A Dog Father Cannot Beget a Dragon Son

World 54: Part 3

From previous experiences, the best way to overcome OOC restrictions was two fold.

The first was self-justification. The second was persistence. Something simple, like "Amachi Shiko would read childcare books because she wants to raise her benefactor's child with the best care," could eventually evolve to "Amachi Shiko will ask her ward for his opinions because the childcare book recommended it," and one day could even become "Amachi Shiko is a decent caretaker."

In a way, it was also a lot like trying to conquer anxiety, but the path to that was likely even more arduous. Fei Chuan sighed meaningfully in his heart, and judged that he waited long enough to express hesitance. Thus, he asked, "...does it taste alright?" His hands instinctively started to fiddle with his braid, a leftover of the host body's habits.

"It tastes like egg," came the annoyed response. Julian put down his fork with a clink and tilted his head back to make eye contact with his new guardian. "Can you stop? It's annoying."

Fei Chuan looked away when the OOC infraction threatened to pop up. "....sorry."

On the surface, it looked like a boy with a bad attitude was one-sidedly suppressing his worried guardian. If the OOC restrictions were as tight as when Fei Chuan first transmigrated into his host body, that surface impression would be the correct one.

On cue, Julian frowned and stuck a piece of omelette into his mouth. "Why aren' you eatin'?" he groused, words muffled.

See this? This was a good kid!

Fei Chuan silently walked over to the opposite side of the table and slipped into his own seat. He still hesitated, however. "You," he began, quietly, then paused. "You could choke..." 'So don't chew with your mouth open' went unsaid.

Julian slouched into his chair. "Whatever." But he only said that after he fully swallowed his mouthful.

It was hard to strike a balance between being naturally nervous and becoming a pushover. More than anything, Julian was under a lot of stress and needed a firm hand; unfortunately, the original host was too timid and gloomy to properly coach him through this turbulent time. Fei Chuan himself could only do so much, and it was even after spending hours in front of a mirror at the crack of dawn conducting some self-hypnosis.

"You will ask Julian if he wants anything if he looks unwell."

"If Julian says something to you, you must respond or he'll feel unwanted."

"In case he needs something, you should be in the same room as him if possible."

"You will say something if Julian does something unreasonable."

Only then had [Their] guidelines determined that Fei Chuan could tell Julian something as simple as to not chew with his mouth open. He was not yet at the level where he could ask Julian about the nightmare he had that first night, but it was only a matter of a few years.

Fei Chuan had enough resolve to wait.

Eyes on his plate, Fei Chuan convinced himself that he was alone in the room and inquired, "Are you sure you want to go to school already?"

"Mom and dad said missing school wasn't good." He could hear the scowl trying to cover up Julian's sullen tone just then.

The 'Konnikov's' card got played. Normally, Fei Chuan would be helpless against it, since it was absolutely against Amachi Shiko's character to go against her deceased idols, but Fei Chuan had his own card to play. "Mr. and Mrs. Konnikov used to pull Miss Juniper out of school if she wasn't feeling well..."

"Shut up!" A fist slammed harshly onto the table, causing the cutlery to clatter against the plates and Amachi Shiko's body to startle. "I'm not Juniper!" Fei Chuan was treading a delicate line. Julian snarled at any mention of his adopted sister, and Fei Chuan had done his best to only vaguely allude to the girl if necessary.