This Story Happened Eight Years Ago

"Haruhi! What's this?"

Jin looked up from her bowl of rice, despite not being the child her father had addressed. She leaned to her right a little, trying to get a better look at the piece of paper Ryoji held aloft.

"Paper," was Haruhi's answer.

Their father's bright smile twitched, as did one of his eyelids. Suddenly he turned the paper to Jin, who quickly sat up properly on her chair.

"And you, Jin?"

Jin blinked at the paper now pointed in her direction. She skimmed the top line and understood her sister's bland response. Her hands felt very cold all of the sudden.

"Like Haru said, Dad. It's a piece of paper."

Ryoji hummed and started waving the paper from side to side. "I understand that it's a piece of paper, but a closer look reveals that it's also an invitation to parent's day at your school. I just happened to run into Yuta, whose daughter goes to your school, and she was surprised that I didn't kno-"

"Dad, aren't you going to eat?" Haruhi asked out of the blue, gazing up at their father. "Don't you like the miso soup?"

Ryoji looked down at the table and seemed surprised by the food that was there. Jin hid a small smile behind her own bowl of soup. This was the first time Haruhi had made all the side dishes for their dinner by herself, with Jin only contributing the main dish. The moment their father remembered that information, all mention of the paper stopped.

"I'll eat! Of course I'll eat! It's good! How thoughtful of you, Sweetheart!"

"The rolled egg didn't come out well. Sorry."

"That's not true! I'm very proud of how delicious everything turned out! You and Jin make such amazing meals for your dad who comes home late every night!" Ryoji suddenly scooped up his plate and turned toward their mother's shrine, showing her photo the food and openly weeping over the taste and the girl's skill. With their father's attention elsewhere, the sisters exchanged a quick glance. Now was their chance.

Quickly shoving the last bite of pork cutlet into her mouth, Jin gathered her dishes into a pile and slipped out of her chair, making a break for the sink. Haruhi attempted to follow suit.

"Oh… I have some homework. Thanks for dinner."

Jin winced as Haruhi's voice snapped Ryoji out of his groveling. He set his plate down with one hand while the other grabbed Haruhi by the shoulder, thwarting her escape attempt.

"Just. One. Minute. Why didn't you girls tell me it was parent's day?"

Jin grabbed the dishes from Haruhi's hands and stowed them away in the sink alongside her own, dodging their father's grasping hands.

"Come on, where did you put your invitations? I had to get this one from Yuta!"

"No," Haruhi yelled. "You can't come! You have work!"

"There's never enough people where you work, you told us!" Jin tacked on. "You work overtime and hardly ever take breaks!" She could clearly remember how exhausted their father looked when he got home barely an hour ago. Recently, he had taken to collapsing at the table for a quick meal before promptly falling asleep, not waking until his alarm went off the next morning.

Ryoji scoffed at their concern. "I can always take a day off! I'd just have to work an extra day to make up for it!"

"No!" Haruhi flung herself out of Ryoji's grasp and faced him, shouting loud enough for her voice to fill the whole apartment. "You can't come! I don't want you at parent's day!"

Jin's breath caught in her throat as she waited to see what reaction would come from their father next. He'd never liked when they shouted. Or when they were upset in any way. Let alone being upset at him. There was a chance he'd become angry with Haruhi. Or with both her and Jin. Or…

Ryoji fell back, eyes flicking back and forth between his two daughters but otherwise the man was frozen in place. After a few seconds, Haruhi turned and walked into her bedroom, sliding the door shut. When their father didn't move or react to this, Jin rushed into her room and shut the door as well.

Nothing was said between the three of them for the rest of the night. As the girls rode the train to school the next morning, Haruhi mentioned that the issue of parent's day was done with. Jin was not nearly so optimistic. Still, she was about to start another full day of being bullied at school, so there wasn't much time to think about their father or his feelings. It sounded bad, but Jin couldn't afford to be distracted from her classes any more than she already was.

In fact, it wasn't until after the school day had passed entirely and the girls had made it back home that they were reminded of how dramatic their father could be.

The first sign that something was off was when Jin went to open the door. On instinct, she placed her left hand on the door handle and stuck the key in the lock. To her surprise, the handle shifted beneath her hand. Jin turned the key and felt no resistance. The door had already been unlocked.

Haruhi, having not heard the deadbolt move, looked up at Jin in confusion. "I thought we locked the door before we left?"

"We did."

Jin slowly pushed the door open as quietly as she could and peeked through the crack, holding Haruhi back with her left hand. She didn't have to open the door very far. Sprawled across the kitchen counter was a strange man in a suit. He appeared to be posing. Jin almost withdrew in a panic, but something made her hesitate. Haruhi, curious, wiggled past Jin's arm to take a look for herself.

"...Dad?"

Haruhi pushed the door in all the way before Jin could stop her. Though, now that Haruhi had said something, Jin realized that the strange man was their father. Well… that certainly explained the whole "posed on the counter" thing. Except it didn't. Nor did it explain why he was dressed in a fancy suit or why his hair looked neatly pulled back. Except for his face, Ryoji looked entirely unrecognizable.

"Yo! Welcome home, Haruhi and Jin. How was school?"

They ignored the question.

"What's the matter?"

"Why are you posing on the counter?"

Their father chuckled and spread his arms grandly. "I wanted to show you what a manly father I could be!" He teetered on the edge and slammed his left hand down to steady himself. With his right, he brushed the loose bangs by his eyes to the side and smirked at his two daughters.

"Well," he asked, "Do you like this Papa better? Want to invite him to parent's day?"

"Not really."

*The Next Day*

Parent's day passed without a hitch. If anything, it went better than expected. And yet...

Jin sat at her bedroom desk and stared down at her homework. She had gathered everything she needed, but made no move to pick up her pencil. Jin didn't even register that she was staring at her pencil, memories from that school day flickered behind her eyes.

The presentations and tours for the parents hadn't been scheduled until that afternoon, which meant the morning passed by as it usually did. Cruel handwritten notes still spilled out of Jin's shoe locker. She still had to scrub her classroom desk clean of the mocking words someone had scribbled all over the top. Pieces of paper were thrown at her, her classmates roaring with laughter whenever one got stuck in her long hair. And at least two girls had "accidentally" hit Jin in the head with their school bags while walking past her desk.

It was a wonderful relief when the parents showed up. Suddenly, all the students were on their best behavior. They guided their parents around with bright, happy smiles, though most kept a wide berth around Jin. Whether it was because they didn't want to pretend to be nice or couldn't afford to be seen kindly introducing her to their parents, Jin was left alone. It was a great feeling. Jin had, absentmindedly, hoped that Haruhi wasn't feeling too lonely in her own classroom, but otherwise was grateful to have just a half-day's reprieve from the constant torment.

Until the school day ended.

Jin was usually the first one out the door at the end of the day in a rush to leave the school grounds and meet up with Haruhi in neutral territory before walking home. But with the large amount of people in the room and the hallway, she became caught up in the flow of bodies. Which slowed her down right in front of one of her least favorite classmates.

"No parents today, Freak?"

Jin said nothing. Her eyes couldn't help but dart around the nearby adults, hoping one of them might overhear the blatant bullying and come to her defense. But none of them seemed to notice the children by their waists. They were too busy with their own conversations.

"Oh, I forgot, you only have one now." The girl giggled, and two more voices joined in the snickering. Jin swallowed tightly as the first girl continued whispering. "So… what happened? He didn't want to come? I'm not surprised. If I was stuck with an uptight know-it-all in my house I wouldn't want to spend more time with them. What a shame. You aren't even loved by the parent who didn't die."

Jin finally managed to squirm out between the long legs, offering the adults a quick apology before rushing off down the hallway. Despite the traffic jam, one good thing about the many adults around was that she wasn't the only kid they slowed down. By the time she reached the edge of the school grounds, the triplets were nowhere in sight and Haruhi was already waiting for her.

"Nēchan?"

Back in the present, Jin yelped and jumped in her seat. Haruhi stood just outside Jin's bedroom, staring up at her sister. With a relieved sigh and smile, Jin beckoned her closer. Haruhi didn't hesitate.

"Nēchan," she said again, once she was standing beside Jin's desk. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I am, Haru! Say, I'm about to get started on my homework, but let me know when you start getting hungry. Dad's coming home late tonight so it's just us for dinner!"

Jin knew Haruhi wasn't convinced. She could see it in her eyes. But, instead of pushing the issue, Haruhi nodded along. Jin was grateful. Maybe someday she'd share the details of her school-life with Haruhi, but it would not be today. She would not burden her seven-year-old sister with all of that.

Haruhi rocked back on her heels before slowly walking back the way she came. Jin frowned, disappointed in herself for pushing Haruhi away. It was just another bad moment in her already bad day-

"Nēchan!"

Jin jumped for the second time, her pencil fumbling out from between her fingers and onto the floor. She stared at Haruhi, who had spun around sharply. Her mouth was pinched in a determined, yet nervous grimace.

"Yeah?"

"Halloween is next month!"

"Yes, it is."

"I have an idea for my costume!"

Jin slowly relaxed in her chair. While Haruhi was certainly acting a little… odd… it was still cute how excited she got about Halloween. Jin smiled.

"That's awesome! I haven't even started thinking about mine."

"Do you want to see it?"

"Right now?"

Haruhi nodded sharply.

"Um… sure?"

Haruhi nodded again and marched back to Jin's side, wrapping her hands around Jin's wrists and pulling her to her feet. "Go wait in the kitchen, then! I need stuff from both of our rooms and I want to surprise you with everything."

"You mean I can't even watch you gather-"

"No!" Haruhi eventually managed to corral Jin out of her bedroom, forcing her to stand next to the kitchen counter. "Now cover your eyes and don't peek!"

Jin had no choice but to do as she was told. Without further complaining, she raised her hands and covered her eyes, her fingers pushing her glasses up to her forehead. No longer able to watch, Jin listened as Haruhi started puttering around their small apartment. The doors to their rooms slid open and shut multiple times as Haruhi moved between them. From what it sounded like, Haruhi was gathering whatever she needed from Jin's room and moving them to hers. Every time she swapped rooms, she double checked that Jin was keeping her eyes shut. Eventually, Jin just turned around and faced the sink.

Jin quickly became bored as Haruhi continued to shuffle around in the background. She should've been allowed her math homework or something to entertain herself. She could've used the step stool and the counter while Haruhi changed.

Jin was just about to ask Haruhi if she was done using Jin's room, but Haruhi spoke first.

"Nēchan, open your eyes and turn around!"

Jin did so.

Haruhi stood in front of her bedroom door in her "costume". She was dressed up in a t-shirt with a cartoon hamster on the front, paired with a pair of jeans. The jeans were much too long for Haruhi and covered her feet despite being bunched up around her ankles. Haruhi squinted at Jin through a pair of red-framed glasses and had two familiar books wrapped tightly in her arms.

"Haru... are those my old glasses?"

"Mhm! Do you like it, Nēchan? I'm dressed up like my Hero!"

Something wet trickled down the side of Jin's face.

Haruhi quickly set the books down on the floor and shuffled across the kitchen, doing her best not to trip over the ends of Jin's pant legs. Jin's crying grew louder as she was pulled into a tight hug, burying her face into the top of Haruhi's head. The pair slid to the floor in a heap of limbs that was not entirely comfortable. Haruhi shuffled in Jin's hold until she was sitting sideways between Jin's legs, never once losing her grip on the back of Jin's shirt.

"I don't like that you're sad everyday, Nēchan," Haruhi whispered. Jin sniffled and rubbed her face against Haruhi's head, making hair stick to her cheeks. Haruhi didn't seem to notice. "It's not fair. But even though I can't help you at school, at least I can make you happy when you're home with me and Dad. Okay?"

With a stuttering breath, Jin pulled her face out of Haruhi's hair. Pulling all the itchy strands off her skin, she clumsily rubbed at her eyes. Haruhi's stare was waiting when she opened them again. Jin nodded slowly, using her shirt sleeve to dry the tears from her chin.

"Okay," she said, hoarsely. "I'll try to be happy when I'm home, Haru."

"Good."

"I'll have you to help me, at least."

"Exactly. I'm gonna get changed again."

Jin let her sister go and watched her slowly shuffle back towards their bedrooms. After taking a few seconds to finish composing herself, Jin also stood. She slipped into the bathroom and rubbed cold water all over her face. Her eyes especially, as they felt hot and irritated.

By the time she came back out, Jin felt refreshed and much lighter than before. Haruhi stepped out of her room, once again in her own casual clothes and tying her long brown hair up in a ponytail. She smiled when Jin joined her by the counter.

"Let's make dinner, Nēchan!"

"Yeah. Oh, I had an idea. Since it's the weekend, how about we take a break from homework just for tonight and play some card games instead?"

"In a blanket fort?" Haruhi asked.

"In a blanket fort," Jin agreed.

The sisters danced to music while they cooked, bobbing their heads and shoulders to the radio. With the help of a step stool and Jin's watchful eye, Haruhi once again put together all the side dishes for their meal by herself. Jin even taught Haruhi how to properly stand when cutting an onion so the fumes didn't make her eyes water.

Dinner passed on as joyfully as the cooking had. After carefully wrapping up a plate for their father and placing it in the fridge, the two girls giggled through their meal about the movie advertisements they had seen while riding the train home. Jin even brought out a bowl of strawberries for dessert and the pair ate them one by one, holding the larger ones up to their noses and cackling like witches from old Halloween movies they'd seen on television.

Before long, the dishes were empty, then washed, then put away until tomorrow, and the girls began construction on their fort.

Jin let out a heavy breath as she dropped her futon on top of Haruhi's. Immediately, Haruhi crawled between the two futons and used her body to push Jin's up onto its side, forcing it to lean against her bedroom wall. Jin rushed to fetch her desk chair, which would be used to hold up the blanket, when there was a knock at the door.

Both girls went quiet.

"Did Dad forget his key?"

"I don't-"

"Hey, Jin! Haruhi!"

Jin rushed to the door and pulled it open.

"Boss?" She didn't know the man's proper name, just that he was her father's boss. Speaking of which...

"Dad?!"

Jin stepped back and watched as her father was dragged into their apartment. Likely brought out of his stupor by the bright lights, Ryoji looked up with a soft hum. He spotted Haruhi coming out of her bedroom and slipped from his boss's grasp, throwing himself around Haruhi like she was a big teddy bear.

"Haruhi! I'm home!"

"You smell like beer!"

Ryoji's boss sighed and rubbed his shoulder. "I'm sorry about this, girls. He drank a bit too much after work. I guess not being invited to parent's day hit him hard. Next time, would you invite him?"

Jin and Haruhi exchanged a glance. They were both thinking the same thing.

"No."

Jin walked over to her father and sister, leaning over her father's back and hugging him around the neck. On his other side, Haruhi spoke again.

"I'd rather have you stay at home. You're always tired, so on your days off you should rest at home. And that way… Nēchan and I get to spend all day with you."

Jin could feel her father tighten his grip around Haruhi's frame, his left hand coming up to hold onto Jin's hands. She could hear his boss shutting the door behind them, but the three didn't move from their spot on the floor.

That is, until…

"Hey, is that a blanket fort I see?"