CHAPTER 433: IT’S NOT A WAFFLE HOUSE, IT’S A WAFFLE HOME

Shinji walked around the empty streets with his granddaughters skipping around him.

He had committed their names to memory already, but it was hard figuring out which of them was supposed to be the older one.

From observing them for a few moments, he had concluded that they were rather energetic children. And that they each had their own quirks in their personality.

The one called Camille was very smart. Too smart for a child.

Sometimes, she randomly pointed to cars on the street and guessed whether they were gas or electricity-powered. She then went over the manufacturing process for each of them.

Shinji had no idea why she was doing that, as he certainly didn’t ask for information on the subject. But he was impressed nonetheless.

The other girl, Shiro, seemed to be at the very least very confident in her power.

She occasionally waved her hand and made little ice sculptures that were both delicate and intricately designed.

Shinji was baffled when the young girl handed him a sculpture of himself. The coat draped off his shoulders was made to resemble a majestic cape, and he was pretty sure the size of his muscles had been emphasized.

But none of that was as impressive as the ice’s consistency.

"It’s not melting..." he noticed.

"Of course not. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to keep it!" Shiro smiled innocently.

Shinji was baffled. He had an ice user in his ranks already, but they were nowhere near this talented.

He had no idea why everyone around Sei seemed to be so exceptional.

*Grumble!*

Shin looked down at the girls who were holding their stomachs with embarrassed faces.

"S-Sorry..."

"We’re hungry.."

Shinji knew from taking care of his son and daughter that children were basically human garbage disposals at this age. He guessed things weren’t that different with superpowered children.

"...Let’s see if I can’t find you something to eat. I would feel guilty if you two starved on our first meeting."

At that point, a gross miscommunication occurred.

Shiro and Camille were unknowingly comparing Shinji to Ali and expecting their new grandfather to behave the same as the one they already had.

Ali was a spoiler. So when he said ’let’s find you girls something to eat’ it usually only meant one thing.

*Gasp!* ""We know what we want!"" The girls screamed in unison.

Before Shinji could say anything, Camille placed her hand on his leg and the three of them vanished.

-

"Wah! W-Wha..?!" Shinji’s beady eyes darted around in shock as his body screamed at him.

Being teleported for the first time had different effects on everyone. For older men, it was the single most nauseating thing that could ever happen to you in your entire life.

But once that moment passed, only bewilderment was left.

Shinji knew immediately that he was not in Japan. The surplus of signs in English was a dead giveaway.

He could also tell by the dated architecture, the haggard streets, and the fact that he had seen four people dressed like cowboys, and he had only been here for four seconds.

"We want that!"

The kids excitedly pointed to the building in front of them.

Shinji’s English was rusty, so he couldn’t read the sign, but he could tell that it was some sort of dining establishment.

An unclean one...

"...Apologies, children, but I don’t exactly have any money. Let alone American currency." Shinji revealed.

As smart as the girls were, they were still kids. And kids could be very shortsighted.

Obviously, their grandfather wouldn’t have any money. Not only was he not from America, but his country was currently still putting itself back together.

But because the kids were smart, they were also good problem solvers.

"That’s okay! We know someone who’s really rich! I’ll be right back!"

Camille vanished again and left her sister and grandfather behind.

"Come on, let’s go inside!" Shiro grabbed her father by the hand and began pulling him into the restaurant.

As soon as he stepped into the restaurant, he couldn’t fathom why children would want to be here. The lingering scent of sweet cream and cigarettes assaulted his nose.

There was an open kitchen with only two workers. One was an older, heavyset black woman. Her face was shiny with a single coating of sweat or lotion or perhaps both.

The other was an older Caucasian man who was thin and wiry. His uneven stubble and permanent black bags under his eyes gave the impression that he was not a man who cared much about his life.

"Just two?" The woman asked.

"Make that four." A new voice said.

Shin looked over his shoulder and found that Camille had already returned.

She rested in the arms of a bright, pink-haired young woman wearing dark shades and a warm smile.

"Hey, Hattie-May! I didn’t know you worked afternoons now." Serana smiled.

The rough-looking older woman absolutely lit up at the sight of her favorite customer. She even came around the corner just to hug her.

"Serana-Baby! Ooh, you look so good!"

"I try." Serana flipped her hair back confidently.

"Well now, this must be the terrible twosome!" Hattie-May leaned down so that she could get a better look at the girls.

"Your parents talk about you all the time. It’s very nice to meet you both."

The old woman held out her hands for the girls to take. They shook them without reservations.

"You know our parents?" Camille tilted her head.

"A few of them. Anna, Joanne, and Bianca come in here with this sister of yours every Sunday at two a.m. They’re the highlight of my shift."

The girls heard this information and pouted.

"They said it wasn’t good for us to eat after nine o’clock!"

"OR to stay up past our bedtime." Shiro folded her little arms across her chest.

"Aww, don’t be like that, little babies. You know, sometimes adults need time to themselves just to hang out and be adults. It helps them recharge so that they can be good parents."

That was Hattie-May’s very polite way of saying that aside from Joanne, they all came in here slightly drunk.

"But you know what? Since your parents keep leaving two little cuties like you out of all the fun, I’mma make sure I take extra special care of you two today. All you gotta do is say the word."

""Yayy!!"" The kids cheered.

One of the other patrons turned around with an upset look on his face.

"Oh, you’ll take care of some freaky-kids, but I asked for the sandwich I saw on TikTok, and you act like it’s a damn problem."

Ms. Hattie’s mood completely flipped.

"I look like I’m talking to you, Ricardo? Better yet, do this seem like a Michelin star restaurant to you?? Turn around and eat your grits before I fold your clothes with you still in ’em."

The man looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t. Everyone knew better than to talk shit to the person who handled your food.

"Come on, babies, let me get you in a booth with some menus." The old woman offered.

She led the four of them over to an empty seating area and then ducked back into the kitchen to grab her notepad.

Shinji hesitated for a moment before sitting down, making Serana worry.

"What’s the matter, Gramps?" Serana asked in Japanese.

Shinji surveyed the restaurant with a scrutinizing gaze.

"This place is... unclean. Must we dine here?"

""We must!"" Shiro and Camille said at once.

"I promise it’s okay." Serana coaxed. "This place is one of the great pillars of American dining.... and Camille got me out of bed, so I’m not leaving here without a peanut butter waffle."

Shinji still didn’t look very convinced, but he sat down nonetheless.

At that moment, Hattie-May returned with some menus for the quartet and finally seemed to notice Shinji sitting with them.

"Who’s this?"

"Ah, this is our grandfather. Sorry, but he doesn’t really speak any English." Serana apologized.

Shinji lowered his head and spoke his first words in English with a noticeable accent. "Hello."

"Oop. Well, hello to you too, Mr. Grandfather." Hattie-May bowed back. Though her bow was somewhat awkward, like a curtsy.

She turned to Serana and smiled at her warmly. "I’m glad to see you all connecting like a family. Life is short, sugar. Gotta tell people you love them while they’re here, you know?"

Serana wasn’t sure if she and her grandfather were at the familial love stage yet, but she smiled back nonetheless. "Yes ma’am, I do."

The kids and Serana gave their usual orders quickly, but since Shinji had no prior reference for this sacred space, his granddaughters ordered for him.

"You are... quite kind to accommodate me. Thank you." Shinji said sincerely.

"No sweat." Serana shrugged nonchalantly as she ruffled Camille’s hair. "I figured since this little one went as far as smuggling you into the country that I might as well treat you to something nice before I sent you back."

"Tee-hee!" Cami giggled innocently.

"Laugh while you can, little miss, because when mom finds out you’ve been nation-hopping again she’s going to spontaneously combust."

Sometimes, Camille did things on instinct and forgot that she wasn’t supposed to.

"Oh nooo!!!" Her eyes watered as she held her cheeks in horror.

Serana nearly burst a blood vessel laughing. "Don’t worry, tyke. I’ll keep your secret."

If you looked closely it was almost like you could see the word relief written across Camille’s forehead.

"...Is your mother very strict with you?"

Shinji sounded uncomfortable just asking about Sei.

It was something that Serana noticed but didn’t feel like investigating.

Instead, she swirled her straw around in her orange juice. "Not really. Unless it’s something that could impact us physically or mentally she’s pretty chill. She gets pretty scary about shoes being on in the house though..."

Shiro and Camille nodded in total agreement.

"Is she now...?" Shin murmured.

"Yeah, but everyone in the family has little quirks like that." Serana shrugged. "Mal won’t eat fried chicken in public because he says it makes him feel like a stereotype. Anna brushes her teeth in the shower because she thinks it uses less water."

Shinji’s brow started to wrinkle.

"And this... ’marriage’ that your mother has found herself in... how do you feel about it?"

Serana stiffened unconsciously.

She was known to have an abrasive personality in defense of her loved ones. And she loved her mother more than anyone.

Shinji’s question sounded a little too much like judgement for her liking.

But she swallowed her urge to lash out and answered the question from a neutral perspective.

"... I think it’s kinda sad. I wish they all could’ve found each other sooner and maybe they wouldn’t have had to hurt on their own for so long. But at least they all have each other now. And I got two adorable little sisters out of it."

Shiro and Camille smiled.

"Even though they’re kind of like broke best friends."

The girls stopped smiling.

Serana thought she had gotten sufficient control of herself, but maybe she hadn’t. There was a burning question she absolutely had to know the answer to.

"Can I ask you something now? How come you didn’t help my mom when my dad ran off on her?"