Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, places, etc. from Wolf Children. It all belongs to its respectful owner.

Spring Cleaning

Hana paused from cleaning the wooden poles in their new house, glancing around in wonder once more. It had taken a lot of work to get this house to the way it was supposed to be, but the time spent had been well worth it.

Ame and Yuki seem to be warming up to it as well…

She glanced over to where Yuki was trying to get her brother to explore with her, a smile on her face. The younger boy normally sat with Hana as she worked, watching as she cleaned and tidied up their new home.

At least he's giving it a chance… Yuki was so excited when we got here and it seems like that excitement will last for a while…

The thought put a smile on her face and she turned back to the task at hand. There were still others to be done and she wanted to try and finish cleaning them today.

Then tomorrow we can start on a new project…

Her hand paused on the wood when she felt the cloth get caught on a nick in the wood. Gently pulling the piece away, she stared at the nick, running her hand over it.

I wonder why it's there?

She glanced around, seeing more just a little higher this time, causing her to stand up to peer at them. Just shortly above the lines was a simple name carved into the wood. Her eyes widened as she stared at the name, shock entering her. Quickly checking to see if Ame and Yuki were ok, she ran to where their stuff was, pulling a picture of mountains out of her bag.

It couldn't be… and yet…

She stared at the picture of the mountains, so similar to the ones that they were now living in. She walked back towards the post, glancing once more at the name.

I know he said that he had lived in the mountains but could it be…?

Warmth filled her chest the longer she stared at the name. She went back to the lowest mark on the post, tracing her finger across it, slowly reading the name and year posted above the mark before moving to the next. Her mind began to imagine what his childhood would have been like here.

Did you run through the same field as they are? What did you fill your time with doing inside the house when it rained? What was your childhood like?

The questions went unanswered in her mind, but the smile still persisted. To think that out of all the houses they could have chosen, this was the one that he had lived in before coming to the city…

I can see why you would choose to live here though…

The nature, the absence of people; he had most likely been here for the same reasons they were. She smiled as she glanced over at her children, running around in the field as wolves. She could just make out Yuki and Ame's pelts through the thick grass.

To think that we're so close to him now…

She glanced back at the post before returning her gaze to her children, her mind made up. Nodding, she went to grab a pen from the drawer before calling them over. Hana positioned Yuki up against the wood, trying to get to stand still long enough for her to measure her height.

"What are we doing mommy?" Yuki's voice cut through the silence as she finally stood still so that Hana could mark the wood.

Nodding, she allowed Yuki to move away from the pillar, writing her name and age in the space above the line. Later on she could use a knife to carve the spaces in but she didn't want to risk Ame or Yuki possibly being cut on the knife so that would have to wait.

"See this mark?" She asked, pointing towards the one that they could both reach, watching as they both leaned towards the mark before nodding. "Well, this is your daddy's height when he was around your age."

At that statement, both of them glanced at each other before back at the pillar. Ame tilted his head to the side as he studied the mark, looking at it as if he thought that it might disappear if he didn't keep an eye on it. Yuki tugged on her arm excitedly as Hana moved Ame into position, the boy staying stiller than his sister had.

"Are all of those marks daddy's?" Hana nodded, Yuki's excitement seeming contagious to the mother.

She marked down Ame's height, just a short ways away from Yuki's, before writing down his name and age as well. Picking both of her children up and hugging them to her, she stood up so that they could see the taller marks that they couldn't quite reach yet.

"Yep, that's how tall your daddy was each year he got older." She stared at the marks, the warmth still in her chest. Yuki moved in her arm, turning around to face her mother, a bright smile on her face.

"So daddy lived in this house before?" Hana smiled over at her daughter, bending down to the ground to let them down.

"Yep, and now we're living in it as well." Yuki let out a happy squeal at that.

"I'm going to see what else of daddy's I can find!" She declared proudly before running towards the run-down shed that was their next project in fixing. Hana let a small laugh at her daughter's behavior, glancing at Ame when she felt a tug on her sleeve.

"What is it Ame?" She asked, the smile still on her face and she bent down so that they could see eye-to-eye. The small boy almost seemed embarrassed by something as he glanced down at the ground before he suddenly looked up at the marks again.

"Will I be that big when I'm daddy's age?"

The question caught her a bit of guard and she glanced up at the marks as well before glancing back at her son, ruffling his hair a bit.

"Of course you will." She replied, earning herself a small smile from Ame as he glanced up at the marks again. Hana hugged Ame before moving him back a bit, his blue hair moving in the wind.

He really does look like his father…

"You know Ame," She began, leaning closer to the boy, as if going to share a secret before continuing. "I'm sure Yuki would be really happy if you helped her look for stuff in the shed."

Ame glanced at her before nodding, the smile still on his face before he suddenly got a shy look.

"Can I bring something back if it's daddy's?" She let out a small laugh at that, ruffling his hair once more while nodding.

"Of course you can. We can put it in the bedroom if you want."

That earned her another smile and a nod from the younger boy and she watched as Yuki came out of the shed, waiting in the entrance for her brother, a wide smile on her own face. Yuki waved over at them, causing Hana to wave back as well as she glanced down at Ame as he ran towards his sister. A moment later, they both vanished into the shed, continuing their day's adventure.

I wonder if they will find anything in there?

She stood up, glancing back at the wooden post before at the others around the house, a wide smile on her face.

I wonder if I'll find more markings on the others…

She moved over to another one, bringing her cloth and bucket of water with her. To all think that this started with a little spring cleaning…

We'll raise them here, where you grew up, together…

So first off, I don't actually know whether the father lived in that house, nor what the Kanji was on the post. This was just my own fun idea for the small meaning of them marking their ages down. Such a small thing in a child's life and yet this hopefully added a bit more memory for Ame and Yuki. :) Secondly, I figured that I'd post this for Mother's Day in honor of all the mothers out there, Hana included! :) Thanks for everything you do for you're your children! We really do appreciate it! Please let me know what you thought since this is my first time writing for these characters and archive!

-AnimeWolfGirl16