Introduction (6 dec 2020)

It's been a while since I wrote something for this particular fanfiction story. First of all, respect for all the people who kept reading, and showing interest in this story, as well as the often positive reviews that have been posted. I think unless you are a writer yourself, it's hard to imagine how much this feedback has meant to me.

Anyway, the past weeks (months?) I had been prioritizing working on my KanoKari (Rent a Girlfriend) story, "Matters of the Heart", and even created a new ongoing story besides this main story, called "Love Exists in Many Forms". But after that, it was really time for Uzaki to shine again, especially after reading some pretty interesting developments in the recent manga chapters. So, I really felt like: "let's get on with it, shall we?" But then…

Update 3 jan 2020: Well, I had wonderful plans to update this story in December 2020, but sudden illness prevented any progress with writing for a while. Now I'm slowly starting to pick up the pieces again and continue where I left this story. People can make as many plans as they like, but sometimes life just gets in the way, I guess…

Note: If you like this story, please leave a review, preferably as registered member, as this allows more interaction between writer and reviewer. If there are parts you felt lacking, or disliked, please let me know this as well. Things can appear amazing in my perception, while others might think very differently. I'm eager to hear such feedback as well, since praise is always nice, and can confirm being on the right track, but criticism is often what helps more to improve.

I still don't have (and probably never will) a release scheme for this, just like in the past, I write when I feel like it, because it's so much fun. So as always, this chapter will be ready when it's ready.

Story Prologue:

After the double date, a little while ago, Uzaki and Sakurai were sitting at the table, enjoying a lunch that Uzaki had quickly prepared for them. As usual, both youngsters had a healthy appetite, so soon the last bites of food had gotten munched away in no time at all...

Babysitting

"So, senpai, when are you going to introduce me to your family?" Uzaki asked.

"Huh, where did that come from?" Sakurai replied, with another question.

"Well, for starters, you've been to my home a few times already…" Uzaki started, "… and I'm also really curious to see where you lived, before you became an expert loner," she added, while smiling.

Sakurai gave her an angry look, as he didn't like being called a loner. And since Uzaki had come into his life, basically his loner days had been over long since, anyway, even before they had grown so much closer as they were now.

"Or perhaps you are ashamed of me...?" Uzaki pouted.

"Oh no, that's not it at all!" Sakurai quickly apologized, as he frantically waved his hands.

"You really sure about that?" Uzaki continued her 'my feelings are really hurt' act.

Sakurai meanwhile tried to figure out if she was being serious or not.

"Besides, then I also finally get to see your new baby sister…" Uzaki said, "… now what was her name again?"

"It's Nodoka," Sakurai instantly replied.

"It sure must have been like really weird, when you suddenly learned that you had become a big brother, right?" Uzaki asked.

"Trust me, you have no idea…" Sakurai sighed.

He remembered feeling a mix of emotions when first being confronted with Nodoka's existence. It sure was kinda unexpected, both considering his mother's age, and him having been an only child for such a long time. Most parents usually 'plan' their family expansion within a relatively short period of time, so their kids end up being quite similar in age. But besides the massive surprise, he had also felt angry, due to that the fact that his father had been keeping Sakurai away and had not even told him he had become a big brother. Those certainly had not been the best circumstances to start building a relationship with his new baby sister.

"So, how about it?" Uzaki interrupted Sakurai's thinking.

"About what?" Sakurai replied, still busy gathering his thoughts.

"Going to your parents' home, you big dummy!" Uzaki clarified; "And I won't take 'no' for an answer."

"Well, I suppose we could…" Sakurai unexpectedly gave in.

"Really? Yay! I will pack my things, and then we can go!" Uzaki cheered; "Maybe we should buy something on the way, for a gift?"

"Just keep it simple, ok? It's no big deal…" Sakurai instantly shot down the idea.

Uzaki felt a little disappointed at first, but quickly focused on the fact that Sakurai agreeing to visit his family so easily, was already a huge win. So, she decided not to press on about him not wanting to make too much of a fuss of their visit. After getting ready, and leaving Sakurai's apartment, they took the subway to the area of town where Sakurai's family home was located.

"So, this is where you lived before you came to college?" Uzaki said, as they were walking through the neighbourhood that Sakurai grew up in.

"Hmmm, yes…" was all he returned for an answer.

'Seems like he doesn't feel very comfortable being around here... Maybe I shouldn't have pushed him so hard to go?' Uzaki pondered. 'I will just have to keep a close eye on senpai, while we're there. I can do this!'

"Ok, this is the place…" Sakurai said, as he suddenly stopped.

Before Uzaki could take a good look at the building, Sakurai had already rung the bell, so she also stepped closer to the front door. A few seconds a middle-aged woman, wearing glasses, opened the door. 'Senpai's mom actually looks a bit like an older version of Ami…' was the first thing that went through Uzaki's mind.

"Oh… hello, Shinichi," Haruko said, surprised to see her son suddenly pay a visit.

"Hi, mom…" Sakurai returned the greeting.

"Oh, I see you brought your girlfriend along. Hana-chan, was it, right?" Mom said, after spotting Uzaki.

Sakurai quickly nodded, then everyone was silent for a moment.

"Actually, you came at the right time," Sakurai's mom broke the silence; "I was just heading out to do some shopping for dinner, but since you're here now, I can leave Nodoka at home with you and then be finished much quicker."

"Eeehhhh… wait up, mom!" Sakurai objected.

"I won't be long…" Haruko assured her son, "… and besides, this way you also get to spend some more quality time with your baby sister, right?"

"Right… b-but, I have no experience with taking care of little children…" Sakurai continued trying to talk his mother out of the idea.

"Don't worry senpai, remember I've got a younger brother and sister at home," Uzaki mentioned.

"There, you see, I'm sure you two will do just fine…" mom added, "… besides, it's not like much can go wrong in the short time that I'll be away, right?"

'Actually, there are a lot of things that could go wrong…' Sakurai frantically thought, but he realized that probably nothing could change his mother's mind at this point. He knew she was a very strong willed woman.

"Ok, but please don't stay away for too long," Sakurai reluctantly agreed, after which his mother quickly went back inside, to get little Nodoka.

"I knew I could count on you, Shinichi!" Haruko commented, while handing Sakurai's baby sister over to him; "You've really grown up so much since you went to college…" she continued to praise him, as she put on her coat, and grabbed a bag to put the groceries in; "You will find Nodoka's meals in the fridge, and in case she should need a diaper change, these are stored in her room. And if there is anything else, you can just call me. I'm going now, bye!"

"Eeeh, d-diaper change? H-Hold on just a sec!?" Sakurai started, but his mother was already getting into her car.

"Bye Mrs. Sakurai!" Uzaki said, as Shinichi's saw his mother drive off, while his face looked like he had just received a sentence for lifelong imprisonment.

'Ok, don't panic, we can do this!' Sakurai tried to boost his confidence, as he slowly walked back into the house. Meanwhile Nodoka had decided for herself that squeezing her big brother's cheek was still a really fun game.

"H-hey, stop that…" Sakurai faintly objected.

"Aww, you two look sooo cute together!" Uzaki said, as she just melted at the sight of seeing her senpai holding Nodoka; "Even your eyes look so friendly…"

"Huh, my eyes? Wha…?" Sakurai couldn't finish his line, because Nodoka had now grabbed his other cheek as well.

"Seems like you two get along really well. Wait, I have to use the bathroom, be right back!" Uzaki said, as she walked back to the hallway, where she had earlier spotted the door to the toilet.

'Sure, just leave me alone with this little menace that keeps on trying to give my face a permanent make-over…' Sakurai sulked. Although the squeezing didn't really hurt, it was more annoying. 'Maybe I can find her something else to play with…' but looking around he couldn't see any toys. 'Mom must have cleaned up everything, right before she was planning to go out…'

His mother had always taught him to keep a tidy house, and that is why Sakurai had become so enraged back then when Uzaki started cluttering up his apartment with her stuff and trash. 'It even kinda feels good to be back home…' he thought, as he let his eyes wander around the room, before feeling a chill go down his spine. 'W-What is that phone doing there!? Wait, mom has forgotten to take her phone with her! There goes my chance on calling her if I need to ask something!'

"Aww, I think she really likes you," Uzaki interrupted Sakurai's panicking thoughts, as she was coming back from the bathroom; "Maybe it is true that kids are a poor judgement of character…" she jokingly added.

"Wait, what are you suggesting…?" Sakurai growled, as he tried to turn his head towards Uzaki.

Seeing him put on an angry face startled Nodoka however, and she instantly started to cry.

"No, wait, I am not mad at you! Please don't cry…" Sakurai desperately tried to console his little sister, but to no avail.

"Here, let me…" Uzaki said, as she took Nodoka from his arms, and rocked her gently while making some cute sounds.

Nodoka first started crying even louder, as she was suddenly being held by a stranger now, but then quickly calmed down, and started making happy chattering sounds again.

"For being a 'big brother' you still have a lot to learn…" Uzaki commented; "Maybe I should become your senpai in this, and you can be my kouhai. Somehow that does sound pretty appealing…" she added, with a smug look on her face.

"Not in a million…" Sakurai started, before realizing that raising his voice too much would probably make his baby sister cry again, and he instantly toned it down.

"Then at least ask your mother some advice," Uzaki suggested, as she raised her hand to draw his attention; "If we are ever going to have kids, I am not going to end up doing everything alone, I can tell you that!"

"K-Kids…?" Sakurai stuttered, as he felt his face go brightly red, then turn a whiter shade of pale.

For a moments his thoughts wandered off into the future, and he pictured himself trying to read the newspaper, while one 'little Uzaki' was pulling his ankle, another one squeezing his cheek, and a third one tearing off pieces from the paper he was trying to read…

"What's wrong, you look like you've just seen a ghost?" Uzaki asked.

"Nah I'm fine, it's nothing," as he briefly shook his head to get rid of his troublesome vision of the future; "Wait… what is that smell?" Sakurai wondered.

'Don't tell me it's coming from… Oh no! It is Nodoka!' Sakurai realized, 'Now what should I do!?'

Uzaki watched the look on Sakurai's face, showing a mix of panic and disgust, promptly realized what was going on, and started to laugh.

"Hey, cut that out! I think we have a real emergency here!" Sakurai said, as his panic levels were quickly rising again.

"Seems like it's already time for your first lesson in the 'how to take care of my baby sister' training course, and you really hit the jackpot here," Uzaki chuckled.

"Don't just stand there laughing like an idiot and better help me!" Sakurai yelled, causing Nodoka to start crying again; "Eh… please?" he quickly added.

"Ok, where is your little sister's room? Your mother mentioned that is where she keeps the clean diapers, so we should first bring her there," Uzaki suggested.

"Oh yes… it's right here," Sakurai said, as he was leading the way, holding Nodoka as far away from him as he could.

The two youngsters quickly went to Nodoka's room, and Sakurai gently put his little sister down on the changing table.

"Ok, now move over, 'Sakurai-kouhai', and let a real 'pro' show you how this is done…" Uzaki said, as she pushed him aside, and started changing Nodoka's diaper.

Sakurai first grumbled at being called a kouhai by Uzaki, but that feeling very quickly changed into admiration as he watched her in action. 'Wow, she sure is good at that!' Sakurai thought, as he tried to hold his breath because of the smell.

"Phew! That sure smells really foul! I do hope it doesn't run in the family…" Uzaki muttered, as she disposed of the dirty diaper; "You sure owe me at least one expensive dinner date for this…"

"Anything you ask, just get her back smiling again!" Sakurai almost begged, as he had already started to feel quite desperate.

"So, there you are, as good as new!" Uzaki stated triumphant; "It's a good thing I come from a family of three, you should have seen the utter look of despair in your eyes. It was priceless!"

"T-Thank you, Hana…" Sakurai replied, as he bowed down his head in respect.

"And who is a happy little girl again? Oh yes, it's you, isn't it?" Uzaki chattered, on a very playful tone of voice, as she tickled Nodoka, causing the little kid to smile again; "Aw, you probably want to play some more with your big brother, don't ya?"

Uzaki picked Nodoka back up again from the changing table and handed her over to Sakurai. The tiny girl quickly got hold of one of Sakurai's cheeks, as usual. 'I guess it can't be helped, she just likes to do that to me. Well, at least it doesn't really hurt, and it's been a while since I was here last, so Nodoka must be pretty hyped up to see me again. I guess I should just endure it…' he thought, as they walked back to the living room.

"Apart from the changing, you are actually really surprisingly good with kids…" Uzaki said, as she kept staring at her senpai.

'Why is she looking at me like that?' Sakurai wondered. 'Wait… don't tell me… is she thinking of?' His heart skipped a beat and a sense of nervousness came over him.

"Can you hold Nodoka for a moment?" Sakurai asked; "I… ehm… have to go to the bathroom."

"Sure, meanwhile I'll just tell your little sister some juicy details about you," Uzaki teased him.

"Eeeh? Now, don't you dare!" Sakurai said, as he felt a few drops of sweat appear on his face.

Once in the bathroom, he splashed a bit of water on his face. 'You are actually really surprisingly good with kids…' Uzaki's words kept going through his mind. 'Is she suggesting we…?' He took another handful of water, to freshen up, and help straighten his thoughts. 'Perhaps Uzaki didn't really mean anything particular by it, and she just wanted to comment on how well Nodoka and I seem to get along… Yeah, that's probably it!' Sakurai quickly dried his face with a towel and feeling much more relaxed now, he walked back to the living room.

"Big brother is bac…" Sakurai started, but couldn't finish his sentence, as there was no sign of Nodoka nor of Uzaki; "W-Wait up, where did they go!?"

'No-no-no! This is bad!' Sakurai panicked again, and already began to imagine how his mother would react; "So you can't even take care of your baby sister for one single hour? I really thought I could trust you, but you disappointed me, Shinichi!" Sakurai fell down on his knees, covering his eyes with his hands.

"Oh look, your big brother is playing hide and seek. Let's play along!" Sakurai suddenly heard a very familiar voice say.

"You're back!" Sakurai cheered, as he lunged forward, and put his arms around Uzaki and Nodoka.

"Well, I don't know what has suddenly gotten into you, but I do like it," Uzaki commented, with a blush, while enjoying this unexpected hug.

"For a moment I thought Nodoka had run off or so…" Sakurai explained, while Uzaki tried really to suppress a chuckle, and eventually failing at that; "What is so funny…?" he asked.

"You really don't know a lot about little kids, now do you?" Uzaki commented; "At this age, what they mostly do is play, sleep, produce stinky diapers… and eat. Nodoka seemed hungry, so I put one of her meals in the microwave, then came back here. I think it must be done by now."

A loud 'ping' sound coming from the kitchen confirmed Uzaki's words.

"Can you get that for me, and bring a small spoon along with it?" Uzaki asked.

"Sure," Sakurai replied, as he got up, to get the things Uzaki had requested.

"So, now you just take a spoonful, not too much, and give it Nodoka. Like this," Uzaki demonstrated.

Uzaki handed over the spoon to her senpai, and he carefully tried to copy what he had just seen his girlfriend do. The first bite went in pretty easily, and the second as well. The college graduate quickly started to get a feeling of real accomplishment, maybe even becoming somewhat overconfident.

"Hey, this is pretty easy actually…" Sakurai stated, as he started feeding Nodoka spoonful after spoonful in quick succession.

"No, wait! You're going way too fast!" Uzaki tried to warn him.

But it was already too late, as little Nodoka couldn't keep up with this feeding pace and blurted out a mouthful of baby food, all over Sakurai.

"Oops…" Uzaki said, as she tried to suppress her laughter; "You'd better go freshen up yourself, I'll make sure Nodoka gets the rest of her meal."

"R-Right…" Sakurai said, with a soft voice, as he dragged himself back to the kitchen.

After this little incident, the rest of the baby food went in without a hassle, and soon Nodoka started dozing off. So, Uzaki laid her down on the small futon that was present in the living room.

"I really can't thank you enough for your help," Sakurai said to Uzaki, after his little sister had fallen sound asleep.

"Oh, I've already made a list of places from which to select where we could go," Uzaki responded; "At your expense, naturally"

"Ehh…" was all Sakurai could say, as he nervously rubbed his neck.

"I'm home again!" mom quite enthusiastically announced her return, as she entered through the front door.

"Ssssst! Nodoka's sleeping," both Sakurai and Uzaki said at the same time.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting that…" mom commented, "… seems like everything went even better than I had hoped for."

"Well, Hana has been a great help," Sakurai admitted, causing his cute kouhai to smile and even blush just a little.

"By the way, Shinichi, I didn't know you still liked baby food? Otherwise I would have bought some extra along for you," Haruko said, while smiling.

"Huh? What do you mean, mom?" Sakurai wondered, then noticing Uzaki starting to giggle.

"Hold still…" the short haired girl said, as she took a tissue, and wiped a small speck of food from Sakurai's ear, then gave a short but tender kiss on the exact same spot.

"W-What did y-you do that for?" Sakurai said, feeling baffled, as well as a bit embarrassed at the same time by this sudden display of affection.

"Hmmm, I wonder, seeing the two of you so lovey dovey, could it be I'm going to be a grandma someday soon?" Sakurai's mom said, while laughing.

Sakurai now turned beet red, and although Uzaki also felt a slight blush forming on her cheeks, she soon found herself having joined Haruko in making fun of Sakurai about this.

"Fine, that's all I need, you two teaming up against me…" he muttered.

However, deep in Sakurai's heart, he was happy that not only had the babysitting adventure ended so well, but also that Uzaki and his mother were getting along so well together…

(To be continued…)

Epilogue (6 jan 2021)

Well, finally I got around to updating this story. I hope it was at least somewhat worth the wait, and I will try my best not to let as much time pass between this chapter, and the next update. So, hopefully I will see you all soon in chapter 10!

A few last reminders:

Besides this main story, you can find two more Uzaki-chan fanfiction stories in my story list. One has been added most recently and is called 'The Picture'. This story is based upon the ending credits of most episodes in season one. At the moment it's a oneshot, but maybe I'll update it at some point.

The third story is called 'Back & Forth'. This story is set to play around the same time as the anime at this point in time (season 1) and contains short stories that could have been parts of actual episodes. You can find both stories among the other stories listed on my account, on the same website this story is currently hosted.

Btw, since I am not a native speaker, there will likely be some silly mistakes in my writing. And in punctuation, maybe I made the same mistakes as in previous stories, or even made some new ones. Hope you can bear with me and see through that. Helpful tips and suggestions to improve my writing are always welcome.

Stay safe, and maybe until soon!