Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its chars. I only own my plot.
Warning: Shonen-ai fic, Mpreg
Pairings: Inui X Yanagi, Sanada X Yukimura, Tezuka X Echizen
Data Tales
By: Gwynhafra86
Yuina's Sidestory
Yuina watched as her younger brother started beating at the door, crying and wanting to be let into the room, where their parents were. Not too long earlier, the siblings were startled when their pregnant dad suddenly gave a soft gasp and dropped the bowl he was holding, as he held a table for support with one hand, the other hand holding his swollen stomach.
Yuina recovered quickly, having seen this once, but Satoru was scared half to death. He ran over to cling to Yanagi's legs, trying to somehow make the pain go away. Their dad gave a weak smile, stroking Satoru's hair lightly as he tried to soothe him, though it was obvious that he was still in pain. Their father acted swiftly, calling up the doctor and leading their dad to their bedroom, while giving hurried instructions to Yuina to calm her brother.
Needless to say, she was not successful, hence the current scenario. No matter how she tried to coax her little brother, he remained frightened, wanting to be calmed only by their parents. As a last resort, she wrapped her arms around her little brother, hugging him and rocking him gently. The toddler mellowed a little, but remained crying in her arms.
As Yuina continued to coax her brother, she glanced at the door. Soon, they would be having a new sibling. Time passed so quickly, and the family continued to grow. It was so different from when she was younger. Back then, her family wasn't so big. It was just the three of them, depending on each other, supporting each other.
XXX
Yuina could still remember her younger days with a touch of fondness. Her firm, yet gentle daddy, and her silly, loving otou-san. They were a close-knitted family, and they were happy.
She did not remember much of when she was younger, as there was no way anyone could remember what it was like before 3 years old anyway, but the first people she opened her eyes to (if she opened her eyes to) every morning were her parents, and when she took her first steps, they were the ones encouraging her with open arms. At least that was what she heard from her dad.
Her world revolved around her otou-san and her daddy, and she revolved around their world too.
Yuina had rarely been out of the house all her life. Her parents had taken her on walks occasionally, but for some reason, they preferred to keep her indoors. Not that she actually minded. They kept her company, so that was good enough.
Speaking of which, she hardly got to see her otou-san, who could only be home once in a while. He'd come home on Saturdays and Sundays, and if the family was lucky, he'd stay for the night. Otherwise, he'd probably leave the following day. He might drop by on other days too, if he could, but that was rare.
Yuina didn't know of what her otou-san did when he was out, but she did wonder why he couldn't stay with them all the time. Her daddy could anyway, and when he left her home alone with her nanny, it was only because he had to go to this evil daddy-snatching place called 'school'. Maybe that place took her otou-san away from her too?
Whenever she tried to ask her daddy about her otou-san's disappearing acts, Yanagi always had this weak smile on his face as he tried to explain to her. "Your otou-san has to work, for us. He's a busy person, having to work, to go to school, and…you'll understand when you get older, Yuina." Her daddy would stroke her hair as he spoke.
Of course, she did not understand until much later that she was the cause of her otou-san having to work so hard to support her and her daddy, and she was also the reason why her daddy cooped himself at home, so that he could take care of her when he could very well be running off joining his friends. Her age allowed her to remain oblivious, and to remain happy.
"Otou-otou!" She chirped, running over to hug her father's legs when he entered the door that day.
Inui looked tired, but his face lit up at the sight of her. He scooped her up into his arms, hugging her tightly. "My princess, it's been such a long time. I missed you."
"You only saw her yesterday, Sadaharu." Yanagi walked up to the door too, looking amused. Inui gave him a quick kiss in greeting before releasing him, chuckling as Yuina watched them curiously. He gave her a peck on the cheek. "Well then, let's see what your daddy made for dinner."
"Sushi. I helped." She beamed happily. Inui took a look at the plate and recognized the squashed ones as the ones Yuina must have 'made'. His lips twitched slightly, but otherwise he made no comment. He ate those sushi before smiling at her. "It's delicious. Thank you, princess." He complimented, causing her to beam brightly.
Her otou-san played with her a while before he looked up when Yanagi brought him a stack of notes. "Here. I made these when you were away. With the exams around the corner, I think they might be useful."
Inui nodded. "Thank you, Renji." He set his daughter down. "I'm afraid your daddy and I have to deal with some work. Go play with your toys, Yuina."
Yuina pouted, but obeyed all the same. If it was one more thing she didn't like of this 'school', it was that it always made her parents too busy to play with her. She was left to her own devices while her parents rushed through assignments, discussed homework and revised for their exams.
Feeling bored, Yuina walked over to Yanagi. "Daddy?"
The brunette looked over at his daughter. "Not now, Yuina. I'm busy. I'll play with you later, okay?" With that, he turned his attention back to his books.
The later never came, as Yuina was left to play all alone. Occasionally, she cast a glance at her parents, who were busy with their work. At least they were talking to each other while they dealt with their homework. She had no one to talk to, except her dolls, but dolls did not talk back to her. Quietly, she went to her bed and after washing up like her parents taught her to, she curled up under the blankets and sniffled as quietly as she could.
Her parents loved her dearly, but they were always preoccupied by something or another. Of course, Yuina didn't understand grown-up business. She wondered why her otou-san's brow would crease as he read several pieces of papers, 'bills', as her daddy called them. "Don't worry, Renji. I can deal with this. I do have my allowance for the month too. It's enough." She caught parts of their conversation that night.
Yanagi stroked her otou-san's hair lightly. "I'll share the burden of paying the bills, Sadaharu. You don't have to take all of these upon yourself. We're in this together, remember?"
"Mm. I do not wish to keep relying on Atobe for financial help. This is something I wish to deal with alone." Inui stated firmly.
Yanagi shook his head. "Wrong, Sadaharu. This is something we will deal with. Don't count me out of this."
Inui nodded tiredly. He set the bills on the bedside table next to him. "Very well then. I'm tired, Renji. Good night." Her otou-san was asleep in her daddy's arms in moments.
Yuina had wanted to join them, but seeing them together, she felt like a third wheel and turned to leave.
"Yuina?" Her daddy's voice stopped her. He must have heard her footsteps. She walked back and poked her head into the room. Yanagi smiled at her warmly. "What do you think you're doing standing over there? Come here." He pulled the blankets up, patting his side wordlessly.
Yuina walked over meekly. Her daddy reached over and lifted her up easily before setting her down next to him and tucking her under the covers, wrapping his other arm around her. "I'm sorry, Yuina. I wasn't able to spend much time with you these few days. Your otou-san too. We're really busy now, but we can spend more time together once all these are over. Please be patient with us, ne?"
Yuina nodded wordlessly, snuggling closer to her daddy's warmth. Her otou-san mumbled both her and her daddy's name in his sleep before he began to snore softly.
XXX
Her nanny accompanied her more often than her parents did when they reached their final year, as they had to buck up for the major examinations. Yuina pouted as Inui once more turned down the offer to play with her. She sat in one of the corners, watching her parents busy themselves with their revisions.
At some point, Inui looked up and noticed the bored look on her young face. He took her to the back and gave her some milk and cookies (store-bought ones, of course. For some reason her daddy forbade him to make home-made cookies) before taking out his notebook, giving it to her.
"Remember, Yuina. A real data master should never reveal their data to anyone else, not even their closest friends. A data master's notebook is their hidden weapon, and even your daddy has not seen my notebook, and I his. However, I am passing this to you for safekeeping since you're my little princess. Read it then," he smiled down at her.
Yuina's eyes shone with delight. "Hai, otou-san!" she chirped, not feeling so bored anymore.
Coincidentally, her daddy did the same thing half a day later, though of course, Yuina didn't tell either of them that. She poured through the notebooks happily, treating them like new storybooks and reading through them as diligently as her parents did their textbooks.
Thinking back, that was the starting point for her as she ventured into the world of data. She taught herself to read from those books (guided by her parents when they finally had free time to teach her), and she taught herself to take notes, though at that point, she was writing more diaries than data. Her parents were still too busy to be with her, but at least she found a new way to entertain herself.
It finally came to the day when her parents were done with their finals, and Yuina was glad for it. It meant that they could finally spend more time with her. She could remember the day the results were posted, for her otou-san had promptly lifted her into the air and started dancing around the living room with her, while being watched and filmed by her incredibly amused daddy. They definitely did well, if that whole scene were any indication.
Sadly, just a few days after that, her parents had to return to the evil daddy-snatching place again, for something called a graduation ceremony. Yuina was left alone with her nanny while her parents dressed well and made themselves presentable in their room before heading out the door, instructing for her to be a good girl at home before doing so.
They left the house, and a short one hour later, Yuina was bored. She didn't understand why they wouldn't let her follow them to the daddy-snatching place, when it obviously took up so much of their time. Her nanny bustled about the house, cleaning up the place and paying little attention to her. Making up her mind, Yuina got to her feet and took her bunny plushie before going to the door, dutifully putting on her shoes like her parents taught her to. She succeeded after some time and stood in front of the door, looking up at the handle. Heh, like this was a problem for her data. She carefully rearranged some building blocks, took the key and mimicked what she had observed her father and her daddy did. A soft click could be heard and the door swung open. The brunette girl happily leapt off the blocks and ran outside. Mission accomplished.
She followed the path she was most familiar with, the one which led to the park. Her parents brought her out on a number of occasions, and even though it wasn't much, she could roughly trace her way to the park, then try to look for this 'school' from there.
Reaching the park, she looked around for clues as to where her parents might be. Racking through her mind, she tried to remember the name of that daddy-snatching place, but for the life of her, the name just refused to come to her mind. It wasn't her fault. The name was just too big a mouthful.
Two girls dressed in yellow walked past her, making her eyes light up with hope. She remembered now…her otou-san and her daddy always put on this yellow outfit before heading out. If she followed them, she'd probably be able to find the place. Walking quickly, the little brunette girl trailed behind the two nee-san.
Soon, she came to a part of town which looked very unfamiliar. All around her, houses towered at two, three storeys. Even though she lived in a double storey house all her life, these houses looked bigger than hers. She quickened her pace so that she'd stay close to the two.
They reached a crossroads, and, to Yuina's horror, the two went in completely different directions. That couldn't be right. Surely there was only one daddy-snatching place and not two. Who should she follow?
She chose one of the girls at random, thinking that her outfit looked very similar to her daddies'. Just as she crossed the road, there was a very loud honk and a screech of tyres. Yuina turned around just in time to see a car heading her direction. "Otou-san!" She cried for Inui even as she covered her head.
The car stopped inches from her. The driver was pretty nasty, as he rolled down the windows and started spitting out words Inui and Yanagi severely forbade her from saying, or even understanding. Frightened, the little girl began to cry.
A few good Samaritans came over to take her hand and lead her to the side, letting the car pass. A couple of teenagers came over to check if she was all right.
"Ne, little girl. What is your name? Are you lost?" One kind faced girl asked, even as she patted Yuina on the head to calm her down.
Yuina looked up, her emerald eyes opening slightly. "Yuina," she replied meekly.
"My…she looks a little like Yanagi-senpai," one of the girls whispered excitedly.
"Maybe she's his sister." The other girl held her hand. "Come with us. I'll take you to meet your onii-chan."
"Onii-chan?" Yuina repeated, confused. What was that? Did she have such a thing?
She followed anyway; wondering if that was the right thing to do as she walked. Daddy warned her never to talk to strangers, but she didn't know how else to find her parents.
They entered a place so many times bigger than her house. One of the girls told her this was Rikkai Dai Fuzoku, a school. Yuina's half closed eyes narrowed slightly as she realized that this was the daddy-snatching place she heard so much about. Her parents must be trapped here!
The graduation ceremony was over, actually, and the new graduates exited the hall not too long ago. All graduates had a flower pinned to their clothes, and Yuina's eyes lit up at the sight of her daddy readjusting the flower on her otou-san's clothes.
"Daddy!" She ran over to Yanagi and threw her arms around his legs.
Everyone went quiet. Yuina was too young to understand back then the implications of her actions, as she clung tightly to her daddy, not wanting to be separated from him again. Both Yanagi and Inui were more than surprised to see her there.
"Yuina? What are you doing here? How did you come here? Why did you leave the house?" Yanagi's voice made the little girl look up a little fearfully. Was her daddy angry?
Yanagi gave a sigh and picked her up. It was only then he realized that his schoolmates were whispering and pointing at him. Considering how much Yuina looked like him, things were going to be bad if he didn't do something soon. What should he do…?
"My, Renji. Your cute little cousin just couldn't bear to part from you. She's even playing house here." Inui spoke up to clear the awkwardness of the situation. Yuina looked at him in confusion. What was her otou-otou saying? Cousin? She was their daughter!
"Ah yes. Yuina, we'll continue this at home. Not now." Renji gave her a look which clearly asked her to remain silent.
She buried her face against his neck, feeling miserable. Yanagi rubbed her back. "I'm sorry, Yuina. I will explain this to you later. For now, be a good girl and keep close to otou-san and I. Okay?"
"Mm." She nodded obediently.
The rest of the day was spent watching her otou-san and her daddy talk and laugh with their friends. Yanagi didn't let her down at all, for which she was glad. A lot of squealing girls wanted to carry her, but Yuina was afraid of them. She buried her face against Yanagi's neck every time they tried, and they eventually got the hint and left her alone.
She thought her parents looked so happy, even as they chatted with their friends and hugged them, all to be separated once they left the building. Yanagi didn't put her down at all, seemingly sensing her unease with the strange place. She was more than happy once they left the daddy-snatching place. Inui took over the duty of carrying her in his arms, and Yanagi suggested a Chinese meal to celebrate, which she agreed full-heartedly to. She loved prawn dumplings.
Shortly after, her papa and daddy took her to a place she has never been to before. Her daddy reminded her to be on her best behaviour. Both of them seemed tense, and she too was a little frightened.
Surely enough, her first meeting with her grandparents wasn't one she cherished. Her grandmother was nothing like daddy (though apparently she was daddy's mommy…and what was a mommy anyway?). After a bout of tears, yells and arguments, they managed to come up with a compromise, and Yuina got her peaceful family back.
For a while, life was good. Her parents went for part-time classes in the same university, and they worked in Atobe-san's company. The nice, silver-haired man who popped by from time to time to give her lots of presents (Otou-san's boss, was what daddy said. For some reason her papa was a little afraid of him) was kind enough to let her parents work from home while she was still young, which was good since it gave them more time to spend with her.
Shortly after, her parents were married, and not too long after that, her daddy fell sick. She didn't know why otou-san seemed so calm about daddy throwing up every morning. Her otou-san advised her to always keep daddy happy and not stress him out, which she complied.
Her daddy began to put on weight, and lost it shortly after.
She remembered the day daddy was in a lot of pain. She cried, sensing her daddy's suffering despite his attempts to hide it from her. Sanada-san and Yukimura-san happened to be around that day, and they kept her company, at least until papa came out of the room, holding a bundle in his arms.
He beckoned his daughter over. Yukimura gently led Yuina over to Inui, and he knelt down, showing her the smallest person she has ever seen.
"Yuina. Meet Satoru, your baby brother. Say hello to Satoru."
Yuina blinked, wide-eyed. "Hello Satoru." She repeated obediently. Her brother gave no response as he continued to slumber.
Inui led her into the room, where a groggy Yanagi lay on the bed. He reached out for her, and she took his hand into her own smaller ones.
"Yuina, listen. You're a nee-san now. No matter what, you must protect and love your baby brother. All right?" He stroked her hair.
Both papa and daddy seemed so happy over her little baby brother. Their joy was infectious, and she too, couldn't wait to play with him when he woke up.
That excitement was short lived. She came to realize that her brother was nothing more than a parasite. Back then, when papa and daddy were busy, she had to play on her own. Now, all Satoru had to do was cry, and immediately they'd set down anything they were doing in favour of tending to his needs.
Her brother had her parents' full attention, and she was slowly being singled out. Inui once caught her looking forlornly at her daddy. He took her hand and led her aside to talk to her.
"Yuina…your brother is very young and weak now. He needs us to take care of him, especially daddy. Please be patient until he gets a little older." He told her.
She was young too, and could not really comprehend the true meaning of sharing yet. Her patience had a limit, and slowly, she too began ignoring her brother. Why did she have to bear with this, when her brother did not need to go through the same torture?
After returning from school every day, she would head over to the park until it got late. She had nothing better to do at home anyway. Her brother was noisy and demanding. Daddy was ignoring her, and Inui couldn't be home all the time either. She didn't need to tell papa or daddy as to where she was. It didn't matter to them anyway. Whenever she got home, if daddy wasn't tending to Satoru then he was sleeping. He slept a lot after Satoru came, it seemed.
She continued this for a while. This dragged on, and as she became estranged from her parents, her hours in the park increased. She began to think of building a tree house there, just so that she could stay away from the three.
Even when it rained, she stayed in the park, hiding in one of the play-tunnels. It usually didn't rain long, but that day, it became a whole downpour. She flinched when she heard thunder. She was never fond of that, not since she was a baby. She covered her ears when yet another rumble sounded.
"Yuina! You're still here?"
The brunette girl perked up at hearing daddy's voice. She crawled out a little to see Yanagi standing there with an umbrella in his grasp. He smiled at her. "Yuina…it's getting late. Come on. Let's go home." He held out a hand.
Yuina would have taken it, if she hadn't thought of her baby brother, who was at home too. She'd rather stay here. "No." She crawled back into the tunnel.
Yanagi knelt down, so that he was around her level. "Don't be stubborn, Yuina. It's not safe here in this rain. There is a lot of lightning today. Come, let's go home. Satoru's waiting for you too."
Yuina shuddered at the thought of more lightning, but her brother's name made her scowl. "Then I'll head home on my own!" She ran out of the tunnel and made her way home without her daddy. She had the key too anyway.
"Yuina!" She could hear daddy calling her, even as he ran after her, his footsteps making little sound on the wet grass.
A loud crack overhead made her look up, just in time to see a bolt of lightning strike one of the trees nearby. A rustle followed as one of the branches broke and fell. Yuina screamed in fright as she tried to avoid it fruitlessly.
Her daddy pushed her aside, covering her body with his. There was a thud, and when Yuina looked up, she noticed a trail of blood flowing from her daddy's forehead. She pulled herself to a sitting position and shook Yanagi, who didn't respond. "Daddy…daddy…wake up! Daddy!" Yanagi was not one who opened his eyes often, and now, his eyelids wouldn't even make the slightest flutter. Yuina held on to his motionless form and screamed for her otou-san on the top of her young lungs. The rain continued to fall around her, drowning her voice.
XXXXXXXXX
"Sadaharu…you're overreacting…"
Yuina sat outside the hospital ward, listening to her father and dad's conversation inside. The door was ajar, and from the crack of the door, she could see her father sitting by her daddy's bedside, clinging tightly to his hands.
Inui looked completely serious, unlike the dorky, silly person Yuina normally saw at home. "This is the second time you've given me a scare of this level. If I hadn't been on my way home at that time, and if I hadn't heard Yuina's screaming, there is a 69.3 percent chance I would have found you too late. I cannot estimate any data of what I'll do if anything happens to you."
"Nothing is going to happen to me, Hakase. That branch was not that large. It just happened to fall on my head. I have just cut my forehead a little." The brunette reached out and stroked his husband's head soothingly.
"It looked large to me, Kyouju." Inui insisted. His eyes moved to Yanagi's head, which was bandaged.
Yanagi chuckled. "Well, I'm fine. Where is Yuina?"
At her name being called, the girl tried to sneak away, though her otou-san was faster as he headed to the door and opened it. Yuina froze there, feeling caught. Her otou-san was not smiling for once, which was rare since he normally grinned at the sight of her. He walked over and solemnly led her by the hand to Yanagi's bedside.
Yanagi's gaze softened. "Yuina…it's good that you're unhurt."
Yuina was shaking. When Yanagi reached out and touched her hand, she burst into tears.
"I'm sorry, daddy…"
Yanagi patted her hand. "I wasn't able to be with you often these couple of months. I have caused you a lot of resentment. I'm sorry too, Yuina."
Yuina shook her head. It wasn't exactly daddy's fault. She'd gladly be neglected if it could prevent her daddy from getting injured like that again.
"Yuina." Inui's voice made her flinch. She looked up at her father, who remained serious. After a while, he finally smiled. "We're not blaming you, princess, as long as you've learnt. It's not easy carrying out your responsibilities, and sometimes you have to make some sacrifices, but that's what growing up is. We need you to do what you can to support the family, and your brother too. Can you do that for us?" He asked.
Yuina nodded. Inui ruffled her hair and turned to exchange glances with Yanagi, who smiled. "I'll head home first then. Rest well, Renji, and I'll pick you up tomorrow to take you home. Leave Satoru to Yuina and me."
Yanagi nodded. Yuina leaned over and gave Yanagi a kiss on the cheek before she turned away, following her father home.
It was a quiet home they returned to that day. Yukimura-san, who was called over to take care of Satoru, greeted them. Nearby, Sanada was busy preparing a bottle for the baby.
"Inui-san, welcome back. How is Renji?" Yukimura asked, even as he passed Satoru over to the bespectacled man.
Inui bounced his son lightly in his arms, even as he turned to Yanagi's two best friends. "He's fine. It wasn't as serious as it looked, and I'll be bringing him home in 18 hours, 34 minutes and 12 seconds."
Yukimura looked relieved. "That's good to hear. We'll leave for now then. Do inform us of any updates. Take care Inui-san, Yuina-chan."
Sanada passed the bottle to Yuina. "You'll have to take care of your baby brother now. Don't slack off."
Once the Sanada family left, Inui took Satoru to his cot and placed him there, even as he made sure the child was comfortable. He then went to make himself a glass of Inui Juice to calm himself down.
Yuina threw a glance in the nursery's direction awkwardly, then back at Inui. Her father wasn't showing it much on his face, but it was obvious that he was still affected by Yanagi having to be hospitalized. She didn't like seeing her father being this gloomy. Making up her mind, she approached Inui.
"Otou-san."
Inui looked up from his cup. "Hmm? What is it, princess?" He was still using her nickname, a sign that he wasn't actually angry with her. If he were, he'd call her by name.
She opened her eyes, knowing the effect those green orbs had on her father. "I'll take care of Satoru. Please get some rest, otou-san."
Inui raised an eyebrow. "Really now. Can you manage?" The tone of his voice indicated that there was around a 40 percent chance that he doubted it.
She nodded. "I will. Please rest well, otou-san. You'll have a long day tomorrow, won't you?"
"If you say so…" Inui allowed his daughter to steer him to the bedroom before shoving him inside and closing the door behind him. Once she was sure that her father left everything to her, she headed to the nursery, going to her brother. He was sound asleep, so this was going to be a lot easier than she thought. It was late, so she could just go to sleep first, and when she woke up, she could give him a bottle.
She had barely walked up the stairs to her room when she heard her brother cry. Not wanting her father's rest to be interrupted, she quickly headed downstairs again and went to take her brother in her arms.
"All right…I can do this…let's see…" She took the bottle and inserted the teat into her brother's mouth. For some reason, he kept moving about, and the teat kept slipping out even as he continued to cry. Giving a frustrated sigh, she sat on one of the chairs and adjusted her hold on the bottle, even as she tilted it at different angles, at least until her brother finally latched on firmly and started suckling.
She memorized that angle, now fully understanding why her parents were so crazy over data. Her data collecting skills were nowhere near her parents' level, but at least she roughly had an idea of how to hold the bottle now. She waited patiently, wondering why it was taking her brother so long to finish a tiny little bottle like that.
After half an hour, her brother finally dropped off to sleep, and she placed him back into the cot, putting the blanket around him like she had seen Yanagi done once before. She hoped she did it right. Looking up at the clock, she realized that it was getting late, and decided to head off to revise a little before going to bed.
She read through her textbooks for about 2 hours, and when her eyes finally began protesting, she switched off the lights and lay down, intending to sleep.
That was when the choir began again, coming again from the direction of the nursery.
"Again? He just ate!" She got up and headed downstairs, checking to see what her brother wanted this time.
He seemed to be hungry again, and Yuina realized that she had to prepare a bottle first. There was one conveniently sitting on the kitchen counter when she went to look for it, and Yuina mused that Sanada-san might have made a spare. It was still warm though, oddly.
She fed him with little difficulty this time, since she knew how to hold the bottle now. He latched on for a good 34 minutes before he finally let go, but he continued crying after that.
"Now what?" She ran through her memories of her dad taking care of her brother quickly. Maybe he needed a change.
Taking him back to the nursery, she braced herself and opened his diapers…and gagged.
Oh good grief…how could anyone stand doing this? She ran off to look for a fresh one. Finding it, she tried her best to wipe him clean before wrapping him up in the new one. It didn't quite seem to turn out the way it looked had daddy been the one doing it, but it would do for now. Once she was done with that, she discarded the dirty diaper and went to thoroughly wash her hands. When she returned, her brother was fed and clean…and still crying.
"Now what?" She wondered aloud. Daddy made this look easy. It didn't seem to be the case. She picked him up and rocked him, to no avail.
"Need help, princess?" Her father's amused voice came from the doorway. Inui stood there with his arms folded, and a small grin plastered on his face.
"No. Go back to sleep, otou-san." She commanded.
Inui shrugged. "As you command then, princess. You could do with rocking him side by side instead of bouncing him up and down like that though. Also, don't do it too fast." With that, he headed back to his room.
She tried what her father said, and about 10 minutes later, the critter finally dropped off to sleep. She tried to do the same, though it felt like she barely rested for three hours when the crying started again.
XXXXXX
Inui walked out of the room to see his daughter nodding away next to her brother's cot. The girl gave up on going back to her own bedroom, since she would only have to run down again sooner or later anyway. He chuckled to himself, wondering if she'd survive school that day.
"Good morning, otou-san." She greeted sleepily when she heard him enter the nursery.
Inui ruffled her hair. "I made breakfast. Don't worry, it's just cornflakes and milk. I assure you I didn't add any of my creations into it. You better get ready for school."
She nodded. Now she understood why daddy was always preoccupied with the youngest in the family. Brat was a handful to manage.
Inui took a look at his sleeping son and chuckled at Yuina's attempts to take care of her baby brother. He'd have to redo those diapers once she's left for school.
"Don't worry. Your daddy will be home with us soon. I'll pick him up in the afternoon. Let's eat out after that." Inui told her.
Yuina nodded sleepily, even as she went upstairs to wash up. Inui watched his daughter, knowing that the girl was going to be a lot more mature after this experience.
True to his words, Yanagi was home by the time Yuina returned from school, and she watched as her daddy sang softly to her brother to coax him to sleep. It was a wonder how he didn't get tired of doing this for so many months. She experienced what mothering was like for only one night, and she was already exhausted.
"You're really good at this, daddy." She said a little enviously.
Yanagi beckoned to her and made her sit down next to him. "Yuina…when you were born, you were just as small and fragile. Your father and I didn't know how best to handle you, but we supported each other and learnt from mistakes. We did manage to raise you into a beautiful little girl, and for that we are proud." He stroked her hair. "It's your turn to help us support him too. Have you learnt something from this experience?"
At Yuina's nod, Yanagi put a hand to her heart. "Good. Don't ever forget it."
"I won't, daddy. I'll watch over Satoru too from now onwards." Yuina promised.
Right at that moment, Satoru reached out with his tiny hands, and Yuina touched the flailing limbs lightly. Her brother wrapped his whole fist around one of her fingers. The baby's mouth twitched, and finally formed into a smile.
Both Yanagi and Yuina's eyes opened at that. "Oh. He finally learnt to smile, and it seems that the first one he smiled at is you."
Yuina nodded, smiling back. She'd protect her little brother. She'd protect his smile too.
XXXXXXXXX
A cry made Satoru wake up in his older sister's hold. Yuina blinked, wondering if her daddy was all right.
"Nee-chan…want daddy." Satoru whined pitifully, gesturing to the room door as he did so.
Yuina shook her head. "Not yet, Satoru. Otou-san will inform us if daddy is all right."
After around 20 minutes, their father exited the room with a huge grin on his face and a moving bundle in his arms.
"Yuina, Satoru. Come meet your new baby brother." Inui told them.
Yuina led her younger brother over, and the toddler peeked at the sleeping face. "He's…he's so small." He said shyly, even as he clung to his sister.
"He looks like a little monkey." Yuina mused aloud.
Inui chuckled. His daughter was terribly frank at times, but she meant no harm. He turned to his middle child. "Satoru. You're an older brother now, and he will call you nii-san when he grows older. You'll have to wait a little while longer before you can play with him."
"I'm a nii-san!" Satoru repeated happily.
Yuina averted her gaze from the baby and looked into the room. "Can we see daddy now?" She asked. She wanted to know if he was all right.
Inui nodded and walked into the room. Yuina led her brother in by the hand. At the sight of Yanagi, the toddler went running at him.
"Daddy!" He attempted to hop onto the bed.
"Don't jump!" Both Yuina and Inui yelped at the same time, stopping Satoru dead in his tracks from shock.
Yanagi looked a little groggy. He reached out and patted Satoru on the head. "It's okay, Satoru. You didn't do anything wrong. Daddy is just really tired, and daddy has to recover now. Just give me another 13 hours and 30 minutes to rest, okay?"
The boy nodded obediently, retreating to where his sister stood. Yanagi beckoned her to his bedside, and she went obligingly.
"I'm counting on you to watch over your brothers, Yuina. It'll be good training for you before you have children of your own in the future." He reached out and stroked her hair lightly.
Yuina threw a discreet glance at her father. "Nah. There is an 89 percent chance otou-san is going to prevent that from ever happening."
"Not if you're going to have a say in it. You've always been a little stubborn. I suppose you take that from your father." He glanced over at the new baby. "Our family is growing. You're the oldest now. No matter how old you get though, you'll always be our little princess. I'll have to depend on you to help me out again."
Yuina opened her eyes and briefly allowed her gaze to sweep across the room, at her family members and the newest addition to the family. It was completely different from how it was during her younger days, but this was not a family she disliked. Her eyes slid close again, and she nodded. "I suppose I can spare a few hours of my time." She replied calmly.
Yanagi smiled and kissed his firstborn. If it wasn't for her, he'd never have this life with Sadaharu now. Yuina, the one who binds the family. Always has, always will.
::End of Yuina's sidestory::
A/N: This will be the very last chapter of Data Tales. I'm not writing anymore extras after this. XD.
After reading New POT, I wonder if anyone else noticed the Data Pair hints in the manga.
Please check out New POT, chapter 13 (Encounter), pages 7-11 (especially pages 9 and 11). "Sadaharu, let's go home." XDXDXD
It's quite a treat for fellow Data Pair lovers, since hints for those two are hard to come by.
Please Read and Review. No Flames Please.
-Gwyn86