Raven locks of black hair laid sprawled on the arm of the couch, ruby eyes stared up at the ceiling lights dully as her arms moved in a rocking manner. The slowed heartbeat, light breathing and sound snoozing had been the work of Nora's arms that were a cocoon for sleep as the young child clung onto her shirt collar.
Nora's vocal chords made sound waves that reverberated against her chest as she hummed a magical tune, lulling the baby to sleep, putting it's wails to rest.
Teru had gotten home earlier than his younger brother as he opened the door, halfway through announcing his presence before quieting down, spotting the pair that was on the couch. Their breaths were steady and equal, soft as the rise and fall of their chests as Teru let out a soft smile.
He found it amusing that the same witch who stated that she hated children, was now stuck as the babysitter of one while the two boys were away day by day.
Teru slipped off his shoes as he held up a few strands of Nora's long locks of ebony hair that fell from her sides and framed her doll-like porcelain face. Although he didn't want to do it, the exorcist gently tapped the teenage girl awake as she had let out a light groan and eyes fluttered open, revealing a captivating sea of red.
"Welcome home." The witch murmured lazily as the boy held up the bag in his hand. Her eyes seemed to awaken properly as she tried to sit up, until realizing that there was an eighteen pound child sitting on her chest as she sighed, exhaling a tired breath, rubbing her eyes.
Teru felt slightly bad as he helped her out a bit, gently prying his younger sister off of the witch, enabling her to sit up properly. "Did Princess eat yet?" The elder brother asked as the witch had nodded in exhaustion.
"She cried, ate, slept after I changed her diaper." Nora indeed hated children, taking care of them was bothersome, but Tiara had melted a small way into the witch's heart, being the first baby for her to ever tolerate nonetheless take care of.
Nora checked the bag as she breathed a sigh of relief. She made Teru buy her a box of pads, currently being on her period as she quite literally wanted to just run herself off a cliff right then and there. The witch herself could barley walk as she slammed the bathroom door shut, earning a light and reluctant chuckle from Teru.
Being fourteen years old, Nora still had periods, although they were inconsistent. Be it because of stress or exorcism work, but regardless, her body still functioned like a normal human, including puberty and the menstrual cycle.
Saving some mercy for the witch, Teru, instead of staying after-school like usual for a few after school activities, he came home as early as possible to give Nora a helping hand before she completely lost her mind.
The witch now looked like him. The two of them were equally exhausted, bags underneath their eyes and messed up tousled hair. Nora had knots in her long cascading raven locks that hadn't been brushed in weeks, even after taking showers. She was at the point of exhaustion that she could now take cold showers without flinching, whining or complaining.
At the end of the day, it was worth it for the two of them because they were greeted with smiles and giggles from the youngest child of the Minamoto clan, Tiara, who had no idea how difficult it was raising her.
Their parents had stopped by once a month or twice a month when possible to check in on them. And at the point, Nora wasn't sure which had been more tiring. Traveling around with Keiko and Daisuke, or babysitting and caring for such a fragile human life that could be lost with a single snap of her finger.
She had a strong feeling that it was the latter.
The child smiled and giggled at her everyday as she was fed, for what reason the witch did not know. All she knew was that the little girl was going to grow up as a ray of iridescent light .. taking after the one her mother left behind.
Her smiles were so unnecessarily bright and held such a delicate innocence in them that Nora was afraid to touch. Even to this day, Teru and Keiko were not blind to the fact that Nora didn't like direct contact with Tiara.
Sometimes, the witch would wear gloves or avoid carrying the child with her own bare hands by using magic to levitate the girl who giggled in delight that she was floating in the air.
After placing the child to sleep, they could all call it a proper night as Kou readied the dinner table. Nora had become less cranky as she popped two pills in her mouth, massaging her temples. That night was a lazy dinner, Kitsune Udon that was store bought but delicious regardless.
None of them had the energy to do anything worthwhile.
Somehow, after their late night exorcism rounds, Nora found herself patiently waiting outside of a pharmacy store as Teru walked out with something in his hand, causing the girl to blink. "What's this for?" She asked. The boy looked at the object in his hand before smiling.
It wasn't one of those kind hearted smiles, it was one of the smiles with hidden intentions behind it. Nora had grown to realize it, but .. Teru was scary.
"Christmas presents from us to our juniors of course." Teru said at her as she froze and raised a brow. "Us? As in you and me?" She already didn't like the sound of that, letting out a whimper as the taller male placed a hand on her head. "Who else could help me enchant glasses and an Omamori?"
Needless to say, the witch was anything but thrilled as she banged her head against the table as they got home. Teru was changing and getting ready for bed in the bathroom as Nora felt like breaking something, staring at the glasses on the table. "Who are these glasses for again?" She asked loud enough for Teru to hear her from the bathroom.
"Aoi! I want to help him live a normal life as a human at least, since he was unfairly tricked into becoming Wonder No. 1." Teru's muffled voice rung out from the bathroom as she murmured a string of curse words.
"You want to help him, I don't want to help a brat who called me a hag!" Nora threw the pair of glasses at the bathroom door, which was perfect timing considering the moment Teru was done and walked out of the bathroom, he had easily caught the flying pair of non prescribed glasses they bought at the store.
After they had interrogated the daylight out of the First-Year Junior High student, they had discovered that he had become a representative of the Three Clock Keepers against his will, having the ability to freeze time for five minutes a day and see any and all supernaturals.
For a thirteen year old boy whom had been living as a normal human up until the day he was tricked by the Two Clock Keepers, it was too much to handle. After Teru and Nora explained what they were, Aoi Akane had stated that the cat was lying, stating that witches were all haggard old women from stories.
Showing no benevolence to the boy, she had bit his hand.
Teru pat her head as she frowned, not falling for his bribe. He sat down across from her on the floor, tapping at the red traffic tag on the floor. "This one is for Kou. You can do that one right?"
The red traffic-safety amulet was meant to be worn as a piercing on the ear. They were called Onamori, sold specifically at Shinto shrines, created by priests and priestesses. They provided various forms of luck and protection, having a talisman sealed inside of them. Nora stared at the tag before shaking her head.
"If I touch it, I may just cancel out the good luck on this thing and make it useless." She suddenly chuckled, surprising him as he stared at her.
"I'll enchant the glasses for the boy instead. It'll be done tomorrow." She said softly, standing up. Teru blinked blankly. She was surprisingly compliant. So compliant that he found it odd. "Now, now, Nora. Don't go cursing Aoi by accident, alright?" Teru chuckled, as he turned off the light. Nora let out a mewl as she curled up onto the bed.
The sky was already starting to become lighter, signalling that it was nearly the sun's turn to swap with the moon, the start of a new long day.
In all honesty, Nora felt like a mother as she scrambled around the house. "Nowa!" Tiara had waved her hands joyously as the witch placed a plate of fruit for her breakfast as Teru came down the stairs, nearly tripping down the steps.
The two of them had bags underneath their eyes. Sleep was nowhere to be found. A late, late, late spider apparition had kept them up until the crack of dawn, exhausting them to the point that Teru hadn't bothered to change out of his yukata and just pass out onto the bed as he had school in two hours.
His shirt was half untucked, his hair was a mess and his tie was simply around his shoulders, not properly tied around his neck. "Kou, can you pack Tiara's lunch?" The teenage girl had asked the young boy who was having breakfast at the table, perking up at the mention of his name. He looked at the two teenagers and grimaced at their looks.
Nora hadn't showered in days. And his older brother didn't look like the picture perfect Vice-President of the Student Council that everyone knew him as. He was now fifteen years old, Kou had also begun his first year of Junior High at Kamome Academy at the age of twelve, the same destination as his brother.
But being in the Student Council, Teru had to arrive a tad bit earlier. "Nora." He called out to the girl who snapped her fingers, not even bothering to bat him an eye as his shirt tucked itself in. The witch ran into the bathroom and dug in her bag for a bottle of concealer as she dabbed some underneath Teru's eye bags.
He let out a yawn as she fixed his tie and shoved him out the door. "Have a great day at school." She said monotonously, her attitude completely contrasting her mood as he chuckled.
She threw his lunch out the door as he caught it. Ever since Tiara had been growing up faster, her needs were also more thorough. It had been some time since Nora had used to accompany him to school on his shoulder. These days, it seemed as though she was barred into the Minamoto manor.
As a matter of fact, he had missed the small cat that used to sleep with him beside his head. She was stuck sleeping in Tiara's room or on the couch if she passed out on it. He felt guilty that she was taking care of Tiara the most, despite not even being directly related to her.
However, she wasn't nearly as busy as she used to be, ever since they had begun sending Tiara to daycare where she happily made friends with many children her age. "Ah! Kou! Make sure to pick Princess up from daycare after school. Teru has a Student Council meeting and I need to make a run for groceries."
The boy let out a nearly inaudible affirmation.
"Nowa!" The girl had called out as the witch stopped scrambling around momentarily. "Tiara?" She asked curiously. The girl held a fork out to the witch that had a kiwi on it's tip. "Here!" She offered brightly.
The witch had grown soft, that was undeniable. Although it was expected, after taking care of the child for a couple of years now. Nora took a bite of the kiwi and pat Tiara's blonde hair lovingly. The young girl had a paler blonde than her two older brothers that had a rather golden shade of hair.
Although they all carried the same traits, spiky luscious blonde hair and sharp blue eyes along with phenomenal exorcism skills. These days, Kou and Teru were growing slightly alike in terms of looks. The only way she could tell them apart from the back was that Kou had a traffic earring hanging on his ear lobe that they gifted to him a little over a year ago.
"Do you want a lift to daycare, Princess?" Kou had asked his younger sister with a grin, just as she finished her breakfast as she happily obliged. "Yipee, Kou-oniichan!" She called out to him, stretching her arms out as the older boy picked her up and spun her around.
Nora snapped her fingers as Kou's bag appeared on his shoulder along with Tiara's backpack.
"Bye bye, Nowa!" Tiara's chubby hand waved at her as the girl gave the witch a light peck on the cheek before disappearing out the door with her speeding and energetic elder brother as Nora sighed, cleaning up the food along with washing the dishes.
Every now and then, Keiko and Daisuke would stop by and take Tiara with them for a short exorcism mission before returning her. They doted on her quite a bit, similar to the rest of the three who did the same. Maybe they spoiled her a tad bit too much, giving her a rather upbeat and outgoing personality.
But that was good. It meant that she wouldn't have to grow pressured from the expectations of the other clan elders. At a young age of three, her lightning already surpassed Teru's when he was eight. She was going to become a flawless exorcist when she grew up.
But Teru and Nora didn't want her to become an exorcist .. nor did they want Kou to become one.
What a horrible secret she and Teru held.