The Troubles with Cat-Sitting
Daycare time, let's go!!!!!;)
...
December 23rd, Monday at 8:00AM.
Tsukasa Pov:
"Yoru, where are those hand towels with Ikuto's name on them? Also, do you see where I put the extra baby bottles too?" Tsukasa anxiously asked the cat Chara nearby as the two dashed around the house trying to gather all of Ikuto's school supplies: today was the teenager's first full day at Azora Daycare.
While Tsukasa had planned to have all of the necessary supplies packed in Ikuto's school backpack the night before, he didn't foresee all the late night problems Ikuto would cause that would take the older man's attention away from being prepared ahead of time for this morning.
For one thing, since Amu had left yesterday afternoon for her Sapporo trip, Ikuto hadn't stopped crying from when the girl left the Tsukiyomi house. Tsukasa tried to comfort the boy to sleep for well over an hour, on top of the teen's blood curdling screams and severe tantrum throwing that he had to work with (once Ikuto went down for his nap, Tsukasa and Yoru took the opportunity to sleep for the few precious hours they had until the teen woke back up).
Unfortunately, since the teenager slept for over four hours during his designated nap period meant that bedtime would pose many foreseeable issues, even more so than what Yoru could handle by himself so Tsukasa offered to stay up alongside the guardian character in order to get Ikuto to go to sleep for that Sunday night. However, Ikuto didn't close his eyes till 10:00PM, and Tsukasa stayed up even later in order to finish some paperwork from Seiyo Academy he had pushed off these past couple of weeks.
In a nutshell, everyone was immensely exhausted.
As Yoru and Tsukasa ran about the house trying to make sure that the daycare backpack had everything needed, on top of Ikuto being prepared for his first day at the school did it seem that the few hours they had to prepare this morning were quickly disappearing. Ikuto needed to be at the daycare by nine and Tsukasa was determined to make a good impression upon the teachers and parents.
"~Here they are!!!~" Yoru happily chanted as he flew over to the yellow backpack sitting near the entrance to the foyer, jamming the hand towels into the remaining space in the bag as Tsukasa placed the extra baby bottles in the side pockets.
"~Do you think there's enough diapers and wipes packed?~" Yoru questioned as he peered into the bag's diapering supplies whilst Tsukasa finished cleaning the dining room table from breakfast earlier, having done the dishes previously when Yoru was keeping an eye on his owner playing in the living room. Luckily for Yoru, Ikuto had managed to stay put on his play mat and not crawl around the house in various spots for the cat Chara to have to hurriedly find him in!
"Yes, and I'm bringing an extra pack for the daycare to keep too! Oh, when was the last time Ikuto got changed this morning?" Tsukasa sighed drastically as he walked over to the boy on his play mat, completely oblivious to what was occurring around him as Ikuto played with his toy kitty.
"~I don't know; didn't you change him when he woke up this morning?~"
"Yes, you're right Yoru! But I bet he needs to be changed again before we leave." Tsukasa mentioned as he faced the backside of the teen and lifted the top portion of Ikuto's pants, peering into the open space of the diaper the boy was currently wearing.
"Oh no, he needs a new diaper. How much time do we have before we need to leave, Yoru?" Tsukasa asked as he picked Ikuto up and positioned him to rest on his hip, walking over towards the kitchen pantry to grab the plush diaper mat he had stored away.
"~About ten minutes, then we should get going. Last night was supposed to have been a snow storm so I'm guessing that the sidewalks might be piled up with snow and frost!~" Yoru stated as he flew around the room gathering a clean diaper and wipes while Tsukasa placed the foam mat on the wooden flooring and laid Ikuto down, quickly undressing the teenager as Yoru jumped in to take the diaper off, allotting time for Tsukasa to wipe Ikuto completely clean.
"~I feel like we're contributing to the trash pileups every time Ikuto goes through all these diapers in one day! ~" Yoru tiredly thought as he flew to the trash bin and tossed the soiled diaper in, quickly washing his paws in the sink as Tsukasa finished changing Ikuto and went to place the boy on the ground near the coat closet.
With Yoru putting the mat and supplies away for later usage, Tsukasa threw his brown, wool coat on and hurriedly fixed Ikuto's puffy black parka; Yoru soon joined in to help dress Ikuto in his matching hat and scarf ensemble.
"~Does he need his mittens right now or should I put them in the bag?~" Yoru asked Tsukasa as the man slipped Ikuto's black winter boots on, picked the teen up in his arms and started to fix his own winter shoes.
"We're going to take the car today. It's just too cold out for the stroller so you can put the mittens in the backpack!" Tsukasa exclaimed as he got into his shoes and threw the yellow bag over his shoulders, Ikuto presently on his hip as Yoru quickly placed the mittens in the front pocket and proceeded to open the front door.
"Alright, let's go! Azora Daycare, here we come!" Tsukasa and Yoru chanted happily as the trio walked into the blistering cold wonderland that awaited them.
...
"Today marks the third anniversary since Utau Hoshina deputed her first album exclusively in Japan! Now, the young singer has parted ways with the infamous EASTER COOPERATION and is set to perform some indie solo acts this upcoming week in celebration for Christmas and the New Year! Tickets can be purchased online at the various locations she will be performing at so be sure to grab yours before they're sold out!"
"That's great, Tomoko! I know my kids are Utau H. fans and she has been such an influence in the music industry for Japan over the years. I remember going to one of her "underground, Black Diamond" concerts near the shopping district last year at this time; the band and her vocals were amazing! What's funny, though is that I can't seem to recall any part of the finishing act- same goes with my kids memory about it too!"
"Yeah, I remember that! My friends who had gone to that same concert tour also mentioned how they totally forgot the whole second part- she's so mesmerizing that I guess it's completely natural to just tune out midway into some sort of oblivion!"
"Oh absolutely, I agree with you there Tomoko! On a different note, the EASTER COOPERATION is still in murky waters after the accident that occurred at the beginning of this month having resulted in a life-threatening injury to a company employee as well as disturbance of peace from some sort of unexplained explosion in the sky caused by the incident. As of now, the employee's mother who is also stated to be the wife of the head director, Kazuomi Hoshina is in court against the company for allegations relating to an onset of abuse her son has suffered from the company as well as having been the only mentioned victim from the accident.
"That's so unfortunate, Sazuki. My heart goes out to the mother and her family in this upsetting time. By the way, was the mother's name released to the public yet?"
"Ah, yes! Thank you for that, Tomoko. The mother's name is Souko Tsukiyomi, however her son's name is not to be released for public records due to his underage status."
CLICK...
The radio went silent after Tsukasa hurriedly pushed the OFF button. He looked at his rear view mirror, directly observing Ikuto in the back seat of the car strapped in his custom-made car seat. The teen was sucking on his pacifier, the light pink one with tiny golden crowns (that seemed to be his favorite) as Yoru flipped the pages to a baby book he was reading to his distracted owner.
Kicking his long legs in a rocking motion, Ikuto looked out the window nearest his seat and watched as houses, buildings and people dashed by him. The boy was completely entranced riding in the car compared to his stroller adventures and seemed to stay attentive to his surroundings as he looked back at the baby book, where Yoru was pointing out a cartoonish picture of a golden retriever playing at a park with other dogs.
"BETTY!" Ikuto cheerfully clapped as he pointed to a yellow dog on the book. Tsukasa giggled to himself watching just how happy Ikuto was- he was really hoping that the drop off at the daycare would show no problems, especially once Tsukasa would need to leave Ikuto with his new teachers for the first time!
He tried not to think of the worse-case scenario he was anticipating at drop off.
"Ah, look Ikuto! We're here; this is your new school we talked about!" Tsukasa cheerfully exclaimed as he pulled the car into the open driveway of the daycare, quickly finding an open spot nearest the entrance. Once the car was parked and turned off, Tsukasa hopped out of the driver's side and collected Ikuto from the backseat, swinging the yellow backpack onto his shoulders as he supported Ikuto on his hip once more. Yoru closed the car door behind and floated next to Tsukasa and Ikuto as they made their way into the entrance area.
The welcoming smell of pine trees and ginger spice surrounded the entrance foyer, with the provided heat warming up the cold bodies who just came from being outside. As parents and students took their outdoor shoes off and slipped into their indoor slippers or sneakers, Tsukasa made his way towards the foyer's floor divider, sat on the edge of the wooden ledge and helped Ikuto take his boots off while he slipped off his brown Oxfords and placed them near the parents shoe corner (Yoru identified the BUNNY ROOM cubbies and jammed Ikuto's much larger winter boots alongside the few baby shoes already present)!
"Ok, now let's head towards Ikuto's classroom. Are you excited for your first day, buddy?" Tsukasa asked the teen in his arms as he walked down the hallway leading to the BUNNY ROOM, where the door was wide opened and a multitude of conversations could be heard. A few parents stood outside the classrooms after having dropped off their kids, talking amongst each other as teachers and staff walked about assisting students and adults.
Once Tsukasa made his way towards the BUNNY ROOM, the older man could sense a variety of confused stares and small bickering coming from the parents who noticed the teenager being held childishly in his arms, pacifier and all present for the judgmental comments to start occurring.
"Good morning, Haku! It's great to see you today; did you have a good weekend at the snow festival with mom and dad?" Ms Anna asked the little toddler as the boy and his mom walked into the class ahead of Tsukasa, who maneuvered his way past the door awaiting for Ms Anna's attention. Once the teacher caught sight of Ikuto, she immediately smiled brightly and came to greet her new student!
"Good morning Ikuto! It's so great to see you again; Ms Shiro and I have been sharing with all of your classmates about your arrival today! We're going to have so much fun, and we plan to play in the playground for a bit this afternoon: do you like to play in the snow, Ikuto?" Ms Anna happily asked the teen, whose shyness became apparent as he nervously looked away from the woman and hid his face into Tsukasa's shoulder.
"He loves to play outside! We've been talking all of this past weekend about how fun school will be and how Ikuto will make new friends in his class!" Tsukasa happily mentioned as he patted the boy's back gently, Yoru hiding behind Ikuto and licking his cheek soothingly.
"Well, Ms Shiro and I can't wait to play with Ikuto today! Follow me and I'll show you where you can place his belongings from home." Ms Anna stated as she directed Tsukasa over to the hanging coat cubbies where outdoor clothing and bags hung on hooks with a picture of each student placed atop a small, square cubby holder. Towards the end of the white cubbies was a picture of Ikuto and his name printed on a laminated strip of paper- Tsukasa hung the yellow backpack on the hook and took off Ikuto's coat, hat and scarf and placed the items in their respective spaces.
"This is your cubby, Ikuto! Everyday we'll put the yellow backpack and your coat here; oh, look! This is your picture and your name!" Tsukasa pointed out to the teen as he readjusted Ikuto in his hold and followed Ms Anna over to the large, round carpet in the middle of the room: the rug was a sky blue with white clouds plastered all around it and many baby/toddler toys were splayed about with students either sitting or playing at one of the other stations in the class.
"As you can see, the BUNNY ROOM is the school's smallest classroom: our students in this class are between the ages of 12 months to two years old. Once they age out, then the next room students go to is the FROGGY ROOM across the hall, where Ikuto was evaluated in last time. Right now we have eight students, including Ikuto in this class and Ms Shiro and I oversee all the activities in this room. On the door is our daily schedule, which starts with morning snack followed by playtime and diaper changes; when the weather permits, we take the children out via the buggies to the daycare's private playground then we do diapers and lunch. Our nap time typically starts at noon then we end by 3:00pm; we have the cribs placed over near the windows, and the school was able to provide a sizable crib for Ikuto to utilize!" Ms Anna happily shared as she pointed to all the different sections of the colorful classroom, where Ms Shiro was busy talking to parents as the children played with the toys amongst each other.
"This is all incredible! I'll be sure to share with Mrs Tsukiyomi everything about the school; she was hoping to visit sometime in between her court dates, if that's alright?" Tsukasa asked the shorter teacher next to him as he placed Ikuto on the rug, Yoru floating down near his owner's head and picking up a set of blocks to build a tower out of.
"That is wonderful! We'll be sure to not only give Mrs Tsukiyomi daily updates but we'll document Ikuto's day in his journal too and give it to you at pickup!" Ms Anna cheerfully mentioned as she and Tsukasa observed the teenager playing on the carpet, keenly focused on keeping the blocks from tumbling down his makeshift tower.
"Thank you, Ms Anna. I appreciate all that you and the school are doing for the situation Ikuto and his family are dealing with. We couldn't have asked for a better scenario for him to be in" Tsukasa thoughtfully shared to the shorter teacher as he secretly gave Yoru the "thumbs-up" signal, indicating that he was about to leave soon.
"You're welcome, Mr Amakawa. We are grateful that Ikuto gets to be apart of our school: we'll do the best we can in helping him to succeed!" Ms Anna proudly proclaimed as she lead Tsukasa and the rest of the parents out of the room to prepare for the start of the class day.
However, a certain blue-haired teen caught sight of Tsukasa attempting to leave and immediately started whining loudly.
"UH UH!!!!!!" Ikuto cried as he reached his arms out to Tsukasa, tears falling down his face as the older man looked sorrowfully at the distressed boy.
"Ikuto, I gotta go to work now. I'll be back after school to pick you up, I promise!" Tsukasa quietly cooed to the teenager as he gave Ikuto a big hug and rubbed his back gently, standing up from his kneeling position and making his way back to the door leading out of the classroom. On the other hand, there was no amount of consolation that would stop Ikuto from crying as the teen watched helplessly from the rug as Tsukasa waved goodbye and walked out.
...
Yoru's Pov:
The little cat guardian keenly watched the scene before him as he waved goodbye to Tsukasa. However, Yoru could already feel a sort of queasiness in his stomach as he witnessed a distressed Ikuto crying loudly once Tsukasa left the classroom.
Crawling on his hands and knees, Ikuto immediately attempted to leave the classroom to catch up to Tsukasa: Ms Anna quickly caught the boy 'round his waist and, with as much strength that she could muster holding the heavier teenager supported Ikuto in her arms and carried him away from the entrance area as Ms Shiro went to close the door that would prevent any escapes from occurring!
"NO NO NO!!!!!" Ikuto screamed as Ms Anna bounced the older boy up and down, patting his back and gently playing with his blue hair as Ms Shiro went to get the morning snack prepared in the adjoining kitchen. Meanwhile (and much to the two teachers happiness), the other students were calmly playing in their designated stations and were much less an issue than their new BUNNY ROOM student was.
"Shh, it's alright Ikuto! Tsukasa is going to come back once school is done today; we're going to have so much fun together that you'll forget he ever left!" Ms Anna quietly hushed as she tried to calm the teen down. Having found Ikuto's fallen pacifier on the ground nearby, she picked it up and placed it back into the boy's mouth.
The intense amount of screaming stopped and Ikuto just continued to whimper in Ms Anna's hold as the shorter teacher brought the boy to his crib in the corner, placing him in gently in order to give her sore arms a break from holding the teenager for so long.
"Mama, mama" Ikuto cried quietly as Ms Anna laid the boy on his back, making sure the pillow the school provided was covering all of Ikuto's head as she brought the beige woolen blanket up to the teen's chest.
"Should we let Ikuto rest for a bit, Mariko? He just seems so upset" Ms Anna asked her co teacher as she pushed Ikuto's hair out of his eyes and turned on the little mobile attached to the crib, the quiet humming of "au clair de la lune" being heard.
"Yeah, I think that would be best. Let's just do our normal morning routine- once we start the group activities, Ikuto can wake up and I'll bet he'll feel better to have morning snack. It's his first day so let's just take it easy with him!" Ms (Mariko) Shiro stated as she placed the plastic colorful plates on the small wooden tables filled with sliced grapes and crackers with strawberry jam.
"Ok! Now let's close our eyes Ikuto! That's a good boy; just rest now" Ms Anna whispered to the teen as she patted his back, making sure to keep an eye on the remaining children in the class while Ms Shiro finished prepping snack and called the students to wash their hands at the small, toddler sink in the kitchenette.
"~Oh Ikuto. You're becoming so much more trouble now; I really hope it'll all work out in the end~" Yoru commented out loud as the cat Chara floated near his owner's crib and sat on the edge of the bars, watching closely as Ikuto soon closed his eyes and started to snore.
...
"Good morning everybody! Today is a sunny day outside, but it is super cold! Did anyone see the snow falling from the sky this past weekend?" Ms Shiro happily asked her small group of students sitting at the rug, with Ms Anna cleaning up the tables from morning snack in the background.
As for Ikuto, the teen was still sleeping in his crib while Yoru watched his owner in the distance (the toddlers were having a blast chasing Yoru around the class, with Ms Anna and Ms Shiro questioning why the kids were chasing "nothing" crazily)! So, to avoid the craziness from the seven toddlers bothering him, Yoru decided to hide near the ceiling and do quick checks on Ikuto periodically.
Having finished the snack dishes and everything was put away, Ms Anna decided to check on Ikuto as she made her way to the sleeping boy.
"Hey, Ikuto; let's wake up now!" Ms Anna gently shook the boy's shoulders as he stirred in the crib. Scrunching his eyes tightly, Ikuto's blue eyes opened and blinked rapidly as he tried to remember where he was currently at.
"Hi Ikuto! Did you have a good rest? How about we take you out and have some morning snack: I bet you're super hungry!" Ms Anna kindly asked the teen as she got him safely out of the crib and carried Ikuto towards the kitchen. However, instead of placing him in the toddler chairs, the director had brought a spare high chair for the teachers to use exclusively for their new student. Placing Ikuto into the high chair and setting up the little adjustable table top, Ms Anna went to grab a premade bowl of strawberry yogurt with dry oats mixed in she had prepared for Ikuto ahead of time.
Grabbing a school bib near the sink, Ms Anna wrapped it around Ikuto's neck and grabbed a chair, setting it next to the high chair as she stirred up the contents in the plastic bowl.
"Ok, here comes the train! Choo choo!" Ms Anna giggled as she guided the spoon into the boy's mouth, watching closely as Ikuto swallowed the yogurt mix and patiently waited to be fed again. As the smaller teacher kept on feeding Ikuto, some of the yogurt mix started falling out of the teen's mouth and ran down his bib as he kept on chewing contently, watching the group of students on the rug singing songs with Ms Shiro tapping her hands on a small bongo.
"Wow, you must have been hungry, Ikuto! You finished your snack- good job! Let's go get you cleaned up in the bathroom then we can join Ms Shiro for morning group time!" Ms Anna cheerfully mentioned as she cleaned up the messy high chair, placing the dirty bib and bowl to be cleaned later as she wiped Ikuto's face clean with a rag and soon brought the teen to the class's conjoined bathroom.
Similar to the kitchen, the bathroom was set up as an open area with a large changing table and wooden cubbies containing diapers, wipes and ointments. There was one toddler-sized toilet seated near the door that separated the bathroom from the classroom's play area; otherwise, the walls were half sized and allowed for the teachers to see into the changing area or if any student needed to use the potty with supervision.
"Ok, now let's get you onto the changing table and take a look at that diaper!" Ms Anna said out loud as she undressed Ikuto and took the dirty diaper off, throwing it away in the trash bin.
"Oh, you definitely needed a change! You're such a messy boy, Ikuto!" Ms Anna laughed as she smiled warmly at the boy underneath her, tickling his stomach and enjoying the childish laughter as Ikuto happily giggled and clapped his hands. Finishing up with the wipes, Ms Anna secured a new diaper on and redressed Ikuto; she tossed the table's paper placemat away and the wipes too, making sure that everything would be clean for the next student.
"Yay! Successful diaper change done! Now, let's go see what Ms Shiro is doing at the rug, shall we?" Ms Anna whispered as she carried Ikuto to the rug and sat down in the back, cradling the large teenager in her lap as she crossed her legs and gave Ikuto his pacifier back from earlier.
"Ok! So now that we have finished our music time, should we all introduce ourselves to Ikuto? He is new to the BUNNY ROOM, so let's give him a warm welcome and say, Good Morning Ikuto!" Ms Shiro happily stated as she waved her hands at the teen in her co-teachers lap, encouraging the ensemble of toddler's to wave back at the confused boy.
"Good morning, IkAto!!!" the group of toddlers incorrectly chanted as a multitude of chattering began amongst the students.
"No, no: it's IkUto, everyone! We want to make sure we can say our new friend's name correctly because that will show how much we care about him!" Ms Anna awkwardly shared as she patted Ikuto's back comfortably, the teenager staring absentmindedly at the variety of small kids in front of him.
"Why he big? He has no job?" a little girl with pigtails asked out loud as she pointed her small, chubby finger directly at Ikuto. The other students quickly noted the major size difference between themselves and the new BUNNY ROOM student as Anna and Mariko laughed under their breaths from the sudden interruption.
"Now Rei, that's not very nice to say! Ikuto is a little bigger than the rest of you but he loves to play like all of you; do we need to remind ourselves how we talk nicely to teachers and friends?" Ms Shiro said as she composed herself, hands folded in her lap as she gathered the students attentions back to her.
"No! We know how to talk nice, Ms Shiro!" the group of toddlers chanted in unison as Ms Anna sat up from her seated position, readjusting Ikuto in her arms as she went over towards the cubbies to put on his winter coat and hat.
"Ok. Now class, we are going to put our coats on to go outside- lets make sure we all have coats, hats, scarfs and mittens on our bodies before we leave the classroom. Ms Anna, if you can watch the class, I'll go get the shoes and buggies ready!" Mariko shared to the shorter teacher as she maneuvered the class over to the cubby area, where Anna was busy buttoning up Ikuto's coat and putting his hat and scarf on.
"No problem, Ms Shiro! Shall I read a book while we put our clothes on?" Ms Anna happily asked the class while Mariko went out of the classroom, the door closely loudly behind her while Ms Anna read a picture book to the group of toddlers working to put their coats on by themselves. On the other hand, Ikuto (who was already dressed) sat on the ground near the door and watched as the students threw their coats on the ground and attempted to dress themselves.
"~Ok, Ikuto! Let's make sure to build a castle with the snow outside! Or we can start a snow ball fight with the other kids!~" Yoru mischievously chuckled as he flew down near his owner, who was sucking on the pink pacifier contently.
However, the lack of attention Ikuto was giving to Yoru became apparent once the cat Chara flew in front of the boy's face, waving his paws about nervously to the distracted teen.
"~Wait! Can you hear me, Ikuto?~" Yoru sadly asked as the guardian character watched helplessly while Ms Anna picked up Ikuto in her arms and led the toddler class out of the room to the hallway.
With the two teachers preparing the students in the mobile buggies, shoes being shuffled onto the little feet, Ikuto sat in the back near the handles, kicking his own legs happily as Ms Anna gently pinched the teen's cheeks and giggled from a joke Ms Shiro said to her.
"~I'm not invisible to Ikuto, am I?~" Yoru depressingly thought as the sad cat Chara watched the teachers push the buggies out the school's doors towards the playground surround in the glistening white wonderland awaiting for them.
...
Wow, am I really ending this chapter on a depressing cliff hanger? I am, unfortunately. :(
However, I will admit I started tearing up once I finished Yoru's dialogue; I even had to ask myself if this is what I wanted to happen in my own story!
Well, I still have plans for many more chapters to come so we will all see what happens to the future of our beloved Yoru!!!