AN: Takes place BEFORE last chapter

-UPDATED TO MATCH MOVIE

Rating: K+

Summary: Some words are more effective than others.

"He's not even 2 yet, and he's taking after you in the personality department! Not to mention he's already starting to show your appetite!" Akihito complained to her. Mirai had only just walked in the door when her boyfriend started recounting his day with the infant, whom was gurgling happily in his father's arms.

His short, pink-tinted hair hadn't changed a bit since he was born, but his eyes had turned into his father's almond-brown, much to Akihito's joy. "ook-des! ook-des!" He exclaimed when he spotted Mirai, reaching out for her.

Ever since he learned that he could make noises like his mama and papa, Yuichi hasn't stopped showing his new talent. Sadly, he has yet to say his first 'official' word. 'ook-des' is the closest he's come so far to his mother's commonly-used saying, not that Mirai minded, of course. Akihito, on the other hand, was envious of her. Yuichi always identifies his mother by yelling out some made-up word, but with his father, he's silent.

Without any hesitation, Mirai plucked the baby from Akihito's arms and snuggled him against her shoulder. "It's not my fault you don't buy enough food." She grumbled, earning a scoff from the man. "You eat all the food I buy. It's always gone after a few days, no matter how much I get."

"ook-des!" Yuichi reminded them of his presence by yelling out. The Spirit World warrior's eyes softened at her son. "Daddy is being unpleasant, isn't he." She told him, briskly walking past Akihito to sit on the bed. He could feel his eyebrow twitching as the infant bounced about, agreeing to whatever Mirai said. There was no doubt that that Yuichi was a Mama's Boy. Maybe it's because she spoils him to no end. The half-shade rolled his eyes at the pair and started unpacking the refrigerator for their next meal.

It wasn't until a few weeks later that Akihito realized he'd been wrong with the assumption of Yuichi's preference. While Mirai had a job, Akihito was still pursuing a career. It was a common occurrence that he called Mitsuki or Hiro'omi to take care of Yuichi for a day while he was in classes, but he was always home before Mirai got there.

With a big test coming up in the next few days, he decided to stay after classes were finished to get a better grasp of the subject. Plus, he knew very well that if he went home there wouldn't be any time to read, never mind taking notes. He loved Yuichi with all his heart, but boy did he distract him.

Once he'd noticed the sun would no longer provide enough light, he put away his books and notepads, heading home for the night. The bus commute might have taken a half hour, not that he minded. Sure, he could drive, he just didn't have a car. Mirai and Yuichi weren't exactly helping with that either.

"Kuriyama-san! I'm back." He tried to keep his voice low as he opened the door, in case the toddler was asleep. Not a moment later, he was greeted by a jarring cry. Not exactly the welcome I was hoping for... "Senpai! Help me please!"

Abandoning his bag on the nearest chair, he made a mad dash to where the crying was coming from. "Mirai, what-!" Upon seeing the woman desperately bouncing Yuichi up and down in her arms, he was speechless. It was rare for the infant to cry with his mother in the same room, so this startled the half-shade into thinking something was severely wrong with him.

"I don't know why he's crying! H-he won't stop!" Akihito spotted tears on both of them, more so on Yuichi. "I-I've tried everything!" Mirai was losing it. By no means was she used to this side of her son. If anything, she was petrified. "Let me try." He was hoping to at least give his girlfriend some relief by taking him off her hands.

However, the result was far better than he could've hoped for. At first, Yuichi's crying continued, urging Akihito to soothe him by humming softly. "Hey now Yuichi. Shh... It's alright." It wasn't until the infant heard his father's voice did he stop. His tiny body was still trembling beneath Akihito's hands, but the sound of distress was gone. "There you go."

Yuichi looked up and locked eyes with him. "See, Daddy's got you." The baby's hands tightened their hold on the half-shade's shirt, showing little to no sign of releasing it. "H-how? How did you do that?" Mirai stood in shock in front of him, her glasses askew.

"Do what?" The spirit world warrior shook her head in defeat and crosses her arms. "He's been crying for the past few hours, and I've done everything I could to get him to stop, and then you come in and hold him for two seconds." The man cocked his head to the side. "And I'm supposed to know? Your guess is as good as mine. Besides-"

"da..da."

"-maybe he missed...me..." Once his brain managed to catch up to what he'd heard, he trailed off. If he'd had anything in his mouth, it would've been spat across the room in surprise. "W-w-was that...?" He turned to Mirai to confirm it. The small woman looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Yuichi?" She whispered.

The baby's eyes started filling with tears, not liking how quiet his parents were. "No no no! It's okay Yuichi!" Akihito managed to snap out of his daze before his son cried. "Did you say Dada, little guy?"

Instead of responding with repeating the word, he only buried his face deeper into his father's shirt. "It's okay, little guy. You don't need to be scared." Akihito ran his fingers through the baby's pink curls and softly patted his back in reassurance. "You just surprised Mommy and Daddy is all."

"Da..." He murmured quietly into Akihito's chest. The man couldn't help but give a warm smile down to him. "Yup. That's me." Yuichi's grip lightened on his father's shirt as he looked up at him. "You know, it'd make your Mommy happy if you said her name too."

This only earned a quick shake of the head. "ook-des." Akihito sighed, giving Mirai a pitying glance. He expected her to be jealous, but the tears rolling down her face told him otherwise. "Uh... Kuriyama-san?"

"D-d-don't mind me, Senpai." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "It's Yuichi you should be paying attention to."

The man smiled at her way of diverting him away from her. "And who's to say I can't watch both of you cry babies?"

"Fuyukai desu."

Yup. I decided it best to upload another one-shot. This one's actually been sitting around awhile in my laptop, but I wanted to add more. I gave that idea up and just posted what I had :)

I hope you guys like it!