POV writer 😔
The first version was in first POV, and I can say that it's bad.
This is my personal opinion as a new writer, but I think first POV should only be used to see the thoughts of the protagonist and to learn more about them. That was what I tried to do in this chapter too, but I can say it's dull since my protagonist kept on going back to his thoughts and contemplating.
I found it boring, after all, it's basically the same thing again, and I'm sure you guys would be bored too. So, I decided to stop using first POV for now and focus on third POV since I think you guys know enough about Aikara's personality after reading the first few chapters.
So from now on, I won't state if he's acting or not, and it's up to you to determine whether he is acting or if he is really showing his true feelings.
But don't worry, I will use first POV if I think I need to show his emotions. I will also use it when Aikara experiences character development.
And unlike first POV, you can clearly see how much Aikara acts. The only reason you can't see it in first POV is because who would mention every time they are acting to an audience that doesn't exist? Plus, it became a habit to him so he does actions like this unconsciously.
Also, very sorry for the late chapter😔
I had two major exams this week and I also needed to finish my job in fiverr, so I wasn't able to devote that much time here. And I was planning to wake up at 1:00 am to finish this chapter and do some of my other school work but I continued sleeping and I wasn't able to wake up at all even though I had an alarm. My dormmate also forgot to wake me up.
Lastly, sorry for the short chapter, I was planning to include the one where they trick Miyako but I realized the word count reached 1600 words already.
I like to think this is for world-building but I won't delude myself at the possibility that I'm just dragging out my novel.
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