Soul Fire Cont.

It was the first night in a long time that I don't think I actually dreamed. I didn't need to, but waking up that next morning was an adventure.

A low, discontented growl was the first thing I heard. It didn't take two guesses to figure out the reason why. Natsuki was not an early riser, and unfortunately for her, my daughter was. Before the birds began making a fuss, and the cars passed by the house, Leiko was always awake and ready for her usual mayhem. She was a little ball of energy, always. I half expected that she'd pounce on me, as she usually did.

I even expected that she'd claim Natsuki as her newest victim, knocking the wind out of her with playful gusto. Cracking my eye open slowly, I was greeted with an unexpected sight that had me choking down a laugh.

Leiko was sitting on top of Natsuki, nose-to-nose with the very cranky woman. Natsuki didn't dare not move an inch, a strange sort of panic in her eyes. I wanted to see what kind of trouble the two of them would get into. Natsuki looked light a deer caught in deadlights, but her scowl was clearly agitated. Monkey see, monkey do, as they say; and Leiko was trying to copy her.

"Uh," I tried not to laugh as Natsuki found her voice. It wasn't her most eloquent response. Green eyes hardened as she examined my inquisitive little girl, "Can you get off now?"

"Shhhhh!" Leiko said, looking over to me while I was pretending to be asleep. Pointing to me, she loudly whispered a single word. "Ma." Her finger pressed to Natsuki's lips, followed by her little palm, as if to keep her quiet.

Not that anyone could actually sleep through all of that racket in the first place, but it was the thought that counts.

I continued to stay motionless, this was too funny. I tried not to laugh when Leiko patted Natsuki on the forehead and then curled up again to sleep on top of her. Some of Natsuki's long hair was held tightly in Leiko's fist as she curled up on Natsuki's belly, her little feet hanging halfway off the side of the bed.

"Not funny," Natsuki mouthed when the little girl wasn't looking.

"It's hysterical," I whispered before bursting into a fit of giggles.

I'd earned Leiko's attention and Natsuki's ire as she hid her face under her pillow and sighed. "I really hate you sometimes," she muffled at me, as Leiko came over to greet me.

Unfortunately for Natsuki, that only made me laugh more.

It was a very slow morning, as I tended for it to be. Takumi and Akira were both up early, dressed in track suits for a morning run when we came down stairs. Takumi wasn't the type to really indulge in fitness, not like Akira, but she kept him on his toes. He had one if his portable heart monitors attached to him, something he wore rarely now-a-days. With little more than a greeting, he went off on his day.

It was probably for the best, I reasoned. Natsuki was not the most pleasant creature on the planet before she ate breakfast. Even with a cup of coffee in front of her, the only thing she could do was squint at the newspaper. Trying to make sense of crossword puzzle in front of her, she tried to ignore Leiko's newfound amusement of playing with her hair.

"I hope you have conditioner," Natsuki grumbled sleepily, blowing some long tendrils away from her eyes, only to have it flung back into her face moment later.

"I do," I said, lifting Leiko off of the kitchen chair she was standing on. "You can stop now, Natsuki's hair is all pretty."

Natsuki's tone was clearly less than thrilled. "Not exactly the phrase I would use, Mai."

It really wasn't, and a snickered as I went back to dealing with Leiko's meal. I was content with an orange and a bowl of cereal. However, I suspected Natsuki would need something a little more fortifying for the day ahead. I fried Leiko an egg, cutting it up into small pieces, and dishing it out to her. "Eat nicely, Leiko and after breakfast I'll give you a piece of candy," that was all the encouragement my little one needed.

I caught traces of amusement in emerald eyes, mirth twinkling there. She thought I wasn't looking, but I was. "What?" I just had to ask.

"Not above bribery?" Natsuki asked from behind her coffee cup.

"Or spanking if the situation calls for it," I said as I went back to the frying pan, cracking two more eggs inside. "I'm not above many things."

Natsuki, clearly unsure of what to say to this, lowered her eyes back to her paper. She was counting away the seconds until Hatsu stumbled down the stairs. I knew that because her fingers slid down to smooth her skirt out. As if it wasn't already just fine the way it was, but I allowed Natsuki her modesty.

~Bizt-Bizt~

Her phone had been doing that for the past hour.

Being as busy as she was, I couldn't blame her. She turned it to silent, but it continued lighting up periodically anyway. Natsuki's eyes would flicker to the caller, but out of the several times it called her attention, she only answered it once. Apparently, Nao was ranting about something or another, at least that's what it sounded like as they bickered back and forth.

I plated Natsuki's meal, sat down with what little I had of my own, and folded my napkin in my lap. "It'll be okay," I said, having mastered the art of unwelcome surprises. It didn't matter if it was medicine, homework, or some other unwelcome topic. Hatsu was very much her father's daughter, too groggy to pick a fight. "We'll spend the morning being lazy, and we'll go to the park later. It'll be a nice and easy day."

Natsuki's phone buzzed again, and she continued to ignore it. "That," she began with a small frown, "says otherwise."