Three months had passed since little Koyomiko's birth. Like all parents, Tomo and I are very proud of her. She really is perfect in every way and so precious, too. Sure, all parents say the same about their children, but...how else can I describe her? She really is.

These first three months were actually pretty peaceful. It was a little too perfect, in a way, but we loved and cherished every minute. It was calm, quiet, easy... At least, it USED to be...

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Tomo-Yomi Plus
By Funakounasoul

Disclaimer: I do not own the established Azu characters (Yomi, Tomo, and Osaka), but I do own everyone else.

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PARENTING 102

Tomo and Yomi groaned. It was nighttime and – just a few moments ago – they had settled in to get a good night's sleep. That was not going to happen, however. The sounds of an infant crying instantly woke them up. The origin of these cries came from only a few feet away – it came from none other than Koyomiko.

“Tomo, you go check,” Yomi slurred. “I already fed her.”

“Mmngh...” Tomo raised herself and crawled over to the area where Koyomiko lay. It was typical of the child to cry once or twice each night, so the two were unfazed by tonight's occurrence. All Tomo needed to do was check up on the girl, calm her down, then go back to sleep – a very simple strategy.

“There, there, Koyomiko...” she murmured while stifling a yawn. “Just relax, okay?” After a few more minutes of shushing, comforting, and cooing, the child was finally asleep once more. Tomo smiled. Though she was tired, and she was happy to know she could sleep again, she could not help but stare at her daughter's sleeping form. She was just so cute, after all. With a gentle pat on the girl's head, she whispered a good night and returned to her futon.

Later that night, the sound of Koyomiko's voice pierced the quiet room. Both women woke up once again. Tomo instantly got up and headed towards the girl. “Don't worry,” she muttered, “I'll handle it.”

She lifted the child into her arms for the second time that night. “Come on, don't you wanna go to sleep? Sleep is good...very good...” Noticing the girl was not going to stop crying so easily, she decided to get up and walk around. Hopefully, she thought, the combination of comforting and the bounces of her own walking would calm Koyomiko down. “Walking's good, too, huh? Yeah...Let's walk around the main room!”

It took a longer amount of time to do it, but Tomo finally got Koyomiko to sleep. It took over an hour, in fact. By then, Tomo was terribly tired. Thankfully, she did not having any training that day, so she could sleep in. To her, that was a very good thing, indeed.

Unfortunately, in a sense, Tomo would have to sleep in longer than originally planned. A few minutes later, Koyomiko cried once again. Tomo was the first to approach the girl and tried to comfort her again. “I have a feeling you want something...” she tiredly said to the girl, pointing at her as she spoke. “You do, don't you?”

Koyomiko simply answered by taking in the finger that was apparently being offered to her and began to suck on it. Tomo noticed this and, after her mind finally woke up long enough to realize what was going on, finally understood what the girl wanted. Unfortunately, she could not free her finger from its current location so easily, so she walked back towards the sleeping Yomi and shook her by using her foot.

“Yomi, she wants you...”

“Huh? Wha?” The harsh movements caused by Tomo's foot had awoken the other woman instantly. “Dammit, Tomo...What do you mean?”

“Well, uh...My hands are kind of busy at the moment...but she wants you. Definitely.”

Yomi reached over and grabbed her glasses. After adjusting to the darkness that filled the room, she then knew why Tomo was “busy.” The other woman simply sat there, looking at Yomi tiredly while Koyomiko continued sucking on her finger.

She instantly knew what the child wanted. “Okay,” she sighed, “hold on, I'll take over for you.” Swiftly, yet gently, Yomi removed Tomo's finger from Koyomiko's mouth, taking hold of the child and moving her to a more comfortable position in her arms.

“You are a very hungry girl,” the brunette giggled quietly. “You only had your last meal a few hours ago!”

Tomo watched this scene from her futon with a smile. She wanted to make a crack about the girl growing up to be “just like Yomi,” but she was quite sleepy, and the sooner she could lay down and close her eyes, the better. Slowly, her eyelids fell into their restful position, and as they did, she continued to smile at the sweet interaction between mother and daughter...

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!”

Tomo rose from her futon in a flash. Yomi rose a few seconds later, also shocked. The crying had returned. Grabbing the clock, the two noticed it was almost four in the morning. Well, they thought, at least they had a fair amount of sleep since the last time.

“Yomi...what are we going to do?”

Yomi groaned. It had arrived late, but they were finally going to witness the energy-depleting side of parenting. “I knew our first months were too good to be true...”

For the next hour, they tried everything. They soothed her, walked her around, tried to feed her, check her diapers – nothing worked. At one point, they decided to try a lullaby, but due to Yomi's notorious singing voice, that plan failed miserably. They were finally experiencing this part of parenthood; they knew it would happen, yet they did not even try to prepare for it. Instead, they took advantage of those first three, easy months. They were truly being “punished” now.

“Wah! We tried everything!” Tomo cried out, falling onto the floor, exhausted. “And she still cries! What are we forgetting, Yomi?!”

“I...don't know!” The two continued to stare at the crying child before them. “It's a good thing our neighbors are heavy sleepers, though...”

“Yeah...but you never know if someone'll move into the other apartment next to us.”

“Don't say that!” Yomi hissed rather harshly, though it was mostly due to the stress building up between the two. “Don't even try to jinx it!”

“Geez, Yomi, still into jinxes? That's so...”

“Tomo...now is not the time.”

Suddenly, the cries from Koyomiko lessened, and eventually ceased altogether. Yomi looked down at the child in her arms to find her sound asleep. Whatever the reason, Koyomiko had finally calmed down. Fortunate for the two tired mothers – as soon as they settled the girl back into her area, they weakly crawled back to their own futons and collapsed, where they would only get a few more hours of sleep.

It was ten in the morning. Yomi woke up to the sound of the doorbell ringing. She was still tired, but at least she got to sleep longer this time. She had no time to at least brush her hair, though, as the doorbell continued ringing. Getting up, she made her way towards the door and opened it.

Now she wished she had at least brushed her hair...

“My goodness, Yomi, did I wake you?”

“Ah, well...not really, Takino-san. I was...just getting up myself.” It was Tomo's mother who decided to pay a visit this morning.

“Well, good morning to you! I decided to pay a visit today. I had this feeling you might need me.”

As Yomi let her in, she sighed in relief. Just what she and Tomo needed, she graciously thought.

Mrs. Takino was a kind woman. She also had the typical spirit of the family as well – her energy was quite abundant, even at her age. She was shorter than Tomo, as well as a little plump, yet she had the same “flip” to her hair that Tomo had. Ever since the day Koyomiko was born, she visited their apartment more often, offering to lend a hand when they needed it.

“Where is Tomo? Is she training today?”

“No...Not today...” Yomi replied, then muttered a quick “fortunately.”

“Ah, so she's sleeping...as usual.” Mrs. Takino giggled, placing her gift for today – a large bowl filled with food – on the table, then asked, “What about Koyomiko-chan?”

“She's sleeping, too.” Yomi decided it was best to not talk about the night before...yet. She at least wanted Tomo to sleep a little longer and wanted to enjoy Mrs. Takino's breakfast first. After what they had to go through last night, they deserved a little break.

“Aw, that's a shame. I wanted to see her...”

Suddenly, as if she could hear the conversation from her area, Koyomiko started to cry. It was a typical wail, though, unlike last night's ordeal. Nevertheless, the crying caused Tomo to wake up in alarm.

“GAH! When will it end?!” she yelled, her voice obviously making its way to the main room in the process.

“Huh?” Mrs. Takino asked, “When will what end?”

Yomi gave the older woman a weak smile. “Well...” Without another word, she dashed into the bedroom, retrieving the uneasy Koyomiko, and returned with a sigh. “Well, if you want to know, we had trouble sleeping last night.”

“Ah...”

“Yeah, she was crying all night long. We figured out three of the problems, but by the time she woke us up the fourth time...”

Mrs. Takino nodded. “Yes, yes...It's about time she did.”

Yomi was confused. “Huh?”

“Yomi, what you experienced last night is a must in parenthood. Babies need a lot of attention, and they'll do in in any way, and time, they can. If Koyomiko-chan didn't cry that much, then...there could've been something wrong. You need to start getting accustomed to this, too – you and Tomo, both. She will do this again, but you already knew that.”

Looking down at the now-calmed child in her arms, Yomi sighed once more. Mrs. Takino was right – she knew this was going to happen, and she knew it was going to happen again. It was a typical experience all parents must face in raising a child. However, she could not help but scold at her leniency towards it all. She needed to be aware of these things and try to prepare for those moments, for she knew Tomo would just wait until the moment actually happened for her to do something.

“Nggh...Good morning, Yo – er...Mom?”

“Tomo! You're awake! Sit down, we were just about to have breakfast!” Tomo nodded, and sat beside Yomi, giving her partner a questioning look. As Mrs. Takino was filling up a bowl of her breakfast for her daughter, Yomi quietly explained what had happened before her arrival.

“Oh...So, she's going to help us or something?”

“Maybe...I hope so.”

After everyone finished their breakfast, attention was reverted back to last night's ordeal. Now with Tomo available, both women explained the whole night to Mrs. Takino, who took in every last word. To the older woman – who already had experience, obviously, from raising Tomo – it was a typical ordeal. Unlike her experiences, though, it was much milder than what she had to go through. Recalling the moments when infant Tomo would cry her eardrum-shattering cries, Mrs. Takino could not help but stifle a small giggle. At least with her experience, she could toughen up these two just in case.

As the final words were uttered, Mrs. Takino gave the two a thumbs up. “After hearing all of that, I think I can give you a couple of pointers.”

“You can?! Thanks, Mom!”

“Oh, of course, Tomo! I once took care of a child, too, you know...”

“Oh...yeah...”

With a deep breath, the lesson immediately began. “Now, listen carefully. Take notes, even! What I am going to tell you will help you for many months to come! Out of my experiences, I have noticed it is best for one parent to get adjusted to nighttime activities while the other takes care during the day. The problem with this, though, is that Tomo has training...and will eventually become a full-fledged police officer. She must be awake during the day, but at the same time, only Yomi is available to take care of Koyomiko-chan during the day...”

“So...what would you suggest?”

Mrs. Takino crossed her arms, thinking. “Hmm...Well, we could get Yomi to adjust to the night shift with a few afternoon naps. Tomo could also help at night for a while, maybe during the hours before midnight. That way, she would be a little rested before heading to train.”

“Basically, you two need to fix your sleeping patterns so that Koyomiko-chan has 24-hour care. One of you would be awake enough to take care of her during one part of the day, and the other would have energy for the other part.”

“But the question is,” Yomi suddenly interjected, “how? How do we do this?”

“It's really simple! Just rest.”

“...That's it?”

“Well, yes! See, Tomo, you can take a little nap after training so you can handle the first half of the night. Since Yomi's here all day, she can take naps during the day when Koyomiko-chan's quiet, and she can go to sleep earlier as a sort of pre-shift nap. When Tomo's shift is over, she wakes Yomi up and you can stay up until the last wail, and then Tomo can watch over her as she gets ready for the next day and the cycle repeats.”

Tomo and Yomi thought about this plan. It sounded easy, but it probably far from it. The most complicated part was the “shift change” at night. What if Koyomiko wanted to be fed? Would Tomo have to wake Yomi up anyway? Of course she had to. Yomi, in particular, wondered if she could go back to sleep afterwards. Overall, Mrs. Takino's plan was interesting, and it could kind of work, but there was truly no real solution for the nightly cries.

“I see you're doubting this plan. That's okay, though. It was very hard for your father and I to get adjusted while you were young, Tomo, and it took us a long time to find that solution. It fit with our schedule the best, though. I don't know about you two...”

Yomi smiled. “Thank you for the idea, though. I think it could work, but...we might have to tweak it a little.”

“Yeah, it might take us some time to get used to it,” Tomo added with her own smile, “but you won't see us this, uh, messy anytime soon, Mom! We promise!”

“Oh, you don't need to promise anything, Tomo! And I've seen you in the mornings plenty of times! This isn't any different!”

Tomo scratched her head, laughing weakly. “Oh, yeah...”

That evening, after dinner was served, Tomo and Yomi prepared for bed. As this was the night after the ordeal, and they felt like it would happen again tonight. Koyomiko had already cried a while ago, and it took the two almost half an hour to calm her down. It was like a sort of premonition.

As Tomo changed into her nightwear, she asked, “So...who gets the first shift again?”

“I think it was you,” Yomi replied from her futon, “because you have to be up in the morning.”

“Ah...”

“I just hope she doesn't need me before my shift...”

Tomo simply nodded, walking over to the tall, but not completely filled, bookshelf and grabbed a magazine to read. From the corner of her eye, she could see Yomi continuously glancing at the sleeping Koyomiko, and stifled a laugh. “Yomi, don't worry about it. I'll be up. If she cries, you don't have to get up. I'll take care of everything until it's your turn!”

“...But...what if...”

“If she needs you, I'll let you know.” Tomo smiled. “This is our trial, okay? We're just doing what my mom said for tonight, and if there's anything wrong or awkward or anything...well, we fix it!”

Yomi smiled. “You make it sound easier than what it really is.”

The other woman replied with a grin. “Heheh...Well, that's what I do! You don't want it to sound impossible, right?”

The two shared a laugh, then Yomi answered, “No, I guess not.”

Tomo then got up, turned off the bedroom light, and turned on the lamp from Yomi's desk. She then sat by the desk, which placed her between Yomi and Koyomiko. By sitting here, she thought, she would have easy access to both...just in case.

She looked over Yomi, then over to Koyomiko, and finally back to Yomi. This was their first hurdle in what would eventually be the long obstacle course that was known as parenthood. When she thought about it, Tomo realized the two were pretty much ready for whatever obstacle would appear in the future. Then again, they had only experienced this ordeal once – it was going to happen often throughout these upcoming months.

Meanwhile, Yomi was thinking virtually the same thing. Despite this thought, however, she smiled. Koyomiko was just a baby, after all, and she has needs just like every other person, young or old. The difference was that crying was her way of getting one's attention, and the adults would have to figure out what she wants on their own. That was quite a challenge, but she and Tomo would figure out a great strategy to overcome it.

Tomo came to this same conclusion and smiled as well. She was definitely ready for all the challenges that would rise. She would help out as much as possible, even after she became a full-fledged officer. Most importantly, she would be there for both Yomi and Koyomiko, and they would be there for her.

Tomo then looked at her partner once more. “Yomi?” she asked the dark figure within the futon.

“Mm?” was the muffled reply.

“We kind of forgot something...”

Yomi slowly got up from her bed. “...and what would that be?”

Crawling over to the brunette, she planted a short kiss on her lips. “We forgot to say 'good night', of course!” she replied with a giggle.

Yomi smiled back, though she was hiding the smirk that wanted to emerge at that moment. “Oh yeah...so we have.”

“Well?”

“Well...what?”

The two laughed and kissed again, saying “good night” simultaneously afterwards. After getting readjusted in their previous spots, the looked over the quiet, sleeping form of Koyomiko and whispered a “good night” to her as well.

Then, as if she had heard her mothers, the child moved her arms in her sleep as her way of saying “good night” to them.