Jin ran every which way, Yuji wouldn't stop crying, but Kaori was far too tired from childbirth, even two days later, to help. Jin rocked Yuji back and forth until he heard the sound of the microwave ding. He pulled out the bottle and handed it to the baby, who happily sucked it without hesitation. Jin breathed a sigh of relief to be freed from the crying of his newborn. Yuji was placed in his crib, and Jin held the bottle so it would not slip from Yuji's mouth and send him into another tantrum. "You really are loud, huh?" Jin lowered his head and lay it on his arm while smiling, "Strong vocal cords for my strong boy." Yuji's eyes flickered towards his father as he finished his bottle, as if understanding what his father was feeling. He wiggled as his eyes drooped from exhaustion. Jin's own eyes drooped from exhaustion. Raising a baby was always gonna be chaotic, but he wasn't prepared for just how much it would affect his schedule. A stench stung his nose, and Jin's eyes opened. Yuji was sleeping peacefully, but without a doubt, his diaper was filled. Jin rose to change him but paused when he saw Kaori standing in the doorway, her eyes were on Yuji. "Honey, you should be in bed. You're still recovering. She stepped forward, her eyes never leaving the sleeping newborn, "I will change him. You go to sleep." Her tone left no room for arguing. Jin wanted to protest, but another wave of exhaustion flooded him, and he slumped down the hall to their room. "Yuji." Kaori's voice, despite being a whisper, filled the room. "Hm, yes, you will do fine." She produced a wrapped cylindrical item from her robe. Carefully, she unwrapped, revealing a finger. She smiled and pushed the finger toward him. Yuji didn't stop crying that night.
"Was he ok?" Jin sat up; his voice was groggy and scratchy from the night of inactivity. The morning sun's rays lit his face and made him turn his head. Kaori already lay awake, watching him. "He was simply tired. Babies tend to cry over every little thing." Jin nodded. It was understandable. He swung his feet over the edge of the bed, "I'll go check on him." He slid on his robes and walked down the hall. He pushed the door open, Yuji quietly stared at the ceiling, and he looked over at Jin as he walked in. Jin noticed something strange: Yuji had a faded scar running down his body from his chest to his abdomen. Jin thought he might have been seeing things, but he was sure that mark wasn't there the night prior. He traced his fingers over the scar while Yuji watched him without crying. "What happened to you?" "Did something happen?" Jin jumped. He turned to the door, Kaori stood there with a smile. She approached and gently took Yuji from her husband. "Did he have that scar before?" Kaori glanced for a moment at the scar, then back to his eyes. Her head tilted, and her smile stretched wider, "Yes." A chill ran through his body. Why was she lying? "Uh...right. Must've missed it." Their eyes stayed locked, but her patience won out. This happened often recently. In the first few years of their relationship, she was kind and outgoing, but for the past year, she'd been different. He couldn't look her in the eye for long, and often he'd caught her in several minor lies.
Jin sat in his car and sighed. He pulled out his phone and stared at his father's contact, "This is crazy, I'm crazy. Maybe that scar had always been there?" Before he could second-guess himself anymore, he pressed dial. The phone rang, and rang, and rang before it was picked up, "What? Finally come to your senses, brat?" Wasuke's gruff voice filled the car and soothed Jin's nerves. He still felt a little peaved at the scene his father caused in the hospital, but now Jin wondered if he truly did see something horrifying. "Dad, listen, this is serious." Wasuke kept on, "So was I, and I was treated like I was crazy." Jin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "We've been over this, Dad, you are crazy...But maybe not about this. Look, Kaori, she's...She's lying to me for some reason about Yuji. Last night, I was checking on Yuji before bed. Kaori told me to go lie down. Next thing I knew, he wouldn't stop crying, and she came back as if nothing had happened." Silence on the other end. "Dad?" Wasuke remained silent for a moment before he spoke, "Did Yuji look or act strange this morning?" Jin nodded even if he couldn't be seen, "He's not crying, in fact, he's not really showing much expression at all, and he even had a faded scar along his body." Wasuke was quiet for a moment again, "Son, listen and listen well, that woman is not what she seems, she's-" He didn't get to finish as Kaori opened the passenger door and slid into the seat. She held Yuji in her arms, she stared at Jin with a predatorily sweet smile, "Where to?" Jin gulped. He hadn't even seen her come outside. He silently hung up the phone. "The park sound alright?" He tried to sound normal, but there was a slight tremor in his voice. She didn't answer, just kept staring. He put the car in drive and stiffly turned onto the road.
Kaori's smile didn't fade, she didn't even glance out the window, she kept he gaze on Yuji, who held hers back. It was uncomfortable to even be in the same car as them at the moment; he could only imagine what she'd done to Yuji. "Jin." Kaori said softly, "Y-yes?" Jin answered. "Where are we going?" Jin gripped the wheel tighter, "The park, as I said." Kaori looked at him, then back to Yuji, her calm smile still on her face, "Yes, you said that...but the park is the opposite way." Jin panicked internally; she caught on. He didn't really know where he was going; he'd subconsciously started driving to his dad's house. "O-oh, my bad." Kaori turned to look at him. "Jin." Goosebumps ignited across his skin at his name on her tongue, "Yes?" She tilted her head, "You know, don't you?" Jin's breathing grew heavy. "Know what?" Kaori leaned toward him, "That I'm not your wife. I'm not Kaori." A sob nearly tore from his throat. He knew where this was headed; he only hoped Yuji would stay safe. "I-I've had my suspicions." Her eyes softened a bit, "Wanna know what happened to her?" Jin didn't even look; from the corner of his eyes, he could see the unnaturally large grin nearly splitting her face, and the fact that the top bit of her head was now open to reveal her brain with a mouth, all the stitches gone. "I killed her." She laughed, and he sobbed, both sad and enraged. He turned the wheel hard, veering off the road and into a tree. She was punctured through, Yuji on her lap, somehow unscathed, while Jin himself had glass stuck in his stomach. He coughed a bit of blood. He moved his eyes to Yuji. He used all his strength to lean over and pick him up. Jin watched over his son with loving eyes. He managed a small smile. Yuji wasn't even crying. "You'll grow up to be a fighter, won't you, Yuji? Just make sure to never give up." He glanced over to see Kaori's eyes closed, a smile on her face, and her head empty. He reached out to close her head and then leaned his head on her shoulder. He sobbed quietly before he smiled sadly, "Yuji, its ok to cry and feel lonely, make sure to surround yourself with people who you can genuinely love wether as friends or romantically. Your mother and I will always watch over you. I love you...Yuji." His eyes closed, never to open again. Yuji didn't cry as a dark cloud shrouded him in its warm embrace.