Songs in the Void

Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo. 

After dinner, which consisted of the pizzas Kasumi ordered, everyone headed back to their rooms. And Mai was naturally the most excited of the bunch. Standing in her bedroom, Mai was looking at a set of sheer, black and red lace lingerie with a broad, happy smile on her face. 

"Finally, I'm going to be one with Tatsu-Kun tonight." Mai said, having completely forgotten Sumire's warning about Tatsuo's age. "Then, once we have a baby, I won't have to worry about any of those thieving cats taking him away from me." 

After saying that, Mai laid the lingerie in her hands on top of her bed. Then, she skipped into her bathroom while humming a tune. 

"I gotta make sure I'm all clean for Tatsu-Kun." Mai said to herself in a sing-song tone as she turned on the faucet in the bathtub. 

Meanwhile, Tatsuo was looking through the Netflix catalog on his computer while Sumire and Kasumi, both wearing pajamas, stood behind him. 

"Ooh! Let's watch that one, Tatsu-Chan!" Sumire exclaimed as she pointed over Tatsuo's shoulder. 

The movie Sumire pointed to was The Ring, one of the most iconic horror movies of all time. 

"Wouldn't that just give Mai-San an excuse to hold on to Tatsuo-Kun the whole time?" Kasumi asked curiously. 

"If she just holds onto him, it's fine." Sumire said nonchalantly. "I don't even mind if they get up to a little hanky panky. But there will be no going all the way." 

"What kind of mother says this stuff about her fifteen year old son and twenty-three year old assistant?" Tatsuo asked while shaking his head. "Anyway, that one's a no." 

"Aww… Why, Tatsu-Chan?" Sumire asked while shaking Tatsuo's shoulder like a child. "Don't worry, if you're scared, Mommy is here." 

Tatsuo only rolled his eyes in response. Then, he pointed at the screen. 

"I wanna watch this." Tatsuo said. 

The movie Tatsuo pointed out was Wolverine and Deadpool. 

'I really wanted to see this in my past life.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'But I passed away three days before it came out. And to my surprise, Marvel, Disney, and all those other movie companies exist in this world, too. But I was still in DOATECH's custody when it came out in this world. Now, I finally get the chance to see it.' 

"Oh, you like American comics, Tatsuo-Kun?" Kasumi asked in a curious tone. "I didn't expect that." 

"Yeah, I do." Tatsuo replied with a nod. "One of the other subjects read them in his free time when I was in captivity. And they were one of the few things we were allowed to do outside of training, learning, and being experimented on. So, I really took a liking to them." 

"Hmm… Should I buy Marvel from Disney for my Tatsu-Chan?" Sumire asked herself while staring up at the ceiling. 

"No, that's not necessary." Tatsuo replied while waving off Sumire's suggestion. 

"If you say so." Sumire replied with a smile as she patted Tatsuo on the head. "But if you change your mind, just let Mommy know, okay?" 

*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!* 

At that moment, three polite and slightly timid knocks sounded from the bedroom door. 

"Oh, she's here." Sumire said as she dashed over to Tatsuo's bed and picked up her smartphone from the nightstand. "Remember, Tatsu-Chan. When you answer the door, you have to stand at the right angle for me to capture the shot." 

"Got it." Tatsuo said while smiling mischievously. 

As Tatsuo stood up from in front of his computer, Kasumi could only shake her head at the mother and son's antics. Even so, she had no thought of stopping them. She wanted to see Mai's reaction when she and Sumire entered her field of vision, too. 

"Coming.' Tatsuo said as he approached the door. 

A moment later, Tatsuo pulled the bedroom door open. And just as expected, Mai was standing in the doorway. Currently, Mai was wearing a short, red robe with white trim that barely reached the top of her thighs, showing her long, sexy, toned legs. Under the robe, she wore the aforementioned set of lingerie. 

"Tatsu-Kun~, I'm here~." Mai said while smiling seductively. 

"Good." Tatsuo replied with a nod and a smile. "Come in, we're trying to decide on a movie right now." 

'We?' Mai thought in confusion as she tilted her head and followed Tatsuo into the room. 

After taking only a couple of steps, Mai froze completely. And the reason was obvious. Sumire was sitting on Tatsuo's bed, pointing a smartphone camera at her, while Kasumi was standing next to Tatsuo's computer desk and wearing her usual smile. 

"What is this?" Mai asked as her expression changed into one filled with betrayal. "Tatsu-Kun, why are these two here? Aren't I supposed to spend the night with you tonight?" 

"Yup." Tatsuo replied with a completely innocent smile on his face. "I invited Mom and Kasumi-Neesan to come over, too. This is the perfect opportunity for us to bond as a family, isn't it? I think it's called a sleepover or a slumber party, right? I spent too much time away from normal stuff, so I'm not sure if that's what you call it." 

Mai's expression turned into one filled with despair as her legs began to shake. Then, she collapsed to the floor on her butt with tears pooling in her eyes. 

"Tatsu-Kun, why?" Mai asked as she looked up at Tatsuo with lifeless eyes. 

"Huh? What do you mean, Mai-Nee?" Tatsuo asked with an innocent expression of confusion on his face. "Isn't this a good thing? We'll be bonding as a family." 

Mai wanted to start crying on the spot when she heard Tatsuo's reply. But the part of her that knew how horrible Tatsuo's childhood was stopped her from doing so. So, instead of crying, she put on a smile that looked no different from a crying expression as she shakily picked herself up from the floor. 

"No, there's nothing wrong with it." Mai said while wiping away the tears forming in her eyes. "Tatsu-Kun just wants to have a normal experience. So, that's what we'll do." 

After saying that, Mai took a deep breath. Then, the forlorn expression on her face disappeared as if it had never been there. After that, she walked over to the computer, stopping right next to Kasumi as she looked at the computer screen. 

"So, what movie are we going to watch?" Mai asked. "Oh, let's watch this one. I heard it was really good. I never got a chance to see it, though." 

Mai pointed at Wolverine and Deadpool. However, no one was paying attention to that. Instead, they were all thoroughly surprise at how quickly Mai's attitude changed after such crushing disappointment. 

"I guess she really does care about Tatsu-Chan." Sumire said as she stopped the recording function of her smartphone. "Looks like she's not just a raging ball of hormones, after all." 

Kasumi was also impressed by how much Mai seemed to care about Tatsuo's life and feelings. So, she smiled brightly as she patted Mai on the shoulder. 

"What a coincidence, Mai-San." Kasumi said warmly. "Tatsuo-Kun picked the same one. He said he really likes American comics." 

Mai puffed out her chest in pride after hearing that. 

"Of course I'd pick the same movie as Tatsu-Kun." Mai said smugly. "we're tied together by the red string of fate." 

"Okay, then that's decided." Sumire said with a smile from the bed. Then, she looked at Tatsuo as she continued. "Now, what was that surprise you were talking about, Tatsu-Chan?" 

Kasumi, who had heard about the surprise right before dinner, also looked in Tatsuo's direction with curiosity written all over her face. Mai, on the other hand, tilted her head in confusion. 

"A surprise?" Mai asked curiously. "Tatsu-Kun has a surprise for us?" 

"Actually, it's a surprise for you, Mai-Nee." Tatsuo said with a smile. "I'll have something for Mom and Kasumi-Neesan a little later. But I just haven't had the chance to ask them about it. But I knew exactly what I should give to you." 

Mai smiled as beautifully as a blooming flower wen she heard that. 

"Of course, Tatsu-Kun knows me so well." Mai said. "Like I said, we're connected by the red string of fate." 

In response, Tatsuo rolled his eyes before waving his hand. 

*Thud!* *Thud!* *Thud!* 

At the same time, hundreds of folding fans fell onto the floor of his bedroom, leaving very little space for anyone to walk. And when they saw this, Sumire, Mai, and Kasumi opened there eyes wide in shock. 

"Tatsu-Chan, you can use spatial storage already?" Sumire asked in a dumbfounded tone. 

Naturally, this tone was fake. Sumire already knew that Tatsuo had the [System], which had an [Inventory] feature. 

"There are so many…" Kasumi muttered. "Where did they all come from?" 

Mai, on the other hand, stared at the fans in a daze. She used fans as her main weapon, after all. And she could tell just by looking that these were excellent quality battle fans. 

"Mom, you didn't tell them" Tatsuo asked as he looked in his mother's direction. 

"Oh, I forgot." Sumire replied while smiling bashfully. Then, she looked at Mai and Kasumi, who were still in shock. "Tatsu-Chan has the same ability to jump through dimensions as I do. So, he must have gotten them in another world after he awakened it." 

That caused Mai and Kasumi to look away from the fans with even more dumbfounded expressions on their faces. And when Tatsuo saw their expressions, he could only scratch his head awkwardly. 

"I can't go to just any world I want." Tatsuo said. "I can only go to new ones when I get a special feeling. But after I come back, I can go there whenever I want." 

"How many worlds can you travel to now?" Kasumi asked curiously. 

"Four." Tatsuo replied. 

"And you bought these fans in one of those worlds?" Kasumi asked. 

"Well…. No." Tatsuo replied with a smile. "I killed a monster called a Giant Sword Tiger. Then, I made them from its remains." 

Kasumi's eyes widened in shock. However, before she could ask any more questions, Mai jumped over the pile of fans and pounced on Tatsuo, wrapping her arms and legs around him tightly before raining kisses all over his face. 

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Mai said between kisses. "I love it! I absolutely love these fans." 

"You haven't even looked at them yet." Tatsuo said while trying to dodge all the kisses, to no avail. "How would you know if you love them or not?" 

"I'd love anything Tatsu-Kun gives me as a gift." Mai said without hesitation. 

A moment later, Sumire appeared behind Mai when she noticed her naughty little assistant trying to stealthily take off Tatsuo's shirt, and pulled her off of him. 

"Why don't you take a look at the fans." Sumire said as she threw Mai in front of the pile of fans. "Stop trying to get into my Tatsu-Chan's pants. At least wait until he's sixteen, alright?" 

"Tch!" Mai clicked her tongue in disappointment. Still, she did as Sumire ordered. 

However, when Mai picked up the first fan, all signs of the disappointment she was just feeling vanished from her expression. Feeling the fan's frame, she could tell that the material was better than anything she could find on Earth. Shortly afterwards, she opened the fan with a "thwack!" And when she saw the intricately woven washi, she was certain that these fans were better than her normal fans in every conceivable way. 

After Mai inspected the fans for a while, she put them all into her own spatial storage. Then, with the movie decided, Tatsuo ran an HDMI cable to the eighty inch television mounted on the wall near the computer. After that, he clicked the movie. Meanwhile, Mai and Kasumi joined Sumire on Tatsuo's bed, leaving a space for Tatsuo between Sumire and Mai while Tatsuo started the movie. 

When everyone was comfortable, they quieted down, with Mai snuggling up to Tatsuo's side and enjoyed the movie, laughing at the funny parts and cheering at the action sequences. Then, after the movie ended, they fell asleep one by one while they talked and enjoyed each other's company. 

A few days passed quickly after the movie night. At the moment, Tatsuo was at school and the bell signaling the beginning of lunch had just rang. 

"The scores for the midterms should be posted today.' Chiho said in a nervous tone. "I hope I didn't fail any subjects." 

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Tatsuo said encouragingly. 

"Yes, we all worked hard." Yakumo added. I'm sure your grades will be good." 

"I hope so." Chiho muttered in an uncertain tone. 

Just at that moment, a female student rushed into the room and shouted excitedly. 

"The midterms scores are up on the main bulletin board!" 

That led to most of the students in the classroom standing up immediately and rushing out of the classroom. Meanwhile, most of the others hurriedly ate their lunches before doing the same. Lastly, By the end, only Tatsuo, Chiho, and Yakumo were left in the room. 

"Aren't you guys curious to know what your scores are?" Chiho asked, surprised that neither Tatsuo nor Yakumo seemed all that enthusiastic. 

"I am." Yakumo replied after chewing a piece of her lunch unhurriedly. 

"It's not like the scores are gonna get up and run away." Tatsuo said with a smile. "Besides, if we go after we finish eating, it will be easier to see the scores, right?" 

Tatsuo then looked at Chiho and gestured at the top of Chiho's head with his hand. 

"You wouldn't be able to see over all those people, anyway, would you Chi-Chan?" Tatsuo asked in a teasing tone. 

"Don't make fun of me, Tatsu-Chan." Chiho shot back fiercely. 

Hearing that, Tatsuo froze. Then, he narrowed his eyes at Chiho. Meanwhile, Chiho could not help giggling when she saw Tatsuo's expression. Even Yakumo, whose expression did not change very often cracked a smile. 

"Okay, you win this round." Tatsuo said while shaking his head. "Anyway, we can go check out the scores after we finish eating." 

And that's exactly what the trio did. And while they were on their way to the bulletin board, they passed many students who were heading back to their classrooms after checking the scores. However, and they all noticed the strange glances they received from all those students. 

"Why were they looking at us like that?" Chiho asked curiously. 

"It's one of two things." Tatsuo replied. "Either because our scores were really good, or they were really bad." 

Chiho began shivering when she heard that, her anxiety shooting through the roof. 

Eventually, the trio arrived in the schools' lobby where the main bulletin board was located. And when they did, all the third-year students stared at them like rare animals in a zoo. 

While all the stares made Chiho nervous, Tatsuo and Yakumo were completely unbothered, as the trio walked closer to the board. 

"Well, that's about what I expected." Tatsuo muttered. 

"Yeah." Yakumo added. 

"Wha!" Chiho exclaimed. "I got twelfth place?" 

And that was precisely why everyone was staring at the trio. Tatsuo, despite only transferring into the school after the summer vacation, got first place in the grade. Yakumo came in second, her score only a few points behind Tatsuo's. And Chiho, who usually finished in the late twenties or early thirties, got the twelfth highest score in the grade.