Although it may seem strange, the truth is that the picnic spot wasn't that far if we had gone by car or something similar. The problem was that neither of us could drive, the buses didn't go through that area, and while we could have called a taxi, by the time we realized it, we had already walked half the way.
Unlike other times, it took us 40 minutes to reach the picnic spot. However, those 40 minutes passed quite quickly and neither of us seemed tired even after walking for so long. Thanks to my improving physical condition, walking 40 minutes was nothing to me — I wasn't even slightly tired. Mikan also had quite a bit of stamina and energy, something typical of children her age, so she didn't seem tired either. In fact, she was bursting with energy.
The place was a clearing surrounded by maple and oak trees that had already begun to turn a deep orange and ochre. There was no trace of the cherry blossoms from a few months ago. Instead, the ground was covered by a crunchy carpet of dry leaves that whispered under our steps.
The spot was perfect: a secluded corner where the wind blew with that typical late October freshness, forcing me to pull up the collar of my jacket a bit. From here you could see part of the city, but the noise of the cars felt like a distant echo. In the center, under the shade of a huge tree whose branches were already starting to thin out, Mikan spread out a checkered blanket. Since there weren't many couples around, the place was quite peaceful and empty — only a few people were resting under the trees while eating happily.
It was a fairly warm day and there was no cold at all, so the jacket wasn't necessary and most people weren't wearing one, including us.
"Come on, sit down and let's enjoy it," Mikan said with a smile.
Without thinking twice, I sat down on the small checkered blanket.
"Mmm, this feels nice," I said with my eyes closed.
A pleasant breeze was blowing and since there was absolutely no cold, it felt wonderful — a nice breeze that invited anyone to simply close their eyes, lean against a tree, and reflect on life… which is obviously what I did.
Seeing Akira enjoying the date she had planned, Mikan sat beside him and rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying the pleasant weather. It seemed as if the day had been made on purpose for them to enjoy it, considering how cold it had been a few days ago when they had to bundle up quite a bit. But today… it was simply like a spring day — warm and without any cold — which encouraged many couples to take advantage of such a beautiful day to do couple things, such as having a picnic like in this case.
All the couples and families present were enjoying the day — a day that was supposed to be cold like the others, but ended up being a warm one.
Akira and Mikan enjoyed the weather for a while, until Akira's stomach interrupted the sweet atmosphere they had created with such a warm scene.
"Sorry," Akira said, a little embarrassed.
He had created quite an intimate romantic atmosphere, but it had been interrupted by his stomach, which seemed tired of waiting for the food and decided to announce itself regardless of the situation.
"It's okay. In fact…" Mikan said.
Then she unwrapped the bentos she had brought, all wrapped in beautiful cloths.
"Tadaaan!" Mikan said.
Mikan opened the bentos, revealing all kinds of food: meat, cute-shaped sausages, vegetables, rice, omelets, fried shrimp, and much more — everything divided into several boxes filled to the brim with food.
"So, what do you think?" Mikan asked hopefully.
What do I think? This girl could be a first-class chef!
"It's not just good — it's simply delicious! Have you ever thought about becoming a chef? I think you could be really good," I said sincerely.
Yes, becoming a chef is an arduous task, but… Mikan's food is simply on another level. And above all… she's only 11 years old!
"Actually, it has crossed my mind a few times…" Mikan said.
Her family had showered her with so much praise for her cooking that she would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about it — becoming a professional cook and… if everything went well, a chef.
"Why didn't you try it?" I asked curiously.
"Well… my parents left Rito and me alone and I had to take care of everything — the housework, studying. I was so busy and stressed every day that the idea eventually disappeared from my mind," Mikan explained.
That makes sense.
"I understand, but there's no reason why you shouldn't try it now. Right now you have much more free time. You can try if you want. I'll support you if you need help, no doubt about it," I said decisively.
Although Kari is a prodigy and smarter than Mikan, Mikan is not stupid. In fact, she was extremely smart and intelligent, only surpassed by Kari in their school — or at least that's what Kari told me. But I doubt she's lying to me.
Akira was right. In the school where Kari and Mikan went, both always occupied the top two spots in exams, followed by their two friends. Kari was always first, followed by Mikan, Sachie, and finally Mami. The four girls were not only beautiful, but also smart and intelligent. Two of them even stood out in sports above many of the boys in their school.
However, since Akira entered their lives, Mikan has considerably improved her stamina and strength, surpassing all the boys in her school. She had even received invitations from the athletics club due to her amazing speed and endurance. And yes, all of this was thanks to Akira. And no, it wasn't just her stamina that increased because of sex — a large part of it was due to the Omnitrix again.
The Omnitrix didn't only slowly strengthen Akira, but also the girls who shared intimacy with him. In short, his semen was a tonic that increased their attributes, and the weaker they were, the faster they increased. Don't think Akira's semen is a miraculous potion — no, it's nothing like that. The increase, even though Mikan and Kari were weak, was not significant, and for it to "increase their attributes" the amount of semen their bodies had to absorb was quite a lot. So no, his semen wasn't miraculous. It was more like a slow-acting tonic that needed to be taken in large quantities to have an effect. That simple.
"Because now I've found something I like more than cooking," Mikan said.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I've discovered that although I like cooking, I like cooking for my loved ones even more. So now the only thing I want to be is a housewife," Mikan said.
I was surprised by her words. She wants to be a housewife?
"Mikan… you can do whatever you want. You have my full support, but… are you sure that's what you want to be?" I asked curiously.
It wasn't that Akira looked down on the job of a housewife. Quite the opposite — he thought it was a very hard and underappreciated job, especially if you had children to take care of. What he meant with these words was that, with her talent, Mikan could aspire to be someone in life, someone famous and important. Why limit herself to being a housewife when with her talent she could do great things? That was the doubt circling in Akira's mind.
{Note: I don't want to say that the job of a housewife is not important or hard. I think you understand me, but I repeat, I am not looking down on that job. Quite the opposite — I think it's an underappreciated and very hard job to do, so I hope you don't think I'm despising this work.}
"Of course. That's what fulfills me. I could probably become famous, I don't know, but what I do know is that it would feel somewhat empty. What I like is seeing the happy faces of everyone when they eat my food," Mikan nodded.
"Then it's fine," I nodded.
Mikan still has her whole life ahead of her. She can change her mind at any moment.
"Thank you. And not only for accepting what I want to be, but for everything," Mikan said.
"Mikan, you know I'm the one who should be thanking you. I'm the one who should thank all of you for having you in my life. Without all of you, my life… well, my life wouldn't have been very good, but thanks to you, now my life is full of happiness, fun days, and love. Now I have a family," I said sincerely.
Akira's words moved Mikan, but Akira wasn't the only one who felt he should be grateful for everything he now had.
"I understand, but I don't think you should be the only one who should be thankful for what you have. Akira, thanks to you my life is now much better. Before I felt lonely. My parents almost never came to see me, my brother didn't help me at home and I could barely study and keep my grades up. I was always like that. I always wanted my parents to recognize me, to see me as someone perfect in every sense, but… that wasn't the case. I'm sure they are proud of how I am, but then… why don't they come? Why are they always away and don't take care of us? Why can't I be a normal girl? Those questions and many more circled my mind every day, eating away at me inside. But when you appeared in my life, everything changed…"