4. Come here. Let me fix it.

June 8, 2025 | 820 words

Daiken does his best to get his siblings out the door in time

Content warnings: None

Notes:

Daiken: 14 | Sachi & Kazuki: 9 | Kaito: 4

Winter had crept into the city, little by little and then all at once, seeping in under the doorframes of their apartment and settling into empty spaces. The sudden season change left Daiken unprepared, and he scrambled to dig out his siblings’ warm clothing to use for the rest of the year. Last week, he woke up and found it was too cold to leave the window open, and he had the pleasure of explaining to a miffed Kazuki why access to the fire escape had to be limited.

Daiken was running through the usual morning routine, doing his best to get everyone ready for school on time, but if he was being honest, he wasn’t sure he would make it to first period before the bell this morning. On the surface, it always seemed like he had allotted enough time for everything, but sometimes the little things stacked up quicker than he could handle. His one saving grace was that their father was gone for the week—one less variable to work around as he tried to get three kids out the door.

Today was one of those mornings. When he went to wake Sachi, she was curled up in bed, sound asleep. Staring at her sleeping form, his chest twinged a little. He already hated waking her when she had enough trouble sleeping as it was, and it had been a few weeks since she had slept so well. The soft part of his heart won out, and he indulged her for just a smidge too long, pulling the blanket off of Kazuki instead and nudging him to the bathroom first.

Now, Sachi was rushing in and out of their room, grabbing things last minute between intermittent bites of her breakfast and fighting with her shoulder-length hair. Meanwhile, Kazuki sat at the table fully dressed in his huge winter coat, nodding off into his half-eaten cereal, lunch strewn around the kitchen. Usually Sachi, the fastest of his siblings, was tasked with getting everyone’s lunches packed, but that morning Daiken had to take over the job himself, rooting around in the cabinets for an empty container while periodically nudging Kazuki to finish his food. His youngest sibling, Kaito, stood quietly in the corner, his back to the room as he stared down at something intently. Daiken wondered if he should be concerned, but decided to pick his battles and shrugged it off.

It was a little crazy, sure, but nothing he couldn’t handle.

It was around five minutes before they absolutely had to leave that Daiken finally found a chance to sit down at their kitchen table and eat something. He unceremoniously dropped his backpack on the couch and grabbed a stray slice of toast. He inhaled it in an instant, chewing furiously while staring at the clock, which was 5 minutes behind. We’ve got time, he thought. I think we can make it.

Daiken was in the middle of buttering his second slice of toast when he felt a tug at his sleeve. He turned. It was Kaito, the two halves of his unzipped jacket clenched in his four-year-old hands. Daiken raised an eyebrow, toast and butter knife still in hand.

Kaito made a frustrated noise. “Daiken!” he whined, bottom lip wobbling dangerously. “Daiken, help!” He stretched out his arms, holding the offending coat away from his body like it was poisonous.

Despite his rush, Daiken smiled a little and put his breakfast down. “Your zipper not working, buddy? C’mere. Lemme fix it for you.” Daiken took the two halves of the jacket and zipped it smoothly, well-versed in the convoluted nature of toddler clothing. “See? All better.”

Kaito inspected his handiwork, going cross-eyed as he stared down his own front. After a few seconds, he deemed Daiken’s efforts acceptable and smiled up at him. “Thhhank you Dee!” he exclaimed, and he wrapped his little arms around him.

“You’re welcome!” Daiken said dramatically, standing to sweep his baby brother into a large hug. He spun Kaito around and silently celebrated when he got a laugh out of him. Another wobbly lip neutralized. Nice. Kaito squealed and wriggled his way out of his grasp, giggling as he ran back into his corner. Daiken grinned, a light feeling rising inside his chest.

His siblings were all little menaces, but he loved them for it.

The sound of snoring across from him brought him back to reality, and he grabbed Kazuki’s shoulder right before he could faceplant into his bowl. “Whoa, be careful, kid,” he told Kazuki as he blinked awake. “Go and grab your shoes.” He stood over him until he finally moved, shrugging on his bag with a yawn.

He spared a glance at the clock again as he grabbed his backpack. One minute. We can still make it. “Come on, Sachi! Let’s go!”

Daiken slid into his seat in first period not a second before the bell rang.