Sighing, Inoue Miyako plopped down the couch, exhausted. As she surveyed her surroundings, she bit her lip in frustration. The whole apartment was a completely a mess; in the kitchen alone, pots and pans were skewed about the floor, and sticky fingerprints were all over from the Spaghettios’ sauce she had fed the kids earlier. The bedrooms were no better off. Toys, stuffed animals and clothes all but buried the floor underneath them. Drawers and cupboards were left ajar, and the closet doors had been left open as well. And Miyako was pretty sure there had been more than just one picture hanging on the walls….

That wasn’t the worst of it, however. The room that had suffered the most was, without a doubt, the Den where Miyako sat at that very moment. Most of the pillows/cushions from the furniture had been “rearranged” by the two oldest. Toys, TV/VCR remotes, bathroom towels, pillows, bottles, diapers, etc. were everywhere. Worst of all, a glass vase of flowers had been knocked off the coffee table, spilling both the flowers and water. Obviously, the vase itself broke, but (luckily) the shards of glass didn’t spill everywhere. They currently rested in a scattered, but small, pile right below the table.

Hanging her head in her hands, Miyako groaned.

“How do I get myself into these things?”

~** FLASHBACK**~

“Miyako, you remember your cousins Sakura, Deven, and Ria, don’t you?” her mother asked, pointing to the three children who had came in with their mother and were now sitting in the Den.

There was one boy among the three, named Deven. He was also the oldest, at eight years of age. His messy, auburn hair reminded Miyako of pictures she’d recently seen of Koushiro when he was younger. Through his bangs, she could see his light brown eyes gleaming with mischief. He remained calm, however, with his parents and aunt in the room.

Next to Deven sat his younger sister, Sakura. She was most often a shy little girl, but always followed her older brother’s example, no matter what it was. Being only five years old, she really didn’t know any better. She even looked like her brother, with elbow-length, auburn hair and the same light-brown eyes gleaming mischief, mimicking her brother’s expression.

The youngest, under a year and a half, sat on the floor with her building blocks, oblivious to her surroundings and siblings as she constructed a small tower. Ria was definitely Miyako’s favorite cousin. She knew Miyako very well due to frequent visits, and loved her as a sister. Surprisingly, she didn’t look very much like the other two; rather, she looked like a miniature version of Miyako. Her raven hair came straight down to just below her ears, framing her oval-shaped face, and her eyes, the same color as Miyako’s, proved she would grow up to be just as strong and determined as her older cousin.

“Of course I do, Mom,” Miyako replied, walked over to Ria and picking her up, “ ‘specially this one, right Ri-Ri?” she added, talking to her now-beaming cousin.

“Mika! Mika!” Ria squealed as she saw Miyako, unable to pronounce her full name just yet. Giggling and holding on to Ria, Miyako turned to her mom.

“Don’t worry, Mom, Aunt ‘Jousan…. I’m sure I can handle these three,” she said, speaking to her mother and mother’s sister.

“Thanks again for agreeing to baby-sit, Miyako,” her aunt said to her while putting on her other earring.

“No problem. Now, you guys better hurry or you’ll miss the show!”

“Okay! Okay!” her mother exclaimed, “We should be home a little after midnight. You know the number of the theater and if not, it’s by the phone,”

“Bedtimes are 9:30…10:00, if they’re good. They brought along some things to occupy themselves with until then,” her aunt added before turning to Deven and Sakura, “Be good, you guys, and listen to Miyako,” she finished, placing a kiss on each of their heads. Miyako had to muffle a giggle at the WAY-too-innocent looks they gave their mother as she walked out the door, still fiddling with her earring.

As her own mother followed, closing the door behind her, Miyako turned to the two on the couch. At that moment, she could have sworn that the “halos” on their heads instantly dissolved and two horns began growing in place of them, as they simultaneously smirked at her….

~**END FLASHBACK**~

That scene had taken place not three hours prior. It was now 10:15 p.m. Only 15 minutes ago had Miyako finally been able to put Deven and Sakura to sleep, but not before the “angels” had managed to tear the entire apartment apart. Thankfully, the baby, at least, had remained well behaved.

“They probably wore themselves out!” Miyako muttered as she wearily got up to start cleaning the mess. Just as she was putting the toys away, however, a cry rang out from the Master Bedroom: the one place untouched by Deven and Sakura since their baby sister was sleeping peacefully in there.

Walking in, Miyako saw little Ria sitting up in her crib, rubbing her eyes. Walking over, she gently picked the toddler up and rocked her in her arms.

“Shh…It’s okay, Ri-Ri…. Mika’s here now,” she spoke softly to the child, chuckling slightly at how silly it sounded when placing her nickname next to Ria’s. At the sight of Miyako, Ria calmed down somewhat, and looked up with tear-stricken eyes.

“Do you want a bottle?” Ria nodded her little head in response, and so Miyako walked to the kitchen in search of a bottle for her little cousin.

As soon as she found one and placed it in the microwave to warm the milk, the doorbell rang.

“Great…. Perfect timing.” Miyako muttered sarcastically as she walked through the hallway to the front door, Ria still in her arms. Opening it, she expected it to be a late-night delivery, but instead…

“Ken! What are you doing here?” Miyako asked in surprise as she saw her best friend, Ken Ichijoji, standing there.

“Well, I just got back from the library, you see,” he began, pointing in the direction of the Library as if Miyako had forgotten in which direction it was, “and I figured I’d better return this before I forgot,” he finished. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a rather large, purple notebook. Blushing, Miyako recognized it to be hers.

“Oh…thanks.” She replied, taking the notebook from him. It was then Ken realized they weren’t alone.

“Hiya, Ria.” Ken said to the little girl in Miyako’s arms; Ken knew her from all the times she had come to visit while he was at Miyako’s house. In turn, Ria knew and recognized Ken almost as well as her own cousin.

“Hi, Kem!” the little girl excitedly spoke up, bouncing slightly in Miyako’s arms.

“I see she remembers you.” Miyako said, with a smile, “I’m babysitting her and the other two tonight while their parents and mine go out to dinner,” she explained.

Peeking inside the room, Ken commented, “I’m guessing Ria’s siblings must have gone on the rampage this evening, huh?”

“Ugh…don’t even remind me!” she replied, shifting Ria’s weight, and leaning sideways against the doorframe, “This ain’t even the worst of it…. They got the kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms too! I was just starting to clean up when Ria here woke up crying.” As if to prove how exhausted she was, Miyako leaned her head against the doorframe and sighed. Ken noticed this immediately.

“Would you like some help? I mean, no offense, but you look like you could use it.”

“Are you sure? Don’t you have to get home?”

“Naw…I’m usually out this late. Normally, I’d be at the park or something, but being here helping you out would be just as nice.” He replied, blushing slightly.

“You’re the sweetest, Ken.” She answered, giving his a quick kiss on the check, which only proceeded to make him blush even more. Giggling, she stepped out of the way for him to walk inside.

“Be careful when you walk in the Den…. Deven somehow knocked over the flower vase” she warned him, before remembering Ria’s bottle, “Oh! I forgot…I left Ria’s bottle in the kitchen. I’ll be right back.” And with that, Miyako made a beeline for the kitchen, leaving Ken in the Den for a brief period of time. He took off his coat, placing it and his backpack in the closet. Then, he got to work cleaning up the pile of glass before someone got hurt.

Just as he finished sweeping up all the glass and throwing it away, Miyako slowly walked back into the room, rocking Ria in her arms as she fed her the bottle. Ken couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“You’re really going to make a great mother someday, Mika.” He complimented, using the nickname only he and Ria ever seemed to get away with calling her (In fact, Ria had picked up that name from him). She simply smiled and blushed at the comment.

“Thanks. Though I wouldn’t be too sure about that. May I remind you the situation with this apartment?”

“But still…you survived, didn’t you?” Ken joked with a smile.

“True…just barely, but true,” she joked back. She then turned her attention back to Ria, who was now wide awake, and sighed, “I don’t think she’s going back to sleep any time soon.”

Ken just shrugged, “Just let her stay up with us, and I’m sure she’ll fall back asleep eventually.”

“Yeah, probably.”

Ken proceeded to pick up all the pillows and cushions for the couches. Placing Ria on the couch with her bottle, Miyako went to help. The two of them worked together and in what seemed like no time whatsoever, managed to transform the Den back to it’s original condition, though they often stopped to either tend to Ria, their sudden little ball of energy on the couch, help each other out with something, or sneak a glance at one another when they thought the other wasn’t looking.

Next, they moved Ria from the couch to a high chair, and tackled the kitchen. Ken collected all the pots and pans; Miyako washed all the sauce off everything the kids had touched. They easily finished at the same time…just as Ria started crying again.

“Aww…what’s wrong, Ri-Ri?” Miyako asked, while picking her up. As soon as she did, however, she didn’t need Ria to tell her what was wrong.

“Oh, boy!”

“Diaper change?” Ken asked

“Uh-huh.”

“Want a hand?”

“Sure.” The two walked into the Master Bedroom, where all of Ria’s stuff was being kept. While Miyako reached into the baby bag, Ken took out the changing pad, and gently placed Ria on it. Working together, they both managed to power and diaper the baby without making much of a mess.

“You’re really good with kids, you know that?” Miyako complimented Ken, now holding a freshly changed Ria in his arms, who was bouncing around again slightly.

“Yeah. You’re not the only one with a big family, ya know.” He replied with a smirk.

“Ahh…that explains it. And here I was thinking it was part of your genius intellect.”

“Har-har.”

“…. Getting in touch with your feminine side then, perhaps?”

“You’re a riot, you know that?”

“Of course,” Miyako grinned, while taking Ria from Ken’s arms into her own, “but you still like me anyways, don’t you?”

“Let me check.”

“Oh, NOW who’s the riot!”

“Hmm…so the comedian can dish it, but she can’t take it, now?”

“Oh, you are SO lucky I have Ria in my arms right now, Ken Ichijoji!”

“Really, now? And what, pray tell, would you plan to do if you DIDN’T?”

“This!” With that, she gently placed Ria in her crib, and proceeded to chase Ken all over the apartment, both making sure to remain quiet enough so that they didn’t disturb the other two, still-sleeping children. Luckily, the door to the room Deven and Sakura were sleeping in was closed, and Miyako’s apartment had thick walls to block out most noises.

“Oooh…you get back here right now!” Miyako exclaimed as Ken ducked behind the couch in the Den to avoid her. The two soon found themselves in a stalemate on either side of the couch. Even though she pretended to be furious with him, Miyako was smiling the whole time, making her threat seem less…well…threatening.

“Not. A. Chance.”

“Ahh…so ‘the Rocket’ is afraid of a girl, now is he?”

“Nope…he’s afraid of you!”

“That does it!” The smile on her face disappeared as she once again pursued Ken in another chase around the house. It was a miracle they didn’t disturb Ria, who has somehow fallen back asleep, bottle in hand, in her crib.

Being the more athletic of the two, Ken was usually able to outrun the girl quite easily, but when it came to stubbornness, Miyako always had him beat. However, taking in the fact that she was already worn out, Ken was at a better advantage. After a long, difficult chase, Miyako finally managed to catch up to and pin down Ken on the couch.

“You give?” She asked, a triumphant smirk on her face.

“I give.”

“Geez…you’re going soft.”

“I guess…you still never told me what you were going to do when you caught me.” Ken replied with a grin.

Miyako just grinned back, “I was going to do…this!” and she started tickling Ken, right there on the couch. As his cries for mercy rang out through the room (yet not too loud, since the three kids were still sleeping), she began laughing as well. Soon, though, she gave out from sheer exhaustion.

“Okay… I give this time.” She said with a weary smile, and released her ‘prisoner’.

“You feel okay?” he asked, suddenly concerned, “You look exhausted.”

“I am.”

“Why don’t you lie down for a bit, then?”

“Don’t we have to finish cleaning the apartment?” she asked, while yawning.

“We finished most of it, already, remember?” he replied, more gently than before, “I doubt you want to walk into the kids’ bedroom and risk waking them up just to clean it.”

“Good point.” She was now sitting upright next to him on the couch. She laid her head back a little and closed her eyes. “What time is it?” she asked, eyes still closed.

“It’s almost 11:30.”

“All right…. My aunt, uncle, and parents’ll be back in a little over a half hour.” She said, subconsciously resting her head on Ken’s shoulder.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna lie down?” Ken asked again.

“Mmm…no.” Miyako replied, now half-asleep. With that, Ken gently got up, and laid her down length-wise on the couch, making sure to put a pillow under her head. Then, he walked over to the closet, and got out a thin blanket for her. He placed it over her body, then knelt down on the floor beside her.

“I’m gonna go now, okay, Mika?” he nearly whispered to her.

“Mm-k,” she responded, opening her eyes slightly to look at him, “Thanks for helping me tonight.”

Ken smiled, “No problem. It was actually kind of fun.”

Miyako giggled slightly, “Only you would think so….” Then, shifting slightly on the couch, she added with a smile, “We make a pretty good team, don’t we?”

“I’d say so. Now, go to sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow, ‘k?”

“Mm-k” Ken placed a small kiss on her forehead, and let her drift off to sleep. He then stood up, and walked over to the closet to get his bag and coat. Just as he opened the door and was about to walk out, he turned around one last time.

“Love you, Mika.” He said softly. She already seemed to be asleep, and merely stirred as if she didn’t hear him. Convinced she didn’t hear him, he turned to walk out the door.

“Mmm…love you too, Ken.” He heard her sigh as he closed the door behind him, a soft smile on his face.

__________________________________________________________

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E-mail ~J.C.~