Tasks and Rewards

"WEEKEND", such a wonderful word. The warm sun ray shining through your face, not worrying what time you'll wake up. The cool breeze caressing your skin oh so gently, as if hushing you back to sleep. Kairo is having a beautiful sensation in the midst of his sleep. He woke up though, as his eyes slowly batted open, the man stretched up and walked towards the window just to open it with a creaking sound. But it was all worth it. The view of the city in the morning is enough to energize himself up.

"Good morning, city!" Kairo happily said like he was some Disney Princess or something.

It seems that the city did not hear his greeting, but instead it was Erika was the one who heard him and responded nicely from downstairs. "GOOD MORNING MY ASS!!! GET DOWN HERE AND EAT BREAKFAST, YOU IDIOT!"

"HATSUGAWA HOW MEAN CAN YOU GET??!! YOU'RE RUINING MY MORNING!"

"WATCH ME RUIN YOUR WHOLE DAY, YOU BASTARD!!"

Kairo sighed and silently protested with her pillow as his enemy. Of course he couldn't face her personally, or else he'll be killed. So he just fixed his bedding, got up in the morning, and went downstairs.

He was surprised though since everybody is as early they are in the weekdays and Akito was barely cheerful.

"Good morning..... Akito-kun."

"Good morning, Nii-chan." he smiled a bit and only glanced at Kairo. This time, he got really confused with the shortness of his Akito's response.

"Aaahhh Kairo-kun, I'll be leaving for the whole day okay? I'm going to sell some vegetables in the market. In the mean time, you kids should watch the house." Sachiko said in the middle of the meal.

Kairo just smiled and nodded obediently. "Okay. We will." to which Sachiko smiled. He still wondered how the two were less energetic than usual, but he just shrugged it off.

-----

"I guess I'll see you in the evening okay?"

"Okaaaay."

Sachiko waved her hand and left the three alone in the house. They were waving goodbye to the matriarch but the moment they did not see her shadow anymore, the two quickly went inside the house. Kairo sweat dropped when he witnessed the two rushing and cleaning vigorously. Erika started doing the laundry, Akito started fixing the rooms. Everyone was busy, except him, who got more confused at that time.

"What is going on exactly?!"

"Just shut up and start cleaning!"

"Why does this seem a time challenge to you guys?!"

Akito sighed and he had to walk towards Kairo to tell the truth.

"Mom is scary, Nii-chan."

"I uhh...pretty much know that."

"No! You don't get it. Mom is scarier when she gets home and no chores have been done!"

Kairo furrowed his eyebrows and started thinking. What could be worse than the Sachiko he has witnessed back then?

"Whatever you're thinking, nii-chan, that's just the tip of the iceberg." Akito said straightforwardly.

"WHAT?!"

It was at that very moment it just sunk in to Kairo how bad the situation is when you mess up with Sachiko Hatsugawa. However, all of a sudden Erika threw a feather duster at Kairo to catch their attention. "YOU TWO! Stop chatting, you're wasting so much time! Start helping me here, would you?!"

"WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE BEING HIT?!"

"While the duster is there, start dusting off the windows. That's your job!"

"But----"

"NO BUTS!!! GET YOUR ASS WORKING RIGHT NOW!!"

Erika's voice is loud enough to shake the currently terrified Kairo and had him going towards the windows he's supposed to dust. Minutes after the order though, Erika heard consecutive coughs and sneezes.

"Are you serious?"

"I'm sorry...... ACHOO!"

Kairo's job went from dusting off the windows into mopping the floor since it seems he has allergies with dust. This time though, he seems to not have a problem with mopping since he's not sneezing or something. What's wrong is that, the pattern of his mopping resembles the trail of a slithering snake.

"KAIRO MORIYAMA, WHAT THE FUCK??!!"

"I'M SORRY!!! I ACTUALLY DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO CHORES!!"

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!!"

"Ladies are not supposed to curse---"

"SHUT UP!!! When you're mopping, make sure that the mop has covered all of the floor's surface!"

"But you swept the floor already, doesn't that mean that everything is clean already---"

"JUST DO WHAT I SAID!!!"

The poor lad quickly went on his way and started mopping from the edge of the room once again. This time, he is taking too much time in covering every corner, every nook and cranny of the place and Erika ended up throwing a slipper at him because of that.

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It's is somehow admirable how Akito and Erika are used to doing household chores. It was as if you can leave everything to their care and things will be alright. Akito started cleaning the room, fixing everything, wiping every dust of the shelves and unfortunately, even the windows (because Kairo couldn't do shit), while Erika was the one who cooked for them and did most of the heavy work like laundry, dusting off the blankets and pillows. Meanwhile, there is Kairo, who was struggling to arrange the books by the color of the covers.

After a while, the three finished the chores by 3 pm in the afternoon. Erika, being a worrywart, had to check things again just to make sure everything has been done. She even has a checklist of chores to which Kairo was amazed of. She's really meticulous on some things. After all the boxes have been checked, the siblings let out a sigh of relief.

"It's a good thing that we finished early." Akito said tiredly.

"I know right. At least we have enough time to rest." Erika sat on the sofa comfortably, stretching her arms up high with a relieved smile.

Kairo looked at the two and he couldn't help but feel amazed at how much these two can handle at a very young age. They probably adjusted big time after their father passed away. Watching the two somehow made him motivated with continuing on living.

"Hey, do you guys wanna eat ice cream or something?"

The siblings looked confusedly at Kairo after hearing him say that. They certainly did not expect that he would offer something like that.

"Do you have money for that?" the two said at the same time.

"I do have a crazy rich uncle, don't I? Of course I have the money." Kairo said proudly. "And besides, it'll be something like a 'treat after the hardship'. What do you say?"

The two seems to hesitate at first since they looked at each other, wondering if they would go or not. Akito seems to really want to have the treat so she looked at Erika cutely. "Please, nee-chan. It's rare to have chances like this."

Erika took her time to think but later on sighed. She looked at Kairo and she showed a sincere smile towards the man. "We will certainly appreciate that."

Upon seeing the two of them liven up with delighted faces, Kairo felt a warm sensation in his heart. These two worked so hard in order to please their mother. Thoughtfulness such as this deserve a reward, whether it be conditional or not.

"Then get ready now. We'll leave at 3:15."

"YES!"

The anxiety that surrounds the house a while ago is now replaced with excitement for the treat they will receive. As the three got ready to depart, Kairo made sure he has everything with him and so was Erika and Akito. Together, the three rode a bus going to town and Kairo picked a specific ice cream shop for the two of them.

Kairo called out a waitress and whispered a few words on her before she left, only to return holding a menu that somehow resembles a picture book, where the ice cream variations are displayed and so were their names.

"I like this pinkish vanilla-ish thingy, Moriyama. I'll take this." Erika enthusiastically said.

"I'll get this three scoop chocolate thingy, nii-chan!" Akito followed.

Kairo called the waitress once again and said, "Very well then. Strawberry Marble and the Triple Chocolate Ice cream miss, and Blue Moon for me."

"Understood sir. Do you want something else?"

"Mmm... Probably some french fries along with it."

"Very well. Please excuse me." The waitress bowed with a smile as she went to the counter to relay their choices. Kairo then faced the two who seems to be very excited considering how their eyes followed every step the lady took. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"Why are you laughing, nii-chan?" Akito asked.

"Nothing. It's just, you two are really adorable. Hatsugawa-san, even though you act matured, some things just trigger your inner childhood huh?"

"Wha---?! I am not that childish!"

"Right now, you kinda are."

"......."

There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither. --Alan Cohen

(This applies to you too, dear readers.)

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"Where did the kids go?" Sachiko wondered while looking inside the sparkling, clean house.