Archive of Our Own

“Well, Mom?” Kaito hovered around Emi, nervously chewing on his nails. Shouta was out solving a case, and it was a weekend. Mother and son had the house to themselves.

“Hold on, guppy!” Emi said, just as nervously. “Ack! You go look.”

“Ew. No. Absolutely not. Mom, you peed on that thing.”

“Oh, right. Sorry, baby. Fine! Okay! I’ll check!”

Emi entered the bathroom, wringing her hands in front of her. Kaito did his best not to yell at her to hurry. All she had to do was check a stick!

***

When she finally emerged, the teenager was at his wit’s end. She had her head down, and he couldn’t gauge how she was feeling.

“Mommy?” he bounced on the balls of his feet.

When she lifted her head, there were tears in her eyes and a smile on her face.

“Yes? Positive?” Kaito asked, nodding his head, unconsciously attempting to make it true.

“Yes. Guppy, you’re going to be a brother.”

The teenager let out a loud cheer, running forward, and wrapping his mother in his arms, tears in his own eyes. “Mom, I’m so happy.”

“I’m happy, too, baby. So happy.”

Shouta fluttered about as he set the table, wondering what his family was up to. Kaito went straight to his room, which was strange in itself. He usually spent the first hours of being home for the weekend telling them about his week, and it would last well into dinner. He was initially very concerned, and made to follow his son to ask what was wrong. But his wife stopped him, telling him everything was fine, and to leave Kaito alone. That was also strange. Stranger still was the glint in her eyes. He knew that glint. She was up to something. They both were.

“Why do you look so suspicious, handsome?” Emi giggled as she placed the food on the table.

“Oh? What’s this?” His wife had served a whole roast chicken, something she only made on special occasions.

“It’s a chicken, Eraser,” she said sarcastically.

“Okay, what is going on?” he asked, eyes narrowed and arms crossed at his chest. But Emi just rolled her eyes.

“Kaito!” she yelled. “Dinner now!”

They heard the stomping of teenage feet on the staircase, and Kaito skidded into the dining room with a wide grin on his face. Wearing a zipped up hoodie.

“Guppy, don’t run—” “Why are you in a jacket—”

Kaito laughed as his parents looked at each other in surprise. They chuckled along as they sat down to eat.

***

“Yes! I am so happy about this dinner!” Kaito cheered, stuffing his face with a gigantic spoonful.

“Honestly, guppy, there’s more than enough. Eat slowly,” Emi admonished.

“And why are you still wearing that jacket?” Shouta asked, frowning.

“It’s a cool jacket,” Kaito shrugged, avoiding his father’s eyes. “It’s not bothering my eating, Dad!”

Shouta sighed. “At least unzip it. You’re making me itch.”

Kaito rolled his eyes, smirking. He stood to unzip his hoodie, and inside was a bright orange shirt with some characters on it.

“Is that a new shirt?” Shouta squinted, trying to read the print.

“Uh huh!” the teenager said excitedly. He pulled his hoodie off to properly display the shirt.

“Niisan…?” Shouta asked, unsure. “What—”

He was cut off by a sizeable card thrust in front of his face. It had a stick figure in the middle with a photo cut-out of his face as the head. Diagonally below him on each side were photos: a printed-out selfie of Kaito, and a printed-out sonogram. Above the Shouta stick figure was a drawn-in banner that read: FATHER OF TWO!

Shouta’s jaw dropped, gently taking the card in his hands.

“What…?” he asked, looking up at his wife and son, who had their arms around each other’s shoulders, sporting identical smiles.

“Are you really…Emi—” he gazed at his wife, slowly rising from his seat to approach her. She had tears in her eyes as she nodded.

“I’m pregnant, Shouta,” she smiled.

“Pregnant…you’re pregnant. For real?”

Emi giggled. “Yes, Eraser. For real.”

He cupped her face in his hands, leaning down to press the deepest kiss onto her lips.

***

Kaito watched with a wide smile as his parents kissed, happy tears filling their eyes.

“I’m going to be a dad again?” he heard his father say.

“You’re going to be a dad again,” his mother replied.

Shouta looked toward him, arm outstretched.

“What are you doing all the way there, niisan?” he asked Kaito, who giggled and approached. “Come here.”

“I’m gonna be a brother!” Kaito cheered softly, hugging his parents.

“Mommy! How’s the baby?” Kaito asked his mother through the phone screen as he walked to Gym Gamma with his classmates.

“Guppy, you have class!”

The teenager hadn’t been home in three weeks because of how busy he’d been with school. He wasn’t happy about it. He’d been accosting his father in the hallways, asking for updates, and video calling his mother every day.

“It’s fine, Mom! I’m on my way to class! Oh, bump!”

Emi laughed, rubbing her belly. It made her heart so full to see her son so excited.

“Guys! Look at Mom’s bump!” he called his friends, making his mother laugh harder.

“Fukumoto-san! Oh, no, Aizawa-san! Sorry,” Juba said, cringing.

“Aizawa-san, you’re so big!” Sasaki exclaimed, earning a sharp shush from Hada.

“You don’t say that to a lady!” Hada said, frowning. “Aizawa-san, you look very beautiful. You’re glowing!”

“Oh, don’t worry, Sasaki. I am big!” Emi laughed louder.

“And beautiful!” Kaito emphasized, his friends nodding along in agreement.

“Thank you, guys.”

“How excited are you to be a big brother, Kaito-kun?” Ito asked. "It won't be long now!"

“Aaah! I am so excited; you will not believe!” Kaito replied, bouncing in place on the common room sofa.

“Someda!” Uchida called. “Don’t you have, like, a hundred little siblings? How’s it been?”

“Ha! Yeah!” their classmate replied. “I have seven younger siblings. It is a ride, let me tell you.”

“Well, okay, I don’t want seven!” Kaito laughed. “One or two is fine! Will only likely get just one, though.”

“Aw, but it’s so cute to have your sibling have such a large age gap from you, though! 16 years!” Uchida smiled. “My brother and I are only three years apart, and we fight all the time! He is literally the biggest pain in the ass.”

“You’d beat anyone up who tries to fight him, though,” Juba laughed.

“Well, yeah,” Uchida scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Only I’m allowed to do that.”

“Aaahh, but Kai-chan and Baby Aizawa’s relationship won’t be like that!” Hada interjected. “He’d be so protective! The sweetest niichan in the world!”

She pinched and pulled Kaito’s cheeks, leaving red marks when she let go.

“Ugh, Hada, that hurt,” he mumbled, rubbing his face.

“Aww poor baby,” Ito teased, gently patting his cheeks.

Kaito was suddenly very glad that his cheeks were already red.

Shouta panted, eyes wide in mild panic as he stood outside the door to Ectoplasm’s class. Attempting to gasp in as much air as he could, he opened the classroom.

“Ectoplasm,” he huffed out. “My apologies. But I need to…excuse…take…Kaito.”

The cloning hero straightens in attention. “Is it time?”

Shouta only nodded, making the other man grin.

Kaito was already on his feet, pale and nervously fiddling with his fingers, waiting for his teacher to release him.

“Go on, Fukumoto,” Ectoplasm smiled.

“Aizawa,” Shouta, Kaito, and half of 1-A corrected him, making the math teacher laugh.

“I forget! My apologies. Go on, Aizawa.”

“Thanks, sensei! I’ll catch up, I promise!” Kaito said, hurriedly grabbing his things and walking to the door.

“We’ll give you notes, Kaito-kun, don’t worry!” Ito said, smiling up at him.

“Good luck, Aizawas!” Juba cheered, making the rest of the class cheer with them.

The echoes of a collective whine followed father and son out the door as Ectoplasm told them to get back to their worksheets.

***

Shouta and Kaito hurried to the front of U.A., where a school car was waiting for them.

“Woah,” the teenager’s eyes grew large. “Fancy!”

“Less fancy, more necessary,” Shouta replied. “We’re not taking your pregnant mother on the train when she’s about to give birth.”

“Ha!” Kaito laughed as they sat in the car. “That would be a story to tell, though!”

***

“Mommy!” Kaito yelled as he ran toward his mother. She was waiting for them in front of their home, hospital bag ready at her feet. She didn’t look like she was in labor; in fact, she looked very relaxed.

“I thought you were in labor,” the teenager said, confused.

“I am, gup,” Emi smiled. “I’ve been having contractions the whole day.”

“You don’t seem panicked.”

“Not particularly. We have time.”

“How far apart, baby?” Shouta asked as they helped Emi into the car.

“Five minutes apart now. Contractions are getting longer. Doc said to go to the hospital, and that’s when I called you.”

“Alright,” the man breathed, trying to relax himself.

“How long does labor usually last?” Kaito asked, curious.

“Well, it depends! You took almost two days to come out!” Emi giggled, while Shouta cringed in sympathy. “And you were large!”

“Was it painful?” Kaito looked at his mother’s large belly, wondering how she did it.

“It was. Until the drugs kicked in,” she smiled, kissing Kaito on the forehead. “But worth it.”

“They had to cut you open, though, right?”

“Mhm.”

“Do you have to be cut open again?”

“We’re hoping, no. The doctor said I could have a normal delivery this time, so here’s to hoping nothing happens, and all goes to plan.”

“Okay. You’re not gonna take two days, alright?” Kaito told the belly. “We’re not doing that to Mom again. Come out quicker.”

***

The whole thing didn’t last almost two days, thankfully, but Kaito still got bored. He waited in the hallway, messaging his friends, and playing on his phone. He even took a nap!

But finally, after seven hours, his father approached him, a weary but very happy look on his face.

“Kaito,” he said, smiling. “Come meet your sister.”

Kaito walked into the room, and the first thing he sees is his mother, sweaty and exhausted, but looking so beautiful.

“Mom,” he breathed in awe. “You’re glowing.”

“Thank you, guppy,” Emi smiled tiredly, looking up at Shouta as he reached into a small cot beside the bed. He took out a tiny thing wrapped in a little white bundle, and handed it over to Emi.

“Come on, guppy,” she called. Kaito nervously walked to the bed, sitting beside his mother and peering into the blankets. She had a scrunched up, reddened face, a shock of black hair on her head. She had a tiny nose, and a tiny mouth, tiny eyelashes, and tiny, tiny fingers peeking out of the cloth.

She was perfect.

“Kaito,” Shouta said softly. “Meet Natsume. Natsume, meet your niisan.”

***

“Here, guppy,” Emi said. “Hold her.”

Kaito looked up in surprise, but let his mother gently place the baby in his arms. She didn’t put up a fuss at the transfer, only shifting herself as she settled down in the new hold. Kaito lightly traced the tiny (so, so tiny) fingers with one of his own. His one finger was bigger than her whole hand; it was amazing. The tiny hand opened up, latching onto his finger, and Kaito felt his insides melt.

“Guppy, are you crying?” he heard his mother say teasingly.

“No,” he denied, quickly swiping at his eyes just in case.

“Did you get that, Sho?”

“Oh, yeah.” Shouta grinned as he held up his phone.

Kaito ignored his giggling parents, opting to stare at his new baby sister. He wondered what she’d be like. Would she be funny? Grumpy? A mix of both? What would she like to do? What games would she like to play when she was older? What books would she like to read? What friends would she make? Would she like swimming, like him? Or maybe another sport? Maybe she’d be an athlete! Or maybe she’d be more into music?

There were so many possibilities residing in such a small human, and Kaito was so excited to get to know her and all she would be.

“Natsume…” he whispered, watching her little chest go up and down as she breathed. “I’ve waited for you for so long. I’m so glad to finally meet you.”

Natsume kept giggling as Kaito tried not to gag. He was in charge of her that Friday evening, while his mother had a meeting at work, and his father was on patrol. It usually didn’t happen that they were both busy on the weekend, but on the off chance that they were, Kaito was happy to step up.

Even if it meant getting food and spit on his clothes (he’d learnt to wear only old shirts when watching his sister), and even if it meant losing the ability to breathe as he changed her dirty diapers.

“Ugh. God, Natsume, what do you even eat?” he choked. “Why is your shit always so…potent?”

Natsume just giggled harder, babbling nonsensically, her bright green eyes twinkling with glee. “Puh! Puh! Puh!”

“Yeah. Your poop. Is disgusting.”

Once he’d deemed her clean, he dressed her up in a cute pale-yellow striped onesie. “There! All clean! And so pretty, yes you are!”

Blowing a raspberry on her tummy, he relished the joyful giggles echoing loudly against his ear.

“What do we do now, huh, princess? Wanna roll around in your play mat? That’s a good game before bed, huh?”

And that’s how Emi found them, fallen asleep and sprawled together on the play mat in Natsume’s room, surrounded by a border of pillows.

Natsume was crying. Like full on screaming, snot dripping out of her nose, face red kind of crying. It was a headache. She was also covered in mushed up peas and sweet potato. To say the dining room was a mess was…an understatement.

“Princess, please,” Shouta begged, wiping her face with a clean cloth. “What’s wrong, my little love?”

“She’s not dirty, is she?” Emi asked, worried.

“No, she’s not hungry either; she refuses to eat.”

“…is she hot?”

Shouta’s eyes went wide, immediately placing the back of his hand against her forehead. Her cries subsided just a little at the touch, bottom lip pushing out pitifully.

“Dada…” she whined.

“Oh, princess. I think you have a fever.”

“Dada…” she whined louder, face scrunching up again.

“Should we go to the doctor?” Shouta asked Emi, his face mirroring the sadness on their daughter’s.

“I think we should, to be sure.”

***

That was the moment Kaito entered the house, having gone out with his friends to cap off the school week. He found the dining room a mess, his little sister crying her eyes out, his father looking forlorn, and his mother looking tired.

“Uh…what’s up?” he tried to say above the sobbing.

His voice took Natsume’s attention, and she began reaching her arms toward Kaito, crying harder.

“Ni! Ni! Ni! Niiiii!” she screamed.

Kaito dropped his bag on the floor in shock. She’d been saying more “words” now. Sounds that she associates with real things. She knew Mama, Dada, no (a word she loved to say while giggling), noonoo for noodles, mit for milk, bibi for TV, and boh for her favorite ball. But she had never called Kaito. That had been a point of frustration for the teenager. He’d been trying to get her to say niisan to no avail.

But here she was now, distraught, and reaching for—calling for, her niisan.

Kaito would tear up if he wasn’t also so worried that she was hysterical.

“She has a fever, guppy,” Emi smiled sadly. “We were about to go the doctor.”

“Oh no,” Kaito cooed, approaching the little girl, lifting her out of her chair. He didn’t care that she was covered in food and snot. “You’re sick, princess? You feel bad?”

“Ni! Ni!” she kept crying, burrowing her snot and tear-covered face into Kaito’s shoulder. “Ni!”

“Shhh it’s okay,” he whispered, gently bouncing her and swaying side to side. “Niisan’s here. You’ll be okay.”

Shouta smiled at the scene. “I’ll clean up the dining room.”

“I’ll clean her up,” Kaito volunteered.

“You can call a cab, honey,” Shouta told Emi, knowing she was about to protest. “Then we’ll go to the doctor.”

Kaito stretched his arms up as he let himself inside the house. It was late, and he was meant to come home for dinner. But life as a hero sidekick was just so unpredictable and busy. He considered just staying in his apartment nearer the Creati Agency, but he promised Natsume he’d be home this weekend. He hadn’t been home in weeks.

“Hey, kid,” he heard from the kitchen, where a singular light was on. Shouta was sitting by the counter, a mug of coffee and some papers in front of him.

“Dad? What are you doing up? Working? Why aren’t you in your office?”

“I brought down the papers to have something to do. I was waiting for you.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“I know,” Shouta smiled. “I wanted to. I wanted to make sure you got home alright.”

Kaito smiled, leaning his forehead onto the older man’s shoulder, making him chuckle.

“Tired, I’m assuming?”

“Mhm. It’s fun, I love it. But ugh! My body hurts all the time.”

Shouta laughed, ruffling his son’s hair. “Hmm. I won’t lie and say it gets easier. But you’re doing a wonderful job.”

“How would you know? I didn’t take you for the nosy kind of dad.”

“I’m not. But I know you. And I know you’re doing wonderfully.”

Kaito smiled. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Hmm. Now go and rest. Natsume’s going to want to play with you first thing in the morning.”

“And I will be ready to play, no problem!” he cheered softly, dragging his legs up the stairs to his room, passing out the moment his head hit the pillow.

***

His hero instincts woke him up from his deep slumber the moment the knob on his bedroom door turned. It opened a little, showing a small shadow in the hallway.

“Natsume?” he asked softly. The little girl took that as invitation to enter, immediately climbing into her brother’s bed.

“Why are you awake, princess? It’s late.” It was two in the morning.

“You’re late, niisan,” Natsume said softly. “You said you’d be home to eat dinner. You didn’t come.”

“I know. I am so sorry, princess. I was really, really busy tonight.”

“Did you save lotsa people?”

“Mhm. And I wrote up lotsa reports, too.”

“What’s reports?”

“It’s when I have to write down what I did so my boss knows all the details.”

“Like a dairy?”

“A diary. Yes. Kind of.”

“I waited for you,” she said in a voice so small and timid, crawling closer to Kaito. “But I fall asleep.”

“You did? I’m sorry, bub. I would’ve been here when you woke up, though.”

“Mhm. But you’re here now. And I’m awake now.”

“But we’re too sleepy to play.”

“Nuh-uh!” she protested, even as she made herself comfortable under Kaito’s blankets, throwing an arm and a leg over him. “I’m not sleepy.”

“But niisan is sleepy. And the moon is sleepy. It’s nighttime. Sleep-time, remember?”

“Okay. But tomorrow?”

“Yes, tomorrow, I promise.”

“Night-night, niisan.”

“Night-night, princess.”

Not even two minutes later, Kaito heard the soft snores of the six-year-old. He couldn’t believe she was so big now. Where did the time go?

“Daddy?” Natsume asked as they ate lunch.

“Yes, princess?”

“How did you know you loved Mommy?”

All three grown-ups at the table looked toward the nine-year-old, confused and a little surprised at the turn in conversation.

“Well,” Shouta began. “I just knew, I guess. Suddenly, I looked at her, and she was so special to me. And I knew I loved her.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Like, how did you know?”

“Sweetheart, sometimes, your heart just tells you you are. There’s no real moment.”

“Why are you even asking, bub?” Emi said.

“Kaori’s auntie has a boyfriend and they’re getting married, and Kaori says they’re in love,” the little girl told them, smoothing back her black hair. “And Kaori says she wants to be in love, too, but we don’t really know how.”

“Sweetie, love isn’t something you experience on purpose. It just happens. But to stay in love, that takes work,” Emi giggled.

“This is confusing,” Natsume said dramatically, holding her head in her palm, making her family laugh. “What about you, niisan?”

“Huh? What about me?”

“How did you know you were in love?”

Emi and Shouta immediately grew quiet, staring at their son curiously.

“In love? Me? With who? I’m not in love,” Kaito said, confused as to where Natsume would get that idea.

“Yes, you are! You have a girlfriend!”

“You have a girlfriend? Since when?” Emi asked, shocked and a little hurt. Her guppy used to tell her everything.

“I don’t have a girlfriend!” Kaito denied, getting even more confused.

“Yes, you do!” Natsume insisted.

“Who?”

“Hikari-chan!”

The silence in the dining room was deafening. Emi’s and Shouta’s eyes were wide as saucers, and Kaito’s face burned a deep red.

“What?” he spluttered out. “She’s not my girlfriend!”

“Yes, she is!” Natsume said, now getting annoyed. “You do all the things like Mom and Dad do!”

“Oh, do you?” Emi asked her son, a sly smile on her face and a glint in her eyes.

“No, we do not,” Kaito said, glaring at his mother.

“Uh huh, you do!” Natsume said.

“Like what?”

“You—you eat breakfast together! And you watch T.V. on the sofa beside each other! And you make her special ramen! And you bring her to work like daddy brings mommy to work! And you sleep together!”

“Eh?” Emi reacted.

“Oh?” Shouta smirked.

“We do not sleep together,” Kaito hissed at his parents, both of whom had the most infuriating grins on their faces.

“Yes, you do! I saw you! On your bed when she visited here! You were sleeping together!”

“Ugh. We were just sleeping. On the covers and everything! Nothing happened.” Not that Natsume would even know there was a difference between sleeping together and sleeping together.

Kaito had a headache now. He loved his sister. He really, truly did. But man, did she fuel his parent’s teasing. Ever since he was in high school, his parents had zero subtlety (although they truly thought they did) about asking him about Ito Hikari. It got worse the closer they got. Okay, yes, sure, he liked her. A lot. But they were friends. He wasn’t going to ruin that.

But the looks on his parents’ faces made him want to fly into the sun. Now he truly understood why they were attracted to each other: they were both annoying.

“Niisan?” Natsume asked the next weekend, as the movie the two of them were watching finished. Their parents were on a date, and Kaito was happy to watch his sister.

“Yeah, troublemaker?”

Natsume giggled softly, before becoming quiet, like she was contemplating something. Kaito waited. Natsume had moments where she had to unjumble her thoughts before saying them out loud. You just had to be patient.

“Is Hikari-chan really not your girlfriend?”

Kaito sighed heavily. “No, kiddo, she’s not.”

“Oh. Do you want her to be?”

“Hmm,” he contemplated what to tell his little sister. He wanted to be honest, but he also didn’t want to ruin any magic about love she still had. How did his mom ever do things like this?

“Well, kind of. I mean, I do like her. A lot. But Hikari and I are really good friends. Best friends. And it’s…complicated.”

“Is it really?”

Kaito suddenly had a flashback of a time when he asked the same thing to his dad. And he realized Shouta’s answer made a lot of sense and no sense at the same time.

“It shouldn’t be,” he answered her, the same way his dad answered him then. “Love is…it’s very simple. But also, very confusing.”

“I don’t want to be in love,” Natsume mumbled, pouting. It made Kaito laugh, how similar they were.

“You won’t be able to stop it from happening, bubba,” he smiled, echoing something his mother told him once. “Even when you don’t want it to happen. If your heart wants someone, you won’t be able to stop it.”

“But boys are gross.”

Kaito laughed heartily, squeezing Natsume closer to him. “But, I’m a boy! Am I gross?”

“Yeah,” she answered, sticking her tongue out at him. “So gross! Your farts stink!”

“Oh, my farts stink, huh? You wanna talk stinky? I still remember how your poop smelled when I changed your diapers as a baby!”

“Ewww niisan!”

“I will fart in your face.”

“Niisan!” Natsume let out a screeching laugh as Kaito held her in a mild chokehold, rubbing the top of her head.

***

When they’d exhausted themselves from laughing and “attacking” each other with throw pillows, Natsume contented herself to lean against Kaito. It would be dinner soon, and he was mentally cataloging the contents of his parents’ pantry to find something nutritious but easy to make.

“Niisan?” Natsume said. Her voice was small and slightly trembling, and Kaito immediately worried.

“What is it, princess?”

“I…don’t want you to have a girlfriend…even if it’s Hikari-chan, and I really like her…”

Where the hell did that come from? Kaito thought. Was this where everything she’d been talking about was leading to? Was this why she was asking about love? And Hikari?

“Why not, bub?”

Natsume only shrugged, shifting away from Kaito and squeezing her fingers.

“Natsume? Talk to me.”

She had tears in her eyes now, and Kaito was just so confused. But he was patient.

“Kaori’s auntie got married, and now she doesn’t live with them anymore!”

“I don’t live here, princess.”

“I know! If you get a girlfriend, you’ll get busier! You’re already so busy. If you get a girlfriend, and you’re a hero, then all the rest of the time will be for your girlfriend. And you won’t have time to come home. And you’re not even home so much. And then you’ll never come home. And then you won’t have time for me!”

Kaito sat in shock as his nine-year-old sister cried her eyes out over hypothetical situations she’d worked herself up over. Natsume was an imaginative kid, she always had been. It was always so easy for her to make up stories with her toys. She could even make up backstories for strangers they saw in the park; she did so easily and so quickly. She had such a wild, beautiful imagination. But there were cons to that imagination, like right now.

“Princess…” Kaito said gently, coaxing her back into his arms. “That’s not going to happen.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Yes, I do. I waited so many years for you, Natsume. I waited for so, so long to be a niisan. I didn’t wait and wish so hard for you to just forget to spend time with you like that.”

Natsume still looked forlorn, and tears were still flowing out of her eyes, but her cries had tempered.

“No matter how busy I get, I will always have time for you.”

“What if your girlfriend doesn’t like that?”

“Well, then, she wouldn’t be my girlfriend,” Kaito said seriously. “You are so important to me, Natsume. Being your brother is the best, best, bestest job in the whole wide world!”

“Better than being a hero?”

“So much better, Natsu. Being your brother is my favorite thing.”

“You won’t forget me? Even when you fall in love and get married?”

“Never.”

“Promise?”

“Promise. I will always have time for you, Natsume.”

The little girl nodded, wiping her tear-stained face on her sleeve.

“Now, I think…this calls for some…pancakes? And ice cream?” Kaito smiled down at her.

Natsume’s eyes were wide. “For dinner?”

“Uh huh!” Kaito smiled, lifting her up in his arms and heading to the kitchen. She wrapped her limbs around his torso like a monkey.

“Mommy and daddy wouldn’t like that…”

“They’ll be okay with it! It’s just for tonight. A special occasion: Niisan and Natsu night.”

“I want lots more Niisan and Natsu nights…” she mumbled into his neck.

“I’ll make it happen. I love you, princess.”

“Love you too, niisan.”

Kaito wasn’t lying when he said being her brother was his favorite thing. He lay on his bed, his little sister curled up beside him, snoring softly, and he thanked the gods again for giving him his sister. One day, Natsume would be too big to share her niisan’s bed. One day, she wouldn’t want to hang out with him as much anymore. One day, she’ll have friends who would know her secrets and her dreams and her stories. One day, she’ll have a life separate from his.

But no matter how old his little princess got; he would always, always insist that being her brother was the best job in the world. Because it was. The thrill he got from defeating a villain, the high he got from saving people…those were nothing compared to how he felt when he made his sister laugh, when he lifted her up onto his shoulders, when he read her to sleep.

He meant what he said to her: no matter what or who came into his life, he would always have time for her. He would always make time for her.