Chương 36: Ironskin Peppers

"Pass the rice, please," Kurisu said, reaching for the carton. Takeout boxes covered the table, with the scent of Thai basil filling the warm air. Nursing a beer, Steven sat at the head while Charlotte sat beside him, watching the boys shovel food into their mouths. With the container sliding over, Ace tightened his grip on the edge, refusing Kurisu's final pull as he shot his father a scowl.

"Dad, can you tell him to take it easy? He threw me into the mud earlier and didn't even care. My shoulder's killing me." Fork twirled into a fresh bite of noodles, Steven didn't even look up from his plate.

"Sounds like a personal problem to me. And personally, I don't care about your problem." Choking on a spring roll, Kenji barked out a laugh, while across the table, Kellevra grinned into his noodles.

"Ware merely redirected your momentum," Kurisu corrected, a faint smirk touching his lips.

"Gravity did the rest." With his fork halted halfway to his mouth, Kenji pointed the tines at Kurisu, a loose noodle flailing as he did so.

"You did it again." Chopsticks pausing, Kurisu tilted his head.

"Did what?"

"Ware," Kenji said.

"You said 'Ware merely redirected' even though you speak English just fine. You're still using that weird pronoun."

"English is lacking," Kurisu retorted, pinching more rice.

"'I' is small and singular, but Ware holds significance, implying the self that exists as a consequence of the clan." After taking a bite, he looked at Kenji, a sharp smirk cutting across his features.

"When English invents a word capable of holding the weight of a Nodaichi, Ware will use it."

"Speaking of Nodaichi, actually, our lawyer called. It took forever for the clerk to finally get back to her, but we officially have our final adoption hearing on June 1st," Charlotte said, a smile on her face. At the news, Kurisu stood from the table before bowing to Steven and Charlotte each in turn.

"I am grateful for your continued hospitality," he said, holding her gaze.

"I will ensure my prolonged residence does not become a burden to your house." Shoulders slumping as she sighed, Charlotte pushed back and crossed to the kitchen counter, returning a moment later to drop a ceramic knife, broken cleanly in two pieces, onto the wood.

"Kurisu, would you be a dear and mend this for me?" she asked, sliding the pieces toward his plate.

"I swear, these vegetables have turned into rocks. Steven broke the blade on those peppers I planted. I put them in the soil right after you boys started your training, and I think the ground soaked up every ounce of that energy, just like the boys did when they absorbed yours." Picking up the pieces, Kurisu inspected the split with a thoughtful hum.

"Possible," he mused.

"But since when do peppers resist a blade?"

"Resist it? They snapped it," Charlotte replied with a shake of her head.

"And it's not just those. Everything in that greenhouse has grown strange since the four of you turned the backyard into a dojo." Already having pushed his plate aside, Kurisu aligned the edges until they fit perfectly, setting the knife flat on the table. Closing his eyes, he interlocked his fingers to form the box shape of the Fukugen seal." On Hanra Hani Un," he whispered. A pale blue light flowed from his hand into the seam, the energy bridging the gap to fuse the pieces back into a single ceramic blade.

To confirm the repair, he ran his thumb along where the break had been before handing it back handle-first.

"Good as new." Charlotte accepted the knife, turning it over in her hands. The tension left her shoulders as she inspected his work.

"Thank you, honey. Since you're so handy, and since your self exists to serve the clan, you can help Steven clear the mess tonight while the boys get cleaned up." Inside the heated greenhouse, a wall of humid air met Kurisu, thick with the scent of wet earth and a static charge that mirrored the ozone left behind by a storm. Knelt beside a cluster of gray peppers tucked near the back of the structure, he gave them a squeeze to test their skin.

Unlike the waxy vegetables regularly brought home from the supermarket, these felt like soft iron. Through his Zanshin, Kurisu noted how the roots had soaked up the ambient Ki. The training sessions had bled enough raw energy into the earth that the plants were acting as a living sponge for the dense reservoir of Reiki.

"This is quite the change," Kurisu whispered as he pinched the stem, snapping the gray vegetable free. Heavy as a river stone, the pepper hit the bottom of the plastic bin with a thud. He turned toward the rows of tomatoes vibrating on the vine, their movement making the surrounding leaves shiver in the still air. When he reached for a stem, an electric jolt bit into his knuckles. Welcoming the familiar sting, a soft smile touched his lips as he plucked the warm fruit."

Migoto," he breathed, turning the tomato over. After transferring the bin to the workbench in the garage, he gathered a handful of crystalline basil leaves along the way. Once he'd set the container down, he retrieved the ceramic blade. Recognizing a standard edge would likely snap again, he folded his fingertips inward to form the diamond shape of the Koka-in seal." On Kirikiri Basara Un Hatta," he intoned. The hardened edge bit easily into the gray pepper.

As he sliced the vegetable into strips, a pearly liquid bled onto the wood, and he noted how the overhead light caught the crystalline structure of the basil, its fibers having thickened into a dense lattice. Carrying the harvest inside, he dropped the plastic bin onto the kitchen island with a thud, drawing the attention of the family as the scent of the vegetation filled the room. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

At the stove, Charlotte turned away from a skillet of eggs, raising an eyebrow at the sliced gray peppers. Steven watched from the table, sipping his coffee, while Ace and Kellevra paused their bickering to peer over the bin at the strange produce.

"Reiki enhanced the garden," Kurisu announced, gesturing toward the collection. With her free hand planted on her hip, Charlotte turned to him and let out an amused huff.

"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock," she replied with a shake of her head.

"Did you forget the knife you fixed last night? I'm over grabbing a live wire every time I reach in for a tomato." Between low chuckles, Steven watched the boys cautiously poke at a vibrating fruit.

"But you want me to fix an outlet while you watch TV next to it."

"Oh, shut up!" Charlotte grinned with a roll of her eyes.

"That was one time." Under the faucet, Kurisu rinsed the strips, placing the pieces onto a plate before picking up a pulsing tomato. When he took a bite, the liquid coated his tongue, sending a sharp hum buzzing against the roof of his mouth.

"The tomatoes carry a potent charge," he noted, savoring the flavor.

"And the basil is much tougher than a normal herb, though it still tastes right." Eyeing the juice, Kellevra chuckled, leaning back in his chair.

"I wish Denethor's tomato would have zapped him," he muttered.

"It would have made that dinner scene way more satisfying." Ace, snickering at the remark, shifted his attention back to the plate as Kurisu popped a strip of the gray pepper into his mouth. A crystalline snap echoed through the kitchen as he chewed, the grinding sound reminding everyone of someone crushing hard candy. Upon swallowing the piece, a rapidly expanding warmth radiated through his stomach.

"It is hard and crunchy," he explained, looking back at the brothers, "but the flavor is actually quite good once you get past the skin." With the plate in hand, Kurisu said, "Ware is not entirely certain it is safe for you to eat these." Setting it down next to the bin, he added, "But that is your decision." Charlotte just shook her head.

"I'll pass," Steven said, raising his free hand as he eyed the pulsing tomato.

"But shouldn't you be used to this? I would have assumed the food from your world was already like this."

"It was," Kurisu murmured, his voice dropping low.

"Ware used to sneak into the estate gardens to eat them sometimes before the servants picked all the harvest. But these are Earth plants mutated by Reiki. Ware cannot be certain how they will react with a Mukeiraku biology, one without active Keiraku." His mug lowered to the table, Steven spoke up.

"Estate gardens? Servants? What exactly were the Nodaichi?" Gaze dropping to the plate.

"The Nodaichi were the ruling clan of Yamato-Nodaichi," Kurisu answered as he exhaled.

"Waga home, Fueki-kyō, was the capital," he added.

"Hold up," Ace interjected, leaning forward.

"You were royalty? Like, with a palace?"

"Waga father was the lord," Kurisu confirmed.

"Wait, did you have an army?" Kellevra asked from beside Ace.

"Like real samurai?" Kurisu gave a brief nod.

"What about a castle?" Kellevra pressed, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"With a moat and everything?"

"Did you guys have ninjas?" Ace chimed in. Steven held up a hand.

"So, if you're from another world, how exactly do you have Japanese and samurai in the first place?" Palms raised to stay the barrage, Kurisu shook his head.

"Too many questions. One at a time." Ace grinned.

"Did you have a girlfriend?" His brow furrowed, Kurisu looked at Ace.

"Girl... friend?" Scraping some of the eggs onto a plate, Charlotte paused.

"He means an important girl to you. A girl you were particularly fond of." Turquoise irises flashed across his mind. A rowdy laugh, her smile pulling back to highlight the point of a single fang." Waka-bi, kore mite mii!" her voice echoed." Waga Rin," he breathed, the words slipping out barely above a whisper.

"Rin?" Charlotte asked softly.

"So where is she?" His jaw locked, as his voice tightened.

"Gone. Like the rest of them." Before silence could settle over the kitchen, he deliberately nudged the plate across the countertop toward the brothers.

"Now. Is there not a harvest to discuss? They look a bit alien, but they are safe for Ware to eat. It is worth seeing how a small piece sits with you two."

"Imagine that," Ace scoffed, cocking his head.

"The alien thinks it's safe to eat the alien food." Snatching a leaf of basil, Kellevra kept his eyes locked on his brother.

"Oh, come on, don't be a bitch," he mocked.

"Hey!" Steven hollered from the table.

"Kellevra!" Charlotte snapped, leveling her spatula at the nine-year-old.

"Sorry," Kellevra mumbled quickly, ducking his head before promptly chomping down on the leaf with a crunch.

"Whoa," Kellevra murmured, rolling his shoulders while staring down at his hands, he flexed his fingers against the visible tension building under his skin. Ace kept his eyes on his brother as he snatched a strip of the gray pepper. Biting down hard, he immediately winced as the skin fought back.

"Ow," he muttered, rubbing his jaw. A crystalline snap echoed across the room as he finally broke the surface, his teeth grinding audibly against the dense material. The moment the pepper hit Ace's stomach, Kurisu saw the flesh across the teenager's forearms pull taut over his muscles like shrink-wrap. Reaching for a tomato, Ace bit into it while the pepper's Ki still peaked in his system. When the liquid hit his tongue, Ace froze.

His pupils dilated rapidly, his gaze locking on the steam rising from Steven's coffee, then tracking the individual water droplets falling from the faucet as if he were watching them in slow motion. The brothers locked eyes, something passing between them as they turned to the remaining harvest.

They lunged for the island, their hands snatching the strips of pepper, seizing the tomatoes, and sweeping up the crystalline leaves as they shoved the produce into their mouths in a reckless race to claim the larger share before the other could. Once the mutated food began to metabolize, the nine-year-old groaned, dropping to his knees as if his bones had grown too heavy to carry.

His Zanshin active, Kurisu watched, ready to intervene should he need to, though, truth be told, he wasn't certain he could do anything. Through gritted teeth, Ace doubled over, hissing as he gripped his chest, his arms flushing red as if a thousand hot needles were pricking his skin from the inside out. As he leaned against the island, Kurisu tracked the changes.

"Ware suspects these plants are acting as a catalyst, pushing your bodies to accommodate more of your Keiraku." With a damp cloth in hand, Charlotte stepped toward the boys, stopping short when her eyes widened at the air waving with heat around the brothers. Resting a steadying hand on her shoulder, Steven watched the boys struggle with what he could only categorize as a mutation.

"I think the alien food is winning," Ace joked through gritted teeth, the rumble in his chest dropping his voice a full octave. Looking at the empty bin and then back at his sons, Steven gave them a deadpan stare.

"I bet if you ate an entire shipment of cotton candy," he remarked, "you'd feel just as rough."