Chapter 4: A Fated Encounter on the Slope
That night, under Aragaki Moeha's tearful offensive, Aragaki Takiya gave up on his plan to sleep on the floor. Fortunately, his bed was large enough that two people sleeping in it wasn't a problem. However, it gave Aragaki Takiya, who was used to sleeping alone, a feeling quite different from before.
Oppression, suffocation, and a hint of chilliness... "Huff... Huff..."
Aragaki Takiya snapped his eyes open, only to feel a constriction around his neck. Looking to his side, sure enough, one of Aragaki Moeha's arms was draped over his neck, and the chilliness he felt was the drool she had left on his shoulder.
"Do Children always drool so easily when they sleep?"
Glancing at the still-sleeping blonde loli, Aragaki Takiya gave up on the idea of waking her up. It was still early—just past seven in the morning—and since it was the holidays, she didn't need to get up so early at all. As for himself, he had other things to do.
"I need to buy some ingredients for the house, and then there's snacks? But I only have a superficial understanding of cooking. Maybe I should just buy a cookbook too..."
Walking quietly to the living room, Aragaki Takiya found himself troubled by the refrigerator in front of him. In the past, he frequently bought discounted bento to eat and rarely cooked for himself. Now that there was a child in the house, he certainly couldn't make do with discounted bento. Besides ingredients, he also had to buy things like milk... "Fortunately, I saved some money from my part-time job delivering newspapers for the press, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do."
Closing the refrigerator door, Aragaki Takiya washed up and began to plan his route. As far as he knew, one of the nearby supermarkets was currently having a sale, so it would be cheaper to buy things there.
Without further ado, after returning to the Bedroom to confirm the Little one was alright, Aragaki Takiya set off for the supermarket... It was currently April, the time when Kyoto's cherry blossoms were in full bloom. The fluttering pink petals looked exceptionally beautiful. Along the way, there was no shortage of boys and girls taking photos by the roadside. However, Aragaki Takiya wasn't interested in that. Although he liked cherry blossoms well enough, he didn't have the habit of keeping photos of them on his phone.
The route to the supermarket required passing over a slope. Honestly, Aragaki Takiya liked slopes like this. Although this kind of road, which was a bit different from the usual, required a little more effort, the moment he reached the top, there would be a faint, almost imperceptible sense of accomplishment. Though it was as tiny as a speck of dust, it was enough for his plain and ordinary life.
"Hey, hey, hey?! Sorry! Please move aside!!!"
Just as Aragaki Takiya was staring blankly at the slope, a voice suddenly came from beside him. Looking toward the sound, he saw a boy wearing glasses riding a bicycle.
"I should speed up a bit and get back before Moeha wakes up..."
Aragaki Takiya paid no mind to the boy just now. His attention had shifted from the slope to his task. Although he still felt a bit unadjusted to the matter of a daughter falling from the sky, running errands for her could be considered a source of motivation in his dull life. All in all, it was a mix of joy and worry.
However, the moment Aragaki Takiya stepped onto the slope, a gust of wind blew for no reason from the end of the incline. Besides a flurry of pink petals, that wind also brought a round, white object.
Puff~
As if it had undergone a series of rigorous calculations, the white unidentified object gently landed on Aragaki Takiya's face. While obstructing his vision, it also brought a faint, delicate fragrance.
"What is this?"
The boy took off the white unidentified object and looked at it closely. It seemed to be a hat.
"Um, sorry, could you please give me back my hat..."
A voice came from afar. The soft voice caused Aragaki Takiya's movements to slow by half a beat. Looking toward the sound, he saw a girl dressed in a pink dress and a white short skirt standing at the end of the slope. For some reason, it seemed as if some unknown object was blocking his view, and he couldn't see the girl's face clearly.
"No problem. Remember to be more careful next time."
Blinking his eyes, Aragaki Takiya snapped out of his daze. He returned the hat in his hand to the girl, but she seemed somewhat hesitant after taking it.
"Hmm? Is there anything else?"
"Nothing. Thank you."
"It's fine, just a small favor."
The conversation between the two was very brief, and Aragaki Takiya didn't say much. However, after he left, the girl standing on the slope sighed.
"Didn't he recognize me... or did he forget?"
The girl watched the receding back and did not choose to call out to him. Little did she know, everything that had just happened was witnessed by the boy riding the bicycle nearby... "Hello, that will be..."
Inside the supermarket, Aragaki Takiya quickly gathered all the necessary items. In addition to the planned items, he also bought some toiletries and towels. Since he had already accepted the plan for her to live at his home long-term, he naturally wouldn't forget these things.
"That should be everything, then. Time to go home!"
After checking to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, Aragaki Takiya immediately set off on the road home... *Click— Click—*
The sound of the door lock turning echoed in the quiet room. This was instantly noticed by the tiny figure curled up on the sofa. At the first sight of the person opening the door, she rushed over barefoot.
"I... *cough, cough, cough*..."
At the same time, Aragaki Takiya, who had just opened the door and noticed the movement, was about to say something when he felt a force strike his abdomen. After stabilizing his body, he realized that the source of that force was the little person currently in his arms—well, to be precise, it was the awakened Aragaki Moeha.
"Um, I just went out to buy some food and your toiletries..."
Sensing the body in his arms trembling slightly, Aragaki Takiya quickly explained in a soft voice. He could tell that she was feeling very insecure right now. While offering words of comfort, his hand also gently stroked her head.
Hearing her father's explanation, the originally trembling Aragaki Moeha gradually calmed down. She slowly looked up, with unshed tears still at the corners of her eyes.
"I don't want to be apart from Papa..."
Perhaps sensing that what she did was a bit wrong, the blonde loli tried to explain herself.
"Ah~ I know, but you were still sleeping when I got up. Because I didn't want to disturb you, Papa had to go alone..."
Noticing her low spirits, Aragaki Takiya quickly spoke to comfort her. He naturally noticed how she addressed him, so he also carefully stopped referring to himself as 'I'. This tactic really worked; the loli, whose mood had been a bit down, gradually smoothed out her expression after hearing this, though it was still faintly visible that she was still a little unhappy.