POV Takao

Shin-chan was out running in the cold on the last December day while Kaori and I ate in companionable silence in the kitchen. There were three plates set because 8 am was fast approaching and we all knew he'd be back before the Oha Asa broadcast. I'd already finished my miso soap and most of the rice, but I had a tamagoyaki left on my plate. Frankly the grated daikon was a bit much for me, but I did it one bite at a time as Okasan smiled at me from the other side of the kitchen as she prepared Shin-chan's serving.

"I'm so glad we have you here, Kazu-kun," Okasan said and I ducked my head and smiled.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"It is especially exciting today, isn't it, Kaori. Finally, we have five family members for the five rooms!"

Kaori said nothing, but her eyes grew wide.

"What –" I began to ask, but Kaori reached across the table and put her hand on my arm and shook her head in a strange stuttering motion.

"Yes, Mom, it will be great." She looked at me and made a face that said it would be anything but great. "Ask brother, in private."

There were three bites left of my tamagoyaki when Shin-chan rushed into the kitchen. I turned on the television and he swept into his chair as his mother slipped a plate in front of him. As she turned away, he took the remains off my plate and popped them in his mouth. I smiled my thanks.

"Today's a lucky day for Taurus. Planning comes naturally to you; make sure you use all your resources wisely and you will ensure a prosperous New Year…" I tuned out and took my dishes to the sink, where I washed my plate.

"It will be a trying day for the water symbols Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces," the voice continued. Well, that meant Shin-chan, myself, and Otousan were about to have a crappy day, at least in Oha Asa's prediction. "Make sure you keep your lucky items close to you all day. Libra should play it safe and find a quiet corner to…"

"Right," Shin-chan announced and slurped back the rest of his miso, clearing his plate. "I'll go find out what our lucky items are. We can't take chances today. Did you tell him?" He directed the last comment to his sister, who shook her head and gestured to their mother.

"Shintarō? After you've done with that, I'd like you to join me in the garden so we can put the finishing touches on today's plans, so don't dawdle."

Shin-chan looked paler by the second, but he rose from the table. As he was leaving the room he stopped at his sister's side.

"I'll get your lucky item too, if you tell him," he said, staring at her with fear in his eyes. I started to get nervous as she bit her lip, weighing the options.

"Alright," she agreed. We sat at the table, not saying a word. The food in my stomach started to feel like a bad idea. As Okasan left the room, Kaori ran to the door and made sure she was gone.

"Shintarō comes by his OCD naturally," she says in her halting, shy voice.

"So, let me recap," I said as Kaori sat across from me in the kitchen. "Okasan gets a little crazy about New Years and everything has to be cleaned before midnight. We'll each be assigned our own bedroom and one other room in the house. Ok, I totally don't get what's so bad about that."

"You will," she said. Getting answers from her was almost as hard as getting a genuine laugh out of her brother. She felt I was properly warned, no matter what confusion I still felt, and she left the room.

We regrouped in the living room.

"Did she tell you?"

"I think so, but I don't get it; this house is spotless. What's the –" he stopped me as his parents entered the room. She had a box of clipboards and he carried a crate of supplies.

"Good morning again, family," Okasan began. "I'm very excited that we have Kazu-kun here to help us this year. We should finish at a good time so that we can get to the Shrine early and greet the rising sun."

There was a general murmur of agreement from the Midorima family members surrounding me. She ignored the less than enthusiastic response and took up the first set of clipboards. She handed one to her husband, to Shin-chan, and then Kaori. I peaked at Shin-chan's and it said in clear handwriting across the top of the page: Bedroom Checklist.

The entire page was filled with things that had to be done, from the very mundane airing out of the futons and changing the sheets, to the very specific like vacuuming the inside of the drawers. He saw me looking at the sheet with an increasing awareness of how long these tasks would take and then he flipped the page to show me there were two more below the first.

"Kazu-kun, since this is your first year doing this with us, Shintarō and I agreed that you will be given first choice for the shared room that will be your responsibility." I looked up at him and saw the slight inclination of his head as he gestured to the box with additional clipboards waiting.

"Um, ok," I said. "What are my choices?" Shin-chan left my side to stand behind his mother.

"The hall bathroom," she said and Shin-chan shook his head so subtly I almost missed it. "The garden…" He shook his head with more emphasis. "The kitchen…" There was almost panic in his green eyes at those words. "Or the living room." He nodded reluctantly.

"I'll take the living room," I said, hoping that whatever this meant, he hadn't betrayed me. Kaori pouted. Okasan handed me a clipboard and I flipped through the four pages of tasks.

"Shin-chan, you had the garden last year…" she said.

"I'll take the bathroom," Kaori said quietly, raising her hand.

"Thank you, Kaori," she said and handed over the clipboard. It was considerably larger than mine. Shin-chan shot Kaori a glare such as I had not seen since our last match against Razukan.

"That leaves you with the kitchen or the garden, Shintarō. Which would you prefer?"

He schooled his features as Okasan turned her attention back to him.

"I'll take the garden. My lucky item will work best in the garden," he scrambled to pull on the baseball cap.

"Yes, you certainly can't wear that inside," she agreed and handed over his clipboard which was almost thick enough to be a manga. "Nobou, here are your assignments," she said and hefted the largest of the clipboards out of the bottom of the box and handed it to her husband.

Thanks again to by Beta Reader - Andarkness23