06 Everyone is Playing FGO
After finishing his training and putting away the wooden sword, it was already 6:30 in the morning.
Shirou wiped his face, washed his hands, and started preparing breakfast for the day. He made enough rice for six servings, including the lunch boxes for himself and Komachi.
Because their mother was busy with work, the Hikigaya children had been making their own lunchboxes since junior high. Shirou used to make his own, but now he and Komachi took turns.
This week happened to be his turn.
As Shirou was washing the rice, Komachi, who had just finished washing up, came over with a big smile, showing her little tiger tooth.
"Move over!" Komachi said playfully, sticking out her butt and bouncing into Shirou, squeezing her brother inward.
After being bumped, Shirou took two steps back and gave his sister a look. Then he said, "You don't have to help, you know. It's my turn to cook."
"I'm not helping! Komachi just wants to make breakfast with you! I'll take care of washing the vegetables! That move just now scored high on the Komachi points scale!" Komachi winked at him and giggled happily.
"Well then, I'll leave the washing and cutting of vegetables to you. If that's the case, I'll go all out and show my real skills," Shirou said readily. He perked up, aiming to make a breakfast that would live up to his sister's enthusiastic support.
"Okay! Leave it to me!" Komachi cheerfully washed the vegetables clean. She put cherry tomatoes into a bowl and skillfully sliced the cucumbers into evenly thick pieces that looked like they would be delightfully crunchy.
"You're getting better at cooking," Shirou said, nodding in approval.
"Hehe, that's because you're such a great teacher, big bro! And your apprentice, Komachi, is a super genius! I even got praised by the teacher during cooking class!" Komachi said proudly with a smile.
Komachi truly had a talent for cooking. Just a year ago, Shirou had been the one teaching her everything. Now, in quite a few dishes, her skills had already caught up to his.
The only reason he was still better was because of the extensive cooking experience he'd accumulated from his past life of traveling the world.
Thanks to their teamwork, breakfast and the lunchboxes were soon complete—with a well-balanced mix of protein and vitamins, meat and vegetables.
"Taste test! Komachi helped too, so I get to try it!" Komachi said, reaching into Shirou's lunchbox to grab a little octopus-shaped sausage and popping it into her mouth with a mischievous grin.
"Good morning~! Komachi, Shirou," their parents greeted them while yawning as they walked out of their bedroom.
"Good morning, Mom! Good morning, Dad!"
By the time the parents had finished washing up and came to sit at the table, breakfast was already set out.
"Here," Shirou said, handing the bowls of rice to his parents.
"Thanks, Shirou. Last night's stew was really delicious. Making your own lunch every day is already a lot, and now you're also taking care of breakfast for us. You're working too hard. We could just eat out in the mornings, you know," their mother said, looking at her mature son.
"It's no big deal. Making food for two or for four isn't that different. No matter how rushed we are, breakfast just tastes better at home," Shirou replied matter-of-factly.
Komachi chimed in with a smile, "Yeah, Mom, you work hard enough already. Leave the little stuff to us. Besides, that's all my big brother has going for him! Oh, and the cherry tomatoes and cucumbers are my doing, so make sure you eat a lot of them!"
"Thank you, Komachi," their mother replied happily.
As expected of Komachi—she could flatter their mom while still finding a way to show off her own efforts. Maybe that's exactly why, despite all Shirou's work, he only got half the allowance that his sister did.
Their mom looked at Shirou with a worried expression and said, "Shirou, while I really appreciate how much you help around the house, you're still a boy. It'd be nice if you had more hobbies and hung out with your friends."
Komachi added her own complaints: "Komachi worries too! Big bro doesn't have any hobbies, and he lives such a rigid lifestyle, like a stubborn old man. Without a girl watching over him, I feel like he's going to go gray early. You've got a good face, you're smart, and you're athletic—it's such a waste!"
"I already promised to play FGO with you, didn't I?" Shirou replied, clearly annoyed. "Besides, I do have some friends at school! I'm even the captain of the archery club! Why do you two act like I'm some hopeless case? That's just prejudice, isn't it?"
"If you don't show off your good points, no one will notice. I know them because I've lived with you for over ten years," Komachi replied.
"Is that so?" Shirou didn't seem convinced.
"Honestly! And it's because you're so good and still don't have a girlfriend that I'm worried! If you weren't my brother, I would've snatched you up already!" Komachi said, clapping her hands together as if grabbing something.
"Yeah, Shirou might make a worrying son, but if he were our son-in-law, I feel like the whole family would be happy," their mom agreed enthusiastically, wondering why someone so ideal had to be her child. Who did he even take after?
"Hold on! I, the father, do not approve of this! Even if Shirou is the ideal guy, I'll never allow it!" their dad shouted, slamming the table. As a devoted daughter-con, he wouldn't back down even for his own son.
"Wait a sec! Why is this conversation even heading toward 'I wish we weren't blood-related'!?" Shirou cried out. And honestly, if we weren't related by blood, I would've married Komachi the moment she turned sixteen!
"That's exactly why you can't make progress with any of the girls at school," Komachi teased him.
Their dad took the opportunity to score some points and said, "Ahaha, Komachi, forget about this stiff and boring guy. Let me play that Fate-something-Go-Go-Go game with you. I already downloaded it!"
"No! You're a grown-up now. As long as you work hard and support the family, that's enough," Komachi replied with a sweet smile.
As expected of Komachi, second in household status—she didn't hold back with her words. Yes, as the supposed head of the Hikigaya family, her dad's only real role was to be called out on weekends to pay for his daughter's shopping trips.
Somehow, Shirou suddenly felt a strange sense of shared misery—like a fox mourning the death of a rabbit.
From that perspective, he suddenly became curious—what kind of Servant did Komachi's dad pull on his first summon? Maybe that muscle guy who shouts "I ask you, are you the oppressor?" or perhaps a certain knight scorned by his daughter?
After breakfast, the family went their separate ways—those heading to school and those heading to work.
Shirou parted ways with his family and walked alone to school. Although the school was a little far, he used the commute as part of his physical training, so he chose to walk.
Everyone around him was on their phones, tapping away now and then.
That's right, they were all playing Fate/Grand Order, the mobile game that had suddenly exploded in popularity a year ago. Even now, people were still hooked, including elementary school kids.
Whether on the streets, buses, or subways—everywhere you looked, people were playing the game.
Office workers played during their commute and squeezed it into every spare moment during work. Their expressions were like warriors fighting for some kind of belief.
Among all the passersby tapping away on their phones, Shirou—walking straight ahead with his backpack—stood out as an oddball.
This game that everyone was so obsessed with… he still didn't really get what was so fun about it. Though… you could summon Saber…
When Shirou arrived at the archery club at school and pushed open the door, he found it still locked.
"Seriously, these guys are way too lazy," Shirou muttered, exasperated.
It seemed that because of what Miss Shizuka Hiratsuka had said yesterday, the other members had just skipped morning practice entirely.
This international high school focused mainly on preparing students for university entrance exams.
Most students joined clubs just for attendance or credits.
While the archery club had some fame in Tokyo, their strength mostly lay in individual competitions. Every year, the school recruited special sports students just to win glory.
Shirou had been the national junior high archery champion since his first year.
Now, as a special sports recruit and captain of the archery club, he had been granted full tuition exemption, free lunches, and a monthly scholarship. Winning competitions brought additional rewards.
To him, the archery club wasn't just a hobby—it was more like work. In fact, he was part of another club too—though lately, with competitions coming up, he had been focusing more on archery.
With his current skill level, unless some once-in-a-century martial arts prodigy or a mysterious organization's member showed up, he had virtually no chance of losing.
Shirou rummaged through his backpack and took out the key. Even if he was the only one here, a promise was a promise. Without talent, the only path to success was daily, repeated practice.
Besides… Mash should be arriving soon.