The World's Best, and Universe's Greatest, Onee-chan

Part and Parcel

"...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 4 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 milked 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 another member of Abyssmare wants to practice her sibling skills on them because of what another other member of Abyssmare did for her. But when she went to ask this another other member of Abyssmare 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 was, 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, 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 and it meant more to Elsie than Neo fully understood.

With the newfound reassurances from Neo came newfound confidence in Elsie. And even a little bit of kindness. It was not much, but one night, she joined Weronika in her voice call with her siblings. That was the night that inspired Elsie to try her own hand at being an elder sibling. The only problem: she had no idea how. There was also the added difficulty 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?"

Neo stiffened. There was a reason she was "talking to Lumina". Yes, she was at least interested in thinking about siblinghood, but, like Elsie, she didn't know how. And so, 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. For Elsie...

This time, Lumina was a little more compassionate and a little less teasing. Unfortunately, although she 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 supposed to know what did and did not work for siblings of flesh and blood, and siblings of pixel and coding? 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 Inuyose.

And they think I'M good for this?! Shinobu 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 can call?" 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 game time 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 to begin with. Michiru wasn't exaggerating when she said there was nothing straight about what she was dealing with.

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.

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. 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. And then there were seven.

Neo exhaled slowly, leaning back in her seat, arms crossed, a small scowl on her face. THIS is why I am a Lone, not an Ichihoshi!

It was easy to romanticize family, but Neo would've cautioned anyone and everyone about 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 to do for Elsie and Weronika's siblings. People of all ages and units were helping, Abyssmare, Unichord, Peaky, RONDO...

None of us know how to be good elder siblings. Yet... I feel as though I am watching the answer unfold right before my very eyes...

Without meaning to, a smile played across Neo's lips. Elsie saw it out of the corner of her amber eyes and smiled too. This was indeed a most undignified, embarrassing, and unprofessional voice chat! But somehow, getting to sit beside Neo, knowing both of them were secretly judging the other five people in the call, made Elsie truly feel like Neo's little sister, and it was a feeling she wouldn't have traded for anything in all the world or universe. Neo felt the exact same way.

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