(A/n: Btw, the MC was around 16/17 years old when he died. So don't expect him to know college level stuff. He's still very much a kid,
Enjoy the chapter! )
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Pulling into the driveway of a two-story house, mom takes me out of the baby seat and carries me to the front door.
Mom is a relatively beautiful Japanese woman with sharp eyes, plump lips, and stunning light brown long hair.
Ever since she got together with dad, she's been getting prettier and prettier for some reason.
She stands at a short 160 cm, with a decently sized bust, and a well-shaped rear.
Her name is Akira now Nakamura Lane. Last name Akira/Nakamura, first name Lane. Right now she's working as a waitress at a maid cafe, but she's hoping to up her salary by the end of the year.
"Okay La-chan, remembering, she's a bit shy around strangers, so don't be too forceful, yeah?" Dad said, referring to his daughter from his previous marriage.
Dad's name is Nakamura Shuji, he's a decently handsome Japanese man with short black hair. Standing at an impressive 175 cm, he's the hereditary owner of a few small bookstores here and there spread across Kobe in the Hyōgo Prefecture.
"Mou~ Shu-kun! Have a little faith in me." Mom complained jokingly.
Bringing me in front of her face, she asks. "You believe in mama, right Chi-chan~" in a singing tone.
Right, and let's not forget about me, Nakamura Chihiro, a small adorable 4-year-old boy that has nothing masculine going for him, except his slightly intimidating sharp red eyes.
Looking mom straight in the eyes, I move my hands in an 'X' shape, bringing a light chuckle from dad, and a comical 'Noooo~!' from mom.
As we move closer to the door, an elderly couple greets us at the entrance with a seven-year-old little girl hiding behind their legs.
"Hey mom, hey dad." Dad greeted with an awkward smile on his face.
I mean, I would too if I know my parents were against my marriage.
As the adults begin their awkward conversation, I look down at the small girl hiding behind the old couple.
She had long messy black hair and big round purple eyes with slight eye bags. Wearing a purple long-sleeved dress, and a nervous smile on her face.
Peaking out of her coverage, we make eye contact for half a second before she hurriedly goes back to her cover.
'Hehehe, she's so adorable!' I thought as I giggled at her antics. ' Especially her thoughts! She's just so precious.'
You might be wondering what I'm talking about, well it all started after I hit my head during the mugging. Before that, I thought the skills were a scam, considering I couldn't read minds, manipulate sound, or had perfect memory.
Turns out that they were just locked to maximize my amount of suffering during my first few years.
As soon as I found out I could read minds, I had it on as long as I can before getting a headache, in order to train with it to increase the time... Also just be able to read minds. That's how I found out my grandparents don't approve of the union between mom and dad.
Back on topic, her thoughts are all over the place ranging from, 'Don't see me, don't see me, don't see me, I'm not here, I'm Invisible.' To 'I hope she likes me, I hope she's nice.' And finally 'Aaaah! She saw me! She saw me! She saw me!'
At which point my giggles turned to full-blown laughter.
Hearing my laughter the adults turn to me with questioning looks on their faces. Pointing at the now rad face little girl trying to hide deeper into the leg of the older woman.
Seeing such a cute scene seemed to be enough to momentarily defuse the awkward situation.
"How about we continue after dinner, I made Katsudon for everyone," Grandma says with a smile.
The little girl's expression immediately brightens, as she looks at dad with an expectant look.
Noticing the look, dad just gives a warm smile and crouches down. Resulting in the girl rushing at him and jumping allowing him to catch her in midair.
With a giggling girl now around his neck, dad turns to moms confused expression and says, "It became a habit of when we eat Katsudon, she would sit in my ap while I feed her." hapilly.
With a look of understanding on her face, she turns to me with the same expectant look on her face as the little girl.
*Sigh*'Who's supposed to be the adult here?' I asked myself while nodding in confirmation, much to my mom's delight and dad's amusement.
{After dinner--> Shy little girls room}
So apparently the little girl's name is Nakamura Mania, but I'll just call her Maya-chan.
So Maya-chan is the daughter that dad had in his first marriage, sadly her mom died during childbirth. She's 7 years old and incredibly shy, she likes the color purple.
'A little too much.' I thought, looking around the purple-decorated room, standing next to a fidgeting Maya-chan.
Her thoughts are all over the place, and she gives the cutest reactions when caught off guard.
"So, what do you do for fun, Maya-chan~" I asked while looking around the room.
"M-M-Maya-chan!!" She stutters cutely, hiding her red face in the hem of her dress.
'Cute.' I thought, smiling brightly at her.
"Yep! Yep! What games do you wanna play?" I asked excitedly, putting up my childish persona
"W-Well, I-uh... I-I like p-playing Pokimon." She said quietly through her stutters.
'Huh... didn't even know they had that here.' I absentmindedly thought.
"Pokimon? What's that?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"Y-You don't know what Pokimon is?" She asked, sounding justifiably surprised.
"Nope!" I said, popping my P at the end. "But I'd love to learn."
Perking up at my last statement, she rushes to her bed and pulls a box from underneath it.
Walking over to her as she rummages through the box, I take a closer look at the contents.
'Wow, she's really into Pokimon.' I thought, looking at all the Pokimon memorabilia stuffed into the box. Looking over under her bed and find 3 more identical boxes. 'Really really like Pokimon.'
"Ch-Chihiro-chan." I hear from beside, lightly tugging on my shirt she motioned me to a handheld console in her hands.
'GameGirl? Okay, that's different.' I internally muse.
"D-Do you wanna play?" She asks shyly.
'Is it normal for a seven-year-old to be this nervous around a four-year-old? Isn't it usually the other way around?' Thinking this, I look straight into her eyes while smiling brightly and replying with a "Yes!!"
She immediately looks away from my eyes, with a small smile on her face.
'Oh! So she's the quiet kid, seems she doesn't have any friends either.' I deduce after perusing her surface memories for that split second of eye contact.
"R-Really!" She said excitedly.
'She's freaking adorable.' Thinking this I sit close next to her on the bed. 'I should probably tell her I'm not a girl though.'
{After dinner--> Downstairs--> At the door}
-Shuji POV-
"Till next time mom, thanks again for looking after Mania-chan." I tell her after a few seconds of silence.
I can understand the reasoning behind their dislike for Lala ( Lane ), but I just can't accept it. No matter what mistakes she's made before, no matter what she was forced to do to survive, I can't see her as anything other than the woman I love.
"Don't worry dear, anytime you need someone to look after Mania-chan we're only a call away." She responded with a smile. "Till next nime dear."
'Just Mania-chan huh...' I thought sadly.
"Shuji..." Dad said abruptly, looking at me with a serious expression on his face.
"No matter... No matter how much we disagree with your recent choices... Know that... that if you need help with anything... I... We have your back." He finished, looking straight in the eyes before turning around to their car parked in the driveway.
Being stunned into silence for a few seconds, only being broken out of my shocked state by a soft hand slipping into my own.
Looking at the owner of the hand, and receiving a sincere and warm smile in return, filled me up with butterflies.
The only thought that passes through my mind is
'I'm not regretting this decision anytime soon.'