Chapter Seven: Getting Prepared
The following week, Haku and Chihiro headed back to the human world, Kaida in tow. The moment Haku had come back from his latest mission (where he found out nothing, but spies attacked anyway), Chihiro asked him when they were going shopping. So he relented, and said the next weekend.
They flew to the tunnel, walked through, then went on to Yuuko's house. They picked her up and headed into the city.
They went into the first maternity store they came to, as Chihiro's old maternity clothes did not fit any longer. Haku was left to stand at the entrance with Kaida as Chihiro and Yuuko ran about the store, squealing about how cute something was or how big did Chihiro think she would get. Haku only sighed and placed Kaida on his hip, watching the mother-daughter antics.
'Well,' he thought as he watched Yuuko pick up a blue and jade dress and hand it to Chihiro, 'I guess they're right to act like this. After all, Chihiro didn't really have a mother-figure when she had Kaida, and Yuuko missed the birth of her first grandchild.' He sighed again. 'I just hope Chihiro doesn't act like this when our children have babies.' He realized what he was thinking and looked to Kaida at his hip. 'As if. If I have it my way, then Kaida's not getting anywhere near anything male.' (A/N: then he won't like what I have planned for SAIV— the last one, I promise!)
They left the store and went to many sub sequential shops, buying whatever they found 'cute.' Haku hated to hand over the money, but he loved seeing Chihiro so happy, so he spent like there was no tomorrow.
They finally decided to eat and rest before returning home. They stopped at a local restaurant and sat outside at one of the tables. After the waiter had taken their orders and gone to retrieve them, they relaxed and began talking about how to decorate the nursery.
"Well, Kaida's was yellow, and we did green for the river house," said Chihiro. "So I think that the room at the bathhouse should be green or a wooden-brown, and the room at the river should be white or blue."
"I vote green and blue," said Haku, holding Kaida's hands and lifting her from the ground. He looked to Chihiro and saw her smiling. He remembered the events in the human world the preceded Kaida's birth, where a group of women had made some rather rude and nasty comments about teenage mothers. However, now that Chihiro and Haku both looked older, there were no rude remarks or uncouth staring.
"Green and blue it is," said Chihiro, making a note to stop by the hardware store before they left. "Oh, Haku, did you remember to order—"
"Your gliders, yes," finished Haku, sitting Kaida in his lap so she could eat. Chihiro gave him a thankful smile and began to eat her food.
Haku, Chihiro, and Kaida said good-bye to Yuuko later and returned to the spirit world, furniture and paint in hand.
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A month later, Chihiro was in the new nursery at the bathhouse, adding the final touches. As she laid the last stuffed teddy bear in the crib, she looked around the room. They had settled on the walls being a light jade green with wooden paneling and framing. The furniture was the same chestnut wood as the walls. The crib and curtains were adorned with white and baby blue that matched the carpet. Haku had assembled the furniture himself, although Chihiro expected that he had probably used a bit of magic when she was not looking.
With a satisfactory nod, she left the room and closed the door. Now she was off to find Haku and discuss what he wanted to do for the birth. Last time, he had asked her to deliver in his river, so that he could feel like he played a part in it. She did not know if he wanted to do that again.
Chihiro rounded the corner and found Haku, flocked by his "entourage." Kaida and Kisho were trailing behind him, laughing and giggling. Chihiro smiled and stepped into the hall where they could see her.
"Hi, babies," she called softly, opening her arms. Kaida giggled again and ran to her mother, throwing her little arms around Chihiro's large girth. Kisho followed, though timidly. Haku smiled and kissed Chihiro on the cheek.
"Alright, Kaida," he said, turning to the little girl. "I think Mommy's tired, so why don't you and Kisho run and find Aunty Lin?" Kaida smiled, grabbed Kisho's hand, and ran off down the hall.
"Now, what's up?" asked Haku, leading Chihiro back to their room.
"We need to talk about what we're going to do when the baby's born," said Chihiro, opening their bedroom door. "Like where we're going to have it, and what we're going to do with Kaida."
"Good point," said Haku, helping Chihiro to the bed. "Well, you could deliver in my river again, if you want." He blushed slightly; he still was not very comfortable about asking such intimate questions.
"Okay," said Chihiro, smiling and taking his hand. "Now, what about Kaida?"
"Well, Lin could keep her until we get back; she seems to have fun with Kisho."
"Alright. So, are we going to the river early, like last time?"
"It would probably be a good idea. After all, Kaida was born a month early, so it would be good to prepare. We can leave next month, when you're about seven months. Besides, we really need to get started on the nursery at the river."
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The next month, Chihiro and Haku packed what they thought they might need, grabbed Kaida, and loaded into the marine-equine carriage. Kaida would stay with them for another two weeks, then Haku would take her back to Lin, where she would stay until after her little sibling was born.
As the carriage ascended into the air, the Nigihayami family peered over the edge and waved back down to their friends. Everyone smiled happily up at them. Between Zeniba and Boh (yea, he's still there) and carrying Kisho, Lin shouted at them, "Hey, hurry up and bring back a baby!"
Two hours later, they landed at the river house, empty for almost six months. Haku helped Chihiro out and lifted Kaida, who had fallen asleep. He levitated their luggage into the house and set them on the floor to be dealt with later. As Chihiro hurried to the bathroom, waddling her way up the stairs, Haku carried his daughter to her room. He opened the door, peeled back the covers of her bed, and laid her down. When she was tucked in, he kissed her forehead and left the room.
He met Chihiro in the hallway, looking very relieved. They walked down the stairs and into the cozy living room. Haku led Chihiro to the couch and then went to prepare dinner. As Chihiro stared around at the room, she was comforted by all of the memories: Haku and Kaida spending quality time rolling on the floor, falling asleep together on the couch, Chihiro and Haku spending whole nights in each other's arms, staring into the warm fire…. Chihiro sighed and eventually dozed off.
When she awoke, Kaida was sitting happily at the table, conversing with Haku, who was smiling and nodding, praising her extensive vocabulary (A/N: I don't whether it's from being a half spirit child or just being smart, but Kaida's a bit further along than most children her age).
Chihiro walked into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. She sat down at the table and smiled as her daughter began to overload her with questions, comments, and concerns. Haku smiled at her and shrugged, handing her a plate.
They stayed up for another couple of hours, until Kaida finally fell asleep leaning on the couch. Haku and Chihiro carried her to bed, then turned in themselves.
And this was basically the normal routine for the next two weeks, granted the occasional visit from the denizens of Haku's lake, who came to talk about their new plan for beating away any unwelcome visitors after the baby was born.
Then the two weeks were suddenly up, and Haku took Kaida to stay with Lin until her new sibling arrived. Chihiro was left briefly alone for the two hours it took Haku to return Kaida himself, although Haku had pulled a Kappa from his river to keep watch outside.
"Would you like something to eat or drink?" asked Chihiro stepping onto the porch. The Kappa, curled on the bottom step, white toga dress around her, looked up and opened one of her sea-foam eyes.
"No, thank you, Madam," she said, smiling gently. "Master Haku told me not to leave my post, so I will not." She looked out to the grounds, then back to Chihiro. "Although some water would be greatly appreciated."
Chihiro nodded and smiled. "Water it is!" she said, going back inside. She returned a minute later, carrying a glass of water. She handed it to the Kappa, who took it with a grateful smile and drained it.
"Thank you," she said, handing the glass back.
"You're welcome," said Chihiro, sitting down beside her. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Ren," said the Kappa, turning to talk to her. "Why do you ask?"
Chihiro shrugged. "No reason. Just nice to make new friends." Ren smiled.
"Master Haku said you were the friendly type," she said. "Now I see what he means." Chihiro smiled.
"Yep," she said. Chihiro adjusted, wincing slightly as the baby moved around, stretching already tight space.
"Are you alright?" asked Ren concernedly.
"Yeah, don't worry about it," said Chihiro, patting her large stomach. "He's just restless tonight. I think he knows Kaida's not here."
"Intuitive, isn't he?" commented Ren.
"Mm-hmm. I think he might even know what I'm thinking," said Chihiro, gazing up at the stars in the night sky.
"How do you say?" asked Ren.
"Well, I'll be thinking something, like something I should do or about a decision that needs to be made, and he'll kick when I run through the options. It's kind of like he's giving me advice."
"Wow. I wish I knew how that felt," said Ren, awed. "To have that kind of special bond with another being that's inside of you."
"Do you have children?" asked Chihiro.
"No, I'm only betrothed, so no children yet," said Ren. "But I'm hoping soon."
"Oh, you'll love it," said Chihiro, smiling knowingly. "Morning sickness, back pain, fatigue; the list goes on. But there are a few perks to it, such as your husband doing the house work." Both girls laughed.
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Meanwhile, Haku glided to the bathhouse grounds and transformed, catching Kaida as she fell. He kissed her and carried her inside.
"Hey, Haku," said Lin as she cleaned a tub about to be used. "How's Sen?"
"She's doing fine," answered Haku. "I brought you something."
"What?" asked Lin mockingly.
"Guess."
"Hmm…could it be a tiny bundle of energy with green highlights?"
"Correct," said Haku, stepping aside so Kaida could run and hug Lin.
"Aunty Lin!" she cried, throwing her arms around Lin's neck. "Where's Kin?"
"Upstairs with Boh," said Lin, setting her down. "You might want to get up there quickly; I don't think Kisho's up to Boh's kind of 'games' (playing catch with a large rock and playing punch-tag)."
"Okay, baby," said Haku, stepping forward. "I have to go back to Mommy." Kaida ran to him and hugged his knees.
"But why can't I stay with you at the house? Or you and Mommy come back here?" she asked, her bottom lip quivering. Haku looked at her face and melted into a Daddy-Haku-sized puddle. Everything about Kaida looked like Chihiro, from the quivering bottom lip to the tear-filled puppy eyes.
"I know, honey," he said, gathering her in his arms. "But Mommy needs some peace and quiet before the baby's born. We'll be back as soon as we can."
"P-promise?" said Kaida, wiping tears from her eyes with her fist.
"I promise," said Haku, wiping a last tear away with his thumb. He kissed her, patted her back, and sent her on her way.
"Thanks, Lin," he said.
"No problem," said the yuna, returning to the tub. "Oh, and Zeniba wanted to see you."
"Damn."
Haku marched up to Yubaba's old office, which had been redecorated. He banged on the door and shouted out random things, including the words "evil old hag," and "decrepit witch."
Zeniba answered the door in an ugly and unflattering pink night gown and cap.
"You bellowed?" she said, letting him in. Haku grumbled a remark, too furious to make coherent sentences. He sat down at the desk and waited for Zeniba to speak.
"You are no doubt angry, as you know what is coming," said Zeniba, sitting down behind the desk. "However, I told you that no one else is capable of spying."
"I don't care!" spat Haku, rising from his chair. "My mate is pregnant with our miracle second child and I should be with her, but instead, you're sending me on missions to every part of the damn spirit world you can find with your wrinkly old finger!"
"Calm yourself, dragon," said Zeniba. "I do not wish to take you away from your mate, but wouldn't you rather protect your family in the long-run, instead of not looking past the tip of your nose and seeing only the present?" Haku settled down; she was right.
"Now," continued Zeniba, picking up an envelope. "These are your instructions. Follow them to a T, and you will be back before Chihiro realizes you are gone."
Haku only grumbled.
Later that night, Chihiro and Haku were eating their dinner much quieter than usual. It was obvious how much of an impact that Kaida had on them.
"Oh," said Chihiro, remembering something. "I talked with the Kappa today."
"You did?" asked Haku, setting down his chopsticks. "Anything interesting?"
"Her name's Ren, and she's betrothed," said Chihiro. "Nothing much past that, but still good company."
"That's good," said Haku. I always did find her the easiest Kappa to talk to."
"Yea," said Chihiro, continuing to eat. "And now I finally have a friend down here."
