What a Life This Is - A Collection of Short Stories

A Normal Morning

A normal Saturday morning in the Sakurayashiki-Nanjo household.
--------------------------

It was a perfectly sunny Saturday morning, with a cloudless blue sky and a feeling of happy bliss wafting through the Sakurayashiki-Nanjo house, along with the enticing smell of the bacon Kojiro was making for breakfast.

He hummed as he cooked, turning his head when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and as usual, Karou came into the kitchen first. Kojiro smirked at his husband, a little bit because his hair was a mess, but mostly because he had a look that was even more sour than his usual cold stare on his face as he slumped onto one of the stools at the counter.

"You okay there, Princess?" Kojiro asked, unable to hide the amusement in his voice.

"It's stupid that you wake up so early." Karou sneered in response, resting his head on his arms and closing his eyes.
Kojiro rolled his own eyes so far back it almost hurt, just because he woke up early didn't mean Karou had to, he could've stayed asleep, but of course logic wasn't important here.

The man's breathing evened out slightly, but Kojiro knew he wasn't actually asleep, so he set down some buttered toast and bacon on a plate in front of him.

Kojiro turned around to put more bacon on the pan, and when he turned back to Karou, the other man was sitting up and munching on his piece of toast. Kojiro smirked a bit at this, leave it to his food to make Karou feel at least a little bit better.

"What're you looking at, Gorilla?" Karou's sharp voice cut through his thoughts, and Kojiro sighed.

He shouldn't have expected his peace to last long.

Speaking of peace not lasting, the thundering sound of two pairs of feet and shouting voices hurdling their way down the hallway broke the two men out of their somewhat calm state, and the two looked at each other and sighed.

"3...2...1." Karou counts, and like clockwork, as soon as he gets to one, two of their three kids come barreling into the main area of the house- well, actually- Reki came out first, laughing like a maniac and holding what seemed to be a shirt, specifically a light pink tank-top.

Kojiro and Karou watched, dumbfounded, as Reki shot out of the hallway and into the living room, followed closely by their oldest, Kadence, who was only wearing a pair of jean shorts and a black bra as she chased Reki around the couch.

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SLIME-BUCKET!" She screeched at him, and Reki only picked up speed and let out a loud howl of laughter as his sister continued yelling at him.

Kojiro turned back to the hallway entrance to see Miya, their youngest kid, enter calmly and quietly. He glanced at his siblings, and then simply made his way over to the kitchen counter and hauled himself into the chair beside Karou.

"I still refuse to believe we're related." Miya said simply, shaking his head as he grabbed a piece of bacon from Karou's plate.

"Hm, they have your Dad's Gorilla genes." Karou responded, smiling at Miya and reaching over to run a hand his son's black hair as Kojiro balked, "HEY! My genes are perfectly good ones! Plus, Reki doesn't even have my genes-"

"Whatever you say, I think you should go break up your other children before they kill each other." Karou said flatly, gesturing behind him and Miya, where Kadence and Reki were now doing that shuffling thing where they're each trying to guess where the other is going to move, resulting in neither of them getting anywhere.

"You have a point," Kojiro agreed, wiping his hands on a towel before making his way over to the living room, where they've gone back to running in circles around the couch. Kojiro took advantage of his strength, stopping both kids in their tracks and throwing them over each of his shoulders like sacks of potatoes.

"DAAAAAAD! PUT ME DOWN, I NEED TO SMITE HIM!" Kadence complained loudly, trying to grab at Reki, who was on Kojiro's other shoulder, still waving the shirt in her face and taunting her, "YOU WANT YOUR DUMB SHIRT BACK? COME AND GET IT SIS!"

"Nobody will be smiting anyone today, or ever!" Kojiro interjects, "What's even happening here?"

Kadence began to explain, "I was getting ready when REKI came into my room and STOLE MY SHIRT." She yelled that last part, trying to get as close to Reki's face as possible.

"YOU'RE NO FUN ANYMORE, ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS YOUR DUMB PHONE!" Reki yelled back, and Kojiro sighed loudly, it was too early for this.

"I'm gonna put you two down now," He said slowly, "and Reki, you're gonna give your sister back her shirt. It's a Saturday, we all want to relax, so you're gonna be nice, Okay?"

The two kids glared at each other, then Reki mumbled, "Fiiiiine, whatever."

"Good." Kojiro said, satisfied, and he set the kids down on the ground. Reki held the shirt out to Kadence, who snatched it back with a loud, "HA!" and pulled it on over her head.

Reki pouted, folding his arms and stalking over to the kitchen, where he laid his head in a chuckling Karou's lap, who looked up at Kojiro as he petted his son's head.

"Just another day in the Sakurayashiki-Nanjo house." He said lightly.

"Yep."