I started questioning Big Brother's actions when I was five. Big Brother always had this sleepy, distant look on his face, but he was bizarrely enthusiastic about his part-time jobs, training, and meditating. Honestly, his face and his actions didn't match.
That's why I became interested. I had a vague feeling that our family was unusual, so I thought it might have something to do with that.
But even so, it seemed strange. Was that kind of training really necessary? If you watched up close, you could tell. He was clearly doing things that went beyond the limits of the human body.
Moreover, sometimes I would feel this mysterious pressure from Big Brother.
Something was wrong. I needed to find out. But he always brushed me off with an easy answer. Sometimes he would even put on an astonishing magic show, cutting a piece of wood with paper or extending a thread with his finger and making it stand on a desk. I didn't know how he was doing it, but I figured there was probably no trick involved.
When I turned six, I started to understand Big Brother a little more. Around that time, I also started to understand Dad's job. Big Brother must have been the same. From my perspective, I thought Big Brother was training for some purpose, and it wasn't for the sake of the family business. I had a feeling he would leave home eventually. That much, I somehow knew.
Joseph has been kind to me since I was young. He's a really caring person. He treats a shrimp like me as an equal.
The only flaw is that he becomes a little fanatical when it comes to Big Brother. Even though he's older, he calls Big Brother Aniki (Big Brother). When I asked him why, he said that a person he respects is an Aniki, even if they're younger. Well, I guess I can understand that? Even among our employees (mild term), there are people who are called Aniki even though they aren't blood relatives (implying deep bonds).
In my case, we are blood relatives, and I respect him, so I started calling him Aniki (Big Brother).
I turned seven and enrolled in school. There, I heard more than enough stories about Big Brother. The more I heard, the more unbelievable the anecdotes were. The people around us must think the Family's future is secure. Even I thought that no one was more suited for it than Big Brother.
But having watched him all this time, I became certain of one thing:
Big Brother has no intention of succeeding the family business.
So I made a decision: I will succeed the family business.
I don't have the grand personality that Dad has. I don't have Big Brother's strength or charisma. But I want to take over Dad's job. To do that, I'll try to learn the secret of his strength from Big Brother, even if it's just a little bit. With that thought, I persistently followed Big Brother around. He eventually got tired of it and asked me why, so I took the chance and told him my feelings honestly.
After I finished speaking, Big Brother was stunned for a moment. Then he made a thoughtful expression before saying to me:
"...You're right. Your big brother has no intention of succeeding the family. But it's not because I dislike the family, so please don't misunderstand that. Your big brother just desperately wants to see the world. I've been preparing for it since a long time ago. I don't think our business would do well if it was run by someone unmotivated like me. I feel bad for you, though."
Just as I thought. I got my answer. I love Dad, Mom, and Big Brother. That's why I want Big Brother to live freely. That's why I'll take over the family business. But I'm still too weak. In that case, I'll have Big Brother train me.
With that thought, I told him my intentions. Big Brother presented me with three conditions.
* Big Brother's instructions are absolute. That's obvious.
* Keep the secret. Don't tell anyone. That's also obvious.
* Do not use this power to oppress people. That goes without saying.
Finally, he asked for my resolve, so I immediately put my life on the line. I thought, You're not much of a person if you can't even keep these basic rules.
As a demonstration, I performed the "Blood Oath" of our Family. Originally, you're supposed to use a needle, but since I didn't have one, I bit off my finger. It hurt like hell, but I endured it. It was to show my resolve. I couldn't lose my nerve here.
Big Brother looked surprised, then gave me a serious look and did the same. After the sacred ritual was over, Big Brother said:
"The Blood Oath has been completed! Now, as your Master, I will give you your first instruction."
Big Brother's way of speaking changed. Had he finally acknowledged me? While thinking about that irrelevant detail, he continued:
"Don't call me Aniki (Big Brother); call me Onii-chan (Big Brother) or Nii-chan (Big Brother)."
I thought, This person is definitely a little crazy.
Sometime later, Joseph called me out and asked about the matter. He cornered me with an incredible intensity, but my decision was already made.
Joseph is clever and attentive, but he tends to be blind when it comes to Big Brother.
I figured he probably hadn't truly grasped Big Brother's real intentions yet, so I asked him myself.
Joseph looked puzzled but seemed to realize something. I followed up by explaining Big Brother's thinking and then reaffirmed my decision. I also set a condition for him to be convinced: successfully completing Big Brother's training.
Joseph, who knew the details of the training, twitched, apparently remembering his own experience. Joseph gave up after three days, after all. That's precisely why it's a valid condition.
He accepted, saying he would acknowledge me if I could do it.
That evening, I also spoke to Dad about it. Dad asked,
"Are you okay with that?"
I nodded strongly and said,
"I love Big Brother and this family. That's why I want Big Brother to follow his dream, and I want to protect this family. I want to be like Dad. That's why I want to do this. Of course, I can't do it as I am now, so Big Brother will train me."
After a moment of silence, he said:
"...Very well. I thought you were saying this out of loyalty to Kam, but that doesn't seem to be the case. You can do as you wish... However, once a man starts something, I will not allow you to give up or abandon it. Remember that."
"Thank you, Father. I started this, so I will definitely see it through."
From that moment on, I changed how I addressed him, calling him Otou-san (Father) instead of Papa. It was my own way of showing my resolve.
Finally, the training began. The mysterious power is apparently called Nen. To acquire it, you need a strong body and spirit, so the training commenced. First, early in the morning. It was still dark, closer to night, actually. The two of us did warm-ups and ran around the house. I had checked the route beforehand; it was 10 kilometers. That's intense for a morning workout. Well, I've got to gather my spirit and do my best.
What speed! I can't catch up even at a full sprint. I cling on with sheer willpower. No good. I ran out of energy at the 2-kilometer mark. I hate how little stamina I have when I have so much more to do.
But I'm going to keep going until I finish. I made that decision. I caught my breath for a while and started running again. Then, Big Brother caught up to me from behind. ...Did he already run another lap!?
In any case, I followed him again. I followed as best I could. I collapsed. I started running. He caught up to me again from behind. That's ridiculous! I could just barely see the finish line... I reached the goal, breathless. But Big Brother was still running. I started running again...
In the end, I couldn't move after 15 kilometers, and Big Brother had to pick me up. As he carried me, he muttered, "15 kilometers in two hours... Still a long way to go." Meanwhile, Big Brother, who ran 40 kilometers, was perfectly fine. That's the distance old-time soldiers ran to deliver a message and then died, right...?
What a monster.
I force myself to eat breakfast, even though I have no appetite. I go to school, but my whole body is sore. I accidentally fall asleep during class. I feel despair thinking this will happen again after school, but I don't want to back out of a decision I made myself. Big Brother said he would observe me for a year. I'm going to endure for one year.
After school, it's straight to muscle training. Big Brother has to look after his followers and do his own training, so he orders me to self-train. "Run for an hour?" I have to run more?! (Despair)
Big Brother returns home, and it's time for muscle training. We line up in the yard and relentlessly do push-ups, sit-ups, back extensions, and squats, but the speed is insane. He's already in the hundreds. I desperately try to keep up, but 20 is my limit, even with effort. Big Brother glances over and advises, "Do one more rep than your limit. Take a minute break, then move on to the next." Is he a demon? In the end, it was an endless hour. My muscles are spasming, and I can't move an inch. Big Brother smiles and says,
"It's Michael's first day, so it's not good to overdo it. Let's stop here. A light 1-kilometer run to cool down, and then we're done."
More running?! (Crying) But I can't complain. By the way, he was doing muscle training the whole hour, doing about 500 reps of each exercise.
What a monster.
After that, Big Brother starts his Nen training. I washed off the sweat and collapsed into sleep, but Big Brother woke me up for dinner. Honestly, I had no appetite, but Big Brother seems to value family time. I agree with him on that point.
After dinner, I finished my school homework and went to bed. My body was broken. I slept like a log. Big Brother was still training. I seriously doubt we are the same species.
Well, you get used to harsh training if you keep it up. At first, I couldn't focus on studying, and my grades started to slip, but Joseph said, "No one will follow a stupid boss." He was absolutely right. After that, I also put effort into my studies and maintained my grades. I think that was Joseph's way of encouraging me. He's a truly caring person. And he really pays attention to people. I have to work hard so Joseph doesn't give up on me.
A year passed. I can finally handle about half of Big Brother's regimen. Joseph even praised me. Did he acknowledge me a little? I would be happy if he did.
Big Brother finally started teaching me about Nen. First, he said, was the experience of Nen. With that preface, Big Brother unleashed an incredible pressure. I... I couldn't breathe... He immediately released it, but my breathing was ragged. What tremendous power. Any random person would be defeated instantly.
Big Brother told me to consider why I wanted this power. My answer was already decided. He then told me to voice that conviction, so I clearly stated it: "To protect the family."
Big Brother said that Nen is also the power of conviction, so it's important to identify that conviction and speak it out loud. By the way, Big Brother's conviction is "the power not to die." That's fitting for Big Brother, who was sickly and always near death when he was young. It's true that he hasn't been sick at all since a certain point. Is this also Nen? At that moment, I realized again that this technique should be kept a secret, just as Big Brother said. If it were misused, the damage would be catastrophic.
Michael is a valuable asset who can call out the crazy things Kam does naturally.
I really love Michael's role as the straight man.
But, Big Brother Kam...? That training is clearly not something you'd give to a 7-year-old, right? Even if the air is filled with protein, that's overdoing it...!
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