Chapter Text
Takashi’s things had been delivered the day after Matoba had first dropped him off at the house. The man hadn’t stayed for long. Just dropped off some food and promised that he would be periodically checking in on him.
Takashi hadn’t left or gone outside since then. He was too worried about something happening to the egg if he left with it. He also didn’t want to know if Matoba or his shiki would do something to the egg if he left it at home. So… he stayed inside.
Takashi kept the egg with him at all times. He liked to keep it tucked safely in the nice pockets he’d sewn onto the insides of his robes. He was constantly touching it and admiring its warmth as he went about his days cleaning the house and finding food. Nothing too strenuous because he didn’t want to accidentally squish the egg.
Sometimes he would feel it move and Takashi would freeze before gently rubbing the pocket where the egg rested. When he slept, the egg was wrapped in several layers of cloth that he’d scrounged together and placed beside his head where he wouldn’t accidentally knock into it in his sleep.
It was on the sixth day that it happened.
Takashi was having pleasant dreams of visiting Madara and Hinoe. Of course, their fun was spoiled when Matoba’s shiki showed up and took him away. He startled himself awake when his dream-self had its arm snapped.
He woke up in a cold sweat as he looked down at his arm. It was twisted in the blankets but otherwise perfectly normal. He marveled at how real the cracking sound was before there was another.
Startled, the young man looked around the room frantically before his gaze settled on the bundled egg. His eyes widened in realization as he knelt down in front of it excitedly.
Finally, his long days of waiting were over. He was going to finally see the bird inside of the egg. He hoped that it would stay with him when it was fully grown.
Takashi pulled the blankets away to reveal the warm egg as it shivered from within. It gave a few more twitches and the small crack widened significantly before there was a flash of light.
When he blinked the stars out of his eyes he looked down and found the tiniest child he had ever seen. With a sudden clarity, Takashi realized he’d successfully hatched a spirit.
“Uh-oh.”
The child looked up at him and smiled. Its blond hair, pale skin, and even golden eyes were echoes of Takashi’s appearance.
The genuine happiness melted Takashi’s heart as he scooped up the newborn. He noticed tiny antlers growing from the child’s head as he covered him with a cloth to stop his slight shivering.
“Let’s get you something to wear.” Takashi had grown so used to the quiet that his voice slightly startled him, but that was okay. Now he had someone to talk to.
He let the child wander around behind him wrapped in the cloth as he skillfully made some tiny robes. After he finished the first one he turned around to dress the baby.
Only to find he was missing.
With a gasp, Takashi searched the room and found the small child curled up in Takashi’s bedding. With a sigh of relief, the young man set the robe aside and began working on a few more.
After he’d made five of them, his fingers started to hurt and he began to make careless mistakes. Deciding he’d made enough for now, Takashi packed up his supplies and stored them out of the child’s reach.
He carefully crawled into his bedding next to the boy and observed him as he slept. A fond smile stole over Takashi’s face as he watched the baby’s small chest rise and fall. He would raise this child until he decided to leave, Takashi resolved.
He’d have to hide him away from Matoba… at least until he grew up a bit.
Takashi observed his new charge and smoothed the hair from his face.
“You need a name.” Takashi announced. “But what to call you?”
The baby mumbled in his sleep as he was disturbed, but gave a soft sigh when Takashi’s hand petted over the top of his head.
The young man hummed quietly in thought. “I could call you eggy… but I don’t think that sounds like a very nice name.” Takashi absentmindedly rubbed the child’s head as he thought. “Perhaps something that has to do with how small you are?”
Takashi shook his head in dismissal. “No. What if you grow up to be humongous?” Takashi chuckled softly at the image of a giant version of this small being cuddled next to him.
At the sound of his laughter, the baby smiled and snuggled further into Takashi’s warmth.
How precious. Takashi thought, before it hit him. “How about… Tama?” The baby hummed happily at the sound of Takashi’s voice which he could feel vibrate in the young man’s chest because of their proximity.
Taking the child’s reaction as consent, Takashi tucked the child closer to his chest. “Very well. Good night, Tama.”
_____
Takashi awoke to feel something poking insistently at his face. Wrinkling his brow, he sat up with a yawn. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Takashi looked down blearily and found Tama dressed in the robes he’d made for him last night.
“Figured out how to put them on yourself, did you?” Takashi asked. Tama puffed out his chest proudly which caused his robes to fall slightly.
The young man gave a fond laugh before he tied the robe more securely around the child’s waist. “There. Now it shouldn’t fall when you move.”
Patting the new knot, Tama observed its intricate design. He took a few steps, and it became clear that he’d tripped quite a bit before he had awakened Takashi.
The young man noticed scuffs on the child’s hands as Tama carefully stepped forward. When he didn’t fall, he toddled a little faster before he made his way back to Takashi.
The blond felt a slight pressure as Tama hugged him with gratitude. “I’m glad you like it.”
The child’s stomach rumbled and Takashi decided it was time for breakfast. “Alright, Tama. Let’s get you something to eat.”
_____
Not knowing quite what to give the boy, Takashi settled on making a fruity paste. He’d plucked some wild Akebia during his stay here from one of the trees outside of his porch. He was thankful that Hinoe had shown him the plants around where he’d lived and how to identify them. He carefully crushed one of the fruit’s skin until it was simply mush before he took his only spoon and offered some to Tama.
The child, without any hesitation, leaned forward and bit the spoon. He considered its flavor as he chewed before swallowing and opening his mouth for more. Takashi smiled as he prepared another bite.
Tama’s meal disappeared quickly and he appeared satisfied as he patted his tiny tummy.
“Was it good?” Takashi asked as he gently wiped the child’s mouth with a clean, damp cloth.
Tama nodded happily as he toddled back to Takashi’s lap and latched onto the fabric over his chest.
“You want to go back inside of the pocket?” he guessed. Takashi felt Tama nod his head, the antler tickling his chest through his robes.
The young man hummed as he picked the child up and tried to place him in his pocket. Tama barely fit, but he seemed to settle in rather quickly.
Takashi kept himself from hugging Tama, afraid that his powerful emotions would make him accidentally squeeze too hard.
The young man chose to do some light reading until Tama woke up. He didn’t own many books, and the ones he did have were children’s stories that the Tanumas had gifted him with when they’d taught him how to read.
He noticed in the back of his mind, that the sun was climbing higher in the sky as the shadows shortened on the ground outside. They had begun growing again when Tama stirred.
He finished the sentence he was reading before he asked, “Finally awake again?”
Tama hummed as he rubbed his tired eyes. He gave a yawn before smiling blearily up at Takashi’s face. He looked down and noticed the book Takashi was holding. There was an intricate picture covering an entire page that depicted a happy looking dragon as it flew beside some birds.
“Un?” Tama pointed curiously at the picture.
Takashi followed the tiny finger to the image and guessed what he was being asked. “That’s Ryuuko. She is happy because she learned how to fly.” He explained.
Tama hummed as he stared at the picture some more. In the next moment, he was wriggling as he tried to escape the pocket he was nestled in.
Takashi gently helped him out and set him on the ground. Tama wandered around the room before he opened up one of the other books. He struggled with its weight, but seemed determined to accomplish his goal.
Takashi smiled as he looked down and pretended to read. He watched Tama as the child crawled over the book and stood at the top of it. He lifted the (much lighter than the cover) pages until he found one that had a picture. Realizing he was seeing it upside down, Tama shuffled around to the other side of the book.
The picture here was of a fierce dragon breathing fire onto a man in a suit of armor. In its claws was a terrified woman. Tama turned and pointed at the picture after he’d waved to get Takashi’s attention.
“That’s the story of a brave knight. He kills the evil dragon and saves the princess. But I don’t really like that story. It doesn’t say why the dragon kidnapped those girls and ate them. There were probably other things it could have eaten.” Takashi scooted across the small distance between them to place his book over the other one.
“This one is much better. It’s all about a baby dragon who dreams of flying and in the end, she does. No one gets hurt.”
Tama traced his tiny finger over the image in admiration. Takashi watched as the child flipped to the next page to discover the dragon sleeping with the birds on top of it. The baby giggled at the sight before he looked up at Takashi in admiration.
“See? This book is much better.”
Tama continued to watch him before his tummy grumbled again.
“Hungry already? All you did was sleep!” Takashi chuckled as he scooped up the child and deposited him in his pocket once more.
“Alright, let’s get you some more.”
Takashi could have sworn that Tama fit inside of his pocket a little more earlier.
_____
Tama grew at an alarming rate right before Takashi’s eyes. The poor, young man already had to make several new outfits for the child. It had been four days since Tama had hatched, and Takashi had never been more relieved to not receive any visitors. Spirit or otherwise.
Tama tugged on the robe tied around Takashi’s waist as the young man made them breakfast. Some eggs and a fish he’d caught in the nearby stream sizzled over the stove in a pan.
“What, Tama?”
The child reached up. He’d been wanting Takashi to hold him and carry him constantly. But he was getting too heavy to carry around with him everywhere. He rubbed the top of the boy’s head fondly as he told him as much.
Tama didn’t seem to appreciate the thought very much as his brow wrinkled. His lower lip quivered and Takashi turned off the stove to give Tama his full attention.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uuh. Uhh.” Tama’s eyes began to glisten as he continued to reach up for Takashi and continued to whine pitifully.
The young man sighed, “You want up?”
“Uhh… uhh.” Tama grew quieter as Takashi bent over to pick him up.
“You’re going to have to hang on to my shoulders because we need to eat and breakfast isn’t ready yet. Okay?”
Tama hummed in agreement before Takashi transferred him to his back.
“Are you good back there?”
Another hum in agreement and Takashi turned the stove back on. As the fish sizzled once more, Takashi felt Tama lean forward to try and see what was happening. The child’s breath was loud in his ear as he watched the fish cook as well.
“Lean back, Tama. I don’t want you to fall.”
The child huffed before he relaxed to have a better grip on Takashi’s shoulders. Sighing with relief, Takashi finished cooking the fish before he wiped out the pan and cooked the eggs.
He split the meal in half, Tama needed to eat quite a bit in order to keep up with his continuous growth spurts. He served some more fruits he’d collected alongside of it and their breakfast was ready.
Takashi still fed Tama, but was encouraging him to use the spoon himself. It was getting faster each day to feed the both of them and already they were falling into a routine.
After breakfast, Takashi sat Tama down in the main living area with a few picture books and cleaned the house. He wanted to try cleaning the floors today. So, with a burst of motivation, Takashi gathered the supplies and began to clean the floor.
Tama watched him as he passed back and forth in front of the door. He had to tell the child many times to stay in the room so he wouldn’t leave footprints on the newly cleaned floor as it dried.
Tama grudgingly obeyed.
Takashi scrubbed at the floors until one of them moved. Alarmed, Takashi grabbed it to put it back into place. When he did, he noticed that there was a small hidden compartment underneath.
Curious, Takashi lifted the piece of flooring and discovered several books. Odd that they would be here of all places.
He carefully pulled each one out and toted them to his room to inspect later. None of them really caught his eyes. They all seemed rather boring and nondescript.
He finished cleaning and looked after Tama some more. Before he knew it, the sun had set again and the day was over. Still no visitors.
Takashi tucked the small child into the bedding and gave his hair a few quick, soothing pets before he saw the books nearby and remembered that he’d wanted to investigate them.
He opened the books one by one and discovered that each one was far more complex than anything he was used to reading.
He set them aside rather quickly before he reached the next to last one in the pile. It was in the spirit language. “The Book of Friends”… curious.
He flipped it open and found a bunch of names, each one on its own sheet of paper. Shrugging, he closed it before moving on to the last book.
It was a photo album. He hesitantly flipped it open to reveal strangers that slightly resembled him in one way or another. He flipped through the pages quickly and it was only in the last two pages did he find pictures of a man who looked incredibly like him holding a small child that looked like Tama.
He supposed that was him and possibly his father. Takashi traced the man’s face before frowning when no sudden memories struck him. Sighing in defeat, Takashi closed the album and crawled into bed beside Tama. He decided he would find somewhere for the new books when he woke up the next day.