Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Main Event

"Here, let me carry that."

"Thank you."

I gave Mika a small smile as I took the picnic basket from her hands. "I'm sorry I didn't think to offer sooner; I have a lot on my mind."

"I could tell," she said quietly as we walked. "You've been quiet ever since we left your place. Do you want to talk about it?"

The truth was, I did; I wanted to talk about my dad, I wanted to talk about my time in high school, I wanted to talk about my sessions with Pastor Jeff…but most of all I wanted to ask her why she wanted to be with me the way she did. Propriety won out, however. Or maybe it was cowardice. "I'm fine."

"Okay," she said, but her tone of voice told me that she didn't believe me.

"Have you come down from your win yet?" I asked, referring to Thursday's game.

"A little," she replied with a giggle. "It's hard to believe that I helped our team so much after only being back for a week-and-a-half."

"Well, it's probably like any skill; once you have it, you never lose it. It might get rusty, but…" I shrugged, not sure how to finish my thought.

"Do you think…?" she trailed off, and I looked over to see her nibbling on her lower lip. "Do you think – now that your shoulder's healing – that you could play basketball again?"

I barked a bitter laugh. "Me? It's been over twenty years since I've tried to shoot a basket." I shook my head. "No, I don't think skill lasts that long."

"Hm." I looked over again to find her with a thoughtful expression. "I wish I'd thought to bring a basketball."

"Seriously?" I chuckled, this time without the bitterness. "The last time I tried to shoot hoops was when…" I trailed off as I remembered; Nagisa had waited for me after school so she could see me shoot a basket, before she knew about my injury. "It…was a long time ago."

"It looks like it was painful for you…and I don't mean physically," she said, and I could hear the sympathy in her tone.

"I was…surprised by the memory," I admitted. "But yeah, it was painful."

"Was it because of your wife?" she asked, then quickly covered her head and came to a stop when I snapped my gaze to her; I must have looked scary. "I…I'm sorry!"

"N-No, you're fine," I told her as I worked on calming my nerves. "I was just…surprised by your insight."

"Huh?"

"Nagisa had told me how cool she thought it was that I could play basketball," I explained as we started walking again, "so she wanted to meet me after school so I could shoot baskets for her."

"…but you couldn't because of your shoulder…" she realized.

"Right. And since I was a jerk at the time I initially blew her off and hung out with Sunohara until it started raining."

"Was Sunohara a friend of yours?" she queried.

"Sort of, but that's a long story, too. Anyway, when it started raining I imagined her waiting out in it so I ran back to the school and found her just as I thought I would."

"Oh, my…" she said with a sympathetic giggle.

"She wouldn't stop pestering me about it, so I showed her what I could do." I held my right arm straight out in front of me. "She got to see me drop the ball about three or four times. I told her about my injury after that."

"That must have been embarrassing for her," Mika said sadly.

"It was my fault, really," I told her. "If I'd just been upfront about it in the first place, she never would have gotten sick from waiting for me."

"She got sick?!" Mika exclaimed.

I nodded awkwardly, still feeling the shame in spite of how long it had been. "She already had some condition that messed up her immune system or something, and standing out in the rain for so long…she ended up bedridden for about a week or so."

"You must have felt awful," she said sympathetically.

I nodded again. "I…kicked my ass for a while after that."

She giggled as we rounded the last corner before the entrance to the park. "Did you want to sit under a tree or out in the sun?"

"I don't really care," I replied as we passed through the gates. "But with how late in the day it is, it might be a good idea to sit in the sun; otherwise, we could get pretty cold later. Do you have any cold foods we should be worried about?"

"I did pack some, but they can be out in the sun for a while."

"Well," I said as I stretched my arms toward the grassy field, "wherever you'd like, I guess."

She eventually chose a spot, then took a blanket from the basket and worked on spreading it out. Once she had finished, I set the basket on one corner of the blanket and we started unpacking.

"This is a lot of food," I remarked with no small amount of awe as the blanket started to fill up. "It all looks so good, but I don't know that we'll be able to eat it all."

"Don't you need a lot of calories, though?" she said as she brought out two covered containers.

"Maybe if I was still a teenager, yeah," I chuckled. "At my age, though?" I chuckled again.

"Oh…"

I felt a subdued 'vibe' from her direction and I quickly looked over to find her with her eyes downturned. "Oh Mika, I'm sorry; I wasn't trying to say anything bad. I spoke before I thought." I reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for all your hard work. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she murmured. "I guess I should have known better."

I studied her for a moment longer, then smiled softly. "Could we go ahead and start eating the food that I'm very grateful to you for making?"

She giggled as she brought a hand to her eye. "Y-Yeah….let's do that."

We put our hands together. "Thanks for the food."

I reached for my plate, only for her to grab it up and start putting food on it. "Um, thanks?" I said, surprised but not surprised.

"You're welcome," she replied with pinked cheeks. "I didn't mean to take over; I guess I'm just used to making sure you get what you need."

"It's fine," I said. "You just surprised me…sort of."

She giggled, her cheeks darkening further as she continued to fill my plate. "Here you go!" she exclaimed as she presented me with her current masterpiece. "Protein, healthy oils, vitamins, and nutrients."

"Looks…good," I chuckled; I saw meat, vegetables, egg, and rice, but I figured she knew what she was talking about. "Thank you."

"Y-You're welcome. Go a-ahead and get started."

I smiled to myself as I picked up my chopsticks and dug into my meal. "Wow, this is really good."

"Th-Thank you."

I smiled at her awkward reply as I looked up at the blue sky overhead. She had picked a spot on the edge of a tree's shade; that way, we'd get more of the sun's light later, when we'd be more likely to need its heat. Smart thinking, really.

"Would you like some tea?" I heard her offer.

"Thank you," I replied, turning toward her to receive the cup from her extended hand. Then I noticed that she had her hair ribboned in a familiar style. "Hey, you have your hair like that again."

She reached up to touch one of the 'twintails' that made me feel nostalgic. "Do you like them?"

"It might sound weird, but…yeah, I do," I admitted. "To be honest, I'm wondering if the style is from my time or something; it makes me feel nostalgic for some reason. Is it one of those 'what's old is new again' styles?"

"Not as far as I know," she giggled as she started to blush.

"Are you okay?" I asked. "I didn't say something weird, did I?"

"No, it's just…" She waved a hand as she appeared to be trying to get her giggles under control. "It's just that…we had a guest speaker for our science class a while ago."

"Was this before the first time you had your hair like this?"

She nodded, still giggling. "She was a researcher from this big science institute that specializes in string theory or something like that. She was there to encourage us to take our studies seriously."

"You don't sound like you were really paying attention, though," I observed with a smirk.

"I really didn't mean to be disrespectful," she said, waving her hands through her giggles. "It's just that…she talked like a weird combination of an adult and a child."

I tried to imagine what that would sound like but couldn't. "What does this have to do with…wait, did you copy her hairstyle or something?"

"Yeah, but there's more to it than that," she replied before taking a couple of deep breaths, presumably to calm herself. "After her presentation they had a Q&A session; the problem was that I'd been so distracted by how cute her hair was that…that…"

"Mika, are you telling me that you actually asked a scientist about her hair?" I asked, starting to feel my own amusement bubble to the surface.

"It was so embarrassing!" she cried as she covered her face with her hands."But I stood up and asked the question before I could stop myself!"

"It looks like she showed you how to do it, though," I chuckled.

She nodded, hands and all. "She was very kind to me."

I put down my plate and reached out to carefully take hold of one of her 'twintails'; something about the style, especially the placement of the ribbons seemed so familiar… "That's just weird."

"Okazaki-sama…?"

I blinked as I realized what I was doing and released her hair. "I'm sorry; got caught up in a memory that I can't quite remember. I didn't mean to take liberties or anything."

"I…I don't mind," she said, blushing even more. "You can touch my hair whenever you want, okay?"

"E-Excuse me?!" Had I heard her correctly?

She took a deep breath and looked me in the eye in spite of a blush that was becoming fiercer by the second. "I said that you may touch my hair whenever you want. If you are ever going to be able to determine whether I would make a good wife or not, you'd need to know how well I take care of myself, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" She took a length of her hair and ran her fingers through it. "The health of a girl's hair is a sign of the health of the girl, right? So if I want you to know that I take care of myself…" she trailed off with a shy glance to the side.

I sighed; I hadn't thought about it, but her words made sense… I shook my head in an attempt to clear the errant thought as well as a sudden ache in my heart. "B-But I'm not looking for a wife, Mika."

"I…I'll change your mind," she declared, the blush fading from her face as her confidence made a return. "B-But don't worry, I…I won't try to a-allure you unfairly; I'll just show you how good a wife I'd be so you'll want me around."

I chuckled softly at her courage. 'Prepare yourself', she had said. "Why are you so interested in me in the first place? I'm about the same age as your parents, for crying out loud. I'm a salaryman with a teenage daughter two years younger than you are." I spread my hands helplessly. "There's really not much to me to be attracted to."

"You are a very good man, Okazaki-sama," she declared. "You took a chance with the surgery even though you knew you could've lost the use of your arm, you've been a great father to Ushio-san, and you've been very patient with me."

"That's just being an adult," I countered.

"That's not necessarily true."

"Excuse me?" I smirked. "And what do you know about being an adult, young lady?"

"I know what my mom and dad and Aunt Kyou have taught me," she said with a determined expression. "What I just said isn't just my opinion; Mom and Aunt Kyou weren't in love with you in high school for nothing, you know."

"Wh-What?" I knew about Kyou, of course, but Ryou…? "Y…Your mom…?"

She nodded solemnly. "She told me about you a long time ago; I think it was after you got custody of Ushio-san again."

"But how did your mom know about that?" I asked, then realized... "Kyou must have told her."

"I don't know the timing of it all," she explained, "but she must have talked to Mom before that jerk imprisoned her in his house. Imprisoned Aunt Kyou, I mean."

"O-Okay, I think I get it," I acknowledged, "but…what did your mom tell you?"

'I really shouldn't say too much since it's Mom's story," she said while tracing a circle on the blanket. "But she told me that you were cute and strong…strong like you didn't care what other people thought of you."

I snorted; that was partly true. "I didn't want to care what others thought of me, but it was upsetting when they'd talk bad about me. I still had emotions, after all."

"I'm sure you did," she said with a fond smile, which creeped me out. "After all, you did all that stuff for your wife so she could have her performance, right?"

"R-Right." Just how much did she know about me, anyway?

"Anyway, Aunt Kyou felt the same way."

"I don't get it, though," I said, trying to process the new information. "If the twins were both attracted to me, why didn't either of them say anything?"

Mika took a deep breath, appearing to gather her thoughts. "If I understand correctly, Mom fell for you first, and then Aunt Kyou fell for you while working on putting the two of you together."

"That's so weird…" I mused. "They both talked to me so normally in school…as much as I remember, at least. Fuji-" I coughed at the brief regression. "Your mom was always a timid one, stuttering when she'd talk to me. I always thought she got bolder due to marrying your dad, but maybe…"

"She might have always been that bold except when it came to you," Mika suggested quietly. "She's never talked to me about that."

"And Kyou was so aggressive when talking to me, but I eventually found out why," I said, thinking back to when she had stayed with Ushio and I. "I guess I was pretty dense when it came to women."

"You were a teenager, Okazaki-sama," Mika said, resting a hand on my arm. "It's not fair for us girls to expect you guys to pick up on these things. I mean, at that age you're dealing with your own development and the testosterone and all that, right?"

I chuckled, not at her insight, but how she expressed it. "That's true; thanks for being so understanding of my kind."

"It's like we expect you to be adults even though we start developing sooner than you do-"

"All right, Mika," I interrupted, feeling a little bite to my pride. "I get your point."

She ducked her head meekly. "I'm sorry if I was out-of-line."

"Don't worry about it."

After that, we ate in silence for a little while, occasionally making a comment about the weather or about the other park patrons.

I caught her watching a group of small children play while their mothers watched, and I leaned over with a grin. "You want to go play with them?" I teased.

"I want one."

The grin fell from my face, though I tried to force it back. "That'd be kidnapping, you know."

"What? No, I mean I want to have kids of my own; that's why I want to hold off on university and a career."

I sighed at my own stupidity; I really should have known better. "Sorry, Mika; I was just teasing you…or trying to."

"I don't mind," she said, returning her attention to her meal. "If I want to be your wife then I'll have to get used to these kinds of things, right?"

"S-Sure," I said; how could she say stuff like that without being embarrassed? "You…You never answered my question, you know. Why are you so interested in someone like me?"

"Actually, I did," she replied, glancing cautiously up at me. "I like your courage when it came to the surgery, you've been sacrificial with Ushio-san, and you've been extremely patient with me."

That's right; she had told me, hadn't she?

"I didn't finish answering how I knew all that I know, though." She sighed heavily. "Okay, this is going to be really embarrassing, but please don't make fun of me, okay?"

"I won't," I promised.

She sighed heavily again. "This goes back about ten years…"

My eyebrows jumped but I kept my mouth shut.

"I saw you for the first time after you got custody of Ushio-san again. I was about six or seven and was visiting Aunt Kyou at the school where she worked at the time."

I remembered those days; I was still pulling myself together after Nagisa's death but wanted to be a part of my daughter's life. Kyou was still giving me crap, just like she had in school. So she'd liked me then, too? Huh.

"I remember her talking badly to you when you picked up Ushio-san and asked her about it afterward; I wanted to know if you were someone I should stay away from."

"That's understandable," I said supportively.

"She told me that you were a great guy; it's just that she'd gotten so used to teasing you that she couldn't help herself," she said, glancing away. "I didn't know until later that she liked you."

"I see."

"When I asked Mom about you, that's when I found out that she liked you in high school, as well as why." She started tracing circles on the blanket again. "I guess I kinda formed the idea of my ideal guy based on what they told me about you."

"Thanks."

"The last time I saw you, I was eight," she continued. "That was when you met Dad for the first time. Mom had told me that your wife had died, and I was sad; if you were such a neat guy, why did something so bad happen to you? Anyway, when I saw you that time, I kinda…developed a, uh…" she trailed off, huffing in frustration several times as she lightly smacked her thighs. "I developed a crush on you."

"And you held onto that for ten years?" I asked carefully.

"Yeah," she sniffled. "Stupid, huh?"

I thought for a moment. "I'm not going to judge," I decided. "Like I said before; you can love who you want to."

"And I want to love you, so I do," she said, meeting my gaze and, once again, I was stunned into silence by the intensity in her eyes. "Even though I don't understand what it feels like, I do understand that you miss your wife," she told me. "In spite of that – or maybe because of it – I want to be there for you. I'm not so silly that I think I could take away your pain, but…" she gestured at me with an expression of helplessness. "I want to do what I can."

"But why?"

She studied my face for a moment before chuckling sadly. "You really can't accept good things for yourself, can you? I already told you why; I love you."

"But-"

"Mika!" We jumped in surprise at the sudden intrusion, and I saw several girls heading our way. "Hey, we didn't expect to see you here!"

"Sakura!" Mika cried before jumping to her feet and hugging the red-haired newcomer. "What are you doing here?"

"This is a public park," another girl said, this one with short, blue hair. "We can come here if we want to."

"That's not what I meant," Mika huffed.

"Sachi, don't pick on her," said a short girl with long, black hair, and the greenest eyes I'd ever seen. "You know she's just happy to see us."

Sachi simply 'humphed' as she adjusted her glasses.

A blue-eyed girl with long, blonde hair plopped down next to me on the blanket. "Hi, I'm Alice!" she chirped with an accent that reminded me of Pastor Jeff's.

"H-Hi," I greeted, a little overwhelmed by her exuberance. "Nice to meet you."

"Sorry about my accent," she lamented dramatically. "I'm an exchange student from England."

"Nice to meet you," I repeated, still recovering from my surprise.

"Are you on a date with Mika?" she asked, leaning in toward me.

"Alice!" Mika exclaimed as she hurried over to my new seatmate and started pulling her to her feet. "Give him some room! He doesn't know you!"

"Afraid she's gonna take him from you?" Sakura teased.

"With this spread, I don't think anyone will be taking him from her," Sachi noted as she appeared to study our meal.

"Well, are you going to introduce your boyfriend to us?" Sakura said as she threw an arm around Mika.

The poor girl stammered, probably trying to explain the situation without embarrassing me, so I got to my feet and bowed slightly. "I'm Okazaki Tomoya; it's good to meet you all. Are you Mika's friends?"

"Whoa," another girl said, one that I hadn't noticed yet. "That is such a manly voice; I can die happy now, thanks."

I felt suddenly self-conscious, but was determined to be the grownup. "Thank you very much, but I think your family would miss you."

"You're probably right," she said with a giggle. "I'm Kinuko; it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Thank you," I replied, ducking my head in a slight bow. "Kinuko, huh? That's a pretty-" I cut myself off as I remember what Ushio had told me about saying nice things about girls as a handsome man. I didn't think I was much to look at, but… "That's a nice name."

It didn't stop her from blushing, if even a little. "Th-Thank you."

"Wh-What are you all doing today?" Mika asked, obviously trying to redirect her friends' attention away from me.

"Tch. She's obviously trying to redirect our attention away fr-" Sachi started to say before being interrupted with an elbow from one of the other girls.

"We've just been out today," Sakura, the apparent spokesman, announced. "After school, we met up at Yukiko's house since she's been sick."

"Oh, that's right!" Mika exclaimed. "How's she doing?"

"She's better," the red-haired girl told her. "I guess her allergies hit her really hard this time."

"That's too bad," Mika said sympathetically. "I'll try to stop by her place tomorrow."

As I listened to the girls talk I started feeling like an outsider. Not like an outsider in the usual sense; I knew that one could feel excluded simply due to not being 'in the know' like the situation with Mika's sick friend, but more like…I was from a different world…which made sense when I thought about it. After all, Mika and the others would be starting their lives once they left high school, while I was already well into mine, not to mention the life I'd wasted while in school. I envied them, in a way.

"Mika, it looks like your date's feeling left out." I snapped out of my thoughts to the sound of the blue-haired, spectacled girl's voice…'Sachi' if I remembered correctly, and I looked up to see her studying me with an amused look.

"I'm fine," I said politely; damn if that girl wasn't perceptive. "I went into my own world while you were talking."

"Hey, that's kinda rude, don't you think?" the 'whoa' girl objected as she moved to stand before me, and I could see annoyance in her blue eyes, partly covered by pink bangs. "You're on a date, and you're off in your own world? Seriously?"

"I think it's perfectly fine," I told her. "I'm glad your friend is doing okay, but I don't know her so I don't have anything to contribute to your conversation. I meant no offense."

She blinked up at me a couple of times before turning back to Mika. "I think he's perfect for you, hon," she said. "He talks a lot like you."

"That's because he's not a high-schooler, Uta," Sachi said. "Take a close look at his eyes."

"Sachi!" Mika protested.

I tried to not feel self-conscious as the pink-haired girl examined my face. "Wow, he looks so young, but his eyes…" She blinked up at me a couple more times, this time with a puzzled look. "You do look…older."

"I've…been through a lot," I admitted, not wanting to embarrass Mika by revealing my age.

"No shit," Sachi said with a sly grin, and I realized that she was testing me, apparently hoping to trigger my parental reflex.

I knew better, though; "Please don't talk like that in front of my date," I requested politely, internally smirking as hers disappeared.

"S-Sorry, Mika," the now-flustered smarty-pants stammered.

"I-It's okay," she replied while giving me a look of understanding. "We all slip every once in a while."

"If you don't mind me asking," Sakura said, approaching me, "how old are you?"

I had to think fast, and my brain didn't let me down this time. "I'm sorry, but I'm not comfortable giving that kind of information to people I don't know," I said as gently as my racing heart would allow.

"That's okay…" Alice said, then gave me a cheeky grin before turning back to the other girls. "We'll just get Mika to tell us later!"

As the other girls squealed and cheered, I gave Mika an apologetic look, to which she responded with an understanding smile.

"You okay? " I asked as we settled back onto the blanket, the other girls giggling their way to another activity. "They were pretty rough on you."

"I'm all right," she giggled. "They took me by surprise, but…they're like that at school. I think they're just jealous that I'm with a boy."

"But I'm not…" I started, then realized what she meant. "Right…gotcha."

She giggled again as she patted my knee and, oddly enough, I noticed her outfit for the first time since we got together. She had on a blue denim skirt that covered her to her knees, and a small, matching denim vest over a white long-sleeved shirt. It went really well with the purple of her hair as well as her blue eyes…I coughed as I felt another twinge in my chest.

"I'm sure they'll give me trouble on Monday," she was saying, "but it won't last long; someone will start talking about some crush and this will be forgotten."

"That's good," I managed to reply. "I'd hate to cause problems for you."

"You're not causing any problems for me," she giggled. "If anything, I'm causing problems for you."

"You're not-" I started to say reflexively until I saw her knowing smile. "Thank you for your consideration."

"You're welcome!" she chirped, beaming. "Now, where were we…? Oh, that's right! We were talking about how great you are!"

"That must have been a one-sided, short, and boring conversation," I quipped with a slight grin.

She didn't appear amused, though, as her face fell. "You know, I wish you'd stop saying stuff like that about yourself," she said quietly, glancing up at me repeatedly.

"Sorry," I said. "Force of habit."

"We'll work on that," she said, her smile returning as she took my chopsticks to pick up a pork cutlet and hold it up before me. "In the meantime, say 'ah'…"

"Mika…" I sighed, then chuckled in resignation and let her put the food in my mouth; it was delicious, of course.

She giggled before her expression turned serious again. "Listen…thank you for calling me your 'date' earlier."

I considered my words carefully. "Well, it is technically true that you are my date; after all, we are on a date, so…you're my date." It sounded stupid, but it was the best I could do.

"Oh! That's right!" she clapped. "I need to finish embarrassing myself." At my puzzled look she giggled again. "Hopefully we won't be interrupted again. So where was I…? I saw you at Aunt Kyou's school when I was six…crush at eight-oh, yeah! After I saw you with Ushio-san I'd think about you every so often." She started drawing circles on the blanket again. "I probably idealized you from then until I saw you at the school. When you were there to have lunch with Ushio-san?" she finished, apparently trying to jog my memory.

"So that's why you seemed to recognize me," I realized. "At the time, I thought your behavior was a little strange; I just chalked it up to not understanding the teenage mind."

She suddenly seemed to shrink, almost sinking into the blanket. "When I saw your face, I guess the eight-year-old girl with the crush came back," she told me with a blush.

I smiled affectionately at the awkward girl. "Well, it's certainly understandable; your last memory was a, uh…good one, so it's understandable."

"You really think so?" she asked quietly.

"Sure," I replied, nodding a couple of times. "You have a positive association with…me…" Man, this was awkward. "…so those feelings would naturally come back once you saw me again."

"I guess you're right," she said, lifting her gaze to me again. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Anyway, after I saw you in your school uniform I talked to Mom again, and I started to see – recognize, really – the traits that she liked about you."

I furrowed my forehead. "After one interaction?"

"It took time," she admitted. "I also asked Ushio-san about you while helping her get used to the school, and she helped fill out a lot of gaps in my memory. She told me about how you lost your wife and couldn't raise her for her first five years, but she also told me how much love you poured on her after getting her back."

"Y-Yeah…" I said, not wanting to remember those days.

"She told me about how mean Aunt Kyou was to you, but how you put up with it for her sake. And after she did…what she did…she told me about that, too."

I felt my face start to heat up; did Mika know everything about me?

"When I heard about how you handled all of those bad situations, I wanted to help you; I thought it was so unfair what you had to go through so I decided that I would do what I could to make life easier for you, even if I couldn't do much."

"So that's why you started making dinners for me, huh?" I was starting to get the fuller picture.

"Yeah, but honestly…?" She had started tracing circles again. "Falling in love with you wasn't part of the plan."

"It took you by surprise, too?"

She nodded with a bashful expression. "It just kinda happened, but I finally realized it when our game of cards got a little out-of-hand."

"I…had my suspicions after that happened," I admitted. "And…while it was awkward for me as well, I still want to thank you for being so upfront about your feelings."

"You're welcome," she replied quietly. "Dad always said that openness and honesty were the best ways to approach life; hiding just causes too many complications. And after seeing what I've seen in high school, I can see how right he was." She blinked a couple of times. "That sounded funny; 'see'…'see'…'see'…"

I chuckled appreciatively. "Your dad's a great guy," I said, thinking of the Hiiragi patriarch with no small amount of admiration. "I have a lot of respect for the way he thinks."

"He thinks highly of you, too," she giggled. "He understands that you've learned a lot from him, but he's said that he's learned a lot from you, too."

"I can't image what," I scoffed. "He's done so much more with his life than I have."

"You both have perseverance, Okazaki-sama," she said, resting a hand on my knee. "If your shoulder hadn't been injured, I'll bet you would've gone far in basketball. Yeah, you need your shoulder for that, but you also need drive, don't you?"

"That's true," I admitted; I'd never thought of that before.

We ate the rest of our meal while enjoying the sounds of the park; children playing in the distance, as well as the occasional breeze that rustled the leaves.

"That was really good," I said before having to suppress a burp. "'Scuse me."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," she giggled, then her expression turned serious. "You know, you could have this every day from now on, if you wanted."

It didn't take a genius to understand what she was getting at. "I know, Mika, but it doesn't change my thoughts on the matter; I still think you should find someone more your age."

"I understand," she replied. "But that doesn't change my feelings about you."

"Then it sounds like we're at an impasse," I said with a wry grin.

"I don't see it as a competition," she said as she shook her head. "I see it as a challenge, sure, but…" She drew a lock of hair over her ear, and I cursed myself for following the motion with my eyes. "The challenge is more to myself, to see if I'd make a good wife for you." She looked around at the spread on the blanket. "Have you eaten enough? There's still a little bit left."

"I'm good, thanks," I replied, patting my full tummy. "Need to watch my girlish figure."

She openly laughed, throwing her head back, and I enjoyed the-STOP! "That's another thing I love about you; your sense of humor."

"Th-That makes one of us," I quipped while recovering from my lapse of judgment. "L-Let me help you pack things up."

"Thank you."

It took a while, but we finally packed up all the containers back into the basket and started toward the park's gate.

"We never did get to use the Frisbee," Mika lamented.

"At least you got to see your friends though, right?" I pointed out.

"That's true; it was great seeing them, even if they were embarrassing."

"I'm not sure how to ask this, but…what do you have in common with them? I don't think you're a snob or anything, but why do you hang out with them? You seem…better than them?"

"I think I understand," she said, laughing. "We've been friends for years, most of us since fifth or sixth grade."

"That's a long time."

"Yeah, we've been through a lot together," she said, her eyes getting a faraway look. "Really, I'm just glad we've been able to stick together this long."

"That's true; it is hard to go to the same schools for that long," I remembered. "For what it's worth, I'm happy for you."

"Thank you," she said, glancing up at me with a fond smile and creeping me out yet again. "I think we've learned to appreciate each others' differences…and use them sometimes."

I snorted in amusement, nearly dropping the basket. "I can imagine." Then it hit me: "You don't think they might get jealous if you marry before they do, do you?"

"They probably would," she replied matter-of-factly. "But I can't let other people run my life. Influence it, sure, but I'm the one who ultimately has to live with the consequences of my choices."

"Like pursuing an older man?"

"We'll all be pursuing older men," she huffed, "it'll just be a matter of degree."

I realized that she had a point and admitted as such. "Don't you think eighteen years is a bit much, though? Do you really expect them to understand?"

"I think they'd accept you once they got to know you," she replied. "After all, they're the ones who pointed out how mature I seem compared to other girls my age, so I don't think they'd be too surprised."

"That's…good?"

I heard her laugh again before she gave my arm a gentle squeeze. "You don't need to worry about them, Okazaki-sama; I'm the one you need to worry about, remember?"

"I haven't forgotten," I said with a grin.

We walked in silence for a bit before she spoke again. "Would you be willing to see me off at the train station?"

"Of course," I replied easily. "What kind of date would I be if I just went 'Welp, see yer'?"

She giggled again…and then took hold of my arm.

"I'm drawing the line there, though," I warned her. "Please let go of me."

"Oh! I'm sorry!" she squeaked, nearly jumping away from me. "I acted before I thought."

"I forgive you," I said calmly; remarkable in light of the sudden jump in my heart rate.

We arrived at the train station and Mika took a seat on one of the many benches while we waited. "I had a really good time, Okazaki-sama."

"Good," I replied. "Listen… You can change the '-sama' to '-san' if you want; You've done so much for us that I don't think it's right for you to feel like you have to address me so…reverently."

I was more than a little surprised at how red her face became, and how quickly. "R-Really? It'd be okay?"

"Well…now I'm not so sure," I said, feigning a look of cautiousness before resolving it into an amused grin. "Seriously, it's fine; you're the only one – other than one of Ushio's friends – that's ever used that honorific with me."

"I'll…keep that in mind; thank you," she managed as a train pulled in. "That's…That's my train."

"Then here you go," I said offering a hand to help her up as I picked up the basket with the other. "And here you go," I added, handing her the basket once she was on her feet.

"You're so funny," she giggled as she adjusted the basket on her arm. Then she looked up at me with the softest expression I'd ever seen. "Enjoy the rest of your evening, Okazaki-sama," she said, reaching out to my chest before quickly jerking her hand back. "Good night."

"Good night, Mika," I returned warmly.

She turned to board the train, only to abruptly turn back to me. "Can I tell you something before I go?" she asked, gesturing for me to duck my head down. I obliged, turning my ear toward her only to feel a soft pressure on my cheek. "I love you," she whispered before hurrying onto the train.

I returned her wave with a smile and a shake of my head as the train pulled away. "She got me good, didn't she?" I murmured to no one in particular as I touched the spot where she'd kissed me. "Well, I'd better get home." With that, I headed toward home and away from one of the most stressful days of my life.

"Welcome home, Daddy!" Ushio greeted as I entered our apartment.

"Thanks," I replied, and I noticed the weariness in my own voice as I swapped my outdoor for my indoor shoes.

"How did your da-your time with Mika-senpai go?"

"It was all right," I replied as I plopped down next to her at my spot at the kotatsu. "She made a truckload of food, she told me why she…you know…"

Thankfully my daughter just gave me an understanding nod.

"…some of her friends found us and bothered her for a while, then we finished dinner and I saw her off at the train station. Then I came home," I finished, leaning back on my hands.

"Did she…give you any trouble?"

"Nah; the closest she got was telling me why she…she likes me."

"She's so brave," Ushio said with clear admiration. "I don't think I could ever do something like that."

I chose to keep my mouth shut rather than remind her of her actions that led to…yeah. Not edifying. "You have to admire a person who knows what she wants and goes for it, that's for sure."

"For sure," she echoed.

Any further conversation with interrupted by the ringing of my cellphone. "Do you mind if I take this? It might be Mika's dad."

"No, go ahead," she said. "I'm glad you had a good time."

I thanked her as I pulled out my phone and quickly checked the screen; sure enough, it was Kappei. "This is Okazaki; hey, Kappei."

"Okazaki!" his voice boomed, and I had to hold the phone away from my ear for a moment. "Is my daughter on her way home? I just realized that we hadn't made any arrangements."

"Oh shoot, you're right," I said, my hand finding my forehead. "Sorry about that. Yeah, I saw her off at the train station about…" I checked the time. "…about fifteen minutes ago."

A longish pause. "Did, uh…she give you any problems?"

"No, not really,' I told him as I glanced at Ushio, who appeared to be working on her homework. "The most uncomfortable thing was when she told me why she likes me."

"That was probably a relief, in a way, huh?"

"Yeah, at least I have a better idea of how to chase her away," I said, then shared a chuckle with him. "Seriously, man; you and Ryou have raised a great girl. She's going to make some lucky guy really happy."

"That was the plan!" he exclaimed. "And thanks for the praise. Hey, listen; do you and your daughter have anything planned for tomorrow morning?"

"I don't. Ushio, do you have anything planned for tomorrow morning?"

"No," she replied, looking up from her papers. "Why?"

"Hang on," I said, then switched my attention back to the phone. "Neither of us have anything planned. What's up?"

"Well, Ryou and the kids and I will be going to Jeff's church service tomorrow at ten, and Ryou thought you might like to come."

I'd never been to a temple before, let alone a western church. Nagisa and I didn't marry in a temple, after all; we'd just had a government official sign off on our marriage paperwork. "Well…" I looked back to my daughter. "The Hiiragis are inviting us to Pastor's Jeff's church. The service starts at ten. Would you be interested?"

"Sure!" she chirped. "Will Kyou-sensei be there, too?"

"I would assume so," I replied. "Kappei, will Kyou be there, too?"

"Yup! She's been to every service since they got engaged."

"She'll be there," I passed on to Ushio.

"Let's go, then!" she said, thrusting a fist into the air.

I chuckled at her excitement as I returned my attention to my phone again. "We'll be there. Ten, right?"

"Right."

"See you tomorrow, then."

"We'll look forward to it!"

I ended the call and set my phone down on the kotatsu. "Well, we're set. We should head out about nine-thirty to make sure we're not late."

"That sounds good," she said. "I'll make sure to wear my prettiest dress."

"Sound like a plan."

She gave me a huge smile. "And if Mika-senpai knows you're coming, she'll probably wear her prettiest dress, too!"

Damn.