Mushoku Tensei: Brotherhood
I never thought myself to be a bad person, nor have I ever thought myself to be a good person. From my own eyes, I believe myself to be just a normal guy trying to do the best he can in his life… well, at least I feel like I'm doing the best I can.
Being the youngest of my siblings, I was pretty oblivious to the troubles in my family for a long time. In fact, for a while, I thought my family was the pinnacle of what anyone would consider a family. My siblings were prosperous prodigies with stable careers in life, and my parents themselves were what you'd consider modern day nobility.
I guess this is where I got my pride from… maybe a bit too much pride than what was normal, considering I didn't have anything worth speaking of myself other than maybe my achievements in football.
But that ideology of mine all changed once I began to learn the ugliness behind the curtains. I eventually came to realize that the house I grew up in wasn't actually our family's home. It was my eldest brother's home, who through agreement with my parents decided I'd be raised away from the main house.
In other words, I grew up with my nieces and nephews.
Why, exactly, was that the case? I didn't it figure out until I listened more on the adult conversations, and dug in a bit deeper in my family's history. My curiosity brought me to the discovery of a fourth sibling I never knew about.
He wasn't really that much older than me compared to my older siblings. There was just a seventeen year age gap… which, compared to thirty years, didn't seem that big. Yeah, my parents somehow had me at an old age, however that worked. The first reason as to why I never knew about this brother of mine is because of the fact he was a NEET. A total shut-in. He dropped out of high school and never took up a job, simply leeching off from my parent's mercy.
Of course, it was no surprise that I had negative thoughts about it at first. I thought to myself, why would you ruin your life like this? What do you get from locking yourself away from reality? Maybe it was these questions that made me more curious about him than what was advised by my family.
Was it sympathy? Empathy? Initially, I don't think it was. It was like a morbid curiosity, as emotionless as that sounded.
I just wanted to get a grasp as to how someone could fall into such a state, especially in my family of all people—a household that I've always thought of as being the role model of a perfect family. And so I began to dig into my brother's past, starting with some simple questions to my parents… which were rather instantly redirected towards my siblings.
He had been a victim to bullying at his school, constantly being mocked and pushed around. My brothers had said it was due to him being overweight, though my sisters also pointed towards his crass personality.
I wasn't oblivious to bullying, as I've seen it before many times at school. In fact, there were a few instances where I was almost the victim of bullying, but I had enough of a backbone to ward them off.
Maybe my NEET brother didn't have as much of a backbone in his case.
But I think what really started to make me sympathize was just how far the bullying went. My siblings had explained his predicament to me, but had been vague, and even threw in some of their own biased opinions, such as how he "was always a half-assed bandwagoner" or how he "lived the life of a slobbish pig." And to top it off, they insisted I stopped trying to involve myself with him, and it was best to act as if he didn't exist.
That… that shook me. Why should I forget about my own sibling? How… how could we be so cruel?
I felt there had to be more, like a turning point that had caused him to permanently drop out. Sure enough, after a bit of digging, I eventually began to uncover some old online posts that hadn't been deleted, all of which entailed my NEET brother. I don't think I had ever been so shocked in my life until that point.
My family, once thought to be glamorous and successful, now had a very noticeable blemish, that of which being my NEET brother. Bullied, humiliated, and isolated… words that before I could never even fathom correlating to anyone in my family. But now it could, and it was an ever present wound that nobody seems to want to close.
It was so overwhelming that I had dropped my own curiosity for a while, trying to resume back to my usual life of school, my soccer practices, and figuring out my relationship with that one girl I'd been talking to.
But... really… I couldn't actually go back to normal.
The revelation clung to me like a parasite, an afterthought that never left the back of my mind. Someone close to me was suffering. I didn't really know him, nor have I actually met him in person, but we were still siblings. He was family, and eventually I had to come to the terms that I wasn't going to continue living in peace unless I did something myself. Because, clearly, nobody else wanted to.
Our first interaction was… awkward. I didn't think anyone could live such a filthy lifestyle, and I can't lie and say it didn't make me feel repulsed for a while. But… I sort of understood why he let himself get to that point. Even from the way his eyes moved around, I could see his utter loss of motivation.
He was truly at his lowest, and… it hurt. It hurt to see someone like that, and not just some stranger. Maybe that was my own morals speaking, but I feel like that was the reason why I even bothered to keep visiting him.
I was pretty careful with how I talked to him. At first, it was rare to even get a word out of him, but I kept speaking to him nonetheless. Really, I had no reason to even talk to him, much less take on this therapist role. But I just did, and it worked out eventually. He started to give me his own two pieces, which would even go on to full blown conversations.
It's a good thing I was also an enthusiast of some anime… though, he certainly had some questionable tastes.
My family soon began to notice my frequent visits to my brother, and it led to a bit of an awkward conversation with my parents, who were really trying to convince me not to speak to him. I tried to convince otherwise, but the conversation was heading down a path I didn't really want to take, so I did what any normal kid would do and listened to my parents… to some extent.
Fortunately, I got my brother's line a long time ago, so it wasn't like we had completely disconnected, and I would still visit when the time was given.
For a moment, I really thought he was getting better. He didn't seem all that bad of a person, and he was somewhat easy to talk to. His room was getting cleaner—maybe out of courtesy of my visits—and he actually decided to take my tips on his self-grooming.
It… it sort of made me proud of myself. A bit of a selfish thought, yeah, but I was really making a difference to someone viewed irredeemable, even if by a small margin.
There was truly a sense of hope for my brother…
…
…until he had to do that of all things…
---
It was nighttime, a cool autumn night.
With a simple gray jacket over my mourning garb, I stood leaning against the wall outside my family's house, a dull gaze lingering at the stray vehicles that would pass by every now and then, or lingering at the humming buzz of the street lamp.
I hadn't been to this home in a while… some months, to be honest. I'm not sure why I even bothered to come… I had no reason to, and frankly I didn't want to either. But with what had happened today… and what was going to happen… I figured it was only natural I had to come.
Eventually, the muffled yelling in the house grew louder, and the front door burst open. My siblings, led by my oldest brother, with furious scowls, roared a storm of outrage and exhausted irritation as they threw my NEET brother across the curb. He stumbled, disoriented from a body foreign to exercise, and landed face first on the sidewalk, not too far off from where I stood.
My family, seemingly done with him, returned back inside, probably to start clearing out his room in the least thoughtful way imaginable.
For my part, I stared down at my brother, who laid still for a moment before struggling to get up.
"...f-fuck them all…"
My eyes narrowed, fists gripping in my jacket pockets. For as pitiful as he was, I couldn't bring myself to find sorrow… not as much sorrow as I probably would've given before.
It had been some talk between everyone for a while now that he was going to be officially disowned, and… well, I hadn't really shown any resistance to the idea. The moment our parents passed away, the plan was in action. He had it coming one way or another.
Eventually, he got up to his feet, struggling to adjust his dirty clothes. It looks like my brothers did a heavy beating on him. He hadn't even been given the chance to put his shoes on.
Amidst his sorry state of silent grumbles, his tear-soaked eyes eventually reached mine, and through his cracked glasses I could see a wave of conflicted emotions.
"S-Souta…?"
"...hey, nii-san," I gave a smileless nod, not really wanting to talk to him but still offering the courtesy. "...looks like this is it, huh?"
He stared at me wordlessly before a click rang from his mouth, his feet padding across the cold concrete as he stumbled into a walk past me.
I watched him wordlessly walk off before sighing to myself with some exasperation.
"...what are you going to do now, nii-san?"
"Don't act like you care anymore," he shot back harshly, "you left like they all did, and I know that you were also a part of this."
I frowned, walking up to pace with him. I guess I really did care in the end. "You should know why this is happening, nii-san. Don't play dumb."
"And don't you fucking lecture me!" He snapped, turning his head to me with an enraged look. In his current state, I really couldn't take any of it seriously. "I've already had enough putting up with the shit everyone says! Don't act like you know anything, because none of you do! Fuck off already!"
I didn't give an immediate retort. He had a point; nobody could really understand what was going on in his mind, much less could we ever fathom being in his shoes.
But even then… there were lines you shouldn't ever cross, even at your lowest… and he crossed many of them. Way too many... and there was no way they could be forgiven so easily.
"...I'm probably the closest person that does know anything about you, nii-san," I muttered slowly, teeth gritted as my own rage surfaced. Memories of many months prior flashed in my eyes… the unwanted memories of discovering my brother's twisted ploy on our niece. So sickening it settled a sour feeling in my mouth, and was making me reevaluate why I even kept bothering.
Yet I didn't walk away. Despite the unforgivable acts my brother committed, I still walked with him.
"...but knowing about your suffering doesn't give you any leeway for what you did… it gives you none!"
My words seemed to have gone through. I think the sort of bond we formed allowed for it to happen. It eased my soul a bit… it showed he truly wasn't a lost cause. That I hadn't been rolling the boulder up the hill just for it to go flying back down.
He went quiet for a while, his anger seemingly dwindled down to something akin to helplessness. Really, he was always helpless.
"...this was bound to happen whether I had done that or not."
"...what?" My nose flared, a scowl formed on my face so deep it could've frightened myself. "You can't even feel a bit of fucking humiliation?! What sort of twisted fuck are you?!"
"And there you go… ending up just like the others, Souta."
"I have to! It has to get in your head, nii-san! That was our own niece you were… you were—"
"Souta…" he muttered, gazing into my eyes with the same dead eyes that I saw in our first interaction. It was like we were back to square one. "I'm not blind to what I have done… where my life has gone… but at this rate… I don't fucking care anymore. I'm at a point where I can never recover the time I've lost. What difference does it make if I had done it or not?"
"...no… it does make a difference. You… it doesn't mean you had to stoop that low, nii-san," I swallowed, gripping my fist tighter. Why was I even continuing this conversation? It wasn't going anywhere. "For Christ's sake, I thought we were getting somewhere… don't you remember those talks we had? We were looking online and found some gigs you could do. Graphic design, right? 3D modeling? You could've gone somewhere with that… instead of…"
"That wouldn't have gone anywhere, Souta. I'm not that much of an artist… there are others better than me."
"Yet it was still something! For once, you were beginning to have a sense of value, right?!"
"..."
"...for fuck's sake, nii…" I huffed loudly. It enraged me, truly, what he had done all those months ago… but it also enraged me in his lack of emotion. His lack of remorse and empathy.
Of everyone that spoke to him, I was the one making progress. I was helping him, and it felt like we were getting somewhere.
But… but I guess I never truly understood him. We never truly went beyond square one… maybe grazing the borders, but at any second we would be plummeting back to the start. He took on dark interests, things I couldn't even fathom to understand, and he probably had them for a long time now. It was disgusting… but I guess that's where loneliness could take you…
We walked in silence thereafter. With no reason, I decided to just walk with him. After all, once we part, I don't think I would ever see him again. We legally weren't even considered family anymore… but I couldn't bring myself to leave that easily.
I guess I was pretending to be more of a saint than I actually was, or maybe I really did think there was still hope in him...
...
...no… I don't think. I know. He still had opportunities… it's just that I can't decide which of those opportunities he will choose in the end.
Eventually, we reached a park not far away from the train station. More like a small patch of grass, really, but it was whatever. I didn't really care.
Suddenly, however, a commotion arose on the crosswalk in front of us between a girl and a guy. They looked to be about my age, though I didn't have as many piercings as they did. Or were those piercing? It was quite hard to see from all the rain.
'Ah... when did it start to rain...?'
"...your classmates?" my brother asked off the whim.
"...no. I don't think so."
"Hm…"
They seemed to be arguing heatedly. It sort of reminded me of the arguments my parents had in the past, arguments I didn't know would be about my brother until now. It wasn't a good feeling.
It was pretty clear by now, but it wasn't the wisest decision to stand in the middle of a road like that. These kids were kinda acting stupid at the moment.
'...wait a second... that hair... isthat—'
VRMM VRRRRR
Sure enough, the worst came to bear.
My brother and I stared in shock as the bright headlights of a truck made the corner, speeding towards the unsuspicious couple.
"Oh, shi—!?!"
Just as I spoke, my brother was already in action.
'W-What in the world?'
I watched with wide, shocked eyes as he began to run towards the teens. Stumbling as he was without shoes, he was putting in remarkable speeds for someone in his weight class—and with no hesitation in his step.
For a moment, I stood frozen in bewilderment, but I quickly came to realize his intention. Whether or not out of my will or not, I found myself in a sprint as well, chasing after him.
"W-Wait, nii-san!"
Everything seemed to happen in an instant. I gave chase to my brother, able to catch up with him, but we were already on the road. His large hands gripped onto the closest teen, throwing them away from the path of the honking truck. The other two, frozen in confused stupor, were shoved away.
It was amazing how he was able to pull such an athletic feat out of nowhere, but it left him completely alone at the mouth of the beast. I think what really pushed me further in my own sprint was the fear of seeing my own brother's death… or really, anyone's death at the moment.
I didn't think that any thoughts were going through my mind at the moment. In a rather foolish attempt, I leapt forward with all my strength, hopeful to push both of us out of the way in my own attempts of heroics.
But it was too late, and everything went black.
---
Buena Village, Fittoa Region, Asura Kingdom
"...so we really did have twins…"
Zenith Greyrat chuckled, gazing up at Paul with a tired yet exasperated smile. "I've been telling you for months now, dear. A woman's intuition is always right, after all~"
"I guess that's true… your belly was a bit larger than most other pregnant women I've seen," Paul Greyrat laughed boisterously, taking a seat beside his bedded wife.
His comment received a deadpanned look from Zenith, who curled a suspicious brow. "Is that right…?"
The man was quick to regret his choice of words, a cold sensation running his back. "...h-honey, I-I didn't mean it like that…!"
"Hm, if you say so…"
There was an amused glint in her eyes, one that turned loving when her gaze fell down to the twin bundles in her husband's arms.
"...they're our precious sons, Paul. What should we name them?"
Paul's gaze fell down to their newborns as well, an overwhelming sense of pride flooding his form. He grinned down at the infants' dazed, oddly confused expressions.
"Well, I already had thought about naming our first son Rudeus, but I didn't give much thought to our second son…"
"Oh, then perhaps Darius?" Zenith suggested almost instantly with a beaming smile. "I think that would be a lovely name!"
Paul nodded, seemingly on board with his wife's suggestion. "Alright, sounds good to me! Rudeus and Darius Greyrat… I can already see them growing into fine swordsmen!"
Zenith let out a small laugh, lightly placing a hand on Paul's shoulder. "Why, we shouldn't forget to have a mage in our household as well~"
"Of course, our daughters will be wonderful mages," Paul grinned, cupping his wife's cheek. Gently, he pressed his lips on hers. A muffled whimper escaped Zenith's mouth before she placed a hand on his chest, weakly pushing him back.
"Dear… I just gave birth, you know…"
"...c'mon, Zenny. You know I wouldn't… not right now…"
"With a record like yours, it's hard to believe that," she giggled, placing a kiss on his cheek, "but… once I'm recovered, I'm expecting much work from you~"
A very questionable grin formed on Paul's face, something akin to that of a feral beast. He pulled her alongside the twins into a family hug, though his hands and words lacked the innocence of the scene.
"...hehe… you know I'll be keeping you real busy~"
Unbeknownst to the two new parents were the pair of morbidly disturbed and morbidly interested gazes that came from their newborns. It looked like a quiet life wasn't going to happen anytime soon in this small family.