McMullin Home Battle Ground

December 12th 2018

Ryuuji decided to have his weekly dinner with the McMullins. He assumed everything would be as it always was, until Steve gave him a warning on the ride over, “Prepare for battle.”

“What do you mean by that?” He asks, confused.

“Exactly what it sounds like.”

Not making himself any more clear, Ryuuji figures Steve is overreacting like always.

At Scott’s home, they walk in and everything seems normal, causing Ryuuji to question the warning once more. Then, he suddenly hears laughter descend the stairs. It’s a laugh he instantly recognizes, one he couldn’t forget even if he tried.

Ryuuji looks to the stairs to see a tall, voluptuous woman with long, dark blonde hair tied in a high ponytail. It’s Steve’s older sister, QueenofSnow. However, that’s her username in the game, Starfight. He can’t remember her real name that was only mentioned once and keeps to himself as she approaches.

“And who might this be?” She asks with a grin, “Don’t tell me you're Hargrave?!”

“N-no…” Ryuuji says, slightly intimidated by her presence.

“That’s Takomi’s son Ryuuji.” Scott says, cutting in, “Be nice.”

“Oh is that all? I suppose welcome to the family is more appropriate at this point. It will be nice to have another younger sibling to tease.” She says while snickering.

“You monster!” Steve shouts.

“Didn’t I just say to be nice?” Scott sighs.

What a chaotic family. I’m glad my stay is temporary. It didn’t take more than 1 minute for Ryuuji to appreciate what he has.

“It’s so noisy, is our guest here?” Another woman with blonde hair walks out, though she’s a bit older than Steve’s sister.

“Ryuuji, let me properly introduce you. This is my wife Samantha and daughter Sarah.”

“Nice to meet you.” Samantha says with a gentle smile, while Sarah remains silent.

“Thanks for having me.” Ryuuji says with a slight bow, then adding “Though I have talked with Steve’s sister before.”

“Really?” Scott says, puzzled. “This is her first time here, where have you met?”

Sarah walks out of her parent’s view and stares Ryuuji down. She first raises her pointer finger in front of her lips and then proceeds to move her thumb horizontally across her throat. Ryuuji takes that to mean ‘quiet or death’. He feels a chill which results in him giving a simple explanation,

“She reached out in Starfight one night.”

Sarah joyfully nods to signify she’s satisfied with his answer.

“I didn’t know you still played Starfight.” Scott says to his daughter.

“Just once in a while when I get bored.” Sarah shrugs.

Things get quiet as the parents leave the room. They tell the children to relax until dinner is ready. When it’s just the three of them, Ryuuji leans over to Steve and whispers,

“Next time make your warnings more specific.”

“I really thought that was enough.” Steve says with a frown.

“You did good reading my signals.” Sarah says as she walks around the couch to take a seat.

Ryuuji and Steve follow suit and sit across from her.

“They don’t know you play? Even though you’re a Legendary Player?” Ryuuji asks.

“Nah, they don’t need to know everything about me. Besides, now that we own the company that created Starfight, father would probably ask me questions related to any bugs or gameplay.” She lets out a dramatic sigh, “Ah, to be famous is so exhausting.”

“I think it’s fun to help like that, though. It gives me a better idea if I work there in the future.” Steve says.

“Go for it. I can help with the company in more efficient ways later on.”

Sarah explains that their mother and herself are only here for the holidays. They’ll be leaving a few days into the new year. Ryuuji is relieved to hear that he will only have to deal with her for maybe 3 dinners total.

He heard that she was calmer when speaking with just Sun and Hanabi, but so far, he finds that difficult to believe. She’s just as noisy and eccentric as she was in their two meetings. Sarah then side-eyes Ryuuji.

“You’re really not Hargrave?”

“Even if Ryuuji was him, we wouldn’t tell you. We refuse to give you any info regarding his identity!” Steve declares.

Ignoring him, Sarah then thinks back to the tournament battle against their team. Since they’re so close, she believes he must be a member, but it takes her a minute to remember who else was there.

“You must be that ninja-wannabe who served little purpose in the battle.”

“I’m honored you remember.” Ryuuji says with a glare.

“That’s more like it!” Sarah says before letting out a laugh.

She did say before; “if all the Legendary Players were best friends then the game would be no fun.” Does she just enjoy making enemies of everyone? Ryuuji considers. It was already confirmed to him last month that Hanabi still dislikes her for suddenly dropping out of the tournament. He can’t blame her for that though.

“Anyway, I know you’re only here until your father recovers. Let’s get along and avoid mentioning the game in front of my parents, got it?” Sarah says.

What started as a friendly request ended with a demand. Ryuuji has never heard someone talk in such a manner before. He would rather interact with her as little as possible, and avoid more trouble, and decides to go along with it.

After Sarah leaves the room, Steve quickly turns to Ryuuji. “You did well to pass the first round. Remain cautious and you shall survive the night.”

“I’m convinced there’s something wrong with your entire family at this point.”

Dinner is ready shortly after and they all take a seat at the table. It’s a special beef stew containing celery, potatoes, and carrots, with biscuits on the side. So far, Ryuuji has yet to have the same meal more than once since he started coming. While Steve and Scott don’t eat dinner together every night, they still try to switch things up and eat all different kinds of cuisine.

Of course, no one sitting at this table cooks the meals. The family has hired cooks just as they do drivers. Even though his father once owned Komi Co., one of the most profitable gaming companies in the world, Ryuuji never experienced anything like this. He has no idea if his father couldn’t afford it, or if he simply wasn’t interested. Ryuuji never considered living any differently anyway.

As requested, Ryuuji and Steve avoid talking about Starfight. Instead, the family brings up many stories from the past, including some embarrassing moments about Steve, much to his dismay. I wish Sun was here for this. Ryuuji can’t help thinking since Steve always does this to her. Though being familiar with the family for many years, she may already know all of this.

Tonight’s meal is the first the McMullins have been able to get together since mid-summer. Scott and Steve arrived sometime in August. Whether it’s simply settling down or working at the company, both have been busy. Ryuuji almost feels bad that he’s interfering, but even Sarah has welcomed him with open arms, and a few threats mixed in. They clearly don’t have anything against him being here.

Ever since he was young, Ryuuji’s memories of his family have only consisted of his father and himself. There were no parties to attend, or places to stay for the holidays. It was quiet regardless of whether or not they had meals together. Ryuuji couldn’t help feeling envious of the McMullin family, along with a tinge of loneliness over what he has right now.

Just after finishing the meal, Ryuuji decides to take his leave.

“Are you sure? I think we have some dessert.” Scott mentions.

“Yeah I had enough fun. Thanks for everything.” Ryuuji says with a smile.

“Alright, I’ll let the driver know. He should be out in a few minutes.”

“We’ll see you another night. Please continue to take care of my son.” Samantha says.

“If anything, I take care of him.” Steve boasts.

“No one believes that.” Sarah jabs.

Ryuuji avoids getting involved in the conversation by quietly leaving the home. He then lets out a sigh. “That wasn’t bad, but I’m glad I don’t have to deal with them every day.”

December 13th 2018

At the school gate, Ryuuji meets up with Sun.

“I heard you met the rest of Steve’s family last night. How was it?” she asks.

“It makes me glad I’m an only child, but they were nice enough to welcome me so I can’t really complain.”

“They do have a lot of energy. Still, I’m glad it worked out.”

Sun can’t deny she was a little worried about Ryuuji meeting Sarah simply due to her commanding presence, but it seems even she made an effort to get along with him. Ryuuji then looks around to make sure none of their friends are here.

“We need to keep the fact that Queen is here a secret from Hanabi. I don’t want to imagine how she will react.”

“True.” Sun concurs.

“What are you guys talking about?” Hanabi asks as she and Seiji approach from behind. Their timing is uncanny.

“It’s a private matter, thank you very much.” Ryuuji proclaims.

“Still trying to keep secrets even though we share the same place?” Seiji says.

Steve is then dropped off by his hired driver. With a serious look on his face, he glances at the surrounding area before meeting his friends.

“Looks like the coast is clear.” He says with pride.

“What are you doing?” Ryuuji is the first to ask about his strange behavior despite doing something similar just a minute ago.

Steve looks up to see all eyes on him. He then notices Sun shaking her head while pointing to Hanabi. He figures this is related to the tournament with his sister and showcases a smile.

“My family is rich, gotta be careful sometimes.”

The couple suspects he’s lying, but decide it’s too early to question him. He often does random things like this anyway.

However, as they walk to class, Seiji whispers to Ryuuji,

“Why are you guys being so weird this morning?”

“Queen is in Japan for the holiday. We thought it was best to hide this from Hanabi.” Ryuuji whispers in return.

Upon hearing that, Seiji groans. He too wants to avoid her at all costs, in game and real life. “Good plan. Keep her away from me too.”

“Easier said than done.” Ryuuji says, remembering her strong presence in person.

Ryuuji had 3 dinners total with Steve’s mother and sister present. Every time, he had to endure Sarah asking if he was Hargrave and any information about it. For once, he was thankful for Steve’s obsession, with him cutting in whenever the username was mentioned. Even if he didn’t know Hargrave in real life, he’s sure Steve would react the same way.