It was a cool Saturday morning, a day cooler than most. It was around that time when you could feel the chill of the coming winter coming in little wisps as though to warn you of the approaching cold.
Kyle was huddled underneath his blanket, hugging it when his alarm blared in his ear.
But no matter how loudly it rang, he did not wake up, his eyes remaining shut.
Then all of a sudden, he sprang up on his bed, his heart pounding and his breathing ragged as he tightly clutched his clothing just above his frantic heart.
"What the hell?"
His eyes were wide open, his crimson pupils turning a shade darker.
Kyle was in a state of panic, but for the life of him, he could not figure out why.
Then he slowly calmed himself down, taking slow, gentle breaths until he calmed his raging heart.
When he settled down, tiny trickles of memories flowed into Kyle's mind, fragmented images he could not make sense of.
'Did I have a nightmare?'
It was an absurd thing to think about, yet, it was the likely case. He had a nightmare and had completely forgotten it by the time he woke up.
Still, Kyle found it difficult to even imagine what could shake him.
He angrily tossed his bedsheet to the side and began walking towards his bathroom to take a cold shower.
"Me, having nightmares at this age… How strange."
After waking himself with the cold water, Kyle went downstairs, perceiving an invigorating aroma the moment he arrived.
Tsumi was in the kitchen, wearing black dolphin shorts and a free lace shirt that hung loosely on her body, gently swaying as she moved from place to place.
As Kyle got to the living room, he said a greeting, his voice slightly elevated so that she could hear him. "Good morning Tsumi."
There was no response.
"Tsumi?"
She kept on stirring the pan, unresponsive as she stumbled around like an animated mannequin.
'Is she mad because I was out late?' Kyle wondered.
'No, that is not it.'
He had lived with her long enough to know how she acted.
Tsumi was not the type to give the silent treatment, she would rather hound you with questions and scold you than stay still.
Kyle got up and walked up to her, then tapped her shoulder.
"Tsumi?"
SHRRR!
She flinched like a frightened child, letting go of the frying pan which slipped down the cooker, falling right at her bare feet.
In the blink of an eye, Kyle pulled her back and grabbed the pan just as it was a few inches away from her feet.
Tsumi let out a shaky breath, placing her hand on her chest to calm herself.
"K-Kyle? You scared me, when did you get here?"
'Why is she so absent-minded today?'
Kyle placed the pan back on the cooker and was turning to face her as he spoke.
"I've been calling you, how come you didn't—"
When he saw Tsumi's face, Kyle's words hung in his throat.
She was a mess.
Her dark hair was wiry and unkempt, her skin was deathly pale, and there were dark circles lining her eyes.
All telltale signs of insomnia.
"Sis, are you alright?"
She smiled faintly and waved her hand at him, while turning off the pan. "Of course I'm fine, who do you think I am?"
But Kyle did not look away, he kept staring at her, his eyes probing.
And then Tsumi's facade finally cracked.
Her shoulders trembled as she took in a deep breath, trying to reel in her emotions.
But it all came tumbling out by way of one lone tear that drifted down her eyes, making way for the others, her pent-up frustrations coming to her all at once.
Tsumi covered her mouth with her hand, uncontrolled tears running down her face, leaving Kyle stunned.
He had always known her to be the definition of perfection and efficiency. She always had everything in check and never needed any help.
But even steel would bend under sufficient pressure.
"Tsumi?" Kyle held her shoulder, his expression softening. "What's wrong?"
She tried to smile it off but failed, her expression faltering as she did.
"What am I doing?" She muttered, her shaking voice causing a pang of pain in Kyle's heart.
He had not known her for long, but seeing his composed sister break down like this made him feel terrible about himself.
Kyle had been so busy with the festival that he had failed to see the cracks forming, up until this point...
They moved to the living room, and when Tsumi had calmed down a little, she told Kyle what had been bothering her.
"You have been having nightmares?"
Tsumi nodded, wiping a tear off her eyes.
'I didn't know it was this bad.'
Some time ago, he had run into her when she was having a nightmare and decided to help her with it.
Although he knew about it, he never knew it was to this extent…
They were meticulous, frustrating, and frighteningly consistent. Nightmares that haunted her each time she would close her eyes.
She had been having them for weeks now, and it had gotten to the point that she could no longer sleep.
No matter how many sleeping pills she took, Tsumi was unable to sleep peacefully, and when she would manage to sleep, the nightmares would come to haunt her.
But that was not the only problem with what she had said.
Kyle, who often had dreamless nights, had experienced something like a nightmare as well for the first time in a while.
It didn't make sense.
Was it a mere coincidence that Tsumi had been experiencing a string of nightmares, and now he was having one as well?
It was too odd to be a coincidence.
'I have to look into this.' He mused as multiple possibilities raced through his mind.
"I'll be fine…" Tsumi muttered, interrupting his thoughts as she stood up.
She had wiped her face and returned to her usual stoic self, but it was just her trying to use a bandage to seal a leaking bucket.
Soon, it would crack, only this time it would be much worse.
"Thanks, I think I just needed someone to talk to." She was about to walk back into the kitchen when Kyle grabbed her arm.
"There is a new trick I picked up at work… a hypnosis technique that apparently helps with sleeping."
Tsumi stared at him for a long second before laughing lightly. "Hypnosis? I didn't know you were interested in that type of stuff."
"Come on, give it a try, I'm sure it will work great. The person I learned it from was a real guru."
Her face suddenly darkened. "Don't tell me you paid for it?"
"Well… you can say I laboured for it."
'My goodness, kind little brother has been scammed.' Tsumi mused.
But she did not have the heart to tell him.
"Alright, we'll try it out, but let's eat first." She said, out of courtesy.
She had gone to some of the best doctors and taken the most expensive drugs, yet the nightmares only seemed to get worse.
'Hypnosis…' she smiled sadly as she grabbed the plates. 'This will be the tenth attempt…'
She had tried it too.
•••
Kyle made sure Tsumi was not watching him, and when the sizzling sound of bacon reached his ears, he summoned his stat screen.
It was not that she could see the screen, but her noticing him stare into plain air was bound to be weird.
'What was it called again?' He thought as his eyes glanced through his skills.
He had picked out a quirk purposely to help Tsumi, [Brainwash], Hitoshi's quirk. But brainwash had a lot of limitations that made it unsuitable for the job.
However, Kyle had an ace up his sleeves.
The talent upgrade card. That was the only reason he was confident his 'hypnosis' would work.
'But… should I use this?'
The talent upgrade card was something he could only get from making sires, it was invaluable.
He planned on turning to Solvane soon, but even with two, there were arguably better quirks he could upgrade—
Kyle shook his head. 'What am I thinking?'
Since his arrival in this world, even if Tsumi thought he was her brother, it didn't change the fact that she had been kind to him.
She had stayed awake on multiple occasions, waiting for him, had gone out of her way to cook for him even when she was tired and always had little discussions with him whenever they would eat.
The answer was obvious.
'System, upgrade brainwash.'
[The talent upgrade card is a single time-use card.]
[Do you still wish to proceed?]
Kyle nodded.
'Yes.'
[Upgrade initiated]
[…1%…45%…100%]
Talent upgrade complete!
[Brainwash => Compulsion]
~ Compulsion
Takes dominion over the mind and compels a person to execute a task without fail.
Special condition: The person must stare into your eyes and hear your voice for the compulsion to take effect.
The effect is greater if the person agrees to be compelled and is less in people with great mental resilience.
As Kyle read through the details, a wide grin tugged at his lips.
'It looks like I made the right choice…'
The skill was perfect.
•••
After breakfast…
Kyle did the dishes while he and Tsumi spoke leisurely, and when he was done he came to meet her in the living room.
"Alright, let's begin."
Tsumi yawned as she raised a brow. "Begin what?"
"The hypnosis of course, take this seriously sis."
"Oh that?" Tsumi chuckled as she sat up. She pushed her hair to the back and then smiled.
"Alright, let's see how much of an expert my brother has become."
Kyle picked up his phone, playing a classic tune that created a serene atmosphere in the room.
It was unnecessary, but it would help him avoid any unnecessary suspicions.
"Look into my eyes…"
Tsumi stared into the depths of his crimson pupils, her blue eyes drowning in the sight.
And then Kyle activated his talent, his pupil expanding till it swallowed his iris whole.
He cleared his throat…
"From this day onward, nightmares are nothing but a foreign concept to you. You have heard of them, but you can no longer see yourself having one."
He began, his voice as smooth as honey.
"Your sleep is blissful, calm and perfectly peaceful. No bad dreams, no continuous torment."
As he spoke, Tsumi just stared at him like a lifeless puppet, her mind an open book for his programming.
"When I finish speaking, you will fall into a deep slumber and wake up perfectly refreshed."
Then Kyle drew back, his eyes returned to normal and the music ceased.
Tsumi blinked. "Hmm, what happened? Are you done?"
She smiled and patted Kyle's shoulder. "I'm sorry Kyle, but it looks like you have been scam—"
The words ceased as she suddenly fell forward, her head bouncing on Kyle's chest.
Kyle smiled as he calmly stroked her back. "It looks like it worked."
•••
Tsumi ended up sleeping for the entire day, only waking up when it was already dark outside.
"It… actually worked?" She muttered, confused as she stretched her arms until she heard a light pop.
Her sleep had been without a single dream, just pure darkness, and she woke up feeling brand new.
She blinked and turned, noticing Kyle sitting next to her. His legs were crossed and he had a book in his arm, but he looked completely uninterested in it.
When he saw her, he smiled. "Good evening Tsumi…"
Tsumi grudgingly sat up. "Evening… I can't believe it actually worked. You're a genius." She said with a smile.
Kyle closed the book and placed it on the table. "Now that you are well rested, can I ask a favour?"
Tsumi shuffled deeper into the couch, hugging her pillow as she closed her eyes.
It was amazing… not only did she actually sleep, she felt like she could even go for a second round.
"Sure… what is it?"
Kyle averted his gaze. "Well… I was wondering…"
"Can I borrow one million?"
Tsumi's eyes snapped open and she immediately sat up straight, all traces of sleep vanishing from her eyes.
"What?!"
— — - — – —— — - — – —
You can support me by reading 20 chapters in advance on my patreon, if you are interested.
Patreon.com/cocoyamwarrior
Join the discord for character images and if you want to chat :)
We have Akiko, Kyle, Himiko and Sakura. More soon!
Link in bio