The calm wind danced through the brightly flowering trees. Daichi shut his eyes and lifted his face towards the warm sun, the heat radiated down onto him. It was the perfect day.
Hearing the faintest disturbance in the distance, his ears pricked. He looked around but could see nothing but the nature which so beautifully surrounded him. Again, the same noise was heard but this time much louder. Was it coming towards him?
Squinting as he peered down to the far reaches of the path that he walked along, he spotted the source of the noise as it came sprinting towards him. He could now see it was a young girl and knew exactly what the noise had been.
With arms flailing and her legs struggling to keep up with the speed she had chosen to reach, the young girl stumbled her way towards Daichi. He sighed a calm sigh and took in the serene area around him once more. He loved his younger sister, but she was quite the handful.
He heard the noise again as it escaped her lips with perfect clarity from this distance, she mustn't have been more than fifty metres away and closing fast. "ONIIII-CHANNNNNN" Rin bellowed out yet again, struggling to scream it in one tone as her body shook from sprinting.
Calmly, Daichi turned towards his hyperactive sister. She must have been 10 metres away now and showed no signs of slowing down. Reaching into his left jeans pocket, he plucked out a small, golden pocket watch he had been given by his grandfather and clicked the button on the top of it.
Rin screamed out, unable to stop and realising she was about to smash into her bigger brother. Suddenly, a blue energy encased the young girl's body and she felt herself raise off the ground and slow to a stop mere inches from the much taller teen.
Still totally calm and unmoving, Daichi looked back down at the pocket watch and clicked the button again. Rin slowly floated back down to the ground, her school skirt waved as the wind caught it but she held it down modestly before softly landing on her behind. She panted heavily, still exhausted from running.
"Hello Rin-Chan", Daichi spoke softly to his younger sister, reaching his arms out to embrace her. His dark hair bounced gently over his forehead as he gestured to hug.
"DAICHI!" Rin screamed out back to him, managing to still knock the wind out of him as she climbed to her feet and wrapped her arms around his waist. They both held their hug for a moment, glad to see each other. Rin would usually walk and meet him at the edge of the park after school but clearly she was excited to see him and ran most of the way.
They soon released each other and Daichi held his hand out to his side. Catching a glimpse of her older brother's welcoming hand, Rin grabbed it tightly. She was a mere thirteen years old and she loved her Onii-Chan.
Ready now to walk home, Daichi looked down the road and began the trip. He could feel Rin's eyes burning holes in the side of his head as they headed down the path, she constantly found herself tripping as she never took even a moment to check in front of her. Daichi sighed lightheartedly, constantly pulling his falling sister back to her feet every time she stumbled.
The two of them basked in the hot weather, a welcome change from the extreme cold the winter had brought them months prior. Songs of birds echoed through the trees and the blue skies loudly as they walked.
They soon left the park and headed through the busy streets. Daichi kept the young girl close to him, her awareness of the dangers around her not as acute as his. Rin panted heavily, struggling to keep up with her brother’s comfortable pace.
It didn't take long for them to reach their home as they made their way through the concrete maze. They both looked up at the wide building before them and smiled, happy to be back. They lived with their grandfather, Mako, who was an extremely wealthy, retired man. Neither of them knew how he had acquired his wealth, it was one of the few things he'd speak very little on. What they did know, however, was that he was an extremely powerful wizard.
Their home was huge for how near the centre of such a busy city they were, skyscrapers littered the view in the distance and the sound of cars rushed around nearby. Rin ran ahead to the front door and pushed against it hard.
"NYEEHHH" she screamed out as she pushed against the heavy door, only able to open it a slither. Laughing lightly, Daichi followed her to the door and pushed it open easily. Rin fell heavily to the floor as it suddenly opened before her. They laughed together.
"Welcome home, children!" Mako exclaimed, beaming as he entered the hallway from one of the many rooms.
"GRANDPA!" Rin screamed, running to hug him.
Daichi followed behind, smiling at his grandfather as he watched the older man also fall victim to Rin's affection. "Good afternoon, Grandpa", he said, bowing to Mako.
"Don't be so formal, Daichi. Give your Grandpa a hug!" Mako replied, extending his other arm invitingly. Daichi conceded, hugging his family tightly.
Releasing Daichi and Rin, Mako stated "I've already made a start on dinner! You two head into the living room and relax". As quickly as he appeared before them, Mako sank into one of the many doors and disappeared.
Rin grabbed at Daichi's hand and dragged him into the living room with her. The room was extremely well lit, the colour green littered the room with hanging vines from the ceiling and bright flowers on each window. The sound of water trickling lightly could be heard as various water features and aqueducts filled the room.
Rin ran over to the far side and climbed onto the seats by the window that overlooked their garden and then the city behind it. Daichi followed slowly, planning on keeping his sister company as they waited for their meal but realising he had little say in the matter anyway.
As he sat, Rin immediately asked, "do you have a girlfriend?"
Daichi smiled lightly, "I'm too busy looking after you to think about girls right now" he replied back to the young girl. She looked at him admiringly, watching his mouth eloquently handle each word.
"CAN I BE YOUR GIRLFRIEND?" Rin shouted back, hearing only that he did not have a girlfriend.
Thinking how best to let the naive girl down easily, Daichi responded, "you are someone I hold much more dearly than I would a girlfriend, Rin-Chan. Girlfriends may come and go, but you will be my beloved sister forever".
In classic, thirteen year old fashion Rin cried out "BUT I WANT TO BE YOUR GIRLFRIEND!". Tears began to build up in the corners of her eyes, her lips forming into a pout.
Before the conversation could escalate, Mako entered the room with a tray. "Dinner!" he exclaimed simply, placing the tray on a low table in the centre of the room.
The three of them focused themselves around the low table in the centre and sat down cross-legged on the pillows that circled it. Each of them plucked a pair of chopsticks from the tray and began their meal together.
Tonkatsu pork, Rin's favourite! She wolfed it down, looking over at her brother. She was still full of childish anger at how unreasonable Daichi had been! She'd find a way to be his girlfriend if it killed her. Deviously she conjured up plans for how she'd achieve such a goal.
The meal soon ended, everyone feeling adequately full. Daichi excused himself and headed to his room to study, as he often did after picking up Rin from school.
"I'm heading out to the Jasmine Dragon to get some tapioca for my tea", Mako explained to Rin. "I'll be back in about an hour", he continued.
Soon Rin was left completely alone in the massive house, this was perfect. She immediately navigated the complex labyrinth of rooms and hallways until she found her grandfather's study and quickly headed in.
This was where grandpa kept all of his totems, like the pocket watch he had given Daichi to study. Rin was very early in her magical studies and was yet to be given a totem, so she'd have to take one.
She hunted through the cluttered study, pulling through every drawer and looking on every shelf. "Ring of Invisibility? No… Talisman of Knowledge? No… Amulet of Size? Hmmm" Rin said to herself as she looked at all the different items in the room.
Wasting no time, the young girl sprinted out of the study with the amulet swinging around her neck and without shutting the door behind her. She hurried upstairs and to Daichi's door. Stopping suddenly before it, she paused and then knocked lightly on the wood.
"Come in!" Daichi shouted, knowing Rin was probably bored after ten minutes alone. As expected, the barely four foot tall girl peaked around the door. As she walked into the room fully, Daichi noticed an amulet hanging loosely around her neck.
"What is th…" Daichi began before Rin pressed the jewel on the amulet and a beam of light shot out towards her brother. An overwhelming presence of almost sentient light overtook his entire being for a very brief moment. He felt as if he blacked out.
Daichi's eyes flickered open to display his younger sister, Rin, before him, only she was much bigger now. He couldn't have been more than two feet tall!
"Change me back now, Rin!" Daichi demanded angrily at the girl that he had previously towered over so easily. She smiled a devious smile back to him, excited to finally have control.