Having Saitou ask him to take care of the twins again as his next interaction with the family was, quite honestly, a little… Off-putting. He understood that a company like that was busy, and that it wasn't her responsibility to take care of them. Not really. But, well, when she called to know if Hachiman could sneak the twins out of the office and send them back home, he was more than a little annoyed by the audacity.

It wasn't like he expected to reunite with Hoshino or anything (much less at her mom's request!); but he did feel that it was a little weird how things were developing. Especially since, as far as Hachiman was concerned, the tie binding him to the Saitou couple was exclusively Hoshino herself. Not the agreement they had due to the incident with Komachi, not due to saving their daughter, but because Hachiman and Hoshino knew each other personally.

And speaking of Komachi…

"Ummm…" Although Hoshino's little son was trying really hard to keep it cool, being carried like he had been when the Hikigaya siblings first met him: A.k.a., like a potato sack, still made him pretty annoyed. Komachi was annoyed too, choosing to tag along to keep Hachiman company, but this resulted in a slow-walking little sister carrying a boy that swung from side to side with every step. Given that Komachi refused to carry him properly. "Hikigaya-san, you're pressing on my tummy…"

Finally, the discomfort became too much to bear. So Aqua had no choice but to put aside his pride and admit that he needed to be taken care of properly.

More like a kid, which seemed to be the boy's main concern. Or at least, that looked like the case given the small tells he gave when the adults were talking about him.

"If you're too uncomfortable, we can swap." For some reason, Ruby wasn't doing that well with Hachiman either. Although he was holding her properly, with his two arms even, she had chosen to give him her back and rest it against his shoulder. Refusing to grab him so Hachiman had to make double sure that she wouldn't suddenly tip forward and fall off.

She didn't like that either.

"I'd rather not force Hikigaya-san to hold me." Aqua mumbled while Komachi begrudgingly exchanged a look with her brother. "How are you doing, by the way? Heartrate? Any sweating?"

"I'm… Fine." When the Hikigaya siblings picked the twins up, there had been a moment for Hachiman to prepare himself. And they took a bit more for him to make sure he wouldn't pass out mid-walk or anything like that. Komachi was a huge help in this regard, and maybe his nervousness around Aqua was part of why Hachiman was kind of annoyed with this. But, well, the kid was taking this with so much seriousness that Hachiman could do nothing but swallow his instincts and do what he was asked.

This was therapeutic, in a way. And even if he didn't want it to be. Perhaps Saitou was thinking about that too, or perhaps Hachiman was simply a convenient asset when her hands were tied. Perhaps both, given how even Hiratsuka had been put in that position before. Back during the days of the Service Club.

Damn adult women needing to give part of their workload to Hachiman. Couldn't they at least give it to someone they work with?

"…Fine." Komachi sighed before rearing her elbow back.

Hachiman's eyes went wide, as did the little boy's when they realized what the younger Hikigaya was about to do.

"Wait…!"

"Hump!" Komachi all but slung Aqua forward, using the momentum to grab him properly. Letting him sit on her right arm while arresting the movement with her left one. Getting the kid to hug her tightly when he felt like he was being thrown in the air. Not really a good way to stablish trust with a kid, nor something that would give Saitou confidence in trusting her children-slash-grandchildren to the Hikigaya again.

But, well, maybe that was Komachi's intention? She wasn't really hiding her discomfort. She was just showing it mutely, looking a lot more like her brother as she frowned and scoffed. Heedless of how the people around her, read: the kids, perceived her.

Even Hachiman felt a little disappointed in her. He could admit that he hadn't been what Isshiki called "boyfriend material". But seeing his little sister replicate his mistakes? What a terrible thing to witness. It felt like Hachiman had failed as an older brother without noticing.

"Better?" Komachi half-asked and half-growled, not really reacting to the little boy now clinging to her neck like his life depended on it.

Maybe it did for a moment, actually. So there was that.

"Y-Yeah. More comfortable, mhm…"

"You're gonna get us in trouble." Hachiman didn't want to glare at his little sister, but he had to take a stance here.

"It's fine, he wasn't gonna fall." Komachi lifted him up a bit higher, before letting her arms drop back to the height they were before. "If that little girl can hold them both at the same time, then I can play with this one with no trouble."

That "little girl" was the same age as Komachi, but that was beside the point.

"'That one' is a kid. Please, be careful." Hachiman insisted, momentarily remembering to make sure that he was holding Ruby properly. "Or I'll hold him too."

"No way in hell." Komachi almost barked back. "I'll hold them both if needed be, but you're not doing it."

"Do you think I'm entrusting them both to you with that attitude?"

"Not like I want to be held by you." Ruby chimed in, making Komachi hesitate in her reply.

She must have been very against this, if she was unwilling to use Ruby's comment to validate her point. Hachiman suspected that he'd have to spoil his little sister (even more than usual) when they got back home.

"It's not an attitude." Komachi mumbled, looking at the roofs of the smallest buildings around them.

The birds didn't seem to notice, although there were less of them than in the last few days. Like most had gotten bored and moved on to do something else.

"You're usually a lot cuter, charming, and irresistible." Hachiman gave her an unimpressed look. Cheating a bit by using descriptors with similar meaning in an increasing list, like they meant different things.

"Ehehehe…" Komachi showed a dumb smile while looking away, holding Aqua a little tighter. "Oh, stop it!"

That was such a good reaction… That must've been worth a lot of Hachiman points!

"Uwah…" Ruby shuffled in place, almost tipping over. Forcing Hachiman to cover for her by placing his hand over her shoulder, using that arm as a barrier between the little girl and the floor.

"Ah! You're trying to distract me!" Komachi furrowed her brows again. But it was evident that she was now having a harder time staying mad.

"No, I'm actually worried here." Hachiman frowned a bit more to stop himself from softening his features. He wanted to go easy on his little sister, he really did. But, at the same time, she wasn't a kid anymore. And she was holding one to boot. He needed to be more inflexible here. "Is something bothering you?"

It might be a bit cruel to corner her like this, knowing that it'd be a terrible choice to talk about something related to the kids' mother in front of them. But Hachiman had very few options. Komachi wasn't this irritable most of the time, and he wanted to show the twins that he cared. They didn't deserve to be trusted into a stranger's hands and get mistreated for reasons outside of their control.

Hachiman knew how that felt, he still hadn't forgiven Isehara-sensei for not defending him back in elementary school, all those years back. He still felt something stir in his soul when he remembered that she had known. That she hadn't been oblivious to the mocking and exclusion, to the insulting nicknames and games at his expense.

Knowing that injustice was not only allowed, but even encouraged by the authority… What did that do to a kid's innocence? To someone's developing mind?

Hachiman realized he had been tightening his fingers around Ruby, so he tried to soften his grip as well as to swallow the painful knot that had formed in his throat.

"I don't—" Komachi stopped in her tracks when Hachiman raised an eyebrow, still silent to avoid having his little sister hear his voice break. "A couple of things, actually. Small, all things considered."

Really, now… A couple of small problems, huh.

"You could've said 'no' to Miyako-san." Ruby commented, sounding as cold as Komachi did moments before.

"Couldn't really do that. Now, could I?" Komachi smiled with some amusement. Hachiman knew how much she had wanted to do exactly that, so he didn't say a thing.

"You don't even have money to get us to our destination." The little girl pointed out.

"Wrong. I'm not spending money in something that I can do by walking." Komachi shook her head, failing to hide her annoyance. "I'll take it as the exercise of the day, go back home to get some snacks, and be useless until I go to sleep."

"Sounds like a plan." Hachiman couldn't help agreeing. After all, this was more of a favor than anything. An annoying one, at that. It should be obvious that the siblings deserved to postpone the rest of their responsibilities for another day, given how good and pure-hearted they were being here!

"Sounds like an excuse to do nothing all day."

"I knew onii-chan would understand." Komachi smiled and nodded to herself, looking confident in her choices.

"Do you even know where we're going?" Ruby asked after a moment, noticing that she had been ignored.

For her own good, really. It'd look pretty bad if Komachi started arguing with a literal kid, after all.

"I know, don't worry." Hachiman corrected the way he was holding Ruby so that he could fetch his phone from one of his pockets. "Saitou got us covered."

"I see. Sorry, we're not usually out and about on the streets." Aqua commented while separating his head with Komachi's shoulder.

…

Hey, hadn't that kid been hugging Komachi tightly for a little too long?

"I imagine you wouldn't have." Hachiman's irritation was (almost) successfully hidden in his response. "Don't worry, you're not missing out."

"Speak for yourself." Komachi scoffed.

"I speak for all loners in the world, actually. So my argument has a lot of backing and professionals in the area of expertise of avoiding as much social interaction as possible. Which means that not only is this true, but it should also be considered the norm."

"Too many words to say that you have nothing to do outside." Komachi's retorn made Hachiman lose some confidence in himself.

"Komachi-chan? That wasn't very cute of you."

"It's simply the truth, Bro. I hope you can forgive me for making you realize."

"That'll take a lot of Komachi points off your scores, however."

"Stingy as always!" Komachi huffed, but she was clearly feeling a bit better now. She even fixed Aqua's position a bit before picking up the pace. "This game is soooo rigged!"

"Sorry, little girl. The house can't lose." Hachiman mumbled, still concerned about his sister. But making the choice to follow the 'game' to help her be even more comfortable.

They could have a heart-to-heart later. He had to remind himself this, because his mind refused to accept it. He wanted to talk to her then and there, but it was just not the right time.

"Come to think of it, I've never exchanged my points for anything." Komachi stopped in her tracks, looking away from the street they were meant to cross and onto their left. Where a small business was located. "How about treating me to an ice-cream?"

"I don't know if you have enough points for that…" Hachiman furrowed his brows, knowing that this spoiled kid would not take 'no' for an answer. But still defending his pride as a man in front of the actual kids that they were carrying.

"I'll take a loan!"

"We're loaning cuteness points now?"

"Of course! It's a cute girl's prerogative to look cute later. And, thus, I should be allowed to use future points in the present!" Although Komachi spoke with utter confidence and pride, Hachiman couldn't help cringing internally at the backward logic she was using.

Was this how he had sounded to Hiratsuka? What snobbish way of pretending to be better than others! It was nonsensical, cringe-worthy, and very self-serving way of thinking.

"I can't argue with that logic." As expected of his little sister. "Let's go!"

"Yaaaassshhh!"

"Are we getting something too?" Ruby asked while the Hikigaya siblings crossed the street. Relaxing her posture a bit and pouting a little too close to Hachiman's face, disabling him from fully seeing her expression. "We're well-behaved, after all."

Was this girl trying to imitate Komachi? That… Was probably not good. Hachiman understood if Hoshino spoiled her kids rotten: She had the means both monetarily and socially, backed up by her own parents. But Hachiman didn't want to feel accountable for enabling someone else to grow cheeky and too smart for everyone's well-being. Her brother would probably be her first victim and, once a girl tasted the weakness of a pure-hearted boy, they would always want more.

Source: Irohasu.

"Does Saitou let you have treats often?" He asked more to the boy, even though he still felt a little weird looking at him, than Ruby. Because he felt like the most down to earth of the two. Yet, when he looked his way, it was Komachi's devious smirk the one that met his gaze.

Oh, no. She was as cheeky as Isshiki! Hachiman totally forgot about that. She'd use anything in reach to get what she wanted!

"Eh~? Why not? We have to make a good impression, given that we're being confided in for this. Right, onii-chan?" Guh! Forcing him to spend money on these kids? Was Komachi so focused on making him regret agreeing to this?!

"I don't think Miyako-san will mind!" Ruby nodded alongside Komachi, making Hachiman regret opening his mouth.

The onii-chan instinct was too strong…

"We probably shouldn't." Aqua! What a strong young man he was! Capable of facing his own sister's demands with a deadpan. He'd probably grow to be an unshakable person with iron will and resolve!

"Even Komachi-san said it's fine!" It seemed like all Ruby needed to get along with someone, was to agree with her. Noted, but not something that Hachiman could use. She was a little kid, after all. If he went around agreeing to her every whim, the one with a problem would be him.

"C'mon, onii-chan!" Komachi cheered with a sing-song voice.

"C'mon, onii-chan!" Ruby mimicked her, leaning to her right, forcing Hachiman to change the way he was holding her; to let Aqua know that she was talking to him.

"C'mon, onii-chan!"

"C'mon, onii-chan!"

"Stingy, stingy, gomii-chan!"

"Stingy, stingy!"

When the four finally got to the front of the store, the Hikigaya siblings let the twin they were each carrying down; and the boy went to hide behind Hachiman while the girl quickly took Komachi's hand.

It seemed like the bullying (?) was getting to Aqua as well. Damn, no choice then.

"Fine, let's go."

"Yay!"

"Okay~!"

He would charge Saitou anyway, so it wasn't like he'd lose anything. It was, indeed, kind of problematic to let these meddlesome girls get away with it. But… Well, Ruby wasn't going to be his problem. Hoshino would probably not notice if her daughter turned out a little more spoiled.

"Sorry." Aqua took a step away from Hachiman before speaking, giving him a bit of space. Even though Hachiman had neither asked, nor felt anything when Aqua grabbed the hem of his shirt.

"It's fine." Hachima nodded at the kid. Not staring directly at him, but at the floor around him. "You can also get something from the store."

Aqua didn't look amused.

"I'm fine."

"Sure." Hachiman shrugged. "But you can be fine with an ice-cream too."

Aqua pressed his little lips together, pensive.

Hachiman smiled a little before pushing the boy onward.

Kids, they were so easy to please.

Being told that Aqua had the key to the apartment was, also, quite ridiculous. Hachiman expected to have it be given to him, and leave it there when he was gone. That the 4 years-old that could be picked up without trouble had it was, to put it nicely, pretty damn dangerous. Even if the kids did not leave the Saitou's vicinity most of the time.

What the hell was wrong with this family? How come Aqua was the most responsible person here? Because Hachiman could not be fooled, Saitou Ichigo was not a responsible adult. The absolute bum might be a good enough manager or whatever, but Hachiman had seldom seen someone neglect his personal life so much… And that was coming from someone who neglected his personal life for years!

"Sorry for the intrusion…" Hachiman mumbled as he allowed the kids in, with Komachi behind being the one that closed the door when they got in.

There was no one in the apartment.

"Eh?" Komachi looked around, furrowing her brows. "I thought that the idol would be here?"

"She has an interview." Aqua stated, pointing at one of the closed doors. Where a notebook page had been taped at eye's level. With something written with pink marker. "Something like an online group… For a podcast?"

! IDOL IN MEETING !

Hoshino's signature was scribbled on the lower right corner of the page, and Hachiman unwittingly looked around for a desk or counter with a marker and tape on it. When he found them, he noticed that the marker had been left opened.

This girl…

"She should be at home, then." Komachi pointed out. Looking around and plopping on the couch to let herself lie down for a moment.

"Miyako-san's setup is better than mama's." Ruby pouted, crossing her arms while scooping herself a spot around Komachi's legs. "It's all rainbow lights with one long monitor and other two, smaller ones, above. Really big main computer and stuff."

"The consoles are also hers." Aqua motioned to the furniture where the huge TV rested. Below it, a couple of gaming consoles laid collecting dust behind the closed glass. "I don't think I've ever seen her use them."

"Unsurprising but disappointing." Hachiman commented while moving to the kitchen. The counter also had a note.

Ai, I'll go buy you-know-what now that Miyako's busy at the office. If the scratch on the monitor can't be cleaned, please cover it up with the black ink under my nightstand. I'll figure something out.

…

This man was… Truly something else, huh…

"Something important?" Komachi called out from her spot on the living room.

"Something dumb." Hachiman answered once he got closer, remembering that Hoshino would probably be live online on the other room. "I guess we can just wait it out now?"

"You think they'll notice if we take something from the fridge?" Komachi asked while eyeing the TV remote with some desire.

"Probably not." Aqua replied dutifully.

"Oh~ is that so?"

"Komachi, let's not steal food when there's someone in the house." Hachiman sighed while sitting down, lifting his little sister's head to scoop a place and get her to rest on his lap to run a finger through her forehead.

"Eh… The kids won't tell on us…" Komachi closed her eyes, beginning to breathe slower. It might be a small motion, but Komachi seemed to like the attention.

"As long as I get the scraps from the red box, hehehe…" Ruby rubbed her hands together, looking a little too evil for a little kid.

Was Komachi simply good with kids, or did Ruby actually consider her a kindred spirit? Either way, that was a little worrying. So Hachiman had no choice but to be the voice of reason.

"What if Saitou comes back and sees us eating his food?"

"Well, I don't know you. But I'll get away with it." Ruby pointed out.

…Right. Of course she would.

"You aren't full yet?" Aqua asked, still the only one not sitting down. Like he didn't know where to go.

"None of your business." Was Ruby's reply.

"What are you doing there?" Komachi opened her eyes and pulled back one of her legs. "Come 'ere."

"…I'm good, thanks." Aqua looked a bit apprehensive when he replied.

"Don't stand there, your mom will get mad at us." Komachi insisted. "I'm not gonna kick you or anything."

Reluctantly, Aqua approached. Looking at Ruby, who had taken the armrest as her spot. Leaving only the zone where Komachi was resting her legs available… Or on the armrest next to Hachiman.

"It's fine." He assured the kid, but Aqua just shook his head sat down in front of Komachi's knee.

She stretched her leg back, placing it on top of Aqua's short legs.

For a moment, Hachiman thought she'd sandwich him with the sides of her knees. But Komachi pulled no pranks on the little boy.

"Now what?" Asked Aqua after a moment of silence.

Komachi stretched a hand, trying to get the TV remote.

This was so inefficient…

"I'll get it." Ruby dropped from her place and quickly got the thing, handing it to Komachi to decide what to watch.

"Why are you still here, by the way?" Aqua turned to the side of the Hikigaya siblings. Asking with a smaller voice than usual.

"Can't leave you two alone." Komachi replied without much care, changing channels rapidly after turning down the volume almost entirely.

"But Ai's here…"

"She's busy, can't leave you unattended." Komachi added, puckering her lips as she took a couple of seconds between channels now.

"We can take care of ourselves."

"Sure thing." Komachi actually pressed her knees closer, making Aqua squeak as his stomach was pressed for a moment.

"…I'm serious." The little boy spoke dryly.

"I know." Komachi still didn't pay much attention to him. "Kinda true for us too."

"Hmm?" Ruby took her attention off the TV for a moment, drawn in by Komachi's words.

"When we were kids, this was kind of the norm too." Although Komachi spoke frivolously, Hachiman kind of didn't want her to continue. She was saying more than she should, giving little kids an idea that might not be conductive. As this seemed to be the normality they were used to. "It just feels better when the house has someone other than yourself."

Aqua and Ruby exchanged a look.

"I guess…"

"Yeah."

The silence that followed was a comfortable one. A silence that made Hachiman's mind be at ease.

"Can we watch what mama is doing?" A silence that was cut soon enough by Hoshino's daughter.

"No." Komachi still didn't seem to pay much attention to the kids, so she replied with the same annoyance that she would use when Hachiman asked her to share something she was really looking forward to eating alone.

Ruby still didn't give up.

"…Can we boot up one of Miyako-san's fighting games?"

That got Komachi's attention.

"She has enough controllers?"

"She has two, but we can take turns." Aqua jumped in almost immediately, already looking bored of waiting around for Komachi to choose something to watch.

"Sure, but go easy on me." Komachi finally looked at the little girl as she ran across the living room to get to the console. "I don't play a lot of games."

Hey…

"Hehe…! I don't promise anything!" Was the kid's enthusiastic reply.

Hachiman exchanged a look with the little boy silently seeing this happen.

The boy closed his eyes, and that was all the confirmation that Hachiman needed. So he went to the kitchen to fetch something sweet.

Saitou Ichigo found Ruby sobbing, a spoon with yoghurt in her mouth, after Komachi obliterated her for the tenth time in a row.