Chapter 5: As Family
Kat-chan and I got caught up in the commotion caused by invaders from space.
We were swallowed up by the wave of fleeing people and got separated, but right after that, someone’s loud voice echoed, saying that the “White Knight” had appeared.
“No way, he’s here!?”
“I knew it! That thing from yesterday was him!”
“I don’t know why he’s white now, but that’s the Black Knight!”
The Black Knight, who might be even more famous than Justice Crusader who has saved the world many times.
Many people knew about him, and while some were puzzled by his appearance, few doubted it was him.
The incident ended before Justice Crusader arrived, and now the White Knight was apparently being chased around by her and the civilians.
Kat-chan still hadn’t come to our meeting place.
I held a faint hope in my heart that it wasn’t him.
That whoever was called the White Knight wasn’t him, but someone else inside.
…I don’t want this.
That’s what I immediately thought.
I don’t want him to fight anymore.
Couldn’t he just keep living a peaceful life away from battles, like these past three months?
…I don’t want this.
I don’t want to be alone.
I don’t want to deceive him anymore.
Has he already regained his memories?
Is he staying with me even after regaining his memories?
Or is he fighting without having regained his memories?
I don’t know.
It’s scary that any possibility is plausible when it comes to Katsumi…!
“Big sister Hakua”
“Huh…?”
I snap back to reality, startled by the sudden voice.
I’m holding a rice bowl and chopsticks, realizing that we’re back home having dinner together.
On top of the pure white rice is mapo tofu, its spicy appearance and tofu flavor blending nicely, making the meal go down easily.
As I resume eating, Kat-chan, sitting across from me, looks at me with worried eyes.
“Are you feeling unwell? You’ve only eaten one and a half bowls when you usually eat three.”
I’m not satisfied with being treated like someone who eats an enormous amount.
I’m a baby less than a year old in my growth period.
It’s normal to eat this much…!
For now, I hold out my bowl for seconds.
“More, please.”
“Big sister…!”
Kat-chan happily scoops rice from the rice cooker for me.
Well, because I’m not good at cooking or housework at all, he’s improved quite a bit over these three months… I really feel sorry about that.
“As expected, big sister needs to eat a lot. Yeah.”
“Hey, could you stop saying that like I’m some kind of glutton?”
I’m a girl too, you know?
While feeling unsettled about my dignity as an older sister being shaken, I can’t help but smile seeing Kat-chan look so happy.
“…We should talk about it, shouldn’t we?”
Let’s ask about the White Knight again.
After dinner, I stood in front of Kat-chan’s room, ready to discuss today’s events.
I’m about to ask him about the White Knight.
Honestly, I hope it’s someone else.
But I can’t imagine anyone other than Kat-chan being able to fight like the Black Knight, and above all, the figure of the White Knight I saw through the video keeps overlapping with Kat-chan.
Is Kat-chan actually the White Knight?
Or is it someone else?
First, I need to confirm that.
“………… “
Maybe Kat-chan has regained all his memories.
If so, is he pretending to have amnesia even though he understands?
My thoughts are jumbled, and I keep thinking in worse and worse directions.
“No, no. …Okay, let’s be brave.”
After taking a deep breath, just as I’m about to knock on the door… I notice a voice coming from inside the room.
“Kat-chan…?”
[But… actually… transform… when I try…]
Is he talking to himself? Or is he talking to someone?
…No, thinking calmly, could it be Shiro? That thing has a proper will, so it wouldn’t be strange for Kat-chan to talk to it.
[Transform!]
The moment I heard those words, my mind went blank.
Unable to think of anything, I grab the doorknob with my right hand that was about to knock and open the door.
In that instant, light is emitted along with a mechanical voice.
Dazzled by the light, I look into the room and see the worst situation I had imagined.
As I thought, Kat-chan was the White Knight.
As I’m overwhelmed by this fact, the White Knight, not noticing that I’ve opened the door, holds his head in his hands.
“Hmm, now that I say it out loud, it’s kind of embarrassing.”
…Huh?
“But even with amnesia, my sense of thinking this is cool hasn’t changed. I wonder if I need poses too. Like, ‘Haa!’ or ‘Joah!!’…”
“………… “
“Like… that…”
The White Knight striking poses and me standing there dumbfounded, our eyes meet.
“………… “
“………… “
The moment it was confirmed that Kat-chan was the White Knight, the situation turned out to be more awkward than expected.
“Kat-chan”
“Yes”
“You understand, right?”
“…Yes”
Kat-chan, looking pale even through his mask, nods stiffly in response to my near-robotic tone.
I notice him trying to move away.
“Undo the transformation, okay?”
“Yes…”
Although the development was different from what I had in mind, Kat-chan was indeed the White Knight.
Thinking about it, it’s only natural.
But I didn’t want to believe it, and until I knew the truth, I had been averting my eyes from reality.
But now I can’t look away anymore.
With a feeling like my chest is being squeezed, we return to the living room where we had dinner and take our seats.
“………… “
“………… “
Awkwardly facing each other, Kat-chan and I remained silent, unable to meet each other’s eyes.
But we can’t stay silent forever.
“Did you transform yesterday?”
“I’ll tell you everything properly.”
The story told by Kat-chan was beyond my expectations.
Yesterday, he was apparently attacked by a monster woman in a golden suit that looked like a sentai hero.
“A golden monster?”
“She seemed to know about me… I think she came to kill me.”
Hearing the story, I immediately realized who this monster was.
One of the invaders called Savers who came from space was wearing a golden suit. It should have been the one Kat-chan had beaten three months ago, but to think they would find him when he had lost his memories…
“Honestly, I don’t know how I was able to transform. I borrowed Shiro’s power to become white and fought… I just fought desperately and… before I knew it, I had defeated her.”
“Did it feel like your body moved on its own?”
“Yeah,”
He had been immersed in battles against monsters for years, so those combat experiences were ingrained in his body.
“…Why?”
Why must he fight again?
Sensing that he was once again caught up in the fate of battle, just like before, my hands naturally began to tremble as he bowed his head deeply, placing his hands on the table.
“Sis, I’m sorry for keeping quiet.”
“No, don’t apologize. You didn’t want to worry me, right?”
I said, looking at him.
I realized then that I had been restraining him because I didn’t want Kat-chan to fight.
But the truth was, I was afraid of losing the first family I had ever had, scared that he would regain his memories and leave.
Feeling ashamed of such selfish thoughts, I was on the verge of tears.
“Wha-?! S-Sis?! I-I didn’t think I was causing you so much worry! Sh-Should I get down on my knees and apologize?!”
“No, that’s not necessary,”
I said, wiping my eyes and taking a deep breath.
I’ve realised long ago how bad I am.
For now, I needed to think about Kat-chan rather than myself.
“It must have been tough,”
“But Shiro saved me. The belt wrapped around me, and Shiro transformed… Without this little one, I don’t think I’d be here now,”
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[Gau!]
he said, and Shiro barked happily, pleased with Kat-chan’s praise.
Then, showing a bit of hesitation, he continued,
“Sis, from now on, if guys like those from today show up, I’ll—”
“No way,”
I reflexively responded.
Suddenly coming to my senses, I adjusted my position in the chair and spoke with undisguised agitation.
“I don’t want you doing such dangerous things…”
“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, I said something irresponsible in the heat of the moment. I regret it,”
This goes beyond family matters.
As the doctor who had been counseling him, I didn’t want him to fight.
“But I will fight,”
“Ah—”
The same eyes as when he was Katsumi Homura.
Seeing those eyes filled with strong determination, I found myself at a loss for words.
“Today, I saw monsters appear again and many people in danger,”
he said while looking at his own palm.
“Fighting monsters… If I have the power to do something about it, I don’t want to just look the other way. I don’t want to regret doing nothing.”
“Kat-chan…”
Powerful words.
That’s how determined he is.
I couldn’t stop him from heading into battle.
Realizing this, I gathered my thoughts once more before looking up.
“I understand. If that’s what Kat-chan says, I’ll help too.”
“Sis…!!”
“But Kat-chan, take care of yourself too! Promise me!”
I said, and he nodded firmly at my words.
There was no turning back now, and there was very little I could do, but I would do everything I could to help Kat-chan.
“Now that that’s settled, Sis! There’s something I want to confirm first!” .
Something to confirm?
Well, I had just resolved to help Kat-chan, so I wouldn’t hold back my cooperation.
“I want to know about this Black Knight guy!”
“Huh?”
I replied,
nearly shattering the resolve I had just made.
I booted up the laptop I had pulled out and searched for videos.
If I was going to teach him about the Black Knight, showing videos would be the quickest way.
…Even if his memories return after seeing this, I would accept it calmly.
“Okay, I’ll play it now,”
“A-Alright,”
I sat shoulder to shoulder with Kat-chan and played the video.
After a moment of darkness, the image of a warrior in a black suit facing off against a monster appeared on the screen.
[You bastard!! What the hell are you playing at?!]
The enraged Black Knight blows off the monster’s head with his fist.
[Shut your damn ringing!!]
The Black Knight crushes the monster that was destroying the surroundings with sound and vibration, smashing it from above.
[Kukuku, is that all you’ve got?! Hey!!]
The Black Knight laughs mockingly while shattering the monster’s attack with a headbutt.
[I’ll turn you into a body that can’t smile!!]
The Black Knight pierces through the monster’s torso with his arm.
[Haha! You won’t be needing that arm anymore, will ya?!]
The Black Knight tears off the monster’s arm.
[If you’re a laser monster, I’ll throw it right back at ya!!]
The Black Knight somehow catches the incoming laser and throws it back.
“Wow”
It was just a bunch of incredibly intense guys.
“………..”
The video with the most views, displayed at the top of the video site, was like a compilation of the Black Knight brutally abusing monsters… I think this is definitely bad for children’s education.
“……”
As I wait for Kat-chan, who’s been silent while watching the video, to speak, he lets out a light sigh and leans back on the sofa.
“Phew… I was wondering what people were talking about, but…”
“Huh? Kat-chan?”
He looks away from the computer screen and sighs in exasperation.
“Geez, that’s not me. This person,”
I barely manage to suppress the voice that was about to say, “No, it’s you, isn’t it?”
I’m confused by his seemingly smug expression.
“Me? Such a wild, vulgar guy with a foul mouth and violent tendencies? There’s no way that could be me, right?”
“Uh, well…”
“Besides, his fighting style is too barbaric. Why is he trying to kill opponents with his bare fists? Honestly, I’m terrified of being associated with him. …Well, I understand that people have been saved because of it, but that can’t be me.”
He shrugs with a ‘good grief’ expression.
As he starts putting himself down like this, I can’t help but make an indescribable face.
“And the voice is completely different too, right?”
“Uh, I-I guess so…”
“It is.”
“…Maybe you’re right.”
Come on, my willpower is too weak! I’m giving in to my desires too easily!
“I don’t understand why I’m being treated the same as this Black Knight, but next time we fight, I’ll have to clearly deny that we’re the same.”
“Kat-chan, don’t get carried away.”
“Yes, I’m sorry…”
I’ve allowed him to fight, but he mustn’t get overconfident.
As always, I still have a strong desire not to abandon our current family structure, but I care about Kat-chan just as much. So, I’ll do what I can for him.
If the CEO and the three girls from Justice Crusader find out later, it could turn into a big mess, but I’ll try not to think about that for now.
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