Heartwarming / Buddy Daddies

Family isn't always bound by blood, indeed.

Get two assassins and a cute little girl they knowingly adopt and what do you get? Pure heartwarming moments.

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Episode 1

• Just as they have their target at their mercy, Kazuki gets a call from the daycare teacher, reporting that Miri had a cold. After hanging up, Kazuki yells at Rei for not noticing Miri was sick.
  Kazuki: Is our job more important than our kid?!
• Despite his dour appearance, Rei has a soft spot for cats. Going off of Kazuki's statement, he had apparently tried to bring in other stray cats he found.
• Kazuki takes their payment and asks Ryu to send to the rest over to what can be implied to be his ex. Ryu sighs that she likely wouldn't take the money, but will try anyway.
• Miri runs towards Kazuki in the elevator and happily chows down on his cake. Kazuki is touched that his food is actually being eaten and enjoyed when it likely would have gone to waste for the assassination.
• Miri is (unknowingly) held hostage by her true father, Kazuki tells Rei to not shoot her and even saves Miri, calling him her real papa. Miri happily jumps towards Kazuki and hugs him.

Episode 2

• While he gets overwhelmed by Miri, Kazuki clearly enjoys having her around and cooking for someone who enjoys his food.
• After the mission goes south and they escape on their boat, Kazuki scolds Miri. She looks down sadly, but he tells her to be more careful since she could have put herself in danger. Miri smiles and happily calls Kazuki "Papa".

Episode 3

• Rei slowly warms up to Miri in this episode. When she joins him in the bathtub, he leaves his blanket in there to cover her.
• As they drive to meet Miri's mother, Kazuki tries to cheerfully tell Rei this was the last time they'd spend with Miri. Rei clearly has grown fond of Miri and asks if this was really good for all of them. Kazuki brushes him off and claims it was, with Rei responding that Kazuki was a lousy actor.
• Kazuki finds Miri's mother and her boyfriend comes in, believing she's cheating on him and slaps her. Kazuki retaliates by trying to push him away, but once he pulls a broken bottle out, Kazuki punches him in the face.
• Throughout the episode, Miri refers to Rei as "Rei-kun" since he didn't want to be called papa, nor uncle. However, when Miri runs into some police officers who believe she's a lost child, she starts crying for her papa. Rei pauses for a moment, remembering how his father treated him and finally goes to help Miri.
  Police Officer: Are you her guardian?
  Rei: No.
  Police Officer: Kid's friend?
  Rei: No. I am... her papa.
  • Earlier, Miri told Rei that a "papa" is someone who saves you when you're in trouble. Which was what Kazuki had done, and why she calls him papa.
  • Also, when Rei confronts the officers, he tells them he promised Miri they'd play tomorrow.
• Miri happily refers to Rei as "Rei Papa".
• Kazuki returns and says they'd get a meal together.
  Rei: For three?
  Kazuki: For three.
• The after-credits of the episode. Miri insists they all sleep together that night, with Kazuki saying they couldn't while Rei says it would be uncomfortable. Cut to them all squished together on one small bed with Miri happily asleep and Kazuki uncomfortably pushed by Miri. He asks for Rei to move, but Rei has been peacefully sleeping.

Episode 4

• Kazuki jumping through hoops to get Miri into a good daycare. Even when he's close to giving up after being overwhelmed by all the paperwork, he presses forward after seeing how determined Miri is to go.
• Rei, who usually doesn't lift a finger to help with the housework, stays up to try and help sew loops on Miri's daycare towel and put her name on all the supplies they bought.
• The daycare teacher Anna is incredibly kind to the three, not batting an eye at Miri having two dads so long as she is happy and healthy. She's also patient with Kazuki as he fumbles with the daycare journal and gives him some advice about finding clothes that will help Miri fit in with her class.
• The trio being in awe at the discount supermarket and shopping to their heart's content. Even Rei can't help expressing joy at what a "paradise" it is.
• Miri's classmates finally warming up to her with some help from Kazuki who impresses them with his skill at playing ball.
• The post credits scene showing that Miri got her own room, solidifying that she's truly a permanent part of Kazuki and Rei's life now.

Episode 5

• After having a conversation with Miri, Kyu-chan, who has already known she's under Kazuki and Rei's care beforehand with the pair none the wiser, finally realizes how Miri has become very precious to the pair, and why they want to protect her. In the end, Kyu lets the duo continue taking care of Miri, and only gives a light warning about the nature of their job.
• As the duo prepare to bring an asleep Miri home from Kyu-chan's bar, Rei slowly, gently picks her up, showing the first sign of himself adapting to the role of her daddy.

Episode 6

• While not exactly thrilled about tailing Miri, Rei is excited to go to the zoo since he's never been to one before.
• Kazuki seeing Miri as his daughter and not just adopted. Kazuki even praises Miri's senses when she almost spots her papa's.
  Kazuki: Those are our genes at work!
• Miri instantly bonds with Taiga, the boy whom she got into an altercation with the day before, over Morio Kart.
  • Miri boasting about Rei's scores in Morio Kart and saying she loves her Papa Rei. Overhearing this, Rei grins smugly at Kazuki.
• Taiga, despite being quite a rowdy kid, is revealed to be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold. Upon seeing Miri having no lunch to eat, he shares his rice balls with her without hesitation and even apologizes for the incident the day before (he swiped some fried chicken from some of his female classmates, causing Miri to call him out on it). Later on, when a robber on the run stumbles upon them and try to take their food by force, Taiga instantly jumps on the guy trying to protect his female classmates.
• Kazuki and Rei (disguised as a rabbit and alpaca respectively) going full Papa Wolf on the man holding Miri and her classmates hostage.
• Miri spends much of the episode angry at Kazuki after he unsuccessfully tries to broach the subject of her getting into a fight with Taiga, to the extent that she refuses to take the bento he made for her the next day. When Miri gets home from her trip, she asks to have the bento Kazuki made.

Episode 7

• Despite Kazuki's tremendous guilt over the fact that his wife, Yuzuko, and their unborn child ended up losing their lives as collateral damage during one of his missions, Yuzuko's younger sister, Karin, never blames him for it. Karin finally manages to cheer Kazuki up after having a heart-to-heart conversation at the cemetery where Kazuki and Yuzuko first met, and even looks pleased at the fact that Kazuki has another kid to take care of.
• While initially panicked and unsure of what to do when Miri catches a cold, Rei rushes her over to Kyu-chan in the pouring rain with Miri bundled up tightly to keep her dry. Once Kyu-chan gives him the necessary medicine, Rei stays by Miri's side all night and falls asleep holding her hand.

Episode 8

• Rei dresses up and prepares to go back home to meet with his father. Miri wakes up as she hears him leave asks where he's going.
  Rei: I'm going home.
  Miri: But this is your home.
  Rei: You're not wrong.
• The fact that Kazuki and Miri had planned to throw Rei a surprise birthday dinner, with Miri barely able to contain her excitement to celebrate her Papa Rei's birthday. The fact Kazuki even remembered Rei's birthday is touching - since Rei even forgot about it.
• Rei's father asks if he found something on the outside that was distracting him from his work. You can see Rei try very hard not to emote in any way and looks
• Rei is not happy with the idea of having to kill the man who taught him all his assassin skills, but still goes through with it. His former teacher calls him a perfect assassin and a hollow man since he has no one to protect.
  Rei: (thinking of Kazuki and Miri) I also... have something precious that I want to protect.
• Kazuki ends up finding Rei who's processing his last job and drives him home.
  • The two discuss how they first met with Kazuki coming upon Rei in Kyutaro's bar looking like a mess. Then one day Kazuki just showed up at Rei's apartment. He cleaned up all his trash, got him more items to furnish his place, groomed him, washed him, and even made him a meal. All of these things he didn't have to do for Rei, but did it anyway. While Rei tells Kazuki he was pretty useless when they first partnered up, he is grateful for Kazuki being there for him.
• Miri fell asleep since Rei returned home late, but when Kazuki calls for her, she still attempts to sleepily sing Rei a happy birthday song before passing out again. Rei lets out a small smile at Miri.

Episode 10

• Apparently Miri's mother has a Jerkass Realization when she was diagnosed with throat cancer which led to her losing her career and boyfriend. With her remaining time uncertain, she decides to become a model mother for her daughter.
• Kyu cares enough about Miri to contact her mother to get Miri away from the potential threat of the assassin guild coming after her.

Episode 11

• Misaki opts to homecook Miri’s favorite dish, Hamburg steak, as opposed to serving her the cheap premade ones she would usually get from the store. While Miri recognizes that the taste and texture is different from what she normally associated with her mother’s cooking, she still loves it all the same.
• Despite being mortally wounded, Misaki tries to protect her daughter from Ogino and gives Kazuki her blessing to take care of Miri before dying.
• After reflecting about how Miri changed their lives for the better, Kazuki and Rei announce to Kyutaro that not only are they leaving the organization, they're also going to form a true family with Miri.

Episode 12

• Knowing that Miri will never be safe as long as Shigeki is hunting them, Kazuki and Rei resolve to raid the Suwa Family mansion in order to get him to cancel the assassination contract on Kazuki and Miri, in spite of it practically being a suicide mission.
• Having left the assassination business, Kazuki, Rei and Miri are finally free to settle down and live out their lives in peace. An epilogue taking place ten years later shows Kazuki and Rei have opened up a cafe while a now teenaged Miri is getting ready for her first day of high school. The final scene depicts a collage of photographs of Miri growing up with her adoptive parents, plus Kyutaro and Karin living out their lives, before ending with a selfie of Kazuki, Rei and Miri in front of their cafe, smiling like a normal, happy family.
  • One scene in the epilogue shows that Miri has kept the picture of her and Misaki framed on her nightstand. Even after ten years and in spite of everything that happened, Miri still remembers her mother fondly.
• Back in episode 6, Kazuki had an Imagine Spot of Miri as a teenage delinquent being arrested for shoplifting. During the time-skip at the end of episode 12, we get to see Miri in her teenage years—and she's not a delinquent at all; she's still the same friendly and energetic girl as before. She's developed a little bit of teenage snark, but still loves both her fathers very much.