Elements: Age of Creation

A New Housemate?!

"What?! No way!"

Hikaru shot up from his seat, glaring at Satoshi in sheer disbelief. They were at the Order of the Elements' safehouse, discussing his upcoming training, but now the conversation had taken a sudden–and completely insane–turn.

Hikaru's eye twitched. "You're telling me that his guy–" he jabbed a finger at Teshii, "–has to move into my house?"

Teshii, who had been lounging on the couch with his feet up, grinned. "Oh yeah. This is gonna be great."

"No, it won't," Hikaru shot back.

Reina giggled. "I think it's a good idea. You'll learn faster if you're training daily."

Hikaru crossed his arms. "I refuse to let this lunatic live under the same roof as me."

Satoshi sighed. "It's already been decided."

"By who?!"

Satoshi looked unfazed. "By me."

Hikaru groaned. "I hate this."

The Nozomi Household Meets Teshii

The next morning, Hikaru reluctantly led Teshii to his home. He had no idea how he was going to explain this to his family without sounding completely crazy.

His father, Sasuke Nozomi, was the first to greet them at the door.

"Welcome back, Hikaru. Who's your friend?"

Hikaru sighed. "This is–"

Before he could even introduce himself, Teshii stepped forward with a confident grin. "Name's Teshii! I'm your son's new roommate! Nice to meet ya, old man!"

"…Roomate?" Sasuke repeated, his voice slow and dangerously calm.

Hikaru quickly jumped in. "He's not my roommate! He's my–uh–training partner."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Training for what?"

Before Hikaru could respond, his mother, Sayaka Nozomi, walked in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "Oh? Who's this?"

Teshii immediately turned on the charm. "Mrs. Nozomi! I must say, you have a lovely home. And you look way too young to be a mom."

Sayaka chuckled. "Oh my, what a polite young man."

Hikaru groaned. "Don't encourage him, Mom."

Sasuke, however, wasn't amused. His protective father instincts were kicking in. "Why is he here?"

Hikaru sighed, knowing he had no way out of this. "Long story shot, he's my trainer for something important, and he'll be staying here for a while."

Sayaka smiled warmly. "Well, if that's the case, you're more than welcome here, Teshii."

Sasuke muttered under his breath but didn't argue further.

Hikari's Arrival

Later that evening, the front door swung open.

"I'm home!"

A familiar, energetic voice echoed through the house.

Hikaru turned just in time to see his twin sister, Hikari Nozomi, stride in, still dressed in her volleyball uniform. Her golden eyes sparkled with excitement, and she looked exhausted but satisfied.

"I crushed it at the match today," she announced proudly. "MVP again!"

Sayaka beamed. "That's wonderful, Hikari! You must be starving."

"I am–wait." Hikari suddenly paused, her eyes landing on Teshii. "Who's this?"

Teshii, who had been casually leaning against the wall, took one look at her and immediately lit up.

His grin widened as he stepped forward. "Well, hello there."

Hikaru's stomach dropped.

Teshii gave a dramatic bow. "The name's Teshii. And you, my dear, are absolutely stunning."

The room went dead silent.

Then–

"Oi."

Hikaru and Sasuke simultaneously stepped in front of Hikari, blocking here from view like two bodyguards.

Sasuke's eyes darkened. "Watch your words, kid."

Hikaru glared. "Yeah. Watch them."

Teshii took a step back, raising his hands in surrender. "Whoa, whoa, relax! I was just appreciating beauty! I wasn't gonna do anything."

Sasuke's aura grew even more threatening. "You won't do anything."

Hikaru crossed his arms. "Ever."

Hikari, meanwhile, looked between them, completely unfazed. She smirked. "Wow. You guys really are the worst."

Teshii chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Uh… noted."

A Strange Feeling

Later that night, after the initial chaos had settled, Sayaka and Sasuke sat in the living room, watching Teshii from a distance as he chatted with Hikari and Hikaru over dinner.

Sayaka leanedin close to Sasuke and whispered, "Hey… doesn't he look familiar to you?"

Sasuke frowned, glancing at Teshii again.

Now that she mentioned it…

Something about Teshii's face, his expressions, his presence–

It was strangely familiar.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "…Yeah. He does."

The question was–

Why?