**I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender or the song in this chapter!**
When Takashi had been born, he had been one of the calmest babies ever. He hardly cried, he was a good sleeper and eater, and he was easy to please, much to his parents relief. Little Mariko, however, was unfortunately not like that.
She was a screamer and a cryer with a pair of strong and healthy lungs, and her shrill shrieks went off like an alarm every other hour of the night, waking up the entire house in mere seconds. She wouldn't breastfeed for the first few weeks of life, and when she finally took up the practice, she ended up being a biter. And sometimes, Mariko would just wail for hours on end for seemingly no reason and no amount of comforting could hush her. She was temperamental and stubborn and difficult to satisfy, and Mrs. Shirogane was getting on her last nerves.
She had nothing but good experiences with Takashi when he was born; she didn't know how to handle such a fickle baby like Mariko. The lack of sleep and the stress of motherhood were slowly building up and beginning to crush her, and she felt like she was going to snap at the worst moment. So, a few months after Mariko's birth, it was agreed that she would take a weekend trip while the boys stayed behind to take care of the baby.
The whole first day that Mrs. Shirogane was gone, Mariko had been perfectly fine, content even. She had no problem drinking her mother's milk from the bottle, she took a nice nap, and she even enjoyed her first taste of baby food. But of course, that night just had to be one of those long nights when she just sobbed and sobbed, keeping the entire house awake until she finally passed out from exhaustion. But it was a long ways until that point, and all the Shirogane boys could do was try to find a way to calm her.
"Mariko-chaaaaannnnn," Takashi pleaded desperately over the noise. "Please stop crying, I'm begging you!"
They were entering the second hour of Mariko's temper tantrum and Mr. Shirogane was tiredly cradled her, soothingly rocking her back and forth in an attempt to console her. But his efforts were of no avail as she just continued to screech.
Takashi buried his head in one of the couch pillows, but it did little to muffle the high pitched din. Mariko just wouldn't shut up and it was driving him crazy! No wonder his mother wanted to escape for the weekend. He should've asked her to take him with her.
"Daaaaaadd, how are you not going insane?" he groaned, over dramatically writhing on the couch. "She's gonna blow out my eardrums!"
His father sighed but didn't cease in his rocking. Placing a gentle hand on his son's head, Takashi immediately stopped squirming and unburied his head from the pillow to peer up at his father.
"Takashi, sometimes the solution to a problem isn't crystal clear," he said, his voice a bit raised so he could be heard over Mariko's screams. "And since failure isn't an option, we must continue to seek out the best course of action. Remember, patience yields focus."
"Patience yields focus?" Takashi repeated slowly, taking a minute for the meaning of the phrase to settle in. "Patience yields focus…"
"We have two choices, Takashi," he father nodded. "We can continue letting Mariko cry until she tires herself out, but I'd say she can keep this up for another three more hours."
That would bring them to 2 AM, Takashi realized, and he grimaced at the thought. "And the other choice?"
"We can be patient and run through all of our go-to calming techniques again to try and get her to quiet down."
"And if those don't work?"
"Then we find a new method that does."
They duo tried the pacifier and the bottle first, only to have Mariko smack both items away. Her diaper was clean and she was changed into warm and cozy clothes but she still continued to howl. She rejected her favorite rattle and the offer of mushed bananas, nearly dumping the glop on poor Takashi's head. Her father tried wrapping her in her favorite blanket and gently carded his hands through her soft hair, singing softly as he rocked her back and forth in a soothing motion, but that only seemed to make her even more uncomfortable and she squirmed and shrieked even louder.
"Dad, this isn't working," Takashi huffed, frustratedly burying his head back into the pillow and Mr. Shirogane couldn't help but laugh.
"Mariko's just like your mother," he chuckled. "Stubborn as a bull and just as loud. She even hates my singing."
"She doesn't hate it," Takashi tried to reassure his father. "She probably just can't hear you over her own screams."
Mr. Shirogane smiled tiredly. "Here, why don't you try singing her something," he suggested.
"M-me?" Takashi stammered, taken aback by his proposal. "N-no, I can't."
"Why not? We haven't tried it yet. Besides, you have a much better singing voice than I do. Maybe Mariko will listen to you."
"Are…you sure?" Takashi asked uncertainly. "What if I just make things worse?"
His father shrugged. "We'll never know unless you try."
Takashi grimaced and hugged the pillow to his chest. He had never sung for Mariko before. What was he supposed to sing? He couldn't think of any good lullabies, not with her incessant squealing ringing in his ears.
Patience yields focus.
His father's advice resurfaced and Takashi screwed his eyes shut as he began to repeat the mantra over and over again inside his head.
Patience yields focus, Takashi. Patience. Yields. Focus. Patience yields focus, patience yields focus, patience yields focus. PATIENCE. YIELDS. FOCUS.
Like flicking of a light switch, the perfect song popped into his head and Takashi's eyes flew open in surprise. It was a melody that he'd caught Ojiisan murmuring to Mariko a few times just as she had been on the verge of throwing a fit. But despite his gravelly pitch and being off key, Ojiisan had managed to calm her with the song every time, saving the others from a potentially unstoppable temper tantrum.
But Mariko was in full-blown hysterics by now. If Takashi sang the song to her now, would she even listen? There was only one way to find out.
Sliding off the couch, Takashi moved to stand in front of the rocking chair. He peered down at his little sister, taking in her scrunched up features and her reddened and tear-streaked face. Steeling himself, he gently began to caress the top of her head, her downy baby hair soft and fluffy to the touch. Then taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and opened his mouth, softly singing the lyrics from Ojiisan's song:
Somewhere, a voice calls, in the depths of my heart
May I always be dreaming, the dreams that move my heart
So many tears of sadness, uncountable through and through
I know on the other side of them I'll find you
Every time we fall down to the ground we look up to the blue sky above
We wake to it's blueness, as for the first time
Though the road is long and lonely and the end far away, out of sight
I can with these two arms embrace the light
As I bid farewell my heart stops, in tenderness I feel
My silent empty body begins to listen to what is real
The wonder of living, the wonder of dying
The wind, town, and flowers, we all dance one unity
Somewhere a voice calls in the depths of my heart
keep dreaming your dreams, don't ever let them part
Why speak of all your sadness or of life's painful woes
Instead let the same lips sing a gentle song for you
The whispering voice, we never want to forget,
in each passing memory always there to guide you
When a mirror has been broken, shattered pieces scattered on the ground
Glimpses of new life, reflected all around
Window of beginning, stillness, new light of the dawn
Let my silent, empty body be filled and reborn
No need to search outside, nor sail across the sea
Cause here shining inside me, it's right here inside me
I've found a brightness, it's always with me
-OR-
Yondeiru Mune no Dokoka Okude
Itsumo Kokoro Odoru Yume wo Mitai
Kanashimi wa Kazoekirenai kedo
Sono Mukou de Kitto Anata ni Aeru
Kurikaesu Ayamachi no Sonotabi Hito wa
Tada Aoi Sora no Aosa wo Shiru
Hateshinaku Michi wa Tsuzuite Mieru keredo
Kono Ryoute wa Hikari wo Dakeru
Sayonara no Toki no Shizukana Mune
Zero ni Naru Karada ga Mimi wo Sumaseru
Ikiteiru Fushigi Sinde Iku Fusigi
Hana mo Kaze mo Machi mo Minna Onaji
Yondeiru Mune no Dokoka Oku de
Itsumo Nando demo Yume wo Egakou
Kanashimi no Kazu wo Iitsukusu yori
Onaji Kuchibiru de Sotto Utaou
Tojiteiku Omoide no Sono Naka ni Itsumo
Wasure takunai Sasayaki wo Kiku
Konagona ni Kudakareta Kagami no Ue nimo
Atarashii Keshiki ga Utsusareru
Hajimari no Asa Shizuka na Mado
Zero ni Naru Karada Mitasarete Yuke
Umi no Kanata niwa Mou Sagasanai
Kagayaku Mono wa Itsumo Koko ni
Watashi no Naka ni Mitsukerareta Kara
It wasn't until he finished did Takashi realize how quiet the room had become. The awful cries that had pierced the air just minutes ago had gone completely silent, and he cautiously pried open his eyes to see what had happened. Mariko was curled up in their father's arms, her breathing even and peaceful. She had been lulled to sleep by her older brother's voice and kind touch, and Takashi could only blink at her in surprise.
Mr. Shirogane sighed in relief and ran a hand through his hair. "Finally," he breathed, his voice barely above a whisper. "Thank goodness."
"D-Did she really really fall asleep because of my singing?" Takashi wondered aloud in shock, careful to speak softly as well. "She didn't just exhaust herself?"
"She stopped crying before you were even halfway through the song," his father chuckled in response.
"I…I did it!" Takashi beamed, swelling with pride. It felt like he had just defeated the final boss of a video game. "I really did it!"
"See what happens when you're patient?" his father nodded. "It allowed you to focus and you were able to find a solution to our problem. Can I count on you to sing that song again if need be in the future?"
"Yeah!" Takashi nodded vigorously and his father smiled.
"You're a good boy, Takashi," he said, playfully ruffling his son's hair. "Continue to be a good older brother for Mariko too, okay?"
"Okay!"
"Really though. I'm surprised that actually worked," Mr. Shirogane admitted. "When did you learn that song, Takashi?"
"I've heard Ojiisan sing it a few times before," he replied sheepishly, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden. "Mariko really seems to like it."
"Her and Ojiisan both, it seems," his father mused. "He used to sing that to me all the time too when I was young. I can't believe he used a song from an old movie as my first lullaby."
Takashi giggled before yawning softly, prompting his father to check his watch. "It's nearly midnight," he murmured tiredly. "Mariko should be down for the rest of the night. Let's go to sleep, Takashi."
His son nodded sluggishly in agreement before following his father upstairs. They tucked Mariko in her crib, Takashi kissing her lovingly on the forehead before retiring to his own bed. Burrowing deep underneath the covers, he sighed happily. He'd have to teach his little sister that song someday. Maybe then, when she was all grown up, she could sing it to comfort her own children. Imagining Mariko all grown up—and being a mother, no less—made him frown and he quickly shook the thought from his head. She was a long, long way from that stage of life, and he didn't want to think about the day Mariko wouldn't need her older brother to take care of her anymore. For now, he'd simply be content with singing her lullabies.
**Author's note: So I included both the Japanese and English versions of the song in this chapter because I couldn't decide which language Shiro should sing in. So I'll just leave that up to your imagination xD The song is from the Spirited Away movie and it's called "Always With Me" (Itsumo Nando Demo) by Yumi Kimora.
Also, please feel free to drop a comment/review down below! They're always appreciated and I'll do my best to reply to them :D