From the other side of the room, Mika, who had just ended her call, let out an amused sigh. "It seems she inherited the tsundere trait from you, Yuna." She walked over to pluck a stray piece of orange peel from Aiko's hair.
"Daddy feels so hurt now," Makoto chuckled and turned to Mika and Aiko. "Can you come and console me, please?"
Mika's lips curved into a knowing smile. "Of course," she said, her voice carrying a quiet note. "We would be happy to help." She set Aiko down gently.
Aiko, ever the obedient and observant one, immediately toddled over to Makoto with a determined look on her small face. She stood on her tiptoes, reached up, and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "Papa, I luv yu!"
"See? That's my good girl," Mika cooed, scooping Aiko up for a proper hug. "The way she says I luv yu makes my heart melt," Makoto thought, even though deep down he suspected it was just a performance, given how clearly she could properly pronounce "business" earlier.
But the sight of Aiko receiving praise was a hit to Yuna's pride. "Tchh!" Yuna snapped, her face flushing a deep red. "Yumi! Get over here and kiss your father right now! Don't you let that quiet little schemer show you up!"
Her father's feigned hurt, combined with her mother's furious command and the sight of Aiko getting all the attention, was too much for Yumi's tiny heart to bear. "FINE!" she squeaked and stomped over, her face scrunched up in furious reluctance, and gave Makoto's other cheek a quick flour-dusted peck.
"…Baka papa," Yumi muttered into his shirt before retreating to hide behind her mother's legs, as her mission was accomplished.
"That's better," Yuna huffed, looking immensely pleased with herself.
"Let's help Mafuyu-nee clean up and set the table, then?" Makoto shrugged and started bringing the utensils and plates over to the dining table. "Did anyone see Ayane and Asuka?"
"I think they were in the backyard," Mafuyu said as she took the plates from him and began arranging them on the large dining table. "They were very quiet for a while, so I assumed they were napping."
"They were not napping," Mika stated from the living room, where she was now reviewing something on a tablet. "I heard some loud thuds, and something sounded like a war cry about five minutes ago. Must be their normal training."
"That idiot cow is probably teaching her daughter how to be a delinquent," Yuna grumbled, finally managing to wipe most of the flour off Yumi's face. "At least she was cute when she called me 'Aunt Yuna.'"
As if on cue, the glass door to the backyard slid open with a loud, rattling BANG.
Framed in the doorway stood Ayane with a sweaty grin. She was wearing workout leggings and a ridiculous T-shirt from Gundam SEED. Beside her stood Asuka, a miniature version of her mother. On her head was a crudely made but lovingly painted cardboard Gundam helmet, and she was wielding a plastic toy wrench with ferocity. Both of them had grass stains on their knees.
"Mobile Suit Asuka and her support unit have returned from their patrol!" Ayane boomed, striking a dramatic pose.
"DIN-NER!" Asuka shrieked with glee, pumping her wrench in the air. "MEAT!"
Ayane had found her calling as the public face of Harem Scarem Productions. Her X account posts had gone viral more times than Makoto could count, and her livestreams, where she forced the whole family into themed cosplays, had built a devoted following of fans who tuned in just to watch the beautiful disaster unfold.
She had graduated from her PR program and worked remotely for an agency. But everyone knew her real job was to be the loud, proud voice of Harem Scarem, who had turned their little cosplay business into something people actually recognized.
What hadn't changed was her complete inability to take anything seriously, especially motherhood. She treated parenting like the world's most entertaining game, turning every mundane task into an adventure that usually ended with someone covered in paint, glitter, or, in this case, grass stains. She was the "fun mom" who taught toddlers about friendship through anime fight scenes.
"Come, wash your hands before dining. Geez, you need to be her role model, Ayane," Makoto called out and giggled.
Ayane just laughed as she scooped up Asuka and carried her toward the bathroom sink. "A role model? Me? Honey, that ship sailed a long, long time ago, boss. Asuka and I are a team! And she got a way better role model in this family than me."
As Ayane disappeared down the hall, Makoto's attention snapped back to the dining table. And his heart stopped.
Aiko, who had been sitting quietly in her highchair, was no longer quiet. She was holding a plastic butter knife, the colorful and safe kind, and staring at Yumi, who was now being strapped into the highchair next to her. The way she held it, combined with the expression on her face, was deeply unsettling. Her sweet, angelic smile was firmly in place, a perfect imitation of her mother's.
"Aiko," Makoto yelled, his voice a bit shaky. "Put down that knife!! Don't smirk like that while holding it. Geez, did she learn that from you, Mika?"
Mika, who had been calmly observing this entire exchange, just tilted her head, wearing the most convincing innocent expression he'd ever seen. "Did she learn it from me? I have no idea what you're talking about, darling."
She took a sip of her tea. "But she does have a very good memory. She remembers everything she sees, and she is a very fast learner, just like me."