The Troubles with Cat-Sitting
As I'm continuing to write chapters for this story, I've been thinking about how long I want this story to go. It may be a few chapters or many more, but in the meantime I hope to all of my readers that you are enjoying the continuing content of Shugo Chara:)
merci beaucoup !
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December 18th, Wednesday morning.
"Buckle up for a chilly morning today as the streets will be showered in snow flakes and roads will be slippery! Snow plows are expected to trudge through the streets with salt around 5AM; otherwise, drive slowly and be sure to keep extra winter gear in your cars in case of unexpected breakdowns. "
"And now onto a pivotal case break between the EASTER company vs the public: back in early December, an explosion ensued in the night skies of Tokyo located at a former, now abandoned theme park. It was later revealed to have been caused by some sort of high velocity impact with an unknown flying entity and police reports indicated the disturbance was caused by none other than the infamous EASTER cooperation known formerly for representing international pop sensation, Utau Hoshina."
"While only one injury was reported, the victim was stated to be the stepson to the head of EASTER; as of now the company is being sued by the boy's mother in court for irreversible damages caused by the incident as well as abuse allegations the victim and many others may have suffered whilst working for the company."
"The abandoned theme park is set for permanent demolition starting this Friday. Signs and gates will be posted around the area to keep passerby out. More on the story as it develops!"
...
Tsukasa Pov:
The tv clicked off as Tsukasa placed the tv remote onto the coffee table and bent his head over his knees, his hands keeping his head from completely toppling over in exhaustion. He sighed loudly as he listened for any disruptive background noises.
The past weekend had been particularly challenging due to the sudden onset of Ikuto's fever; the teenager would not stop crying the entire time till Tsukasa had to rock him back to sleep. For the most part, once Ikuto was sleeping, the house became quieter and more at ease (though needing to wake the boy up to take his medicine, eat or change his diaper was a continuous hassle Tsukasa hoped to avoid down the line).
The Chairman was very thankful that Ikuto's illness went away quickly.
While Amu and Tadase helped last Sunday to care for Ikuto (and the duo were in the process of trying to schedule their times off to look after the teenager on the weekends), the older man was starting to wonder if he should invest in putting the boy in daycare? Tsukasa knew he was expected at work soon and his time off was coming to an end; being a principal at an infamous elementary school like Seiyo Academy required constant attention and supervision that could no longer be pushed aside.
Yet, there was hesitation in his mind.
The middle of the week sure seemed to weigh heavily on Tsukasa's shoulders as he recounted what the news reporters said regarding the EASTER case. Thankfully, Souko Tsukiyomi had called on Monday to update the progress being made in regards to the damages done upon Ikuto against the major company; while the courts were siding on her end, Souko was facing challenges in proving the accuracy of the medical document statements regarding the physical and psychological problems Ikuto had and was currently facing.
Apparently the idea of a seventeen year old boy behaving similarly to a baby without physical repercussions wasn't as common as the doctor made it out to be when Ikuto was still recovering from the accident in the hospital.
As he looked towards the very person in the center of all the attention, who was preoccupied on his foam play mat trying to solve a toddler's wooden block puzzle using assorted colored blocks in different elementary shapes, Tsukasa sighed once more and mentally prepared himself to make another pot of coffee for later, assuming that Ikuto would occupy the majority of the morning again (Tsukasa was just looking out for his decreasing energy level these days).
Unfortunately it was only 4:37 in the morning.
...
"Ikuto, lunch is going to be ready in five minutes. That means we're going to put the toys down and tv off for lunch; we can go back to playing once we're done eating and we check your diaper. Do you understand?" Tsukasa kindly (but firmly) stated to the blue haired teen happily sitting on his play mat; Ikuto had been fond of playing with his numerous stuffed animals while a children's program ran in the background and Tsukasa enjoyed the fact that Ikuto wasn't crawling away when he was distracted with many toys and shows presented to him.
However, the boy wasn't too keen on his playtime being interrupted for ANY reason: feeding, diapers, bath, naps, etc.
Lately it seemed that any sort of transition was causing the teen to become distressed suddenly, thus ending in Ikuto screaming loudly while throwing his body on the ground in anger, arms pounding the rug as Tsukasa would have to wrangle the much larger "toddler" in his grasp.
So, by advice through online parenting forums did Tsukasa come to find the little success in transition periods: by explaining in simple words to Ikuto that in a few minutes the activity he was doing is going to change would give the boy ample time to process the change and feel more comfortable.
But that didn't stop the numerous tantrums Ikuto would perform. Just because Tsukasa warned him that playtime would be halted in five minutes didn't mean that Ikuto liked nor agreed to the sudden transition.
Putting his focus back to the stuffed cat (as if he didn't hear anything Tsukasa just told him), Ikuto jostled the toy creature around whilst the older man and Yoru went about preparing the table for lunchtime. The clock on the wall ticked slowly but those five minutes were soon up as Ikuto suddenly noticed the lack of noise coming from the now black screen on the tv.
Tsukasa took the cat out of Ikuto's hands and placed the toy on the ground whilst he picked Ikuto up by his waist, carrying him to the high chair and buckling him down into the seat. Tsukasa soon after grabbed the detachable table top and adjusted the height above Ikuto's chest as Yoru flew by and fitted an orange and yellow cotton bib around Ikuto's neck.
"Ok, all in! Now let's have some yummy lunch; thanks for the food!" Tsukasa proudly stated as he and Yoru clapped their hands (and paws) together, prayed out loud then started to stir the rice porridge and nattō beans as Yoru went about having his own meal alongside Ikuto.
Tsukasa knew Ikuto liked his homemade porridge, but he also added some green pepper slices as he had found them at the market for a good price last Monday and was hoping to incorporate more veggies into his recipes.
"Ok, open wide Ikuto!" Tsukasa happily chanted as he guided a piece of green pepper towards the awaiting mouth. However, Ikuto kept his mouth shut at the sight of the veggie coming towards him; if he didn't know what it was, Tsukasa came to realize that it was harder to convince Ikuto to try it!
"Cmon Ikuto! Let's take a bite now" Tsukasa cooed as he swiveled the pepper around Ikuto; however the teen wasn't convinced enough to open his mouth!
"Yucky!" Ikuto whined as he turned his head away abruptly, disgust written across his face as Tsukasa tried to get the pepper into the teen's mouth.
"~Maybe you should try the airplane trick again, Tsukasa? Ikuto liked it before when you got him to eat those leaks from the soup you made yesterday!~" Yoru mentioned as the cat guardian continued to munch on his porridge and nattō mixture.
"Good idea, Yoru!"
Taking the pepper in his grasp, Tsukasa started to fly the veggie around in the air around Ikuto; the boy suddenly became interested as he observed the green pepper flying above him while Tsukasa quietly mimicked airplane engine sounds.
"Here comes the airplane! Open wide, Ikuto!"
With his interest in the flying pepper suddenly important, Ikuto opened his mouth wide enough for Tsukasa to smoothly place the veggie in for Ikuto to chew.
Unfortunately, many airplanes were necessary for the group to get through lunch that day.
...
"Ok! Now let's go ahead and check your diaper, Ikuto; do we need to change you?" Tsukasa inquired out loud to the boy in his swing as he finished drying the dishes and putting them away in the kitchen cupboards.
After lunch was finished, Yoru agreed to watch his owner in his swing whilst Tsukasa cleaned up- Yoru had turned the tv back to the children's show and slowly rocked Ikuto's seat swing back and forth in a gentle, rocking boat-esque manner.
Walking towards the teen, Tsukasa felt around the black, distressed jeans Ikuto was wearing for any subtle signs of a soiled diaper; from only a few touches, Tsukasa knew Ikuto needed a change.
"Ok, I think someone needs a clean diaper. Let's go ahead and change you Ikuto, then we can go back to watching tv ok?"
That didn't sit well with the blue-haired teen; Ikuto quickly learned that he didn't like his diaper changes, especially when Tsukasa took him away from the tv or his toys to do it!
"No, No! No diaper!" Ikuto whined once more as Tsukasa unbuckled the boy from his swing and picked him up, resting Ikuto on his hip as he carried him towards the staircase to the bedroom. Yoru flew right behind the duo in case Tsukasa needed extra assistance with Ikuto's new onset of rowdiness.
"Yes, you need a clean diaper Ikuto! I promise you can play right after we're done" Tsukasa sighed as the trio went into Ikuto's bedroom; Yoru flipped the light switch on as Tsukasa laid Ikuto on the changing table and buckled him into place. The two collected the needed supplies while Ikuto cried loudly in protest.
"~Here Ikuto! Look at this!~" Yoru hurriedly said to his owner whilst shaking a baby rattle above his head in an attempt to distract the crying boy from becoming more upset. Tsukasa patted Ikuto's stomach lightly and shushed him as he wiped some tears off of Ikuto's cheeks.
"Shhhh Ikuto. You're ok, buddy. Let's change you now, then we can play again" Tsukasa consoled gently as he went about undressing Ikuto and made space for Yoru to continue to shake the baby rattle loudly, giving Tsukasa ample time to take the soiled diaper off and toss in the diaper bin nearby. Then, he wiped the affected area clean, put some rash cream on and adjusted the new diaper accordingly. After fixing Ikuto's pants, Tsukasa went ahead and undid the table buckle that laid across Ikuto's stomach as Yoru tried to wipe some of Ikuto's tears away with his large, blue cat paws.
Sensing Ikuto's distress from the experience, Tsukasa glided his fingertips across the exposed part of Ikuto's stomach, having raised his black T-shirt up a bit to complete the necessary task at hand. Ikuto chuckled at the tickling sensation as Tsukasa continued to gently tickle the boy, personally enjoying the laughter Ikuto was displaying before him!
"See, that wasn't so bad huh? We can make changes fun!" Tsukasa giggled as he glided his fingers across Ikuto's stomach, earning a fit of laughter and happiness from the boy and his guardian character.
...
"NO NAP!!!!!"
The time rested at noon and the weather outside was as cold as ever.
Hoping to get a break from his babysitting duties, Tsukasa had attempted to play with Ikuto long enough to get him tired to want to take an early midday nap. Unfortunately Ikuto was by no means tired and wanted to play some more with Tsukasa and Yoru, who the two shared the same level of exhaustion in utter defeat.
Having tried to ease Ikuto by reminding him that nap time would begin at noon, thus he only had five more minutes of playtime, Tsukasa hoped that the transitional period would help make the whole process of avoiding tantrums easier; in truth it only seemed to ignite the occurrence of Ikuto's fits more!
Staring dumbfounded towards the ground, where Ikuto was screaming his head off and pounding his fists in tired frustration (he definitely needed a nap no doubt!), Tsukasa took in a deep breath before collecting the teenager in his arms bridal-style and walked towards the stairs.
"Ikuto, you need a nap; you're cranky because you need some extra sleep. We can always play after!"
"NO, NOT SLEEPY!!!!" Ikuto cried loudly as he rubbed his eyes, all puffy and red as Tsukasa opened the bedroom door and went towards the rocking chair near the crib; having sat down with Ikuto still in his hold, Tsukasa adjusted the boy comfortably while Yoru grabbed a blanket from the crib to drape around a wiggling Ikuto.
"Shhhhh, go to sleep Ikuto. Shhhhhhhh" Tsukasa hushed as he rocked the chair back and forth, running his fingers through the blue head of hair as Ikuto continued to hiccup and sob. Yoru, having turned the lights off and pulled the curtains closed sat near the bedside table and watched the scene with sadness in his eyes.
The chair creaked quietly for another 15 minutes until Tsukasa heard the gentle snoring from Ikuto. He was finally asleep!
With Yoru's assistance, the two laid Ikuto down in his crib and tucked him in with his cat toy and pacifier.
"Let's go, Yoru. If we're lucky he'll sleep for at least a couple hours!" Tsukasa encouraged the cat Chara as he closed the door quietly and went back downstairs.
"~Are you still thinking about putting Ikuto in a daycare, Tsukasa? Don't you have to go back to work soon anyhow?~" Yoru inquired as he floated near the tv, having perched himself atop the device. Tsukasa, having joined Yoru on the couch in the living room slouched into his seat and sighed loudly.
Whoever said babysitting a cat boy would be this challenging?
...
Sorry for the shorter chapter but I thought I jam packed enough tooth-rotting fluff in here for one day! Please come back for more baby Ikuto adventures:)
au revoir