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Precocious was one word to use to describe them. Sodachi had never been the most energetic or playful child, so it came as a surprise when Yoshie and Reiko proved to be rambunctious. As a kid, Sodachi had preferred to study or read. The rare times she had friends over— well, “friend”, singular— they had played sometimes, but far more time was spent in the attic pouring over textbooks.
Thankfully, Yoshie and Reiko had more than a single friend. At the very least, being twins meant that they would never be as isolated as Sodachi had been. Not just twins, but they had other siblings, too.
That’s what today would be. It was a playdate between the Oikura and Araragi children.
Sodachi wasn’t looking for the day when Yoshie and Reiko would ask her, “Mommy, do Shinobu and Tsubasa have a different last name from us? Why do they live in a different house? If they’re our sisters, why aren’t we a normal family like on TV?”
But until that day came, these playdates would continue to be a pleasant little outing for them. For the kids, it was a chance to play and have fun together.
And for their moms, it was a chance to, at least relatively speaking, relax. The kids would amuse themselves. They were good at not getting seriously injured, so Hitagi and Sodachi could sit back and relax, with nothing more than a stray eye towards the kids.
Sodachi was quite thankful that there was a bus stop near the Araragi household. Travelling by foot with two children and all the necessary things to take care of two children would have been a burden otherwise. Even more so when the children were still a little unsure on their feet. Instead, it was simple enough to step off the bus, walk a couple minutes, and be there.
A knock on the door was followed by the pattering of footsteps on the other side. Clumsy hands tried several times to turn the doorknob before Sodachi could finally see who was on the other side.
It would have been a great surprise if it had turned out to be Hitagi. But no, it was Shinobu Araragi. The oldest child of the Araragi clan’s third generation. At the age of seven, that put her at about twice as old as Yoshie and Reiko; Tsubasa sat in the middle.
Shinobu turned around and called out. “Mom! They’re here!”
Yoshie and Reiko hurried in. They were quickly greeted by Tsubasa appearing out of the hallway. With that, the quartet was complete. They scurried off to play on their own.
A few moments later, Hitagi appeared. When she saw Sodachi, she waved. “Hey.” She turned to look down the hallway where the girls had run off. “I suppose that means we have some free time, right?”
Sodachi nodded. “I suppose we do.”
“I’m making coffee.”
While the playdate was ostensibly for the children, it held a secondary purpose. While the girls were going to entertain themselves, and ideally keep themselves out of danger, their moms got a chance to rest together. They would rest, chat, and hang out.
Even as recently as a year ago, they had to watch the kids closely, but recently, Shinobu had shown herself to be responsible enough that they could delegate.
“...They’re growing up before our eyes, aren’t they?” Sodachi asked.
Hitagi agreed. “It’s surprising. Koyomi’s mom warned me about this, but it seems like before we know it, they’re going to be going off to college.”
“That’s scary to consider.” Sodachi shook her head. “I don’t like to think that my life is going to slip away before my eyes. Just because I had kids young, doesn’t mean I want to waste it…” She sighed. “Well, it wasn’t my choice, and I’ve been making the most of it. Maybe when the kids are older, we can start going on vacations. I never got to do that much as a kid, so I’d like to treat them in that way.”
“Eh.” Hitagi shrugged. “My family also didn’t travel much when I was young. I still turned out okay.”
“You did not turn out okay! And I’m pretty sure that’s for completely unrelated reasons.”
Hitagi shrugged again. “Some would say I turned out okay. I would. Koyokoyo would.” She looked down at her drink. “Besides, taking them on trips when they’re young… Will they even remember that when they’re older? I don’t remember much of my life when I was their age.”
“I think there’s a reason for that. I think it’s the same reason I don’t remember much of my childhood.”
“Eh? What are you alleging?” Hitagi raised a hand to her mouth in feigned shock. “I just told you that I’m normal.”
“Even if you turned out okay, you’re certainly not normal!”
They both broke to laugh for a moment. When they had recovered, Hitagi was the one to start the conversation again.
“I do understand what you mean. I’d love for our kids to never know the kinds of unfortunate things that we grew up with. Koyokoyo, too. He won’t admit it, but his mom was quite a tyrant when he was growing up… Of course, I can’t say I never yell, but I’ve tried my best to be nice.”
“Right… I suppose it’s a bit different around here. Your kids having their dad at home all the time means the environment is a bit more normal. Yoshie and Reiko only see their dad occasionally, in comparison… Well, as far as their raising goes, I’m also trying my best. If anything, I worry I’m too lenient, but as long as they grow up healthy, I’m happy. I make sure they eat well and can be happy.”
Hitagi nodded. “That’s—” But she was suddenly cut off.
From the other room, one of the kids was crying. It was one of the twins. Without a second of hesitation, Sodachi got up and bolted out of the room. Hitagi followed, slower than Sodachi, but she was still moving quickly.
Sodachi breathed a sigh of relief when she saw there wasn’t any blood. After a few more moments to observe the situation, it seemed like there were no serious injuries at all. After a few deep breaths to collect herself, she began trying to figure out what was happening.
Yoshie was the one crying. Sodachi knelt down and began patting her on the head. “There there. Can you tell me what’s wrong?” As she was asking the question, Hitagi entered the room.
Slowly, Yoshie called down. After a few minutes, she was able to stop crying. Sodachi tried asking her again, “Can you tell me what’s wrong?”
Yoshie sniffled. Sodachi was briefly scared she was about to start crying again, but she was able to hold herself together this time. Yoshie turned around and pointed at Shinobu, who was sitting on the couch a few feet away.
“Shinobu…” She paused to sniffle a little. “Shinobu pushed me!”
Sodachi sighed as she turned to look at Shinobu. In response, the girl humphed, crossed her arms, then turned away.
As the oldest kid of the family, Shinobu was the most mature. That meant that a lot of responsibility fell on her, but while she was usually able to handle it, she had displayed a mean streak here and there. Sodachi had less of a grasp on the situation than Hitagi did, but it seemed like Shinobu liked having power over others.
Suffice to say, this wasn’t the first time she had caused an incident during a playdate. No matter how much she and Hitagi tried, she doubted it would be the last.
“It was an accident,” Shinobu insisted. “She started crying before I could say anything.”
From behind Sodachi, Hitagi sighed. “Shinobu. We both know that’s not true.”
Shinobu stayed looking away for a few moments more, but eventually, she relented. She uncrossed her arms, then turned towards the rest of the room. She looked down at Yoshie, who was by now clinging to Sodachi’s leg. “I’m sorry.” She certainly didn’t sound sorry, but good enough was good enough.
With the situation resolved, the kids returned to playing. Now that they were already in the room, Sodachi and Hitagi decided to stick around, to ensure that the kids were looked after. Thankfully, no further incidents happened. Fairly quickly, the mood lightened again.
Sodachi appreciated that kids were malleable like that. Some worrying behavior here and there wasn’t enough to totally ruin the mood. It was an innocent feeling that she got from that.
Certainly, remaining innocent was better than Sodachi’s own childhood. She cherished the feeling.
Several more hours passed without incident. Hitagi continued keeping a close eye on Shinobu, but nothing came of it. Before anyone realized it, it was time for the Oikura family to head home.
After several minutes of the children waving goodbye to each other, and with the bus soon approaching, Sodachi hurried the twins out of the house. They would be back again next week, but Sodachi was sympathetic to their sadness upon leaving. After all, a week was a significantly larger percentage of their own lives than it was hers. She couldn’t remember being that young, but she could imagine how that felt.
They would be back in a week. Surely, that would be its own adventure.