Broken Angel01: Aw, thanks for reading. I am having a horrible time loading chapters up! I'm glad you enjoy this chapter, I had wanted Tk to confront Matt not only for not telling him but for the behavior he has been having with their mother. I see Tk as being the protective type when it came to his mother. Not a mommy's boy but very concereted of his mother's feelings and they way Matt continues to hurt her. So I think in the next chapter you can expect that.
JyouraKoumi: I'm not sure if Izzy will have a girlfriend in this story or not. Thanks for the review.
BladeMasterAd: Thank you Blade! On the side note: You can simple say, "I'm still reading." and I'll be happy with that. I understand when you become lost with words. How many times can you review a story saying the same thing? There are some amazing stories out there wonderful chapters updated, how do you say so and not repeat?
Digi-Girl101: Thank you for contining to read my story and reviewing.
Stained In Negativity: Thank you for helping me. I'm sure in this chapter you will find a ton of problems. I didn't have time to review and make corrections. I tried to keep some things in mind as I typed. I wasn't planning on updated this story today but it looks like this is the only time I have until next wednesday. So I wanted to do something. Sorry if it isn't the best everyone!
Cheers!
Matt slipped his hands in the pockets of his jeans and made a small circle to view the items of the small department store. "Where do we start?" Matt glanced over at his father with some relief. His father looked less out of place then Matt felt.
"Well." Hiroaki thought for a moment before answering his son. "I believe that we should stick with the safe stuff. Like car seats, blankets, strollers, baby towels and of course diapers and a diaper bag."
"Um…I've been thinking about that and do I really need a diaper bag?" Matt made a face, "I mean…well look at them!" Matt looked at the many bags displayed before him arranging from pink to baby blue colours, all looking very famine to Matt.
"Yes you need one. You'll be lost with out it but we don't have to buy 'a diaper bag', any bag will do."
"Could I just stuff everything in a guitar case?" Matt asked, "You know, just have it stored in there."
"No. You might find that more difficult to mange. Don't worry I'm sure we can find one that you can carry around with out feeling embarrassed."
Matt groaned and walked over to some baby bottles.
"Did you call your grandmother to see if she still had T.K's crib?" Hiroaki asked.
"No." Matt mumbled, "I guess I forgot."
"I doubt that." Hiroaki glanced over at his son. "Call them tonight. You will be glade to get it over. Maybe their anger will dismiss once they arrive for their visit."
"I hope." Matt sighed.
"And be prepared for your grandmother to take you shopping. I remember Nancy went almost every weekend for two months when her mother visited."
"Shopping? Again!" Matt's mouth dropped open.
"It really isn't that bad. The secret to baby shopping with her mother is that you linger behind and agree at everything she says." Hiroaki strolled over to look at the car seats. "When we get home I'll show you how to hook this up and how to fasten the baby in safely."
"It isn't going to be born for a few months, why do we have to do it when we get home? I have practice with the guys."
"For one, learn now and you won't worry about later. Two, this is far more important then band practice and would you please stop referring the child as 'it'?"
"What else am I going to call it? I mean the baby. It's…well I don't know what it is yet!" Matt stumbled with his sentence.
"Well you can start saying, 'The baby, the child' or you can just pick a he or a she and we'll find out later if you are right or wrong." Hiroaki placed a car seat in the cart. "Come on."
"I think you like this more then you are letting on."
"The idea of a baby or shopping?" Hiroaki asked.
"Shopping, maybe both." Matt stated.
"I like shopping as much as you do but I'm not going to let you just pick out anything when you don't know what to look at. As for the idea of a baby," Hiroaki smirked, "I'm upset as hell with you Matt but I can't blame the child for your mistakes nor can you. I knew I would be a grandfather, maybe not this early but yeah I thought about taking him or her fishing as I did with you. I like the idea of teaching them how to ride a bike, telling them stories about you when you were a child. I want to be a grandfather, Matt so yes I am getting excited about the idea." Hiroaki moved on to the next item on his list, "I just hope that you won't make the same mistakes that I did."
"You didn't do so badly," Matt told him.
"I didn't do so well either. I am not the best father, Matt. You don't have to pretend with me, just learn from me."
"Well…don't let me make those mistakes then."
"I'll do everything I can for you not to do the things I did but I can't hold your hand any longer. You are a remarkable brother towards Tk, I know you will make a better father then I have been. I just hope that I can be a better grandfather. I'm thinking it as a second chance."
"You put yourself down way too much." Matt sighed. "I've told you that you didn't screw up."
"Yeah, well." Hiroaki shrugged to end the conversation that felt uncomfortable to him.
Matt stood behind the door, chewing on his bottom lip. After the demonstration of the car seat, Matt strolled over to Tai's house and now waited for someone to answer his knock. Finally, the doorknob turned slowly and Tai's sister poked her head out the door. For sometime now, Kari had been acting a little abnormal and Matt found himself uncertain of how he should act around her new personality. He wondered if he was the only one who noticed.
"Hi Kari." Matt gave her a smile.
"Hi Matt." Kari opened the door wider but only enough for her to lean on. "I didn't expect to see you here today."
"I know, I wasn't planning on showing up but band practice was cancelled."
"Oh. What happen?" Kari asked smiling sweetly up at Matt.
"Someone fell ill." Matt shrugged, "Is your brother home?"
"Tai?"
"Yeah, Tai." Matt hid his smirk. "Only one brother right?"
"Oh." Kari blinked, a blush coming to her cheeks. She opens the door wider to let him pass. "Tai's in his bedroom."
"Is your mum home?" Matt asked.
"Yeah." Kari glanced over at the blonde with curiosity. "Why?"
"Just wondering. I kinda need to ask her something." Matt headed for Tai's room.
"Well she's in the kitchen." Kari pointed over the kitchen door. "Who knows what she's making behind those doors."
"I'll talk to her later." Matt winked at her before sliding into Tai's room.
Tai looked up from his bed when his friend walked through the door.
"A beautiful day and your indoors. Not only are you indoors but you are still in bed!" Matt shook his head.
"I'm cleaning my room up." Tai shrugged and went back to reading a sports illustrated magazine.
"And a fine job!" Matt flopped down beside him and peered at the cover of the magazine. "Tai this is dated last year."
"I know, but I lost it last year." Tai brushed Matt's hand away from pulling a corner of the magazine down. After a moment of silence, Tai pulled the magazine away from his face, "What are you doing here. I thought you had practice."
"I did but someone caught sick." Matt shrugged.
"Oh." Tai flipped the magazine back up. "Well if you stay here you'll have to help me clean my room."
"Hmm…" Matt picked up another magazine. "I told dad."
Tai peered over the top of his magazine. "And?"
"And now he knows."
"Duh! What did he say?"
"Not much at first. He mostly yelled but today he took me shopping."
"He must really hate you."
"For the baby." Matt rolled his eyes. "I have to tell my grandparents tonight."
"How long are you grounded?" Tai asked.
"I'm not. He didn't even bring it up."
"Scary." Tai shook his head, "Wanna stay for dinner?"
"Now that's scary!" Matt barked. "Dad called off work today and he wanted me to make it home for dinner."
"So when are you going to tell the others?" Tai asked.
"I don't know. Soon. I mean would rather that they heard from me then from the vine." Matt frowned. "I need to tell Tk yet."
"Hey Matt, let me tell Sora." Tai edge forward.
"Sora?"
"Don't ask but let me tell her, okay?"
Matt studied his friend's face for a moment before slowly nodding his head. "Sure."
"Thanks. So…boy or is it a girl?"
"I don't know." Matt fell back against Tai's bed, "You know this doesn't even feel real. Do you remember the time when you and I had to have our wisdom teeth pulled? We joked around with each other but it didn't phase us until we were actually sitting in the dentist chair."
"That hurt like hell." Tai rubbed his jaw.
"How do you think the others will take it?" Matt asked.
"Don't know. Who all knows?"
"You, Joe, Dad and me."
"I guess we'll find out."
"Tai?"
"Huh?"
"Do you think your mum could help me?" Matt asked.
"With what?"
"Watching the baby while I'm at school. Do you think she would be interested in a job like that?"
"Seriously?" Tai glanced over at his friend.
"Yeah. Dad said we need a nanny and thought she would be good for the job. If she was looking for some extra money."
"I don't know. You'd have to ask her but you know that would mean telling her."
"I know."
"It would be saving me and Kari." Tai smiled, "She'd be so busy with your kid she would forget about her quest to kill us with experimental foods."
"Come with me." Matt stood up.
"What now?"
"Yeah now." Matt looked down at his friend, "I'm the one who got the girl pregnant not you."
"Well….I'm supposed to be cleaning my room."
"Come on Tai."
"Fine but if I get into trouble for not cleaning my room you will so owe me one!" Tai climbed off his bed.
"How long have you been cleaning?" Matt asked, following his friend out the door.
"An hour and fifteen minutes." Tai looked over at the hall clock.
"How much have you done?"
"I started out with good intention but after sweeping under the bed I found the magazine and I've been reading it for an hour and five minutes now."
"Whatcha doing?" Kari asked Tai and Matt as they walked pass.
"I'll tell you later." Tai barely acknowledged her as he pushed through the kitchen door. "Hey mum."
"Did you clean your room?" She turned from the counter spotting Matt as he took a seat at the table. "Hello Matt, I didn't hear you come in. Would you like to stay for dinner? We are having tarter tots made out of imitation yams."
"No thank you." Matt shook his head
"You sure? I can send some home with you."
"No thank you ma'am." Matt shook his head again.
"Well I have cookies." She started for the cabinet.
"Mum, we're not hungry." Tai stopped her by grasping her thin arm with his large hand. "We need to talk to you."
"Oh." She looked over at Matt and then at Tai who now held out a chair for her to seat on. "Oh this is serious isn't it?"
"Yeah it is." Tai sat down beside her. "How would you like another child in your home?"
"Oh no." Susumu covered her mouth, "Your father kicked you out of your own home!" She placed a hand over Matt's, "You poor dear! Of course you can stay here!"
"No, no." Tai shook his head.
"I was wondering if you may be interested in being a nanny," Matt said softly, "You see I'm going to be a father."
"A father." Susumu frowned glancing at both boys. Tai nodded his head.
"Dad said that I need to find a nanny but I'm not comfortable with a stranger being alone with the baby." Matt went on. "I don't know who else to trust and you being a housemother I thought that maybe if it wasn't too much trouble you might be interested in this job opportunity. It would only be while I'm at school."
"Think about it, you always said you wanted another baby but this time you get to give it back at the end of the day." Tai beamed.
"I can't believe you are going to be a father." Susumu brushed some hair behind her ear. "Oh my I remember when you two were ten. You hated girls then."
"Yeah well we sorta moved out of that phase since." Tai glanced over at his friend.
"Well I'll have to speak to my husband about this first but I'm honoured that you would think of me, Matt."
"I really could use the help. I do not know whom else to ask. My grandmother is getting a little too old to be running after a baby and with my other grandparents living in France…."
"Have you spoken to your mother about this?" Susumu studied Matt' face.
"No and really she wouldn't be able to help me. She works the same time I'm in school." Matt shrugged.
"Oh Matt you have to tell her!"
"Dad said he was going to."
"Mum," Tai shook his head, silently pleading her not to push the subject any further.