The Troubles with Cat-Sitting

Hope you're enjoying the story! It's definitely fun to write on my off days. Let me know your thoughts and any suggestions for future chapters!

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December 13th: 16:00 (4pm) on a Friday

It's been one week since Amu Hinamori assisted Tsukasa Amakawa with caring for Ikuto Tsukiyomi. The school week is near the end for many students as exams are finishing up.

Amu Pov:

"Ah, I'm so happy this week is over!" Amu excitedly shared as she walked beside Rima, Yaya, Nagihiko and Tadase away from the Seiyo Academy grounds. All of the kids respective Shugo Charas followed behind, having their own conversations as the group turned the corner to the burger restaurant that was nearby.

"I'm excited for fries and milkshakes! I've been waiting for us all to meet up this week!" Yaya cheerfully exclaimed as the group entered the fast food joint and found a corner booth near the huge windows displaying the glow of the city's busy streets.

"I'm happy exams are over! I thought I was going to die" Nagihiko sighed tiredly as Tadase and Amu collected everyone's orders and went to the counter to pay; Rima and Yaya sat next to each other nearest the wall whilst Nagihiko remained on the opposite seat.

"Wait, weren't Kukai and Utau joining us?" Rima asked curiously as the trio looked out the windows in search of the couple. Just as Tadase and Amu came back from ordering, Utau waltzed into the restaurant as Kukai remained behind her, having graciously held the door for his new girlfriend!

"Speak of the devil, we were just talking about you guys!" Nagihiko laughed as he made space for Tadase and Kukai to sit, Utau having joined Amu and the other girls on the opposite side. The loud sounds of sipping was heard as the group drank their sodas and milkshakes whilst waiting for the food to arrive.

Kukai and Utau's Charas went to join the other guardian characters, who all collectively decided to hold a guardian meeting at a nearby park (as much as a meeting at a cooperate food chain sounded appealing, the Charas found the lack of money and the lack of their existence to the wait staff a huge problem so the park became back up #2).

"So, Amu. How was your time with Ikuto last weekend? Did everything go ok?" Kukai asked as he took a bite of his cheese burger.

"Yeah, it was fine. He's kinda a handful though; he needs to be cared for a lot. To be honest I was exhausted on Sunday when I went home. I think I fell asleep right away!" Amu laughed nervously as she sipped some of her chocolate milkshake. The group looked kindly at the pink hair girl, having become well known of the scenario between Amu and Ikuto. Tadase, especially offered a supportive smile to his friend as he noticed a sort of sad expression suddenly from Amu.

"Do you plan to visit him again, Amu? Tsukasa called and told me Ikuto was really missing you" Utau stated as she stole a French fry off of Kukai's plate, earning a playful scowl from the boy.

"I figured I would stop by either tonight or tomorrow to see how he is. I didn't know he missed me" Amu thoughtfully questioned. While she didn't have to worry about homework for the weekend (thank you season exams), Amu was hoping to spend some time with her friends on her free days off from school; being a part time babysitter to Ikuto was becoming more demanding than what she had expected.

"Maybe we can go together sometime this weekend, Amu! I would also like to see Ikuto!" Tadase kindly added as he finished his meal and wiped his hands on the wet wipes provided. Amu was hoping to bring Tadase with her to see Ikuto; she remembered how happy Ikuto was to see Tadase in the hospital and figured the teenager would want to see his "younger brother" once more. However, it would soon become clear that Ikuto was now the "younger brother", respectively.

"That would be great, Tadase! Let's plan to meet up this weekend to visit Ikuto" Amu happily said as the group finished up their dinner together and proceeded to walk back out into the street.

As the group divided directions to their respective destinations, Amu went about heading towards the Tsukiyomi house to deliver the take-out food she ordered for Tsukasa, Ikuto and Yoru. She instructed her three Charas to meet her at her house once her visit was done and their guardian meeting at the park concluded.

...

Tsukasa Pov:

A week since Amu left the Tsukiyomi house had went by fast, for most people. For Tsukasa, however, the man seemed to think each day went by extremely slowly; which prompted for more issues to arise and remain a problem (and stressor) that Tsukasa had to deal with by himself. For one thing, Ikuto was proving himself to be much more trouble than Tsukasa had anticipated for the boy.

Since his hospitalization, Ikuto was practically immobile and relied on assisted transportation from room to room due to his inability to walk. Tsukasa had felt his muscles grew stronger each day as he constantly was needing to hold the heavy teenager in his arms, whether it be assisting Ikuto in getting out of his make-shift crib, the changing table, high chair or to just be held for comfort.

Now, Ikuto started learning how to crawl.

"Ah, where did you go Ikuto?" a frantic Tsukasa cried out as the man hurriedly ran around the house searching for the boy; he specifically had left Ikuto on his play mat in the living room while Tsukasa cleaned up the dishes from breakfast. To his knowledge, Ikuto would have safely remained lying on his back while playing with the hanging toys of the activity mat; there should not have been a concern that Ikuto would just up and move by himself!

Yoru, Ikuto's guardian character was fast asleep in his egg having stayed up all the previous night to help a very needy Ikuto; the cat Chara would joke that he would take the "night shift" duties while Tsukasa handled any daylight necessities for Ikuto.

As he bent under the tables, ran around the corners and searched the backyard, Tsukasa found himself heavily panting as his anxiety worsened; where did Ikuto go?

BAAAANNNGGG!!!!!

That didn't sound good. Tsukasa looked upstairs after hearing what sounded like a thumping, falling sound coming from one of the rooms. Bolting up the stairs, Tsukasa raced towards Ikuto's bedroom and pushed the door open, just to have Ikuto playing around in the baby powder with unused diapers strewn across the ground. Covered head to toe in the fluffy white substance, Ikuto clapped his hands together and laughed out loud as Tsukasa made his way towards the boy on the ground.

"Oh, Ikuto! What did you get yourself into, huh? I was worried about you, buddy!" Tsukasa sighed depressingly as he bent down to pick Ikuto up into his arms.

"Ah, I'll have to clean that up later once Ikuto is asleep" Tsukasa tiredly thought as he brought Ikuto to the bathroom to be washed. Quickly undressing the teen, Tsukasa placed Ikuto into the bath and turned the water on as he went about washing Ikuto's blue hair and scrubbing the powder off his skin.

"Mmmmmmhhhhhh!!!"

A frustrated Ikuto squirmed in his bath as Tsukasa hurriedly washed him, wiping Ikuto's face clean with a wash cloth as Ikuto tried to push the cloth away with his hands.

"Well, we have to clean you Ikuto because you got dirty from playing in the baby powder! You need to stay where I can see you" Tsukasa said as he rinsed the boy off and drained the tub. Wrapping a fluffy towel around Ikuto, Tsukasa carried the teen in his arms as he brought Ikuto back to his bedroom, narrowly avoiding the mess on the ground. Placing Ikuto on the changing table, Tsukasa set the towel aside and used the table buckle to keep Ikuto in place as he went to the closet to grab new clothes.

"Ok, let's get you dressed then I think it's time for a nap" Tsukasa kindly suggested as he put a clean diaper on Ikuto, then went about redressing the boy in some casual clothing from his wardrobe. Once he got some black socks on Ikuto's feet, Tsukasa picked Ikuto up and placed him in his crib. Raising the crib bars high, Tsukasa tucked Ikuto into his blanket and pillow as he gave the teen his stuffed cat toy and a pacifier then went to dim the lights and turn a quiet lullaby on from the portable radio perched near the door.

"Sleep well, Ikuto" Tsukasa whispered softly as he went about cleaning the mess from before then closing the bedroom door quietly.

As he fell to the floor, Tsukasa sighed loudly. The baby powder incident was just one of many messes he would need to face throughout the week.

"I guess I need to start putting up some baby gates now" Tsukasa thought as he rested his head against his arms, ready to take a nap right on the floor that very instant.

...

Amu Pov:

Darkness approached as Amu made her way to the Tsukiyomi house; the cold air was bitter and Amu could see her breath as she walked down the sidewalk of the many intricate-style Japanese family homes. As she made her way to the gate outside the house, Amu noticed Ikuto's bedroom lights were off and the curtains pulled back to cover the windows.

"He must be sleeping. It's 18:00 (6pm) so I guess Tsukasa put Ikuto to sleep early?" Amu thought as she rang the doorbell.

DING DONG

The chirpy sound vibrated loudly as the front door opened to reveal a disheveled Tsukasa; dark under bags formed around the man's eyes, multiple stains on his long sleeve white shirt, a hand-towel draped on his shoulder and messy hair was how Tsukasa looked standing before the pink hair student.

"Hello, Amu! How are you doing today" Tsukasa politely asked as he made space for Amu to take her shoes off.

"I'm doing ok; how are you, Tsukasa?" Amu nervously asked as she stared at Tsukasa's appearance from the corner of her eye; she didn't want to say anything, but he looked like a mess.

The duo walked into the living room, with Amu having set the take out food on the table. Yoru, who was shaking a baby rattle in front of Ikuto came to greet Amu hurriedly!

"~Yay! You got food!!~" Yoru cheered as the cat Chara went digging in the plastic bag; Tsukasa slowly took out the food, enjoying the already made dinner and sweet aroma of the burgers and fries.

"Thank you, Amu for the lovely dinner! We really appreciate your help; it's been quite a challenging week for us" Tsukasa nervously chuckled as he went towards the cabinets in the kitchen to get plates and utensils.

"Amu, Amu!" Ikuto happily giggled as the teen crawled on fours towards the girl standing near the kitchen table.

"Ikuto, you're crawling??? You're getting so big!" Amu laughed as she bent down at Ikuto's level and gave the boy a hug. Ikuto wrapped his long arms around Amu, nearly suffocating the girl in his grasp.

"Yes, Ikuto has been crawling A LOT; he just can't stay still anywhere!!!" Tsukasa loudly emphasized as he prepared the food on the table. Yoru hovered above him with a French fry between his paws.

"~This is so yummy~" Yoru moaned loudly as the guardian character lazily sat on the table near the high chair, having already started eating. Ikuto, having crawled towards the tall, wooden table attempted to perch himself up using the chairs; unfortunately, Tsukasa prevented the teenager from getting up any higher and instead placed Ikuto into his designated high chair, buckling the boy in and sliding the removable tray back into place. Amu grabbed a bib nearby and had put it on Ikuto while she took a seat nearest his own.

"Ah ah, Ikuto! Let's have you sit in your high chair and Amu and I can have the adult chairs" Tsukasa explained as he went about cutting the hamburger into tiny pieces and feeding each bite to a hungry Ikuto. As was to be expected, Ikuto was very messy when eating and small bits of hamburger and ketchup smeared near his mouth and cheeks.

"He's learning to crawl but still chewing mouth open" Amu commented as she observed her companions enjoying their meal.

"Yes, but at least that tells me he's making some progress. I don't know how long it's to be expected that Ikuto remains as he is now, or if he'll ever be back to his old self; for now, as troublesome as he is I'm glad that Ikuto is alive and healthy today" Tsukasa stated as he stared longingly towards Amu, offering a kind (but also sad) smile. Amu returned the gratitude as she went about preparing the milkshakes for the trio.

"Choco!!!!!!" Ikuto happily cheered as he clapped his hands in excitement once Amu started to prepare to feed him the chocolate milkshake she ordered specifically for the blue hair teen. She had grabbed a spoon and scooped a sizable portion, slowly guiding the utensil into Ikuto's awaiting mouth.

"Yes, Ikuto! I figured you would want a chocolate milkshake!" Amu giggled as she continued to spoon-feed Ikuto; Tsukasa laughed as he went about sipping his own vanilla milkshake with Yoru sneaking a taste from Ikuto's treat.

"Ikuto is talking a lot more than before; he's identifying certain words and starting to say them out loud. Right now he knows "chocolate", "blanket" and "milk" " Tsukasa added as he finished up his meal and started to clean up the table. Amu finished feeding Ikuto the milkshake and wiped the mess off of his mouth and hands. Taking the bib off, Amu went to place it in the sink to be cleaned for later as Tsukasa got Ikuto out of the high chair and carried the boy to the couch for his nightly bottle.

"Amu, can you grab Ikuto's bottle from the fridge please?" Tsukasa asked as he positioned the boy in his lap comfortably, the teen's head near Tsukasa's shoulder with his long legs wrapped in the man's arms. Amu grabbed the baby bottle, now ideally cold and handed it to Tsukasa.

"Miku!!!!!" Ikuto happily said as he graciously accepted the bottle and drank the liquid fast.

"It's MILK, Ikuto and you don't have to go so fast buddy! We're in no rush" Tsukasa giggled as he twirled strands of the teen's blue hair in his hand whilst Ikuto continued to feed; Amu joined the two on the couch as Yoru dozed off once more after he finished his meal.

"Do you have any plans for the weekend, Amu?" Tsukasa questioned.

"Tadase and I were hoping to stop back here at some point to visit Ikuto; Tadase wants to see how Ikuto is doing" Amu shared as she observed Ikuto peacefully drinking his baby bottle, a quiet suckling sound escaping his lips. Small droplets of milk ran down Ikuto's chin as he closed his eyes and went about finishing his bottle.

"That's wonderful! It'll be good for more company to join us!" Tsukasa happily stated as he placed the empty bottle on the coffee table, sat Ikuto up in his lap and gently patted the boy's back. From previous experience, Tsukasa found that the sooner he burped Ikuto after his bottle, the better chance he had at avoiding any heart-burn scenarios and crying fits.

The lights of the street lamps turned on and illuminated the night sky, stars twinkling bright and a full moon shining down on the bustling city. Snow flakes dropped fast as a glittery sheen of white snow dazzled the environment around.

...

Turning the bedside lamp on, Amu went about preparing a more comfortable setup for Ikuto's crib as Tsukasa changed the boy once more for the night; Yoru floated nearby helping Tsukasa with changing Ikuto's diaper and dressing him back into his pajamas.

"Here you go, Yoru" Tsukasa said as he passed the dirty diaper to the cat Chara to throw away in the nearby bin. Yoru held his nose and grabbed the soiled item, quickly tossing it in the bin before heading back for the next task.

"~Done!~" Yoru chanted as he grabbed the baby powder between his paws. Tsukasa wiped Ikuto down then allowed space for Yoru to apply the powder generously.

"Now it's time for a clean diaper!" Tsukasa giggled as he tickled Ikuto's stomach, earning a smile and laugh from the teen as he laid on the changing table, playfully distracted by the mobile hanging overhead.

"~Clean diaper, check!~" Yoru stated cheerfully as the guardian character handed over the clean diaper to Tsukasa to put on his owner. Amu, once Ikuto was properly covered came near the trio holding a set of matching black pajamas.

"Here are his pajamas!" Amu smiled as she helped to put the top on Ikuto whilst Tsukasa managed the bottoms. Buttoning up the top, Amu smiled down at Ikuto and played with the boy's long fingers in her own as Yoru went about finding a pacifier and Tsukasa started unbuckling Ikuto from the table and picking the teenager up to bring to his crib.

Laying Ikuto down on his bed, Amu brought the blanket over Ikuto's chest and handed him his cat toy; Tsukasa raised the crib bars to the appropriate height and Yoru came to put the pacifier into Ikuto's mouth.

"Goodnight Ikuto, see you on Sunday!" Amu whispered sweetly as she kissed her friend's forehead and rubbed his cheek lovingly; Ikuto smiled at Amu and played with her long, pink hair as Tsukasa turned the lamp off and quietly led Amu out of the bedroom, Yoru staying back to do his "night shift" duties.

...

AO3 is down as I finished this chapter:( So I'll post this chapter on and Tumblr until then!

Gracias mis amigos!