Chapter 2: Miku I

It was meant to be a normal day where I'd study all day at home alone, seeing as Raiha went out to hang around with her friends from school while Dad left the house early since he had a huge project to work on.

It had been a long while since I had been granted this opportunity that I almost felt blessed. After all, while I do enjoy Raiha's presence at home, I knew for a fact that I wouldn't be able to concentrate as efficiently as I could without her in the house.

Unfortunately, before I even got the chance to open a single book,

-Fuutarou, could you come over to our house? I need your help with something.-

I received a sudden message from Miku, and without even thinking I found myself on the way over to the girls' house.

As I walked, I began wondering what her reasoning for asking me to come over. While most people would be excited at the prospect of being invited to a girl's house, especially one of the same age, but seeing as I've not only been there numerous of times due to being their tutor, I didn't really feel anything. Nor would I, since it was THOSE girls.

Returning back to the question at hand; seeing as I was her tutor there was only one thing I expected to help with, her studies. After bumping into Itsuki at the library, surely that would imply the others were keeping in touch with their studies as well.

And I smiled knowing that those girls were working hard even during the holidays. I couldn't help but feel proud at that fact, it seemed like only yesterday when they were failing their studies and rejected me as their tutor.

I managed to arrive rather quickly and when I entered their humble home I was prepared to begin another tutoring session,

However…

"You two will play as my parents, while I'll be me." Kiku said, pointing at me and Miku, who was the only one at home while the rest of her sisters' were out.

How on Earth did it come to this?

Rather than a tutoring session like I expected, it would appear that I was going to have to babysit Kiku once again.

"I'm sorry for asking you to come over like this, Fuutarou." Miku said apologetically and despite my initial shock, I could only wave it off.

Since I was already here, I thought that I might as well help her out.

"It's alright, but why are you the only one here? What about the rest of your sisters?"

"Well, today's usually the day where we would all do our own stuff, so Nino's out shopping with her friends, Itsuki's out exploring the town to check out some of the new restaurant's which opened up, Yotsuba's out helping the Basketball Club and Ichika is at work with the Director." I nodded my head, but a question suddenly came to mind.

"Wait, why couldn't he just ask someone else to watch over his daughter?" I asked curiously.

Seeing as he was in this line of work, surely he had some connections with people who might be able to take better care of his daughter rather than a high school student.

"Well… he would have, but according to Ichika, Kiku was demanding him to let you watch over her again and her Director seemed to be okay with that idea." She responded and I facepalmed.

I genuinely didn't know how to feel about that…Should I feel happy that she's taken a liking to me that she's willing to ask me to babysit her again, or should I feel upset that a perfectly good day of studying was about to be thrown away because of it?

It was definitely a hard question.

"Are you done talking? Let's play already!" the girl said rather impatiently and I was about to refuse. Just because I needed to babysit her, doesn't mean I have to do everything as she commanded. However, before I could even open my mouth, Miku suddenly pulled me closer towards her.

"I think Kiku-chan has been feeling lonely since her father's been very busy with work so he can't spend much time with her." When I heard that, I couldn't help but pity the girl and I sighed, deciding to raise my hands up in surrender for what's to come.

Perhaps it was my older brother instincts kicking in? After all, this wasn't the first time this happened. Whenever dad was busy with work, it was my duty to make sure that Raiha was happy.

"Fine, fine. Could you at least give us a scenario to work with?" I asked as the girl placed a hand on her chin.

"You're going to be at work and mom and I are visiting you because you forgot your lunch."

'What kind of scenario is that?!'

That definitely sounded like it came from a show that Raiha likes to watch.

"Fine…" I got up, but before we began, I quickly moved the table and other items that were laying around in the room away, just in case anything happens.

As soon as I was done, I started pretending that I was working in an office, and I silently gestured Miku to carry on with the act as well.

"Kiku-chan, do you want to come with me and see your father? Looks like he forgot his lunch again." Miku smiled and the girl smiled broadly and nodded her head, before proceeding to hold her hand.

Miku then pretended to knock on the door, even making the sound effects.

"Come on in."

"Daddy!" Kiku immediately let go of Miku's hand and ran over to be before hugging me, which surprised me since she was never this affectionate back then. Guess she really wanted to play her part well.

"Hey there Kiku." I patted her head before looking over to Miku and gave her a smile.

"Hey there Miku." However, before she could even respond,

"Hold on!" Kiku interrupted as she let go off me and shot a frown at me.

"You're not meant to call her by name, daddy." I was confused by this.

"Why not?"

"Well, before my mom left with her cheating partner, dad and her used to call each other 'dear' and nothing else."

Both Miku and I turned to each other in shock, does that mean…we need to do the same?

Just when I was about to refuse, I saw tears beginning to form in the girl's eyes which made me shut my mouth immediately. I internally sighed at the situation that I was put into.

I really wished I could go back home…

"H-hi…dear." I felt my face becoming warm when I said that. While it was all pretended, it was still rather embarrassing to say and I was certain that Miku was disgusted by what I've said based on how she's refusing to look at me.

"…ar…" Miku said something underneath her breath, but because she said softly I couldn't hear it.

"What did you say?"

"…dear…"

"Mommy, could you say it louder please?"

"H-hi, dear." She finally said, and I realised that her face was completely red.

"Are you alright Miku? Your face is red."

"I-I'm fine. Let's carry on with the next scenario!" she said, which confused me but I decided to shrug it off before turning over to Kiku.

"So what other scenarios do you want us to act out?" she thought about it for a while before finally coming up with one,

"You've just come back home after a long day from work."

Seriously, where on Earth does she get all these scenarios from?

Deciding not to question it, I pretended to open the door before walking forward, "I'm home." I called out.

"Welcome back Fuu-, dear." Miku said as she walked towards me, and I could tell that she still wasn't used to calling me that based on how she's looking at the ground.

"Daddy!"

"Yo, Kiku."

"I want you to give me a hug!" she exclaimed before lunging towards me. I was caught off guard by it but fortunately, I managed to catch her, while also managing to keep my balance.

"Oi that was dangerous! Also, you're heavy you know that!"

"That's not something you should be saying to a girl." Miku inputted.

"Daddy, could we go to the amusement park?" she asked, looking at me with expectant eyes.

"We can go there next time. It's probably closed already by now." She frowned when she heard that, and before I could even say anything to comfort her.

"Kiku-chan, would you like a snack?" Miku asked with a smile, holding a bag of chips in her hands.

"Yes!" she quickly snatched the bag from Miku.

"Oi, you need to say 'thank you' when you receive something from others." I reprimanded.

"Sorry…" she pouted, as she looked down.

"It's alright, as long as you don't do it again, alright?" Miku said in a tender tone, as she placed a hand on her head.

"Alright, thanks mom!" with that, she quickly opened the bag and munched on her food.

If this was what it's like to have children, I probably won't want to have any in the future if that's the case.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the three of us were currently sitting on the ground for a break since Kiku ran out of scenarios for us to act out.

"So what do you want to do next, Kiku-chan?" Miku asked with a tender smile and I couldn't help but realise that she played her part as a mother really well.

Anyways, the girl immediately turned to me and I couldn't help but shudder for what she's about to say.

"I want you to give me a piggyback ride!" she demanded, extending her hands out to me.

"When did you start acting like such a brat? Weren't you trying to act more mature before?!" I said, completely surprised at her new attitude.

"Last time you told me that I shouldn't bottle up my feelings anymore, so that's exactly what I'm doing!" she said proudly and I resisted the urge to facepalm.

Never would I have realised that my own words would be used against me.

I relented and bent down to allow the girl to grab on my shoulders, however, due to our massive height difference the girl had trouble getting on, even with me bending over.

"Here, let me help." Miku said, as she helped lifted up the girl enough for her to grab onto my shoulders.

"Thanks, mom!" she smiled happily and with that I quickly walked around the small house, hoping to entertain the girl as best I could.

Miku, on the other hand, was sitting down as she watched us while making a small tune by clapping her hands with a tender smile on her face.

After a few minutes, I eventually got tired and put the girl down, and fortunately, she was satisfied with those few minutes.

"C-could you let me rest for a bit? I'm exhausted." I seriously needed to work on my stamina when I get the chance.

"There's no time to rest because I want you to be my horse!" she cheered and I gave her a deadpan stare.

She wasn't being serious…was she?

Upon seeing the expectant look on her face, I could only sigh and got on all fours, while Miku helped placed her on my back.

The moment I felt her weight on my back, I could already tell that my back was going to be completely sore tomorrow.

"Go, go, go!" she cheered and at her call, I instantly moved arms and legs forward as I began walking around the small apartment.

Much like before, I could only go on for a few minutes, and the moment she got off, I immediately dropped to the ground with my vision starting to blur from all the sweat that was falling down my face.

'Please, just feel tired already for the love of all that is holy!' I thought, already feeling my exhaustion start to kick in.

"Let's do it again!" she said excitedly, her eyes shining brightly like stars. I quickly looked over to Miku, hoping that she would come to my assistance, only to see the excited look plastered on her face as well.

"You can do it, Fuutarou!" she cheered.

I could only scream internally as I waved the white flag, silently preparing myself for what's to come.

"Guess she's finally asleep." I mentioned softly, looking at the girl, who tortured me to no end for hours, currently laying on my lap without a care in the world.

If she really wanted to feel comfortable she should have slept on the futon, not on my lap!

"Thank goodness for that, I was starting to feel exhausted as well." Miku panted, sitting down beside me as she stared at the sleeping girl.

"She looks really cute when she's asleep." She said and I raised an eyebrow on confusion, staring at the sleeping girl.

"Really? Because right now I don't see anything about her that's cute." I responded in all honesty.

"You need to be more mindful with your words sometimes Fuutarou. If she were to hear that, I'm sure she'll make a fuss about it." I thought about it for a second and immediately shuddered.

It would certainly be troublesome if she made a huge fuss over something so minor.

"Daddy…I love you…" The girl mumbled in her sleep.

"If you really miss your father that much, you should tell him that yourself, you brat." It was probably due to the moment, I decided to pet her head gently, like how my mother used to all those years ago.

"You'd make a really good father in the future, Fuutarou." Miku said with a teasing smile on her face.

"Shut it." I looked away to hide my embarrassment.

"In any case, thanks for helping me babysit her, Miku. I'm not sure I would have been able to deal with her on my own."

"It's fine, besides, this is the only thing that I can do…" She said with a rue smile on her face, very similar to the one all that time ago.

"After all, in comparison to the rest of my sisters, I'm a failure."

"I think it's still too early for you to even consider yourself a failure." I responded to her, trying to be as gentle as I could. After all, out of all her sisters, Miku was the most pessimistic out of the bunch, which can be problematic at times.

"Even though I have no dream in mind?" Miku said, sinking her face deeper into her knees.

"Everyone already seems to have a dream of their own. Ichika wants to be an actress, Nino wants to open up a restaurant, Yotsuba wants to be able to help others and Itsuki wants to be a teacher just like mom. Meanwhile, all I'm doing is letting time just pass by." I frowned when I heard that.

I could somehow relate to how she felt. After all, that was exactly how I felt in the past. Had I not met Rena all those years ago, I was sure I wouldn't have been able to be half the person that I am today.

In fact, I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten the chance to befriend any of them if that were the case.

"Didn't I tell you before?" I raised one finger and held a confident look on my face as Miku looked up to face me.

"I'll make sure that the five of you graduate with smiles on your faces…but not just that. I'll have you all graduate with a clear path in sight."

She looked at me with a straight look on her face and I was worried that I had said anything out of hand, but before I could correct myself,

"I'm glad that Fuutarou is our tutor." She finally said with a smile and I responded it with one of my own, "Well of course, there's only one me after all!" I said with full confidence, it felt nice to be recognised.

However, all my confidence disappeared within a flash when she suddenly rested her head on my shoulder, which caused me to panic at her sudden action.

"O-oi, Miku, what are you doing?!"

"We're still playing as mother and father after all. So please keep it down, Kiku-chan is asleep after all." She responded softly, but I still managed to catch it. Her soft breathing tickled my ears, but at least it confirmed that she was asleep.

While I opened my mouth ready to protest, after seeing the peaceful look adorning her face, I decided to keep my mouth shut. The only thing I could do in this situation is sigh before I adjusted my body in order to make it more comfortable for both of us.

I know I had said I wanted to be more helpful, but I didn't expect to be used as a pillow.

These girls seriously need to learn some tact. Though at the same time, I felt sort of happy that they trusted me enough to do something like this.

Meanwhile, at the back of my mind, I couldn't help but hope that the two would wake up soon before the others get home, because I really had no intention of explaining myself if they were to catch me in this situation.

Omake (Switches to Normal POV)

Miku cracked open an eyelid and stealthily observed Fuutarou who looked to be lost in thought.

'Does he know I'm just faking it?' Despite her best efforts, she couldn't stop herself from grinning. She was sure that if she got caught, he'd scold her for this, but even so, she continued feigning sleep.

'Sorry everyone, but it's only fair if it's first come first served…'

End Chapter

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