"Huh?" Dango turned her head around, looking silly.
"Help me bring that cat over."
Yui scampered over and, ignoring her dog's protests, picked up Kaa-kun and placed him in Yukino's arms.
"Meow~ Meow~" Kaa-kun and Yukino's voices rang out in harmony.
Seeing Yukino imitate a cat, Hachiman felt like he'd been struck by cuteness.
Yukino was teasing the cat when she suddenly sensed something was off. She realized that Yui and Hachiman were both watching her, and her pretty face immediately flushed. She looked a little embarrassed.
"W-why are you looking at me like that?"
Her voice was tiny, and she didn't even dare raise her head.
"Whoa! Little Snow looked so cute just now!"
Yui said it bluntly.
Hachiman nodded in deep agreement.
"R-really?"
"Of course."
Hachiman spoke with certainty, but then—
Hearing the turn in his words, Yukino looked puzzled.
"But what?"
"But you'd be even cuter if you wore cat ears and a cat tail."
"Get lost! You can't say two serious things without ruining it."
Yukino kicked Hachiman to the ground and scolded him irritably.
"Eh, is Hikki okay?"
Yui hurriedly helped Hachiman back up.
"I'm fine. It didn't hurt at all."
The fragrance coming from Yukino's foot left Hachiman's thoughts wandering.
Ignoring Hachiman, who was thick-skinned and seemed to have a slight masochistic streak, Yukino held Kamakura and asked Yui,
"Since you're already here, why don't you stay for dinner before you leave?"
"Mm, okay."
Yui nodded in agreement.
Yukino shot a glance at Hachiman, who was still holding Yui's arm. Seeing his arm buried in the soft flesh, she looked at Yui with a hint of envy.
"Are you going to make dinner or not?" Yukino asked Hachiman in an unfriendly tone.
Following Yukino's gaze, Hachiman noticed the problem as well. He quickly pulled away and headed for the kitchen.
After he finished bustling around, Hachiman discovered that there wasn't even a place for him. He could only sit miserably on a little stool to the side, watching the four of them laugh and chatter while he stared at their swaying pale legs and ate his meal.
Even Little Rumi, who was usually glued to him, disliked the smell of cooking smoke clinging to him today. Hachiman could only lament the unfairness of fate.
The Forty-Second Chapter: What Was Missing
With less than a week left before summer vacation ended, Hachiman was practically counting the days.
"You're looking at the calendar again?" Yukino curled her lips in disdain.
Lying on the sofa, Hachiman drew another cross on the calendar with a red pen. He stared silently at the five blank spaces remaining.
"Oh my~ There are only five days left? I hadn't even noticed the date."
Yukino said it casually.
"What?" Komachi, lying on the sofa beside them, jolted upright. "Sister Yukino, how many days did you say were left?"
"Five days. What's wrong?" Yukino was puzzled by Komachi's extreme reaction.
"Ah~ I'm doomed! I haven't done any of my homework!"
Komachi clutched her head and wailed.
"I told you to do it ahead of time. Whose fault is it that you're in this state now?"
Hachiman had no intention of going easy on Komachi.
"Boo-hoo-hoo, Onii-chan, and you're still making sarcastic remarks at a time like this?"
Komachi pounced on Hachiman and beat at him.
"Don't think I don't know what you're planning. Don't even think about it."
Hachiman immediately crushed Komachi's hopes.
"Eh~ Is Onii-chan really that heartless?" Komachi said with tearful eyes.
"Heh. Deal with your own homework yourself."
Hachiman gave a cold laugh.
"What do you mean?" Yukino asked as she watched the two siblings clinging to each other.
"Onii-chan's handwriting with his left hand looks pretty similar to mine, so..." Komachi rubbed her head, looking a little embarrassed.
"So I did most of her summer and winter vacation homework over the past few years."
Hachiman finished her sentence for her.
"So, Onii-chan, it's not like you'll lose anything by helping me one more time."
Komachi leaned over Hachiman and acted coquettishly.
Because she was transferring schools, Little Rumi had been enjoying an exceptionally comfortable summer. She looked disdainfully at Komachi, who was fretting over her homework.
"No. Don't even think about it. It's absolutely impossible."
"Boo-hoo-hoo, Onii-chan, can you really bear to watch your beloved imouto suffer?"
"I can."
Hachiman calmly played with his phone.
"You know, if you keep acting like this, you're going to lose me."
Seeing that playing pitiful didn't work, Komachi switched to threats.
"Then leave."
"Yukino, pack her bags."
Hachiman wasn't intimidated in the slightest.
Komachi immediately fell silent.
"If I were you, I'd go work on my homework now."
Komachi turned around angrily and headed for her room.
"Is she all right?" Yukino asked worriedly as she watched Komachi's back.
"Why don't you help her?"
"Tch. With the homework from her school, she could finish it in two days. In the past, she always waited until the last day and made me do it. I can't encourage that habit."
"Fine, fine, whatever you say."
Yukino smoothed back her disheveled hair.
"By the way, Hachiman, I want to discuss something with you."
Yukino sat down beside Hachiman.
"What is it?" Hachiman put down his phone and sat up.
"It's about Rumi."
Little Rumi was sitting nearby. The moment she heard the two of them mention her, she moved closer and pricked up her little ears to listen.
"She starts school a day earlier than we do, so I was thinking that the two of us could go with her."
Yukino made the suggestion.
Little Rumi kept watching Hachiman from the corner of her eye, wanting to see what he would decide.
"Sure, no problem."
Hachiman nodded in agreement. "What time is it that day?"
"Eight-thirty in the morning."
"Then wake me up. I'm afraid I won't be able to get up in the morning."
Hearing Hachiman agree, Little Rumi narrowed her eyes happily.
Hachiman noticed his daughter's expression. He quietly stood up and suddenly hugged the delighted Little one.
"Waaah~" Rumi let out an adorable cry of surprise.
"Dad's a baka, hentai."
Rumi's face flushed as she kicked Hachiman with her little feet.
Feeling the force of Rumi's feet, Hachiman thought that rather than kicking him, she was gently massaging his abdomen.
"What? You don't want me to go with you when you start school? Then I won't go."
Hachiman pretended to look unhappy.
"No!" Rumi shouted instinctively, then suddenly seemed to realize what she had said. She lowered her flushed face timidly.
"No what? You don't want me to go?" Hachiman continued teasing his daughter.
"N-no..." Rumi answered meekly.
"No what? In that case, I won't go."
"Really? Then kiss me, and I'll go."
Hachiman grinned at Rumi.
Rumi stayed in Hachiman's arms and thought for a long while. In the end, she slowly raised her head with a flushed face and gave Hachiman's cheek a light peck, as fleeting as a dragonfly touching water.
Feeling the warm, moist sensation vanish from his cheek in an instant, Hachiman chuckled softly. Rumi, meanwhile, buried her head in Hachiman's arms, too embarrassed to look at anyone.
"You're always bullying her."
Yukino scolded Hachiman irritably.
"How am I bullying her? She did it willingly."
Hachiman shamelessly defended himself.
"Daughter, tell her yourself. Did you do it willingly?"
Rumi remained silent. Her watery eyes fluttered, and her face was flushed red.
"Why aren't you saying anything~? You did, didn't you?"
Hachiman cupped her pretty little face with one hand.
"Yes..." Rumi's voice even carried a hint of a sob.
Looking at Little Rumi's shy, adorable appearance, Hachiman felt as if his heart were melting.
Yukino watched the father and daughter, one willing to tease and the other willing to endure it, and could only sigh helplessly. Yet her face was filled with a warm smile.
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