The door bell rang early in the morning, announcing the presence of an unexpected visitor. Tohru looked up from where she stood by the stove, cooking breakfast. She quickly turned off the stove and hurried over to the door as the bell rang a second time. Yuki followed after her from where he had been sitting in the kitchen. Tohru opened the door with a smile, clearly shocked to find Hatori standing there. Yuki was puzzled by Hatori's presence too. The black car in the road was still running, meaning Hatori hadn't come for a long visit, but he didn't have any briefcase with him either, so it couldn't be for an appointment Yuki had missed. They exchanged puzzled looks.
"Good morning, Hatori-san…?" Tohru greeted him with a bow.
"Honda-kun, I don't wish to frighten you, but about your pregnancy-" Hatori started to say.
"What about my baby?!" Tohru squeaked nervously, unintentionally cutting Hatori off.
"There's nothing to be concerned about if you're worried about your child's health. You look fine, but if you'd let me continue, I want to tell you that from the start, Akito was never fond of the idea when Shigure told her-"
"Shigure told her?!" Yuki snapped angrily.
Yuki gripped the edge of the door tightly and would have shattered the wooden structure into tiny splinters, but the gentle touch of Tohru's fingers against his knuckles made his fist loosen. He released the door to satisfy Tohru, but that didn't stop him from formulating plans of different ways to slaughter Shigure. Seeing as Shigure felt the need to tease him and Tohru about her pregnancy on a daily basis, Yuki had been coming up with a new way to murder his cousin every day since Tohru got pregnant. In fact, he was sure he had enough ideas to write a book he'd entitle: '101 Ways to Kill Shigure Sohma'. However, this was the first time he seriously felt the urge to follow through with his plan.
Hatori ignored the violent look in Yuki's eyes and continued to explain why he was here, "Yes, you should know better than to tell him anything until you absolutely must… What I'm trying to say is that Akito is terribly angry, and she would have come to see you ages ago to let you both hear her opinion, but as her doctor, I forbade it. However, now that a couple of months have passed since her child was born, I no longer have many more reasons to restrict her from seeing you two."
"A child?!" Yuki and Tohru both blurted out instantly, equally stunned.
"Yes… Her son is a few months old now," Hatori responded nonchalantly.
"I thought Akito was a guy," Yuki muttered.
After a quick shake of his head to respond to Yuki's thought, Hatori picked up a small car seat by his feet that neither Tohru nor Yuki had noticed until now. Sweeping the blue blanket off, he revealed a small infant sleeping inside. Tohru gasped in pure glee, instantly taking the small child out. She held the baby against her chest and stroked the thin black hair across his head. Unlike Tohru who was cooing at the small child, Yuki plainly stared with raised eyebrows. The baby fidgeted in Tohru's arms as she accidentally woke him.
Tohru smiled, "He's adorable!"
"But he has bad genes."
"Who's the father?" Yuki pressed curiously.
"Who other than Shigure?" Hatori answered flatly.
With a face of disgust, Yuki shook his head. He grimaced and leaned away from the tiny being lying in Tohru's arms. The baby's large, coal, black eyes followed Yuki's slow movements. Staring into those dark, ominous orbs, Yuki instantly decided the child looked more like his mother than his father. Noticing Yuki's posture tense, Tohru glanced over at him questioningly. She wasn't bothered by who the boy's parents were, despite the fact that she had been fretting over Akito's appearance since the beginning of her pregnancy.
"I thought you both should know…" Hatori trailed off.
"I guess it's not the most shocking thing I've heard- Wait. Never mind. Actually, it is the most shocking thing I've heard," Yuki nodded to himself.
"Poor Akito-sama… Shigure-san doesn't help her with the baby?" Tohru asked sadly.
"Well, that's why I thought you two should know. Shigure will be taking care of the baby today, and since Kyo is never home anymore, I thought it'd be nice to let you both know that you'll be taking care of the baby for a few hours today."
"What?!" Yuki asked in shock.
Tohru stared with wide eyes, struck speechless by the news. Hatori patted each on their shoulder sympathetically. Yuki and Tohru both took another look at the child holding onto Tohru's shirt. Neither could disagree before Shigure wandered over. Turning his head and burrowing his face into Tohru's soft, pink sweater, the baby almost seemed to shy away from his father's sudden appearance. Yuki chuckled, pitying the fact that Shigure couldn't even get his own son to like him, but secretly he feared his daughter would treat him as this little boy was treating Shigure.
"Haa-san! What a surprise to see you here- You brought that monster over?!" Shigure cried in horror.
"Shigure-san! You can't call your son a monster!" Tohru exclaimed.
"Yes, I can!" Shigure disagreed.
"How would you know? You only took care of him for what? A total of five minutes?" Hatori guessed critically.
"Yes, but in those five minutes he peed in my eye!" Shigure whined childishly.
"He did?" Yuki inquired in a surprised voice.
As soon as Shigure nodded in confirmation, Yuki burst out in laughter. The boy grinned widely, as if he knew what they were all referring to. Even Hatori cracked a smile at this, though it was just a tiny upturn of his lips and hardly noticeable. Tohru was the only oblivious one, not quite sure why they found this funny, but she beamed regardless. Her smile faltered when she noticed Shigure distancing himself from his own son. Still grinning, Yuki placed his finger on the child's palm, letting the tiny fingers enclose his.
"I think I'm going to like this little guy," Yuki smiled.
Tohru apprehensively tried to defend the little boy, "Oh that's not his fault, Shigure-san. He had no idea what he was doing."
"I still got pee in my eye!" Shigure protested.
Shigure dramatically pointed at his left eye. His face darkened as he remembered that fateful Wednesday afternoon. It was a couple of weeks since Akito had given birth, and being the good father he was, Shigure had gone over to the main house to visit. Akito had been outraged at how long it had taken him to get there, and as a form of punishment, she had forced him to change the diaper. He hadn't minded much at first, despite a few complaints. Shigure had been doing everything quite well, until his son decided to urinate while his diaper was off. After one short visit, Shigure never went back, leaving a spiteful Akito to care for their son by herself.
"What's his name?" Tohru asked, changing the subject to a much lighter one.
"Akira… Akito decided to name him after her father," Hatori answered.
"What a pretty name…" Tohru commented.
"Have you thought of a name for your daughter yet?" Hatori inquired.
"Ah, no. Not yet. Yuki-kun and I want to wait until we actually see her face," Tohru breathed happily.
Tohru and Yuki had tried to brainstorm names a while ago, but after an hour of discussing the topic, the list they were supposedly formulating was still blank. It wasn't that they couldn't agree upon a name, but they weren't sure which would fit best. They had only seen their daughter through ultrasounds, but those didn't give them any clear indications as to what she really looked like. They could only see their daughter as a blackish-blue fetus. Neither of them wanted to name a child they hadn't seen yet, so they had given up.
Hatori glanced at his watch before saying, "I have to go… Someone will be around in the evening or afternoon to pick Akira-kun up… I wish you the best of luck."
As soon as Hatori's car pulled out of the driveway and disappeared around the corner of the street, Shigure fled the room and locked himself in his office. Tohru and Yuki stared at the shut door in surprise as they listened to what sounded like the moving of furniture. Yuki glared angrily, knowing they'd receive no help from him. He frowned in disappointment. There went his plans to take Tohru out for the day. They had yet to go on a date that had nothing to do with their baby. Yuki sighed and stepped out the door to retrieve the baby bag and car seat from the porch. When he returned, he stared uneasily at Tohru, who gave him a similar expression back.
"What should we do?" Yuki mumbled.
"Umm… Take care of Akira-chan?" Tohru responded bluntly.
"Are you sure? It'll be hard."
"B-But we'll have to soon anyways," she pointed out.
He nodded unenthusiastically. Tohru's expression soon mirrored his, and her forehead creased with worry. She shifted Akira anxiously, wondering what she had to do to make Yuki happy again. Tohru hated to see such an expression across his face, though he still looked shockingly beautiful like that. Beauty wasn't enough for her to deal with the tight squeezing of her heart. Nothing was worth his pain and sadness. It might have seemed odd to others how she grieved over Yuki's anguish since they had only gone out for about a month, but she had been in love with him long before her pregnancy.
"You don't want to? I can do it by myself if you'd like-" Tohru began to offer.
He placed a finger to her lips, silencing her.
"No, no. It's fine. I just don't want you to overwork yourself… And I'm not sure what to do either," Yuki admitted sheepishly.
"You must know more than I do after reading all of those books," Tohru smiled, sure of his knowledge and skills as a parent.
"That doesn't mean I'm not bad at it."
"I'll help you. Don't worry," Tohru assured him, "Here."
She held out the baby to Yuki and set Akira in his awaiting arms. Tohru stared at the awkward hold Yuki had around the child for a moment before grasping his hands and repositioning them gently. Yuki sighed helplessly when she finished. He doubted he could remember exactly where she had placed his hands. He was aware that he was supposed to support the head, but his hands never seemed to be in the correct place. From the looks of it, the baby hadn't been very comfortable at first either, but that upset expression instantly faded once Tohru had finished correcting the position of his arms.
"See? It's not that bad, right?" Tohru inquired softly.
"Actually, it is. If you didn't help me out, the baby would be wailing already."
"Oh, you don't know that!" Tohru disagreed.
"You saw how his little face twisted and scrunched up, didn't you?"
"Let's try again."
Tohru took the infant from Yuki and held him for a moment before holding Akira out to Yuki again. Yuki took the child from her carefully and tried his best to place his hands in the same spots that Tohru had moved them. He didn't see Tohru cringe in horror, so he assumed he had done a good enough job. She had never been talented at concealing her thoughts. They both watched intently as the baby squirmed and began to cry. Yuki's face fell a bit. He was aware that his parenting skills weren't nearly as high as Tohru's, though his knowledge surpassed hers, but he had been hoping he could do this right the second time.
Yuki sighed, "I told you so."
"I'm sure he's just hungry!"
She rushed over to the light blue bag by the door and dug around for the box of baby formula. Yuki followed her into the kitchen with the sobbing baby in hand. Tohru was done mixing the formula and had the bottle filled when he approached her. She stuck it in the microwave for a few seconds before taking it out. She tapped the tip of the bottle against her wrist a couple of times, testing the temperature of the contents, before handing it to Yuki. Yuki took it from her hesitantly, holding the bottle along with the baby uncomfortably.
"You don't have to hold onto the bottle," Tohru laughed, "Give it to him."
Yuki did as she instructed cautiously, trying not to lose his grip on the child as he freed one hand to place the bottle in Akira's tiny hands. Tohru smiled as Akira grasped the bottle and held it to his lips weakly. She stepped closer to Yuki and took the bottle from his hand, helping Akira support it to give Yuki his hand back. Yuki sighed in relief as she did so and flexed his fingers in an exaggerated gesture of exhaustion that made Tohru giggle.
"You don't have to stand the whole time. Let's go sit!" Tohru suggested happily as she towed Yuki over to the dining room.
She kept her hands over the baby warily in case Yuki lost his hold. Yuki wasn't sure whether she was doing so out of doubt of his parenting capability or out of her naturally concerned nature. He shrugged it off and sat down with her before the table. She lowered her hands as he laid the infant down on his lap. Yuki embarrassedly sat there, keeping his eyes on Akira as Tohru leaned towards him with a smile. She had always been flustered over intimacy and displays of affection. It surprised him that she was sitting close enough that her side was touching his. She probably didn't notice, but he did.
"See? It's not that bad, right?" Tohru smiled.
He began to nod in agreement, but before he could, Akira smacked the bottom of the bottle, sending the half-filled bottle flying into Yuki's jaw, as if to contradict Tohru's words. Tohru squeaked fretfully as the baby began to wail. Yuki tensely eyed the crying infant in his lap, wondering how the little boy could throw the bottle when he seemed barely able to hold it up minutes ago.
"Are you okay?!" Tohru gasped.
Tohru nervously brushed her fingers against Yuki's reddening chin, relieved to find that he didn't wince out of pain, before she noticed the bottle on the floor. She hopped up and snatched the leaking container off the ground before racing off to the kitchen for a dishrag to clean up the mess and an icepack for Yuki's injury. Yuki watched in bewilderment as she raced around frantically. She had left before he could even answer her question and was back before he could even stand up to help her.
Within a minute, she was back beside him, pressing a bag of ice wrapped in a towel to his chin. She peered anxiously at him for a moment until she remembered the other items at her side. Nearly dropping the icepack, she handed that to him as she gave Akira a new bottle and sat back down before the small puddle of baby formula. Tohru scrubbed the wet carpet with her wet rag tensely.
"Tohru, calm down…" Yuki ordered gently.
Tohru shook her head, "I have to clean up the mess! Shigure-san will be mad if his carpet is dirty!"
"It's Shigure's son's fault, not yours," Yuki reminded her, "Please, help me now? I don't think he's hungry anymore."
Yuki held up the child and the bottle Akira had rejected. Tohru glanced down at the cleaned mess before smiling and setting aside the cloth. She took the baby from Yuki gladly and patted his back softly. Akira's cries finally died down as he let out a soft burp. He let out a happy chirp-like squeal as he turned his head and tried reaching for the bottle. After seconds of failure, he thrashed about impatiently. Tohru laughed and took the bottle Yuki was holding out to her. Once he had his bottle in his hands, Akira snuggled against Tohru and drank hungrily.
"I'll feed him now, but you have to hold the icepack onto your chin, or it'll get swollen!" Tohru warned him worriedly.
"I'm fine," Yuki assured her but did as he was told to sooth her concern.
He watched her cradle Akira lovingly, rocking him back and forth when he was finished drinking until his eyes drooped, and he fell asleep quickly. Yuki was amazed to see the fussy child drift into slumber so easily. It only seemed to be moments ago that Akira was sobbing and tossing things about. His lips turned upward at the edges, but Yuki couldn't help but envy the baby. Tohru would never dare to hold him as she would to Akira. She hardly even allowed him to embrace her, even if he could now. He knew she was too shy, but jealousy wasn't an emotion of logic.
"Umm, Yuki-kun?" she called for his attention quietly, interrupting his thoughts.
"Yes?"
"Where's Akira-chan going to sleep? Hatori-san didn't leave a crib or anything, and I'd hate to leave him in the car seat."
"And I'd hate for you to have to hold him all day. So he can sleep in my bed for now," Yuki suggested.
"Oh no, no, no! I couldn't possibly do that! Where would you sleep?" Tohru asked.
"Akira-san should be gone by then."
Tohru continued to chew on her lip uncertainly. Suddenly she grinned as a solution came to her, "Then he can sleep in my bed! I wouldn't want him to make a mess in your bed!"
Yuki groaned under his breath. He eyed the sleeping baby with a jealous glint to his soft, gray eyes. Tohru had never offered to share her bed with him. As unreasonable it was to be envious of a boy that hadn't even lived for a year yet, he couldn't free himself from this feeling of envy. There had been a period, near the onset of her pregnancy, when she'd come to his room at night and sleep in his bed because of insomnia, but she wouldn't even set foot in his room at night anymore now that they were dating. If he happened to be in his room when she wanted to wish him a good night, she'd do so with her feet firmly in the hallway and would race off before he could even look up at her.
"And let a boy sleep in your bed?" Yuki inquired in what was meant to be a teasing tone.
"He's just a baby, Yuki," Tohru assured him, missing his joke.
"That doesn't change the fact that he's a boy, so he'll sleep in my room."
Tohru didn't argue further and stood, carrying the baby to Yuki's room. Yuki held the door open for her before stepping to his bed and making a barrier around the edges of the mattress with his blanket. Tohru set Akira down near the wall, safely away from the edges. She peered at the feeble, short barricade uneasily. Tohru had no idea how much a baby moved in his sleep, but a blanket surely wouldn't stop him if he were to roll off the edge. Sensing her distress, Yuki glanced at his makeshift walls and added his pillows to the pile.
"Is that good?" he asked.
Tohru nodded, "I think I'll stay here though. Just in case."
"We can finish your homework here, if you'd like," Yuki offered.
"Yes, please. I don't get the math homework at all," she admitted softly.
Yuki nodded before leaving to get her backpack from her room. He returned and sat beside her at his desk where he set to explaining the concepts to her. Tohru chewed on her bottom lip as she listened and added to her notes. Yuki patiently watched her try a problem and helped her when she started to divert from the rules he had just told her. They kept at this for another hour as Akira slept soundly, but when Tohru was finally starting to grasp the information, the door swung open. Shigure stood there with a gaping expression and thrust his finger out towards them.
"We do not close doors in this house!" he gasped.
Flabbergasted, Tohru shook her head with a blush, denying his unspoken assumption. Unlike Tohru, Yuki just turned to Shigure with a stiff, cold smile. The one aspect of babysitting Akira that Yuki had been looking forward to was Shigure's absence. He had at least expected that in return for this tiring task, but his cousin was ungrateful, as usual, denying Yuki his reward of peace and quiet for the duration of Akira's stay. Yuki would have forced Shigure to take Akira back if Tohru didn't seem so happy caring for the baby. So for Tohru, he forced himself to be as polite as he could.
"Shigure, what does it look like we're doing?" Yuki questioned curtly.
"Don't try to conceal your dirty actions! Just because you two are dating does not mean you may engage in such acts under my roof!" Shigure shouted, trying his best to hide the playfulness from his tone.
"We're not hiding anything. Now get out of my room before we stop taking care of your son for you," Yuki threatened.
Shigure tensed for a second before fleeing from the room and hid in his office.
Regardless of his father's disappearance, Akira started to stir. Seconds later he was sitting upright with a scowl across his tiny face. His faint eyebrows drew together with the rest of his face. Tohru dropped her pencil and rushed over to his side immediately. He kept his face scrunched together for a few minutes before he relaxed. He smiled momentarily before flailing his arms around and starting to cry. Unable to figure out what happened, Tohru clutched the baby to her chest, patting his back gently. She glanced back at Yuki quizzically until a stench reached her nose, and everything started to make sense.
"He needs a diaper change…" Tohru trailed off embarrassedly.
"Yes, I can tell from here," Yuki agreed.
"I'll go change him!" Tohru decided as she rushed out of the room.
Yuki followed her and found her seated before the baby bag with Akira lying on her lap. He knelt down beside her and helped her dig through the filled bag for the diapers buried under jars of baby food, wipes, towels, and seemingly everything else in the bag. Tohru beamed in gratitude when he handed her one. She gently laid Akira on his back and unbuttoned the bottom of his tiny, red one-piece outfit. Tohru flushed slightly before she began to undo the diaper.
Yuki laughed, "If you're going to blush at that, it's a good thing we're having a girl."
"I'm not blushing!" Tohru denied vehemently.
Ignoring her denials, Yuki wrapped a tassel of her hair around his finger, "You're really cute, you know that?"
"I-I am n- Thank y-you," Tohru stuttered.
He would have said more, but Akira's crying reminded them of his diaper crisis. Tohru looked back down at the child and started to peel off the tape at the edges when Shigure rushed into the room. He caught Tohru's arms and pulled her hand away from the diaper with large frightened eyes. Tohru stared at him with a startled expression. Yuki was about to rip Shigure's fingers from Tohru's skin, but Shigure released the girl once he was sure she had stopped trying to change Akira's diaper.
"Wait! Tohru-kun! Don't release that little demon yet! Let me salvage my newspaper first!" Shigure yelled.
Shigure darted across the room and emotionally swept his newspaper off from the dining room table before rushing back to the safety of his office. Yuki rolled his eyes at Shigure's childish display before returning his attention to Tohru. Her adorable, pink blush and faint smile had been replaced by a sad downturn of her mouth. She was obviously upset to see how Shigure was avoiding Akira. Tohru glanced down at said child, who had quieted down and seemed to be frowning along with her. He looked ready to cry again.
"Don't worry! Shigure-san will definitely take care of you next time!" Tohru reassured the infant.
"Don't get his hopes up, Tohru," Yuki muttered.
She peered at Yuki before sighing and finished changing the diaper. Tohru sat upright when she was done, smiling when Akira clung to her.
She giggled, "He likes me."
"Who doesn't?"
She looked back at the baby in attempt to conceal her blush, but Akira tried to squirm away when Tohru reached toward him to button his pants back up. He crawled down the hallway with his pants dragging behind him and his white diaper showing. Tohru giggled as she scurried after him and carried him back to where Yuki sat with an amused expression. Akira struggled when she tried to set him in Yuki's arms, waving his tiny arms around fiercely. When a tiny fist collided with her round abdomen, she could feel tiny kicks return the attack. Feeling the soft motion by his feet, Akira started kicking back. The only problem with their retaliation was that only Tohru was feeling any pain.
Yuki instantly pulled Akira out of Tohru's hold, despite how Akira started to wail and scream.
"Are you okay?" Yuki questioned fretfully.
"Yes! I'm fine, but I don't think those two will get along very well."
"Those two?" Yuki asked quizzically.
"Our daughter and Akira-chan. They're fighting already, and she hasn't even been born yet," Tohru stated worriedly.
Yuki simply laughed. He knew he shouldn't be laughing at her concern, but if she were truly judging violent natures by kicks in the womb, their daughter would be notorious for her fighting. She'd be worse than Kyo, despite her sweet natured mother. Yuki smiled at the thought. He doubted it was even possible for their daughter to be anything other than kind and gentle. It'd be too humorous otherwise. Tohru didn't have it in her to raise an aggressive daughter. On the other hand, Yuki could believe Akira would be a bit violent with Akito as his mother and by the way the little boy had his fingers locked around Yuki's silver locks.
"At least we know she can defend herself, unlike someone I know," Yuki teased her lightly.
"I-I'm sorry!" Tohru apologized frantically.
"That's not something to apologize for," he shook his head, "But please take him before I go bald."
Yuki was holding onto Akira with one arm and trying to wrench open his small fists that were locked around his hair as gently as he could manage. Flustered, Tohru squatted down before him and helped Yuki wrestle the tiny fingers open and took the child away from Yuki. She bowed apologetically to Yuki several times for not noticing the harm Akira was causing. Despite Yuki's frequent protests and urges for her to stop, she didn't stop until Akira started to fidget and started to cry. In attempt to soothe the child in order to fix his pants, Tohru set him on the ground.
However, as soon as his tiny legs made contact with the wooden flooring, Akira scurried off, zooming across the floor before Tohru could manage to even snap one button shut. Tohru hopelessly followed Akira as he crawled under the table and plopped himself down in the center. She knelt down and reached for him, but kneeling down proved to be difficult while she was seven months pregnant. Yuki grinned before standing and walking over to her to help, but as soon as he got there, the tiny child scampered away. Yuki sighed and helped Tohru to her feet before looking for the now missing baby.
He led Tohru down the hallway in which he had seen Akira go, but the child was no where in sight. Tohru gaped as she peeked into the laundry room and unnecessarily checked to see if Akira was in the washing machine or dryer. She dug through a nearby basket full of folded, clean laundry waiting to be returned before rushing out of the small room. Yuki followed her apprehensively as she slid open Shigure's office door, forgetting her usual polite knock in her anxiety.
"Shigure-san! Akira-chan is missing!" she confessed frantically.
"What?" Shigure asked, too shocked to show any other emotion.
By the time Shigure had voiced his question, Tohru had already darted away.
Yuki glared at the elder, "Go find your son before Tohru wears herself out."
Shigure returned to his office momentarily. Yuki stood outside, bewildered by the loud sounds of rummaging. After a few minutes, the noises made sense as Shigure reluctantly returned with a surgical mask and goggles adorning his face. As he stepped out of his office, he pulled a shower cap onto his head before slipping on rubber gloves. With all of that protective gear on, Shigure was hardly recognizable. Yuki coughed and covered his mouth with his hands in attempt to choke down a chuckle. He shook his head, hiding an amused grin.
"What are you wearing?" Yuki questioned.
"You'd want to be protected as well if you ever got peed on," Shigure huffed.
"You forgot your biohazard suit," Yuki smirked before darting off to find Tohru.
Hurrying up the stairs, Yuki caught sight of Tohru speeding out of the bathroom. He reached her just in time to catch her as she slipped on the tile flooring. Tohru's cheeks instantly darkened. She was humiliated to have been caught in a moment of clumsiness. If that wasn't embarrassing enough, she just happened to be lying against Yuki's chest with his arms supporting her under her knees and behind her upper back. She averted his gaze, staring at a red mark on her leg that would soon turn into a bruise after she had run into the sink instead.
"Calm down before you hurt yourself," Yuki ordered.
"I-I have to find Akira-chan! He's going to be hungry soon! He didn't finish his bottle earlier. Maybe he's sleepy! He didn't finish his nap either," Tohru rambled fretfully.
"He'll cry then and show us where he is then."
"Let me go, Yuki-kun. It's all my fault!" Tohru cried.
"It's not your fault. We can look together. He couldn't have gone too far."
Tohru nodded, quickly swiping newfound tears from her face. Yuki stood and set her back down onto her feet carefully, keeping his hand on her shoulder to keep her from tumbling down again. She shifted timidly away from him and started to head back towards the hallway and away from the stairs. Yuki grasped her hand and tugged her back towards him, not sure why she was even bothering to check up here again. Clearly she had checked every crevice in the place by what he had heard of her search from downstairs. He had heard every pitter patter of her steps and even the moving of light furniture.
"Let's go look downstairs," Yuki suggested.
"Wait! I haven't checked your room yet," Tohru told him.
"Do you really think he could have gotten up the stairs? He's so tiny," Yuki pointed out doubtfully.
"The stairs aren't steep. I'm sure he could if he tried."
Yuki didn't press the matter further and walked with her to his room. He grimaced as they entered his messy room. He had been planning to clean for weeks, but he never got around to it. The pregnancy kept him occupied, especially since he felt obligated to read every book and article he found on pregnancy. Tohru's face scrunched together with worry as she stared at the piles of dirty clothes, mountains of books, paper scattered around the floor, and knocked over plants. If Akira were hidden somewhere in this room, she wasn't sure they'd ever find him.
"I'm sure it didn't look this bad a few minutes ago," Yuki mumbled.
"Maybe he's in here then!" Tohru exclaimed excitedly.
"But where would we start?" Yuki asked helplessly.
Tohru tilted her head to the side, unsure, before she left the room. Yuki watched her go, bemused by her actions. He decided to stay by the door instead of follow her to make sure Akira didn't leave the room if he were in here after all. Tohru returned with a couple of empty laundry baskets in her arms. Yuki peered at the baskets quizzically, not quite getting how empty baskets would help find Akira. It wasn't as if Akira found them interesting and would bound to them as soon as he laid eyes on them. Thinking too deeply of the containers, he missed the point until Tohru vocalized her plan.
"Let's clean!" she chirped.
Taking another glance at the mess, Yuki sucked in a deep breath before taking one of the baskets from Tohru. She smiled at him before settling down before a hill of clothes. She began tossing the dirty garments into the basket gently, checking to see if a baby was somewhere underneath. Yuki shut the door before working through the other piles. After clearing the floor of clothing, there was still no sign of the child they were supposed to be babysitting. Worriedly, Yuki picked up his scattered schoolbooks as Tohru gathered his notebooks and random sheets of paper from the floor.
"Where could he be?" Tohru squeaked.
"Right here," Yuki laughed, pointing to where his blanket was lying on the floor.
Tohru stepped forward curiously, beaming when she saw tiny hands gripping the edge of Yuki's comforter. Peeling the rest of the blanket off the baby, she found Akira chewing on the blanket silently. Yuki wasn't sure how he felt at the moment. He was happy to find Akira and see Tohru relaxed, but he was also a bit irritated to see a large drool stain darkening his blanket. He knew Tohru would wash it, even if he insisted that she didn't have to, but he was sure there would be small holes from the tiny teeth that were beginning to protrude from Akira's gums. Taking another look at Tohru's smile, he decided nothing could upset him when she looked like that.
"He must be hungry," Tohru giggled.
"Or teething," Yuki reminded her.
She nodded as she gently pried his mouth and hands from the blanket.
"I'm going to see if he is hungry," Tohru murmured.
Yuki walked beside her as they descended down the stairs. Tohru smiled when she noticed Shigure on his hands and knees, looking for Akira in the kitchen.
"Shigure-san! Look!" Tohru cried, holding the little boy up.
Shigure peered at her through his goggles and smiled in relief, though neither Yuki nor Tohru could see, thanks to the mask he kept on. He stood and pulled off his protective accessories with a sigh. Shigure tried to keep an indifferent expression across his face as he eyed Akira, but even the oblivious Tohru could see that Shigure had honestly been concerned. She was ecstatic to find that Shigure truly cared for his son. It wouldn't be right for Akira to miss out on a father figure with Shigure right here. With her newly discovered information, she decided to encourage some bonding between the two.
Tohru approached him with a smile, "Would you like to feed him?"
"Umm… Sure!" Shigure responded, feigning willingness.
"Hold on then! I'll go get food for Akira-chan," Tohru said cheerfully.
She set him into Shigure's arms before leaving. Shigure gripped Akira's abdomen nervously, eyeing him with a fearful expression. Waiting for Shigure to correct his positioning, Yuki raised his eyebrows expectantly, but Shigure didn't move a finger. Yuki chuckled, amused to find someone who was even worse at parenting than he was. He took Akira from Shigure's arm and held him with one arm as he rearranged Shigure's arms as Tohru had done for him earlier.
Tohru found a small jar of baby food and went back to the kitchen happily. She smiled to find Shigure seated before the table with Akira cradled in his arms. Yuki was sitting across him with his chin seated on his hands with an entertained expression. He was having fun watching Shigure's face morph with horror each time Akira moved. Shigure looked ready to dart away and abandon Akira on the small cushion, but before he could, Tohru returned with the jar opened and a small spoon in her hands.
"Here you go!" Tohru sang.
She sat down between the two men and laced her fingers together. Yuki and Tohru watched, awaiting a move from Shigure, but he just stared at the spoon.
"Shigure, that's called a spoon. You put your hands around it and scoop food from the jar with the round end," Yuki explained sarcastically.
Shigure picked up the spoon mechanically and wadded the spoon full of the mushy, orange mix. Tohru gasped and grabbed the spoon back before Shigure shoved the overflowing spoon into Akira's awaiting mouth. She slid the spoon out of his hold but kept the utensil within his eyesight. Shigure blinked at her, not understanding the purpose of her actions. Yuki joined Shigure in his examination of the spoon as they both tried to figure out what was the matter. Tohru gave them a couple of seconds before caving in and just telling them.
"Not that much, Shigure-san!" Tohru exclaimed.
"How much then?" Shigure asked hopelessly.
Tohru dumped out more than half of the contents from the spoon before handing it back to Shigure. Shigure took it from her and aimed the utensil at Akira's mouth, but the baby kept his mouth firmly shut. Unsure of what else to do, he tried again, but his son turned his head to the other side. Shigure could even make out the sound of a rebellious grunt coming from his son. He glanced helplessly back at Tohru, tacitly begging her to take over. Parenting wasn't of interest to him. The only people he cared for were high school girls and women in general.
"Tohru-kun! He's not hungry!" Shigure whined.
"You have to be patient, Shigure-san. Be more gentle."
She took the spoon from him and gently weaved it around until she caught Akira's wide, black eyes. Akira watched the flying utensil intently, following its every turn and dip downwards. He laughed and giggled, opening and closing his tiny fists rapidly in Tohru's direction excitedly. Tohru smiled and set the spoon into his open mouth. He swallowed the goopy mix willingly and waved his arms around for more. Tohru grinned and stroked Akira's soft hair before giving him another spoonful. Picking up a nearby napkin, she wiped at the specks of food at the corner of Akira's mouth before holding the spoon out to Shigure again.
"Tohru-kun! How do you do that?" Shigure questioned in amazement.
"She picked up the spoon and brought it to his mouth," Yuki smirked.
"If you think it's so easy, you do it!" Shigure dared, holding Akira out by his tiny shoulders.
Before Tohru could reprimand Shigure again about how he held Akira, Yuki took the baby with a confident smile. He took the empty spoon Tohru was holding out and scooped up the same amount of the mush as Tohru had. He tried to mimic Tohru's moves exactly, but when the spoon was an inch from Akira's mouth, Akira whacked the spoon away. Yuki's eyes widened as the slush separated from the spoon and landed on his cheek. He sighed unhappily but soon smiled after seeing the spoon smack Shigure in the face. Shigure's head jolted towards the back, and when it lolled back to place, there was a bright, red, circular mark in the center of his forehead.
Shigure stood up abruptly with a cross expression.
"I give up!" he cried before fleeing again.
"Shigure-san!" Tohru tried calling him back in vain.
Tohru peered back at Yuki with a frown. Pushing Shigure's unwillingness to help his child to the back of her mind, she picked up another napkin and cleaned the orange pulp off of Yuki's face before instructing him on feeding again. Tohru placed her hand over his, easing his fingers out of their stiff positions.
"Make him smile and laugh. Then he'll open his mouth. Pretend it's a train or plane," she advised cheerfully.
Yuki cautiously filled the spoon halfway before spiraling the spoon towards Akira, a plane descending from the air. Instead of laughing as he had done with Tohru, Akira seemed frightened and cowered away from the eating utensil. Akira covered his eyes with both of his hands and let out a muffled sob. The scared child wouldn't even look up until Yuki had relinquished the spoon to Tohru. Yuki groaned when Akira happily ate when Tohru tried feeding him a second later without any of the playful tactics she was teaching him.
"Ah! Don't worry! You'll get it. I'm sure! Try again," Tohru encouraged him with a smile.
Yuki did so, but after ten more tries, all they ended up with was a crying Akira and splotches of food scattered across both his and Yuki's outfits. The mess would have been bigger if Tohru hadn't been wiping off the table after every attempt. Defeated, Yuki hung his head as he held Akira out to Tohru. To his surprise, Tohru refused to take the baby. She shook her head and wrapped her hands around his wrists, lowering Akira back onto Yuki's lap. Tohru stood up and took a step away from the table, despite the matching expressions of horror across Yuki and Akira's faces.
"You aren't going to help me?" Yuki asked.
"Nope!" Tohru confirmed with a grin.
"You want him to starve?" Yuki questioned.
"No, but I don't want you to starve either! I have to go make lunch. Keep trying, okay?" Tohru told him.
Yuki reluctantly nodded. Noting the dismayed expression across his face, Tohru comforted him with a gentle pat on the back and a quick kiss on the cheek before she started for the kitchen. She took slow steps though, not wanting to leave. Tohru continued on her way as casually as she could. She wanted to give Yuki the time to realize that he would a perfect parent, something she had known since before she had gotten pregnant. She'd get him to believe her theory today.
"Tohru, if you love me at all, you won't leave me," Yuki breathed.
"You'll be fine. I know you will," Tohru assured him.
He disagreed, but said no more as she walked out of the room. Exasperated, Yuki glanced down at the small boy on his lap. Akira looked back at him, blinking his wide eyes innocently. Yuki sucked in a deep breath, doubting that Akira would eat anymore with him doing the feeding. Yuki tried to give Akira the spoon to see if he'd feed himself, but Akira just dropped it onto Yuki's pants. Forcing himself to be calm, Yuki picked up the utensil and cleaned it before filling the spoon again. Before Yuki even made an attempt to feed Akira, the little boy shoved it away.
"Why won't you eat?" Yuki muttered.
To Yuki's delight and utter shock, Akira started giggling at Yuki's question. Without wasting a second of time, he lowered the spoon to Akira's mouth and managed to get it between his tiny lips before Akira whipped his head to the other side, smearing the pudding-like food across his chubby face. Yuki barely managed to refrain from showing his annoyance as he cleared Akira's pale face of the mush. Akira whimpered and swatted at Yuki's hand that was still gripping the spoon. Yuki set the spoon back into the jar wearily.
"Does it taste bad or something?" Yuki mumbled to himself.
Akira, seeming to answer, bobbed his head slightly up and down.
"But you'll eat for Tohru."
Yuki received no response for this observation, but he didn't need one. It was already a fact.
"If I try it, would you eat it?" Yuki attempted to bargain with the baby, despite the fact that Akira didn't understand words yet.
Seeing the child smile at the statement, Yuki took another look at the contents of the small jar. He grimaced slightly as he read the label. Pumpkins mixed with squash didn't sound very appetizing to him. Recalling Akira's stubbornness earlier, Yuki sighed and lifted the spoon to his own mouth. He couldn't help but hesitate as he stared at the glob of what was supposed to be food a centimeter from his lips. He sucked in a deep breath and set the spoon in his mouth. He didn't dare to breathe until he had swallowed the morsel.
Akira clapped in delight at Yuki's disgusted expression. Yuki beamed brightly, glad to see his efforts hadn't gone to waste. To his relief, Akira was willing to eat now. Yuki was shocked to see Akira gulp down over half of the contents of the jar before he began rejecting it again. That was more than Yuki had ever hoped for. The little boy yawned and his eyes began to droop as Yuki wiped the last bits of food from his hands and face. Yuki shut the jar before wrapping his arms around Akira and standing up with the now sleeping baby.
Tohru watched with a smile, peeking from around the wall as Yuki held the small child in his arms. He cradled the baby gently as he picked up the jar and spoon to drop off in the kitchen. He truly was a perfect father. He seemed startled to find her there when he looked up. She instantly flushed and turned her face down, ashamed to have been caught peeping. Tohru hadn't meant to watch for so long. She didn't want him to think she didn't trust him with Akira, but she had found the sight too endearing to ignore.
"How long have you been there?" he inquired.
"Long enough," Tohru smiled as she walked over and took the baby food from him, "You're going to be a terrific dad!"
Yuki followed her, carrying a now sleeping Akira in his arms uneasily. With how Akira had reacted to Yuki holding him earlier, Yuki doubted that Akira would sleep for much longer if he continued to carry the boy around.
"Damn rat! Where are you?!"
Yuki cringed when the once slumbering boy in his arms awoke and started to screech. As soon as he saw Kyo skid into the kitchen, he walked over and plopped the crying baby into Kyo's arms. Akira began to scream and babble. His puny features scrunched together and his face flared red as he choked on his own sobs. Watching the two of them, Yuki wasn't sure whose expression he found more humorous. Yuki decided it was Kyo's after his bulging red eyes began to twitch. When he finally looked up, Kyo couldn't even make his open mouth form any words. He just stared at Yuki.
"You woke him. You get him to sleep again," Yuki stated dryly as he walked away.
Kyo stormed after him, holding the child by his armpits. Yuki stopped and turned around at the foot of the steps, raising his eyebrows impatiently at Kyo. Kyo scowled irritably. He was tempted to just toss the baby he was holding too tightly aside and attack his nemesis, but his confusion overwhelmed his anger, his dominant emotion, for once.
"Wha-? Did Tohru have the baby already?" he asked, confounded.
Before Yuki could even laugh at Kyo's assumption, Tohru shuffled over to where they stood by the stairs when she heard her name.
"Yes? Did you call?" she asked happily.
Taking one look at Tohru's obviously still pregnant figure, Kyo stared at the baby in his arms with his eyes growing larger by the second. This little boy clearly wasn't Tohru's daughter. Tohru's figure had revealed to him that this little child wasn't who he had expected it to be, seeing as Akira's male clothing and features that didn't resemble Yuki's nor Tohru's didn't cut it. Tohru blinked obliviously, not understanding why he was staring at her so. She got enough gawking whenever she stepped outside of the house. She didn't need the attention inside the house as well.
"Who is this?" Kyo demanded impatiently.
"That's Akira-chan!" Tohru answered before frowning at Kyo, "Kyo-kun, you can't hold Akira-chan like that!"
She took the sobbing baby from Kyo's stiff arms and hugged him warmly. Akira's cries died out immediately. Akira's distraught expression lightened with a cheerful smile and the creases across his face quickly faded. He laid his head on Tohru's shoulders and was asleep again within seconds. She continued to stroke his back gently, taking no notice of Kyo's squabbles until he began to yell again. Tohru worriedly pressed Akira closer to herself, hoping he wouldn't awaken again.
"Who's Akira?" Kyo questioned, getting more confused by the second.
"Akito and Shigure's son," Yuki responded slowly.
Yuki looked up and laughed at the disgusted expression forming on Kyo's face as the words sank in. He took one glance at Akira before running to his room. Kyo sat on the floor of his bedroom, trying his best not to gag at the news. Sickened at the thought of Shigure having conceived a child with Akito of all people, Kyo stood up rashly and slid open his window. He swiftly jumped out and raced back to the main house. All the way, he wondered why he had even bothered to leave the dojo.
--
"I'll go put him back in my room since he's asleep again," Yuki offered.
Tohru beamed at him before setting Akira gently in Yuki's awaiting arms.
"Come back soon. I'm almost done cooking," Tohru told him.
He nodded before climbing up the stairs.
Tohru hummed as she went back to work. After she had already set the table and served the food, she was surprised to see no sign of Yuki. Shigure had already started eating his second serving. Worriedly, she went to check up on him. She knocked a couple of times before entering the room. The scene she walked in on made her smile. Yuki was currently sprawled out on his bed in deep slumber with Akira beside him. They were both snoring gently and breathing slowly. Knowing better than to try to wake Yuki, she approached the bed and kissed them both on their foreheads before returning to the kitchen.
She set aside a plate for Yuki before eating herself.
Tohru was just cleaning up the kitchen when the doorbell rang again. She dropped the dishrag and washed her hands quickly before scurrying off to answer it. Her eyes bulged when she saw Akito standing on the porch, impatiently tapping her foot. The once jubilant expression vanished immediately. She was frozen at the doorstep, too shocked to even step aside or greet the head of the Sohma family. Her heart thumped uneasily as she locked eyes with Akito's venomous ones.
"Where's my son? Akira?" Akito demanded.
"He's sleeping with Yuki-kun," Tohru smiled, thinking of the two passed out boys in Yuki's room.
"Where?"
"They're both in Yuki-kun's room. Akira-san is fine, really!" Tohru assured Akito.
Glancing around the room, Akito nodded, seeming to trust Tohru's words. She eyed the spotless room with what appeared to be disdain or envy. Spotting a framed photo on the wall, she stalked over and eyed it suspiciously. It was an old picture taken at least a year ago. Tohru stood in the middle with Yuki and Kyo at her sides. It was the first time Akito had seen either of them smile. Her frown deepened as she scrutinized Shigure's wide grin. She hadn't seen Shigure smile so either. Akito fingered the photo for a moment before tearing it off the wall and flinging it across the room.
"Tohru Honda, you may be pregnant with Yuki's daughter, but that doesn't mean I hate you any less. You're still an ugly witch who has stolen my family from me," Akito hissed.
"I-I didn't!"
"Shigure? He's mine. And where is he? Here with you. Yuki? He's mine. What's he doing? Fucking you!" Akito shouted furiously.
Before Tohru could respond, Akito's fingers enclosed her thin throat and she was shoved against the wall behind her. Tohru gasped, squirming against Akito's grip, but she was unable to budge an inch. Akito stepped closer to her, glowering at her darkly. Her sharp nails dug into Tohru's neck as Tohru was pressed more forcefully against the solid structure. Tohru's hands found their way to Akito's, clawing and prying without success. She couldn't get one finger to loosen. It was like trying to push a house. She couldn't move her feet either –Akito was stepping on both of them.
"I-I can't breathe!" Tohru choked out.
"That's the point."
Tohru could feel her lungs catch fire. They burned viciously, and the pain just continued to spiral upward, engulfing all her innards. She tried to speak again or at least catch a breath, but she couldn't even manage to get out the softest squeak. She was beginning to get lightheaded, and she could no longer see clearly. Dark splotches began replacing the scenery before her. She couldn't even clearly see Akito, who was a mere five inches from her, but she was positive that Akito was smirking. Tears bubbled to Tohru's face as she realized death may just be around the corner.
"Tohru?"
She could hear Yuki's faint calls grow louder. Her eyes fluttered open, racing towards the direction of his voice weakly. He was getting nearer, but Akito didn't seem fazed by this. Tohru could see Yuki in the room now. His eyes widened in shock which soon narrowed with anger. He nearly tossed Akira aside, but lucky for the half asleep baby, Shigure was nearby. Yuki handed Akira to his father before grabbing Akito and tearing her away from Tohru. Tohru collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. She clasped her hands to her chest and sucked in as much oxygen as she could.
"What are you doing?! She watches your son all day, and you repay her by trying to kill her?!" Yuki snapped lividly.
"Who are you to accuse me of such things?! I am your god!" Akito screeched.
"No, not anymore," Yuki denied.
He bent down to help Tohru sit up. Ignoring Akito for a moment, Yuki checked up on Tohru fretfully. She seemed fine, not injured but startled. He soothingly raked his fingers through her tousled hair and gently cleared her face of the tears trailing down her cheeks. Yuki brushed his fingers against the purple chocker forming around Tohru's neck worriedly. Tohru buried her face against Yuki's shoulder, sobbing bitterly. He patted her back comfortingly, murmuring reassuring phrases into her ear to pacify the hysterical girl.
"W-What do mean?" Akito questioned unsteadily.
Yuki glanced back at her for a second before wrapping his arms around Tohru. He pulled her against his chest in a clear embrace. Akito watched in horror as no little rat replaced Yuki. She had sensed something wrong with the curse for a while, but she hadn't expected it to be broken. She stormed over, reaching her arm out to tear Tohru away from Yuki. Never before had Yuki ever dared to do anything against her, but she could see nothing other than hatred coating Yuki's gray eyes as he glared at her. She froze and closed her hand into a tight fist.
"You- You wretched girl!" Akito snarled, taking her anger out on Tohru.
She raised her hand as if to slap Tohru, but Akira's crying interrupted her.
"Mama!" Akira cried.
Surprisingly, Akito lowered her hand and her expression softened instantly. She took Akira gently into her arms, but Akira didn't settle down. He thrashed about wildly, striking Akito with small fists.
"Mama! Mama! Mama!" Akira wailed, flailing his arms in Tohru's direction.
Akito furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion. She glowered at Tohru but helplessly set her son on the ground. Akira instantly crawled over to Tohru, seating himself on her lap and clinging to her tightly. He whimpered and wedged himself between Yuki and Tohru. Akira didn't even turn his head to glance back at Akito. He simply clutched Tohru's shirt and continued to call for his 'mama'. Tohru was shocked to find the baby she had only known for one day worried about her.
Akito seemed hurt to see this. She couldn't even manage to yell anymore.
"You've already taken everything from me… Must you take my son too?" Akito whispered.
"I-I'm not taking him!" Tohru denied.
Tohru tried to hand Akira back, but Yuki stopped her. He kept his arm outstretched in front of her as his other arm wrapped around her waist and held her against him. Bewildered, Tohru gazed at him. Glancing back at his mother, Akira began to wail louder. Tohru held the child against her chest, but Akira's cries only died down slightly. He kept one hand firmly wrapped around Tohru's shirt, but his other arm was extended towards Akito. Akira finally released Tohru and was struggling to get back to his mother.
"She won't give Akira back unless you promise to never hurt her again or do anything to our daughter," Yuki told her.
"I won't! Just give him back!" Akito promised immediately.
Yuki obliged with a smile and brought Akira to her. Akito smiled and hugged the boy tightly. Akira grinned and squeaked ecstatically, clinging to Akito.
"Mommy!" he chirped.
Akito patted her son's back as she glared at Shigure, "You didn't take care of him at all, did you?"
"I fed him!" Shigure defended himself proudly.
"Not really," Yuki grumbled.
"Shigure," she seethed before stomping off with the baby bag.
"Wait! Akito-chan!" Shigure called as he chased after her.
Yuki laughed as Shigure ran out of the house without his shoes. He could see Akito get into a black car and broke into hysteria as the car sped off without Shigure. Shigure pointlessly raced after the speeding vehicle, still crying out for Akito. Tohru fought back her smile with great difficulty. It was hard not to beam when Yuki was, but at the moment, she wasn't going to let her happiness make her forget what she had to say to Yuki. She gently shoved him, getting his attention quickly. His chuckles came to an abrupt end when he noticed her upset expression.
"Yuki-kun! I can't believe you used Akira-chan as a threat!" Tohru exclaimed.
"I wasn't going to hurt the little guy. I already told you. I like him. Besides, now you're safe, and so is our daughter," Yuki smiled with satisfaction.
"Thank you, but you still shouldn't have… Now Akira-chan won't be allowed back here. I'm going to miss him," Tohru murmured.
"Today was fun, wasn't it?"
"Yes, but I'm afraid if we have more days like this you'll never wake up," Tohru stated seriously.
"But I'll be happy," Yuki assured her.
"Happy? You looked miserable all day!" Tohru pointed out.
"But if everyday were like this, then I'll get to see you everyday. Nothing makes me happier than that," Yuki told her.
Tohru flushed. He had a point. What was a tiring day if there was a guarantee that they got to see each other? Tohru beamed brightly and burrowed her face against his arm. He peered at her, glad to see that she didn't seem to be in pain. His expression softened as his fingers stroked her cheek. Tohru leaned against his touch, blushing brightly and struggling to contain her embarrassment. The only thing that kept her from breaking away, besides his enchanting caress, was that Shigure wasn't home at the moment.
It turned out that she didn't have to move, for Yuki was the one to pull away.
"You made me jealous today…" Yuki admitted softly.
"Of what?"
"You and Akira…" he trailed off, "You seem to like him more than you like me."
"I-I do not! I love you! You know that…"
"Do I?" Yuki mused, "I don't know. You say you do, but you seem to be avoiding me. You hardly let me hold you or kiss you-"
She interrupted him, pressing her lips softly against his. His eyes doubled in size at the unexpected peck he had just received. Tohru ended it before he could react. Before he could even notice the blush overtaking her face, Tohru hopped to her feet and fled from the room, leaving a stunned Yuki in the living room.
I don't like this chapter D: It's boring. I'm sorry. Review and correct my mistakes please. And go write me Yukiru stories for my birthday, which is in three days! :D