Her Brother's Keeper: A Story of Alpha Centauri

After her elder sister helped her complete the seemingly endless amount of homework, the teachers had assigned the trio of siblings had a few moments to relax. Since there were very few places on Cooper’s World where children could exercise without having to wear a mask, most of their activities were sedentary. Even considering this, there were many activities that they could engage in together. However, John-onii always wanted to play games on the ’vid while the Sisters usually preferred to do something else.

‘At least he lets us pick the game,’ Christiana muttered under her breath. Meanwhile, she and Haruhi-nee went through the long list of programs available. Understanding exactly what she meant, the dark-haired child flashed her womb-mate a knowing grin before returning her attention to the many selections available.

After the Sisters settled on a game and they were setting up their personal controllers, a member of security knocked and entered the room. She looked at the guard in trepidation, because she already knew why the young woman was present.

“I am sorry to interrupt you while you are playing, Ms. Washington gee-emm Harris, but your Mother will see you now,” the sentry reported with a moderate bow, “Please follow me.” This officer was an inexperienced lady named Lucy, and she was a recent addition to the home’s innermost defensive detail. While this tall brunette had worked in security for the Washingtons for five Colonial Years, they had only promoted her to serve the inner house a few months prior. As a result, the athletic-looking, blue-eyed sentinel still was very stiff and formal with members of the matFam.

“Sorry guys,” Christiana said, followed by a sigh, “Go ahead and start without me.” Then she reluctantly stood up to follow the guard out of the chamber. However, just as she was leaving the bedroom, Haruhi-nee cleared her throat. Turning to look back at her siblings, she saw both of them give her a thumbs up in encouragement. This caused an enormous grin to appear on Christiana’s face as she left the room.

As she was walking towards her parent’s chambers, she asked her companion, “How are things going with your new Marriage?”

Lucy had saved up most of her salary for the past five Colonial Years to buy into a respectable upper-middle-class contract. In fact, the youthful security officer had bought into the union outright. Since she did this without becoming a Junior Wife to pay off a Dowry Debt, it was easy to see the extent to which she had scrimped over the Years. Then, when you took Lucy’s background into account, a person could not help but be impressed by her accomplishment at such a young age. After all, her working-class Mother could not have given her child much assistance with the marriage settlement.

‘She must have never left the security wing or bought any clothing other than her uniform,’ Christiana thought to herself as the sentry gave the girl a bashful smile.

“It’s wonderful, Miss,” Lucy replied, her face revealing a radiant expression. “My Husband and I get along well, and my Sister Wives have been very accepting of me.” Then, after a brief pause, she continued, “It is almost as if I were young again with my siblings. Having a close family again is an incredible feeling.”

Christiana thought about what Lucy said for a moment before inquiring, “Can Sisters from the same matFam enter a Marriage together?” She was simply asking out of curiosity. After all, she could not imagine her life without Haruhi-nee. If they were in the same union, then they would not separate the two as adults.

Lucy’s sudden stop surprised Christiana, and she looked up at the guard in interest. Much to her surprise, Lucy’s pretty face had turned beet red to the tips of her ears.

“Did I ask something wrong?” she naively asked. She had no idea why the young woman had become so embarrassed over a simple question.

“No, not exactly, Miss, but that is not a topic that you should speak with someone like me about,” the officer responded.

“Then who should I talk to?” Christiana replied in confusion.

“Well, how about your oldest Sis-,” Lucy began, only to stop midway. “No, that might lead to a misunderstanding,” she continued. Then, after tapping her index finger on her chin while she thought, the security member went on, “The best people to inquire would be your Mother or your secMother. Come to think of it, Sydney-sama is the perfect person to confer with since she is still quite young. She could probably relate to it more than your Okaa-sama would.”

“Then I guess I will just ask secMother Karen,” Christiana retorted. “I do not want to approach patMother Sydney something that might prove embarrassing,” she commented.

“As you wish,” Lucy replied, the blush fading from her face. “Come along Miss, your parent is expecting you.”

With that, the sentry continued walking down the art-covered corridor and she followed in silence. Finally, after continuing down the hallways for another few minutes, the two came to the door leading to Mother’s chambers.

“Please go inside, Miss,” Lucy said, her nervousness noticeable on her face. This young guard had rarely been in direct contact with the family matriarch. Instead, she devoted most of her time to watching over the children. As a result, Christiana had noticed that the officer became much more formal when she had a chance of running into her progenitor.

“I understand completely,” the girl muttered as she opened the doorway and headed inside. To put it nicely, none of the youngsters were close to their Mother. The sad fact was that all of her offspring were afraid of her. Because of the long hours that their Okaa-sama worked, the siblings mainly saw her on holidays. Even then it was the two eldest Sisters who talked with their parent the most since they sat on the left and right of her at Holiday meals. Then, after dining with her children in the middle of the day, the matriarch would leave the dwelling. Then she would spend the rest of her time off with her Wives and their Husband. As a result, Christiana could count the number of times she interacted with her progenitor every Colonial Year with the fingers on both of her hands.

Shaking her head and muttering, “I have to focus,” the girl cleared her mind of such thoughts. “It won’t do any good to work myself up just before meeting with her,” she whispered as she began walking onward.

Normally a guard would accompany her and guide the way through the sprawling dwelling, even though it was unnecessary. While her visits only occurred once or twice during a Colonial Year, Christiana had long ago memorized the route to Mother’s favorite sitting room. The only difference was that a member of security was not there to announce her presence as she came into the apartment.

However, while the announcement served no purpose in Christiana’s eyes, that was not the case for her Okaa-sama. Usually, when Christiana entered the chamber, her parent would be seated in an ornate, wooden, hand-carved chair like an Old Earth queen on her throne presiding over her vassals.

This time her progenitor was pacing on the elaborate carpeting, gripping a ’com while having a heated vid conversation. “But what does it matter if the voice stress analysis is the only way of detecting one of them? You have said repeatedly that you have accounted for all kitsune on the planet and that this just another precaution like all the r-,” Mother was saying on the phone. However, as soon as she noticed Christiana’s presence, she rudely cut off the ’com mid-sentence, not even telling the person on the other end goodbye.

Regaining her composure, a smile appeared on her Okaa-sama’s face. “Ahh, Christiana, I did not hear the guard announce you,” she said as she sat down in her preferred chair. “I apologize for not receiving you properly.”

‘What does she mean by that and why is she apologizing to me?’ the youngster pondered as she was giving her Mother a deep bow. Normally, the matriarch acted in an aloof manner when interacting with her youngsters. As far as Christiana could remember, her parent had never apologized to any of her children, much less the youngest.

Her next thought was, ‘Why was she talking about kitsune?’ She knew from her Nipponese class that the word referred to an Old Earth animal with red fur and a bushy tail. The sad truth was that she would never see one in the flesh. Because of the high concentration of atmospheric see-ohh-too, they had introduced no birds or mammals into the growing biosphere. Even after just over two hundred Earth years of active terraforming, the atmosphere was still toxic to most vertebrates.

However, the girl nipped that train of thought in the bud. ‘I need to focus,’ she thought for the umpteenth time, as she started speaking to her Okaa-sama. “Mother, thank you for seeing me on such brief notice,” she began, trying her best to be as formal as possible.

“It is fine, child,” the matriarch replied in her usual aloof tone. “What is it you wanted to talk about?” she continued.

“Well, Anastasia-onee recommended I should inform you of something. However, I did not want to waste your time, so I balked at coming to see you…,” she began, her hesitation noticeable in her normally confident demeanor. To be honest, it took a lot of effort for the girl to keep her voice from shaking. “With patMother Sydney’s input, Ana-onee concluded…” Here she paused, doing her best to compose her thoughts before continuing.

However, as the silence continued, a frown appeared on her parent’s still youthful face. “What is it, Christiana?” the older woman asked, her concern for her daughter clear in her voice. “It is not like you to be so hesitant.”

At this, the young girl took a deep breath before taking the plunge. “Mrs. Parker has been keeping me behind after my last class of the day, so I have been late for my training three times in the past month,” she explained.

Before the child could continue with her statement, her parent had already connected the dots. In the space of a second, her Mother’s complexion went from white-skinned with a sprinkling of freckles to a red even brighter than her Okaa-sama’s wavy copper-colored hair.

“That uzai baka! kuso! kuso! kuso!” Mother cried as she climbed to her feet. Much to Christiana’s surprise, the usually calm, cool, and collected woman began pacing back and forth on the extravagant carpet while cursing in broken Nipponese. “That deku iyarashii kusottare!” she yelled while gesticulating wildly. “Mrs. Parker is acting more like a Terminus than a teacher! ”

Christiana was taken aback by what her Mother was suggesting. The older woman had flown into such an unexpected rage that she seemed to have forgotten that the girl was present. While parents cursing in Nipponese in front of their offspring was not uncommon, it was rare for them to cross the line that her Okaa-sama just had. After all, even though children Christiana’s age were all proficient in the dialect, most progenitors were considerate enough to shelter their kids by doing it in a semi-foreign language.

As a result, her Mother calling the teacher a “pain in the butt idiot” followed by “poop, poop, poop” didn’t upset Christiana in the least. Even when her Okaa-sama called her a “useless indecent poop-drip” the girl was undisturbed. However, when the matriarch said Mrs. Parker was acting like a Terminus, the child could not help but gasp in astonishment.

This term was an insult so vulgar that children only talked about it in whispers. Just calling someone that would usually cause physical violence to break out, with the results ranging from assault up to and including attempted murder.

Truthfully, the very meaning of the word Terminus was unsettling to a girl as innocent as Christiana. On Cooper’s World, even “natural borns” were created in the Labs by combining the Mother’s frozen egg with the Father’s stored sperm. Both items were harvested and preserved when the parents were both in their late teens to mid-twenties, and thus when both were at their peaks of fertility. They did this to minimize the chance of birth defects. This was because most women only had one of these offspring in their lifetime in order to pass on their genetics naturally. Hence the term “natural born.”

They also created the other progeny that a Mother bears in the Labs. However, these children have no genetic relationship with their parent since the Labs produce them from the eggs of another woman and the frozen sperm of a Lab-chosen man.

Once the Lab creates a female embryo, it then undergoes the process of “artificial twinning.” In this procedure, they split the fertilized egg again and again to make exact copies. They then freeze all but one of the identical embryos for expected use in the future.

After that, they implant the remaining fetus into a Mother and then the Lab keeps track of the resulting child for the rest of their life. Later, the Lab will employ the person’s medical files to determine if they have any inherited illnesses or diseases. Also, the Labs collect educational, occupational, and public records to monitor the accomplishments and failures of each individual throughout her lifetime.

Using guidelines passed down from Congress, the Lab then makes a final determination. If the woman in question had no major inherited diseases and had a normal number of accomplishments, then the next identical embryo in the “Geneline” was green-lit for implantation. Because of this process, what a person accomplishes in their lifetime determines whether their Aftercomers will even be born. Consequently, the fate of their own twins (who haven’t been born) is the responsibility of every colonist. Almost all colonists see this as a sacred gift that they can give to those who are to follow and therefore strive their hardest in life. Not just for themselves and for their children, but also for their future twin sisters.

Conversely, a Terminus is a person who cares nothing for their Geneline. There were some Initials (the first in a Geneline) who were born with inherited illnesses and thus become Terminuses through no fault of their own. However, the curse word did not apply to those poor souls. On the contrary, this term referred to those Terminuses who did not make contributions to the welfare of the colony. These people did whatever they liked, not caring for those who have yet to follow. These women found comfort in vices and cruised through life, not doing their share of the labor necessary for survival. Instead, a Terminus was a parasite, consuming valuable resources that productive members of society should have.

With these facts in mind, Christiana reluctantly agreed with what her parent had expressed about Mrs. Parker. If the teacher was taking bribes to interfere with the education of one of her students, then she was not fulfilling her responsibility for the children. They paid teachers very well on Cooper’s World and so they had an above-average standard of living. Plus, the sensei was already married, so it wasn’t as if she was saving up for her Dowry. She could not think of a legitimate reason for the educator to take bribes, except for greed. According to this line of reasoning, by placing her own greed and desires before the needs of others, the instructor was acting like a Terminus. So her Okaa-sama’s vulgar statement was essentially correct, much to her dissatisfaction.

It amazed Christiana how quickly her parent had figured all of this out. After all, the girl had barely begun her explanation of the situation. While she knew her Mother ran the world’s largest copper mining and refining business, this was the initial occasion on which she had seen her Okaa-sama’s keen mind in action. It was one thing for her to believe that her progenitor was sharp-witted; it was another to see her brilliance first hand.

“I am going to make that bitch pay!” Christiana’s parent stated as she continued her tirade. “I will be damned if I let someone mess up this opportunity!” her Mother stopped when she accidentally locked gazes with her daughter. This seemed to shock the older woman out of her anger, and the mask of calm that she usually wore returned as if by magic. Only the fierce sparkle in her Okaa-sama’s emerald green eyes showed her genuine feelings.

“Please forgive me, Christiana,” the redheaded lady stated as she once again sat in her favorite throne-like chair. “I should not have spoken in that manner in front of you,” her Mother said while bowing her head slightly.

‘Two apologies in ten minutes?’ the child thought. ‘What is going on?’ Just as her parent was doing her best to hide her emotions, she tried to mask her own as she bowed in response.

“Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention, Christiana,” the matriarch remarked, her tone calm and collected once more.

Then the older woman did something that startled her more than anything that had happened since she entered her Okaa-sama’s chambers. Her Mother peered at her as if she was looking at an equal, all traces of the emotional mask she normally wore missing from her smiling visage. Then she walked over to her daughter, bending her knees and squatting down so she was eye to eye with her before taking hold of Christiana’s hands.

She looked at her Mother in wonder, dumbfounded by this turn of events. From up close she could see that despite her Okaa-sama’s age of fifty Colonial Years, she appeared more like a young woman in her mid-thirties. Considering that this was roughly the equivalent of twenty-eight Terran years, it meant that her parent seemed extraordinarily youthful for someone who had borne six children. Beyond a sprinkling of freckles, her progenitor’s skin was smooth and unblemished without a single wrinkle to speak of. Despite her short lifespan, she could tell that Okaa-sama was quite the Eire-ish beauty.

After a few moments, the older woman broke the silence. “Christiana, in the future, please visit me with any questions that you may have. You and Haruhi are both welcome to come to me at any time, Mainday, Alterday, or Night,” she said in a very subdued voice. “I promise you I won’t be upset with either of you, no matter the reason,” she continued with utmost sincerity.

She kept looking at her Mother for a few moments, confused by this unexpected situation. Finally, she responded by saying, “You only mentioned Haruhi-nee and I and not the others.” Then she asked, “Is it because we are both gee-emms? Or is it because we are both Initials?”

Upon hearing this, her parent bit her lip in consternation. Then, replying in what the daughter thought was pure honesty, “It is because the two of you have the most potential by far of all of my children.”

“Then why did you make Anastasia-onee your heir in the family business?” the girl inquired innocently.

At this, her Mother let out a merry laugh. Then she grinned before replying, “Christiana, while the company is important, I cannot see either of you wasting your time by heading it. You are both meant for something considerably greater than that.”

“What do you mean by greater?” she asked, confusion written across her youthful face.

“Oh little one, you have so very much to learn,” the older woman replied while brushing a lock of Christiana’s golden hair behind the girl’s ear with her fingers. Then her Okaa-sama rose to her feet while still holding the child’s hand and led her over to her throne-like armchair. Then, after momentarily letting go of her daughter’s grasp, she went over and placed another seat in front of her own.

“Come and sit next to me,” she said while patting the cushion of the newly moved chair before sitting herself.

The bewildered child sat down in the seat facing her parent’s. This was an additional first for the girl. Her Mother had never urged her daughter to sit with her before.

“Now Christiana, Karen informed me you once asked her about a certain children’s drawing in the parlor,” she began in a soft voice. “Do you remember what you were told?”

“Yes, she explained that one of the earliest Presidents of the colony drew it when she was a child,” the girl responded. After all, that was an important memory of hers.

“Exactly,” her Mother replied with a bright smile. “When President Pace first made that scribble, nobody would have dreamed that she would eventually preside over an entire planet.” Then, after once again taking Christiana’s hands into her own, she continued, “It was not until later, as the child grew, that her capacity as a leader became clear.”

It only took a few seconds for Christiana to realize what her Mother was implying. However, a minute or two passed before she could give her Okaa-sama a properly worded response. “So you believe that Haruhi-nee and I have the potential to become President?” she asked, hoping that her guess wasn’t right.

“Not exactly,” the older woman began.

‘Thank goodness,’ she thought to herself, ‘I don’t think that I could handle that type of responsibility much less oneechan...’

“But I imagine that both of your talents would be wasted by staying in a backwater place like Simmon’s Town. Not to mention running a mining company, no matter how large it is,” her Okaa-sama continued as she let go of her daughter’s hands.

“But what about Ana-onee?” the girl asked, wondering what made the two womb-mates so special.

“Oh, I am sure that Anastasia can manage the Washington mines and the other businesses reasonably well,” her parent responded with a smile. “She is quite qualified even though she is not my bloodDaughter.” Then after a moment’s thought, she continued, “I also think that she will make a good Mother for my Aftercommer, thus putting the company back into a genetic Washington’s hands. But, while she is competent, she still does not have the same potential that you two share.”

“How do you know that for sure?” she inquired, not wanting to believe that the Sister she admired was inferior to either Haruhi-nee or herself.

As soon as she asked this question, the genuine grin on her parent’s face disappeared. Instantly, the wintry smile of her aloof mask replaced it. “I just have a strong feeling about this,” she responded. “Well, that and the sudden spike in both of your grades during the past Year.”

Even the trusting girl realized that her Okaa-sama was being less than truthful and that she was hiding something. However, there was nothing she could think of to disprove what her Mother had said. She had no choice but to let the matter drop. As a result, an uncomfortable quiet fell across the room, one she did not dare to break.

After what seemed like an eternity, the matriarch broke the silence. “So how is your training progressing, well, other than you were late to practice three times?”

“Saito-sensei says I am making steady progress,” Christiana replied, trying her best to mask her lack of enthusiasm. “Also, she complimented me on my athletic ability,” she continued, trying to be truthful while casting herself in the most positive light possible.

“Yes, I have been getting weekly reports from Saito-sensei,” the matriarch revealed. “However, while what you have said is true, your instructor has also reported that you have little enthusiasm for your training.”

‘Crap,’ she thought, ‘I tried my best to look interested in martial arts practice, but I guess I am not good at acting.’ Then she deliberated, ‘What should I say to hide my indifference while not upsetting Mother?’ and began wracking her brain to devise an acceptable excuse.

Because of this line of thinking, the girl took too long to respond and the older woman inquired, “Don’t you love your brother?”

“Of course I do!” she responded without even a second’s thought.

“Then wouldn’t you like to attend middle school with him and be in the same class?” her parent asked, “You would also skip a grade if you get the position. After all, with your academic ability, I believe you would thrive in a more challenging environment.”

“I want to go to the academy with Johnathan-nii,” Christiana responded, “and the added schoolwork wouldn’t bother me. Those things aren’t the issue.”

“Then what is?” the matriarch asked in visible interest, her green eyes centered on her Daughter.

Under normal circumstances, she would have noticed her Mother’s sudden focus on her, but she was too busy trying to think of a believable excuse for her negative attitude. ‘I can’t tell her I don’t want to be separated from Haruhi-nee,’ she thought. That would just be too embarrassing for her to admit. While she wanted to go to school with her brother, if she did, then they would separate her from her sister. To Christiana, having to choose one sibling over the other was like asking her which hand she desired to have cut off.

At least with her current situation, she did not have to make the judgment herself. The law said that males could not go to school until they reached middle school age. Thus the fact that the girl went to grade school with Haruhi-nee and not Johnathan-nii wasn’t Christiana’s choice. The government had decided for her. However, once she entered middle school, the regulation would no longer apply and it would force Christiana to make a decision that she simply could not make.

“If I get the position, then it’ll allow me to go to the academy with Johnathan-nii, but I’ll have to be highly alert at all times,” she said to her Mother. While it didn’t explain her attitude, it was still the truth.

“Yes, you will be required to stay on your toes, but that is only in between classes and at lunchtime... in middle school at least,” her Okaa-sama replied. “But that is just an obligation of the position.”

“What if it is not a responsibility that I am willing to take?” the girl countered after a brief pause. It was the best excuse Christiana could come up with on the spur of the moment.

The girl’s Mother shook her head in apparent consternation. “Since you want to be evasive right now, we will continue this conversation another time,” the woman said. “However, I want you to think about this saying until we talk about the subject again.” Here the matriarch paused for a moment, apparently to add emphasis to her next statement. “Even the most protracted journey begins with the first step. I believe that winning this tournament is just the start of a glorious adventure.”

With that, the red-haired woman motioned for her daughter to leave the chamber.

‘Thank goodness,’ she thought as she bowed to her Okaa-sama, ‘This has been the longest and weirdest conversation of my life.’

However, as the child was leaving the room, her parent stopped her by saying, “Oh, Christiana, one more thing.”

At this, she had no recourse but to turn towards the matriarch once again.

“Well, it is actually a few things,” the older woman began.

It was all she could do not to grit her teeth in frustration. ‘I am so tired,’ she thought while doing her best not to show her genuine feelings on her face.

Then she responded with a polite, “Yes, Mother,” after yet another deep bow.

“First, I think you should stop by Karen’s house after your training session on Sat’day,” the older woman said. She then paused a moment before explaining further. “You may be more open with her than you are with me. After all, you still don’t refer to Sydney as secMother even though she has been serving as your secMother for months.”

‘She’s right,’ Christiana mentally agreed. ‘I am a lot more comfortable and truthful with secMother Karen.’

“Second, I just received a call from Miss Harrison,” the red-haired woman said. “She will be in this region for the next week to ten days on business. She said that would like to have dinner with you during her visit and wants you to call her tonight to arrange the date and time.”

Upon hearing this information, Christiana’s weariness evaporated as if it was a dream. “Really!” the girl squealed, unconsciously jumping up and down with a cute grin on her face. “I haven’t seen Miss Harrison since last Spring,” she continued after quickly calming down.

Miss Harrison was a youthful woman, about the same age as Ana-onee. She normally came to visit her every few months. Whenever she visited, they inevitably had a fun time visiting museums, going shopping, and eating out. She was consistently kind to Christiana, and she spoiled her by showering her with gifts and attention. While she did not know why Miss Harrison had taken a liking to her, it delighted the younger girl that she had. Besides, Haruhi-nee had a similar relationship with a young lady named Miss Kayajima, so she did not worry that her womb-mate would feel left out. Plus, she always remembered to pick up a gift or two for Johnathan-nii while she spent time in the company of Miss Harrison. Of course, the elder Sister did the same when she was out with Miss Kayajima.

However, her Mother did not appear thrilled at Christiana’s response. For a moment, a look of loneliness flashed across the woman’s face as she watched her daughter’s excited reaction. This expression rapidly turned into a frown and into a full-fledged scowl in a matter of moments.

“Christiana,” the redhead began, a hint of anger noticeable in her voice, “Please remember that Miss Harrison and her family are both extremely powerful and wealthy. Her clan has been an important benefactor of our matFam and House in ways that you can not yet comprehend.”

Then, as the smile on her daughter’s face gradually melted away, she continued, “So you must be on your best behavior when you are around Miss Harrison. The last thing we need is for her household to abandon our own.”

She could sense the importance of what her Mother was saying from how the woman was speaking. This was something that her progenitor was serious about, and there was no sign of warmth, nor of her cool facade. She could not help but think that this was her Okaa-sama’s business voice and face, the one she used to run the Washington family companies.

Frightened by this newly revealed aspect of her parent, she tried her utmost to hide a shiver as she responded, “Yes Mother, I will do my best.” Then the child gave a deep bow to her progenitor, at which the older woman motioned for her to leave for the second time.

As she finally left her parent’s chamber, Jessica, Lucy, and even Sara passed her, all heading inside with worried looks on their faces. Apparently, the matriarch had summoned the security members from both the inner and outer houses to discuss the matter of Mrs. Parker. Well, that and the possibility of a turncoat within the patFam. She merely nodded at the trio as she walked by, not wanting to delay them as they continued on their way to meet with her Okaa-sama.

—-

As tired as she was, Christiana still had the energy to call Miss Harrison before taking her bath and getting ready for bed. After letting her siblings know she had to make a call, she proceeded to the main sitting room. Once there, she asked the com’ to dial Miss Harrison and waited for the call to connect.

It only took a moment before a feminine voice answered, “Hello, Harrison here.”

“Hello, It’s Christiana,” she replied. “Why are you on voice only?”

“Oh, hi little one. I’m sorry, but I am indisposed at the moment. I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s okay, I’m just happy to talk to you,” Christiana responded. “Mother said that I should call you because you wanted to have dinner with me. I’m really looking forward to it!”

“Ahh, yes I did say that. What day are you free this week?”

“I have practice every day but Sunday,” Christiana said with some regret. That was quite a few days away and she wanted to see Miss Harrison as soon as possible.

However, the person on the other end of the line came to a different conclusion, apparently based on her tone. “So you’re not liking practice much I take it?”

“That’s not what I meant…” she began only to be cut off by Miss Harrison.

“Why don’t you like the idea of becoming Johnathan’s Keeper?” the older female asked.

“Well, uhh...” Christiana began only to be cut off once again.

“Look, why don’t we discuss this when we meet on Sunday, since you are apparently trying to come up with an excuse and not the true reason. In the meantime, let me hazard a quick guess,” Miss Harrison pressed.

“Okay…”

“Does it have something to do with your sister Haruhi?” the Miss Harrison asked.

“N-no,” Christiana began, only to be cut off yet again.

“Then let me give you something to look into before our dinner. Is the following statement true? In the early colony, more than one member of a family could be Keepers for the same male.”

“What!?” Christiana replied, stunned by Miss Harrison’s statement. Had Miss Harrison guessed the reason she was so reluctant to become a Keeper? Namely, that she didn’t want to be separated from Haruhi-nee? In addition, did Miss Harrison just give her a possible solution to her problem?

“Please look into this for me and we will discuss it at more length when we meet in person. Shall we say Sunday at seven P.M.? Now I really have to go since I am getting ready to step in the shower. See you then,” Miss Harrison said just before she closed the com’ connection.

Christiana didn’t even notice her friend’s slightly rude behavior since she was still mulling over the possible implications of what Miss Harrison had asked her to research.

Eventually, she could only think of one thing, a hot relaxing bath. Although she had taken a shower after training, she wanted some time to relax and reflect on her seemingly endless day before turning in. Otherwise, the girl knew she would lie in bed thinking until well into the night. “Even a quick soak would help me clear my mind,” she muttered as she went to her bedroom to grab some pajamas.

Upon reaching her chamber, it surprised her that both Haruhi-nee and John-nii were not inside playing video games. ‘She’s probably in the bathroom,’ the youngster thought as she dug out her favorite flower-covered fuzzy PJs from a drawer recessed into the bedchamber’s walls.

However, when she entered the changing room outside of the bath, she did not see her oneechan’s clothing in any of the baskets. ‘I wonder where she is?’ she asked herself as she stripped and placed her clothes in one of the small containers. She then grabbed a towel and washcloth before entering the enormous bathroom used by her and her siblings. After washing and conditioning her hair and showering her body, she could finally enter the tub.

This bathtub was large enough to hold all five of the Sisters at once, with a little room to spare. While it wasn’t deep, it was still very long and wide. Back on Old Earth, in the West at least, they would have considered something this size a hot tub. Others would have deemed it a Jacuzzi. This was because filters cleaned and recycled the water. They did not empty the liquid after each use as a Western bathtub.

Upon landing on Cooper’s World, the colonists had quickly revived the ancient Nipponese custom of bathing. After all, none of them could take a bath while on the starships, with showers being their only option to stay clean. Thus when they made it to the surface and learned the pleasure of immersing themselves in warm ponds, baths were the first “non-essential” structures that they constructed.

All of this flashed through her mind as she laid down in the steaming liquid. She was a big history buff after all, and they had recently talked about the powerful influences of Nipponese culture on the early colony in school. ‘Thank goodness for Nippon,’ she reflected, laying her head back into the water and her long hair floating around her youthful face. Another thought quickly followed: ‘This is bliss.’

After a few minutes of this, she moved and leaned her back against the side of the tub while sitting partially immersed. ‘I am so tired and this is so relaxing,’ she thought, ‘I only need to close my eyes for a moment.’ Then, without meaning to, she fell into a deep sleep.

———

After what only seemed like a few moments, someone tickling her sides rudely awakened her. Even in her half-asleep state, she knew who the culprit was before she opened her eyelids. “Haruhi-nee, get back in your own bed,” she called out, controlling her giggles as best as she could.

Christiana had been correct as to who the offender was, but she was wrong about the location. It took her a few moments to realize where she was. After all, loud sloshing sounds accompanied her instinctive thrashing around in response to being tickled.

‘Oh right, I was taking a bath,’ she thought hazily as she opened her eyes. In front of her, Haruhi-nee was reaching out and ticking her younger sister, both of the girls naked as the day they were born. Immediately following this, her womb-mate stopped the tickle torture.

“Wake up, sleepyhead!” the older girl said, a bright smile on her face. “You know you can get dizzy if you stay in the bath too long,” she continued, reaching out her hand to help her Sister up.

“What time is it?” she asked as she grasped the offered appendage and got to her feet.

“It’s after eleven,” Haruhi-nee reported while steadying the younger girl who was suffering from a moment of vertigo. However, the dizziness was from standing too quickly rather than from being in the warm water for too long.

“It’s so late,” Christiana commented as she climbed out of the bath. “What are you doing up?”

“I came looking for you, silly,” Haruhi-nee responded with a laugh. Then she proceeded in a more serious voice, “I got a little worried when you did not come to bed. So I looked around to see if you had fallen to sleep on a couch somewhere.” Then her Sister continued, “When I didn’t find you on a sofa I tried to think of where else you might have fallen asleep. In the end, I found you here.”

“Wait,” Christiana asked when the thought hit her, “you were in the bath with me... did you shower first?”

“Don’t sweat the small stuff,” Haruhi-nee responded, doing her best to change the subject, “Come on let’s get you dried off and into bed. The bags under your eyes have bags of their own.”

However, she wouldn’t let things drop. “So you didn’t wash off before going into the tub?” she asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting to verify it. While waiting for her Sister’s reply, she picked up a big fluffy towel from the warmer and began drying herself off.

Haruhi-nee sighed as she grabbed a bath sheet of her own. “No, I did not,” she admitted. Before Christiana could even respond, she continued, “But I showered and bathed not long after you went to see Mother. How could I get dirty lounging around the house for a few hours?”

“That’s true,” she responded as she toweled her hair dry. As tired as she was, she decided to just go to bed with it damp instead of using the hairdryer. It wasn’t as if patMother Sydney was going to come checking on her this late and notice that her tresses were still semi-wet. After all, patMother Sydney had seemingly forgotten to check on the younger children since it was her responsibility to make sure that everyone was resting by a set time. If Sydney had checked, then she should have been the one searching for her and not her Sister.

As she was putting on her pajamas, yet another thought struck the half-asleep youngster. “Haruhi-nee,” she began, “Why did you take a bath so early? When I left, you were playing video games with Johnathan-nii.”

As she looked over her at her womb-mate. Christiana noticed the slight frown on her companion’s face. The black-haired girl paused for a few moments before replying, “John-nii says that it is not the same unless all three of us are together.” Now fully clothed, she hesitated once more as she took a comb out of the sterilizer. Her silence went on as she sat on a stool in front of the vanity mirror. Finally, she continued, “Since you have been going to practice after school every day, we don’t play the way we used to.”

This unexpected revelation jolted her back to full consciousness. The now opened-mouthed Christiana looked her Sister in the eye. “Why would he say that?” she asked her womb-mate in a surprised tone. “That doesn’t sound like him at all.”

Haruhi-nee merely shrugged, the frown deepening on her face as she combed out her dark hair. After a few seconds, the older child continued, “I think he just misses you when you’re not there. To be honest, we both do.”

Christiana remained there, stunned by this unexpected news. After a few moments of silence, she perched on a stool and took a comb of her own from the sterilizer. However, she only sat there, looking at her companion’s reflection. When Haruhi-nee finished grooming her Night dark hair, she stood up and retrieved the unused item from her sibling’s hand. Then the elder Sister began combing her long golden tresses.

She turned her head and looked at the older girl over her shoulder, a look of regret on her features. In an apologetic tone, she said, “I’m sorry, oneechan. I don’t want to become a Keeper, much less train for it every day.”

The dark-haired youngster’s face lit up when she heard her Sister say that, and she smiled back before she turned her head forward once again. The two were silent for a while, Haruhi-nee happily combing her womb-mate’s hair far longer than she needed to.

Finally, the younger girl broke the companionable silence. “If you aren’t spending your afternoons with Johnathan-nii, then what are you doing when I’m not around?” she asked out of curiosity.

“Well, after I finish my homework, I go hang out with Amelia-neechan,” Haruhi-nee replied.

Christiana immediately responded by exclaiming, “What!” so loud that it was a surprise that no one in the rest of the house heard her. “All Amelia-neechan thinks about is love and getting Married as soon as she can,” she continued.

Amelia-neechan had just turned eighteen Colonial Years old and was in her first Year of high school. From the time the medium height child with long curly brown hair entered middle school, her mind had been full of nothing but finding a good union and buying into it. While becoming interested in sex and Marriage was common amongst her age group, Amelia-neechan took things to the extreme. When she was alone with her youngers, it was all the girl would talk about.

Luckily, their next oldest sister, Sophie-oneechan, was the total opposite of Amelia-neechan. The twenty Colonial Year old Sophie-oneechan was very serious and not at all unstable. This short, dark-haired beauty had a mixture of Asian and Caucasian features with a very curvy figure. The problem with Sophie-oneechan was that she was only interested in her books and had very little involvement with other people. Thus, even though she was a high school honors student, she was unpopular with her peers. Her not taking care of her appearance didn’t help matters, although she was meticulously clean. Amelia-neechan constantly tried to get Sophie-oneechan to wear fashionable clothes and style her hair according to the latest trends. However, the elder girl merely replied that fashion was nothing more than a waste of time and money.

Unfortunately, since the capricious Amelia-neechan had been born between Sophie-oneechan and the trio of youngers, making her the odd man out, so to speak. Her lack of interest in academics and her fixation on love and Marriage isolated the girl from her more serious Sisters. However, Amelia-neechan’s outgoing personality helped her to make many friends at school, and she spent most of her free time on the ’com chatting with them.

As a result, it stunned Christiana to hear that Haruhi-nee was voluntarily spending time with Amelia-neechan. While the womb-mates were both popular with their peers, neither of them were as whimsical as Amelia-neechan. Besides, neither girl was concerned with love and Marriage at their age. Thus, either Haruhi-nee had to have gone crazy or else she had become very lonely without her two favorite siblings.

“Amelia-neechan isn’t that bad as long as you talk about things she is interested in,” the older sibling responded after a pause. “For instance, last night we talked about how we could merge hairstyles from Old Earth modern styles to make new ones.”

“I could see how that might work. She is excited about becoming a trendsetter,” Christiana replied, as she took yet another comb from the sterilizer. Then, after getting up and walking behind her Sister, she began combing Haruhi-nee’s long dark hair. “So you have to be creative to talk to her about something other than love,” she continued.

After flashing her womb-mate a quick smile over her shoulder and then turning to face forward, Haruhi-nee replied, “Yep. You would not believe the conversation we had about silk last week.” Then the older girl giggled and said, “She actually took notes when I told her we could manufacture a similar fabric from rayon and polyester called satin.”

“Why was she so interested in that?” Christiana asked while running the comb through her Sister’s hair.

“Well, we don’t have enough see-oh-too free areas to raise silkworms in sufficient quantities. Thus the only way that we can create a related material is with synthetics,” the older girl explained. “Since most clothes, including kimonos, are composed of woven cotton, we still haven’t generated synthetic-based fabrics on a major scale here on Cooper’s World. However, we have the technology to fabricate polyester and rayon from the excess carbon in the atmosphere. There just hasn’t been a market for man-made materials because they are much more expensive than fibers derived from plants. After all, most vegetation thrives in the see-oh-too rich air.”

“So Amelia-neechan had the idea to produce satin, make clothes out of it, and wear them as a new style,” she conjectured.

“Not exactly,” Haruhi-nee responded. “She wants to create satin kimonos and sell them instead of wearing them herself. That way she could break into the fashion industry while investing her profits back into satin production and into the large-scale production of synthetic fibers.”

“Wow, that is a good idea,” Christiana replied, amazed to learn that underneath her capricious exterior her least dependable sister had a head for business. However, after a few moments of thought, she continued, “Haruhi-nee, how much of this plan was your idea?”

Her womb-mate laughed for a bit before replying, “I’d estimate about fifty to sixty percent, but she came up with almost half of the scheme on her own. She is a lot smarter than she lets on.”

“Then why does she act like a love-addled social butterfly?” Christiana asked as she continued combing.

Haruhi-nee was quiet for a moment, apparently trying to come up with an appropriate answer. Then she said, “I guess she thinks that if she acts too intelligent, she won’t be liked at school. After all, Sophie-oneechan behaves as if she smarter than the rest of us combined and she is the least popular.”

She promptly quipped, “That has a lot more to do with the fact that Sophie-oneechan likes to be alone than how smart she is.”

“Well, that just shows that Amelia-neechan isn’t as bright as we are,” the dark-haired girl replied with a chuckle.

Christiana stopped combing her Sister’s hair and put the combs back into the sterilizer, pressed the button to make it close and begin its UV cycle, and walked away. On impulse, she reached out and took Haruhi-nee’s hand, to which her sister responded with an unabashed smile. It had been a while since the duo had done this, but when they were younger, the two had often held hands.

“I hope things like this can help to cure her loneliness,” she thought as she led her womb-mate out of the bathroom, through the halls, and into their bedroom. The pair walked side by side, their fingers still entwined without saying a word. Christiana looked over at her Sister from time to time, only to see her beaming the entire way.

Once they got to their room, she finally released her womb-mate’s hand to close the door.

“Aww,” Haruhi-nee said in a fairly quiet voice as soon as their hands parted. However, Christiana acted like she hadn’t heard. Then she walked to her bunk and laid down under her warm, fuzzy covers while turned away from her companion. After she realized that her older Sister had settled in, she flipped over so she was facing her womb-mate’s bed. Just as she had suspected, her sibling was laying there peeking at her from under her bedding.

Acting like she was exasperated, the younger girl sighed loudly and then said, “Okay, you can sleep with me if you want to,” and then turned back over. She smiled when she heard her oneechan say “Yay” before she hopped up and climbed in with Christiana. Then she snuggled up to her Sister and hugged her from behind.

As soon as Haruhi-nee settled in, she called out, “lights off,” and the room dimmed, leaving only a faint glow. This small amount of light remained so the girls could see to get to the door if they had to go to the bathroom during the night. Hurriedly stumbling around in the dark while having to use the restroom was no fun, and it was a good way to stub a toe or two.

Just as she was drifting off to sleep, her Sister commented, “You know Amelia-neechan, and I talked a little about her favorite subject.”

“Really?” Christiana responded, her half-asleep mind not quite understanding what her womb mate was hinting at.

“Yeah,” Haruhi-nee went on, “She told me all about what husbands and Wives do in the privacy of their bedrooms.”

“That’s nice,” she replied groggily, no longer paying attention to what the older girl was saying as she drifted off to sleep.

“Yeah, she said that what they do is really fun,” the elder child continued, and then playfully kissed her on the cheek.

This, of course, brought Christiana back to consciousness in the blink of an eye. “What are you doing!” she exclaimed, abruptly sitting up in the bed.

In response, her older sister dissolved into a fit of giggles. “I was just kidding,” she replied. “I wanted to see how you would react to my joke. Amelia-neechan doesn’t know what adults do in the bedroom any more than we do.”

At this, she simply shook her head, called the dark-haired girl a baka, and then laid back down next to her weirdo of a Sister.

“Good night, Chris-imouto,” Haruhi-nee said as she snuggled up to her womb-mate yet again.

“G’night,” she replied, already well on her way to dreamland. It had been one of the most eventful days of her young life, and she welcomed sleep with all of her heart.