Five Stories with Five Year Olds
Over the course of these last five years, Haru and Yusuke learned that having twin girls in their respective lives is a surefire way to make them more interesting; even more so when they start walking and talking. Let's see what kind of things Haru, Yusuke, and their five year old daughters Mana and Mitsu get up to, shall we?
Short Story #1: Baby Teeth
In the kitchen, we see Haru taking some freshly baked cookies out of the oven. She takes a quick whiff of them and smiles to herself, proud with how they turned out.
"Girls, cookies are ready!" Haru called her daughters.
Mana was coloring in a coloring book in the living room while Mitsu was upstairs in her room playing with dolls when their mother called.
"COOKIES!" Mana and Mitsu both exclaimed.
Both girls came bolting from their respective spots in the house, excited to have some of their mother's delicious cookies. However, they weren't looking where they were going and Mana crashed into Mitsu, both face first.
They fell down to the floor and the next sound Haru heard was the sound of her daughters' sobs. Quickly, she ran out of the kitchen to tend to her daughters just as Yusuke came downstairs from his art studio for the same reason.
"What happened? What happened?" Haru asked worriedly.
"Mana crashed into me!" Mitsu wailed.
"You're the one who crashed into me!" Mana cried.
As the two girls continued to sob, Haru and Yusuke helped them to their feet.
"It's okay," Yusuke said in a soothing tone, "Let's take you two to the bathroom to see what the damage is."
Haru and Yusuke take their daughters to the bathroom to see if there are any serious injuries. They both have a bump on their foreheads and small bruises on their noses, so Yusuke went to get Mana and Mitsu some ice packs while Haru continued to examine them.
"Are you girls feeling alright?" Haru asked.
"Yeah," Mana and Mitsu both answered, having calmed down a little.
"You girls need to be more careful," Haru said soothingly, "Running is an outdoor activity. My cookies weren't going anywhere."
"We were just so excited mommy," Mana said.
"Yeah, we love your cookies," Mitsu chimed in.
As her daughters spoke, however, Haru noticed something missing from inside their mouths.
"Hold on," Haru said, "Can you girls open up your mouths for me, please?"
Curious, Mana and Mitsu opened their mouths and Haru saw that a tooth was missing from each of their mouths.
"Oh my goodness!" Haru gasped, "You girls lost your first baby teeth!"
"What?!" Mitsu exclaimed.
"No!" Mana cried.
"No, girls, this is a good thing!" Haru said, "It means you two are growing up. See, part of growing up is losing what is commonly referred to as 'baby teeth'. Everyone loses their baby teeth so bigger, stronger teeth can grow in their place."
"That's so cool!" Mana said in awe.
"But when will we get these stronger teeth?" Mitsu asked.
"It might be a while, sweetheart," Haru said, "Just be patient."
"Okay," Mitsu said, "But what are we going to do with the teeth that we lost?"
As if on cue, Yusuke appeared in the bathroom doorway holding the ice packs in one hand and Mana and Mitsu's two baby teeth in the other.
"I found these at the foot of the stairs," Yusuke said, "They must've fallen out when you girls crashed into each other."
"Daddy found them!" Mana cheered, "Thanks, daddy!"
"You're welcome," Yusuke said as he handed his daughters their respective teeth as well as an ice pack to treat their bruises.
"Anyway, to answer your question, Mitsu," Haru continued, "Once a baby tooth has fallen out, you have to place it under your pillow so the Tooth Fairy can come and get it?"
"What does a fairy want with our teeth?" Mana asked.
"It's a mystery," Haru said.
"But the catch is she leaves money in exchange for your teeth," Yusuke chimed in.
"Money!" Mana and Mitsu gasped in amazement.
"Yup," Yusuke replied, "So later tonight before you go to bed, make sure you put your teeth beneath your pillow so the Tooth Fairy can come and give you girls some money."
"You got it, daddy!" Mana said.
Later that night, Mana and Mitsu went to bed and placed their respective tooth underneath their pillow. About two hours later when Haru and Yusuke were ready to go to bed, the former went into Mana's room to take her tooth while the latter went into Mitsu's room to take her tooth. After they took their respective tooth, they left ¥710 each on their nightstand before sneaking out of their daughter's bedrooms and retreating to their own room.
The next morning, we see Haru and Yusuke preparing breakfast in the kitchen when their daughters excited cheers as they come from upstairs catch their attention.
"Mommy! Daddy! Mommy! Daddy!" Mana and Mitsu cheered as they entered the kitchen holding their respective ¥710.
"Good morning to you too, girls," Haru said with a smile on her face, "How did you two sleep? Did the Tooth Fairy come last night?"
"Yes and yes!" Mitsu said as she and Mana showed their parents their money.
"That's very nice!" Yusuke said, "What do you girls plan on doing with the money?"
"I think I'm going to save it, daddy," Mitsu said.
"Me too," Mana said, "I'm going to go put this in my piggy bank."
"And I'll put my money in my piggy bank," Mitsu said as she and Mana left the kitchen, leaving Haru and Yusuke alone.
"Saving their money, and at the age of five," Yusuke said in amazement, "We've raised some smart little girls, haven't we, darling?"
"We certainly have," Haru said as she and Yusuke suddenly hear their daughters talking.
"I wonder if we can make more money from our teeth, Mana," Mitsu said.
"I don't see why not," Mana said, "Try crashing into me again so we can lose some more teeth!"
Hearing that made Haru and Yusuke's faces drop.
"Clearly not smart enough!" Haru said as she and Yusuke dropped everything to stop their daughters from hurting themselves in the pursuit of losing more teeth to get more money.
Short Story #2: Poo-Head
One day, we see Mitsu happily taking a nap in her bed when suddenly the alarm clock on her nightstand goes off. She wakes up with a start and sees that it's 3:00 P-M.
"Oh boy, 3 P-M!" Mitsu said excitedly as she jumped out of bed and ran out of her room and down the stairs.
3 P-M was a very special time for Mitsu as that's when 'Greenie' (Bluey) was on. It was just a slice-of-life show meant for children Mitsu's age that follows the life of an anthropomorphic green dog and her family.
Mitsu was ready to sit herself down in front of the T.V for the next hour when she was suddenly met with a disappointing sight. And that sight was Mana having beat her to her spot in the living room ready to watch one of her shows.
"Mana, what do you think you're doing?" Mitsu asked as she walked over to her sister.
"Settling in to watch My Mini Horsey (My Little Pony)," Mana answered, "What are you doing?"
"You know 3 P-M is my T.V time," Mitsu said defensively, "Greenie is on right now! I never missed an episode and I'm not going to start now!"
"Well you're going to miss this one," Mana said, "My Mini Horsey got moved from 4 P-M to 3 P-M to make room for some new show and mommy gave me permission to watch it down here."
"That's not fair!" Mitsu pouted, "Mom and dad have a T.V in their room! Why don't you just watch your show up there?"
"I don't want to watch my show upstairs on the small T.V," Mana said, "I want to watch it downstairs on the big T.V."
"Sometimes life is about doing things we don't want to do," Mitsu said, "Besides, between the two of us I was born first, therefore I should get the downstairs T.V."
"But I was here first," Mana defended herself, "If you wanted this T.V, you shouldn't have been napping."
"Oh yeah!" Mitsu said, getting angry, "Well…you shouldn't be such a poo-head!"
Hearing that made Mana's face drop and her heart break. Mana always was a very sensitive child, meaning it was easy for her feelings to get hurt, and her sister calling her a 'Poo-head' was enough to make tears well up in her eyes. Mitsu saw this and realized that she crossed the line.
"Uh-oh!" Mitsu said worried.
And with that, Mana began bawling her eyes out, the sound of her heartbroken cries bringing Yusuke and Haru into the living room to see what was wrong.
"Mana, what's the matter?" Yusuke asked.
"M-Mitsu called me a 'poo-head'," Mana sobbed.
"Mitsu," Haru said in a disappointed tone, "That's not very nice."
"But she wouldn't let me watch 'Greenie'," Mitsu tried to defend herself, "I tried to tell her to watch her show upstairs in your room but she wouldn't listen."
"In all fairness Mana was in front of the downstairs T.V first," Yusuke said.
"What?!" Mitsu asked in an incredulous tone, "But I always watch T.V down here!"
"We understand this is your usual spot, sweetheart" Haru said, "But sometimes we need to adapt to different situations. You could've watched your show upstairs in our room while Mana watched her show down here."
"And when you don't get your way that's no excuse to call others names," Yusuke said, "As you can see, words hurt."
"Inari doesn't hurt when Auntie Futaba calls you 'Inari', dad," Mitsu said.
"Auntie Futaba doesn't intend to hurt my feelings when she does that," Yusuke said, "You on the other hand intended to hurt Mana's feelings."
"This is so not fair!" Mitsu angrily pouted as she stomped her foot in a mini-tantrum, "Why are you two taking her side! You don't love me!"
"That is just not true, Mitsu," Haru said, "Your father and I love both you and Mana equally. Now go to room and think about what you said to your sister. We'll be up in a few minutes to discuss this with you."
"Hmph!" Mitsu pouted as she stomped upstairs to her room.
When Mitsu made it to her room, she threw herself on the bed, burying her face into her pillow so she could scream into it.
"It's not fair!" Mitsu said to herself as she turned herself around on the bed and looked up at the ceiling, "Why does Mana always get what she wants? I was born before her, I have seniority, I…I…I am not much better than her."
Being alone gave Mitsu some time to think about her actions and her way of thinking.
"I complain that Mana gets what she wants, but I'm not much better thinking that I'm entitled to everything just because I'm older than her," Mitsu thought to herself, "The world doesn't revolve around me and I should learn to share and adapt like mom said. Even worse, I took advantage of Mana's sensitivity and used it to intentionally hurt her feelings in an attempt to get my way. I've been a horrible sister."
As Mitsu sat up in bed and hung her head in shame, a knock came at the door.
"Come in," Mitsu said as the door opened up and Haru, Yusuke, and Mana stepped inside.
"Mitsu, I believe both you and Mana have some things you need to say to each other," Haru said as Mana stepped forward and Mitsu got out of bed.
"Mitsu," Mana began, "I'm sorry I took the downstairs T.V without asking if it was okay if I could use it. I know I asked mom first, but I should've asked you too as that's where you usually watch your shows. I was wrong for trying to push you out, and I'm sorry."
"No, Mana, I'm the one who should be sorry," Mitsu said, "I've been an awful sister to you just now; thinking I'm entitled to everything because I'm older, taking advantage of your fragile nature. It was wrong of me to do those things. I'm sorry for being a brat and calling you a poo-head."
She then looked up at Haru and Yusuke.
"And I'm sorry for accusing you of loving Mana more than me," Mitsu said, "I guess I let my emotions get the better of me."
"It happens to the best of us, Mitsu," Yusuke said, "But the important thing is you and Mana realized you were both in the wrong and you apologized."
"Yeah," Mitsu said as she looked back at Mana, "Mana, I really can't say sorry enough. Can you forgive me?"
"Of course," Mana said with a smile as she and Mitsu gave each other a hug. Haru and Yusuke smile seeing their daughters successfully make up, meaning that they're on good terms again.
"Just what I like to see," Yusuke said, "A happy ending."
"Yeah," Haru nodded, "Now there's no need for the axe."
"Axe?" Mana and Mitsu asked as they looked at their floofy haired mother.
"Why do you need an axe, mom?" Mitsu asked.
"Uh…for chopping wood!" Haru quickly answered, "If you girls didn't make up I was going to make you both chop wood together as a sort of 'bonding exercise'."
As Haru chuckled to herself, Mana and Mitsu just continued to look at their mother with confused looks on their faces. Fortunately, Yusuke was there to break this awkward tension.
"Who wants ice cream?" Yusuke asked.
"ME!" Mana, Mitsu, and even Haru shouted as Yusuke led his wife and daughters out of the room so they could get some ice cream from the freezer downstairs in the kitchen.
Short Story #3: Violin
One day, Mana was lying on her stomach on her bedroom floor drawing a picture of the Kitagawa Household. She had already sketched it with her pencil and was now using colored pencils to color it in. As she continued to work, her sister Mitsu came in to go get her.
"Mana, dinner is ready," Mitsu said as she saw her sister feverishly coloring in her drawing, "What are you doing?" Mitsu asked as she stepped inside her sister's room.
"I'm making this drawing of our house," Mana answered, "I've been working on it for the last three days."
"Well that explains why you hardly came out of your room recently," Mitsu said as she took a look at her sister's drawing. As she did, she noticed just how much work her floofy haired sister put into it; Mitsu was legitimately impressed.
"Wow, Mana, that's so good!" Mitsu exclaimed.
"You mean it?" Mana asked, happily.
"Yeah," Mitsu nodded, "We've gotta show mom and dad! I know they'll love it too! Come on!"
Mana and Mitsu leave the bedroom and rush downstairs to the dining room, the drawing still in Mana's grasp.
When the twins entered the dining room, they saw Haru and Yusuke getting the table set for dinner.
"Mom, dad," Mitsu called, "Take a look at the drawing Mana made!"
Mana put her drawing of the Kitagawa Household on the table so her parents could take a look at it. Much like Mitsu when she first saw it, both Kitagawa parents were amazed with how much work their daughter put into her drawing.
"This is amazing, Mana," Haru exclaimed.
"You really made this?" Yusuke asked in awe.
"Yup," Mana said proudly, "Worked on it for the last three days."
"What made you decide to make this?" Yusuke asked.
"I don't know," Mana said with a shrug of her shoulders, "I've been watching you paint and sketch ever since I was born daddy. It looked kind of fun when you did it, so I wanted to try."
"I had no idea leaving your playpen in my studio while I worked on my art projects would have this great of an effect on you," Yusuke said as she and Haru continued to look at Mana's drawing.
"Wait here, you three," Haru said as she took the drawing, "I'm putting this on the fridge."
Haru left the dining room to hang up Mana's drawing while Mitsu suddenly had a sad look on her face.
"What's wrong, Mitsu?" Yusuke asked.
"Just seeing Mana's talent with art made me wish I was as talented as her at something like that," Mitsu answered.
"I'm sure there's something you're good at, Mitsu," Yusuke said, "In fact, starting tomorrow, I'll help you find your talent. How does that sound?"
"That sounds wonderful!" Mitsu smiled as she hugged Yusuke.
The next morning, Yusuke and Mitsu set off in an attempt to find a talent that Mitsu could call her own. What follows is a montage of them trying to find said talent.
The first attempt involved them seeing if Mitsu was able to write something. Yusuke left his daughter alone in her room so she could write a short poem. We see Mitsu write feverishly on a piece of paper and 15 minutes when Yusuke came back, Mitsu presented Yusuke with what she made so far…What Mitsu made was just a stylized version of the word 'The'. Mitsu looked down at the floor embarrassed and she realized that she's not much of a writer.
The second attempt had Yusuke clear out his art studio until the room was entirely empty. The next potential talent they were going to try was dancing. Yusuke went over to a nearby radio and started playing some music so Mitsu could start dancing to it…it turns out clearing the studio out was a good call because with just about every dance move Mitsu tried, she ended up tripping, falling, and hurting herself. Having seen enough, Yusuke turned the music off and tended to any minor injuries Mitsu may have gotten while trying to dance.
The third attempt involved seeing where Mitsu's athletic capabilities were. Mitsu and Yusuke were seen in the backyard trying out various sports. Mitsu was first seen giving tee ball a try…she kept missing the ball with each swing of the bat she made. The second sport Mitsu tried was golf. She swung her club at the ball…but her grip on it wasn't tight enough and the club went flying off into the distance until a crashing sound was heard followed by the sound of a car alarm blaring. The third sport Mitsu tried was gymnastics. She tried jumping over the pommel horse, only to wipe out and land on her face.
"Oh no!" Yusuke cried as Mitsu sat up and started to cry in frustration.
"Oh, it's okay Mitsu," Yusuke said as he got Mitsu back on her feet.
"Why can't I do anything right?!" Mitsu asked, wiping tears from her eyes, "I just want to be special like Mana!"
"Come on," Yusuke said as he rubbed his daughter's shoulder, "Let's go inside and take a break."
Lovingly holding onto his daughter's hand, he walked Mitsu back inside the house where they sat on the couch in the living room.
"Let's see what's on T.V, shall we?" Yusuke asked as Mitsu nodded her head in agreement.
Yusuke picked up the remote and turned the T.V on before flipping through channels. One of the channels that Yusuke flipped through however showed a woman playing violin on a big stage in front of hundreds of people.
"Wait, dad, hang on," Mitsu said, "What's that lady doing?"
"She's just playing the violin, Mitsu," Yusuke answered, "It's really quite a beautiful instrument. Despite that however, it's also one of the most difficult instruments to master."
"It is beautiful," Mitsu concurred.
As Mitsu watched the lady on the television perform, the blue haired girl was completely enamored by the music. So much so that she started to see herself on stage in front of hundreds of adoring fans. Having seen enough, Mitsu turned to her father.
"You think I can try that one day?" Mitsu asked.
"I don't see why not," Yusuke said, "An old classmate of mine teaches violin on the weekends. I can get in contact with him and see if we can schedule a lesson."
"Great!" Mitsu smiled.
We cut to later that weekend where Yusuke is seen bringing Mitsu to his old classmate's house. The violin teacher is seen setting up a stand before placing a music book upon it. After that, the teacher gives Mitsu a violin and goes over scales with her. Mitsu seemed to grasp onto the exercises quickly, much to the amazement of Yusuke and his classmate turned violin teacher.
"Very good, Mitsu," the violin teacher said, "I think you're ready to play a song."
"Okay, what song do you want me to play?" Mitsu asked.
"This one right here," the violin teacher said as she pointed at the title of the song, "'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'."
"Okay," Mitsu nodded.
"It's the perfect song for beginners," the violin teacher said, "Since you are still a young fledgling, don't be too upset if you-"
But just like that, Mitsu started to play 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' with little to no trouble at all. She never missed a note and she played at the proper speed. This is what really amazed Yusuke and the violin teacher.
"Holy smokes!" the violin teacher exclaimed, "You played that song to perfection on your first try. How did you do that?!"
"I don't know," Mitsu said with a shrug of her shoulders, "I just get it."
"That's simply amazing," The violin teacher said in awe before looking at Yusuke, "Your daughter is unlike any student I've ever had. None have grasped onto the concept as quickly and as well as her. She may very well be a prodigy."
"You hear that, dad?" Mitsu asked, "I'm a prodigy…whatever that means."
"A prodigy is a young person, like yourself, who is gifted with exceptional qualities and abilities," Yusuke said, "I think we may have finally found your talent, Mitsu. Are you happy?"
"Very," Mitsu replied as she looked at her violin in pride.
"If you're serious about the violin, Mitsu, you can keep that violin I gave you," The violin teacher said.
"You mean it?!" Mitsu asked excitedly.
"I have plenty of them," The violin teacher said, "Besides, the violin is a very expensive instrument. I'd be doing you a favor if I gave you one of my own."
"Oh, thank you!" Mitsu cheered, "Thank you so much! What song do you want me to play next?"
"How about, 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'?" The violin teacher asked as she pointed at the song in the book.
"You got it!" Mitsu said as she started to play the song as beautifully as the last one. Yusuke and the violin teacher watched Mitsu happily as she continued to play, and Mitsu herself was overjoyed that she found a talent that she could call her own.
Short Story #4: Bravery
With Mana being a very sensitive girl, that also meant she was easy to startle and frighten.
Anytime a scary scene would come on during a movie or show the family was watching, she'd always cover her eyes with her hands and wait until Haru, Yusuke, or Mitsu told her that the scene was over.
Anytime she had to go to the basement for any reason, she'd have her parents or Mitsu go down for her as not only was it dark down there with very poor lightning, but the sounds that the water heater makes sends chills down her spine.
But perhaps what she finds scariest of all is whenever a thunderstorm rolls through the area, especially if it's the dead of night when everyone is supposed to be asleep…which is exactly what's going on right now.
Due to the sound of heavy rainfall, blustery winds, and crashing thunder outside, poor Mana was cowering beneath her sheets. With her parents and Mitsu asleep in their respective rooms, the little floofy haired girl felt like she had no one to run to for help. She tried to close her eyes and go back to sleep, but everytime she tried a loud rumble of thunder would startle her.
Eventually, Mana got so scared that she got out of bed and ran across the hall to Mitsu's room. She opened Mitsu's bedroom door and took a peek inside to find her sister sleeping soundly in her bed. Mana crept over to Mitsu as the storm continued to rage outside.
"Mitsu," Mana whispered, causing her sister to wake up.
"Mana, what's wrong?" Mitsu asked.
"I can't sleep," Mana said, "The storm is scaring me. Can I sleep with you tonight?"
Mitsu gave it some thought before moving the sheets aside so her sister could get in bed with her.
"Get in," Mitsu said as her sister got under the covers with her.
"Thanks sis," Mana said.
"Whatever," Mitsu yawned, "Just, in the future, go to mom and dad with this kind of stuff."
"Okay," Mana said as she settled herself in, "How are you so brave, Mitsu?"
"Hmm?" Mitsu went.
"You're just so much more brave than I am," Mana said, "You're not scared of anything; thunderstorms, the basement, spiders. You're not even phased by those things while I begin quivering at the thought of them. What's your secret? How are you so brave?"
"Don't think too deep into it," Mitsu said, "I'm scared of lots of things, but I know that being afraid and avoiding them will only give me misery. So, instead of cowering, I face whatever it is I'm afraid of head on."
"Just face your fears head on?" Mana asked, "There's gotta be more to it than that."
"Nope," Mitsu said, "The best thing to do when you're scared of something is to acknowledge whatever it is you're so afraid of and just face it. Fear is all in the mind. Remember that."
"Okay, sis, I will," Mana said as she snuggled closer to her sister, "Goodnight, Mitsu, and thank you."
"Whatever," Mitsu said with a yawn, "Don't mention it."
With the two sisters cuddled up next to each other, they fall asleep as the storm outside slowly but surely subsides.
The next morning Haru was seen in the kitchen putting bagels in the toaster oven when Mana and Mitsu come downstairs for breakfast.
"Good morning, girls, how did you two sleep?" Haru asked.
"Fine," Mana and Mitsu responded.
"What's for breakfast, mom?" Mitsu asked.
"I'm toasting up some bagels," Haru said, "What would you girls like on them? I have butter, cream cheese, peanut butter."
"I'd like some grape jelly, please," Mitsu said.
"You'll have to grab a jar from the basement," Haru said; the basement is where the Kitagawas store any excess canned goods.
"I'm on it," Mitsu said.
"No, I'm on it," Mana said as she ran over to the basement door, surprising both her and Haru.
"Mana wants to go to the basement by herself?" Haru asked, "That's new."
"Last night, I told Mana that sometimes the best way to be brave is to tackle fear head on," Mitsu said, "Still, I'm going to go over and see if she needs any help."
Mitsu and Haru went in the direction Mana went and they found her opening the basement door, turning on the light switch, and taking a deep breath before going downstairs into the basement.
Mana crept down the stairs, listening to each creaking noise that they made. She eventually made it to the bottom and took a look around until she found the shelf containing all of the Kitagawa Family's canned and jarred goods. As she made her way to the shelf, however, the water heater started going, creating a loud and ghastly noise that startled Mana, stopping her in her tracks as she dropped down on her knees and shut her eyes.
As Mana started to cower, she remembered what it was that Mitsu told her.
"Fear is all in the mind."
"Fear is all in the mind," Mana said to herself as she stood back up on her two feet and continued walking towards the shelf, the water heater still making noise, "Fear is all in the mind. The water heater is just a bunch of noise. Nothing to be afraid of."
As Mana kept repeating her mantras, she made it to the shelf and grabbed a jar of grape jelly before returning up the stairs.
When she made it to the top of the stairs, she found Mitsu and Haru waiting for her and she proudly held up the grape jelly jar.
"I got the jelly," Mana said proudly.
"You went into the basement all by yourself," Haru asked.
"Yes, mommy," Mana answered, "The basement isn't so scary after all."
"That's so wonderful, sweetheart," Haru exclaimed, happy that her daughter managed to face her fears.
"You did it, sis," Mitsu said proudly, "You faced your fears. How do you feel?"
"I feel awesome!" Mana admitted, "I feel a little bit stronger. And I couldn't have done it without you, Mitsu. You're the best!"
Mana gave Mitsu a hug, happy that she not only faced her fears, but had someone like her in her life to support and encourage her to be better in life.
Short Story #5: Minato
One bright, sunny day, Haru and Yusuke decided to take their daughters out to the park so they could go out and get some fresh air for a few hours.
When the Kitagawas got to the park, they saw Ren sitting on a bench across from the playground where he was watching his seven year old son Minato playing on the swingset. When their parents let them go into the playground to play, they decided to leave Minato be while they went over to the sandbox. Meanwhile, Haru and Yusuke took a seat next to Ren on the bench.
"Hey, Ren," Haru greeted.
"Hey there, Haru and Yusuke," Ren said to the couple, "Nice to see you and your daughters here."
"We figured it was a beautiful day and it would be the perfect opportunity for Mana and Mitsu to go out and get some fresh air," Yusuke said, "So, where's Ann and Kimiko?"
"Ann had a modeling gig she needed to attend, and Kimiko's not feeling well," Ren answered, "Fortunately, my mom is in town this weekend, so she's looking after her while I take Minato to the park."
"Poor, Kimiko," Haru said, "I have a good chicken noodle soup recipe that's supposed to work wonders if you have a cold."
"Really?" Ren asked, "You'll have to share it with me sometime."
As Ren continues to converse with Haru and Yusuke, we see Mana and Mitsu playing in the sandbox by making sandcastles.
"Hey, Mana, look at mine," Mitsu said as she showed her sister her well sculpted sand castle.
"Wow, sis, you made that super fast," Mana said, impressed.
"I don't mess around," Mitsu said with a proud nod, "Now the next step would be to make a moat. Pass me a shovel, please."
As Mana handed her sister a shovel, a bigger boy who appeared to be a year or two older Mana and Mitsu came up to the two girls.
"Hey, girls," the boy said in a mischievous tone, "Nice sandcastles."
"Say, thanks," Mana said, innocently, "You want to join us?"
"No, I just want to look at them," the boy said, "You two put a lot of work into them."
"We really have," Mitsu said, proudly.
"It would be a real shame if something happened to them," The boy said, his voice packing a bit more venom.
"Something like what?" Mana asked curiously.
"Something like this!" The boy said as he kicked Mitsu's castle down followed by Mana's.
Seeing both her and her sister's sandcastles wiped out in an instant made Mana very upset as Mitsu went over and hugged her to calm her down before glaring up at the boy.
"That wasn't very nice!" Mitsu said angrily, "Who do you think you are?!"
"I think I'm a kid who's bigger than you," the boy boasted, "I can do whatever I want to shrimps like you and there's nothing you can do about it."
"What if a kid bigger than you came into the picture," said a voice.
Mana, Mitsu, and the boy turned to find Minato approaching them. The Amamiya boy saw what the boy did to Mana and Mitsu's sand castles and he didn't look happy about it in the slightest.
"What you did was just not right," Minato said as he approached the boy, "How would you like it if you worked hard on something only to have some bully wreck it in seconds?"
"I wouldn't know," the boy laughed, "Only an idiot would try and do something like that to me. And an even bigger idiot would try and stand up to me."
"Then I guess that makes me the bigger idiot," Minato said, "Meh, I've been called worse."
"You really want to do this?" The boy asked, his hands balling up into fists.
"I've got nothing better to do," Minato shrugged.
"Alright, pal, your funeral," the boy said as he threw a punch at Minato…only for Minato to dodge it and push the boy down to the ground, causing him to land on his elbow and scrape it. The mean boy looked up at Minato and began bawling his eyes out.
"Mommy, he pushed me!" The boy cried as he ran off in tears.
"And don't even think about messing with my friends again!" Minato yelled after the boy.
"M-Minato," Mana said in awe.
"You saved us," Mitsu said with an equal amount of awe.
"Are you girls alright?" Minato asked as he helped the Kitagawa Twins to their feet.
"We are now," Mana said as a blush grew on both her and Mana's cheeks.
"You didn't have to do that for us," Mitsu said, bashfully, "Thank you."
"That's what friends are for," Minato said before he finally noticed the flushed and flustered looks on Mana and Mitsu's faces, "Are you girls feeling alright?"
"Oh, uh, yeah, we're fine," Mana said as she and Mitsu snapped out of their lackadaisical states.
"What's all the commotion?" Ren asked as he, Yusuke, and Haru hurried over to the sandbox to check on their kids.
"There was this big, mean boy here that knocked over mine and Mitsu's sandcastles," Mana explained, "But Minato sent that big bully packing!"
"Is this true?" Ren asked his son.
"Yes, dad," Minato nodded, "You told me that if someone is in trouble to help them no matter the cost, so that's what I did."
"That's my boy!" Ren said proudly as he hugged his son, "Come on, let's go get you an ice cream. You can get whatever you want on it."
"Oh boy!" Minato said, excitedly.
Before Minato left with Ren, he looked over at Mana and Mitsu and gave them both a hug, causing them to blush.
"Stay safe, girls," Minato said, "I'll catch you later."
With that, Minato and Ren left the park with Mana and Mitsu staring off after them, Minato in particular. They always knew that Minato was a nice boy, and they always looked up to him like an older brother of sorts, but something about how Minato took action in order to defend them from their bully sparked something deep inside their little hearts.
"Mana, Mitsu, are you two okay?" Haru asked her daughters as she and Yusuke came up to them.
"Yes, mommy," Mana answered, "We're fine."
"It's just that…" Mitsu continued.
"I think I'm in love," Mana and Mitsu say in unison.
END