XX - Neil Dezastaria

Today is the day on the third day. The day Kaizo, her dear lover, will take his vacation day and leave for Earth. Of course, Nerissa felt delighted. Yet, at the same time, agitated. Why do you ask? Because Neil, her big brother, stays at the house for a while, he hasn't known that his dear little sister is dating an alien. Who knows what his reaction is after he finds out? Happy? Angry? Nobody will ever know. All she knows is that things will be so awkward. She can feel it.

Neil abandons the guest suite's bedroom with a towel on his half-wet hair and takes a quick ruffle to dry his hair. Its a good thing Nerissa has already prepared men's clothing. Neil wears a white shirt and grey track pants from the wardrobe. It turns out it is pretty comfy for him. He suddenly breathes in a mouth-watering smell. As he follows the source of the scent, he spots Nerissa in the kitchen, in front of the stove.

"Nice smell, Nerry." He comments as he tosses the wet towel on the sofa.

She rotates her head to see Neil, who has taken his bath, "Oh, you're awake." She added, "Next time, toss the towel into the laundry basket. Shouldnt be that hard."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." He says as he opens the fridge and grabs the cold milk box, "What's for breakfast?"

"Something sweet," She speaks and pours the warm caramelized banana over the French toast she just made.

After pouring the milk into the mugs, he casts his eyes on the breakfast she made, "Toast?"

"That's right." She sprinkles some icing sugar and chocolates sprinkle over it. The dish is done.

The two siblings walk to the long dining table. Neil puts the milk mugs on both sides, and Nerissa places the breakfast on the table. Together they sit down in their own seats and eat the delicious dish. While he's chewing his food, Nerissa is curious about something about her brother. Judging from how the house is still clean during her absence, she wonders how long her brother has been visiting here.

"So," Nerissa breaks the silence.

After swallowing the food, Neil quickly pays attention to her, "Hm?"

She questions him, "How long have you been visiting here?"

"It's been two months, for now." He gulps his cold milk, Along with the others.

"How is it? Did you enjoy it?" She asks before she puts some bananas into her mouth.

He places his mug on his coaster, "It's great. Just the same as the other side."

"Good to hear."

Neil chews some toast and bananas, then swallows it. He seems proud of how good her breakfast is. He gazes his eyes at Nerissa, whose drinking her cold milk. Similar to her, he's also been curious about her, too.

"So, where were you these 3 months?"

She focuses on her brother and puts her mug down, "I was about to ask what you've been doing these 4 years."

"Do tell me."

She disagrees and says, "No, no, no. Do tell me."

"I'm your big brother, Nerry. You must answer my question first." He demands.

Nerissa scowls and seems pissed off, "Playing seniority, now, huh? You know that doesn't happen between us."

"Oh, you wanna play fair?"

"Yes. Fair and square." Nerissa demands.

Neil clicks his tongue as he accepts her request. He places his fork and knife on his dirty empty plate. He puts his left elbow on the table and forms a fist.

"Rock."

Looking at his form, Nerissa starts to place her right elbow on the table, also forming a fist, "Paper."

"Scissors. Shoot!"

As a result, Neil's hand forms a paper, whereas Nerissa's hand forms a scissor. She wins and shamelessly cackles at her brother's loss. What's his reaction? He may be devoid of emotion, but she could tell that he was clearly screaming on the inside.

"Coincidence? I think not." Then, Nerissa politely says, "Please."

Neil slowly leans back on his chair and lets out a big sigh, "First thing that happened when we left Kingston, our car got broke down."

Nerissa suddenly chuckles to hear that about their car. She tried so hard to ease her laughter.

"Then fixed, at Domburton." He continues, "There, Renn met his future lover."

She is surprised at the news, "Really? Who?"

Neil picks up his mug of milk. Before he could even drink it, he answered her, "You'll see her soon enough."

"Can't believe your best friend finally got himself a girlfriend." She comments.

"Yeah, I was amazed, too." He gently puts his mug back on the coaster, "We managed to get through anything that's in our way. We met this strange man named Vylan. I thought this guy was just a stranger. We could just ignore him. Sometimes we stumble at each other. Turns out hes a spy for Marbenia."

That surprised her, "How did you not notice that?"

"Like a fish, Nerry. We somehow bite his bait." He answers, "Now, Vylan worked for the Emperor's son, Lucius, so it would be easier for him to execute us."

"And Freya? How did you meet her?" Nerissa questions as she takes the last bite of her toast.

Neil says, "I did reunite with her at Acionia. And let me tell you, she still looks the same when we last saw her."

Nerissa crosses her hands and ponders, "Let me guess... I was 7 at the time. Papa told us that Nebuleuse was invaded by Marbenia, and Freya was captured. Correct?"

He nods, "Correct. However, I didn't marry Freya right away. I had to end the war first so that wedding could be held in peace."

"Then how did you end the war?"

"It took 2 years for us to end the war. We studied Marbenia's every move. Until Lucius learns everything, he has done for the Emperor never pleased him. And he became our ally." He reveals.

She then comments, "Great. So, Lucius is basically the Prince Zuko of Marbenia."

"Prince, who?"

"Just a character from a show I used to watch." Nerissa says, "It's a great show, by the way."

"Anyways, we defeated the Emperor. Lucius becomes the new Emperor, and we hoped he could fix all his father's mistakes." Neil continues.

She smiles and says, "End of the war."

"Freya and I finally married after that on Acionia. She is now your sister-in-law." Neil speaks and smiles.

"Sister-in-law, huh? Thats cute."

He then speaks, "Lastly, we've all been visiting here more often. We cleaned and paid the bills for you." Then he smirks, "Attentive brother, arent I?"

"Yeah, right." She comments as cocked her head to one side, "Thanks."

With this, he finally finished summarizing his whole journey. Then Nerissa realized that it was her turn now. She had to tell the entire thing about Kaizo. She hopes for the best. Hopefully, Neil would accept it, although that would be impossible.

"My turn?" Nerissa asks.

Neil smiles and answers, "Do, please. I'm curious about what my sister's been doing this whole time?"

Before explaining the whole 4 years of her life without her brother, she has to mention some warning, "Mine might be absurd, but please bear with it. Understand?"

Surprised by her warning, he prepared with ears, mind, and soul before he gave her permission, "Please."

Nerissa felt prepared and whispered, "Alright."

She quickly held her milk mug and took a quick sip. She's ready to explain it all.

"Few days after you departed from Kingston, I graduated from high school. Abby went on to Paramount School." She stated.

He raises his eyebrows, "That Abby Chasey? In what major?" He questions.

"Drama."

"Ah, I see." He nods, "And, what about you?"

She answers, "I did join the royal military academy. I was a Lieutenant after graduation."

After she answered that, she could see the impressed emotion on his face. Then, he starts to clap so loud and laughs proudly.

She holds her urge to smile and says, "What?"

"Nice, Nerry! Now, where both are Lieutenants!"

"Yeah, I know. But!" She raises her finger at him, "I'm not done yet."

Suddenly, Nerissa felt a sudden pain inside her womb. She tries to endure the pain and slams her fist on the table, which makes him startled.

"Wh-what?"

"Shh!" She silences him.

He quietly questions, "Are you on your red days?"

She nods gently as an answer. Neil quickly realizes what he must do: get her somewhere comfortable. He rises on his feet and cleans up everything on the dining table. Then, he approaches his sister and gently picks her up. Walk to the living room sofa and gently put her down on it. Nerissa feels the pain slowly calm down and goes.

"Alright. The pain goes away."

"And continue the story." He demands.

She puts the sofa pillow behind her back just to get comfortable.

"A year ago, Papa told me to move here because he said back then the war worsened. Why is that?" She asks her brother for a reason.

"Oh, yes. We tried to invade Marbenia, but that didnt go as planned. The invasion infuriated the Emperor and made it our loss back then. And that is when Lucius proclaimed himself as an ally after the invasion."

Nerissa simply nods, "Then, I moved here, and Grandia made this house. I get to know the environment on this island. But there's something miraculous about this place."

"What is it? He asks enthusiastically."

"So, there this young boy claimed by the media as a superhero. His name is Boboiboy." She informs.

Neil ponders for a minute, "Huh, Boboiboy... I think I've heard him on the news I watched on your TV. Renn was so amused when he saw it."

"I first heard his name on the news, too. Surprisingly, it is true. He's a superhero."

"Really? Where did he get his powers, though?"

"Remember power spheres?"

Neil tries to recall those two words, "Oh! The thing Papa always talks about! He refuses to take one whenever he travels the galaxy."

"Yes. That's the thing. So, from this power sphere, Boboiboy got all his powers from Ochobot and his gang. I did test him out. He's not that bad."

He comments, "I see."

"However, that was an extraordinary day."

"Why?"

It's time. The part where Nerissa will tell him about Captain Kaizo. She takes a deep breath before she explains everything about it.

"Back then, when I rested myself after testing Boboiboy out, there was this man who looked around your age. He was stranded at the shore, just below the cliff outside, badly injured."

Neil is all ears and asks, "What did you do back then?"

"I saved him, Neil."

He smiles proudly after she answers that. It is a noble thing to do. He gently caresses her hair and answers, "That's a great thing to do."

"He's handsome. Great body, too."

Not sure what that was, he smells something fishy from where this is going, "Wh-Whoa, hold on."

"Let me finish."

"Alright." He says as he clears his throat.

"When I looked at his memories, I discovered that he's the Legendary Space Rebel, named Captain Kaizo. He was poisoned during a fight and then somehow got transported here. After he woke up, he thanked me and wanted to test me out. He literally woke up and chose violence. We fought and fought until he saw me as the most capable person. He asked me to come with him and travel the galaxy. And, I did accept it." She smiles as she recalls the memory.

"He's a captain in a group dedicated to finding and protecting the power spheres scattered around the galaxy called TAPOPS. When I assisted him in finishing a galaxy pirate, they offered me to join them as thanks. I accepted it and became a Vice-Captain. Kaizo and I spend our time together doing missions. There was this peculiar feeling that grew inside us. We thought it was just jealousy at first. It would eventually fade away. After we both confessed that feeling, he said he loved me."

"HE WHAT?!"

Nerissa, who was emotional recalling the memory, was surprised at her brother's sudden rise of voice. Neil roses on his feet in anger and rage. She already imagined this would happen. He's angry. His smile transformed into a stern face.

She swallows her saliva and answers, "H-He loved me?"

"THEN WHAT? ARE YOU DATING HIM?!"

"Ye-Yes, I'm dating him."

"Y-You're DATING SOMEONE!"

He attempts to flip the coffee table out of frustration. But, he returned to his mind that he couldn't break things at Nerissas house. He tries to control his anger and gently puts it on the coffee table. He sits back on the sofa and processes everything he just from his sister.

"Sorry, He apologizes for his recent behavior. Youre really dating someone?"

"I just answered that earlier."

"Great," He took his deep breath, "Great! GREAT!"

He's clearly against her, but not this angry. Nerissa finds this unfair. How could he allow himself to love someone, yet he's not allowing her to love someone?

"What's wrong with it?! You've allowed yourself to love, but I can't?" She raises her voice.

"It's just, I still can't accept this! You're my little sister, Nerry. I still care about you. I don't want to give you a way to some BASTARD!" He argues.

Nerissa raises, "He is not a BASTARD! You know what, Neil?! You are being unfair!"

He tries to calm himself down. What his little sister said was true. He is being unfair.

"I'm sorry, Nerry. I just still can't help with it. You don't understand how a brother would feel to his own sister getting to love someone else." He apologizes.

"Stop being so dramatic. There's no harm for me to like someone." She says bluntly.

He calmed down and questions, "Now, how long have you two been dating?"

"3 months now."

Much to his surprise, he took a deep breath and cleared his throat, "Perhaps I should make it clear, Nerry. Some things could go wrong in a relationship."

She clears him, "Perhaps I should make it clear that nothing is going to stop me from loving my boyfriend."

"Ah. That's cunning."

Ding dong

Suddenly, the siblings heard the doorbell. Nerissa approached it and saw Yaya and Ying standing in front of it.

"Good morning, Nerissa." Ying greets her.

Nerissa greets the two girls back, "Morning, you two. What's up?"

"We just wanted to let you know that Captain Kaizo and Fang will arrive..."

Yaya's words are cut off as the two girls see another man behind her. Nerissa spots the weird look on their face and tilts her head to the back. Turns out Neil stood behind her, spotting two little girls.

"Oh, don't mind him. Let me introduce him to you. Neil, this pink girl is Yaya, and the yellow one is Ying. Girls, this is my older brother, Neil. These two are my comrades."

The two girls remembered his name, Prince Neil.

"Oh? Is he your brother you've told us before?" Ying asks.

Neil was surprised, "You told them about me, Nerry? How sweet."

"Nerry?" The girls thought.

"Nice to meet you, Prince Neil." Yaya greets him.

"Yes, pleased to meet you two. Actually, you don't have to call me Prince. Just call my name." Neil advises.

Nerissa goes back to the topic, "Now, what were you talking about, Yaya?"

"Oh, that. Captain Kaizo and Fang will arrive here soon. We just want to tell you that. Be sure to meet us at Tok Aba!" Yaya continues.

"Really? Great!" Neil smiles happily, "I'll see you guys at the Kokotiam, okay? Bye!"

After she closes the door, Neil and Nerissa look at each other.

"You are going to see Kaizo. I want you to be nice to him and not pick fights. Understand?"

"Fine, I will."