Misunderstood

Upon hearing the door bell, Sojiro rose from the sofa and rubbed his hands with glee. Since the fridge and the cupboards are almost void of food, Sojiro decided to order a takeaway for himself, Konata and Yutaka instead. Yutaka wanted a (very mild) vegetable curry, Konata wanted chicken teriyaki and Sojiro decided to have beef ramen. To round off the order, Sojiro also ordered two bottles of sake, because when the order surpassed a high enough total, this particular takeaway, for a limited time only, would also give the customer a free figurine of a random anime or computer game character. Sojiro loved the thought of adding another figurine to his collection, and the thrill of not knowing what it is further invigorated him.

Sojiro opened the main door and came face to face with a beautiful small woman carrying a full paper bag. Sojiro couldn't believe his eyes. She looked almost exactly like... his wife. She wore a white pullover, blue jeans and red trainers. Sojiro then examined her chocolaty brown eyes, ocean blue hair and innocent smile. The only trait that divided her and Kanata would be her hair length; for it is only shoulder length, not flowing down to her waist. Other than that, she had to be the perfect replica of Kanata. Sojiro thought, perhaps it could even be a reincarnation of her?

"Here's your order sir, that will be 5200 yen," the woman said, very politely.

Sojiro promptly fished the money out of his pocket before handing it to her. The tips of their fingers touched when the money was being exchanged.

"Ah... haha, you can keep the change!" Sojiro stuttered, as he handed her three 2000 yen notes.

The lady felt surprised by his kindness. "Ah, thank you very much!" she said with a small blush.

Sojiro rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Oh it's nothing really!"

The lady bowed before she returned to her car. "Enjoy your meal sir, and I hope you like playing with your free gift!"

"Thank you! I will!" said Sojiro, closing the door when the woman left.

Then a thought occurred to him.

"Wait! The figurine is for my daughter! Not me!" he shouted, but it was already too late.

* * * * *

Konata and Yutaka were watching the anime film, Spirited Away, sitting snugly on the living room sofa, patiently waiting for their takeaway. Sojiro arrived at last with the sacred paper bag in his hand.

"Okay, who wanted the veg curry?" he asked, showing a circular plastic container with the curry inside.

"Me!" chirped Yutaka, raising her hand up high.

"Yutaka, this isn't play-school..." thought Konata with a smile.

"And who wanted the chicken teriyaki?" Sojiro asked again, knowing it had to be Konata's choice.

"Me!" beamed Konata, also raising her hand up... and feeling kind of childish for repeating the actions of her cousin.

"I guess the ramen must be mine then!" said Sojiro with his fatherly grin.

As the family tucked into their takeaway, Sojiro, who was sitting close to the right armchair, turned away and secretly opened a small black box containing the free figurine. When he opened up the box, Sojiro let out a quiet groan. The figurine is the character Cloud from the Final Fantasy series. Great, he thought sarcastically, just what he wanted; a douche-bag guy to ruin his harem of figurines already in his bedroom. He decided Cloud is going straight back into the box... where he can suffocate to death and rot in hell.

After they finished eating their meals, one hour later, Yutaka fell asleep, so Sojiro gently picked her up and escorted her to bed before returning to watch the film. Poor Yutaka couldn't handle late nights very well, despite her will to keep herself awake.

Sojiro opened up a bottle of sake and carefully downed its contents. A good drink after a good meal; life surely couldn't get any better than this. Visions of Kanata, and the woman who resembled her entered his mind. His head was high up in the clouds. Maybe he should go out with her... perhaps even marry her, but would that be an act of betraying his wife? Maybe his wife would... somehow spiritually encourage him to marry again? Perhaps it was best to clear those thoughts... for the time being at least. Right now, at this moment, he felt happy. Really happy.

After finishing his second bottle, Sojiro stretched his arms far and wide. "Aaaah Konata... well, it's just you and me now," he said with an extended sigh.

"Yep," replied Konata, still watching the anime.

A short pause.

"Hey... Konata..." Sojiro asked slowly.

Konata turned slightly to face him. "Hmm?"

Sojiro unconsciously started to pat Konata's right leg.

"...how would you like to have a baby sister?"

Konata froze and turned white.