Ohmygosh. Thanks for the reviews :D it really made my day. I shall continue to strive hard and make my story better. I also spotted a couple of grammatical mistake O.O Thanks for pointing it out sheepfonfon (: This is my first story so please be patient…
I've included more stuff and the story will follow the original rather closely from now on. They may appear rather OOC but I'll try to stick to their main personalities as much as possible :D
Since I'm refining my story, I changed the plot a little but nothing changed overall. Hahaha. Have fun reading (:
Chapter 2 : Settling In
The hospital was a quiet and cold place. Tsukimori leaned back and rested his head on the bleached white wall. Uncrossing his arms, he reached for his handphone. Flipping it open, he pressed the speed dial to the mayor's office. It rang a couple of times before the mayor picked it up.
"Len-kun! My, it's been such a long time. How's the practice coming along?"
The mayor's voice was old but wise. Tsukimori could just imagine him sitting in his leather chair with his desk neatly piled with papers. On his left a golden paperweight would sit on top of a stack.
"I have a favor to ask of you," Tsukimori said.
"Oh? That's rare, what is it?"
Tsukimori told him about his decision to adopt the children. He reminded the mayor to keep it a low profile and specially requested for the mayor to investigate Light Orphanage without their knowing.
"Are you sure about this? I appreciate your good intention to help these children but adopting a child is a great responsibility! And mind you, you want to adopt six?"
The mayor chuckled in disbelief.
"You know me, I'm a prudent guy when it comes to making life-changing decisions," Tsukimori remarked.
The mayor paused for a while before he asked, "You do know the press will find out sooner or later. When they do, what will you say?"
"I'll think of something when that happens," Tsukimori replied.
"Very well. I'll send you their details later in the afternoon."
Tsukimori thanked him before clicking off his phone.
The children were playing a game on the floor. Kazuki and Kahoko held up their hands to make picture of animals while Keichi tried to guess.
"A spider!"
"No, no. it's a butterfly!"
"It looks like a spider."
"It's a pretty butterfly! Isn't it Kazuki?"
Kazuki cocked his head and studied the shape. Finally he said, "Looks like a bird."
A nurse went up to them and gently told them to keep quiet, placing a finger over her lips. The children copied her, placing their own fingers on their lips. Tsukimori couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous they look.
As he continued to watch, a doctor in a white coat walked up to him. "Is the girl yours?" he asked.
"Yes, is her condition serious?" Tsukimori asked.
"She's fine. She just needs to rest, that's all. And eat more, she's so skinny. She'll have to stay here for a couple of days. I'll give you a call when she's ready to be discharged."
Tsukimori thanked him and herded the children into the room to see Shouko.
As she lay asleep on her bed, Len could see the faint rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. A tube was stuck to her hand. Tsukimori gently placed his hand on her head and patted a couple of times. The children took turns to say their wishes and blessings before Tsukimori led them out of the room again.
"Come on, let's go home."
"Where?" Kazuki asked.
"My house," Len turned and smiled at him.
"Then can we call you Len-nii?" Kahoko looked at him with eyes full of wonder and innocence. As Len looked into her eyes, his mind drifted down his memory lane to the time when he was six and he was eating with his parents. Addressing them as Mother and Father, he always put up an air of formality whenever he was around them. He never remembered a time when he had called his Mother Mom or Mommy. It was always Mother.
"Yes you may."
Maybe it was time for a change.
The children chanted his name throughout the entire journey home. Len-nii! Len-nii! Len-nii! Ryoutaro tried to shush them, while Azuma sat silently at one corner, laughing at their childishness. As the children's voices resonated in his ears, Len couldn't help but let a little smile escape from the corner of his mouth.
Opening the front door, the family was greeted by the housekeeper. She was a fairly plump woman and her chocolate hair was tied up into a bun. She wore an apron over her blue dress.
"Tsukimori-san. Welcome home. The mayor told me about the news," she said as she gazed her amber eyes upon the children.
The glass shards had been swept away and a pail stood in the middle of the hall. She was standing on a ladder with a rag in hand, scrubbing at the ceiling.
"Housekeeper-san?" Kazuki called.
"Yes?"
"We're really sorry you had to clean our mess," he said as he looked down guiltily.
"Housekeeper-san, what's your name? I'm Hino Kahoko!" Kahoko beamed.
"Orichi Megumi, but you can call me Megumi-san," she smiled at them. "By the way, as of now, all of you will be Tsukimori right?"
"Tsu-ki-mo-ri…" Keichi rolled the word around his tongue. Testing it every now and then.
"It's a mouthful," he finally said.
"I like it! It's longer that Hino!"
"Tsukimori sounds like Ski-Moh-Ree when you say it fast, like this!
"Tsukimoritsukimoritsukimori!" Kazuki laughed when he realized how ridiculous it sounded. The rest then joined in, laughing as they tried to further disfigure the word. God, they're making fun of my name, Tsukimori thought.
Azuma turned to the three kids and said gently, "You should help Megumi-san clean the mess since you all made it." "But I didn't do anything," Shimizu gazed his half-open blue eyes at Azuma. "You covered my phone in honey," Tsukimori reminded him sternly. "Ahh… Now I remember…"
The children then picked up the rags and started to clean the stains. Chanting the new word as they worked. Azuma took a mop and washed the kitchen floor while the younger three scrubbed the walls. Ryoutaro was busy taking down the torn curtains when Kahoko peeped from behind a wall and asked, "Len-nii, why aren't you helping?"
Len stood helpless and stared at the mess. It had been such a long time since he touched a broom or did any housework besides washing the dishes and cooking. Megumi did the rest. Looking around for something to do, he spotted his jam-stained sofa. At least I remember how to change my sofa cover, Len scratched his head thoughtfully. He walked over to the sofa and searched for the zip. After some time, he realized with relief that his housework skills weren't so rusty after all.
When they were done, the house was in a better condition than before. Though it was far from the original. The stains on the walls were unable to completely come off and the ceiling had a couple of white splotches. The sofa sat naked on a bare floor and the curtains were gone. In the middle of it all lay a missing glass table. They had taken the entire morning to clean it up.
Looking around, Len mentally penned down a couple of things. New curtain, new sofa cover, new paint coating, new table… His eyes drifted to the children and realized with horror that they still had stains from this morning's food fight. Len added a last thing to his list. Bubble bath for the children.
"Megumi, could you please go out and buy some clothes and furniture? You can use my car,"
Tsukimori said as he took out a credit card from his wallet.
"Which one?"
"The Mercedes. That car is slightly bigger."
Megumi buttoned up her coat and wrapped the scarf tightly around her neck. She opened the door and a cold bitter wind howled into her face. Closing the door behind her, Tsukimori could hear the garage open. He then turned to the children and announced, "Okay! Bath time!" What happen next drove Tsukimori up the wall.
The three young children screamed and scrambled away. "No! No bath! I hate bath time!" Kazuki shouted as he dived for the sofa. "Oi! Don't wipe your face on my cushion!" Len shouted. Keichi struggled to hide in a large vase while Ryoutaro and Azuma grabbed Kahoko before she could climb up onto the top shelf. When they had finally rounded up the children, they marched upstairs. Len held a kicking and bawling kid under each arm while Ryoutaro and Azuma struggled to avoid getting hit by Kahoko.
"I hate bath time. The water's cold and the soap stinks!" Kazuki complained.
No wonder they hate it. Tsukimori thought as he remembered that they came from an orphanage that didn't care about the children's well-being.
"You don't have to worry. The water here is warm and the soap smells really nice," Len said.
"Like flowers?" Kahoko asked.
Len bent down till he was an inch away from her face. "Better than flowers."
The three children struggled free and scrambled to the bathroom, letting out a cry of astonishment as their eyes darted from the ceramic bath tub to the flora shower curtains to the marbled flooring.
"This smells really good. Can I eat it?" Kazuki asked as he prepared to place the bar of soap in his mouth.
"Ahh! You can't eat soap! Put it down!" Len frantically snatched it away.
Getting the children to shower was an easier task than he had thought. While they splashed around in the tub, Len explained the different types of soap to them.
"This is body soap," picking up a bar of Dove. "This is shampoo, for your hair."
Kazuki clutched the bottle and flipped open the top.
"This smells nice too! Can I drink it?"
"No, you can't drink shampoo either," Len quickly grabbed it before the young boy could pour the liquid into his mouth.
As the three children enjoyed a bubble bath upstairs, Ryoutaro and Azuma used the two toilets downstairs. Leaving the three children in the bathroom, Len walked into the kitchen to prepare lunch. He noticed that the sun was high by then and the wind had clamed down. The air was cold but refreshing. Taking care of these children is really giving me a headache. Rubbing his forehead in pain, Len poured some rice into the rice cooker.
A little while later, Megumi returned with a dozen plastic bags. Len was cooking in the kitchen when he heard the door open.
"Megumi, could you take over the kitchen? I'll bring the clothes and towels to the children," Len wiped his hands on a cloth and took the bags from her.
Ryoutaro and Azuma quickly dressed, but the three children were reluctant to come out. First they don't want to bathe; now they don't want to get out. Len rolled his eyes. As he tried to convince them that staying in the water for too long would make their skin wrinkly, a waft of aroma drifted in. The lovely smell hit the roof of their mouths as the three children took in a deep breath.
"Lunch!" Kazuki shouted.
The three children grabbed the towels, wiped themselves, threw on their clothes and flew downstairs.
By the time Len reaching the dining room, the children were already having seconds. Len clutched the plastic bag of dirty clothes and tossed them into the recycle bin outside.
"Megumi-san! Your cooking's really good!" Kahoko praised.
"Thank you," Megumi smiled. "Here, take more." She scooped up some more vegetables and placed them on Kahoko's plate.
Following lunch, the children were split into their rooms when Kahoko ran into Len's room.
"Len-nii! You have a piano? Awesome!" She stood beneath the upright piano, her shining eyes gazing upon the musical instrument.
"Ryou-nii, play something!" Kazuki urged.
"Ryoutaro can play the piano?" Len was greatly surprised.
"Not really, I just know one tune," Ryoutaro said as he traced his fingers on the keys. Then he sat down, took a deep breath, and began to play. It was a slow and touching song. Ryoutaro's fingers skillfully ran down the keys. Len had never heard of a more beautiful melody.
Ryoutaro finished and gave a little bow, the children clapped and Kazuki gave a little whistle.
"Would you like to continue playing the piano?" Len asked.
Ryoutaro looked at him, surprised. Then he looked at the piano and Len could see the longing and passion to play more in Ryoutaro's eyes.
"My mom used to play the piano, and she taught me that song," Ryoutaro explained.
Len smiled and ruffled his hair.
"I think she would be proud if her son continued in her passion."
Ryoutaro gave a bashful smile and nodded his head in gratitude.
"Awesome, Ryou-nii's gonna be a pianist? I wanna learn too!" Kazuki said as he propped himself on up on the piano and raised his hands. Then he came down with a loud discord.
"I think you have a long way to go," Keichi said calmly.
For the rest of the afternoon, the children watched television and learnt how to use a remote control for the first time in their lives. Megumi and Len painted the stained walls and ceiling and were putting up the new curtain when the delivery for the new table arrived. Before Megumi left, she made some dinner and left them in the oven.
Dinner was noisy but it somehow made the whole house livelier. When it was bedtime, the children's rooms were still empty because the youngest three had crammed into Len's bed while the older two slept on the sofa. They were just not used to sleeping alone.
The next morning, Len woke up to find that his face had been painted pink.
A few weeks had passed since the children came to the home, and the house was changed in so many ways. The children were finally putting on weight and no longer looked scrawny and lethargic. There were also new furniture for the children's rooms and Len even had to resort to buying a second fridge just to feed the children. There were also 2 new washing machines to accommodate the sudden increase in clothes and outside the door lay 6 more pairs of shoes.
Megumi came more often than she ever did to help out with house-upkeep and meals. On the day Shouko was discharged, the whole gang went to the hospital to receive her. With Shouko, the family was now complete. As they started to adapt to their new surrounding, new rules and regulations had been set. A piece of paper was stuck to the fridge with a magnet and the children had to recite it every morning.
"We will not run in the house. We will not have food fights. We will not play with water or fire. We will not destroy the house. We will not draw on Len-nii's face when he's asleep. We will be good children in this house so that Len-nii will have fewer headaches. If we are good, Len-nii will reward us with stars and we can use them to redeem things that we want." Next to the paper was a chart that showed how many stars each child had. Ryoutaro had the most while Kazuki and Kahoko only had a few.
Each day Len learnt to accept the nosiness and absence of peace and quiet in his house. And each day the children learnt more about the outside world through helping out or watching television. At the beginning, it almost seemed impossible for Len to put up with them until they found their parents, but now, Len was starting to feel as if they had become a part of him. They had become unbearable to live with yet impossible to live without. They had become family.
Phew. I finally finished this chapter. I realized I kinda dragged this chap abit. I now refer to Tsukimori as Len so as not to confuse the name with the other children. Haha. Stay tuned for Chap 3 (: A new threat will be revealed!