Part 1 - Hiyori Kirishima
Hiyori's POV
-3 Years Ago-
"And now…" I tap my chin, reading the instructions. "We need 2 eggs!"
"Got it." A large hand ruffles my hair, and Yokozawa-nii (A/N -nii means big brother, so she is referring to Yokozawa as "big brother Yokozawa) walks towards the fridge, and pulls out the carton of eggs. "Anything else we need?"
"Milk and vanilla, please!" I smile towards him, putting the recipe down and climbing onto the counter to reach the cabinet.
I grab the flour, sugar, and baking soda, then climb down and drop them onto the counter. I turn towards Yokozawa-nii, and see him still standing in front of the fridge, staring into space.
"Yokozawa-nii!" I march up to him and wave my hand in front of his face, and he blinks his dark eyes and finally looks at me. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay, Hiyori." He pats my head, taking out the vanilla and milk, and setting them on the table.
"WE NEED CHOCOLATE!" I announce loudly into his ear, then he winces, and smiles towards me.
"Okay, okay. Don't tell your dad, I hid all the chocolate in the back of the cabinet." He places a large bowl on the table, then watches me run back towards the cabinet. "Hiyori, what are we making anyways?"
"American styles cookies!" I grab the chocolate chips, and put them on the table as well. "They have chocolate chunks and they are really gooey and crispy at the same time! It's amazing, Yokozawa-nii!"
"Alright, alright. Don't forget to wash your hands."
"Hai~!" I cheer, heading towards the sink along side him. "Yokozawa-nii."
"Hm?" He turns the tap on, and we wash our hands together.
"When will dad be back?" I cock my head to the side, watching the water run down his large hands and onto my smaller ones.
(A/N In the manga, Hiyori literally refers to her dad as 'father', but it seemed unnatural and unmeaningful, almost like Hiyo didn't like her father, so I changed it to 'dad' :D)
His face scrunches up a little, and his eyebrow wrinkles deepen. "He should be back in time to try our cookies, okay?"
I peer up at him. "You seem worried. Is something happening when dad gets home?"
His eyes dart to the left, then he looks down at me. "...Uh, yes."
We are startled by the beep of the oven, and I rush over to the mixing bowl. "Hurry up, Yokozawa-nii! The oven's ready but we're not!"
"Hai, hai." He slips on my embarrassing red apron, and heads over towards me, helping me mix the ingredients together.
"Hiyori?" I hear the door open, and I jump up, grabbing the plate of cookies from Yokozawa and rushing towards the front door.
"Dad! Me and Yokozawa-nii made cookies!" I present him with the cookies.
"That's great, Hiyori! Wow, they look so cute and delicious!" He crouches down to my height, patting my head. "Where's Yokozawa?"
"He fell asleep on the couch a little bit before you got here. I'll go wake him up, and then you can tell me whatever it is!" I skip into our home, and Dad follows.
"What do you mean, tell you whatever?" Dad asks, placing his bag down next to the couch.
"Well Yokozawa-nii was acting weird, and then I asked him if something was happening when you got home and he said yes. So I kind of figured you guys were going to tell me something." I smile up at him, and walk over to the sleeping Yokozawa on the couch after placing the plate of cookies onto the coffee table.
I reach over to wake him up, but Dad holds me back for a little bit, and pulls out his phone. He snaps a picture of Yokozawa sleeping on the couch wearing my frilly red polka dot apron, then releases my arm.
I glare at my father. "I don't think Yokozawa-nii likes it when you takes pictures of him in his sleep."
Dad brushes past me, and smirks in my direction as he crouches down next to Yokozawa. "Oh don't worry, he loves it."
Dad shakes Yokozawa-nii's shoulder, and he groans, rolling onto his other side facing away from us.
I jump onto the couch and scream into his ear. "SORATA ATE YOUR WORK BAG!"
Yokozawa's eyes open wide, and he quickly sits up, swinging his head back and forth as he looks for the accused feline.
"Yokozawa-nii! Dad is home!" I shout at him, jumping onto the couch next to him and hugging his side.
"Hiyo, I'm hurt. You give Yokozawa a hug but not me?" My father fakes sadness, placing a hand over his heart.
I simply stick my tongue out at my father, then press my face to Yokozawa's arm.
Yokozawa rubs his eye and yawns, and Dad leans really close when Yokozawa-nii closes his eyes.
"Good morning, Yokozawa." Dad whispers, and Yokozawa jumps in surprise, leaning away.
"Stop doing that, Kirishima!" Yokozawa-nii yells at him.
"I was just messing with you." Dad waves his hands at the angry man, sitting down next to him. "I wanted to get a little humor in before…"
Dad doesn't finish his sentence, but just looks at Yokozawa-nii. Yokozawa-nii just looks at the ground.
I finally break the awkward silence, and jump across Yokozawa-nii's lap. "C'mon, just tell me! I don't understand what the big deal is! Now I'm really curious!"
Yokozawa-nii looks at me, like he wants to say something, then he turns his face away again. Dad puts his hand on his shoulder, almost comforting him.
This must be serious.
I reach over and grab a cookie from the plate on the coffee table, and hold it out to Yokozawa-nii.
"Here."
Yokozawa, confused, holds out his hand. I place the cookie in his hand, and he smiles. He rubs my head with his other hand, messing up my hair.
"Thank you, Hiyori."
"Now, eat the cookie and tell me!" I demand, plopping back down next to Yokozawa-nii.
"Hiyo," My father starts, leaning forward to meet my eyes. "What we're about to tell you is really hard for Yokozawa. If we had it my way, we would have told you three years ago, but he was scared to—"
"Kirishima!" Yokozawa-nii finally swallows the chunk of cookie had had been chewing, hitting my dad's arm. "You seriously are making this sound like it's all my fault?"
"But it is." Dad laughs, grabbing Yokozawa's arm, keeping him from hitting him any longer.
I just sit and watch them. Have they forgotten that I'm still in the room?
Dad pulls on Yokozawa's arm, pulling him to his chest. By now, Yokozawa is a blushing mess, and I'm a little uncomfortable.
I remember a group of girls that sits a few rows in front of me talking about something like this. BL? I forgot, but this seems just like that. So… what does this mean?
"Umm...Dad?" I mumble, and Dad finally stops, but doesn't let go of Yokozawa-nii's arm.
"Hiyo…" Yokozawa is finally the one that speaks up, releasing himself from Dad's hands. "I'm going to say this as easy as possible. I'm telling you this because I don't want you to hate me. Are you ready?"
"Of course! I've been ready since two hours ago!" I exclaim, tugging on his sleeve. "Please tell me!"
"Hiyo…" My dad trails off, then Yokozawa-nii finishes for him.
"Hiyori, I love Kirishima-san."
-Present Day ~ Three Years Later-
"Yoko-nii!" I call out, slinging my bag over my shoulder. "I'm headed off to school!"
"Ah, let me walk you!" Yoko-nii walks out of the kitchen, rolling down his sleeves.
"You don't need to, I'm fine on my own!" I protest, walking towards the door.
"I don't have to be to work until noon! I'm walking you to school!" Yoko-nii flicks me in the forehead, slipping his shoes on next to me.
"You're a persistent man." I complain, opening the door.
"That's what I get paid for, it's my job." He grunts, following me out the door.
It's been over three years since Yokozawa moved in with me and Dad, and since they told me they were lovers. Yoko-nii has been my motherly figure for six years, despite him being a man. Somewhere along the way I stopped calling him Yokozawa-nii started calling him Yoko-nii, and Dad encouraged me to keep calling him that, much to Yoko-nii's dismay, but he came along eventually.
Dad has been a little depressed and tired out ever since I was small, after mom died. I never met her, but I know he loved her, and I probably did too. Now that he has Yoko-nii, he's a little more energetic and playful. It's nice to see Dad happy again.
It's true, I was a little surprised when they told me they were lovers, but the fact that they worked so hard came this far just to tell me the truth and for me to accept them, that made me see things through a whole different light. And I love Dad and Yoko-nii, and nothing makes me happier than see them be happy together.
"Hiyo?."
I blink, and look up to the ever so tall man beside me, bringing me back to reality.
"The light's green." Yoko-nii points ahead of us, taking my hand and pulling me across the street.
"Sorry, I was thinking about something." I apologize, jogging a little to keep up with his large strides.
"It's hard to believe that you're already in high school." Yoko-nii murmurs out loud, looking at the white building we are approaching.
"Yoko-nii, I'm sixteen already, of course I'm going to be in high school." It's finally my turn to flick his forehead. He glares down at me, and I smile sweetly. Yoko-nii huffs, and turns away from me.
"It just shocks me that I've been here with you and Zen so long, that's all. When I first met you, you were so young and sweet, and now…"
"And now, Mr. Yoko-nii? Did the young and sweetness change, Mr. Yoko-nii?" I playfully glare at him, and cross my arms.
Yoko-nii scratches the back of his neck, and looks up towards the sky with an awkward smile. "Well, you're not ten anymore; you're sixteen now. You are growing up into a fine young woman, and soon you're going to be taking an interest in relationships and-"
"Yoko-nii." I cut him off, tugging on the cuff of his suit and giving him my best smile. "You don't have to force yourself. Having you and Dad are enough for me, I don't need boys."
He looks down at me, with a mixture of disappointment, sadness, and worry crossing his dark eyes at the same time. He finally lets out a sigh, and looks up ahead.
"Well, here we are." Yoko-nii shoves his hands into the pockets of his dress pants, and comes to a halt at the school entrance. I pause next to him, and survey the students lingering around there. There is a girl with short bobbed brown hair that is talking to her group of friends, who looks up and makes eye contact with me. She immediately rips her gaze away, and leads her friends inside the school. The other students realize my presence, and head in towards the school after them, looking back at giving me disgusted facial expressions.
I can feel the burn of eyes on the side of my head, but I ignore them and keep looking towards the area that the brunette girl once occupied.
"Should I… not walk you to school anymore? I bet it's weird being walked to school when you're already sixteen." Yokozawa pats my shoulders from behind, what I assume to be him trying to get my attention away from what just occurred.
"No." I place my right hand over his on my shoulder on the right side, and lean my head over both of our hands. "I know it's too much to ask, but can you walk me everyday? I would ask dad, but I already know it's a big fat no since he's so busy."
The big scary bear let's out a sigh, and his large arms wrap around my comparatively smaller frame. "Of course I will. My job just happens to leave enough space for it, so you're in luck. I always make time for you, Hiyo."
I close my eyes, and can't help but let a smile slip onto my lips as I pull his body down to my height and smack my lips onto his cheek. I finally release him, and my hand find their "Thank you, Yoko-nii."