Riku checked the time and it was almost midnight. "Wow, time flies..." He thought.
"Alright kiddos, time for bed." Makou said.
"Aww..." The kids whined in unison.
"Those two really are in sync..." Riku chuckled and ruffled their hair. They smiled and hugged his legs before being carried off by their father to their bedroom.
"Follow me and I'll show you the guest room." Riku nodded to Reina and she led him down the hall.
"I'm a bit surprised they have a guest room. I just figured I'd sleep on the couch." Riku thought to himself. He followed her into the room. It was pretty basic; a bed, dresser, bedside drawer, etc. No decorations obviously, but it still seemed pretty cozy. "I can't believe this is considered poor in this world... This one room is bigger than my studio apartment..." Riku said to himself internally, smiling nervously at the thought.
"Make yourself at home. Goodnight Riku." Reina smiled and walked out, closing the door behind her.
Riku immediately plopped down on the bed, sighing. "This is nice... It's like I actually have a family..." He smiled to himself as he closed his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately. The next morning, Gina and Haruto were the first ones awake, as usual in this household. They rushed out of their room quietly and crept toward the guest room, a devious look on the boy's face as he snickered and Gina giggled, trying to look evil, but she actually just looked really adorable.
The two came to a stop then they reached the door, began counting down, and bursted into the guest room. "Gooood morningggg!" They jumped on the bed.
Riku groaned. "Five more minutes..." They laughed and jumped on him. "Agh!"
The parents awoke from all the commotion, getting up and walking to the guest room. "And what's all the commotion this morning?" The father chuckled. Riku had both the children in his grasp and they were pulling on his face and such, though they were all laughing. They stopped however when they heard the father's voice and looked at him.
The children smiled and ran over to him. "Daddyyyy!" They jumped and he caught them, ruffling their hair and giving them a big hug.
"Well good morning to you too!" He laughed and the children laughed with him as they were lifted up from the ground.
"I have no idea how you all have such energy in the morning..." The mother giggled and yawned. The children freed themselves from their father's grasp and hugged their mother. She smiled and knelt down, returning their embrace. "Good morning my little stars."
Riku smiled at the family's gestures of affection. "I'm gonna be leaving pretty soon. I have to go train with my sensei."
"Well you can at least have breakfast first can't ya?" The father seemed much livelier now that he was feeling better.
"But of course." Riku grinned. "And I'm cooking."
"Yay!" The children cheered.
"Trying to steal my job from me are we?" Reina nudged Riku.
Riku chuckled nervously and averted his eyes. "N-Not at all..!"
Reina giggled. "I'm only teasing. To the kitchen then Mister Head Chef." Riku chuckled and headed to the kitchen with the rest of the family. He took out some more food he had bought that he placed in their fridge to keep cool. The food he bought was meant to last him a while, but it seemed he'd have to go back to the store soon.
"Do you guys like your eggs scrambled or scrambled?" Riku asked coyly and the family laughed.
"I think I'll go with scrambled." Reina said.
"A fine choice, I think I'll do the same." Makou snickered.
"Us too!" The children smiled brightly.
Riku grinned. "Scrambled it is!" He then began cooking several different things: eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, and biscuits, and he made a lot, assuming they would all eat a lot and he himself also needed energy for the training he was going to endure. Soon enough he had everything on plates and brought it all to the table all at once. Riku used to work at a family-dining establishment back on his world so this was no problem for him. They all prayed together once again before digging into the food on their plates.
"Mmmmm!" The children chorused.
"This is great!" Makou said with a mouth full of food.
"Don't talk with your mouth full dear." Reina giggled a bit nervously and continued eating.
"I made plenty so eat up." Riku smiled and continued to eat. Once they were done, not a single crumb remained and everyone looked satisfied. Riku helped Reina with the dishes before heading for the door.
"You'll come back right Riku..?" Haruto muttered, a hint of sadness in his voice.
Riku looked back at them all. "Huh?! Of course I'll be coming back! You can't get rid of the great Riku that easily!" He grinned. The children smiled and more or less tackled him as they ran over to give him a big hug. He stood his ground and returned their embrace, ruffling their hair. "I promise I'll be back. You'll see me often..." He smiled, looking at the parents. "If that's okay with you?"
Reina smiled. "Well of course, come over whenever you want."
"Yeah, make sure you bring more of your delicious food!" Makou shouted. Riku chuckled nervously, but was already planning to do so every time he visited.
"Makou!" Reina grumbled.
"I'm just messing around." Makou grinned. "Make sure you come back with that high spirit of yours every time. You got it? Because that's a must."
Riku grinned. "But of course~" He snickered and opened the door. "Alright, I'm off. I'll see you all again real soon!" He then ran out of the home. The children smiled as they waved to him.
Riku ran towards the training grounds, where he trained with Artemis the day before. As he ran, a smile formed on his face. "To know that there are people waiting for you to come back...it's one of the best feelings ever." He soon arrived, unable to wipe the smile from his face.
Artemis was waiting, watching over the rest of her student's training, and turned to him when he arrived. "Ah there you are. You seem happy, what're you smiling about?" She smiled herself in return.
"Oh I just met some really awesome people is all." He chuckled.
"Oh, I hope I'm one of them~" She teased.
Riku laughed. "Of course, you're pretty awesome too, so you're definitely up there."
She giggled. "How sweet. Are you ready to begin?"
He nodded, catching the practice gauntlets she threw at him and putting them on. "I was right..." Artemis put a pair on as well and took a stance. Riku rushed at her, his blades sliding out of his training gauntlets. "I really am making some great friends here!" Riku thought to himself. Artemis' blades shot out of her gauntlets as well, the blades having a holographic appearance, but they were solid, yet another kind of advanced technology in this world. Riku grinned as they clashed blades and Artemis smiled in return as they began their training.