“...Mama…Sora’s eepy…” Sora gets off her chair and scratches her eyes tiredly as she tugs on my sleeve. Fufufu, it seems that the tiredness of the day at school finally caught up to her; I’m surprised she held out this long. My baby girl yawns with her eyes already half closed as I smile at her.

“‘Kay, baby. Let’s get you to bed, the—” I get ready to stand up to carry her upstairs, but Sora stops me and shakes her head with a ‘Nnn.’ Then, without saying another thing, she starts climbing on top of me as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and plops onto my lap while leaning her body against mine. Geez~! Baby, you sure can be hopeless sometimes~!

Smiling gently, I wrap Sora in a hug to make sure she doesn’t fall off, and start caressing her head to help put her to sleep. It doesn’t even take five minutes for her to be completely out cold.

“Ufufufu~! She really fell asleep, didn’t she?”

“Fufu, yup, she really did. She must’ve been very tired from school today.”

Mrs. Green and I naturally lower our voices to make sure we’re not waking my baby girl up.

“Ufufu~! That’s right…she is going to school now, isn’t she?” I nod to her question and she pauses for a second to drink a sip of her coffee. “How is it?”

“Well, it’s a nice place, and she’s already made a friend, so it’s great. The girl is really nice, too.” Sure, Lily is a bit energetic, but Achilles seems to have been raising her well. I hope they can keep being friends for a while. Well, at that age, losing a friend is kind of difficult, anyway.

“Ufufu~! You look happy.”

“Heh, but of course I am. You have no idea how worried I was that she would have trouble making friends.” I brush Sora’s hand as I speak, and as I do, a smile appears on her sleeping face. W-Wow…the urge to pinch her fluffy cheeks is too strong! H-Hold on, Sakura, hold on! Don’t let it tempt you!

“Ufufu~! I see, I see. That certainly makes sense. She is a bit shy isn’t she? I suppose it’s true the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Ufufu~! I especially remember you were so shy that you always used to hide behind Satsuki’s back! You were such a cute little thing, just clinging to your sister’s legs for dear life, ufufufu~!”

“T-That was a long time ago! I don’t do that anymore! A-And just to clarify, that wouldn’t change even if Nee-nee was still here!”

“...N…n?” The sudden increase in noise makes Sora slightly open her eyes. Wawawawawawa, don’t wake up, don’t wake up, don’t wake up, please don’t wake up! I won’t do it again, so just sleeeep! A few seconds go by before Sora completely goes back to sleep.

“Ufufufu~! Sakura sweetie, should we continue?”

“Y-Yes…ahem, as I was saying…I was a bit nervous for Sora, but everything turned out fine in the end. The girl she befriended seemed really nice, and most of the parents and teachers I met were very polite and friendly, too.”

Achilles and the other parents in our group were really nice, and while I clashed a bit with Ms. Alice, I don’t think she’s a bad person. That rude old hag from the lobby should go fuck herself, though. Hm? You’re saying I’m being too disrespectful? Awwww, you cutie. Sorry, not sorry.

“That’s great~! I’m so happy for you. Truth is, just as you were worried about Sora, I was worried that you would have trouble interacting with other parents…I’m glad to know that wasn’t the case, ufufufu~!” Mrs. Green breathes a sigh of relief, as if to show that some heavy pressure has been finally lifted off her shoulders. Having nothing to say, I drink from my cup in silence while feeling a bit embarrassed.

“...I’m really proud of you, Sakura. I had no idea how you’d fare off when you knocked on my door that day so long ago, but you’ve done well getting this far. I’m sure your mother would think the same. And you sister, too. They’d be happy to see how much you’ve grown. Not to mention they’d both love Sora to bits, ufufufu~!”

Haha…that’s true. My mom was of the type that loves their grandchildren even more than their own children. And I can definitely picture Nee-nee being the type of aunt who spoils her nieces and nephews rotten.

“That said, I’m pretty sure she would faint if she found out her baby sister had a kid, haha…”

“Ufufufu~! Definitely~!”

Mrs. Green and I spent the rest of the afternoon like that, laughing and smiling as we reminisced about people who were no longer with us.

...Wait, what the hell is up with this mood; everything got really gloomy out of nowhere, didn’t it? Geez~, this is supposed to be a happy story! Who the hell is the narrator and why the hell are they doing such a stupid ass job at keeping a happy tone?! …Ah, that’s me, isn’t it…teehee, my bad~! Sorry, not sorry. But let’s move on ahead, it’s already been enough of boring filler, hasn’t it? Everything that had to be said was said! Sooooooooo, time skip! *insert transition music here*!

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

∆∆∆

It’s now finally Thursday. Do you know what that means? That’s right, today’s my first day of school! Yay! So fun!

…Kill me.

As you can see, I’m very enthusiastic about starting college. I’m not really looking forward to the countless hours I’ll have to spend in class everyday, as well as to the homework I’ll have to somehow fit in within my work schedule every night. But oh well, what is there to be done? Nowadays, not having a degree can be a really big pain in the ass when looking for a job, you know? Sure, I might be employed right now, but who knows what the future holds? I need to be ready, just in case.

“Mama? …?! Ehehe! M-Mama! Stop! Ehe! Mahwma!?” Sora waves her small hand in front of me, bringing me back to reality. Smiling, I grab her small hand in the air and start giving it light pinches before going in for her chubby cheeks.

…That’s right, this is all for her smile. Heh, it’s not even that big of a deal; I’ll just have to push through as I always do. I’ve managed to go against far worse odds in the past, there’s no way a bit of homework and lack of sleep is going to bring me to my knees. I’ll find a way to do it, somehow; I always do. That’s the universal rule of Sakura Saeki.

“‘Kay, all ready.” Having my fill of her fluffy cheeks, I finally release my baby girl from my grasp and try to tidy her clothes with my hands. I straighten her small backpack up her shoulders and brush my hand through her hair. She closes her eyes a bit as she waits for me to be done, making a funny face in the process.

“Is there anything you want for lunch?” Sora nods with a thinking face as I pat her head.

“Nn…paghetti! …H-How can she be so cute?! A-Ahem, keep a hold of yourself, Sakura!

“Spaghetti? Got it.” I’ll have to stop by the supermarket on my way back, then. I can’t disappoint those sparkling eyes of hers! Smiling, I give her a kiss on the forehead before standing up from my crouching position.

“‘Kay. Let’s go, then.” Offering her my hand, I walk Sora over to Ms. Alice, who sees us coming with a smile. Ah, I might’ve forgotten to mention it, but we’re already at Sora’s school. For obvious reasons, I need to drop my baby girl off here before going to my own school.

“Good morning!”

“Good morning, Ms. Al—”

“Soraaaaaa!”

As I’m giving my greeting, I find myself being interrupted by a squeaky, cutesy voice coming from behind Ms. Alice.

“Lily!” Sora’s eyes start sparkling as she recognizes her friend.

“Hey! Lily, you can’t go outside!” Lily, as if to say, ‘I don’t care about that!’ rushes past Ms. Alice, and jumps onto Sora, giving her a hug. My baby girl seems a bit bewildered at first, but then hugs her back a bit shyly. How cute! I wanna take a picture!

*Flash* …T-Teehee, I might’ve done so already. H-Hey, don’t look at me like that! It’s perfectly normal for a mom to take pictures like these! I won’t accept anyone who says otherwise! It might’ve been a bit out of place, but nothing too serious! It was worth it, anyway! I will save that picture for ages to come, y’know?! A-And I already took it, so joke’s on you, there’s nothing that can be done about it now! Mwahahaha! …I’m so evil.

“Sora’s mama, he~llo!” Lily’s greeting drags me back to reality. She really doesn’t seem to have any plan of letting go of Sora any time soon…well, that’s fine. My baby girl seems alright with it, after all. And it’s also a pretty cute scene. Fufu, it makes me recall my childhood. Rei and I used to have moments like this, too, y’know?

‘Sakura, hug!’

‘...Waaaaaaah! Reeei go away!!!! N-Nee-neeeeee, save meeeeeee!!!!’

…Yeah, ‘kay, maybe not exactly the same, but pretty wholesome nonetheless. …What can I say? Back then I was really reluctant to have anyone other than my mom and sis hug me—not that it’s any different now. But who cares about that, it’s more impressive to remember how Rei used to be. Like holy crap, what the hell happened to him as we grew up? He used to be such a cute, sweet little boy…what a pity. Truly, what a pity.

“Ms. Saeki? Are you okay? There’s a tear on your cheek…” I’m alright Ms. Alice…I was just a bit sad that that sweet young Rei turned into the rude son of a bitch that we all know and love. I flash a smile at Ms. Alice to let her know I’m alright, and then turn to face Lily.

“Hi Lily! Been well?”

“Mhm, mhm, mhm!” she energetically replies, moving her head up and down.

“That’s great. Did your Daddy leave already?”

“Mhm, mhm, mhm!”

“Hmm…too bad. I would’ve liked to say hi.”

“Mhm, mhm, mhm!”

“Is he doing ‘kay?”

“Mhm, mhm, mhm!”

…This girl isn’t paying attention at all, is she? Well, she’s pretty cute, so I guess I’ll forgive her for ignoring me this time. All this time, Lily has just been constantly looking between Sora and the playground, so it’s pretty easy to guess what’s on her mind. Fufufu, well, I guess an old hag like me should back down and let the kids play, no need to bore them anymore.

“Well then, girls, I have to go now. I’ll leave Sora to you, Lily. Have lots of fun with her in my place, ‘kay?” Lily pumps her fists as if to say ‘leave it to me!’ before dragging Sora away to the playground. My baby girl goes ‘Mamaaa bye byeeee~!’ as her voice disappears into the distance. Geez, they didn’t even wait for me to finish. Giggling at this, I wave at the two girls as they make their way to the land of fun.

…And while they’re having fun, I will have to be miserable, listening to some old teacher trying to teach me things that I either already know, or don’t care about. Haaah, c’mon, cheer up, Sakura! This is all for Sora’s sake, so don’t be weak. You need to push through, as you always do. …I do think that I need a bit of extra motivation, though.

“Sora, I wuv you baby! Mama’s gonna do her best, so have fun, ‘kay?” That’s right, it’s time to show the world what I’m made of. Fufu…both mother and daughter going to school at the same time…isn’t it kind of poetic?

“Nn! Mama, wuv you!”

Heh…that was all I needed to hear. With this kind of backing, who the hell can go against me?