Author: Wow, way to go, Fujisaki. You ruined the entire day! Uh, anyway-this chapter is a bit of a mess, but that's partially my fault for trying to edit my fic on five hours of sleep. I'll be updating/revising the chapter after I've had some rest, so no worries! (Though if you want to suggest something to be fixed, so let me know. Like, if any time skips are done awkwardly. Things like that.) Next chapter will probably focus on taking Yukine to the doctor, and after that, we're gonna skip some time! Should be fun. :D
Also, I decided to go with having Izanami be the mother? I didn't really want to stick her with the entire name though, since it is the name of a God. So I shortened it for the sake of human!mother Izanami.
Chapter 4: Birthday Shock
"I feel so stupid doing this."
"You said that you wanted to bond with him, didn't you? Even if it's silly-just do it! He likes it." Hiyori seemed exasperated with Yato's hesitance to do the so called 'silly business' that one normally did with their child.
"Fine, but under no circumstances are we ever to recollect this, nor capture it in any way." This was a 'mommy' activity, in his opinion; but Yukine's party was tomorrow, and he'd personally asked Hiyori to help him in some bonding activities to do with the child.
"You remember what I showed you, right?" Hiyori crouched behind Yato, bracing her palms on her knees to make a face at Yukine. The child laughed in response, mimicking her facial expression by scrunching his nose.
"Of course I do! You just did it five minutes ago." Yato retorted, almost indignant. "Yukine, look at me. Can you show me where my eyes are?"
"Uh-huh!" Yukine responded eagerly, pushing himself to stand so that he could shove his hands over Yato's eyes. "Eye?" He questioned at Yato, waiting to see if he'd done it right.
"Yes, very good, Yukine. Okay, now where are my ears?" He was doing the sequence differently, just to make sure Yukine wasn't doing it from memory.
"Huh? Um…" Yukine hesitated, lips turning down in a pout uncertainly. He looked back over towards Hiyori, as if he wasn't sure what to do.
She knew it was cheating, but the girl gave him the hint anyway. She tapped her ear and smiled, and Yukine grinned back.
"Hey! You little cheater," Yato paused to shoot Hiyori a glare over his shoulder, before looking back to Yukine, "that's playing dirty. Okay wise guy, skip the ears. What about my nose? Where's my nose, Yukine?"
"No'?" Yukine reached up, shoving his fingers directly into Yato's nose.
"Ow! Hey, hey-okay, this was a bad idea. Let's just-," Yato took Yukine's wrist and removed his fingers, grabbing the box of baby wipes to clean them off. "Well, I feel violated now. Let's try something else."
"How about coloring?" Hiyori posed the idea, but Yato shook his head almost immediately.
"No. I tried having him do that last weekend, and he ended up either drawing on the walls or trying to eat the crayons. I still haven't gotten the marks off of my bedroom door."
Hiyori couldn't hide the wince she made. "Ahh...well, why not go to the library? Have you ever read to him before?"
Yato had to admit that he hadn't.
"Well, okay then. Get him dressed and I'll grab the wagon. Babies love to be read to, so it should be fun."
During the walk to the library, Yato and Hiyori ended up having a talk that Yato felt needed to be discussed.
"Hiyori, are you sure that you coming around so often is a good idea? Don't take it the wrong way, because I'm grateful for the help. But...I'm afraid that Yukine will become too attached." The issue had been on his mind lately, and had only increased in it's urgency when he noticed Yukine getting fussy whenever she left.
"I don't think it's that bad," Hiyori responded, clasping her hands behind her back, "he knows I'm not his mom. I'm sure he knows I don't live with you, too. Though, my parents are beginning to think we're dating."
Yato sputtered. "They what!?" He stopped where he was, the wagon hitting a bump in the sidewalk. "I-it's not like that, at all! We're friends, and you're just helping me with him-,"
"Relax, Yato! I know that. And I told them that." She pursed her lips and looked away, which was usually something she did when she was keeping silent about something. "It's my choice. I'm turning seventeen this summer, so they should get used to me making my own decisions."
"I'm more worried about what they think of me. I'm an adult, Hiyori. I know we're friends-hell, I've known you since you were in middle school-but don't you worry about what your parents think we're doing?"
"Mm, I suppose you're right." Hiyori shrugged, not really bothered by the accusations. "In that case, Yukine-kun can come spend more time at my place! I can start babysitting from home, if it will make you feel better." She smiled again, trying to cheer her friend up.
"I'yo-tan!" Yukine yelled out at them suddenly, screaming to get their attention.
"Huh-yes, Yukine-kun?" Hiyori turned to smile at the boy, considering the talk to be over. Yato felt his insides drop somewhat, starting to pull the wagon again.
"Wha' dah'?" Pointing across the street at a cherry tree, he gave Hiyori an expectant look.
Hiyori followed his gaze, her features warming up a little. "That's a cherry tree! The leaves fell off 'cause it's cold. Can you say 'tree', Yukine-kun?"
"T'ee? Yeah." Yukine nodded his head, as if holding a conversation.
"Hey, is this right?" Yato stopped in front of a large building, giving a side glance to Hiyori. Upon seeing the girl nod, he turned to unbuckle the wagon's straps. "We're going to read books today, Yukine."
"Boo'?" Yukine's expression touched upon confusion, the way his brows knitted.
"You'll see." Yato pulled him out of the wagon and placed him on his feet, taking hold of his hand. "Hiyori, will you get the wagon for me? I'll meet you up there."
"Sure, Yato."
The library was perhaps the biggest place that Yukine had ever seen. Overtaken with curiosity, the child had run off the moment Yato put him down. Instead of getting onto him, Yato followed him quietly. Hiyori did as well, pulling the empty wagon behind her.
"Yukine, how about I pick out a book to read you?" They'd ended up in the children's section, which was good, in Yato's opinion-perhaps the pictures would keep him interested.
Instead of responding, Yukine darted over to one of the shelves and picked a green book up. "T'ee!" He exclaimed loudly, running back over to Yato and holding it up for him to see the cover.
"Yukine-kun, shh! We must be quiet in the library." Hiyori was quick to quell the child's volume, while Yato took the book to read the cover.
"The Giving Tree…? I think I had this book as a kid. It was a different language, though." He distinctly remember his mother reading it to him when he was a kid, but she had always translated the words as she read.
"It's a very popular book," Hiyori spoke, reaching down to pick Yukine up and sit down with him, "I think Yukine-kun would like it. Ah-good job on spotting the tree, Yukine-kun! I'm so proud of you for using a word you just learned." Hiyori turned her attention to the child, hugging him tightly after praising him.
"T'ee!" Yukine repeated excitedly, bouncing where he sat next to Hiyori.
"Alright…" Yato backed up to take a seat next to Hiyori, opening the book to the first page.
"Who knew Yukine-kun would be so interested in books! This will be a wonderful trait when he gets older." Hiyori hummed as she went about zipping up Yukine's coat, picking up a comb to straighten out his hair.
"No!" Yukine shook his head, pulling away and running over to Yato. He tugged on the hem of his shirt with a whine, fussing at the young man to 'save' him.
"Must have gotten that from his mother. Not much of a book person myself…" Yato murmured distractedly. "Yukine, she has to brush your hair so you can look nice for grandma and grandpa." He picked Yukine up, carrying him back over to Hiyori.
"Noooo!" Yukine yelled, flailing in some vain attempt to kick Yato.
"This is just gonna get worse over the next couple of years. What do they call it-'terrible two's?" Placing the child down next to Hiyori, Yato returned to the kitchen. "Shit. The cake kinda smells like it burned."
Opening the oven door confirmed Yato's suspicions, a thick billow of smoke immediately wafting into his face. "Argh! What am I going to do now?"
"You burned it?" Hiyori didn't sound angry, but concerned. "You followed my directions, didn't you?" Parting Yukine's hair wasn't easy-it was doing whatever it wanted. "Oh, never mind," She declared, setting the comb aside, "we'll just stop by the bakery and pick one up. It's no big deal."
"I'm short at least a thousand yen…" Yato tsk'ed and took the cake from the oven, setting it out on the counter. It was black and hard, and the sight of it made him want to sputter curses.
"I'll make up the difference." Hiyori responded, settling Yukine on her hip. "Come on, we have a couple of hours. If we get there early enough, we can have them put his name on it."
"Yato, you're an hour late for your own son's birthday party! Why, if you were going to be late I could have baked the cake myself!" Yato wasn't the least bit happy to see his mother at the door.
"Gee, it sure is nice to see you too, mom. I've been great, thank you for asking." Yato entered the house, not at all surprised that Yukine was hiding his face in his neck.
I'd be doing the same thing, Yato reflected bleakly. He absolutely despised having to meet up with his parents.
"Ah, Yukine, darling! Come here to grandma." Unsurprisingly, his mother blatantly ignored his remark and gathered the child into her arms. Yukine fussed in protest, reaching back out to Yato.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Iza. I'm so sorry we're late! The decorator messed up the spelling so it took half an hour to redo the icing." Hiyori attempted to mediate the growing tension, carefully moving to the kitchen to set the cake on the table.
"Oh my, really? Well then, not to worry, Hiyori dear! I'm sure you both did the best you could."
The woman's response brought out Yato's irritability. "Where's dad?" He forcefully diverted the conversation, barely giving Hiyori a glance as the girl left to go get her parents and the gifts they'd gotten.
"He's out back with Mizu-chan. He thought it would be a wonderful gesture to work on a handmade gift. Oh, and we invited the Ebisu's, as well! They're bringing little Daigo over as well, so Yukine will have a little play mate."
"Kofuku? Mom, her husband hates my guts. You know that." Yato groaned. Nevertheless, he disappeared to the kitchen to go out back.
"I doubt he'll start a fuss, Yato! He knows better." The woman sighed, turning her attention to the baby. "Well, Yukine, it smells like someone needs a diaper change. Shall we get that taken care of?" Cooing to the boy, she plucked up the diaper bag. Yukine was not interested in her words at all, fussing and squirming in her hold.
"Sekki-san!" A head of bubble-gum pink hair sprouted in from the front door.
"Hi! Come on in, Kofuku-chan. You brought Daigo, right?" Iza kept her tone neutral as she placed Yukine down to change him.
"Daikoku's got him," Kofuku responded with a giggle, "we actually asked Mayu-san if she wanted to tag along, but Kiyoko had karate lessons today. She wants to schedule a playdate, though! Ohh, is this Yuki?" Kofuku smiled as she crouched down, poking at the child's nose. "He sure is a cutie!"
"Isn't he? He's just precious! My son can make some beautiful babies, that's for sure." Iza smiled.
"Mah mah~ he certainly can! Daikoku, come here and see the baby!" Kofuku stopped talking so she could address her husband as he entered.
"Seen one rugrat, seen 'em all." Daikoku responded without a beat, turning Daigo loose.
The dark headed boy made a beeline for Yukine, just as soon as Iza set him down.
For a moment they simply stared at each other. Then Yukine reached out and grabbed the ring of Daigo's pacifier, pulling it out of his mouth. He shoved it into his own mouth, then smacked the other boy on the cheek.
Daigo looked confused for a moment, as if he wasn't sure what had just happened. He then teared up, reaching out to take the pacifier back.
"Nn!" Yukine backed up, shaking his head.
"Yukine, that's Daigo-kun's. That isn't yours to take!" Iza reprimanded the child, but Kofuku waved her hand.
"That's alright, Iza-san! He's too little to understand. And as you know, a mother always comes prepared." The pinked headed woman produced another pacifier from the bag on her shoulder, handing it down to her son. "Yatty probably hasn't even bothered buying him any. He can keep that one."
"Oh, you're probably right." Iza sighed, shaking her head. "Enough about that, though-how have you and Daikoku-san been?"
"Dad, what is this supposed to be?" Yato stepped outside, quietly closing the door behind himself. His father was working on something, although Yato wasn't entirely sure what it was.
"What's it look like? It's a toy box. I built one for you when you were a kid, so it shouldn't be that difficult to build another one." Fujisaki responded without looking up.
"You didn't have to," Yato groaned, "I have his toys in a bucket, so."
"A bucket? That's not ethical! Those things take up too much space. With a box, you can limit how many he has and how many fit in it. Mizu-chan, pass me the drill, won't you?"
"Yes, daddy." Mizuchi didn't pay an ounce of attention to Yato, picking up the power drill and leaning over to hand it to her father.
"Nora, you're fourteen, so stop calling him that. It's creepy." Yato's face scrunched up, but Mizuchi simply smiled at him.
"I can do as I please. After all, you don't even live here anymore, Yato. Also...call me that again. You wouldn't want to see what happens." It was rare to see Mizuchi frown, but he'd hit a nerve, he could tell.
"You were cuter when you used to like me." Yato growled.
"Stop it, you two," Fujisaki spoke over them, securing the screws into the wooden frame, "Yato, you have no room to talk down to her. She's doing better than you ever did. At least I can count on my baby girl to get her life together when the time comes."
"You never had any faith in me to begin with, dad." Yato spoke dryly. "You treated me like a family secret from day one."
"Now that's bullshit. I gave you the same opportunities as I gave Mizuchi, little man." Fujisaki stood, moving to deposit the drill into his toolbox.
"Whatever!" Yato knew it wasn't true. "You're a liar. Just admit it, you've always hated me! I don't know why I tried so damn hard to impress you."
There's a reason we don't talk much anymore.
"Fine! You want to know why?" Fujisaki crossed the deck, nose to nose with Yato.
"Fuck yeah, I do! Go ahead, dad, tell me." Yato was challenging him, and he knew very well that it was dangerous. But he didn't care. Every time he visited, his dad had to start shit.
"..." Fujisaki faltered, then sighed. "Not today, boy. I went through the trouble of doing something special for your kid, the most you can do is agree to disagree today."
"You say that like you weren't the one who started it." Yato bit out, before turning to go inside again. He didn't give a shit what his dad did, nothing was going to make up for the lifetime of his father constantly reminding him of what a screw up he was.
"I'yo, I'yo-tan!" Yukine'd made a beeline straight for Hiyori as soon as she was in the door, whining and fussing for her to pick him up.
"Hi there, Yukine-kun!" Hiyori greeted the boy and gathered him up, moving further into the living room to allow her parents to come in.
"Hey there, you three! We were just discussing Daigo's doctor visit last week," Kofuku waved to the girl and her parents, "the pediatrician had to give him his booster shots, and he ended up crying for well over an hour! I almost couldn't get him down for his nap later that day. Yato, have you taken Yukine-kun to see the doctor yet?"
"Ah...no. I think he's up to date with his shots, though." It'd only been a couple months-surely, the boy's mother had gotten them taken care of.
"I'd still take him for a wellness check either way." Kofuku gave Yato a determined glance, which made the young man particularly nervous.
"I don't even know who I'd take him to…"
"Masaomi-kun works in one of the pediatric centers downtown, Yato," Sayuri spoke up as she went about removing her shoes, "you could take him up there."
"What did I tell you? Iza, your son doesn't even know to take his kid to the doctor." Fujisaki came into the front room, taking a seat at the kotatsu.
"That's a lie! Of course I know to take him! I just figured, you know, he isn't sick. So-,"
"It's what Kofuku-san said." Fujisaki responded. "A wellness check up. I woulda done that right off the bat."
"Well, I'm not you, am I dad?" Yato'd about had enough.
"No, and y'know what else? You're-,"
"Alright, present time!" Iza saw exactly where the conversation was headed and spoke up. "Honey, please help me carry them out here." She used a tone that Yato distinctly recognized as meaning, 'we need to talk'.
"Iza, he's old enough now. I've held my tongue for your sake, but it isn't gonna work, now! If he can't be respectful to me, I'm not gonna waste my time keeping this game up anymore!" Fujisaki turned his attention to Yato, who was now scowling at him.
"Yato, you're-,"
"Fujisaki, don't you dare!"
"Yato, you're not even my kid!"