"Welcome to Hyoudou Residence" The three chiildren arrived at Nozomi Hyoudou's house.
The three entered the house and Nozomi announced while they stayed near the door "Mom, I am home! I brought a friend!"
A middle-aged brown-haired woman with brown eyes appeared from inside. Another person came behind her, a middle-aged man with brown hair and brown eyes.
"Ara~ That's good news, Nozomi." The woman said.
"Well done, Nozomi! That's how you should enjoy your childhood. Make more friends and play with them!" The man shot a thumbs-up to his daughter.
Mike bowed in front of Nozomi's parents the moment they laid his eyes on him "Nice to meet you. I am Mike. Thanks for having me."
"Ara~ He has such good manners! Nice to meet you, I am Miki Hyoudou. Nozomi's mother. This is my husband, Gorou Hyoudou. I hope you will take good care of our daughter."
Mike nodded at them. Miki turned towards Shidou.
"Ah, Shidou-chan, your Mom went out to buy some groceries and your Dad is still at work. So, you need to stay here. Hmm, maybe you should also have dinner with us since Mike-chan is your friend too. I will convince your parents. Wait, I could just call them here too. Alright, it's decided! Tonight, we are having a feast with both the families along with Mike!"
'Is it okay to decide something like that instantly? I mean, that's a lot of work, right?' Mike thought but the others around him just shouted "Yay!". Mike understood that this is a carefree family and this family is a little weird for normal standards...
Mike got curious about something else. He looked at both of Nozomi's parents and looked back at Nozomi.
Gorou asked, "Is anything wrong, young man?"
"Ah... Well, forgive me if this is a sensitive topic but Nozomi's hair color..." Mike pointed out Nozomi's natural pink hair while her parents are brown-haired.
Nozomi immediately frowned and became anxious. Mike panicked "Ah, don't get me wrong. Your hair is really beautiful. It's the most beautiful hair I have ever seen! But it's kinda unique when your parents have brown hair. So..."
Nozomi's expression relaxed a little but her anxious look wasn't completely gone.
But her mother answered with a laugh. "Ah, we get that a lot. Well, so it's not a secret. This thing is Nozomi is adopted because we couldn't have a child. But it doesn't matter because we consider her as our own daughter."
And with that statement, Mike developed immense respect towards the couple. Mike doesn't have parents. None of the people who raised him really acted like his parents. It would be a lie if Mike said that he didn't wish to have parents. So, when he heard how they adopted Nozomi and didn't make her go through what he did, a gentle smile formed on Mike's face.
"Wow... Nozomi is really lucky to have parents like you, Miki-san and Gorou-san. If everyone in this world is as kind-hearted as you, the world itself will be heaven. And you are also lucky that you found a beautiful girl like Nozomi with beautiful hair. Well, it must be fate that brought you together."
The couple's eyes opened wide. They never expected that response from him. Miki and Gorou looked at each other and a genuine smile formed on their face. Mike didn't understand the meaning behind that smile. No one said anything for a while. And Miki broke the silence.
"Ara~ where are my manners? We are doing all the talking near the door. Please get inside. Nozomi, take them to the living room."
"Okay! Follow me, my comrades! To our next battleground!"
"Yes, yes, commander..."
Shidou followed Nozomi. And Mike went behind Shidou. He wondered why the couple isn't escorting them. He turned around and saw Miki. 'Tears?' He thought while looking at her eyes but Mike decided to leave the issue to themselves.
Mike went to the living room. Mike heard Nozomi whisper "They didn't fake it this time." with a smile. He didn't understand what she meant. They played for a moment and the couple reappeared after a moment with snacks for the children.
"What about your parents, Mike?" Gorou asked casually.
"Ah, I don't have them. I am adopted too. I have a Grandpa, Nii-chan, and Onee-chan now though. Grandpa, Nii-chan, and Onee-chan take good care of me even though they have a lot of work and sometimes, I can't see them for days." Mike replied with a casual laugh but there was a hint of sadness in it.
The couple was surprised again by the sudden declaration. Instantly, Gorou held one of Mike's hands while Miki held the other.
" "Please marry our daughter!" "
"Excuse me?" Mike felt a weird sense of deja vu.
"Ah, I see... Nozomi got it from her parents..." Mike couldn't help but agree with Shidou's comment.
"Wow, it seems that my parents approved of my husband..." Nozomi said cheekily.
" "Oh, you are okay with it? Your choice is excellent, Nozomi. That's our daughter!" " The couple shot Nozomi a thumbs up.
"Umm... Could you please explain to me why you took that decision?" Mike said as he freed his hands from the couple.
" "Because we want you to become our son!!" "
"Could you please elaborate?"
"Mike-chan is cute and well-behaved. You are kind. And after seeing your good nature, I thought you would make a good husband for my daughter. And we also want to see you as our son!" Miki said enthusiastically.
"We might not be able to be as close as the three people you mentioned. But you said they have a lot of work, right? We can be with you during that time! What do you say?!" Gorou added with similar enthusiasm.
"I might not be able to be of any use now but I will do my best as your wife and prepare for our future!" Nozomi added.
Mike thought that the last comment wasn't needed.
"Umm... I appreciate the offer but I think it's too early for things like marriage. And besides, child marriage is illegal, so..." Mike said with an awkward smile.
"Then become her fiancee! You can stay with us, get to know her better, and marry her when you are mature! What do you say?! The final decision will be yours!" Miki pleaded.
How the hell is Mike supposed to answer to that pressure?!
"Umm... I think I am too young for that. So, I must refuse. But I will still be Nozomi's friend." Mike voiced out his opinion.
"Well, that's too bad. I will give up..."
Mike sighed in relief at Miki's statement.
"For now. Ufufu~"
The relief was just for an instant. Mike understood that even though they are good, this family is weird as hell.