Disclaimer: Oregairu and its characters belongs to Wataru Watari, Brain Base and Feel Studio.

My life as a Single Father is difficult as I expected

Chapter Three: And thus, the Hikigaya household has become livelier than usual.

I watched in silent contentment as the mother and son duo continued to hug each other with strong affections, as if they haven't seen each other in years. Kazuya's happy face was enough to re-energize myself after the long tedious day at work and Miura's face which showed adoration was an added bonus effect. It's as if I was swimming in a pool of Coffee MAX!

Just pure bliss.

After a while, Miura had created a gap between them as she continued to carry our precious son; as if those nine hellish months she carried him in her womb was not enough.

Seriously, that was probably the worst experience of my life, if not, it's definitely on the top three then. Miura was probably the scariest pregnant woman I have ever encountered... Well, not that I've encountered many that is but, I was fairly sure my mother was not like that.

Then again, Dad would probably disagree.

Makes me wonder if it's a curse for Fathers-to-be to witness Mothers-to-be's ultimate form or something.

"Soo, how was your first day of school, Kazu-chan?" I was pulled out of my stupor as I heard Miura's voice.

Good thing too, reliving those days would have been bad for my heart.

"Gweat! I had wots of fun!" Kazuya answered happily. Miura seemed to have been very satisfied with his answer as she pecked the boy's forehead.

"That's great Kazu-chan, did you make lots of friends?"

"Uhm, maybe?" The uncertainty in Kazuya's voice seemed to have invoke something within Miura as her entire facial expression had changed.

"But they were friendly to you, right?" For some reason, Miura's tone sent shivers down my spine. Like an angry lioness trying to protect her cub, Miura's tone was almost a growl. Luckily, Kazuya wasn't old enough to notice this subtle things.

"Yep!" Miura's face visibly calmed down at this as her smile returned.

Bomb diffused. Good job Kazuya. You saved us all.

"That's good then sweetie," Miura very carefully brought Kazuya back down on his feet before ruffling his already messy dark locks lovingly. "Now go and ask Daddy to get you changed while Mommy finishes up here, okay?"

"Okay Mommy!" Kazuya started running back towards me at an amazing speed.

Maybe I should consider him for sports. Well, if Miura would actually agree to it that is.

After all, there's no way I'd purposely incurred her wrath.

Overprotective mothers are scary beings. Source: Me.

With a sigh, I took Kazuya to his room to get him changed as per Miura's orders.

"Do you have any homeworks?" I asked as I grabbed Kazuya's change of clothes from his dresser.

"Nope!" Kazuya answered quickly, I turned around to find him happily jumping on his bed. Is it just me or is he a little too hyper right now?

Yuigahama, how much sweets did you feed him? Do you want Miura to explode or something? On another note, he did say no, right? Phew. That's good, less chores for me the better.

Probably not the best mindset to have. Especially in front of Kazuya; wouldn't want him to inherit my ability to find ways of conserving energy. And yes, I did just made it sound pretty, it's still laziness either way.

After getting Kazuya to stop jumping, I quickly changed him out of his uniform to a fresh set of home clothes.

"Alright Kazuya, you play here while I help Mommy out in the kitchen, okay?" I said as I pat the boy's shoulders. "Don't make too much of a mess, alright?" Kazuya only nodded before rushing off to some of his toys stored away inside his toy chest. Satisfied, I leave the room to help out in the kitchen.

The never ending duties of a Father.

As I made my way to the kitchen, the sound of a sizzling pan and boiling water became louder with every step. Entering the kitchen, I can see Miura busily working on the stove. Her back was facing me and I could imagine a cliche scenario where I would sneak up on her and hug her from behind, pecking her cheek and whispering something like 'I'm home..' sweetly into her ear and she'd blush and respond with 'Welcome home, Darling.'. But of course, that's not possible. Our situation was nothing like that, instead the most I can do is

"Not that it's unusual or anything but, why are you here?" I asked as I neared the cooking blonde.

She didn't seem to have been startled by my presence as she continued to cook whatever it was she was cooking inside that skillet.

"Hmm? What's that? Am I not welcome?"

I rolled my eyes at that.

"Of course you are, otherwise I wouldn't have given you a spare key."

"True enough."

"So... Explanation?"

Miura let out a sigh.

"I just figured we could all eat together, y'know? It was Kazuya's first day at school and I just thought it'd be nice to eat dinner together... like a family..." Miura said, the last part being barely audible that I actually had to lean in a bit to hear.

"O-oh, I s-see."

It wasn't like it's unusual for Miura to do something like this but, recently it seems to be more frequent than normal that she'd insist on something like this. Of course, it's not a bad thing, she's Kazuya's mother after all and spending time with her son is only a sign of being good at what she is.

Though, I can't help but to think that there's more to it than just that. As for what it is exactly, I have no clue.

"I'll help you out then," I said as I leaned a little closer to peek at the contents of the frying pan. "What are you making?"

"Tonkatsu." Was Miura's simple reply as she focused on frying the lump of pork on the skillet.

Impressive.

No, the tonkatsu was not impressive. The dish was fairly simple and the only risk is overcooking the meat, ending up in it being too tough or burned. What's impressive was Miura. Now, she's definitely not the best cook even though she's been learning for quite some time now, for her to try something like this is quite praise-worthy. The dish might be simple but for an amateur chef, it could prove to be quite difficult.

"Ah, I see. Is there any way I can help out?"

"You could start slicing up the cooked ones."

Ah, of course. A tonkatsu won't be a tonkatsu unless it's sliced correctly.

Nodding my head, I faced the sink to rinse my hands, afterwards I dried them off before carefully grabbing the kitchen knife and starting on cutting the freshly cooked meat.

Now the knife is quite a dangerous object and must be handled with care, otherwise an unwanted accident might occur.

Ouch.

A searing pain burned my skin. Quickly, the knife I was holding dropped to the floor as I took hold of my damaged digit.

A small but rather deep cut had appeared on my index finger and blood was quickly seeping through the wound like a faucet.

"Hachi-kun!" Miura shrieked as she dropped the spatula she was holding and kneeled down next to me. Her hands instantly grasping my injured one to inspect it. "Geez, are you okay? It's pretty small but it seems deep."

"I-I'm fine." I said through gritted teeth. Despite the size, this little shit is giving me some serious torture.

"Daddy? What happened?" I heard Kazuya asked. Mine and Miura's head quickly snapped to the direction of our little boy. Kazuya looked at me worriedly as he took his steps towards me.

"Daddy's fine Kazuya, don't worry." I tried reassuring him but it didn't seem to be all that effective.

"Kazu-chan, could you get Mommy the first aid-kit so we can make Daddy feel better?" Miura asked sweetly in a tone she only use around Kazuya. Kazuya only nodded in response before quickly disappearing around the corner to do what he was tasked to do.

I'd probably do the same too if the Queen of Fire [1] commands me too. Heck I'd do it crawling if I have to.

After a short while, Kazuya comes back running with the first aid-kit in his hands.

"Thank you, Kazu-chan," Miura said before guiding me up to my feet and unto one of the dining chairs; afterwards, she opened one of the kitchen drawers to retrieve a small towel while Kazuya placed the kit on the table before settling himself on another chair. A few seconds later, Miura does the same to the chair next to mine with a damp towel on hand. Wasting no time, Miura gently cleaned off the blood with the towel while Kazuya stared and watched with interest.

Hoh, my son is so brave. Daddy's very proud of you Kazuya!

I was pulled out of my musings when another gush of searing hot pain shot through me from the tiny cut; I looked down to find Miura tapping a cotton ball on my wound whilst her other hand was holding a small bottle. It was most likely the disinfectant.

"Hey, it stings you know?"

"It can't be helped, it's disinfecting the wound."

An image flashed through my mind at that time. An image of me and Yukino inside the infirmary quite a few years back. I felt my cheeks suddenly getting warm over the flashback so I quickly shook it away.

As I forced my cheeks' color to return to normal, Miura had finished applying that nasty disinfectant and was currently wrapping a bandage over the cut.

"There, that should do it." Miura said.

"T-thanks."

Miura only smiled before starting to clean up the kit.

"Mommy, you have to kiss it!"

Miura stopped and my breath hitched at that.

"K-Kazuya what are you saying?" I asked the little boy who only tilted his head in confusion.

"When I get hurt, Mommy always kisses it to make me feel better!" Kazuya explained enthusiastically "Mommy's kiss is like magic!"

"O-oh, well you see–"

I was cut off mid-sentence as Miura swiftly grabbed my hand and placed her lips over the bandaged wound, it stayed there for a little while before she lifted her head to face me.

"How's that? All better now, Daddy?" Miura asked, her lips was still hovering over my covered finger. My cheeks flared at the action and I had to try my best not to be a flustered mess.

"Y-yeah, thanks M-mommy." Caught in the moment, I used the nickname we tend to use at each other during playful conversations.

Seemingly satisfied, Miura proceeded to get up from her seat. She took the damped bloody towel and rinsed it off in the sink.

"You're welcome," she said as she cleaned the cloth off "I'm just grateful it isn't too big and that you didn't get any blood on the food." She chuckled.

I smiled.

"Well, it'll sure bring about an interesting flavor, don't you think?"

"Don't you mean Hikigerma?" She spat back playfully and I had to cringe at that.

When was the last time I heard about that? Sure brings back memories...

"What's a Hiki–Hiki–Hiki...jar?" Kazuya asked in complete confusion as he stumbled to pronounce the word correctly.

How adorable! Try saying it again Kazuya! Come on, do it for Daddy!

"Hikigerma is bad Kazu-chan, make sure you don't catch it from Daddy, okay?" Miura said as she tried suppressing her laughter.

"Oi oi. He's a Hikigaya too, y'know?" I spat back.

"Well, he's half Miura! So he's not completely exposed to Hikigerma now, is he?" Miura sticks out her tongue like a little kid as she squeezed the cloth off of its water.

Goddammit. That wasn't supposed to look cute!

My lack of retort signaled victory for Miura as I slumped in defeat. Internally, I smiled, the relationship Miura and I have is something not quite like any other, it's akin to something like close friendship but also something that runs deeper. For two people who had a child together though unmarried nor dating, we compliment each other and get along greatly unlike others with the same situation. That's why Miura Yumiko will always have a special spot for me.

I stood up and was ready to resume my duties from before when Miura stopped me.

"We don't need another mishap so you," she pointed at me with narrowed eyes "go do something else, play with Kazu-chan or something and leave the kitchen to me."

How cruel.

I was banned from my own kitchen.

Knowing I couldn't win this argument, I just nodded and made my way back to the living room with Kazuya. As I sat myself on the couch, Kazuya took one of his toy cars from the floor and sat next to me.

"Vwoom! Vwoom!" Kazuya sounded out as he 'drove' the car mid-air. I chuckled at this.

"Kazuya, cars don't fly." I said and Kazuya looked at me and grinned.

"It's a magic car Daddy!" Ah. Active imaginations, it could lead to great things and also great disappointments but, I'm certainly not gonna tell him that. I want him to enjoy his youth and I'm also unprepared for any flying kitchen utensils if Miura were to hear what I have to say.

"Oh I see." I smiled at him and he nodded his head happily before continuing to play. I relaxed on the couch and thought about my current situation. I'm spending time with my son while his mother was cooking us a meal; it almost feels like a real and complete family.

It's not bad at all...

My thoughts were interrupted as the door bell rang.

Strange, who could it be at this time? It's almost seven o'clock.

I stood up and stretched before proceeding to answer the door; Kazuya followed me curiously. As I opened the door, I was greeted by a pair of blue pools.

"Good evening." The owner of the blue eyes said.

"Aunt Yukino!" Kazuya called loudly as he rushed forward to hug the girl– err– woman outside the door.

Yukino kneeled down to Kazuya's height as she hugged the boy in return "Hello, Kazuya-kun. How did your first day went?"

"It was fun!"

"Oh? That's good to hear then and, I bought you some books, would you like that?"

"Really?! Yes! Yes!"

Kazuya was jumping up and down excitedly while Yukino stared in adoration.

It seems like the sugar in Kazuya's system hasn't worn off yet.

And all of this was happening while I was trying to process Yukino's presence.

"Y-yukino? What are you doing here?" I asked after I got my thoughts together.

"I said I'd come, have you forgotten?"

Ah, she might have said that... I think she really did.. My memory isn't as amazing as it was before.

"O-oh, right." I stepped to the side to let her in.

Yukino was carrying two large paper bags and they don't seem very light at all. As the gentleman that I am, I can't let a lady—who undoubtedly can destroy me—carry such heavy bags so I took them from her before leading her into the living room. My suspicion was proven correct as the two bags were both quite heavy on their own. Don't tell me she carried this around the mall or something?

Has she improved her stamina or something?

I placed the bags down on the coffee table while Yukino sat herself on the couch with Kazuya. Leaning forward, Yukino rummaged through one of the paper bags and produced a couple of story books; doubt that that was all of it though as the very same bag was far heavier than the other.

Just how many did you buy...?

"Hachi-kun, who was at the door?" Miura asked as she was exiting the kitchen, a towel being pressed between her hands.

"Good evening, Miura-san." Yukino greeted, her head turned towards Miura as her hands hands the books over to an excited Kazuya. She seemed rather surprised about Miura's presence but, I couldn't confirm it with how normal her facial expression looked.

"Ah, Yukinoshita-san," Miura said after getting over her own shock, the same look as earlier this morning flashed through her eyes again in a split second before reverting to normal. "Good evening."

That's been happening quite a lot lately... Wonder what it means though.

"Mommy wook! Aunt Yukino gave me bwooks!" Kazuya cheered while flipping through the pages like he can actually read everything.

"Oh? Did you remember to say thank you, Kazu-chan?"

Kazuya faces Yukino before lunging at her and capturing her in an affectionate hug. "Thank you Aunt Yukino!"

Yukino, of course, was caught off guard and therefore struggled to keep her balance after Kazuya's sudden dive. "N-no problem Kazuya-kun," she patted the boy's messy locks with a smile. "You deserve it. Make sure to read it, okay?"

"Okay! I'll ask Daddy to teach me!"

Miura looked on with something akin to a sad smile, and that looked from before stayed a little longer than just a split second this time.

What IS that?

"Kazuya, don't suddenly jump like that. You might hurt someone or even yourself, okay?" I had said as a form of precaution for my son.

"Daddy's right Kazu-chan. You could've hurt Yukinoshita-san and yourself." Miura added.

Kazuya looked down.

"I'm sowwy Mommy Daddy." He said in a defeated tone. He looked up at me and I smiled before pointing a digit in Yukino's direction. Being the smart kid that he was, Kazuya quickly nodded before facing Yukino this time.

"I'm sowwy too Aunt Yukino."

Yukino just smiled. "It's okay Kazuya-kun. No harm done but, be careful next time, okay?"

"Owkay!"

All of a sudden, a grumbling sound could be heard; I think it came from both Kazuya and I.

"You boys seems like you're hungry." Yukino said while trying to suppress her giggles.

"Yeah, we are. Are you gonna stay for dinner, Yukino?" I had asked as if on automatic. Miura flinched at that but no one noticed except me. Those little reactions is starting to really bother me and the fact that I had no clue what causes it is quite unnerving.

After letting the remaining of her giggles out, Yukino straightened herself out before clearing her throat. "Well, yes. That was the plan..." She said softly, her hand moving towards the other paper bag as if to indicate something.

"Well then, come and join us." I grinned and returned it. "Yumiko, is the food ready?"

Again, Miura flinched. "W-wha?" As a person who has been broken out of her reverie, the lack of any coherent response was to be expected. "You said something, Hikio?"

Woah. She must have been really out of it if she's using that old nickname.

"I just asked if dinner was ready?"

"O-oh! Well, yeah dinner's ready," Miura answered while she looks like she's fidgeting. "Unfortunately, the last one was... burnt thanks to Hachi-kun's little incident so I'm not sure if there's enough to feed four..."

Well, that is a problem... Ah! Is that why she flinched when I invited Yukino to join us? Because she didn't know if the food was enough? Well I must admit that I should've confirmed with Miura first before inviting her in to join us. Sigh. This proves to be a predicament.

"Not to worry," Yukino said as her hands buried themselves inside the paper bag. "I brought something."

Despite the situation being quickly remedied by Yukinoshita's ability to be prepared at all times, I get the feeling that the actual ordeal has yet to come. Either way, I have this premonition that this dinner would be one of those you wish you could escape by locking yourself in your room.

It's a shame I can't do such a thing.

Just great...

.

.

.

.

.

And thus, the Hikigaya household has become livelier than usual Chapter End.

Terms/References:

[1] - Queen of Fire is a nickname Hikigaya used to Miura in the LN.

A/N: First and Foremost, I'd like to apologize for the extremely long wait for this chapter and I don't even think this one is actually worth all that wait!

Here's the deal, this wasn't supposed to be the chapter I was gonna release; I've said it an author's note in MNF that I was having a hard time moving with the chapter for LAAF, well it become hard enough for me to redo a third chapter from scratch which resulted in this. Honestly, I had a difficult time writing this one too. That's how much a writer's block can screw with you. And I'm not gonna lie, I've became quite lazy too. Sorry!

Anyways, that chapter I was previously working on, you'd still see it in the future.

As a compensation though, MNF would be updated as well so hope you give that one a read too.

as for the poll: well, I'll make that poll soon or I could just write up different endings! We'll see.

That's all from me. Reviews will be greatly appreciated!

PS: I wish more people would write Miura fics!

- Zero