A short but sweet chapter! Sorry if my updating here is a bit chaotic, at the moment I'm more active on Archive of our own and I kind of forget to post stuff here so...

The twins were three weeks old now and there wasn't a day when Hao wouldn't come with the Spirit of Fire, holding Yoh and casually floating around the house. Honestly, Keiko didn't know what to do with him. On one hand, it was very cute, seeing them both explore though they were still quite near-sighted and saw rather blurry shapes than real objects. On the other hand, any time she saw the Spirit of Fire holding her two babies, and Yoh especially, she almost collapsed. If anything ever happened to them, she would break down completely. She trusted Hao to take care of himself and control his spirit, but Yoh didn't have such luxury. He was still just a baby and he was vulnerable. Therefore, whenever Keiko could, she took him from the Spirit of Fire's arms.

The only time when the twins were well-behaved children was at night. In the evening, they were bathed and fed and then put to sleep. The parents also didn't stay up for too long; they knew that every bit of sleep counted by now.

However, even at night, things weren't as quiet as they could've been. That night, Keiko was roused from sleep by a screaming Yoh. Yawning, she got up and went to the crib. Yoh was crying, and when he was crying, she could count on Hao being awake too.

She gently took Yoh out and rocked him back and forth.

"Shhh, little one," she cooed, but the baby didn't stop crying. Keiko looked at him.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, knowing full well that Yoh, unlike Hao, wouldn't respond. Yoh didn't have any secret telepathic ability. He was still just a regular baby.

I am starving , Hao said, and, as usual, he had never heard of the word "please". Keiko sighed as Mikihisa stirred on his futon.

"Dear, would you go prepare the formula, please?" she asked. Mikihisa rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and got up, swaying slightly on his feet as he was still half-awake.

"Sure," he agreed, waiting for a minute to gain his composure and get a bit more awake, and left the room. He would prepare the bottle and feed Hao when he came back while Keiko could have some privacy to feed Yoh.

Yoh kept crying the whole time, but finally stopped when he started nursing.

Finally, quiet, Hao commented from his spot in the crib.

"Be nice, Hao," Keiko said. "Yoh's not like you."

He's my second half, Hao replied. Of course he is like me, he said, his voice smug. The mother narrowed her eyes but focused on Yoh. Hao sometimes spouted nonsense. Yoh was his own person, he would have his own personality when he grew up. He wouldn't be like Hao.

How wrong you are, Keiko, Hao's voice got to her. We are twins, we are the same.

Yawning, Keiko stayed silent. She already knew that arguing with Hao was pointless and she didn't really have the energy to argue in the middle of the night. He could keep his ideals if he wanted, but Yoh would be raised to be a kind soul.

Mikihisa returned with a full bottle and took Hao. He shut up and gave his full attention to food. Keiko sighed in relief. Her eyelids got heavy once again and she yawned.

Thankfully, Yoh was done nursing and soon, Hao would be too. Then, they could all go back to sleep.

Keiko tucked Yoh in already and sat back down on her futon. This time, she covered her mouth when yawning, and waited until Mikihisa was done feeding Hao. Tucking him back to sleep (he didn't want to), he put the empty bottle on the ground. He would take care of it in the morning.

It was a few hours later and Keiko was once again roused from sleep by crying. She rolled over, but Mikihisa was nowhere to be seen. Vaguely, she remembered that today, he went back into the mountains for training, meaning that she would be left with the twins. Granted, she didn't doubt that her father would help her if she asked, but for now, she was on her own. Mikihisa had to wake up early and he was no longer by her side.

She rubbed her eyes and looked up. It was Yoh who was crying again, while Hao silently studied his brother. She took him out, deciding that he needed his diaper changed again. The early morning sun rays already made their way into the building and she felt awake quite quickly, but once glance at the clock told her that it was barely 5:30 am, meaning that if the babies allowed it, she would be able to get at least an hour of sleep.

When she returned back, she found Hao already back asleep, and she quickly tucked Yoh in. It wasn't time to be awake yet.

However, Yoh kept on crying, waking up his older brother as well. The telepathic link resonated with an unhappy grumble. Keiko had to agree with him. But Yoh was now fed, clean, she didn't know what else he'd want. And so, she got him out of the crib and set him down on the futon. Yoh immediately calmed down.

But, where one twin went, the other followed, and since Hao had control over the Spirit of Fire, he got out of the crib and the spirit extended his hand for Keiko to get her baby. Sighing, the mother took the older twin and set him on her other side.

"There, both safe and sound with mummy," she whispered, pleased that for once, Hao didn't oppose her. Apparently, he was just as tired as she felt.

Keeping an eye on both babies, Keiko laid down, but her eyelids were getting heavy and soon, she drifted off to sleep once more.

A few hours later found Yohmei looking for his daughter. It was way past breakfast time and he was worried. What if something happened during the night? A roll of sweat rolled down his forehead. He should've never agreed to let his daughter sleep in the same room with Hao. It didn't matter if he was a baby or not, that man was dangerous . What was he thinking when he agreed to it?!

Hurriedly, he got to Keiko and Mikihisa's room.

"Keiko?" he called. "Is everything alright?"

No answer came.

Feeling fear settle in his heart, Yohmei pushed the door open. He wasn't prepared for what he found in the slightest.

Keiko was lying on her futon, fast asleep. On each side of her laid a baby, peacefully sleeping as well. Like this, he couldn't tell who was who, but they all looked so content while asleep that he decided to close the door and let them all sleep.