It was the morning of a new day. There was no school.
So, Sora was lying on his bunk bed, reading a book of mythological stories.
Purpose?
To draw inspiration.
He knew the abilities of many characters from different anime. But how could he use liquid metal to pull them off and find suitable ones?
It was not cost effective.
So he decided to draw ideas from different works in the locally available books.
He was not really finding anything useful.
Ghost stories.
Weird magazines.
Those were his usual books when he was unaware of this world's true identity. The latter is a secret.
But now he must look for more sci-fi books.
The book in his hand was a general shonen manga about giant creatures and how those giants want to kill humanity.
Kinda cliché.
Anyhow, he got an idea out of it. A strange one.
General use of cursed energy was that it could strengthen the body or be used as fuel for an innate technique.
The strengthening part was his current topic.
He wanted a strong technique to physically bolster him towards a superhuman level.
But the process was demanding, self-harming and required Reversed Cursed Energy and reversal.
Why?
Because he was going to change his anatomy to be more metallic.
If he made the cursed liquid metal seep through his skin and reach his bones and tendons, he could change his skeletal system into a steel skeleton system.
But the process, requirements and even the aftermath were alarming.
Sora clutched his head in frustration.
---
Sora was in the living room with four ten-year-old children.
Two boys and two girls. The numbers were perfectly balanced as it should be.
He was reading them stories of heroes and princesses.
He didn't remember many stories and the issues with his technique creation already occupied the majority of his time.
So, they were bored and unamused.
"Sora-nii, can you tell us a different story?"
One of the girls asked.
Her name was Mika.
She sat cross-legged on the floor with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, staring at him with hopeful eyes.
Beside her, the timid boy Satoshi quietly nodded his head in agreement. He rarely spoke loudly, but his expression clearly said he supported the idea.
Sora closed the book halfway and scratched his cheek.
"I don't know any more stories."
That was the honest answer.
The second boy, Daisuke, suddenly sat upright as if he had just discovered a brilliant solution.
"Then let's play hide and seek outside!"
His eyes sparkled with excitement.
Sora immediately shook his head.
"No."
The rejection was instant.
"I have work to do later."
Daisuke's excitement deflated like a punctured balloon.
Both girls puffed their cheeks slightly in disappointment.
The second girl, Yumi, crossed her arms and leaned forward accusingly.
"You should play with us."
Sora raised an eyebrow.
"And why should I?"
Yumi gestured around the living room.
"Because there aren't many children left in the orphanage anymore."
Her voice became quieter near the end.
"Even Natsu was taken away yesterday."
For a moment, the room grew silent.
Sora blinked.
"...Taken away?"
Daisuke nodded.
"The couple who came yesterday. They adopted him."
Satoshi lowered his head slightly.
"He was really happy..."
Sora leaned back against the couch, letting out a slow breath.
The orphanage had been gradually emptying over the past few months.
Some children found families.
Others were moved somewhere else.
Either way, the rooms were becoming quieter.
Too quiet.
He looked at the four kids staring at him expectantly.
Four pairs of eyes.
Waiting.
Sora closed the book completely.
"...Fine."
The children leaned forward.
"But only one round."
Daisuke jumped up immediately.
"Yes!"
Mika clapped her hands happily.
Sora sighed and rubbed his temples.
"Why does my peaceful life keep turning into babysitting duty..."
---
Sora was playing hide and seek with the children.
As a responsible adult, he chose seeker and used liquid metal for scouting.
Can't help it. He wanted to go back and brainstorm.
His will to train was always low. Not training would make it worse.
"Nii-chan, start counting!"
Daisuke yelled from his hiding spot.
Sora sighed and started counting.
"1"
"2"
"Heheheh..."
A faint giggling could be heard in the distance.
"3....4....5!"
Sora completed his five seconds countdown.
"Brace yourself. Because here I come."
---
Sora stood up and stretched lazily.
Then a thin line of liquid silver quietly slipped from his sleeve.
The metal touched the ground and split into several tiny streams.
They crawled across the grass like living threads.
One moved toward the bushes.
Another slipped beneath the wooden bench.
A third slid toward the storage shed near the fence.
Sora walked slowly across the yard, pretending to look around seriously.
"Hmm… where could they be?"
His liquid scouts were already reporting back.
Behind the bushes—
Two small shoes were sticking out.
Sora stopped dramatically.
"Oh no… I wonder who is hiding behind this very suspicious bush."
The bush shook slightly.
A tiny squeak escaped from inside.
Sora reached out and gently pulled the leaves aside.
"There you are."
Mika burst out laughing.
"Aaaah! You cheated!"
Sora raised an eyebrow.
Suddenly, Daisuke ran out from behind the shed.
"You found her! Run!"
Sora sighed again.
Children scattered across the yard like birds.
Within minutes he found Satoshi hiding behind a tree and Yumi trying to squeeze behind a water barrel.
Daisuke was the last one left.
The boy hid surprisingly well, staying completely silent.
Sora's liquid metal eventually found him behind the old bicycle rack.
But Sora didn't say anything.
Instead, he sat down on the porch steps.
"Guess I lost."
A few seconds later, Daisuke slowly peeked out.
"...Really?"
Sora shrugged.
"Yeah."
Daisuke jumped out triumphantly.
"I win!"
The other children gathered around, laughing and arguing about the next round.
Sora watched them quietly.
Their voices filled the empty yard.
For a moment, the orphanage didn't feel so quiet anymore.
Mika sat beside him on the steps.
"Sora-nii."
"Hm?"
"Thanks for playing."
Sora looked away awkwardly and scratched his cheek.
"...It was just one round."
But the faint smile on his face stayed there for a while.