( The real world, Sector D )
"What do you mean you have no MP left? Where did you spend close to 1100 MP?" Luke asked Leo in shock, as he could not comprehend how Leo could be so irresponsible to have spent 1100 MP when he knew that their mother needed every last bit of it.
"Brother… wait let me explain-" Leo said, as he tried to get a word in before Luke lost his mind.
Luke had just logged out of the game and was shocked to see Leo getting ready for work, as he walked up to him and asked "Why are you getting ready for work? I thought we agreed on taking a week off-"
To which Leo replied "I don't have any MP left-", which immediately made Luke lose his temper.
For him saving MP for their mother was a sensitive topic, which was why Leo's words immediately triggered him.
"What happened is… yesterday I went to the MP exchange center to call mom since I was feeling lonely and bored alone in the apartment.
There, as I called mom, I found out that a massive earthquake had caused our apartment to collapse, trapping mom and that guy she's staying with underneath the emergency table.
They only had a days worth of ration left when I called her… so I used all my MP to save her and that guy from the rubble and paid to keep them both safe until the next batch of arc ship departs" Leo explained frantically, as only after listening to his explanation did Luke calm down a bit.
"Mom got trapped underneath rubble? Was she okay? Did she break her arm or something?" Luke asked, sounding extremely concerned, as Leo shook his head and said "Mom was fine, however, unfortunately, that guy was fine too and was disgustingly hugging mom…. Made me want to puke"
Leo's response almost made Luke chuckle as he felt his rapid heartbeat relaxing a bit.
" *Sigh* , accidents… Why do they happen at a time where you have the most need for money…." Luke said, letting out a deep sigh as he wondered why God tested them in such ways.
"Don't worry brother, we'll find a way to make more MP, have faith in me…" Leo said, putting his hand over Luke's shoulder as he nodded his head.
"I might be useless in real life, but I'm a pretty good player inside the game brother… so trust me when I say, I'll find a way to make lots of MP before the arc ship departs" Leo said, as Luke chuckled listening to his words.
He found Leo to be really adorable at times… especially when he tried to be all grown up and matured, as deep down Luke still viewed him as his scaredy little brother, who once hugged on to him tightly until he switched on the lights in their dark room.
"Oh my god, Luke— Congratulations!!!!!" Amanda said excitedly as she walked into the living room after logging out of the game.
Because of the heated conversation that the brothers suddenly had, Leo completely forgot about the fact that Luke had qualified for the finals of the Grand Tournament which was apparently a big deal.
"Oh my god I'm so proud of you…" Amanda said, hugging him tightly as she tried to squeeze Luke as tightly as she could in a display of platonic love.
"Hahaha, thankyou-" Luke said, rubbing his nose as he felt quite proud of himself for reaching the finals of the Grand Tournament.
"Oh yes… congratulations brother, sorry I forgot to do it sooner" Leo said, extending his hand for Luke to shake, however, Luke blew his hand away and took him in for a hug as he patted Leo on the back.
"Well I'm the brother of the number two player 'Leo Skyshard', so I can't embarrass him too much now can I?" Luke said teasingly, as he took a jibe at Leo's popularity.
"Oh my god…. Look at you two… two talented kiddies, I'm sure mama Elena would be so proud" Amanda said happily, as she pulled the cheeks of both her roommates in joy.
"Also, why are you getting ready for work Leo? You're not supposed to leave the apartment-" Amanda said as she saw Leo in work clothes, her tone instantly turning from happy to dull as she borderline threatened Leo to take it off.
"It's just a prank Amanda, he was teasing us" Luke said, as he gave Leo's shoulder a tight squeeze and signaled him to shut-up.
"I'll pay for your leave, but you're not going out yet…" Luke whispered into his ears, as the commanding tone with which he said those words, made Leo realize that it was not a request but an instruction and that there was no room for debate.
"Haha, yes, yes, just a prank-" Leo said, taking off his work robes as Amanda began smiling sweetly once again.
"Don't do such pranks or I'll smack you-" she warned before ruffling his hair sweetly and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
*Cough*
Luke immediately coughed at the public display of affection between the two as he abruptly rushed into the washroom to get ready for work, leaving Leo and Amanda in awkward silence.
"If you're still in the capital… go support your brother tomorrow~" Amanda said, breaking the awkward silence as Leo nodded his head.
"I've already got the best possible seats in the house" he said, lying through his teeth as he felt his stomach wrench at the thought of having to face his brother.
Unfortunately, losing was not an option for him, since his very life was on the line, however, he could never feel happy for beating his brother either.
Either way, it was a lose-lose situation for him, as whether he won or lost the fight, both outcomes were less than ideal for him.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter 1 of 3 for the day, thank-you for all your support last month everyone! ///