Aww poor Keiko dealing with a sick baby Yoh, this time she gets a little help though.
It wasn't fine. Keiko groaned as she woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of Yoh crying. This was the second time that night. She had barely closed her eyes and here she was being woken up again.
She grumbled and stood up, straightening her yukata as she hurried to the crib with the twins. Sure enough, Yoh was crying again, and he was burning up. Even Hao, who usually stayed calm during events such as these, now threw two big pleading eyes at Keiko, hoping that she would silence his brother.
"Shh, baby, come here," Keiko whispered, taking Yoh into her arms. He didn't calm down, but she could at least take him to the kitchen, away from the sleeping quarters of both Yohmei and Hao. She hoped that at least this way, they'd get some sleep.
She was wrong.
Hao might've gone back to sleep, as he didn't magically appear behind her just like he always liked to do it. Who, however, appeared in the doorway, was Yohmei. He was wearing a simple sleeping yukata, much like Keiko, and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"What's the ruckus, Keiko?" he asked, suppressing a yawn. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Yoh is sick, Father," she replied, and since yawning was contagious, she held her hand up to cover her mouth as she yawned. She was dead tired on her feet, and she wasn't ashamed of admitting it. However, she was afraid that this wouldn't be the only sleepless night that week.
Yohmei came to stand next to her and he measured the crying baby with a critical eye. Then, after a minute-long silence, he asked: "Do you need help with something?"
Keiko's eyes widened in surprise slightly. She didn't expect him to offer his help at this time of night, not after what he had done the day before, but Yoh wasn't Hao and Yohmei strongly preferred the younger boy to the older one.
She blinked sleepiness from her eyes.
"Could you please fill up a bowl with lukewarm water?" she asked him. She would try to cool Yoh down a bit before letting him sleep again, but first, she thought it best for him to nurse. It was, after all, what the doctor had recommended, and Yoh seemed eager to eat.
While he was nursing, Keiko closed her eyes. She was so tired… With a jerk of her head, she reminded herself that she needed to stay awake, at least until Yoh fell asleep. The infant might have been calm at the moment, and she would administer another dose of the infant Tylenol after he'd nursed. There was no doubt that he was running a fever again. For the millionth time, Keiko silently cursed Mikihisa. Why did he choose today of all days to vanish from the compound? She knew that she shouldn't hold it against him. He had his own life aside from being a parent, but before the twins were born, she'd expected him to be there more for her and the boys.
She let Yoh burp - this time without him throwing up, thankfully - and she set him down on the table, ruffling his soft hair gently.
Yohmei returned with a bowl filled with water in his hands. Keiko dipped her index finger in it to see how warm it was, and, satisfied, she took a face cloth and put it in the water, letting it soak before she wrung it out and gently wiped Yoh's forehead with it. The boy squeezed his eyes shut, and made a dissatisfied coo, indicating that he didn't like it.
Keiko noticed, but she continued with the treatment.
Yohmei came to stand beside her. He put his hands on the table, watching as his daughter cared for her son.
"What did the doctor say?" he asked, making Keiko raise her eyebrow at him. When she had returned, he didn't seem interested in how Yoh was doing at all, and now he asked? Nevertheless, she was glad that he showed some interest in his grandson.
"The doctor said that it's the flu. He should rest and drink a lot, and if the fever doesn't break in three days, we should come back to see if anything else can be done," she replied. She didn't miss a brief moment of panic showing on the old shaman's face.
"He will survive, right?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned. Keiko allowed herself a slight smile.
"With the right care, yes," she said. She didn't want to think about what would happen if something happened. Hao would be so devastated to lose a brother.
The mother shook her head. No, Keiko, you can't think like this, she scolded herself. Yoh will be fine.
She put the washcloth back into the bowl and picked Yoh up. He regarded her with big brown eyes, devoid of tears for now.
Carefully, she gave him another dose of the medicine and waited for him to swallow. Yoh's disgusted face told her all about how he perceived the whole process.
"There, Yoh, it will be alright," Keiko whispered, holding the boy and rocking him softly in his arms. If she managed to lull Yoh to sleep now, maybe they could all get at least a few hours of sleep.
"Do you think he'll sleep now?" Yohmei asked, suppressing another yawn. Keiko shrugged. She couldn't offer him an answer.
"Maybe. Maybe not. We'll have to see, though it would be good if he managed to sleep the rest of the night," she said. She couldn't offer any estimates on how long Yoh would be sleeping.
Yohmei made his way to the door.
"I will be going then. Have a good night, Keiko," he said, disappearing behind the corner. Keiko could hear his silent steps for a few moments before they were gone.
She looked down at Yoh, and saw that his eyelids were beginning to drop.
"Time for us to go to sleep too, I guess," she muttered and took Yoh back to her room. Hao was sleeping in the crib, a peaceful look on his face. His fingers were loosely wrapped around his plushie's tail.
Keiko gently set Yoh into the crib and tucked him in. He was sleeping soundly now, and she hoped that he'd sleep now.
She hoped wrong.
Three and a half hours later, Keiko awoke to Yoh's crying again. She glanced at the clock. It was just before dawn. She yawned, not really wanting to stand up, but more cries made up her mind and she rolled from under the blanket, shivering slightly when the cold morning air hit her exposed limbs.
"Mummy's here, Yoh," she said, coming to the crib. Her son's face was red from all the crying and the fever, he kept his little hands tightly clenched in fists, and his clothes were damp from sweat.
"Come here," she cooed, taking him into her arms. She was sure that she'd need to change his clothes. She sighed. It was no use to do all of that and go to sleep again. She could as well stay awake now.
Noticing that Hao was also awake, she sighed. Yohmei was probably awake as well. That was the problem with a crying baby and thin walls.
He woke me up , Hao complained, his face in the frown that she had become so familiar with seeing. Keiko narrowed her eyes slightly and sighed.
"I know, Hao, he woke me up too. But your brother is sick, be nice. If you were sick, Yoh wouldn't hold it against you, I know that."
Keiko rocked Yoh gently and watched as Hao's expression changed into an annoyed one.
I am too powerful to get sick. Being sick is for humans, he huffed, annoyed, and Keiko thought that maybe he was annoyed because he was hungry.
"You say that as if you weren't human," she pointed out gently. In a flash of light, the Spirit of Fire appeared in the room. Keiko stopped in her tracks, holding Yoh tightly to her chest.
Do not put me in one bag with you. I am a shaman. I will not stoop down to a mere human's level, Hao's voice sneered in her head. Keiko gasped, regarding the floating silhouette of the spirit in the air sideways to her. Yoh… she had to protect Yoh.
"Please don't hurt your brother, Hao," she said, fighting to keep her voice calm. Inside her chest, her heart was racing. Five months… five months with her boys and this was the first time she was seriously scared of Hao's presence. His overwhelming aura washed over her, but she didn't move from her spot. She was glued to the ground, perhaps by fear, perhaps by her belief that Hao wouldn't actually hurt her, but this was too close of a call for her liking.
Go , Hao's voice resonated through her skull, and she hastily left the room with Yoh's in her arms.
She could start breathing normally only when she was in the kitchen. Drops of sweat rolled down her face and back. She felt numb. After several fiery accidents, Hao had stopped with them. Maybe he controlled his own powers better, maybe he felt safer in the house (though Keiko doubted that), but she had been certain that he would never use his powers on her. Technically, he didn't, but the obvious threat was there. Step out of line, say one incorrect thing… you'd become a barbecue. Keiko still felt his power that almost didn't let her breathe.
She set Yoh down gently and quickly checked if he was alright. The baby's eyes were wide open, but he seemed to be unaffected by Hao's show of power. It was more likely that he sensed his mother's nervousness, and was reacting to that.
"Shh, Yoh, it's alright, it's alright. You're safe," she cupped his cheeks and watched as her son, despite his fever, showed his gums and gave her a wide smile.
She didn't notice the shadow of the Spirit of Fire as he turned around from behind the door and floated back to the room with Hao in his arms.
Keiko first took care of Yoh, changed his diaper, nursed him, and then set up a small bath for him, hoping that it'd make his fever drop. He had been given the medicine, but Keiko hoped that she could do a bit more. Hao, she knew that he would come when he wanted; when he was hungry. She knew that she should go check up on him, but a tiny piece of fear remained in her heart.
Keiko happily noted that Yoh looked much happier after a bath. Satisfied that it worked, she dressed him and set him down in his infant chair.
"Alright, it's time to see what your older brother is doing," she said, taking a deep breath. She could do it. Hao might be dangerous, but he was still her baby, and she loved him dearly.
Keiko entered her room with caution. She had expected to see the Spirit of Fire, to have Hao talk to her right away, but he didn't. Cautiously, she approached his crib and looked at her child.
Hao was sleeping on his side, facing away from her. Keiko raised her eyebrow and reached out to him.
"Come here, darling. Let's take care of you." If she saw the tear marks on his face, she didn't comment on it. She only knew that Hao clung to her as if she were to disappear any second.
It took Yoh two days to get better. His fever broke on the third night, and Keiko was very glad it did. She had spent the last three days with a maximum of five hours of sleep and she was absolutely exhausted. Dark bangs had formed under her eyes and she could hardly keep them open. While Yoh was mainly sleeping during the day, he woke up during the nights crying, and while Yohmei sometimes helped her take care of him, it was ultimately Keiko who had stayed awake those three nights.
Keiko yawned as she let baby Yoh, smiling and shaking his arms, sit in his chair. In his left hand, he held the swan plushie and there was the biggest smile on his face. Meanwhile, Keiko got to feeding Hao. She was sure that she could start with solid meals soon, or at least with some mashed vegetables or purees. Somehow, she thought that Hao would enjoy those more than the plain baby formula.
When she heard footsteps, she thought it was Yohmei. Her father sometimes came to help with the children when he wasn't busy with his divinations, but this time, she heard a soft: "How is the most beautiful person on the planet doing?"
Keiko's eyes widened as she moved her head to look over her shoulder to the entrance. Mikihisa stood there in his ascetic monk robes, his arms crossed and a big smile on his face.
Keiko smiled, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Where were you? I was worried sick, and Yoh has the flu!" she rambled on, her voice laced with relief. For obvious reasons, she hasn't mentioned her small falling out with Hao. She knew that Mikihisa wouldn't take it well at all.
She carefully set Hao in his chair, ignoring the infant's annoyed expression at having his feeding time interrupted, and went to hug her husband.
She relaxed once Mikihisa's strong arms embraced her, and she buried her face in his neck.
"I missed you," she whispered. "Please stay with us for a while."
He set his hand on her hair and gently stroked it.
"I will, Keiko," he said, bending down and planting a soft kiss on her forehead. "Now, you tell me that our boy had the flu?"
Keiko smiled and looked at Yoh. The infant gave them both a big smile.
"He did. He still has it, but the fever broke last night. I haven't slept for three days, but I'm glad that Yoh's going to be alright," she said, clearly happy about the fact. Mikihisa gave her a grin and walked up to the twins.
"And what about our other troublemaker? Did he get sick, too?" he asked, ruffling Hao's hair and Keiko was afraid for a moment that she would lose her husband. However, nothing happened, except Hao extending his telepathy.
I will not get sick. I am too mighty for that.
Mikihisa looked taken aback, before grinning.
"We'll see about that, we'll see," he said, looking awfully sure of himself.
Two days later, Keiko was hurrying to doctor Nakamura with Hao in the pram while Mikihisa stayed home, reading a picture book with Yoh.