Disclaimer: I do not own Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji
"Papa!" Yuina cheered when she saw her father standing in front of the school entrance. Usually her mother was the one who picked her up from school so she was pleasantly surprised to see her father waiting for her. She leaped into his arms and Kyouya caught her easily. Excitedly, she told him about her day before asking. "Did your work end early?"
"I finished early so I could pick you up. Do you know what special day it is in a couple weeks?" Kyouya asked her and she shook her head. "It's almost Christmas so we need to go out and buy a present for your Mama. But first, you need to fix your scarf or else you'll catch a cold. You're as forgetful as your mother sometimes."
The comparison would sound like an insult to anyone else but Kyouya thought any comparison to Erika was a compliment. She had the rare ability to make even her faults endearing and watching his daughter struggle with her scarf reminded him of her.
With gentle hands, he took the ends of the scarf and tied it for her. Even though he tried to be firm with her and let her fend for herself, he found himself coddling her most of the time.
"Thank you, Papa! Let's go buy a special present for Mama now." Yuina grinned up at him. She took his hand and led him towards the shopping district of their city. It was only a short walk but she filled it with laughter as she told him about her day. Even though her day would seem mundane to anyone else, her smile made it seem like it was the event of the year.
"We're gonna' have a play and I get to be the tree! You and Mama will come and watch me, right?"
"Of course. I'm sure you'll be a wonderful tree." Kyouya patted her head and she couldn't help but smile at the encouragement.
No matter how busy her parents got, they always made time for her. Seeing her innocent smile, Kyouya was reminded of the reason he and Erika made the decision they did long before she was born. He never had a normal family but he wanted to make one with the woman he loved. Thankfully, Erika's job as a glassmaker gave her the freedom to spend time with their daughter.
"Look at that, Papa!" Yuina quickly let go of his hand and ran towards one of the shop windows the moment they entered the shopping district. She stared in awe at the tree displayed in the window. "When are we gonna put up a tree in our house? I wanna put the star on the top!"
"Mama's almost done making this year's ornament so we'll be able to put up the tree soon. Just be patient." Kyouya told her and she pouted.
Erika had insisted she make a new ornament every year to celebrate the occasion and it had become a tradition for them. It was only one of the many family tradition she created since Yuina was born. Even though they seem pointless to him at times, those tradition made Erika and Yuina smile so he went along with their whims.
He took her hand and redirected her into the gift shop to find something for Erika. Almost immediately, she ran to the tiny figurines on display. Some of Erika's creations were on display and Kyouya felt pride whenever he saw them. He wondered how much differently his life would be if he hadn't met her— if she hadn't changed his life.
"Your Mama already has a lot of these things so let's find something else for her. We need to find something special." Kyouya pulled Yuina away from the display. Though she pouted, she followed her father around the rest of the store to find the perfect present.
"Let's get her this!" Her eyes fell on a snow globe and she excitedly showed it to her father. Inside the snow globe was a happy family of dogs and Kyouya had to laugh to himself since she couldn't possibly know the meaning the animal had to them.
He bought the snow globe and let Yuina carry it when she insisted. As they walked back, she excitedly told him about how she planned to wrap the present and Kyouya smiled because he knew that it would most likely end in a mess. When they passed a small park, she tugged at his shirt and he already knew that she wanted to play in the park even before she asked.
"Fine. But only for half an hour," Kyouya told her and she ran into the park laughing. He followed her and sat on a nearby bench. Already she was collecting snow and making the base for a snowman. Though some of the children approached her to play, she shook her head went back to her snowman. While she had a bright personality, it would take a while for her to be comfortable with others since she was shy.
"Kyouya, is that you?" A cheery voice rang across the park and he looked up from his daughter to see Nozomi running towards him. He had a small boy and a dog in tow. The boy looked to be Yuina's age. "I just got back from my assignment and I was on my way to visit you. Are you going to hold this year's Christmas party or Takeru?"
"Erika offered to hold it this year. She's going all out for the decorations." Kyouya's tone would've held a tinge of annoyance in the past but now he smiled slightly. Seeing her happy made him endure the tedious holiday traditions. "It'll be good to let Yuina interact with more people."
"Aww, little Yuina grown so much! I'm sure her and Takashi would be great friends." Nozomi was a journalist so he would travel often but he always made time for his family and friends. He even met his wife on one of his travels. "Hi, Yuina, do you remember me? I'm your uncle Nozomi."
Instead of answering, Yuina scurried to hide behind her father's leg. She did peer up curiously at him but Kyouya knew that she was too shy to shake the hand Nozomi held out to her. Taking pity on Nozomi, who looked crushed to be forgotten by his honorary niece, Kyouya gently nudged her. "Nozomi knew you when you were a baby."
"Hello sir," Yuina nodded politely to him. She looked nervously around him until he eyes landed on something. Her eyes began to sparkle and grew into saucers. "Fluffy!"
Yuina ran from Kyouya's side and bounded towards Nozomi's son. Takashi was shock and couldn't react before she pushed him aside. All three were shocked but she seemed to be in her own little world as she hugged the large dog.
Takashi was the first to react by trying, and failing, to take back his pet. "Give him back!"
"But…" Yuina eyes began to swim with tears. Her parents never denied her anything. So, when he once again tried to pull the dog away from her, the tears in her eyes turned to fire. "I just wanted to pet her so there's no need to be a meanie! Anyways, Fluffy likes me better. See, she's licking me."
"He's my dog! And his name is Inu. Much cooler than Fluffy." Takeshi yelled but she merely stuck her tongue out at him.
"Are you sure it's a boy? I don't think I should trust the words of someone like you. Papa told me never to trust strangers." Yuina rebutted before returning to play with the dog. Kyouya didn't know if he should lecture her or apologize to Nozomi first. Luckily, Nozomi only laughed at their children's interaction. He then knelt in front of the two children.
"You're just like your father, Yuina." He ruffled her hair. "But that dog belongs to Takashi so give him back. He's like family to us."
"But she's a part of my family now," Yuina pouted.
"Our other dog just gave birth to a bunch of puppies so would you like one? We can give you one that's actually a girl." Nozomi offered and Kyouya had never seen her eyes sparkle as much as it did now.
She nodded excitedly and began to pepper him with questions about the puppies. The entire time, Takashi pouted since Yuina still refused to release his dog. With a gentle hand, Kyouya took the dog from her and returned it to Takashi who stuck out his tongue at her.
"Don't be rude, Kid." Kyouya gave Takashi a stern look. He knew that it wasn't right to chastise someone else's son but he wouldn't tolerate anyone bothering his princess. Luckily, Nozomi only laughed good naturedly. "Thanks for the offer, Nozomi, but we can't take one of your puppies."
"What? Why?" Yuina's jaw dropped.
"A puppy is a big responsibility and you're not ready." Kyouya told her but it was obvious that she wasn't happy with the answer. "Maybe when you're older."
"I promise I'll love it and take care of it. You're always telling me how I'm a good girl so I'll be able to take care of it!" Yuina begged. "Please, I—"
"I said no, Yuina!" Kyouya cut her off harshly and regretted it when her eyes began to tear up. He knelt in front of her and tried to reason with her. "I'll get you a puppy but not right now. I don't want to hear any talks about puppies until you're older. Do you understand, Yuina?"
"Yes, Papa." She said with a disappointed frown.
"Did you and Yuina have a fight?" Erika asked Kyouya once they were alone in the living room. She had put Yuina to bed and knew that something was wrong even if she didn't tell her directly. Erika knew both her husband and daughter's habits and knew that they could be terribly stubborn. So, Erika settled herself next to Kyouya. "She seemed upset about something."
"She'll get over it." Kyouya's brow drew together because he knew Erika would most likely insist on letting Yuina have a pet. He knew that it was pointless to hope that she would let the issue be when he saw her frown. "She saw Nozomi's dog and now she has it in her head that having one would be fun. I told her no because it'll be too big a responsibility for her."
"I agree that it would be a big responsibility for a six year old." Erika nodded and Kyouya felt relieved for a moment before Erika went on. "But is that the reason you don't want her to have a dog?"
"Stop trying to psychoanalyze me," Kyouya pulled her onto his lap to distract her. Erika knew that he was only trying to avoid the issue and leaned against his chest. They both already knew the true reason Kyouya didn't want Yuina to have a dog but she wanted him to talk about it. She looked up at him when he sighed. "What if it dies on her?"
"I don't know." Erika answered honestly. When Kyouya was younger, he had a puppy and was devastated when it died. His family was already falling apart then and he couldn't go to them for comfort. He didn't even know if it would've made him feel better if he did go to them. "Thinking about how she'll have to part with it and the pain… it's better not to have one in the first place."
"Kyouya, I love you but you can be a real idiot sometimes." Erika sat straighter so she could look into his eyes. "I don't want to see her hurt either. She's hurting right now because she's too young to understand why you don't want her to have a pet. I understand. But do you think it would be terrible for her to have a dog? She'll make happy memories with him and we'll be here for her."
"When did you get so mature and wise?" Kyouya buried his face into her shoulder and felt her hair brushed his cheek. He closed himself and let her warmth lull him but a part of him couldn't help but worry. How could a father knowingly do something that would eventually hurt their child? "I still don't want to say yes. She's just not ready."
"I know but we can take little steps until you're both ready. And I promise you that no matter what happen, she'll still love you. You can't stop bad things from happen but we can be there for her. It's all part of growing up. Can you really say having a dog was so bad?"
"I guess not. She gives me good advice sometimes." Kyouya laughed from she scowled at him. Old habits were hard to lose, especially when he loved the expressions she made while he teased her.
"I get to keep all of them!" Yuina's cheered when she saw the puppies gathered in Nozomi's living room. Takashi watched her with a frown and couldn't help but feel betrayed when the puppies began to surround her. They were his so he didn't know why they liked she.
"No, you get to play with them." Kyouya corrected her. After she was finished with her homework, he took her to Nozomi's home to spend the afternoon. On the way, he told her he would buy her a dog for Christmas that if she could show him that she was responsible and could be gentle with them. She readily to take on more chores and loved the opportunity to play with the dogs.
"I love you, Papa!" Yuina grinned at him. "Come and play with us."
I wanted to write more family for OOSTKO because Yuina is just soo adorable.