Chapter 409: – Schoolyard Squabbles |
While Rin was streaming, it was time to pick up Meggie from school.
And after John did a bit more chatting with Gray, it turned out that Gray had a kid attending Hoshigawa academy too.
Because of that, Jenny offered to drive Gray's wife home while John and Gray headed back to the academy to pick up their kids.
It was a bit awkward for a moment there convincing Gray that John definitely was a great driver, but eventually they got into John's car and drove off towards Hoshigawa Academy's pick up area.
Driving along the packed road, John glanced over at his older brother sitting in the passenger area and said, "I still can't believe your kid's attending Hoshigawa Academy too."
Gray laughed. "Weird how things line up. I didn't realize it was run by your wife."
John raised an eyebrow and said, "Mrs. Smith didn't tip you off?"
"In case you've forgotten, Smith is a common last name. Also, green light."
The car started moving again, following the flow of traffic.
Gray's eyes darkened and he said, "You might not remember, but I have... bad experiences with the public school system."
"Are we gonna talk about that?" John frowned and said, "I feel like we should talk about that..."
Gray sighed. "That's a story for another day." He looked out the window and said, "Don't want to dump my trauma on my little brother."
"I mean, I'm fine with it... but sure." John turned around the corner to the back road that led to the pickup area of Hoshigawa Academy.
The traffic immediately lightened up due to being a private road.
After that, John glanced at Gray and said, "Then aside from the whole isekai thing, how are you doing these days?"
Gray shrugged. "Doing well. Life is good, I don't feel like I want to destroy a country again any time soon, and I have both a cute baby daughter and a smart son." He glanced at John and said, "How are you doing? Must be pretty well considering how 'John Smith' is everywhere these days?"
"All things considered, pretty well. Bit of a rough start on the way back, and lots of work running an idol company, but it's nothing I can't handle." John glanced at Gray and said, "Surprised you didn't connect the dots and realize who I was earlier though."
Gray scratched the back of his head and said, "Well, you don't expect to meet your family in a parallel world, you know? I DID think you were pretty familiar, and I think I saw you around a few times. But also 'John Smith' is THE generic name. It's everywhere in pop culture too. And Anime, like the time traveler in Melancholy of Har*hi Suzum*ya."
John blinked and said, "Oh yeah... I forgot about that one. It's an oldie though."
"Well excuse me for getting whisked away to another world in the 2010s."
"Nah, you're all good." John reached the parking lot for the pickup area and then pulled into a handicap parking spot. After that, he stopped the car and said, "You'll probably have a hard time understanding the zoomers online though."
"Zoomers? Is that another name for drug users?"
John turned off the car and unbuckled his seatbelt. "No, it's the name for the kids online these days."
Gray unbuckled himself and then frowned. "Really? Why are they called Zoomers? Is it because they don't have a good attention span or something?"
"Or something." John pulled out his key and then got out of his car.
Gray got out as well and then noticed the handicap parking. "...Isn't this illegal?"
"Screw the rules, I have money." After Gray closed his door, John locked the car door and said, "Besides, this is private property. The only people enforcing that are security, and I'm in with the security."
Gray snorted. "What, are you going to open up a card company now and make the world’s most over the top children’s card game?"
John paused to consider that.
He DID have screw you money. And he had all the crazy 'definitely not magic' VR and AR tech that would make for the most epic duels in all of history. Not to mention that it'd be hilarious creating a culture of random people carrying VR disks and challenging each other to proper duels.
Some prototypes were already out in the wild, but John- No, Myth Incorporated really had a good chance at monopolizing the market here...
Gray frowned. "John. No."
"It'd be fun though. And besides, I don't have to listen to you anymore."
"True. But it's seriously tempting fate in all the worst ways." Gray pulled out his phone to check the time and then said, "You start with a card game, then the next thing you know Egyptian Gods are a thing, and then at the end some long lost Atlantean prince with a magic seal card shows up to screw everything over."
"Meh. I've got the Forbidden One on deck and can pull of heart of the cards shenanigans, so I think we're good." After responding to Gray, John took a look around.
Most of the kids were gone by now, but there was still a small group waiting by the gate.
As expected, there was Meggie and Tsuki. But there was also an unfamiliar blonde girl standing next to them. Not only that, but she had crimson eyes with a heart-shaped pupil in her left eye.
And standing in front of the girls...
John frowned and said, "One of those blonde kids your son, Gray?"
Gray nodded. "The one with red eyes, yes. That's Al. I don't know the other kid. But..." He frowned. "This situation seems pretty tense?"
Gray's son, Al, was standing in front of the girls and next to the other blonde kid. The two of them were facing off against another pair of boys, blocking those guys from seeing the girls.
As for the other boys, one was a kid with an aloof expression, black hair, and blue eyes. The other was a kid with red hair and matching eyes. Unlike his friend though, the red-haired kid looked furious. Glaring at Al, the red-haired kid gnashed his teeth and almost looked like he was going to swing.
...Soooo schoolyard drama that happened because John's beloved daughter was super attractive, Tsuki was like the archetypal FL of a Shoujo manga, and they picked up a friend who looked like a typical childhood friend FL.
Seriously, what was with his kids and ending up in cliched genre-specific situations?
...Was he going to have to worry about Rory later? It wasn't like she was legitimately going to have a Villainess arc or something, right?
And what about when he had a son? Oh dear heavens above, that poor soul...
Gray looked at the girls and then said, "Is that blonde girl your daughter, John?"
"No. Meggie's the super cute girl with green hair who's wearing the Poke- I mean, the CapsuMon sweater."
Gray blinked and said, "The girl with the blonde highlights who looks like she's definitely not going through a goth girl phase?"
"...Yes...?"
Gray gave John a sympathetic look and said, "You must have gone through a lot back at home after I left... Sorry."
...There's a big misunderstanding here. But John decided to let it be for now.
First off, they had to defuse this situation.
John gestured towards the kids and said, "Let's clear this up before things get out of hand."
"Got it."
John led the way, and Gray followed after him.
As the pair got closer to the kids, the red-headed boy swung his arm out to the side and said, "What are you trying to play a hero for, huh? How do you know they even want to hang out with you?!"
Okay. Definitely like a love triangle sort of deal.
The black-haired kid crossed his arms and said, "Indeed. To prevent even a conversation... How presumptuous."
The other blonde boy, one with blue eyes and a heart-shaped pupil in his right eye, frowned and said, "We're not playing hero. We're just stopping some pushy guys from bothering girls who clearly aren't interested."
Gray's kid, Al, crossed his arms and nodded. "Right. So buzz off." He narrowed his eyes and said, "Dad says I shouldn't start fights, but if you want one, come get it."
John glanced at Gray.
Gray coughed and said, "It's important to stand up for yourself..."
"...Uh huh."
Meggie scoffed and said, "Excuse you. I can take care of myself just fine."
Al's ears turned red, but he stood firm and said, "Even if you can, girls shouldn't be fighting."
Meggie stared at Al and then let out a long-suffering sigh.
Beside her, Tsuki sighed as well, but out of satisfaction. "It's just like in the manga..."
The blonde girl beside them held her hands up to her chest, her eyes filled with worry. "Um. I'd like it if it wasn't like manga." Looking at the blonde boy with blue eyes, she said, "I just want to hang out with everyone, Perry..."
Perry nodded and then pulled out his phone and said, "Don't worry Emma. This won't take long."
The red-haired kid scoffed. "What are you going to do, call the police?"
Gray looked over at John and said, "Should we... do something?"
They were close enough to hear the kids, but also just a bit out of sight.
Well, John was also hiding them, so they wouldn't be seen anyway. But as to Gray's question...
"Let's wait and see a bit. Adults shouldn't step in on kids' squabbles."
Right. It totally wasn't because John was curious to see how the drama unfolded at all. Definitely not.
Gray frowned and then slowly nodded. "I guess that's true." He sighed and scratched his head. "But for Al to get into a fight on the first day... I'm going to get chewed out by Artemis later..."
Perry nodded towards the red-head kid and said, "I'm calling security. You two are disturbing the peace."
The black-haired kid scoffed and pulled out his phone too. "If we're playing authority, I'll show you your place."
The red-haired kid huffed and said, "Fine! If we're playing this, I'm getting Mars oji-san to throw you all in jail! He's a lawyer, so he can sue all of your parents!"
John blinked.
Wait. 'Mars'... a lawyer...
...Didn't they have a guy like that on payroll? No, John even helped get him and his boss out of a scandal with fake evidence, right?
The black-haired kid held up his phone to his ear and said, "Akira ojisan. There are some troublemakers here who are bothering me."
Akira? ...Wait. Now that he thought about it, the black-haired kid's facial features were pretty familiar...
Al started to panic a bit. Pointing at the black-haired boy and the red-haired boy, he said, "Calling your parents is cheating! Fight me like a man!"
The black-haired kid gave Al a blank stare and said, "Why would I scuffle with a peasant like you?"
After hearing that, Meggie covered her face and groaned. "I hate school. I should never have come here. Nothing good's come out of it... Oh." She looked up at Emma and said, "Except you, Emma. You're cute."
Emma blushed and said, "T-Thanks! I like you too, Meggie!"
Tsuki frowned and then hugged Meggie, glaring at Emma. "Meggie is MY best friend!"
Emma crossed her arms at that and said, "Meggie isn't something you can claim!"
"Oh dear god." John covered his face. "It's not even high school yet."
If this was happening BEFORE hormones were thrown in the mix, a few years later...
...Maybe John should sneak someone in to protect Meggie and defuse situations?
Wait. No, that was a trope. The bodyguard sent by the FL's dad would just end up falling in love with her and cause an even bigger mess.
Maybe if it was a girl-
Ah, no. Judging from Alphy and Betty, John's genetics of attracting beautiful women was faithfully passed down, so...
...Problem for future John. He'll think about it later.
Gray chuckled and said, "Well, at least this isn't band class."
John blinked, snapped out of his thoughts at the strange comment. "What's wrong with band class?"
"Huh? What do you mean what's wrong with-" Gray frowned and then said, "Oh yeah! You were a choir boy."
"...I feel like I should be offended by that declaration. Should I be?"
Gray shrugged. "Well, did you ever try to cross-dress?"
"...No comment- Wait. Is that a queer joke? Because that's TOTALLY not allowed these days."
"...Anyway." Gray started walking towards the kids and said, "We should stop this."
John nodded. "Yeah, I think it's escalated enough for us to step in."
