ggie took a sip from her tea and looked across the table, her head still swirling.
School. It was sothing she hadn't even considered since arriving in this world.
ggie *knew* about school, of course. The concept as a whole wasn't foreign to her. Even in the Three Realms there had been schools. Though, those had been more of the martial sorts and not the educational ones...
Still, she didn't realize that it was sothing people would be going to. That Tsuki would be going to.
ggie thought they could just sit around and play gas together every day, but...
"Geez. Are you that worried about it, ggie?"
John's voice drew ggie out of her thoughts.
ggie blinked and then turned her head to the side, her face red. "I-I'm not worried! I just... Why do people have to go to school?" She looked down at her tea and said, "It's not like Tsuki needs to work or anything later, right? Why does she want to go to school instead of just play gas every day?"
John let out a wry smile.
ggie noticed and then narrowed her eyes. "It's not funny!"
"I know, ggie." John sipped his cup of coffee and said, "I'm just surprised. These days, I keep seeing myself in you and your sisters..." He sighed and said, "It's a bit worrying."
ggie snorted and said, "Please. As if I'd do anything dumb like you, Dad."
John gave ggie a blank look and said, "Did you already forget about that incident?"
ggie blinked and then her face turned red. "S-Shut up! It was Tsuki's fault for that misunderstanding! And you should have told that you were bringing her mom back to life!"
"Sure, sure." John smiled and said, "But anyway... Why don't you go to school with Tsuki?"
ggie gave John a blank look and said, "You already know how bad of an idea that is, Dad."
The mortals in this world were squishy. In fact, everything in this world was fragile.
ggie had been careful recently and managed to not break anything, but a small mistake was all that it would take to ruin the peaceful life they had.
That was why she had been spending most of her ti inside her room playing her Mintendo Switch when she wasn't watching Little Xuan and Wu.
...And definitely not because she had been trying to shiny hunt rare CapsuMon.
But anyway, it was bad. ggie wasn't confident in being able to hold back if soone annoyed her. And in that case...
John nodded and said, "It *is* pretty risky. But on the other hand, it's about ti you started integrating back into society. While I *could* just keep you here and let you do whatever you want since money's a nonissue, it's no good to raise you up like a spoiled little princess."
ggie huffed and said, "I would not act like that."
"You say that now, but you don't know how your Mom was like when we first t." John sipped on his coffee and shook his head. "But anyway..." He set his cup of coffee down and then looked at ggie with a serious expression.
-----AI|IA-----
Spoiler
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-----AI|IA-----
ggie straightened, eting his gaze.
"ggie."
"...Yes, Dad?"
"Do you want to got to school with Tsuki?"
ggie hesitated. "It's not that I *don't* want to go, but..."
It should be fun. From how much Tsuki talked about it and how happy she sounded, ggie felt like it would be enjoyable. And she'd be with Tsuki too, so it wouldn't be like she'd be alone.
Not that ggie was worried about that. She could handle being by herself. It wasn't like she was a baby or a young girl anymore.
But...
"...Can I?"
This was a world of mortals. Fragile and transient people that could disappear if she looked at them funny.
The recent scare about Tsuki vanishing only reinforced that thought in ggie's mind.
She never thought about it before, but life could be very short. The ti that ggie spent mastering a particular move was longer than any human alive in this world could hope to live for.
Mingling into a world like this when she would exist long after everything else faded away...
"Of course."
As if to cut away those doubts, John spoke up in a firm voice and said, "And this is the only ti you can. Even if it's just for a short period, it's still important to experience it." He let out a bitter smile as his blue eyes grew distant, flickering with green light. "...You'll regret it afterwards if you don't."
ggie was quiet.
...Right. She forgot about it.
Dad was originally a mortal like everyone else here. Soone whose perspective of ti was originally short and fleeting. As he walked his path, he grew accustod to the vast stretches of eternity, but he could still recall how it was back then.
And it was clear. While he didn't talk about it much until recently... ggie's Dad regretted it a bit. There were a lot of things he wanted to do when he got back ho, but in the end, that 'ho' that he wanted to return to didn't exist. Neither did the people or family he wanted to et again.
All that John had left were mories. And from his expression right now, they were bitter mories.
So...
"...Okay." ggie nodded. "Then... I want to go to school with Tsuki, Dad." She smiled and said, "At the least, I don't want to be a loser like you who's frowning all the ti while rembering the past."
John blinked and then he laughed. The bitter smile on his face vanished and was replaced by a warm one. "Right. It's important to make a lot of friends and good mories when you're young. Even if you all go different ways, those tis will keep you going even when the world around you changes."
"...Is that why you have all those weird things in your Heavenly Realm?"
John coughed. "I-Imaginary friends are still friends."
ggie laughed.
John smiled and then sipped on his coffee. "So... Life counseling complete?"
ggie leaned back and crossed her legs. "...You pass, Dad. Ah, but there was sothing else I wanted to ask about."
"Yeah?"
ggie put on a cheeky smile and said, "...Can I start dating?"
The sound of shattering glass. John accidentally crushing his cup of coffee, leaving it to drip on his desk. "...What?"
ggie laughed and said, "Just kidding~ That was a great expression though." She stood up and waved at John before walking off. "I'll see you later, Dad. Love you. ...And thanks."
"...Love you too, ggie."
-----AI|IA-----
The soft chi of the elevator echoed as ggie left.
John sighed and then waved his hand, cleaning up the ss. "She's joking now, but the fact that she's thinking about it..."
John frowned and leaned forward, lacing his fingers together.
This wasn't a problem, but it was a complication. The fact that Alphy was not so discreetly dating Asako, the fact that Betty was in an ambiguous relationship with that Emily, and the fact that ggie was starting to joke about getting a boyfriend...
The elevator chid again and the sound of heels echoed against the floor. Shortly after, a soft female voice called out. Jenny's.
"You look lost in thought, Onii-chan. Sothing happen?"
John's self-proclaid baby sister walked over carrying a tablet under her arm. As usual these days, she was wearing a white dress shirt and black skirt.
John sighed and said, "No. I was just reminded about how ti seems to pass by so quickly these days."
Jenny nodded and sat down across from John. "That's Earth for you. Unlike the Three Realms, everything happens here at a blinding pace."
"Seems like it." John chuckled and said, "Which makes it all the more important to get the ball rolling and keep on top of things. Speaking of which... How's that project going?"
Jenny smiled and slid her tablet over. "See for yourself."
A webpage appeared on screen. Simple and clean with just a logo in the center of it along with a date beneath that.
[V-Show Girls: ReIdolize]
January 8, 2024
John smirked. "Excellent." He stood up from his chair and walked over to the window, looking out at the cityscape. "It's a bit late, but a returnee like should run a bit wild every now and then, right?"
"...If you're trying to be cool, Onii-chan, you're failing."
"...I was having a mont."
Jenny took back the tablet and started opening so docunts. As she did that, she looked up at John and said, "If you have a mont to spare, you should be helping sort out the permissions for the songs that Alphy wanted to sing. A lot of the record label companies are being stubborn."
John sighed and walked back to sit in his chair. "The faceslapping never ends, huh?"
Jenny shrugged and said, "You could always throw money at them." She slid the tablet back over, showing a list of emails. "It's a lot, but it looks like these guys will back down once you pay up."
John picked up the tablet and started scrolling through the list. "Yeah. But then those guys won't know their place. And from what I rember before I got pulled into the Three Realms, music companies were being extra greedy with their rights... Mm." He looked up at Jenny and said, "Have Fae and Co. Law Offices been on-boarded as corporate counsel yet?"
"About that..."
_________
Smith Family
Spoiler
[redacted] as a vampire/serial killer
ggie
John
Betty (Who has been eating way too much candy)
Alphy
[collapse]
Prodigy IRL
Spoiler
Chihiro
Yuri
Suzu
Shu
[collapse]
Prototype IRL
Spoiler
Asako
Rin
[collapse]
Sakura
Spoiler
[collapse]
Prototype
Spoiler
Hana
Aoko
Alfi
[collapse]
[collapse]
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