Chapter 4: Comfort

It was finally the weekend. While most people my age would go hang out with friends during these days, I was...

"Hey! Play with me!"

"Look here! Look here!"

"Hey, nii-san, nii-san!"

...babysitting my cousins. As adorable as they were, their hyperactive personalities were too much to handle. Gou and Nana (especially Nana) were pulling my sleeves, while Roku kept hitting my head with his toy hammer. Where was my good cousin Miku in all this? she was preparing lunch for us. Despite her demeanor, she's actually a really good cook. I guess you learn to adapt in order to survive, especially since their family's experiencing financial crisis. All I could do was bring the ingredients for her, but at least I lent a helping hand.

"Hey, is it ready yet?"

"Don't rush m- I mean- Almost, kyu!"

Well, she's still keeping the kyu trend. I wonder when she'll stop doing it. But then again, I didn't mind, given her circumstances.

"Mmm... it smells good!"

"I smell fried rice!"

"Me too!"

Then they all ran towards Miku, giving me time to rest a bit.

"Sis, how much longer?"

"Yeah! I'm hungry!"

"Me too! Me too!"

While pulling her apron, the kids meddled with her cooking. "Don't stay too close! You might get hurt! Go play with Nii-chan for now."

"Eh? But he's boring!"

Well, excuse me for being boring. It's not my fault I was raised by a strict grandfather. Miku's much more suited for babysitting. Then again, I can't cook, so...

"How 'bout we play hide and seek?" I suggested.

"But the house is too small!" Nana said, "There's no place to hide!"

"We won't know unless we try, right?"

And so we played one round and... she was right. There were hardly any good hiding spots other than the closet and under the table. It was the fastest hide-and-seek we've ever played. Fortunately, when we finished the round, the food was ready. So we all gathered together around the dining table (kinda small, but we all fit) and began eating lunch.

"Thank you for the food!" the kids said in unison.

Then they chowed down the fried rice like they haven't eaten in a week. Nana kept playing with her food while Roku, with his dripping snot stuck on his nose, got some on his bowl. I told Nana to stop playing with her chopsticks while Miku grabbed a tissue and wiped Roku's face. Gou was more behave compared to the other two, but she wouldn't stop clinging to Miku. It was a chaotic scene, but a heartwarming one. I didn't experience that kind of scenes back home. It was always quiet, and I always finished the food as quickly as possible so I could go back to my room and rest. It was weekends with my cousins that gave a little bit of color in my life. And recently, Rea and Marika showed me a little bit of that as well.

"What's wrong?" Miku asked after noticing how I've been staring into space for a while.

"O-oh, it's nothing."

"Hmm?" she grinned, "Could it be that you realized how super cute Miku is?"

"You're asking that again?"

"Sis is super cute!" Gou said.

"Yeah! She's a big idol!" Nana added.

Then I looked back at Miku and asked, with a disappointed expression, "...What did you tell them?"

"N-nothing!" Miku replied, "I-it'll come true eventually, right? Hehe... Kyu!"

I understood how passionate she was on wanting to be an idol, but lying to her younger siblings was a bit too much. But again, given the circumstances, I couldn't blame her.

After lunch, we cleaned up a bit before heading out. We don't usually go out unless it was a special day. And this day in particular was a special day for the Saginomiya family.

"What about your mom?"

"She said she'll catch up after work." Miku answered.

"I see."

It was a long way to our destination, but Miku and I managed to keep the kids in check. We had Gou hold the flowers since she was more behaved then the two. I couldn't imagine how it would feel like to have lost someone essential for their upbringing, at a very young age too, no less. And despite knowing where were headed, Miku and the kids still kept a smile.

The bus stopped on the shed. We got off. Miku and I grabbed the kids' hands. We were here again.

"How long has it been since then?"

Miku didn't respond. She walked to the usual spot with the kids, still smiling. And there he was.

"We're back." Miku said to the name engraved to a stone.

The kids lit up incense and placed it near the grave. Miku placed the flowers right beside it. Then altogether, we knelt down and prayed. After a while, we stood up and Miku gave a few words.

"I'm doing exactly what you told me. I'm smiling and bringing smiles to everyone's hearts. Although no one listens to my childish dream, I'll still keep smiling..."

Her voice faded for a while and I couldn't tell what she was saying. But then she raised her head and said:

"...I fixed our catchphrase! Wanna hear?" she said.

I wanted to stop her from what she was about to do, but given the circumstances, I let her do it. I heard "Kyu" about 6 times, even more than her dad's. I almost shed a tear after how much she reminded me of him. But it wasn't of sadness, he wouldn't like that. He would always keep smiling, and that's why even if her annoying "kyu kyu cutie" gets on my nerves, I know it's because he loves her dad a lot.

"Wow, that was so cool, sis!"

"Yeah! so cool!"

"Sis is a really cool idol!"

And just like that, we're back to the proud Miku, "I know, right?! Kyu!"

We gave one final smile before turning around to leave. As we did, we saw my aunt (or I guess in this case, Miku's mother) carrying flowers as well. We talked for a bit before going back to the grave. But because it was almost sundown, I had to go back home.

"You're not staying?" Miku asked.

"You know how my grandpa is. Also, our house isn't too far from here."

"Are you sure?" my aunt asked.

I couldn't respond. But since she knew how strict grandfather was, she let me go. So I bid them farewell and surprisingly, the kids did the same.

"See you later!"

"Bye bye!"

"Bye, nii-san!"

Naturally, I smiled back. Then Miku waved back as well and said:

"See ya, Kyu!"

I turned around and ignored her.

"Wha- don't ignore me!"

The kids laughed, and eventually, so did she. And while I had my head turned the other way, I also couldn't stop smiling. Guess I've been affected by her smile...