11 Chapter 11: Family Matters Part 2

*Kirari POV*

After I made plans to meet up with Midori tomorrow, I went home for lunch.

"I'm home!"

"Kirari, you're finally here. Sit down and eat. If you took any longer, I would have gone to pick you up. It's a little lonely eating all by myself…" I heard my mom say as I entered the dining room.

Dad must still be working overtime this weekend. The company he is working for is going through some changes.

"Sorry, mom. I had a long conversation with a friend." I sat next to my mom wondering why she was alone at the table.

"Itadakimasu. Where's Nii-chan?" I asked curiously.

"He's sulking in his room. Honoka came by earlier today to say her farewells…"

"Farewells?" I stopped the mouthful of food that I was about to shove in my mouth. Grinding took a lot of energy and I was hungry as hell.

"Yes. She's moving to a different prefecture to continue her hero duties… Along with her new boyfriend." Mom explained with a sly grin on her face.

Honoka-nee had long since graduated from high school and was now working as a sidekick for a hero agency. I wasn't surprised about her moving. It was bound to happen sooner or later with the abundance of heroes situated in our area.

It's the second part of mom's explanation that got my attention.

"Did she and Tatsuya-san finally become a couple?"

"Fufufu. Indeed, they did. Seriously, it took them too long! Tatsuya is so dense. If I did not convince Honoka to confess, he would never have noticed her feelings."

"At least he reciprocated her feelings in the end…"

Honestly, I had no interest in this conversation.

But mom likes topics like these. As a good daughter, I must indulge in her interests. However, that did not stop me from trying to change the topic.

"Poor Nii-chan. Now I know why he is sulking in his room." I said after I finished eating and cleaning up my dishes.

"Haaa. That boy. It was a crush that was never going to work out." She said while placing a hand on her temples.

"I'm going to bring his lunch to his room!" I said, quickly dashing towards Denki's room.

"Try to convince Denki to get over it and focus on his studies!" Mom yelled.

Ever since I set a goal for myself, I have always acted like a perfect child in front of my parents.

Never cause problems for them.

Always keep their best interests in mind.

Love them unconditionally and cherish every moment with them.

It's not hard to be a good child as long as you have decent parents. Aside from a few quirks (pun intended), mom and dad have been great parents. Just like my parents in my last life...

*Knock knock*

"Nii-chan, I brought you your lunch," I said while opening his door and heading inside.

There, I saw him wrapped in his blanket on his bed.

Weird. His figure reminded me of the day I met Dio-sama…

I put the food on the desk and sat on his bed.

"Nii-chan. Please give up on Honoka-nee. She and Tatsuya-san are already dating."

"But why?! How come Tatsuya gets to be her boyfriend?!" He screamed without turning to face me.

"Dropping the honorifics now huh… Alright. Let me list it out for you." I took a deep breath.

"One, you are like 10 years younger than her. Two, Tatsuya-san is cool, tall, muscular, determined, cool, gentle, kind, always gives me snacks, he is the same age as her, and most importantly, he is cool. Three..."

"You said he was cool like three times…"

"Because it's true." Even I, as a man in my past life, think that the guy is cool.

Sensing that Nii-chan was still unwilling, I decided to use the strongest card.

"You know Nii-chan, Honoka-nee once told me that she wished she had a cute little brother like you."

"I'm not cute! I'm a man!" He proclaimed, finally turning around and facing me with a glare.

"Sure, you are. Wish I could say the same… But anyway, what I was trying to say was that Honoka-nee has put you in the brother-zone."

"Brother-zone?"

"Yup. It's a place where boys-"

"I'm a man!"

"… where MEN get placed by girls who they can only see as family and not as a potential boyfriend." I explained, slightly irritated.

This is my strongest card, the Family card. Because nothing is stronger than family…

"Let me ask you this. Do you like me, Nii-chan?"

"Of course. You are my sister." He said.

"Then, can I be your girlfriend?"

"No! You are my sister!" He exclaimed.

I snapped my fingers.

"Exactly! Honoka-nee likes you, Nii-chan. But only as a brother, just like how you like me."

My explanation seemed to have worked as a look of realization entered his face followed by a look of dejection. His eyes became watery and it looked like he was about to cry.

"How about you come play with me tomorrow? I made some plans with Midori. Maybe hanging out with other people can take your mind off of Honoka-nee. Mom is also worried about you…" I hurriedly proposed to prevent him from crying.

"Midori?" He questioned.

"Yeah. My friend with the green hair."

"… Alright." He agreed.

"Then it's a playdate~" I stood up to leave.

Just before I left the room, Nii-chan called out to me.

"Kirari… Thanks."

"Hehe. No problem, Bro!" I said and gave him my brightest smile before closing his door.

But as I left, I think I heard him mumbling about something.

"… Cool huh…"

(Scene Break)

My family completely gathered at the dining table for dinner. It was a different scene compared to lunch time.

However, the atmosphere was oddly suffocating.

I can understand why Nii-chan is so quiet, but both my parents were also eating quietly which is totally not like them.

They were usually chatty during dinner, always asking us about our day and what not or talking about how work went.

Now, they were just focusing on their food, as if they were contemplating something.

Not liking this weird atmosphere, I decided to speak up. I put my metal chopsticks down in my plate making an audible noise to get their attention.

"Respectable Mother and Father. You appear to be in deep contemplation. May I ask if it is regarding an important matter that cannot be discussed in the presence of your loving offspring?" I asked using words that sounded like an eight-year-old just learned them and wanted to try them out.

"Pfft. *Cough cough*" Nii-chan reacted first by nearly spitting out the food he was about to swallow.

"Dearest elder brother, your table manners, please! Our respectable parents did not raise you to be so uncouth." I said with an appalled expression…

"Bfft. Bwahahaha!" Until I couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed out loud.

Even I found the words I said too ridiculous, even for the original Fischl to say.

But my goal was achieved. Everyone at the table started laughing, erasing the previous atmosphere.

"Hahaha. I guess I can't hide it from my 'offspring' huh. Hehe. We were planning to tell you after dinner but…" Dad explained while giving me a jab.

"I already told your mom. You see…" He said. His cheerful face became melancholic with each word he spoke.

"… I quit my job today. Sorry…" Dad stated while lowering his head apologetically.

It's a good thing I already put my chopsticks down, otherwise they would be making clanging noises as I would have dropped them if they were still in my hand.

"EEEHHHH?!" Nii-chan comically overreacted.

Honestly, I wanted to react the same way but Gamer's Mind suppressed that urge.

Instead I very calmly and rationally said,

"Oh my Dio."

Chapter End

A/N:

Tatsuya is a reference to The Irregular at Magic High School. And no, the Tatsuya here does not have the same powers as Godsuya.

If you don't find Godsuya cool, then just imagine the Tatsuya in my story as the popular guy in school that everybody wants to be.

In this chapter, Kirari has changed the way she addresses her family. Mom, Dad, and Nii-chan

I read somewhere that Denki in canon liked to be cool and trendy so I just expanded on the reason for that.

Lastly, just wanted to let you guys know that Ganyu and Zhongli banners are up in Genshin Impact! I've wanted her since she first appeared but I lost the 50-50 last time. So, after saving up ~220 pulls, I went all out.

Got C1 Ganyu!

And upgraded my Zhongli from C2 to C3! Still pulling on his banner until it goes away.

And extra, C1 to C2 Mona

Chest hunting in Enkanomiya while skipping writing a chap- *cough*, I mean recovering from booster shot side effects was worth it~

Next chapter on Saturday or Sunday.