Alex dropped to her knees beside me, the confetti popper rolling away to hide under the dust bunnies beneath her bed.
"Kai."
No response. I lay there unnaturally still, one arm twisted beneath my chest.
My essence, that shimmering, treacherous gold, sputtered out of my skin like a dying engine.
She poked me with a nearby stick.
"Oye!"
Suddenly,
"Cough… cough… A-Alex…" I wheezed, my eyes cracking open just a sliver.
Alex let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Haa… so you're fine. That's good. You almost had me worried, brat."
I didn't stop coughing.
"Cough… an essence… an essence potion…"
Silence. Alex looked me dead in the eyes, her worried expression melting away into a devious, sharp-toothed smile.
"For what?" she asked innocently.
I struggled to get the words out. "I-I am dying…"
"Dying of what? Glitter powder?"
We stared at each other.
Her smile widened, but it froze the moment my hand blurred toward my pocket.
"Oye! Don't you dare—"
"Too slow!"
I lunged.
The moment I sprang forward, she shifted sideways with the fluid ease of a seasoned hunter. She was faster than me, always had been.
Good thing I'd accounted for that. I twisted mid-step, uncorked the small vial I'd pulled, and flung the contents into the exact space she had just moved into.
The glass shattered against the floor. A burst of fine, pale-gold powder erupted upward like a miniature sandstorm.
It smelled sharp and metallic, like lightning ground into dust. This wasn't just powder; it was the spirit root medicine I used to regulate my essence.
For me, it was life. For a healthy person, it was a sudden, violent disturbance to their internal flow.
Alex's grin faltered. She clamped her mouth shut, holding her breath, but I didn't give her a second to recover.
I launched a kick. I knew I couldn't beat her in a fair fight, so I had to make sure the fight stayed as unfair as possible.
She sidestepped the kick, but I followed through, slamming my shoulder into her chest.
Gasp.
She let out a small, involuntary sound. To move like she did, breathing was essential. Having no choice, she inhaled.
"Cough, cough… Y-You bastard!!" She doubled over, coughing violently.
I grinned as she slowly sank to her knees. "How is that?"
She coughed, the powder irritating her lungs.
I stopped grinning and sat back on her bed, watching her struggle with bloodshot eyes.
"That's what you get for playing with my mind."
My gaze drifted to the birthday card lying on the quilt.
"…Well, thank you for the surprise, though. It felt nice. For about three seconds."
Alex ripped off her joker hat and red nose and winged them at my head.
"Cough… go to hell… bastard!"
I froze. I saw a shimmer in her eyes,
tears.
'Did I overdo it a bit?'
[That was horrible,]
Gisella spoke up, her voice dripping with rebuke.
'…She started it first, I defended myself.'
[She prepared this as a surprise for you.]
I exhaled, the guilt finally settling in. I stood up and walked toward Alex.
"Seriously, stop fighting the cough. Let it settle. Your immune system will handle the rest—"
Before I could finish, Alex suddenly lunged from the floor and buried her fist in my gut.
Gasp.
The punch was heavy, reinforced with essence, and landed with surgical precision.
Unprepared, I went staggered, sliding across the floorboards until I hit the bed.
Now it was Alex's turn to grin through her coughing fit.
"Now cough… call me big sister… cough… you bastard!"
"Arghh!"
For the next few minutes, the room was a symphony of pathetic sounds: one person coughing their lungs out, the other groaning in a heap.
I rolled onto my side, clutching my stomach. Alex tried to stand, failed halfway, and dropped back to her knees.
She glared at me hoarsely.
"What the heck is this stuff? You take this every day?"
"It's spirit root powder," I replied evenly. "You'll be fine in a few minutes."
Alex coughed one last time, then plopped onto the floor beside me. "That was a good one," I admitted.
"Nah. It was fine. I'll give you this one. You win."
Silence fell over the room.
"So," I spoke first, "why the sudden urge to celebrate my birthday?"
"…Nothing. I found you unconscious in the ruins and thought, 'This poor soul deserves a treat.' So here we are."
I sat up and looked at her. Alex Remoor. Two years older than me, and the undisputed queen of pranks.
I'd lost count of how many times she'd tricked me over the years. We were close, once.
But that was before she left Eisbourg after her sister's death. She'd returned five years later as a Verdant-tier hunter, leaving me in the dust at Pale-tier.
"That's all?" I asked.
Alex looked at me quietly, the playful light dying in her eyes.
"No," she said. "Actually… I need a favor."
I stood up and dusted the golden powder off my borrowed coat.
"Then why not say so from the start? You could have saved yourself this childish act."
"…It was fun," she replied, reaching for the fasteners of the Joker costume.
I looked at her. Long red hair, red eyes, slim figure. She looked the same as always, except for one thing.
She was my height now.
'Damn. She really has grown up.'
"So, what do you want?"
Alex started folding the bright costume slowly.
"Come on. What's the hurry? Why don't we sit and talk?"
I chuckled, a bit forcefully.
"Your traps are getting smarter, Alex. I think I'll wait outside while you change."
I turned toward the door before things got awkward.
Silence settled in the room. Alex stood there in her undergarments, blinking once, then twice.
"…What's up with him?"
Outside, I grabbed a chair and sat down, staring at the wall opposite me.
"Not bad… not bad…" I muttered, trying very hard to keep my heart rate under control.
[Pervert.]
Gisella muttered dryly in my head.
I coughed lightly and straightened my back, looking everywhere but the door.
'I didn't look.'
[You absolutely looked.]
I remained silent.
Yeah... I did.