Poisoning
"Hopefully they don't do some sort of strange witchcraft here..."
Hikaru sat backwards on his chair, crossing his arms over the head of it, laying his chin on his hand. He turned to his wife when she didn't say anything and just stared at her, watching her lay on the sorry excuse for a mattress that belonged to the clinic.
Sometimes, the commoner side of Haruhi would come out, and that commoner inside her would demand that they shop affordably, and go to places were it was calm and convenient.
They were at a small, fast paced clinic just down the street from Haruhi's firm, and Hikaru didn't like it. He insisted that it smelt bad, and was noisy and the people in the waiting room seemed determined to tell him their life story, and all the details why they needed to see a doctor, and always tried to touch his baby no matter how many times he told them to not to, that she didn't like it.
Kotoko's giggles when the strangers talked to her said other wise, and when they were listening, Hikaru told her not to talk to commoners, until he realized she was half commoner so it was only normal that she get along with them.
Made sense but he still didn't like it.
He fidgeted, turning to the door the nurse walked through over fifteen minutes ago. "These people don't have very nice manners."
Haruhi turned on her side, pulling her hood from her eyes. "Can you not talk about them as "these people" you act like they're from a whole another planet than you."
He shrugged, glancing down at their baby's carrier and watched as she tried to pull her sock off. "Well... we're from a whole another part of town."
"I think they're fine. Stop whining."
"I'm not whining, I'm complaining," he used his foot to pull the baby carrier closer to him, startling Kotoko when he pulled her sock out of her mouth, but struggled as her teeth latched onto it. "Does it look like they mop here? It doesn't look like they do."
Haruhi groaned and hid her face into the thin pillow. "I'm sure they mop here, Hikaru. It's a hospital."
"I wouldn't necessarily call it a hospital... Their sign says they don't treat heavy blood-flow, or labor, and they don't do surgery here and can't fix broken bones or things hospitals are supposed to be able to do."
"It's a clinic, they treat minor things for people without insurance. It's meant to be affordable."
"Then why do we have to be here? If I can buy a summer house in Bali I'm pretty sure I can afford a decent hospital visit."
Haruhi turned her back to him, holding her knuckles to her lips. "I see nothing wrong with it."
"That's because you're quality blind," he turned back to the baby to make sure she wasn't trying to escapes. "You can take the girl out of the commoner life but you can't take the commoner life out of the girl."
She didn't reply.
Hikaru looked at his wife with a furrowed forehead then reached forward to unbuckle the baby from her confinement. She stretched out her arms and immediately she was propped on his lap, leaving her to play with the zipper on his jacket.
He fixed her pointy brown pigtails and straightened her shirt. "Daddy thinks this place is gross."
She nodded, obliviously.
"See Haruhi? The baby doesn't like it either."
Haruhi ignored him again and just snuggled her face into her arm. "Don't teach her things like that."
Then, the white curtain that was the door flung open, revealing a pudgy nurse with a hunched back and a large chest. Her eyes first fell on Hikaru, and he instantly clutched the baby tighter, frightened by her toothy grin.
The baby squealed for no apparent reason and hung onto her father's arm chewing on his shirt.
"Well lets see now," the woman cleared her throat, waiting for Haruhi to notice she was there and turn over to look at her. "Haruhi, the test came through, don't worry, you're not pregnant."
"Are you sure?" Hikaru scowled, catching the woman's attention. "Maybe your equipment is faulty."
"Nope," she piped up, Waving her papers towards him. "It's negative. Just as negative as it would be if you took the test. Do you want to take it?"
Hikaru turned away with a strange look on his face.
"I didn't think so."
Haruhi laid back down, pillowing her temple on her arm. "I don't know if that's a relief or not..."
"So what is wrong with her then?" he spoke up again, holding Kotoko to his chest as she sucked on her tiny fist. "Or do we have to go somewhere else for that?"
"Ignore him."
"No, no," tugging at her bun, the nurse pulled out her notes from earlier. "From your symptoms... it's just your body reacting to poison. You'll be fine."
Hikaru stood up, almost annoyed by his wife's content expression. "What kind of poison?"
"Food poisoning, it looks like."
"And we waited two hours for that?" He pushed the chair away with his foot and put the baby back down in her carrier. "Well fix her."
"There isn't anything we can do..."
"So it's un curable?"
The nurse sighed. "Do you even know what food poisoning is?"
"I know enough about it to know that... there should be someway to make it go away."
"It cures itself after a few days, a couple weeks at most but that isn't normal."
"Well what if she has something that isn't normal? I didn't come here for you to tell me you can't fix it, so fix it."
Haruhi sat up, shaking her head at the look the nurse was giving her. "Well if it's only that I guess we can go home. Hika, give her your card."
He held his hand up, making her stop. "I'm not leaving until you cure her. Your specialties are minor illnesses so I'm sure you can figure it out."
"Listen, Mr..."
"Hitachiin."
"Mr. Hitachiin, she's fine. There isn't anything we can give her. It's a self curable sickness. It'll go away."
"Well give her something that will make it go away faster."
She looked over her shoulder towards Haruhi who was slipping her shoes back on, then stared at the baby in the annoying man's arms. Her hand covering her mouth in a second.
"Of course..." her fingertips tapped her bottom lip. "If her vision suddenly becomes blurry with muscle weakness and extra lost of appetite she might have Botulism and that could possibly lead to spinal fluid tests and brain scans if she doesn't get better. It could also even lead to internal injuries or death."
All expression on his face left him completely, as Hikaru stood there, horrified.
The nurse turned back around with a smug 'humph' before walking up to Haruhi, shrugging him off completely.
She placed her hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine."
Haruhi nodded. "I know."
"Eat rice and crackers, stay away from seafood, and you'll be better in a few days. Guaranteed."
"I don't think I'll be eating seafood again for as log as I live."
After recovering, Hikaru gave the nurse and dirty scowl and threw their bag over his shoulder, holding Kotoko in his other hand.
"Pfft, as if. She's addicted to tuna."
Haruhi frowned, realizing what she was giving up.
The nurse stuck her nose up at the man who was leaving and pushed her bun up, as though it was in the way. "Are you still married to that guy?"
"For awhile now..."
"My Condolence. He looks like he's a handful."
"Thank you, and he is."
Hikaru pouted.
"It's just like you to mistake food poisoning for morning sickness."
"Don't make fun of me, and I have the maids on my side so don't make me mad."
Hikaru huffed, taking her coat from her hands as she slipped it off her shoulders. "And no matter how many times I tell them that I didn't try to poison you with my bad cooking. The last time I tried to cook was nearly two years ago, I'm sure Kotoko remembers."
"Yeah, that was the day you tried making leek soup," Haruhi made a face as she got to the top of the stairs. "I was on bed rest, I ate your soup, then the next day I went into labor. I'm pretty sure Kotoko remembers too."
"It wasn't that bad."
"It was pretty bad."
"It was the leeks..."
She made another face as she tried not to laugh. "Yeah. Remember to put her down for a nap too. I'm going to take a bath and go back to sleep."
"It's only three in the afternoon, though, Haru." He frowned, following her, with the baby hanging onto the crook of his elbow. "Wait don't step there!"
She picked up her foot. "What?"
"You almost tripped..."
She looked at the floor, then behind her. "No I didn't."
He shrugged. "Okay."
"What?"
"Nothing I was just checking if you could see."
She groaned and took her jacket back from him. "Honestly Hikaru. I'm not dying. It's food poisoning. I probably got it from that tuna I ate last week."
He looked at his empty hand and switched the baby around, to hold her against his chest, feeling her falling to one side, ready to fall asleep. "I never said you were dying. And Haruhi, the last time we had tuna was the day after the photo shoot with the children down at the warehouse, that was last month."
"...Well not technically." she hesitated, pushing open the door to their bedroom. "The day after that I took the leftover to my firm and kept them in the refrigerator in the coffee room and...Apparently I forgot they were in there. And then a couple of days ago I decided to eat it."
"...Oh god, Haruhi."
"I should have known when it had a funny aftertaste..."
He looked at her alarmed. "You ate rotten sushi?"
She sighed and tried to close the door in his face as she heard the amusement in his tone. "...I didn't think it had gone bad."
Feeling the baby already asleep on his shoulder, he shrugged just lightly and stroked her cheek. "Just as long as it was worth it, babe."
"It wasn't worth it."
"Remember this the next time I tell you we're too rich to eat leftovers."
She turned back around before weakly crawling into the bed, with a exhausted grumble. "It wouldn't have happened if the box had an expiration date."
He laughed, leaning over the bed to her to lay the baby down beside her. Kotoko arched forward, and whimpered but made no other sounds as she was laid on the soft blankets.
"This is too good to keep to myself," he chuckled, capturing her cheek in his hand and gave her chin and lips a few kisses before pulling away far enough to see her pout. "Don't fret, Haru, you can have your tuna back when you get better."
She grumbled about it under her breath as she turned over on her side, pulling the blanket over her and Kotoko. "Are you going back to work for a few hours so I can take a nap?"
"Nope," he lifted the other side of the blanket and slid in beside her, avoiding the baby's tiny limbs. "I care about you too much for you to do that."
"Of course you do."
He grinned, leaning over to kiss her, but she put no physical effort to kiss him back once their lips met, he pressed against her more, holding her heated face closer to his own. He toyed with her bottom lip between his teeth until he felt her hand slip into his hair. No matter hold long they had or would be together, her presence always made his heart tighten.
Still trying to avoid laying on the sleeping baby, He held himself up on his elbows, entwining her between his fingers. Haruhi wiggled beneath him, cupping his neck.
"Hika... not now" she pushed his face away. "I'm tired."
He lowered his face back to her, kissing her lips one more time before trailing a dry path down her cheek, pecking her chin and down her neck. "Five more minutes."
"Go call Kurosawa," she managed, turning her face, accidentally giving him more skin access. "Ask him what's taking him so long with the kids."
"Do you know how often I was home when I was seventeen?" His lips traveled to her collarbone. "Not very often."
"But yesterday Hayato got lost and you had to pick him up."
"And Tono's kid, but getting lost in a commoner community is all part of a rich kid's life." He pulled back to get a glance at her barely awake expression after she stopped reacting. "Are you really that tired?"
Se frowned and turned over beneath him. "I was up all night."
"Alright fine," he leaned down for one more kiss, but just got a face full of her hair. "I'll just go see what Kaoru's doing. With a house full of girls he'll want bro time."
"Yeah, no incestuous playing, it scares the neighbors."
"No promises."
He moved her hair, to kiss her neck for good measures, but he was interrupted by his phone ringing in his pocket.
Haruhi chuckled as he sat up and groaned, having to bother with the outside world while he was on a day off.
Because when does a Hitachiin off spring not find themselves in trouble?
When were they ever behaving?
When does a Hitachiin in general ever behave?
Hayato looked at his fingernails, as he laid his shoulder against the tiled wall of the pool house. The only thing that couold be heard was the splashing of water and a bunch of exhausted teenagers groaning and panting.
It was quite disgusting and very boring to watch.
"Are they almost done?" he complained to his brother beside him, "why does this last so long?"
Keito stared at the pool. "I dunno, but this place is full of guys and I feel awkward."
The two brothers coincidently sighed at the same time and looked at the time on their phones. They were the only ones in the room, which made it even more awkward, as they were just two boys standing in the corner, watching, and waiting for the other boys in the large pool to finish with their laps.
And Keito, who was currently single, was quite disappointed that the only girl in the club was his little sister.
It made for a completely pointless trip for him.
Until...
"Hey," Hayato slapped his arm, glaring towards the door.
Keito rolled his eyes away from his phone and looked to where he was referring to. He licked his teeth, uninterested until he saw three boys in the corner, whispering, and smirking towards the pool.
It was then that Hanako came up from air, her hair plastered to her face as she grinned at her older brothers.
She leaned over the edge of the pool. "Did you guys see that?"
Keito looked away from the boys and looked down at her, half disgusted with the water that just dripped off her chin.
"See what?"
Her grin faltered. "I was under there a long time..."
"Your new hobby is pointless."
"So you weren't watching at all?"
"No."
Hanako turned around, leaning her back against the edge of the pool. "You guys are mean. What're you even doing here then?"
Keito looked at the water and made it a point to step back against the wall. "I got out of club early and as respectable brothers, we came here. This dumb class runs nearly a half hour longer than mine. And music takes more skill. I don't under stand the point of this stuff."
"Dad was right," he spoke disdainfully. "It's like a giant bathtub."
Hanako made a face and sunk back into the water, nose deep. "Forget it. Get your stopwatch out, and time me on how long I can hold my breath."
Keito pulled up his phone again. "That's dumb. You don't really like it here do you? The smell of sweat, chlorine, and half clothes teens together in one room. Nasty."
He glanced at three boys who were speed swimming from one end of the pool to the other, huffing and breathing heavily when they stopped. He had to turn away and, just in spite, he made a gag sound.
"I hate it here."
"I was watching Hanako!" Asami squealed from the other side of the room, draped across a reclined pool chair. "You're doing great! I fully support it!"
Hanako sighed, pulling her hair away from her neck. "She's doing her makeup..."
"I don't like it here," Keito reminded her, for the fifth time that day, if his past complaints were proof enough. "It burns your eyes, how can you even swim in that stuff?"
"It's water..."
"With chemicals."
She moved her hand through the water. "I dunno. The goggles help."
"You're not wearing any and your eyes are bloodshot."
"I wanna try to get used to swimming without them."
Keito turned to his side. "You're apart of this just because you were bored. Just like Hayato, he isn't even good at baseball, he just does it to try to get a girlfriend. Hayato, tell her this-..." he stopped, noticing his brother was no longer beside him. "...Hayato?"
He looked around, noticing his brother was in the corner, glued in a heated conversation with the boys they noticed earlier.
"...Damn it, Hayato. Not again."
"I said put it away," he heard his brother say from where he was standing. Keito resisted in slamming his head into the wall.
"Buzz off pipsqueak," the boy in front said, holding his phone behind him. "Mind your own business."
"We're the same size," Hayato fumed, then casted his gave t the boy behind him. "Well... that guy's kind of tall but I could take you."
The first boy smirked smugly at his angered expression. "Run along, go play with your twins, junior."
"Senior," He hissed through his teeth, clenching his fist as he caught sight of his phone behind him. "Now quit taking pictures of my sister "
"Your sister?" the other boy looked to the side, seeing only one girl there and the one with the long brown hair was barely looked twelve years old. "That puny little waterbug?"
"That's insulting."
"We don't even know your sister," the tall one rolled his eyes, pushing his finger into Hayato's chest. "So go away."
"No," Hayato insisted, slapping his hand away. "Delete the pictures. I saw what you were doing."
"It's really none of your business kid."
"I'm not a kid."
He smirked. "Only kids say that."
Then he shoved him. The boy's back was throw against the hard wall of the pool house and he reacted with a gasp. He looked up and didn't waste any more time before he shoved Hayato back, making him stumble.
It wasn't a rare sight to see someone push his around. It was rare if Hayato went a day without being mocked or toyed with by higher year students. And in this case, from their lack of uniform, they were college students again.
Maybe it was something about the fact that they couldn't beat him up because he was a minor that made it easier for him to say whatever he wanted, knowing he would walk away from anything with just a little sweat and an injured ego.
He bent his neck and while in his mind it made a cool crack sound, it just looked weird to everyone else.
"wait," the tall one in the back head his arm out in front of his friend. "That's the Hitachiin's oldest kid."
The first man gave a one-shouldered shrug. "So?"
"The one's with that giant fashion warehouse downtown."
"Oh," his eyes moved from Hayato's shoes, up to his disheveled hair. "Oh... Well then I'd feel bad about beating him up. Just go home before your mommy gets worried."
Hayato ripped his blazer off, tossing it at his feet. "Is my family's profession amusing to you?"
"What's amusing is you make a fool of yourself."
He loosened his tie. "Delete those pictures."
"No."
Then, he threw his fist towards the man in the middle, but he caught his hand in his own, holding his balled knuckles incased under his strong fingers. Hayato tried to pull his hand away, but he lacked the physical strength to get away from him.
"I said," the boy held his hand tighter, without an expression on his face. "To butt out."
"Hayato," Keito scolded from the side. "They said butt out, quit bothering them and lets go. Hanako's done."
"No," The boy argued, using his other hand to rip his other free. "I'm tired of being mocked."
"You trying to beat them up isn't going to make them mock you any less..."
"Listen to your big brother, Haya,"
Hayato felt his skin flare. "You know for a fact that I'm the oldest."
"Why are you getting angry?"
"You're making me angry."
"Well maybe people would stop making you angry," a finger was pressed to his chest, "If you stopped giving a reaction. Honestly, you make it too fun for people. Look, your face is getting red."
Hayato slapped his hand away. "It's people like you who piss me off. You think it's entertaining to start fights."
"You walked up to us, dope."
"Because you're being disrespectful and taking pictures of my sister."
"Does this look like your sister?" He held up the photo's on the phone. Hayato squinted at them, and no, they weren't of his little sister. He looked up at the corner where a girl sat, then looked back down at them.
They weren't pictures of Hanako. They were pictures of the lifeguard.
Hayato stood up straight as the phone was withdrawn from his view. "...Oh."
"Yeah, oh," The boy in the middle emphasized. "Learn to mind your own business. Not everything involves you. Stupid."
Hayato glared. "Stop hiding in the corner like a pervert and you probably wouldn't be accused of anything. Maybe the lifeguard doesn't want her pictures taken either."
"Hayato, knock it off," Keito spoke up again, but his gaze was to his phone. He reached out to grab his brother's shirt but his hand was knocked away. "We're going home."
"Unless the lifeguard just happens to be my girlfriend." The boy replied, his brow furrowing. "So you can buzz off now."
Hayato turned to look at the life guard again, then looked down at him before picking up his blazer. "Kudos to her then. she could have done way better than you."
With a growl, the boy shoved him backwards again, causing him to bump into his own brother. Had they been paying attention, they probably would have been more careful around the edge of the pool, but seeing as they didn't pay any attention at all, they tripped over each others feet and slipped.
Hanako was drying off, trying to get Asami to stop talking about all the chlorine that would ruin her hair, when a giant splash interrupted her. She dropped everything she held as she watched the other swimmers panic, and the lifeguard finally come down from her station.
It didn't take Hayato long to figure out how to use his arms. He gasped for clean air once his head surfaced, and while water droplets ran passed his brow, he looked around for his brother.
Once he didn't see him it took him until just than to remember his little brother couldn't swim.
He cursed himself and dove back in to retrieve him after he had abruptly sunk to the bottom.
