The two-month doctor check-up. Getting vaccinated is discussed (it's not graphic or anything) but feel free to skip this chapter if such stuff grosses you out. Also in the 80s there were like 4-6 vaccines as opposed to today's 12 so there might be some factual mistakes, bu I did my best to research the topic.
Seeing as the twins were two months old, it was time to go to a doctor's check-up. Armed with a brand-new pram, Keiko and Mikihisa went to Izumo where doctor Nakamura would examine both babies.
They were first at the doctor's when they were just born, to measure them and see if everything was alright with their development. Even though they were three weeks premature, both babies were doing very well, and now it was time for the two-month check-up. Last month, they had been there as well, to check if everything was going well. And, as far as the doctor could tell, both babies were growing up well.
Keiko had packed everything they would need, fed and changed both Yoh and Hao (hearing protests from the latter the whole time), and tucked them in the pram. They had disposed of the previous one during late evening hours when everyone was already asleep.
"We should hurry, otherwise we'll miss the appointment," Mikihisa reminded Keiko, putting on his shoes. She huffed, wiping sweat off her forehead.
"I know, it just takes some time to prepare the two of them," she replied, hurrying to join her husband.
They walked quickly. Their appointment wouldn't wait and doctor Nakamura was an older man who cared about his patients being punctual. Yoh was sleeping peacefully, rocked to sleep by the pram's movement while Hao tried to follow everything that was happening. He understood that they would be going to a healer and he was particularly grumpy about that. The first time he had seen the man, he was still a newborn, but he remembered the humiliating procedure of examining his vital functions and measuring him all too well. The same happened when he was one month old. If anything, he was more alert then, and the procedure was even more humiliating. He definitely didn't want to go through that a third time, but he didn't have a choice in this matter. Unfortunately, Keiko still had power over him.
And, despite not being happy about having to live with the Asakuras that were thinking about killing him every two days (read: mainly Yohmei and sometimes his own father too), he didn't want to harm Keiko in any way. She had given birth to him and was the only one in the household who genuinely cared about him. She would be there anytime Yoh cried, and she would check up on him as well during those times. She was always there for him, being the mother she was. She was the person Hao gave his first conscious smile to in this life.
Hao had his own mother. No other woman could come close to her. Only she would be the one he would ever call mother. But, as far as he was concerned, Keiko was doing a good job being a substitute mother.
His eyes surveyed the surroundings as they arrived at Izumo. Yoh was unbothered; he was sleeping the whole journey, but Hao hated the building they were about to enter with all his being. If he could, he would burn it all down…
He frowned momentarily. What was stopping him? He had the power to do so. Normally, he would take his anger and irritation out on the humans. So what was stopping him now?
One look up and he had the answer. Keiko would be unhappy if he did that. Keiko who had already fought so much for him. If he did anything, the Asakuras would try their best to overpower him. With a pang in his heart, he realized that, for once, he didn't want to go. He didn't want to leave, and he absolutely didn't want to be separated from his brother. In the short time they were alive, he had become accustomed to him always being there, smiling, crying, playing… He wouldn't do anything because he wished to stay.
They entered the building. It smelled of disinfection and it made Hao's nose wrinkle. Beside him, Yoh opened his eyes, looking around nervously. He shifted and squirmed. One look at his eyes told him that he would start crying soon. Yoh was just as uneasy being here as he was.
Keiko noticed Yoh's discomfort and gently stroked his head, feeling the fontanelle on his head softly.
"There, Yoh, you're my brave boy, aren't you?" she cooed at him, catching the baby's attention and making him look at her.
Unlike Hao, Yoh still hadn't developed a social smile. He was able to recognize his parents and look at them, but he still hasn't smiled, only in his sleep.
They had arrived right on time, as they weren't waiting for even five minutes before the door opened and the nurse stepped out.
"The Asakura family?" she asked, and, after a nod of affirmation, she invited them inside. They had to leave the pram outside; the door wasn't designed for such wide prams. Therefore, each parent took out one baby, Keiko holding Yoh who seemed to be much more scared than Hao and entered.
"Hello, Nakamura-san," Keiko greeted him, rocking Yoh softly in her arms. The boy turned his head so that he wouldn't have to look at the doctor and buried his nose in Keiko's shoulder.
"Asakura-san," the doctor replied. "Back for the two-month check-up?"
"Yes," Keiko affirmed it and waited patiently for the nurse to take out Hao and Yoh's files. She put them on the table. Hao's folder was on the top, Keiko could already see it.
"Asakura Hao… He's the older twin, right?" doctor Nakamura asked, squinting his eyes at both the babies from behind his glasses.
"Yes," Mikihisa confirmed it, stepping forward with Hao in his arms. The child mustered up the biggest glare he could muster. The doctor's lips tugged upwards at seeing his expression.
"It seems that he has quite the control over his facial muscles," he commented. "I understand it; not many children are happy to see me. Has he smiled at you yet?" The question was directed at both parents, but it was Keiko who answered it.
"Yes, Hao first smiled… about a week ago, if I remember correctly, but Yoh still hasn't done anything like that," she replied. The doctor turned to her.
"If your younger one hasn't smiled yet, it's no problem. Your twins were born prematurely, it could take them a bit longer to do things that full-term babies can do at this age." Keiko nodded, making a mental note that it was alright and she shouldn't freak out.
The doctor took Hao out of Mikihisa's arms.
"Let's see how you're doing, Hao-chan," he said, and Hao glared more.
A silent whisper of "kill me" carried over to Keiko's mind. Obviously, Hao didn't like being babied. She wasn't surprised. Hao was a thousand-year-old stuck in a baby's body. He was a grown-up in a kid's body. Of course he wouldn't like being babied. However, maybe he was just being overly too dramatic right now. It was just a doctor's visit.
The doctor didn't seem aware of Hao's inner turmoil as he weighed and measured him. Then, he was examined from head to toe. Keiko sighed in relief when no medical tool blazed up in flames, even though Hao's grumbled complaints of "this is humiliating" reached her mind once or twice… or the entire time that he was being examined.
Doctor Nakamura concluded his examination with a content smile.
"It seems that Hao-chan is growing well, I see no complications with his development," he remarked. "Now what is left is the vaccination."
Keiko saw Hao lift his head from when he was lying on his tummy. His eyes followed the doctor as he prepared the DTP vaccine and came back to him.
"Now, it will be just a bee's sting," the doctor said and Hao felt something prickle his skin.
Immediately, the memories from his past life resurfaced. Asakura Yohken in front of him. Matamune, betraying him. The pain of the oni-slayer stabbing through his body…
Pain, pain, pain , cursed through Keiko's mind as her older son started crying, continuing even after everything was done.
The doctor softly patted his head.
"There you go, you're a brave one, Hao-chan," he commented. "I will now look at Yoh-chan and then I'll give you the polio vaccine."
Hearing the word "vaccine", Hao's mind flashed with fear. He wasn't stupid. He associated the word with the sudden stabbing pain in his anterolateral thigh and he wasn't eager to repeat the experience anytime soon.
The doctor let Mikihisa take Hao back, being careful of the painful spot, and Hao latched onto his shirt, refusing to let it go. His eyes surveyed the medic's movements, for once filled with fear and anxiety.
Yoh was set on the examination table full of toys. The doctor purposefully set him to lie on his tummy to see if he could lift his head. He had done the same with Hao before, and Hao, being Hao, had done exceedingly well. The doctor, not knowing who he was, was very satisfied with his progress, but both Keiko and Mikihisa were sure that Hao would master this body and its movements once he got past the age limitations.
While Yoh spent most of his time sleeping, he was now fully alert, and quite uncomfortable in this unfamiliar, weird-smelling environment. He still wasn't old enough to experience stranger anxiety, but he was out of his mother's arms and on something hard, with a strange man in white looking at him.
Slowly, Yoh lifted his head in search of his parents. While his vision was still pretty blurry, he was able to recognize both of his parents, and he saw Keiko standing behind the man, looking at him over his shoulder.
"You see, even though they are twins, their personalities can be completely different," the doctor remarked, turning Yoh to his back to start the examination. With his mother out of his sight, Yoh started sniffling. Noticing that, doctor Nakamura made sure to be quick but precise in his check-up.
Finally, it was time for Yoh to get his shot as well. The baby looked at the doctor with his big brown eyes, blissfully ignorant to what was to come. However, as soon as he was vaccinated, he started wailing, feeling the same pain as Hao had earlier on. Keiko took the weeping baby, cuddling him close to her body in an attempt to call him down. She was whispering calmly to him, and Yoh's wails quieted down to a few occasional sobs.
"Now, it's time for the polio vaccine," the doctor said, once again taking Hao from Mikihisa's arms. The baby kept a firm grasp on his father's clothes, but making him let go was no challenge for the medic.
"This one is given orally," the doctor explained, fetching the vaccine from his supplies. Hao squirmed on the table, trying to kick his legs to get away from the pain-giver. Stupid humans… Once he learned how to walk and run in this body, it'd be over for them all.
Doctor Nakamura cupped Hao's cheeks and gently forced his mouth open before sticking a tube in it and emptying the contents into his mouth. He waited patiently for the baby to swallow so that the vaccine wouldn't go to waste.
Needless to say, Hao hated this whole procedure and he hated this particular human way more than the others on this damn, rotten planet. Oh, how he would enjoy slaughtering these pathetic little humans once this body has grown.
He knitted his brows. He couldn't slaughter him just yet, but he could destroy the object of his rage, the small tube that had once contained the immunization. Focusing his furyoku there, the tube melted in the doctor's hands. Hao had rendered it useless. It would never harm another child.
"Ouch!" the doctor cried when he felt the plastic tube grow hot and melt. Letting go of it, it fell uselessly on the floor.
"E-excuse me," the doctor said, turning to the parents. "I have no idea what happened." He came to the sink and put his burned hand under the cold water.
Mikihisa surveyed the damage.
"I think I would have an idea," he murmured, quiet enough for the doctor to hear. However, Keiko and Hao were close enough. The older twin lost a bit of colour in his face, just realizing that, in a fit of rage, he had just confirmed Mikihisa's claims that he was a monster.
The father took Hao back in his arms. The touch felt cold, hostile even. It lost all the warmth that was there before.
Keiko set Yoh on the examination table. The baby tried to outstretch his arms, trying to stay in his mother's comforting arms, but Keiko had already stepped back with a pointed look at Hao and Mikihisa. We'll talk about this later , it said.
Hao wasn't surprised to hear Mikihisa's thoughts turn to disgust, but it pained him to know that Keiko felt sadness. Sadness directed at him. Hao had never wanted to make her upset, but, even though he was quite smart, he didn't realize that his act of petty revenge would have such a consequence. He hadn't realized that it would upset her. This wasn't how she was bringing him up. She let him have his freedom, but now, he didn't doubt that his freedom would be restricted.
Yoh was already getting impatient lying on the examination table, and he squirmed at the spot, hoping to get close to his parents.
Thankfully, Doctor Nakamura had recovered fairly well from the unexpected turn of events and came back with the second polio vaccine that was meant for Yoh. Repeating the process, he had applied the immunization. Yoh's brown eyes filled with tears and the child started wailing again. The doctor patted him on the head.
"There, Yoh-chan, that was all," he said, but Yoh was too young to understand those words. He had picked on the comforting tone the doctor had used, but what he wanted now was his mum. Only Keiko could soothe the uncomfortable feeling he had.
She brought him into her arms and waited patiently for the doctor to fill in vaccination reports for both her children. Pocketing them once he was done, the parents quickly said goodbye.
Returning with the children in the pram, Mikihisa turned to Keiko.
"It was him," he hissed. "Hao melted the tube, I¨m sure of it."
Keiko's cheerful expression fell.
"Could you not discuss it here? He's right here, you know?" she hissed back, her tone becoming hostile.
"He's a baby, and he should hear what we have to say," he argued, making Keiko sigh. She ran a hand through her hair in exhaustion.
"I know, and we should talk about this, but not right now." Before Mikihisa could continue arguing with her, she continued: "I know it's not ideal, but children can sense your tone. I don't want neither Hao nor Yoh to pick up on that after such an experience."
Mikihisa huffed but fell silent for now. There would be enough time to discuss these things once at home.
Meanwhile, Hao definitely didn't appreciate being talked about the way they had, not with him present. He could understand every word they said, and he could feel the upset tones and feelings in both his current parents. No doubt, Mikihisa would discuss this with Yohmei. He was already thinking about it.
Hao yawned (cutely, being the baby he was) and made the most difficult decision of this life. He would behave, for now. After all, he needed Yoh to grow up alongside him. He would refrain from using fire unless it was absolutely necessary. He would be the son that Keiko and Mikihisa wanted if he was even allowed to stay after this. No more accidents. No more disappointed Keiko. He would behave… for now.