Family Begins With You

by Jmaster49

Arc XXIX Episode VII: Deadly Interrogation

“Looks like Silver Spoon’s father is gonna take a slight detour,” Coral replied as she set her tablet on the table, “Though not for the reason you might think. He’s got a few things he needs to answer for.”

Keiji scratched the top of his head. “Jeez. Poor Spoon can’t catch a break around here, can she?”

“Yeah you might wanna go chill with her for a bit. She deserves to enjoy herself, ya know?”

“Yeah I know,” Keiji replied with a huff as he leaned back in the chair. “Just make sure her dad isn’t held up for too long, huh?”

Coral held up her hands in a defensive manner. “Hey, it’s beyond my control at this point. Mr. Spoon’s just gotta answer a few questions and we won’t have any problems.”

Keiji got up from the table. “Fair enough, I guess. Her mom should be here soon though, right?”

As if on cue, an older woman who was a spitting image of Silver Spoon appeared and greeted her daughter who immediately jumped into her grasp for a hug.

“Well, there’s your answer,” Coral said with a smirk as she sipped from a soda can. “Better go meet your future in-law.”

“...say what?”

---

Meanwhile, in a limousine about one block away…

“Driver, the next turn,” a silver-colored, suited man who shared Silver Spoon’s appearance spoke up from his seat.

Except…the driver stopped on a dime, and parked the vehicle.

“Excuse me,” the gentleman called out to his driver as he opened the partition view the front seats of the vehicle, “I didn’t believe I told you to st--”

Click.

A short, pale-blue skinned young woman appeared from behind the partition with a handgun aimed directly at the man’s head.

“Hey, old man. How’s it goin’?” she asked in a casual, almost friendly manner. “Everything good? How’s the wife?”

In response, he held up his hands to show he had no intention of opposition. “...I’ll give you all the money you want. Just--”

"Hm. Hella tempting," the girl casually tapped the pistol against the side of her head and pointed it at the man once more. “But nah. This is whatcha gonna do for me, choom. I’m gonna need some info. What do you know about C Corporation?”

---

Back at the party…

“Okay. I feel a bit better now that my mom’s shown up,” Silver Spoon commented to her cousin.

“See?” Salad Fork grinned in response while shoving some pizza down her throat. “I told youff they’ff be here.”

Spoon couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of her older cousin speaking with a full mouth. “...you’re certainly something alright.”

A few moments later, a certain man showed up to greet his daughter with a large, wrapped box.

“Daddy?!” Silver Spoon yelped with enough force to nearly throw her glasses off of her face. “I…I didn’t think you were coming!”

“And miss my daughter’s 17th birthday? No chance,” he replied as he approached her and gave her a hug. “You’re practically a young woman already, so at least let me spoil you like a kid for a bit longer, huh?”

Silver Spoon wiped her eyes from beneath her glasses with a sniffle. The resulting shock from her father actually having made an appearance was enough to make her cry. “...thank you so much. I missed you, dad.”

Even Salad Fork was impressed. To the point where she had no witty remarks to make. All she could do was fold her arms and watch in near-silence. “...huh.”

All the while, Coral could be seen with a smug, cat-like expression on her face as she sat at her table with Skeedaddle.

A facial expression that Skeedaddle knew all too well. Whenever Coral accomplished something, she tended to make such a face. “...Did you--?” the boy asked.

“What? Me?” Coral scoffed while pointing at herself, “Perish the thought, Daddle-paddle. I’m just working for the sake of fairness for everyone. After all, Silver Spoon deserves a happy birthday where she gets to finally have both of her parents present, doesn’t she?”

“...she does,” Skeedaddle replied as he raised a brow, “But it sounds to me like you may have doctored something up. Knowing how smart you are, I can’t help but think you had something to do with it.” He then smiled at her, “Not that I’m complaining.”

And from where he stood, Keiji could relax knowing that Silver Spoon’s family had made their appearance.

“Good,” he muttered to himself, “Girl deserves herself a happy one. Are things actually getting better for a change?”

“Seems like it,” Diamond Tiara commented as she appeared next to him. “I was honestly getting worried and wondering if they were gonna show up. Turns out they really were just stuck in traffic, huh?”

“...” The realization that the request he made to Coral might’ve actually done something hit him like a truck. But ultimately? He decided to keep himself humble and withhold that information.

“...guess it worked out, huh? Feels…good helping someone else out and getting her to smile.”

“Probably,” was all he replied with, “Come on. Flash is gonna start playing in a bit and I’ve got some dance moves I wanna share.”

“Oh? You dance?” Tiara asked with an interested tone as she followed him, “This oughta be good.”