Blade of Ruin- Aspiration to the Heavens: Becoming the Supreme Mage Vol 3

Special #7- Air

I poked my head into the kitchen. Mama was busy cooking dinner.

"What are you making, Mommy?" I asked, sniffing the air.

"I'm sure that you can guess," she said, smiling.

I scratched my head. "Hmm, well, it's not honey chicken. I would've recognized it right away." I stepped closer and took another sniff. I gasped. "Is it a cake?"

Mama laughed. "You guessed it. I thought about trying my hand at making one myself. It's a lot cheaper to make it than to hire someone."

I lowered my head. Mommy and Daddy were still struggling to pay their bills. We had to find ways to save money wherever we could. If only I were big enough to work, then I would help them out. Though, would I have been able to find a job that I could do? Due to my condition, I likely wouldn't be able to handle jobs involving intense manual labor. Sadly, it seemed as if most of the jobs out there involved manual labor of some kind.

"Hmm, what's wrong?" Mama asked, kneeling until she was at my eye-level.

I reached into my pocket and took out a coin that I had found until the sofa. "For Mommy!"

She stared at the coin and snickered. "Thanks, Lei, but today's your birthday. I'm supposed to be the one giving you a gift," she said, closing my hand around the coin. "Keep it. Spend it on something for yourself."

"Okay," I whispered. I averted my eyes. "Hey, Mommy. Do you think that I'll be able to find a job when I'm older?"

"Yeah, of course. I'm sure that you'll be able to find a job in an office or maybe as an accountant."

"Those sound boring," a voice called out. I turned and saw my big brother. His clothes were covered in mud. "You should aim to be an astronaut or a pirate. Argh."

I chuckled.

"Kun, don't say silly stuff. He's serious," Yen said she walked behind him. She too was covered in mud. "Plus, being an astronaut requires a certain level of physical fitness."

I lowered my head. Yeah, it did. One that I could only dream to obtain with this frail body of mine.

"You two should go and get cleaned up. I'm about to start dinner. The dessert for tonight is already in the oven."

"Oh, what are we eating for dessert?" Kun asked, taking a step toward the oven. Mom blocked his way. "Hey, you're going to dirty the kitchen."

Kun stared at his muddy shoes. "I cleaned the sole at the door." He removed the mud from his clothes and face. "Plus, I can do this!"

"Why didn't you do that outside?" Yen asked, sighing.

Kun laughed as he removed the dirt from her. "The idea didn't hit me until now." 

"Kun, throw that outside," Mommy said.

"Okay!" Kun turned the mud into a spherical clump and ran out of the kitchen.

Yen dusted herself off to make sure that Kun hadn't missed any mud.

I smiled. "Looks like he got all of it."

"Yeah. Say, why are you wondering about getting a job? I know that we turned five today, but you still have a long time to think about it."

"You're right, but I can't help but wonder what will become of me in the future," I said, staring at the floor.

Mommy ruffled my hair. "You a have a few more years to think about it. For now, enjoy your childhood."

I smiled slightly. That would've been easier if I could do the stuff that my big brother and sister could.

"Well, if you excuse me, it's that I get started on those honey foods of yours."

"Honey? Yippee!" Yen, Kun, and I said.

Yen and I turned around to look at Kun.

"You sure ran back fast," I said.

Kun grinned. "I'm the third fastest runner in this family."

I sighed. I probably was the least fastest.

"Wait, are you calling me slow?" Mommy asked. "Or did you place yourself on top of Yen?"

"Yeah, which is it?" Yen asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kun laughed nervously. "Maybe I'm actually fourth."

I snickered. It was nice to have Kun around. He always made me laugh.

"Let's go watch cartoons!" I said, running out of the kitchen.

"Alright!" Kun said, running after me.

"Hey, Lei, be careful! Don't strain yourself!" Yen yelled, chasing after us.

"Yeah, Lei," a voice called out. I turned and saw Yuzuki standing by the door. With her were her big brothers and Dad.

"Eri!" I yelled, jumping to hug my foster brother.

"Hey, Lei," he said, hugging me.

"No hugs for me?" Daddy asked, grinning.

I let go of Eri, but Yen hugged Daddy before I could. "Of course there are, Daddy."

"Why aren't you in school?" I asked, staring back at Eri.

"I asked for a day off and flew back as soon as I could. I couldn't miss you guys' birthday," he said, holding a bag at us.

"Oh, boy! Gifts!" Kun said, running over. He opened the bag and saw what looked to be water guns. "Cool!"

I blinked. There were only two. The third object in the bag was a notebook with a front cover with a stylized lion. I reached for it and took it out.

"Is this mine?" I asked, holding it against my chest.

"Yeah." Eri squatted to the floor. "I would've bought you a water gun too, but I would likely have gotten yelled at."

I smiled. "It's fine." I knew that I had to avoid getting my clothes wet, especially by cold water. "I like this notebook, it's cool!"

Eri ruffled my hair and grinned. "Glad that you liked it, little bro."

"Oh, isn't Tokymon on?" Hikaru asked.

"Oh, right! We were about to watch it!" I said, sprinting for the remote control.

Yen sighed. "I don't know why I continue to warn him when he won't even listen."

I smiled at Yen. If I couldn't run a little, I would've become depressed. For me, running was more than just trying to get a place quicker. It was more than a sport too. For me, it was relieving. The air pressing against my face as I ran made me feel alive.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the short birthday special for Lei and his siblings ^^. Today marks 1 year this I first published this third book. Hopefully, by this time next year, I'll be done writing this book ^^**