Authors Note: Wow, I'm really happy that I had such a huge response from Chapter 11. Thanks you guys a ton! These reviews motivate me to keep writing.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Kodocha!
Summary: It's been a couple weeks since Akito returned from America. But now, there's a problem: Sana is pregnant. And they're only 15!! What will they do now?? This story is based off of the manga more than the anime, because I like the manga better. Lol. Hope you enjoy. Please review. Tell me if you like!
Chapter 11: Alone with Koharu: Part 2
(Authors Note: Koharu is four months old now)
"Thoughts"
"Talking"
The school bell rang, waking Akito up from his fourth period nap. Tsuyoshi tapped him on the shoulder. "Akito, let's go. Im starving." Akito mumbled "Okay." And they went to the cafeteria for lunch. They met up with their other friends, Fuka and Aya. Fuka and Aya were already seated at their table, and eating quietly. "Hey, Aya!" Tsuyoshi shouted loudly. He ran to her, and gave his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek. Akito felt like toying with him. He sat down."Geez, Tsuyoshi, get a room, will ya?" Fuka jumped into the conversation. She smirked. "Oh, Akito, please. You shouldn't be talking. You've done a lot more with Sana than those two. Koharu's living proof of that." Akito blushed, and everyone at the table started laughing. "Ah, who asked you anyway?" Akito retorted back to her. Aya spoke up. "Speaking of Koharu, how is she? And Sana? How have they been?" Fuka added. "You know, come to think of it, we haven't seen Sana or Koharu at all."
"Yeah, but that's because Akito told us "stay away" to put it lightly." Tsuyoshi said, poking fun at Akito. Akito was starting to get a little angry at his so-called friends. "You know why i did that." Akito's face became serious. It was maybe a couple weeks before Koharu was born, and Akito told everyone at school not to bother Sana for awhile. He just didn't want Sana or Koharu bothered by a lot of people. And Koharu never took lightly to strangers.
One day, Rei's girlfriend, Asako came by to visit Rei. Koharu was around a month old. She could slightly tell by then who was friend/family, and who was foe/stranger. Rei was fine. He was around 24/7, so she didn't mind Rei holding her. But, when Asako held her, all Hell broke loose. Because, Koharu had never seen Asako before, she panicked, and cried for Sana or Akito. Ever since, they were always hesitant with who held her. And that was usually just family. Plus, Koharu had never been out of the house, so nobody else has had the chance to touch her, or hold her either. "Hey, Akito?" Fuka snapped him out of his thoughts. "Huh? What?"
"Do you think, after school.." she was crossing her fingers. "Do you think we could all go to Sana's house and visit her? She's my best friend. And we all want to see Koharu too." Akito looked around. They were all nodding their heads with big eyes pleading. Not soon after, Hisae and Mami walked up to the table. "Hey, guys. What's up?" They haven't talked to Hisae and Mami in a long time, due to their classes and all. "Were you guys just talking about seeing Sana?" Hisae questioned. She was eye balling Akito. Fuka jumped in before Akito could respond. "Yes, we were. Wanna come alone?" Akito stood up. "Wait a minute.. I didn't say yes to anything."
"Oh, come on, Akito. Please?" Mami asked. She barely ever asked him for anything. He exchanged glances to everybody. They all had big, pleading eyes that said "Please?" Akito lowered his head in defeat. "I guess I have no choice. Fine. Meet me after school, and you guys can see her." Everyone jumped up in their seat, yelling "Yay!, woohoo!" and what not. All Akito could think is "Oh great. I'm going to be followed home by all of Sana's friends. Well, Tsuyoshi's going too, but still." The bell rang, and Akito stood up and slowly walked away. Tsuyoshi watched him. "Uh, I'll see you guys later." He followed after Akito to walk to class. "Hey, Akito. Wait up!" Akito stopped, and turned around. "What?" Tsuyoshi put his head down with guilt. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.."
"It's alright." Akito butted in. "It's not your fault, you can't stop those girl's babblin?"
"Yeah, but I'm afraid that were invading, and.."
"Yeah, you are. But, it's okay. It'll probably make Sana happy. You know, she hasn't left the house since Koharu was born. She'd be happy to see you guys." He slightly smiled. "She hasn't left the house since?" Tsuyoshi blurted out. Akito shook his head. "No, she hasn't." Tsuyoshi was shocked. Sana hates being cooped up in places for a long period of time. If she's cooped maybe for an hour, she gets antsy. Now, she's been cooped up in her house for months. "Wow." Akito nodded. "Yeah, I know. But, soon, she'll get out. I'll make sure of it."
"Yeah, but what about Koharu?" Akito looked his way. "That, Tsuyoshi, will have to wait." Tsuyoshi was confused. "What do you mean, wait? You want Sana to get out so bad, why not Koharu?"
"One word, Tsuyoshi. Cameras."
"Oh. Okay, I gotcha now." Akito nodded. Soon after, the warning bell rang, and the two boys ran to their next class.
After school, the group, which consisted of Akito, Tsuyoshi, Aya, Fuka, Mami, and Hisae, were on their way to Sana's house. As they were walking, Akito kept naming off rules when it came to Koharu. Everyone was getting sick of it. "Geez, Akito. We get it. We get it." Hisae said, with her hand to her head. "My my, Akito, you've become quite the protective father, haven't you?" Fuka questioned. Akito did not answer to that. He just kept walking.
When they got to the door, Akito walked in. When everyone else went to follow him, he put his hand up to stop them. "Wait, let me see Sana first, and.. make sure things are good here." In other words, he had to make sure that Koharu was in the mood for visitors, as well as Sana. They both had their days. Akito walked into the house, and saw Koharu in the living room, sitting by herself on the floor in the noodle pillow playing with a few toys here and there. Akito scanned the area, looking for Sana. "Sana!" Koharu dropped her doll and looked up to see her father. She squealed with happiness to see him. Akito looked her way, and smiled. "Hey there, kiddo." He picked her up. "Where is that mother of yours?" He kept scanning the room and other rooms close to it. Sana was nowhere to be seen. "Sana?" He called again. He knew nobody else was home. His father was at work. Misako had a meeting with her book editors. Rei was off for the day with Asako. It was their anniversary. And the maid, Shimura (I think that's her name) was also off for a day. So the only people at the house "should've been" Sana and Koharu, until Akito came home. Akito sat down on the couch and looked at Koharu. Koharu, as oblivious as most babies are, was just sucking on one of her fingers and mumbling baby language. Akito, would've normally panicked if he had seen her in the living room, unattended. But, she was okay. She was just playing. So, I guess it wasn't too bad. But, he still had to find Sana. He stood back up, and this time, put Koharu in her playpen. "I'll be right back." Akito was surprised that he didn't come home to find Koharu on the floor screaming. She hates being in places by herself. Akito learned that the hard way awhile ago. But, today she was just playing, and was okay. He waited by the entrance of the living room to make sure she wasn't going to start crying. What he expected, did come. She started crying. More than likely, because Akito's the one that put her down and was leaving her. "Oh, geez. Koharu." He went back to her and picked her up. "Okay, no more crying. Now, help me find your mom, okay?"
He started to search through the hallways of the house until he smelled something coming from the kitchen. "I thought Shimura was off today." He walked into the kitchen, and instead of Shimura at the stove, it was Sana. "Sana?" She immediately turned around. "Oh, hi Akito." He sat Koharu in her high chair. She immediately starting whining, while she put her arms back up for him to pick her up. For once, he kind of ignored her, but gave her his fingers to keep her occupied. "Why was Koharu in there by herself?" Sana put her spoon down. "Well, I was in the living room with her. I had just fed her, and she was playing with her toys. Then, I got hungry. And, I knew you'd be hungry too. So, I came to here to cook something. I would've brought Koharu with me. But, she was so happy with her toys that I decided to leave her there. I had the monitor here with me." She pointed to the baby monitor that was right by the stove. "And, she didn't make a sound. Until just recently, which of course you had just came home." Sana turned back to the stove. "She didn't make a sound?" Akito asked what Sana had just said. He was sitting at the table, while Koharu contently played with his fingers. Sana turned back around. "No, surprisingly, not a peep." One thought that kept bugging Akito though. He turned his eyes away from Koharu and looked at Sana. He eyed her curiously. "Since when did you start cooking?" Sana once again turned around."Well, while you've been at school, and while Koharu sleeps, I've been having one-on-one cooking lessons with Shimura." She got two bowls out, and put the food into them. She took the two bowls to the table. Then, she sat at the table, on the other side of Koharu. "Here, Akito, try this." Akito's eyes kept alternating between Sana and the bowl of food she just placed in front of him. She was never the best cook, so he was unsure whether not to try it. "Uh, yeah, about trying it.. um.."
"Akito! You know, you're being kind of rude. Here, watch this." She looked Koharu's way, and got a tiny spoonful of the food, and offered it to her. "Here, baby, try this." Koharu was growing into a mischievous, adventurous little girl. Ever since the bottle incident with Akito, she was always curious and wanting to try new things. She eagerly opened her mouth to taste it. It was soft, so she was able to eat it. She didn't have any teeth yet. But, she did have one little bit of a tooth coming in, but that was it. Sana learned that the hard, and kind of painful way; the last time she fed her. Let's just say she wasn't eating from the bottle that time.
"See, Koharu will eat it." Akito smacked his face. "Sana, she's a baby. She'll eat anything." Sana was about to pick up her hammer, when she heard the doorbell ring. "Hmm, I wonder who that is." She stood up to go answer the door. "Uh, Sana no." He grabbed onto her wrist. "Oops." Akito kind of forgot that their friends were still waiting outside. "Uh, I'll get it, Sana. Just sit right here." Their friends coming over was kind of a surprise. Koharu started reaching for Akito when she saw him stand up. "You." He poked her nose. "are going to stay right here." With that, he walked away.
He got to the door, and saw Tsuyoshi, Fuka, Aya, Hisae, and Mami still standing there patiently. "Ah, sorry guys."
"Everything okay?" Aya asked. "Uh, no no. It's alright. Come on in." He was not about to tell them that he forgot they were there. Everyone followed him inside and started to look around. He took them into the living room. "Uh, you guys sit and wait here. I'll get Sana." He went back to the kitchen. "Sana, go in the living room. There's a package for you." Sana looked at him confusingly. "A package?"
"Uh, yeah. So, go get it. I'll stay here with her." Sana hesitantly nodded and left. Akito chuckled to himself. "Ha, a package. Good one." He tilted his head back and closed his eyes. "Ah, 3…. 2…..1." All of a sudden, he heard Sana yell "What are you guys doing here?" He slightly giggled again. He looked at Koharu. She was reaching for more of that food Sana had made. "Oh, you want more?" He sat back down and gave her one small bite. "Now, are you actually going to behave with these "strangers" today?" She, of course, did not answer him.
Meanwhile, in the living room Sana was chatting away, when Fuka stopped her. "Sana? Wait, there's someone missing." Sana played along. "Oh, and what could that be?" Aya, not understanding the humor of it said, "Sana, she's talking about Koharu! Where is she?" Everyone rolled their eyes at her for being the normal brunette blonde that she was. "Well, come and meet her then. Follow me!" Sana lead the group to the kitchen door. On the other side, Akito was wiping Koharu's mouth up; trying to make her more presentable. The door opened, and in came a group of giddy and excited teenagers. It spooked Koharu, as she grabbed a hold of Akito's arm. Akito, understanding, picked her up, and held her close. Koharu wasn't in a state of comfort for very long, when her mother snatched her away. "Everyone, meet Koharu!" Sana kind of held her up like she was a prize or something. Akito saw Koharu squirming and knew what was about to happen. He quickly rushed to the other side, so Koharu wouldn't start crying from the commotion. When Koharu saw her daddy's face, she settled down. Everyone stared at her, with their mouths wide open. They couldn't say anything. Akito cocked his eye, with his arms crossed. "Well, say something." They all wanted to say it, but couldn't. They started to stutter.
"She's…"
"Um, she…"
"She.."
Finally, all five of them blurted out, "SHE LOOKS JUST LIKE AKITO!" The girls started cooing at how cute she was, while Tsuyoshi just laughed. "And, why are you laughing?" Akito asked Tsuyoshi. "I have to say, she's definitely your daughter, all right." He continued to laugh. The girls kept mentioning different features of Koharu that were the same as Akito's: Her eyes, her hair color, and the expressions her face made, it was all Akito. All of a sudden, Hisae made a sniffing sound. "Mmm, that smells good. What are you making, Sana? Or did the maid make it?" Sana shook her head. "No, I did. But, I didn't get to finish it. Hey, why don't you girls help me? Since you all are here, you can help me make these snacks I'm dieing to try out." All of the girls nodded. Sana was still holding Koharu. She held her up again. "You probably want to go with Daddy and Uncle Tsuyoshi…"
"Uncle?" Akito interrupted. Everyone started laughing. Sana continued, "Yes, I thought it would sound cute. Anyway, here Akito, you boys take her out, and keep her occupied. We'll make the snacks. She placed Koharu in Akito's arms. Koharu immediately latched onto him like Velcro, and did not want to be separated. All of the girls started giggling at the scene, as Akito and Tsuyoshi walked out of the kitchen. "Now, then let's see what we have." Sana said looking in cabinets.
In the hallway, Akito and Tsuyoshi were walking back to the living room. All of a sudden, Akito blurted out "Women." He sighed. Tsuyoshi snickered. "Akito, you've got one in the making right there." He pointed at Koharu, who was sucking on her fingers again. Akito just shrugged his shoulders. "Koharu is far from a woman right now." They got to the living room and sat on the couch. Koharu sat on Akito's lap, and kept staring at Tsuyoshi. She did not know him, so of course she was curious about this unknown "creature". "So, uh, does she do anything?" Tsuyoshi asked like an idiot. "What is she? A dog?" Akito said harshly. "Um, can I hold her?" Akito looked at Koharu's face right now, trying to guess her mood. Was she in the mood for a stranger holding her? "I don't know. You see, she doesn't do very well with people she's never seen before." He told Tsuyoshi the incident with Asako. He didn't want that to happen again. "Oh, I see." Tsuyoshi nodded understandingly. "Well, maybe another time, once she gets used to me." Akito nodded. Koharu all of a sudden started reaching for something. "Huh? What do you want?" She was reaching for the floor. "Oh. This?" He picked up a little mobile toy that Misako had bought her awhile back. She loved it. He sat Koharu and the toy down on the floor. She looked back up at him. Akito sighed. He got down on the floor with her. He turned on the toy. "Tsuyoshi." Tsuyoshi was watching very quietly when Akito said his name. "Huh? What?" Akito's eyes closed. "I, am officially whipped by this kid." Tsuyoshi started laughing. "You got that right." Tsuyoshi decided to get on the floor with them. They both continued to play with Koharu.
In the kitchen, the girls were whipping up a yummy snack for them. "Sana?" Fuka asked. Sana looked up from the stove. "What?"
"Why aren't you talking about anything? You haven't said much about any of this. We haven't seen you in months. Talk to us." Sana put the spoon down, and took a seat at the table, while Mami took over the stove. "Well, what do you want to know?" All four of them had questions. "What's it been like taking care of Koharu?"
"How hard is it?"
"What was she like as a newborn?"
"What about the birth?"
"What's it like living with Akito 24/7?" And the questions went on. Sana sighed. "Well, alright. I guess I'll start with the day she was born." All of the girls sat down at the table, as she told her four month long story about Koharu. She explained the birth, and the first few days at home with her: how challenging it was. She talked about how hard it was to sleep, since Koharu woke up every three hours into the night. It was tiring, and yet enjoyable. She loved spending the day with Koharu. And when Akito came home, how nice it was to be a whole family. She even mentioned Akito's insights. Of course he wasn't there to tell his personal story and opinion, but she already knew. As she continued on with the story, lots of flashbacks flew into her mind. But they didn't stop with Koharu, they went even before her. She was having flashbacks of her pregnancy, and even right before the pregnancy, and I mean, right before the pregnancy. Thinking about all of that, a small tear was trailing down her face. "Sana? What's wrong?" Fuka asked. When Sana realized what was wrong, she quickly grabbed a napkin, and wiped the tear away. "Oh, I'm alright." She continued to speak.
Akito and Tsuyoshi were still playing with Koharu. Her eyes were starting to get droopy, but still continued to play. "Akito, I think she's getting tired." Tsuyoshi pointed out. Akito nodded. "Let me get Sana real quick. Watch for me." He walked away. What was about to happen was so unexpected. Tsuyoshi wanted to stop it, but he couldn't. It was too hard to resist. Akito was right infront of the door to the living room when he felt a light tug on the bottom of his pants. He looked down. There was Koharu, on her hands and knees. He looked at Tsuyoshi, and looked back at her. He was shocked. Wasn't she too young to be doing this? He picked her up. "Did you just crawl?" She just smiled and giggled. He put her back down to test her. He walked back to the couch and stood there watching her. She shakily, started to move. She couldn't move very fast, but she was moving. "Oh, wow. Did she just learn that?" Tsuyoshi asked. Akito just nodded. All of a sudden, he picked up the baby monitor and yelled "Sana!"
In the kitchen, Sana quickly put the tray of food down and ran for the living room. Mami picked up Sana's tray and slowly followed her. When Sana got to the living room, she saw Akito and Tsuyoshi just standing there. "What?" Akito smirked. "Watch this." He put Koharu down on the floor. Sana saw her baby crawling to her. "Oh wow. Good job, Koharu!" She knelt down to pick her up once Koharu reached her. Aya said another stupid statement today. "Yay! A trick from Koharu!" Akito sent her a death glare. "She's not a pet!" Aya frightened by the look, took a step back away from Akito. She muttered, "Sorry." Everyone got quiet for a minute. Hisae started to clear her throat. "Can we put these trays down?" Sana turned around. "Oh, sure. Go ahead." Everyone put the trays down. Sana clapped her hands. "Well, eat up." She looked down at Koharu in her arms. "You've got to be tired by now. You ate not too long ago."
"She is. Why don't you put her to bed? I'll host your crew for now." Akito suggested. Sana nodded. "Okay. Let's go. I wouldn't mind a little nap myself." She left the room with a whining Koharu. When she left, everyone was quiet again. The girls were eating and whispering, thinking of a plan. Akito's eyes rose, wondering what kind of shenanigans they were planning. Wasn't four minutes, and Sana was already back with Koharu. "Sigh, Akito. Have fun getting her to sleep." She handed her back to him. Koharu cuddled up into his chest. He sat down on the couch and just held her there. She would fall asleep any second. Sana whispered. "So, now what?" All of the girls looked at eachother mischievously. "Well.." Mami started. Akito took his eyes off of Koharu and was interested in what these girls were planning. A noise of protest from Koharu did not allow Akito to be a part of the conversation. He sighed, and his eyes were back on the "demanding princess". Akito spoke up. "Just tell us what you four are planning." The girls' smiles got even bigger. Aya spoke this time. "Well, Sana hasn't been out of the house in months, right?" Sana and Akito both nodded. Fuka started to speak. "Well, we were thinking to take Sana out for a couple hours, all five of us."
"What?" Sana questioned. "What's wrong with that, Sana?" Hisae asked. Sana's face fell with a disappointing look. "I just can't do that today..."
"Yes, you can." Akito interrupted. Everybody turned and looked at him. Koharu was asleep. "I don't see why not. Tsuyoshi and I don't mind taking care of things here. Right?" He looked at Tsuyoshi. "Actually, I can't stay for very long."
"Oh, come on Sana! Come with us!" They all started begging. "Mr.Good Daddy over there will take care of Koharu here." Fuka said. Sana looked at Akito. "Well, you ready to stay here with her by yourself?" Akito nodded. "Yeah, of course." Sana sighed and looked back at the begging girls. "Fine. But, only for a little while. Let's see what time is it?" She looked at the clock. 4:30. Sana grabbed a piece of paper from the table, and started to scribble a few things down. "Akito, I'm going to write a few things for you.."
"I don't need a list! I think I've been around Koharu long enough to know what to do!" Sana put the pen down. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry." She stood up to grab her purse. "But, just incase you didn't know, her bottle.."
"I know where the bottles are!" Akito snapped. Sana saw a not-so-happy look in his eyes. "Akito, come with me." She took Koharu from Akito, and laid her down on the couch. Then, she grabbed onto his hand and lead him outside the entrance to the living room. Once they were away from ears reach, Sana let go of his hand. "Akito, what's wrong? I haven't seen you this fed up in a long time." Akito crossed his arms. "Why are you making me look like an irresponsible father who doesn't know what he's doing?"
"I, I'm not... I was just making sure.."
"You don't have to "make sure". You should already know that I can handle everything here for two measly hours." Sana knelt her head down with guilt. She sighed. "You're right. I'm so sorry. I guess I'm turning into a paranoid mother. I know you'll be alright, I just.. I don't even have an explanation, but I'm sorry." She hugged him. Suddenly, they heard a noise of Koharu. They turned around, and saw her slowly, shakily crawling toward them. "Koharu, you can't sit still for two seconds?" Sana asked. She walked over to Koharu and picked her up. They walked back into the living room. "Ah, sorry guys. Well, let's get going!" She gave Koharu to Akito and ran to the door to put her shoes on. All of the other girls followed her lead. "Um, Tsuyoshi? How long will you be sticking around?" Sana asked. Tsuyoshi thought about it. "Ah, about another thirty minutes."
"Okay, great. Akito, you three have fun." Sana ran to Koharu and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Now, you have fun with daddy, okay?" She giggled and saw Koharu get wiggly and happy too. Sana quickly took her away from Akito. This was the first time she was leaving her baby. She held her close. "I love you, sweetie!" She gave her another kiss, and gave her back to Akito. She was about to walk out the door with her friends, when Akito stopped her. "Hey." Sana turned around. "Yeah?" He pulled her back and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry. It'll be alright. Have some fun." She pulled away. "Okay, I plan to!" She smiled. "Sana! Let's go already!" Fuka said. Sana quickly pecked Akito on the cheek and ran out the door. "Bye bye! I'll be back soon!"
The house finally became quiet. All that remained was Akito, Tsuyoshi, and Koharu. All of a sudden, Koharu started squirming in Akito's arms and reaching for something. "Huh? What?" Akito asked confused. He noticed that Koharu was reaching for the door. "Uh oh. You already miss your mother?" He held her up to his face. "It's alright. She'll be back soon." He sat down beside Tsuyoshi. "So, what do you do now, Akito? Just sit there?" Tsuyoshi, like most people, was curious, and wanted to observe Akito. "Well, she's probably still tired. She didn't sleep for very long." He looked at Koharu's eyes. Usually, her eyes were her voice. Her eyes told him everything. "Yeah. I'll be right back. I'm going to put her back to sleep." Tsuyoshi nodded and Akito left the room. Once Akito was out of ear's reach, Tsuyoshi couldn't stop laughing at Akito's behavior.
Akito sat in the rocking chair, while Koharu sat in her crib. She was really tired, Akito knew that, but she just didn't want to sleep. His eyes were on her the whole time, but Koharu was not budging. Akito also knew what she wanted. She wanted him to rock her to sleep. He's lately been trying to teach her that she can't have "everything" she wants. Then again, she was a baby. "Maybe I should teach you this when you're older." He gave up, and picked her up. Once he sat back down in the chair, Koharu's eyes were aleady closing. "It's that simple for you, huh? Akito asked her. She gave him another noise of protest, with eyes that told him "Quiet." Akito slightly laughed. "Geez, fine." Akito's mouth closed. But, that didn't mean his mind had to close. "I'm afraid how you're going to turn out when you're older. And I don't think you're going to turn out like your mother, that's for sure. That's kind of a good thing, and yet a bad thing. If you don't end up like your mom, you won't be obnoxious and loud like she is." He quietly laughed at that last thought. "But, if you end up like me, well..." He didn't have to continue and think about it. There was no doubt that Koharu was going to be like her father. "Ehh, we'll just see, won't we Koharu?" She didn't respond since she was asleep. He put her in her crib, and left the room. When he shut the door, Tsuyoshi came running up the stairs. "Akito!" He shouted, but quickly snapped his hand to his mouth for being so loud. All of a sudden, he heard Koharu crying. He mumbled "I'm sorry, Akito." Akito didn't answer, and went back into the room to get Koharu. He came back out with Koharu in his arms, wide awake. "What did you want, Tsuyoshi?" Akito asked.
"I was just going to let you know that I have to go home now." Akito nodded. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." Tsuyoshi nodded and ran out the door. Once Akito shut the door, the huge house was empty and quiet. That is, until Koharu broke the silence. "Let me guess, you are not going to sleep right now, are you?" He sat Koharu on the floor with her toys, and Akito sat on the couch, and turned on the TV. Maybe one minute passed and Koharu was sitting at his feet. He picked her up and sat her on the couch. Then, he picked up her toys so she would be occupied. She did play with them for a few minutes, but then she stopped. Akito was watching TV, but his eyes were often checking on Koharu, making sure she wouldn't fall off of the couch. She crawled to him, with her toys in her hand. He looked down at her, and she was giving him her toys. He took the toy, but put it back down beside her. He knew this game. She would give him the toys, but then want it back two seconds later.The game continued. Koharu picked up the toy, but gave it back to Akito. When she went to give it back, his eyes were not on her. They were on the TV. All of a sudden, "Da!" Akito's head quickly snapped her way. "Huh?" She handed him the toy again. Akito did not take it. He was shocked at what he just heard. "Koharu, say it again." Koharu just wanted him to take the darn toy. She kept offering it to him, finally she said it again. "Da!" Akito being Akito said. "You're forgetting the D there at the end." She didn't understand, but offered the toy and said "Da" again. Akito felt like teaching her, then he would take the toy. "Koharu, it's Da..d. Add the D." He waited. Koharu didn't understand, and just said "Da." again. Akito smacked his face. I guess he was going to be correcting her for a while. "No. Dad."
"Da?"
"No. Da..d. Dad." Akito thought about something. "Okay, try daddy." This time he added the "DY" trying to make the word more difficult, so then she would have to say "Dad." She said it again.
"Da?"
"No. Daddy." Koharu got a little confused.
"Da.." She was trying to get the next syllable out but couldn't get the "DY" out.
"Daddy." He repeated.
"Da..d" Akito smiled brightly. "There ya go. Dad. That's right. Now, say it again." He said encouraging her. But, he said "Daddy" again. He did that so she wouldn't leave out the "D" again.
"Dad.." She tried to continue the word, but was still praised by Akito. "Good job, Koharu!" He picked her up and held her up to his face. "You'll have to show your mom this when she gets home." This time he heard a whining version of "Da..d" She pointed at the toys. He put her back down. She picked up one of the toys and offered it back to him, again. "Oh, fine. Thank you, Koharu." He held onto it, but heard "Da..d" again. She wanted it back. He gave it back to her. This game continued for another ten minutes, when finally Koharu was playing with it by herself. Akito, was the one getting tired. He knew Koharu would protest if he put her back to her crib. So, he picked her up and laid down on the couch, with her on his chest. She started slowly crawling around on his chest with her mobile toy. It kind of tickled.
"Koharu, stop it." Akito complained. She did not listen and continued to crawl around with her toy. "Oh well. At least she's occupied for now." He turned his head and watched the TV while Koharu played.
About twenty minutes passed, and Koharu stopped playing. She crawled up to Akito's face and curled up onto his chest. He didn't say a word, instead he just watched her. Few seconds passed, and she fell asleep. He didn't want to move her, in fear of waking her up again. But, what if he fell asleep? He didn't want her to fall off of the couch while he was sleeping. He had no choice. He slowly and carefully sat up, while holding onto Koharu, making sure she wouldn't wake up. "She didn't budge. Good." He stood up, but laid her back down on the couch. Once again, she didn't budge. He quickly left the living room, but took a baby monitor with him in case she woke up. There was a baby monitor in every room possible. He only hoped she wouldn't fall off of the couch while he was gone. He ran upstairs to one of the storage rooms, more like Koharu's storage room. Everything in it was for her in the near future. "Geez, this kid is spoiled." He thought as he kept climbing over boxes and stuff. And every box was for Koharu. He finally found what he was seeking: A baby gate. "I didn't think we'd need this until she started walking." There were different sizes of gates: Small ones, tall ones, long ones, a gate for outside, all kinds. He was looking for a long one to put by the couch. He picked the long up, and went downstairs. He went into the living room to see Koharu still sleeping. He, very quietly knelt by the couch to set up the gate. It was a tall enough gate that when she's able to walk, she won't be able to "accidentally" or "purposely" knock the gate down. He sat on the couch, and set the gate up right beside the couch. Now, there was no way she could fall off. He felt like he was in an adult-sized crib, but it was for Koharu's safety, so it was worth it. He quietly picked up Koharu and went to lie down, when he felt her slightly move in his arms, and heard her make a "Don't disturb me." noise. "Shh, it's alright." He said soothingly. She calmed down, and went back to sleep. She was cuddled up on his chest again. He turned his head back to the TV to keep him occupied now. It didn't take him long to fall asleep with Koharu in his arms.
"You know, most babies sleep in their crib."
Akito sat straight up from his two hour nap. "Huh?" He sat up to see Sana sitting in a chair across from him. The baby gate was gone, and the TV was turned off. But, where was Koharu? He started searching around the room, frantically. "Akito, calm down. She's in her room." He stopped looking and his eyes stopped at Sana. "My my, Akito. You freak out so easily nowadays." Sana sat down beside him. "Did she wake up?"
"No, she was way out of it. You didn't wear her out, did you?" She joked. "No, of course not." He thought of something new that Koharu was learning. "Oh, Sana. Guess what Koharu can do now?" Sana's eyes widened. "She just started crawling, what more could she be doing?" Akito was about to say something when.. "Da!!" came through the baby monitor. Akito smirked and pointed his finger up towards the ceiling. "That." He said. Sana's eyes nearly popped out of her eye sockets. "Wow. We've got ourselves an early bloomer." She stood up and went to get Koharu. Akito sat there and waited. He was quietly laughing when he kept hearing "Da!" over and over through the baby monitor. Sana also had a monitor attached to her jeans, so he could hear "Da!" and "Hang on, hang on." the whole way to the living room. When Koharu had a glimpse of Akito, she kept holding her arms out so he would take her. "Oh, you silly daddy's girl!" Sana cooed. "When are you going to learn "Mom", huh?" Sana asked. "Wait a minute? Koharu.." Akito started. Koharu was sitting there in Sana's arms squirming and reaching for Akito. He did not take her. "You didn't say it right. It's daddy." He once again used the word "Daddy" so that it would slightly confuse her. "Da..d." She still couldn't get the "dy" out again. "Good job." He took her from Sana. "Nice teaching skills, Akito." Sana smirked. "Hey, at least it works." Akito smirked back. They both sat on the floor with Koharu. She started crawling around with her mobile toy: crawling back and forth, from Sana to Akito. She played the game of giving the toy to them, and taking it back. This game went on for a good while. "The things we do that makes her so happy, it's insane." Akito commented. Sana nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know. I wouldn't mind going back in time and doing it all over again."
"Yeah, me too. I'd definitely do it much differently than I did." Sana nodded. "Yeah, me too." Sana looked at him lovingly. They were both thinking the same thing. "I wouldn't of screwed up any chance I had of being with you." Boy, did they make mistakes. Akito got over Sana, and went with Fuke. Sana started to like Naozumi. Akito used to hate Sana. Same with Sana, she hated Akito. There were definitely many reasons to go back in time, and change the outcome of things. But now, everything was okay: Surprisingly. They were both happy. They were both healthy. They, at a very young age, started a family. And, that was full of pure happiness too. What else could go wrong, considering the possibilities of what could happen?
Woohoo.. finally I'm done with this chapter. It took a very long time to write, but it was fun. Thanks for the reviews and compliments. I greatly appreciate them. I love you all! Keep reading and reviewing!
-Stephanie
