TWO
The sun shines brightly like a ball of fire at the white marble and stoned Nakahara mansion. It was not just an ordinary mansion but it was a student's boarding house for four handsome youths and a creepy girl named Sunako Nakahara.
"Itadakimasu!"
They all feasted on today's breakfast.
"So what are we supposed to do with the baby?" Yuki asked, grabbing his glass of orange juice.
"You heard Sunako last night; she wants to take care of the baby. It would mean also that we will keep him," Ranmaru answered.
"Yeah, but that would also mean additional expenses!" Kyouhei retorted, filling his mouth with fried shrimp.
He sure is disgusting! Ranmaru thought, taking a glance at Kyouhei.
"But we still don't know the whereabouts of the baby's parents nor their identity. It was really mysterious for someone to give their baby away. And they will soon 'return'?" Takenaga said with his as-a-matter-of-fact look. "I think we'd better consult this to Oba-chan."
"But, would that be okay? What I mean is who's going to take care of the baby?" Ranmaru asked.
"I will," Sunako answered, interrupting their discussion. She was carrying a tray with her meals and a small bowl of mashed carrots; she then places it in the dinning table and then grabbed a chair. For once, she decided that she will be joining the boys with their meals.
Was she standing there all the time we had our conversation? The four boys gawked as Sunako appeared to them.
"But wouldn't it be bothersome for you Sunako? You can't simply handle doing all the chores and taking care of Ruu at the same time!" Yuki bluntly said.
"I can handle that" Sunako replied monotonously, turning her back and headed towards the door, leaving the four boys eating their hearty meal.
"It doesn't matter, as long as she's happy with the baby. That's fine with me. And besides its school break, don't you think we should take turns with the household chores and baby sitting?" Kyouhei suggested in a serious tone. Indeed, it was their school break, it happens once a year after their second quarter final examinations. Then he continued on eating, stuffing his mouth with as much food he could fill in. Damn! This is delicious! I'm so hungry!
"Ooohhh…Kyouhei! You really are the only one who could understand Sunako's feelings. It's LOVE!" the boys ogled. Still, you are disgusting!
Kyouhei sat there, ignoring them. He glanced at Sunako, who returned to the dinning room and now carrying the baby. She was on her normal mode. She finally sits on her chair, placed the baby on her lap, and tied a napkin around the baby's neck. She started feeding the baby, who heartily accepted it. At the corner of Kyouhei's eyes, he saw Sunako smiling. Seeing this, a smile formed from his mouth.
That very morning, they all gathered in the living room except for Sunako who was taking a bath with baby Ruu. Takenaga called up Oba-chan, turned on the loud speaker, and placed his phone on the table so that everyone could hear her. He told her everything, the night that they found the baby at their residence.
"Eh? So you found a baby?"
"Yes Auntie but…" Takenaga stopped; he was still gathering all his strength for his proposal.
"You can use the nursery at the second floor. It's on the left wing." Oba-chan interrupted.
"We have a nursery room in here?" the boys shouted. She sure knows how to surprise everyone. They can still remember last year's summer when Oba-chan told them about the mansion's swimming pool.
"Sunako would be delighted if she heard that!" Yuki exclaimed.
"Ho ho ho ho… My niece is really a lady! A lady sure knows how to take care of kids," the landlady was laughing loudly. "When my ex-husband and I moved in to the mansion, we decided to make a room for our future children," she sobbed, remembering her deceased husband. "Oh well, that was the past…Ho ho ho ho!" she continued on laughing, still excited about her niece's transformation.
"Ahh…Auntie there's also another reason why I called you," Takenaga interrupted.
"Eh? And what's that?"
"We wanted to know the identity of the baby's parents. And if it is not that quite bothersome, we would like to ask your help." Takenaga started explaining.
"And with your wide connection and beautiful expertise, we know that you could help us." Ranmaru complimented her using his sexy voice.
"Is that all? Ho ho ho ho…okay!" she agreed easily. She loves hearing words of compliment about her.
"Thank you, Auntie," the boys chorused.
"You're welcome. I beg your pardon boys but I still have to attend a party in Italy. Tell Sunako that I miss her. Arrivederci!" With that, she ended the call.
"You know what, Auntie may be right. Sunako could turn out into a lady after all. The baby's presence is a blessing in disguise," Ranmaru thought, holding his chin.
"You may be right Ranmaru," Takenaga seconded, picking up his phone. "Ever since the baby came, I've seen Sunako smiling. It's quite rare to see Sunako smile, though she smiles whenever she sees or thinks anything that interests her."
"Then this could mean…" Yuki and Kyouhei continued.
"FREE RENT! YEAH!" the boys squealed, jumping for joy.
"Though it's kind of pretty creepy when that baby starts calling her 'Mama'," Kyouhei assumed, almost giggling about the fact.
"Hey! That's not a good joke Kyouhei," Yuki defended, although the thought of it made him scare.
"I think you'll also have to prepare yourself that baby Ruu will soon call you 'Papa'," Takenaga declared, pointing at Kyouhei. He didn't continue on what he was about to say since it was his, Ranmaru's and Yuki's secret that Ruu's parents looked like Kyouhei and Sunako. They don't want to spoil the excitement.
"That's right! Kyouhei and Sunako with their baby…ooohhh…a picture of a perfect family," Ranmaru ogled while dancing around the room. He then grabs Yuki's hand and imitates Kyouhei's voice, "Sunako, my love, I'll do my best to be a good father and a loving husband."
Knowing this as a hint to make fun of Kyouhei, Yuki readily joined in Ranmaru's act and mimics Sunako's voice, "Kyouhei, sweetheart, I'll also do my best for you and our baby."
"I love you Sunako."
"I love you too Kyouhei." They both pouted their lips acting like they were about to kiss and then they both turned to Kyouhei and pointed at him, "That's how a husband and a father should be!"
"Ha! You've never been a father yourself, how would you know these things?" Kyouhei indignantly shouted.
"True. But I was once a father to Rin," Ranmaru uttered. Rin was an energetic kid who showed up at the Nakahara mansion and recognized Ranmaru as his father.
"I do have younger siblings," Yuki reminded him.
And I don't know about babies. Takenaga thought, squinting at them.
"Da-da, da-da," the three boys started to chant.
"Cut it out!" Kyouhei snapped, and knocked the boys on their heads.
"Ouch!" they all yelped, touching their heads.
"You deserve it!" Kyouhei let out his tongue and laughed at them.
For sometime, the boys kept on arguing until Sunako entered the room. She was wearing her usual pants and sweatshirt. In her arms was baby Ruu who was wearing a shirt, too large for him, which Sunako found at Oba-chan's room.
"Don't you love the bath baby Ruu?" Sunako asked, talking to baby Ruu. She placed her index finger at baby Ruu's nose, who grabbed it and seems to like the attention he's getting.
It was really unusual for the boys to see Sunako acting like a lady, no, more likely as a mother. Seeing this, the boys started to cry. Sunako's turning into a lady! Yey! Free rent!
"Hey Sunako, it's almost lunch. You should be cooking now," Kyouhei ordered. He approached her and said, "I'll hold him for you while you dry up your hair." He looked at Ruu, who excitedly tries to reach Kyouhei.
"Okay." Sunako accepted the offer and gave the baby to Kyouhei and gave him a death glare. Kyouhei saw it and simply ignored it, accepting the baby well. Upon being held, baby Ruu touches Kyouhei's face and coos.
"He seems to like you Kyouhei," Yuki smiled. He walks toward them and smiled at Baby Ruu, who also smiled back.
"Sunako, Auntie said that we could use the nursery room at the second floor," Takenaga said before Sunako could leave the room.
"A nursery room?" Sunako looked surprised. She wasn't sure if she would believe what she just heard.
"You know Auntie, she always wants to surprise us," Ranmaru emphasized Oba-chan's love for surprise. Whenever she comes home and visits them, she always takes it by surprise.
"Da-da"
Sunako, Ranmaru, and Takenaga turned their backs to see where the voice came from.
"Da-da"
The voice came from baby Ruu, who was touching Kyouhei's face even though Kyouhei looked surprised.
"Da-da," Baby Ruu repeated and squealed.
"He…he…he just called Kyouhei 'da-da'," Yuki was dumbstruck.
"Shut up! Babies can say 'da-da' to anyone!" Kyouhei snapped. "You hold him, he'll also call you 'da-da'," he handed over baby Ruu to Yuki.
To Kyouhei's disappointment, Ruu didn't say anything when Yuki cuddled him. Instead, Ruu reached his hands out to Kyouhei, "Da-da."
"Takenaga, can babies talk at six months old?" Ranmaru asked the dark-haired guy beside him.
"I don't know." Takenaga replied. "I haven't read about babies."
"Ohhh…" Ranmaru remembered the day when Rin called him Daddy. "Then, Ruu recognizes Kyouhei as his father," Ranmaru assumed and glanced at Kyouhei, who held Ruu and handed Ruu over to him.
"You hold him," Kyouhei glared at him. "You said you were a father once!"
"But Rin was a kid, not a baby!" Ranmaru objected.
Baby Ruu was hanging there as Kyouhei was holding him since Ranmaru didn't accept to held him. Until he saw Ruu was about to cry.
"Here," Ranmaru passed baby Ruu to Takenaga, "You know everything, so must know anything about babies." Ranmaru said, while brushing his hair with his fingers.
"That's not the point!" Takenaga and Kyouhei yelled. Takenaga was holding Ruu who keeps on stretching his hands to Kyouhei and almost like crying.
Seeing this, Sunako scowled at the four boys and darkness emerged behind her. Yuki identified it easily, and looked at her, which caused him to frighten.
"Guys…guys…I think you'd better stop it," Yuki startled, trying to interrupt the boys from their fight.
"What?" the three boys glared at Yuki, who was trembling, pointing at Sunako. But before they could turn their faces to Sunako, baby Ruu started crying, which stopped Sunako from doing something evil and scary. Sunako immediately took Ruu from Takenaga, and held him closely into her arms, comforting him. Ruu, then turned to Kyouhei, again, he stretched his hands out to him.
"Da-da," Ruu said, still teary-eyed.
"You'd better accept it Kyouhei. Ruu acknowledges you as his father," Takenaga said.
"Da-da." Hearing this, Kyouhei grabbed baby Ruu from Sunako and held him into his arms, which made baby Ruu smiled.
"And besides, you looked like his father," Yuki exclaimed, which he received a don't-spill-it and death glare look from Takenaga and Ranmaru.
"Eh?"
"What he means is…look at you…Ruu has brown eyes, long lashes, and blonde hair. He really is a resemblance of you," Ranmaru explained. I hope he gets it and doesn't think anything suspiciously.
"Whoa! You're right!" Sunako awed, looking at Kyouhei and Ruu. "You are his father! You left him outside last night!" Sunako continued, accusing Kyouhei.
"You're talking nonsense!" Kyouhei retorted.
"Mama" Ruu squealed, this time, reaching out to Sunako.
"What?" this time, they all looked at Ruu and Sunako, their jaws dropped.
"Mama"
"Hahahaha…He sees you as his mother!" Kyouhei mocked her, never thought that what he just said would mean something else.
Takenaga, Ranmaru, and Yuki looked at them and they thought of a plan that would surely make Kyouhei and Sunako hate them. If Sunako's the mother and Kyouhei's the father, this would mean a chance of LOVE between the two and if baby Ruu's the reason that Sunako could turn into a lady. We hit the jackpot! "So it is settled then, Kyouhei would be Ruu's father and Sunako would be the mother!" Takenaga, Ranmaru, and Yuki announced.
Sunako and Kyouhei looked at them. "You're not serious, are you?" they both clarified what they just heard.
"You two lovebirds will act as Ruu's parents for the meantime until we could find his real parents," Takenaga explained while Ranmaru and Yuki grinned. They liked the whole concept.
"NOOOOOO!..." Sunako and Kyouhei screamed, and dropped to the floor, laying there like two dead bodies. Baby Ruu, who was now on top of Kyouhei's body, looked at Kyouhei and crawled towards Sunako. "Da-da, Mama."
"Don't you love your Mama and Papa?" Yuki asked, kneeling down.
"Kyaaa…Mama, Da-da," Ruu squealed, clapping.
This can't be…I'm too young to be a parent… Kyouhei and Sunako thought, still frozen and lying there.
Notes:
Arrivederci: it means goodbye in Italian.
Babies can't talk at six months, normally they can speak Mama & Da-da at 10-11 months, I made it that way to make it more exciting besides Ruu looks like a smart baby. Hehe…
Rin and the swimming pool in the mansion are both mentioned in the manga. ^_^
I would like to thank those who read and reviewed my works. Thanks a lot!