I don't own Kagepro.
She was at beach. Mama was reading a book, and Shintaro Nii-chan was building a sandcastle, and quite an impressive one, she noted. She was in the water, attempting to learn how to swim by herself. Maybe then, Mama and Daddy would see that she was smart as Shintaro Nii-chan too. Once she was able to float in the water and kick her legs once without sinking, she started going out deeper into the sea. She laughed, loving the feeling of floating in the water. She looked back, and called out,
"Daddy! Look at me!"
Daddy looked up after finishing a water bottle. Suddenly, instead of the proud eyes she thought he would have, they widened.
"Momo! Come back here!" He cried out, fear in his eyes. She tilted her head the best she could. Why...?
When she looked forward again, she realized what he meant and screamed. A large wave. It was about to gulp her up. She could feel terror all over her body. The wave looked like a giant monster. She felt her voice going hoarse. Just then, she felt two arms wrapped around her waist. Daddy. Why was he out here? Before she could asked Daddy, the wave turned to a scary snake and swallow her up with Daddy. The last thing she saw was the fear and tears in Mama's eyes, and the unusual panic and emotions on Shintaro Nii-chan's face. Then, she fell into the red sea and her eyes drifted close, though her mouth continued to cry out,
"Daddy! Daddy!"
"... Don't worry, everything's alright now..." Momo had a hard time opening her eyes, but her ears heard the words softly murmured.
Daddy?
Momo tried turning her body around in her bed to see him, but the darkness of the room stopped her. She could only faintly see a figure pulling her blankets over her and gently, slowly combing out the tangles in her hair with their hand. For a moment, when she squinted, she thought she saw Daddy giving her his familiar calming smile, but that couldn't be right. Confused, Momo muttered out,
"Who...?"
"Sh... Go back to sleep now," His voice gave her one last pat on the head before leaving something on her desk. Then she heard him whisper quietly,
"You know what to do, Ene."
Ah. So that was the culprit.
A soothing, familiar melody started playing. Before the door closed and she drifted back into a more peaceful, happier dream with the Dan, she whispered back,
"Thank you, Onii-chan."
"... Yeah."
The next day, Momo skipped into the Dan's living room, back from school, where she found Shintaro on the couch and arguing with Ene. Shintaro looked up from his phone to see who it was and said in his dull tone as usual,
"Oh, Momo. Welcome back."
"Eh... What's up with your dull reaction?" She pouted for a moment before pulling out a paper. "Look! I got an 80% on that science test that you and Ene helped me study for!"
Shintaro gave a slight grin. "That's great," he commented, but then grumbled out, "Though Ene barely did a thing." The cyber girl smirked at him as she cheered,
"I knew you could do it, little sister! Now let's go out and celebrate by emptying out Master's wallet!"
"O-oi, Ene!"
Momo laughed at their bickering, then took out a plate of cookies. "Here, Onii-chan. A thank you gift for your help!"
Shintaro cringed. "D-did you make it, Momo?"
She grinned proudly. "Yep! Kido taught me how to make it, and I added one little ingredient that... Daddy... always used..."
Shintaro paused for a moment. Then, he grabbed one, to Momo and Ene's surprise. As he ate it, Momo saw his eyes widened for a millisecond before he gave a small, sad smile.
"Tastes just like Dad's..." he muttered, then said out loud,
"Not bad." Momo flinched as he ruffled her hair a bit.
"Eh?! Really?!" Ene exclaimed, in disbelief. Shintaro nodded as a sunny smile spread onto Momo's face.
"Thank you, Onii-chan!" She cheered. He grinned, but then it started to falter once she added,
"Now to celebrate my awesome grade and baking debut, let's go out and empty out Onii-chan's wallet!"
"Yeah!"
"Oi! Momo! Ene! Stop!"
And as Shintaro chased her around, she couldn't help but think,
Thank you, Onii-chan.
... Momo and Shintaro have a wonderful family, don't you think? Well, anyways, thanks for reading!