PHASE 43 - EEEEEEEYE OF THE TIGER!

I’ve been fighting monsters and evil cloaked guys for a lot of time now, and I just realized, all of my teammates are girls. Don’t count Kristoff in because he’s already assigned to a faraway place. And he’s a jerk.

Having a guy Gate Guardian additional to our investigation team would make me a feel a lot better. That certain someone will help me seize Diadem after all.

So due to popular request (Heushac and I), I approached the knowledgeable Gate Guardians to ask how to perform a baptism.

“B-Baptism? I-I’m sorry Rikkun. Miss Helena said that I shouldn’t teach you about that thing. She said that you might convert Heushac into a Gate Guardian, and she’ll be very angry if you did that.” Tiara said.

“Huh? Baptism? You know Helena would get mad if you baptized Heushac, right? He will be exposed to danger! So stop thinking about that thing and focus on controlling your God Core.” Amy said.

“Baptism, huh… Big Sister Helena doesn’t want that… She said that Heushac is not ready to become a Gate Guardian yet… So no…” Key answered with her cute voice in a robotic monotone.

Why are they so overprotective! And moreover… Helena is ten steps ahead of me!

<>

I’m back to the rooftop where Heushac and I talked to meetup. He was sitting on the floor, looking at the hovering clouds in the peaceful blue skies. There’s a cloud that was shaped like a dingdong, and it seems that Heushac has been staring at that thing for a while now. He even has this smug on his face.

“Everyone disapproved.” I interrupted his peaceful time as I said these words while scratching my head. “Looks like Helena told them in advance.”

Heushac turned to me with an okay smile. “That’s what I expected from my sister. She’s always steps ahead.”

“Well, I can still ask the shrine maidens or call Kristoff. Amy’s father should be an option too.”

“There’s no need.” Heushac gave a single laugh. “I’ll talk directly to my sister and prove myself that I’m formidable enough to become a Gate Guardian.”

I doubt it. Helena treats her brother like a baby. I can understand why she acts that way. Heushac is rash and reckless and doesn’t know a lot of things, so Helena wanted him away from the chaotic world of Gate Guardians.

Moreover, Helena knows my doomed about her. She might not survive, but I know she will prevent her little brother from getting hurt no matter what.

Suddenly, I heard heavy fast footsteps from the stairs. Speak of the devil. It’s the blue-haired sword princess. Her eyes are glaring, and her heavy exhales are accompanied by a smoke. She’s going to crush me!

“Hey, Alaric!” Helena pointed her index finger to me, but it feels like being threatened by a gun. “What the hell are you scheming! Baptism my ass! Stop corrupting my baby brother’s mind!”

“Ahahaha…” I just scratched the back of my head and mumbled. “Crap.”

“Don’t blame Ric, big sis,” Heushac said in a composed manner.

“My baby brother!” Helena held her hips. “Don’t listen to this arrogant friend of yours. He’s mentally challenged!”

“It’s not him... It’s me.” Heushac bowed. “This is my own decision. I want to become a Gate Guardian so that I can protect my friends!... So that I can protect you…”

“But baby brother-”

“I’m not a baby anymore!” Heushac cried. “I’ve got enough from your pampering! I can stand on my own now! I know what I wanted to do! So I know… I know that I can be a Gate Guardian too!”

Meanwhile, Tiara and Amy arrived on the scene. Tiara is carrying a sour cream flavored popcorn. It looked delicious so I snatched it away from her hands and had a munch as I watch this teenage sibling drama.

“You know… “ Helena continued. “Our parents’ last words to me is to take care of you, to protect you from any harm. I made a promise to them.”

“I know,” Heushac answered. “But you are not protecting me! You are just keeping me in a cage! I want to get out of the cage and be exposed to the world! That’s okay if I get hurt because I want to grow! I want to be stronger! I want to be of use to you and my friends!”

There was a long silence between the two. The only thing we can hear is Tiara crunching her backup snacks: nachos. This maiden really does not know how to read the mood.

“Fine,” Helena said with a smile. “But on one condition… You have to beat me in kendo.”

That’s impossible! Helena Efilion is the national champion in the senior high division! There’s no way he can win against his sister!

“Deal.” Heushac forced a smile, but his sweat is rolling at the side of his face.

“Official Rules. No handicap. Meet me at the school gymnasium in three days.” Helena said. “I will fight you all out, and prove that I can protect you with my strength alone.”

<>

Go to Youtube and search the Rocky Balboa theme song. We’re gonna do some training, baby!

For the next days before the big day, Heushac trained so hard.

We hired (bribed) Tiara to be his fitness coach, for the price of free lunches in the cafeteria for every day she supervises Heushac. Tiara is the best choice for physical fitness because she has the fittest body amongst us. Tiara did give us routines that I could barely follow, which involves a 100-kilometer jogging and 10,000 sword swings. Also, she is in charge of teaching the basic swordsmanship. It was her who taught me how to use my katana Weapon Gem after all.

And Amy is his technical coach. At first, Amy was reluctant but then she realized that Heushac has no chance of winning against his sister. She is just doing this out of pity. Anyway, her job is to teach Heushac the theories, such as the official rules of kendo tournaments, valid cuts, pointing system, and momentum analysis.

Amy’s way of teaching is like a kindergarten’s. There’s even a powerpoint presentation with childish cartoons involved. Her teaching style is purely spoon feeding, which is very effective for idiotic people like Heushac.

Key was the assistant of Amy. She monitored and listed all progress Heushac made during his training. She watched Heushac’s blood pressure, weight, and other statistics for pure geeks.

And me? What’s my role in this? I’m Heushac’s manager! I do nothing but moral support, but I still take some credit! I’m the one who induced him to become a Gate Guardian, so now he’s determined to do everything!

At the end of the training days, we finally saw the efforts of our teaching.

We had a short break at the riverbank, drinking canned juice as we watch the sunset.

“Hmmm… At this rate.” Amy was staring at the grading sheet she especially made to check on Heushac’s progress. Then she scratched her head and made a troubled look. “At this rate, you can’t win at all.”

“But you can do it, Mister Heushac!” Tiara cheered by pumping her fists. “Even if you lack a lot of physical strength, agility, and stamina, you can do everything as long as you put your heart on it! With determination, never give up!”

“I finally computed your chances of winning,” Key said in a monotonous voice. “It’s 0.01%. Miss Helena Efilion is 80% stronger, faster and smarter than you. You better give up.”

“You guys are not helping my ego at all.” Heushac cried.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea went into my mind, as if a thousand volt electricity just made my light bulb dazzle like the sun. Sometimes I’m so amazing that I’m scared of myself.

“Don’t worry, Heushac.” I patted his shoulder. “You will win this fight. Just do whatever I say.”

Heushac tilted his head, saying that he’s got no idea what I’m talking about.

But everyone will be amazed the next day.