After getting done with checking out the system, I wanted to freshen up a bit and greet my family.
We lived in a three bedroom house. We were doing financially decent enough. My mom Simone is a school teacher. My dad Bosco worked as a civil engineer. I have a younger brother Digão.
He was the reason for my name Kaka. When we were younger he couldn't say Ricardo. So he started saying Caca which evolved into Kaká.
From my memories of Kaka, I was very close with my family and it was a loving family. My parents worked to secure our finances and were fully supportive of me and my brother trying to be footballers.
So after my morning ablutions, I quickly dressed up and went downstairs to the living room. I found my mother cooking breakfast for us, while I couldn't see my dad.
Seeing me come down, my mother's face lit up with joy and she quickly came up to hug me and wished me a very happy birthday. She had tears in her eyes and she kept saying that her little boy is growing up and kept mumbling stuff.
In my past life, I lost my mom very early on. So, seeing the mother's affection for her kid like this, I was momentarily taken back.
But, this was a second chance for me. That means a second chance to have a loving family as well. So, I decided that this is my mom now and I would love her back just as much if not more than she loves me. This doesn't mean that I am replacing my mom from my memories, but I am getting another loving one.
While I was thinking about all of this, I heard my mom ask "What do you want to do today baby?"
"I don't know mamãe. Let papai and Digão come. We can decide together. I want to go to a mall and walk around and maybe go to the toy store and get some toys, if that's okay."
I realised that the memory transfer did not only give me memories, but his mannerisms as well. I talked and behaved like Kaka. Nothing out of the ordinary.
The differences would be visible later on with my choices and other stuff, but for now, I wasn't raising any suspicions. That was good.
"Yeah, we can do that baby. Good that you don't have to go train today and have a day off. We can spend some time together as a family."
"What's for breakfast, mamãe?"
"I am making crepes with chocolate and bananas. There is hot Pingado on the table. I am also making Pão de Queijo(baked cheese bread rolls). All your favourites."
"Where's papai?"
"He went out to run some errands, baby. Go wake your brother up. We can eat breakfast and go to Church first. Then we can decide on the plan for today. Go."
So, I went upstairs to my little brother's bedroom. I recalled from Kaka's memories that the brothers are pretty close. His younger brother would always look up to Kaka and would follow him around.
From my memories, I also realised that Kaká was a good child and didn't cause any mischief. I guess it is time to make my mark. And who better to target than my unsuspecting, loveable little brother.
I opened his door very quietly, and checked to see if he was already awake. He lay sprawled on the bed, still very much asleep. Perfect!
I went to my room, filled a mug with lukewarm water, and tiptoed my way back to his bed. Holding my laughter, I slowly started pouring little amounts of water on the bed around his butt. Making sure not to overdo it or wake him up, I did it with incredible care, just to create the illusion that he had peed in his sleep. Muahahaha! It worked. His bedsheet and pants were wet enough.
I tiptoed back to my room, put the mug back.
Now, it was time to wake up the kid.
I went back and shook him up this time. To wake him up. He woke up groggily. That's when it hit him. The wetness in his pants and under him. His eyes were like saucers immediately. I caught on to it and asked him "What's wrong Digão?"
He immediately replied "Nothing."
Clearly embarrassed and not wanting to give me any ammunition, he drew the blanket towards him.
But, being the incredibly magnanimous brother that I was, I wasn't going to let it go. I pulled the sheets off and I saw the stains.
"Eww, Digão!! Did you pee yourself? How old are you?"
His face turned as red as a tomato and he started to tear up and asked me to never tell anyone about this. Not even mommy.
Seeing the opportunity, I told him that I wouldn't. For a price, obviously. I wanted to see what he would be willing to do.
He accepted immediately and he offered to do all my chores for a month. A month!!! This kid is desperate.
But, I wasn't going to accept it. I didn't do this to take advantage of him. I just wanted to have a little bit of fun. Seeing him squirm a bit, I finally had enough and started laughing.
He was confused as to why I was laughing in the middle of the negotiations. I told him that it was a prank and that I was the one who put the water under him, and that it wasn't him wetting the bed.
I expected him to be relieved, to be a bit angry at me and shout at me. But, what I didn't expect was that these brothers got into physical altercations. With an inhuman war cry, he got up and lunged at me, I wasn't prepared for the impact, I fell down, still laughing.
He started thrashing around like a little feral cat that wanted to kill a human. I kept dodging and blocking his little flailing hands. I was much bigger than him, being 3 years older. He was still a little runt who didn't hit his growth spurt. So, he wasn't doing much damage.
"I will kill you Kaká. I will end you. How could you do this to me! You dirty little cheat!..."
During all this, he kept on ranting about it, and it made it even funnier.
"Kaká, Digão, what is happening there?" came the voice of my mom.
Not wanting to bother her, I shouted "Nothing mamãe"
But Digão wanted revenge. He understood that he wasn't doing any damage to me, so he went for the nuke. The little shit got up and ran to tattle to my mom. Smirking, I followed him. This is very unlike Kaká, but something I had fun doing.
When I got to the kitchen, I could see that he started to tear up a bit to enhance the act and he told my mom what happened.
My mom was surprised that I would do something like this, but even she could appreciate a prank well executed. Also, it was my birthday. I was allowed some fun. She assured my brother that she would punish me, and convinced him to go brush and get ready for breakfast first. He gave me a smug look before leaving and ran upstairs.
As soon as he was out of hearing distance, my mom broke out laughing and I joined her. It was fun. But, she had to be the mom here, so she reigned herself in, looked at me and said that it was not okay to pick on my little brother.
"But, mamãe, it wasn't anything serious. I wanted to have some fun with him. I didn't even accept his bribery for not telling anyone and came clean to him immediately."
She understood what I meant, but she had to be seen doing something.
"I know Kaká, but I have to be fair here, I cannot let you go scot-free, so when papai comes, we shall sit down with your brother and decide on a punishment."
"But, between just the two of us, well done baby" and she gave me a wink.
Totally worth it.
Then she asked me why I had done it. Since everyone knew that I was clean and never did anything like it.
I just shrugged and told her "I just felt like it, mamãe. I am growing up and I just want to have some fun as well. Nothing serious, but a little prank or two never hurt anybody."
She hummed and quickly went back to her cooking.
A few minutes go by and my dad walks in, I greet him and he grabs in a bear hug. Wishing me a happy birthday and telling me that he loves me.
That was emotional for me. Hearing my parents say that they love me. I missed my original parents.
I didn't want to lose control in front of them, so I just played it off and asked him about where he went.
He said he went to grab some milk.
He asked for our plans for the day and I told him that I just wanted to go to the mall first, pick up some action figures and comics. His eyebrows rose up, since I never read any comics.
"I was talking to the kids at the academy, papai. I want to pick up some hobbies. I want to read some comics, play some video games. I train all the time and I still want to do that, that is my priority, but hearing some of them talk about their hobbies, I didn't want to miss out on things. Don't worry, I will still put my everything into football. This is just something I want to try"
"You don't need to explain to me Kaka. This is good. A good balance is needed to be happy. You're still 15. You should just be a kid sometimes. With how good you are at football and seeing your passion, it is sometimes easy to forget that you don't have many hobbies. This is very good. You should focus on football, but sometimes it is also good to have a little fun."
He ruffled my hair a bit, got up to get ready for church.
Digão came down in the meantime, he told my dad about my prank. Unlike my mom, my dad openly laughed at it, until my mom cleared her throat. He stuttered and comforted my brother, and looked at me and said that I will be punished for it, but winked at me so that I knew he wasn't serious about it.
My brother had a triumphant grin on his face. When my dad turned around, I looked at my brother with a serious face and mouthed "This isn't over!"
We all had our breakfast, talking about little things, and I was very happy about all of this. A couple of hours ago, I discovered that I was transmigrated, had a system, and now, I am just sitting at the table, eating breakfast like it is nothing.
I was surprised to be honest, at how easily I integrated into this. I wondered if it was because of the merge, because every instinct of mine felt like Kaka. It wasn't me. Not my body language. Not my reflexes. Not the way I talk even. But, I could consciously feel that I was in control of all the choices. This was weird, but a good weird.
Once we were done with the breakfast, we went to the local church. I wasn't a religious guy in my previous life. But, standing here, I couldn't help but feel an immense amount of gratitude for this opportunity. I thanked every god that I could think of, for this new life. I silently made a promise that I would not let this go to waste. I would live this life to the fullest of my abilities.
Once we were done, we went to the local mall. I went to the toy store, bought Star Wars action figures. I was a massive movie buff in my previous life and I do not want to lose that part of myself. I also bought some DC comics.
My parents surprised me by taking me to the sport's shop and got me new football boots. These were the best ones currently available and I was really grateful for my parents.
Digão wanted to eat some fancy food, so we went to a nice little place, had a really nice meal. It was an Italian restaurant.
We had some nice Bruschetta and Minestrone. I ordered prawn tortellini with seafood bisque, which was absolutely amazing. Digão ordered lasagna, my parents ordered Tagliatelle al Ragu and mushroom risotto. They were all excellent and worth every penny.
For dessert, all of us went for Tiramisu and we were in a food coma afterwards. We stayed there for a while, just talking and lost in the moment, walked about a bit and returned home.
It was very touching for me that my parents took a day off to celebrate my birthday. They also invited some of my friends, teammates, and neighbours for a party in the evening. We had a cake as well. I received some nice jerseys, some football shoes as gifts, which I was very appreciative of.
After all the people left, my dad pulled me aside.
"Kaka, since you're 15 now, Sao Paulo should offer a contract soon. It will not be a professional first team contract, but this will be the beginning. With the way you're going, only sky is the limit son."
"I know papai. Things are going to get serious from now on. I want to live up to my full potential and become the greatest player to have ever lived. I know kids say things like that in jest, but I mean it. That is my goal. You will see. I will do everything to make that dream a reality"
"I trust you baby. And we will be with you through every step."
"Thanks papai! For everything."
"Let us get to bed. Tomorrow is an early start, you have training."
"Yeah, good night papai."
With that, I changed into my pajamas and hit the bed. It had been one hell of a day. A new life. A system. With all these revelations, I didn't want to be overwhelmed. My birthday helped a lot. I could see what would keep me grounded. My family. They would be my strength.
Now, it is up to me. To make sure that the name "Kaká" is uttered with reverence among teammates and in fear by my opponents.
Watch out world. Here I come.
###################################
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Chapters like this are the slice of life elements that I wanted to write. To not just focus on football and training, but to show his family life, his priorities, what moves him, what pushes him, what makes him happy and what makes him HIM.
I did not want the MC to get into the backyard and start kicking the ball or start doing pushups to increase the stats from the get go. I want his progression to be slow and natural.
I also want this to be a journey, both personally and professionally. This would continue with his off the field stuff, be it dating, his hobbies, or other stuff.
It might feel like the MC has accepted all of this very quickly, but it was due to the merge. Because of the memory merge, it also included mannerisms and his feelings for people. MC will act like Kaka in all ways naturally. When it comes to choices, that's when he gets to decide whether to do something or not. But, instincts are all Kaka's.
Let me know if this works or not. I will have to find a balance. This will still be a football journey going forward. But, there will be slice of life chapters here and there. Please be patient with it and please leave feedback in chapter comments so that I know what works and what doesn't. Thanks!