Fate/School Days - 04

Gekkou had decided he liked this school. The teachers always praised him, either for his neat hand when writing out the alphabet or for his very mature manners. He knew he had Mother to thank for that. Tsukiumi-kaasan would never let any child of hers grow up without proper manners and a sense of propriety.

It probably also helped that his teacher had Kumako and that uncouth Kouki Nitani to compare to. Both of them were messy, hyper, and unruly to a fault. He expected that from his sister, any child of Musubi-kaasan was a little odd - even Shinta-niisan to a degree. But that boy was not just oblivious, he was actively acting against the teacher's wishes!

Gekkou didn't quite like Kouki so much.

It sometimes made Gekkou worried about Reiko, forced into the other first-grade class with the boy's companion, that Rin Kaga. If the boy was this bad, what would his friend be like? He knew his little sister was nervous around strangers and he was worried about her being by herself without the security of her siblings.

The whole grade was out by the school's flowerbeds for their "Life Class". Each student had been given a large artboard and colored pencils and they were told to draw the morning glories. Peeking around his own board, Gekkou looked around for his siblings. Kumako wasn't hard to find, her ahoge bobbed excitedly as she made a very colorful mess across her paper.

Over by the other end of the field, Reiko's black dress stood out starkly against the other girls' light pastel clothes. She was drawing slowly, carefully from what he could see. Rin was just next to her, concentrating on her own sketching. Gekkou had quickly learned that the quietness Rin had displayed when they first met was just the usual shyness of anyone meeting new people, as opposed to Reiko's habitual reservedness. She seemed to get along well with the other girls, and she seemed nice enough with Reiko.

A loud shout suddenly drew his attention and he looked back to find Kouki being chased by their teacher. A group of boys from a third class had apparently finished and were playing around, and it seemed Kouki had decided to ditch and join them. Reiko's teacher joined in the chase and soon it became a wandering melee of squealing children running around the two adults.

Such a barbaric display, Gekkou decided as he turned back to his sketch. Something in him twinged and he absently he reached out an arm to grab Kumako and keep her from joining in.

There was a sudden commotion from Reiko's direction and he looked up again to find Rin marching over. Several girls girls were belatedly calling out for her to come back; Reiko hugging her doll to herself tightly in silence. The whole grade not involved in the melee watched silently as Rin disappeared into the mob and came back out holding Kouki by his ear shouting something as she dragged him. From their distance they couldn't hear what was being said, but everybody was surprised to see the boy suddenly stop fighting and wordlessly head back to his fallen art board. The rest of the boys and teachers were frozen in place as the girl went back to her own board and resumed drawing without a word.

What in the world? Gekkou thought.

He saw them again after school, while waiting to be picked up. Reiko was talking quietly with Rin as he walked up with Kumako in tow.

"Isn't he scary?" his sister was saying. "Ignores... teachers... always... mad... Rin-chan... bullied."

"Eh?" The other girl seemed to understand the disjointed sentence, which surprised Gekkou even more. She waved her hands frantically, "No! No, he's not like that! He's really not like that!"

Reiko seemed unconvinced, judging by how she hid herself behind her doll.

"I went to the same preschool as Kouki-kun after all," Rin continued. "Kouki-kun has never once been scary..."

"He looks FUN!" Kumako jumped into the conversation, both figuratively and literally. "I want to spar with him!"

Gekkou looked pained. "Kumako, no fighting..." he said with a dull tone born of constant repetition. He turned to the other girl. "I am surprised, though, Kouki-kun never listens to our teacher."

"She's just boring," said the boy now walking out of the building. "All the other kids were doing it first, I don't see why that hag had to pick on me."

"Kouki-kun!" Rin warned. The unruly youth waved his arms in a dismissing gesture but dropped the topic. "Who are we meeting today?" he asked instead.

Rin and Kouki's parents both were single adults who worked somewhat late, so they usually stayed in the afterschool daycare. Usually one of their mothers would come by to pick them up, typically Musubi-kaasan or Tsukiumi-kaasan. On occasion Arturia-kaasan or even Gil-ojisan stopped by, but those were rarer occasions.

"Hm, I don't remember who Mother said was coming this afternoon," Gekkou mused. He looked over at Kumako, who's antennae-like hair had suddenly shot up. "But whoever it is, I think they're here."

"Hey, brats," a tall-blond teen stepped through the gates. "I'm picking you up today. Some family meeting came up for the moms and I drew the short straw." Green eyes looked around the field, "Where's Shinta?"

"Arika-nee!" Kumako squealed. "Shinta's still inside somewhere, but have you met our new friends?"

Arika Emiya made as if to answer when she was suddenly tackled by a black blur, "Not ye-Oh! Hey Reiko."

The black-clad girl simply dug her face deeper into her sister's side.

Kumako would not be denied when it came to friends. She waved towards the other two, "That's Kouki. He's a friend! And and... where'd Rin go?"

"She's hiding behind me," Kouki said, completely unsurprised at his own friend's reaction whenever she met a new person. ("She's another friend!") "So is this another one of your mothers?" he asked. He'd still not gotten over just how many parents the Emiya clan seemed to claim as their own.

Arika twitched.

Reiko froze.

Gekkou shook his head, wide-eyed, "Ah, no she's our older sis-"

"What. Did. You. Call. Me?" the eldest Emiya daughter hissed. "Do I *look* old enough to be their Mom?"

Kouki looked around nervously as the air temperature seemed to rise for no reason. At Kumako and Gekkou who were frantically shaking their heads 'no.' He looked for Reiko who had suddenly disappeared from her sister's side. Back at the person in question and... was that lightning crackling around her?

Still, the only adult who deserved to be listened to was Daikichi, because he was cool like that. And... maybe his mom. He met her stare evenly and shrugged. "Maybe."

The air suddenly grew a quality that implied imminent explosion, and he had the very bad feeling he was sitting at ground zero.

Reiko, meanwhile, had dashed back over to Rin who was cowering behind Kumako now, a safe distance away. She pulled on her sleeve until the brunette looked at her with wide eyes. "Wha-?"

"Stop him," Reiko pleaded. "Arika-nee... mad... very bad. Kouki... quiet... now..."

"Ah..." wide eyes turned towards her childhood friend who was still standing resolutely with a scowl on his face. She looked back at Arika, if she didn't know any better she'd think her hair was starting to crackle with static... or something. She made up her mind and charged her friend...

...and socked him in the back of the head, forcing him to bow over with the pain. "We're very sorry!" she cried. She kept her hand on Kouki's head to keep him bowed. "He didn't mean to say what you think he said! We're both just so happy our friends have a big sister who takes care of them so well! A very pretty big sister!"

"That's laying it a bit thick," Gekkou muttered.

Arika still looked like she was about to lay down some unholy explosive smack-down on the area when she felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked down to find Reiko back at her side, tearfully clutching her doll.

"Arika-nee... please..."

Arika simmered for a moment longer, then finally sighed as she let her... annoyance subside. "My bad, I guess I overreacted a bit..." She studiously ignored her other two siblings nodding enthusiastically at that statement. She pointed at the still bowing pair. "You. Keep a tighter leash on his mouth. It's going to get him in trouble some day."

Rin and Kouki both nodded, still facing the ground. Seemingly satisfied by that response, Arika scooped Reiko into her arms and moved past them to head into the school building. "Kumako, let's find your bookish brother and go home."

Kumako eagerly bounced after her, "Yay! Shinta hunt!"

Gekkou waited outside with Rin and Kouki as they collapsed to their knees and regained their composure. "So," he said conversationally. "That was Arika-nee, she's our oldest sister and Arturia-kaasan's - I think you've met her - daughter. She has something of a short-fuse, so be careful what you say to her."

"Good," gasped Kouki, "...to know."

He passed out.

Gekkou suddenly liked his eldest sister a lot more than he had before.