Chapter 398: Starry Academy Days – END (for now) |
"...And that's how Onii-chan and I got to attend a fancy school like this."
Meggie rubbed her face, processing what Emma just told her. "Okay, so let me get this straight."
Emma smiled and said, "I'm listening!"
Meggie pointed at Emma and said, "Your mom is this famous graduated idol Koi Nozomi."
"Yes!"
"She was recently almost murdered by a stalker who was a die-hard fan when she opened the door to your house. But before she was, a mysterious man in full cosplay wearing a Sentai outfit showed up and sent the guy flying with a dropkick."
"Mhm!" Emma giggled and said, "He was funny! He did a pose and everything! Like-" Emma stood up and struck a pose, pointing up with her left arm at an angle and pointing down with her right arm at an angle, framing her face between them. After that, she tilted her head up and spoke in a gruff voice. "The future must be rewritten! Bad ending will be destroyed in the name of justice!"
"...Right."
There were plenty of weirdos in the world, so something like that wasn't surprising.
Why- Oh!
Didn't Dad complain a while back about Uncle Titor having a mid-life crisis running around the city in a weird costume doing crazy shenanigans to destress from Auntie Amadeus' late-stage pregnancy?
...Yeah. Let's not mention that to Emma.
Meggie decided to change the subject and said, "So your mom was saved, and then she saw a flier that Hoshigawa Academy was hiring teachers and applied to be the music teacher. That easy?"
Emma nodded. "Mom was surprised too! But I think she said the interviewer really liked her! Something about a kindred soul?"
Oh, that was definitely Mom.
Emma shrugged and then picked up a fry. After munching on it, she said, "That's how we got to attend this school and live here too!"
Meggie blinked and said, "You live here?"
"Mmhm!" Emma sipped on her can of soda and said, "There's an apartment in the back of the school that we live in!" She paused and then set her soda can down. Poking her fingers together, she turned to the side and looked towards Meggie. "U-Um... i-if you'd like, you can come over and play...?"
Grk.
Okay. Need to stop teasing Dad about rescuing helpless cute girls.
Meggie really wanted to decline since it sounded like it'd be a hassle. Plus it'd cut into her grind time on completing her shiny CapsuMon living index.
...But with an expression like that...
Meggie scratched her cheek and said, "...Maybe tomorrow or something. My dad is picking me up from school today, so I can't."
Emma lit up and said, "Oh! That's fine!" She smiled and said, "It doesn't have to be today. I mean, we just met and everything, so I guess it's still too early. But... Um..." Emma lowered her head and looked up at Meggie through her bangs. "D-Does this mean we're friends? I don't want to assume or anything..."
Kuh.
That sort of expression should definitely be outlawed!
Emma's a normal girl! How can she pull the dangerously cute gap moe that Big Sis Alphy can do?!
No, calm down and focus, Meggie.
You're a composed and mature young woman, not a child. Right? Right. So...
Meggie brushed her hair out of her eyes and said, "What do you mean? Of course we're friends. I told you when we started walking here, didn't I?"
Emma giggled and said, "That's right! I forgot..." She smiled and said, "You're such a good person, Meggie."
Meggie felt her ears heat up. She looked off to the side and coughed, trying to regain her composure. "A-Anyway..." She looked around the cafeteria and said, "You have an older twin brother right? What does he look like? You know, so I can beat him up for leaving his cute baby sister alone in a strange place."
Dad always said that was unforgivable. And it was part of the reason he got into a lot of fights when he was first starting off in the Three Realms too.
At least according to Big Sis Alphy's story times on her channel.
And Meggie agreed with it. Seeing how helpless Emma was, it was really a pissy move for a supposed older brother to just leave her alone.
And with Meggie too.
Like, Meggie was well-aware of how she looked to people. She was going out of her way to be standoffish and cold. Not to mention that she was the center of attention, so Emma, by association, would be facing that attention too...
Aaargh. And now Meggie was feeling heated.
Emma giggled and said, "You don't have to do that, Meggie. Onii-chan is nice, but he always gets dragged into things by girls."
"...Okay, now I REALLY have to beat him up." Meggie cracked her knuckles a bit.
That sounded a bit too much like Dad for her liking. And the universe should only allow one of those heartbreakers in existence.
Emma giggled again and said, "You're funny, Meggie!"
"Right. Funny..."
...Let's just let Emma think it was a joke.
"Anyway, Onii-chan... Hm. He's usually always with a girl, so... Ah." Emma pointed to a table in the far corner of the cafeteria and said, "He's over there."
Meggie looked to where Emma was pointing and...
Wait.
Wasn't that Tsuki? And the Perry guy she said was super cute?
...
"Hey, Emma."
"Yes?"
Meggie watched Tsuki be a giggling mess in front of the blonde guy who looked to be a knock-off and more foppish kid version of her dad.
...Huh.
Come to think of it, there were a lot of blondes in this school.
Even Meggie technically looked blonde. Her natural hair color was the light green, but since she had Dad's blonde hair as highlights, it looked more like she had dyed her hair as part of a phase or something.
She would never do anything cringe like that out of rebellion. But...
'Hm... so that's Mom's taste, huh?'
Mom was the one who screened all the applications, so she definitely was the cause of this.
Wait, Meggie was getting side-tracked.
Meggie glanced back to Emma and said, "Is your big brother's name Perry?"
Emma blinked and tilted her head. "Huh? Do you know Onii-chan?" She paused and then slowly started to frown. "...Do you like him too...?"
"What?" Meggie flinched and said, "Ew. No. Never. A guy like that? Ugh."
He was waaaaay too much like Dad. Blonde hair and that fake-as... fake-butt smile that he put on when he was really bored out of his mind or playing along.
Yeah, way too much like Dad. And not the fun and cool Dad that Meggie liked now since they moved here, but the creep he was back in the Three Realms who, in hindsight, seriously had something wrong with him.
The thought of even remotely associating with a guy like that...
Meggie shuddered and said, "I'd rather die, thank you."
"Eh?" Emma blinked and said, "Really? You don't like Onii-chan at all?"
"He's reaaaally not my type."
Emma blinked and then slowly said, "...Meggie. Um, I won't judge. But... do you like-"
Meggie slammed her hand on the table and said, "I DO NOT LIKE GIRLS!"
The cafeteria grew quiet.
Meggie froze, suddenly realizing what she did. Then she slowly sat back down, pulling her hood closed with the strings.
Okay, maybe if she pretended like nothing happened, it would be fine.
Right? It's not like it mattered if anyone heard-
"Oh wow!" A familiar female voice. Not Tsuki's, thankfully, but one that Meggie knew all too well because of how much she hung around Dad.
Well, and also because she was technically Meggie's sister-in-law.
Rin walked over to the table, carrying a tray filled with various sweets. A mischievous glint shimmered in her eyes as she glanced between Meggie and Emma.
Ugh. Can this day get any worse...?
"Huh." Another familiar voice. A high school girl that was a bit older than Rin followed after her. Wearing her blonde hair in a ponytail, Yuri tilted her head and said, "I was thinking for sure that you had a crush on Tsuki. I mean, considering your older sisters-"
Meggie turned a bright red and said, "I like guys, okay! And why are you two even here?!?!"
Rin laughed and sat down in the empty chair to the right of Meggie. "Well, it's lunchtime and we were looking for a place to sit down."
Yuri grabbed the seat across from Rin and said, "Yeah. It's also annoying fighting off these flirty guys and jealous girls, so we figured it'd be better to sit with the younger kids." She glanced at Emma and said, "You don't mind, do you?"
Emma shook her head. "Not at all!" She smiled and then fidgeted with her skirt. "...It's almost like I have some big sisters now."
Rin gasped and then pointed at Emma. "You!"
"E-Eh?"
Rin let out a bright smile and said, "You're my little sister now!"
"E-Eh?!"
Yuri facepalmed and said, "Ignore Rin. She's been like this all day."
Rin puffed her cheeks and said, "I can't help it! There's so many cute siblings to adopt!"
"You can't just grab kids and say you adopt them as your young siblings, Rin."
"Why not? Family doesn't have to be blood-related, right?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
Meggie looked at the suddenly chaotic atmosphere and let out a long sigh.
...Well. At least she didn't have to be embarrassed now.
Still, it looked like her life was going to be hectic in the future...
She hoped that at least Rory was having a normal day...
