Author's Note: This is an idea I've been playing with for a while. And I thought of writing it out. As I've said in the summary, this is the first draft of the story. I barely did any editing on it. I would love to have an editor work with me to polish this story and make it a better read for everyone. If you enjoyed this first chapter, and think you guide me to make it better, please consider messaging me. I'm quite a rookie with writing and I'd really like a second perspective on this story, not just my own.

I was thinking that this could be the folder where I place all first drafts of chapters and I will make another folder where I put better/revised chapters. The reason I wanted this was so that I could quickly publish chapters to further the story, and maybe revise them and show the revised to you all as well, that way you can see kind of my process and how the story changed from the first draft to the revised. What are your thoughts on this, readers?

Chapter I

A Death In The Family

It was a small funeral. Based on my experiences at least. Then again, this was the first funeral I ever went to, so maybe my words should be taken with a grain of salt. But really, it did feel quiet small. Apart from my parents, my sister, and myself, there were only seven other guests as the priest was praying for the deceased.

A day ago, my father found out that his childhood friend and her husband got into a car accident. A drunk truck driver – why do the biggest vehicles get the drunkest drivers – smashed them into a wall. Though the couple miraculously survived the accident, they were Dead On Arrival.

My father must've been really close with the woman, because upon hearing the news, he immediately took the entire week off from work. This was a big thing since the funeral was on a Tuesday, almost the beginning of the work week. Since Komachi and I were also in summer break, our father also decided to bring us to the funeral. I didn't know why he made us go since neither of us siblings knew the dead personally.

Being as discreet as possible, I gazed around the area. There were multiple rows of chairs at the funeral, but none, save for the front row, was occupied. Normally only relatives were supposed to be in the front rows, but it appears that the dead didn't have that many, or none at all, of their relatives come to the funeral. All of the guests were around dad's age. I didn't see anyone that could've resembled parents of the dead adults. Why is that?

As the priest finished his prayers, the few guests that attended were allowed to place flowers on the bodies of the deceased. Dad handed me and Komachi a pair of bouquets to place on the husband and wife. He silently motioned for us to head to the coffins along with the other guests.

While waiting briefly in line, a young man in a black suit came up to my father and nodded shortly.

"Hikigaya-senpai."

"Tanaka."

The man shook his head and chuckled darkly.

"What a waste, right? Too young... Too soon."

My father merely nodded quietly and moved along as we reached the front of the line.

As the three of us placed the flowers on the dead, I got a good look at the two lovers. The man named Tanaka was right. They looked really young. Teenagers would think mid-thirties was old but it really wasn't. You'd be surprised how many people were actually thirty but looked twenty. It's a shame they died so young. But at least they both looked at peace. Props to the morticians. Dressing up the dead was an art.

Dad stared at the woman for quite some time, still as a statue. I had never seen him look at something with so much suffering. He closed his eyes and shook his head several times. I guess it is shocking to see a friend of yours look so lifeless. So dead...

Without another word, my father walked away from them and back towards our seats. Me and Komachi quietly followed suit and the man named Tanaka went forward to place his flowers and pay his respects.

Komachi slowed down so as to walk beside me.

"Onii-chan… Dad's really upset…"

I nodded.

"Just let him be. Must be hard for him."

Silently we both returned to our seats beside our father. Father stared into nothingness, lost in thought. Not knowing what to do, me and Komachi simply sat there as we watched the few remaining guests pay their respects and return to their seats.

I wondered: Would I ever look as my father did today, when someone I knew died? Frankly, I didn't know this couple, thus I wasn't too depressed at their deaths. Sad yet true. But what if it was one of my classmates? I tried not thinking about it too much since my vivid imagination would probably cause me to morbid thoughts.

The funeral ended shortly after and the caskets were lifted into Herses to be driven to the Crematorium. After the vehicles were out of sight, the few guests went together and talked gravely.

My father motioned for us to join them, and reluctantly, Komachi and I did.

A slender woman with short black hair looked between my father and us.

"Hikigaya-senpai, your kids?"

My father nodded, and introduced us shortly to the woman and the rest of the guests.

They all nodded in recognition and tried their best to act slightly happy so as not to depress us teenagers.

"We were the classmates of the deceased." The woman explained.

The man named Tanaka piped up matter-of-factly.

"Except for your father. He was two years older than us."

The woman and the rest of the guests nodded in assent quietly. The atmosphere was pretty heavy so one of the adults tried changing the subject. In this case, it was switched to one about school. When I told them I attended Soubu High, they were really impressed.

"I heard Hikigaya-senpai wanted to go there but he wasn't bright enough." A tall, lanky man with slim glasses said.

That made the atmosphere a bit lighter and more cheerful as everyone chuckled, or in the case of the women, giggled, at the comment.

Dad shrugged and attempted to smile, but failed and went with a small grin instead.

"Guess I didn't study much."

The guests chatted a bit more about other lighthearted and non-related things like work and hobbies and soon we became a loose group of people chatting, trying not to talk about the funeral that just took place.

A short, plump man went to father and tried speaking to him discreetly.

"Hikigaya-senpai. What are you going to do about Izumi's last will?"

I tried drowning out their conversation but my enhanced hearing was one of my 108 skills so I really couldn't do that. Izumi was probably the name of the woman, father's childhood friend.

Father must've realized we were too near to him and he eyed us cautiously before pushing the chubby man to another area.

"Not here, Gendo."

"You mean you haven't told your children?" Gendo gasped quietly as he frowned at us.

Father gave us a short glance, signalling that we stay put, as he brought the man named Gendo to a spot a few meters away from us to discuss private matters.

"Dad's quite secretive, huh?" Komachi said.

"It's his business not ours." I said as I watched the guests whisper among themselves, as if they switched to a sensitive topic suddenly.

The man Tanaka came up to us and chatted a bit.

"So! Komachi and Hachiman, correct?"

Komachi was quite the good conversationalist, even with older people, so between the two of us, she kept the conversation going while I talked only when Tanaka-san asked me a question. We mostly talked about school things since we found out Tanaka-san was a professor at Chiba University.

"Um… Tanaka-san, what was my father's relationship with…" Komachi said suddenly.

Tanaka looked surprised and slightly crestfallen that we reverted to talking about the funeral. Nevertheless, he smiled, albeit slightly morose, and fidgeted with his necktie.

"Ah. I guess your father wouldn't really talk about that to you kiddos!"

He said as he hit the heel of his dress shoes on the pavement while ruffling his curly brown hair.

"Well… I wasn't really close with Ishiguro Izumi myself, but I was club mates with your father for a time."

"What club?" I blurted out.

"Lit club." Tanaka-san answered quickly, as if the information was fresh in his memory.

Literature Club.

I chuckled slightly, thinking of a younger version of my dad, reading a book in the same position I did. Head being supported by the arm, lazily flipping through the pages with a frown.

Looks like reading books runs in the family.

Tanaka-san quietly stood there for a moment, probably reliving those lost moments of youth. Realizing we were still there, he continued with his story.

"Well! All I know for sure is that they visited each other's classrooms a lot. And they studied together. Ishiguro-chan was a lot smarter than you father so during those times in the library she'd be the one to tutor him. It was funny seeing a first year get frustrated at a third year for not understanding Math."

Komachi and I shared a brief look, smirking at each other. Now we both had some dirt on Dad in case he refused us something.

"What else, Tanaka-san?" Komachi insisted.

He frowned in thought, trying to think of more stuff to say.

"Well… This is all gossip from the girls in my class but apparently they were a couple back then?"

Of course they would've thought that. It's normal for teenage girls to think about that kind of thing when people of the opposite sex are always in close proximity with one another. Oops. I generalized girls. I can feel the triggered people coming! So scratch that. It's normal for teenagers to think that stuff. There I fixed it. Now don't lynch me!

Tanaka apologetically waved his hand and shook his head.

"But those are just rumors! You have to ask him if you want to know the truth."

"Ask me what?"

It appears that Dad had finished talking with Gendo and had come back to us.

Shit. Dad doesn't like it when we talk about him behind his back!

As I – and probably Komachi as well – thought of ways to look innocent, Tanaka-san intervened.

He chuckled and patted my father on the back.

"I said they should ask you if they wanted to know the truth about the hectic university life in Chiba U."

Tanaka-sama! Savior!

Dad stood and stared at us quizzically with a raised eyebrow.

"Well… That's for another time. We must be going."

Not long after, the three of us said our goodbyes to the guests – all of them were still there – and went our way to the parking lot.

The woman with the short black hair shouted at father from a distance.

"Hikigaya-senpai! We're going to that restaurant down the street in a while. Care to come with?"

Dad waved back and apologetically declined the offer. Although disappointed, they let the three of us get on our way. I wondered why anyone would decide to socialize at a time like this. After a funeral. I personally would've preferred to be alone, left to my thoughts. But then again, everyone had their own ways to deal with sadness and sorrow.

The ride home was quiet. I was in the passenger seat beside father as Komachi lay down in the back and slept. I silently stared at the long winding river below as we drove over the bridge me and Hiratsuka-sensei met at one time during the first semester. I watched as the sun shone brightly in the blue sky. It seemed to shine much brighter before a sunset.

"Hachiman."

Upon hearing my name, I turned my head to stare at my dad

He was frowning as he steered the wheel.

"I… Uh… The woman who died. She was a close friend of mine."

I nodded.

"Yeah. Mom told me." It was true. My father only told us that we were going to a funeral of a schoolmate. It was actually mom who told us that it was a close friend of father that died. She was also the one who told us about how it happened.

"The thing is. She made me the godfather of her child."

I processed his words quickly and responded.

"All their relatives are gone?" Surely, godparents were the last resort. After all, it'd be better for a kid to stay with at least the grandparents or other relatives. So it must mean they were all... Dead?

Dad shook his head as he switched the car's gears, preparing to make a halt.

"It's complicated but she can't go to any of her relatives. Ishiguro asked me to take care of her if anything happened to her and her husband." Father explained as the car stopped at a red light.

Well, I didn't to dig into others' personal matters and I wasn't really against a kid coming to join us. We actually had a guest room at home in case a relative or a friend of mom or dad showed up – which was almost never. It'd be cool to actually have a younger brother. We could play catch or something, especially if he was so young that he couldn't think bad of his loner older brother. Heck, maybe he could call me Aniki! So I gave dad the answer he probably wanted to hear.

"I'd be fine with that, if you're asking me." I said nonchalantly. "Komachi too, probably."

Dad nodded as he fiddled with the steering wheel, watching the multitude of commuters on the pedestrian lane walking in front of our car.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Wouldn't mind going home to a louder house." I said, with a grin. "Besides. It's not like we can't accept your childhood friend's last will."

My dad smiled at that.

"I'm glad you're open to this."

He saw the light turn green and began driving the car once more.

We arrived home a short while after. Dad said he still had some errands to do so I woke Komachi and hedropped us off in front of the house.

Before dad could leave, I went up to the passenger window, laid my arms on the open window, and spoke.

"Why did you ask me if I was okay with that?"

Dad shrugged sheepishly. Though he still looked pretty sad, he seemed at least a little happier than during the funeral.

"My son's opinion is important to me…"

"…Sometimes." He added as he winked and drove away.

Komachi yelled at me from the front door, telling me to open the door already.

Ignoring her for a bit, I stood on the sidewalk, watching our car turn a corner and vanish from sight.

Komachi yelled at me again.

"I don't have a key~" I joked.

"Eh!?" Komachi shouted followed by whining and pouting.

Well, being gullible is a form of cuteness as well. I wonder if Ishiguro-san's child would be fun to joke with as well. Maybe they'd be a killjoy.

Pushing those thoughts away for now, I walked up the stairs to Komachi. As I used the key on the door, while Komachi was lightly punching my arm for tricking her, those thoughts came back and I again began to wonder what it would be like to have another sibling apart from Komachi. And how much life would be different with another soul in the house.

Mom got home early today as I was preparing dinner and Komachi was watching some mainstream anime on the television in the living room.

Mom got into some home clothes and helped me with the cooking. She even suggested that I leave everything to her and relax or something. Though I would've liked to just laze around, mom was probably tired from working all morning and afternoon, so I didn't want her to doing all this housework by herself. I even told her I could cook everything myself, but she did say she had to cook Dad's favorite meal.

"I could cook it." I offered.

She shook her head.

"It's a secret recipe only I could use."

I shrugged in defeat. If she was willing to do it, I saw no point in stopping her. Besides, at least I didn't have to work so much. I mean, though I did want to be a house husband - Yes, that's still my dream - I didn't want extra work if I could refuse it.

Together mom and I cooked in silence. As I was frying the fish, thoughts about the funeral drifted into my mind. I thought about why there were only a few people who attended. I thought about what Tanaka-san said about dad and that woman, Ishiguro Izumi. Then I wondered about her kid. And I realized, I didn't know who that kid was. It dawned on me that I didn't know how old they were, or even whether they were a boy or a girl! What would happen if it was an 18-year-old boy? My Komachi! I must protect her!

I could've just ignored it and waited until I met the person, since, after all, it was already set in stone that he or she would be living with us. There was no point in scaring or worrying myself now. What's done is done. But still, I was curious. I thought of asking dad but he was probably busy. So I thought of asking mom since she'd probably know as well.

"Hey, mom. When's Ishiguro-san's kid coming to live with us?" I asked nonchalantly.

My mom dropped the spoon she was holding.

"W-what did you say, Hachiman?" She stuttered, mouth open with a look of great disbelief.

She didn't know!? Didn't dad tell her? Why didn't dad tell me that he didn't tell her!?

I flipped the fish over in the frying pan as I spoke, trying to think of a way to lessen her shock.

"Uh… I was wondering who Ishiguro's kid was."

I gulped.

"Because dad said they'll be living with us."

At that moment, the door bell rang three times. Three times meant Dad was home. Mom and I stared at each other, we didn't notice the car pulling up in the drive way.

"I'll get it~!" Komachi sang as she jumped from the couch and towards the door.

Leaving the pan sizzling on the counter, mom and I made our way from the kitchen, through the living room, and towards the front door.

Komachi was in front of us, blocking our view from the newcomers. She looked back at me and mom, giving us a puzzled smile as she made way for the two people at the entrance.

It was dad. And beside him, was a teenage girl, somewhere between my and Komachi's age, with long amber hair, and dark brown eyes.

She looked at us with a bright smile and sparkling, loving eyes and bowed deep towards us.

"Good evening! I'm Asuka Ishiguro. I'll be in your care."

Author's Note: Those issues of Batman messed me up real good. I'm glad my uncle lent me them...

Anyhow, I hope you didn't hate me for that clickbait... Looking at you, "Incest is Wincest" folks out there. ;)

On a more critical note, if any of you have extensive knowledge of Japanese Funerals, please message me. I only did so much research on the topic so I couldn't really make the even too specific. So with your help, I might be able to revise this chapter and make it have more imagery or culturally correct.

Follow Me On Twitter For Daily Updates On My Works!

RealPokuri