Chap 113: how to take care of Megumi
Takumi's morning did not start with a beep or a lovely kiss from his wife; rather, it started before the sun could rise.
And with loud crying, little Megumi was awake and already in need of a change.
"*Grrr* it's your turn." Tojiko grumbled, half asleep.
*Sigh* Taking a long breath, wiping his sleepiness away.
He tread to the crib where Megumi is currently wrapped in a nice and warm bundle. Uncovering it, he discovers she is in need of a new diaper.
"Hey little Megumi~" he tried to calm her down with his voice, it reached the child, but she remained uncooperative as he then began to change while listening to her wail.
"There we go, see all new." Megumi has stopped crying, lowering her voice and receding to blankly staring up at his face. Takumi has to deal with an awake child now.
"Let papa get you some milk." He took her into his arms. Thankfully, Megumi was being nice today. She didn't try to fight him, and peacefully, they went downstairs.
Parenting became an unexpected part of his life, a big part of it is knowing how to treat a child. Which all came to Takumi through failure and success alike.
The hardest was trying to put his child to sleep, while calming down little Megumi is an easy task.
A simple maternal feeling just came to him when he needed it, similar to Tojiko. Besides breastfeeding, their roles are put in reverse.
Where Takumi would spend a lot of his time taking care of Megumi's needs. Playing with her, changing her clothes, taking a bath, and of course putting her to sleep.
Tojiko would be around only to feed her, taking care of Chorse is now her responsibility as Takumi is busy with little Megumi.
*sizzle*
The sound of milk heating up can be heard, along with Megumi making baby some cute sounds. Her eyes were glued to the 40-inch screen of the TV broadcasting some cartoon while Takumi was at the stove, checking both the child and the boiling white liquid every few moments or so.
Once again, he can't express how goods it feel to have a but load of cash. Usually, the parents would have to work their asses off while taking care of their child. Not him, Tojiko had a couple of millions in her account before she went into labor.
Not to mention, Takumi has tons of spare money as the new head of the Zennin. Obviously it was being carefully watched as to see it wasn't misused. Every second, his actions were being put under the watchful eyes of the Zennin clan.
"Hey, Papa's back. I got your milk~" shaking the bottle and making sure that it isn't too hot for a baby's consumption.
"Gaa?" She makes a curious noise before directing her eyes to the sight of food.
Stubby fingers reach out helplessly, Takumi places the bottle to her mouth. To which she gladly accepts and greedily sucking it down.
*hick* *pat*
"There, we go. Better ?"
"Gaa." "Gaa."
"Okay, maybe some reading would help." He carried her over to one of his many bookshelves.
There was almost no need for him to make a living through selling these books anymore. But he kept at it, for vanity and because of his own attachment to the store.
Plenty of guests and friends still visit him from time to time, recently he hasn't gotten as many visits anymore.
"Here." He took out one of the old fairy tales and read it out loud for Megumi.
Sure, she couldn't understand him yet, but he was content in keeping reading to her. He heard somewhere that children learn very fast, so he might as well do it.
In between reading, he would glance down and see her eyes trying to make sense of his words.
The small effort she put in makes him smile, it is the tiny happiness like these that bring him joy.
Closing the book gently, by the time he's done reading. Little Megumi was already in dreamland, sleeping so soundly without any hiccup.
*yawn* "hmm~well i should get back to bed as well." He brought her back to her crib with the utmost tender care in his arms, laying her down gently.
"Sleep tight." He gave a kiss to her forehead.
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Tojiko did not know how to react at first when she had the child, like many things before. She had someone to be with her through it all, and together it was quite peaceful.
At the first light of day, she opened her eyes right away to see her infant child.
"She's your problem now." Takumi said, turning away in bed.
Not killing anyone sure does sound boring, but the joy of being her husband and daughter makes it all bearable. Mostly it was for her husband, the child does have her love too just not as much.
"Alright, your father needs his nap. For the meantime, I'll play with you." Carrying Megumi away from Takumi.
She struggles, wriggling like a fish away from her hand. Toji exerted a bit more force to hold onto her and brought her downstairs.
Of course, she isn't skilled in any way to take care of the baby. Her day starts out by doing all the normal chores, buying groceries while Takumi stays at home and plays with the kid.
"Stay still." She said in the most serious tone, but the little brat did not listen at all. She swung her hand wildly and made it all the harder for Tojiko to carry her.
Unlike any person who can be scared or threatened by her "aura" just by seeing her. Whether because she is a baby or from the fact that Megumi is her own blood, makes it unable to affect her is a mystery.
*sigh* "I hate this." At times, she thought having the child could be such a blessing, oh how wrong she was. After the first few weeks, she saw how hard it was to raise a baby. All the nonstop crying, the nightly changes of diapers, and of course feeding her too.
Tojiko didn't get how Takumi could handle Megumi so easily, like he got her to do whatever he wanted, how he wanted it. But for the Zennin, it's always a fight, for the simplest things too.
One time she was struggling to put Megumi to sleep, it took her hours to get her to be tired enough. But when Takumi carried her, she fell asleep instantly. That day, Toji learnt that there is something men can do that women can't.
"Here, play with this while mommy goes to make lunch." Tojiko gave Megumi some toys to play with as she went to the kitchen.
With Takumi exhausted, Tojiko would sometimes take on the responsibility of cooking when he was absent.
Her skills with the blades can be applied very well, if not excellently, to cooking. Dicing, de-boning, cutting anything, and making it into food. That last part is learned after many attempts.
And after a good rest, both she and Takumi take Megumi to a play outside in the afternoon. Just going out to the park, seeing some pond and nature. There, she reacted in a way that only Takumi noticed. She saw a curse spirit, he could trace her eye movement and tell that she was definitely able to see them.
Day passed and night come, after dinner is when Takumi brought up a question.
"Hey babe."
"Yeah ?"
"Do you, ever thought about changing your job ?" He asked.
"Why would I need to change my job ?" Turning up, she gazes into his eyes.
"Well, I just don't want my child to grow up knowing her mom is an assassin for hire."
"What else am I going to do ?" That is when he picked something out of the drawers.
"I have this letter of approval, it's already been signed." Of course, he left out the part about who signed it.
Tojiko took it in her hand, "Jujutsu high ?" She mumbles.
"You want me to be a teacher ?" She asked, squinting her eyes.
"I want us to have a stable job for when she grows up." He paused before speaking, "and this could be a good way to prepare her, she'll find out about curses and sorcerers sooner or later."
Tojiko didn't say anything, Takumi knew she was contemplating things in her mind, so he kept quiet and waited for an answer.
"Okay."
"Really ?"
"Yeah, I'll do it. For you." She smiled with the same possessiveness as the day she felt love. Her fingers brushed against his cheek. Her touch was gentle, slow but also predatory.
"Now that is out of the way." She flips him onto the bed, "It's been weeks since I had some relief." Her lips crashed into his and claimed him with fierce, demanding pressure.
Takumi relaxed and let himself be taken by her love.