FanFiction.Net
Just In
Community
Forum
V
More
Mushoku Tensei: Brotherhood by KazuPhoenix
Anime » Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Rated: T, English, Adventure & Drama, Rudeus Greyrat, Sylphiette, Eris Boreas Greyrat, OC, Words: 502k+, Favs: 94, Follows: 105, Published: Sep 5, 2025 Updated: Apr 10
102Chapter 1
AN: Yet again, I've been bugged for days on days about a fanfiction concept. Of course, this wouldn't be the first instance of a "self-insert brother of Rudeus", but I felt like giving my own shot at it. This will be a 3 chapter promotional release but this story is completely a work in progress. I just want to get this down on paper before it messes up with my studies any further. You can find my story also in Fanfiction, where I'll be posting more frequently there. I hope you enjoy this story!
Note (10-7-25): Minor tweaks/edits in first 3 chapters
Note (11-26-25): Even more edits
Note (12-13-25): yet more edits
Note(03-22-26): So much editing...
Mushoku Tensei: Brotherhood
Chapter 1
I never thought myself to be a bad person, nor have I ever thought myself to be a good person.
In my own eyes, I believe myself to be just a normal guy trying to do the best he can in his life… or, at least I feel like I'm doing the best I can.
Being the youngest of my siblings, I was pretty oblivious to the troubles in my family for a long time. In fact, for a while, I thought my family was the pinnacle of what anyone would consider a family.
My siblings were all prosperous prodigies, each with a stable career in their lives, and my parents themselves were what you'd consider modern day nobility.
I guess this is where I got a bit of my pride from. Maybe a bit too much pride than what should be considered normal... considering I didn't have anything worth speaking of myself—other than maybe my achievements in football.
But that ideology of mine all changed once I began to learn the ugliness behind the curtains.
Eventually, I came to realize that the house I grew up in wasn't actually our family's home. It was my eldest brother's home, who—through agreement with my parents—decided I'd be raised away from the main house.
In other words, I basically grew up with my nieces and nephews. Isn't that something?
Why, exactly, was that the case? I didn't figure this out until I listened more on the adult conversations, and dug in a bit deeper in my family's history.
My curiosity eventually brought me to the discovery of a fourth sibling I never knew about.
He wasn't really that much older than me compared to my older siblings. There was just a seventeen year age gap… which, compared to thirty plus years, didn't seem that big.
Yeah, my parents somehow had me at an old age—however that worked.
The first reason as to why I never knew about this brother of mine is because of the fact that he was a NEET. A total shut-in. He dropped out of high school and never took up a job, simply leeching off from my parent's mercy.
Of course, it was no surprise that I had negative thoughts about it at first. I thought to myself, why would you ruin your life like this? What do you get from locking yourself away from reality?
Maybe it was these questions that made me more curious about him than what was advised by my family.
Was it sympathy? Empathy? Initially, I don't think it was either of those. I believed it was like a... morbid curiosity—as emotionless as that sounded.
I just wanted to get a grasp as to how someone could fall into such a state, especially in my family of all people—a household that I've always thought of as being the role model of a perfect family. And so I began to dig into my brother's past, starting with some simple questions to my parents… which were rather instantly redirected towards my siblings.
Apparently, he had been a victim to bullying at his school; constantly being mocked and pushed around. My brothers had said it was due to him being overweight, though my sisters also pointed towards his crass personality.
I wasn't oblivious to what bullying was like, as I've seen it before many times at school. In fact, there were a few instances where I was almost the victim of bullying myself; but I had enough of a backbone to ward those threats away.
Maybe my NEET brother just didn't have as much of a backbone in his case.
But I think what really started to make me sympathize with him was just how far the bullying went. My siblings had explained his predicament to me, but they had been vague—even throwing in some of their own biased opinions, such as how he "was always a half-assed bandwagoner" or how he "lived the life of a snobbish pig."
And to top it all off, they insisted I stopped trying to involve myself with him, and it was best to act as if he didn't exist.
That… that genuinely shook me.
Why should I forget about my own sibling? How… how could we be so cruel like that?
I felt like there had to be more to this—like a turning point that had caused him to permanently drop out. Sure enough, after a bit of digging, I eventually began to uncover some old online posts that hadn't been deleted—all of which entailed my NEET brother.
I don't think I had ever been so shocked in my life until that point.
My family, once thought to be glamorous and successful, now had a very noticeable blemish—that of which being my NEET brother. Bullied, humiliated, and isolated… words that before I could never even fathom correlating to anyone in my family...
...but now they could.
Someone in my family was at the lowest of their life, and it was an ever present wound that nobody seemed to want to close.
Discovering all of this had been so overwhelming to me that I had decided to drop my curiosity for a while—trying to resume back to my usual life of school, soccer practices, and figuring out my relationship with that one girl.
But really… I couldn't actually go back to normal. The revelation clung to me like a parasite; an afterthought that never left the back of my mind.
Somebody close to me was suffering. I didn't really know him, nor have I actually met him in person, but that didn't really matter to me.
He was family—my own sibling—and I had to come to the terms that I wasn't going to continue living in peace unless I did something. Because, clearly, it seemed that nobody else wanted to.
Our first interaction was… awkward, to say the least. I didn't think anyone could live such a filthy lifestyle, and I can't lie and say it didn't make me feel repulsed for a while.
But… I sort of understood why he let himself get to that point. Even from the way his eyes moved, I could see his utter loss of motivation.
He was truly at his lowest, and… it hurt. It hurt to see someone like that, and not just some stranger.
Maybe that was my own morals speaking, but I feel like that was the one reason why I ever bothered to keep visiting him.
I was pretty careful with how I talked to him. At first, it was rare to even get a word out of him, but I kept speaking to him nonetheless.
Frankly speaking, I had no reason to talk to this brother—much less take on the role of a therapist—but... I just did... and it worked out eventually.
Soon enough, he started to give me his own two pieces, which would then sometimes go on to full blown conversations. It's a good thing I was also an enthusiast of anime… though, I'd have to admit that he certainly had some questionable tastes.
My family soon began to notice my frequent visits to my brother, and it led to a bit of an awkward conversation with my parents—who were really trying to convince me not to speak to him. I tried to convince otherwise, but the conversation was heading down a path I didn't really want to take, so I did what any normal kid would do and listened to my parents…
...to some extent.
Fortunately, I got my brother's line long before that awkward sit-down, so it wasn't like we had completely disconnected from each other. I would still visit when the time was given, anyways.
For a moment, I really thought my brother was getting better. He didn't seem all that bad of a person, and the more I learnt about him, the more I found him to actually be pretty smart and funny.
I think it helped that it was generally easy to talk to him, too.
His room got cleaner, too—maybe out of courtesy of my visits—and he actually decided to take my tips on his self-grooming. He was still overweight, but compared to how I first saw him, he was much better.
It… this sort of made me a bit proud of myself. I know, that's quite a selfish thing to say, but... I was really making a difference to someone who was viewed as irredeemable—even if by a small margin.
At that time, there truly felt like was a sense of hope for my brother…
…
…until he had to do that of all things…
It was nighttime—a cool autumn night.
With a simple gray jacket over my mourning garb, I stood leaning against the wall outside my family's house, a dull gaze lingering at the stray vehicles that would pass by every now and then, or lingering at the humming buzz of the street lamp.
I hadn't been to this home in a while… some months, to be honest. I'm not sure why I even bothered to come here; I had no reason to, and frankly I didn't want to either.
But, with what had happened today… and what was going to happen… I figured it was only natural I had to come.
Eventually, the muffled yelling in the house grew louder, and the front door burst open. My siblings, led by my oldest brother, with furious scowls, roared a storm of outrage and exhausted irritation as they threw my NEET brother across the curb.
He stumbled, disoriented from a body foreign to exercise, and landed face first on the sidewalk, not too far off from where I stood. My family, seemingly done with him, returned back inside, probably to start clearing out his room in the least thoughtful way imaginable.
For my part, I stared down at my brother, who laid still for a moment before struggling to get up.
"...f-fuck them all…"
My eyes narrowed, and my fists gripped in my jacket. For as pitiful as he was, I couldn't bring myself to find sorrow… not as much sorrow as I would've given before.
It had been some talk between everyone for a while now that my NEET brother was going to be officially disowned, and… well, I hadn't really shown any resistance to the idea.
The moment our parents passed away, the plan was in action. He had it coming one way or another.
Eventually, he got up to his feet, struggling to adjust his dirty clothes. It looks like my brothers did a heavy beating on him. He hadn't even been given the chance to put on his shoes.
Amidst his sorry state of silent grumbles, his tear-soaked eyes eventually reached mine, and through his cracked glasses I could see a wave of conflicted emotions.
"S-Souta…?"
"...hey, nii-san," I gave a smileless nod, not really wanting to talk to him but still offering the courtesy. "...looks like this is it, huh?"
He stared at me wordlessly before a click rang from his mouth, his feet padding across the cold concrete as he stumbled into a walk past me. I watched him wordlessly walk off before sighing to myself with some exasperation.
"...what are you going to do now, nii-san?"
"Don't act like you care anymore," he shot back with a harsh tone. "You left like they all did, and I know that you were also a part of this."
I frowned, walking up to pace with him. I guess I really did care in the end.
"You should know why this is happening, nii-san. Don't play dumb."
"And don't you fucking lecture me!" He snapped, turning his head at me with an enraged look. In his current state, I really couldn't take any of it seriously. "I've already had enough putting up with the shit everyone says! Don't act like you know anything, because none of you do! Fuck off already!"
"..."
I didn't give an immediate retort. He had a point; nobody could really understand what was going on in his mind, much less could we ever fathom being in his shoes.
But, even then… there were lines you should never cross, even when you were at your lowest. He had crossed many of those lines... and there was no way they could be forgiven so easily.
"...I'm probably the closest person that does know anything about you, nii-san," I muttered, slow and deliberate. Then, involuntarily, I felt my teeth clench as my own anger surged.
"...but knowing about your suffering doesn't give you any leeway for what you did. It gives you none!"
Memories of many months prior flashed in front of my eyes. The unwanted memories of me walking into my parent's house, only to discover first-hand of my brother's bastardly ploy on our niece...
...our own niece, for heaven's sake!
So sickening were these memories that my mouth tasted nothing but sour bitterness... and it was a wonder why I even kept bothering with this low-life.
Yet, despite these regurgitating feelings, I did not walk away. Despite the unforgivable acts my brother committed, I still found myself walking by his side.
"I..." He began, though his voice trailed off. For once, as I looked at my brother's face, it looked like my words finally went through.
For a moment, I felt a small hint of gladness. I was glad that, despite everything, deep down there was a hint of humanity in him to see his flaws.
I hadn't been rolling the boulder up the hill just for it to go flying down.
He went quiet for a while, his anger dwindling down to something akin to helplessness. Really, he has always been helpless.
"...this was bound to happen whether I had done that or not."
"...what?"
My nose flared, a scowl formed on my face so deep it could've frightened my usual self.
"You can't even feel a bit of fucking humiliation?! What sort of twisted fuck are you?!"
"And there you go… ending up just like the others, Souta—"
"I have to! It has to get in your head, nii-san! That was our own niece you were… you were—"
"Souta…" he muttered, gazing into my eyes with the same dead eyes that I saw in our first meeting. It was like we were back to square one.
"I'm not blind to what I have done… where my life has gone… but at this rate… I don't care anymore. I'm at a point where I can never recover the time I've lost… what difference does it make if I had done it or not?"
I swallowed, gripping my fist tighter.
"...no… it does make a difference. You… it doesn't mean you had to stoop that low, nii-san..."
Why was I even continuing this conversation? I know that this wasn't going anywhere... we were beyond that point now.
"...for goodness sake... I thought we were getting somewhere. Don't you remember those talks we had? We were looking online and found some gigs you could do. Graphic design, right? 3D modeling? You could've gone somewhere with that… instead of…"
"That wouldn't have gone anywhere, Souta. I'm not that much of an artist… and there are others better than me."
"Yet it was still something! For once, you were beginning to have a sense of value, right?!"
"..."
I exhaled loudly, knitting my brows in frustration.
It enraged me, truly, what he had done all those months ago… but it enrages me even more in his lack of emotion. Of how absent he is of remorse and empathy.
From everyone that has ever spoken to this brother of mine, I was the one making progress. I was helping him, and it felt like we were getting somewhere.
But… but I guess I never truly understood him. We never truly went beyond square one. Maybe grazing the borders, sure, but any second we'd plummet back to the start... like we did now
He'd taken on dark interests—things I couldn't even fathom to understand—and he probably had them long before we met. It was disgusting… but I guess that's just where loneliness could take you…
We walked in silence thereafter. With no reason, I decided to just walk with him. After all, once we part, I don't think I would ever see him again.
We legally weren't even considered family anymore… but, even so, I couldn't bring myself to leave that easily. I guess I was pretending to be more of a saint than I actually was, or maybe I really did think there was still hope in him...
...
...no… I don't think... I know.
He still had opportunities… his future was bleak, but he had a future. The problem is just that I can't decide what he chooses in the end.
Eventually, it began to rain, and it started to rain hard. I didn't have an umbrella with, so I instead used my hood.
My brother didn't have anything to protect himself from the rain. For a moment, I considered offering him my jacket, but the one thing that stopped me was the fact that it wasn't his size.
We eventually reached a park not far away from the train station. More like a small patch of grass, really, but those were empty details.
Suddenly, there was a commotion on the crosswalk in front of us between a girl and a guy. Next to them was another guy who was trying to mitigate the argument, but was failing in the process.
They looked to be about my age, though I couldn't quite see from all this rain. Were those piercings? I really couldn't tell.
"...your classmates?" my brother asked out of the whim.
I shook my head. "...no."
"Hm…"
The boy and girl in question—a couple, perhaps—seemed to be arguing heatedly. It sort of reminded me of the arguments my parents had in the past—arguments I didn't know would be about my brother until much later.
This wasn't giving me a good feeling.
'...that voice... is it the rain, or is that...'
'...'
'...no... that wouldn't make any sense... I think I'm just hearing things...'
Well, regardless of what this argument is about, it wasn't the wisest decision to have it in the middle of the crosswalk...
VRM VRRRRR
...and, sure enough, the worst came to bear.
"...!"
My brother and I stared in shock as the bright headlights of a truck made the corner, speeding towards the unsuspicious trio.
"Oh, shi—!?"
Just as I spoke, my brother was already in action—his form gone from my side.
'W-What in the world...?!'
I watched with wide, shocked eyes as he began to run towards the teens. Stumbling as he was without shoes, he was putting in remarkable speeds for someone in his weight class—and with no hesitation in his step.
For a moment, I stood frozen in bewilderment, but I quickly came to realize his intentions. Whether or not out of my own free will, I found myself in a sprint as well—chasing after him.
"W-Wait, nii-san! Wait!"
Everything seemed to happen in an instant. I gave chase to my brother, able to catch up with him, but we were already on the road. His large hands gripped onto the closest teen, throwing them away from the path of the honking truck.
The other two, frozen in confused stupor, were shoved away.
It was amazing how my brother was able to pull such an athletic feat out of nowhere, but it left him completely alone at the mouth of the beast. I think what really pushed me further, though, was the fear of seeing my own brother's death… or really, anyone's death at the moment.
I didn't think that any thoughts were going through my mind at the moment. In a rather foolish attempt, I leapt forward with all my strength, hopeful to push both of us out of the way in my own attempts of heroics.
But it was too late, and everything went black.
Buena Village, Fittoa Region, Asura Kingdom
"...so we really did have twins…"
Zenith Greyrat chuckled, gazing up at Paul with a tired yet exasperated smile. "I've been telling you for months now, dear. A woman's intuition is always right, after all~"
"I guess that's true… your belly was a bit larger than most other pregnant women I've seen," Paul Greyrat laughed, taking a seat beside his bedded wife.
His comment received a deadpanned look from Zenith, who curled a suspicious brow.
"Is that right…?"
The man was quick to regret his choice of words, a cold sensation running down his back.
"...h-honey, I-I didn't mean it like that…!"
"Hm, if you say so…"
There was an amused glint in her eyes, one that turned loving when her gaze fell down to the twin bundles in her husband's arms.
"...they're our precious sons, Paul. What should we name them?"
Paul's gaze fell down to their newborns as well, an overwhelming sense of pride flooding his form. He grinned down at the infants' dazed, oddly confused expressions.
"Well, I already had thought about naming our first son Rudeus, but I didn't give much thought to our second son…"
"Oh, then perhaps Darius?" Zenith suggested almost instantly with a beaming smile. "I think that would be a lovely name!"
Paul nodded, seemingly on board with his wife's suggestion.
"Alright, sounds good to me! Rudeus and Darius Greyrat… I can already see them growing into fine swordsmen!"
Zenith let out a small laugh, lightly placing a hand on Paul's shoulder.
"Why, we shouldn't forget to have a mage in our household as well~"
"Of course, our daughters will be wonderful mages," Paul grinned, cupping his wife's cheek. Gently, he pressed his lips on hers. A muffled whimper escaped Zenith's mouth before she placed a hand on his chest, weakly pushing him back.
"Dear… I just gave birth, you know…"
"...c'mon, Zenny. You know I wouldn't… not right now…"
"With a track record like yours, it's hard to believe that," she giggled, placing a kiss on his cheek, "but… once I'm recovered, I'm expecting much work from you~"
A very questionable grin formed on Paul's face, something akin to that of a feral beast. He pulled her alongside the twins into a family hug, though his hands and words lacked the innocence of the scene.
"...hehe… you know I'll be keeping you real busy~"
Unbeknownst to the two new parents were the pair of morbidly disturbed and morbidly interested gazes that came from their newborns.
It looked like a quiet life wasn't going to happen anytime soon in this small family.
Ch 1 of 62 Next »
Review
Jump:
Share: Email . Facebook . Twitter
Story: Follow Favorite
Author: Follow Favorite
Contrast: Dark . Light
Font: Small . Medium . Large . XL
Twitter . Help . Sign Up . Cookies . Privacy . Terms of ServiceFanFiction.Net
Just In
Community
Forum
V
More
Mushoku Tensei: Brotherhood by KazuPhoenix
Anime » Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Rated: T, English, Adventure & Drama, Rudeus Greyrat, Sylphiette, Eris Boreas Greyrat, OC, Words: 502k+, Favs: 94, Follows: 105, Published: Sep 5, 2025 Updated: Apr 10
102Chapter 2
AN: Hey, thanks for your continued reading! To be honest, I personally think the last chapter was not too bad! Wasn't too crazy but it's starting somewhere. What do you think of Souta? I know that Rudeus is nameless in his old life, but it would be difficult if I also kept my OC nameless as well. But going forward, you'll be seeing more "Darius" than "Souta" for obvious reasons. I'll try to make this chapter interesting… and the plot in general… I hope you enjoy!
Note (10-7-25): Minor edits/fixes
Note (03-22-26): More edits
Mushoku Tensei: Brotherhood
Chapter 2
One month later…
I wouldn't necessarily consider myself religious, but I wouldn't say that I was not a believer of the supernatural either.
Heaven, hell, limbo, kami, majins, shinigami, and likes… I had a hunch that those all weren't just empty talk. My family was also a mixture between firm believers and non-believers, so I understood both sides of the picture.
With all of that came the idea of reincarnation. Personally, I didn't really see it as anything more than a fictional escape for most people… which, with an analogy like that, would beg to question my own level of faith.
But… honestly… I've been questioning everything for the past month.
I… I've tried to delude myself as to what happened after that day, but with each waking moment it became clear that I could no longer overlook the fact that I had died. I don't know what exactly happened, or what happened to everyone else at the time, but the one thing I'm certain of is that I had died.
My life, gone away at the sweet age of seventeen…
…yeah, I really wasn't sure of how to react.
I was in shock. One moment, I was walking with my depressed brother, and the next I'm dead… and, by both confirming and denying my own beliefs, reincarnated. Something that I once thought as simply an overused trope in entertainment media now being my current situation.
And it wasn't like I was reborn a grown man. I was literally a newborn, and like any other newborn I had all the strength of a tissue paper.
My limbs were not in my control, and my bladder could rival a water sprinkler with how spontaneous I'd piss myself. All of these elements, adding to the disorientation of my mind, made me quite the crybaby in all senses.
Really, what else could I do? I was so lost in confusion, hurt, anger, and confliction that I simply allowed my instincts to take hold of me. I guess that was expected of a baby, anyways.
The only true comfort I found was from my mother… new mother. The beautiful blonde woman who wouldn't hesitate for a moment to stuff me full with her bosom and sing me soothing lullabies I couldn't understand.
It… as embarrassing as it is for me to admit, her nursing was certainly a helpful remedy.
And speaking of the future… I wasn't sure what was going to happen from now on. I lost everything from my old life and I'm now forced to relive a new one. It… it's so boggling, so unfair... and I was just forced to accept it.
There truly didn't seem to be any redo button…
…
…but… I've wept for too long already. I… I have to come to terms with this, or I might just live a terrible life.
In fact, I should even be rejoicing. I get another chance in life… and that's not something that was guaranteed, whether I had faith or no.
As much as I'd rather not take it, this was a bittersweet gift that I needed to embrace; and unless I wanted to spiral down into a pit of depression, I had to wake up and take it all like a man.
I've already seen what happened to someone when they completely gave up… and I didn't want to fall down the same path.
So, yeah. From now on, I needed to stop crying. I died, and now I was given a new life to live.
Souta was no more, and now... I was whoever I am. I just had to man up and accept it…
...
...
…
…which might turn out to be quite difficult, because I think I just shat my pants again…
'gosh dammit…'
Five month later, Rudeus POV
You know, despite the fact that I was a literal infant, this new life hasn't been all that bad.
In fact, while I had been disdainful about it at first, I'm actually starting to like being a baby. Seriously—I don't remember the last time I was ever offered a pair of tits so willingly… or, better yet, the last time I was ever near a set of real, warm, grippy, and bouncy tits!
Or, even more than all of that, I don't remember the last time I was ever near such a beautiful woman like this blonde chick!
Hah, it goes without saying, but life has been a total blast!
...
…
…well… probably not a total blast...
Okay, the tit play was fun and all, but the only drawback I've had—aside from my restricted movement—was that I had to share my special nursing with my new twin brother.
Mhm, yep—of course. When life seemed to be taking a better turn, there just had to be a curveball thrown right into it.
This couldn't have been a solo reincarnation, could it? I already had a tough time with siblings in my past life…
...no, tough was being too soft. I had a fucking horrible time, and now I'm yet again forced to deal with the same issue—that of having siblings!
And he was really fucking annoying… wouldn't go a single hour without wailing a storm of tears. Even I don't do that much crying… and we're the same age!
'Stupid baby… why couldn't you be a girl or something? I'd be more tolerable in that case.'
Well, all that aside, I've been learning how to walk again—a lot quicker than my new crybaby of a brother, and probably a lot quicker than what was considered normal for a baby. You see, unlike his sorry self, I planned to make the best of this new life—and I was going to do it to the fullest!
Once I could get a better grasp of walking, a whole door of opportunities—literally speaking—would grace me, and I'd finally be able to explore this two-story house more thoroughly than how I could by just crawling.
And as a plus, I even get to see that busty maroon-haired maid more often… kekeke.
I've yet to get a grasp on the language of this place, but I'm slowly getting there. Then, soon enough, I'll be able to learn the names of everyone in this house—especially the names for this pair of warm marshmallows.
But until then, I—
"Uwa-uwaaaaah!"
'...oh, for crying out loud! Could you pull a pair already?!'
Four months later, Darius POV
It's been a year now since being reborn as a child to this new family.
There wasn't really a big celebration about it, and I wasn't all that surprised to be honest—considering that I know most cultures don't celebrate a child's birthday this early. I've heard it was an old practice, but it's whatever I guess.
If anything, it really set in stone that I was no longer in Japan... or any related Japanese community, for that matter.
Whoever my new parents were, they clearly had some European traits, and definitely had a culture in conjecture to that. The same would go for me and my twin brother, too.
Indeed, I had a brother named Rudeus, and he was my twin. We had similar light brown hair and had moles under our eyes—his to his left, and mine to my right.
The only other difference is that Rudeus had green eyes like dad, and that I have blue eyes like mom. Oh, right, and I guess our personalities would count into the equation… but that's an entirely different topic altogether.
As shameful as it was, I've been letting myself be subjected to the impulses of my body. Whether I needed to eat, shit my diaper, or just wanted to for no reason, I would cry—and I would cry a lot.
In a sense, it was an easy outlet to vent out my frustration. I've already long come to terms that the old me was gone, but it wasn't going to be an easy transition.
No, not by a long shot… especially with how helplessly weak I was now, and just how downgraded this new lifestyle is.
'No electronics, no electricity… not even a water pipe system,' I mentally frowned to myself as I blankly watched our family maid change my underwear. Indeed, as I've come to be accustomed to this new world, I've realized that we lacked any and all the basic needs that I had in my old life. It really put into perspective just how advanced modern society had gotten… and it also gave me a hint about just where the hell I was.
Nameless as this world is for now, one thing I knew for sure was that I was either living in a backwater community, or I had been thrown into the past. The latter honestly didn't seem all that farfetched, considering that me being reincarnated was already a farfetched idea.
I should also add on the fact that I was getting my diapers changed by a maid—and a very cute one to boot. It was heavily implying nobility, and with nobility came some feudal system, and any noticeable feudal system can be traced back during the medieval era.
That's just my hypothesis, but it had some validity—right?
On that note, I found it rather amazing how quickly I was able to catch a grip on the native tongue here. It was surprisingly close to Japanese; not a perfect replica, but the similarities were very stark.
I was able to grasp a few words because of this, and used context clues to figure out the rest. All this really meant was that my first achievement in this world was getting a hang on the new dialect. I gotta give thanks to this young mind of mine.
And while I'm on the notion of achievements, I figured out a while ago that I didn't have any cheat system at my disposal. I've tried just about everything I could think of, and came out empty handed.
This meant I was pretty much raw-dogging the reincarnation trope… which is a bit scary in retrospect.
Was this like a regression reincarnation, or was I actually in a fantasy isekai? Realistically, I should probably hope that it isn't the latter… or anything else that I haven't thought up. My NEET brother was always more informed of this anime genre, anyways.
"...all done," the cute red-haired maid eventually said, gently picking me up and helping me down to my feet. She gave me a small smile—barely noticeable from her usual neutral expression, but one that she never gave to my twin brother. "Now hurry along, Master Darius."
"Thank you," I gave a timid thanks—despite how self-conscious I felt from the diaper change.
This maid was a real hard worker, that's for sure, and I've sort of grown to respect her. From the way she talked, it seems she wasn't blood related to us, but I have a feeling she had a deeper tie than a normal employee.
Maybe a friend of my new parents? Probably… I've noticed how my dad looked at her sometimes. That guy can be a shameless creep.
On that note, I figured out that my new name was Darius. Darius Greyrat, and my brother Rudeus, or Rudy as our mother would call him. I'm still figuring out the names of the adults here, but I know my mother's name starts with Z, and my dad with a P. It's not easy to gauge when they always call each other by nicknames...
…if anything, those two were absolutely lovestruck. And here I never even got the chance to get a girl in my old life.
'Geez... lucky bunch...'
In any case, with a friendly nod in return from the maid, I gave farewell and wandered through the house, eventually coming across my brother Rudeus. Wearing a duplicate copy of my own clothes, he was perched on top of the chair, intently watching something outside the window.
Curiosity taking hold, I waddled my way over.
"...nii-nii?" I called out to him, only to receive a sideways look that was quickly diverted back outside the window. This reaction caused me to frown.
For a long time now, this new brother of mine has been giving me a real cold shoulder. I wasn't sure why—and frankly it felt weird—but I tried not to think too much about it.
Who knows? He could be going through an early rebellious phase or something. I got reincarnated, so I couldn't rule out that possibility.
"Whatchu doing?" I persisted.
"...watching otou-sama practice," Rudeus said flatly—clearly reluctant, but revealing news to me nonetheless.
Our father was practicing? Practicing what, exactly? I had a hunch that man was an athlete, considering his insane build, but...
For a moment, I paused, fiddling with my fingers before speaking up again.
"...can I see?"
Rudeus gave me an incredulous look, and for a moment I though he wasn't going to let me see. But, soon enough his look turned pitiful, and he eventually let out a dragged sigh.
'What's up with that? I don't think a one year old should be sighing about anything...'
"Fine… come here."
A small smile broke my face. So maybe he really wasn't a complete jerk… maybe he was just having a stomach ache?
Well, whatever it was, it's good to see him being nice for once.
I came up to the seat, where he scooted over a bit to allow me some space. With a little struggle and a tiny bit of help from his part, I managed to get in a sitting position on my knees, using the window stool for support.
"...woah…"
The moment my gaze fell to the outside world, my eyes widened. In the backyard of our house, my father stood in a wide and firm stance, sweat glistening over his shirtless torso as he swung his metal sword around in fluid motion.
I couldn't even begin to fathom the level of expertise required to handle a real weighted sword like that, but it was happening right before my eyes. It's amazing how graceful he moved.
"Pretty cool, right?" Rudeus eventually said, giving me a snarky grin.
"Y-Yeah…" I nodded, really unsure of what to say. This was the first time I've ever seen this type of swordsmanship in person… and I was genuinely impressed. It also brought more abstract questions… like, one question being why exactly our dad even needed to train with the sword.
But... that was a useless question, because I already knew the answer. I've known the answer for a long time now.
Sure enough, I'm smack dab right in the middle of a fantasy world. And if there's swords in use… then there had to be magic as well.
'A world of swords and magic, huh? But I haven't seen any magic yet,' I hummed to myself, resting my head down on the window sill as my eyes never left our chiseled father.
If I really was in a world of magic, I would've expected myself to see magic at least once, right? But so far I haven't seen any… which makes me wonder whether or not I was just getting too excited.
Regardless of the ifs and nots, I think just having swordplay like this being more common is a cool thing anyways. Nowhere near as effective as a firearm, sure, but… I'm sure every guy has dreamt of wielding a sword once. I wanted to, at least…
"...hey, move over. You're taking up all the space," Rudeus suddenly complained out of nowhere, nudging my shoulder rather harshly.
Alarmed, my hands gripped on the chair, not wanting to fall off from the sudden push.
"W-Wait… nii-nii, I'll fall!"
"I'll fall too if you don't share! Scoot over!" Rudeus persisted, nudging me so hard it was almost like he was trying to throw me off.
No—literally! It felt like he was trying to throw me off!
'What the fuck?!'
"No, stop! We share!"
"Nuh uh, I only let you up here to see Dad practice. Now get off!"
Eventually, our struggling turned into a full blown wrestle. Being the twins we were, it felt like a total stalemate in strength, but it felt like Rudeus definitely had the upper hand.
Maybe it was just his posture or something, or the fact he was a few minutes older than me. Either way, this guy was being a total jackass!
The chair began to rattle around like crazy from our struggle, and it was only a matter of time before our bickering caused it to topple over.
Eyes widened, we could only yell in shock as our forms fell down with the chair, slamming into the floor rather harshly.
CLATTER THWACK THWACK
"O-Ow!" I winced with a squeaked cry, feeling a sudden flare of pain across my right elbow. I had to bite back a whimper, but I couldn't hold back the tears forming in my eyes from my new wound.
The sensations felt almost amplified, wracking my toddler body with foreign pains. I had almost forgotten that youth came with a fragile body.
For his part, Rudeus also let out a weak cry of his own, hands going towards his head that had landed on.
Clearly, we had done too much.
'Fuck… this hurts…'
Suddenly, the door to the room burst open, and our mother came rushing in, the maid tailing behind. She looked at our downed forms—an expression of genuine fear covered her face—and swiftly swept the room to crouch by our sides.
"Oh, my sweet babies! Are you two alright?!"
"Y-Yeah," I nodded weakly, my voice clearly shaken. But who was I kidding? Even trying to wipe away my tears didn't hide the fact I was hurting.
Gentle hands enveloped our forms as she inspected the scene intently.
"Oh dear… you fell from the chair, didn't you?"
"...Darius pushed me," Rudeus grumbled.
I snapped my eyes over at my brother in bewilderment, only to find a pouty whimper.
Oh, no, that was not pouty. He was being deliberately cheeky!
"N-No, you did, nii-nii!" I shot back, appalled at the fact he lied in front of our parents. Like, seriously—what's this kid's deal?!
"I didn't, you did!"
"Nuh uh, you—"
"Now now you two, there's no need for arguing," our mother interjected softly, causing the two of us to shut up completely. She brought us closer, examining our injuries further. "...oh, poor Darry... your elbow is a mess! Let me fix it up for you, okay~?"
"...H-Huh?"
I tilted my head in confusion, slightly wincing as she moved my arm forward.
'What's she planning to do? I don't see any first aid nearby…'
…
'…wait... does that mean—'
"Let this divine power be as satisfying nourishment… giving one who has lost their strength…"
'—holy fuck, she is! She's actually going to use magic!?'
"...the strength to rise again… Healing!"
Then, with a dim greenish glow, our mother's hand was enveloped in a light—a light that cascaded down onto my injured elbow like a waterfall.
Both me and Rudeus were equally thrown into shock, staring at the magic with the wonder befitting our current ages. Gradually, the peeled skin began to reshape, my wound sealing as if it were never there.
The lingering pain soon subsided, and I was left with a smooth chubby elbow. Like nothing had ever happened.
'W-Wow… that… it… wow...' I blinked away my dumbfounded awe, gazing up at the blonde woman who smiled warmly at me—as if she hadn't just performed the most mesmerizing miracle I've ever seen in person... or ever. 'So this was magic...?'
Hearing about magic through books and television series was one thing, but… actually seeing the real deal… it was simply something else entirely!
And… now… it really sealed the deal. Magic was real… all the fantasy stuff was real. I was really in an isekai!
'I can do the same thing, right? I'm this woman's child, so... that means I can do the same healing thing, right?!'
As these thoughts bombarded me, I couldn't help the smile that stretched my face, or the butterflies that fluttered in my stomach. This was probably what genuine childhood wonder felt like—and it was cranked into overdrive!
"Now, as for you, Rudy~" our mother chortled lightly, moving over to my older brother. Like me, she examined his body for injuries before humming. "Hm, you didn't seem to hurt yourself quite as much as your brother did… but just for safety measures…"
And so, she reenacted the same magic spell on Rudeus, healing any wounds that weren't visible. Really, he didn't even seem all that hurt in the first place. I was the only one who got hurt from his jerkish move… which I still don't know why he did that.
'Talk about rude… heh, rhymes with his name even. Rude Rudy. Rudy Rude. Rudeus the Ru—'
Suddenly, the door opened again, and in came our bodybuilder of a father—a coat of sweat glistening on his skin.
Even our maid was staring longer than intended. This guy was taking every moment to flex, no matter the situation.
"What's the matter? I heard some ruckus." He asked rather blandly.
"Paul, you need to be more attentive," our mother huffed, chiding the man with weak annoyance. "Our sons just fell from the chair, you know? They could've been seriously hurt."
"Hm… I don't see the problem. Boys do what boys gotta do," our father said dismissively.
'Wow, a bit insensitive there dude… and your name is Paul, huh? Ehh... can't lie to you man, that's a bit generic.'
"Honey, they're barely a year old. Would it kill you to show just a little concern?"
"Falling, stumbling, and getting bumps and bruises… it's like I said, sweetie: that's how kids grow up to be tough and gritty, especially for boys," Paul insisted, a somewhat proud-looking grin on his face, "and besides, we've got the best healer in the village right here in case anything serious happens! It's all fine in the end!"
Our mother's complexion seemed to ease from his reassurance, though from the way she suddenly hugged the both of us, it was clear she was still worried.
"I'm just worried they might get hurt so badly that I can't heal them…"
In a rather affectionate move, Paul knelt down beside our mother, wrapping one arm around her shoulder with a reassuring smile. "They'll be fine, Zenith. These two've got out genes… they aren't going to break like glass."
'Ohh... so her name is Zenith? That's a beautiful name...'
'...
'...and damn, Paul. That's one hell of a body odor.'
"Otou-san... you stink…"
I didn't really mean to say that part out loud, but it still slipped out nonetheless. What surprised me, though, were the reactions that followed suit.
A sudden stifled giggle from our mother, a snort from Rudeus, a hand placed over our maid's mouth, and an absolutely flabbergasted expression on our father.
'Ah, I didn't… was... was it that funny? I was only stating the obvious…'
"...h-haha, you've got quite the mouth there, Darry," Paul chuckled awkwardly, seeming very self-conscious now as he moved back a bit, "your father just came back from practice. It's only natural that I work up a sweat."
'Yeah, go figure… but it's also natural to hit a shower afterwards.'
I decided to not say that thought out loud, and instead averted my gaze, giving a wordless nod.
"Would you like for me to prepare a bath, Master Paul?" The maid asked from the back, being the sensible one as always.
"Hm? Ah, yeah, that'd be great Lilia," Paul grinned, giving her a thumbs up.
'So she's Lilia? Also very pretty...'
Great, just from this small incident alone, I've got all the names down now...
..which... well... it came at the cost of my elbow being injured, huh?
'I hope that doesn't happen in the future again...'
As our maid left the room to prepare the bath, a thought seemed to cross our dad's eyes, and he gave one of those lecherous grins at our mother. The ones he'd give mere moments before they found themselves migrating towards the bedroom and making great use of their youth.
'Oh boy...'
"It seems you've also worked up a sweat as well, Zenny. How about we go wash it off… together~?"
Our mother clutched Rudy and I tighter, her face going red. I guess with a facecard like dad's, it wasn't that hard to fold so quickly.
"...well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. It has been a while since we've done it like that~"
"Hehe, then let's take a trip down memory lane… maybe make some more memories from it, even~"
And so, as Rudeus and I sat on the floor, we watched as our parents left the room—Paul's hands so firmly gripped on our mother's curved waistline that I began to question whether I was living in an ecchi isekai than a normal one...
...or, well… there normally wasn't much of a difference if I remembered correctly.
But, damn man... if you couldn't make anyone feel more jealous than this…
"...lucky bastard…"
'Huh?'
At that moment, my ears caught hold of a faint whisper. I glanced over at my brother with bewilderment.
'What the… did he… really just say that right now?'
Shocked as I was, all I could see was him staring down at his palms, a very serious expression on his face—deep in thought. I let my gaze linger for a bit longer before I sagged my shoulders, shaking my head.
'...must've been the wind…'
« Prev Ch 2 of 62 Next »
Review
Jump:
Share: Email . Facebook . Twitter
Story: Follow Favorite
Author: Follow Favorite
Contrast: Dark . Light
Font: Small . Medium . Large . XL
Twitter . Help . Sign Up . Cookies . Privacy . Terms of ServiceFanFiction.Net
Just In
Community
Forum
V
More
Mushoku Tensei: Brotherhood by KazuPhoenix
Anime » Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Rated: T, English, Adventure & Drama, Rudeus Greyrat, Sylphiette, Eris Boreas Greyrat, OC, Words: 502k+, Favs: 94, Follows: 105, Published: Sep 5, 2025 Updated: Apr 10
102Chapter 3
AN: As some of you might've noticed, I'm sort of… accelerating the boys' growth.
In canon, Rudeus was not able to walk during this age, much less even talk until later. In fact, that's not even normal in the first place, I think. But I have a reason for that, which I plan to flesh out soon. Also, I'm getting the whole ominous suspicions out of the way. I feel like having them be unaware of each other for a long time would really make no sense.
I'm sure there would be many clues in the timeskips I've done, so… yeah, time for that family reunion!
Or, will it really be a family reunion? I'll let you discover that yourself… thank you for your continued reading!
Note (10-7-25): Minor edits/fixes
Note (03-22-26): More edits
Mushoku Tensei: Brotherhood
Chapter 3
Some days later, Lilia POV
Throughout her life as a maid, not once has Lilia ever seen children as… unique as the ones for Paul and Zenith Greyrat.
Her time in service for the Asuran Royal Palace taught the woman many skills and responsibilities befitting that of a royal handmaiden. However, the births of Rudeus and Darius Greyrat had served to test everything she learnt from that place.
From the very moment they left their mother's wombs, the two have been nothing short of an anomaly—more noticeably for Rudeus. After all, of the two, it had only been Darius that was wailing like a normal child, while Rudeus only wearily followed suit with more tamer cries.
No... they weren't even cries to begin with. Just... incoherent babbles.
He was utterly expressionless, and it frightened Lilia to no end. It was as if he were a stillborn—even though he was very clearly alive and breathing.
But it didn't just stop there, though. Even following their births, Rudeus remained the quietest of the two—rarely making a fuss unlike his brother.
It made Lilia scared of possible abnormalities that might've occurred during birth. There were things that her fellow handmaidens had taught her back in the capital—signs that indicated a birth defect—and Rudeus was really showing many of those signs.
But, alas, her worries soon began to alleviate as time passed… at least, to some degree.
The babies—despite their novel behavior—were completely healthy, and quite strong to boot. Very strong, in fact, as it was only a few months before they were already crawling, then eventually walking around the house aimlessly.
The twins weren't shy in giving her quite the trouble looking for them.
Indeed, Rudeus and Darius were different from the rest, but they also shared their own individual differences… some of which Lilia didn't particularly like.
She found Rudeus's later expressions to be utterly repulsive. There wasn't a waking moment where he wasn't smiling, and when he was doing so, it morphed into such a grotesque grin whenever his eyes lingered on her—specifically at her bust.
His gaze was starkly similar to that of the nobles in the capital, whose lecherous intentions were as transparent as the open window of a wall-less house.
She tried her best to ignore it, but it had already deeply affected her perspective of the boy. He just wasn't normal, at all, and it wasn't in a benevolent manner.
If only he were like his brother, she would very frequently ponder. Darius was undoubtedly the most normal of the two, and whenever she caught him gazing at her, it was filled with awe and wonder rather than lechery.
He did sometimes inhibit his own strange behaviors—such as whenever he was feeding from his mother's breasts—but it was clearly better than whatever was possessing his less affectionate and more… perversed brother.
Or... was there truly anything possessing that green-eyed boy? She's already attempted several small charms for dispelling spirits on the boy, but his behavior just never seemed to change.
Could there be a demon in the boy, then? She's heard tales of such things happening to infants before, and she wasn't one to dismiss such superstitions.
But... well, perhaps it had all been a phase. After all, as the year passed, so did some of these strange behaviors.
The boys seemed to mellow out from their odd traits—especially Rudeus—and took on something akin to a mature demeanor. More specifically, Lilia would occasionally find Rudeus in Paul's study with one of the few books in the household opened before him—seeming to simply be babbling noises whilst he stared at the pages.
No one has taught these boys how to read, so she found it very strange.
She'd sometimes find Darius there as well, but he'd more regularly be either by her side or his mother's side. As she's been right to judge for a long time now, Darius just felt more… normal.
Nonetheless, Lilia ultimately decided to leave the boys to their devices—despite how irresponsible that technically was. Undisturbed, there was rarely any ruckus from the two boys, and she came to terms with their odd personalities soon enough.
At the very least, Rudeus wasn't giving her those lecherous looks as often anymore. He really took after his father.
Eighteen months later, Darius POV
And so another year and a half passed living with the Greyrats, and I've grown accustomed to my new lifestyle.
The days of my self-lamentation are gone, but I'd occasionally—and unwillingly—remember some stuff from my past life. They were trivial things, really—like remembering a school assignment that I was no longer responsible for—but they never failed to mess up my mood.
I don't think I'll ever be free from this sort of bitter nostalgia for a long time... but I, nonetheless, did my best to push it aside and try to make the best of my current life.
Slowly learning as the days go by, I soon came to realize that me and my brother were definitely different from what was considered normal around here. Well, really… that was already obvious from the start, but I just had to establish that here and now.
I mean, where in the actual world would you find a one year old who could walk and talk? I wasn't blind to some of the befuddled looks we occasionally received—especially from Lilia, our maid.
I think she was probably the most observant of the adults around here… and she definitely didn't seem to like Rudeus that much.
I can't blame her. It was almost as if Paul's lustful behavior was directly passed down to Rudeus with how much he kept eyeing Lilia and Zenith's chests. It gets to a point where I even feel some second hand embarrassment from it… but, like my old memories, I've tried to ignore it for my own sanity.
Speaking of my pervert of a brother… it's been long enough, and I'm pretty certain he's a reincarnate as well.
I can just tell. He has always been unnaturally quiet all the time, and I could see a glint of understanding behind those eyes whenever our paths of sight crossed. Even the way he's been treating me has been odd; it's not something I'd expect from a normal kid our age.
And only recently after finding out that he was reading our parents books did I come to conclude that he definitely wasn't a baby in spirit.
Yet, even with my discovery… it only brought the question as to whether or not I should address him about it.
I mean, he probably also suspects me, right? I've tried my best to act like a normal kid, but I'm sure there were a few slip ups on my end. If he were truly a reincarnate, he'd definitely catch on as well...
...and… if that were the case, then... we should just get it out of the way… and maybe even work together. Right?
Two foreign spirits, navigating this new world with our previous knowledge… maybe even make a difference…
…okay, yeah, I get that that sounds sappy and poetically cringey, but it is a path we could take—and probably the best one realistically. If things were going to get edgy in this fantasy world, then we'd at least be edgy for a good cause.
But… the problem is, I wouldn't even know who he was in his past life. He could be some twisted fuck for all I know, and if I'm out here taking careless decisions, I could be putting a target on my back.
We might even end up like Cain and Able or something. Call me paranoid, but when you're as in-the-dark as I am, there isn't much room for error.
So… with that said, I decided against bringing up the topic, and for a long time. Even though I didn't really see him as my true sibling, we were still siblings by blood, and I didn't want to cause any irreversible trouble.
Sure, he was a dick at times… all the time… and definitely seemed to not like me, but I didn't want us to have a harsh relationship.
I never liked the idea of hating my own sibling in the first place, anyways. I've already had to deal with that sort of drama in my old life, and I didn't want to bring it here into this new life as well.
It's a reflection of my own morals, and they aren't something I'll toss aside so easily—even now. That's why I've gone so far trying to be nice to Rudeus... even if that meant not really interacting with him as much…
…or, that was the case until now, anyways.
While laying flat on the floor on my belly, idly watching Lilia prepare lunch, I suddenly heard a set of smaller feet approach me from behind, and then a slight kick on my shin.
'Ow.'
I looked back to see Rudeus, who—against his usual annoyed frown—gave me somewhat of a hubris grin.
"...nii-nii?"
"Come with me," Rudeus said—no, instructed with an insistent voice—clearly leaving no room for arguing. For whatever reason, it was clear he wanted me to come.
"...okay…"
With nothing to hold me back, I stood up and followed my brother, not really sure about what he was planning to show me. Generally, I was never sure about him in the first place; he was like an everchanging kaleidoscope.
I noticed Lilia giving us a sideways glance as we departed before resuming back to making lunch, seeming to not really care what we were doing. Was that normal for adults around here? I guess our family as a whole was weird.
Soon, Rudeus eventually led me to our dad's study room, the room he spent most of his time holed up in and reading books—something I still wanted to question him about. I quickly noticed the new addition of a wooden bucket at the corner, which was half filled with water.
'Did Lilia or Zenith forget this up here? That's not like them...'
"Sit down over there," Rudeus ordered, pointing at a particular spot on the floor. I sat down without hesitation, giving an inquisitive look at my brother. If he wasn't looking cocky before, he definitely was now—and with a touch of what looked like excitement.
Just what was he planning?
'Maybe he's going to show me a trick? It's hard to tell with him,' I thought to myself, seeing Rudeus grab one of the books he was reading. Hoisting it up onto one arm, he extended his free hand towards the water bucket. Then, a serious yet confident look came onto his eyes—his concentration at an all-time high.
And then… he began to speak.
"Let the vast and blessed waters converge where thou wilt, and issue forth a single pure stream thereof… Waterball!"
Suddenly, in front of Rudeus's extended palm, a translucent sphere of clear water formed seemingly out of nothing. My eyes, having gradually widened with each word spoken, now bulged out my skull with a jaw-dropped, gobsmacked look of pure, unadulterated shock.
'W-What the fuck?!'
The grin on his face widened further as he looked over at my shocked expression, a sense of utter euphoric pride flooding his form. Wordlessly—and slightly startling me—the floating waterball then shot out, arching in the air before splashing right into the bucket with a spray of water droplets.
And just like that, the magic spell was completed, and a silence soon fell between the two of us.
I was left utterly and wholly speechless, words failing to come to me; not just because of the fact I saw magic for the second time in my life, but also for the fact that I saw it from Rudeus—my brother of the same age of two and a half—who seemed to do it so effortlessly!
"...n-nii-nii…"
"Hehehe, yes yes, be amazed, little brother," Rudeus spoke haughtily, a nose stuck up so high I could see all that snotty junk, "I, your older and wiser brother, am able to use magic!"
As the shock waned, it gave way to an amazed exasperation.
Despite his cocky comment, I just couldn't help but be impressed. Ever since our mother healed our wounds, I had been attentively in search of yet another episode of magic, but it never came. Now here was my twin brother, seemingly out of nowhere, giving me that second show of magic—and arguably even cooler than the first.
This guy… as much of a douchebag as he can be, he just might be a prodigy.
To be able to cast a magic spell at this age, I have no doubt that it's probably something crazy in this world. And I suppose that's why he wanted to do it here, in secret… which meant he must've been doing this a lot already, judging by the water I already saw in the bucket earlier.
'Geez… this guy is getting at it early, huh?'
"Think that was cool? Wait until I've shown you what else I've got," Rudeus then continued, riding on the waves of pride while flexing his fingers in what seems to be yet another act of spellcasting. With nothing more to say, I simply watched patiently, waiting to see what else he had in his pockets.
Extending his hand out once more, Rudeus let out yet another magic spell. However, this time around, there was actually no fancy incantation. The ball of water simply appeared once more, and was thrown into the bucket like the one before—slightly overspilling.
He then looked back at me, grinning.
"So, notice anything different?"
"...you didn't say the magic words," I pointed out.
"Yup! It's chantless magic. At first, I hadn't even meant to do it, but the second time I tried this spell, I managed to cast it without saying anything!" Rudeus explained proudly.
So he really has been practicing a lot, then...
"Wow… does that make any difference?"
"Nope. Other than saying nothing, it's just the same spell, same effects."
I hummed, nodding slowly. So not only did he figure out how to use magic, but he also figured out a shortcut? And the way he talked about it was as if it were… easy.
For a moment, I contemplated his words before hesitantly asking, "so… can I also do it?"
Rudeus took on a conflicted look, clearly reluctant about the idea.
"Hm… I dunno… you're too young…"
…
'…really now?'
"We're the same age, nii-nii."
"Still, you're younger by a few… and even then, I still won't teach you."
Huh? What sort of reasoning is this? "Why not?"
"Because, it's already a pain having to deal with the mess from my own practice," Rudeus huffed, pointing towards the bucket that was overfilled. "And while we're talking about that, go get a towel and clean that spill up for me."
My eyebrow twitched. "That's your mess, do it yourself!"
"If you don't do it, then I won't teach you."
"Liar! You already said you wouldn't teach me!"
"Ehh… I can change my mind, you know," Rudeus said, scratching the back of his head with a ditzy expression—an expression that was really beginning to peeve me off.
'This actual jackass...!'
My fists clenched as a surge of childish anger built up inside of me. I know that I was too old for this sort of behavior, but... the way he was so… patronizing just ticked me off!
Why was he even doing this? There was no way he wasn't acting like this on purpose!
But… before I did anything rash, I took a deep breath, then exhaled—calming my nerves.
'No... there's no point acting childish right now. That's probably what he's looking for, right? I better avoid acting brash and just sucker up...'
And so, instead, I simply gave him a frown before stomping to the nearest cloth and snatching it. Paul's shirt be damned, I can always blame it on Rudeus later.
"We… well, I'm not even supposed to be doing this anyways," Rudeus continued as if he were reasoning, shaking his head sagely, "this is stuff you learn at an older age, I bet."
I grumbled. "Then why are you still doing it, hypocrite…"
"Heh, because, it'd be a waste to restrict a prodigy such as myself, right~?"
"You're a prodigy in pooping your diaper, that's what..."
"Hah? That's rich coming from you, crybaby."
"...whatever," I sighed, standing up and tossing the soaked shirt aside, "there, it's clean. Now start teaching me."
"Not so fast… you have to make a few promises to me," Rudeus revealed, holding up three fingers, "specifically three promises."
"What? Don't add more rules, I did what you asked already!"
"Hey, the only one in obligation here is you. Just do what I say and I'll teach you."
I gritted my teeth in frustration. This guy just knew how to tick someone's nerves.
"...Fu… Fine… what else do you want?"
"One, don't tell anyone about this. Otou-sama, okaa-sama, and even Lilia," Rudeus began.
"That's already a given, dummy."
He snorted. "Dummy? Between you and me, I'm hardly a dummy."
"Just get on with it."
"Two, you will do everything I say without question."
Everything he says? What is this, slavery?
"...that's way too broad, nii-nii."
"... okay, fine, everything I say in relation to magic," Rudeus rephrased—though I noticed the faint look of disappointment.
"Fine then, what's your third rule?"
"Thirdly, you won't ever use your magic outside of this room," Rudeus said, nodding to himself yet again with that sagely facade, "I don't want us to bring so much attention to ourselves. Like I said, I believe we really aren't supposed to be doing this."
For a moment, I went over all of his requests. Keep this a secret, do as he says, and only do it in this room.
When I really think about it… those rules didn't seem so bad to follow. All he really seemed to be doing is putting a leash on me… which, well, I guess that would make sense in his position.
Having control gives you a lot of opportunities and safety precautions, especially when doing something like magic.
Though... even with all that said… he pretty much just confirmed himself to be a reincarnate. Whoever Rudeus is, he seemed pretty smart about handling this whole thing.
'But I'm not trying to be careless here, either. He's offering to teach me magic… so the last thing I want to do is get on his bad side because I want to address my curiosity.'
This... was starting to feel weird; knowing that the kid in front of me was actually some random adult. Probably older than me, even.
But I decided to push the thoughts aside, and just focus on the now. I wouldn't be losing much from these rules, and I think the idea of using magic is a reward befitting the restrictions.
"...okay, I promise to do all of that, nii-nii."
A look of approval washed Rudeus's face, and the boy then placed a hand on my shoulder, nodding slowly. "Good, that's what I want to hear! I knew you'd be obedient~!"
"...d-don't make it sound weird…"
Ignoring my comment, he then moved the supposed spellbook in his hands, flipping through a few pages.
"I guess we can begin your lessons now with..."
He paused, however, at a specific page—staring at its contents with a hum.
"… or, actually… I think I can… yeah... yeah, I want to show you one more thing before we start."
I tilted my head. "What thing? Another spell?"
"Yeah, so far I've only shown you Waterball, which is a beginner-level spell. But there are higher tiers of magic, and I want to show you one called Water Cannon. It's an intermediate-level spell, and I've been thinking of trying it out soon."
My eyes widened at his revelation. Intermediate magic spell? He was already that good at magic that he's gone beyond beginners level?
"...you're strong, nii-nii."
"Hehe, thanks," Rudeus grinned, extending a hand out towards the wall and, in turn, towards the outside world. He then took on a concentrated look, and it seemed like he was going to do another chantless spell.
"Are the spell words unnecessary?" I inquired.
"Ehh… yes and no, but I'll explain it later," Rudeus said, seemingly prepared to release the spell, "alright, this is my first time, so step back Darius."
Wordlessly, I stood back, and waited patiently for the spell to be released. Sure enough, the Water Cannon spell was activated, and a blast of water erupted from Rudeus's palms.
WHIRL WHOOSH
However... it seemed that he had completely underestimated the strength put behind the spell.
FWOOSH PEW BAM
The stream of water was massive, scoring the air like a wall of water and blasting clean through the actual wall in a spray of water and wood splinters. Rudeus almost immediately deactivated the spell, but the damage had already been done.
Through the massive gaping hole in the wall, we watched as the streak of water flew into the distant grass plains surrounding our home.
"..."
"..."
A stillness came after as the both of us were frozen stiff in our spots, gawking with chilling horror at the massive hole that was left in the wake of the spell. Droplets of water dripped from the damaged wood, and a few hanging planks toppled to the floor.
No words were needed to emphasize just how much of a fuck up this spell turned out to be... and it was pretty clear that there was no way to cover this up.
'...so much for not bringing attention, huh...?'
I glanced over at my brother, but the pure expression of terrified helplessness on his face made me grimace.
Yeah, he knew as much as I did that we were cooked. There was no escaping this one… and sure enough, we could hear the thumping footsteps of our approaching father.
'...oh boy…'
Paul instantly burst into the room, a visible rush in his form. His worry was quickly overlapped with jaw-slacking shock as he stared at the hole in the wall.
"Woah, what the hell?! Wait—boys! Are you two alright?!"
I gave a weak smile towards our dad. He may be one hell of a womanizer, but when the time calls, he really was a good guy.
"Y-Yeah… we're okay…"
"Oh…goodness," Zenith entered the room as well, followed by Lilia. Characteristic to her nature, our mother was much calmer, even when she saw the sight of the hole. It's this calmness I liked about her, and one that has been helping me in this world since the beginning. It was helping now, too.
Her eyes scanned the scene like a detective, trying to figure out what had happened. She eventually noticed the book that Rudeus had dropped from shock, and she read the opened page intently.
'Shit… this might be it...'
I tried to hold back a grimace and maintained my frightened expression. But even so, I doubt that it would change anything.
To my worst fear, we were about to get our identities revealed in the worst possible way imaginable. Because, honestly, was there really any justification for this?
Two two-year-old boys in a room with a magic book, casting spells before we were even taught to read? We were done for.
Our mother then knelt down to Rudeus, her face leveled with his. The poor guy was like a deer caught in the headlights, and for a rare instance I was feeling some sympathy for him. Really, he hadn't even meant to destroy the wall deliberately… or, at least, not deliberately to this degree.
He just wanted to show off... and—beyond the cocky attitude—I couldn't even blame him for that.
Maybe we should've thought it more thoroughly beforehand... but... it was no use to think of what-ifs at this point.
"Rudy… did you speak some of the words from this book out loud?" Zenith asked. I kept my mouth absolutely sealed, watching with a bated breath to see just what this guy was going to say.
Was he going to try saving our skins, or fold and rat us out? Now, it was up to him for where this would lead us.
Eventually, Rudeus nodded weakly, tears streaking his eyes. I wasn't sure whether they were real or not, but he was crying.
"...I'm sorry…"
"Sorry?" Paul echoed, curling a brow. "That right there was an intermediate-tier spe—"
Cutting off our father, Zenith suddenly took me—well, everyone—by surprise.
With an elated squeal, the humbled and solemn Rudeus was suddenly engulfed into our mother's tight embrace. She jumped to her feet, hopping around with Rudeus's cheek nuzzled against hers as excited giggles sung from her lips.
'...huh?'
"Oh, honey, did you hear that?! Oh, I just knew our Rudy was a genius!" Zenith exclaimed excitedly—much to the contrary of the dire situation.
Amidst Zenith's thrilled enjoyment, Paul appeared to be completely lost.
"Wait, hold on for a moment. We haven't even taught them—"
"Eee, this is simply delightful! We'll have to hire a tutor right away for him!"
Then, Zenith gasped, and her attention was suddenly brought to me.
"Uhhh, yo—"
"Darry, did you also do the same as your brother? Did you speak a spell from this book as well?!"
Though I was momentarily taken back from the rapid-fire questions, I wearily shook my head.
"N-No… only nii-nii…"
"Hm, is that so? Well, no matter. If Rudy is capable, I'm all but certain you are as well~"
And with that, I tagged along with Rudeus—the two of us now swung around in our mother's excitement.
"Oh, you two are going to grow up to be such wonderful magicians! I just know it!"
'Well… wow... uh... Huh...?'
It... it seems that our worries were placed wrong. It didn't even feel like we were in trouble right now… more like in celebration.
That… that definitely brought some relief, I guess.
'So kids our age are also using magic, huh? I... I guess that shouldn't bee too much of a surprise, in retrospect...'
Our parents also didn't seem all that bothered with the large-ass hole in the wall, so...
...yeah, okay. If anything, it seems that our reincarnate identities are still a secret. That was definitely one hell of a relief.
'Talk about a close call…'
While Rudy and I were like helpless dolls wrapped in our mother's surprising strength, Lilia had silently started to clean up, showing no signs of shock or excitement. Maybe she already knew Rudeus could use magic? She must've seen it before, maybe when Rudeus had been careless, or simply connected the dots all together.
Nonetheless, she wasn't making a fuss either, so I guess that was another good thing right now.
"Honey, let's head into Roa tomorrow and post a job for a tutor!" Zenith suddenly said, a certain twinkle in her eyes. "We need to make sure Rudy can hone his talents, and I'm more than certain Darry shares the same potential!"
As the suddenness of her excitement settled, Paul seemed to be less enthusiastic about the notion.
"Hold up for a moment, Zenny. Didn't you promise that if we had a boy, we'd raise him into a knight?"
'Huh? A knight? Woah... that's new.'
So they had already made an agreement about our future careers? Huh… in that case, what would they have wanted their daughter to be? A magician, then?
'That's probably what Paul is implying here, I think… but, why not both at once?'
"But Rudy can already use intermediate magic at his age!" Zenith refuted with a pout. "Given the right training, he'll be an amazing magician!"
"You made a promise, though! A promise is a promise!"
That comment got an eye-twitch from our mother. Oh shit… that's a rare one.
"Don't you talk to me about promises. You break your promises all the time!"
Paul winced, but—against his better judgement—fanned the flames further.
"W-We aren't talking about me right now, though! We're talking about our sons!"
And so, as our parents entered into an argument, both Rudeus and I were trapped helplessly right in the belly of the beast. I glanced over at Rudeus—maybe for some guidance or something—but he seemed too dazed to even understand what was going on at the moment. Made me wonder what was going on inside his head.
Suddenly, Lilia approached us after cleaning the mess, finally becoming the voice of reason that was much needed.
"What if we had the two study magic in the morning, and practice swordplay in the afternoon?"
Bam, and just like that, her suggestion settled the argument altogether, and the future for Rudeus and I were determined by our parents without an ounce of our thoughts and opinions.
Really, they could be a bit silly at times, but I guess they only meant the best for us two.
Nighttime
Following the incident, our father's "study" room was closed until further notice, and he spent the rest of the day repairing the damage from Rudeus's spell.
However, given that Paul was a one-man army, and that he wasn't really the most skilled carpenter (if not skilled at all), there was only so much he could do in one day. So, instead, an actual local carpenter would be coming in tomorrow.
I still sort of felt bad about the damage, but our parents weren't mad about it, so I guess it was all fine in the end.
Soon, night came, and Rudeus and I found ourselves nestled in our shared room. I stared up at the ceiling of our dim room, faintly lit by the moonlight from the curtains.
As per usual, it was a struggle to sleep—and not just because of today's predicaments. The night was abuzz with activity almost on a daily occurrence; the quiet hums of nightcrawlers, the gentle bristle of leaves, and the not-so-subtle sounds of creaking and moaning reverberated across the entire house.
Yeah... those two were something else.
Curiously, I glanced over at Rudeus, seeing that he was awake as well. It seemed neither of us were able to sleep... and that's a given.
Today had been hectic. One moment, I was revealed that my brother could use magic—who then gave me the hopes of learning it for myself—and then the next thing we knew, our parents were in on it as well, and now we'd be getting a tutor for further training.
It… despite everything, it might've actually been the best possible outcome from our little fuck up back there.
Really, I was so on the edge of the seat that I really thought things were going to be permanently affected in this family. But it was all thanks to our mother's enthusiasm that we were lucky to get out of that unscathed. God bless that woman.
The real question now is what to do. I mean, yeah, it's pretty obvious we had no option but to get the tutor, but I meant like… what should we, the two strangers possessing the bodies of these twin brothers, do from now on?
We had been this close to getting our asses revealed, and now that we were seen as prodigies (Rudeus more specifically) ,we may come across more instances where our identities would be at risk of being revealed.
That… didn't really settle well with me. I didn't want to live a life of so much suspense a worry… so… it was about time I faced my fears and got this apprehension out of the way.
"...hey, nii-nii," I called out, though unsure if I was going to get a response. Fortunately I did, though dismissive as per usual.
"...what?"
"I wanna ask you something."
Rudeus glanced over at me, giving me an annoyed yet attentive look. "...what, about magic?"
"No… not that… about us, nii-nii…"
His eyes narrowed into something between a half-conflicted and half-disgusted look. I guess that did sound a bit gay… probably should've reworded it.
He turned his back to me, muttering with disinterest.
"You make it sound like we're in a bishojo game… dumb kid…"
I paused like a switch, his words bouncing in my head like a rubber ball.
Did he… did he just…
…
…yeah… yeah, he sure as hell did!
'Just like that, he chose to slip up in the best possible moment!'
This, this was it. This was what I needed!
Did he do that deliberately? Who knows! What really matters is that this gave me the perfect window to get out what's been bugging my mind for a while.
And so, getting up from my bed, I dramatically pointed at him with a start.
"That! That right there! That's what I meant!"
He winced at my voice, glaring at me. "Keep it down, idiot… and what do you mean 'that'?"
"That thing you said," I persisted, leaning forward with a suspicious look, "you shouldn't know that. You shouldn't know what a bishojo game is!"
My words hit home. Gradually, his annoyed behavior turned into one of shock. He turned back to me, sitting himself up and gazing into my eyes.
He stared for a while before speaking.
"...what are you…"
I smirked. This was it right here… the big reveal.
In a daring attempt, I switched from the common language, reverting back to Japanese just so I could seal the deal. The veil was off.
"Nii-nii… no… whoever you are… you're just like me, aren't you? We aren't just Darius and Rudeus Greyrat…"
The apprehension fell into something of shock. It was clear he wasn't expecting such a direct question from me, but now I know for sure that he definitely knew what I was talking about.
Yet again, we fell into a silence, simply staring at each other as I awaited his response. But… he never gave a response. Maybe it was just too much for him, or maybe he was formulating a plan.
Whatever it was, it didn't really matter. His silence was enough of an answer.
"...I…" Rudeus eventually started, huffing with an unreadable expression. Here, he spoke in clear Japanese. "... that was already obvious from the start."
My smile brightened. It looks like he was comfortable enough on the topic to talk. Great, at least that meant we could get somewhere.
"Really? Well, good to know at least… when did you suspect me?"
"Since the beginning. Your acting is terrible."
I scoffed, though harmlessly. "You're one to talk. You nearly got us exposed back there."
"That…!" A flash of defensive anger briefly crossed his face before it softened into guilt. "That was… that was just a misjudgement on my part. I miscalculated how strong that spell would be!"
"Whatever the reason, that's not the problem anymore," I rebutted, "the problem now is how we're going to make sure we don't get into anymore of these close calls ever again."
"...what are you saying? That's obvious."
I sat into a criss-cross, giving him a serious look. "We need to form a plan, Rudeus. Something like a back up to crutch on in case we're put in a situation that questions our actions. We're too young right now to be careless… we have to work together."
"...you make it sound easy, but we don't even know each other," he narrowed his eyes, taking on a guarded suspicion that I had feared about, "and I don't plan to know anything about you, either. I left everything about me behind."
I didn't respond to that immediately. His response was… revealing. We were strangers, but this alone told me that something bad must've happened in his previous life...
...or maybe he just didn't live up to his own expectations, and wanted to move on.
Either case, I knew that this meant I couldn't be pushy. He was done with the past.
"... that's completely fine with me. I'm not going to dig in your past…because, stranger or not, we're in this situation until we're much older. I want us not to be on bad terms, and I think it'd be best if we were in this together."
My reasoning looked to be acceptable. He seemed to ease his guard down, but the conversation had already made its turn, so he still held a not-so-friendly look.
"...why are you so insistent on us working together?"
"Because… like I said, I don't want us to be on bad terms. Even if we're just mutual accomplices, I'm fine with that. But I don't want any hate on you, and vice versa."
"...alright… sure then. I also don't want things in my past to affect the new me. But…" Rudeus huffed, closing his eyes. "...There's no need for a plan or whatever you're saying. If you have as much common sense as I do, then we both know what we should be doing from now on."
"..."
"..."
A sweat drop ran down my temple.
"...uhh…"
"...so you don't have common sense, then?" Rudeus deadpanned.
"N-No, I do, but like… at least let us be on the same page, dude," I chuckled awkwardly, rubbing my neck, "sure, we'll keep up the act we've been getting at until now, but there's other things we've gotta worry about. For one, I haven't even figured out whether or not we truly have a cheat system."
Voicing my concerns, Rudeus shook his head, almost in an admonishing way. Oh, no, he was definitely admonishing me.
"Tch tch, do you even have an ounce of knowledge in reincarnation? Not every reincarnation trope involves a cheat MMORPG system… and I can tell you that we aren't in that sort of trope. This world has a sophisticated degree of magic with actual research. It's more detailed than whatever generic slop you've consumed before."
"...oh… well, okay then," I gave a slow nod of understanding.
There was really no retort I had here. He was right, I didn't know all that much about isekais other than what my NEET brother used to tell me. And on top of that, he's actually read books from this world, and has actually used magic for himself.
If it wasn't clear already, he had a better grasp than I did. Which is exactly why I'm so keen to not let us become enemies.
"Then… did you get some divine revelation? Like a reason as to why we were reincarnated?"
This question tripped Rudeus over for a moment, and he shook his head. "...no… I didn't. Anything you didn't experience, I probably didn't either. I was thrown in here mere moments after…"
His voice died out, but I understood where he was coming from.
"Yeah… same here…"
"..."
"...look, let's not dwell on that stuff," I huffed, jumping off my bed and walking towards him. I extended a hand out with a friendly smile, "If you'd rather not, then let's not bring up the past. Right now, you're Rudeus, and I'm Darius. That's all that'll matter in the end. We cool?"
Rudeus stared at my extended hand for a moment before he grew his own smile. He reached out his own hand, taking mine in a firm handshake...
...well, as much of a firm handshake a two-year-old could give.
"Yeah, I'm cool with that. I… I want to live this life to the fullest. You seem like a nice person… so I want to reciprocate your kindness."
I grinned. "Great! Then… I hope you're cool with me still calling you nii-nii, haha."
"Not a problem," Rudeus chuckled, "I used to have a younger… no… nevermind. I'm used to that nickname, and I feel like I'm probably older than you in all senses, so it's really no problem."
"Whatever you say, unc… but I doubt we're that far off."
"Have you ever listened to Boøwy?"
"...to what?"
"And my point stands," Rudeus laughed, flicking my forehead out of nowhere. Ow, the hell? That was cringy… I nearly forgot this guy could be an asshole. "Let's head to bed, it's getting late."
I rubbed my forehead with an unamused look. "Seriously? I'm barely tired… and, gosh damn, those two are still going at it as we speak. Who could sleep in these conditions?"
"I sure can," Rudeus sighed contently, a strangely blissful look in his eyes, "let them do as they please. You don't get to live your youth twice… except for us, of course."
"...geez, you sound really old," I huffed, walking over to my bed and flopping on it like a fish, "well, then, good night."
"Good night… little brother~"
"Don't say weird shit like that, man..."
"Ah, right right. Good night then."
And like that, it seemed everything was settled, and it went surprisingly better than I had thought. Now, it felt like a certain weight was lifted off my shoulders… and I was feeling pretty great about it.
I now knew Rudeus as an older man. By how many years, I don't know, but certainly older than me. It was kind of a relief.
Unfortunately, I died pretty young, so I probably don't have as much knowledge as Rudeus has. And we're allies now… meaning, I had a trusted source of information.
Wherever this new life is going to take me, I had someone I could go back to in case of anything. That was the type of insurance that put some ease to my soul.
Still, we were strangers. Rudeus seemed pretty avoidant about his past life, which is exactly why I had decided to also avoid it altogether. There was no need to know about it, anyways… at least, not to me right now.
What really mattered is what we'd be doing now and what we'd be doing in the coming future. There was no time to dwell on those finer details when we had the prospects of magic tutoring and even swordsmanship.
It was clear that Rudeus wanted to live a new, different life, and I'd be a jerk to not respect his wishes. I'm unsure of whether or not that sentiment was the same for me… but I was certain that I wasn't going to let this opportunity be a waste either.
And so, slowly, my young body gave way to fatigue, and allowed these thoughts to lull me into a deep sleep. Then and there, life seemed to feel a little bit more exciting, and I was a bit elated about what would come next.
« First « Prev Ch 3 of 62 Next »
Review
Jump:
Share: Email . Facebook . Twitter
Story: Follow Favorite
Author: Follow Favorite
Contrast: Dark . Light
Font: Small . Medium . Large . XL
Twitter . Help . Sign Up . Cookies . Privacy . Terms of Service