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onedayinmydreams · 1 year

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Not the First, but the First

Matsuno Ichimatsu was only twenty three years old while he waited in a sanitary hospital room for a baby to be gingerly placed into his arms.

Well, not just any baby. His baby.

As he sat in the plastic chair beside his mother, he couldn’t help but feel his heart thumping strongly in his chest, almost as if it might burst at any moment. The extreme silence held between the two of them only seemed to heighten the tension in the atmosphere as they sat together, awaiting the third (and fourth) person to enter the room.

One might assume that the nervousness emanating from the new father came from the idea of meeting his daughter for the first time…funnily enough this was about as furthest from the truth as possible. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen her. Or even held her.

But even after being in this environment for more than he ever had been in two weeks than his entire life - it remained anxiety inducing. However, he had to admit that the cold, clean hospital - while distressing, was also well controlled.

The past few times he came to visit his daughter in the NICU over the last two weeks he knew deep down that even though everything appeared scary, it was okay. His daughter had been born early - although not by much, it was enough so that it was ordered that she stay long enough for continuous monitoring of her lung function and oxygen levels. Additionally it was advised for her to be able to grow and gain a little more weight as the doctors wanted.

In those times, he knew that if anything were to go wrong - loud beeping from the monitors, or a sudden cry from the baby - a nurse was already ready to step in, correct the problem, or offer him the advice to make her feel more comfortable.

But now that she was finally being released into his care for good, it made the sickening realization of this enormous responsibility twist uncomfortably in his stomach. There would be no nurse there, no doctor at the ready. Which now meant that anything - anything - that went wrong would be because of him.

The actual first time he saw her, he remembered feeling helpless. It hurt to see this little baby for the first time moving under the light of the incubator, all alone. No mother’s warmth to comfort her.

His mother’s hand came to rest upon his shoulder, and he jumped a bit, startled. Matsuyo, who sat directly in the chair to his right, had begun to rub circles into his back.

At her soothing touch, Ichimatsu had just started to realize all the tension that had been building up uncomfortably in his muscles. His mother’s attempt to calm him was working - if only just a little bit, he thought to himself, as he relaxed his shoulders and slouched once more.

That being said, the hard plastic beneath him and his mother were the only things keeping him tethered to reality at the moment.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, came a gentle knock at the door. Almost immediately it opened, revealing two nurses he had gotten used to seeing over her stint in the NICU. Ichimatsu suddenly felt guilty as he still hadn’t remembered their names. The one in front smiled politely, holding the door open for the woman behind her.

He sat up straight just as the second nurse walked in with his daughter. They came in with big smiles and greetings that Ichimatsu simply could not return at the moment.

No more wires, no more monitors, no more hospital.

And he was absolutely terrified - the sobering reality of the situation washing over him again like a frigid wave.

He rubbed his sweaty palms on his pant legs as the nurse holding his daughter approached steadily, quietly. Then, he felt his own body take over. Standing as she came closer, Ichimatsu couldn’t say anything as the baby was placed into his arms.

It was almost as if this was the first time, all over again.

His heart clenched at the sight of her, holding the baby so carefully as if she was the most delicate, most fragile, most precious being he’s ever known.

“Oh Ichimatsu, she’s so beautiful. Just look at her.” His mother cooed softly, from her new place standing next to him.

He looked for something to say - noticing that his mouth was left open in awe. But ultimately he said nothing - only closing his mouth and examining her closely.

She was small, and the onesie she was in seemingly threatened to swallow her whole. The white sleeves came all the way up to her hands, which were covered carefully in little white mittens. Her arms were tucked close to her body and her eyes were closed. Ichimatsu felt that she was warm, bundled nicely in the blanket she lay peacefully in - a splitting image of pure innocence all dressed in white, save for the pink cap covering the few strands of dark hair he knew to be underneath.

As his frantic heart slowed in sync to the sleeping baby, he couldn’t help but feel himself relax - and he felt for the first time, truly, that everything was going to be alright.

For a couple moments.

The baby began to stir, and for a second he thought it to be his hold, and tried to release some tension in his arms. However, he could only stand and watch as she shut her eyes tight, her tiny mouth curling into a sour frown.

He watched in horror as she opened her mouth and began to wail.

Ichimatsu felt his breath catch in his throat as he remained at a loss for what he could do in order to comfort his crying daughter.

“Mom-.” He croaked.

“It’s okay. Just look at her and see what she needs.” Matsuyo replied softly, her hand beginning to rub circles into his shoulder once more.

He felt his heartbeat quicken as the baby continued to cry and started to fuss in his arms.

He didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t ready for this. He couldn’t take care of her - and she was going to be all fucked up because of him.

“I’m sorry.” He said to his daughter, her cries echoing deep into his heart. “I’m sorry.” He repeated once more. Ichimatsu turned to do the only thing he knew how - holding her close.

Supporting her head and neck as carefully as possible, he repositioned her so that she could lay comfortably on his chest and shoulder. He let out a sigh of relief as she began to lessen her crying. Keeping a firm hold, her cries became whines as his free hand gently patted her bottom, all the while murmuring a soft “shhh” in an attempt to calm her further (or maybe really, just himself).

Meanwhile, the nurses who had been in the room the entire time began to unpack things from cabinets.

“Actually, Matsuno-San, it might be time for her next bottle.” She said rather cheerfully after sparing a glance at the clock on the wall. The nurse pulled a can of formula from a drawer before turning towards him and his daughter. “Would you like to learn how to make one?”

Continuing to bounce the baby in his arms, he nodded, moving over to the sink and counter where he watched carefully as the nurse prepared the bottle.

Although it seemed simple enough, he could already see himself in the future asking his mother to make sure he’s doing it right at least several more times.

Once the bottle was made, one of the nurses helped Ichimatsu sit back down with his daughter in his arms, and then showed him how to hold her so that she could feed from the bottle comfortably.

Per the nurse’s guidance, he cradled her with his left arm, carefully supporting her body with the full length of his arm while they gave him the bottle to hold with his right.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see his mother pull her chair so that she sat in front of him. He felt his cheeks heat up as she smiled at him.

She hadn’t said much the entire time, choosing to watch instead.

As he brought the bottle nipple close to her daughter’s lips, she too looked straight up at Ichimatsu with her tiny alert eyes.

She began to eat, and the room became quiet once more as the nurses excused themselves once more.

“I can’t believe you’re a Papa now, Ichimatsu. And such a good one too…just look at how happy she is!” said Matsuyo, the delight just about seeping through her voice..

The baby, while eating, made tiny soft noises. Little mewls and sighs that reminded him of kittens.

“I - uh - don’t know if I’m doing it right….” He said, his voice tapering off.

To be truthful - he had a difficult time coming to terms with this new situation he’s found himself in. Raising his daughter - all on his own. The whole time he had known, he could have never imagined this is how things would have ended up.

She didn’t deserve any of this. She deserved to be this peaceful forever, to grow up with a loving mother, someone who actually was more dependable than he was. Someone much braver than he was. Someone who wasn’t going to mess it all up.

Watching her little eyes flutter shut once more, something inside of him just broke.

“Mom.” He said in a pained gasp. “I - I don’t think I can do this.” He clenched his jaw, waiting for the feeling to wash over. But the tears fell down his face anyways

Matsuyo gently placed her hand over Ichimatsu’s hand that cradled the baby. She wrapped her fingers around his loosely before giving it a squeeze. “That’s how it always feels at first - but you’re doing just fine.”

Immediately afterwards his mom rummaged through her bag before pulling out a handkerchief. She wiped away the fallen tears, and Ichimatsu felt too embarrassed to even look her in the eye.

“Everything is going to be okay.” She cooed. “Just take this one day at a time, and never ever lose sight of what’s important…and don’t forget those who will help you.” Matsuyo’s words were soft and kind compared to the harsh words and thoughts of Ichimatsu. And, he couldn’t help but think that maybe that’s just what he needed to hear.

Ichimatsu looked down once more at his daughter. She was sleeping again - completely unbothered by his uncertainty. Gently pulling the bottle from her mouth, he breathed out a deep breath, and let any remaining tears fall before going back to work, moving to burp her.

It will be alright.

And now was finally time to go home.

——————-

After receiving a call from his mother and waiting faithfully down in the hospital lobby, Karamatsu went out to his car and brought it around the front.

“Ah, there you are! My fantastic brother and my darling niece.” Karamatsu announced with a flourish as Ichimatsu and his mother approached the car.

He then immediately stepped out and opened the car for his mother, before opening the door for Ichimatsu so that he could secure the baby in the car seat that had been installed almost a week earlier. He could just barely make out the sleeping face of his adorable niece over Ichimatsu’s shoulder. And it became so much more real that he was an uncle, and that the baby was going to live with all of them back at the house!

‘Challenge accepted!’ Karamatsu couldn’t help but think. He waited a moment as Ichimatsu finished buckling in the baby, before slowly stepping away and gently closing the back door.

But as soon as Ichimatsu turned around, Karamatsu couldn’t help but hug him once more. “Congratulations brother!”

Ichimatsu limply returned the embrace, leaving a couple pats as he pulled away. “Yeah, yeah, let’s go home.”

He walked around to the driver’s side back door and was about to climb in when Karamatsu stopped him.

“Wait! Have you decided her name yet?”

“Haruna.”

“Agh! My darling Haruna! What a lovely name!”

Ichimatsu smiled. A real one too.

- Haruna, 春名, "spring, name"

#osomatsu san #mr. osomatsu #ichimatsu #ichimatsu matsuno #matsuno ichimatsu #Karamatsu #karamatsu matsuno #matsuno karamatsu #osomatsu san imagines

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onedayinmydreams · 2 years

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Fic - Mondo brushes his daughter’s hair and thinks (about his brother). // 1700 ish words

Mondo had never been a morning person. Not as a child, definitely not as a teenager, and certainly not as a married man with two children.

The sunlight streaming in from the living room windows wasn’t exactly helping either, and all he could really wonder is why the hell it was so bright for seven thirty in the morning.

There was no reason for him to be awake this early.

Well , technically that wasn’t true. Kiyotaka had been wanting to take the girls to visit their grandfather for quite some time now - but still..

He gave in for a moment, letting his head hit the back of the couch. His eyes were only closed for what felt like half a second before-

“Good Morning!”

…his husband’s chipper voice cut through the atmosphere.

Mondo warily opened his eyes, blinking any remaining sleep out of them. Lazily rolling his head to his shoulder, he pushed a simple “mornin’” past his lips.

The embodiment of “early rising” himself had taken on the task of waking up their daughters and helping them get dressed.

Before leaving their bedroom earlier that morning, Taka had put a considerable amount of effort into at least getting Mondo out of bed and get started readying himself. Which did work, but not without his husband telling him that he felt like he was dealing with three children.

So there stood Taka now, at the opening of the hallway leading to the bedrooms with a sleeping two-year old Hana on his hip, and holding the hand of their four-year old, Yui, who looked exactly how Mondo felt.

They were his girls alright.

“Careful with the way you’re smilin’ Baby, the sun might get jealous.” Mondo said, in his gruff morning voice.

“Mondo, as much as I adore your morning charm, we are not postponing.” Taka responded happily.

“Eh, worth a shot.” The brunette replied simply.

“Can you actually-” He let go of Yui’s hand, gently pushing her to begin walking towards Mondo. “-brush her hair while I make some breakfast before we leave? I’ve already gotten to combing through Hana’s.” Taka said, as he carefully readjusted his grip on a still-sleeping Hana, and fixed the small blanket draped over her.

“Sure.” Mondo yawned, and leaned forward, his arms outstretched towards Yui - whose movements could be more comparable to sleepwalking at the moment. She had a gnarly bedhead with her dark, long hair all puffed up and frizzy, in desperate need of attention.

Tucked in Yui’s arm was a spray bottle, her hairbrush, a comb, a small mirror, and that cursed ugly bear Junko had given her - which in turn their daughter had taken to bringing it with her everywhere.

“Aw, come here,” he said, before taking the supplies from her and setting them aside on the carpeted floor. “Papa’s bein’ mean waking you up so early, huh?” His daughter gave the smallest of nods before walking into his arms for a crowded hug between him, her, and that dreaded Monokuma doll.

“Mondo!” he exclaimed in a whisper-shout that wasn’t exactly serious. “Don’t antagonize me in front of our daughter just for taking the initiative to get there on time.” He could see their daughter stir for a moment before holding on tighter to Taka.

“I’m just teasin’ Baby. I love ya.” He said with a hearty chuckle.

“I know.” responded Taka, narrowing his ruby eyes playfully. “I’ll make you some coffee and get us some breakfast before we leave - right Hana?” he asked the seemingly sleepy toddler before disappearing into the dining room and into the kitchen.

Mondo quickly realized Yui had made herself comfortable in his arms, and that she was still tired.

“Let’s get started, okay?” He said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Sitting up closer to the edge of the couch, he turned her around, and directed her to sit on the spot of carpet right in front of him, in between the space of his legs so that he could easily reach over and get to work.

Truth be told - and as mushy as it sounded - Mondo enjoyed doing things like this with his daughter. Skillfully using his hands was well within his own element, and given the love he had towards properly caring for his own locks, it proved to be a fitting task for him.

Looking at the stuff he had been brought, Mondo realized they were missing a few things they probably needed. So quickly stepping away, he gathered the detangler, hair ties, clips, bobby pins, and his leave-in conditioner from the bathroom.

Okay, it might’ve been a little more than he needed currently - but he was saving himself from having to get up again.

When he returned to the spot in the living room, Yui seemed to be trying to lull herself back to sleep, clutching onto her bear. Her eyes, Mondo noted, were only half-open.

Taking his place behind her, Mondo begins by carefully separating her hair into sections, while gently removing some knots with his fingers at the same time. Then, using the hair clips, he holds two of the sections in place, leaving the bottom layer to begin with.

He supposes he should have warned her when he was about to spray her hair with water because as soon as Mondo pressed down on the handle, effectively sprinkling her hair (and consequently, the back of her neck) with water, Yui immediately gave a small shriek.

“It's cold!” She exclaimed, before moving away from Mondo who had to quickly release her hair before he accidentally pulled on it.

“I know - but just try and hold still alright?” He said calmly, before trying to start again with the spray bottle.

“Nooooo..” Yui whined, punctuated by an audible sniffle - which Mondo quickly identified as the precursor to her weeping.

Yeah, she was definitely Kiyotaka’s daughter as well.

The bottle still in his hands, he thought about his next moves for a moment.

“Yui.”

“...Mmm.” She hummed, just barely making a noise of acknowledgment.

“What if I brush your hair like a princess today?” He asked, adding a slight tone of amusement to his voice.

His daughter held Monokuma close before speaking in a quiet voice “...really?”

Got her.

“Even better than a princess - but only if you sit ‘ere and promise not to move too much.”

“Okay!” Yui squealed in delight before moving back to her previous spot.

So then, Mondo was finally able to return to what he started, carefully spritzing the two bottom sections of her hair, then combing out any remaining tangles in the dampened pieces. He added some leave-in conditioner before beginning his work on the top half.

And for a while, the two fell into a comfortable silence - as the background slowly became full of cooking sounds coming from the kitchen, along with the occasional babbling from Hana.

“Y’know Yui,” he said, as he started working in the leave-in to the top sections, “…when I was a bit older than you are now - your uncle Daiya used to sit me in front of him and brush my hair.”

It wasn’t long before she followed up with a question.

“Daddy?”

“Yeah, princess?” He said in between doing a last check for any remaining knots.

“Did’ja have hair like mine?”

Mondo laughed before setting down the comb he had been using.

“No, yours is way prettier than mine. My hair could get really messy sometimes- part of why your uncle had to help me with it.”

“Why?”

“Well - you know how I told you I was in a gang?”

Yui nodded. “Papa says gangs are bad.” she added.

“Well - mine wasn’t - you hear me ?” Mondo clarified. He lightly jabbed her sides before his daughter burst into giggles. “We only looked real tough.”

“Anyways. It was the cool thing - to have a pomp’ that is - an’ since my brother and I were a part of it - we couldn’t miss out.”

A certain sting begin to settle in his chest again.

“Heh.”

Mondo resumed, scrunching Yui’s hair with his hands in order to help her loose waves and curls form.

As he spoke again, his voice came out much softer. “I wasn’t as good as you at keeping still - I moved too much. And he was a lot less gentle than I am brushing your hair now - and sometimes he’d pull my hair.”

“Meanie.”

“Aw - he was was only tryin’ his best.” He swallowed thickly. “I’m sure of it.” He said, a bit quieter.

“Daddy?”

“...yes?”

“Are you-” Yui paused, giving a small yawn. “-almost done?”

He realized his hands were still mid-scrunch. “Sorry hun’, I was jus’ thinking. Hand me some of those will ya?” Mondo asked, gesturing towards the clips and bobby pins. “After all, we can’t leave a princess without her crown.”

And as he began to work on the braids that would adorn his daughter’s head, he couldn’t help but feel incredibly grateful for the chance his brother had given him - just to be able to spend this time with his daughter.

However, Mondo figured that no matter how much time passed - he would always wish Daiya to have seen him just like this - to see the man, the husband, and the father he’s made of himself.

To meet Kiyotaka - his girls - to prove to him that he really was better now. To see him living that domestic life he’d never seen for himself before.

What a funny way it had turned out to be.

He wondered if Daiya would have been sat in the big chair in the living room, immersed in sunlight, his laugh warm and big at the sight of Mondo doing braids for his little girl.

No.

He wouldn’t be laughing. He’d be smiling along with him.

As if slowly coming out of his concentration, Mondo used the pins to secure the braids made of the top sections to her head, before using a kitten clip to secure it in the back.

“I know Papa likes to tie up your hair but princesses like to wear their hair just like this.” Mondo said, holding up the hand mirror right in front of her.

Yui squealed in delight once again as she jumped up and hugged him - this time full of energy. “Thank you Daddy!”

“Aw you’re welcome.” He said, giving her a squeeze.

“Breakfast!” called Taka from the kitchen.

As Yui ran into the kitchen, Mondo found himself with a final thought in mind.

Thanks Big Bro.

___________

Thank you for reading! and please please help me come up w/ a good title lol

#danganronpa #danganronpa trigger happy havoc #danganronpa fanfiction #ishimondo #mondo oowada #oowada mondo #kiyotaka ishimaru #ishimaru kiyotaka #danganronpa fanchild #daiya owada

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