Crafting Remnant

" Well, how did I do?"

Ruby asked me as I graded her test papers. It had already been a month since I took the two Roses with me to the Build Gundam universe, and I had to admit I was impressed with the little cookie monster. She did pretty well to catch up on the two years she skipped on her own. We are probably only going to be here for at most six months at this rate. I then told Ruby the verdict with a smile.

" You passed with flying colors."

" Yes! Can we get started on making my own plastic model to fight with!?"

The younger Rose asked me with brimming excitement. I told her with a grin.

" Sure, you just need to catch up one more year that you skipped."

" Oh, come on!"

Ruby said with genuine anger, and I just laughed as it only made her look cute, like a pouting kitten or puppy. I assured her I was just messing with her.

" Ruby, I'm teasing."

" Oh. Then..."

The little cookie monster looked at me with barely restrained excitement, and I told her.

" We will make a trip to a Gunpla store, but let me go see if your mother has any interest in joining us first."

" Yes!"

Ruby fist pumped, and I rolled my eyes in wry amusement as I got up to see if Summer wanted to join in on the fun. I found her surfing the net in her room on the laptop I got her so she could learn more about this world. The elder Rose noticed me and asked me.

" Did you know that there were two wars that were equivalent to Remnant's Great War in this world?"

" I am aware, among other things, that makes this world so very different compared to Remnant but also similar in some aspects."

" Like no faunus, and yet discrimination against skin color exists in place."

Summer found the concept of such discrimination strange compared to faunus discrimination, but I am not diving into that rabbit hole, and I better stop her from doing the same.

" Summer, believe me when I say in every imperfect world, some form of discrimination exists regardless of reason, and trying to understand the why only results in headaches and more confusion."

I told her from my own experience only truly utopian societies don't have any form of discrimination, and those are few and far between. Even then, that only applies to their universe, and it would likely fall apart if those societies came in contact with other universes outside their own perfect little bubble. Summer sighed as she replied.

" That's... depressing."

" Maybe, but we don't choose the life we are born in and deal with the hand that is dealt to us as best we can to make our life worth living. Heavy talk aside, Ruby passed her test and now wants to dive into Gunpla Fighting immediately. Want to join in on the fun?"

The elder Rose smiled as she replied.

" I have to admit, after learning more about this world, I want to experience the craze that reached practically every nation of this world."

" Okay then, I'll meet you at the front door with Ruby."

***

Ruby and Summer followed me through a suburban area, and the younger Rose asked.

" Um, Silva, aren't we supposed to go to the city area?"

" There is a hobby shop in this area that happens to be close to my residence."

" That's odd; I may not know a lot about business, but isn't it common sense for shops to be somewhere with a lot of foot traffic instead of a residential area?"

The elder Rose asked, and I chuckled as I explained.

" The owner of the shop is a bit of an oddball who made their home into a hobby shop."

I told them as we finally stood in front of the Iori Hobby Shop. Sei should be at school right now, and it's still about a year away until Reiji shows up, so that only leaves...

" Welcome!"

Rinko Iori called out to us cheerfully as we entered the shop, and I greeted her in turn.

" Hello, we are browsing."

I then told Ruby and Summer.

" Take your picks, you two."

The younger Rose immediately started looking at the various models with excitement, and the elder Rose was more subdued but no less interested. I grabbed a model kit of GN-XIII for my base model, along with some sheets of plastic to make my custom parts and everything else needed to make what I have in mind. While I waited for Summer and Ruby to pick out their models, I chatted up the blue-haired housewife.

" You know, you would never expect a hobby shop to be set up in a residential district."

" It was my husband's idea, and it at least gives me something to do while he is away on business and my son is at school."

She replied to my comment with a friendly smile and then asked with a cheeky smile.

" Your wife and daughter are quite cute; too bad my son is not around. I'm sure he would appreciate a cute girl visiting our shop."

I could not help but laugh at her misunderstanding and corrected her.

" Summer is not my wife, and Ruby is actually my friend, who is only a few years younger than me."

" Oh my! Sorry about the misunderstanding. It is just that you are so tall; I thought that you were older."

" It's fine."

I assured her, and as for the reason she was not commenting on my fur-covered arms and paws was because of a clever little illusion that hid them unless the person knew my faunus nature. Rinko was not intimidated by me towering over her, being about five and a half feet tall against my seven-foot height from what I could see. I found it funny that a housewife had more nerve than a lot of people that I met for the first time. I then asked her.

" It must be a bit lonely having to manage this store on your own."

" It can be at times, especially since we hardly get any customers."

She sighed with a forlorn expression and let out a small rant.

" I love my husband, but sometimes it feels like I am being placed second to his love for Gundam and such."

" Surely you are kidding."

" I wish! I honestly worry my son takes too much after his father with his love for Gundam. Well, if worse comes to worse, I will play matchmaker for Sei so he does not grow up alone with only his models to keep him company."

I smiled at her and said.

"You're a good mother, making sure your kid does not wind up old and alone."

" He needs a proactive girl in his life. After all, if I hadn't made the first move, Takeshi would have never asked me out."

" Now that sounds like a story."

I said with a grin, and she returned a cheeky grin of her own.

" You have no idea."

As I talked with the blue-haired woman, I learned how clearly lonely she felt, and I entertained thoughts of being a homewrecker, but later, Ruby and Summer are with me right now. Speaking of which, the younger Rose came up with her selection of Gunpla.

" I'll take these!"

She picked out Gundam Dynames, Gundam Deathsycthe Hell EW version, and Rose Gundam. The elder Rose returned with Gundam Ground Type, and I paid for everything and gave my goodbyes to Rinko. Now, let's get building.