CHAPTER 2

The Interrogation

Sawawa enters the room carrying a silver tray in her hands and she walked straight towards Hime who was standing by the window. The maid smiled before she handed out a cup of tea, "Oujo-sama, your tea."

The princess sighed, and she took a small sip of her tea, "Thank you, Sawawa." Her eyes were looking afar; her face was blank and expressionless.

Sawawa can't help but wonder, her head slightly titled to one side, "What's the matter Oujo-sama? Is something bothering you?"

She dropped the cup on the bedside table beside her. "No, I'm just thinking about something." Then Hime crossed her arms in her chest. Why did she leave these babies to Hiro?

Hmm. The maidservant did not dare ask for more. That's what I like about Sawawa; she doesn't ask too many questions unlike other humans. Instead of interrogating Hime, she placed the silver tray on the table and she draw near the bed, her hands clasped together, "Aww, they are adorable and cute, aren't they?"

Reiri sat on the bed, "They look adorable, cute…" Reiri licked her bottom lip when she caught a glimpse of fluffy and plump looking infants, "...and juicy too."

Riza's hands were tucked inside the pockets of her cargo pants as she leaned over the bed, trying to study the two sleeping figures, "Hmm, Hime? What are these things in your bed?" she pulled out her hand and jerked her thumb towards where the babies lay.

Just like Riza, Reiri leaned over the babies. "They are called 'babies' bitch, uhm, 'puppies 'in your language."

"Shut up you damned freak!" Riza sighed, and she looked at Hime who is currently facing the window, looking outside. "Seriously, we just left you for a couple of hours and now you have a Gremlin here in your room! And not just one, but a twin at that!"

But she did not respond to her. Hime just kept silent, and she just keeps on staring at the window. "Hime? Why are you-"

Finally, the princess turned and faced them, "I'm waiting for Hiro."

"Hiro?" said Reiri.

"How exactly did you get your hands on these babies?" asked Riza.

"I found them in the gates. Someone left them there." Hime replied simply. "And there is a note written in the card. And it seems that the mother of these babies left them for Hiro to take care of."

A feeling of shock came over Sawawa, Reiri and Riza, "Wha-! B-babies for Hiro?" well, that statement of Hime was surely surprising.

The three of them took a closer look at the babies. Riza used her thumb and forefinger and she carefully opened one of Sayane's eyelids.

Brown-colored eyes and chestnut-colored hairs…just like Hiro's!

Then someone shouted from outside the room, "Hey! Stop it! I have my feet to walk Flandre!"

Flandre suddenly entered the room, dragging with her an 18 year old man by his collar.

"Fuga Fuga." And there, Flandre threw Hiro in front of Hime. Just like the old times.

"Oww." Hiro stood up dusting his jeans. The firm muscles of his torso stretched the red fabric of his polo shirt.

He noticed that everyone was looking at him. "Huh? What's the matter? Did something happen?" then he noticed the babies in the bed. He walked going to the bed. "Babies? Where did they come from?"

Sawawa was the first one to talk. "Hiro, I never thought that you were capable of doing such thing!" her eyes frosty.

There was that puzzled look on his face. "Huh? What did I do?"

Riza stood beside Hiro, "Yeah, how could you leave the mother of these babies? It must have been very hard on her part." Then she patted him on his back.

"Hiro, you should have used protection if you don't want this kind of result. You should remember that the next time you're going to do it." Reiri said, giving an emphasis on the word protection.

"P-protection?" Okay, something is definitely wrong in here. "Wait, what's going on here?"

"They are yours, Hiro." Said Riza.

"Mine?" his first impulse was to laugh, but looking at them, the way they stare at him with that accusation in their eyes told him they were not kidding. It wasn't possible was it? "But then…how could I have fathered these babies?" for goodness sake, he never had a woman in his life!

Then Hime made her way, "Someone left them in the gates, and there is a card addressed to you." She gave the card to him.

I'm so sorry but,

Please, take of the babies for a while Hiro.

I'm counting on you.

Signed: Sayuri

"Sayuri," he muttered the name aloud right after reading the note. The image of a young and happy girl flashed in his mind. It's been ages since he last saw her and this is what she left him. Her babies. What in the world happened to her?

"Who is she Hiro?" asked Hime.

"Did you just say 'Sayuri'?" every pair of eyes shifted from Hiro to Sawawa. "She's our cousin. Our mother and her father are siblings."

"If that's the case, then why did she leave her babies to you?" Riza shrugged, "She could've left them to her parents or her siblings perhaps."

Hiro let out a deep, audible breath, "She's an orphan, no other relatives just like us."

Sawawa's finger gently tapped her chin, "When was it again, the last time we saw her?"

"It was during the burial of her parents. They both died on a car accident." He recalled the image of his cousin in his mind. She was silent; her face was empty and plain. Not a tear was seen in her face but Hiro knew that she was hurting inside.

"Oh yes," Sawawa looked at her niece, "…and we do not know what happened after that. Poor Sayuri." She touched Kotone's cheek, and the sleeping infant jerked at her action. "Poor things..."

"That explains the resemblance…" then, Reiri asked, "Well, then, what do we do now? Call the police?"

"The police are not equipped to take care of little babies. They have other things to attend to." Said Sawawa, "And they need constant care."

Riza frowned. "Aren't there government agencies for this sort of things? Some kind of lost and found service?"

Hiro shook his head, looking distressed and feeling uncertain. "Social Services? I don't think so. Sayuri left them in my care. It would not be good if I will turn them to the agencies. And besides, they are my niece."

Hime spoke, her eyes piercing directly through her flame warrior. "Do you understand what you are saying Hiro? Unless your cousin, Sayuri, shows up to get them, you will be stuck with them."

"I don't know, but for now…" Hiro tried to look at Hime's crimson eyes, but he just can't. He terribly failed at the attempt to do so. It's disarming. In the end, his gaze fell straight to the velvet floor under him."…uh, uhm, Hime? W-will you let them s-stay?" His tone was unsure of what to say.

Flipping her hair, she answered, "Do whatever you want." I'm a compassionate person, after all.

Right then, the babies stirred in their sleep. Their eyes shot open. And they started thrashing around, kicking off their blanket and thrusting contorted faces up and out.

The escalating baby sounds had their heads swiveling in the direction of the bed.

"Oy! They are starting to cry! Hiro! Do something about it!" Riza shoved him towards the bed.

"M-me? Hey! I can't possible take care of two babies at the same time!" then, he eyed her sister, "Onee-san, this is something women know right?"

"Sorry Hiro, I maybe a woman but I don't know anything about babies."

His heart sank. Thinks don't look good. "Well, neither do I." then he remembered something. I've seen one on T.V. before. It was a show where they featured something about babies.

Reiri exclaimed, "Do something about it Hiro! They are crying!"

Crying, yes he could see that. He warily gazed down at the babies wailing at the bed.

He sank down on to the bed. Hiro moved forward to pick up one of them. How could this be happening? Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought he would end up baby-sitting. "Shhh, stop crying little baby~" There, the baby he was holding stopped her writhing. Like he casted some of his magic to make her hush.

They were surprised. The Flame Warrior was able to calm a raging baby.

Phew~ Then Hiro looked at them, "Someone should pick the other baby."

Reiri and Riza exchanged glances. "Not me." Reiri said.

"Me neither!" Riza replied.

Sawawa's eyes gleamed with excitement, "Okay~ I'll try it!"

But Hime stepped in, "No, give her to me Sawawa." She picked the baby up, and she called her name. "Kotone," and the baby laughed.

Hiro being able to hush a baby was already surprising, but seeing Hime was able to make the pocket-sized human being laugh, made everyone in the room dumbfounded.

"This one is Kotone, and that one you are holding is Sayane." Hime said.

"How did you know their names?" Riza asked.

"Look at their collar. It is embroidered there." Hiro looked at the baby he was holding. She's right.

"Ara~ seems they like the two of you. Fufu." Reiri said teasingly.

Riza smirked, "The two of you holding babies makes you look like one little happy family. Hime as the mother and Hiro as the father, eh~ isn't that sweet?"

They thought that everything was already fine, when the two babies started crying. Again.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Hiro was panicking a bit. He looked at Sayane, her face was all flustered and she looks really annoyed.

Kotone is crying as well.

I can do this. Hiro touched Sayane's rounded, downy cheek and her head moved, tiny mouth searching. "I think, they are hungry, but...what do we feed them?"

"Hungry." Hime looked at the basket, "Flandre, look for their milk in the basket."

Flandre started rummaging through the woven basket.

Sawawa wondered, "Hiro, how come you know something about taking care of babies?" her tone was full of curiosity.

Riza wondered about that too, "Yeah, why is that Hiro? What, did they just awaken your sleeping parental-instincts?"

Hiro glanced at the life-form in his arms, "I've seen it on T.V before. Some shows featuring babies and stuff."

Flandre then handed the both of them a bottle of milk.

First, he wrapped Sayane in a small, light blanket. Then he placed the rubber nipple of the feeding-bottle to her lips and she immediately sucked onto it. Hime just did the same.

Loud smacking noises echoed in the room. Riza whistled, "Those babies must be really hungry."

When Sayane finished her bottle, she wiggled in Hiro's arms. He looked up to Hime, stricken. "Hime, this baby is doing something and I can't figure out what it is." Then, Sayane burped.

"She burped." Kotone just finished her bottle. Hime held her up right. And the baby burped. "I thought you watched some baby T.V shows?"

"Well yeah, but I did not saw that burp thing."

Sayane and Kotone both looked up at their 'parents' and both of them smiled. Hiro felt some wave of warmth in his chest. "I guess, taking care of the two of you is not that bad, eh?"

That's what Hiro thought. Sayane reached up and she grabbed his tousled hair, tugging on it and making it even messier than before. The infant giggled, "Hey! Stop it! Oww~ it hurts! It hurts!" but Sayane doesn't care about him and she seems to be having fun doing it.

Hime smirked, and she ran her finger in the bridge of Kotone's small nose. Hime called her name once more, "Kotone," and the baby chuckled.

Sawawa, Riza, and Reiri just watched the little 'family' in one corner of the room, "Looks like this will be interesting. Fufu~"

A/N:

I know. I'm just so slow at this.
I have some school stuffs to attend to (and my mother will surely kill me if I won't take care of those things…). That's why it took me some time to edit and finalize Chapter 2.

Sorry for the delay. I'll do my best to update the story in every three working weeks or so. I know that it's a long time to wait. But I am hoping that you understand.

(*SIGH*) This semester, so far, is the busiest I've ever had.

If you have any suggestions to make the story better, please tell me and maybe I'll consider them. Comments and reviews are so much appreciated.

Thank You Very Much. See you guys on Chapter 3!

(Can't wait to see Chapter 85 of the Manga!)