It's All About Haruko, Baby

Chapter 7
Day 5

Splash!

"Ugh! Haruko, hold still!" Naota shouted as he and Eri sat on the bathroom floor, attempting as best they could to give their young charge a bath.

"You're kind of cute when you're angry," Eri chuckled, causing Naota to groan.

"Not helping!" Naota turned back to the infant in the bathtub, still struggling to keep Haruko under control. With a childish laugh, Haruko began to kick her legs, sending water flying all over those who were bathing her.

"I think we're getting wetter than she is," Eri joked, having to raise her voice slightly to be heard over Haruko's tittering and splashing. Naota silently wondered if she realized that this wasn't exactly a good thing.

Naota scowled, then reached over towards the shampoo. Fortunately, despite the difficulties they had already done everything needed but wash her hair. Unfortunately, however, neither realized just how hard this was going to be.

"Ow!" Haruko had smashed his hand into the faucet! That sealed it: he was i so /i going to kill her when she returned to normal. A now furious Naota sent his other hand for the shampoo bottle and succeeded in reaching it this time, only to immediately catch a blast of water contaminated by both soap and what all had been cleaned off Haruko, flung directly into his face.

This entire time Eri was laughing. Hard. She was fond of Naota to say the very least, but this was some a funny situation to behold as Naota fought to a stand-still with a naked two-year-old.

"Okay, the bath is done, finally," Naota sighed as he sat down at the foot of the bed while re-diapered Haruko on the bed next to where he was sitting..

"Well, it was kind of fun..."

"Maybe for you!"

"Wanna play!" Haruko exclaimed just as Eri finished with the diaper. Eri tickled the pink-haired toddler's stomach, causing her to emit a single high-pitched chortle, before replying.

"Wait till I finish putting your clothes on, okay?"

"Kay, Ri!" Haruko chirped in response before sticking one of her wrinkled thumbs into her mouth. Naota silently thought about whether or not that would cause a soapy taste, until he hear Eri say his name.

"Naota, hand me one of the dresses, please," Eri requested of the boy, who did so. As Eri dressed the toddler, Naota picked himself up off the bed and began to pace around.

"You know, I've been thinking we need to find a way to have more free-time," Naota said to Eri while continuing to walk in circles. "Between school and Haruko, we don't have much time to get out."

"That's a great idea, Naota!" Eri answered. "Let's take Haruko around town today!"

Naota gasped in utter horror. "That's not what I meant," he assured hastily, almost frantically. He did not want to take the chance of being seen in public with Eri, or a baby, or both for that matter. No one in school would ever shut up about it.

"Don't worry, it'll be fun!"

"He he, Nota look funny!" Haruko, who had just removed her thumb from its presence in her mouth, laughed as Eri picked her up, revealing the boy's face turning red for the umpteenth time since discovering the toddler, though this time more because of what could come rather than one already had.

Naota was the one condemned to carrying Haruko, as Eri thought it better for her to carry a camera. Naota figured it was for blackmail. "Where to first?" she asked him. He quickly answered.

"I dunno, home?" Eri gave Naota a 'look'. "It was worth a shot..."

"Naota, she needs to get out every once in awhile." Eri turned her head away from him, an unseen evil grin spreading across her lips. She quickly spun around, much to Naota's shock. "Smile!"

"Ack!" Naota very nearly dropped Haruko, not to mention came close to having a heart attack. The docile creature who had Naota had seen all morning seemed to suddenly mutate into a monster known only as the Bitch.

"Naota! How could you—!? Ugh!" That was weird, Naota thought. Usually Eri wouldn't have been likely to yell so long as he kept hold of Haruko, which he did. "Trade me!" Naota wasn't happy to have Eri mad at him for something that didn't even happen, much less when it would've been her fault if it did, but he was happy to exchange the baby for the camera, since it basically eliminated his complaints as to the things being transported. Already things were not looking good for one Nandaba Naota, especially considering that at that point in time they were still standing in front of the ship!

The happy Eri suddenly seemed to return to normal as she said, while tousling li'l' Haruko's cute pink hair, "How about we take her to the park?"

Gack! That wasn't good! "I... eh..." Naota knew he had to plan these next words carefully, since he had reason to suspect Eri was a loose cannon today given her already contradictory actions. "Maybe we should do something else. Something where no one can, err..."

"Trade me again," Eri said with a grin. Naota quickly did so without thinking about it, only to be surprised as Eri snapped another surprise picture of him. Fortunately this time nothing happened, though they did still immediately switch back. "Sorry, but you looked way too cute to not take a picture." Yes, it was official. Eri's mind was broken. Either that or the blackmail theory was still plausible.

The girl bounced the pink-haired toddler up and down a few times, leading to some childish cooing coming from both females. After she had stopped, Eri lowered her face close to Haruko's and asked in the same sort of childish voice, "How 'bout it, baby, do you want to go to da park?"

"Yay park!" Eri seemed to take this as a confirmation. Naota would have pointed out that Haruko probably would've said "Yay!" for any option presented to her, but it probably would not have done any good.

"San'bots!" Haruko squealed as soon as three (and the inanimate object that Naota suspected would be his downfall) entered the park. Eri giggled at the toddler's enthusiasm almost every time it was displayed. Which of course meant she giggled almost any time Haruko did anything.

"Playing in the sandbox sounds fun. Doesn't it, Naota?" That did sound good to him. He could sit on a park bench and occasionally glance up to see if Haruko was doing anything she shouldn't do, and if the situation presented itself he could easily deny having anything to do with her. Naota early nodded to show his approval.

"Perfect! Have fun you two!" Trick question! In the blink of an eye Eri laid Haruko in Naota's unsuspecting arms and took the camera, all in the same motion. Naota would have argued, but Haruko was grinning up at her in the widest smile she could muster and Eri suddenly looked very preoccupied by something, maybe even in pain, and was occasionally stealing glances down at her feet with one hand on her stomach. So Naota signed and began to walk away, and Eri walked over to a bench and sat down.