After reading the "Downer" anthology and seeing the "My Feelings" comic, I just needed to write this. Overprotective dad Kenjirou is what gives me life. Give me overprotective Kenji. /flops onto floor this has probably been done a hundred times but

I wrote this quickly so I'm sorry it's so short! \o/

Kagerou Project belongs to Jin.

Kenjirou sat in his usual seat at the dining table, sipping a cup of coffee as he waited for his daughter to come home from school. He had managed to gather up the three younger kids earlier for a nap, which he was actually very proud of. Now the house rung in silence as he continued to drink, relaxing himself for the first time in months.

A few minutes later, the door knob rattled, and the teacher could hear the door open as the bottom part of it dragged on the floor. He stood up, striding towards the entrance of their house to greet his daughter.

"I'm home!" Ayano announced, closing the door behind her. She was rather confused by the silence, and she could tell that her friend was, too. She had warned Shintaro beforehand that it was usually noisy, and his face wrinkled in uncertainty as he remembered her word of warning.

"Ah, great! How was – "

"D – dad? Are you alright?!"

Kenjirou stood frozen, his coffee mug shaking in his hand as his eyes landed on the boy. Shintaro could only look at the glare that reflected on the teacher's glasses, which made him turn to Ayano. He gave her look, and she could only shrug, looking back at her own dad for an answer.

"Ayano…when did you…?"

"When did I what?" She wasn't sure what he was signaling to, and she tried to think of answers. Shintaro, on the other hand, knew exactly what he was talking about, and he quickly raised his hands in defense.

"U – um, sir, it's not what you think…!"

"Oh!" Ayano turned a bright red, hiding her face in her scarf as she was finally able to come to the point of her father's bewilderment. "Dad, we're not – "

"You two…go to the dining table right now!" Kenjirou pointed at the wooden table, and the two could only shuffle into the dining room as the teacher watched. An air of embarrassment loomed over them, and they both tried to think of ways to stray out of the situation. Still, the teacher kept a watchful eye, and they sat down hastily on the wooden seats, wishing the interrogation was already over. Kenjirou took his normal seat, and he sipped some of his coffee before questioning the pair.

"When did this happen?" He asked, glaring at his daughter. How dare she keep secrets from him! "Ayano, I'm disappointed! I don't want you to hide any relationships from me!"

"But – "

"No 'buts'!" Kenjirou slammed a fist on the table, his fatherly instincts kicking in. Then he sighed, telling himself that he needed to calm down. As suspicious as he was of the boy, he didn't want to scare him. "Ayano, I want you to be honest with me. Really, if you would have told me earlier, I wouldn't have flipped out like this."

"There's a – "

"Enough of the excuses," he said, waving his hand to quiet her. He then stared angrily at the boy, who's blush was not as red as his companion's. "Now, could it be that you are Shintaro Kisaragi?"

"Y – yes, sir. Um...how do you know me?" Shintaro stole a second to glance at Ayano, who could only turn a deeper red.

"Ah, my daughter talks about you a lot." Kenjirou folded his hands, his eyes slanting as he continued to interview the boy. "She says you're quite smart. Is that true?"

He nodded, embarrassed about the situation. He secretly wished that he hadn't agreed to come with Ayano to her house.

"Interesting." The teacher sipped his coffee again, detesting the bitter taste it had. He wanted to finish it though, since it would have been a waste to throw it all out. "I'll have you know, Shintaro, that if you ever make Ayano sad, I will hunt you down and interrogate you about it. Do you understand?"

"Sir, I – "

"In addition, I don't want you to make moves on her just yet." With that statement, the two teenagers grew even more humiliated. However, none of them were brave enough to interrupt the teacher and explain the real situation. "You two are still in middle school. I don't know about high school, but if it even lasts that long, then…hmm…"

"Dad, please stop." Ayano had managed to squeak, unable to even look at the boy next to her in fear of humiliating herself.

"And Shintaro…" A serious tone washed over Kenjirou's face, making the boy pay attention to him. "Keep her happy, please. A relationship flourishes when both of the people in it are happy. I've always strived to keep her smiling, and so I hope you do, too."

"Sir." Shintaro cleared his throat, fiddling with the tie on his uniform. "There's been a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?"

"Yes," Ayano piped up as the warmth on her face faded slowly. "We're not dating."

"Not…dating…?" Kenjirou's eyes widened as the two teenagers sighed with relief. "Then why are you…?"

"I agreed to tutor Ayano for an upcoming test," Shintaro replied blantly. "And since you mentioned earlier that I'm quite smart, I stood up to the challenge. She needs all the help she can get, anyway."

"I believe Shintaro will be able to help me ace the test!" The girl declared more confidently now. "I was the one that invited him over to study. We're not…it's not like that…"

"I…I see." The teacher ran a hand through his hair, still processing the information given to him. "Well, I really should have tried to listen to you guys, eh? You guys can study here. I'll go up into my room…"

The boy and girl took out their school supplies quickly, happy that he situation was resolved. As the teacher got up and walked by the boy, he put a hand on his shoulders, leaned down, and whispered a statement into the boy's ear.

"Seriously though, I will hunt you down if you upset her, relationship or not."

The boy stiffened in fear, and Kenjirou walked out of the room with a brisk pace.