Chapter 3: Extended Family

Haruto was unsure of how long he slept, but he woke up nice and well rested. He debated whether or not to get out of bed, but he was too scared to go anywhere in the house with Kiara or Calli. After waiting for about fifteen minutes, the door opened.

"Ah, good morning Haruto! Did you sleep well?" Kiara walked into the room, sitting on a chair beside the bed.

"Thank you Kiara," Haruto replied meekly, nodding his head.

"There's nothing you need to thank me for," Kiara replied, "Calli's still at work. Let's get you to the kitchen."

-

"Ma… Kiara?" Haruto asked as she placed a plate of fried chicken and a baked potato in front of the young man.

"What's up, sweetie?" Kiara asked, sitting down across from Haruto.

"What did d… Calli mean when she said that fried chicken was all you knew?" Haruto asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Kiara smiled, "I'm the one who made the recipes. I'm Takanashi Kiara, CEO of KFP."

"R-really?! That's so cool!" Haruto looked at Kiara with stars in his eyes. "Does that mean I'll get all the fried chicken?"

"For you, all the fried chicken," Kiara rubbed Haruto's head, smiling softly at the boy. Kiara was then interrupted by her phone ringing.

"Hello?" Kiara asked, putting the phone to her ear. She conversed with the person on the phone for a couple minutes before hanging up. She rubbed her chin a bit before turning to Haruto.

"M… Kiara?" Haruto asked, "what's going on?"

"Good news, Haruto," Kiara's smile widened, "you're going to meet your aunties today."

-

Words cannot describe how anxious Haruto was. He hasn't even been their son for a day and he's already meeting extended family? He was justifiably scared of how things would go, especially since it seemed that adopting him was a spur of the moment decision.

"Don't worry, sweetie," Kiara placed a hand on Haruto's head. "Auntie Gura and Auntie Amelia are really nice people. I'm sure they'll love you."

Before Haruto could say something, the door opened, Calli walking inside. "Welcome back pa… Calli," Haruto dipped his head politely.

"Did I hear a kid's voice?" A voice asked. The voice distinctly wasn't Calli's, which caused Haruto to stiffen. Was this his extended family? "Didn't you guys get married last year?"

"We adopted," Calli explained, not caring to turn around.

"Oh cool!" A more childlike voice responded. "We really need to get on that! When are you going to ground pound me, Watson?"

"Gura, for the last time…" Watson replied with an agitated tone. "Just… no."

"Gura, not in front of the child," Kiara said, making her presence known.

"Sorry Kiara!" Calli stepped aside to reveal a small girl and a woman. The small girl bounded up to Haruto, examining him as she rubbed her chin.

"How old are you?" The girl, which Haruto assumed was Gura, asked.

"Twelve…?" Haruto responded, confused. Why was this girl asking his age before anything else?

"It's not fair!" Gura suddenly shouted, her tail swishing from side to side, "How is a twelve year old taller than me?!"

"I'm… sorry?" Haruto asked, completely befuddled by the girl in front of him. He didn't know much about her, but he knew she wasn't human. The tail seemed to move by itself and her teeth were too sharp to be that of a human's.

"Don't mind Gura here, she's compensating for something," Watson grabbed Gura by the collar, lifting her up.

"Hey, what gives!" Gura waved her arms and legs wildly, glaring at Watson.

"You're making him uncomfortable," Watson replied, placing Gura down before looking down at Haruto. "Name's Amelia Watson. You got your mom's number on you?"

Haruto looked down, not saying anything. "You already have my number, Ame," Kiara interjected. "We picked him up yesterday. He was homeless and was trying to steal money from us because that was the only way he could survive."

"Oh," Amelia's face fell.

"Well if that's the case, just call me Auntie Gura!" Gura smiled, trying to raise the mood.

"Okay Aun… aun… Gura," Haruto said. "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Gura turned to Kiara for answers.

"Calli, can you watch over Haruto? I'll explain the situation to Ame and Gura," Kiara's smile fell. Haruto felt a scary aura coming from his new adoptive mother that caused him to look away.

Calli looked at Kiara before nodding. "Alright. Kid, want to go play some video games?"

"Okay da… Calli," Haruto meekly replied, grabbing Calli's hand as she led her away.

-

"So what's up with the kid?" Amelia asked, reading Kiara's expression. "I haven't seen you this worked up in quite a while."

"Of course I'm worked up. Haruto can't even say the words 'mama' or 'papa,'" Kiara pinched the bridge of her nose. "I've been doing some background checks. I can't validate whether his claims are true because according to the background check, he's still living with his foster parents."

"If that's the case, why did you find him trying to steal from you?" Amelia asked, rubbing her chin.

"He told me his adoptive parents kicked him out," Kiara answered. "He still doesn't wanna talk about what happened, but it just makes me mad, you know?"

"I see," Amelia stared intensely at the floor, deep in thought.

"That's terrible!" Gura looked up at Kiara. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Just be patient with him. Calli and I are trying our best, but I don't know what he needs," Kiara looked out the window. "We may also need a babysitter."

Amelia and Gura looked at each other, and smiled.

-

"Calli!" Kiara bounded over to the gaming room, where Kiara was setting up a game of Dario Kart for Haruto. "We need to go out. Ame's going to help us with a couple things."

"What?" Calli stood up. "I was setting up the Flip."

"We can just have the babysitter do that," Kiara smirked.

"Babysitter? I didn't expect you to trust the kid with a babysitter so soon," Calli sighed.

"Ina's great with kids," Kiara smiled. "Plus, this is important."

"Whatever," Calli groaned. Kiara walked up, kneeling down so she was eye level with Haruto.

"Hey sweetie?" Kiara extended her hand, stopping a few inches away from Haruto's cheek. Haruto responded by tilting his head, leaning into Kiara's palm. "You're a big boy, right?"

"I'm twelve," Haruto tried his best to force a reassuring smile, but his lips barely twitched. "I'm not a child anymore."

"Alright, do you remember when your old parents adopted you?" Kiara asked. Haruto's head lowered in response. "I'm sorry for bringing them up, sweetie. I just wanted to tell you that we need to fill out some paperwork so we can officially be your parents and not them, okay? Is that okay with you?"

Haruto paused. He was so deep in thought, he didn't notice Calli placing his hand on his back. "Whether you want us to be your parents or not is up to you," she said. "Like you said, you're not a kid anymore. If you don't want us to become your parents, that's okay. It's up to you."

Haruto didn't move. He had a lot to think about. Even though he only knew Kiara and Calli for a couple days, they both showed them both more love and affection than both of his old foster parents had ever shown him. After a long pause, he nodded.

"I want to stay with you… m… ma… mama," Haruto finally said.

"Of course sweetie," Kiara pulled him into a hug. "If that's what you want."

Haruto smiled. For the first time in a long time, he felt safe. He didn't know much about Kiara and Calli, but he knew that they loved him, and for Haruto, that was enough.