"…So. Let me get this straight—" Shinobu sighed into her headset, gripping her mouse so hard she thought it would break.

"There is nothing straight about this!" The voice on the other end of the line shrieked. Shinobu winced again before sighing heavily a second time.

I can't believe you're making me miss "Dance for Dangerous Jack" for this! No. Wait. Yes. Yes, I can. This was Michiru Kaibara, after all. Now that she had her precious, beloved, Sensei Shinobu Senpai's number, she used it for all it was worth. But maybe I'M the idiot because I keep answering…

Over Shinobu's exhale, Michiru talked a mile a minute, and what little Shinobu could make sense of didn't make much sense at all. "One of Abyssmare has younger siblings, and anotherwants to practice her sibling skills on them because of what another other did for her, but when she went to ask this another other Abyssmare member for help, she didn't know the answer either, so then she went to Lumina, who also didn't know the answer, so she then went to you, and now you're…" Calling me… Yeah. There was nothing straight about any of that at all.

What actually happened, in the days since Elsie's sickness, she and Neo started developing something of a sisterly bond. It was still very far from any sort of normal or healthy familial relationship that any of them recognized, but Neo was more conscientious about Elsie's desire for her approval. And Elsie, herself, grew increasingly bold about her role as "Neo's little sister". She still didn't run around calling Neo "onee-chan", but Neo was giving her more consistent and overt reassurances that she wanted little Elsie by her side, as her right hand and second in command.

Exactly as it SHOULD be! Elsie thought proudly. And with this newfound reassurance, she became a little kinder. Not by much, but one night, she joined Weronika in a voice call with her own siblings, and the rest of Abyssmare joined even later. It was that night that inspired Elsie to want to try her own hand at being an older sibling, except she had no idea how. There was also the added difficulty of the fact that Weronika's siblings were not her own. And they were literally an ocean away. So Elsie turned to her own big sis, Neo, to ask for help.

"You've been trying to be a better sister lately, right? You've been talking to Lumina, yeah?"

But there was a reason Neo had been "talking to Lumina". Truth be told, she didn't quite understand how to be a good sister either, even though she was trying. So then Neo was forced to turn to Lumina once more. She loathed it bitterly, but as Elsie was doing for Weronika's siblings, Neo was going to do for her. I will swallow my pride… and reach out… and ask… for help.

This time, Lumina was a little more compassionate and a little less teasing. Unfortunately, although she herself ought to have been the perfect example of a sibling only accessible through internet, Lumina had no wisdom on this particular topic either. She and Neo didn't have a sisterly relationship, so how was Lumina to know what did and did not work between siblings of flesh and blood, and siblings of metal and wire? Furthermore, Lumina was the elder sibling while Weronika's were all younger. Perhaps that would change certain aspects of the dynamics?

So then Lumina turned to her "older sister" figure, Michiru, but despite her best efforts, Michiru didn't have many ideas either. She wasn't a sibling! So then it was off to the one her "older sister" figure, Shinobu.

And they think I'M going to good for this?! She was a sibling, yes, and chronically online, but that didn't magically mean she knew how to tell a bunch of strangers how to be good family members to their relatives!

"Well, do you know anyone else we cancall?" Michiru asked timidly through her headset. "'Cuz I kinda got everyone waiting on the other line, so I want to be able to get back to th—"

"YOU WHAT?!" Shinobu squawked. A minute later, her private voice chat more than doubled. Now it was her, Michiru, Lumina, Neo, and Elsie. Oh my God, Mich, only YOU would be enough of an IDIOT to try juggling two calls at once like that!

And spontaneous ones too, no less, for as Shinobu noted at the very beginning of her call with Michiru, she was sacrificing precious gametime for this. No doubt, the others were sacrificing precious time as well, even if it wasn't for the purpose of video games.

Face-palming and sighing, Shinobu did her best to listen to what the three new members of her call had to say, but by the end, she had to admit that she was stumped as well. It was a big question, how to be a good big sister, especially long-distance, or if the relationship was never great in the past. Michiru wasn't just exaggerating when she said there was nothing straight about what she was dealing with. No wonder she and the others kept trying to get second opinions; there was a lot of gray area in what they were facing.

Guess that's where the phrase "it takes a village" originates, Shinobu smiled bitterly at herself as she opened her DMs and pinged Nagisa.

"Shi-noooo!" Nagisa instantly greeted the other girl with the smuggest and most drawn-out hello she'd ever had the displeasure of hearing.

"Shut it, Nagi," she growled immediately, and in the voice chat, Lumina chuckled herself. It was exactly like when Neo first called her with Elsie.

"I know I said I wouldn't, but this isn't for me this time," she said the second Lumina answered her call, not even giving her time to speak before she interjected with her own diatribe, arms crossed and silvery-blue eyes stern as she silently warned Lumina not to tease her this time. Lumina was willing to play nice, genuinely delighted that Neo was calling again, and not wishing to run her off, especially if other little siblings were in the picture. After all, as Neo herself was showing, that was what sisters did for each other. They swallowed their pride and asked for help.

Oh, Neo! Lil sis! Big sis is so proud of you! Lumina kept the comment to herself, but both of her eyes were glowing golden again. Unfortunately, it didn't seem that anyone in their entire line of "sisters" knew how exactly to begin or approach the conundrum Elsie was facing either. As soon as Nagisa was caught up, she seemed honored, touched, and thrilled that Shinobu was seeking her wisdom and guidance.

The only problem? She had none to give. It was not something she shared publicly, but Nagisa faced insecurities about being an older sibling and cousin as well, and her own relationship with Shinobu had its ups and downs. There was wisdom in that, but Nagisa could not confidently say she had the answer either. But there was someone she considered qualified to answer that she knew…

"Just give me a quick sec…" The guitarist murmured, going silent as she paused to pull up her own DMs.

Rrrriiiinnnngggg! Rrrriiiinnnngggg! Rrrriiiinnnngggg! "Nagisa?" It was Hiiro Yano.

Neo exhaled heavily, sitting back in her seat, arms crossed, refusing to look at the little white-haired girl sitting beside her. If she had, she would've seen said girl biting her lip, fighting hard to keep a neutral face in the face of… all of this. What began as a simple question was now a long line of transferred calls and Neo was growing increasingly embarrassed. This is why I had no interest in being a member of the Ichihoshi family!

It was easy to romanticize family, but Neo would've cautioned anyone wearing rose-colored glasses. Madness and frustration were part and parcel too. It wasn't just love, support, hugs, handholding, and friendship. But the chaos… Neo listened as they worked together trying to speculate what would work best for long-distance sibling relationships. They had people from all ages and units, Abyssmare, Unichord, Peaky, RONDO…

None of are confident that we know how to be good elder siblings, and yet… I feel as though I am watching the answer right before my very eyes… Without meaning to, a smile quirked at Neo's lips. Elsie saw when her amber eyes darted over to the taller, older girl, and when she saw it, she smiled too. Maybe this was all part and parcel of sisterhood, and maybe neither Neo nor Elsie minded as much as they let on.

AN: Spontaneously got the hilarious mental image of a chain of D4 girls calling THEIR "older sisters" trying to help the younger.

Here's the chain: Elsie to Neo to Lumina to Michiru to Shinobu to Nagisa to Hiiro, LOL!