Fishtail

-3-

pulling into the pick-up line, Kaito turned the radio down as he scanned the sea of children with his eyes, then rolled the passenger side window down for the pick-up attendant. "who are you picking up?" she asked, Shun shouted from the back. "OKAMI!" a happy squeal left the toddler next to him as the girl ran over, Kaito chuckled. "Kaito Bellwood here for Okami Bellwood, sorry about my Son shouting, they missed their sister," he said as the girl climbed into the van, kissed his cheek, and then got into her seat and buckled up. "It's alright, it's very sweet, have a nice day" he replied wishing her a nice day as well, then double-checked that she was buckled before driving off. "How was school? did you like your lunch?" he asked as he followed his map to the greenhouse, she hummed as she thought back on her day. "it was okay, there were a lot of new smells, but everyone was nice, a girl in my class liked my outfit, and lunch was yummy" she said before sipping her water, Shun began telling her what all they did today until arriving at the greenhouse. before getting the kids out, Kaito laid the plastic tarp out in the back of the van. 

"So you each get to choose one flower, alright?" he said as he strapped Hana into the stroller, Okami pushed it as she agreed with him. while the trio searched the flower section, still in his line of sight, Kaito picked out herbs to cook with, to make tea with, and to use as medicine. "Papa, Hana wants this plant, but Ami said we gotta ask because it might get big," Shun asked as he held a small Rose plant, chuckling as he added the plant to the cart. "It's alright, we just can't plant others too closely, what did you pick out?" he asked the boy as he followed him back over to the flowers. "Zins," he said as he pointed to the small pot of zinnia starts, adding them to the cart he hummed, smiling as he looked over at his eldest. She held out daisy starts, and he added them to the cart. "Shasta Daisies, good choice, we are gonna have a pollinator garden," he happily stated as he collected a few other flowers before going to pay. They ended up leaving with a frog statue holding a large leaf that would collect water, Hana wouldn't let them leave peacefully without it. 

they stopped at the park for a few minutes, Kaito stood at the swings pushing Hana as Shun climbed the playset, Okami just wanted to run around the playground and scare a flock of birds anytime they landed. when he noticed a group of teens sitting at a table he didn't think anything of it, until he noticed them eyeing his two children. he whistled sharply as he held Hana, his children hurried over to him and began to whine about leaving so soon. "Sorry loves, but Ami has homework, and you mister need to do your coloring page of the day for schoolwork, besides, you gotta help me plant the flowers before dinner" This appeased Shun, but Okami crossed her arms with a huff, and refused to get in the van. "I wanna run around more" he sighed as he rubbed his lower back, his feet were starting to hurt again. "How about I let you do your school work after planting, and letting you run around the yard some? and maybe show me where to start building the playhouse?" this got her inside, he shook his head with a soft chuckle as he went around and got in his seat. before leaving he glanced over at the table again, this time two adults stood with the teens and looked to be talking to them, but what made him uneasy was the way each one of them turned at the same time to stare at the van.

after the garden was planted, baths given, and pajamas on, Shun got to work coloring as Okami began her homework. Hana was scribbling on a piece of paper with multiple crayons, and seeing all three children 'working' he couldn't help but snap a few photos with his phone. then dinner was served, a thick beef stew over fluffy rice, Okami was on cloud nine and ate three bowls of stew with rice, Shun only had one but wanted another, but Kaito knew better than to let him have another, so he peeled a small orange for him. Hana had about three tablespoons of rice and a half cup of stew, she would then drink her bottle of warm milk before her Papa laid her in the crib and kissed her good night. he then read a story to a very sleepy Shun, before leaving his room he made sure that his night light was on and his stuffed teddy was with him. "Papa, why are your feet swelling and your back hurting?" the girl asked as she sat next to him on the couch to watch a show with him, he hugged her to his side with a smile. "Just sore still from the move, I will be better after a few slower days" she hummed, laying her arm across his stomach as she laid against him. "Is it weird I miss Troy? I mean... I know he wasn't very nice the past year, and he hurt your heart... but he used to be so nice to us, he used to let us call him Dad, or Pops" she mumbled, nuzzling her face against him. with a soft sigh he sat her up, then turned to look her in the face as he held her hands. "It's okay to miss him, it's normal to feel sad when someone dies, I miss him and am still sad he died, but I'm still hurting because of what he did to our marriage, what he did to our family, but I still miss him, so it's okay, it's only been two months since the funeral," he said as he squeezed her hands, she sniffled a little as she nodded her head. they hugged for a moment before he pulled away with a soft smile, then kissed her nose. "come on, let's watch an episode of triple D, then off to bed" she smiled with a nod, once the episode had started she spoke up. "Are you gonna go for another swim in the morning?" he hummed as he thought, then nodded his head. "Yeah, but a shorter one, and i won't be bringing any food home, clean up slowed me down too much" 

once she was in bed, Kaito went to his room and carefully shut the door. his feet gently padded across the plushy rug before he stood in front of the mirror, first, he looked over his face, he brushed against the light dark circles under his eyes before glancing at the small scars on the tops of his ears. he frowned as he remembered his father performing the procedure, the drug to immobilize him, the light numbing and him removing the pointed tips of his ears. glancing at his bottom lip and seeing the small scars from his old lip-biting habit made him glance at his hands, faded scars were between each finger, each a reminder of when he had little control over when his swim webbing would be out and his father would cut them. shaking his head clear of those memories he then looked over his full frame, he was always pale, but as he got older the freckles that covered his body became more noticeable, like the ones across his nose. he wasn't as thin as he used to be, which was a good thing, he flexed his arms and smiled at the muscle he had gained. turning to the side he looked over his bottom, then pressed his hands against his chest before dragging them down and stopping at his abdomen with a confused frown. "the hell? i didn't have this much of a gut before... guess stress would cause it..." he sighed before moving to his bed, once under the thin covers he closed his eyes. he silently wished his babies a night of good dreams, and even a wish for his father to be alright, and maybe for him to stop reproducing with the supernatural.