Neji smiled as he entered the main bedroom. He set the tray of herring soba, water, peach juice and mitarashi dango next to Chiaki and knelt by her side. He observed as Chiaki gently rubbed Hikari's small back, and heard the tiniest burp emerge from the infant's mouth. Satisfied with the sound his girlfriend then passed the newborn off to him, keeping her one hand supporting the infant's back and the other at her neck until his arms replaced her hands. Neji smiled sweetly at the newborn as he cuddled her close to himself and softly called to her, "hello again, Hikari. Did you enjoy your lunch?"
He glanced to Chiaki sharing a smile and a chaste kiss with her while he gently positioned the baby comfortably in his arms.
The infant didn't verbally respond but seemed to scrunch up her face and make another suckling motion with her mouth. He lightly chuckled as he mimicked her before advising her as he cautiously stood up, "it's time for Mommy to have hers now, so you get to have time with Daddy, and some new people too. You're going to meet your big sister Suzume, and your big cousin Tetsuya."
H e heard Chiaki moving the bed tray with the food closer to herself so she could eat. He made his way back into the main room, where the others were currently gathered around the table. To his surprise Nanao had not only remained, but stood up from her seat when she saw him and approached with her arms out for Hikari as she proposed, "Let me take her. You eat with them, and once you're all done you'll get Hikari back. I'll stay close by so if she fusses you can take her."
Neji hesitated for a moment before conceding, "Alright. The moment she gets fussy though, she comes back to me."
"Understood," Nanao confirmed as she accepted the newborn from Neji. He smiled as he sat down with Tetsuya and Suzume, the three of them began to eat while Nanao quietly held the newborn, smiling at the little girl.
"Oh, Suz has shinigami powers," Tetsuya announced.
"What's this? I take it they're manifesting," Neji replied, taking in a mouthful of his lunch.
The young girl eyed her herring soba, and took a rather large portion into her mouth to keep from answering right away.
"They certainly are," Nanao answered as she looked the white eyed man and added, "she randomly popped up in my room last night. I'd set them both up in the living room, but apparently Suzume decided she wanted to sleep in my room instead."
Neji did his best to contain any amusement until he'd swallowed the bite of food he'd taken. So from the sounds of things, his eldest daughter was manifesting powers that were shadow based. In that moment he actually wished for Shikamaru Nara to appear and offer to train the girl, even though shadow jutsu and shinigami powers were inarguably different. He knew that much, but perhaps the shinobi genius would be able to figure out a way to train her effectively.
"That's the tricky thing about Zanpakuto spirits, they're unique to each shinigami so while some may have similarities, like Lieutenant Matsumoto and the Squad six Captain's shikai—both involve the Zanpakuto blade dissolving into small objects to use for combat—they're still different," Nanao revealed.
At this Neji looked to Nanao and inquired, "I've never seen you with a Zanpakuto?"
"I don't have one. At least, not a traditional one, it's supposedly a family 'curse' that's been passed down for generations in my mother's family. Our soul is unable to imprint upon the Ausauchi that's given to training Shinigami. So we have a family heirloom Zanpakuto," the bespeckled Lieutenant informed him while he bit into the mitarashi dango.
"That's interesting," Neji admitted as he finished his lunch. Nanao smiled as she offered Hikari to him, he readily accepted the infant from her, and cuddled her close to himself while he took another bite of his dango.
"I should be heading back, at least you were all able to eat lunch while she slept," Nanao advised as she stood up. Tetsuya also stood up from his seat, offering to walk Nanao out the door. Smiling at this the Lieutenant commented on how he was growing into a well mannered young man.
Neji smiled with pride at that remark, although he knew it was mostly Chiaki's effort in raising him, the boy was definitely being brought up right. He knew his contribution to this accomplishment was small, but it still caused a sense of pride to swell within the former Shinobi.
Suzume scooted over closer to Neji and smiled as she watched Hikari's small face. She took in the infant's dark eyebrows and long eyelashes, the cute button nose, the plump lips and the shape of her face. Smiling, the older girl looked to Neji and remarked, "she really looks like both of you."
Neji smiled and nodded in agreement, "yes. She has Chiaki's eyes, my hair colour, Chiaki's facial structure, she gets her lips from my side of the family. They're similar to my cousin's, and I suppose she got her lips from our grandmother."
"It's amazing," Suzume breathed as she watched her new sibling, shift her arms and stretch out in her sleep. Neji silently observed her and looked to Suzume, "when she wakes up, do you want to try holding her?"
"Yeah, if it's okay," Suzume replied, the slight tensing of her jaw, and the way she began to fidget with her hands, Neji realized the idea made her as excited as it did nervous.
"Of course," he confirmed, he sipped his water then added, "I'll be right there with you both, so there's nothing to be nervous of."
Suzume relaxed a little and smiled broader as she nodded her head in acknowledgement. Tetsuya returned from seeing Nanao out the door and sat on the other side of Neji, adoringly observing the newest family member.
"She looks so much like Aunt Chiaki," he remarked. Neji smiled as he added, "yes, she does indeed take after her mother."
"You know, lazing about in bed sounds nice—until you realize it really hurts to sit," a familiar voice stated from the doorway. The three turned their heads and saw Chiaki standing outside of the master bedroom. She had a thin yellow haori wrapped around her red kimono. Her normally peach skin wasn't as radiant as it normally was. She was pale, and a little unsteady on her feet. In a blink Tetsuya stood up and walked over to his Aunt, offering her his hand. She readily accepted and walked over to the others, Tetsuya on alert, ready to grasp her if she stumbled.
Neji smiled at the sight as he remarked, "you're looking better than yesterday."
"You try pushing a melon through an egg and see how great you look after," she scoffed. He winced at the idea.
