Two Petals of Passing Spring - Chapter 12 - JeriX_of_the_Cruz - Wind Breaker - にいさとる (2025)

Chapter Text

Two months…

Sakura managed to survive for a month.

Honestly, it was a damn miracle he even made it this far. Weeks of waking up randomly in the middle of the night, turning on the stove to heat up some milk, or shuffling to the changing table with his crying baby in his arms. Then, he’d wake up with just four hours of sleep at best for school, getting himself and Natsuka ready to head out, patrol… Rinse and repeat. He looked back at Natsuka, sleeping soundly in her crib. His baby was now bigger, all snuggled up in her bunny onesie. Doctor Tanaka told him she was healthy, and her bruises had already healed. She was sucking on her pacifier, pretty much unbothered by everything around her. And honestly, as hard as it was, he wouldn’t change anything about his little girls.

He placed his cup of instant ramen on the side of his bed, pushing past his notebooks and papers. Sakura stood up, taking tentative steps toward his sleeping baby girl. He hovered over her crib, eyes filled with love and exhaustion. He reached down and gently caressed her adorable face. Natsuka was relaxed, and snuggled closely against his palm.

“Well, you seem alright at least,” Sakura said with an amused smile. Weeks of reading parenting books that made his head spin, as well as looking up videos online about childcare was slowly paying off for him. His girl was a brat. A happy, well-loved little brat. He gently tapped her nose, and Natsuka whined in protest when he pried his hand away.

“Un…!” Natsuka flailed a bit, her face all scrunched up and the bunny ears on her onesie flipped over her forehead. Sakura flinched a little, mild panic setting in. Shit! Here we go again… He reached in and gently cradled his girl in his arms.

He started bouncing her a bit, rocking her as he patted her back in a rhythmic motion. Grandpa Ito showed him how earlier(it turned out he and his late wife would offer to babysit children for neighbors and single parents). Sakura paced around the room, humming a random tune he thought of on the spot. Note after note, no matter how off-key, that seemed to have done the trick. His baby settled peacefully in his arms, her mittened hands clutching his shirt. Sakura gave a tired huff, still patting her back.

“You’re so much work sometimes, bunny. So damn clingy every single time,” Sakura mumbled, pressing a soft kiss on Natsuka’s temple. Still, he had a small smirk on his face. He was relieved that his daughter felt safe enough with him. He sat down on his futon, adjusting his hold so that his little girl could sleep comfortably on his lap.

Natsuka was a heavy sleeper when she was in his arms, but as soon as he’d put her down on her crib, even the door’s creaking could get her eyes to flutter. It’s pretty funny, actually, as much as how exhausting it was to constantly try and tuck her back in.

Sakura sighed, looking out at the night sky from his apartment’s window. School started, and patrols were a lot more hectic. The drug problem over the summer mellowed down, and construction for the main road to the city was almost done, but it still didn’t change the fact that gangs were leaking through the town like droplets through a pipe crack. It stressed the fuck out of everyone. He’s pretty sure Hiragi had to renew his prescription twice now.

Natsuka cooed softly as he rubbed his thumb against her cheek. He hated how he had to leave his daughter often with either Kotoha or the grannies that hung around the café, and sometimes with Grandpa Ito.(Well, he’d let Granny Lina care for her too, but only if Aya-san was there.) Sakura sighed, sitting cross-legged, eyeing the papers before him. One side was just homework that Umemiya basically assigned them, and the other was drafts for a resumé(just in case he needed to go out of town to explore his options). He’s been looking for a part-time job. His government aid wasn’t going to cover everything that Natsuka needed, and he couldn’t keep relying on his friends and the townspeople.

He appreciated it, no doubt about that. They’ve shown time and time again how much they care for him and his baby. Sakura didn’t think he could’ve made it this far without their help. But, that was exactly the point. Just banking on his friends’ care and the people’s generosity wasn’t going to cut it. Not with how economics worked or how the government would view teens like him who had pretty much zero support systems from a parent or guardian. If he wanted to prove that he was fit to be Natsuka’s dad, the least he could do was to have a proper source of income. He stared at the notice for rent, as well as the grocery list he needed to get to.

Sakura groaned, running a hand through his hair. “Damn it. We're running out on a lot of stuff, bunny. Guess Papa has to keep on with instant ramen for a while.”

Natsuka nuzzled her cheek against his chest in response, like she was trying to comfort him in her own cute little way. Sakura chuckled softly, brushing away some strands of her wispy hair to the side. “I can deal with that, though. You need your milk a lot more. You’re a growing girl, ya know?”

Her little patted her tiny, weak fist against him– his baby girl’s favorite way of reassuring him unintentionally. It always surprised Sakura how responsive his baby girl was. So expressive, it made it easier for Sakura to attend to her needs that way. Even Kotoha and the old ladies said so. He gently took her hand in his, and gently kissed it.

Sakura gazed down at his daughter’s face, his own features reflecting back at him. He still couldn’t believe how this tiny angel was born from him. Natsuka was an exhausting little brat who wouldn’t want to be put down and cried to the point his neighbors would talk to him about it, but…she was the brightest sunshine in his life too. Her gummy smile, adorable giggles, and the way her eyes would look around and absorb all the sights surrounding her, it made his days a bit brighter, no matter how tired he was. Sakura pretty much decided…

“Papa’s gonna find decent work for both of us, bunny,” he whispered softly, holding her close. “We’ll pull through. I promise.”

…he’d do everything he could to protect her happy world.

Nirei was glad things were getting back on track. Summer was hectic. Too many things were happening at once, and issues were piling up in fervor. Of course, one of those was Sakura suddenly becoming a father. Honestly, to this day, they were all still reeling from the admission. They couldn’t believe that their grade captain, who could barely handle a girl patting his shoulder so suddenly, would have a kid out of the blue. It was a team effort, trying to support their captain…

“I was stupid back when I was in the city, alright?! I got someone pregnant and she just dumped her in my area!” Sakura hissed, eyes glaring down at his lap. It was obvious this wasn’t something he wanted to talk about. He looked like he’s hurting just from thinking about it.

Nirei, Suo, and the rest of his seniors present exchanged worried looks. This was pretty telling. Sakura had been a terrible liar and had worn his heart in his sleeve. It was easy to read whether or not he was okay. Clearly, he definitely wasn’t, and he wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Umemiya sighed, adjusting his hold on Natsuka as gentle blue eyes bore into Sakura.

“Sakura,” Umemiya started off gently, putting on that usual big brother face big brother face he usually had when he was trying to give them advice. “We won’t force you to talk about something you aren’t ready to share. We’re just worried, and we want to let you know that we’re right here.”

“Besides,” Hiragi interjected, fixing Sakura with a stern but soft gaze. “Raising a kid takes a lot of work, though you probably know that already. She’s been with you for a week now, yeah?”

Sakura nodded sheepishly. “Yeah. She’s been crying a lot at night. It’s been driving me insane and I don’t really know what to do if the guys aren’t here.”

“Oh!” Tsubaki chuckled softly, turning to Natsuka with an adoring expression and then back at Sakura. “What methods have you tried?”

Their first-year captain slumped a little. “Standard stuff. Crossing out whether she’s hungry, needs a change, or if he cot’s been shit on her back or something. Rocking her does the trick, but it takes a while for her to settle down. Why?”

“Have you tried singing to her? That usually does the trick whenever I babysit for some of the kids in town,” Tsubaki suggested, beaming at him. Sakura immediately turned red.

“Me?! Sing?! Fuck no!” Sakura sputtered, embarrassed. “I’d probably ruin her eardrums or something if I try!”

“Well, you won’t exactly be singing for a crowd, Sakura-kun,” Suo hummed, passing around the tea for everyone, and a pacifier for Natsuka. He smiled a little when the little girl eagerly accepted. “She will be your only audience, and trust me, even being completely off-key will get her to settle...”

Suo turned to Sakura, and Nirei nodded in encouragement. They needed to get the point across to their friend that it was okay if he wasn’t perfect at it. It was okay for him to fumble a bit, because this was a completely new territory for him(and all of them who never had to be in this kind of situation). Suo continued.

“...as long as its your voice she hears.”

...

“Phew!” Takanashi stretched his arms, leaning against his chair with his feet up on his desk. “Fall’s finally rolling in! It’s been a lot cooler lately.”

“Right!” Kurita mused, checking on his phone. September was rearing its head in a few days, and frankly, they couldn’t wait.

“We’ve got a whole bunch of stuff lined up,” Kakiuchi mused. “We didn’t get to do much of the summer stuff this year.”

The room paused a little at that. Yeah…they didn’t really have much time to go through the beach plans because they all collectively decided that their grade captain mattered a lot more. None of them resented it, in all honestly. They still would’ve loved to go through with plans, but they couldn’t kick by and watch their captain silently shoulder every shitty thing the world threw at him again.

“We also have an upcoming bon festival,” Suo said as he kept tapping his pen against his desk, swiftly changing the subject. “This will be our first year lending a helping hand with set ups and props.”

“Oh! You’re right!” Nirei flipped through his notebook. Every year, they’d have their own version of the Owara Kaze no Bon Festival here in Makochi. It was just a small celebration– an old tradition they decided to bring back after Bofurin was formed two years ago.

“I think Sakura-chan would love to join us,” Kiryu mused, arms folded and resting on his chair’s backrest. “It’ll be his first year experiencing it here in town. It would be nice if he could see it.”

“Oh, great idea!” Tsugeura beamed, hopping off the steal bar he was doing pull ups on. “And it’s Natsuka-chan’s first festival in her life. It would be really special if we got to show them around town at that time.”

Everyone seemed to have collectively agreed with that idea. Nirei brightened and immediately opened the planner on his phone. This could be a great way for everyone to just sit back and enjoy. Plus, he hoped it would cheer up their captain a little. He was probably exhausted.

“Then it’s decided!” Nirei stood up with his hands on his hips and a proud smile on his face. “Let’s try and help make this festival count! We’ll be making memories here after all.”

Everyone in Class 1-1 beamed back at him and raised their fists. “Heck yeah!”

Nirei nodded, his expression growing brighter, and checked his notebook. “Now, all we need was to talk about this with Sakura-san–”

The door to the classroom burst open, almost on the verge of cracking the cement that held it together, and everyone snapped their heads to its direction. Nirei’s eyes widened. Sakura stood before them, with Natsuka in her usual carrier. Only…

“Sakura-san?” Nirei asked, worried. Sakura’s face was set in a deep scowl…and a nasty black eye.

What… happened ?

Two Petals of Passing Spring - Chapter 12 - JeriX_of_the_Cruz - Wind Breaker - にいさとる (2025)
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