Ever since Shion’s first estrus period, the atmosphere inside the house seems to have changed again. Shion was still unfortunately reluctant to call Hirokichi “Papa” while others were around, calling him “Father” instead. But she had started trailing Hirokichi all around the house and the maids smiled gently at the sight.

 

“Hirokichi-sama, don’t you think Shion needs a phone? It would help with keeping track of her estrus period so that Shion knows to take precautions when it’s near, and would allow her to contact you when you are at work.”

 

Hirokichi looked thoughtful as he realized that he had completely forgotten about giving Shion a phone, because he had gotten used to Shion’s presence inside the house as of recent.

 

“...What phone designs do you think a young omega would appreciate nowadays?” (Hirokichi)

 

“Hmmm… if it’s Shion-chan, maybe a cute little purple flip phone would do?” (Ayano)

 

Hirokichi seemed to take Ayano’s thoughts into consideration as he quickly made a phone call of his own.

 

“Kimura, please cancel all of my plans for today.” (Hirokichi)

 

“But sir, you have a meeting with the CEO of Son-”

 

“Do I need to repeat myself?” (Hirokichi)

 

“No sir, your plans have all been canceled for today.” (Kimura)

 

Ayano nearly broke her professional countenance to squeal, seeing Hirokichi use his dominant CEO personality to spoil Shion … Maybe he’d do the same if we ever got in a relationship..? Nonono I can’t think these things of my own boss!

 

Hirokichi turned to look at Ayano after he hung up, noticing her earlobes turning red despite her stoic countenance. He ignored it, telling Ayano to stand by Shion’s door when she wakes up.

 

—

 

Shion silently unrolled herself from her blanket as Ayano’s eyes followed her. Shion noticed the corner of Ayano’s mouth twitching in mirth. Shion spoke up,

 

“If you dare speak up about this, I’ll tell Papa that you have a crush on him..!” (Shion)

 

“But your cutene-”

 

Ayano’s voice suddenly cut off when she realized exactly what Shion had said.

 

“W-w-w-what did you just say..?” (Ayano)

 

Shion thought for a second before she flushed slightly,

 

“You’re remembering wrong, I said Father, not Papa!” (Shion)

 

“Nonono not that, the last part of your sentence.” (Ayano)

 

Shion’s head tilted cutely,

 

“That you have a crush on Father..?” (Shion)

 

“YES! THAT EXACTLY! How do you know!?!??!” (Ayano)

 

“Isn’t it obvious?” (Shion)

 

“Obvious in what way!?” (Ayano)

 

“I mean… everyone notices the stares you keep on giving Father, the way you hand prepare his lunch every time he leaves for the company knowing that he nearly always forgets to eat lunch otherwise, the way you blush every time he smiles, and every time he walks by you, you immediately daze off and get distracted…” (Shion)

 

Ayano grabbed one of Shion’s pillows and gave a long muffled scream, before looking up tearfully at Shion and asking in a quiet whisper,

 

“...Do you think he’s noticed?” (Ayano)

 

“Noooope~ You know Father just as well as I do now, do you think he has a single bone for romance in his body? I am his only daughter after all~” (Shion)

 

Shion puffed out her miniscule chest with pride.

 

“But….”

 

Shion’s voice dropped off to a whisper as she blushed.

 

“If it’s Ayano, I don’t mind having a mother…” (Shion)

 

Still dazed from the revelation that Shion revealed just earlier, Ayano didn’t catch what Shion had just said,

 

“Shion-chan… did you say something?” (Ayano)

 

At this point, even though Shion had freed herself from her purrito, she had thrown herself under the covers again.

 

“I didn’t say anything at all!” (Shion)

 

“Hmmm… just please don’t tell Hirokichi-sama, I’m begging you with all my heart!” (Ayano)

 

Shion made a small noise of agreement as Ayano realized that Shion had thrown herself under her covers again. Ayano suddenly slapped her cheeks and reached to the lump in the blanket, calling out.

 

“Shion… please get up, Hirokichi-sama said he wanted to do something with you today”

 

A small cute face poked out of the covers and twitched her ears, asking curiously,

 

“Father did?” (Shion)

 

“Yep~” (Ayano)

 

“...I have to get ready then.” (Shion)

 

Ayano let out a gentle smile, composure restored, as she watched Shion immediately throw off her covers and rush for the bathroom.

 

—

 

“Father~ I’m ready to go out with you…” (Shion)

 

Hirokichi saw the little omega cling to his sleeve as she looked up to him, clearly having just woken up. He let out a subconscious smile as he grabbed the comb that Ayano was holding to brush Shion’s hair out.

 

“Alright, do you remember what a phone is?” (Hirokichi)

 

“Yep~ Takanashi-sensei taught me about them the other day! They’re very similar to the iMagi I remember seeing people use before…” (Shion)

 

“That’s good. Today we’re going to go out and get you your own so that you can use it to contact us and keep track of various things.” (Hirokichi)

 

Shion let out a sweet smile,

 

“Thank you Papa!” (Shion)

 

Hirokichi let out a dry cough at the sudden sweetness attack he was not prepared for. He then spoke up again, trying his best to maintain his stoic expression.

 

“We can leave as soon as you finish your breakfast. But don’t eat too fast, or else you’ll choke.” (Hirokichi)

 

“Okay~” (Shion)

 

Despite Hirokichi’s warnings, Shion did end up shoveling her breakfast down a little too fast and gulped down her milk, before suddenly coughing.

 

“Gohon gohon that was… milk… wrong way…” (Shion)

 

Hirokichi lightly thumped Shion’s back as she coughed. He accidentally let a small chuckle slip out before Shion looked up at him with a teary aggrieved look.

 

“What did I tell you about choking?” (Hirokichi)

 

“Hmph” (Shion)

 

“I don’t mind waiting for you, so just be careful when you eat” (Hirokichi)

 

“...” (Shion)

 

Hirokichi had a slight helpless look in his eyes as Shion ignored him. He then spoke up,

 

“Ok, I guess we’re not going out anymore then…” (Hirokichi)

 

Hirokichi’s voice trailed off as he realized that Shion’s shoulders were shaking, with her ears flattened and tail between her legs. It was meant to be an innocent tease, but Shion’s past had completely slipped by his mind…

 

“...rry Papa… Sorry Papa, I was just *hic* too excited to go *hic* out with you finally…” (Shion)

 

Hirokichi reached out to grab Shion’s shoulders as she suddenly tensed up again. He then let out a gentle sigh as he hugged her.

 

“No… It was my fault. I just wanted to tease you a little. I didn’t really mean what I said, we’ll still go out together. I just want you to be more careful with yourself…” (Hirokichi)

 

At Hirokichi’s words, Shion’s silent sobs finally turned into tears as she released the tension she was holding and buried her face in Hirokichi’s chest once more. He then let out a gentle wave of his coffee scented pheromones to placate Shion. Eventually, her tears stopped falling and she looked up at Hirokichi with reddened eyes.

 

“So… we can still *hic*, go out together..?” (Shion)

 

“Yes… I won’t lie to you. I promise you that I will never lie to you as long as I live. Now wipe away your tears and put a cool towel on your eyes while I change so we can leave.” (Hirokichi)

 

Shion didn’t let go of Hirokichi even after he said that. He then smiled helplessly and picked her up with him as he walked away. He applied a cool towel on Shion’s eyes as he changed.

 

“Don’t worry Shion, I’m right here with you.” (Hirokichi)

 

Hirokichi quickly finished changing and took Shion’s hand as he walked out. He removed Shion’s towel and was satisfied that the redness was mostly gone. This time, however, instead of going to Tomoya, Shion was led to a fancy black lamborghini (not that she recognized the car) and Hirokichi drove instead.

 

—

 

The two of them arrived at an upscale electronics store. All over the store were well dressed employees patiently standing next to their products, awaiting for customers to approach. The hall was wide and had elegant chandeliers and mirror polished marble floors with a faint smell of roses permeating the entire building. Hirokichi gently guided Shion to the cell phone section and asked Shion which phone she wanted.

 

There were a lot of cute phone designs, but Shion was drawn to a particularly cute lavender flip phone. Although it was a flip phone, it was in no way old fashioned. It had the latest flexible diamond glass, taking advantage of recent innovations in carbon mineral research to create a perfectly clear glass that was flexible yet durable. The flip phone itself folded out into a little smart phone that perfectly fit Shion’s hand; she had no difficulty reaching anywhere on the screen despite small and cute hands.

 

Since Shion seemed satisfied with the phone, Hirokichi immediately purchased it for her with the best phone plan possible. The employee quickly explained all the functions of the phone and taught Shion how to use it. Afterwards, Shion left the store with a bright and happy face, before she quickly took a photo of Hirokichi’s face as he was walking with a gentle smile himself.

 

Shion offered her phone to Hirokichi, asking him to put in his phone number. He quickly entered the information for his private phone, before handing it back to Shion. Shion then added the photo she had just taken of Hirokichi, before naming the contact “Papa” and setting it as her favorite. She even played around with ringtones and text tones, before setting a cool coffee shop-esque tone for both.

 

Hirokichi watched all of Shion’s actions with a small smile on his face. He then asked Shion,

 

“Are you satisfied?”

 

“Mmmm, thank you again Papa!” (Shion)

 

Hirokichi let out a small chuckle again, before speaking up.

 

“After you chose your phone, I had plans for us to go to dinner together. Are you still interested?” (Hirokichi)

 

“Yes!” (Shion)

 

“Have you ever tried something called Sushi?” (Hirokichi)

 

Shion tilted her head in slight confusion as she replied,

 

“No, I’ve never tried it before.” (Shion)

 

“Well, if what I think is correct, I think you would really like this.” (Hirokichi)

 

The duo drove their way to an extremely small and upscale sushi restaurant; Hirokichi, with his domineering CEO personality, had reserved the entire restaurant for the two of them.

 

“If you’ve never had sushi before, it’s very simply raw fish with a little bit of wasabi and vinegared rice.” (Hirokichi)

 

“Hmmm… I don’t know a few of those things…” (Shion)

 

Soon after the two of them had been seated, the chef came out and bowed to them.

 

“Welcome to Sushi Hiro! My name is Hiro and I am the founder of this little Sushi bar. I hope you will enjoy the food I will prepare for you today” (Hiro)

 

After serving the two of them some delicious and high quality green tea, Chef Hiro started to prepare an omakase course meal for the two of them. The first serving was Aori Ika, or Oval Squid. It was known as the Queen of squids, and was one of the tastiest species of squid that exists. Shion grabbed the sushi with her hand and dropped it in her mouth before chewing.

 

The squid itself tasted extremely refreshing, with a slightly sweet taste reminiscent of rice paper. But in contrast to rice paper, it had a very toothsome yet tender bite and a slight sea air that reminded you that it was, indeed squid.

 

Shion was no stranger to raw fish, as she had managed to catch a few back when she was homeless as a rare treat. But although the fish she had found back then was delicious, the sushi she had been served here was on an entirely different level of deliciousness.

 

“Is it good?” (Hirokichi)

“Nya… it’s so good! I had raw fish back then a few times, but it can’t compare~” (Shion)

 

Hirokichi let out a low chuckle.

 

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” (Hirokichi)

 

After the squid, Chef Hiro continued to serve up many things. From akami (tuna red meat) to ootoro (tuna fatty meat), nodoguro (blackthroat sea perch) and other rare, yet delicious fish. In the end, Chef Hiro served them some housemade tamagoyaki, and Shion took a bite, enjoying the pleasant sweetness that served as a perfect end to the meal.

 

As soon as they stepped out of the restaurant, Hiro’s private phone lit up with a strange ringtone. He answered it instantly.

 

“Yes, I’m doing well…”

 

“Yeah, I did adopt a daughter and no, I still don’t have plans to get married…”

 

“I’ll bring her in next time to meet you, don’t worry about it…”

 

“Alright, I’ll stay safe and keep Shion safe, have a good night…”

 

As soon as Hirokichi hung up, Shion tugged on his sleeve before asking curiously,

 

“Papa, who was that?” (Shion)

 

Hirokichi sighed, before replying,

 

“Those are my parents. They made me promise to bring you to meet them next time I go, but if you’re uncomfortable with the idea, then feel free to stay home. I will just make an excuse on your behalf.” (Hirokichi)

 

“No… it’s okay, I want to meet them.” (Shion)

 

“Okay, just keep in mind that it’s never too late to back out. (Hirokichi)

 

“But still, I want to meet Papa’s parents and I’ll do my best to show them that I’m a perfect daughter!” (Shion)

 

Hirokichi rubbed Shion’s head lightly, before laughing.

 

“I’m happy that you’re excited to go. We’ll take some time to visit them next weekend, so make sure to prepare for then.” (Hirokichi)

 

The two of them got in the Lamborghini again, before zooming off into the distance towards Hirokichi’s estate. But by this time, Shion had dozed off once again so he held her in a princess carry and brought Shion to her room. He managed to wake her enough to get her to brush her teeth, and he wiped her face and changed her for bed. Once he tucked her in, he whispered quietly,

 

“Good night, Shion…” (Hirokichi)

 

The warm milk scent of Shion's pheromones filled the air, and Hirokichi gave her a light kiss on her forehead before leaving her room.