Chapter Text
School was officially out for the summer, something Tsumiki was both looking forward to and dreading because of the amount of free time she will now have to fill out on her own. During school it's easy, always something to do like school work,homework, learning a new recipe for dinner, her daily chores (that she mandated for herself as Satoru was insistent that she go out with friends instead), or hanging out with her brother, Megumi. Always on the move and happy to help whenever possible, now her schedule was out of whack and she had to think up a plan to stay productive throughout the summer holidays.
“Hey kids! Guess who brought back your favourite–” She didn't even hear him come home until Satoru’s voice brought her attention from the whiteboard on her wall to the doorway of her bedroom, “Wow…You know I bought this to better help you in maths. Not..” His voice raised at the end as an invitation for someone to explain what he was seeing, tilting his head to the side as if that would help him decipher the uneven scribbles of timetables and to do lists.
“Tsumiki’s driving herself crazy, trying to beat the record for having the least relaxing school break, or something.” Megumi mumbled, lying back on Tsumiki’s bed and not bothering to look up from the book he was reading off of her nightstand.
“Hey! Butt out and stop touching my stuff!” She half heartedly kicked his shin that was dangling off the side of the bed, he usually chose to hang out in her room while she did her own thing which she didn't mind. “And besides, it's all stuff that needs to be done anyway like organising my bookshelf, cleaning out the attic, volunteering and work experience. Now that I'm older I gotta start preparing for the real world.” She turned back to her board, casting a critiquing eye on all her hard work from the last two hours, Satoru took a step forward, taking off his square sunglasses and scanning the wall in front of him.
“Tsumiki.” His voice came out carefully and, what sounded like to her, disappointed? She felt her stomach drop and whipped around to look at him.
“Huh? Did I miss something?” Tsumiki scrambled for another whiteboard pen to correct her mistake when a pair of hands gently pried it away.
“No, no. Tsumiki, we’ve talked about this. I don't mind you doing some chores because I know that's what you want but it's also ok to do nothing once in a while, you always work hard and summer break is supposed to be your reward! I can take care of everything, you don't need to worry.” He smiled at her as he set down the pen in its original spot, his carefree attitude was a blessing and a curse for her nerves, sometimes it managed to sooth the nagging need to be busy and other times she wondered if he had ever felt any kind of urgency in his life. Tsumiki sighed, forcing her jaw to relax, not realising how tense it was until giving herself a second to breathe.
“You’re one to talk, weren't you at the office late again?” Megumi piped up from the other side of the room, causing Satoru to guiltily laugh and make a display of placing down the dessert boxes he brought in,
“Whaatt? Me? Looks like I'm perfectly on time to shower my two beautiful children with the treats I so graciously picked out for them specifically!” He rattled on as he ruffled Tsumiki's hair, causing her to laugh, and quickly switching targets to his grumpy, 11 year old son.
“Shut up and stop messing with my hair!” Megumi rolled away from Satoru’s fussing and kicked his legs to create more distance,Tsumiki jumped on the opposite side of the bed and tackled him, roughly messing up his hair, “What the hell! You're supposed to be on my side!” his voice cracked as he was bombarded by the two.
He was more or less used to their antics after seven years of living under one roof, thankfully Tsumiki was still the more responsible one even after Satoru had improved on his parenting skills throughout the years. It took him a while to open up to having Satoru take care of them but as Tsumiki welcomed the man into their lives, Megumi wasn't far behind. If Tsumiki trusted him then the least Megumi could do was give him a chance.
They eventually settled down and gathered at the kitchen dining table, Satoru talking their ear off about workplace gossip that Megumi tries to tune out in favour of eating his ginger tea cake. Tsumiki finishes the rest of her dessert, a large peach and almond muffin when Satoru wraps up his long recounting of how his coworker’s wife suspected him of cheating and stormed into the office, sounding way too joyful at his coworkers expense.
“Who knew Physicists had lives outside of work.” Megumi grumbled under his breath, earning an over the top gasp from Satoru,
“You were listening to me! Oh megumi, you do care about how my day went.”
“Dont have much of a choice when you're the loudest person to exist.” he retorted back before twisting in his chair to avoid more of Satoru’s attention, shoveling in the last of his dessert and running away to dump his plate in the sink.
Tsumiki smiled to herself, the house always felt so lively and warm with the three of them gathered together, even the most mundane tasks were a little more enjoyable when having them around. She thinks back to before all this, living on her own with 4 year old Megumi and having to clumsily figure out how to work the stove or washing machine. Most days she would avoid them and instead dunk clothes in the sink or live off snacks. She quickly shakes those thoughts away.
“So, are we going to do something over the summer?” Tsumiki speaks up as she follows her brother to the sink, on instinct she starts washing the plates until Satoru playfully nudges her back to the dining table and takes over the task. He lets her sit back down, Megumi sitting on the counter on his left as he waits with a dry hand towel. Slowly, he starts scrubbing the dishware left in the sink as he talks,
“I have to go to a conference and I'm gonna be gone for around a week, obviously I'm not going to let you guys be on your own but I am struggling to find anyone available. Shoko is out of the city for another month and Yaga is way too busy, same with Nanamin.” He goes to hand Megumi the next plate but doesn't feel him take it, he looks up to see Megumi scowling, staring holes into the ground next to him. Tsumiki is the opposite, if the opposite of anger was sadness,
She mustn't be as good at hiding how upset she was because Satoru immediately dropped what he was doing to face the two children properly.
“Woah whatever you guys are thinking, stop that. I was gonna suggest I pay for a babysitter until I get back or…” He dragged out his words as he fumbled with his phone out of his pocket, “ How would you guys like to go to summer camp for 6 weeks and enjoy the great outdoors with other people your age!?” Satoru announced in his best newscaster voice, shows off the website he was sent by Shoko, followed by her message saying ‘Hopefully the kids can get a much deserved break from you’.
There was silence for a while as both Megumi and Tsumiki stared at the web page, located at Lake Biwa in Kyoto was a summer camp for 10-15 year olds to enjoy the outdoors, offering activities like swimming, canoeing, games and hiking.
“Are you serious? You're sending us off to some lake?” Megumi snapped as he jumped off the counter and began stomping to his room, Tsumiki caught his sleeve before he could leave the kitchen. She knew why he was angry, even if he would never fully admit it. They've never been away overnight somewhere far from Tokyo and neither of them liked the idea of their guardian not being around for more than a day, let alone 6 weeks, it was already annoying enough that Satoru would do overtime and miss dinner with them.
“It does sound fun but… Do you have to go?” She takes Megumi's sleeve in both hands, fidgeting with the fabric and picking at frayed ends, wracking her brain to imagine her summer away from the house and city she was so accustomed to. She hears Satoru stand in front of them, crouching down to look up at them, which was impressive considering how tall he was at full height. He places a hand on her knee and drags Megumi closer,
“I wouldn't go unless it was absolutely something I couldn't get out of, trust me. I used all my sympathy cards and they're still forcing me to attend some stupid, stuffy conferences.” He joked, making Tsumiki giggle and Megumi roll his eyes. “It is a little far, but Shoko says it's a great place. She went there herself as a kid and she had a great time. You'll be safe and able to call me whenever, if you guys really hate it then just say the word and I'll pick you up as soon as I can.”
He gives them room to think about it, going back to finishing the washing while the children park themselves on the couch, Megumi flicking through channels mindlessly and Tsumiki mentally walking through what a day camping would look like. She imagined the lake would be perfect for swimming this time of year, she wonders if the people her age would like her, she has a few friends at school already but she finds it hard to relate to them sometimes. Maybe somewhere new would give her a chance to be someone new, someone who can relax and be like the other children, someone who can enjoy a holiday to its fullest. After a while, Satoru sits beside her on the couch and drapes his arm to rest on the back of it, turning his attention to the nature documentary that Megumi settled on.
“Satoru, I want to go camping.”