Chapter 8 – A Blessing in Disguise

 The next day came rather quickly as Kumatora woke up a bit later than she normally did, still hurting a bit from the delivery. Just because she was still sore didn’t stop her from getting out of bed to check on Clara, who was still sound asleep. Compared to how the “princess” was feeling at least 24 hours ago, she felt a lot better; at least she could move again. However, even using PSI Life Up or Healing didn’t help with the fatigue and soreness.

“What are you doing out of bed?” Duster asked as he came into the room and saw Kumatora standing by the cradle. “Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“I’m fine. I just wanted to make sure the baby was okay,” she responded.

“She’s all right. Clara was fussing a bit earlier but I took care of it since you were still asleep.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Do you want anything while you’re awake?”

“No, I’m good. How’s your wrist?”

“It’s all right. A bit bruised but I’ve been through worse. You have one strong grip. No wonder you were able to take down so many chimeras and Pigmasks with only your fists.”

Kumatora couldn’t help but blush at what he had said. Usually she could take a compliment quite easily but hearing it from him made the “princess” feel special. It was probably because her feeling towards the thief had changed to love over the past several months. 

“Is it just me or is she the reason we’re so close now?” she asked, leaning against the wall.

“I think Clara is just partially the reason I was able to tell you how I really felt,” Duster stated. “Then again, I probably would have told you one way or another. Maybe being able to help get rid of the Ultimate Chimera gave me the courage to admit it.”

“Perhaps but still, I never would have imagined that we would end up starting a family, especially through all the junk we’ve been through over the past four years.”

“That’s one thing about life, it’s quite unpredictable. One day we’re just friends helping out a teenage boy and the next we’re the parents of a baby girl.”

“Yeah, crazy isn’t it?”

The two chuckled and give a quick kiss on the lips before Kumatora ended up wobbling a bit into the thief’s arms.

“I guess I’m still a bit weak from before,” she admitted before a knock came from the front door. “Looks like we’re going to have some visitors today.”

“Just a few. That okay with you, right?” he asked as he helped her up a bit.

“I don’t care at the moment.” The “princess” got back into bed as Duster went to get the door.

“Kumatora?” Lucas asked, peeking his head through the door with Boney by his side.

“There you are Lucas,” she answered.

“How are you?” the blonde asked his friend.

“Fine, just a bit tired.”

“And the baby?”

“She’s fine too but she’s taking a nap at the moment so we have to be quiet.”

The teen nodded as the dog walked over to the side of the bed where Kumatora was laying and lifted himself onto it so he could reach over and say hello.

Hi there, mom, he whined happily after he gave her a lick on the cheek.

“Hi there, Boney” she smiled as she patted him on the head.

“You can go ahead and see her.” Duster said to the teen. Lucas nodded and cautiously approached the cradle, trying not to disturb the baby from her slumber. “She had a lot of hair,” the blonde giggled. “What did you name her?”

“Clara.”

“Cute name. Who thought of it?”

Duster pointed to Kumatora, who shrugged a bit and grinned.

“Really?”

“Well, she kind of reminded me of Claus so I thought the name would fit,” she stated. “It was a better choice than Hikari, in my opinion.”

Lucas couldn’t help but smile and tear up a bit after hearing that. His friends’ new daughter was partially named after the brother he had lost twice, once after he had disappeared to avenge their mother’s death and again when he was finally found as the Masked Man but then took his own life. Boney got down from the bed and lied down by Kumatora. The baby soon began to stir from her sleep but instead of crying, Clara just whined and bit and rubbed her eyes.

“I think she’s awake,” the blonde stated.

“Yep.” Duster lifted the child out of her bed, still wrapped in the blanket until she was fully awake. “Do you want to hold her?” he asked.

“Can…can I?”

“It’s all right. Go ahead.” Kumatora said.

Lucas sat down on the vacant bed and carefully took the newborn into his arms from the baby’s father. 

“She’s so small,” he said.

“I bet you were about that size when you were born too,” responded the baby’s mother.

“Probably.”

Even though the child was not related to him in any way, he kind of felt like a big brother as he supported the baby’s head. Clara didn’t even let out a whimper as the boy held her. Instead she just stared at him, almost curious about the person who was holding her. All the blonde could do was smile back at her until another knock was heard.

“I’ll get that.” Duster said as he left the room to answer the door. Sure enough, just like 

“Hello. I was wondering when you would come over.”

“We did say that we would see each other tomorrow, right?”

“Right. Well, come on in.”

“Thank you.”

“I was wondering when you were going to show up, old geezer,” Kumatora said to him. “Came to see your new granddaughter?”

“Of course. How are you feeling?”

“Still sore but I’m not tired anymore. However, my hips might say otherwise…” she responded, rubbing them.

Lucas was still sitting on the bed with Clara because he was a bit nervous to get up and had the baby to Kumatora or put her in her cradle.

“All right, let me hold her for a while.”

“Oh…okay. You can handle it, right?”

“May I remind you that I have been through this before? Why do you think that moron, I mean, Duster’s here?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot,” the blonde admitted, a bit embarrassed as he cautiously handed the baby to him. The old thief took his granddaughter into his arms and looked over her. 

“The baby’s a bit smaller than I was expecting but she’s still adorable.” After hearing Wes, Duster was just in shock.  Did he actually say that his daughter was “adorable”? As far back as he could remember, his father would never say such a thing. Then again, a baby can turn almost anyone into a big softy.  “I also see a lot of the princess in her. So, what name did you decide on?”

“Clara but we would have gone with Hunter if it was a boy,” the thief answered.

“A good choice on both accounts. So, what about you two? Any future plans I should know about?”

“Wait a minute, are you implying..?” Kumatora asked before she was stopped mid sentence by Wes.

“Of course not. I was just asking because I all ready know you’ll mainly be concentrating on raising your daughter.”

“In that case, nothing yet.”

Clara began to whimper in her grandfather’s arms until she grabbed part of the blanket with her mouth and started to suck on it.

“It looks like she’s getting hungry.”  

“How can you tell?”

Wes just stared at his sin as if he was silently saying “What do you think?” The thief carefully took the newborn into his arms and took her into the other room to feed her.

“Also, I should get going so you can rest. If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know. I have a feeling you’ll eventually need it,” Wes stated before discretely glancing at Duster.

“Me too,” Lucas added. “I’m glad that everyone is fine and I was able to see the baby.”

Just as Lucas and Boney were heading out, they had run into Tessie, who had come, like she said, to check on the new family and to bring them a few things they would need to take care of the baby girl.

“Hello there, Lucas. Came to see the new baby?”

The blonde nodded in response. “Yeah. She’s very cute.”

“I’m glad you think so,” she responded, smiling.

Lucas smiled back at her and the two left and out of the corner of her eye, she saw duster with the baby in his arms.

“It’s good to see that you’re all ready taking charge,” she smiled after seeing the thief getting something for. He couldn’t help but smile at Tessie’s comment until Clara cried out.

“I know, Clara. It’s coming,”  

“Let me help you with that,” she offered.

“Oh, uh, thank you.”

“It’s no problem.” Tessie stated as she got a bottle ready for the baby and the thief tried to comfort his daughter. She showed him a few things on how to properly take care of the child and he caught on rather quickly. Feeling confident that he could easily take care of the baby, she left a few things for him and the table and made her way out.

This was the only easy part for them when it came adjusting to parenthood… 

The next few nights were torture for the new parents. It seems like every hour Clara would begin to cry wanting something, mainly to be fed. Kumatora would hide under the sheets until either Duster would get up and take care of it or she caved in. Needless to say, no one was able to sleep well, if at all, through the night. The baby was a week old now and Kumatora sat in a corner of the bedroom late one night, tending to the newborn.

I don’t know why but feel kind of strange feeding Clara like this, she thought to herself as the baby ate. Well, maybe just once… Looking over towards the direction of the beds, she made sure the thief was still in his, asleep. Once she felt that it was safe, she uncovered herself a bit and let the child nurse. It felt a bit weird to be doing it but at the same time it felt right. Clara didn’t seem to mind either way as she clung to her mother and continued to feed. A shuffle came from the bed while Kumatora kept an eye on the child. She just ignored the noise, thinking it was just him getting comfortable in his sleep. This was not the case, however.

“Kumatora…?” Duster asked drowsily, still lying in bed. She let out a small yelp in surprise and quickly covered up the exposed area and the baby with a nearby blanket.

“Are you…?” he asked.

“No…”

“You don’t have to lie about it. You can trust me.”

“Okay, I am,” she admitted, turning red. “You better not tell anyone about this or you’re going to end up solidified.”

“You don’t have to worry. I think it’s cute seeing you like this. You know, motherly.”

“Well, I hoped you enjoyed the show because you won’t be seeing me do it again.”

“All right then.”

Like I would tell him I was actually comfortable doing it. she thought to herself as Duster went back to sleep. Maybe I can get away with it when he’s not around. Clara shuffled underneath the blanket, trying to free herself a bit.

“I guess you’re done, huh?” Kumatora quietly said to the baby as she uncovered her face. The newborn gave a large yawn and fell asleep in her arms. “Hopefully you’ll stay asleep for the rest of the night…” the “princess” said to her child before getting up and laying her down in the cradle. She got back into her bed and fell asleep as fast as the baby did.

The next morning was actually pretty quiet, due to the fact the Clara finally fell and stayed  asleep for a couple of hours. Kumatora was staring out the window, still embarrassed about what happened earlier so the stillness was a bit unnerving. Finally, Duster spoke up in order to break the silence.

“About last night. I’m sorry if I embarrassed you,” he said to her “If you want to go ahead and do that again, it’s fine with me. I’ll just make sure to leave the room.”

“I told you, I’m not going to because it wasn’t even worth it.”

All the thief could do was smile to himself. “I know you’re lying.”

“No…” she scowled.

 “Just admit it; you actually felt comfortable feeding Clara that way.”

Kumatora’s face turned red and she stayed silent again before responding. “Fine, I did,” the “princess” finally stated, refusing to make eye contact out of embarrassment.

“I knew it,” Duster smirked. “I know you well enough to know when you’re lying, you know.”

“Yeah, I just don’t feel comfortable admitting these kinds of things to you. I don’t need any more change.”

“What do you mean?”

“A lot has happened in the past 9 months. Us being together, the baby, it just happened so fast. I don’t even recognize myself anymore…”

Physically, she no longer looked like her old self. She had become more feminine and shapelier and her hair had grown out a bit.

“At least it isn’t as bad as what happened over 4 years ago.”

“I guess you’re right. Still, I’m just not comfortable with it.”

Duster approached the “princess” and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It doesn’t matter to me what you look like or what happens to us. You will always still be the same person I fell in love with.” He gave her a soft kiss on the cheek to reassure her. Kumatora began to blush a bit and managed to give a small smile.

“That’s better,” the thief grinned. She faced him and began to smile a bit easier. I guess if he’s okay with it, I can be too, Kumatora thought before he kissed her again on the forehead. The “princess” blushed a bit harder and before she could return the kiss, the moment was broken by Clara’s cries.

“I’ll take care of that,” she sighed.

“No, I’ll take care of it.”

“I told you, I got it.”

“You took care of Clara last time. Now it’s my turn.”

“Look, this is not time for arguing. I’m going to get the baby.” She went over to the cradle and took Clara out carefully to take care to her. “I have doing this,” Kumatora groaned, noticing that the newborn needed a change.

“I could have done that for you if you wanted,” he said to the “princess” from the other room.

“Yeah, I know,” she responded, finishing up with the change. Clara was wide awake now, being held in her mother’s arms, with her being careful with the head. “You act as if I can’t handle it by myself.”

“It’s not that. She’s my daughter too and I want to make sure I do my share.”

“Trust me; you’ve been doing more than enough.” Kumatora came into the room and carefully sat down with their daughter. “Well, at least you are doing a good job taking care of her.”

‘I suppose so. I just don’t want to end up like my father.”

“The old geezer? You’re nothing like him. Also, this is a girl were raising, not a little boy. We don’t even know if she will be able to use PSI.”

Clara shuffled a bit in her arms as she tried to get comfortable and snuggled closer to her mother.

“Anyway, it will probably be a while before we know for sure.”

Duster nodded in response and couldn’t help but stare at the little girl that was lying in his lover’s arms.

- - - - - - - - - -

The next day, Wes stopped by the house to see how things were going for the three. He couldn’t ever shake the feeling that his son would screw up in one way or another so he had to make sure the “princess” and his granddaughter we well taken care of. As soon as he arrived, he knocked on the door, which was answered by a bit groggy Kumatora.

“Oh, hey. What are you doing here?” she asked.

“What do you think? I came to see my granddaughter,” the old thief responded.

“She’s taking a nap at the moment so you’re going to have to wait.”

“All right then.”

“Are you going to come in or what?”

Wes just shrugged and made his way to into the house and took a seat while she closed the door behind him.

“So, how are thing going for the new parents?” he asked.

“Tiring. It seems like she wants something all of the time.” Kumatora responded as she sat down next to him. “We were lucky that she was able to fall asleep a while ago,” the “princess” sighed, rubbing an eye with her hand.

“That’s babies for you.”

“I just wish this parenting thing was easier.”

“No one said it was going to be easy, especially with that moron helping out.”

“Hey,” the thief exclaimed quietly as he came into the room, a bit surprised to see his father there. “This won’t become a regular thing, will it?”

“No, I’m just making sure that you know what you’re doing.”

“He’s been quite capable, actually.” Kumatora stated. “Duster actually has been doing more that I have.”

“Sounds like he’s actually doing something right. I also came here to give you something.” The old thief pulled out of his pocked a small silver-colored bracelet with a small gem in the middle. 

“What’s this?” she asked.

“It was Duster’s mother’s. It’s just about all that I have left of her besides memories but I want you to have it.”

“Why are you giving this to me?”

“Something just tells me that you should have it. You wouldn’t see me wearing such a thing, would you?”

Kumatora chuckled and gratefully took it. “Thank you very much.”

“Would you like me to help you put it on?”

“Sure.” She held out her left arm and let Wes place it around her wrist. “It’s very nice.”

“Make sure to take good care of it.”

“You have nothing to worry about.”

Another knock came at the door. “More people?” Kumatora asked as she went to answer it. Lucas, Flint and Boney stood in the doorway with smiles on their faces. In Lucas’s arms was a bouquet of sunflowers.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“Lucas wanted to come by and see how things were going,” Flint told her.

“I also wanted to bring you these,” the blonde said as he handed her the bouquet.

“Oh, thank you. You…want to come in for a bit?”

“Lucas and Boney can. I have to get back to taking care of the sheep.”

“All right.” The boy and his dog came into the house as Flint left.

“Hello, Mister Wes,” Lucas greeted the old thief.

“Hello there Lucas. You came to see how there were doing as well?”

“Yep. How are thing going for you?”

“Nothing much.”

Boney went over to greet Duster as Kumatora placed the sunflowers on the table and Lucas and Wes made idle conversation. After about tem minutes or so, the old thief and stretched a bit. Clara was still comfortably asleep in the other room and there wasn’t really not much left to do.

“Maybe I should get going,” he said to them. “You probably want some time to catch up.”

“All right, Dad,” Duster responded. “Take care of yourself.”

“And you better take good care of Clara.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

As soon as Wes left, another group came to the door to see how things were going as well. This kept going on throughout the day as visitors came in and out to see the child and to wish good luck to the new parents. Some even came with gifts for the new family. When things had finally calmed down, the table was overflowing with objects for the new parents and their new daughter: the bouquet of sunflowers, which now sat in a vase, a couple of wooden toys made by Lighter and Fuel, baked goods made by Caroline and Angie and a stuffed lamb, clothes and various knickknacks from the rest of the villagers.

“Finally, no more people.” Kumatora groaned as she flopped down into a chair. “It’s like none of them had ever seen a baby before.”

“Well, it is the first child they know of that has been born onto this new world.”

“I guess you’re right.”

Clara began to cry out for attention from her cradle before they had a chance to recuperate from all of the guests.

“You want me to get her?” Duster asked.

“No, I got it,” she responded.

“All right.”

Kumatora left the room to care for Clara, who needed to be fed. Still a bit uncomfortable about what happened last night, she got a bottle of milk for the baby, picked her up, sat down in a nearby chair and let her eat.

“You two are always so cute together,” the thief smiled. The mother blushed softly in response. “So, you’re not going to…”

“No, but I may eventually if I become more comfortable with the idea,” the “princess” told him.

“Do you think that’s a good idea? I mean, is it healthy to do alternate between the two?”

“Why not? Clara doesn’t seem to care either way.”

The baby continued to feed eagerly and stopped once in a while to catch her breath. As the thief stood there and watched the two, a feeling of contentment came over him. “So this is what’s it like to have a real family,” Duster said to himself.

“What about family?” Kumatora asked, temporarily taking her attention off their daughter.

“I was just thinking that we become a family now ever since Clara was born. Then again, I’ve always had this feeling that we were like one.”

“I’m just someone you love. We’re not family. Besides, you still have the old geezer.”

“But you are family, well, sort of. I’ve kind of seen you as like a family member even since we’ve met, probably because my father knew you so well. Also, mine wasn’t what you would really consider one. My dad treated me more like an apprentice than a son and I lost my mother when I was still very young.”

“Well, I guess I wouldn’t really know about them either because I never really had one. After all, I was raised by the Magypsies. I guess this is what it would have been like if I didn’t lose my parents when I was a baby. At least I have you here.”

“I’m not the one, you know. We also have my father, Lucas, Boney, Flint, and the rest of Tazmily. They’ll be there to help us out if we ever need it.”

“Probably but I just hope we don’t become too dependent on them. I still want to be able to rely on myself.”

“Right.” The newborn finished the bottle quite quickly tried to push the bottle away from her mouth. Kumatora responded by taking the bottle away from her and placed it onto a nearby table. “I suppose that Clara was actually a blessing to us, even though it didn’t seem like it at first,” the thief stated.

“A blessing in disguise, huh?” Kumatora asked as the baby stretched a bit in her arms. “I suppose that makes sense.”

Clara just stayed in her mother’s arms and watched her parents converse but it wasn’t long until she fell asleep to their soothing voices. The two couldn’t help from smile as the “princess” put the newborn back into her cradle. Even with all of the changes that have happened, not all of them were bad. The two had matured quite a bit and both had become more open with their feelings. Duster had become more confident while Kumatora became to act more her age and like a lady and, of course, they only had one thing on their minds, the future, for both of them and their child.