DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN BROTHERS CONFLICT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM
"So, Natsume," Tsubaki said wrapping his arm around his brother, Where's my room?"
"Your room is back in Sunrise," Natsume said as he shoved Tsubaki away.
"Oh, no, no room for me?" Tsubaki whined.
"Aunt Sunako?" Ema heard Kadia running behind her towards the woman.
"You don't think it's haunted, do you? Or something evil lurks in it?"
"No, I doubt that sweetie," Sunako said in reassurance, "those things don't exist in real life."
"But you could make up a scary story to go with the house huh?" Kadia asked.
"Uh," Sunako said looking towards Ema, "I don't think that would be a good idea. We wouldn't want to scare Aunt Ema and Uncle Natsume away from the house."
"But please!" Kadia begged.
"Maybe later," Sunako promised.
"Can you think of one?" Kadia asked.
"Maybe," Sunako said, "who knows what evil lurks around..., AH!"
Kadia screamed and ran back behind her dad's legs giggling.
"Are the kids enjoying your scary stories?" Ema asked.
"All the time," Sunako said, "and I have to admit I enjoy telling them."
"I bet you'll have fun doing that with your own babies someday," Ema said.
"That would be fun," Sunako agreed.
"And if you do come up with a scary story about the house, I'm sure it'll be enjoyable," Ema said.
"I bet you already have it halfway done in your head," Azusa said.
"Maybe," Sunako admitted with a smirk, "even if it does looks like a nice house that I wouldn't mind having to raise a family myself."
"One thing at a time," Azusa said putting his arm around her.
"I have to agree with Sunako, I would love to have a house similar to this when and if I ever start a family," Kyo spoke up.
"Yes, that would be ideal," Iori, "as long as we can have a nice garden somewhere."
"Looks like you maybe starting a new trend among the family you two," Hikaru said smug.
"Well, it's nice to know they're thinking about their futures and what would make them happy," Natsume said.
Just then he saw the realtor's car pulling up.
"Whoa," Mr. Ejento said as he and Ms. Doin got out. "Who are all these people?"
"This is a vast majority of my family, who wanted to see the house for themselves," Natsume explained, "and this is my wife Ema. These are the realtors dear, Mr. Ejento and Ms. Doin."
"Hello," Ema said bowing. The realtors bowed back.
"We hope you like the house as much as your husband," Ms. Doin said.
Right then a new car pulled up as well.
"Oh, the orginal owner is here," Mr. Ejento said, "as well as his son and daughter."
Ema and Natsume watched at two middle aged adults helped an elderly man out of the car, being support with a cane.
The three of them looked around at the enormous group standing in front of the house.
"Are all these people interested in the house?" the elderly man asked.
"Oh no, Mr. Ihito, just the one couple here," Mr. Ejento said gesturing to Ema and Natsume, "This is Mr. and Mrs. Asahina."
The elderly Mr. Ihito beamed as he slowly made his way towards them.
"What a nice looking couple you are," he praised looking between them. The he landed his eyes on Ema's belly.
"And you're expecting, first?"
"Yes," Ema said.
"How splendid," Mr. Ihito said excited, "how far?"
"Three, almost four months," Ema said.
"Oh, my," Mr. Ihito's daughter said, "you must be having a big baby."
"Aina, do be nice," her father scolded.
"Actually, we're expecting 4," Ema said.
This caused the Ihito family to widen her eyes.
"I already think I like you!" Mr. Ihito said, "you most assuredly will be a decent family to enjoy this home! The others before you, they wouldn't care about the house as a home. They just saw it as a building, a structure. But it's far from that!"
"It is a very sweet house from the outside," Ema said.
"You mean you haven't seen the inside yet?" Mr. Ihito's asked, "I thought Mr. Ejento and Ms. Doin showed you it already."
"Just me," Natsume explained, "I wanted to check the house first before showing it to my wife, as a sort of surprise for her."
"Oh!" Mr. Ihito said delighted, "what a gentleman you are! Well come along, let's get you inside and show the lady around! Come! Come!"
The old man headed fast to the front door with almost everyone following.
Natsume was about to as well only to feel a small tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw it was the young Mr. Ihito.
"Hey, can I borrow you for a second?" the man asked gesturing Natsume to follow him.
Natsume nodded and went with the man who led him to the big tree in the front yard.
"I, just wanted to warn you about this tree," Mr. Ihito said as he showed Natsume the stump. Natsume could see it was looking warn and a little cracked.
"There's a good chance it could fall over by itself with like say a large wind or a bad winter. And if that happens, it could fall and smash the house," Mr. Ihito continued to explain, "my sister and I have been worried about it for some time but knew we couldn't cut down while dad still technically owned the house. He actually adores the tree very much. To him it's just as much a part of the house as anything else."
"Oh," Natsume said, not sure what to say about the matter.
"However, if you do end up buying the hosue, I can assure you that I will pay for the removal of the tree," Mr. Ihito offered.
"But won't your father be upset if we still remove the tree?" Natsume asked.
"No, if and when the house is yours, it'll be easier to convince him it was possibility since it's not his home anymore, it's yours and you have your own ideas of how you'd like the house and property to be," Mr. Ihito explained, "and if he keeps liking you as much as he does, he'll understand better than if he still technically owned the house."
"Oh, okay, that should be fine then, thank you for your honestly and helpfulness," Natsume said.
"Of course," Mr. Ihito said as he walked back to the house with Natsume, "in fact even with that risk, if you still want to make an offer, I can see knocking off a little more of the asking price."
"Oh I don't know if we have to go that far," Natsume started to protest.
"No, no, I like you guys too," Mr. Ihito insisted, "I don't know what it was about the other two couples we showed the house to, but I didn't want them owning my childhood home."
"You grew up here huh?" Natsume asked.
"Yep, didn't move out till college," Mr. Ihito said, "dad actually bought it when my mother was pregnant with my sister. That might be another reason he likes you. You're buying a home for your growing family like he had."
Natsume nodded. He could feel just how special the house was to the entire Ihito family. And he knew he'd love nothing more than to appreciate the house with his family the same way.
"Wow," Ema kept saying as she looked around the house in awe.
"You like what you see Mrs. Asahina?" Mr. Ihito asked eagerly.
"Yes! It's big and spacious! The perfect kind of atmosphere to raise my babies in!" Ema said.
"Oh! How sweet!" Mr. Ihito said, "yes, even four babies could be happy here! "You should come see the bedrooms!"
"Oh sure," Ema said as she headed to the stairs.
Upstairs, she looked around the different bedrooms excited.
"They're all so cute! They're perfect for the babies!"
"Yeah, they are," Masaomi agreed looking the rooms over to, "I'm actually a little jealous over the notion of this being your home Ema."
"What a nice man," Mr. Ihito said, "looks like your babies will have a nice big family to support and love them for life!"
"Yes, they will," Ema admitted.
"Ema?" Natsume said as he suddenly came into the room with young Mr. Ihito.
"What do you think so far?"
"I'm loving it! Natsume it's perfect for us and them!" Ema said, rubbing her womb happily.
"Did you see the master bedroom?" Natsume asked as he took her hand and led her to it.
"Wow, and this will be our room?" Ema asked.
"Maybe," Natsume said, "it'll depend on what the babies are. I was thinking if there's three of the same gender, they can have this room and we take one of the smaller rooms with the odd baby out gets the other room to themselves."
"Oh, that's not a bad idea," Aina said.
"I agree dear," said her father, "you are a proud and devoted family man already my good sir!"
"Dad, Aina, maybe we should give the two of them some time to talk alone about the house?" Young Mr. Ihito suggested.
"Good idea," his father agreed, "come, I want to hear what the rest of their family thinks of it. Including you Mr. Asahina!"
"Oh I'm liking it very much Mr. Ihito," Masaomi said, shutting the door to the master bedroom.
"So you really do like it?" Natsume asked.
"Oh yes!" Ema said again, looking around the room with delight. "It's perfect for them and us! But can we afford it?"
"I think so, the price they're offering is well within our budget," Natsume said.
"What about things like furniture?" Ema asked. "I mean, we'll probably want a new bed for ourselves, a dinging table and chairs. Plus, all the baby furniture. Even if we do take some of our brothers' old things, I'm sure there's still more we'll need."
"Yeah, well, about that," Natsume said reluctantly, "mom's offered to get us all new furniture for the house."
"She what?" Ema asked.
"She, wants to cover the cost of our new furniture for the house," Natsume continued to explain. "Of course it'll have to come from her brand, but...,"
"That would be so kind of mother!" Ema said happily, "I'll see if I can go through her catalog first chance!"
Natsume sighed, "if you're okay with it...,"
"Oh I am! I am!" Ema insisted.
Natsume had to chuckle at her enthusiasm. "Well then, shall we make the official offer?"
"Yes! Lets!" Ema said.
She hugged Natsume as close as she could with her pregnant body, and Natsume returned the embraced as best he could.
"...and the kitchen I remodeled myself. My late wife had a passion for cooking," Mr. Ihito said to Masaomi and Ukyo.
"And you did a fine job sir," Masaomi praised.
"Thank you, I just hope it's good enough for four children," Mr. Ihito joked, "I suppose your brother and sister-in-law can add on to it if need be."
"Oh don't worry about them, they can handle themselves," Masaomi said.
"I should hope so," Mr. Ihito said, "I also hope the back yard is big enough for all four."
"I'd say it's more than big enough," Louis said as he and Yuki stood in front of the back sliding doors looking out at it where Wataru was running around with the children. He looked over at Juli on his shoulder.
"What are you thinking?"
"Hmm, it's not too bad," Juli said, "I guess it's good enough for Chi."
"But what about you? Is it good enough for you?" Yuki asked.
"I can make a home anywhere! It's Chi I have to worry about!" Juli declared.
"But seriously Juli, would you be happy here?" Louis asked.
Juli looked around carefully at the house where the other family members were examining and or exploring.
"Yeah, I bet I could happy here," he decided, "I bet Natsume could even help find the right spot to hang my own little house."
"Good, I'd hate to think you weren't happy here little friend," Louis said.
"Thank you, friend," Juli said.
Just then they all heard Ema and Natsume coming down the stairs.
"Well, Mrs. Asahina, what do you think?" Mr. Ejento asked as he and Ms. Doin walked up to them.
"I love it!" Ema said excited.
"We'd like to go ahead and make our offer," Natsume said.
"Good! Good!" Mr. Ihito said, "how soon can we get it all situated for them?"
"Uh, what about those other two couples that are scheduled to see it?" Aina asked, "I mean, wouldn't it be kind of rude to not let them look first before we let the Asahinas sign?"
"She does have a point," Young Mr. Ihito said.
Ema looked up at Natsume.
"You of course are welcome to do as you see fit," Natsume said calmly, "but do let us know what you decide."
"Of course!" Mr. Ihito said, "I still have a good feeling about the two of you!"
"Thank you Mr. Ihito," Ema said as she took his hands in hers and squeezed them.
"You have a kind soul, just like my late wife," Mr. Ihito commented, "she would have adored you!"
"Thank you, I bet she was an amazing woman," Ema said.
"You don't remodel a kitchen like that for any ordinary woman," Mr. Ihito bragged.
"Dad's always been proud of that kitchen," Aina said as everyone left the house.
"How much remodeling did he do to the house?" Masaomi asked.
"A good portion of it," Young Mr. Ihito said, "Even though he also did his best to keep the original outside structure, a lot of the inside was redone as we grew. I'm sure if you have to, you can do some remodeling yourselves."
"Oh, I doubt we'll be doing much remodeling," Natsume said.
"You see son? Some people do appreciate original construction!" Mr. Ihito said.
"Come on dad, let's get going," Aina said as she and her brother led him to their car.
"We will call and let you know what they decide after the last two potential buyers have a look," Mr. Ejento said.
"But given how much Mr. Ihito seemed to like you, I'd say you have the best chance," Ms. Doin said.
"Thank you," Natsume said.
"Yes thank you, Guren," Hikaru said as he followed her to her car.
"You know how you can thank me Hikaru, you owe me a dinner!" Ms. Doin said with a smirk.
"That I do," Hikaru agreed, "I'll call you."
"You better, or I'm going out with Kaname again," Ms. Doin warned.
"So spiteful," Hikaru said as help shut the car door.
"You and the realtor?" Natsume asked, "is that how you found out about this house?"
"Well, I do my connections, but I met Ms. Doin through Kaname. She and him were acquainted before and I may taken a little shine towards her," Hikaru said.
"Is that why Kaname didn't show up?" Yusuke asked.
"No, he legit had work to do today at the temple," Masaomi said.
"I'm sure he would have loved to be here today to see Guren," Hikaru said.
"Well either way, thank you for your help Hikaru," Ema said.
"My pleasure," Hikaru said, "and if for some reason, you don't get it, I will find you another one just as good if not better!"
"I have no doubt you would," Natsume said.
"And yet you doubt my predictions on the genders of your babies," Hikaru taunted.
"Don't go there, that's different," Natsume said.
"When do you discover the genders?" Futo asked.
"By next month I think Dr. Senyu was saying," Ema recalled, "but I kind of want to see what they are when they are actually born, just to see hi Hikaru's prediction is true!"
Hikaru smirked, "A true optimistic woman. I admire you Ema."
"Do yoh know what you're going to call them Aunt Ema?" Mizu asked as he and Kadia dashed up to her.
"Not yet," Ema said, "did you two have any ideas in mind?"
"Yeah! How about Daniel and Denies?" Kadia asked.
"Aren't those characters in the manga stories Sunako writes that take place in Victorian England?" Natsume asked.
"And Aunt Haruhi voices Daniel in the anime!" Mizu said.
"I think we should go for some more traditional names," Natsume said.
"Well what about Haruto and Tamami?" Kadia suggested.
"Aren't those the names of the characters you Tsubaki and Haruhi voice in the anime you're in together?" Ema asked.
"Maybe," Tsubaki said shrugging his shoulders, while Haruhi hid her smile behind her hand.
Natsume walked over to his brother.
"You didn't try coaching the kids on suggesting these names, did you?" he asked.
"Well, you wouldn't listen to us if we suggested it," Tsubaki defended himself.
Natsume shook his head. "We'll figure out our own names, thank you."
"So does this mean Tsubaki Jr is out?" Tsubaki called out as Natsume walked back to Ema.
"Yes!" Natsume shouted back, without turning around.
"I'm sure whatever names you come up with will work just fine," Masaomi said as he helped lead Ema to their car.
"Thanks," Ema said, "it is a little exciting to be coming up with the different names. I know I am"
"Of course you are," Natsume and Juli said as they both got into the car.
"Do you really think the house will be ours?" Ema asked when they returned to their apartment.
"Sure," Natsume assured her, "The Ihito family seemed to like us. Unless the two other two candidates impress them more than we did, we could start officially moving in by next month or so."
Ema blushed as she took a seat, resting.
"And you like it Juli?" she asked.
"Yeah, all looks promising," Juli said. "Though the tree in the front, you may want to see about removing or doing some work on it."
"Yes, actually the younger Mr. Ihito was telling me about that. He offered to pay for the removal of the tree and knock a little more of the asking price because of it. As long as we do it if and when we officially own the house," Natsume said. "the tree means something to his father and it'd be easier to get rid of it if the house isn't his any more technically."
"Oh, that just seems sweet and sad at the same time," Ema said.
"I agree," Natsume said as he carried Ema a cup of tea over to her.
"Maybe we can plant a new tree in it's place," Ema suggested.
"That's a good idea, maybe we can re-plant a tree like the old one," Natsume added.
"Oh, yeah," Ema said. "What kind of tree is it?"
"Not sure, Iori might know though," Natsume said.
"Oh please, let a true expert tell you, it's an umbrella pine tree," Juli bragged.
"Good to know," Natsume said, "but I'm sure Iori might know where we can get a new one to plant."
"MMM," Juli muttered, "you're doing this to spite me, aren't you?"
"Oh Juli," Ema said, reaching for her laptop.
"What are you up to?" Natsume asked.
"Going through Mother's online catalogue to find furniture," Ema said.
"Oh, right, of course," Natsume muttered.
"She has such amazing designs, I wouldn't know where to start!" Ema said.
Natsume cast her a glance, "how about a bed for us?"
"Oh good idea," Ema said as she searched.
"A little kinky aren't we?" Juli said.
"At least there's only one we'll need of that," Natsume defended.
"Hmm," Juli said giving him a suspicious look.
"Oh how about this one?" Ema asked as she turned her laptop around and showed Natsume a big flat bed.
"Hmm, that looks nice," he said, "but would it fit in one of the smaller rooms if need be?"
He took Ema laptop from her and started looking around the information of the bed.
"It might fit, if we're careful over how we set it up in one of the smaller rooms."
"Do you think we'll have to give up the master bedroom?" Ema asked.
"Oh I don't know," Natsume said. He smiled at her. "If we do, we might have a little more privacy.'
"Hey now!" Juli warned.
"Here,'' Natsume said giving Ema back her laptop.
"Should I add the bed to the wish list?" Ema asked.
"Yes, go ahead," Natsume said. He sip some of his own tea as Ema kept looking through their mother's webpage.
"Oh Natsume, look at these crib and changing table sets!" Ema said after a while.
Natsume leaned over and looked at the screen. There he could see different cribs and changing tables in different colors and designs.
"Hmm, not bad," he said as he looked them over. Then he noticed a certain crib that looked appealing.
"How about these?" he asked as he took the laptop himself and fiddled with it. He show Ema a crib with a changing table connected to it.
"These might be a better solution," Natsume explained, "plus check it out, they can be converted into toddler beds. With the changing table part being turned into a bedside table."
"Oh!" Ema said as she looked at it excited, "those are nice! I especially like the gray color ones!"
"Yeah those are a nice color, reminds me a little of Juli," Natsume said.
Juli stood proud.
"What color do you like?" Ema asked.
"Well I kind of like the light tan color ones I guess," Natsume admitted.
"Hmm they are a nice color," Ema agreed, "what if we did two of each?"
"Sure, if that's what you'd like to do," Natsume agreed with a smile. He watched as Ema excitedly added the four to the list.
"And then we can look for a dresser for each room," Ema continued as she kept looking.
Don't forget a dinging table," Natsume reminded her, "along with some high chairs.".
"Oh yes," Ema said, "maybe we can find those types that can be placed on chairs."
"Are those going to be the right kind fot little babies?" Natsume asked. "I would think stand alone highchairs would be better."
"MMM, but then wouldn't we have to worry about storing the extra chairs in the meantime?" Ema asked.
"A minor detail," Natsume insisted.
Ema twisted her face, "I don't know, I kind of think the ones that go on chairs would be better."
"No, I think stand alone ones would be better, that way we can move them around easier," Natsume said.
"Mmm, maybe if there wasn't four of them, yeah. But how much moving would we want to do with them all at once? When we can just leave them like say in the bassinet or a playpen," Ema replied. "Oh, we'll have to look for some of those won't we?"
"Yes, but let's focus on the dispute we're having right now over the high chairs," Natsume said, "I still think stand alone ones would be a better choice."
"And I think the ones that go on the chairs are," Ema said.
Both took a deep breath and stared at each other from across the couch.
Juli gave a whistled.
"Hey guys, you both make a good point," he said jumping in between the two, "I think you should try asking some experts on the subject and aee what they think."
"And by experts, you mean...," Natsume said.
Juli nodded, "yep them. You know they'd be willing to help."
"Alright, well ask them," Natsume agreed. Ema nodded as well.
"Sorry we had such a fight," she mentioned softly.
"I wouldn't call it a flat out fight, just a strong disagreement. You have to understand we'll have many of those as time goes on in regards to our kids. Don't worry, we'll work it out," Natsume assured her, taking her hand.
"Why don't we put furniture search on hold fot now and focus on something else?"
"Okay, sure," Ema agreed with a smile. She started typing away, looking happy.
"What are you doing now?" Natsume asked.
"Looking up baby names," Ema said.
Natsume scoffed with a smile, "that's going to be something else I reckoned we'll have some disputes over."
"Do you have any suggestions?" Ema asked.
"Not off the top of my head," Natsume said, "but if I have one in mind I'll let you know."
He then got up from the couch, and headed over to his own computer desk to do his own work.
"Hey Natsume," Ema said after a while, "I have an idea of sorts in regards to helping to tell the babies apart."
"Hmm?" Natsume said from his computer.
"I've come up with a color for each baby depending what gender and what number they are," Ema said, "boy one can be red, boy two blue, boy three green and boy four black. And then with the girls, girl one can be purple, girl two pink, girl three yellow and girl four would be turquoise."
"So like that would be the colors they wear or something?" Natsume asked.
"Something like that, at least maybe get some of those baby hats or maybe even a bracelet of sorts with the colors to help keep tabs on which baby is which," Ema explained.
"That, might not be a bad idea," Natsume agreed, "we can work that out a little as we get closer or after they're actually born."
Ema nodded as she went back to her naming research.
As the evening drew onward, Natsume looked back over at his wife.
"What do you want dinner? I can try preparing something or order in," he asked.
"Hmm," was Ema's only reply, not looking up from her laptop.
"Ema?" Natsume asked as he walked over to her. Ema still didn't look up at him.
"Honey?" Natsume said again.
"Whatever you want dear, I'll get dinner ready in a moment," Ema finally said, though still not looking up at him.
"I'll handle dinner," Natsume said, "I just wanted to know, shall I make something or order something."
"I'm fine with either," Ema said, as she started typing some more.
"How's the names research going?" Natsume asked.
"Great," Ema said, I'm making lists of both boys and girls names, and I've tried combing them into list of four, keeping the ones I know I want usually at the top."
"Huh, may I see?" Natsume asked.
"Yes go right ahead," Ema said handing it off to him. The minute Natsume had it, Ema stood and pulled out her cellphone.
"Yes hello, I'd like to order D special with the soup. Just a small is fine. Yes and also, uh hang on. Natsume, I'm ordering from Goldie's, do you want their E meal or A?"
"Goldie's? I'll do an A this time," Natsume said, "with the shrimp this time."
"Okay, And A, with shrimp, medium," Ema said as she gave out the other information.
Natsume shook his head and began looking over Ema's list.
A lot of names looked nice.
Then he thought of something and began typing out something.
"What did you add?" Ema asked when she saw him.
"My own list idea. I used three names you've been using but added one of my own," Natsume said as he let her take a look.
"Oh! That's a lovely name! That would work perfectly!" Ema said excited. She squeezed Natsume's hand.
"If we have this combo, I'd want to use this list!"
"Yeah?" Natsume said with a smile.
In fact, I'm going to add this name to a few of the other combos! It's such a pretty name and I love the meaning. It fits us perfectly!" Ema said as she started to edit a few combo lists.
"It's was just a suggestion," Natsume said.
"Well it was a good suggestion," Ema said. "Speaking of which, did you see any of my picks you like?"
"Yeah, these two names you seem to like, I could see using them. We should truly use these two if we have at least two," Natsume said, highlighting the two he liked.
"Really? Those two? I'm so glad!" Ema said excited. "What about ones for the other gender?"
"Well, aside from the one I added, I, guess I kind of like this one, the other one in the combo. That's a good choice as well," Natsume insisted. "Any of the others, I can see working with."
"Any you don't like?" Ema asked.
"Can we not use the ones from Tsubaki and Haruhi's anime?" Natsume asked.
"What? They're nice names," Ema said.
"But if we use them, you know Tsubaki will never let it go!" Natsume complained.
"Well okay, but that's also the reasons they're usually at the bottom of the lists they're in," Ema pointed out.
She noticed Natsume's unpleasant face.
"Alright, if it means that much to you, I'll take them all out and see if I can find some decent replacements."
"Thank you," Natsume said, "of course I can't avoid that all the time. I'm sure there's plenty of names within these combos that are names of characters Tsubaki or even Azusa has voiced."
"Well, if there are, I didn't do it on purpose," Ema insisted.
"I know," Natsume said.
"Except for this one," Ema admitted, "I can't help it. It's from one of my favorite games! And he's a great character!"
Natsume looked at the name and gave a sigh.
"Yeah, I like that character too. And I'm sure I'll live if we choose that name for a son, even if Tsubaki has to rub it in."
"Thank you!" Ema said overjoyed.
'The simple things that can make a wife, especially a pregnant wife happy,' Natsume thought.
"Oh," he suddenly heard Ema say. He looked over and saw Cat Tsubaki and Cat Azusa rubbing up against her legs. They also ran over to him and rubbed against him too.
"Dinner time for them too huh?" he said as he walked over to the kitchen to prepare the cats' dinner.
"Do you think they'll get along okay with four babies?" Ema asked.
"I'm sure they'll be fine," Juli assured her, "I'll be there to help ease any tension they might feel when they arrive."
"Do you know how they're feeling now?" Natsume asked, putting down the food dishes.
"Eh, don't care really," Juli said, "They're just a little confused about why Chi's getting a little more fat in the mid-area."
Natsume patted the cats' heads as they are.
"Think they'll do okay in the new house?" Ema asked.
"Yeah, they'll like it, they can even go outside a little more easier before. All they can do here is go outside on the balcony. At the house they'll at least have a backyard they can run around and play in," Natsume said.
"You hear that guy's, the real outdoors for once," Juli said.
Both cats looked over at him.
"If the man of the house and his lovely lady is successful in getting a house for us, you can finally go out and hone in on your galleant hunting skills."
"Meow," Cat Tsubaki said eyeing Cat Azusa, both seeming intrigued by the notion.
"See? They're totally up for it," Juli said.
"I wonder how they'll be among all the babies," Ema said.
"They'll probably want to avoid them at all cost, especially Tsubaki," Juli said.
"Meow," Tsubaki meowed as though he was confirming Juli's prediction.
"Well as long as everyone can get along, I suppose," Natsume said, "last thing we'll need it a house full of babies is more chaos by and for the pets."
He rubbed the tops of his cats' heads some more.
"I've had these guys for a while and I'd hate to make them miserable even with the babies around."
Azusa rubbed his head against him in affection.
Ema looked on touched by the way her husband was expressing his love and concern for his pets.
Not that she blamed him. She'd be lying if she claimed she wasn't concerned about the cats' wellbeing once the babies came.
'Promise me you'll be nice to Azusa and Tsubaki once you're all old enough to maybe play with them or something,' she told them in thought.
Suddenly she let out a moan of slight pain.
"What? What's wrong?" Natsume asked as he ran over to her.
"It's the babies, one or more are moving!" Ema said, as she took a deep breath.
"Oh?" Natsume asked.
"Right here," Ema said as she guided her husband's hand around her belly.
"Oh yeah, I felt it," Natsume said. He actually smiled at the notion.
'They're really are growing, aren't they? This is getting more closer to reality, our reality,' he thought.
He still smiled at Ema, assuring he was ready and happy with the whole thing.