Dissociation
Chapter Seven
-Fun Day-
That Friday Akito pulled up to Natsumi's house around ten. Turning off his car, he got out and walked up to the door, ringing the bell. Toshiro had talked to her about letting him see the kids, and she had actually agreed.
As he stood there waiting, he took off his aviators and hung them on his white t-shirt. Today he had taken the day off of work to take them to the amusement park, and so was wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt, with some tennis shoes. He figured that would be a fun thing to do, even for the twins, because no matter what age you are amusement parks are still fun.
The door opened and he was met with his best friend's smile. "Hey Akito!" Toshiro laughed and allowed him into the luxurious abode.
"Hey." He said as he entered and looked around the place, having never been there before. "Where's Natsumi?" he asked, half expecting her to be there, and yet glad that she wasn't, since he was still mad at her for what she had done. But it was okay, because his revenge was going to be perfect.
"She had to go to work early so I told her I'd come over and watch the kids until you got here." He told him, walking into the kitchen and opening up the fridge. "You want anything to drink?"
"No thanks. Are the kids up?"
"Yeah, they're getting ready." The redhead sighed and closed the door to the fridge, holding a bottle of water. "So I was given a list of conditions by Natsumi before she left. She wants me to read them to you…" he trailed off, seeing Akito's irritated façade.
"And they are?" he asked, crossing his arms.
Toshiro went over to the counter and picked up a piece of paper. "Ok, first is: make sure that Hayate is within your sight at all times. Since he likes to run off and investigate shiny things."
"Ok."
"Second, keep the twins at least three feet apart."
"As always."
"Third, when you feed them lunch it better at least be somewhat good for them. Try not to put anything fried into the kids. And Hayate is allergic to mushrooms."
"She expects me to find somewhat healthy food at a theme park?" he asked, incredulous. "Has she even been to one? They practically only sell fried foods."
"She wrote: snacking is fine, but there better be a meal near lunch for them. Why don't you just take them out of the park to a restaurant? All you have to do is get stamped and you can come right back in." he told his friend.
Akito sighed. "I guess, but it's not the same if you don't get a jumbo dog and a soda with funnel cake."
"Akito…just do it." Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Do you really want to shove your kids full of synthetic crap?"
"Fine, I will take them to a restaurant."
"Fourth, make sure if they get tired you give them time to rest and put plenty of sunscreen on them."
"Okay."
"Fifth, make sure they drink lots of water to stay hydrated."
"Uh huh."
"Sixth, and this one is for you, don't go on too many loop rides in a row, since you know your stomach sometimes gets restless." Toshiro smiled. "Awwww. That's kind of sweet."
"Shut up." He pouted, looking off, though a slight pink was on his cheeks.
"Oh, the seventh one is for you too. Make sure you do those hand exercises after the rides since you get really tense and it makes your muscles sore later on. So don't strain yourself."
"Is there anything else?" Akito asked, beginning to feel embarrassed at Natsumi's reminders for him, though he knew he would forget if she hadn't.
He nodded and set the paper down, "This morning, she told me that if you wanted…they could spend the night at your house."
His eyes widened. "Really? That would be great."
"Sounds good." Toshiro laughed and walked out of the kitchen and towards the steps. "Hey punks! You're staying the night at your dads so grab your bags!"
Akito followed him, hearing the patter of quickly moving feet, and he assumed they were all hurrying to get their things together. "Hi dad!" Hayate yelled as he appeared at the top of the steps, a backpack almost as big as he was dragging on the floor behind him.
"Hayate, what is that?" Akito asked, raising a brow.
"It's my bag of stuff for tonight." He said, pushing it so that it bounced loudly down the stairs. "I have to be prepared for anything."
Izayoi and Kanamé stared down at him, their packs on their backs. "Hayate, you didn't need to bring all your toys. It's only one night and we're not even going to be there long. We're going to an amusement park." Izayoi rolled her eyes and ran down the stairs, hugging her dad tightly. "Dad! I missed you! Are you ok? Did you go to jail? Was it cold? You didn't get raped did you?"
"I missed you too, I did go to jail, it was actually a little stuffy, and no, I did not get raped." He said, returning his daughter's embrace. "How has my little angel been?"
"Horrible." She frowned. "I've been stuck with the wicked witch from the west. I want to come live with you." She told him. "Not just for one night."
He sighed, brushing some of her hair out of her face. "Well that is something your mother and I will have to discuss, since you are a minor." He said.
"But sissy!" Hayate said, having finally made his way down the stairs. "I'll miss you!" he hugged her around the legs.
"Yeah well Mom's a bitc-"
"Izayoi!" Toshiro scolded, actually glaring, which silenced the young girl instantly.
"I don't want to hear you say that about your mother." Akito said, frowning down at his daughter. "Especially around your younger siblings."
"You and I both know she is." She whined, seeing he wasn't letting up. "Yes sir." She looked away and released him as Kanamé and Sanosuke finally came downstairs.
"Is everyone ready to go?" Akito asked, seeing that they all had their bags.
"Yeah." Sanosuke sighed.
Hayate nodded excitedly. "Uh huh! I wanna ride as many rides as I can until I puke!"
"I don't think that's as much fun as it sounds son." Akito said, giving him a skeptical look. Thank God amusement parks only had a small selection of kid rides that he could go on. None of which would cause him to toss his cookies.
"Yeah we're ready." Kanamé said, walking out the front door with Izayoi behind him. Sanosuke and Hayate followed them and they all stopped dead in their tracks, horrified by what they saw.
Toshiro and Akito came out then and even Toshiro mirrored the kid's expressions. "What the hell is that?" the redhead asked pointing at the brand new minivan in the drive way.
"A queer's mobile, that's what." Sanosuke said with a sigh.
"What?" Akito huffed, looking at his best friend. "I couldn't very well drive them around in the Lamborghini. The last time we tried that, they were all squished. Isn't this what people with lots of kids have?"
"Mom has an Escalade." Kanamé said, ashamed that he would be riding in that vehicle.
"Yeah, well, this was the least queer van they had. At least it's fancy." Akito said, hitting a button on his keys and causing the doors and trunk to open, so that the kids could put their stuff away. They did so and Kanamé took the front and Sanosuke took one of the center two. Izayoi looked around the car and grimaced. "Dad don't you have a booster seat?" she asked, since she hadn't seen one in the trunk or in the back.
Akito grimaced. "Uh…does your mom have an extra one?" he asked, since it hadn't occurred to him that Hayate would need one. When he and Natsumi had been married, he'd never taken Sanosuke anywhere, and so he didn't know that they needed booster seats in a car.
"I'll get it." Toshiro held up his hand and went back into the house, brining it out and helping Izayoi strap it into the middle seat in the back. "There we go."
"Come here Hayate." Izayoi called, helping her little brother in and buckling him up. Once he was secure she got in beside Sanosuke and buckled up.
"Bye Uncle Toshiro." They all called, waving at him as the redhead closed the door.
He sighed, glancing to his friend. "I hope you have a great day with them Akito. And Minako and I are taking the kids on Sunday so that you and Natsumi can talk things over."
"Thanks. I'll see you then." Akito said, walking around the car and getting in. He put on his aviators and started the van, pulling out of the driveway and heading towards the park. They arrived shortly afterwards, and everyone filed out of the car.
"Wow!" Hayate said, holding Sanosuke's hand as he looked at all of the rides. "This place looks awesome!"
"What are we going to ride on first?" Kanamé asked, following after their father, with Izayoi beside her.
"Whatever you guys want to ride." Akito said.
"Let's go on that one!" Izayoi pointed to the largest and tallest one in the park.
"Okay." They all walked inside and bought their tickets, entering the park. They headed over towards the ride, and Akito stood in line with the kids. Hayate was too small to ride this one, but that was fine. He was amused enough just by watching it over and over again.
The kids rode a few rides, and Hayate rode all of the kid ones in the kid zone. For lunch they left the park and went to one of the restaurants across the street, returning to the park after waiting for a bit so that the kid's stomachs could settle. Akito did his job well, making sure they had plenty of sunscreen and water, and when the sun began to set, they headed back to Akito's mansion.
"Alright kids, you go ahead upstairs and pick the room you want to stay in while I go start dinner." Akito instructed as they entered the house. They all headed upstairs and Kanamé was the first one back down. He came into the kitchen and sat down on one of the stools at the island.
"Dad, I've got a question for you."
"What is it Kanamé?" Akito asked, looking over as he cut up fresh vegetables to put in the soup.
"Are you and Mom going to get back together?"
The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board halted, and Akito sighed. "I don't know." He said softly. "I would like that to be the case, but after I ruined everything the first time, I highly doubt your mom will take me back."
"Well how come you stopped loving her the first time?"
"I never stopped loving her, I just…forgot how much I did." He shrugged, trying to explain it better.
He leaned over the island, playing with a napkin and then began folding it into some origami animal. "Why did you forget?"
"I got so caught up in work and trying to move up in the company…I thought that if I could just get that next promotion, I would be able to give you kids and your mom the lives you deserved. And then, once I did get moved up a bit, I never thought it was enough. But I was so tired when I came home…and I didn't realize how stressful things were on her." He explained, putting the vegetables in the broth and setting them on the stove as he got out the noodles to make the spaghetti.
"When Mom took us away, she cried a lot." Kanamé said sadly, poking at the counter.
He broke the noodles in half and put them in a pot of boiling water, beginning to make the sauce. "I figured." He said. "I…tried to find you guys you know."
"I assumed as much. Especially since for about a year we continued to move every two months. She said she didn't want you to find us. But I think deep down, she really did. She was just scared." He shrugged, getting up from the stool and opening the fridge to get some water.
"It was probably for the best." He said, mixing the sauce. "I wasn't exactly the most stable person after you guys left, and I don't think things would have ended very well." He turned and put the garlic bread in the oven.
He closed the fridge and drank from the water bottle. "I know. I can remember it all. I just thought…that you didn't love her anymore because all you ever did was leave and it made me sad because if you didn't love her, how could you possibly love us? But," he shook his head and looked to the door to see Izayoi coming in with Hayate chasing after her.
"Daddy! Daddy!" he cried out happily. "Look what I did for you!" he said.
Izayoi moved away from him, her hands up in the air as if he were under arrest. "I didn't know I swear!"
Hayate held up one of Akito's best white button down shirts and showed it to his father. All over the front was a messy picture drawn with sharpie.
Akito's eye twitched, but he smiled anyways. He could always buy a new one, it wouldn't be hard to buy a new one. "Wow Hayate…it looks great. Thanks."
"You really like it?" he asked, a hopeful look on his face.
"I love it." he said.
"Yay! I'll go make another one!" the young boy exclaimed as he ran from the room. Akito's eyes widened.
"Izayoi, would you please find something else to occupy Hayate? Dinner is almost done, and I would rather not have to go and buy an entire new wardrobe of work shirts." He asked her.
She shrugged and followed after her brother leisurely. Kanamé was wide eyed and looked up at his father. "Dad! You can't praise him for bad behavior!"
Akito just blinked. "But…he would have cried if I told him I didn't like it." then he hit himself on the forehead with the palm of his hand. "Man, I am so out of practice it's not even funny." He muttered.
"Seriously, you're kinda helpless without Mom." He laughed.
Sanosuke ran in then. "Hey dad, can I have some chocolate?" he asked.
"After dinner." Akito told him, resuming his cooking.
"Okay!" he ran out of the room. Izayoi came in once more.
"Hey Dad. You and Mom went on a date right?"
"Yes." He said, stirring the sauce once more and then moving to check on the noodles.
"Did you have sex?"
Hayate walked back in, holding more of Akito's shirts and two pairs of his pants that were covered in glitter and yellow paint and more sharpie drawings. "What's sex?" he asked, stopping by Akito's side and offering him up his master pieces.
"Something you won't learn about until you are a lot older." Akito said, taking the clothes from his youngest and laying them on the counter.
Sanosuke came back in. "I know what sex is." He said. "Can I have a piece of candy?"
"After dinner. And how do you even know that?" Akito asked.
"I read." Was all the boy said.
"Ima go make more of daddy's clothes beautiful." Hayate said adorably walking away and back out of the room.
Izayoi sat down on one of the stools as Kanamé did as well. "You didn't answer my question Dad." She pointed out.
"Can I have a brownie?" Sanosuke asked.
"After dinner."
"Okay." He left. Akito looked at his daughter.
"Of course we did. We had to have all of you guys didn't we?"
"No." she said, sounding a bit annoyed. "I meant after your date."
"No, we didn't. We're divorced, remember?" he returned to stirring the sauce, and he turned the noodles down to a low simmer, since they were almost done.
"So you guys haven't had sex since you got divorced?" she pestered.
He turned and looked at her. "Why do you even want to know this kind of stuff? You shouldn't even know what sex is." He pointed at her with the spoon he had been using to stir the sauce.
Kanamé looked to his sister with a devious smirk. "I take that as a yes."
She nodded. "A very solid yes."
"Think it was that night she came home from uncle Toshiro's all dazed?"
They both looked to him then, waiting for an answer. "I plead the fifth." Was all he said as he turned around and took the noodles off the stove, moving to the sink to drain the water from the pot. Sanosuke ran back in.
"Hey dad, can I have a lollipop?"
"After dinner."
"Okay!" he ran back out.
The next thing they knew Hayate was running in, screaming at the top of his lungs, with Sanosuke after him. "Daddy!" Hayate yelled. "The curtains are on fire!"
"What?"
Sanosuke paled. "I'm sorry! I didn't know he was going to actually use the lighter. I wouldn't have taught him if he was going to use it!"
"Oh for crying out loud!" Akito yelled, running and grabbing his pitcher of water from the fridge. He went into the living room and splashed it on his flaming curtains, dousing the flames instantly. When the smoke cleared, Akito saw that they had been ruined, and he groaned. He walked back into the kitchen and looked at the two youngest kids. "And just why did you think it would be okay to allow a five year old to play with a lighter?" he asked Sanosuke.
"Um…seemed like good idea…at the time." He shrugged. Akito sighed and held his hand out to Hayate, who placed the lighter in it sheepishly.
"Thank you." He said, placing it on top of the fridge. Then he looked at them. "Okay, you two go and get some towels from one of the bathrooms, and dry up the water. Then put them in the hamper when you're done. Once that is finished, pick a seat at the table and park it." he ordered, pointing at them both. They nodded, and Sanosuke grabbed Hayate's hand before they ran from the kitchen.
Akito sighed. "Don't. Say. Anything." He said to the twins before walking over and putting the now drained noodles in a bowl before stirring the sauce once more and turning off the stove, his earlier mixed vegetables done cooking as well.
"DAD!" they heard Sanosuke yell. Kanamé and Izayoi looked to one another and then back to their father.
"Want me to call Mom?" Kanamé asked.
"No, I got this." Akito said, running from the kitchen and to his bedroom, where he had heard Sanosuke's voice come from. He stopped when he was just inside the doorway. "What?" he asked, somewhat in alarm.
Hayate was jumping around on the king sized bed, throwing feathers around in the air, the entire room looking as if it had just snowed. Hayate was hitting the walls and bed with a nearly empty pillow. Akito's eyes widened. "Hayate!" he said sternly, causing the little boy to stop and go completely wide eyed.
Akito walked over until he was in front of him, eye level with the small boy since Hayate was standing on the bed. "What did I tell you to do?" he asked, his voice still serious.
"To…dry up the water." He said, his lower lip trembling a bit.
"And did you do it?" Akito raised a brow, placing his hands on his hips. Hayate shook his head, water beginning to pool at the corner of his eyes. "Then what is it that you need to do right now?"
"Tell you I'm sorry?" he asked, sounding hopeful that it was the right answer.
Akito nodded. "And?"
"And…that I love you?" he said, his identical eyes wide. Akito smiled slightly, unable to really stay mad at him. He was just too adorable.
"Thank you. Now, give me this," he took the pillow case from him. "And go help Sanosuke with the water." He picked him up and placed him on the ground. "I don't want you to touch anything else until you are done, is that understood?" he asked, crouching down so that he was looking into his son's face.
"Yes daddy." Hayate nodded and looked to the floor a bit shamefully.
"Now go on, dinner is almost done." He pat Hayate's bottom and sent him on his way, Sanosuke following after his brother. Akito walked back into the kitchen and took the garlic bread out of the oven. He sighed as he began to cut it. "I honestly don't know how your mother does it." he commented, beginning to make Hayate a plate of food, since he wouldn't be able to serve himself.
"Because she's amazing." Kanamé shrugged and got up, making himself a plate as well. Izayoi did the same and nodded.
"She does always remember everything and what day it's on and what time."
Akito made Sanosuke a plate as well, and carried them into the dining room, the twins behind him. "She always was better at those things." He set the plates down. "Kanamé, will you go check on your brothers, and if they're done, tell them that dinner is ready?" he asked, heading back into the kitchen to get them all something to drink.
"But isn't that just a generic mom thing?" Izayoi asked, twirling her fork around in the noodles as Kanamé went off into the other room to bring his brother's in.
"They do say moms have super powers." Akito said, setting down two glasses of water and then going back for his own plate. When he came back everyone was seated at the table and eating, so he took his place at the head and did so as well. "Does it taste alright to everyone?" he asked, taking a bite.
Hayate looked over at him with his cheeks stuffed full of noodles and began to speak, all of it sounding muffled.
"I didn't know you knew how to cook." Was all Sanosuke said, eating his vegetables. Then Hayate spit his food back onto his plate so that he could be heard.
"It's great!" he exclaimed, re-shoveling the food back into his mouth.
"Hayate, smaller bites, or you'll choke." Akito ordered, causing the young boy to spit it all out once more and put in one noodle to eat at a time.
"It's good." The twins replied together. The rest of dinner was spent listening to Hayate go on and on about how great the amusement park was, since it was his first time going, and everyone else talking about some of the funnier moments. After dinner Akito washed the dishes and had told the two youngest to get dressed in their pajamas. He heard screaming then, and quickly closed the dishwasher, going into the living room, where Sanosuke was chasing Hayate around, pretending to be a monster.
"Kids, knock it off." He said. "Where are you even getting all of this sudden energy from?"
"From the chocolate, and the brownies, and the lollipop, and the candy." Sanosuke said, not letting up in his chase. When they ran by him he grabbed Sanosuke by the arm, halting his movements.
"And why did you eat that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Sanosuke blinked. "You said I could have it all after dinner." Akito mentally cursed. Little swindler, that's what his son was.
"Well, don't get your brother too wound up. It's almost time for you all to go to bed anyways." He let go and straightened.
"Too late! I gave him some of my dessert!" Sanosuke yelled, resuming in his earlier pursuit. Hayate shrieked and began to run once more, and eventually both children were running in circles around Akito, who was repeatedly hitting his head on the wall, cursing himself for being so stupid.
The TV then turned on in the living room, the volume on max as Izayoi began dancing to what was playing on MTV. Kanamé just sighed and grabbed the cordless phone on the wall, "I should probably call Mom, this place it out of control."
Akito looked over at him. "No. I don't need her help. Then she'll just be all, 'I told you so' in that annoying way that she always does, and she'll never let me live it down." He said.
"Yeah but-"
"No buts!" Akito threw his hands in the air. "I can handle this."
Kanamé shook his head. "If you say so."
Akito looked at his watch and saw that it was only just now turning eight fifteen, since they had had dinner at seven thirty. He looked at Kanamé, ignoring Sanosuke and Hayate, who had moved their game of chase into the living room, where they were running around Izayoi. "What time does everyone usually go to bed? I know it's the weekend, but I don't want to throw you off your sleep schedule."
"Really?" Kaname asked, glancing over at him. "That's your excuse?"
"Not wanting your mother to get mad at me because I let you stay up too late is not an excuse." Akito said, crossing his arms. "Besides, you used to have bedtimes when you were younger, even on weekends."
Izayoi looked over from her spot resting on the couch and rolled her eyes. "Key word being 'when we were younger' me and Kaname can stay up till twelve if we want and Sanosuke and Hayate can till ten if they aren't that tired." She snickered.
"Why would your mom let a five year old and a nine year old stay up that late?" he asked, shocked.
"They never do." Kaname said, walking over and grabbing the remote from his sister and changing the channel. "It just makes them happy to think that they are special and get to stay up late. Even though they usually pass out around eight or nine."
Great. That meant it would be closer to nine, since he had given them sugar. Though, they had stopped their game of chase and were now content to hitting each other with the pillows from the couch, both laughing in glee.
"Don't hit each other too hard boys." He warned. Sighing, Akito went and grabbed his portable vacuum, using it to get rid of all of the feathers in his room, since the kids were preoccupied for the time being. That's when he heard the sound of breaking glass. He rushed out and went wide eyed, seeing a gaping hole in one of the window panes. All four of them were stark white and looked over to their father, since they were all tangled in each other's limbs.
"He did it!"
"She did it!"
"He did it!"
"He did it!" they all yelled together, pointing at someone else.
Taking a deep, calming breath, Akito looked at Kanamé. "Kanamé, would you please explain to me what happened?" he asked, his tone indicating that he was not in the mood for the blame game.
Kaname actually looked somewhat fearful of his father's demeanor. "Well…Sanosuke and Hayate attacked me and Izayoi so we started pillow fighting as well and it all got kind of crazy…and someone…hit the lamp and it crashed through the window."
He sighed once more, something he had done a lot since coming home with his kids. "I am going to go outside and clean up the lamp and the glass. While I do that, I want this living room put back the way it was when we came home. And when you are done, you are not to come near the glass on the floor inside the house, and nothing else better be broken, set on fire, or covered in sharpie." He counted everything out on his fingers. "You will sit on the couch and watch television until further instruction. Is that understood?" he asked, crossing his arms.
They all frowned and watched him leave, doing as instructed and cleaning up their mess. They sat down and waited, sullen looks mirroring on all the Uchiha children. Hayate was trying his best not to cry, since he was trying to impress his father in how much of a good boy he was. "Do you think daddy hates us now?" he whispered, afraid of the answer.
"I don't think so Hayate." Kaname told him, attempting a smile that failed. "He just doesn't remember how to be a dad. And you weren't around the first time round. He wasn't very good at it the first time. So he's trying to learn. It'll be alright."
"But I did all that stuff he said." the little boy's bottom lip quivered. "What if he doesn't like me anymore?"
Izayoi leaned forward and shook her head. "Everybody likes you Hayate. And you're just five, it's not your fault and you're excited. We understand." She smiled.
"But-" they all looked to the back door as it was opened and Akito walked in, carrying the trash can the was now full of glass. Without even looking at the kids he set it down and kneeled on the floor, picking up the larger pieces. Then he took the portable vacuum and sucked up every piece that was left, until he was sure none of the kids, or himself, would slice their feet open. Standing, he dumped the contents of the vacuum, which were solely feathers and glass bits, into the trash can before picking it up once more and walking into the kitchen.
Four pairs of eyes watched all of his actions, staring at the entrance to the kitchen. They could hear him moving around, and it sounded as if he were taking out the bag of trash to the dumpster and replacing it. About five minutes later he walked by them again, putting away the vacuum in the hall closet. Then he came back into the living room and stared at the large hole in his window pensively, his lips pressed into a thin line.
Without so much as a word, he walked back to the garage and grabbed a few things, heading back outside. Through the glass in the window, the kids watched as Akito used duct tape to keep up a thick layer of cellophane wrap on the outside, so that no bugs would come inside during the night. Then he came back inside and did the same thing, so that they had a double layer of protection. Stepping back, he placed his hands on his hips, one holding the cellophane and the other the silver tape, and examined his work.
"Well, it looks extremely ghetto, but I think it will have to do." He said, startling the kids. He didn't even sound mad anymore. It sounded almost as if he were trying to make a joke to lighten the mood.
"I'm pretty tired so I think I'm going to sleep." Kaname said softly, getting up and heading for the stairs. "Night." He called over his shoulder.
Izayoi stood as well and looked over at her father. "Me too. That way we can wake up and have breakfast in the morning."
Akito turned and watched them go upstairs. Then he looked at Sanosuke and Hayate. "You two should probably go to bed as well. It's late."
"Yeah." Sanosuke hopped off the couch and turned to Hayate. "Come on Hayate, I'll help you get ready." He took his little bother's hand and they made their way upstairs after the twins. Akito sighed, feeling guilty, though for what he didn't know.
He put away everything else that was out, and when he was done he headed upstairs. Going to the room that Kanamé had picked, he knocked before entering, seeing that the room was already dark. He walked over to the bed and stopped. "How badly did I do? Be honest." He said to his son.
There was a low sigh and Kaname sat up, finding his father's darkened shadow. "You did ok, during the day. You're just rusty. You don't know how to show authority in a loving way. But mom just said that's cause you're a lawyer. You think more tactically than emotionally. But I'm sure you'll get the hang of it."
"Yeah, well, thanks for not giving up on me." He smiled, reaching out and ruffling his hair. "Goodnight son. I love you." Akito said, turning and walking back to the door.
"Love you too Dad." He said, laying back down.
Akito shut the door and went across the hall to Izayoi's room. He knocked, waiting a few seconds before entering, though her lights were still on, and she was sitting up in bed, looking like she had been waiting for him to come up. He smiled at the sight. "It's been forever since I got to say goodnight to all of you." He commented, sitting down on the edge of her bed.
"Yeah it has."
His brow furrowed. "Do I suck as badly as I think I do? I know I'm not as fun as your mom is, but I was trying to make today enjoyable." He scratched the back of his head.
Izayoi laughed. "Mom isn't fun. She's bossy."
"It's not like I'm any better." He said truthfully.
"But you didn't take us away anywhere and ruin our lives." She pointed out.
"But I was the reason you were taken away in the first place." He countered.
She waved him off. "Mom was selfish because you wouldn't spend every waking moment adoring her. She was just being stupid. It's not like being a mom is that hard right? And if it was, why'd she get pregnant in the first place?"
"Well…you and Kanamé weren't exactly planned…" he told her. "You have to remember she and I got married at a young age, and the two of you were born soon after, so it's not like we got to get used to marriage before having kids."
"Yeah but still," Izayoi huffed. "It's not like she had to work. She just hung around the house all day and played with Sanosuke and typed on the computer. What was so difficult about that?"
"Well, knowing your mom, she kept the house clean, did the laundry, made breakfast, lunch, and dinner, took you all to school and kept up with your individual schedules, all while going to school herself, and taking care of an infant, which require a lot of attention. It's not exactly a walk in the park." He brushed some of her hair from her face and kissed her forehead. "I'm not saying you shouldn't be upset with your mom for what happened, I just think you should try to cut her a bit of slack." He gave her a small smile. "She gave up her life to raise you kids, and I'm happy that she was finally able to reach her dream of becoming a doctor."
"She is a pretty good doctor." She said smiling a bit. She got an award and was one of the top five surgeons in the country last year."
"And I bet she never puts her work before any of you." He said.
"Not if she can help it. But there are emergencies. She's only missed one game though, so I guess she really is good at her job." She shook her head.
"See? She's not that much of a bitch. Only on special occasions, and usually when it has to do with me." He joked, smiling at her.
"Then why don't you just have sex more? I heard sex makes women much nicer and shuts them up…in a sense." She blushed a bit.
Akito gave her a scolding look. "Why do you know that?"
"I read a couple of Mom's sexy novels." She admitted shyly.
He sighed. He probably should have expected this, but he still didn't like to think of his little girl knowing about those kinds of things. "Sometimes things just aren't as simple as they are in books honey. I wish they were, but they aren't."
"Then how come you don't just talk? I mean, she has to still like you right? If she didn't she would have changed her legal name back to Sabaku right?" she laughed, placing her hand on her Dad's leg and trying to pat some reassurance into him.
He blinked. "I thought she did. The officers called her by her maiden name when they were arresting me."
"Probably cause she goes by Sabaku and sign's stuff. But she tells people to call her Dr. Natsumi. Her medical degree says Uchiha on it though and wouldn't that be the right name?" she asked, looking confused now from her father's fuddled look.
"Oh. I thought she had changed it back…" he trailed off, a wave of relief washing through him. Then he looked back at her. "Never mind. You need to go to sleep." He rose and kissed her forehead once more. "I love you Izayoi. And don't worry, your mom and I will definitely be having a talk this weekend."
"Love you too Dad! See you in the morning!" she told him, snuggling into the sheets as he left and flipped off the lights.
Akito walked down the hall and knocked on Sanosuke's door before entering. He went over to the bed, leaning over and kissing the top of his head. "Goodnight buddy." He said softly.
"Night dad." Sanosuke said, rolling onto his side and facing him. "Dad…? I'm sorry if I made you angry. I promise to be better next time."
Akito smiled and brushed some of his son's bangs from his face. "You don't have to be better Sanosuke, you just have to be yourself. I love you the way you are. What I don't love is how troublesome your curiosity can be, but it's nothing I can't handle. I just have to get used to it. Okay?"
"Okay." He returned his father's smile. "I love you dad."
"I love you too." Akito said, leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. Last but not least was Hayate's room, and Akito was actually a little nervous. It had been a while since he had said goodnight to someone so young, and on top of that he didn't know what Natsumi usually did.
Entering the room, he went over to the bed and sat down on the edge, his youngest still awake, since he had left the light on. "Hey munchkin." He said.
Hayate looked up at him, his identical green eyes wide. "Daddy? Do you hate me cause' I ruined all your stuff?"
Akito's eyes widened, and he shook his head. "No, I could never hate you Hayate. I love you. You just made daddy angry, but I know you didn't mean it." he said.
"I'm sorry." He said softly, sounding as if he was about to cry. Akito reached out and pulled him into his lap, holding him close.
"I know. I forgive you. They were easily replaceable anyways, so it really isn't a big deal." He reassured him. Hayate pulled away from his chest and gave him a doubtful look.
"Are you sure? Cause' I can save up my allowance and pay you back. Mommy said I need to be 'sponcible, and I want to make you proud." He said, nodding.
This made Akito smile lovingly at the gift that was his youngest. "That isn't necessary, but thank you for offering. You're just a little kid, I expect you to break things every now and then. But I also expect you to be mindful of your actions and your surroundings."
"Yes sir."
"Good." He kissed him on the forehead and then laid him back down, rising and tucking him into the sheets. "Now go to sleep so that you have plenty of energy for tomorrow. Okay?"
"Okay!" he said, snuggling into the sheets. "Night daddy. I love you."
"And I love you." Akito said, turning out the lights before leaving the door cracked just a bit so that some light from the hall would stream in. He didn't want Hayate to get scared after all, since he was in a strange place.
Sighing and smiling to himself, Akito went downstairs to finish cleaning things up and hiding the things that could be hazardous to his kids. After finishing that, he went into his room and put on a pair of loose pants and an old shirt that Natsumi had gotten them when they had first gotten married, saying 'Kiss the Lawyer' on it. Although, it wasn't until after he had worn it in public that she told him to only wear it at home, since he'd been attacked by numerous women while out shopping with her.
He pulled back his sheets and got into his bed, leaving on the lamp and taking out a book so that he could read a bit before going to sleep. Not even five minutes into the book, he heard the patter of small feet on the hardwood floor, and shortly after his bedroom door cracked open, and Hayate's head poked around it. "Daddy?" he asked, sounding afraid. Seeing that his father was awake, he pushed the door fully open and ran into the room.
"Daddy!" he cried, tears streaming down his cheeks. Akito's eyes widened and he put down his book, picking up Hayate when he reached the bed.
"Hayate, what's wrong?" he asked.
"I want mommy!" he said, his lower lip quivering.
Akito faltered, unsure of what to do. "Well…mommy isn't here right now. She's back at your house, and-" he was cut off when the young boy broke into hysterics, whining incoherently about how much he missed Natsumi, and how scared he was, and how badly he wanted to go home. Not knowing what to do, Akito scanned his room frantically for something to preoccupy the crying boy with. Should he just drug him so that he falls asleep? No, that would be wrong.
His eyes landed on his cell phone, and he was struck with an idea. "Hey, Hayate! I have an idea." He said excitedly, causing the little boy to stop crying momentarily.
"W-what is it?" he asked, rubbing his wet eye.
"Why don't we call mom on my phone, and you can say goodnight to her that way." He suggested.
This caused him to perk up instantly, as if a switch had been flipped inside of him. "Really? Let's do it! Call mommy! Call mommy!" he chanted, clapping his hands. Akito picked up his phone and hit speed dial, holding it to his ear as it began to ring, and praying that she answered.
Just when he thought it was going to go to voice mail the dial ended and was replaced by a somewhat breathless voice. "Hello?"
"Hey Natsumi, do you have a minute? Hayate wants to say goodnight to you." He said.
"Of course! I always have time for my baby. I wasn't able to sleep anyways. Go ahead and put him on."
"Here you go buddy." Akito handed his iPhone over. Hayate took it eagerly.
"Mommy?" he asked, excited to hear her voice.
"Hi Hayate!" she replied, sounding blissfully happy. "Oh I miss you so much my sweet little boy! How are you? Are you being good for daddy?"
"No." he said sadly, looking down in shame even though she couldn't see him. "I colored on daddy's nice clothes, and set his curtains on fire, a broke his feathery pillow, and a window in the living room." He admitted. Akito stroked his son's head, assuring him that he wasn't in trouble with him anymore.
Even Akito could hear her evil snicker over the phone and had to lean closer to hear this. "Oh sweetheart. That's not bad. You were subconsciously getting him back for being a meanie face to mommy. I am very proud of you! He can afford to replace all that anyway. Just make sure you don't do it again. Alright? It was only a onetime thing. I love you a whole lot and I'm sure daddy isn't mad at you. You're the greatest thing in the whole world."
"Nuh uh! I think you are the greatest in the world mommy!" he said, smiling brightly. "And so does daddy! He has a picture of you right next to his bed, and-" Akito put his hand over Hayate's mouth to stop him.
"Don't tell mommy that. It's a secret." He whispered, earning a nod. He removed his hand.
"Forget what I just said mommy. Daddy said it's a secret." He smiled, and Akito just smacked his palm to his forehead.
Natsumi laughed and Hayate could hear the kiss through the phone. "I love you Hayate. Now go be the amazing little boy I know you are and head to bed. Have sweet dreams, I'll see you tomorrow. I miss you so much. So can I talk to your daddy now? And know you are being good and heading off to bed?"
"Yes mommy. I promise I will be the perfect little angel. I love you and goodnight!" he said before shoving the phone back in Akito's face and hopping off the bed, running out of the room. Akito held the phone back to his ear.
"You have no idea how distraught he was that he wasn't able to say goodnight to you." Akito chuckled lightly. "Thank God for technology, huh?" he said, hoping to derail her from asking about what was on his bedside table.
"Yes. Yes, technology is fabulous. So why do you have a picture of me huh? And what is there?" she asked in her oh so prying tone. Trust her to be focused and on target when it came to things about her.
"What do you mean, 'what is there'? There's nothing. Nothing at all." He said.
"Liar!" she sang in a sing song voice. "Tell me, tell me, tell me!"
"And why should I?" he raised a brow.
"Why wouldn't you?" she replied snidely.
"Maybe cause' I don't wanna." He said in a childish voice.
She took a deep breath and even though he knew it was coming he couldn't prepare himself for her sultry voice. "Akito," she purred, sounding incredibly alluring as she always did when she wanted to know something, and it still sent shivers up his spine. "Won't you please tell me?" she asked. "I'll tell you something…exciting." She whispered almost so softly he had to press his ear closer to the phone.
He gulped, his entire mouth going dry. "How exciting?" he asked, and he knew that she knew by the strain in his voice that she had already won.
"Very exciting." She said with an elongated and very satisfied sigh. He could even see the victorious smirk on her face.
"Well…there's that picture of you, you know, the one I took on our wedding day when you were smiling and your hair was blowing in the wind and the way the sun hit you it made you look like an angel." He said, knowing that she knew what he meant.
There was a long pause but he could still hear her breathing, which was slow and uneven. "I have a picture of you too…"
"Which one?" he asked, curious.
"You know," she hesitated. "When we took pictures for the wedding. Where we were both dressed in black and it was a close up on our upper halves and our intertwine fingers were in the shot and we were pressed to on another forehead to forehead and nose to nose."
"Yeah, I remember that one." He smiled at the memory. "Anyways, I also have that yearly calendar you got me with those little saying on it and different pictures of us both growing up on every page, and currently I'm wearing that shirt you got me. The one that says kiss the lawyer on it."
Natsumi laughed. "You don't wear that out in pubic anymore do you?"
"Not since the first time. Plus you told me I wasn't allowed to, so I don't." he leaned against his pillows. "So, what was the exciting news you were going to tell me?"
"Oh you don't want to know that silly thing." She laughed maniacally.
"I believe I do. Now spill." He ordered.
She giggled a bit, "Well if you really want to know…" she said lowly, her voice taking on a tone he recognized and his body instantly responded as he shifted slightly. "Since you have the kids, I decided it might be nice to go to sleep…without any pajamas or undergarments."
"You don't want me to sleep peacefully, do you?" he asked.
"Nope." She replied cheekily. "Well, it's late! Gotta go! Love you! Bye!" she said quickly and a bit rushed and then the line went dead.
Akito looked at his phone in shock. Did she really just say she loved him? He smiled, setting down his phone next to a small, black velvet box. The one thing he didn't tell her about, that Hayate had seen. Turning off his lamp, he got comfortable in his bed. The way things were progressing, it seemed he just might have a use for what was in that velvet box after all.
Natsumi screamed out, throwing her phone into a nearby overstuffed chair as if it had bitten her. She let out another shout and fell back into her bad, lying on her back. "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" she hit herself in the forehead. "Why did I say that? Damn him and his image and attempts at being a good father!" she thrashed around in her large bed, practically throwing a naked fit. She huffed and lay motionless for a while. "God Akito." She turned on her side and stared at the wall. "How is it that after all this time, you still have a hold on my heart?"
With another sigh, she closed her eyes and fell asleep, trying to imagine what Sunday would be like.