Playing Daddy Part I

A/N: Welcome to my second Soul Calibur story! You can call this a sequel to "No Hostility" but can be read alone as well. This fanfiction will mainly consist of short stories containing cute, romantic, and humorous events. I don't own Soul Calibur because if I did, Taki and Mitsurugi would already be having babies. Anyways, please enjoy and I'd like to know what you thought of it.

Nighttime had fallen nearly two hours ago and since then, a hot and steamy air had been building up within a small house. This house, located on the banks of a rice paddy field, was a part of a small farming community, and although everyone got along with one another, the neighbors were fortunate for the distance that separated each dwelling. They weren't particularly concerned of what their neighbors did behind closed doors, quite the contrary actually, but they did like to spare their children of hearing the "nighttime noises" which always emitted from their home.

"Do you like that?" Mitsurugi's gruff and husky voice was heard over the rustling of the sheets and the gentle panting of his partner who lay beneath him.

His lovely partner, who had become known as Miss Taki, released a sensual moan in response to his actions and continued to do so as she felt his calloused hands travel her body expertly. He seemed to know exactly where to squeeze and grope to receive the effect he wanted. Kicking away the blankets and their discarded clothing, the former demon huntress locked her hands behind the ronin's head and pulled him downwards.

Though it was too dark to tell, from the sounds that were emitted, it was safe to say their lips were connected as all words began getting cut off and all that could be heard were their muffled moans. The heat between them was reaching a boiling point and despite being at this for a near two hours, they were prepared to finish another round.

Pulling away from their liplock, Mitsurugi, breathing heavily, repositioned himself over her and passed her a dirty smirk. "Are you ready for this?"

Though she doubted he could see it, Taki gave him a gentle smile as she trailed her fingertips down his hairy chest to his taut abs, sending shivers down his spine. Even if she could find the proper words at this point, she was sure they were unnecessary as she was sure he could feel the lust radiating from every pore of her body.

Just as Mitsurugi was going to deliver to them the pleasure they had long desired, the darkness of the room was soon waning as the door began sliding open, allowing the light from the oil lamps to pour in. Both lovers paused as they noticed the change in their surroundings and listened as a pair of bare feet made their way into the room and prod over to them.

As if it were normal to see two naked people lying on top of one another, the young intruder, a boy of no more than six, placed his hands upon Mitsurugi's bicep nearest him and gently shook. As he did so, he whimpered in a whiny tone, "Mitsurugi sir, I can't sleep..."

Simultaneously, Mitsurugi and Taki released the disappointed sigh they had been holding in.

XxxxxxX

So how did it get to this? To put it in a nutshell, it started off just as normally as it could for Heishiro Mitsurugi…

Since settling down in this small farming community lying just on the outskirts of town, Mitsurugi, a renowned legend on the battlefield, abandoned his title of the "One Man Army" to settle as an average farmer with his lovely Taki. It had taken him years to realize the romantic air that had been building between them, but after a supposed "one-night stand," the flowers of love bloomed and together, they decided to put away their swords and take up a peaceful life.

Although a hoe felt as equally familiar in his hands as his katana did, his roots starting off as a farmer's son, Mitsurugi still had a warrior's spirit which could not be quenched by the mere tilling of fields. Inside, he still yearned for the fight, for the fulfilling moment when a well-fought opponent kneels in defeat to him. Taki, who understood his combativeness, herself being on the receiving end multiple times, told him that so long as he didn't break any laws or cause any scene, he was allowed to satisfy his soul's desires.

With the stipulation she set up for him, satisfying his spirit would not prove to be easy. How could one possibly fight without causing trouble? After much thought and disapprovals from his lover, he decided upon the one sensible, albeit somewhat unlawful, option: Become a mercenary. Although Taki had been thinking of "police officer" as the right answer, she didn't argue and allowed him to do as he pleased.

Little did they know, though, that this mercenary career would not prove to be what they were expecting…

So as to where this story begins, it starts off in a dark alley…

XxxxxxX

It was getting late as the sun was casting its final orange glow over the town and the civilians who were making their way home after clearing up their market space. Mitsurugi, who had been watching the streets empty from an alley, pulled out a letter and let his eyes roam over the writing for what seemed to be the sixth time in this single hour.

Heishiro Mitsurugi, the letter read,

I have heard rumors of your mercenary business and how you are willing to accept any request granted the pay is well. Tonight I am going to be out tying up some business with the yakuza and I need your help. Meet me behind Yun's Tea House before sunset.

Perhaps he had misread the location of their meeting due to the sloppy writing but once again, after checking his surroundings, he assured himself this was the correct place.

Crumpling the note and carelessly discarding it on the floor, Mitsurugi leaned against the wall of the building he was waiting behind, a tea house he knew Taki often frequented, and decided that if his client failed to show up within the next few minutes he would call it quits. There was no job worth keeping him from his lover after all.

As he waited, a big orange cat sauntered out of a pile of discarded food and made its way over to the ronin. As it rumbled like a motor boat, it rubbed up against his hakama, enjoying the feel of the cloth against his fur. Narrowing his eyes down at the feral animal, Mitsurugi lightly shoved it away with his foot. "Shoo," he muttered grumpily.

Ignoring the human's clear disapproval of its presence, the cat gazed up at him with big round eyes and let out a little meow. Perhaps if he was any other human, he would have succumbed to the cuteness and taken it into his arms or maybe even into his home but he was not any other human. He was Heishiro Mitsurugi and he hated cute and anything that radiated the word, be it animals, women, or kids. He near shivered at the last word.

Tucking his foot under the creature's belly, he lifted it off the ground and dropped it farther away from him. "Go," he told it.

The cat continued to stare at him until fast approaching footsteps began entering the area, startling it and causing it to duck into its favored dump pile where it would then watch a deal being made.

A man who appeared to be no older than Mitsurugi appeared in the alley, his hands on his knees as he panted for breath. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting long," he said between breaths. Mitsurugi looked the man over and overall he was ranked as average. Plain blue kimono, plain black hair, though a little messy, and there was nothing special about his build. Everything you read of him defined plain except for one thing…

This one thing caused Mitsurugi to raise an eyebrow in question.

Looking back up at the mercenary he had summoned, the man straightened himself and explained while turning around, "I had to go pick him up." Attached to the man's back was a child. He had big brown eyes, chubby cheeks, a little round belly and heck, while his father defined "plain", this child defined "cute." "Meet Mr. Mercenary, Hansuke," the client said in a fatherly tone, "He's going to watch after you."

Before the child could protest, it was Mitsurugi who got to it first. "What?" He yelled, startling the parent and his child. "This isn't what I agreed on." He recalled the note and its message about the yakuza. "You said you needed help against the yakuza."

His client seemed as equally confused as him, but it seemed that after thinking about his letter, he gasped out of realization before shaking his head while chuckling. "Oh no, Mitsurugi. You misunderstand. I only need someone to watch my child while I alone go deal with the yakuza."

Mitsurugi raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "You? Alone? Go take on a band of thugs? Perhaps our roles should be switched here." He motioned towards his Shishi-Oh which was strapped to his waist.

Again, the man shook his head only this time there was no laughter to be heard. "No…The yakuza and I are on… good terms…" It didn't take a lie detector to determine that the statement was a fib and Mitsurugi could already guess the back story behind it all.

He was probably just another man who was buried in debts due to many careless nights of drinking and gambling. So, now desperate, he turned to the yakuza for help. Yet just as easily as the yakuza freed him from one debt, they put him another. Only this time, if this debt was failed to be paid, lives would be at stake. It was a very cliché storyline yet so very common.

"Please Mitsurugi, I beg of you," the client bowed his head as he pleaded. "I only ask this once. Please just watch my child for just a few days. You're the only one to protect him if anything should go wrong. I have no one else to turn to…"

As if on cue, the child met his eyes with the ronin's, passing him the same look the orange cat had just a few minutes ago. Try as he might, Mitsurugi found he couldn't turn away, the child's brown orbs acting like a magnet to his own. He knew he didn't want to take this assignment but his mind couldn't form the word "no" at the moment.

"Fine!" He blurted out while clenching his fist, "Give me the stupid kid…"

The father and son duo went silent as they stared at him, a smile gradually beginning to form on the client's lips. "You mean it?"

Before Mitsurugi was allowed to take back what he said, the child was deposited into his arms and it took all of his civility to resist dropping the giggling, oblivious bundle to the ground. "Now you be good to Mr. Mitsurugi, Hansuke," his father lectured kindly, "I'll come get you once I'm finished with work."

The boy bobbed his head before resting it against Mitsurugi's chest. For a child of his age, Mitsurugi was surprised of his adaptability to strangers. Perhaps it was through years of going through this similar process he gained such a trait.

"I promise I won't take long," the father said, shifting his attention back to Mitsurugi. "Three days at most. I'll send you a letter when I'm ready to come get him."

Narrowing his eyes at his client, Mitsurugi whispered back coldly, "I expect good pay after this." Before he gave the man an opportunity to reply, the samurai walked off, his frustration rising. It wasn't particularly due to the child now in his arms, but rather at himself for his inability to say no to the request. Looking down at the boy he wondered if these few months of being away from the battlefield had softened him.

"Stupid kid…" he muttered under his breath as he continued his walk back to the rice fields. Hansuke, who seemed unbothered by the scruffy man carrying him, merely enjoyed the scenery around him as they gradually began leaving the town.

It was midway through their trip home did they begin to feel small drips of water pelting their craniums. "Oooh…" The boy said in awe, "Mr. Mitsurugi, it's raining."

Though Mitsurugi had a snarky remark to that, the falling rain seemed to cool down his hothead which allowed him to remain silent. Thinking on the brighter side, he decided he would give the child to Taki and make her to take care of him. Even with a hardened childhood, she was still a woman who carried some sort of motherly instinct. Hopefully, it was enough to keep the child from being returned to his father in a body bag.

XxxxxxX

The sun had long made its descent behind the western horizon as the heavy storm took its place. Taki, who had just finished making dinner, looked out the window and wondered what was taking Mitsurugi so long. She wasn't worried of his well-being, heavens no, rather, she feared she would have to go into town and bail him out of jail. With his hot temper such an incident was never out of the question.

However, her fears were erased when she spotted him coming down the pathway with what looked like to be a child in his arms. Her eyes widened at the realization. "A child," she questioned to herself. Now she was definitely wondering what he had gotten himself into.

When they were just within reach of the house, Taki opened the door to welcome her beloved into the house. Mitsurugi, upon spotting the curiosity etched into her features, merely gave her a grunt as he walked past her into the comfort of his small house. He placed the child on a mat and gave him the simple order, "Sit," before heading to another room to grab a towel for himself.

Taki, after having shut the door, halting all outside elements from entering, stared at the boy as she awaited Mitsurugi to give her answers. She took note of his most noticeable features; pale skin, big brown eyes, and soft brown hair and realized none of could traced back to Mitsurugi. She chuckled at her claims of this being his bastard child. This child was much too cute to ever be an offspring of him.

"What?" Mitsurugi's voice sounded in the room as he reappeared from behind one of the doors, a towel dabbing at his neck and face.

With a gentle smile on her lightly painted lips, Taki asked, "Do I really need to ask?" They both turned their attention to the child who was just beginning to shiver. Whether it was from the excess water running down his body or the intimidating two adults in the room, one couldn't discern.

Mitsurugi released a sigh before settling down before the food she had prepared. "I think his name's Hansuke," he began, his eyes roaming over the food she had prepared, "And I'm supposed to babysit him while his dad goes and gets himself killed."

As she watched Mitsurugi begin digging into her cooking, Taki, who was able to understand the story of this child despite her lover's pathetic explanation, snatched the towel from around his neck and approached the boy. "Is that so…?" With tender touches, she began wiping the boy's face and arms before finally placing the rag on his head. "Well then Hansuke," she whispered in a motherly tone, "Mitsurugi and I will take very good care of you until your dad comes back." She gave his cheek a good pinch. "Now, how about you eat up while I go find some warm clothes for you to sleep in?"

She resettled the boy next to Mitsurugi and later planted a tray of bowls and chopsticks before him. "Feel free to eat whatever's in front of you," she said, passing a glare in Mitsurugi's direction.

He returned the glare and watched from the corner of his eye as she walked into the other room, leaving him alone with Hansuke. The boy was still shivering despite the warmth radiating from the food, and he seemed to be staring at the gruel as if it were a pile of gold. "What," he questioned snidely, making the boy jump, "Have you never eaten before?" Doubtful. How else could he achieve such a chubby body if he hadn't?

"There's so much to eat Mr. Mitsurugi," the boy said in awe. "We never have this much at home."

His statement made the samurai flinch. Surely he was joking. All that Taki had made was a pot of eel soup and a few riceballs. Generally she would have made more, but the woman had her lazy days and today was one of them. Eyeing the awestruck child, he couldn't help but recall his own childhood days of poverty.

Quickly shaking the thoughts away, he poured some of the soup into the child's bowl and muttered, "Just eat."

Taki, who had watched the exchange from a small slit in the doorway, smiled and ambled into the room to join the two boys. "You'll be sleeping in there," she told Hansuke, pointing to the room she had come from.

With a mouth full of rice and eel, the child followed her finger and then nodded. "Thank you," he said, spitting pieces of food out in the process.

At this, Mitsurugi narrowed his eyes and lectured, "Swallow your food before you talk."

Gulping down the remains of his food, Hansuke nodded. "Yes sir." Afterwards, he continued treating himself to the meal just as Mitsurugi was.

As the two men ate away, Taki settled herself behind Mitsurugi and reached her arms around him. With soft hands, she made her way underneath his top to find his chest. "Mitsurugi…" she whispered sensually into his ear, "Doesn't this rain remind you of the first time we…" She stopped short in her sentence as his hand found its way to her bare thigh which peeked out from the slit in her kimono. His hand kneaded the soft flesh, bringing a soft blush to her cheeks.

Not forgetting about the child's presence, Taki forced herself to pull away. "I'll be in the bedroom," she whispered before taking her hands back from his body and rising to her feet. As she walked away, she took one last look at Hansuke who seemed oblivious to the adults' goofing around and smiled. "Goodnight Hansuke." She placed a comforting hand on his head before leaving the room completely.

Though Mitsurugi wanted nothing more than to retreat to the bed with her, he decided to wait until the child had his fill, his reason being that he didn't trust to leave the boy alone in their house. Once he had cleaned out his bowl, Mitsurugi led him to his room and gently shoved him in out of his impatience. "Now go to sleep," he said.

Before the boy was allowed to tell him goodnight, the door shut and he was left in the dark. Alone.

Maneuvering his way through the unfamiliar space, he stumbled upon the futon Taki had so kindly rolled out for him. Settling down on it, he quickly pulled the covers over his head which was, for some odd reason, every child's go to escape from scary things. Yet, thin sheets did little to block out the roaring thunder outside and as the night rode on, the storm outside showed no signs of letting up. At this rate the poor boy wasn't going to be receiving any sort of sleep.

Wrapping the blanket around him into a makeshift cloak, little Hansuke decided on the next best option: Seek out Mitsurugi. There was only one other room in this small house so Hansuke had no problem locating the couple. Ignoring the moans he heard coming from within, he slid open the door and sought out his guardian.

Walking towards the two distinguishable figures, he placed his hands on the mercenary's warm and sweaty bicep and whimpered, "Mitsurugi sir, I can't sleep…"

XxxxxxX

Ignoring the child at their bedside, Mitsurugi continued his ministrations on Taki, his hands refusing to let up on their journey along her body and his lips still seeking the sweet spots along her neck.

Although she enjoyed his every touch – her moans being the evident proof of that – Taki couldn't ignore Hansuke's presence and reluctantly placed a finger to her lover's lips, halting his actions. "Mitsurugi…" she said warningly, motioning towards the child.

Following her eyes to the shivering, whimpering boy, Mitsurugi scoffed and shoved her hand aside. Returning his gaze back towards her, he replied nonchalantly, "Let him watch."

At this Taki had to draw the line. With a tone she hadn't used since abandoning her own demon hunting occupation, Taki yelled with authority, "Mitsurugi!"

As he hovered over her, looking down into her beautiful brown eyes, the ronin hoped for a sign of lust, something to betray her voice. But alas, he found none. Letting out a groan, he rolled off and stared blankly at the ceiling above him while his partner beside him began pulling the covers up and over their bodies.

With the sheets held up against her breasts, Taki turned her attention to their little intruder and asked, "What's wrong, Hansuke?"

Wiping his eyes, he instinctively settled on Taki's lap and repeated tiredly, "I can't sleep…"

A scoff emanated from Mitsurugi and as Taki tossed a cold glare in his direction, she felt his hand begin stroking her thigh beneath the blankets. His touches stopped her tongue from snapping back at him and allowed him to ask rudely, "And why not?"

"The thunder…" the boy mumbled ashamedly.

Again, another scoff. "It's just thunder kid. It's not going to kill you."

Disregarding Mitsurugi's boorishness, Taki settled the boy between them and said tenderly, "You can sleep with us tonight. Would that make you feel better?" The smile that grew on his face was more than an answer for her. "Good," she chuckled.

Just as the boy was comfortably tucked in, Mitsurugi, who knew he couldn't persuade Taki to change her mind on this, prepared to leave until he felt two little arms wrap themselves around his torso. Looking down, he found Hansuke had attached himself to him, his gentle breathing signaling his descent into sleep.

The ninja, knowing of his plans, whispered shrewdly, "If you leave now, he's going to wake up." She settled down on her side and ran her fingers through the child's hair, daydreaming of her own future offspring she would one day have. Hopefully…

Mitsurugi, on the other hand, had his mind elsewhere as he stared at her bare skin that peeked out from beneath the blankets. Reaching his hand over, he placed it upon the dip of her waist and smirked. "How 'bout we resume where we left off?"

As if he didn't say anything, Taki placed her cheek on the child's head and shut her eyes. "Just go to sleep," she mumbled, a small smile forming on her lips when she heard him release a groan. If he didn't let the idea go now, it was going to be a very long night for him.

And indeed it was. And as Mitsurugi gazed at the two sleeping beside him, he realized that the next three days were going to be even longer. Fortunately for him, he ran his hand along Taki's soft cheek, he had her to help him.

Looking down at Hansuke, he muffled, "Your father better pay me big, kid…" Before he knew it, he too, had also fallen asleep.