Theme 10 Just a Memory
How it All Began
Ginta and Hakaku sat very still.
“You’re kidding, aren’t you, Kouga?” Hakaku said.
“No, I’m not.”
“But, won’t the other adults object to you taking in an abandoned kid just like that?” Ginta asked.
“We take in kids and young adults in all the time; what’s so wrong with a baby?” Kouga countered.
“A lot,” they countered.
“It’s drooling,” Hakaku said.
“It’s noisy,” Ginta remarked.
“It smells,” Hakaku said.
“Besides, we’re only kids, how are we going to manage looking after something even smaller than us?” Ginta asked.
“We’ll manage,” Kouga said. “Besides, I already got my grandpa convinced. He’ll help us out.”
“We?” they repeated.
“I’m going to need some help with this, obviously,” Kouga said.
“No way!”
Ginta paused. “Hey, Kouga, how come this kid has your Mama’s eye color?”
“I bet he did this because his Mama disappeared awhile ago and he still hasn’t gotten over it like he’s supposed to,” Hakaku muttered.
Kouga tackled Hakaku.
Ginta picked up the grey-eyed baby that was wrapped in a brown fur blanket.
“Um, Kouga? This is a girl baby. And um, can you stop beating up Hakaku? Please?”
“I know that’s a girl,” Kouga said.
“But girls are bad luck!” Hakaku exclaimed. “They curse you and make you act all weird!”
“I don’t know, she seems harmless,” Ginta said. “Aww, she’s all soft and squeezable!”
“Eee~!” said the baby.
“See what I mean? She’s got Ginta acting like loon already!” Hakaku exclaimed. “Ow! Kouga, why’d you hit me again?”
“Because you’re loud. Listen, I know girls are bad luck; that’s why we’re going to pretend she’s a boy.”
“Hey, good idea, Kouga!” Ginta said.
“We’re going to get caught,” Hakaku remarked.
“As long as we’re careful and nobody tattles, we won’t get caught. So are you in, or aren’t you?”
“I’ll help!” Ginta said.
The two boys looked at Hakaku.
Hakaku looked back at them, then at the baby.
“I guess she is kind of cute…”
“It’s settled then,” Kouga said.
“Just like that?” Hakaku exclaimed.
“So um, what’s his name?” Ginta asked.
“Tsuki. If anyone asks, it’s short for Tsukimaru,” Kouga said.
“Sure, shorten a boy’s name to a girl’s name. This is so going to blow up in our face,” Hakaku muttered.