One last chance

A usual morning in the Kirishima household

Bzzz!! BEEP!! '

"uuhhh, alright alright, I'm up!!", a deep manly voice said after the clock's alarm rang. That voice belonged to no other than Kirishima Zen, editor in chief of Japun in Shonen manga department in Marukawa. He raised his hand and pushed the button on the clock to set off the alarm.

Once he did it, he released a loud yawn while he was stretching his arms above his head. For a moment, he shut his eyed tightly due to the light that went through the white curtains on the left side of his bed. He turned his head to see the time and it was 6.30 in the morning.

'Hiyori must be awake now', he thought to himself and then took off the sheets that surrounded his lower body and got up from the bed with slight effort. After all, hell week has just finished yesterday and came back home 1.00 in the morning.

Once he was up, he went to his closet to take a black t-shirt with brown trousers, light mustard jacket and white socks and then went to the restroom to take a warm shower.

The water was already warm and so he entered inside.

When he finished, he got dressed and dried his hazelnut hair, leaving it still fluffy and curly. Suddenly, he heard a noise coming from the kitchen and opened the door, exiting the bathroom and then going outside of his room since the bathroom was connected to it.

Almond eyes scanned the living room and then the connected with it kitchen, watching his little girl standing on a stool and cooking on the pan what looks like a fluffy omelet. He tip toed without making noise and approached the girl from behind. He raised his hands and put the palms on her shoulders shaking them a little

"An earthquake is happening right now!! Watch out!!"

"Kyaa!!", the little girl dropped the chopsticks, luckily they didn't fall on the ground, which she used to cook the omelet and turned around carelessly, noticing her father laughing out loud due to her cute squeak. She then put her hands on her hips, tapping her foot slightly and narrowing her eyes with failure at the display in front of her.

Thank God the stool was big, otherwise she would fall from it.

"Papa, why did you do that? You scared me so much, I thought I would fall!"

"Goodmorning to you too Hiyo", he said and then gave a kiss on the top of her head while wrapping his arms around her shoulders guiding her into his embrace. "I saw you there cooking so focused and humming a cute note that I couldn't help myself"

"Yeahh, but -"

"As for the fall, you know I'm always here for you, right?", he said and lowered his eyes to see a blush decorating Hiyori's cheeks and a big closed smile shaping on her lips

"I know you are papa", she said and then wrapped her arms around her father's back, diving her head on his chest and tighting her grip. Once they were done, she released herself and then got off the stool to usher her father outside the kitchen.

"Now, if papa is done, he needs to leave from the kitchen so I can finish the breakfast soon before he leaves for work!"

"Doesn't Hiyo need any help with that?"

"How can you help me? You can't even peel an apple properly!"

"Fine, fine... Geez, women", he murmured and then went to the dining table to sit down and wait for the breakfast to get ready. 15 minutes passed and the breakfast was ready. While Hiyori was making the omelet, the 34 year old man went to the kitchen to make a coffee for himself, even though he heard protests from his young girl once again for stepping his foot in a forbidden area of the apartment.

They sat down, said the prayers and dig in the food, enjoying the fluffyness and warmness of the brunch. They broke into a light chat, mostly asking each other what they are going to do in work and additionally in the entire day.

It was March and Hiyori was in spring vacations, which meant she had almost one month till the fifth grade begins. So, the little girl would spend the day with her best friend Yuki-Chan, who leaves a floor above them, by making their hair, watching their favorite movies, cooking and reading Ichinose's latest work, a very well-known Shounjo manga author with a lot of fans.

In conclusion, it was one of the times that Kirishima didn't have to call his mother to take care of Hiyori.

Once they finished their breakfast, it was time for the father to go to work before he becomes late or else his subordinates are going to panic, something impossible since hell week finished and the employees could go for work after 9.00 in the morning. Kirishima gave a hug to Hiyori and a kiss on her head, went to the genkan, put his brown leathered shoes, took his briefcase containing Ijuuin sensei's latest work and his phone and then opened the door, stepping outside and saying to his daughter to call him if something happens.

Once he stepped outside, he went to the elevator down the corridor and entered inside. When the elevator reached the ground floor, Kirishima went to the train station, passing the doors and entering inside the train by the time it announced its arrival.

20 minutes passed and at last reached the Marukawa Shoten, the famous publicing company which president is Isaka Ryuichiro. He entered the doors after showing his employee ID card and went to the elevator, stepping inside and pushing the button with the number 4 which was the floor of the manga department, from Shonen to BL.

When the doors opened, he stepped outside and went towards his desk, where it was empty, along with the other ones. He sat on his chair and took Ijuuin sensei's manuscript, a red pen on his right hand while the sheets in his left hand. Looking at the work, he gave a slightly annoyed sigh...

Surely, the day would be long enough...