Disclaimer: I do not own Kekkaishi.

A/N. Okay, I just finished my final exam. Sorry if I took long time to update this story. Anyway, I appreciate any review you give to me. So, review.

Chapter 7: An Overprotective Father

Toshimori was peeping into Yoshimori's room from the door. He wanted to check Yoshimori, finding out if Yoshimori was okay or not. But, he didn't want to face his father who happened to be in the very same room, looking very distressed. Father was tending Yoshimori. Looking at his brother, Toshimori realized how paled Yoshimori was. But at least, it was better than yesterday. Yesterday was very scary. Yoshimori came back home wounded and bloody. For a moment, Toshimori thought he would lose Yoshimori too. This made Toshimori depressed.

He didn't want to lose another family member. He already lost his Mom and Masa-nii. He didn't want his family to hold another funeral. It's not even more than two months after Mom's death. After Sumiko's death and Masamori disappearance, Yoshimori had somewhat becoming a great support to Toshimori. He didn't know what to do if anything happened to Yoshimori. So, silently, Toshimori prayed that Yoshimori would not meet the same fate as their Mom. His thought was disrupted when Shuji called out him.

"You know, you can enter if you want to," Shuji said, motioning his youngest son to enter the room.

Toshimori cautiously entered the room. He hoped Father didn't mad at him for peeping into Yoshimori's room. Seeing Father wasn't mad at him, he sat besides Yoshimori. For a moment, silence reigned in the room. Both of them lost in their thought.

"Will Yoshi-nii be okay?" Toshimori broke the silence.

"I don't know," Shuji answered truthfully.

Biting his lips, Toshimori asked, "He's not going to die, right?"

"I don't know. We can only hope he'll be okay," Shuji said weakly, looking at his second son.

That's right; they can only hope he will be okay right now.

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It's been three days since that incident. Tokine hadn't seen Yoshimori since that day. She had voiced her wished to visit Yoshimori many times to her Grandma and Mom. Unfortunately, they cannot allow her since the Sumimuras currently are not in the mood to welcome any visitors. But, they told her about Yoshimori's condition. He's fine but he was unconscious and had a high fever. Apparently, there was poison on the ayakashi's claw. Fortunately, the poison was not potent. Yoshimori will be okay after he had a lot of rest. It made Tokine felt relief knowing Yoshimori was okay but she still wanted to make sure Yoshimori was fine. She wanted to visit him.

This was the reason why she was currently standing in front of Yoshimori's house. She felt nervous and afraid at the same time. Even though they are neighbor, Tokine rarely went to Yoshimori's house. She only went there if her Mom asked her to. Of course the reason she didn't like to go there may have a little something to do with her pride. But, right now she needed to swallow her pride. It's her fault after all that Yoshimori got hurt badly. If she destroyed the ayakashi as soon as possible instead of showing off, none of this will happen. Yoshimori won't be lying on his futon with high fever right now.

She was also afraid. What if her visit was not welcomed especially by Yoshimori? Yoshimori was very mad at her at that time. What if he kicked her out from his house? Then, there was his family too. How will Yoshimori's family react to her? Will they be mad at her too? After all, she almost got Yoshimori killed just like his mother. Tokine shuddered at this thought. She almost got Yoshimori killed and she alrealy felt this guilty. What would happen if she really got Yoshimori killed? Will she be able to forgive herself? Will Yoshimori's family be able to forgive her?

She was so deep in her thought that she didn't realize the gate was opened, revealing Shigemori with a broom on his hand. For a moment, there was a silence between them. This made Tokine felt very awkward. She started to fidget under Shigemori's stare. She needed to figure out what to say to Yoshimori's grandpa as fast as possible. She didn't want him to think she was stalking Yoshimori. Well, even though she did try to infiltrate into Yoshimori's house several times which didn't end well, she didn't want to be accused of doing such thing.

"You know you should go home now. Yoshimori is still not well," Shigemori said slowly.

"Can I visit Yoshimori?" Tokine's heart raced in anticipation as she asked.

"Maybe when he gets better," Shigemori answered as he closed the gate.

Tokine stared at the gate in defeat. Tears started to form in her eyes. Despite her great effort, she can't stop it from falling. Soon, a sob can be heard. Shigemori heard it. He knew he may act harsh to the little girl by denying her request. Unfortunately, Shuji had made it clear that Yoshimori will not receive any visitors. He even shouted at him. Shigemori quietly made his way to Yoshimori's room. Yoshimori was lying on a futon, sweating and breathing heavily. His face was pale. Shuji was sitting beside Yoshmori. He was putting a wet towel on Yoshimori's forehead, hoping it will help Yoshimori's temperature to drop.

"How's Yoshimori?" Shigemori asked slowly.

"Not good but better than yesterday," Shuji replied. "I…."

Shuji wanted to say more but refrained himself from doing so. He didn't really know how to express his feeling. He didn't want to be seen as too emotional. It's a weakness. Something that should be avoided at all cost. Unfortunately, Shigemori noticed it.

"You know if you need someone to talk, I here," Shigemori placed his hand on Shuji's shoulder.

"No, I don't," Shuji said without taking his eyes off from Yoshimori.

"You know if you talk to someone, you'll feel better," Shigemori coaxed. "I do it too sometime."

Shuji contemplated for a moment, "I …..Yoshimori….."

Shuji struggled to find the right words. For some reason, the words eluded him. Shigemori didn't rush him, understanding it was not easy to discuss personal thing even with your own family. Silence reigned in the room.

"He… looked like her," Shuji said slowly.

"Who?"

"Yoshimori….he looked like her," Shuji took a deep breath. "Out of our three children, Yoshimori resembles Sumiko the most in personality. His stubbornness, his determination, everything is just like hers. I …..when Tokine-chan brought Yoshimori home that night…." Shuji bit his lips, "he looked just like Sumiko…..on the day she died. Bleeding badly, she can't even stand properly." Covering his face with his hand, he said with regret, "I should stop him from going to Karasumori. I should be stricter to him. I should….. I should protect him better."

Shigemori frowned, "Shuji, you can't blame yourself like that. You can't always be there to protect him. Besides, it was Yoshimori who decided to take up the patrolling duty. He won't listen to you no matter what you said."

"No! You don't understand!" Shuji shouted, turning abruptly to Shigemori which startling the old man.

"Shuji…" Shigemori tried to reason with his angry son in law.

"Sumiko died because of that cursed land. Like the hell I'm going to let Yoshimori die a meaningless, brutal death just like his Mom!" Shuji shouted, trying to contain his anger.

"It's not meaningless…" A weak voice said.

Shuji and Shigemori quickly focused their attention to the voice. It was Yoshimori. Despite of his weak body, he tried as hard as possible to sleep. Shuji quickly rushed to Yoshimori to check his condition. He put his hand on Yoshimori's forehead to check his temperature. It had started to drop to normal temperature. But still, Yoshimori's face looked very pale. Shuji decided it's better to be safe than sorry.

"Stay here. I'll grab some medicine and food for you," Shuji was about to walk away when a trembling, weak hand tugged his sleeves.

"No….it's ….not….meaningless," Yoshimori shook his head weakly.

Shuji as well as Shigemori were confused. They didn't understand what Yoshimori was trying to say. Could it be the fever had affected him in worse way? He's not having hallucination, right? They tried to make him let go of Shuji sleeves and rested on his futon. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful.

Shuji tried to reason with Yoshimori, "You need to have some foods and medicine. You'll need to rest if you want to recover."

"Her death…..is not…meaningless," Yoshimori spoke.

"Yoshimori, what you're talking about?" Shuji asked.

"You said Mom's death is meaningless. It's not," Yoshimori breathed heavily.

Both adults just stared at each other. Oh, crap! Could it be Yoshimori had heard their conversation? How much he had been listening to? They didn't mean to let Yoshimori hear it.

"I never think Mom's death is meaningless. She died to protect Karasumori so no one will get hurt or die. That's definitely not a meaningless death. I – I refuse to believe such thing. And, I definitely won't let her death to be meaningless and let other people die like her," Yoshimori's eyes met Shuji's eyes, "So, whatever you say, I won't quit from this job."

"You'll get hurt and…." Shuji tried to protect but Yoshimori interrupted.

"I know you worry about me. But, you don't have to. I'll be fine. I'll be more careful and, and I'll train really, really hard to be good kekkaishi. I won't let the ayakashi eat or kill me. And…. and I'll come back home no matter what. Trust me," Yoshimori promised like other kids did when they tried to convince their parents to let them do something, usually unapproved thing.

With that, Yoshimori drifted back to his sleep. Shuji was speechless. That was the exactly how Sumiko convinced him to let her do her kekkaishi job. Deep in his heart, he knew he can't stop Yoshimori. If Yoshimori truly inherited Sumiko's stubbornness, once he had made a decision on something, he will do it no matter what other people around him say. So, Shuji knew he can't deter Yoshimori from taking over the family job. But, still that didn't mean he liked it. Shuji's was starting to have a headache.

He needed to think this thoroughly.

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During the past four days, Yoshimori was starting to recover. He didn't have high fever anymore although his movements were still a bit sluggish. Although it was fun not going to school, Yoshimori can't deny how bored he was to be confined in the house. So, he decided to train or play outside with Toshimori to get rid this boring situation. It was a good idea but he didn't expect the reaction he got from his family. Shigemori clearly forbad him from training, going as far as locking their training dojo. As for Toshimori, he won't let him to go anywhere alone. He had becoming clingy to Yoshimori. Each time Yoshimori went somewhere even though to toilet, Toshimori will follow him.

Well, at least they were not worse than his father. Father didn't even let him do anything at all, claiming it will do more harm than good. Just like when he wanted to get a glass of water in kitchen or wanted to switch on the television. It's not like Yoshimori didn't appreciate his family's good attention. He knew they were only worried about him. It's just that it was too annoying. They treated him like he was a baby which didn't sit well for him. So, he decided to sit outside at the backyard to have a fresh air until he caught Tokine trying to sneak into his house for some unknown reason.

"Hey, Tokine, what are you doing?" Yoshimori called out, startling the little girl.

Tokine was surprised to see Yoshimori. But, she quickly looked away when her eyes fall on Yoshimori's bandaged right hand. She felt guilty. At first, Yoshimori was puzzled why Tokine acted like that until he saw guilty expression on Tokine's face.

"Don't worry. I'm fine. Look, it didn't hurt at all," Yoshimori waved his right hand to prove his point.

"I'm sorry," Tokine said guiltily. "I – I didn't mean to get you hurt." She then quickly added, "If you want anything, I can help you."

"It's okay. Everyone make a mistake. Just don't do it again," Yoshimori tried to cheer Tokine up.

Tokine just nodded dumbly while her eyes focused on Yoshimori's right hand. Yoshimori frowned. Sure, he wanted Tokine to take her duty seriously but he didn't want her to be sad like this just like everyone. Truthfully, Yoshimori didn't really understand why everyone made a great deal about his injury. He's still alive and not dead, right?

"Hey, do you like cake?" Yoshimori asked after a pause.

"Why?" Tokine asked.

"Great, you can help me to bake cake. I'm sure Toshimori would like a castle sized cake for his birthday," Yoshimori grinned.

Tokine just stared dumbly before she smiled, "Sure why not?"

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Yoshimori was barely able to hide his happiness when Shigemori declared he was healthy enough to go to school and resume his kekkaishi duty. Of course, Shigemori warned him not to push himself too much and any other lengthy advices. Toshimori, on the other hand, wasn't sure. He begged Yoshimori not to go to Karasumori. When it didn't work, he asked Yoshimori to bring him together so he could help Yoshimori. Of course, Yoshimori didn't allow it because Toshimori was too young and didn't know how to use kekkai technique.

"Come on, I can look after myself. I won't get hurt again. Promise," Yoshimori shouted.

"But….." Toshimori's voice trailed off.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry," Yoshimori reassured his family.

"So, you're still not going to give up protecting Karasumori," Shuji said quietly.

"Yeah," Yoshimori said bravely, expecting this will lead to a great fight.

"Okay….." Shuji said.

With that, Shuji retreated to his room. Yoshimori just stared his father's spot dumbly. What the heck just happened? His father just leaved him without starting a fight. It made him felt uneasy. Could it be that Father had changed his mind? But, naahh….that's impossible.

Right?

Later, at night, Yoshimori got ready to go to Karasumori. Shigemori and Toshimori were sending him off at the doorway. They still worried about him. Toshimori looked as if he wanted to cry on the spot.

Ruffling Toshimori's hair, Yoshimori said, "Don't worry, I come back in one piece."

Toshimori just nodded slowly. Yoshimori put on his shoes and reached out for his tenketsu only to be handed to him by his father. Yoshimori blinked for a moment. Shuji then gave him something unexpected, a bento box and a first aid kit. Yoshimori just stared, trying to process what had happened.

"Try not to get hurt and be careful," Shuji just smiled weakly.

Yoshimori knew the meaning of his father's smile. It meant 'I don't like you get involve with Karasumori, but if that what you decide to do, I'll support you.' It made Yoshimori's heart warm, knowing he had his father's support.

Smiling, Yoshimori said before darting off to Karasumori, "I will."