"Kazuto, it's breakfast time."

The call was from his father for the first in a long time. For the most part, his father was busy with work early in the morning so he was usually out of the house before Kazuto was awake. Kazuto arrived in the kitchen in his pyjamas nearly stumbling down the stairs rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His hair was a mess, though with longer hair like that, the weight and length pulled down and the longer sections fell to his waist almost normally. The rest of his hair was all over the place though.

"Going to fix your hair a little bit?"

Kazuto's mother seemed to be ready to question the state of consciousness of her son. In his response, after sitting down in his spot, he pulled his fingers through his hair until he didn't feel it sticking out anywhere he wasn't used to it sticking out. There was a permanent semi-cowlick on his right side which ended up becoming a rather wavy strand of hair as his hair grew longer. It was actually a sign that his hair would be a little wavy when it grew longer. With a yawn, he finished and started eating the more fancy breakfast his mother would make sometimes, miso soup with a rice and sushi side. It was very healthy and good for breakfast.

"Today is a day off from school right? It doesn't mean you should slack off. You do still have archery practice this evening."

His father was very strict whenever he was around. Kazuto wasn't as fond of his father as he was of his mother. The little bit he was around for in Kazuto's life, he was criticizing and always playing the act of an uncaring person uninvolved. Just an adult scolding a child, not parental feel to him at all.

"Oh, Shino is still sick isn't she? Her mother was hoping you would watch her and Shiro today since school is out. She has work and can't miss today. Make sure as soon as you finish eating you go and clean up before heading over."

Kazuto nodded his head and finished taking the last bite of his breakfast. When he finished eating, he picked up the dishes and brought them over to the sink before scrubbing them clean in the prepared warm soap water and rinsing them off. He placed them in the drying rack. One point needed to be pointed out while he did so. He needed to use a step stool to reach into the sink and to the drying rack. Kazuto was still rather short at the age of eleven. He and Shino were very close in age, height and shape. They sometimes were confused for twins, but their personalities were different enough that any suspicion of being related was quickly put out. They didn't used to fight the idea of being siblings. It wasn't until after Shiro started talking about them being perfect as a couple. After the visit with Suguha when she first saw Kazuto wearing female clothes.

Kazuto went back upstairs to grab some clothes before returning to the washroom downstairs. Recently, he had been putting off cleaning up until after doing some breathing and stretching exercises as well as some swings with his bamboo sword for kendo practice. He and Suguha were matched as the best in their kendo class, and soon they would be judged as to whether they could compete nationally.

Because of being hurried to take care of Shino and Shiro, he cleaned up first instead. It bothered him whenever he cleaned himself up. In the shower, the only thing that would hide his feminine figure which only didn't grow breasts was his long hair. His waist had barely filled in, but he still had a thin and curved waist compared to other boys. He was nervous and angry that he couldn't change like normal with other boys for physical education classes at school. He had to change alone in the washroom. It was even something enforced by the teachers.

When Kazuto finally finished cleaning his body and hair, he wound his hair in a towel like how his mother had taught him and he left it to dry while he put on his pants and a zip up hooded sweater. He also spread moisturizer on his face arms and legs since it was something his mother taught him to do since he had such nice feminine skin. After about ten minutes of letting his hair dry in the towel, he gripped his hair in the towel again to get as much of the moisture in the towel before letting it go. His wet hair fell down and some landed in his hood which sent him off balance for a split second. When he pushed his hair out of the hood to start combing and straightening it, he became aware of the temptation to get it cut. He was so emotionally attached to having his hair long that any haircuts ended up only being trims so that the ends wouldn't become unhealthy. He did have a part of him that wanted to cut his hair, but that part of him was overthrown by the sheer strength of his bond with having it long. His hair had been long for most of his life after all.

His hair finished drying with the assistance of the family hair dryer. Kazuto's cleaning routine took as usual around half an hour. It was longer than Shino's routine, and she actually was a girl. The difference was the length of hair. Shino kept hers a much shorter and more manageable length. Hers only reached to the bottom of her neck at the longest.

Kazuto didn't bother tying his hair up that morning, but he did grab the newer scrunchy gift to him from her from his dresser and some lighter clothes and put them in his small travel bag before returning to the kitchen to say goodbye to his mother for the day. His father was already gone.

"I'm heading out now Mom."

"Oh, please bring this over for Shino. I've prepared some rice for you to make into porridge for her. We didn't eat everything from breakfast so she might as well have some of it since it can help against the cold. Also, I'm not sure what her mother keeps for miso soup ingredients, I have some leftovers from our breakfast you can cook up for her lunch. It might be a little odd to have two breakfast meals in a day, but that's the way it is when you're sick..."

She seemed to be in full Mom mode that morning. She seemed to be thinking about other things she might be missing, but when she couldn't think of anything else to give Kazuto before he would leave, she looked at him and smiled.

"I'm really glad I taught you how to cook. For times like this and when you eventually move out, it'll be very helpful you can take care of yourself and a special person in your life. Friends count too of course. Take good care of Shino and Shiro today okay? Oh, that reminded me of one last thing to bring..."

She reached into one drawer where Kazuto knew medical items were. She pulled out a scarf meant for a caretaker to ensure germs didn't spread to their face when taking care of someone sick. It was a thin light scarf which was covered in a flowery pink pattern that reminded him all these qualities he was taught were considered feminine.

"I'll be fine without that! If I get sick after taking care of her, then she can take care of me when she's better. Thank you Mom. I'm heading out."

He couldn't help but smile whenever she smiled at him though, and she smiled as he turned to leave out the door.

The early morning street was quiet. Not a vehicle was driving across. It was the earliest Kazuto was out of the house in a long time. When he knocked at the front door to the Asada family house, the voice which answered was letting him in. It was Shino's mother.

"Thank you for coming over today Kazu-chan. Oh...it seems your mother really knows me well. I haven't been able to get my head straight this morning. Let me help you make the porridge for Shino."

He shook his head. Although she meant well, she was actually a mess in the kitchen. He could recall many meals he ate with the family when his parents were absent for overtime with work. Only the meals which couldn't be failed at all like a broth soup were within her capability not to make a mistake with. She had a bad history with the porridge.

"I'll be fine Asada-san. You have work right?"

Reminded that she had an early day for work, she nodded her head and hurried over to grab her keys. At least she was dressed. She was forgetting her purse though which was on the stairs, a bad place to leave it.

"Your purse Asada-san."

She hurriedly grabbed up her purse and turned to face Kazuto.

"Thank you so much. Please take good care of Shino and Shiro today."

She left the house...without the keys. She had put them back down when she grabbed the purse. When she was in a hurry, she was so nervous. Actually, she was a nervous person overall. Sometimes, that could be seen on Shino. Kazuto could only feel happy seeing that kind of similarity.

When she returned to grab her keys he ignored it so that she could escape a little embarrassment. In the mean time, he started getting ready to prepare the porridge. There would be enough that Shiro could have a full meal too. He mentally gave a prod to his Mom for thinking so far ahead and cooking so much for breakfast. When he finished doing the preparations so that the porridge could boil, he took the chance to lock the door since that had been forgotten as well.

"Breakfast smells...good?"

Shiro stepped off the staircase to the kitchen and rubbed his eyes.

"Oh, of course. Good morning Kazu-neechan. Mom's food never tastes or smells good..."

He was...brutally honest. He hated bad food because of how often food turned out bad when his mother cooked. It was better at least when Shino cooked, but his favourite food was either from eating out or when Kazuto was over for a day. Apparently the exact type of food a cool older sister would be able to make.

"Rice porridge? At least it's better than Mom's food. I guess you'd be cooking for Onee-chan anyway since that's why you're over today in the first place. Even sick people food is amazing when Kazu-neechan makes it."

His praise of Kazuto's cooking wasn't making him happy.

"Breakfast will be ready in a minute. Get a bowl and spoon ready for yourself and Shino."

Kazuto had become used to handling Shiro...it was just the times when he was being insistent on them becoming a romantic pair that Kazuto couldn't handle him.

The breakfast was ready shortly after Shiro finished setting the bowls on the counter.

"Can you bring me a tray for Shino's breakfast? I'll bring it to her while you eat yours."

Kazuto divided the food into the bowls and decorated them with a berry topping like his mother taught him. He was proud of every meal he made which looked as good as it smelt in the end. He only really finished what his mother had made this time, but it only cut a little time out of the process. It was the same as cooking it from scratch.

"It looks so good..."

"Hands off. Thanks for grabbing the dishes, but go wash your hands before you eat."

Kazuto set Shiro's food in his space at the table, making the setting properly and arranging Shino's food and spoon on the tray before he headed carefully up the stairs to her room. Shiro could be much more easily handled when it came to food cooked by Kazuto. Any other situation it was at least a little more difficult.

When he arrived at the door for Shino's room, he shifted the tray to one hand and knocked lightly at the door.

"Good morning Shino. You'd better be in bed. I'm bringing you breakfast."

He was responded with a cough. He waited for a few more seconds. When words didn't reply to his statement of bringing her breakfast, he opened the door to find that she was still asleep and covered by her sheets. Her face was barely out of the sheets. When she was asleep, he couldn't help but see her feminine side. She still didn't need her glasses, but when he saw them on her night stand, he wanted to see her sleeping with them on. That wasn't a good idea though especially if she shifted in her sleep and crushed them.

"Wake up sleepy head."

He poked her up facing cheek and she scrunched her face in response for a second before waking up.

"Definitely too nice to be Mom waking me up... Good morning Kazuto..."

Her face was flush and her voice sounded stuffy from congestion. Kazuto had her shift over so that he could place the tray on her lap and grabbed a tissue for her to blow her nose with.

"Blow your nose. Don't touch breakfast for a minute, I'll bring a cloth for you to wash your hands."

She smiled after blowing her nose and he tossed the tissue in the trash bin beside her bed.

"Kazuto will make a good Mom someday."

"I'll be the Dad thank you very much. I'll be right back."

He left her for no less than a minute. He went across the hall to the upstairs washroom and grabbed a clean cloth from the drawer and wet it under the sink with warm water for washing her hands. When he returned to the room, she had the spoon filled with a scoop of porridge ready to fill her mouth.

"Clean your hands first...or you'll be staying sick!"

He walked quickly over to her, grabbed the spoon with his free hand and put the spoon back into the bowl before grabbing her hands one at a time with the cloth and wiping them clean. He felt awkward cleaning her hands for her in the end and let go when he was done.

"Now you can eat."

She gave him a coy look, which didn't last long before she started coughing.

"It might be better that I feed you..."

"Don't do that! You'll get sick!"

"That doesn't matter. If you get better, you can look after me. I have a good immune system anyway. How many times have I been sick?"

She tried thinking of an answer, but she couldn't think of a single time Kazuto had been sick.

"Darn it..."

Admitting defeat, she opened her mouth and looked at him expectantly. She waited a few seconds before getting embarrassed.

"What, you want me to say ahh too?"

He blushed harder and retorted with no.

When he finally found himself in the mood, he started feeding her the porridge. Of course the calm and slightly embarrassing situation wouldn't last long. Kazuto should have closed the door at least, because Shiro was watching around the corner and Shino caught sight of him peeking. As soon as he knew he was caught, he just had to get some words in.

"You two really are just the perfect couple. You should just start dating already."

Kazuto didn't bother dealing with him, and when he ran off as if he were being chased, they were left alone again. Shino couldn't get in the mood again to let Kazuto feed her. She claimed she was feeling full. It was definitely more from the embarrassment changing her mood.

"I'll be back in a minute with a cold cloth for your forehead. You have a bit of a fever still. You should get back to resting after I give you the cold cloth."

Kazuto grabbed up the tray and smiled at her before leaving the room. He felt all kinds of feelings about the situation. It had been a while since he helped take care of Shino when she was sick, but now he knew his feelings for her. He knew he liked her as more than a friend.

When he returned after putting the dishes in the sink to clean when he would go back to the kitchen and putting the ingredients for lunch away, the cold cloth in hand, Shino was asleep again. She must be exhausted from the sickness. It was nothing more than a bad head cold, but that alone could render some people with weaker immune systems sick for days without proper care.

He felt a different kind of care for her fill him when he saw her helplessly fighting the sickness that would prevent her from doing the things she normally did. He lightly shifted her so not to wake her and cradled her head between the pillows and sheets on her bed so that the cloth wouldn't fall off in her sleep. He smiled when he saw what almost seemed like a fortress surrounding her face in the making of sheets and pillows. She had a bit of a sour expression on her face, but she still wasn't awake.

"K...Kazu...like you..."

His face instantly felt like it had been thrust into a fire with the prickling feeling of his skin and the rising temperature that meant his face was growing full flush red in embarrassment. He wanted to go over and kiss her, but his urge was halted by the feeling of eyes on his back.

"How will he act? Will Kazu-nii steal a kiss while Onee-chan sleeps? The drama of children in love!"

He whispered it in a dramatic tone. Kazuto didn't give chase. He didn't want to disturb Shino's sleep. He closed the door when he left the room and went back to the kitchen to clean up from the breakfast. Shiro finally stopped being so annoying, mostly keeping to his room.

For the rest of the day, Shiro stayed out of the way except for when Kazuto went to change Shino's forehead cloth and check her temperature. When he would bring her lunch. Between taking care of her, he cleaned the kitchen and living space, and even cleaned up Shino's room a bit. She ended up sleeping most of the day. At some point, Shiro became bored of saying how much they should be a couple with lack of reaction and just stayed in his room.

When Shino and Shiro's mother returned after work, not only was she thrilled at how clean the house was, she mentioned she wanted help with dinner which felt relieving to Kazuto for Shino's sake. Kazuto ended up making the supper after finding out the ingredient situation. Asada-san was frustrated, but happy that Kazuto was so diligent and impeccable at the work. Especially when there wasn't a single dish left besides those the food was on after he finished cooking.

Dinner of a light sushi with slightly-off porridge rice for Shino's sake, a light noodle soup similar to ramen with spice just enough to help with burning the congestion out of the sinuses. The spiciness wasn't too strong for everyone else...although he did add some more spice to his own bowl of soup. Before dinner was finished being made, their father showed up.

"Oh my...Kazuto-chan ended up cooking again. We might as well hire him to be a live-in maid."

Kazuto protested immediately and said he should dump out the father's serving. To which everyone laughed. While everyone else sat down and waited, Kazuto went back upstairs to wake Shino and bring her down to eat with the family. At that point, she had rested enough and cooled down from her fever enough that she should be able to handle eating with everyone.

When she was able to talk normally after waking that time without the groggy feeling in her sinuses, she stared at Kazuto, the light of her bedside lamp the only light in the room.

"I'm worried...will Kazuto be the wife, or will it be me? Kazuto is so good at all the housework, and I'm...like Mom."

"Uh, Shino, you are awake."

Kazuto interrupted her pseudo sleep-talk with informing her she was in fact awake.

"D-did I just say something embarrassing?"

He shook his head to stop from the embarrassment continuing. Plus, she needed to eat.

"Let's get downstairs so you can eat with everyone. You should be better enough now."

She couldn't but help smile at Kazuto. Neither could he help but smile at her.

"You did well today, Shino."

"Thank you so much, Kazu."

They finally went down to have dinner with the rest of her family. Nobody started waiting until Kazuto picked up his chopsticks and said the traditional line.

"Thank you for the food."