Intertwined Destinies (Chapter 60)
The door to the great hall opened, and a small face peeked inside. The face of their little three-year-old girl lightened up when she recognised her second father. She pushed the door a bit wider open with a huff, that was accompanied by a giggle from Nino as the other man probably used some of his magic to help Kiseki opening the door wider. Ohno couldn’t see him, and since Kiseki didn’t wait for Nino, he supposed that the other man had left shortly after making sure Kiseki was with her father.
Ohno smiled as he watched Kiseki waddling over to him and held open his arms for the little girl. “Dada!” she cried as she collided against his knee. “Up!”
“As you wish, little princess,” he allowed and picked her up to put her on his lap. He hugged her tightly and then tickled her slightly when she started to wriggle in his arms.
“Dada stop!” she demanded, and he grinned as he tickled her a bit longer, catching her before she could slip down.
“Where is your papa, Kiseki?”
“Papa out.”
“Ooh, is papa praying?”
She nodded and pouted slightly. “Ki no.”
Ohno nodded in understanding. Usually, Nino allowed their daughter to accompany him all the time to stay at his side during his prayers or if he spent time out in his garden. It didn’t matter what time or what the weather was. Ohno had been worried first, but Ohno allowed him to come as often as he wanted as well. (As long as Nino didn’t explicitly tell him that he wanted to be alone for the day. But then he wouldn’t take Kiseki as well.) That had helped Ohno to realise that with Niji and Yoru, Nino had his ways to make sure that Kiseki was warm and wouldn’t wander off.
“Tonight is the full moon. Some kind of special moon or something like that…” Ohno mumbled. He couldn’t remember fully. But he knew that Nino would be back late and that that particular moon meant that he would be fully immersed and couldn’t look after Kiseki and making sure she was safe and warm. “Your Papa will be out late. Way after your bedtime, so you have to be content with me,” he teased her.
Kiseki giggled and babbled something that didn’t make any sense to Ohno, but he tickled her again, grinning when she squealed in happiness.
“Dada work?”
“I just finished working. So we can play something. Do you have any preferences?”
“Fish look?”
“Of course. And we can feed them, okay?”
Kiseki nodded and put her arms around Ohno’s neck so that he could pick her up. He carried her out of the room, singing a children’s rhyme with Kiseki as she started the song she learnt just a few days ago from Jun.
He brought her to the kitchen, deciding that if they went to feed the fishes, they could also have dinner outside. That way, he would not need to clean his chambers but just needed to put Kiseki into the tub later that night.
“Jay-jay,” Kiseki cheered when she saw the knight coming around the corner.
Jun grimaced slightly at the nickname that Nino had talked Kiseki into using. Ohno knew that the other didn’t really like that nickname, but couldn’t be angry at Kiseki (and Ohno was sure that he liked it secretly).
“My princess,” Jun said with a small chuckle after he had overcome his surprise at seeing them. He dropped to a bow, smiling when Kiseki clapped her hands and giggled at his antics since she didn’t understand the meaning. “Second king.”
“Stop it with that,” Ohno snorted. “Did you need me for something? Because I was about to take Kiseki out to the stream to watch and feed the fishes. And have a picnic, right?”
“Uhn, food,” she agreed. “Tum growl.”
“There, you see? I have a very important duty right now.”
“Where is the king?”
“There will be a night wake, I believe.”
“I see,” Jun mumbled and shrugged. “No, I suppose I can wait until tomorrow then.”
“Is it something important?”
Jun shook his head and motioned at Kiseki, who was tugging at Ohno’s robe because she wanted to go out finally.
“Do you want to accompany us? Kiseki it would be fun to go with Jun, right?”
“Like fishes?”
“If I like fishes, little princess?” Jun clarified, and she nodded with big eyes.
“The fishes the king chose for the second king are magnificent,” he agreed with a smile and Ohno was grinning happily at the praise.
Nino had taken a week to make the stream and the part around it for Ohno. He said it was because Ohno had taken so much time to create the little garden that he wanted to give something back. And the kois he had chosen were very beautiful. He liked sitting on the bridge over the stream with Kiseki on his lap, watching them and thinking of names for them. Or more likely, Kiseki would point at them randomly and babble words as to name them, which was utterly adorable.
“Jay-jay come,” she decided then, and Ohno chuckled as he nodded in agreement when Jun looked at him questioningly.
“I’m fine with it. And if you come you could carry the food while I carry the princess,” he said with a grin, because he knew that Jun would agree more easily if he thought he was helping Ohno in any way.
“Okay,” Jun agreed. “Why don’t you go there then and I go to the kitchens? Any wishes, princess?”
Kiseki’s face scrunched up, and she glanced at Ohno, before waving Jun closer so that she could whisper in his hear. “No, greens!”
Ohno snorted slightly and swung her somewhat from side to side. “You will eat your greens, Missy,” he scolded. “You know what papa says, right?”
Kiseki pouted slightly at the reminded and mumbled something that Ohno didn’t bother to decipher. Jun hid a smile and then winked at Kiseki.
“I will make sure the chef gives as little as possible.”
Kiseki’s face cleared slightly, and Ohno shook his head.
“Oh, if you see Masaki, tell him he could join us as well if he wants. Or does he has his rituals to follow tonight?”
Jun shook his head, and a small smile was on his face at the thought of their healer. “No, he follows the cycle of the new moon more than the full moon like the king. And even then he doesn’t do all as he also follows the new religion.”
“A complicated fellow. But then please call him. The more, the merrier, right Kiseki?”
“Unc too,” she agreed happily. “We play.” Then she looked at Ohno with a stern look. “Dada out. We go. Fishes wait.”
Ohno grinned at the scolding but nodded as he waved at Jun to carry Kiseki out finally and brought her to the stream. “Kiseki are you cold?” he asked with a grimace, as he realised he hadn’t brought an outer robe for the girl, while at the same time telling himself that it would be fine. It was not yet that chilly outside, and he was sure that Jun or Masaki would bring an outer robe if Nino hadn’t already made sure that she would be fine, to begin with.
“Nuhu,” Kiseki said wriggling in his arms to be let down. Ohno smiled and put her on her own two feet. She wobbled for a second, and he put a hand on her back so that she wouldn’t fall over until she steadied herself. She held to the sleeve of his robe as she led the way to her favourite spot.
“Papa spell.”
“So papa had already thought of all, then,” Ohno chuckled when she nodded with a sombre look on her face which just looked a bit comical on such a little girl.
“Papa warm. Papa kiss, here. Nighty-night,” she explained, pointing at her forehead and hair with a toothy grin and he hummed in understanding. If one of them had to be out when Kiseki would go to bed, they would make sure to tell her goodnight already and kiss her goodnight. She somehow always remembered even when she was still very little. But that made bedtime mostly hassle-free (besides the coming out of bed because of thirst or crankiness because she was too tired while at the same time saying she was not tired).
Kiseki plopped down on her knees as she reached the middle of the bridge, crawling closer to the edge. She held to the wooden rail to keep her from tumbling over and looked down.
Ohno smiled as he sat beside her and played with the loose strands of her hair. It had been in an elaborate up-do for most of the day, but Ohno could tell that Nino had pulled out all the pins already and just bound it with a thread. But that was never enough to hold her unruly hair in place for long.
“Dada Ru?” she asked and pointed at the sky. Ohno looked up and hummed slightly as he shook his head.
“No, it’s Kuu. He’s visiting your Papa and Niji. Yoru is either with your Papa or still hunting for tonight,” he explained as he recognised the giant dragon. “But Yoru is almost as big, ne?”
Kiseki nodded as she stared at the old God she knew from the stories of her Papa. She has not yet met him and was only used to Yoru and Niji.
“Ki meet?”
“Not tonight, my little princess.”
“Papa lone. No, Ki, Papa say. Ki young.”
“Yes, papa is alone with Niji and now Kuu,” Ohno repeated patiently. He knew that it was always hard to grasp for the girl when Nino would leave her behind. It was not as if Nino would be around Kiseki all the time, but it was very seldom that Nino outright told Kiseki she was not allowed to come and was always very curious about what he would do when she wasn’t there.
“And I’m sure Papa will take you when you are a bit older. If Papa said so ne?”
“Dada too?”
Ohno smiled and shook his head as he stroke a strand away from her eyes. “No only Kiseki and papa.”
She wrinkled her forehead since she didn’t quite get it, but he chuckled and looked up when they heard Jun and Masaki coming closer.
“Unc! Jay-jay.”
“Hey, little princess, have you been good to your papa?”
“Papa out,” she explained, and he nodded with a hum.
“And Kiseki is a good girl and won’t cry?” Aiba teased her, and she frowned before she nodded. She usually didn’t cry when one of her fathers weren’t with her after all.
“Then if you can eat your greens tonight for dinner, I have a surprise for you.”
“For Ki?”
“Yes, all for you,” he explained as he helped Jun to prepare a blanket and put the food out.
Ohno lifted an eyebrow at those words. He was not sure if he should allow that surprise or not. Aiba winked at him, and he decided to trust into the other man not to have brought something he or Nino would not be okay with.
“Dada food. Ki eat.”
“No, little princess. Before you can eat, we shall feed the fishes, right?”
Kiseki frowned at his words but then nodded in agreement, knowing fully well that both of her fathers always told her first to make sure the animals and others were fed as well. She got up on shaky legs again, grinning when Ohno helped her stand and then tugged at the small bag that Ohno had brought.
“Fish food,” she demanded.
He chuckled and opened the bag to allow her to take out the food for the fishes. He still held her carefully as she leant over the railing to empty her hands above the fishes, calling out some nonsense that Ohno thought was meant to be the prayer that Nino usually said over their meals. Ohno had started to use that saying as well as Nino wanted Kiseki to know that at least even if she decided not to follow his religion fully.
The three handfuls that Kiseki threw out would never be enough if it were the lone food of the fishes, but since they usually lived in the stream and would eat insects, it was more than sufficient this way.
“So now we can eat,” Ohno praised her and ruffled her hair, grinning when she held out her hands with a frown.
“Dada dirt.”
“Right, little princess. I’m sure we have a wet cloth over at the blanket.”
“I brought something to clean our hands before we eat,” Jun agreed when they arrived, and Kiseki walked over to show him her hands. She held still as he washed them thoroughly and then grinned as she kissed his cheek, saying thank you. She wandered over to her father, plopping down in front of him to lean against him as it was still a bit hard for her to sit straight for a more extended time.
Aiba chuckled and handed out the food that their cook had made for them. There was just a tiny frown on Kiseki’s face as she saw the vegetables on her plate, but she started eating them without too much of a complaint under the watchful eyes of the three adults who also ate in silence.
After they had finished their meal, Masaki made sure to say the prayers for after the meal and took care of the leftovers, before turning around and looking into a very hopeful and excited face of Kiseki.
“Eat greens,” she said a bit shyly.
“Yes, you were a very good girl,” he agreed, to which she grinned happily. Ohno chuckled and hugged her for a second before Aiba knelt in front of her. He opened the small bag he always carried around. He carefully pulled out a handmade kite, with beautifully pressed flowers and in the favourite colours of the girl. Kiseki’s eyes widened as she took it carefully.
“Your papa told me you wanted to have one to play with when you saw the children in the city play with it.”
“Uhn,” she whispered. “All Ki?”
“Yes, this is for you, little princess. I’m sure your fathers will help you to play with it, ne?”
“Dada fly?”
“Not tonight, Kiseki. But we can go out tomorrow all day, okay? It’s too late now, and we don’t want to lose it in the dark.”
Kiseki pouted for a second, but then she nodded in understanding. Ohno nudged her softly, and she looked up. “What should you say?”
“Oh. Unc Thank!” she cried out, putting the kite down beside her father, she jumped to her feet and hugged Aiba around the neck, kissing his cheek soundly. Aiba chuckled, and she went back to Ohno to snuggle against her father.
“Are you sleepy, little princess?”
“Ki no night,” she denied but yawned.
“Not even a tiny bit?” he asked and showed her a tiny space between thumb and his pointer finger. She frowned and then made an even smaller space.
“So much.”
“That’s really not much,” Ohno agreed. “But I think we still should go inside. We should put away your new kite.”
“Kite sleep?”
“I don’t know if kites sleep. But if it needs to fly tomorrow maybe it needs rest,” he agreed.
“Kite bed?”
“I don’t think they need to be in beds,” Ohno chuckled. “But maybe on your desk in our chambers.”
She frowned but then nodded as she carefully picked it up and hugged it to her chest.
“Dada carry. Please.”
“Okay, I can do that,” he agreed and looked at the other two.
“We’ll take care of the mess,” Jun promised, and Aiba nodded.
“After a bit more stargazing, I suppose?” Jun grinned and nodded in agreement.
“Okay. So tell your uncles goodnight, little princess.”
“Goodnight. Jay-jay, Unc,” she said, and Ohno hid a grin against her hair when Jun hit Aiba for giggling at the nickname.
Masaki was still grinning as he got up to his knees to kiss the top of her head and wished her a sincere goodnight. Jun followed suit, and as Ohno walked down the path to their chambers, the little girl had already fallen asleep before they even entered the castle. He sighed as this meant that there would be no bath tonight and grimaced at the thought of Nino scolding him the next morning, but he would take that when it came to that, he thought, as he carefully took off the robe from his daughter and put her into bed. He carefully took the Kite from her to put it down safely and settled down to write about that day.
Ohno had started a diary with short entries and drawings the day Kiseki had been born (honestly it had been two days later, but he had made sure to start at the first day Kiseki had come into their life). He wanted to share it with her when she was older and hoped that it would show her how much she meant to him and Nino. After all, she was their little miracle.
It was late when he opened the window to let Yoru in and frowned. “Aren’t you with Kazu?”
“He sent me,” Yoru replied with a grumble. “He told me to tell you to go to sleep.”
“He will stay out?”
Yoru nodded. “He wants to greet the morning light as well to complete the cycle.”
Ohno nodded with a hum. “Will you go back to him to look after him?”
“Niji does. I was told to guard the little princess and his lover.”
Ohno chuckled but nodded without a fight as he stretched. He left the window open so that Yoru could decide where he wanted to stay during the night as he got ready for the night. He climbed under the covers beside Kiseki who babbled in her sleep and kissed her forehead, humming low in his throat to make sure she stayed asleep as he settled down for the night.
He knew better than to argue with a dragon about an order from their king and even if Yoru listened rather to him than to Nino Nino would just send Niji and Niji tended to glare at him if he was not at Nino’s side and he could sleep better without that.
Ohno petted Yoru’s head as the dragon settled on top of his chest and fell to sleep.
A/N: Okay, I’m going to end this chapter here. It was supposed to be the last, but at this rate, it will just blow up. Sorry to everybody who hoped I would write the ceremony of them showing Kiseki to their people but I didn’t really feel comfortable writing that. And sorry for the lack of Nino
Ohno smiled as he watched Kiseki waddling over to him and held open his arms for the little girl. “Dada!” she cried as she collided against his knee. “Up!”
“As you wish, little princess,” he allowed and picked her up to put her on his lap. He hugged her tightly and then tickled her slightly when she started to wriggle in his arms.
“Dada stop!” she demanded, and he grinned as he tickled her a bit longer, catching her before she could slip down.
“Where is your papa, Kiseki?”
“Papa out.”
“Ooh, is papa praying?”
She nodded and pouted slightly. “Ki no.”
Ohno nodded in understanding. Usually, Nino allowed their daughter to accompany him all the time to stay at his side during his prayers or if he spent time out in his garden. It didn’t matter what time or what the weather was. Ohno had been worried first, but Ohno allowed him to come as often as he wanted as well. (As long as Nino didn’t explicitly tell him that he wanted to be alone for the day. But then he wouldn’t take Kiseki as well.) That had helped Ohno to realise that with Niji and Yoru, Nino had his ways to make sure that Kiseki was warm and wouldn’t wander off.
“Tonight is the full moon. Some kind of special moon or something like that…” Ohno mumbled. He couldn’t remember fully. But he knew that Nino would be back late and that that particular moon meant that he would be fully immersed and couldn’t look after Kiseki and making sure she was safe and warm. “Your Papa will be out late. Way after your bedtime, so you have to be content with me,” he teased her.
Kiseki giggled and babbled something that didn’t make any sense to Ohno, but he tickled her again, grinning when she squealed in happiness.
“Dada work?”
“I just finished working. So we can play something. Do you have any preferences?”
“Fish look?”
“Of course. And we can feed them, okay?”
Kiseki nodded and put her arms around Ohno’s neck so that he could pick her up. He carried her out of the room, singing a children’s rhyme with Kiseki as she started the song she learnt just a few days ago from Jun.
He brought her to the kitchen, deciding that if they went to feed the fishes, they could also have dinner outside. That way, he would not need to clean his chambers but just needed to put Kiseki into the tub later that night.
“Jay-jay,” Kiseki cheered when she saw the knight coming around the corner.
Jun grimaced slightly at the nickname that Nino had talked Kiseki into using. Ohno knew that the other didn’t really like that nickname, but couldn’t be angry at Kiseki (and Ohno was sure that he liked it secretly).
“My princess,” Jun said with a small chuckle after he had overcome his surprise at seeing them. He dropped to a bow, smiling when Kiseki clapped her hands and giggled at his antics since she didn’t understand the meaning. “Second king.”
“Stop it with that,” Ohno snorted. “Did you need me for something? Because I was about to take Kiseki out to the stream to watch and feed the fishes. And have a picnic, right?”
“Uhn, food,” she agreed. “Tum growl.”
“There, you see? I have a very important duty right now.”
“Where is the king?”
“There will be a night wake, I believe.”
“I see,” Jun mumbled and shrugged. “No, I suppose I can wait until tomorrow then.”
“Is it something important?”
Jun shook his head and motioned at Kiseki, who was tugging at Ohno’s robe because she wanted to go out finally.
“Do you want to accompany us? Kiseki it would be fun to go with Jun, right?”
“Like fishes?”
“If I like fishes, little princess?” Jun clarified, and she nodded with big eyes.
“The fishes the king chose for the second king are magnificent,” he agreed with a smile and Ohno was grinning happily at the praise.
Nino had taken a week to make the stream and the part around it for Ohno. He said it was because Ohno had taken so much time to create the little garden that he wanted to give something back. And the kois he had chosen were very beautiful. He liked sitting on the bridge over the stream with Kiseki on his lap, watching them and thinking of names for them. Or more likely, Kiseki would point at them randomly and babble words as to name them, which was utterly adorable.
“Jay-jay come,” she decided then, and Ohno chuckled as he nodded in agreement when Jun looked at him questioningly.
“I’m fine with it. And if you come you could carry the food while I carry the princess,” he said with a grin, because he knew that Jun would agree more easily if he thought he was helping Ohno in any way.
“Okay,” Jun agreed. “Why don’t you go there then and I go to the kitchens? Any wishes, princess?”
Kiseki’s face scrunched up, and she glanced at Ohno, before waving Jun closer so that she could whisper in his hear. “No, greens!”
Ohno snorted slightly and swung her somewhat from side to side. “You will eat your greens, Missy,” he scolded. “You know what papa says, right?”
Kiseki pouted slightly at the reminded and mumbled something that Ohno didn’t bother to decipher. Jun hid a smile and then winked at Kiseki.
“I will make sure the chef gives as little as possible.”
Kiseki’s face cleared slightly, and Ohno shook his head.
“Oh, if you see Masaki, tell him he could join us as well if he wants. Or does he has his rituals to follow tonight?”
Jun shook his head, and a small smile was on his face at the thought of their healer. “No, he follows the cycle of the new moon more than the full moon like the king. And even then he doesn’t do all as he also follows the new religion.”
“A complicated fellow. But then please call him. The more, the merrier, right Kiseki?”
“Unc too,” she agreed happily. “We play.” Then she looked at Ohno with a stern look. “Dada out. We go. Fishes wait.”
Ohno grinned at the scolding but nodded as he waved at Jun to carry Kiseki out finally and brought her to the stream. “Kiseki are you cold?” he asked with a grimace, as he realised he hadn’t brought an outer robe for the girl, while at the same time telling himself that it would be fine. It was not yet that chilly outside, and he was sure that Jun or Masaki would bring an outer robe if Nino hadn’t already made sure that she would be fine, to begin with.
“Nuhu,” Kiseki said wriggling in his arms to be let down. Ohno smiled and put her on her own two feet. She wobbled for a second, and he put a hand on her back so that she wouldn’t fall over until she steadied herself. She held to the sleeve of his robe as she led the way to her favourite spot.
“Papa spell.”
“So papa had already thought of all, then,” Ohno chuckled when she nodded with a sombre look on her face which just looked a bit comical on such a little girl.
“Papa warm. Papa kiss, here. Nighty-night,” she explained, pointing at her forehead and hair with a toothy grin and he hummed in understanding. If one of them had to be out when Kiseki would go to bed, they would make sure to tell her goodnight already and kiss her goodnight. She somehow always remembered even when she was still very little. But that made bedtime mostly hassle-free (besides the coming out of bed because of thirst or crankiness because she was too tired while at the same time saying she was not tired).
Kiseki plopped down on her knees as she reached the middle of the bridge, crawling closer to the edge. She held to the wooden rail to keep her from tumbling over and looked down.
Ohno smiled as he sat beside her and played with the loose strands of her hair. It had been in an elaborate up-do for most of the day, but Ohno could tell that Nino had pulled out all the pins already and just bound it with a thread. But that was never enough to hold her unruly hair in place for long.
“Dada Ru?” she asked and pointed at the sky. Ohno looked up and hummed slightly as he shook his head.
“No, it’s Kuu. He’s visiting your Papa and Niji. Yoru is either with your Papa or still hunting for tonight,” he explained as he recognised the giant dragon. “But Yoru is almost as big, ne?”
Kiseki nodded as she stared at the old God she knew from the stories of her Papa. She has not yet met him and was only used to Yoru and Niji.
“Ki meet?”
“Not tonight, my little princess.”
“Papa lone. No, Ki, Papa say. Ki young.”
“Yes, papa is alone with Niji and now Kuu,” Ohno repeated patiently. He knew that it was always hard to grasp for the girl when Nino would leave her behind. It was not as if Nino would be around Kiseki all the time, but it was very seldom that Nino outright told Kiseki she was not allowed to come and was always very curious about what he would do when she wasn’t there.
“And I’m sure Papa will take you when you are a bit older. If Papa said so ne?”
“Dada too?”
Ohno smiled and shook his head as he stroke a strand away from her eyes. “No only Kiseki and papa.”
She wrinkled her forehead since she didn’t quite get it, but he chuckled and looked up when they heard Jun and Masaki coming closer.
“Unc! Jay-jay.”
“Hey, little princess, have you been good to your papa?”
“Papa out,” she explained, and he nodded with a hum.
“And Kiseki is a good girl and won’t cry?” Aiba teased her, and she frowned before she nodded. She usually didn’t cry when one of her fathers weren’t with her after all.
“Then if you can eat your greens tonight for dinner, I have a surprise for you.”
“For Ki?”
“Yes, all for you,” he explained as he helped Jun to prepare a blanket and put the food out.
Ohno lifted an eyebrow at those words. He was not sure if he should allow that surprise or not. Aiba winked at him, and he decided to trust into the other man not to have brought something he or Nino would not be okay with.
“Dada food. Ki eat.”
“No, little princess. Before you can eat, we shall feed the fishes, right?”
Kiseki frowned at his words but then nodded in agreement, knowing fully well that both of her fathers always told her first to make sure the animals and others were fed as well. She got up on shaky legs again, grinning when Ohno helped her stand and then tugged at the small bag that Ohno had brought.
“Fish food,” she demanded.
He chuckled and opened the bag to allow her to take out the food for the fishes. He still held her carefully as she leant over the railing to empty her hands above the fishes, calling out some nonsense that Ohno thought was meant to be the prayer that Nino usually said over their meals. Ohno had started to use that saying as well as Nino wanted Kiseki to know that at least even if she decided not to follow his religion fully.
The three handfuls that Kiseki threw out would never be enough if it were the lone food of the fishes, but since they usually lived in the stream and would eat insects, it was more than sufficient this way.
“So now we can eat,” Ohno praised her and ruffled her hair, grinning when she held out her hands with a frown.
“Dada dirt.”
“Right, little princess. I’m sure we have a wet cloth over at the blanket.”
“I brought something to clean our hands before we eat,” Jun agreed when they arrived, and Kiseki walked over to show him her hands. She held still as he washed them thoroughly and then grinned as she kissed his cheek, saying thank you. She wandered over to her father, plopping down in front of him to lean against him as it was still a bit hard for her to sit straight for a more extended time.
Aiba chuckled and handed out the food that their cook had made for them. There was just a tiny frown on Kiseki’s face as she saw the vegetables on her plate, but she started eating them without too much of a complaint under the watchful eyes of the three adults who also ate in silence.
After they had finished their meal, Masaki made sure to say the prayers for after the meal and took care of the leftovers, before turning around and looking into a very hopeful and excited face of Kiseki.
“Eat greens,” she said a bit shyly.
“Yes, you were a very good girl,” he agreed, to which she grinned happily. Ohno chuckled and hugged her for a second before Aiba knelt in front of her. He opened the small bag he always carried around. He carefully pulled out a handmade kite, with beautifully pressed flowers and in the favourite colours of the girl. Kiseki’s eyes widened as she took it carefully.
“Your papa told me you wanted to have one to play with when you saw the children in the city play with it.”
“Uhn,” she whispered. “All Ki?”
“Yes, this is for you, little princess. I’m sure your fathers will help you to play with it, ne?”
“Dada fly?”
“Not tonight, Kiseki. But we can go out tomorrow all day, okay? It’s too late now, and we don’t want to lose it in the dark.”
Kiseki pouted for a second, but then she nodded in understanding. Ohno nudged her softly, and she looked up. “What should you say?”
“Oh. Unc Thank!” she cried out, putting the kite down beside her father, she jumped to her feet and hugged Aiba around the neck, kissing his cheek soundly. Aiba chuckled, and she went back to Ohno to snuggle against her father.
“Are you sleepy, little princess?”
“Ki no night,” she denied but yawned.
“Not even a tiny bit?” he asked and showed her a tiny space between thumb and his pointer finger. She frowned and then made an even smaller space.
“So much.”
“That’s really not much,” Ohno agreed. “But I think we still should go inside. We should put away your new kite.”
“Kite sleep?”
“I don’t know if kites sleep. But if it needs to fly tomorrow maybe it needs rest,” he agreed.
“Kite bed?”
“I don’t think they need to be in beds,” Ohno chuckled. “But maybe on your desk in our chambers.”
She frowned but then nodded as she carefully picked it up and hugged it to her chest.
“Dada carry. Please.”
“Okay, I can do that,” he agreed and looked at the other two.
“We’ll take care of the mess,” Jun promised, and Aiba nodded.
“After a bit more stargazing, I suppose?” Jun grinned and nodded in agreement.
“Okay. So tell your uncles goodnight, little princess.”
“Goodnight. Jay-jay, Unc,” she said, and Ohno hid a grin against her hair when Jun hit Aiba for giggling at the nickname.
Masaki was still grinning as he got up to his knees to kiss the top of her head and wished her a sincere goodnight. Jun followed suit, and as Ohno walked down the path to their chambers, the little girl had already fallen asleep before they even entered the castle. He sighed as this meant that there would be no bath tonight and grimaced at the thought of Nino scolding him the next morning, but he would take that when it came to that, he thought, as he carefully took off the robe from his daughter and put her into bed. He carefully took the Kite from her to put it down safely and settled down to write about that day.
Ohno had started a diary with short entries and drawings the day Kiseki had been born (honestly it had been two days later, but he had made sure to start at the first day Kiseki had come into their life). He wanted to share it with her when she was older and hoped that it would show her how much she meant to him and Nino. After all, she was their little miracle.
It was late when he opened the window to let Yoru in and frowned. “Aren’t you with Kazu?”
“He sent me,” Yoru replied with a grumble. “He told me to tell you to go to sleep.”
“He will stay out?”
Yoru nodded. “He wants to greet the morning light as well to complete the cycle.”
Ohno nodded with a hum. “Will you go back to him to look after him?”
“Niji does. I was told to guard the little princess and his lover.”
Ohno chuckled but nodded without a fight as he stretched. He left the window open so that Yoru could decide where he wanted to stay during the night as he got ready for the night. He climbed under the covers beside Kiseki who babbled in her sleep and kissed her forehead, humming low in his throat to make sure she stayed asleep as he settled down for the night.
He knew better than to argue with a dragon about an order from their king and even if Yoru listened rather to him than to Nino Nino would just send Niji and Niji tended to glare at him if he was not at Nino’s side and he could sleep better without that.
Ohno petted Yoru’s head as the dragon settled on top of his chest and fell to sleep.
A/N: Okay, I’m going to end this chapter here. It was supposed to be the last, but at this rate, it will just blow up. Sorry to everybody who hoped I would write the ceremony of them showing Kiseki to their people but I didn’t really feel comfortable writing that. And sorry for the lack of Nino