Woo, more family stories! Enjoy and review.
Kaito was late, and he knew it.
"C'mon, can't you go any faster?' The blue haired man complained to himself, as he drove down the streets. His car was moderately fast, but it wasn't too his liking at the moment. He could actually go faster if he wanted, but then he would risk getting pulled over for speeding, making him even more late. He didn't have time to waste.
Finally, the man arrived at his destination, parking the car and slamming the door behind him, as he basically ran into the school. It was like a ghost town. Nobody was there, and the setting sun shone down onto the marble floors. Kaito looked around, the walls were covered in childrens art work and projects, shelves displaying trophies and awards, and when he turned the corner, there was a wall with all the up to present staff members.
The man tried to fight the smile that came to his lips—this had been the elementary school he had attended so many years ago. And now, this belonged to his young daughter, Yuki.
Perking up, he noticed a lone figure with her head down sitting on a bench. She was equipped with her backpack, and was completely silent. Kaito immediately recognized this as Yuki, and felt a pang of guilt shooting down his spine, feeling bad that he had to make her wait so long. He knew she wasn't very patient—surely, he was never going to hear the end of it from her, or her teacher, or her mother.
This hadn't been the first time this had happend, and her teacher was never impressed with him. How could he not blame her though? It seemed like all he ever did was disappoint the young girl, but he really was trying to be the best dad he could.
"Yuki, hey," Kaito greeted, as he croached down to her level, gripping her tiny hands.
She looked up, and Kaito was sure he would get heck, but instead, she smiled. "Daddy! You're here!" She jumped out of her seat, hugging him tightly.
Kaito hugged her back. "I'm so sorry I'm late, I really didn't mean to, I-"
"Mr. Shion, may I have a word with you?"
Kaito paused, upon hearing a powerful voice. Kaito looked up, to see Yuki's teacher, with a cross look on her face, as she tapped her foot against the floor with crossed arms. He could feel the sweat pouring already. He turned back to Yuki, who's smile had vanished and was replaced with a confused look. "Stay here, daddy won't be long, okay?" She nodded, and he stood up, following the teacher into the classroom, the door shutting behind him.
She sighed deeply, as she leaned against the wall, her arms still crossed. "How was she today?" Kaito asked, before she could interject. He knew what was coming.
Ignoring his question, she came up with her own. "Mr. Shion, this is the 3rd time this week you've come late to pick her up."
"I know." Kaito said quickly. She had questioned him before, and this had always been the outcome. He knew he was late, he didn't need to hear it over and over again.
"I suggest you come earlier to pick her up, or else we will have problems. Do you understand?" She asked sternly.
Kaito nodded. "Yes." There was no use argueing with her. He was here to pick up his daughter anyways, not get scolded.
"...She was fine today." The teacher then said after a long moment of silence, with another sigh, and then averted her eyes. "I Really think you should spend more time with her, though. She seemed upset, and was talking about you earlier." Kaito paused, his mouth dropping. She had? Kaito felt even more guilty now. He realised that he hadn't spent alot of time with her recently, but he had been quite busy.
He knew he was at fault, too. Their family situation wasn't really that simple right now—Kaito had been layed off a while ago. His wife was always working—she had taken on extra hours to make up for the loss of Kaito's job. Right now, he was just looking everywhere for a new job. He had been handing out resumes, and going for job interviews here and there, and had him stressed out quite a bit. So much so, that he didn't make enough time to be around Yuki.
"...I understand." Kaito said. He never thought Yuki would talk about him. She seemed to shut herself out from Kaito at times, and besides, she was always rather quiet—he never thought about what she could be feeling. The man turned his back, he knew what he must do now. He was going to make it up to her, somehow. The teacher still seemed to be talking, but he ignored, as he exited, returning to Yuki's aid.
"Hey, Yuki," He greeted again, as she jumped off the bench, their hands linking.
She was quiet again.
He looked down, to see the frown on her face. He frowned as well, as they walked in silence, back to his car.
Once they were all settled in, Kaito began to drive off. He kept his eye on her, sitting in silence in the backseat, looking out the window.
"Do you wanna go out for icecream?" Kaito blurted out just then.
That seemed to have caught her attention. She perked up, looking at him through the mirror. "...Really?" She wondered.
A smile grew on Kaito's face. "Yeah!"
She smiled too, as she lowered her head slightly. Then she nodded. "Okay." She agreed.
Kaito continued to grin, glad that he had won his daughter over on this one. It was time for some daddy-daughter bonding time, and he was going to make up for it!
"What would you like?" Kaito asked, pulling out his wallet, as they looked over the menus in the fancy cafe. He watched as Yuki read it over, the menu completely covering her face—it was much larger than her. She then slammed it down, a big grin on her face and light in her eyes, as she spoke, "I want a large sundae with lots of chocolate sauce and smarties!"
Kaito smiled, and then looked over the menu again, to check the price. His jaw dropped, though. Ten bucks?! "S-sure... okay, Yuki..." he agreed anyways.
The girl seemed joyfull, as she happily ate her icecream, kicking her legs back and forth under the table, occasionally hitting Kaito's legs. He ignored it, however, just glad to see her happy. He, himself had just ordered a coffee to occupy himself.
"How was school today?" Kaito asked, and noticed the leg kicking had stopped. Yuki was still smiling as she ate, but the light seemed to drain a little from her eyes. 'It was okay." She said blankly.
That worried Kaito. "Just okay?" He pushed further.
Yuki nodded. "Mhmm!"
It went silent again, as Yuki continued to eat her icecream. Kaito looked down at his coffee, the steam steaming past him. He couldn't take this anymore though, he hated this. He sighed, before talking again. 'Yuki..."
"I said i'm fine!" She snapped, staring intensly at him, before looking back down at her frozen treat.
Kaito was shocked that she had actually yelled at him. But he supposed he couldn't really blame her. "Yuki, look. I'm really sorry that I haven't had time to be with you, because I've been busy."
Yuki was silent.
Kaito continued on, "And I do want to spend time with you, god, yes I do, but I really am busy. I've been trying to get a job, and with that... I'm really sorry. I'll try and spend more time with you, okay? Even if i'm really tired and busy."
Yuki looked back up, opening her mouth. But then she closed it, looking back down. She spoke silently, "Do you mean it..?"
Kaito nodded, reaching out to touch her hand. She swiftly pulled back. Kaito kept a smile however. "Of course I do."
Yuki looked back up. "And we can go out and get icecream?"
Kaito nodded with a silly smile. "Of course."
"Even if it costs ten dollars?" Yuki wondered, trying to fight the smile coming back to her lips.
Kaito's eyes narrowed, but he kept smiling. "Well, we'll have to see about that."
Yuki giggled. Kaito smiled, as he spoke, "I really am sorry. I'm trying my best to be the best dad for you, but it isn't always easy. I'm sure you'll understand someday, when you're a mommy, and you have kids of your own."
Yuki's crinckled her nose. "Nu-uh! I'm not gunna be a mommy."
Kaito laughed. "You understand though, right?"
The light seemed to have returned to her eyes, as she nodded. "Yes, daddy." She said.
Kaito smiled back, glad to see that she was happy again. "That's good. Remember, I'll always love you, no matter how busy I am."