Michi's Babysitting Service

First Day - Part 3

The kids didn't have any activities scheduled for Monday's, so they were free to do what they wanted. The house being so big made it difficult for him to keep his eyes on everyone since they were doing their own thing, a lot of walking from room to room. He knew Hajime and Mucho were reading in the private library, it was very nice, it made him wonder why Hajime liked to go to a public library once a week when he had one right in his own home. Shion and Ran were watching some fantasy movie in the main living room, Mucho was in his room. Himself, Rindou and Kakucho were playing uno on the dining table, which was just around the corner from the living room. At the end of each round, Takemichi would do a walk off the house to check on the other children.

He was rather impressed that Rindou and Kakucho, seven/eight year olds, were so competitive and playing properly. Takemichi feined heartbreak as Rindou sheepishly pulled a +4 on him, and pretended to wipe tears as he grabbed four more cards from the deck. It was around 11:45, everything was going pretty well for his first day. That was, until Kakucho had to remind him of his excellent memory.

"Michi-san?"

"Hm?"

"I wanna meet Hina-san again."

If Takemichi had been drinking something, he would have spat it out. If he had been eating something, he would have choked. But he wasn't doing either, so instead he tensed, wide eyed. Fuck.

"Y-you remember her?" He asked, begging for Kakucho to repeat what he had said, but with a different name. Perhaps he was thinking of someone else.

"Yep!" He replied, popping the 'p'. "You and Hina-san always came together, can I see her?"

Takemichi gulped, suddenly feeling hot and itchy all over. What the hell was he supposed to say? He couldn't, he couldn't tell Kakucho. His excited little face peering up at him. He slowly ruffled Kakucho's hair trying to find the words that wouldn't make him choke on his own sobs.

"I'm sorry Kaku-chan, but she moved to somewhere very far away a couple of years ago," his voice was strained, it took unnecessary effort to enunciate each syllable. Heaven

"Can you call her?!" He asked hopefully.

Takemichi shook his head, uno cards shaking in his trembling hands, "I don't have her phone number anymore."

"Oh. So...you two didn't get married?" Rindou perked up, as if he hadn't been eavesdropping on the conversation happening right in front of him already. Takemichi was feeling so overwhelmed that he hadn't even noticed that the movie had paused and two more little sets of ears were listening in.

"N-no. We," he swallowed down the sob, blinking away the tears welling in his eyes, "we can't see each other anymore." Perhaps because she's six feet underground

A little hand found it's way onto his back, slowly rubbing in a circular motion, "Are you okay Takemichi-san?" Rindou asked tentatively.

He wiped his eyes and smiled down at the two, "I'm fine, I just haven't seen her in a long time so I miss her. You know when you miss someone?"

"I miss my parents a lot," Kakucho hummed.

"I miss my mum, and I miss Ran whenever he goes out," Rindou said quietly, not knowing his brother were was hiding behind the wall was listening in.

"Yeah, well I miss Hina a lot, so I get a little sad when I think about her," Takemichi explained, hoping they wouldn't question further.

.

It was around 5:30 when Takemichi started to prepare dinner, he was just making a simple fried rice since the kids wanted to watch a movie together afterwards. Kakucho had fallen asleep around 3 while he was laying on the couch while Shion and Mucho played video games, he was still asleep there. Except a moustache and a few other things had been drawn on his sleeping face by Ran. Takemichi made a mental note to clean that off once he had finished cutting the vegetables and before Izana got home.

Hajime was peeling potatoes, kneeling on a stool beside him. While Mochi sat at the breakfast counter, measuring cup fulls of rice into the rice cooker. Takemichi was cutting vegetables, glancing over at the other two children with him every so often.

"Mochi-kun, can you please check if Rindou-kun is out of the shower yet? He's been in there a while," Takemichi asked, looking up but making the mistake of also not putting the knife down. A pained whimper left his mouth and he prayed to all the gods above to not let a swear word slip out of his mouth in front of the kids. He sliced the side of his hand open.

"Takemichi-san!" "Take-san!"

"Shiiiii...It's okay, it's okay, it's okay," he spoke in a hushed whisper before scurrying over to the sink and putting his hand under the water to wash off the blood that was continuously flowing out of the wound.

"Crap, uh don't look!" Not wanting the kids to see the blood in fear of freaking or grossing them out.

"Mochi! Get the first aid kit!" Hajime yelled at the other, his eyes wide, unable to tear away from Takemichi's bleeding hand. It was a deep cut. Izana's knives had been freshly sharpened.

"What is going on in here- oh my god, Takemichi-san!" Ran exclaimed as he walked in. He rushed over to Takemichi's side, grabbing the tea towel beside the sink and wrapping it around Takemichi's hand.

"I'm okay," but his wince and heaving pants told another story. Takemichi hated blood.

Mochi finally arrived with the medical kit, Rindou too beside him, his hair still wet from the shower, his glasses fogged up.

Mochi and Ran ended up fighting over how to wrap Takemichi's wound, Rindou was freaking out and Hajime hadn't moved, he just silently watched the blood seep through the white bandages. Shion had come in too because of the ruckus but ended up rushing out, something about throwing up. And Kakucho? Still asleep on the couch.

"What the hell is going on?" a new voice tore through the struggle.

Izana was home.