"speaking"
"Thinking"
On with the story
It was just a normal day in Totsuki. The sun was shining and the sky was clear as the ocean's water
Within the Nakiri Mansion, things were quite peaceful but in one room, a certain family were in a joyful occasion
"come on, Haruki! You can do it!" Soma said holding a camera as his 11 month old son, Yukihira Haruki was learning how to walk
Haruki stood up on his wobbling legs as he was going towards his grandmother, Nakiri Mana
"come here, Haruki" Mana said as Haruki wobbles towards her before falling down but slowly got back up, not wanting to give up
"go, Haruki!" Aki cheered for her little brother as he was closing on Mana
After a few wobbling steps, Haruki reached Mana who scooped him into her arms and cuddles him with love
"you did it!" Aki and Soma cheered as Haruki smiles and laughs in joy
"now then" Mana said as she sat up Haruki on her lap before positioning him towards Azami who was a few feet away from her and was sitting Dogeza "go to grandpa"
Haruki looks to his grandmother before to her father while looking confused as Soma smiled before going behind Azami and pointed him
Possibly understanding what he was told, Haruki stood up and started wobbling walking towards them
Taking step by step, Haruki keeps on wobbling towards them as Azami opened his arms with a smile for his grandson
But just as Haruki was about to reached him, the door opened and Erina came in
"I'm sorry, I'm late. I just finished dealing with the paperwork today" she said and immediately, Haruki turned direction and wobbles towards his mother
The child babbles happily as Erina smiled and scooped him up into her arms
"you learned how to walk? What a smart boy!" Erina said as she rubs her nose with Haruki's and gave him a peck on the forehead, getting a joyful giggling laugh in return
Azami went to the corner of the room as he was depressed in a gloomy aura
"ara ara" Mana said with a smile while Soma sighs
"what's wrong, Father?" Erina asked not knowing what she had done
"it's Ojii-chan~!" Joichiro said in a goofy way as the man made many hilarious faces and got the joyful laugh of his grandkids
"jii-chan!" Aki exclaimed while Haruki babbles before Joichiro carried them up and started playing around with them
"how can Saiba-senpai easily gain their favor?" Azami said in tears as he was the only grandpa that couldn't get a joyful moment with his grandkids
"the time will come" Mana said to her husband
"just find it in the book, you have" Asahi told his father while eating some potato chips "maybe there's a way in there"
Azami takes out a small book from his back pocket as it was a guidebook for grandparents to do and not to do
""The relationship between a grandchild and grandparent is a very special one. while grandparents act as an authority figure and provide unconditional love, they also get to spoil their grandkids in a way parent simply can't. But beyond that, grandparents also wield incredible influence". In a way that parent simply can't" Azami read out a tip as he imagined on how strict Erina is in managing the daily schedule of how her children should sleep, eat, or even play. He then imagines on how Soma's goofy acts to his kids while he teaches them things that they should learn "I got it!"
Joichiro was riding on a swing in the garden as he was holding Haruki while Aki rides on his shoulder, they swing back and forth while laughing in joy before Azami came with tons of snacks
"Haruki, Aki. Do you want them?" Azami asked with a small smile while trying to look friendly
"I want!" Aki squealed as so did Haruki
Azami smiled as he thought he was doing the right thing but it was not
"this ain't gonna end well" Asahi said finishing his potato chips
"Ara ara" Mana said with a smile
A few moments later
"I DIDN'T TELL YOU THAT YOU ARE ALLOWED TO GIVE THEM ANY SWEETENED SNACKS!" Erina screamed at her father as both Haruki and Aki were a bit chubbier for children of their age
"s-sorry…" Azami said kneeling down in a dogeza while feeling ashamed before getting thousands of nagging by Erina
"who gave him the idea anyway?" Soma said as Joichiro shrugs his shoulders
"don't know" Joichiro replied before biting on a piece of grilled squid
Azami dropped his head to the table as he was depressed for the past few days on how he did such stupid things with his grandkids
He tried teaching Aki how to ride a bicycle but forgot to give her a helmet, and instantly got an angry Erina. Aki was unharmed however
He tried making Haruki's baby bottle formula but accidently made it too hot and got Haruki crying and an angry Erina
He tried to teach them how to check the garden but that ended with all of them getting mud all over them and got an angry Erina again
Each time he tried something, in ended in disaster and got Erina angry while Soma tried to calm her down
"it is hopeless…" Azami said in despair, as he couldn't do anything good for his grandkids
He looks down the first floor as he finds his son, Asahi giving Aki and Haruki a piggyback ride and got their giggling laughter in return
Azami felt jealous that his son gets to have such a good time with his grandkids but what can he do?
One day, while Soma and Erina were out to teach at Totsuki and Asahi was going to a business trip at Kyoto, Azami and Mana had been left to babysit their grandkids
Aki was playing around with her drawing book and crayons as the child doodles around on it
Mana was sitting on a chair doing some knitting that she finds as a new hobby of her
Azami was sitting near Haruki's crib as he was watching over his grandson while he was taking an afternoon naptime
He was making sure that he was sleeping well before taking out his book and start reading on what should he do that is not going to get Erina angry at him
As the room was peaceful and quiet, Haruki suddenly cried, alarming everyone
"what's wrong, Haruki?" Azami asked carrying his grandson up and tried to find out why he was crying
Haruki cried as he keeps on crying nonstop
"Diaper Change!" Aki said pointing at Haruki's diaper
"but he was changed 10 minutes ago" Azami said while checking as the diaper was still clean
"could he be hungry?" Mana said as Azami shook his head
"he was already fed 20 minutes ago, and Erina wouldn't give him a second bottle if he was hungry" Azami said as Haruki keeps on crying
"I know! Haruki wants Mama and Papa!" Aki exclaimed as Azami takes out his Phone and started dialling his daughter's number
After a few rings, the call went to voicemail. Azami ended the call before dialling Soma's number on his phone but the result ended in the same way
"I can't reach them" Azami said before he patted Haruki's back as the child hadn't stop crying
"what could be wrong?" Mana asked worried as her grandson is still crying nonstop
Azami patted Haruki's back to try and calm him down but he soon noticed that something white was in Haruki's mouth
"could it be?" Azami said as he holds Haruki steady before opening his mouth and he could see something white bulging out of his grandson's upper jaw's gum "he's teething!"
"tething?" Aki asked misspelling the words
"Haruki is starting to grow a tooth, that's why he is crying" Azami said as he passes Haruki to Mana before going to the cupboard, he started rummaging in before taking out a chew toy and a small spray bottle that says 'Baby teething'
He sprayed the bottle on the chew toy as he made sure to get it all sprayed
Azami then gave the chew toy to Haruki and holds it in place
Haruki started chewing the toy as the child slowly stopped crying and now was happily chewing the toy
"Haruki not crying!" Aki cheered
"it'd seem that you found your calling, Azami" Mana said carrying Haruki who chewed on his toy
"it seems so" Azami said with a smile
Soma and Erina were looking Haruki, more specifically to his first baby tooth
"that's one baby tooth" Soma said "maybe even bigger than Aki's"
"I have a baby tooth?" Aki asked while opening her mouth, and tried to see her own teeth
"you did" Erina said stopping her daughter from dislocating her own jaw
"kinda weird, isn't it? Aki never cried when her first teething" Soma said as Erina nodded before the two parents looks to Mana and Azami "guess experienced parents knows better, huh?"
"gratitude and credit should go to Azami here" Mana said motioning to Azami "he is the one who knew what to do"
"thanks Father. You really did it" Erina said with a smile
Azami smiled back and nodded before they heard a loud "Ji Jii!"
They look to Haruki as the child was tugging on Azami's pants and calling out "Ji Jii!" over and over
"did Haruki just.." Erina said as Soma nodded
"he just did" Soma said
"Ji Jii! Ji Jii!" Haruki called out as Azami looks to Haruki before smiling
Azami reached down and carried up Haruki as he lifts him up and down while having a happy smile
"ah! Me too!" Aki whined as she wanted to play as well
"yes yes" Azami said with a smile
Soma and Erina with Mana watched on how Azami finally gets his happy and joyful moments with his grandkids as they couldn't be more happier
Azami was on bed as he had multiple patches stuck on his bag while Mana was beside him
"you shouldn't carry them too much" Mana said while peeling an apple as Azami was in this situation because he carried Haruki and Aki too much and even though they were kids, they were still quite heavy
"yes" Azami said while in pain as his back was in pain "is this what father meant by old age weakens the bones?"
That's a wrap!
Bye bye