Haruno sighed over her friend's inability to seize the chance, while Yukinoshita Yukino was even more speechless about how things had developed.
Watching with wide eyes as Hachiman became Sakura's "Father," as if he were Touka-neesan's younger brother, it was really a bit absurd. Her relationship with the Tohsaka sisters was instantly surpassed by Hachiman.
But thinking on the bright side, the current situation wasn't bad either. At least in her family, there was no little sister like Sakura who went around randomly recognizing a father.
After all, she absolutely could not accept having to call Hachiman "Father" herself.
———
"Father…"
"Father…"
After a brief interruption, Hachiman, along with Yukinoshita Haruno and the others, continued on into other areas of the aquarium to admire the sea creatures.
All kinds of rich and beautiful fish swam in the clear blue tanks. As they walked, everyone admired them through the glass. When they saw especially pretty fish or rare marine animals, they even stopped to take photos.
At first, Hachiman was rather unaccustomed to a girl Sakura's age, about the same as Komachi, calling him "Father." You don't just become a dad like this. He hadn't even met Tohsaka Aoi's face once, and yet her daughter was already calling him dad.
But maybe Sakura really had grown up too deprived of fatherly love, which had fostered her gloomy and sullen personality, making her somewhat withdrawn. The moment she called him "Father" and he didn't respond, she would look at him pitifully with tears about to fall, yet still cling tightly to his arm without letting go.
Fine, fine. Experiencing the feeling of being a dad in advance wasn't such a bad thing.
Hayase Saki and Sakurase Shino weren't planning on getting pregnant anytime soon, but Iris and the others couldn't wait. It was only because of the elves' physiological constitution that they couldn't conceive so quickly.
Predictably, if the Elf Spring continued to dry up and the Elf Mother Tree could no longer nurture newborn elves, the elf race would definitely request his aid again, not just Iris and the others, but other elf girls as well.
At that point, he wouldn't just have one or two daughters, it'd be far from that.
"..."
Watching Sakura holding Hachiman's hand, walking at his side and occasionally calling him "Father," Tohsaka Touka wanted to stop it, but the words caught in her throat.
But now that her little sister had already become Hikigaya-kun's daughter, she simply wouldn't listen to her.
If Touka even tried to get closer, Sakura would eye her warily, as though afraid her "Father" would be stolen away.
She could only comfort herself: it's fine. Sakura whispered to Hikigaya-kun without raising her voice, so only the few of them nearby could hear.
Even though Sakura still wasn't speaking much now, almost everything she said was "Father this, Father that," acting like a child who hadn't grown up, even more childish than before.
But compared to her former silent, sunless state, so gloomy it made others unable to approach, this was still an improvement.
That Sakura trusted Hikigaya-kun so much from their first meeting, and would even take the initiative to call him "Father," showed promise. If Touka brought Sakura over to Hikigaya-kun's house more often, letting Hikigaya-kun help open Sakura's heart, maybe Sakura could learn to speak normally again, slowly returning to the path of normal growth.
As for why she wasn't the least bit worried that Hikigaya-kun might harbor bad intentions toward her or Sakura...
Honestly, if even the powerful Poiman family, far stronger than the Tohsakas or Yukinoshitas, was so easily toppled by Hikigaya-kun, leaving the Rurikawa family overstuffed trying to devour that big piece of meat, then if Hikigaya-kun did have ill will toward them, she couldn't stop it anyway. Better to trust Haruno and Yukino's judgment.
"Touka-neesan, come take a picture."
"Ah? Oh!"
Hearing her "little brother-kun", Sakura's "Father", call her, Tohsaka Touka instinctively responded and hurried over. Together with her sister Tohsaka Rin, one on either side of Hachiman, they posed for the camera.
Click!
"Mm! Touka, this picture came out great~ Brother, sisters, little sister, everyone looks photogenic~"
When Yukinoshita Haruno brought over the digital camera, Touka and Rin leaned in to look at the four-person group photo, smiles slowly blooming on their faces.
She and little Rin were pressed close on either side of Hikigaya-kun. Hikigaya-kun held Sakura in his arms, holding both her hands, and the four of them together faced the camera with smiles.
In the photo, they looked exactly like a warm, harmonious family of four.
Though in truth, the reason Hachiman had held Sakura for the picture was because if he hadn't, Sakura would have pushed Touka-neesan aside, and even Rin too, refusing to let anyone near Hachiman.
But even so, Touka felt deeply content.
It was a smile that Sakura, and she herself, hadn't shown since their father passed away. Once Sakura fully recovered, they absolutely had to take another photo with their mother, as a family keepsake to commemorate Sakura's return to normal.
Mm… given Hikigaya-kun's status and position, he probably wouldn't call their mother "mother." Recognizing an elder wasn't as simple as recognizing a little sister; that would involve too many complications.
But asking Hikigaya-kun to take a family-of-five photo with them should still be possible.
———
"Shion, don't you feel like we've become outsiders now?"
Walking with Yukinoshita Yukino, Komachi and Shion watched the four in front, harmonious and happy, their voices full of dissatisfaction.
This is what she got for being taken out to play on the weekend?
'Hachiman, you big idiot, forgetting your sister the moment you have a daughter!'
"Maybe…", Shion's gaze dodged, her words vague.
Truthfully, she didn't really want to get involved in this situation.
Because Sakura calling her "brother" Father to join the Hikigaya family wasn't much different from her calling him "Onii-chan" to join the Hikigaya family herself.
She couldn't very well say, "I got to be Onii-chan's little sister first, so you can't be his daughter." But if she stood by Sakura's side and didn't help Komachi, that wasn't right either. So she felt her current position was quite awkward.
She'd just talk to Onii-chan tonight. Whenever she didn't know what to do, listening to Onii-chan was never wrong.
"Hmph! Fine then. Since it's rare for Sakura not to be gloomy, let's lend her Hachiman for now. Once we're home, I'll settle accounts properly with him."
Glancing at Shion, who for some reason looked guilty, Komachi pouted but didn't make things hard for the girl who'd herself been coaxed into the family to be Onii-chan's wife. Instead, she chose to vent her anger at her brother, who had forgotten his sister the moment he gained a daughter.
It wasn't that she was heartless, thinking her brother couldn't spare some care for Sakura. But now, Hachiman had only recognized Sakura as a daughter, while he called Sakura's sister Touka "neesan."
So what about Rin? Was she with Sakura, making her Hachiman's daughter too, or with Touka, making her his little sister?
Was Komachi supposed to treat Rin as her peer, or as her elder?
This was a serious problem. But Hachiman just kept playing with Touka and her sisters.
"Mm-hm, I'll help you when the time comes, Komachi."
Though Shion knew Komachi would be tongue-tied before Onii-chan and end up being scolded instead, as a good friend she could only nod firmly in agreement.
At the very least, she'd stand by Komachi's side and face Onii-chan's punishment together.
Of course, she didn't mind taking Komachi's share of punishment too. After all, they were close. Komachi had shared such a wonderful Onii-chan with her, so it was only right for her to share Komachi's troubles as well.
———
"We've walked enough. If we still want to hit the amusement park this afternoon, we should eat something now."
Yukinoshita Yukino ignored Komachi and Shion's conversation beside her, staring at Hachiman, encircled by her sister and the Tohsaka sisters, and reminded them expressionlessly.
At least Komachi had Shion to talk to. Even her own sister had gone off to take photos with them.
Having someone familiar taken away by Hachiman like this felt awful. But she couldn't say anything either.
It was true that Hachiman had a knack for drawing out withdrawn, socially anxious patients. If he hadn't just agreed to help earlier, Yukino might have privately gone to beg him again herself. So no matter how unpleasant it felt, she had to swallow it down.
"Mm. Sakura, shall we go eat something tasty?"
Hachiman nodded, then turned to the girl clinging tightly at his side without letting go, asking her opinion.
Now that Sakura was mistaking him for Tokiomi due to the influence of attachment affinity, he figured he ought to exercise initiative, using his other absolute-taming ability to make her into an obedient, well-behaved, docile and reliable kouhai.
"Mm~ Father, let's go eat something tasty~"
Sakura nodded obediently, clutching his hand, hopping along toward the café.
Komachi and Yukinoshita Yukino both looked speechlessly at the pair who appeared to be siblings in outsiders' eyes, but were in reality acting as father and daughter.
Only Yukinoshita Haruno, intent on matchmaking Touka and Hachiman, thought this was going quite well.
With this Sakura connection, even if she couldn't succeed in pairing Touka with Hikigaya-kun, the forced marriage arrangement with the Takamine family might no longer need to be fulfilled.
When they got back, she'd give Touka a bit of psychological counseling, so she wouldn't foolishly go along with that marriage contract.
If Touka truly wanted to help their mother, take care of her sisters, and protect the Tohsaka family their father had left behind, then why not let little Rin call Hikigaya-kun "Father" a few times along with Sakura?
———
[In the Café]
"Sakura, sit here…", Touka wanted Sakura to sit by her side so she could take care of her more easily, but when she looked up she saw Sakura already perched on Hachiman's lap, arms around his neck, whispering in his ear.
"Sakura, you're not a child anymore, are you? How can you sit in daddy's lap even while eating?", Even Rin couldn't hold back at that sight.
Holding hands was one thing. But how could Sakura so shamelessly sit on a guy's lap in public? Even couples didn't go that far.
Ever since their father's death, Sakura had gradually lost her smile, becoming gloomy, shunned by classmates. But her intelligence hadn't stayed stuck at childhood level.
"Bleh bleh~ I want to sit, I want to sit~ I'll drive you crazy, I'll drive you crazy~"
Seeing Rin unable to snatch away "dad," Sakura leaned happily on Hachiman's shoulder, making faces at Rin.
"Sakura, no being naughty. Let's order something. Sakura, what do you want to eat?", Speechless, Hachiman pressed down on her head, making her sit properly in his lap to look at the menu.
Her behavior really was a bit childish. He even began to suspect something was wrong.
Even if the person Sakura felt safest with was her father, she shouldn't have regressed this much, becoming a little girl who only listened to daddy.
"Ah~ Father, I want taiyaki and dorayaki~"
Hearing food, Sakura instantly set aside her "grudge" with Rin, sitting in Hachiman's lap while holding the menu.
"Two portions, that much? Not going to order milk tea?"
"No problem, I can finish it all!"
"Alright, we'll order two. If you can't finish, I'll eat the rest so it won't go to waste."
"Father's the best~ mwah~"
"...", Rin couldn't help but cover her face at the sight of Sakura abandoning her teasing, turning instead to act all affectionate with "Father."
Sakura regaining her innocent, cheerful maiden face was a good thing. At least Rin no longer had to worry about her being bullied every day.
But had Sakura always been this mischievous?
Maybe she had. But that was long ago.
Back then, Sakura had been mischievous every day at home, just like Rin. Sometimes even framing Rin for her mischief so Rin had to take the blame.
Thankfully, Father had sharp eyes and wasn't deceived by Sakura. Their mother, too, had been a gentle, tolerant wife and mother. Even if Sakura tricked her, she wouldn't scold Rin, just softly told her to be more careful not to hurt herself.
But now… could it be Sakura was reverting back to her little devil self?
Rin didn't want her sister to stay gloomy forever, unable to make friends. But she also didn't want her to turn into a mischievous little devil.
'Wait. Hold on. Her past self…'
Could Sakura just be pretending to be obedient now?
If her intelligence hadn't regressed to childhood, and she was simply treating Hachiman-oniisan as her father, then...
Rin stared at Sakura cuddled up in Hachiman's arms, growing more suspicious the longer she looked.
Maybe it had just been too long since Sakura acted cute. That clever childhood trick, put into play now that they were grown, seemed a bit too forced.
But… she didn't know how to expose Sakura. Now, with Onii-san, neesan, and everyone else doting on Sakura, even if they knew she was pretending, they'd pretend not to notice anyway.
Touka, beside them, wasn't thinking that deeply. Seeing Sakura growing cheerful again, even bickering with Rin over "dad", filled her with both relief and helplessness.
Sakura wasn't short. Sitting on Hikigaya-kun's lap didn't look like siblings at all, but more like a couple.
Luckily, Sakura's development wasn't as fast as Shion's, just a bit ahead of Komachi, so Touka could hold back from saying anything even while watching them get so intimate.
Though, seeing her little sister blithely share a spoon with Hikigaya-kun, feeding him and then eating from the same utensil he'd just used, left Touka's face flushed red.
Had she and Sakura ever done anything so intimate with Father when they were little? It didn't seem so.
So it must be that Sakura, too deprived of fatherly love, was projecting her need for security onto Hikigaya-kun, not because he actually resembled their father.
Realizing this, Touka, her cheeks burning, actually felt relieved.
Because their mother, a gentle, classical beauty, wasn't good at running the family business. Now, burdened with maintaining it alone, she was under great pressure, sometimes even becoming absent-minded. That was why Touka had wanted to quickly fulfill her engagement and shoulder the responsibility herself.
If their mother, in a daze, were to mistake Hikigaya-kun for Father, that would truly be terrible.
Their mother was a very traditional woman, placing great importance on fidelity. Over the years she had sternly rejected many suitors.
But if she mistook Hikigaya-kun for Father, Touka didn't even know how she could stop it.
Fortunately, it wasn't because Hikigaya-kun resembled their father that Sakura mistook him for Father. Next time, she could invite Hikigaya-kun to their dojo, to help stir Sakura's memories and bring her back to normal.
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