More than a week had passed since the day Tsubaki was hospitalized and she mentioned visiting Kouichi. She had wanted to go and meet the sweet boy earlier but Ren had insisted to go with her so she could only wait until his schedule was a bit free.
"Are you sure these are enough?" Tsubaki stared at the paper bag containing biscuits and cakes she had made for Kouichi and Aunt Ume. "I feel like these are still lacking."
Ren shook his head as his laughter floated in the air. A sense of helplessness was evident in his facial features as he bent down and stared at his wife's delicate face. The corners of his eyes crinkled, his eyes carried a hint of adoration.
"You've made so much, sweetheart. How could these are still lacking?" Even his words were full of laughter.
Tsubaki pursed her lips. She looked back at her husband's face that had magnified in front of her eyes. Although unwilling, she still obediently nodded.
Ren laughed again. His wife was so cute today!
Last night, Tsubaki insisted to bake some biscuits and cakes to be brought together with them. As an excellent husband, he stayed in the kitchen and helped whenever his wife needed him. In the end, a jar of chocolate chip biscuits, a jar of dried berries biscuits and a box of baby castella cakes were produced.
"We should start going now," Ren took the paper bag from Tsubaki's hand. He casually pulled her hand in his as they left the living room. "Since the school holiday has started, Aunt Ume said Kouichi is home almost the time. Maybe we could bring him to a nearby recreational park to play."
"Okay, darling~" Tsubaki agreed with a smile.
If possible she wanted to bring the little guy to the amusement park but she knew Ren wouldn't accept her suggestion. Her husband had been persuading her to avoid overly crowded places in the future for fear of something happening to her and their baby. Since she had the same thoughts, she just concurred with him.
Ren personally drove the car to the neighborhood where Kouichi lived. It was already half past 9 when they finally arrived. The sun was shining brightly over their heads, the temperature was high and made Tsubaki prone to thirst. It was essential to drink more plain water during summer days.
"Here."
"En?"
Tsubaki turned her head, looking at her husband's side. Both of them were still seated in the car. Their car was parked a few meters from the flat. In his right hand, there was a slim thermos bottle in pink color. The drawing of deep pink sakura petals scattered at the bottom of the thermos.
"Drink first," Ren handed the bottle to his wife with a faint smile on his lips. "You'd always purse your lips and lick the corners of your mouth every time you're thirsty."
At this time, Tsubaki felt her heart was struck with countless love arrows from Cupid.
Her husband was simply too amazing! He had even noticed her habit?
"Thank you, darling~"
Tsubaki happily drank the water. The water was warm, much to her liking. Even though it was hot outside, ever since she got pregnant she would always opt for warm drinks.
Ren smiled with fondness overflowing from his eyes. He raised one of his hands and rubbed her head gently. Tsubaki sneakily looked at him while she was still drinking, her eyes were full of smiles.
The husband and wife headed upstairs and both Kouichi and Aunt Ume welcomed them with happy smiles. Kouichi practically ran to pounce on Tsubaki but the little guy was quickly stopped by Ren. Ren held the back of Kouichi's collar and stared at him with narrowed eyes. He squatted on the floor to meet Kouichi's eye-level.
"Uncle, don't be jealous! I want to hug Aunt!"
Kouichi looked back at Ren with clear displeasure on his chubby face. He wanted to escape from this devil's clutch but Ren's fingers were firmly grasped on his T-shirt collar. He puffed up his cheeks and even attempting to kick the man with his short legs.
"Aunt is carrying a baby inside her. What if you accidentally knock over her and then she fell?" Ren let go of the little bun and stood up straight. "You could hug her but not pounce on her, do you understand?"
"What? A baby?" Kouichi had forgotten the grievances he felt due to this man when his big eyes suddenly lit up. "Aunt has a baby inside her tummy? It is true?"
Ren was baffled with this little guy's sudden change of emotion. He glanced at Tsubaki who was now handing the paper bag to Aunt Ume. Sensing a gaze directed at her, Tsubaki turned around. She had heard her husband and Kouichi's funny exchange earlier so she could no longer hold back her laugh.
"Yes, there's a baby here," Tsubaki smiled at Kouichi's cute face as she patted her flat tummy. "So, Aunt couldn't move around recklessly."
"Waaaa~"
Kouichi suddenly exclaimed in delight. He took slow steps toward Tsubaki, both of his short hands reaching for Tsubaki's flat tummy. As if afraid his action would hurt the mother and baby, Kouichi gently patted his favorite Aunt's belly.
"Is the baby still small? Aunt's tummy isn't as big as my friend's Mommy's tummy," Kouichi looked up and stared confusedly at Tsubaki. "Is the baby not eating well? That's why he's so small?"
By this time, the three adults laughed freely once they heard his cute question.
"Kou-chan, come here and see what Aunt Tsubaki has brought for you," Aunt Ume gently called out to her grandson. She took out the jar containing chocolate chip biscuits and showed it to the little guy. "It's your favorite! Don't forget to thank her."
"Yayyy! Thank you, Aunt!"
Tsubaki chuckled softly as she bent down to kiss his chubby cheeks.
Both of them brought Kouichi to a nearby recreational park as planned. Aunt Ume stayed at home with the excuse of her backache. Although the sun was scorching hot it didn't hinder the park's visitors from playing around and lying picnic mats under the shelter of the trees.
"Ice-cream! Ice-cream!"
Kouichi's attention had immediately placed on the colorful ice-cream truck parked at one side of the park. There was a row of food trucks alongside the pathway, offering various kinds of cold desserts during summer.
"Do you want ice-cream?" Ren looked down at the small face. He smiled as he was infected with Kouichi's joyful mood.
"Could I?" Kouchi asked back with an expectation in his bright eyes.
"Just choose whichever do you like, Kou-chan," Tsubaki giggled from the side, she loved seeing her husband interacted with the little guy. "Uncle would pay for you."
"Yay! Thank you, Uncle!" Kouichi jumped in excitement before he ran toward the ice-cream truck. Both Tsubaki and Ren followed him from behind.
"Young boy, which one do you want?" The kind-looking auntie who stood within the truck looked down at Kouichi who was staring at the menu. "Auntie has lots of yummy and sweet ice-creams!"
"En..." Kouichi squinted his eyes. He had learned how to read but it was still difficult for him to properly read the words under the ice-cream photos when he was just three and a half feet tall!
"Here, let me help you."
Ren bent down and swiftly carried the little guy in his arms. His action was smooth as if he was adept in carrying little children. Tsubaki smiled sweetly as she imagined how he would treat their future children later.
"Playing with your Mom and Dad?" The ice-cream truck auntie asked Kouichi as she was handing him a cone of strawberry ice cream glazed with blueberry jam and colorful sprinkles topped on it. "You're lucky, child."
"No, these are my Aunt and Uncle," Kouichi answered truthfully, he held the cone with both of his hands. "Thank you, Auntie!"
Ren smiled, he rubbed the little guy's head. After paying for Kouichi's ice-cream, he turned toward his wife.
"Are you sure you didn't want anything?" Ren swept his gaze at the nearby food trucks. "One of them has your favorite taiyaki."
"En, it's okay," Tsubaki wrapped her hand around his. She looked at the happy Kouichi for a moment before her eyes went back to her husband's face. "Let's find a place to sit. I'm quite tired."
"Alright," Ren agreed. He immediately took one of Kouichi's hands before the three of them walked toward a vacant bench.
Kouichi ate his ice-cream happily and no longer paid both of them any attention. He sat in between Ren and Tsubaki yet he was lost in his small world.
"Aunt Ume said Kou-chan's father has started working in your company?" Tsubaki suddenly thought back of what Aunt Ume had said before they left for the recreational park. "Did you help him?"
Ren shook his head, his lips curled up into a faint smile. "I just gave him the ads for the vacancy at the moment. He went through the interview through his own efforts. I've never interfered with the HR department."
Tsubaki smiled in understanding. She was glad her husband did that. It would hurt Nagao Yuuto's pride if he handed the job in a silver platter instead of having him went through the formal procedures. As a technician with years of experience under his belt, she knew his wages would increase tremendously once he worked under Fuse Corporation. Even an entry-level job in Fuse Corporation had a higher wage than most of the companies within the industry.
"By working here, he would have more time with his son and mother," Ren lowered down his gaze toward the little guy who was munching on the ice-cream cone. His dark eyes held a trace of adoration as he looked at Kouichi. "A child as young as him should be able to live with his own father."
Tsubaki held her smile from being too wide. She was so proud of her husband. He didn't have the responsibility to help the Nagao Family to this extend yet he still offered them help.
He didn't want to see Kouichi growing up with little memory of his father.
A little after 3 PM, the three of them left the nearby family restaurant. Ren had packed some food for Aunt Ume. The restaurant they went to was a decent one with variety of dishes. Kouchi ate until his small tummy bloated. Then, they returned to the flat.
"Just stay in the car, you don't have to follow us upstairs," Ren placed one of his hands over Tsubaki's car seat. He stroked her face as gentle as he could. "You're tired, sweetheart. I'll just send Kouichi by myself."
"Alright," Tsubaki nodded, her eyelids drooped as her sleepiness caught up to her. They had walked around for hours since morning so right now she was so sleepy. She grew fond of taking an afternoon nap nowadays. "Send my regards to Aunt Ume."
Ren smiled. He stroked her head for the last time before he scooped Kouichi up in his arms. With steady steps, he walked toward the staircase.
Tsubaki blinked her eyes slowly. The light from the sun was so striking in her line of sight, making her surroundings appeared so bright. As she lazily looked around the peaceful residential area, her gaze suddenly stopped at one corner.
Her brows knitted together as she stared at the reflection on the side mirror.
A woman in an elegant black dress was walking away from the run down flat in a haste. Her head hung low, as if she was afraid of being spotted by someone. Not far from the direction she was heading to, Tsubaki could see the rear of a low-key black luxury car. The woman looked at her left and right before she stepped inside the car. Within a moment, the car drove away.
Tsubaki couldn't believe her eyes. She repeatedly rubbed her sleepy eyes but since the woman had gone, she couldn't confirm her suspicion.
Wasn't that...
"What are you looking at?"
Her husband's husky voice startled her. Tsubaki turned her head around, she was surprised to see him had already seated on the driver's seat.
"Dar... ling?"
Ren frowned. She looked so shocked as if she didn't expect to see him right now.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Ren threw his gaze toward the direction where Tsubaki was staring at earlier but he found nothing worth mentioning. "Aren't you sleepy?"
"Oh... yes..."
Tsubaki nodded once. She was indeed sleepy. Before she closed her eyes, she looked again at the empty spot.
No one was there.
Was it her imagination?
As Tsubaki fell deep in her sleep during their car ride, Ren got a call from Hibiki. He connected the call with an earpiece, afraid of disturbing his wife's sleep. Hibiki's serious voice entered his ears.
"Master, I've retrieved Madam's missing necklace. It's already with me. When should I give you?"
Ren arched his eyebrows in surprise. After almost one month of searching, they have finally found the necklace pawned off by Yagi Takashi. His gaze deepened as he was thinking. After a moment, Ren spoke.
"Wait for me at Spring Garden."
"Understood, Master."
Ren hung up the call. He sighed heavily, his gaze momentarily landed on the sleeping lady next to her. An unpleasant feeling disturbed his heart. Ren reached out a hand, he gently held her hands in his.