Spoiler:

Misoki beckoned to her husband upstairs in a melodious voice. "Sora! Sora, please hurry up. We're going to be late."

Down the stairs came a tall, lanky man clad in a white shirt. He fiddled with his tie as he descended downstairs, scowling at his stubborn neckwear.

"I'm not leaving our daughter until that babysitter gets here," Sora said as he reached the final step.

Misoki gracefully maneuvered the tie through a loop and smiled at her husband's attempt. "He's on his way, honey. Just be a little patient." Just then, there was a tap on the door. "There he is now," she whispered excitedly. Sora watched his wife run towards the door, crossing his arms and preparing himself for the worst. Misoki slid open the front door and revealed the babysitter: short, white-haired boy in glass and a green wool coat. "Welcome to our lovely home, Takashi."

The boy rushed inside the house and looked over his shoulder. His eyes shifted to every corner of the house as if on the defensive. He leaned uncomfortably close to Misoki, compensating his height with distance. "We can keep this classified, right? I'm a warrior after all, not a nanny."

Misoki giggled. "Your secret's safe with me." She turned to Sora. "Takashi, this is my husband." Sora contorted his face into another scowl. In response, Takashi stared at him and adjusted his glasses. "And little Mia is upstairs sleeping."

"Should we get going, love?" Sora fumbled putting on his jacket on his way to the door.

"Yes, we should. Takashi, Sora and I are going to go to a... parent meeting. Mia's going to be in pre-school soon, and we want to be prepared." She snatched Sora's hand and yanked him to the doorway. "We'll be back at 9!"

As Takashi made a cursory glance around the house, his eyes widened. "Hey, didn't you say something before about a time--" Thud! The door behind him slammed shut. "--table...?"


All he needed to do is wait another hour and a half. Takashi made himself comfortable at the bottom of the stairs. If he could sit on boulders for hours on end, he could manage a couple on a flat wooden surface. He was entranced by his book, head hunched over and eyes jumped from word to word. "Yoshirou the Undefeated scanned the barren battlefield," he read aloud, "and found a single shinobi standing in the blood red horizon. He stared at his foe eye-to-eye, and there was silence."

Mamma!

Takashi snapped out of the battle in his mind then promptly returned to the book. "Yoshirou grazed the hilt of his blade, eager for battle. He--"

Maaaaamma!

Takashi grumbled. "He felt his a current of fire rush through his veins. His hand tightened into a fist, he readied his stance, and then--"

MAAAAAAAAAAAAMMA!

"Oh, come on!" Takashi slammed his book shut and marched upstairs with fire in his eyes. His boots made a thunderous boom with each step. Takashi grabbed the door to Mia's room and flung it open, letting the light flood into the room, and there curled up in the covers wit her stuffed rabbit was cute, little Mia. "Keep it down, will you? You're mother isn't here."

"I'm hungry," she managed to squeak in between sniffles.

"Hungry?! You gotta sleep."

"But I'm hungry! And I want Maaammaaaa!" She sniffled again.

"Okay! Okay! If I get you something to eat, will you go to sleep?" Mia nodded and put her thumb in her mouth to console herself. "All right. Stay there. I mean it."

Takashi made his way into the kitchen, mumbling as he perused the cupboards. "What was I fed when I was three? Umm... Meat. Lots of meat. Do we have meat? 'Course we do. How else is she going to get protein?" He flung open the fridge, and he lit up as if he found buried treasure. An octopus waited inside the fridge. "Excellent."


Takashi carefully ascended up to the second floor with a steaming plate of octopus. Pretty damn good for a first time frying. She'll like some of the burned pieces too. It adds flavor. Takashi slid open the door. "Here's your food. Eat up and go--" The plate dropped to the floor, and the octopus flailed on impact. Mia's bed was empty.

"You can't be serious!"

Takashi rushed into the hallway. He looked frantically around for the child, his teeth clenched in an fearsome grimace. His eyes burned with fury. "Where are you!?" No answer. "Mia, where the hell are you?!" Still nothing. "This isn't a game of Hide-and-Seek, you know!" he shouted as stomped downstairs. "I'm dead serious. This isn't some sort of--"

Suddenly, he heard a faint giggle ring throughout the house. He silenced himself and stood as still as a statue. The echo of the giggle pulsed through the halls. He tiptoed to the bottom of the stairs. The giggling became louder. He peeked his head into the right doorway leading into the living room. The sound was much louder. Takashi carefully inspected every piece of furniture for the source, cautious not to give away his position. Behind the tabletop? No. In the closet? No. Behind the curtains? Nothing. Beneath the pillows on the couch? No, but he was close. The giggling became a vichyssoise of squeaks and snorts, and Takashi was practically next to the source. In the blink of an eye, Takashi bent down and peered underneath the couch and found the child blissfully giggling snuggling her rabbit.

Takashi's face was stern, unmoving. His eyes seemed black as pitch. Mia's laughter died. "You weren't hungry at all, were you?" She nodded, frightened of the gravity of the situation. "You just said you were hungry because you wanted time to hide. You wanted to play Hide-and-Seek all along." Mia nodded again and was on the verge of quivering. The corners of Takashi's mouth twitched. His facade began to crack like the shell of an egg. He gave a smile, and he began to laugh. "That's brilliant. You're brilliant." Mia's face brightened, and she gave her signature giggle.

Using lying and deception to get what she wants. That's Machiavellian, and I love it. Reminds me of when I was a kid. Then, it hit him. I was an adventurous kid. Maybe... Takashi stood up. "Would you like to go on an adventure?" Mia cheered. "Then let's go. Go get your coat." Mia then eagerly ran up to her room. This is perfect. She'll get what she wants, and she'll get tuckered out. I'll put her to bed and finish my book before her parents get home.


Takashi underestimated Mia's energy. Takashi brought Mia around the town, carried her on his shoulders jumping from rooftop to rooftop, slid down a mountainside with her on his back, raced her around the house, played tag, did piggyback rides, the works. The net result was an exhausted Takashi laying face flat on the ground and Mia riding him like a horse, laughing hysterically. Where the hell are her parents!?

At that moment, the door slid open. Takashi's head jolted up. Misoki laughed and blushed at Sora's joke as they entered the house. Mia ran into her mother's arms, and Misoki embraced her child, lifting her off the ground. Sora saw the pooped shinobi on the floor and chuckled. "Too much for you?"

"She just has so much energy!" Takashi panted between each sentence. "I don't know how she does it. She adamantly opposes sleep!"

"Did you try singing to her?" Sora furrowed his brow.

"Singing? No. Why would I--?"

Misoki sung Ba Ba Black Sheep in a soft, etherial voice and rocked her daughter back and forth. Before long, Mia's eyes fluttered and then closed shut. Misoki continued to hum the tune, and smiled. Takashi watched agape with wonder. That night, he witnessed the wonderful magic of motherhood, something he had never seen before. No parents. No love. No songs. Did he have a desire for that magic? No, it was far too late for it to make a difference, but the power was captivating. Like a piece of art, beautiful.

Takashi rose to his feet, wavering as he tried to keep his balance.
"Well, I hope the parent meeting went well."
Sora looked at the boy as if he had three heads.

"What parent meeting? We went on a--" Misoki elbowed him in the gut, and he flinched. "Oh, right! The parent meeting! Right. It was... fine. Just fine."

"Glad to hear it," Takashi replied monotonously as if required to. Sora took off his jacket as he made his way upstairs. "Well, I'm going to head out," he said as he stretched. "Goodnight, Misoki." He stopped and looked at Mia, his counterpart. A smile made its way to his face, and he pet her head. "Goodnight, Mia."

"Goodnight, Takashi. Thank you." Takashi slowly slid the door shut, not to wake the sleeping child. Misoki sighed and smiled at her daughter.

"Honey, why is the octopus in Mia's bedroom?"

Word Count: 1767/600