"Babies!" someone yelled.
Tsume looked up in confusion and for the first time in a while, he actually let his surprise shine through.
"Mother..." he said, wide eyed.
"Hello, Tsume."
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to see my grandchildren." She said, getting on her knees beside her son. "I haven't been properly introduced to them."
"Uh... well... this is Satuya and the girl is Kisola."
"Such strong names. Warrior names."
Tsume smiled a little as he struggled to hold up Satuya and pat his back to make him burp. He had to be sitting up to hold him and all the movement was just making things more difficult.
"Here, may I?" Chekome asked, holding out her hands.
Tsume, apprehensive from the last time they had met, took his son from his shoulder and handed him to his mother.
Chekome felt a rush of love flow from her and into the child, so it seemed, as she stared at her grandson for the first time. He was a beautiful boy and although he had strange eyes, he was as beautiful to her as when Tsume was born. She put him on her shoulder and began to pat his back, rocking back and forth a little.
"I saw Takuma leaving. He seemed distraught. Whatever did you say to him?" she asked.
"Nothing I wouldn't have usually said."
"He was quite upset about something."
"As I'm sure he is all the time as of late."
Chekome looked at Inoue, who rolled her eyes, and Tsume coughed. He grabbed his stomach in agony and tried to catch his breath from the sudden movement. Chekome put her hand on his shoulder.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine... When Kisola has fed, can you both please leave? I'm in a lot of pain sitting up like this and would like to have some rest."
"Oh, but I just got here, Tsume." Chekome said with a frown.
"Take the baby with you then." He growled, scooting back down into the bed.
The women nodded and took the children out of the room.

**********************

"I think I will show you to Yuko. He'll be so proud of a strong boy like you." Chekome said to Satuya as she held him up in the air, looking up at him. "I know he will, yes sir..."
"Lady Chekome?"
"Yes, Inoue?"
"There's no way to get Master Yukorite to let Tsume stay, is there?"
"No, I'm afraid not. It was hard enough to let Tsume stay for a week or two for recovery. He's had his mind set on it. Why?"
"Well, I just don't want to see the little dears go. I mean, they need to be fed..."
"Tsume will do whatever he has to to feed his children. I'm sure he'd even drink that silly potion and feed them himself if he had to."
Inoue nodded as she fixed her haori back into a proper position, putting Kisola on her shoulder.
"It's been nice to have babies around the village." Chekome said with a coo to Satuya, who was giggling at her. "Especially my grandchildren."
"Chekome." She looked behind her and saw Yukorite staring at her.
She got up, carrying Satuya with her.
"Yes, dear husband?" she said a little sarcastically.
"Why have you brought this disgrace into our home?"
"This isn't a disgrace, it's a baby. Your grandson."
"I have no son and so I have no grandson."
"You have a heart of pure ice, my love." Chekome growled as she turned Satuya around. "Hold the baby."
"I don't want to touch that thing."
"Hold the baby." Chekome hissed.
"I'm not touching it."
Chekome made a face and then smiled, turning around and leaning on her husband.
"Oh, sweet, loving husband of mine. If you will just hold this doe eyed babe... you might get something in return." Yukorite's body went rigid and Chekome smiled, rubbing her back up and down his torso. "This baby is making me think of seeing about another one. But I need a husband to do that, don't I? If only I had one who would do the simple task of holding a tiny, innocent baby."
"You are testing me, woman... Give me the child."
Chekome smirked and turned around, handing the baby to Yukorite. He took the baby and held Satuya out where he gathered him from, which was at arm's length. Chekome rolled her eyes and pushed her husband's arms in and laid Satuya in his cradled arms.
"There... I'm off for sake. Have fun."
"Wait! Chekome-" But his wife was long gone, taking Inoue with her.
Yukorite was stuck with a baby he didn't want and looked down at Satuya, who was staring at him intently.
"You're an ugly thing... Blue eyed monster... No one in our family has blue eyes so you must be something different. But what, I wonder..."
Satuya giggled and Yukorite, despite himself, had to smile.

*******************

Tsume woke up sometime later and picked himself up off the floor to walk to the window. He fiddled with the lock but finally got it open and looked outside. It felt good to feel the sun on his face and he watched as some clouds floated by lazily in the sky. He just leaned on the window sill when he saw his father walking around outside. He debated on pulling back in but he had a right to look at the sky if he wanted to and his father could not make him go back in. In defiance, he watched his father. As he watched him, he noticed that he was holding something and seemed to be talking to it. Squinting, Tsume saw that it was Satuya that his father was holding.
Tsume was glad no one was there to see his shock. He would have never in a million years thought he would see his father holding one of his children. Not to mention seeing him being so civil to it. Yukorite looked like he was actually liking holding Satuya in his arms and from the way he was acting, it looked like he was 'showing' him the grounds. Even though he knew his father couldn't see him, Tsume was sure his father would have felt watched. He wasn't the master of the Kayoshi for nothing... Tsume sat on the window sill, watching with a little bit of jealously as his father showed his son around so tenderly.

*****************

"And here, we have the koi pond. Your father used to fall in this thing all the time and I would have to pull him out. He was always a curious boy, your father." Yukorite said to Satuya, who was sucking on his hand. "If you were born of any other circumstances, I would be quite proud of you but... you're a monster, child. I don't know if it was you or your sister, but I was there that night and saw what happened to Tsume. His stomach glowed from the inside and illuminated his stomach. It's witchcraft, devilry..."
As if on cue, Satuya's skin began to glow a little. It freaked Yukorite out and he absentmindedly let go of Satuya. Lucky for him and for Tsume's sake, who was watching, he quickly caught the child but the jolt made Satuya cry and Yukorite tried to comfort him.
"Give me my baby." Tsume snarled from behind his father.
Yukorite turned as Tsume held out his hands.
"Give him to me. I saw what you did."
Yukorite handed his grandson to his son as Tsume swaddled Satuya in the blanket he had brought.
"He surprised me."
"A ninja is never surprised, Father. You taught me that." Tsume said with a growl. "Apparently, a ninja does not know how to hold a child."
"I was not holding a child; I was holding a monster."
Tsume was on Yukorite within a second, a small blade touching his father's neck.
"I suggest you choose your words wisely while I am around."
"You seem in pretty good spirits."
"I am in a lot of pain but seeing you almost drop my child brings me to a higher strength than I could have ever mustered."
Tsume turned on his heels and took Satuya back to his room.
When he got there, he almost dropped his own child, the pain radiating tenfold through his body. He gently set his son down on the futon as Tsume held his stomach, trying not to vomit from all the pain. He knew he had moved as quickly as he used to too soon and had ripped open the stitching. He laid down beside Satuya and pulled his hand from his stomach, seeing blood.
"Shit." He said, putting his hand back to cover the open wound.