First teeth! And, well, some more conversations. I don't really have a lot to say about this chapter.

Hao hadn't been sleeping well the past few days. Keiko noticed this when she was first woken up by his pained breaths in the middle of the night. She didn't know what was causing it, but Hao appeared to be fast asleep and she didn't have the heart to wake him up. He had calmed down after a while, but she stayed up with him for an hour or so to know that he was alright.

She had been expecting him to speak up if he was in pain, and since he didn't say anything, she assumed that it was only a one-time thing.

However, that was before she noticed his flushed cheek. She frowned, setting down the plastic spoon with mashed potatoes she had in her hand.

"Are you alright, Hao? Do you have any pain?" she asked, her eyes narrowed in a concerned expression. From the other side of the table, Mikihisa raised his head, looking at them over his newspaper.

I am alright, the infant replied. You do not need to worry about me .

Keiko tilted her head to one side, not sure if she believed him or not. She knew what she had seen the night before, and she didn't like the flush on his cheek as well. It didn't look good, and she was worried. Hao should know that much, that she only wanted the best for him. She had always wanted just the best for him and Yoh.

Keiko shrugged and went back to work. She had a lot on her to-do list that day, and she knew that Mikihisa would look after the babies.

She was approached by her husband later that day when the twins were sleeping in their room.

"What was that about?" he asked, his arms crossed over his chest as he was leaning on one of the walls. His hair was used into its usual ponytail - that was the first thing he had done every morning now. He was quick to discover that Yoh liked his hair a lot and would chew on it every time he had an opportunity - with his hair tied up, he couldn't reach it as easily.

Keiko sighed.

"I think Hao is hiding something," she said, watching as Mikihisa's eyebrows rose.

"In a good sense or a bad sense?" he asked, his tone laced with worry. He still wasn't sold on this "Hao is just a baby" idea. Keiko smiled sadly.

"I think he's in pain but doesn't want to admit it. He woke me up last night and he didn't seem okay. I'm worried about him," she explained, thinking. Was it another sickness? It was the end of November, that was the perfect time for various illnesses and diseases, and her children's immune systems were still quite weak. Keiko was worried about her little boy. What if it was another flu? But then again, he had the flu recently, he should have all the antibodies needed to keep healthy.

Mikihisa set his hand on her shoulder to try and soothe her.

"It will be alright, Keiko," he said. "Let's keep an eye on him and we can always call the doctor if there was something wrong."

Keiko nodded, worry evident on her face. She needed to be strong. Resolutely, she walked back to her room to pick up a book she had been reading the past few days in her spare time.

While they both tried to keep an eye on Hao, the infant refused to say anything during the next few days, even though Keiko was woken up again twice.

Now, she was playing with Yoh and watched as Hao played with his plus kitten. He could easily move it around in his hands now, and sometimes, whenever he was sure no one could see him, also cuddled it. Keiko watched as he played and then took Yoh's swan and a dog plushie that wasn't the favourite of neither of her children's and started telling a story about how a friendly dog met a nice swan and they had some adventures together. It was a totally made-up story, but Yoh seemed to enjoy it, laughing here and there whenever she changed the positions of the animals.

Halfway through, Keiko lifted her head and noticed Hao stuffing the cat's tail into his mouth. Some other parts of the plush animal also shone with wetness; probably places that didn't escape Hao's wrath before.

Keiko smiled. It was unusual that Hao would let himself be seen doing something like this.

"Would you like to chew on a carrot, Hao?" she asked, but she had the idea that he would refuse.

She was right.

Don't need it , Hao retorted and he was back to chewing on the cat's tail. Keiko smiled. She momentarily set the plushies aside and earned a dissatisfied grumble from Yoh. He wasn't happy with his performance being interrupted.

Keiko clicked her tongue and shook his head.

"Like this, you'll soon wear down all of the cat's fur," she commented. Hao frowned.

Matamune. His name is Matamune .

Keiko blinked. Matamune was a spirit in the service to the Asakuras. Was he back? Keiko didn't remember her father or Mikihisa saying something along those lines and she hadn't seen the nekomata around either.

Hao looked her in the eye.

Matamune is someone dear to me , he said simply and Keiko opened her mouth, then closed it. She doubted Hao would tell her more. The infant was back to chewing on the toy.

Keiko shrugged and went back to playing a theatre for Yoh; she would visit the library later. She had a vague feeling of knowing how Hao knew Matamune, but she didn't dare ask him in person. It was possible that Hao already knew what she wanted to ask.

She picked up the plush animals, much to baby Yoh's delight.

"Alright, Yoh, the nice swan and the good dog are going on another adventure…"

It was well into the afternoon and Keiko was in the library listing through the Asakura family's chronicles, mainly about the last Shaman Fight. She was sure that the information she was seeking was somewhere here. She was going through the pages, scanning the text, until she came to one in particular.

"Asakura Yohken… and Matamune," she whispered, clasping the book shut and putting it back in its place. Silently, she left the room without anyone noticing, deep in thought. Hao had no reason to like Matamune… or did he?

She wasn't able to ponder on it for too long. She was nearing the kitchen where she knew Mikihisa and the twins were when she heard a painful yelp. Startled, she hurried in, not knowing what could've happened, but she would recognize Mikihisa's voice anywhere.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, out of breath, when she saw the scene in front of her.

Baby Yoh was sitting in his chair, a half-eaten fruit puree was set in front of him, and Yoh's bib was dirty from all the food. A little to the side was the other chair and a full bowl of fruit puree, and Mikihisa holding Hao. There wouldn't be anything weird on it under normal circumstances. However, Hao was biting Mikihisa's wrist and held on like a champ.

"Nothing is alright," Mikihisa replied through gritted teeth. "Come get your son."

Keiko raised an eyebrow but hurried over and gently took Hao under his armpits. She pulled the baby towards herself, but he held on.

"Come on, Hao, be a good boy," she said, pulling him towards herself again and this time, Hao let go of Mikihisa's wrist and let himself be taken into Keiko's arms.

"There, what a good boy you are!" she cooed, watching as Mikihisa rubbed his wrist. Hao couldn't do much damage with just his gums yet, but then she spotted two small holes in his skin. She frowned.

"Could you show me your hand?" she asked, settling Hao in her arms. The boy immediately started chewing on her shirt's collar. Keiko let him do so and looked at her husband.

Mikihisa shook his head.

"Babies truly are dangerous," he commented. "Especially when your hand is near."

Keiko resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Where did you hear that?" she asked, trying to sound amused. In reality, she wasn't.

Mikihisa shrugged.

"Your father has been telling me about the time you were a baby," he said after a moment and now Keiko truly did roll her eyes.

"Father is getting older these days, he doesn't know what he's talking about," she said. She wouldn't let her husband be intimidated by the talk of an old man. And, having seen her father's reaction to taking care of the babies, she wouldn't believe everything he had to say. Maybe he did have experience with taking care of an infant, but she didn't doubt his skills were rusty after twenty-five years. And, knowing that Yohmei was blinded by his hate for Hao… she would need to have a talk with Mikihisa later.

"Please, Mikihisa," she sighed, and was relieved when he finally extended his hand towards her. Hao shifted in her arms to look at what he did too, and she tried not to notice the smug expression on his face. She inspected his wrist.

"Is it just me or are those teeth marks?" she asked, looking up at her husband. Mikihisa looked at it himself.

"I think so?" he said, then looked at Hao, frowning. "You think he needs something to chew on?"

Keiko looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded.

"I looked into some books," she said, not mentioning the Asakura family's chronicles, "and Hao exhibits all the symptoms of teething. He's chewing on things a lot, doesn't sleep well and his cheeks are flushed," she listed what she could remember. Mikihisa nodded; he didn't know this as well as she did.

Keiko shifted Hao and told him, "Open up, please."

Hao did nothing.

Keiko sighed in exasperation. Sometimes, dealing with her son and husband was more difficult than she'd ever imagined. Good thing that Yoh wasn't truly in his disobedient stage yet.

"Hao," she said, looking him in the eyes. "How can I help you with this if I don't know what's going on?" she said. Baby Hao looked up at her, not impressed.

I do not require help, he replied. Keiko again resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Then, she composed herself and said, "Come on, Hao. It's not bad to accept help from time to time. We all need it sometimes. It's not something to be ashamed of."

That made the baby glance up at her. She thought that maybe her words had gotten through to him, but that wasn't the case.

I do not need help. I never had any, he said. Keiko looked at Mikihisa, at a loss what to say next, how to convince him.

"You never had any, so you don't know what it is like to get help," she said finally, remembering his most recent words. "You can trust us. You can trust those who you're closest to."

Hao looked away and his next words shook her to the core.

Not when they stab you in the back eventually, he retorted. An image of a nekomata flashed in Keiko's mind. Matamune…

Now, Keiko was truly at a loss. She had nothing to say. Or… there was one last card that she could pull.

"I'm your mother," she tried again. "I want to help you. Please, let me help."

Hao didn't look at her. He didn't look at Mikihisa. And Keiko felt a heavy feeling settle on her heart.

You're going to leave me anyways.

It was as if an arrow stabbed through her heart. Did Hao truly think that? That she would abandon him? Keiko couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could he even think that she would do something like that? She loved him; he was her son, and she would never give him up. She fought against her father and husband for his sake, to be able to keep him safe and protected. If he had reishi, he would know that. He knew that all. So why, why did he have to say such a hurtful thing?

Blinking away the tears that threatened to form in her eyes, she set Hao in his chair. She took a spoon and got a spoonful of the puree in the bowl.

"Now, open up," she said, and, to her surprise, Hao did it. She fed him and briefly inspected his gums before he managed to close his mouth again. There, she saw two white points in his gums. The front teeth. She was right.

Slowly, she finished feeding Hao. He was slow, tentatively opening his mouth to be fed as if he expected some trick. But Keiko wouldn't lower herself to tricks.

Meanwhile, Mikihisa got Yoh up and went to the other room with him to play. Keiko finished up with Hao and carried him over, along with a piece of a carrot for Hao to chew in. That way, he wouldn't bite Mikihisa again.

She set Hao down next to his brother and baby Yoh reached out to him with his little hands. The boy giggled when he managed to get hold of the carrot Hao had in his hand.

Keiko took a step back, making Mikihisa look at her.

"You won't stay?" he asked. Keiko smiled; it was a sad smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I just need to go to the bathroom," she said quickly, and her husband nodded in understanding. Quickly, she hurried to the bathroom, closing the door behind herself. Her knees gave out and she fell to the floor, finally letting the tears come.

Keiko leaned with her head against the wall and sobbed.