The Sister and the Auntie

Gorou thought he saw it all. After all, he was the man who had a giant mutative lizard, a dog from outer space and a little dragon girl inside his home. Those are pretty out-of-the-world, right? So it's probably okay for him to think that.

Really, though, now he felt like a real idiot. If the entire world was a person, it was probably laughing at his dumb face because of the situation that he was in. And if there really were deities watching them, then they were probably laughing too.

Namely, the fact that he was now watching his exuberant son chatting rapidly at the six-feet-tall blue cat lady (…wow. That is a weird sentence to formulate in his head) and her niece, who looked a little more human but with what looked like goat feet and horns and snake-like hair. And her necklace… all of those look like eyeballs. Or maybe they are eyeballs.

Well. Shoot.

"Gorou, honey, tell me I'm dreaming."

"I mean, Issei looks really happy, so it might be."

Alas, they weren't simultaneously having a really lucid dream about their child being happy, because the sound of hooves on the floor approaching them has them aware that the smiling girl before them was indeed there in the flesh. Her eyes, a beautiful shade of lilac, held an ethereal glow that made it hard to look away from them.

"Greetings," even her voice was lovely. Very sweet and gentle. "So, you two are Issei's parents. Then that makes you my parents as well, doesn't it?"

"I, uh," he looked to Miki, who shrugged helplessly at him, then looked back at the girl. "I suppose, although that's rather sudden."

"Yes, even I think so too," she giggled. "Though I suppose that's something you must have gotten incredibly used to, considering the rest of our company."

Yes, she could definitely put it that way. Realizing that their dog was an alien and their daughter was a dragon was pretty shocking, but here they were. "Did Issei beg you to do this or something? Our son is bright, though he can be pretty excitable, so I'd understand if you were less than willing to deny him this."

"Ah, no. If anything, I could say that I was the one who did the begging," he shouldn't have surprised, but he was. And so was Miki. That was the last thing they expected. "Long story short, it was his presence that woke me up after my centuries-long slumber in the basement."

"Wait, basement? We have a basement?"

"You do now," she chuckled nervously. "Take note that it might be rather messy, so some cleaning would be necessary. Issei and I did some cleaning done earlier—in fact, we did that together the moment I woke up!"

What did that say about their son, whose priority in that situation wasn't trying to understand the surrealness of a basement appearing in their house or the monstrous lady showing out of nowhere, but instead cleaning it up? He really needed to give him a little present for that.

"So anyways, as he had woken me up, I was required to fulfil a request of his. It's sort of how we've established ourselves."

"And he requested you become his sister?"

"At first, he told me that he didn't need anything. I couldn't accept that, but of course, I couldn't grant his desire for world peace too," ah, what a sweet child. He's not even surprised that was the first thing he asked for. "Then he, um, told me about your family situation."

The nervousness in her tone was telling. Her eyes met Miki's when she said that, and now he understood. Well, he'd have to remind Issei later that he shouldn't just spill that story to everyone they meet. It's a private matter, and he doubted Miki would appreciate having everyone in the world know about her miscarriages.

Still, he understood that Issei didn't do that on purpose. He just didn't know better. Gorou'll just have to educate him on that later on.

"And, I suppose… Auntie Nyan saw through me," her smile softened. "She must have known that a part of me wanted to offer myself as his sister. I never said it out loud, but she probably knew."

"Yes, well, it's family that often knows us best," Miki nodded, smiling along. "And it's alright, dear. I'm not too bothered by the fact that you know about… that. So long as you don't go around telling people, that is. It'd be really bothersome if people kept prying."

"Yes, I understand."

"So. We have another daughter," despite her supposed reluctance and pretended bemusement, there was an underlying excitement in her tone that had him grinning along. "My goodness. This is… well, everything's happening so fast, I'm a little overwhelmed. And I suppose I have a new sister as well."

"It would seem that way, yes!"

"Pray tell, what is your name, dear? I may have missed it in the confusion earlier."

"Chiyo," the girl answered. "Issei came up with it, and I quite like it."

Hah. Then that makes it the second time he's ever named someone or something. He'd given Lucy her name, and now Chiyo? Talk about good naming sense.

Mister Lizard would be added to the list, but Six-eight-two was not too fond of that name. That might see an improvement in the future someday.

"So, I guess that makes you Chiyo Hyoudou now, huh?"

"That's quite an unorthodox-sounding combination, isn't it?"

"I like to think it's exquisite. And suitable for such a lovely young woman like you."

Chiyo, now their eldest daughter, giggled back. "Thank you. And since you'll call me Chiyo, I'll have to call you Mother and Father, don't I?"

"Is that okay, though? I mean, you might have parents of your own."

"She doesn't," the answer came from Nyanla…to… um, Auntie Nyan Nyan (her name is too hard to pronounce, as fitting of ancient space deities), who really had to bend her back a little to fit the house. "As far as I can tell, neither of us have any true familial relations. I call myself her aunt simply because I've been raising her for a very long time now, so we're relatively close."

Huh. Well, was that some kind of rule for deity-like beings out there? Ophis herself said she never had parents before, so could the same be said for everyone else too?

"So fret not over any issues of… legality or the like. We are more than happy to become a part of your family, if you would be willing to have us."

"Uhh. I mean, Issei looks happy enough, so I guess that's answer enough for us," he shrugged back, laughing. "Welcome to the Hyoudou household."

"Mm. Thank you. Many wonderful days are to come, I can tell."

"Mmhm… Oh, and putting that aside. Are you, uh, comfortable in that size of yours?"

"Oh, this?" She gestured to herself. "Don't worry. I am quite fine, though technically, I am not always this tall. Sometimes I'm taller, and other times I'm shorter. I have over a thousand forms, and I do prefer this one."

"Uh-huh. And you prefer being as tall as the ceiling, looking like a blue cat girl with an odd Egyptian motif?"

"Thirty-seven of my forms are, yes," huh. Guess she prefers it that way, then.

Well, that settles it. In just the span of a couple of minutes, he's got a new daughter and a sister—neither inhuman, to his initial surprise, and utterly deserving of an eyeroll in the end. At this point, he might assume that Issei was just a magnet for the strange.

…Wait a minute. Did he just jinx it?

What the Little Sister Thinks

Ophis was old. And that wasn't an attempt to insult the girl; it was just a statement of fact. Even she herself knew that she was the oldest in the family, despite her outward appearances.

Even so, she was relatively fine with fulfilling the role of the youngest child. And she would happily admit to enjoying being Issei's little sister, despite what some may assume. Sure, with her age she could technically be considered for having centuries' worth of wisdom and power…

But look. Life can go any way it wants, and she'd prefer her life this way. So there.

As it was, she had more or less come to terms with being Issei's only sibling. He had once told her about what happened to Mom, though simply because he trusted her with the knowledge, and not to claim pity. Even so, that was enough for her to be determined to be the best little sister he could have ever asked for.

Until today happened.

"So, you must be Ophis, right? Issei talked about you quite a bit."

There were no words that could do the young lady before her justice. She was as bewitching as one could be, and with a kind disposition that felt sisterly. At least, what Ophis feels an older sister should be like. She certainly had the looks and personality to match her new role.

She was also not blind to the almost otherworldly energy she seemed to exude; almost ancient, she would say, which wasn't an attack towards her age. Simply put, it felt like whatever she was, it had existed for eons, and that which was far more bone-chilling than it had any right to be. In that essence, both she and this… Chiyo were almost similar.

Too similar, in fact.

'She too has black hair,' she thought glumly. 'That's supposed to be my thing.'

To be fair, she understood that a lot of people in the world had black hair; that, alongside brown hair, was probably the most common hair colour types there is. There were also blondes, gingers and the occasional silverettes, but black was just a staple colour.

But that still didn't change the fact that this person was a little too similar to her. Even the shade of eyes is almost similar!

And there was the issue that Issei, right now, was beaming at her. And Ophis felt a surge of unknown emotion within her chest, practically clenching her jaw.

This woman had stolen her brother.

"It certainly will be quite the experience, to have two cute little siblings," she giggled, patting her on the head. Ophis wanted to shy away from her touch, but held herself back so to not seem rude in front of Issei. Her face instinctively soured, however. "Also, what do you call an older sibling?"

"Onee-san. That's for sister. Onii-san for brother."

"And what do I call you two?"

"You can just call us by our names," Issei said with a grin. "And we call you Chiyo Onee-san!"

The older girl 'Aww!'-ed in response, and Ophis rolled her eyes. Yes, her brother was adorable. She didn't have to make a big fuss about it.

"Then I'll be happy to be both of your Onee-san," Chiyo patted her chest, smiling proudly. "I'll be the best big sister you two could possibly ask for!"

"Yeah!"

Even as they cheered together, all that the little dragon could think of was how unfair things had gotten. She had thought that it was going to be just her and Issei all their lives, yet here was some other person deciding to butt in.

She kicked the floor. This would take some getting used to, wouldn't it..?

Among Outer Space Beings

Nyanlathotep stared into the eyes of the abyss, wondering just how deep it went. It hadn't been long that she got to be in space and been surrounded by pitch blackness for all hours, but to be doing so once more in the human world certainly felt interesting.

And how odder still that it would be when she was looking into the eyes of this cute dog.

Cute, and a whole other things; friendly, innocent and powerful, despite her unassuming appearance. She was panting with her tongue lolling out, looking at her with those friendly eyes that both charmed and intrigued her. Underlying this canine appearance was an ancient power not unlike hers and Chiyo's.

"Arf!"

"Yes, I can tell. In you is the blood of the ancient ones, just the same as I and my dear niece. Though it certainly is curious that you do not bear a similar level of… hmm, intelligence would be wrong to say. Clearly, you are very intelligent."

Lucy's response was to tilt her head, though there was no mistaking that for confusion. Considering all that she had seen this dog do thus far, this dog held a lot more intelligence than she should be given credit.

After all, what dog could go around helping a housewife with cooking? Although all that she did was go around using a tentacle to give her utensils like her knife and her pan, it was still enough that she could recognize what each item was and properly pass them to her.

"I suppose this is the form you've chosen to take. That is fine. It certainly will help you to blend in with the creatures of this world," she nodded. "If you do not mind, however, could you be troubled to show me your primordiality?"

Lucy yipped once more before her body enlarged inconsistently and her head split apart, tentacles sprouting outwards and waving lazily in the air. Multiple saw-like teeth lined the appendages, with eyes protruding from the flesh and staring at her. Upon closer inspection, she could even see barbed ends sticking out from the cavity lining.

Hmm. Yep, yep. Very similar to many of the ancient ones that she knew of. In fact, she'd be pretty similar to Chiyo a little. Or Cthulhu.

After Lucy retracted her transformation and left to continue helping Miki in the kitchen with dinner, she moved to the living room, where the rest of her family was. Issei was still excitedly chatting with Chiyo, who listened with a patient smile to all his exuberant stories. Beside him, Ophis sulked, though never obvious.

Nyanlathotep hummed in amusement. Even though she was just as ancient as they, she had certainly adopted a childish mindset well enough—and having her favourite sibling shifting his adoration towards someone else certainly rubs her the wrong way.

Ah well. She'll have time to grow out of that, she was sure. Siblings often do argue amongst themselves from time to time, but they'd always end up becoming so much closer in the end. Such is the natural beauty of siblinghood.

Just as she was about to approach the three Hyoudou children, she felt herself pause at the sight of a massive crocodile sitting on the floor, who was observing them with a watchful look. He made neither sound nor movement, and that was enough to perk her curiosity.

He eventually noticed her staring, his multitude of eyes swinging towards her. "What?"

A million things could have been said in that moment. Somehow, the words that ended up leaving her lips were: "You are a lizard."

"And you are apparently a powerful deity from beyond the stars, if your story is to be believed—which I do, considering all the insanity thus far. I doubt I am any stranger than you."

Touché. The gigantic cat lady hummed at his witty response. "Fair enough. I will concede the point. But I must say, I did not think it possible that my new little nephew somehow managed to adopt such a strange creature."

"I am most certainly not a part of this family," the oversized lizard groaned back, the many eyes closing. "Honestly… I've made my intentions to steer clear of them so obvious—and I've had to repeat myself countless of times. And yet, they're always inviting me to their abode for meaningless things. And this occasion is just one of them."

"And that would be?"

"The brat's birthday is coming soon, and they want me to partake in the celebration as well."

Ahh, so the boy was turning a new age soon? Then her and Chiyo joining the family definitely feels like a timely thing. More people to make the celebration more festive, she supposed.

Brushing her skirt, she looked at the beast once more. "Regardless, you are here, and I don't see you attempting to leave. You intend to join them no matter what, do you not?"

"Tsk. It's not like I can leave regardless. I can't magic a portal into existence and walk away if I want to."

His response left her surprised, her single eye widening a little. "Oh? Do you not possess any link to magic of any sorts? Not even the ancestral sorcery that our kind do?"

"I don't think I'm any similar to you, or Lucy, or your niece. I'm a little different; I'm more of a science experiment than some ancient monster, though even that I cannot say with full certainty. I have no memories of my early days."

"And you have no parents?"

"None that I remember. My earliest memory and my days up until recently had only ever been contained to a facility and experimented on by scientists. I was freed recently by some mysterious force, and the dragon child found me by chance, and she brought me here one time. The rest is history."

"What is your home like?"

"It is a rainforest. At least, I believe it to be so, and it is someplace I am uncertain. I know that this town is in Japan, but that forest does not strike me as the kind of forest you'd find in Japan… Regardless, it's incredibly peaceful, and my days there are spent with nary a bother," his tone sounded relaxed, at odds with his characteristic grumpiness. "Until the dragon brings me here against my will, of course."

Despite his words, however, there isn't any kind of hatred in his tone towards the prospect. Perhaps he'd unconsciously grown fond of the family here, which wouldn't be surprising in itself; after all, Issei was such a delightful little boy, and that was thanks to the way his parents had raised him. They proved to be just as amiable.

A chuckle slipped past her lips. "Well, you don't plan to escape in any way or form, do you?"

He scoffed back. "Like that would work. That dragon child could simply warp me back here. Plus, where would I even go? There's a risk that I may be spotted and transported back to the facilities. I'd choose anything over there."

"And that includes these lovely people, yes?"

"Don't push it. Ancient as you may be, I'm not above doing something all of us will regret if you continue with your wit."

Nyanlathotep allowed him to have the final say of things, though she did end up with a chuckle. His soul radiated with hatred and severe desire for the destruction of mankind, yet not a single shred of that was aimed at the Hyoudou's. If anything, he seemed calm around them. More at peace than anything else.

And what a good thing that is. Issei was obviously fond of him, despite his own personality and the things he say, so at least they were able to get along to some extent.

"Well then, let's get working on our little one's birthday celebration, shall we?"

"…You lot can plan it. I won't do anything."

"Six-eight-two!" Miki's voice hollered from the kitchen. "Can you go check up on Issei? And hand him his towel. I left it on the table in the living room. He went to his room to take a bath with Lucy."

"Yeah, yeah," even despite his grumbles, he didn't hesitate at all to lumber over to the living room, extending a tentacle from his back and picking up the towel. He proceeded to climb the stairs afterwards, adjusting his body's weight to make the ascent easier.

Hmm. She had a feeling that the Japanese had a term to describe these kinds of people or beings; those who put on a very tough front before all people, but act nice to them regardless, especially with their loved ones. And they're always abashed when they get figured out.

Tsun-tsun, was it? So Six-eight-two is tsun-tsun. Yes. That sounds just about right.

Six-eight-two, who'd just reached outside of the brat's door, felt oddly annoyed all of a sudden. Issei just cheered at seeing him as always, and Lucy yipped happily.

Seven Years, and More to Come

There was something to take into account when it came to humans, and that was the fact that they loved inventing all kinds of festivities, celebrations and the like for everyone to enjoy.

Granted, most of them do have tie-ins to historical and religious moments; Independence Day, Labour Day and Christmas. The little country in the east, Malaysia if she wasn't mistaken, had just as many holidays to celebrate the important religions and moments of all of its races, demonstrating a respect for all and such more.

There were also little things like this, too. Perhaps a celebration of a couple's anniversary together, or the passing of an important figure, or—as today would make it—the birth of an individual, aptly named a 'Birthday'.

Sixteenth of April. Issei Hyoudou, now truly seven, stood on a chair before the dining table and stared at the delectable treat before him. Seven candles arranged in a circle, their bright glow casting an orange hue upon his face. Surrounding him were all of his family, which would have been a heartwarming notion to just about everyone else were it not for the surrealness of it.

After all, the sight was… well, it was something alright. To his left was his little sister, Ophis Hyoudou, the dragon of the abyss. To his right was his newest sister and her own niece, Chiyo, who watched her new little brother with such an attentive and warm gaze. Opposite of him was his parents, Gorou having a camera recording the moment, and Nyanlathotep stood right beside her human sister, with Lucy and Six-eight-two nearby as well.

The average person would say that this would be the strangest sight of all. But Nyanlathotep did not pay the notion any mind. Rather, all she could think of now was the look of sheer joy on the little boy's face.

"Happy Birthday to Isseiii~!" Everyone was singing, herself included. "Happy Birthday to you!"

"Make a wish!"

Brown eyes fell shut, almost in focus, before they revealed themselves once more when he drew in a breath and extinguished the little flames with one great blow.

All but one, which he promptly put out with two quick breaths.

"And Issei is now seven!" Chiyo clapped fervently alongside everyone else. Lucy opted to bark cheerfully, while Six-eight-two nodded his head. Hah. Silly reptile.

"I guess I am!" He chirped, hands on his hips. "And now, I say we should start eating the cake!"

"I agree," Ophis readily followed-up, a glint in her eyes. "It's time for cake."

"Time for cake!"

"Now, now. You know that there's no eating done unless you've washed your hands," Miki chided softly, and with a little grin of her own. "So did you?"

"Nope!" How the boy easily admitted that without any hesitation was certainly impressive. He carefully hopped down his seat and rushed off to the sink, Ophis in tow.

"No running, children!"

"Arf! Arf!"

"Rather lively this year is," Gorou commented, laughing all the while. "Last year had only been the three of us and three other people. And now, we've got eight people? Man!"

"It certainly makes things more fun," the other Hyoudou said with a chuckle. "A good thing we made extra of everything, huh? It would've been bad if we'd gone short."

"Don't worry, Mother! We can finish all of this together!"

Nyanlathotep had no doubt about that. As beings of immaculate power, they could eat as much as they wanted to without needing to worry about ever getting full. The same could likely be said for Six-eight-two, who could willingly adjust his body metabolism to fit his needs, as well as Lucy.

Ophis? Probably the same. But she had a feeling that such would only apply for all the sweet things in the world, which (fortunate for her) made up half of everything on the table today.

The cake was obviously the centrepiece, of which Miki had baked it together with Lucy's and Chiyou's help—the girl had been utterly ecstatic to use that opportunity to bond with the woman, though her lack of experience in the kitchen had made things awkward for her and she'd made some mistakes along the way. The dog was far more intelligent and adept, making sure the process went well throughout.

There was also a bowl of spaghetti, some cut fruits and servings of berries, and even shaved ice. The jug of freshly-squeezed orange juice certainly looked tantalizing, and she had no doubt the children would be interested in the tub of cotton candy.

"I guess it's time to start eating."

"Might as well. Would be a shame to let all of this go to waste."

"That, won't happen. All of this will be done by the end of the day."

"Just for today, children," Gorou chuckled nervously. "I honestly feel like my arteries are clogging up from all the sugar I can see."

"Best work it off with some exercise then," Nyan snickered back. "Now then, come, Issei. Let your Auntie Nyan Nyan give the birthday boy a slice of cake."

"Okay! Thank you!"

"Me too, please."

Today, Issei turned seven. That left many more birthdays to come, and that certainly seemed a fun prospect for his parents. And as his new auntie, she'd definitely love to be a part of them all.

The Hyoudou Household was filled with much laughter and joy that afternoon.

Author's Notes:

A little shorter than the usual. Getting back into the swing of things.

So hey, hello! Been some time since I updated; had two weeks of exams, and I was done with them. Now I've got a month for a holiday, and you know that I'm going hardcore on all the gaming I missed.

Looking to finish the Fire Emblem Engage DLC, play Final Fantasy XVI and Street Fighter 6, and game out a lot on other things. And definitely write a lot more stories to pass the time, because that addiction hadn't left my bones. And definitely do some other things to pass the time as well.