DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GA.

CHAPTER 15: Repetition is the key

Ruka was running through the hallways when he saw Kaito's stuffed bunny lying on the ground. As he was going through that direction he finally caught a glimpse of his raven haired son who was walking his way to the staircase.

"Hold it right there, young man." Ruka said while grabbing his son. "I let my eyes off of you for ten minutes and you nearly gave Dad a heart attack." He then grabbed his phone and called his best friend. "Found him, Natsume. Why don't we transfer the kids to a room downstairs? At least I won't have to worry about stairs there."

"Hn."

Natsume is now keeping an eye on three children since Ruka is making baby food in the kitchen. "kichipchi itampaboom"

"Oi, Ruka. I need a translator here."

"Itakipukram chimanpib" Kaito kept mumbling about while the two fathers were just staring at him.

Ruka scratched his head. "I don't understand it either. Hotaru's the one good at baby talk."

Natsume raised an eyebrow. "Her? Baby talking? You kidding?"

"Nope. Honestly, I feel out of place when they talk at each other while I'm left staring at them. But it's kind of fun in the long run. I don't usually see Hotaru make different expressions. She's always stoic. When Kaito came, she really softened up."

"Daaaaaa!"

"Yes?"

"Am! Am!"

"Now that, I understand." Ruka stood up and started putting baby food on a bowl. As if on cue, Miyako started to cry.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming." Natsume said while he picked her up. "Don't cry too loud, you'll wake your sister. She's not supposed to wake up when you're not yet done eating. I don't have your mom's doppelganger ability."

"They look like female versions of you, Natsume. Especially the one with black hair. They might look identical but the hair colors are different." Ruka commented.

"Hn. Makes it convenient to differentiate which is which."

"That one is?"

"Miyako. She's the quieter and older one. Mitsuko is the brunette one." He pointed to his other child who just woke up.

"Mam mam!" Kaito muttered while Ruka gave him his water. "You're getting good at this."

"Repetition is the key, I guess?" Natsume replied while trying to burp Miyako. "There. Be a good girl and behave while I feed your sister." He said while placing Miyako on the crib.

"Red eyes are really the Hyuuga trademark, huh? They have Mikan's eye shape though. Hey! Kaito! Stop playing with your food!" The baby boy was removing the food from his mouth and started wiping it all over the pants of Ruka.

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"Do you think they'll be fine? Natsume has never been alone with the twins for too long."

"Mikan, the whole point of this trip is to relax." Hotaru reminded her while sunbathing. "You're not doing much of the relaxing part."

"I am! I'm just… multitasking! Right! Sunbathing while worrying!"

Hotaru aimed her gun at her. "One shot for every worry wart." Mikan gulped. "Truth be told, I'm just as worried as you are. But there's nothing else that we could do about it. They planned this because they were worried about us. We can't let all their efforts go down the drain just because of our motherly concerns."

"You do have a point."

"And besides, as clumsy as they are, they are still fathers. They won't let anything bad happen to the kids. So stop worrying. I won't give a pep talk longer than this."

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"UWAAAAAAAA!"

Ruka's eyes went wild. "Oh no! no, no, no, no. Please stop, Kaito." He begged while carrying his son and patting his back. "Shhhhh. Were you scared? Daddy's sorry. Daddy won't yell again. Please stop crying."

"UWAAAAAAA!" this time, it was Miyako's turn to cry. Kaito's crying startled her. And hearing an unfamiliar sound that loud just made her uncomfortable.

"Crap." Natsume hissed. He placed Mitsuko on the crib and picked up Miyako.

Kaito has finally calmed down and started playing with his dinosaurs while Natsume was still having a hard time with Miyako.

"Sorry about that. I think Kaito's wailing triggered her tantrum. Need any help?" Ruka said.

"I've been patting her thighs and humming lullabies all this time. But she still won't stop." A worried Natsume answered.

"Have you checked her diaper? Maybe it's full?"

"Hn. But it's not. I don't get it. Miya is usually the calm one. She's too grumpy today. Shhhhh. Hush now, quiet now. It's time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed. Maybe she doesn't like my voice?"

Ruka thought for a little while. But then, Mitsuko also started to cry. Ruka picked her and did the same thing that Natsume does. After a few minutes, Mitsuko was already fast asleep while Miyako was still crying.

"How'd you do that?" Natsume hissed. Apparently, the twin he's holding is still throwing a fit.

"I get it!" Ruka's eyes widened as saucers. "You've been using the technique on the wrong baby! Mitsuko is the one who calms down with a lullaby. So what else does Mikan-chan do whenever a baby is crying?"

Natsume thought for a bit and then it hit him. He started bouncing lightly. After a while, Miyako stopped crying. And with a few more minutes of light bouncing, she eventually fell asleep.

Natsume sighed in relief. "Finally."

"Guess having identical twins does not mean they have identical things that they like huh?"

"Tell me about it. They can be total opposites at times."

"Dada! Up!" Ruka obediently carried his son and turned to face the twins.

"Look here, Kaito. This one is Miyako and the other one is Mitsuko. Dad hopes that you'll be great friends with them. Okay?"

The toddler was just intently staring at the raven haired baby, Miyako. "Okay, now time for your bath! Your mom won't let me survive another day if she finds out you once looked like this."

True enough, Kaito was a big mess. He has baby food splattered all over his face and clothes. "Nooooooooooooo!" Kaito complained while a rattled Natsume went to check on the twins just in case they woke up again.

Ruka gave his friend an apologetic look. "Sorry about that. He gets fussy when it's bath time. He doesn't like it when his hair gets washed."

Natsume gulped. "Now that you mentioned bath time, I haven't really bathed the twins before."

"You're kidding, right? I mean, the twins are already four months old and you haven't given it a try?"

The flame caster shook his head. "Normally, I'm already off to my royal duties when it's their bath time. And on my days off, all I ever did was watch Polka do it while I hand her the towels."

"Well, there's a first time for everything." Ruka replied with a shrug. "Hey, Kaito. Come back here!" The animal lover just went to get the towel while his son ran off, naked.

After all of the fussing, Ruka finally managed to get Kaito in the baby tub. Natsume, on the other hand, was observing everything. "There, you'll be squeaky clean in a jiffy!"

"When will I ever learn how to talk softly?"

"Now close your eyes. I'll wash off the shampoo now." Ruka instructed. "Come on, little buddy. Close your eyes. They'll hurt if shampoo gets in them. There! Now that's a good boy!"

Kaito immediately wandered off to play the very moment he got his clothes back on. "Whew. Glad that's over. How about you give the twins their bath too?"

"They're still sleeping."

"At least they're calm. Or would you want your first bathing experience while they are crying?"

Natsume went off to get the twins upon hearing what Ruka said. Of course he would want his first bathing experience to end up smoothly. He was carrying one twin for each arm as he approached Ruka.

"Okay, Natsume. I'll carry Mitsuko while you bathe Miyako. You said she's the calm one so you better start off with her."

"Hn." Natsume had everything prepared. He even checked the water temperature, just like what Mikan told him. He eventually began applying soap on the baby's body.

"Oi! Don't move around too much! My hands are slippery right now!" Miyako was woke up the moment Natsume placed her in the baby tub. Since then, she has been squirming around.

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"So much for choosing the calm one." Ruka thought. "Ano, Natsume? You might want to talk in a softer way? Babies can be real sensitive to noises."

"I'm trying. But she's just… Oi! I said stop moving around. You'll get shampoo in your eyes." He hissed.

Ruka sweat dropped. "You might wanna start by removing 'Oi' whenever you talk. And copy the tone of Mikan-chan's voice whenever she talks to them."

Natsume sighed. "Miyako, please. It has only been two hours since your mother left. Go easy on me. Rookie daddy here."

"Well, that's one baby down." Ruka said and then handed over Mitsuko to Natsume. "I'll take Miyako back to her crib. I also need to check on what Kaito's been doing. You sure you'll be alright here?"

"Hn."

Natsume sighed the very moment that Ruka left the room. "Now it's your turn, little peanut." He said while staring at the baby in his arms. "Please don't give Daddy a hard time, okay?"

Mitusko just stared at her father, giving off random coos one after the other.