Northstar Vale You'll Need a Little Pair of Feet

In the days that had passed since the meeting, he had difficulty being near to Reiko. She was... distant from him, more than he had ever felt before, and there was a sudden loneliness. Yes, he had acted brashly. Yes, he had hit her before. But he only did it because he loved her, and could not bear to see her and other men endanger the domestic life they could have together. Even he was subduing his old ways- hadn't even forced himself onto a woman since the kids were born. If he was making these sacrifices to maintain a happy family, so could she- by learning to love him, rather than encouraging the broken home that seemed to be developing. He would not have it- these children needed a happy family, at least in their perspective- they ought to see their parents, in love. The fighting could be kept behind closed doors, when the children could not see. 

But ever since that day he had hesitated to approach her, nervous to see her when she awakened, lest she be the bitch he did not want to talk to. At nights he would creep from his nearby den (for he would not crowd the room where she and the kids slept) towards hers, just peeking inside to let his gaze find them. Sumi. Haruki. Hotaru. At this age they all looked painfully similar, but he made an effort to tell them apart, and as their names drifted through his mind his heart would swell. Father. They were his, he could not see another truth- and his heart was tied too tightly to them to accept that they might not be blood. God forbid he find one to be Yuudai's, after thinking it his all along- his heart might break, might lash out in anger; unpredictable. He did not want to see what evil that day might conjure in him. 

Though he feared to see how she might treat him, today he gathered his confidence and headed to the den. Only to be stopped at the entrance by the most adorable little puff marshmallow cloud baby with a little bit of mud he'd ever seen. Sumi was darling, and he leaned towards her, genuine smile naturally marking his face as he fought tears. She was walking, and seeing- and until he arrived the light seemed to dazzle her, as big blue eyes stared out with wonder from a tiny face. The emperor placed a kiss upon her button nose, and then craned his neck into the den, finding his son and other daughter playing, his son especially barking up a racket. He chuckled warmly, and then lifted Sumi gently by her nape, placing her back within the den beside her siblings before entering. Learning to command the masses, son? Takeshi laughed in response to the chatter that Haruki had been making, laying himself leisurely on the earth beside the trio to supervise them.