A Normal Childhood

"So... What should I do now?"

Mike was thinking out loud as he's wandering in the streets of Kuoh. Mike called the Church and told them to send the message about the couple's death to Zekram. And he also told them to send a message to Touji Shidou about the death of his subordinate and the reason for it. Mike wondered what would be his reaction.

For Mike to make his next move, the Underworld must first make its move. Until then, Mike is free to do what he wants. To go back to heaven, he must create a teleportation circle. He can't just randomly prepare it anywhere. It's better if it's prepared in a place where people won't come. It will take some time to find a place like that. He didn't have anything to do at present. So, he decided to do some town exploring.

"Hmm... I want to visit the Church but it's better if a suspicious child didn't appear in the church after the exorcist working there is 'killed'. Not like anyone would doubt a child though. But it's better to be extra careful, right?"

With this thought, he decided to avoid the Church for now. So, after roaming for a while, he came across a park. The moment he entered the park, he found a pink-haired girl shouting and running towards him.

"Hey, you! Wait there!"

The girl came to Mike and took his hand and said "Become my husband!"

"Excuse me?" Before Mike could say anything else to the girl who proposed him, another person came shouting towards them.

"Hey! Don't just run like that!" That person yelled at the girl and looked at Mike "Who are you?"

"My husband!" Before Mike could answer, the girl who is holding his hands answered. "And Shidou-kun, you are our kid!"

"Eeeeehhhhh?!" The chestnut-haired person shouted "No! I don't want to be the kid!"

And this time, before anyone else can speak, Mike said "Umm... Every human has a time where they have to be a kid. And it doesn't matter if you agree or not, you are a kid. But you are not a kid of mine and this girl though."

And the pink-haired girl who's holding Mike's hand became teary-eyed and hugged Mike tightly "Dear, what are you saying?! Are you accusing me of cheating?! No, dear! You are wrong! Even though this kid doesn't have the hair color of either of us, this kid is ours! You have to believe me! The only person I ever did it is with you! *sniffle* *sob*"

"What the hell is wrong with your head?! And how do you know about things like cheating?! What the hell are they teaching children these days?!" Mike separated himself from the girl and shouted.

The girl gave a mischievous smile while sticking our he tongue "Sorry dear~ I got too much into the role."

"Could you please explain to me what the hell is going on?" Mike asked feeling a little bit irritated.

"Ah right. My name is Nozomi, this here is Shidou-kun. Nice to meet you." She started with self-introductions.

"Hello." Shidou's greeting is short.

Mike greeted them back. "I am Mike. Not really feeling nice by meeting you. Care to explain to me what just happened?"

Shidou is the one who started talking "I apologize on behalf of this idiot. The thing is we decided to play house today. But after some time, Nozomi got bored and said that it would be interesting if there is another person."

"And that's when I saw you!" Nozomi continued "Your looks are good and you look just a little older than our age. This must be fate! The world wants us to be husband and wife! So, what do you say, dear?!" She caught Mike's hands again. Mike is surprised by how pushy this girl is. He wondered if the other person is like that too.

Mike looked at Shidou who shook head sideways. "Please don't lump me with this crazy girl. She's weird but she's a good girl by the way. Playing with her is fun."

Mike sighed and looked back at Nozomi. Mike's purpose is not to have fun. He has a mission to do. So, he can't accept the offer. Just when he was about to reject her offer, Nozomi said "Let's be friends from now. okay?"

Mike stopped what he was saying. 'Friends huh...' He thought. Mike has a lot of people who care for him but none of them can be called friends. All the people who know his identity are old people or Seraphs. Mike sacrificed his normal childhood for his dream. Michael always asked him to put that dream on hold and have a normal childhood. But Mike never listened to Michael's advice. But here it is, a chance to get friends of his age...

"Alright, let's be friends. I will play with you."

And he took that chance. 'I will give the normal childhood a try, Nii-chan.' He thought internally.

"Yay!" Nozomi jumped in joy while Shidou just said "Let's get along from now."

And Mike got dragged by Nozomi so that they could play 'house'. And their play started with Nozomi and Mike as wife and husband and Shidou as their kid. The play starts with Mike and Shidou sleeping.

***

"Dear~ Wake up~ It's morning or~ do you want me to wake you up with a special service."

"Chotto matte! What the hell do you mean by special service?!" Mike might not be tempted by lust but he has knowledge about it.

"Hehehe... Hi-mi-tsu. Now, that you woke up, get ready for work. I will wake up Shidou-kun." Nozomi didn't come out of her role.

Mike sighed and went along with it. Shidou didn't even flinch. Either Shidou doesn't know what Nozomi meant or this is common for Shidou. Mike put his bets on the latter.

"Shidou-kun, wake up. You have to get ready for school." (Nozomi)

"Mama, five more minutes..." (Shidou)

"No! If you don't wake up, Mama will punish you with tickle torture. *tickle* *tickle*" (Nozomi)

"Ahahaha! Stop it, Nozomi! I mean, Mama! I am awake! Awake!"

Shidou woke up unable to bear the tickle torture. Mike and Shidou got ready and ate breakfast and went out. Shidou came back from school in the evening. "Mama! I'm home!"

"Welcome home, Shidou-kun. Take a bath and do your homework." (Nozomi)

"Okay!" (Shidou)

After Shidou took a bath and went to his room to do homework. Mike came back from his work.

"I'm home, honey!" (Mike)

"Welcome back, dear! Do you want dinner or a bath..." Nozomi closed the distance between Mike and her and whispered "Or me?"

***

"Alright, Timeout! Timeout!" Mike stopped the play in the middle. He turned to Shidou and asked, "Is she like this every day?"

"Well, no one can tell how she will be. You should just give up and get used to it." Shidou said with a deadpan expression.

'This person must have been through a lot.' Mike thought while looking at Shidou.

Mike sighed "Alright, let's stop this play right here."

Nozomi looked dejected "Aww~ We were just getting to the good part."

Mike caught Nozomi through her shoulders "Nozomi, could you please tell me where does this knowledge of yours come from?"

"Hmm... A lot of sources... Some of them come from Mama, some come from dramas that Mama watch..." When she said that, Mike developed a bad opinion of her mother.

Before Mike could say anything, Nozomi shouted "Ah! It's getting late! We have to go home! Let's go, Mike and Shidou-kun!"

"Wait! Why me too?!" Mike said as he's being dragged by Nozomi.

"It's a tradition! 'If you make a friend, bring them home for dinner someday!' That's what Mom says. So, I thought why not just bring you today!" Mike's opinion of Nozomi's mother improved a little. Mike gave up and let himself be dragged by Nozomi while Shidou walked along with them while awkwardly laughing at Mike.

After a while, they reached their destination.

"Welcome to Hyoudou Residence!" Nozomi announced.