The first month anniversary was a special occasion. They have survived living with two babies for a month already and everyone was glad to have survived so far. And while Hao found having himself be cared for in a typical parent-baby way humiliating (especially anything that included him being changed), he also seemed to accept his fate that it would be a while before he could move around on his own.
Yoh was growing splendidly. He still cried a lot but he calmed down whenever he was near his mother. At least, in most cases. Having bought a pacifier for him, it kept him calm during the time he was awake, even though he kept spitting it out. They bought one for Hao as well, but all it took was one look from the baby to know that he wasn't a fan.
"Look, it has cats on it," Keiko cooed, trying to get him to look at it. Giving in, Hao looked at the pacifier from where he laid on the duvet. Indeed, there were cats with brown fur and black stripes. It reminded him a lot of a friend he used to have…
He turned his head away again, refusing to accept the dummy.
Keiko looked at Mikihisa and shrugged.
"Let him be. He has his own head," he said, offering a shrug himself. Seriously, this baby was sometimes so stubborn…
Keiko looked at the pacifier.
"Well then, Yoh will have it when he inevitably spits the one he has now outside," she remarked, setting the dummy on the table.
"That's the best solution," Mikihisa agreed, setting his orange headphones down.
It was June and the weather was warm, but today, it had settled on an agreeable temperature, not too warm but also not too hot, and Keiko planned to take the twins on a walk. They had a pram specifically designed for twins and, from time to time, they were going out with the boys to get them used to outside sounds. However, they had never been to the seaside. They decided that they would go to the lighthouse and Keiko decided to wear a loose dress with a flower print.
Packing all the things essential for the twins plus a blanket to sit on, they dressed up the boys and set them in the pram.
Yoh kept glancing up at Keiko as he laid in the pram, only momentarily turning his head to glance at Hao when he was set down as well. He opened his mouth slightly, but it wasn't a full smile. Yoh wasn't as old as to develop a social smile. That would come within some time, but for now, he recognized his brother, then glanced back up at Keiko.
For once, Hao was quiet. He kept glancing around, but for once, he didn't comment on how it was too hot outside or even try to complain about trivial things.
"There, all good to go," Keiko said, pushing the pram in front of herself, Mikihisa by her side.
The plan was to go to the lighthouse, spend some time there and then slowly go back home. The weather was nice, the birds sang in the trees, and everything was calm. Both Yoh and Hao drifted off to a nap and the parents were blessed with a silence that came only when the babies were asleep.
After a slow walk, they arrived at their destination. Mikihisa pulled a blanket out to sit on, and Keiko positioned the pram so the sun wouldn't shine directly on the babies.
When the gentle rocking of the pram's movement stopped, Hao opened his eyes. It seemed that he was a light sleeper, and he looked around.
Leaving him in the pram while he was still a well-behaved baby, Keiko and Mikihisa sat down on the blanket, watching the sea, how the azure waves with white foam on the top came closer to the shore.
Keiko rested her head on Mikihisa's shoulder as she watched it.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she sighed happily. "Just us, as a family…" She missed how her husband stiffened for a moment, but then relaxed and hugged her. Indeed, they were a family. Just the two of them and their sons.
Keiko might've fallen asleep like that, listening to the sounds of nature and relaxing with her family. An hour later, she was woken up by Mikihisa. He shuffled away and stood up. Still half-asleep, she rubbed her eyes, confused. At least, she was confused until she heard Yoh crying.
"It's already this late?" she looked at the time. "No wonder he's crying." It was nursing time, and Yoh's inner clock worked miracles. He always let her know loudly when it was time to be fed.
Loud , Hao complained, fully awake.
"I know, I know," Keiko murmured as she picked Yoh up, supporting his head. When the twins were born, their heads were full of black hair. Now, however, most of the hair fell out and was now being replaced by softer dark brown hair. The same happened with Hao. When their hair first started falling out, Keiko panicked but was reassured by the doctor that everything was alright and that the twins will grow their hair back.
Now, she stroked Yoh's soft hair as she sat back down and began nursing him.
Mikihisa stood at the pram, looking at her.
"Should I feed Hao?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Of course, feeding time was usually for both babies, even if Hao wasn't as vocal about it as Yoh was.
"You can," Keiko agreed, and Mikihisa got Hao into his arms and fished the bottle with formula out. Sitting down on the blanket, turned sideways so Keiko could have a little privacy, he pushed the bottle towards the baby's mouth.
Sometime later, they were well-fed and happy in the arms of their parents. Everything was going well, until an old bus came riding down the road that led by the lighthouse.
Like the old buses tended to do, it let out a stream of hot air accompanied by a loud sound before it changed speed and drove off into Izumo, but this sudden loud sound managed to scare both babies.
Yoh thrust his arms and legs out and started crying. Hao, usually the quiet one, did the same.
"Shhh," Keiko whispered to Yoh, who was still crying, rocking him gently in her arms to make him calm down. Mikihisa did the same with Hao, both parents failing to notice that the pram standing aside had caught fire.
It was only after they had managed to (mostly) calm the children down that Mikihisa turned around, wondering about the strange sudden heat that he felt on his back. Eyes widening in horror, he quickly extended his arm to tug at Keiko's sleeve.
"Keiko, look!" he exclaimed, shuffling away from the burning pram. Turning her head, she mimicked his surprised and horrified expression a moment later.
"The pram! The baby supplies are there!" she exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand in shock. Baby Yoh seemed not to mind that. He was looking up at her face, happy to be around his mother.
Keiko turned her head sharply to look at Hao in Mikihisa's arms. His eyes were open, tear streaks still glistening on his face. She frowned, looking back at the pram. Most of the fabric was already gone, leaving only the frame. Keiko looked back at her older son.
"Hao?" she asked, slowly realizing what had just happened. At least he looked a bit ashamed. Mikihisa glanced between his wife and his son.
"It was him?" he asked, frowning.
Hao kept stubbornly silent, turning his head to glare into Mikihisa's clothes.
Keiko ran a hand through her hair, sweat from both the heat and nervousness running down her temple.
"We can't change what happened," she said finally, though she sounded off. One could hear that she wasn't happy with this development. "Give him to me," she told Mikihisa.
Her husband proved to be difficult to deal with.
"No. What if this happens again? What if this time, it's not just a thing that he sets on fire? What if it's someone? What if it's you?"
Keiko sighed.
"He's just a baby and he was scared. He didn't mean to harm anyone," she said, trying to reason with him. This time, Hao decided to be helpful.
Strange metal creature. Wasn't here 500 years ago, he commented. It was his first time hearing and seeing a bus. Indeed, such things definitely hadn't existed in 1500. No wonder he was startled by one, and such a loud one at that.
Mikihisa frowned at him. He still wasn't convinced; maybe he would never be, with all the things Yohmei had been feeding him.
"This is his first time seeing a car," Keiko reminded him gently. "Yoh was scared too, but unlike Hao, he doesn't have any spirit that could set things on fire for him."
It seemed that these words finally had an effect on Mikihisa and he reluctantly switched babies with her. Now, he was holding Yoh and she was holding Hao. Keiko picked up the empty bottle and watched as the fire surrounding the pram started to die down. Still, she was wise enough not to touch the frame, knowing that she would end up with some nasty burns.
Mikihisa threw the blanket over his shoulder.
"We'll leave it here?" he said, motioning to the pram. Keiko shrugged.
"It's not like we can use it now," she said. "And we should first make sure that Yoh and Hao are safe at home. We can always come back for it later." Of course, she had a point. The burning pram couldn't be moved at the moment and it was useless now anyway. They first needed to get back home. Thankfully, they were lucky that they didn't go too far.
However, at the mention of home, Keiko closed her eyes.
"Please don't tell Father about this," she said, adjusting the position she held Hao in. "He would try to get Hao away, I know it."
Mikihisa nodded slowly; too slowly, in Keiko's opinion. She narrowed her eyes, silently pleading that he would keep silent and not mention anything of this accident.
"I won't," he said finally, then continued: "But Father might suspect something when we get back without the pram. Maybe he already knows."
Keiko paled. He was right, of course. It would be weird to leave with a pram and return without it, but she was confident that they could sneak into the house and go buy another pram later on. She would need it, the check-up at the pediatrician was coming up and she would need it for that.
"In that case, I hope he's getting his afternoon nap."
Slowly, they went back home, stopping from time to time. The babies weren't that heavy, but after some time, their arms started to feel their weight.
Arriving home, Keiko felt incredibly relieved when they didn't encounter Yohmei. It seemed that her father was away for the time being, which made it all a bit easier. Sighing, she put both twins to sleep.
Little did she know that Yohmei was currently at the lighthouse, inspecting the damage done to the pram.