Chieko's little feet pounded the hallway floor as she dashed through.
She rolled into her parent's bedroom, prepared for a fight. Her tiny hands formed two-finger guns; the deadliest of finger guns that doesn't sacrifice accuracy for stopping power.
Her purple eyes scanned the room with the scrutiny of a bloodhound's nose.
Her only adversary was the gentle sounds of her mother's napping.
"Che! He's here somewhere..."
And she was gone.
Her black hair bobbed as she ran from room to room.
The bathroom was empty.
So was her bedroom.
"Hmmm."
Downstairs the front door opened.
"Ah!"
Away she flew.
Houtarou was pulling his left shoe off when Chieko appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Papaa-a-aaaaah!"
The girl's shoelaces had been working themselves free over the last half hour. And their betrayal was swift. Chieko maintained her balance for several steps, but in the end succumbed to the tyranny of gravity.
Falling.
Falling.
Thud!
Houtarou's head hit the first step about the same time his daughter landed on his back. The impacts did not cancel each other out...
"Papa!"
"What is it?"
"You're not supposed to wear shoes in the house!"
Houtarou rolled onto his back while rubbing the top of his head.
Chieko pulled off his remaining shoe. She then ran full speed across the short distance to the entry way before jumping in the air, spinning, and landing on her father's other shoe.
"A-ah!"
She lost her balance and her head collided with the door.
Houtarou was alway amazed at just how much liquid could well up around the edges of his daughter's eyes before tears fell. Like some kind of levitating magic trick.
He took his daughter into his arms as her wailing reached peak volume and carried her to the couch. He whispered soft, fatherly things to the girl while she wound down.
As with everything his daughter did, she did it at max speed, but only for a short duration. In this case, around four minutes.
"So? What did you want?"
"Ah...? ! Ice cream!"
See. Totally recovered.
"No."
"Why not?!"
"Dinner is in a few hours."
Chieko smirked.
She launched herself off her father's lap.
"I knew you'd say that. Which is why I brought... These!"
She pulled out a set of photographs. They were candid shots of her mother, Houtarou's wife, Eru. In one, Eru cooked a meal. In another, a book was read. There was even one of Eru taking a picture of Chieko taking a picture of Eru.
"You have interesting currency."
"My research says a boy will do anything for a picture of the girl he likes. And I got a lot of pictures here."
"You've been reading bad manga again, haven't you?"
Chieko shook her head.
"Did you mean to nod?"
Chieko shook her head again.
"Really?"
Chieko shook her—
"You tricked me!"
"You know you shouldn't read those kind of stories. But I tell you what..." He took the photos. "We'll go get ice cream"—Chieko was already running to the front door—"but you can't eat it until after dinner." That put a kink in her step.
"Aw, come on...!"
"How about tomorrow then?"
The girl stormed back to stand in front her father.
"After dinner and not a minute later."
"Dinner tomorrow it is."
"Tonight!"
Houtarou held out his hand.
She shook his thumb.
"Pleasure doing business with you," she said.
"Go get your mother."
She dashed away with the pomp and circumstance of a ninja courier.
It took twenty minutes for the three to arrive at a proper ice cream store. Chieko decided she wanted a "fancy sundae", not one of those "cheap things" from the gas station.
Houtarou noticed Satoshi waving at him from across the street.
"I'll wait outside," he said to Eru.
"Say hello for me."
Eru and Chieko went inside while Houtarou waited for Satoshi. It took a few minutes for him to reach the crosswalk and cross the street.
"Houtarou!"
"What're you doing around here?"
"Mayaka dragged me to an art supply store she found nearby."
"Oh?"
Houtarou wondered where she-
"I snuck out."
"You shouldn't look that pleased with yourself."
"It'll be-"
"FUKUBEEE~!"
Satoshi flinched. Some things never change.
Ibara joined the two.
"You look as uninterested as usual, Houtarou."
"Ah!" Satoshi reacted to Ibara's shopping haul. "How much did you buy?!"
The bags were dense with all manner of art supplies.
"I brought you along to prevent me from buying too much. So it's your fault."
"Y-You didn't spend the rent money, did you?"
"..."
"Gah!"
Houtarou cut in with, "I can—"
"Stop right there," Satoshi interrupted. "We'll just take some of this back and it'll be fine."
Ibara noticed Eru and Chieko inside the store. The girl was giving an enthusiastic description to an employee, her hands stretched vertically to their limits. If you didn't know better, you'd think she was boasting about some tall fish she'd caught.
"Out with the family, eh? That'd be nice..."
Satoshi chuckled nervously.
Ibara continued, "I'm always surprised when I think of you as a family man."
"Really? I always figured Houtarou'd be a good father."
"That's not what I meant. It just doesn't mesh with his low-energy lifestyle."
"Ah. Well, I'm surprised Chitanda was able to get him in the mood."
"Nah, that's easy."
Ibara pushes the bags onto Satoshi. She saddled closer to Houtarou, putting on her best Eru impression.
"H-Houtarou..."
She fidgeted with feigned shyness, then she dropped the bomb:
"I-I'm very interested!"
Satoshi laughed. Houtarou looked away, his cheeks red.
Ibara recoiled.
"No way."
He fiddled with his bangs.
Satoshi and Ibara were still laughing minutes later when they were joined by Eru and Chieko.
"What are you guys laughing about?" The child asked.
"Oh," Satoshi said on the coat tails of a dying laugh. "Just laughing at your father."
"Why, why?"
"Because he's funny," Ibara replied.
"Why?"
"W-Well... It's something you're not old enough to understand."
The girl's cheeks instantly puffed with frustration. Her head reeled back and she belted:
"I'M VERY INTERESTED!"
The light mood fell to its knees and was executed gangland-style. The adults froze as the moment took on all the social comforts of broken glass. Even Eru understood the implications of her daughter's words. Sex would never be the same at the Oreki household.
Satoshi placed a hand on Houtarou's shoulder.
"S-Sorry."