Little Princess

(Some years ago...)

It has been over a month since Sojiro and Kanata decided to move in together. The whole concept of living with the opposite sex felt daunting at first, but as time passed by, they realised it was the essential step to take in their blossoming relationship. Truly, the two of them were inseparable; they would share meals together, watch the telly together, and even sometimes read the same newspaper together.

At this moment in time, the clock hanging on the wall struck five o'clock. Sojiro found himself seated in the perfect comfort zone; reading a novel on the centre of the couch, whilst unconsciously listening to the news on telly. All he wore was a pair of red shorts and a blue t-shirt; the ideal combination to lounge around in.

"So-kun!" Kanata suddenly called out.

Sojiro's ears tuned in to her sweet voice, as the little lady gracefully skipped down the stairs. His eyes however, were still deeply fixated on his reading material. Kanata stepped into the living room, wearing a beautiful, summery yellow dress, matching coloured sandals, long white socks and a fluffy white jacket. Strapped around her right shoulder was a tiny, sky blue handbag.

"Hey dear, are you okay?" Sojiro asked after a quick yawn, "You were upstairs for a while."

Kanata placed her hands on her hips. "Honestly! Have you forgotten already?" she replied in a disappointing tone.

"Forgotten what?"

"You promised we were going to see a film tonight!"

"Oh crap! I forgot!" thought Sojiro, as his heart froze in an instant.

Sojiro's next reply had to be one of the most lamest replies in the entire universe.

"Can I promise you tomorrow? I just got comfortable," he tried.

"You have been in that same spot for three hours!" Kanata argued, although she didn't know that for sure. Judging by Sojiro's posture however, it was a pretty accurate hunch.

Sojiro was lost of words. "Uh... well..."

"Pleeeease?" begged Kanata, clasping her hands together in a prayer.

Sojiro glanced up for a moment... and it was that moment Sojiro stared into those big, wonder-filled emeralds consisting of eyes. He then slowly took in her other features his beloved possessed; her button nose, her tiny mouth, enhanced with a light shade of lipstick, and her beautiful, long flowing hair to name but a few. Kanata was his love, his sunshine and his princess, and he would do anything in the world to make her happy.

Sojiro closed his eyes and placed his book to one side.

"Help me up," he said, as he stretched out one of his hands.

Kanata spent most of her strength to pull the lazy oaf up to his feet, but she was successful in the end. She suspected her man was putting on a 'dead-weight' act just to tease her. With a new-found burst in his stamina, Sojiro jogged upstairs and promptly got himself ready. Five minutes later he returned to the living room, wearing a simple maroon shirt, complemented with a pair of grey slacks and smart looking shoes.

"Okay, let's go!" Sojiro said with a warm smile.

Kanata nodded, and they looped each others arms before going outside.

...

...

...

* * * * *

(Present day...)

"Otousan!" Konata called from upstairs.

As he sat on the couch and read today's newspaper, Sojiro heard a 'clomp-clomping' noise as Konata, clad in her casual clothing, made her way down each step. How a girl, portraying petit delicacy, could sound like a stampede of giant carnivores was a mystery in itself.

"What's wrong?" father asked, after Konata made her presence known.

Konata rocked the heels of her feet back and forth as she replied.

"Otousaaan..." Konata began to say.

"Hmmm?" hummed Sojiro, eyes still focusing on today's reading material.

"Well-as-you-know-there-is-this-special-live-event-in-Comiket-in-two-days-time-and-I'm-a-bit-strapped-for-money-so-can-I-please-borrow-3000-yen?" Konata replied in a rapid motion.

Sojiro dropped his shoulders. The only word he managed to catch was the four figured one with three zeroes at the end.

"Oooh? Is that how you see me? Like some kind of walking cash machine?" he replied, trying his best to lay down his authority.

Konata placed her hands together in a prayer. "Pleeease?"

Sojiro glanced up for a moment... and it was that moment Sojiro stared into those big, wonder-filled emeralds consisting of eyes. When she truly wanted something, Konata had that same innocent expression as her late wonderful mother. In fact, Sojiro thought it was only a matter of time before his daughter would become the perfect image of Kanata herself. Truly, it was a deep honour in his life to have met such a sweet princess... and be blessed with another.

"I get my wages at the end of the month, so I can pay you back with two, no, three percent interest!" Konata tried to bargain, showing three fingers in Sojiro's direction.

Once again, the man of the house found his wall of defence diminishing rapidly.

Sojiro looked at his newspaper for a moment... before slowly putting it away to retrieve his wallet. He gave his daughter three one thousand yen notes.

"Ah, make that 3500!" Konata corrected, "Just in case!"

Sojiro sighed and gave her the extra 500 yen note.

"Oooh! Thank you Otousan!" Konata thanked as she bounced up and down with glee. She then gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek before merrily making her way upstairs again.

Sojiro smiled warmly as he fished for the remote to see what was on television.

"She's growing up fast, right Kana-chan?" he mused to himself.

Sojiro breezed through the channels to see if there was anything on. He already caught most of the news on his paper, and the rest of the channels consisted of nothing but repeats... although that wildlife program looked quite interesting. Maybe if there was nothing else on, he could switch back to that one.

"Um... I have a favour to ask," came the sound of another voice.

Sojiro glanced up for a moment... and it was that moment Sojiro stared into those big, wonder-filled emeralds consisting of eyes, as well as a tiny, adorable face, and vibrant, rose coloured hair...

"Here! Just take my wallet! Take my whole, entire wallet!" Sojiro panicked, averting eye contact whilst waving his wallet around in a defensive position.

Yutaka placed a finger on her lips as a question mark appeared above her head. All she wanted was to borrow a ruler for her maths homework.