It was supposed to be a typical day. Just staying in the house, helping Nana out of self-obligation, and making sure my power is slowly recharging itself like normal. Even waking up Tsunayoshi from his bed if we weren't sleeping in the same bed together. That was all. And- it wasn't by choice to sleep in his bed. That feeling of fear melted away, oddly, like I knew it was going to be alright when we slept together. I can't explain it, but I don't accept it often either. I sleep in my room most of the time and endure that feeling that seems to consume me, but today… Today I was downstairs eating breakfast and Nana seemed happy.
Well, it wasn't like it affected me at the moment, but seeing the time, Nana told me to go and wake up Tsunayoshi. Simply nodding my head, I went up the stairs to go and wake him up, sighing softly at the sight of the messy room. Right, this was supposed to be my older brother. Family… When I think about it, I don't have one. I never had one. The only thing that was important was fulfilling my purpose of protecting time, and keeping time moving. So I definitely won't accept anything but punctuation when it comes to getting up on time.
"Aniki. Wake up." I took the pillow from underneath Tsunayoshi and smacked him on the face a couple of times until he shrieked and woke up. There was sometimes the daily debate of whether he was a boy or a girl but at the moment… I couldn't care less. "You're going to be late for school."
"AAH!? What time is it!?" Tsunayoshi exclaimed, looking at the clock while panicking before realizing I woke him up early so he wouldn't be late. "Thank you, Saiko-chan."
"Don't worry about it. Just go get ready," I replied, turning away and heading out the door with a plastic bag filled with his trash. "Are you really sure you're the older one? Your bedroom is always messier than mine." I wasn't waiting for a reply or anything, so I left downstairs with the bag of trash, throwing it in the garbage. A typical day… until I sensed that strange presence. What was that? It felt like…
There was a crash noise, and I looked out of the kitchen to see Tsunayoshi on the ground. Of course, he must have fallen down the stairs, but then there was that… baby. With the yellow pacifier. 'An Arcobaleno? Here? Why?' I could only speculate about the appearance of this baby while Nana went to see what the commotion was about. His name was Reborn. Of course. I've met him once before during the Fated Day when they were all turned into arcobalenos. He shouldn't recognize me in my child form, but I had to be careful. Still, so long as I act like the average child, I can continue to regain my strength and move on.
But Reborn certainly was no joke. I can sense his power, even watching as Tsunayoshi was easily beaten up. Certainly no surprise. However, I suppose it was time to interfere for a bit. I walked over to Tsunayoshi, glancing at Reborn for a moment. "Aniki, you're going to be late for school."
He immediately sat up while panicking, going to get ready for school and rushing out the door. He's usually slow, but it's almost amazing how quickly for school he can get. I looked at Reborn before looking at Nana. "Mama," it still felt weird to call her that, "do I have to be tutored too?"
Nana was just strangely happy, giving me the choice. Of course, I wouldn't want to be tutored and didn't accept it. So I just walked off to go and play like usual, but mostly to go and visit the shrine. "I'm going out to play, Mama."
Namimori is rather peaceful. There rarely are big events, though there are scum-of-the-earth people like the yakuza and scammers. I don't get myself involved in those things anymore. Unlike then, I'm simply an observer to these times. Just like now as I stand at the shrine, one that is surprisingly being taken care of. The shrine to the Guardian of Time, me. "...So I've not been lost in time yet." I never expected to be worshipped. I was just doing my duty. That's all it was. Yet…
"Ah, young one. Have you come to pray?" I looked over at the elderly grandma who came and placed some fruits and incense in front of my statue, long hit with weather and rather worn. "Do you know the story? They call it Time. Long ago, Time was born, but not as the world thought. Time was not intangible, but a thing that moved along through the universe. However, time could not be controlled, flowing freely without care. A power so great, but in danger because time had no body, and was all scattered about. That is why the gods placed time inside of a body to call it's own."
A legend. One that I couldn't confirm myself. I was 10th generation Time, many bodies before me were unable to handle the strain and begged for the power to be passed on. But I didn't dare interrupt the story, simply looking up at the statue. "Time fought to protect order and keep time flowing. If anyone tried to mess or stop time, it was there to stop them, fighting for the people. That is when the keepers of time were born. A group who worshipped time, aiding in her battles to keep history flowing. But the guardians became greedy."
"They tried to control Time. Feed it information that would aid them. And it fought till the day it found out the truth. When it did, Time disappeared from the eyes of the people, no longer trusting humans. The sins of us drove away a warrior, but it still watched over us. Slowly, people forgot about the legend that protects us even to this day. The warrior is known as Time…" I finished, looking at the grandmother. "You're a descendant of them. The Keepers of time, right, grandma?"
"What a smart child. Yes, I am the last of my generation. I pray to this statue every day as an offering to what we had done to a god who was selfless, bound by duty to the universe and its people." The old grandma laughed, and I turned away, starting to walk. "Child, what do you think? Many don't believe that time is anything but an object that we cannot touch. It passes by every day, and we don't think much of it. In this day and age, all we do is try to manipulate time and control it."
I scoffed, glancing back and at her, leaving a message before I went onwards to "home".
"Time is always moving, so long as it keeps on flowing. It will never be controlled."