Chapter Text
Yami awoke to soft trilling, and something fluffy rubbing against his cheek. When he groaned softly, the trilling grew in volume, and more fluff pressed against him. A chuckle escaped him as the sunlight streamed into the room for a moment.
“I can’t convince you all to sleep in today?” He mumbled, laughing as one of the fluffballs zoomed into his cheek. “Alright, alright, let’s get some breakfast.” As he sat up, the 5 babies piled into his lap, trilling for attention. They were getting so big- just a few weeks ago they hadn’t been able to fly at all, still lying in their makeshift nest on his bed. Now their eyes were open, they were flying for a few minutes at a time, and they were getting pretty good at zooming around too. He scooped up the kuribohs one at a time, giving each one a kiss and setting them back into his lap. As he wandered into the bathroom, they came cruising after him- some bouncing off his back as they miscalculated their flight.
Dressed and ready for the day, the babies followed him downstairs into the kitchen. As he prepared their breakfast, cutting fruits into small pieces so they would be easy to chew, they wrestled on the counter. He set out the 5 bowls on the counter, and smiled as the kuribohs took a moment to sort themselves out. Eventually, the larger four were in place, and he gave them each breakfast. A nudge against his elbow drew his eyes to the smallest baby.
“No, we talked about this.” He cooed, scooping up the little one. “No more bottle feeding. You have to eat solids. Your siblings are all eating fruit.”
“ Kuri? ” The baby replied, big eyes pleading. Yami laughed, grabbing a piece of fruit and holding it out. Begrudgingly, the baby took a bite. It took a little longer than normal, but he managed to give the littlest one their breakfast. After breakfast, he slipped into the makeshift sling he fashioned for the babies. As they all got settled in, held close to his chest, he got ready for the day. They had a 6 week check up at the vet, he had to go and get some more nesting materials to build them some more places to nap, and general errands. When he had moved into town, taking care of 5 baby kuribohs was the last thing he would have considered doing. And here he was, swaddling 5 fluffballs and letting them run his life.
The babies were asleep as he locked up and took a deep breath of the fresh air. He hadn’t been outside much, since the kuribohs were still so small. The vet- an older gentleman named Sugoroku- had made it very clear to Yami that they were at risk from predators. He refused to admit how many nightmares he had about some larger monster coming and hurting the babies. Walks were nice, from time to time, and they were snoozing peacefully as he strolled towards the center of town. An occasional trill escaped one of them, and he rubbed gently over the outside of the sling. Soon, they would be awake and ricocheting around with post nap energy.
The Kame Clinic wasn’t a very large veterinary office, but when he found the babies, they were the only clinic who was willing to squeeze a panicking Yami into a late night visit. Sugoroku was a very kind man, and a fountain of good information. When the babies hadn’t slept through a few nights in a row, Sugoroku explained they slept with their mothers and needed him close. Sharing his bed was nerve wracking at first, but he had figured out how to make a nest he could snuggle up next to without being terrified that he was going to roll over and crush them.
He checked in and sat down, peering into the sling to see one pair of sleepy eyes peering back. Not long now until he would be chasing them around. Hopefully they got into a room first. Another set of eyes opened and he quickly covered them back up. The waiting room was a little crowded to be following the babies around, and he saw some much larger monsters waiting to be seen.
“Mr. Sennen?” One of the staff members called, and he scrambled to get into the exam room. By the time they were done weighing all the babies, they were trilling and exploring the exam room. He had tried a carrier, but they had cried so sadly that he gave in and put them back in the sling. Now, he was sort of regretting giving in.
“Come on, don’t go in the cabinet.” He chided, scooping one of them out of the air before they managed to squirm into the cracked cabinet door. “Can’t you be good for the vet?” The tiniest baby was tucked into his hair, surely making him look insane.
“ Kuri! ” A jar of cotton balls toppled over, and the bigger 4 all went to investigate their fluffy counterparts. As Yami crossed the floor to pick them back up, the door opened and someone stepped in. The young man ground Yami’s thoughts to a halt for just a moment. He was wearing blue scrubs with a matching cap to hold his hair back from his face. His purple eyes lit up as the kuribohs swarmed him. He was handsome- devastatingly so.
“Oh!” He laughed, smiling as the babies squirmed into his pockets. One zoomed into his cheek, and he caught the little troublemaker as they toppled back. “You guys are just the cutest! I knew Grandpa assigned me this room for a reason. Oh- I’m sorry. I’m Yugi Muto, a vet technician.” He extended his kuriboh-free hand for Yami to shake.
“I’m Yami Sennen.” He said, still mildly awestruck by Yugi’s bright smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Yugi laughed again as one of the babies poked their head out of his pocket. “Sorry about that, they just woke up.”
“You don’t have to apologize for anything!” Yugi gushed, gently stroking the kuriboh in his hand. “I love these little guys- we haven’t had a litter this young in so long. Oh- hello sweetie.” The tiny one was moving in Yami’s hair, and Yugi was cooing up at him. “You must be the runt. May I?” Yami nodded, letting Yugi gently take the little one out of his tri colored hair. The baby squeaked in protest. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m not taking you far.” Yami sat next to the exam table, letting Yugi examine each of the babies. As he finished, he carefully handed them back to Yami. The babies were curious about Yugi, and by the time he finished they were all crowded back around him.
“You are all so cute!” Yugi gushed. “I can’t stand it.” He fished a toy out of his pockets and set it down, watching the babies chase the little ball around the exam table. “They all seem healthy- other than this little guy's weight.” The smallest baby had chosen to nestle back into the crook of Yami’s neck- trilling softly.
“I’ve been giving him extra at meals, they all eat snacks all day.” Yami sighed, gently petting the runt. “He just doesn’t put weight on very well.” Yugi nodded, before pulling up some information on his tablet.
“I can give you some nutrient powder to add to his food. He’s eating solids now, right?” Yugi asked. One of the bigger kuribohs spotted the tablet and zoomed over, bonking into the back of it with a squeak. “Oh! Careful!” Yami scooped up the dizzy kuriboh, pressing a kiss to its fluffy head. It trilled and flew up to sit on his shoulder.
“Yeah, they are all eating fruits, some vegetables.” Yami said. “The little one was really hard to get off the formula they were drinking.”
“If he still hasn’t gained another ounce or two by next week, I would suggest giving him formula in between meals.” Yugi said. “It will help him fill out a little faster. You can put the formula in a dish, and then it should be easier to wean him back off.”
“Thank you for the advice. I have been worried about him.” Yami admitted. “He’s so much tinier than the others.” Yugi nodded, smiling as the other three all headed towards Yami, settling on his lap. One squirmed into the sling, calling out as she did so.
“ Kuri! Kuri! ” At the sound of their sisters' call, the others slowly made their way into the sling as well. Yugi cooed quietly as they settled in.
“They use the same call wild kuribohs use when their mama is nearby.” He said, smiling at Yami. “You take really good care of them.” Something in the softness made Yami blush, wrenching his eyes away from Yugi’s sweet expression.
“Ah- thank you. Sugoroku was a big help. If it weren’t for him, they wouldn’t have slept through the night.” He said, trying desperately to deflect from his racing heart.
“Grandpa is an expert on these things.” Yugi agreed, jotting something down on his notepad. “If you don’t mind, there are some books I think will help you out as they get older.”
“Of course, thank you.” Yami said, smiling as the runt finally settled into the sling. “I have some experience with rearing monsters, but never any this tiny.” Yugi slid the paper over, with a list of books, and then busied himself getting the babies scheduled for their first round of vaccines- and getting fixed.
“If you aren’t planning on breeding them, I would recommend getting them fixed as soon as possible.” Yugi said, fishing out the nutrient powder from one of the cabinets. “Kuribohs are infamous for sudden population explosions- my Grandpa used to say if you have 2, expect 20.” Yami chuckled, peering into the sling as the babies slept. He made them appointments- except for the runt, who would definitely need to gain weight before then. As he carried the babies back out to the waiting room, packing away the nutrient powder, he turned to shake Yugi’s hand again.
“Thank you for all your help.” He said, fighting to keep his face from falling into a lovestruck dopey grin.
“I hope I don’t see you all before their next appointment.” Yugi chided playfully. “But don’t be afraid to give us a call if something comes up, okay?” Yami wrestled his heart back into his chest, nodding in agreement. There were still errands to do, he could pine like a lovesick school boy later.
~~~~~
Yami was reading one of the books he had picked up from the library, sitting on the floor in the living room. The babies had just finished dinner, and had dove into the toys he had picked up with gusto. Two of them were chasing one of the plastic springs around, trilling as it rolled across the floor. The runt was currently snuggled into his hair, very softly purring, as the remaining two were vigorously using the scratching boards he had gotten for them. The woman at the store had been very knowledgeable about some of the things the babies needed.
Kuriboh are often found in large family groups in the wild. These fluffy little herbivores rarely stray far from each other, even if they are usually seen in pairs or alone while foraging for food. There are over a dozen different vocalizations for different members of their herd, ranging from sounds for their parents to friends and strangers. An experienced ear can tell more about a Kuriboh family than a careful eye. He looked up from his reading as one of the babies peered over his book with big eyes.
“Hello.” Yami cooed, carefully setting the book behind him on the couch. When he spoke up, the 4 larger babies flocked over to him, all trilling together. “My goodness, so chatty tonight.” He dug through the bag from the store, producing a special comb. This was supposed to help keep their fur clean, and show them how to groom themselves and each other. The comb slid over his ring and middle fingers, turning them into makeshift claws. He gently scooped up the babies, combing their fur one at a time. The motion was soothing, and he smiled as they all dissolved into purring balls of fluff in his lap. The runt was last- tugging on his hair in protest as Yami grabbed him.
Combing complete, Yami let the runt join the pile with his siblings. They would be calm for a while, and then begin to race around the living room again. Soon it would be impossible to keep them on the ground, and he started to make a mental list of the things he would need to pack away until they learned to leave the shelves alone. And within a few weeks they would be too big for the sling, but still too small for harnesses. He scrolled through a supply store on his phone, finding something he thought would work and ordering it. It was better than nothing, after all. He had to protect them until they were big enough to learn some self defense.
“ Kuri kuri! ” One of the babies launched up to sit on his head, and he laughed aloud. Laughing woke up the rest of the babies, and suddenly he was in the middle of a turf war. They zoomed back and forth to knock each other off of his head, trilling and complaining back and forth. After one too many tumbles, he collected all of them into his arms.
“Enough.” Yami said, standing up with his arms full of fluff. “My head is not a battleground, babies.” He could feel how messed up his hair was from the scuffle as he carried the kuribohs up to his room. They played on the bed as he painstakingly combed the tangles out of his hair, wincing occasionally. By the time he got himself changed for bed, they had huddled into the nest, trilling for him to join them. He slid under the covers, lying back with a smile as the babies settled down. In just a few weeks, everything would change again. He sat up slowly, grabbing his sketchbook off the nightstand.
His pencil captured the babies, snuggled close together. The soft lines of their fur, the little paws twitching in their dreams, the tiny differences between them. As he finished the sketching, he wrote the date in the top corner and set the sketchbook back on the nightstand. As he laid down, he shifted onto his side so he could watch the babies stir in their sleep. Before long, he was joining them in dreams.