~Two and a half months later~


"Hajime! Master Kazuma! It's almost time to leave, are you just about ready?"

Tohru stood at the kitchen counter, Katsuro dozing in one arm while she finished packing some bottles into the diaper bag with the other. Almost immediately after her call she heard the familiar 'crash' of a door thrown open and hitting a doorstop, and she couldn't help but wince at the sound.

One of these days, her son would learn how to open the doors nicely...

"And by then, I'm sure you'll be slamming them open, too," she said, looking down at the sleeping baby in her arm.

Hajime came charging down the hall into the kitchen from the exercise room, where he'd been playing with Kazuma. "I'm ready, Mommy! Granpa and I were prac-ti-cing, just like Daddy!"

Kazuma held up his hands at the look Tohru gave him as he walked into the kitchen behind Hajime. "I didn't show him anything, Tohru, you have my word."

And she sighed, dismissing the assurance with a shake of her head. "I'm sure you didn't, Master Kazuma; believe me, I know that this is entirely on Kyo," she commented, watching as Hajime ran around the kitchen island, punching and kicking as he went.

Kazuma chuckled, taking the baby so that Tohru could use both hands to finish packing the diaper bag. "I'm afraid it's a bit of an occupational hazard, having Hajime be so interested."

"That's certainly the case lately; I feel like all of a sudden Hajime can't get enough of the idea of karate," Tohru said with another sigh. Kyo had promised that he wouldn't intentionally teach Hajime anything until he was five, or close enough that Tohru trusted Hajime's control, and she was sure Kyo had kept his word.

But that hadn't stopped Hajime from watching, and it was a little hard to reign in his enthusiasm.

As Hajime let fly another kick, Kazuma glanced at Tohru. "Would it help at all to tell you I think he has promise?"

Tohru snorted, and Kazuma burst out laughing. "I'll take that as a 'no,' then...but I really do think that."

"He can have all the promise he wants, when he's older," Tohru said emphatically as she zipped the bag closed. "But I know it's wishful thinking to expect him to stop, anytime soon."

"That's likely true," Kazuma said with a smile, passing Katsuro back to Tohru so she could slip him into the baby carrier. "Hajime, would you like to hold my hand?"

Hajime immediately bounded up to Kazuma, his eyes shining. "Yes! I hold your hand, Granpa, and Mommy hold Katsuro's hand! Except not, 'cause he's jus' a baby, Granpa,"

"Yes, he certainly is," Kazuma said, chuckling. "And you are not."

"Nope! I'm a biiiiiig kid, Granpa!"

Kazuma grabbed the bag off the counter and took Hajime over to the entryway, where they both put on their shoes. Tohru followed, slipping on her own, then they all stepped outside into the humid heat of August.

"Well, at least there's a breeze today," Kazuma said cheerfully, and Tohru sighed as she locked the front door.

"I'm so sorry we have to walk, Master Kazuma. I really do plan to look into getting my driver's license sometime soon, hopefully while I'm on childcare leave this year. Now that we have the two kids, it really seems like a smart decision...and it would be nice, today," she said ruefully.

"Don't worry about it, Tohru, I'll be fine. And I can carry Hajime, if he gets tired or hot," Kazuma said, smiling down at his grandson.

Hajime puffed up indignantly. "I'm not tired, Granpa, I'm big and strong!"

"Of course you are, but if you do get tired, Grandpa will help you."

"'Cause family takes care of each other, right Granpa?"

"That's right," Kazuma said, smiling as he caught Tohru's eye.

Tohru looked away for a moment, hastily wiping at her eyes. Then she smiled, turning back to Hajime and Kazuma. "Alright, are we all set?"

"I think we are."

"Ready, Mommy!"

"Then let's go to the festival!"

"An' see Daddy fight!"

Kazuma had to struggle not to laugh at both Hajime's enthusiasm and Tohru's pained look, almost failing but managing to turn the laugh into a cough at the last minute. And after a moment, Tohru had to smile herself, reaching out and smoothing Hajime's hair.

"Yes, Hajime, we're going to see Daddy fight. But you have to make sure you remember the rules: we are watching the fights, we are not punching and kicking while we watch. We need to be careful around other people, ok?"

Hajime groaned, dragging on Kazuma's hand. "But Mooooooommy-"

"-And you can be in charge of telling Katsuro what we're watching, ok Hajime? Katsuro's never been to a festival before, or an exhibition!"

Hajime's eyes rounded, and he straightened up excitedly. "Yeah! I can tell him allllll the things! 'Cause he's a baby an' he don't know!" He looked from Tohru to Kazuma, beaming. "But I'm a biiiig kid, an' I do. So I can tell him, an' he will, too!"

Tohru was beaming now, the undisguised excitement in Hajime's voice at the prospect of educating his brother an absolute delight. She had been nervous, once, about how it would go to adjust to a new family member. About whether Hajime would be jealous, or resentful; about whether she and Kyo would be overwhelmed. Whether they'd be able to manage.

Things weren't perfect, and she had to acknowledge they'd probably never be. But overall...things were good. All of them. There might be a little jealousy, but there was a lot more love. There might be exhaustion, but there were still smiles. She might not have as much time right now as she used to have...but she had enough.

And they all, finally, had enough space.

"Jus' you wait, Katsuro; we getta see Daddy fight!"


Author's note: Thank you so much for reading!