Accidental Siblings

Chapter 19

Bokushi and Miyoko were officially alone with Masaomi in the mansion. Bokushi had been trying to put off this predicament for the longest of time since Miyoko arrived in the house. But now that Midorima was gone, there was no one to save him. Now, he just had to accept the situation and hope for the best.

"I'm really glad that I'm staying over," Miyoko said as soon as the door shut. "Akashi-san, your place is so cool."

"Is that so?" Masaomi replied. "In that case, I give you my thanks."

God this is weird, Bokushi thought to himself. I don't even think I can look at father right now.

"Miyoko, is there anything you would like to do?" Bokushi asked her. If anyone was going to be taking charge of this sleepover, it would be Bokushi. He can't handle watching his father interact with children for prolonged amounts of time without feeling the need to pull a face. Miyoko hummed as she considered his question.

"Well..." she paused, folding her arms as she thought. As she was thinking, her eyes fell on the area leading out of the foyer to the outside. She pointed to where she was looking.

"What's over there?" she asked. Bokushi looked behind him to where she was pointing and saw the door to the back garden.

"That's where the garden is," he answered. Miyoko seemed interested.

"The garden?" she repeated, sounding hopeful. "What's in it?"

"Well, for starters there's flowers," Bokushi replied. "And there are chairs for people to sit, it's also where we have the stables and—"

"Wait, stables?" Miyoko gasped. "Do you have horses?!" It didn't take a genius to be able to detect Miyoko's excitement. Anyone who claims that they have horse stables at the back of their house is bound to get a response similar to this, whether they're an adult or a child. Bokushi nodded affirmatively.

"Yes, we do," he said. "Would you like to see them?"

"I wanna see them!" Miyoko shouted, jumping up and down. "Let's go see them!" Bokushi was rather amused at her excitement and decided that now, he would finally take the time to humor her requests properly. He pulled a wry grin.

"In that case, allow me to show you the horses we keep there."

"Awesome! Will Akashi-san be taking us there?"

"Eh?"

What? No, not him... The redheaded little boy turned to look at his father with anticipated dread, watching as the man processed her question. Was Miyoko being serious? Did she really have to bring his father into this? It was already so awkward just having him stand near them, and now suddenly he's going to take them around the house. That just spelled a recipe for disjointed conversations and a poor attempt to make it look like they actually get along. Bokushi suddenly thought of the frequent occasions where something would come up at the office and his father would leave the house in a hurry for hours at a time, and wondered where that emergency phone call was when he needed it. Nevertheless, Masaomi seemed to take it all in stride.

"Very well," he said. "If that is what you wish, then I shall take you to the stables. Come with me." He began to walk towards the direction of the back of the house, Miyoko eagerly following him without another word, clearly energetic from the thought of being able to see horses. As for Bokushi, he stood around for a second, uncomfortable at the prospect of watching his father play host, especially when he has to involve himself in it. Miyoko turned around and saw Bokushi standing still and was confused.

"What are you standing around for?" she said to him. "Come on! Let's go see the horses!"

With that, she reached out and grabbed Bokushi's hand before he could say anything, the boy momentarily taken aback as he was dragged along behind his father. He saw his father glance behind once, very briefly, and then he went back to facing forward. As they made their way to the stable, Bokushi felt a horrible sensation creep up his body, dreading what exactly his father was going to do.