Notes:
I can only say that this chapter is an up and down of emotions. I hope it will make you cry and laugh and forget about what happened in the manga.
Are you ready to find out what that baby is? Well, I won't keep you waiting any longer.
Enjoy reading❤
this may be the last chapter of this fic to be translated into english for a while.
Postada, no panda was injured in this chapter.
18. Autumn Equinox. Part.2 The Baby Shower
Continued.
03:18 p.m.
Meanwhile in the living room.
"I must say that I was surprised by the wedding of those two" commented Itadori as he sat next to his friend, "Especially since I never suspected that they had already married in secret"
"We already suspected that those two had gotten married" commented panda with a smirk.
Both he and Toge had joined the conversation.
"Tuna!" Inumaki raised her ring finger. Referring to a ring.
"Toge is right, the ring was something that caught our attention" said Panda nodding his head.
"wedding ring that months later, Maki san would lose on a mission" commented Megumi before taking a sip of his drink.
"But in my case, with my sense of smell I already knew those two were married" said Panda, pointing to his nose.
"How is that possible?" Momo questioned, raising her eyebrow in disbelief.
"Well, human behaviors are sometimes difficult to explain, but scents say it all. Those two at that time smelled similar, something that usually happens in humans when they are in love, have lived together for a long time or have bonded in all senses, you know, intimately" His ears twitched as he said that mischievously- "And those two already had a very similar and particular smell" he smiled as he explained –"And besides!" He pointed to his nose –"Before Maki revealed to us that she was pregnant, my sense of smell told me that there was something "strange" about her. It was the smell of another little person but like a combination of those two"
"I thought that what you had detected was the curse that had attacked her" commented Megumi.
Panda shook his head.
"I thought so too. But in the end that scent I detected belonged to that baby" he took a pose of total pride, "As well as I have already detected that it will be that baby! It's a!" Nobara interrupted him abruptly, grabbing him by the neck and lifting that little animal.
"Don't you dare reveal that it's that baby or I'll pull the spongy filling out of you and make you a stuffed animal!" she shouted in annoyance.
"Hehe, I think we interrupted something..." said Yuta nervously.
"Rather, I'd say we came at just the right time for fun!" said Maki with a smile as she watched the talking animal being scolded.
The couple's voices caught the attention of those present, who quickly turned to look at the two.
Yuta scratched the back of his neck while Maki had her arms folded across her chest.
"Did we arrive just in time to hit the panda?" asked Maki sarcastically.
Nobara let go of her animal senpai, "Surprise! You're just in time!" she said cheerfully.
"Go ahead, welcome senpais!" said Itadori with a smile and waving his arms with too much joy.
"Kombu!"
"Surprise!"
Toge and panda said in chorus, waving small signs that read "Boy and girl."
"This is the surprise we have prepared for you, Maki san! We hope you like it!" said Momo with a smile as she welcomed them, "Come in, come in!"
Maki silently observed how that area of the academy was decorated with too many blue and pink balloons, she was also struck by the various pieces of furniture in that room, as well as all the posters scattered everywhere. In addition, he noticed with curiosity the tables where they would sit to eat, as well as the table full of gifts. Especially that it was full of packages of diapers and wet wipes.
She also noticed the area where the buffet would be, which they were just finishing setting up, as well as where the desserts would be. She even noticed the decorations hanging from the ceiling.
Maki's lips parted slightly in surprise, as her eyes darted from side to side.
"What do you think?" commented Yuta, caressing Maki's arms.
His wife relaxed her shoulders a little, "Well, the decoration is not so bad…"
"Since you said you didn't want something extravagant or ridiculous, I decided that we would do something this simple for you!" Nobara explained, taking her friend's hand to lead her inside the place.
"Well, I must admit that everything is quite nice even for me, thank you all for this" said Maki with a small smile. She felt she had to cooperate on that day. So she would try to be with the best attitude her hormones would allow her.
Nobara led Maki to the table where all the gifts that had been brought to the mother-to-be were laid out, "Look! Almost everyone at the academy has brought you a present, both for you and your baby!"
Maki's eyebrows rose in surprise when she saw that table full of diapers, wipes and other gifts, as well as all those letters of good wishes. Which quickly caught her attention.
"Yes, that's a lot of diapers... and letters..." said Maki with surprise invading her throat.
"This was Utahime sensei's idea" explained Momo.
"We also decided to do this gift table and good wishes board thing because we knew that not everyone else was going to be able to join us, and so at least they have stopped by to leave you a gift for you and your baby as well as their blessings" Nobara said very enthusiastically.
"And tell us Maki san, do you like it?" asked Momo curiously.
"I must say that's a nice gesture…" commented the new mother with a gentle smile.
"And that's not all!" Nobara, still holding Maki's hand, guided her to the betting board on what that baby would be. "And as you can see, all those who have come in passing have placed their bets."
That board showed that the vast majority, by the difference of a few slips of paper, believed that the baby would be a girl.
"Wow, they seem to be taking this very seriously to see what this soybean seed is going to be" said Maki, looking at the board and taking one of those pink slips of paper.
"We're all really excited to know what your baby is going to be" said Nobara, gently touching her friend's bulging belly, "Especially since this is a very loved and respected baby"
She look her friend in the face, taking both her hands, "So, what do you think? Do you like it?"
Maki sighed a little and smiled, holding her hands.
"Well, I'll settle for it being this quiet"
"Very Good!" Nobara let go of her hands, "Now, let's start this baby shower! Are you ready for everything we have prepared for you?" she commented with a big smile, thus starting that "small" event.
03: 20 p.m.
Before everyone sat down to eat together with the new parents.
Yuta and Maki had a small opening ceremony similar to the one they had at their wedding. Which consisted of the celebrants taking the first bite of the cake as the traditions of that country marked.
Maki grabbed a small blueberry-flavored and blue-covered cupcake and Yuta grabbed a small strawberry-flavored pink-covered pink cupcake.
And just as they remembered how they opened their wedding party, Yuta gave Maki a taste of that pink cupcake in her mouth, placing the sweet delicately on her lips, although he played a little with the icing and smeared some on his wife's nose.
Maki wrinkled her nose at the taste and the sweet smell of that dessert, since lately anything sweet she didn't like or was disgusted by.
And just as at her wedding, Maki did the same as Yuta, she carefully brought the cupcake to her husband's lips and gave it to him to taste, but in that instant she took revenge and smeared it all over his lips and nose.
The couple looked each other in the eyes and smiled at how they had been smeared with that candy, while their friends clapped and shouted, thus starting the party. Which would begin with the food.
All the guests who were there at the time, most of whom were their friends, sat down beside they.
Since the other guests such as Shoko and Utahime with her two children, Satoru and Yuta's sister would arrive later.
The buffet had arrived on time and they brought all the food that Maki had chosen, especially since she was craving "salty" food.
So that buffet included takoyaki, yakitori, onigiri and that strange mixture of pretzels with mustard, a craving that ever since she found out she was pregnant, Maki loved that strange combination.
Yuta smiled a little as he watched his wife eat. Since they were both seated at the head table.
"Why the hell are you staring at me so much?" asked Maki, taking a bite of her pretzel with mustard.
Her husband wiped the corner of her lips with a napkin.
"I just remembered the party we had after our wedding" he explained happily.
Maki smiled slightly.
"Which was something like this, wasn't it?" she took another bite of her pretzel.
"That's right. Do you remember?" Yuta looked back at him with a knowing smile and took his hand.
"Nor how could I forget" she took another bite.
Flashback
A little over a year ago.
The party
As Yuta had described
He and Maki after the ceremony where they made their vows in front of their friends it was time for the traditional post-wedding party.
All the guests went to the reception, first to make the goshugi-bukuro, which consists of giving an economic remuneration in an envelope as tradition dictates to symbolize and wish abundance, good luck and happiness to the newlyweds.
After giving that envelope and writing down their good wishes in a notebook, all the guests entered the hall where the party was to be held and where they were to wait for the bride and groom to make their entrance as newlyweds. Which would not take long.
As they waited to make their entrance, Yuta couldn't take his eyes off his wife still wearing that beautiful white dress, even though she looked nervous as she paced back and forth a bit.
"Why the hell are you looking at me so much?" asked Maki curiously as she noticed that her husband kept looking at her.
"You are simply so beautiful that it is impossible to take your eyes off you!" he said, hugging her gently from behind, passing his arms around her waist and placing many kisses first on her shoulder, then his lips moved up her neck, gently passing over her cheek and then kissing her on the lips, "Really, in this dress you look beautiful…" he said seductively in her ear.
"Well, if so, then keep this mental image of me in this dress" she caressed her husband's cheek with her free hand, "because after the party I will take it off to wear something more comfortable and then return it to the store" she said, kissing her husband's lips.
"In that case, I will have to take the opportunity to intensely etch this image of you into my mind before you return it to the store." He gently kissed her neck again and went up to her lips - "And then slowly take it off and make love to you" he said in her ear, in a subtle but sensual way.
Those words made Maki blush too much, who gently turned around and moved her hands to his neck and kissed him lovingly on the lips.
"happily married, right?" she whispered into his mouth.
"Very happily I would say" said Yuta between kisses.
"Although, if we didn't have to go inside to celebrate, I'd tell you to go to the bedroom at once." -Maki kissed Yuta's neck, leaving a very evident mark of her lipstick on it- "Then you could help me take it off" she said between kisses, "So you can make love to me" her hands tangled around his neck.
Yuta put his hands on his wife's waist, feeling that thin fabric that covered her, he really wanted to take off that dress –"I would love that right now"- he whispered in her ear, while a smile formed on both of their lips before they continued kissing.
Too much passion overflowed from their lips, which they could have taken advantage of by escaping from there, had the wedding planner not interrupted them.
"Mr. and Mrs. Okkotsu, it is time for you to enter" said the attendant, gentlemanly.
They both parted, wiped their lips a bit as Maki's lipstick had gotten on Yuta's lips. So she quickly fixed her lipstick to prevent her friend from calling her attention for ruining that makeup.
Both took their places, Maki held on to her husband's arm as she gripped her bridal bouquet again tightly.
And to the rhythm of the song they had chosen, they entered that room while their friends and guests applauded.
And as the tradition of that culture marked, both bride and groom approached their table, which was the main table in that room and which was elegantly decorated with many flowers.
Once they reached their seats, they first bowed and proceeded to give words of welcome and thanks.
Yuta took the microphone, a little nervously, smiled and began to speak. -
"First of all, I want to thank all of you for joining us on this special day for Maki and me" he held his wife's hand.
"So, on behalf of the Okkotsu family, we thank you for all your love, support, patience and for sharing with us our joy for this new life we are starting. Seriously, thank you very much!" he and Maki bowed again -We hope you have a great time with us.
"And so we kick off this party!" commented Maki with a smile.
After these emotional words, both went on to begin the celebration, where, as tradition dictates, Yuta and Maki carefully held a knife, with which they cut their wedding cake.
That cake was a white, medium-sized, three-tiered vanilla-flavored cake.
Once the first slice was cut, Yuta took a spoon and gave Maki a taste of the cake, delicately placing the sweet dessert on her lips and then stealing a kiss with a taste of icing. Something daring for that tradition.
Then, it was Maki's turn and she gave that spoonful in Yuta's mouth, but took the opportunity to smear that sweet dessert on his lips and nose, making everyone burst out laughing.
Once the bride and groom cut the cake which would be served as dessert, the formal ceremony began, and the guests immediately began to dedicate a few words to the bride and groom.
First and opening that session, Satoru began, who took the microphone with enthusiasm.
He tapped his fingers on the microphone, "One, two, three, testing, can you hear me, Good!" he let the air out in a big smile, "First I want to say congratulations to both of you, I knew you two would end up together and I wasn't wrong. Especially I noticed it since the first day you had your first mission together in that elementary school, although my suspicions were confirmed that day in a training session where Maki Jeje gave you that beating after doing a Split" laughed a little- "Ouch! Who would have thought that from hate to love there would only be a nigatama of average Jeje, because the day these two met, she almost pierced him with her gun. Uff, how to forget that"
This caused the bride and groom and the guests to giggle nervously.
Even Maki twisted her lips slightly, but remembering that made her smile a lot.
Satoru continued speaking- "Even so, I hope you two will be very, very happy together. You deserve all the happiness in the world and on behalf of the Gojo clan, you have my blessing, just as you have a very powerful ally, not to brag"- he flattered himself- "Anyway, I hope you also have many children soon, so that both families would have a lot of fun together all the time"
Those words made Maki turn red.
Gojo continued speaking.
"And to finish my words, I toast to your health and your love" he raised his glass, "Long live the bride and groom!" he exclaimed with emotion.
"Bravo!" the other guests cheered.
Panda was next to take the microphone, this one taking full credit for bringing those two together.
"I may be a talking animal, but not just anyone, but I was the one who brought these two together, clearly I was the first to notice the attraction and the happiness they felt by being next to each other" he flattered himself, "Without me, we could not have reached this moment. Still, I hope you last a lifetime and be happy" he smiled, "Long live you two!"
Toge then gave a speech very much in his own way.
"Shake! Tuna! Mustard!" he raised his glass –"Bonito Cups! Okaka!" he made a sign for everyone to applaud.
"Poetic" said Gojo, clapping his hands.
After Toge's speech, he was followed by Nobara taking the microphone, and then it was Megumi's turn.
"Okkotsu, listen to me very well!" Nobara took the floor, his voice was a mixture of threats and happiness, "You have a great woman by your side! I hope that Maki san will always be your priority! Don't think that I have forgiven you yet that because of you we couldn't go to Kyoto that time in the twin schools tournament!- I know that you are the only one capable of making Maki san happy, since she loves you like you have no idea, so!" raise her glass "I wish you all the happiness in the world, here's to both of you. But really, if you hurt her or make her cry, I swear I'll cut your balls off!" she said, "Cheers! May your marriage be full of blessings!"
Megumi took a breath before taking the microphone.
"Okkotsu senpai, Maki san" he looked at the couple, "I really wish them to be happy in this new stage of their lives. May you always find the solution to your problems and may your love last and may you be blessed with health and prosperity. And more that from now on, you have each other. So!" he raised his glass – "many congratulations!"
Even Mrs. Yamauchi gave them her blessing with a few simple words about loving each other every day as if for the first time. Just as she loved her husband for more than 40 years.
"What can I say to you two more than to wish you a life as a couple full of prosperity, health and love. The voice of experience tells you, every day tell each other how much you love each other, when you have a problem try to solve it with a cool head, as well as always try to love each other as if it was the first time you met. Communication is the main basis of a marriage, as well as trust. That should never be lacking. Sometimes married life is not easy, but it is also not difficult when you work as a team to float this ship called marriage" She raise her glass "Ever since I met you, I knew you two were special, so I wish you much happiness, love and health in this marriage of yours!"
The woman's words felt like those of a mother they never had. That they even both wiped away tears and asked to hug that elderly woman.
Once the words of thanks and blessing were said, the meal was served as per protocol. Which had been chosen by Nobara and by the way, Maki was grateful that there was nothing vegetarian on the menu.
After the meal, came the bouquet toss, or rather, whoever would take the bouquet from the bride, would be the next to be married.
For that, Maki's bouquet was tied with several red ribbons and she had to let it loose for the other participants to pull it.
And so it was done, at first Maki did not want to let go, but that was her strategy, not to let go easily and she knew that none of the others could beat her in strength.
After playing with it for a few minutes, she gently released it so that the one with the winning ribbon could keep it, and Miwa was the winner.
As Japanese traditions are not very festive, the celebration of these newlyweds ended with a small exhibition of photographs of the two of them, which they took from Yuta's phone, Maki's phone and each other's phones.
So to continue with the penultimate tradition, which was for the bride and groom to light the candles on the tables of their guests. This as a tradition about sharing happiness.
Finally, the couple ended their celebration with a few words of thanks to their guests.
Once that first party was over, which did not last more than two hours, all the couple's friends, as well as the bride and groom, went to change clothes to go to the second party, which is known as "niijikai" where everyone dresses in more casual clothes and goes to drink and party at a karaoke or a bar at night to continue the party wherever the bride and groom decide.
Even so, before going to his niijikai, as Yuta had said, he was able to admire one last time that wedding dress adorning Maki's body, before gently undressing her to make love to her in that room before leaving with his friends to continue celebrating that evening.
Back to the baby shower.
"I remember all that very well" said Maki rubbing her belly.
"Seriously, you looked so beautiful that day, just as you do now" commented Yuta, coming closer to kiss her on the lips and caressing her belly, feeling his baby kicking.
But that beautiful scene between those two was invaded by someone else.
"JUJU" said a nagging voice.
The curious look of "something" or rather "someone" made these spouses look to the side.
And there was panda, who was looking at them with his paws resting on the table beside them.
"What about you? what are you looking at?"asked Maki, raising an eyebrow.
Panda let out a slight chuckle.
"Oh nothing, just here I am seeing that my intuition and my sense of smell never failed that you two would end up together!" he sniffed a little, "And that you would even end up procreating," he brought his paw to his muzzle, "Although it seems that the "hot" hormones between you two are still high at the moment!" he said in a mischievous tone.
"Wow, looks like someone is getting a pass to be turned into a teddy bear, huh?" Maki pointed to his belly, "Because I have a feeling this baby will be just like me and having a teddy bear like you wouldn't hurt for him"
Those words sent a shiver down panda's spine.
"Come on, Maki, don't be like that! One way or another I'll end up being your baby's uncle!" exclaimed the animal.
"Tuna!" Inumaki had joined the conversation.
"Toge is right, we will be the ones to take care of your baby! So you must respect us too!" commented Panda.
"Really? Wow, I already want to see you two taking care of this baby once it comes out of me" she pointed at her friends, "Although something tells me you won't last a day changing diapers"
"Takana!
"Yes, you'll see we'll be good guys! We've even practiced!" commented Panda in high spirits.
"Tuna Mayo!"
"We've been practicing changing diapers and bottle feeding your baby! "The games are helping us." Panda played along with Toge, as they both happily raised their thumbs up.
"Games?" Maki raised an eyebrow as she looked at the two of them in confusion, "What games are you talking about?"
Yuta took Maki's hand. He hadn't explained that topic to her yet.
"Some games that Nobara investigated that are done in this kind of parties. Actually, Momo was the one who helped us first hand with all this"
Nobara approached those four and more at the sight of panda showing off.
"Well, as I see that Panda and Inumaki have already opened their mouths, I think it's time for us to start with the games and challenges we have ready for this party"
"Let's play!"
Momo blew a whistle. Thus beginning the games of that baby shower.
04:10 p.m.
As had been said, Momo had been a great help for that party, since she was in charge of finding out and bringing the games that could be played at a baby shower to make the moment more fun.
The organizers decided to start with a simple activity. And that was "guess the size of Maki san's belly".
"Whoever says I'm fat, I'll kill!" threatened the new mother as she stood next to a chalkboard that would be used as a marker.
That activity consisted in that everyone present had to cut a ribbon of the "size" they thought was Maki's belly. They passed it to Nobara who measured the ribbon while Momo wrote down the measurements of the participants. Whoever came closest to the actual size, or whoever got it right, won a small prize.
Panda and Inumaki were the first to participate.
They both cut the ribbon too long, causing Maki to give them an almost murderous look because of the extra inches.
The next to participate was Itadori, but he lacked centimeters, causing that ribbon to not completely surround Maki's belly. The same thing happened to Megumi, who even his calculations didn't help.
Yuta's sister, who had arrived shortly after the baby shower began, also participated. Both she and Miwa were the closest to the actual size of Maki's belly.
But in the end, after checking the scoreboard, Yuna was the winner. Her estimate was the most accurate, surpassing Miwa's by a few millimeters, and she was the one who most closely matched the real size of her sister-in-law's belly. And as a prize, she received an adorable stuffed animal with a pink ribbon.
After that first game, they continued with a more active activity. The dynamic consisted of the boys using a large ball under their clothes to simulate that they were pregnant.
Inumaki, Itadori, Yuta and Megumi participated in that activity. The latter against his will.
There was no lack of laughter from the girls at the sight of those four with those big bellies. Especially since Itadori and Inumaki were doing some funny poses with their fake bellies.
Once they were able to concentrate, Nobara gave the instructions.
"Okay, the next game is very easy, you will have to get up quickly and go put on those shoes without sitting down. The winner is the one who puts them on the fastest without dropping the ball or breaking it. Got it?"
"Understood!" said Yuta and Yuji.
"Shake!"
"Wow, finally a game for them to see how I feel about trying to put my shoes on!"csaid Maki with a big smile as she put her hands on her hips.
"OK! In your positions!" said Nishimiya.
Once those men got into position.
Momo blew the whistle, causing those four to run out to the other side of the room to quickly put on their shoes, but as Maki had said, this had its difficulty as it was hard to put them on with a big belly.
Laughter from the girls was not long in coming, especially when Megumi and Yuta fell on their buttocks at how difficult it was to do that. But they quickly got back on their feet.
The four tried to put on their shoes without sitting down. It was a bit of a struggle, but the first to put them on was Yuta, who had learned from Maki. Itadori followed.
In third place was Inumaki, who was surprisingly able to do all that with one hand.
While Megumi came in last. This because he really didn't feel like participating.
"Senpai, how do you put on your shoes with that big belly?," Itadori asked, putting his right hand behind his back, while his left hand was used to caress that fake belly he still had not removed.
"I would say that with practice, being flexible has its advantages, although in these last few weeks it has been Yuta who has been helping me tie my shoelaces" her hands went to her hips- "Let's just say he doesn't want me to bend over anymore"- said Maki with a smile.
Yuta smiled too and scratched the back of his neck at those words- "I just don't want anything to happen to you"
"Well, it's time to move on to the next game" said Nobara, clapping his hands.
Momo once again whistled that whistle. It was time for the next activity, where almost everyone would participate.
The next game consisted of finishing a feeding bottle quickly without using your hands.
The first to participate were Inumaki, panda and Miwa. Once they sat on the chairs and put their hands behind their backs, the others put a feeding bottle in their mouths, they had to drink as fast as possible. From that first round, the winner was Inumaki.
Itadori, Megumi and Nobara followed, the latter wanted to participate this time. From this round, Itadori was the winner.
In the third round, Yuta, his sister and Momo participated.
From that third round the winner was Momo. Proving that she was someone who could drink very fast.
The previous winners would face each other in a final round to decide the sole winner. Once they were in their positions and with their hands behind their backs, they put those feeding bottles on them and all three began to drink as fast as they could.
In the end the winner was inumaki, who burped triumphantly.
Maki, who was watching this activity while eating some popcorn, was a little amused as she watched them make faces as they quickly drank.
After that game, they moved on to another one where they had to catch several suckers with a makeshift rod, where each participant was given one minute to try to get as many suckers out of a bucket full of water.
That challenge was not easy at all, since trying to grab those suckers with that improvised rod made of sticks and strips with a tiny hook was complicated due to the time limit.
Even so, Maki was one of the only ones who managed to get the most suckers in one minute, getting a total of six, followed by her sister-in-law, who also managed to get four.
And everyone else and they could barely get one or none out.
After taking a break, accompanied by drinks, desserts and more food.
Everyone there moved on to one more game where, once again, the boys had to put a huge ball under their shirts, but in this one the girls also wore that big ball under their clothes to hide a big belly.
That challenge consisted of having to drop a small ball that was placed in the middle of their knees, which they had to drop into a cup that was placed in the middle of their legs.
The tricky part of this game was that the big ball that acted as a pregnant belly, blocked their view to see exactly where the glass was located, so they did not know exactly where they had to release the ball. So they did everything "blind".
From that challenge, Momo was the first to get that little ball into the cup, followed by Maki, who still had good sense despite the fact that her belly barely let her see her feet, and finally, this time Itadori also managed to get that ball into the cup by sheer luck.
During that game, Nobara took some pictures of herself with that fake belly. She felt she didn't look so bad with a small pregnant belly.
"I'm starting to think I'd look good with a pregnant belly like Maki san's, too. Even then our children could be good friends" she suggested with a smile.
Even so, Megumi and Itadori looked at each other at such words and decided to take a step back and pretend they hadn't heard what their partner had said.
05:50 p.m.
It had been almost two hours and the games were still going on, really, Momo and Nobara had chosen a variety of activities to make that special day fun.
The next game was to put a pacifier in the other person's mouth, but whoever was to put the pacifier in had to be blindfolded.
That activity would be carried out in pairs. They were as follows;
Maki was with her sister-in-law. Yuta was paired with Megumi, Inumaki with Itadori, Miwa with Nobara.
Momo together with panda would supervise the activity.
Those who were seated in that first round were; Yuta's sister, Inumaki, Megumi and Miwa. While their partners were standing several meters away from them.
"Remember that you must trust your companions, they are the ones who are going to guide you. And more than they can't use their hands"
Once they put on a blindfold that the blonde had provided, the four of them did three laps in place to make it more difficult.
"Now, start walking," Momo said, blowing the whistle.
Maki, Yuta, Itadori and Nobara, began to walk slowly towards the seated ones. And to reach them, these four had to listen to the instructions of their companions.
"Keep going, Maki san, go slowly" said Yuna animatedly.
"To your right Okkotsu senpai!" said Megumi attentively at all times.
"SALMON! KOMBU! TUNA!"
"What does that mean?" asked Itadori in confusion.
"One step to the left," Miwa said sheepishly.
"Your left or mine!" shouted Nobara, who was very disoriented.
"To my left!" Miwa quickly replied.
So they continued giving instructions until the first one to put the pacifier on his team partner was Yuta with Megumi.
Followed by Maki and Yuna, Nobara and Miwa and in last place, Itadori and Toge.
Then the roles were changed. Now Maki, Yuta, Itadori and Nobara would be the ones giving the instructions.
"To your right Fushiguro kun!" commented Yuta.
"You're going to the other side, Inumaki Senpai!" Itadori shouted.
"Yuna goes straight ahead! Not to the side but to the front!" commented Maki, "You're doing well!"
"I won't forgive you if we lose!" Nobara shouted desperately to his blue-haired companion.
From that round, Miwa and Nobara were the winners.
Followed by Yuta with Megumi, Yuna and Maki were in third place and in last place, once again Itadori and Inumaki.
06:00 p.m.
Time was passing and everyone there was having too much fun. Even little by little they were joined by more people like Gojo sensei and his son Takeru, who arrived a little late because they were on a mission.
Once those two arrived, they joined the next game, which was to feed the baby mush but blindfolded.
Now the teams were Maki with Inumaki, Gojo wanted to participate and was teamed with Megumi, Yuta was teamed with Itadori and Momo with Nobara.
While Yuna stayed to supervise with Miwa. While panda and Ijichi stayed behind to play with Takeru.
The first ones who would be the "babies" and who were seated giving the instructions were Maki, Yuta, Gojo and Momo. While the others would be standing in front of them blindfolded, which with Satoru they had to take their precautions, but he would still cheat.
The game began and all those who were standing and who would give that mush, were making "little airplanes" since they did not know where the mouths of their partners were.
"My mouth is here!" Maki commented to his partner, "But not so low, you idiot!" she grimaced when Inumaki mistakenly smeared the mush on her chin.
"Hey Megumi, this brings back good memories, doesn't it?" Gojo joked with a big smile.
"Stop joking around and get it over with at once! Give instructions and deactivate your infinity!" ordered Megumi, annoyed because his sensei invisible barrier would not let him move forward.
"Ouch!, be more careful, you'll ruin my make-up!" said Nobara as her partner smeared some mush on her cheeks.
To which Momo did not remain silent.
"Shut up and say AH!" she said, smearing that mush on her other cheek.
"That's my nose Itadori kun!" said Yuta with a nervous smile as he saw his partner put the mush on his nose.
"I'm sorry senpai" he apologized, trying once again.
The first to give the test were Momo and Nobara, thus winning that round despite the fact that they did not get along well.
In the next round the roles were reversed, where this time the winner was Maki and Inumaki surprisingly.
06:20 p.m.
A while later, Shoko and Utahime, along with little Niji, arrived to accompany them. Since these women were busy supervising the day's missions, as well as healing one or the other wounded.
Also, they had both been waiting for that baby to eat and sleep so they could attend with the others without little Niji being so restless.
The penultimate activity they had planned before moving on to the gender reveal of that baby was to change the diaper of a toy baby with one hand but in pairs.
Maki paired with Yuta.
Inumaki with panda, Itadori with Yuna and Megumi with Nobara.
They were each tied on their left hand and could only use their right hand and between them they had to coordinate to wipe those little plastic dolls' buttocks, which had been smeared with chocolate to simulate baby poop.
Although Gojo had suggested using her daughter to have her diaper changed to practice with a real baby, but Utahime refused.
"COME ON!" Shoko said, being the judge of the game as Momo blew the whistle.
"Quick, while we practice!" Panda said.
"Takana!"
They were all trying to hurry, one holding the legs of that doll while the other tried to clean up as best he could and unfold the diaper as quickly as possible.
Two minutes passed until the first team finished.
"We're done!" shouted Panda, raising his paw.
"Tuna Mayo!"
Momo and Shoko came over to see the result.
"Not bad, this toy butt is nice and clean" commented Shoko checking the doll.
"And by the way, they did it in record time, I would say" said Momo, looking at the time they did it.
"Ju ju, as we said, we've been practicing!" Panda commented proudly.
"Shake!" Toge also celebrated.
"Let's see if it's true that when this baby is born, they change his diaper!" commented Maki, putting her hands on her belly with a grimace.
"We will do it! JU JU!"
"Tuna!" Inumaki played lightly with that baby toy. Yet Maki gave him a look that she would be watching them.
The climax of that baby shower, which was to be the baby's gender reveal, was about to begin, but no one expected the drama that one special gift would cause.
07:10 p.m.
The evening had already set in, everyone was resting for a few minutes, while they enjoyed eating and drinking some more before finally going out to make that long awaited revelation.
The moving slate, where everyone had been betting on what they thought that baby would be, was again very close, as with those who had recently joined the party and placed their bet, they made it so that this time the color blue was ahead by two votes.
"Well, in a few minutes we will know what this baby is" said Nobara very excited, she was really behaving like an aunt.
She turned to her partner "Itadori, when I tell you, you will turn on the lights that we had placed around those letters as we had planned, okay?" she ordered.
Itadori raised his hand to his forehead.
"I understand!"
"You the girl with the blue hair!" Nobara raised her voice. Making Miwa quickly go to her.
"Yes?"
"When I give you the signal, you are going to take out the balloon, understood?" Nobara ordered.
"I understand!" said Miwa, also raising her hand.
While Nobara finished adjusting the last details so that everything would go as planned and the others ate a little more desserts and fruits, someone took the opportunity to talk to the mother-to-be.
"Maki san"
Momo named the pregnant woman, who turned around to talk to the woman who was her sister's best friend.
"I hope you had fun this day" said the blonde with a smile.
"Thank you Nishimiya for coming all the way from abroad and yes" Maki had a slight smile –"Let's just say I liked all this"- she caressed her belly.
"I'm glad you like it" she bowed slightly.
"Although it was your crazy friend's idea to invite me to help with all this"
"Did you and Nobara plan all this together?" asked Maki curiously, "No wonder I thought it was strange that you two would get along so well"
Momo scratched her cheek.
"Yes, let's say we made a truce so that we could both cooperate and be able to carry out this celebration" she smiled, "especially because in the country where I am living, this is a very common celebration when a woman is pregnant"
"Really, thank you very much for all this" commented Maki in a very slight bow. Really, she was grateful to that girl.
"You welcome" Momo looked at Maki's big belly and sighed a little, "I also did it for..." She lowered her shoulders, "For Mai... She would have liked to do all this"
Maki looked down and rubbed her belly.
"I know, and I really wish Mai had been at this party..."
"May I?" asked Momo, moving her hand a little to mean that she could put it on Maki's belly.
She nodded her head yes.
"Go ahead. You can"
Once Momo put her hand on Maki's belly, she felt the baby move.
"The baby just kicked!" commented Momo with surprise and a big smile on her lips.
She quickly glanced at Maki.
Maki let out a light chuckle.
"It's her way of saying hello"
"Hello baby! I am a friend of your aunt Mai, and in her name, I promise to spoil you very much"
That made Maki nostalgic, she was struggling not to cry.
They both kept a moment of silence as they listened to everyone around them.
Momo slowly pulled away from that belly.
"Mai would have been a excellent aunt, for the almost two years I knew her, I can tell she would have wanted to do something like this to you"
"I'm pretty sure that if..."
"Anyway, do you already know what your baby is going to be, a girl or a boy?" asked Momo curiously.
Maki let the air out in a sigh as she put her right hand under her belly and her left hand on his belly to caress him.
"Not yet and I don't think it will take us long to find out" she looked at her sister's Friend, "Although I have a feeling what it might be"
Momo let the air out in a smile.
"I have a feeling Mai would like it to be a girl"
"Do you think so?" asked Maki curiously as her eyebrows rose in surprise at those words.
The blonde nodded her head.
"Yes, maybe she would be delighted if this baby turned out to be a girl" She explained "I have the impression that Mai would say that, if it looks like you, she would also show it off as hers. You know, the whole identical twins thing"
Maki laughed lightly.
"Maybe she could even pass herself off as the mother of this little soybean" she stroked her belly, "Although I have a feeling we'd both be torn on whether it's a boy or a girl"
"Definitely she would be pretty sure it would be a girl" commented Momo with a smile as she slightly tilted her head to the side.
"Yes, and I would say he is a child just to annoy her." she smiled slightly.
"And speaking of Mai, I brought you two gifts" Momo had her broom bring her two gift bags she had hidden from her companions.
"This is mine, I hope you like something I brought you from the West for you and your baby" she handed her a large lilac-colored bag.
Maki took it and made a small bow of thanks.
"Thank you very much Nishimiya"
"And this one" She hold up another small gift bag, this one came in a nice pastel green color "This one is from Mai... it's something that I know she would have liked you to have because she told me at the time..."
Those words made Maki's heart almost burst out of her chest, she even felt her baby react to that emotion, as it moved abruptly in her gut once she took that gift bag in her hands.
"Can I open it in front of you?" asked Maki, feeling that her voice wanted to go away.
"Yes, No problem"
Maki quickly proceeded to open the gift. Her eyes glazed over as she took out what was inside.
Maki carefully pulled out a small stuffed animal, which was completely white and held a small green heart.
"A weasel?" asked Maki, her voice half-weakened.
Nishimiya found that question strange-"Mai said the same thing" she pointed to that stuffed animal "she always said this stuffed animal was a weasel, but I always told her it was a ferret, but I guess that doesn't matter"
She continued explaining
"Mai bought this stuffed animal several years ago and asked me to give it to you some day at some appropriate time and after your friend told me that they were arranging this for you I..." Nishimiya's eyes widened enormously as she noticed that this pregnant woman was getting sick.
"Maki San, are you all right?" she asked quickly when she saw that the woman was crying while clinging to the stuffed animal.
"Mai..." Maki's voice cut off a little, as she leaned that little stuffed animal against her chest tightly and her tears streamed down her cheeks. Even her breathing became agitated.
Nishimiya quickly approached that mother, it seemed that at any moment she would faint.
"Okkotsu!" the witch shouted to get Maki's husband's attention, "Hey, quick, it's Maki! Something's wrong with Maki!" she shouted to get everyone's attention.
Everyone turned to see what was happening in that part of the classroom where those two were talking.
Yuta watched as Maki held something in her hands, just as he saw her crying, so he ran to her. She was having a crisis.
Even all the other guests froze when they heard Nishimiya screaming while hugging Maki, who seemed to be a bit lost in herself, Momo held her tightly so that she would not fall down.
"What happened?" asked Yuta all worried as he quickly arrived with those two, "Maki, What's wrong?"
"I gave her the gifts that I had brought for her and when I told her that the gift was from Mai... she got like this" explained the blonde very scared.
Yuta was troubled by that answer. His eyes grew wide with worry. He knew that his bad feeling had come true.
"Love? Are you all right?" he asked, looking at his wife with that stuffed animal against his chest, hugging him tightly.
"Yuta... Mai said she would give me a sign..." she sobbed "This is her sign..." she clung to that stuffed animal –"She already knows it's this baby..." She started to hyperventilate-"Yuta Where is Mai?"- she asked scared and raising her voice –"Mai Where are you?"- she shouted with desperation and looking everywhere.
Yuta quickly hugged Maki, he had to reassure her because he was afraid that something bad would happen to her and their baby in that state of crisis. -
"Everything will be fine love, she is fine...Mai is fine" he caressed her hair and shoulders.
"Mai!" Maki burst into tears as she hugged her husband tightly and her chest heaved up and down in despair, "Mai, where are you?"
"Love, please breathe!" Yuta kept hugging her as everyone ran to her.
"What did you do to Maki?" Nobara asked very annoyed, pulling Nishimiya by the shoulder.
"I didn't do anything to her!" the blonde cried in despair.
"You guys are always ruining things! First you ruined the twin schools tournament a few years ago! And now you're ruining this!" claimed Nobara.
"I didn't ruin anything! Besides, Maki got like that all of a sudden!" explained Momo.
"Please!" Miwa put herself in the middle of those two, she wanted to avoid a fight, "This is not the time to blame!"
"Stop it, you two! Your shouting doesn't help!" -Megumi helped Miwa to separate Nobara and Momo, who were very defensive.
"This just got really fun!" Gojo commented with a big smile as he watched all the commotion from a distance.
"Shut up have and care for your daughter!" Utahime scolded him and carefully passed little Niji to him, "you'll take care of the rest, while I'll go with Maki!" she got up at once.
"Ieiri san! Quickly!" Yuta shouted in despair as Maki seemed to fade away.
Both Shoko and Utahime quickly approached those two.
"It's a nervous breakdown, let's take her to a quiet place!" said the doctor, looking at how Maki was still clinging to the stuffed animal and crying.
Yuta nodded his head yes, lifted his wife carefully in his arms and took her out of the room to the nursing they had at the academy.
"Seriously, you just ruined everything! You guys are always causing trouble!" Nobara shouted in annoyance.
"I told you she started feeling sick out of nowhere!" Momo defended herself. She even started to cry.
"YOU ARE!"Nobara raised her fist but was interrupted by Itadori. Who grabbed her by the arm.
"Enough, both of you!" Megumi scolded, becoming very serious about the situation, "What Maki san needs is for us to give her a moment of peace," He looked at Nobara and Momo, "No one was to blame for this"
"But!" the orange-haired girl kept being interrupted.
"You know that this kind of things overwhelm her quickly with how far along she is in her pregnancy!" Megumi looked at those present, "we just need to give her a few minutes. She must be exhausted by all the hustle and bustle of this party"
"Now that you mention it..." Itadori began to speak, "Maki senpai since the baby shower started looked nostalgic... as if she was missing someone... maybe her sister..." he commented looking at those two.
Both Momo and Nobara looked at each other. Their eyes were crystal clear. It seemed that they both came to the same conclusion that having that party might have been a bad idea.
They all kept silent at that statement. They knew that it was not easy for Maki either, especially when her late sister was mentioned.
"Cheer up guys, this baby shower is not over yet!" said Satoru, raising his voice cheerfully as he carried his daughter in his arms.
The sorcerers turned to look at the man, who was playing with his daughter's little hand.
"Let's just give her a few minutes, maybe Maki just needs a breather, you know, hormones also affect the emotional level!" he said trying to reassure them, "Maki is a very strong girl, she will be fine, okay?"
They all looked at each other at those words.
"Well! In the meantime, let's play a Little!" he looked at his daughter – "Right my princess? commented Satoru with a big smile and then looked at his students –"Who wants to repeat the game of changing the baby's diaper? Because they can practice with Niji, since she just pooped"
Everyone there kept silent ignoring the sorcerer, they only had to wait for news from Maki.
07: 25 p.m.
About fifteen minutes passed and Maki was now more stable.
At that instant, she was lying on the stretcher they had in the infirmary.
"Your pulse is stable, apparently this nervous breakdown was triggered by all the movement in that room and even more so if you have been more tired than usual due to the hormones, you were more vulnerable to stress" Shoko commented, checking the device that measures the heart rate "Do you have a headache or feel dizzy?"
Maki shook her head.
"No, and I don't feel dizzy anymore. I do feel calmer now"
"Do you want us to give you a few more minutes?" asked Utahime, who was also with the three of them.
Maki nodded her head.
"Yes, please" she looked at the two of them, "I just need five more minutes and I can go back to the party as if nothing happened"
"Are you sure? love, that you want us to continue with this?" asked Yuta, who was sitting next to her on the edge of the gurney.
"I am... just give me five more minutes" she caressed her belly, "We're fine, I swear" she took Yuta's hand.
"All right, but if you feel bad again, let me know, okay?" said Shoko leaving with Utahime. Also those two were resting for a while from taking care of Niji, so they hoped that Gojo was taking good care of her.
Maki settled on her right side and rubbed her belly, while her gaze went to the stuffed animal on the side of the stretcher.
Yuta caressed first her belly and then her cheek.
"Maki san, are you sure you're okay?"
"I am, and as Shoko said, maybe it was all the hustle and bustle that made me more overwhelmed than I already was" sighed Maki, "I'm sure my nerves were upset by all the excitement in there and besides, my hormones aren't cooperating much" commented Maki looking at her husband.
"Yes, but you began to feel bad when you saw this!" he took the stuffed animal, "Maki, what happened? Did Nishimiya say or do something to you?"
"Nishimiya is not to blame" she clarified first, "What happens is that, this!" she took that stuffed animal from Yuta carefully, "Is the sign that Mai had told me in my dreams..." she brought that stuffed animal to her chest, "Small and white, above all, she said to follow my intuition like weasels do!" she moved that stuffed animal, "It coincides with all this! I feel like I have discovered something super important! That's how I feel right now!"
"Maki..."
"Besides!" she sat down carefully as she continued speaking, "Nishimiya told me that Mai had bought me this stuffed animal years ago and that she was saving it for a special moment and this is that occasion"
Yuta sighed and looked at his wife with a look of total concern on his face.
"Yuta... I'm not crazy..." Maki rolled her eyes at the look on her husband's face.
"I'm not judging you as crazy, but I'm just worried about you..." he took both of his wife's hands "I'm just afraid that something bad might happen to you or the baby, especially with these anxiety attacks that you've been having. The first one at Atami and this second one at our baby shower... I'm worried about you getting like this..."
Maki sighed.
"I know, but!" she brought her left hand to his cheek and her right hand rested on her belly, "we only need to reveal the gender of this baby so we can just eat cake and go to rest"
Yuta kissed his wife's hand.
"I'll ask again. Are you sure you want to do this? I know you're too overwhelmed by this subject"
Maki nodded her head yes.
"I'm very sure and more than…" she smiled slightly and caressed her belly –"I just want to check it" her hand moved that stuffed toy
Yuta did not fully understand this, and expressed it in a sigh.
Maki quickly replied.
"Also, you said it at our wedding, we should do this together, especially since we are just one step away from knowing what our baby will be, a girl or a boy."
Her husband kissed her forehead.
"We should do this together" he went down to kiss her belly, "It's time" he said with a slight smile.
Maki smiled reassuringly.
"Then let's go find out"
07:45 p.m.
"Maki!" they all shouted when they saw their friend and her husband return to the classroom.
"Maki, are you all right?" asked Nobara worriedly.
"Are you sure you can come back?" questioned Megumi with concern.
"Calm down" Maki smiled as she saw her friends worried about her, "I'm better now and Shoko said I could come back"
"Are you sure, senpai?" Megumi asked again. Maki was surprised to see him so scared and worried.
She nodded her head in agreement.
"I am, and besides, the most important event is missing, isn't it," she looked at everyone present, "And that is to know what this baby will be"
"Maki san..." Momo named her, making the pregnant woman turn to look at her.
Maki could tell that this witch had a little smudged makeup and the her eyes were swollen, she guessed that she had cried a lot in her absence.
"I'm sorry... because of me, you started to feel bad..."
Maki patted her on the shoulder.
"Don't feel bad, it wasn't your fault. Besides…" she looked at the stuffed animal she was still holding affectionately, "You just gave me back a little bit of Mai with this. This way I can feel her closer to me and my baby"
Momo sobbed lightly and Maki let Momo hug her. That hug was comforting for both of them.
"Well! So!" Nobara turned to Megumi and Itadori, "It's time to reveal what that baby is! So take your positions!"
08:00 p.m.
Everyone present, including the parents, left the classroom and headed for the courtyard.
Itadori quickly went to turn on those lights that adorned the place where those letters that formed the word "baby" were.
Making that space feel very cozy even though the autumn wind was already beginning to be felt.
Yellow, orange and red leaves could be seen scattered under those four letters, making that scene worthy of a nice autumn memory.
That new mother looked carefully at that place, she was very surprised by what all her friends had prepared for her and that made her heart feel full of happiness.
"It was strange not to see something so big in that classroom" said Maki, putting her hands on her hips and smiling.
"That was because I planned this to be an outside surprise. Now to your positions!" commented Nobara very happily approaching those words that formed the word baby, "You two go here!" she pulled Maki's hand to guide her and Yuta to the place where they should stand.
Miwa quickly handed them that black balloon, which had Girl or Boy? In golden letters.
Maki's heart wanted to burst out of her chest. Nerves were running through her whole body, but at the same time the excitement of already knowing that it would be her long awaited baby.
"When I tell you, you'll break the balloon! So don't let go! Did you understand Okkotsu?" commented Nobara handing him a needle.
"I understand" he said, holding the thread of that black balloon in one hand and the needle in the other.
Maki held that stuffed animal in her hands, which she attached to her chest.
Quickly, Nobara ran to the back of the letters and as she had planned, before those two burst that balloon, she would ignite that small rocket that would launch the colored powder.
"Are you ready, love?" asked Okkotsu with a smile.
Maki took a breath and put her hands on her belly.
"yes..."
Her friend heard that, took a breath and lit that fuse and ran towards the front, in her run she almost tripped, but both Megumi and Itadori managed to hold her so she wouldn't fall.
"Now!" Nobara shouted excitedly.
At that moment, Maki closed her eyes tightly, while Yuta popped that balloon and that rocket exploded revealing that longed-for color revelation that everyone wanted to find out.
The slips of paper began to slowly descend, that scene felt like it was happening in slow motion.
Everyone started shouting in excitement, which even panda was heard shouting very excitedly, saying that his sense of smell had not been wrong, as well as Satoru was heard shouting in excitement for winning the initial bet.
Yuta took Maki's hand, who still had her eyes closed.
"Love, open your eyes" his voice sounded full of joy, even his hand gently squeezed his wife's hand.
Maki took a deep breath at the sound of that cheerful voice.
Her eyes slowly opened, her husband's smile was huge, from ear to ear as he showed her the slips of paper and confetti in his hand.
In his hands were pieces of paper in blue and white.
Maki quickly hugged Yuta and burst into tears of emotion.
The first descendant of the Okkotsu clan would be a boy. Just as Maki had sensed and as Mai had told her in her dreams.
🍂To be continue...
Notes
I hope you liked this chapter, especially because as I said in the previous chapter, as I was editing all this, I felt my heart getting small, even so, I must admit that I really enjoyed writing this party.
I admit that I did imagine those two having a boy first and maybe a girl later. Maybe later on they will have twins or twins or twins hehe.
And well, as to why I chose a weasel as Mai's message to Maki, I decided on this animal because in dreams and on the spiritual side, it signifies and represents adaptability, cunning and the ability to overcome obstacles. It is also attributed with the power of protection and intuition. And I feel like this all fits with Maki and that baby. Hehe this spoiler I left them on one of my Instagram stories hehe❤
Seriously, thank you so much for all the support you've given to this story❤, as I said, I hope I got some laughs or tears or both hehe and by the way, made you forget for a while about the outside world and the atrocity that Gege did.
Anyway, maybe the next chapter will be the penultimate or already the last of the fall season, to now enter the final stretch, enter the long awaited winter and bring us closer to the climax of this story, the birth of that baby.
I confess that I am between the following dates for it to be his birth, which can be between December 19 to 27. So I will think about it very well 👀unless he shares birthday with his cousin Megumi or is born on Christmas.
Still, I hope one day to translate again, but for the moment, I will take a break from translating.