"Look at the train, Hajime! Do you see the train coming? It's such a big train, isn't it?"

"Gwa!"

Tohru laughed, hugging Hajime against her as the two of them stood on the train station platform. She wasn't sure exactly what 'Gwa' meant, but she certainly appreciated the enthusiasm! "That's right, Hajime, it is very exciting! It's been a long time since we've seen Grandpa Kazuma, hasn't it?"

"Ba. BA!"

Tohru smiled, shifting him to her other hip so he could better see the train. There were very few things Hajime didn't like watching these days, but he had a particular fascination for anything vehicular, whether it was cars, bicycles, trains, or heavy equipment. A favorite pastime now was for the two of them to walk down to the Hibe bus depot and simply sit and watch the buses come and go, with Hajime chirping excited noises and flailing his little arms wildly whenever any vehicle rolled past. Most of the local drivers knew them by name, and they were always happy to wave or even honk their horns for Hajime, always earning a fit of delighted giggles as a reward.

But the train station was something even more fascinating, largely because of the novelty. The whole trip into Nigeyashi, Hajime's head had been pivoting around like it was on a swivel. He's been so excited to be on a bus that he hadn't stopped babbling once, though he had protested a bit when Tohru wouldn't let him go crawling down the aisle. Then there had been the walk to the train station, with all the passing cars to watch and take notice of. By the time the actual train turned up, today had managed to firmly establish itself as a true Best Day Ever, at least in Hajime's mind.

And Tohru was happy to see it.

As the train ground to a halt, Hajime lunged forward, making excited grabby hands at the pristine silver cars. Tohru caught him before he managed to tumble, but he only squealed excitedly and tried again. "Da!"

"No, Hajime, we have to stay back here. I know, it's a very pretty train, but we only get to look, not touch. So you have to stay right back here with Mommy."

"Buh!"

"I know, life is unfair when you're little, isn't it?" Tohru hugged Hajime close once again, giggling at his aggrieved attempts to break free and scanned the disembarking passengers for Kazuma's familiar face. "Ok, my little Haa, do you see Grandpa Kazuma anywhere?"

Hajime wasn't looking for Kazuma, or anyone, at least not in particular. But he was very excited when a member of the crowd broke off and came towards them. "Da! Gwada! Bu."

"My goodness, what a welcome!" Kazuma chuckled as he walked up to them, amused at the sight of Hajime energetically flopping over Tohru's arms in an attempt to reach him. Setting down his bag, he reached out for Hajime, and Tohru obligingly passed him over.

"Hold on tight, Master Kazuma, he's gotten even stronger! And he's excited about the train, so he'll probably try to throw himself at it at least once." Tohru's voice was resigned; keeping Hajime from hurling himself at the ground had long-since become a common activity for anyone wrangling the their son

"So I see," Kazuma said with a laugh, settling Hajime firmly into his arms. But at least for the moment, Hajime was contented where he was, eager to inspect the exciting new person holding him. Reaching up to grab at Kazuma's face, he loudly declared "Da!"

Kazuma beamed at Hajime, then looked at Tohru with the same smile. "It's so good of you two to come get me, Tohru. It always brightens my day to look out the window and see you waiting for me, and that's even more the case now that Hajime comes, too."

Tohru squeezed Kazuma's arm, not feeling up to the challenge of trying to hug him over her flailing son. "We're always happy to come meet you, Master Kazuma, really! And it's the least we can do, when you've spent so long travelling to visit us."

It was the end of August, and Hajime was just over six months old now. Once again, the Hibe Summer Festival was gearing up, and just like every year the Matsuda Dojo would be holding an exhibition as part of the festivities. Last year, Kazuma had come to visit Tohru and Kyo for the exhibition, and taken a week to train at the dojo. He had enjoyed it so much that after discussing it with Kyo, he'd decided to come again this year; Sensei Kenichi had only been too happy to accept Kazuma's request to visit the dojo once again.

If Kazuma had any ulterior motive in wanting to visit, like, say, seeing a certain orange-haired young man, no one was about to comment on it. But Kazuma certainly found it easier to leave the dojo these days than he ever had before.

Over Kazuma's protests, Tohru had picked up his bag. "It's ok, Master Kazuma, I don't mind! And you have Hajime, who is easily the harder charge. Unless your bag has decided it likes to pull hair," Tohru added with a smile.

"Ah, is that the reason for the new hairstyle, Tohru? I was thinking it looked very nice on you, but I suppose it's very practical, too."

Tohru reached up to touch her crown braids with a sigh. "It is! Hajime has gotten into a major hair pulling stage, unfortunately, so it was either something like this or actually cutting it short. I did think about cutting it, just to try it out, but Kyo wasn't a fan of the idea. And I like the braids, so it all works out!"

"Well, hopefully Hajime decides to keep his hands to himself and you're able to start wearing your hair because of aesthetics rather than defensive capabilities," Kazuma said with a chuckle, then gasped as Hajime suddenly threw himself sideways and attempted to hurl himself at the sidewalk. Kazuma's reflexes were more than enough to stop him, but the little jolt of adrenaline had the karate master shaking his head in amazement. "I see what you mean, he certainly is very active these days!"

"Yes, he keeps me on my toes!"

The bus arrived within minutes of the three of them arriving, and they all climbed aboard. As soon as Kazuma sat down Hajime started leaning again, reaching out excitedly for the floor, and Kazuma and Tohru both laughed at his apparent determination to take a header. Then Tohru gestured to the floor.

"If you want to set him down on his feet, he'll stay upright if you hold onto his hands. He really loves that!" She smiled proudly at Hajime, adding, "He can actually hold onto your fingers and hold himself up, too, but I'd rather not have him unsupported on the bus."

Kazuma carefully set Hajime's feet down on the floor and was delighted to see the strength with which he straightened up. "My goodness, what strong legs! I can't believe he's standing up already, I feel like he has to be too young for this," he commented as Hajime lifted one foot, then stomped it back down repeatedly.

Tohru was watching Hajime with a fond look, and she shook her head. "No, not at all! He's a little on the earlier side, but not excessively so; the doctor says that some kids are just...movers. And Hajime definitely seems to be a mover," she said with amusement.

"Well, I can't say exactly what Kyo was like at this age, but he definitely had trouble sitting still when he came to me," Kazuma said with a fond look at Hajime. He hadn't even known Kyo when he was this age, but every time he saw Hajime, he imagined that Kyo would have looked the same. In his imagination, young Kyo could almost have even been as happy.

"I think Kyo has always had an issue with sitting still," Tohru said with a giggle as the bus made its way along the curving mountain road. "So Hajime probably comes to it justly, even if it's a bit tiring."

"Does he like to do a lot of crawling, too?"

"Crawling, army crawling, and pulling up onto just about everything he can get his hands on, yes. I had to gate off our parents," referencing the shrines to her parents and Kyo's mother, "because Hajime wouldn't stop trying to pull up on them and knock off the pictures!"

Kazuma chuckled and looked down at Hajime. "And you're still so young, too; it feels like you were only just born!"

Tohru smiled, looking down at her son. Part of her agreed with Kazuma; it felt sometimes like only yesterday, Kyo was turning Hajime to her and she was looking at him for the very first time. But it was so much better now, to see him smile, and giggle. To see him push himself up to a sit, or see his tiny brow furrow in concentration as he pulled himself up on one of the kitchen chairs. She particularly loved his brow furrow; it looked exactly like Kyo when he was concentrating, too!

No, Hajime wasn't a newborn baby anymore; and he wasn't even the newest Sohma any more, either.

"Have you had a chance to meet Mutsuki yet, Master Kazuma? He's just the cutest little thing," Tohru said with a big smile. Yuki and Machi's son had been born nearly three weeks ago, and Tohru was in love; though Mutsuki didn't have much in the way of hair yet, from the pictures Yuki had sent Tohru could see it was the same silvery grey as Yuki's own. It made her heart so happy, knowing that not only was there a mini-Kyo in the world, but also now a mini-Yuki.

At Tohru's question, Kazuma nodded with a smile. "Yes, I actually had the privilege of meeting him just last week! Yuki was stopping by the Estate on some business with Mutsuki in tow, and he was kind enough to stop by the dojo. Mutsuki looks to be another fine young man, though it really is remarkable just how much smaller they are at that age."

"Yes, they grow a lot in this first year! Hajime is so sturdy now, I'm sure he'd look like a giant next to Mutsuki." Tohru wished it was an actual option, but she knew it would be a while before they had a chance to meet Mutsuki in person. Summer was the busiest time of year at the dojo, and Kyo never took time off in the summer unless it was a matter of life and death. And things only got slightly less hectic in the early fall, so...maybe, if they were lucky, they could go back in October; otherwise, the next time they'd be back in Tokyo would be for New Year's.

But at least the next time they were there, they'd be able to spend a little bit more time with Yuki and Machi. After five years in Kyoto, the two of them had moved back to Tokyo after Machi finished her degree. Tohru honestly didn't know how Machi had managed all of it; finishing her degree, house hunting, and moving, all while pregnant! But she had, and they were comfortably settled in their new home by the time Mustuki made his arrival a few days before his due date.

And Tohru had been relieved for Machi's sake when she heard that everything had gone well. There had been no last-minute scares for Machi, no need for any interventions. She and Mutsuki had both been safe, and everything had gone as it should. If Tohru couldn't have had the perfect experience herself, then she at least wanted her friends to have it, instead.

The bus rolled shortly to a stop in Hibe, and the three of them got off. Usually, Kazuma tended to get in in the late afternoon, but today he'd decided to take an earlier train to have a little extra time to spend with Tohru and Hajime.

Tohru was looking forward to it. She always loved it when Kazuma came to visit, because they could enjoy time together without having to divide their attention. Much as Tohru loved getting the chance to go home to Tokyo, she had yet to experience a visit there without it getting hectic. Adding Hajime to the equation had only made their last visit even more chaotic, and she doubted it would be getting easier any time soon.

Tohru had taken back Hajime, and Kazuma was carrying his bag again. As they stepped off the bus, Tohru glanced at the big depot clock, then looked over at Kazuma with a smile. "Would you be at all interested in stopping by the dojo before we go home, Master Kazuma? There's a longer break right before the after-school classes begin, so we could probably catch Kyo for a little while."

Kazuma brightened even more at the idea. "That sounds like it would be very nice. I assume that he has to be back at the dojo in the evening tonight?" In the past, Kazuma knew that the weeks leading up to the Summer Festival had been incredibly busy at the dojo, with extra classes and training for everyone. He was looking forward to seeing the results of their training at the exhibition, even if it meant having a little less time with Kyo in the preceding days.

"That's right! He doesn't teach tonight, but he has his own practice to attend, so he'll be heading back right away after supper. This last weeks before the Festival always feels a bit like blinking and we miss him," Tohru said with a slight sigh. Kyo's dojo schedule had always meant they had to make compromises when it came to time together; he typically got home close to seven on weekdays, worked two addition weekday evenings, and taught classes on Saturdays. And that was on a normal, non-festival week! Leading up to the dojo's exhibitions, she felt lucky if she even saw her husband other than supper time.

At least child care leave made it easier for them to see each other more often this year.

People were coming out through the dojo gate as Tohru and Kazuma approached, and Tohru smiled approvingly. "Looks like the last classes are just getting out, so Kyo should hopefully be free! I don't actually know where he'd be right now, but if we don't see him, we're bound to see someone we can ask."

In spite of its location in rural Hibe, Matsuda Dojo had a prominent reputation in the prefecture and had boarding students as well as students who bussed in. During summer vacation, extra kid classes meant more work for the instructors, who normally shared the responsibilities for the few daytime advanced classes. Tohru knew Kyo was exclusively handling kid classes this week, so he would surely be ready to enjoy his break!

Tohru and Kazuma both glanced around the courtyard as they walked in, Hajime chirruping happily and attempting another nose dive onto the flagstones. "Whoa there, Hajime, let's try not to tumble, ok?"

There were a lot of students milling around, many of them exiting the dojo, but at first glance Tohru didn't see any of the instructors. Then she brightened, waving across the way. "Good afternoon, Sensei!"

Sensei Kenichi had been talking to one of the dojo staff, but he excused himself quickly when he saw the Sohmas. "Hello, Tohru and Hajime, and welcome back, Kazuma." He bowed to the other master, who politely bowed back. "I've been looking forward to having you join us again!"

"And I've been looking forward to being here," Kazuma said with a smile. "I deeply enjoyed last year's exhibition, and I'm sure this year's will be a credit to you all as well."

Kenichi smiled, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's the hope. We have an excellent group of summer youngsters again this year, and all of the classes have been working very hard. I feel confident in saying that no one will have to worry that the Matsuda Dojo can't put on a good show."

"I can't imagine anyone even remotely familiar with your reputation thinking that, but it's never a bad thing to strive for excellence," Kazuma said with a smile of his own.

"Bla!" Hajime suddenly screeched, causing both Kazuma and Kenichi to jump. They looked so startled that Tohru had to fight the desire to laugh, instead smothering it into an apologetic cough.

"I'm so sorry, try to ignore him. He's just excited to have so much to look at," she said, looking around the busy courtyard again.

Kenichi chuckled, shaking his head at Tohru. "No need to apologize, Tohru; he's just doing what babies do. It's just we old folks who tend to forget what those things are, eh Kazuma?"

Kazuma's expression soft as he looked at Hajime. "You forget, Kenichi, I didn't take in Kyo until he was nearly five. This baby stage is all new and mysterious to me, which is why I always try to take advantage of the chance to see young Hajime here."

"Ah, that's right. I'd forgotten about that," Kenichi said, nodding. "Well, either way, there's no need to apologize, Tohru. It's always nice to hear young people in the dojo, even the very young. Within reason."

At that moment, Tohru saw Kyo emerge from one of the buildings, accompanied by a flock of children. He stopped at the top of the steps and gestured to the dojo gates, saying something Tohru was too far away to hear. Then the kids all bowed, and as a group they swarmed through the courtyard and out the gate. Kyo watched them go, then smiled, suddenly noticing Tohru waving at him. Seeing Kazuma with her, his smile only got bigger and he hurried across the courtyard.

"Hi Kyo!" Tohru leaned in and gave her husband a kiss as he came over to join their group. "Master Kazuma, Hajime and I thought it would be nice to stop in and say hello while you were on a break."

"On that note," Sensei Kenichi said with smile, "I'll leave you four to your visiting. If you'd like to join in tonight, Kazuma, or even just watch, you'd be most welcome."

"Thank you, Kenichi. I might just take you up on that; we'll have to see how tired I am, after all those hours on the train catch up to me," Kazuma chuckled. Then the two of them bowed to each other again, and Kenichi walked off.

Kyo greeted Kazuma with their customary hug. "Hey, Dad, great to see you. How was your trip?"

"Long, efficient, rather dull. Typical, in other words." They made their way over to the edge of the courtyard, out of the flow of traffic. "It's nice to be here, and to be done with the train for a few days."

"Well, we're glad to have you," Kyo said, reaching out to take Hajime who was trying so hard to reach Kyo that he was practically folded over Tohru's arm. "And you come here, buddy, or you're gonna get a face full of pavement!"

Having obtained his objective of reaching Kyo, Hajime was all smiles and set to work pulling at Kyo's gi. "Ba!"

"Hey now, none of that. I'm wearing this, you know."

"Bu."

Chuckling, Kyo lowered Hajime so that his feet were on the ground and let Hajime grab onto his fingers, looking up at Kazuma with a shake of his head. "This kid has no respect for the uniform. I've told him and told him and told him, and he still always tries."

"As long as you're making sure to keep your belt out of his reach," Kazuma said with a fond look at the two of them. They made a near perfect picture: Kyo at his dojo, wearing his gi, supporting his lookalike son. The only things that could have made it better were if it were Kazuma's dojo instead, and if Tohru was right there at Kyo's side.

But Tohru was close enough, and she was smiling, too. Hajime was exceptionally proud of himself, swaying back and forth while clinging to Kyo's fingers and proudly yelling out random syllables. He was such a happy baby, it was hard not to be happy when he was around because his happiness was so infectious!

"Yeah, he doesn't get to chew on my belt. I wouldn't want to explain to Sensei exactly how I lost any of my bars," Kyo said with a grimace.

Tohru bristled slightly at that comment. "Considering how tightly I sewed them on, I'd hope they'd stay where they belong even if Hajime got to them, but if you're at all worried I can always reinforce them more, Kyo."

Kazuma laughed again. "I'm sure you've done an excellent job reinforcing them, Tohru. But I've heard that there are few things as tenacious as a determined youngster, so I can understand wanting to be cautious."

"Well, he certainly is very determined," Tohru said with another proud look at Hajime.

Looking back over at Kazuma, Kyo asked, "Do you actually feel all that tired, Dad? It would be cool if you came to the sparring practice tonight, but I understand if you're too worn out."

Kazuma raised a brow. "Are you accusing me of turning old all of a sudden, Kyo?"

Kyo flushed. "No! But you told Sensei you needed to see how tired you were, and you have just spent all day on the train. You don't have to be old to get tired, you know."

"I do know, and I'm just teasing you, Kyo. At this point, I feel fine, but I might just see about taking a short rest when Tohru and I get back to your house. Travel might be efficient and necessary, but it can certainly be exhausting. I do hope to join you all tonight, if possible."

"Well, good," Kyo said with a grin, looking happily at Kazuma. "I've gotta say, seeing you and Sensei talking together always makes me feel like I'm at a parent teacher conference."

At the comparison, both Tohru and Kazuma laughed. "If it were a parent teacher conference, would I be hearing a good report about you, Kyo?"

Kyo smiled, hoisting Hajime back up into his arms. "I sure hope so. Classes are going good, my groups for the demonstration are looking really tight."

"Groups? You're doing more than one this year?" Kazuma was interested; in his previous years at the dojo, Kyo had only led one group in the dojo exhibition.

And Kyo was proud to be able to share the information. "Yeah. I've got Kyūkyūs and Nikyūs both, this year, and they've all been working hard. Obviously the Nikyūs really want to prove themselves, there are about four I've got looking really strong for promotion."

"Well, good for them. And good for you! That's quite the responsibility, on top of your own training, but I know you and your classes will perform splendidly. I look forward to seeing it."

Tohru couldn't help but smile at the exchange between the two men. When she had told Uo-chan and Hana-chan she was dating Kyo, they'd been unsurprised. And when she'd told them she was moving away with Kyo, they'd been equally unsurprised, if a little upset. Ok, more than a little upset, especially at first. But both of them had asked her if she was sure. He wanted to be a martial artist, to live and breathe fighting; what did Tohru know or understand about that kind of lifestyle? And how much faith could she really have in Kyo's ability to follow through and teach with his notorious anger management problems?

Tohru had been honest with them; she didn't understand karate, in spite of all the time she'd spent trying. She didn't understand how to move a body that way, or why someone would want to. But it didn't matter to her, because she knew and understood enough. She knew how excited Kyo got when he talked about it, how happy he was when he was doing it. She saw the bond it had made between Kyo and Kazuma, the excitement and passion in their eyes when they talked about it.

And she had never once doubted Kyo's ability to be an excellent teacher. Uo-chan and Hana-chan didn't know Kyo like she did, they hadn't seen the changes slowly but steadily creeping in. They hadn't seen how hard he was working to manage his temper, and how successful he'd already been, even a month into their relationship!

Five years on, she was still sadly uninformed about karate and had pretty much given up even trying to understand it. She knew that the goal was to hit and kick properly and try not to be hit and kicked herself, and that was about it. But she knew that to Kyo, it was his life. And the dojo was his community, where he was thriving, excelling as a student and a teacher, exactly like she'd known he would. She didn't have to understand it to love what it had done for Kyo, and by extension, for her.

It was too early to say what Hajime would think about karate, but she hoped he liked it, at least a little bit.

"Tohru?"

Tohru hadn't realized she was zoning out until she heard Kyo's amused voice repeating her name. Then she blushing, seeing that both Kazuma and Kyo were looking at her. "Ah, I'm sorry! I was just thinking about something, what were you saying?"

Kyo was grinning at her. "I just asked if you had already done the shopping for tonight, or if you were planning to stop in with Dad on your way home."

"Ah!" Tohru glanced from Kyo to Kazuma and smiled apologetically. "I actually still need to do the shopping, Master Kazuma, but it would be no trouble at all if you're rather just go home and rest. I can give you the key, or I can even go shopping a little bit later this afternoon! We still have plenty of time."

"I'd be happy to help with the shopping, Tohru, it's no trouble at all, really."

"Well if you're sure, then we can just go ahead and stop on our way. That'll make it the most efficient, and Hajime absolutely loves the grocery store," Tohru said, reaching out to take the baby who was now flopping towards her. As she took him in her arms, Hajime reached up and grabbed at her ears, then triumphantly called out "Ma!"

Even though she knew it was all just random noises right now, that 'Ma' always made her heart swell.

And as Tohru looked from her son to her husband to her father-in-law, seeing three different but equally happy smiles, Tohru had to smile too.

It was wonderful, being together with her family.