Songs in the Void

Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo. 

Eventually, Sumire dragged Tatsuo to the floor below the one where they lived. And when they arrived, they found a floor absent of apartments. Instead, there was only a series of pillar supporting the floor above. On top of that, around each pillar, there were work out machines. However, these machines were not normal. Not in the sense that they looked different from other work out machines. Instead, it was because the weight they could go up to were around a ton. 

Not only were there work out machines littered all around the floor, but there were also all sorts of martial arts equipment. In one corner, there was an area dedicated to grounded combat. In another corner, there were a number of heavy bags and speed bags. In the center of the floor, there was a fenced off octagon for sparring matches, as well. 

And to add the finishing touch to the training floor, there was a track that ran around the perimeter of the floor. And for those who wanted to get in a run while watching people spar, there were a number of treadmills facing the octagon. There were also stair master machines and stationary bikes, as well. 

"Okay, Tatsu-Chan, start off with ten laps around the building." Sumire said, her tone much more serious than when she usually spoke to Tatsuo. "After that,, today is leg day." 

Nodding in response, Tatsuo did not resist his mother's instructions at all. So, he immediately started running around the track. Meanwhile, his mother moved towards the center of the floor, occupying a position where she could keep track of Tatsuo's progress and form. 

Around the time Tatsuo finished his seventh lap, Kasumi stepped through the elevator doors and started her own workout. Then, by the time Tatsuo finished his run, Mai also stepped onto the workout floor. 

Like that, Tatsuo, Mai, and Kasumi all did their workouts under Sumire's supervision. Then, about an hour later, they all met up in the center of the floor, near the octagon. 

"Alright, Mai, Tatsuo, you're up." Sumire said, still speaking in her serious tone. "Today, there are no restrictions. So, go all out. I'll step in if it gets too dangerous, so don't worry." 

'She must definitely have stats higher than E+.' Tatsuo thought to himself as he glanced at Sumire while entering the octagon. 'Otherwise, there's no way she should be able to stop all those lethal attacks like she does.' 

Just as Tatsuo said, ever since he came to live with his mother, the four have had sparring matches, at least, four times a week. And not once has anyone gotten seriously injured. And the reason for that was simple, Sumire, who was also in the ring, when acting as the referee, would manage to stop them in time. And when she was one of the participants, Tatsuo, Mai, and Kasumi were unable to even get close to landing a lethal attack. And she had enough bodily control to stop her own attacks at the last moment. 

While remembering all the sparring sessions he had witnessed over the last few months, Tatsuo took his position in the octagon opposite Mai. 

"Are you ready, Tatsu-Kun?" Mai asked in a flirtatious tone. "I want you to show me all your passion. Hit me with all of it. Try to leave me a quivering mess on the floor." 

As she spoke, Mai reached behind her back and pulled the fan out of her obi. Then, she dropped into her fighting stance by spreading her legs, lowering her center of gravity, leaning forward, making the valley between her large breasts more visible, and gently touched the ring with her closed fan before raising her head to make eye contact with Tatsuo. 

At the same time, Tatsuo also took his fighting stance, balling his hands into fists, raising them both to eye level, slightly spreading his legs with his left foot forward, and bending his knees while bouncing on the balls of his feet. 

"That trick isn't gonna work anymore, Mai-Nee." Tatsuo said in a solemn tone. "We're gonna be fighting for real this time." 

As Tatsuo said, back when he first came to live with Sumire, Mai, and Kasumi, he always found himself flustered by Mai's fighting stance that used her sex appeal to her advantage. On top of that, he had gotten used to Mai's bubbly, sometimes airheaded, personality. So, when she switched into her fighter persona, he was caught off guard. But now, after a few months, he is no longer effected by these changes. 

"Mmm~! So you're really gonna pound me hard, huh?" Mai asked in a seductive tone. "Are you gonna try to break me? Make me remember your strong body for the rest of my life?" 

Instead of respond, Tatsuo only shook his head before focusing on Mai once again. This reaction made Mai pout a little. Still, she never lost her focus. 

"Are you both ready?" Sumire asked as she stepped into the ring. Then, after receiving nods from both fighters, she slashed her hand through the air. "Fight!" 

Immediately after the signal was given, Tatsuo pushed off the ring and darted towards Mai. In response, Mai snapped her fan open. Then, she threw it, sending it flying towards Tatsuo's chest. 

'I have to get in close fast.' Tatsuo thought to himself as he side stepped the incoming projectile. 'I don't know where she keeps all her fans, especially when you consider how little she's wearing, but I've never seen her run out of them in a fight. Even though she throws them over and over again, like a machine gun.' 

And just as Tatsuo was thinking, Mai pulled out another fan, from God knows where, before throwing it at him, too. However, just like the first, Tatsuo managed to dodge it. And with that, he was within striking range. 

So, Tatsuo threw himself into a flying knee as soon as he was close enough, forcing Mai to crouch low to dodge. Then, she immediately produced another fan. However, instead of throwing it, she swept it upwards, intending to use its frame to strike Tatsuo in the chin. 

Reacting quickly, Tatsuo leaned his head back, narrowly avoiding the fan. Then, using the leg he threw his knee with, he slammed his foot down, intending to step on Mai's foot. However, Mai was quick to step back, keeping her mobility from being hampered by a foot injury. 

Immediately after avoiding the stomp, Mai once again lowered herself. Then, in the same motion, she spun on her pivot foot and swept her back leg at Tatsuo's legs, aiming to sweep him off his feet. In response, a peculiar shaped dagger appeared in Tatsuo's right hand, that he stabbed downwards towards Mai's attacking leg, forcing her to cancel her attack. Instead, she kicked the ground and flipped backwards, gaining a little distance. 

When Tatsuo and Mai reset after their little clash, Tatsuo was now holding a dagger in his right hand, in reverse grip. However, unlike regular daggers, which consist of a hilt, possibly a guard, and a blade, this looked more like a knuckle duster with sharp, pointy knuckles and a blade growing from one end. On top of that, the finger holes were sized in a way that it could be worn either way, whether the wielder wanted to hold the blade in anormal grip or a reverse grip. 

"Alright, that was enough of a warm up." Tatsuo said as he produced a second one of his strange daggers, equipping his left hand, as well. "You ready to do this for real now, Mai-Nee." 

"Mmm~! Yes, Tatsu-Kun, give it to me harder." Mai replied in a seductive tone. 

Shaking his head, Tatsuo swung his left hand diagonally upward, parrying an incoming fan that Mai threw as soon as he stopped looking at her. Then, he once again dashed forward. However, unlike last time, Mai did not stay stationary while Tatsuo ran forward. Instead, she took short hops backwards to keep the distance to her advantage. 

Unfortunately, Tatsuo and Mai were fighting in a caged off ring. Meaning, she would eventually run out of space to maneuver. And that happened after only a few more seconds. 

While backing away, Mai continued throwing her endless fan barrage. However, Tatsuo continued to parry them as he approached. Then, Mai eventually found herself pressed up against the cage. And when she did, Tatsuo narrowed the distance, throwing a front kick aimed at her abdomen. 

Before the kick could connect, however, Mai leapt of the ring, causing Tatsuo's kick to connect with the cage. Then she kicked off the cage, flipped herself around midair, and kicked off the ceiling when she was right above Tatsuo. As a result, she was now coming straight down with her fan ready to strike the top of his head. 

Reacting quickly, Tatsuo kicked off the cage, as well, pushing himself backwards. As a result, he was able to avoid Mai's downward strike. Then, once he was clear of Mai's attack, he stepped in once again, throwing an overhand right at the crouching Mai. 

*Clang!* 

However, before things became too dangerous, Mai raised her fan, blocking the bladed knuckle dusters with it. Then, she tried to push Tatsuo backwards while keeping an eye on his other hand. However, Mai was taken off guard when she was easily able to push Tatsuo away. But that was by design. 

Just as Tatsuo noticed Mai tensing her muscles to exert force on his knuckle duster, he stepped back. As a result, Mai was thrown off balance for an instant. However, that instant was more than enough for Tatsuo, as he quickly lowered his body and lunged forward, slamming his shoulder into Mai's abdomen. 

"Gah!" Mai grunted in pain 

*Rattle!* 

A moment later, Mai's back slammed into the cage behind her. At the same time, just before slamming Mai into the cage, Tatsuo spun his bladed knuckle dusters on his fingers, switching his grip on the two weapons, before stabbing them both at Mai's sides. 

*Smack!* x 2 

"Okay, that's enough.' Sumire said after catching Tatsuo's wrists and forcing his attack to a stop. "You both did well. Now, you can watch my spar with Kasumi or go and get cleaned up for dinner. It's up to you." 

"*Sigh* I lost…" Mai muttered with a smile. "Still, it felt amazing when Tatsu-Kun plowed into me like that. Ooh! It made me shiver." 

"Just get out of the ring, Mai-Chan." Sumire said as she let go of Tatsuo's wrists. Then, she chopped Mai on the top of the head as she continued. "You can go have your lewd fantasies about my Tatsu-Chan somewhere else. Just remember, tomorrow, he'll only be fifteen" 

"Ow! Sumire-Sama~." Mai whined as she grabbed the top of her head. "That hurt~." 

"It was supposed to." Sumire replied. Then, she turned to Tatsuo with a smile a she continued. "Now, get out of the ring. Oh, and Tatsu-Chan, you did great~. Mommy is so proud of you~." 

While Sumire was gushing over Tatsuo, who was trying to avoid being pulled into a hug, Mai finally registered what Sumire said about Tatsuo's age. Then, she slumped her shoulders in disappointment. 

"*Sigh* I have to cook dinner, anyway." Mai said in a downcast tone as she started moving to picking up all her fans. "You know, since my spar was first today." 

With that, Mai spent about a minute picking up all her thrown fans. Then, once she had stored them all in her… clothes, she left the ring and headed upstairs to start cooking. Tatsuo also left the ring. However, instead of heading upstairs, he took a seat and watched the match between Sumire and Kasumi. And like always, Sumire won without even being hit. 

After both Sumire and Kasumi left the ring, the three headed upstairs to get cleaned up. And when they all finished washing off the sweat, they met in the apartment's dining room and chatted until Mai served dinner. 

After dinner was finished, Tatsuo, Sumire, Mai, and Kasumi separated, returning to their own rooms. And as soon as Tatsuo was in his room, he flopped onto his bed. 

"*Sigh* I'll be fifteen in a few hours." Tatsuo muttered to himself while staring at the ceiling. "I wonder if those guys from DAO TECH will come after me again. If they do, I wonder if I'll make it to seventeen this time around." 

With thoughts of uncertainty swirling around in his head, Tatsuo drifted off to sleep, expecting to be woken up first thing in the morning by his easily excited mother. However, he was woken up much earlier than expected. 

*Ding! Dong! Dong! Ding!* 

Just as the clock struck midnight and the day changed from October twenty-eighth to October twenty-ninth, Tatsuo was awakened by the sound of bells ringing in his head. 

{Congratulations! Today is your fifteenth Birthday! In order to Congratulate you, The System has prepared a gift. Would you like to open your birthday gift? Yes/No} 

"Well, this is new…" Tatsuo grumbled discontentedly. "I've had this thing since the day I was born in this world. And this is the first time it's ever acknowledged my damn birthday."