Ch.6 I Was Bullied So Hard I Was Isekai'ed Into A World of Sword And Magic And Emerged As The Lightning Samurai God To Hatefuck My Former Bully Until She Got Heart Eyes

— Law Greyrat (Six Months Later) —

“You think you can escape the great Law Greyrat?!” I shouted with a wide grin as I chased the green-haired girl through our yard.

“You’re too fast, Law!” Sylphy shouted with laughter as she tried to move her petite little legs.

I was nerfing myself a great deal, but it was all for her sake.

My eyes caught some blonde hair attempting to hide behind Zenith’s plants, and I immediately switched my target, not bothering with nerfing myself anymore.

“Why are you targeting me now?!” Rudeus shouted and ran away but I chased after him anyways, catching up to the poor guy within a few seconds.

“Tag!” I shouted before casually jogging away, meanwhile Rudeus ran full speed to try to catch me.

“If you kept training in the sword you wouldn’t have this problem, Rudy.” Paul grinned as he watched the poor boy try his best to catch me. I was literally toying with him as I ran away. The feeling of having a healthy and strong body was just too good for me to not flex at least a little.

There was no hope of catching me, and he was smart enough to realize that. He turned his attention toward the green haired girl who tried her best to run away from him.

“I’m glad you two can have some fun together now.” Zenith came behind me and hugged my head into her chest which made me blush, more out of embarrassment than attraction.

“Yeah…” I trailed off.

With Sylphy becoming my friend, I invited her to play at my house a couple days after meeting her and she accepted with the permission of her parents.

Since then she met Rudeus, and while the guy had thought she was a boy at first, I quickly cleared that up.

The three of us became friends and started having play dates practically every day. Though Rudeus never would leave the yard to go out and play in the village, so we mostly spent our time here.

Honestly it was for the best, because with Sylphy coming here so much, Roxy had decided to just teach the girl magic.

To all of our surprise though, Rudeus insisted on teaching Sylphy himself, and while Roxy, and our parents accepted fairly easily, I wasn’t as naive.

I knew Rudeus was a pervert, and didn't want him to take advantage of Sylphy. I didn’t think his depravity went to the point of attraction to kids, but I still needed to make sure. Sylphy was my friend and someone I viewed as a little sister, even if she was older, I just wasn’t taking chances.

So Rudeus trained Sylphy and both Roxy and I would help from time to time.

She learned the basics and with time she was even able to learn wordless magic. Which made Master Roxy incredibly jealous.

Now Sylphy is practically a member of our family, an Intermediate Water Mage, and is capable of using wordless magic.

Truly just like Rudeus and I, she is built different,.

I watched as Sylphy rounded the house chasing Rudeus and realized she had gotten tagged.

This is how our games of tag usually went.

I would tag Rudeus, Rudeus would tag Sylphy, and Sylphy would tag me.

I usually offered myself to Sylphy because if I didn’t, she’d be the tagger for the entire day, and I knew that wouldn’t be fun.

I ran away, barely putting in effort as I did and eventually felt her soft small hand pat against my back.

“That’s enough for today kids, don’t you think, it’s time to come in and enjoy the feast?” Zenith clapped happily, and all of us smiled.

In this world, people don’t celebrate birthdays every year. Instead they celebrate someone’s birthday once every five years up to age fifteen where the person reaches adulthood.

Today is Rudeus’ fifth birthday, or rather his first birthday party.

We listened to our mother’s words and came in for dinner. Sylphy was obviously invited and even had her parents permission to stay the night.

Her parents were cool like that, and her dad even had a similar name to mine, Laws.

I’m obviously cooler, but still, cool name.

We all sat down at the table as Lilia, Roxy, and Zenith carried the hot food over to the table for all of us to enjoy.

Rudeus is five years old and today all of us are gonna eat like adults and have our fill and then some!

“Before we dig in-” Zenith started before slapping Paul’s hand away from the food. “-it’s time for presents!” The blue-eyed woman clapped and so did everyone besides Rudeus.

Zenith went under the table and put something behind her back before walking over to Rudeus.

“Rudeus, I know you’re aspiring to be a great mage, but I thought it didn’t hurt to learn about some of the great plants out there in the world, waiting to be seen!” Zenith pulled out a book and smiled brightly.

Rudeus beamed as he took the book from Zenith. “A plant encyclopedia! Thank you mother!” He hugged her tight and she melted in the embrace. That’s our mother, a little affection and everything else fades from her mind.

“Me next!” Paul stood up and placed his hands on his hips. He moved over to the side of the room and picked up a small box. “I know you’ve given up the sword, Rudy, but I think it’s important you still have a weapon to protect yourself in close quarters.” Paul admitted and handed Rudeus the box.

Rudy opened the box and was greeted by the sight of a dagger.

“That dagger was forged here in Buena Village and can be used for more than just stabbing people.” Paul placed a hand on Rudeus’ shoulder. “It may save your life one day, so keep it close.”

Rudeus nodded and hugged the man which visibly surprised him. He returned the embrace and eventually Rudeus pulled away.

“I’m next then I guess.” I grinned and stood up.

Rudeus looked genuinely surprised that I had even gotten him something. Does he really think I’m that bad of a brother?!

I coughed into my hand before running away and upstairs. I went into our parents bedroom where I had them stash it so he wouldn’t end up seeing it. Upon seeing it, I smiled smugly, grabbed it, and ran back downstairs.

I hid it behind my back so that he wouldn't see and approached.

“Rudeus, I made this for you, hopefully you like it.” I said with a blush. Sure he may not like me, but I genuinely cared about him, despite everything he was my brother in my new life. I at least wanted to try and fix things between us, and if it didn’t work out I would at least know I tried my best.

I pulled out the present and gave it to him.

His eyes widened a bit as he inspected what I had given him.

It was a drawing, one I had worked pretty hard on. In it was me, Sylphy, and Rudeus playing tag, while Lilia, Zenith, Paul, and Roxy stood in the background watching.

With no real hobbies besides reading manga from time to time, I was rather good at drawing in my past life, and my newfound precision and damn near photographic memory made drawing pretty easy.

The drawing itself wasn’t exactly perfect or anything, but you could tell who was who with pretty good detail.

The entire thing took me over a day to draw, but that’s taking into account all the training and stuff I did.

Rudeus looked down at the drawing with wide eyes and his mouth agape.

Wow, he genuinely couldn’t believe I would do something nice for him. Maybe I haven’t been as good of a brother as I thought?

In my defense, he doesn’t make it easy.

“Law… thank you.” He spoke after a long while of silence.

I was actually surprised by his thanks… In fact I don’t know if the guy has ever thanked me since I was born.

I got over my surprise fairly quickly and offered him a bright smile.

“Happy birthday, Rudy.”

As if adding to the surprises of today, he wrapped his arms around me and actually hugged me!

“I’m sorry…” He whispered into my ear, and as my brain processed his words, it took everything in my body not to cry.

Had I finally managed to win him over?

I put an end to that question and returned the embrace.

That didn’t matter, right now, all that mattered was enjoying this beautiful moment.

Eventually the moment ended as Rudeus pulled away, honestly someone had to, and the guy gave me a pretty big smile which warmed my heart.

Sylphy also offered a gift. She offered a small locket with nothing inside of it. It was apparently a gift from her entire family and Rudeus considered the gesture to be very sweet.

She had been very shy giving it which was very adorable, and I had to admit, my pride swelled at the fact she had enough confidence to give it to Rudeus in front of everyone.

Sylphiette had grown so much from that girl I met watching the other kids play. She had some backbone now, and was gonna be a powerful mage in the years to come.

Lilia apparently had nothing to give, though it was less that she didn’t plan anything, and more so that it was actually her that helped pick out Zenith’s gift for Rudeus, so the book was from both of them.

Last but not least was Roxy who stepped forward with a bright smile.

“Happy Birthday, Rudeus.” She offered him a small box which he took slowly and opened.

Within it was a small wand with a red stone at the tip. Rudeus looked at Roxy who gave the boy a proud smile.

“It is usually customary for a magical teacher to give these wands once their student graduates from beginner magic, but you both were already beyond that when I first met you two.” Roxy briefly looked at me, and I rubbed under my nose. My pride was doing things to me.

“You both have grown, so much in fact that I’m afraid I only have one thing left to teach you.” Roxy admitted sadly, which changed the entire atmosphere of the room.

“Huh, what do you mean, Master?” I questioned with a swelling heart. I knew exactly what it meant but I couldn’t accept it.

“Tomorrow… will be your graduation, both of you, and once you pass, and I know you will, you both will be my equals.”

“So you’re leaving?!” Rudeus shouted as he clenched his chest, and I could tell he was as devastated as me.

Roxy gave a saddened nod and both of us froze.

“What about Sylphy?!” I argued. “She still has so much to learn!”

“And she is Rudeus’ student.” Roxy shook her head which made me pause and look at Rudy who took that revelation even harder than me.

If he hadn’t volunteered to teach Sylphy, Roxy would have stayed longer.

I shook my head. It’s not his fault, she would have left sooner or later anyway, there’s no reason to blame him.

“Law, I’ll give you your wand tomorrow before we set out, okay?”

“Set out?” Rudeus asked with tears basically in his eyes.

“Mmm.” Roxy nodded. “The spell you will both be casting for your graduation is Saint Level Water Magic. It would bring damage to Buena Village if you both were to cast it here.”

Her words seemed to put Rudeus over the edge and he crashed into her, giving our Master a tight hug. She returned it with just as much fire, and I was left watching. My body felt weak and my spirit tired.

Roxy… she was basically family at this point, and now we had to say goodbye?

I didn’t know if I could without breaking down.

The mood was pretty downcast until everyone started eating. It wouldn't make Roxy’s last night here be filled with sad vibes. If we were sending her off, she should leave with a bang!

Part of me thought about failing the graduation but I quickly cast that idea aside.

To do so would disrespect Roxy and all the effort she put into teaching us, and I didn’t want to do that.

When everyone had eaten their fill, we all cleaned up and then made our way up to bed.

I was one of the last people up as I had helped Lilia clean up the few remaining things before making my way upstairs.

Instead of heading to my room, I went past and opened the door to Roxy’s room.

I was greeted by the sight of both Sylphy and Roxy getting comfortable in the same bed.

“Law!” Sylphy beamed at the sight of me and jumped out of bed to give me a hug. I returned it with a small smile.

“You settled in nicely.”

“‘Mmm!” She nodded, giving me a twirl so I could get a full view of the nightgown she was wearing. “Roxy gave it to me!”

“Did she now?” I smirked and looked over at the blushing blue-haired demon. The gown was clearly oversized, but if Sylphy was happy in it and comfortable, that’s all that matters.

The elf girl was incredibly adorable to me, and no matter what face she was making, I just wanted to protect her from all the scum in the world.

She really is the sister I never had.

“Did you come for something?” Roxy asked. I could tell there was no anger or heat in her question, just genuine curiosity.

“I did, I wanted to talk to you.” I admitted and took a seat at the edge of the bed. Sylphy went back to her spot and pulled the covers up over her lower half.

“About?” Roxy got out of bed and sat beside me at the edge of the bed.

“You.” I frowned. “What will you do once you leave here?”

Silence descended upon us for a couple of seconds before Roxy placed a hand on my head and smiled.

“I’ll find work as a tutor again if I can.”

Hearing that didn’t make me happy.

“Master… I don’t want that.” I frowned and kept my gaze at the floor.

“Hm?” She tilted her head and I couldn’t bring myself to face her. I’m a selfish guy, incredibly selfish. “What do you mean, Law?”

“… I don’t want you to tutor anyone else, I don’t want you to leave us. Can’t you stay here with me?” My cheeks grew even hotter as I realized maybe I slipped up and gave away too much.

I looked up at her and my fears came true as I saw her eyes wide and her cheeks dusted with pink.

Fuck, I’m cooked.

In both of my lives, I never had a woman that wasn’t family that truly cared about me so much. Roxy taught us magic, introduced Rudy and I to more of this world and showed us love and affection.

Is it any surprise that I slipped up and developed a crush?

Well, if she knows now, I might as well go all in.

“You could stay here, we can learn magic together, become King Level Water Mages, Rudy and Sylphy will too!” I smiled at the thought even as the redness in my cheeks ceased to vanish.

“Law…”

To my surprise, Roxy grabbed my chin so I was facing her and gave a soft kiss to my forehead.

“You know you really shouldn’t just spring such words up on a girl,” Roxy laughed nervously. “I’m old enough to be your grandmother after all.”

“I don’t care about that.” I whispered and pressed my hands further into my lap and kept my eyes off of her. Why do I keep talking?!

“How about a compromise.” She spoke after a long moment of silence.

“A compromise?” I asked with hope filling my chest.

“Mmm.” She nodded and I could see her cheeks filling with color. “I need to go, it’s for the best, but I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

I frowned at that.

“But!” She added, making me listen. “If you still feel the same way in ten years, tell me, and I’ll be sure to give you an honest answer.”

My eyes widened as I drank in the sight of her.

It wasn’t a yes… but it wasn’t a no!

“You should get some rest, you’re gonna need it for tomorrow.”

My heart beat faster as I nodded and stood up. I made my way toward the door and stopped to look back at her. I etched her smiling face with rosy cheeks into my mind forever, until we’d meet again.

There was a chance I’d change my mind down the line, but I doubted it.

Roxy had been the first person I let into my heart since my last life, and unlike in my past, Roxy helped me in ways no one else could.

I opened the door and left after giving Sylphy a little wave and headed toward my room.

Upon entering, I saw Rudeus trying his best to put the drawing I gave him in a frame.

I smiled and went over to his bed.

“Need help?” I asked and he gave me a nod.

“I’d appreciate it.” He smiled back.

He gave me the frame and I also struggled with it. I wasn’t very familiar with frames, never had family photos to put them in or pictures with friends. He must have been the same since he doesn’t know either.

Eventually I figured it out and gave it back to him.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.” I grinned and went over to my bed.

“No.” He said, stopping me in my tracks, “Thank you, for everything. You’ve tried to be kind to me over the years and talk things out, and every time I pushed you away. Thank you for being so patient.” Rudy explained with his head lowered.

I was surprised by his words but quickly downplayed them with a wave of my hand.

“It’s fine, Rudy, we’re brothers.” I crossed my legs on my bed and sat facing him.

“Mmm.” He nodded as his fingers brushed against the framed drawing.

Both of us sat in silence, facing each other but I don’t think either of us knew what to say next.

Or rather, both of us knew exactly what to say, but neither of us wanted to go first.

Now that we had breached past the first barrier, it was time to make up for lost time and actually learn more about ourselves.

I took a deep breath which made Rudy look at me.

“{You can speak Japanese, can’t you?}” I asked in Japanese. He didn’t respond at all for a few seconds and I wondered if he couldn’t-

“{Yes.}” He answered back.

I rubbed my chin with an almost saddened smile. I really didn’t want to talk about my past life, but I’m sure he didn’t either.

I was mainly doing this because I’m certain we both have trauma we need to work through.

I slapped my cheeks, surprising him.

“{Well, I’m gonna stop beating around the bush. I died at the age of sixteen. I was a high school student and I was taking some pre-college courses. I was born with a sickly body and my parents didn’t care much about me. On top of that, I was bullied pretty bad at school.}” I explained quickly before I paused to take a deep breath.

Rudeus seemed genuinely shocked by the lore drop I just gave him.

“{I ended up dying when I realized that I had grown tired of living. All my life I lived for the wishes of my parents, the same people who had no love for me, and at the end of my life was the only time I ever made a real decision for myself. I chose to take my own life, and when I did, I was reincarnated here.}” I finished with a nervous smile, and Rudeus looked horrified by my words.

“I know that probably wasn’t what you had expected, but there you go. That’s my first life in a nutshell.”

— Rudeus Greyrat —

To say that wasn’t what he expected would be a massive understatement. All his life he had believed his little brother was some hotshot or jock that was reincarnated with the goal of making his second life worse.

While it was clear Law cared for him, Rudeus wasn’t blind to Law’s efforts to show him up.

His younger brother had first tried to do so with magic but Rudeus’ talent was too great in that field, so Law had to move onto the sword where he dominated.

Now that Rudeus knows the truth… he couldn’t help but feel like a piece of shit, especially since Law was so much like him.

Law had suffered through bullying and the horrid curriculum of Japan and ended his own life, yet Rudeus had endured the same and became a shut-in for over twenty years.

But there was a huge difference between the two.

Law had been brave, while Rudeus had been a coward.

Unlike Rudeus, Law had horrible parents and genuinely a worse life, and at the end of the day, he had the guts to actually take his own life.

Rudeus on the other hand… he had loving parents and even caring siblings at the time who had tried their best to pick him back up onto his feet and show him the wonders of life, but he had completely turned them away. He didn’t want to try again, he wanted to remain defeated and stay down.

He didn’t want to live, but he didn’t want to die, he feared death.

Both of them are so similar, yet so different.

“You don’t have to share if you don’t want to.” Law smiled softly at Rudeus which only made the older brother feel worse.

Silence descended upon the room again as Rudeus hesitated. He didn’t know if he could explain his past, not yet.

Honestly, he never wanted to do it, but when he looked at Law’s face, he saw just how uncomfortable he must have been when he shared his past.

“{I was bullied too.}” Rudeus admitted vaguely. “{And because of that, I don’t like meeting new people… or leaving home.}”

A weight seemed to leave Rudeus’ chest after sharing. It wasn’t even close to sharing his life story, but it was a start, and that step was something Rudeus was proud of. He knew Law wouldn’t judge him, their pasts were similar after all.

“So that’s why you fear the outside.” Law frowned, and Rudeus didn’t respond. “I see.”

Law suddenly stood up, surprising Rudy by the sudden movement.

“Follow me.” Law ordered before walking toward the door and out into the hallway.

Rudeus was confused by Law’s sudden shift in attitude but followed him nonetheless.

Law went down the stairs and waited for Rudeus to descend as well. Once he did, Law walked over to the front door and opened it, and Rudeus began to realize what Law was doing.

“I… can’t.” Rudeus shook his head, fear dancing in his eyes.

“It’s just the yard, Rudy.” Law smiled and stepped out. After several moments of contemplation, Rudeus followed his little brother outside.

It was dark, really dark since there were no street lights in this world, but there were some lanterns that seemed to act the part of streetlights, albeit not nearly as well.

“What scares you about the outside, Rudy?” Law asked as he turned around to face him.

Rudeus paused as a cold sweat ran down his brow. He looked down at the ground and clenched his fists.

“Everything.”

“That’s not true.” Law shook his head.

Rudeus looked up at him with wide eyes.

“You’re scared of being bullied again, of being laughed at, aren’t you, Rudy?”

Rudeus didn’t answer, but his fists clenched tighter.

“Rudy.” Law put a hand on his shoulder. “Look around.”

Rudeus hesitantly looked up and around the yard.

“W-What am I supposed to be looking at?”

“Well what do you see?” Law tilted his head.

“… Nothing.” Rudeus admitted with a confused brow.

“Exactly.” Law shrugged. “It’s night, nothings around, no one is outside. So let me show you that it’s not the outside you’re afraid of, but the strangers that roam the lands.” Law offered his hand, surprising Rudeus.

“… I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Rudeus shook his head, but Law was persistent.

“Rudy.” Law said, placing his hand atop his older brother’s head. “I’m not asking you to step outside, I’m asking you to follow me, to trust me.”

Rudeus nervously looked past the wall and flashes of his past life filled him. His breathing quickened and the laughter struck his ears.

Law suddenly turned around and dropped down to a knee.

“Hop on Rudy.”

The older Greyrat brought his hand to his heart. Everything in his body told him to say no and go back inside, to stay as far away from the cruel outside world as possible.

But a small, almost unnoticeable part of him told him to trust Law.

His mind reminded him of the pain and tragic end his little brother went through. The boy died at not even half his age, yet he was the one helping Rudeus through this trauma.

What kind of older brother was he?

Not a good one, and a worse one for trying to turn away his help.

Rudeus very nervously climbed onto Law’s back and the younger boy grabbed his legs firmly.

“Close your eyes, Rudy.” Law ordered and Rudeus had no problem following his words.

His eyes clamped shut and Law started walking.

The more he was lost in the darkness, the more his mind roamed. The more he struggled and prayed for home.

Law kept walking for several minutes before he finally stopped.

“Open your eyes, Rudeus.”

“I can’t!” Rudeus shouted as his breathing quickened and Law gently put him down. “Law, where are you?!”

“I’m right here,” Law answered, placing his hand on Rudeus’ cheek. “Open your eyes, it’s just me.”

Hesitantly and very slowly Rudeus opened his eyes and saw Law’s face.

“Stand up Rudy.” Law smiled and offered his hand. Rudeus nervously took his brother's hand and stood up and the younger Greyrat stepped aside.

Rudeus’ eyes widened at the sight in front of him.

It was dark, but Rudeus could still make out the landscape.

Wheat fields as far as the eye could see on one side, grass and houses on the other.

This… this is Buena Village.

“You see how quiet it is?” Law asked but Rudy didn’t take his eyes off of the sight. “The village is pretty quiet during the day as well. People don't make fun of people here, and everyone’s kind. Trust me, I wouldn’t lie to you, Rudy.”

Rudeus drank in the view and his little brother's words, and as he did, tears fell down his face.

He was outside, for the first time in over twenty years.

Sure there weren’t any people around, but that didn’t matter to him right now.

This was his first step toward healing—and he had Law to thank for it.

— Chapter End —

Beta Readers:@Basilisk @Dragonboy1 @LuluViBritania (FF.N, SB, WN and QQ)/-LuluViB|99th Britannian Emperor(Discord)

Author’s Note: Darker chapter than I wanted it to be, but dark chapters build character or something like that. It was also longer than I expected but that’s also fine. More for y'all to read.