Disclaimer: I don't own jack!
Of Butterfly Wings
Chapter Ninety-Four: Precious Memories
Touya held a squirming Haru while his other four children were being measured.
"My, what cute babies you have! Their mother must be quite adorable too!" The seamstress gushed as they finished taking the kids measurements.
"You can say that again," Hawks laughed beside him. "Their mom is a total knock out. This guy here doesn't like to let her out of his sight."
He scowled at his work colleague.
"If you want to lose your wings then keep talking." Touya warned him. "I'll turn you into a deep fried chicken if you keep this up."
The blond laughed heartily while Jin looked between them in concern. The man had finished all of his requirements to get his provisional license. So he had been working for Hawks as a sidekick in the mean time. Jin was still on a probation where he'd need to resolve a certain amount of incidents without any casualties or damage to property. So Hawks had been helping him to the best of his ability. Jin's split personality was still present, but his life was finally starting to look up.
"See? Possessive." Hawks jutted his elbow into his arm playfully. "Not that I blame him though. I'm pretty jealous."
Touya threw him a cocky smirk, "Good. At least you know your place."
Kagome had noticed that their kids were rapidly growing out of their clothes. On top of that their constant bickering and play fights often ended in their entire closet being ruined. She'd done extensive research and finally found a shop that did custom clothing for those with special need quirks. In their kids case, they would need something that could withstand both their ice and fire.
Being that Rei wanted to travel again, he opted to let Kagome go with her for the weekend while he tended to the kids. Kikyou had also mentioned that Hoshi needed some new clothing too, so he'd opted to bring his niece along with them for this outing.
They'd found a shop called "Sister Magne's" that could custom tailor everything for them. From cloth that could withstand the elements to clothing that could be adjusted as the kids grew older. They had it all. The seamstress that ran the shop was someone by the name of Hikishi Kenji. They had a masculine appearance but often referred to themselves by the female pronoun, so he simply opted to call them by their name.
"Think you could make enough to last them two weeks each? They're all sprouting like beanstalks." Touya questioned while both Hina and Hoshi hung onto his legs. Yua stood between her big brothers, her hand clutched in theirs as she glared at the dresses and frills Magne kept putting up to her.
"You bet, darling! Just leave it to Big Sis Magne here! I'll have them all dressed up by the time I'm done!" Magne squealed happily.
Hawks laughed when Yua hissed at the pink dress Magne held up to her. She rushed behind the pro heroes legs while she continued to glare as if the outfit were her most mortal enemy.
Touya gestured towards her, "You might want to get her clothes easy to move in. She's not fond of skirts and dresses."
He was starting to think that his daughter was spending too much time with Ohagi. It were as if the feline's feisty attitude was starting to rub off on her. The cat was fueled by spite and the fury of a thousand spirits. It was possible that some of that spite was beginning to rub off on Yua. Especially since she'd taken to carrying Ohagi everywhere she went. They could always find the feline being carried awkwardly in her tiny arms while she took him to wherever she wanted to explore for the day. To the cat's credit, he remained patient and even seemed to enjoy being carried like a sack of potatoes by their daughter. He at least knew that Yua would have a little guardian next to her wherever she went.
"Uncle," Hoshi tugged in his pant leg. "Can Hina and I have matching clothes?"
He blinked as Hina also shot him a pleasing look.
Where Yua was beginning to grow into a tomboyish personality, Hina was her opposite. Preferring the princess dresses and frilly skirts. Hoshi had also taken to the same interest as her, often sharing clothes and toys where they could.
Touya shrugged his shoulders, "I don't see why not."
Both girls squealed happily, causing Haru to laugh in return.
Touya fought the urge to sign when Katsuo and Tatsuo started chasing each other throughout the store, nearly knocking over an mannequin as they ran at full speed.
Clearly the children were getting restless and he needed to find a way to entertain them before they started using their quirks for mock battles.
He turned his attention back to the seamstress, "I'll pay the deposit. Just give me an ETA on when the clothes will be ready."
Hawks took Yua's hand while Jin wrangled with the older boys. Hoshi had continued to cling onto him while he took Hina's hand with his free one.
When Hawks had heard that he'd be taking the children out on his own he immediately offered to go with him.
The man had cited that he wanted to spend more time with the kids. Although he already knew what the bird's real motive was. Recently a rivalry had started between Hawks and Shouto about which of them could claim the title of 'favorite uncle'. Touya had reminded Hawks that only people related to his family could be the kids uncle but the hero simply waved his logic away, saying that he'd be a favorite one way or another.
Honestly the man was a handful at the best of times. To date, he had yet to outshine Shouto in the kids' eyes and Touya knew that Hawks was seeing this as his chance to bribe them.
As they made their way down the street, Touya took notice of a flyer. It was small but it had the image of gloved hands, a white rabbit and a magician's hat. He paused as he read it over more carefully.
Mr. Compress' Magic Show!
Touya blinked as he read the time and location. It was actually in a building just around the corner. It was a small stage for independent performers but he and Kagome had gone there a few times as part of their rare few date nights away from the kids. It was nice and often had entertaining shows. This one would be starting in less than an hour.
His lips curled up into a smile.
He knew exactly what to do to entertain the children.
Touya brought the group over to the performing arts theater.
"Where are we going?" Katsuo questioned as they took their seats.
"A magic show," Touya answered. "Be patient though. It'll be a while before it starts."
Kagome had made it clear that she didn't want their children to play with any sort of phone or tablet to pass the time. She felt that having screen time at an early age could be detrimental to their social development. So she opted to use guessing games to keep the kids engaged while in situations like this.
"Aw, are you babysitting for the wife today?" A middle-aged woman gave him a wide smile.
Touya scowled in response.
"I don't babysit. These are my kids." He folded his arm over the back of Katsuo's seat as the boy had taken the spot closest to him. "If you find a dad that says he's babysitting the kids for his wife, then you haven't found a dad. You've found a deadbeat."
He'd grown particularly sensitive to the topic the more he went on these outings without Kagome. Day in and day out random strangers would joke about him 'babysitting' the kids and giving their mom time off. He might have had a full time job, but that didn't mean that he wasn't involved in his children's lives. The longstanding assumption of child rearing being the woman's duty while fathers checked out of their responsibility had irritated him. Who were these men that'd created this stereotype? He wanted to strangle them with his bare hands.
The woman drew back as if she'd been struck, "No need to be so testy about it!" She huffed and stroked at her necklace.
Touya pinned her with a sharp glare, "If I wanted you to talk to me I'd have started up a conversation. You're being a nuisance. So sit down and stop blocking the stage. You're preventing my kids from seeing the show."
The woman huffed again but shimmied over to her seat, plopping herself down and sulking over being scolded.
Their attention was drawn to the stage when the lights began to dim and the show began.
Touya watched as the magician entertained his audience with the usual array of tricks. From the disappearing volunteer to the person being 'cut in half'. What surprised him though was when the man had been able to make large objects the size of cars disappear and appear as if it were nothing.
The magician eventually performed a disappearing act where he vanished from the stage. When the spotlight shone on him again, he was in the aisle next to him.
"For you ladies." The magician knelt down on one knee as he handed a flower into Yua, Hina and Hoshi's hands. Hoshi and Hina gushed while Yua held it away from her as if disgusted by the very object.
"What do you say?" Touya reminded them.
"Thank you!" Hoshi and Hina echoed in unison.
He shot his other daughter a sharp look.
"Thanks…" Yua begrudged.
"If a flower doesn't suit your taste then how about this?" The magician made a flashy show of his hands. He rolled a colorless marble between his fingers before it disappeared and in its place was a stag beetle.
Hoshi and Hina recoiled while Yua perked up immediately. Her tiny hands cupped together as she tried to contain the insect and keep from harming it.
"Thanks mister magician!" Yua grinned that time.
Katsuo and Tatsuo tried to lean over his lap to get a better look but he reminded them to remain seated until the end of the show.
Touya relaxed as the magician made his way back to the stage. His children watched the remainder of the show with no small amount of wonder.
It was such a small thing but having moments like this with his children was something he wouldn't trade for the world.