So living in the main house sucked.

Oh sure it had a nice bed, working lights, and furniture to make use of. Plus there was no draft, no critters roaming around on the floor and definitely no questionable paint particles floating in the air. By every measure it was like going from a cheap motel to staying at the Ritz Carlton; A magnifiable step up.

However, it still had a shared bathroom between the four occupants. Still a step up from the dozen or so servants I had been sharing with before. It was in an annex building and was actually decent since it was built to accommodate a large gaggle of people.

The problem with the main house bathroom – despite being smaller but nicer – was that it was right on the edge where this wing of the building met up with the main hall. There was no sneaking to the front door without one of my three neighbors hearing me. None of whom let me walk by without questioning where I was going. Even timing my use with the bathroom had to be carefully chosen as my more grumpy neighbor next door had taken my recent move as well as I expected.

Like right now.

Hence why living in the main house sucked!

I was cussing up a storm – mentally, as I woke up slightly earlier since my quality of sleep had risen to the point I felt less tired. That didn’t change anything about my child size bladder though. Leaving me mostly awake at 04:00 as I shuffled in the dark to go pee. Not a regular happening for me but something I felt comfortable doing since it was way too early for anyone else to be up.

What a fool I was!

As if life was giving me another middle finger, the grouchy face of Grampy stared at me as he too stepped out of his room. The bastard had to be part ninja or something because he didn’t make a sound! He was already dressed in his formal robes but looked like he still needed to do his typical facial grooming before the day actually started.

If this was a normal Grandfather--Grandson relationship there would likely be a pleasant greeting following this abrupt encounter. How did you sleep? Did you have a good dream? What are you doing at school today? These sort of questions would follow as the two of us shared the use of the bathroom as two loving and close family members would. Truly it would be a grand old time!

Not to mention some bizarro world nightmare.

“Why are you up at this hour? Who told you it was time to wake up?” Asked Grampy like I had just wandered out of my prison cell.

“My bladder.” I patted my lower abdomen. “I’m just answering the call of nature.”

The Old man scoffed, taking my quip like I just flipped him the bird. “Be quick then. Do not dawdle and return to your room.” He remained standing at his doorway – expecting me to comply with his order. While getting a rise out of the grouch wasn’t the best idea at the moment I wouldn’t let something as tame as this be used as a means to restrict my movements more than they already were. “Well? Why are you still standing there boy!”

“Why? How could I use the bathroom before the great Komuro Yukihana? Don’t you know what the ancients say about situations like these?” He raised an eyebrow at what I was referring to and I knew that he’d lose his shit at this bit. With a small bow, I gestured to him to proceed first. A wide shit eating grin stretched from ear to ear. “Age before beauty.”

“...Boy!”

“Or you know, on second thought, I really should go! Ha ha ha!” I giggled loudy as I narrowly avoided the hand that tried to discipline me for misbehaving.

You’d think after two months of this that Grampy would have gotten with the program and would finally learn to let things go? I guess some old dogs couldn’t learn new tricks no matter how much you tried. It was amazing to me how the Old man somehow maintained his level of disdain for me as I became his closest neighbor. I honestly half expected him to stick his sword through the wall where I slept during the first week.

Perhaps this was a sign of growth after all.

“Be prepared for something very special during our next training, boy.” Grampy’s threatening voice cut in as I was half way through taking my piss.

Or maybe not.

I left once the coast was clear, returning to my room to get ready for the day. Since it was still the middle of the Winter break, just celebrating the New Year's a few days ago, I was on a different schedule until my last semester started. With not as many household chores to do it left me free to pursue my training and continue growing stronger… is what I’d to say.

No, these last two months with Uncle Takei here and the whole Yukihana clan now aware of my single star status I had become the target of Grampy’s latest attempt to stifle my progress; Making me do nothing.

It was downright nefarious!

Pretty genius too. The only times I was allowed to train was when it was with Toki. It was the same as usual with the prickly young heiress striking me while I could only dodge, block, or… well, just those two actually. At the very least she was being more flexible with her attacks and not leaving herself as open to counter strikes.

Uncle Takei wasn’t allowed to watch either – something Grampy was adamant on. No doubt the man would have a fit if he knew the details of our training. So with the promise of me being moved into the Main house fulfilled it was likely Takei didn’t want to push his father too far. Settling for this tenuous compromise. Which now only made me skeptical about how little push back I had gotten from moving here by the Old Bastard. Where better to keep an eye on a rising threat than the room adjacent to yours?

I could say that such an obvious ploy was easy to see and to cleverly circumvent…

…But then I’d be lying.

In the span of nearly ten weeks I went from a Star Attribute score of 1.14 to a 1.21! A measly 0.07 points! If this was actually a game that was the same as going up by one whole level! What a complete and total waste of time! You couldn’t fathom how pissed off I was!

Every attempt I took to train whether it was here or in a private area around town was thwarted. Even while I was supposed to ‘playing’ at recess my meager hour on the playground was usually interrupted by the many children I had been pseudo babysitting these past few months because our teacher was in her first year and didn’t have her shit together! Leaving even that hour of freedom to entertain them instead of making progress on my magical powers.

On top of that was the fact my minder seemed to possess some unique ability to sense magic so I couldn’t even dabble in my simple thread manipulation in my room without being questioned as to what I was doing. Grampy really loved those moments, let me tell ya.

“Good morning, Osawa-kun,” Nobuo greeted, all dressed up in his winter butler apparel. His creepy smile was an ever present annoyance these past two months as the man's priority had shifted from making my life miserable some of the time to his now full time position as my babysitter. “What are your plans for the day?”

I crossed my arms, giving Grampy’s bootlicker a neutral stare. “If I said I wanted to go out for a run you would reply…”

“I’m afraid Master Komuro has requested you remain in the compound for your own safety and wellbeing. With recent events and the dangers posed to you it’s for your own protection. You truly must feel blessed that our Master cares so much for you?” Came the instant and predictable reply.

“Ya, I’m swooning over it.”

I’d tried ditching my ever present minder on several occasions already. Waiting until the man used the bathroom or during the middle of the night when he was supposed to be asleep. Not only did Nobuo seem to possess some Magic sensing power he appeared to need a lot less sleep than I did. While I wasn’t sure how many stars he had, I knew his Physical Ability and Physical Stamina were far above mine. Even in dress clothes he was like the terminator; Some unstoppable machine hell bent on keeping my attempts to train at bay.

Unfortunately for Grampy and Nobuo but even my limited time to train during school had finally paid off. I had just been on the cusp of it by the time school let out and with a bit of hidden training while Toki was trying to beat me over the head with her wooden sword I managed to just reach a Magic Control score of 1.

I was still far from where I needed to be but from my quick attempts before Nobuo came bursting into my room proved anything it was that I was still far more clever than even Grampy’s half decent attempts at stifling my progress! So I would be testing it today in a real life exercise to see just how feasible it was to use it with the perfect person to test it standing before me with a smug look on his face.

“Well that's a shame,” I muttered, casually walking towards the front door, putting on my coat and snow boots. “I guess I’ll just get some fresh air then.” As I opened the door to the chilly courtyard I took about half a step before dashing to the front gate. I knew the creepy Bastard would give me a head start so that he could get a rise out of me for making a pitiful attempt to get away.

Oh boy wouldn’t he be in for a surprise!

When I was half way down the mountain I knew Nobuo would be at the bottom waiting for me by the entrance. He liked pushing the idea that he could move faster through an indirect route than I could in a straight line. It was fairly impressive, I would admit, but ultimately lacking as it became a pattern I could make use of.

This time, anyway.

With my hands extended, wind pushing against my body as I was sprinting at full tilt I began channeling my Light Magic to perform what was likely my most complex spell to cast yet.

[Distort]

[LH]

“Well that’s a shame. I guess I’ll go get some fresh air then.”

Nobuo could only sigh at the pitiful attempt made by the even more pitiful boy. Truly Hisato Osawa had no context to which he was valuing the power of those who were far above him. It seemed almost tragic that someone like that boy had been blessed with such a rare affinity when he still showed little respect to those who had risen far further with less potential than he ever would.

It shouldn’t have been all that surprising though. Even when Osawa-kun did show those faintest of signs of real maturity they seemed to fade away into thin air. It was clear where he got that from. The boy’s father was all bluster as well. Never taking things seriously. Never seeing the importance of showing proper respect or the traditions that had defined this noble family for centuries.

It was actually quite irritating at times to see Osawa-kun’s bluster and outbursts as the meager attempts to cover for those insecurities buried just below the surface. Taking advantage of a status that should never have belonged to him in the first place to worm his way into the Yukihana’s inner sanctum. He could fault Master Takei for that mistake. The man for all his power was soft when it came to personal relationships. Failing to see the bigger picture.

Master Komuro was different. He saw the danger the boy possessed. But seeing the potential benefit that Osawa-kun could provide the Yukihana, it was evident that his Master was more in mind to subdue and co-opt the boy so that he could be contained. To that end he needed to stay on top of the boy’s wilder tendencies. A task that took up more time and effort than he liked as the annoying persistence that the boy tried to train beyond his Master’s eye was staggering.

While he would tout himself as a man of patience…

“Ha ha ha! You won’t catch me this time, you Ass kisser!”

…at times he wished he could simply rip out the boy’s tongue to silence him for good!

He adjusted his glasses, doing his utmost to maintain his smile as the boy’s taunting voice somehow echoed from half-way down the mountain. Something he would be sure to make his Master aware of when he reported yet another violation of his orders.

It didn’t take him more than a minute to reach the base of the mountain where the steps leading up to the compound began. In several minutes the boy would come tumbling down to where he stood leaning against the Tori gate which marked the entrance to the Yukihana’s home. A scene that had already been played out before only a week prior.

Unfortunately the boy’s persistence would only end the same.

“Hm? What is he…?”

Something felt strange. Like an explosion going off, there was a flash of light that erupted at the halfway point up the steps. The bright yellow shimmer and his own unique sensing ability made it clear Osawa-kun had just used his magic. There wasn’t anything surprising about that given the feeble attempts before now to stun him. Even without his eyes he could easily pick out the boy’s inept Magic Control a mile away, making it easy to determine his location.

Yet this use of magic appeared to serve no purpose. The boy seemed to continue to be using his magic to light up the early morning sky. Was it just an attempt to see better? It wasn’t hard to imagine Osawa-kun tripping on a tree stump given how recklessly he ran down the mountain most of the time.

As the light began to make its way to the base of the steps he was finally able to see just what was approaching him. It appeared as though Osawa-kun was making his entire body glow. The boy was still smiling even as his appearance here to cut him off should have made him falter. In fact, the boy wasn’t even making a sound as he ran directly towards him without stopping.

“No… It can’t be!”

With a swipe of his hand it went through the glowing apparition making it dissipate into a single bright flash before vanishing. It was a doppelganger. Crudely made of the boy’s own Light Magic and used as a decoy to deceive him! He now stood alone in front of the Tori gate, sensing no sign of the boy and no indication of where his true location was. The sheer impossibility of this situation happening only began to sink in as the thoughts of how he would relay this to his Master now ran through his mind.

Anger bubbling, his glasses began to crack under his magic power rising uncontrollably at finding that little Bastard! Not only his tongue but the boy’s legs as well! He would teach Hisato Osawa that he was not to be trifled with!

[LH]

I couldn’t contain my laughter as the audible growl of that creepy Bastard reached my ears. I had no doubt he would eventually pick up my trail but until then I would make full use of my freedom to do some real training.

To that end I worked my way around the mountain, basically doubling back to reach the monster area that I hadn’t had the opportunity to return to since my little heart to heart with Takei. Oh boy was the pretty man pissed off that I had attempted such a dangerous method to raise my Star attributes faster. Telling me I was grounded for a month for even attempting it.

It was hard to fault him for his reasoning. No self respecting parent would let their ten year old child face unnatural creatures whose sole purpose was to make sport of and eat humans. It was right up there with not letting them play in the same cage as a hungry lion. That was simply a no brainer.

The only fault was the overcorrection Grampy took advantage of to restrain my progress outright. While Uncle Takei still had to make his business trips, they were done so with Yasue’s assistance to cut down the time of travel. The longest he had been gone at a single time in the past two months was three days. It was nice to see him following through on his promise to stick around more.

Not that I would fault him if he decided to take more time to make money with his monster hunting jobs. I don’t know how but I seemed to have a disconnect with the idea that I had not seen his wife, Toki’s mother, around. It made sense there were some troubling medical issues involved with her absence and the financial burden it placed on the Yukihana.

Which is why this was my first step in my long term plan to wrest control of this horrible family away from Grampy.

This mystery illness that seemed to plague Takei’s wife was also in the game. Unfortunately for him, even the strongest of Light Magic wouldn't have any chance to cure Yukiko Yukihana. If my hunch was right then there was nothing wrong with her physically. Rather it was a matter of her spirit being forcibly severed from her body – being trapped and contained by a cursed item.

I know… very cliché.

Which meant to free her and in turn, cure her, required taking it back from whoever was in possession of it at this time. I knew where it would be several years from now but since time was of the essence a bit of cunning was required. If a magic ritual was able to steal Aunty Yukiko’s soul then it only made sense to use a magic ritual to find the one who cast it.

“Gowahh!”

“Ki ki ki ki!”

Which required gems. Lots of them.

Besides being rampant with Tounglings, the forest behind the compound also had another lustfully designed monster; Woodites.

They were essentially just living trees which came alive to bind, eat, and absorb the nutrients of its victims. Typically they were easy to spot since they were more discolored then normal trees – mostly with a dark blue bark. On top of that they were a tad smaller than the surrounding trees. Their roots act as tendril-like feet in order for them to move and plant themselves in a new spot in which to ensnare their unsuspecting victims.

The only real challenge they posed was their far reaching branches and the fact they were more camouflaged with the winter snow. Other than that a little bit of fire was all that one needed to light them ablaze and collect the unique green gemstones they dropped.

In my palm a blazing ball of fire reared as an unsuspecting Toungling was playfully swinging on the branches of an equally unsuspecting Woodite. Christmas must have come late for me as this prime opportunity presented itself before my eyes. Both creatures were only aware of my presence until I was already launching my spell.

It was time to start phase one of my plan!

“Happy New Years, Mother Fuckers!”

[Fire Bolt!]