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The first two weeks of Ryosuke's new routine were intense.
Every morning, well before the sun reached its zenith, he would leave the house and head to the public library. His shoulder bag weighed heavily with notebooks and borrowed books, but he didn't mind. He had devised a strict and rigorous study plan—a true roadmap that ranged from classical physics to more obscure subjects like spirituality and the occult sciences.
His mornings were mostly dedicated to scientific disciplines. Physics had become one of his top priorities, as he saw it as the key to understanding the fundamental forces that governed his powers. He buried himself in books on Newton's laws, solid mechanics, and even the basics of quantum physics. Though complex, the latter fascinated him more than anything. He didn't yet grasp all the subtleties of quarks and subatomic particles, but he felt that the answers to his questions were hidden somewhere in those mysterious equations.
After hours of intensive reading and meticulous note-taking, he would take a break—not to rest, but to move on to other equally intriguing subjects. His afternoons were devoted to exploring a more esoteric world. Ryosuke, who had never believed in legends or myths, now found himself reading ancient books on the occult sciences, trying to understand how these ancestral knowledges might complement his newfound abilities.
But that wasn't all. In his quest for knowledge, Ryosuke hadn't overlooked an essential field: chemistry. Once again, he didn't settle for the basics taught in high school. He began exploring complex chemical reactions—those that govern the transformation of matter at the atomic level.
To him, chemistry was another facet of manipulating the forces of nature, a science he needed to master in order to perfect his control over the elements. Whether it was the fusion of metals or the vaporization of liquids, everything had potential use in enhancing his powers. He was particularly fascinated by exothermic and endothermic reactions: if he could influence temperature or heat around him, he could improve both his offensive and defensive techniques.
Thus, each day followed the same rhythm: a morning dedicated to physics, an afternoon to the occult sciences and chemistry, and evenings spent reviewing his notes—sometimes until fatigue overtook him.
Time seemed to pass at an incredible speed. Ryosuke no longer noticed the hours flying by, swept up in a whirlwind of discoveries. He filled notebooks with diagrams, equations, and theories, linking together concepts that would once have seemed completely incompatible to him. Yet, he felt he was making progress—slowly but surely.
One afternoon, as he was deep into a thick manual on fluid mechanics, Ryosuke began to feel his eyelids grow heavy. He had spent the morning solving complex quantum physics problems, and his mind was saturated. Though he tried to fight the fatigue, it eventually won. He slumped forward, his head resting on the open book, arms folded beneath it like a makeshift pillow.
Sayuri, his little sister, unaware of anything, quietly entered his room. She needed some of his clothes for the laundry. As she stepped through the door, she was met with a scene she never would've imagined: Ryosuke—usually so energetic and anything but studious—slumped over his desk, surrounded by books of all kinds. Some were opened to pages filled with mathematical formulas, others spoke of spiritual phenomena and elemental energy. It all seemed bizarre—almost surreal.
She stepped closer, her eyes moving from the books to her brother. He was sound asleep, his steady breathing betraying the exhaustion from days of intense effort.
Sayuri smiled slightly.
Gently, she took a folded blanket from the foot of his bed and draped it over his shoulders. Then, without making a sound, she grabbed a few of his clothes for the laundry and quietly left the room, softly closing the door behind her.
As she descended the stairs, Sayuri joined their mother in the kitchen. She paused for a moment, watching her mother prepare dinner, before deciding to speak up about what she had just seen.
"Mom, have you seen Ryosuke lately? He's gotten really weird... He spends all his time reading incomprehensible stuff. I found him asleep on top of his books earlier. Do you think he's okay?"
Her mother gave a small, affectionate smile. "I think he's finally found what he was missing—a passion. He's always been searching for something, and now he's found it. Leave him be. He needs this. Don't disturb him."
Sayuri shrugged with feigned disinterest. "Pff, as long as Yuri's around, he can do whatever he wants," she replied with a smile, gently stroking the kitten nestled against her.
She left the kitchen to return to the living room, leaving her mother shaking her head in amusement.
As for Ryosuke, he continued down this new path. His days and nights were now driven by this hunger for knowledge—this insatiable curiosity that pushed him to keep extending the limits of what he knew. For the first time in his life, he felt completely committed to something greater than himself.
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Morning was peaceful in the house, bathed in a soft light that filtered through the kitchen curtains.
The family was getting ready for a new day.
Ryosuke, as he often did lately, was lost in thought, his eyes absentmindedly following the cereal grains in his bowl. His little sister, Sayuri, was biting into a jam-covered toast.
Their mother, dressed in her work coat, gave the room one last glance to make sure everything was in order before leaving.
Ryosuke, as scheduled, had to clear the table. It was his turn that week, and even though the task didn't particularly interest him, he completed it calmly. He started by gathering the plates and utensils, stacking them carefully before heading to the sink.
As he washed the dishes and Sayuri finished her coffee, their mother suddenly stopped in the middle of the kitchen, as if something had just crossed her mind. She turned to her children, a light smile on her lips.
"Oh, I completely forgot to tell you," she announced cheerfully. "Your aunt Yuki is coming to visit us tonight."