It was a typical morning at the STNJ. Typical since the time was late morning to early afternoon, and Yuriko Doujima was arriving for her daily chewing out from the chief for being so late. Sharing the elevator with her that morning was Robin Sena, the resident craft user for their small operation. Neither woman spoke as the elevator opened on the fifth floor, only stared in awe at what their usually tranquil office had become. Overnight, or over the course of the morning, baby care items were scattered over desks, the floor, even on the piles of records kept by Michael's computer terminal.
     "Robin, Doujima, it's nice to see you," the chief said as he ran past, his arms laden with diapers.
     "Chief, what's going on?" Doujima asked, slipping her jacket off and folding it over her arms, "It looks like you're...."
     "I'll explain in a minute," the chief said as a baby's cry filled the air. "Join the others in the meeting room. I'll be there as soon as I take care of this.... situation."

     "A baby?" Haruto Sakaki asked in disbelief. "You must be joking, right?"
     "The office is no place to be taking care of a baby," Miho Karasuma stated, "You should know that."
     The chief coughed into his sleeve. "Well, it was sort of a last minute thing," he explained, "I'm his godfather, and his parents were suddenly called away on business and he's too young to travel, so they asked if I could take care of him."
     "So what does this have to do with the STNJ?" Amon asked before blowing his nose on a handkerchief. The other people in the room stared in awe, since the sound was remarkably akin to that of a foghorn. "We're not exactly a babysitting service."
     "I'm with Amon on this one," Karasuma said, "Chief, we have cases to handle right now. We can't take time to babysit your godson."
     "I'm not asking all of you to babysit....." the chief said.
     "Oh, now that's a relief," Doujima replied, stretching backward in her seat.
     "... Only Doujima, Robin, and Amon."
     Doujima fell backward, her chair landing flat on its back while she managed to regain her balance and land on her butt instead of her back. "But Chief," she started to protest.
     "What?" Robin asked quietly.
     Amon simply coughed and blew his nose again.
     "This is strange and unusual punishment, isn't it?" Doujima asked, standing up to right her chair. "Punishment for being late to work, right?"
     "You can call it that if you want," the chief replied, chuckling a little. "Actually it's because I already considered asking Michael, Miho, and Haruto, and ran through the possible problems. I figured you three could handle little Hakumo by yourselves."
     "But....." Doujima began to say.
     "And can you three stop by Takahashi Mart and pick a few things up for me?" the chief asked, handing Doujima a folded note. "This is the list."
     "But...." Robin said as she was whisked off by the chief to pick up little Hakumo.
     "Enjoy your babysitting duties," Sakaki chided on his way out.
     "Call me if you need any pointers," Karasuma said, giving Doujima a smile and wink on her way out of the meeting room.
     "We'll be in touch if anything comes up," Michael said as he passed by to return to his computer.
     Amon simply blew his nose again, which caused Doujima to jump a few inches since he was right behind her. She turned and looked up at him, noticing that his eyes were slightly bloodshot. "Poor Amon," she said with mock pity, "you're coming down with a cold, aren't you?"
     "I don't get sick," Amon replied coldly.
     "Then what do you call what you have? Hmmm? Answer that tough guy."
     "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."
     Amon blew his nose again, and Doujima crossed her ams and sighed. "C'mon mister I-don't-get-sick, we need to find out where the chief went with Robin."

     Fifteen minutes later all three were packed into Doujima's red sports car, Robin in the back seat with little Hakumo, who wasn't so little after all. Amon was riding shotgun and blowing his nose every two minutes or so. Doujima, of course, was driving and battling to keep her sanity from the sound of Amon's nose clearing.
     "Does anybody mind a little music?" she asked, pressing the radio select button on her dashboard. "Any requests?"
     "Whatever is popular," Robin replied quietly, looking down at the baby strapped into the seat next to her, "What do you think Hakumo?"
     "Goo?" the baby replied, looking up at Robin with emerald green eyes.
     "Popular station it is," Doujima said, punching in the correct key. Gentle singing with a medium paced beat filled the car as it sped on its way to Takahama Mart.
     After a few more minutes Doujima said, "Say, Robin, do you suppose the parents are, you know, witches?"
     "I don't know," Robin said in her quiet manner. "Why do you ask?"
     "Well, I don't know. His eyes are such a strange color. Like, emerald green eyes for someone of Japanese descent is sort of, well, rare, you know."
     "I'm not sure I follow..."
     "Oh, nevermind then. It's probably nothing."

     A short time later they pulled into the parking lot for Takahashi Mart. Doujima simply stared in awe at the size of the store. Robin gawked and said a quiet, "Oh my." Amon, on the other hand, blew his nose once again.
     "You really should pick up some cold medicine while we're here," Doujima said, elbowing Amon playfully in the ribs as they walked across the parking lot.
     "I told you before, I'm not sick," Amon said coldly.
     "You're just in denial," Doujima sighed, snagging a shopping cart as they stepped into the atrium at the entrance to the store. "Robin, put Hakumo's carrier up here so we can keep a better eye on him."
     "But..." Robin said quietly.
     "It'll be easier on your arms in the long run," Doujima stated, "I helped my neighbor with her baby a few times, and let me tell you they may not look like they weigh a lot, but after carrying them for a while, they weigh a ton."
     Robin thought this over for a minute or two before heafting the carrying chair onto the child's seat of the wagon. Once the seat was secure they entered the store for the shopping experience of a lifetime.
     "Welcome to Takahashi Mart," a thirty something year old woman said with overexaggerated exuberence. "We hope you enjoy your shopping experience."
     "Right. Thank you," Robin said, bowing formally as Amon and Doujima walked on past.
     "Our first order of business is to find the baby department," Doujima said, looking down at Hakumo. "Hey there little guy, Auntie Yuriko and Auntie Robin and Uncle Amon are going to buy you lots of pretty gifts. What do you think about that?"
     "A goooooob pppppppppttttthhhbbbbt," Hakumo replied, batting his green eyes at Doujima.
     "You're good with children Miss Doujima," Robin said, matching her pace to Doujima's, which was a feat in and of itself due to the length of her dress.
     "It's a talent," Doujima replied as Amon blew his nose yet again. "Amon, you keep blowing at that pace and you'll need several new handkerchiefs or more tissues by the time we're done in here."
     "I'm fine," Amon replied coldly, reaching into his jacket to fish out a stack of handkerchiefs, "I came prepared, as always."
     "Fine, be a snot," Doujima sneered.
     "The baby department should be ahead by twenty feet or so," Michael's voice said over their cell phones / terminals.
     "Michael, what are you doing on our frequency right now?" Doujima asked, slightly startled by the directions their resident computer geek was giving them.
     "Figured you could use my help, since Takahashi Mart is in a zipcode of its own," Michael replied.
     "Baby department sighted," Robin said, "Miss Doujima, what's on the list?"
     "That's a good question," Doujima replied, unfolding the list that the chief had handed to her before they'd left. A small plastic card fell out of the folds of paper.
     "Well?" Robin asked as she began to look at baby clothes.
     "Houston, we have jackpot," Doujima squeaked as she picked up the card.
     "What do you mean? My name's not Houston," Robin said, turning to see what Doujima was talking about.
     "The chief gave us his credit card," Doujima squeaked happily, "Do you know what this means?"
     Amon gave his reply in the form of yet another loud foghorn nose clearing. Doujima simply sighed and rubbed her temples. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have here our chief's credit card, meaning we can purchase just about anything so long as we don't go over his limit."
     "We're going to purchase what is on the list and that's that," Amon said coldly before sneezing.
     "We might want to add some cold meds to the list," Doujima chuckled.
     "I...."
     "Amon, are you coming down with a cold?" Robin asked, just barely realizing what all the nose blowing was all about.
     "I...."
     "He won't admit that he's coming down with a cold," Doujima teased, "he's being too macho right now for his own good."
     "I...."
     "Amon, we should get you some hot tea and some ingrediants so I can make up some natural cold medicine like I learned at the convent."
     "I...."
     "Gooooble bleeeeeffffffff," Hakumo drooled, getting in on the conversation.
     Amon simply bowed his head and sighed. "All right," he said after a moment, "you win. I'm coming down with a cold."
     "Was that so hard to say?" Doujima asked, "Admitting you have a problem is the first step to getting treatment, and Doctor Yuriko says that a good shopping spree is the beginning of that treatment."
     "I agree," Robin said, smiling slightly, "so let us begin here in the baby department."

     For the next half an hour or so the conversation was all about the cute things in the baby department. Technically the conversation between Robin and Doujima revolved around the baby department. Amon simply stood still and glanced at all the pink and blue and stuffed toys and other baby items and blew his nose.
     "This is so darling," Doujima would say in reguards to baby clothes.
     "I think this would be nice, don't you Hakumo?" Robin would ask, holding up a stuffed toy of some sort or another for the baby to look at.
     "E hehehehehehehhe," Hakumo would giggle while looking at all the toys and fun things he was being showered with by his "aunties".
     "You two are an embarrassment to be with," Amon huffed, crossing his arms while standing at the end of the aisle.
     "Old man," Doujima huffed back, picking up a stuffed bear that would talk if you squeezed it. She held this up to Amon's ear and gave it a squeeze.
     "You're a smile factory," the bear said, which caused Amon to color lightly. Whether it was from anger or embarrassment, only he knew for certain, but Doujima chuckled and bounced over to the cart where Robin was showing Hakumo some adorable baby clothes.
     "Are you two even buying the things on the list?" Amon asked without turning to look at them.
     "Yes Uncle Amon, we are," Doujima huffed, dumping a large package of diapers into the cart, "we have everything on the list except for cold medicine, and that's in another department of the store."
     "Where would we go for cold meds?" Robin asked, poking her head out of the aisle to look around, "This store is so large. Much bigger than the convent ever was."
     "I've seen malls that were smaller than this," Doujima said as she pushed the cart out into the main asile, "Michael, are you still there?"
     "Yeah," Michael replied, "What's up Miss Doujima?"
     "Can you give us directions to the cold medicine section of the store?"
     There was a pause where all they could hear on their earpieces was the sound of fingers dancing over a computer keyboard. "Yeah, I have it," Michael said after a minute or two, "It's quite the distance from where you are right now. You need to...."
     A loud screeching came over their terminals, and all three held their hands to their ears in pain. A moment later their signal cut out, leaving them on their own.
     "And that leads me to believe that we're going to have roaming charges on our next cell phone bill," Doujima sighed, pulling her earpiece out and slipping it into her pocket.
     "I think they might want to cut down on cell phone use within the store," Amon said, slipping his hands into his pockets, where he kept his Orbo gun. "But just to be on the safe side..."
     "Yes, we have a baby on board," Robin said, not realizing just how dated her saying was. "Doujima, let's move."
     "Moving," Doujima said, pushing the carriage at a slightly quicker pace than they had up to that point been going. "I say we skip the cold meds, hit the checkout, and then head back to the STNJ building for some rest."
     The sound of high heeled shoes on tile filled the air, and they glanced over their shoulders to see four people clad in blue vests with the store logo embossed upon them approaching.
     "Doujima...." Robin began to say, only to find that Doujima was one step ahead of them and was rocketing towards the checkout.
     "Stall them," Amon said, running to catch up with Doujima.
     "Certainly," Robin said, slipping her glasses on. Fire flared up in her green eyes before exploding in the air between her and the Takahashi Mart associates. The four women stopped in their tracks as Robin turned on her heels and began running to catch up to Amon and Doujima.
     "Express lane or regular?" Doujima asked when Robin had caught up to them.
     "Regular," Amon said, "we have too many items for express."
     "More trouble," Robin said, looking at the lines for the registers.
     "We'll be in here for hours," Doujima pouted, "not how I want to be spending my day."
     She looked down at Hakumo, who looked like he was about to burst into tears. "What's wrong little guy?" she asked, gently touching his forehead, "no temperature. Are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you need to..."
     A giant grin spread over Hakumo's face as a sound that cannot be mentioned or described filled the air. Doujima fell backwards into Robin's arms as a massive gas cloud began to fill the area. All around them people abandoned their groceries in search of fresh air, leaving them rather alone in the front of the store.
     "What manner of witchcraft is this?" Robin asked, fire flashing in her eyes.
     "Not the best idea," Doujima said, regaining her feet. "Do you want to blow us all to hell and back?"
     "Blow us... up?" Robin asked, the fire leaving her eyes.
     "The kid had gas," Amon said, handing them handkerchiefs to put over their noses and mouths, "methane gas, to be exact. That's why he looked about ready to cry."
     "So... he's better?"
     "If you had to break wind and did so in that manner you'd feel better too after doing so, wouldn't you?" Doujima asked.
     "I suppose...." Robin pondered.
     "I can take the next in line," a loan cashier said, waving them forward.
     "Looks like that's us," Doujima said as she pulled the cart forward and began to unload it. "What fortunate timing Hakumo."
     "Gooooo," Hakumo said, smiling and flailing his little arms and legs about happily.
     "Will there be anything else?" the clerk asked after rining the order through.
     "Oh, these cold pills and cough drops," Doujima said, snagging a box of daytime liquidcaps and a bag of generic cough drops from a nearby shelf. "What's the total?"
     "I'm afraid to say it," the clerk said, growing paler than she had been before.
     Doujima, Amon, and Robin looked at how much their purchase would cost and facefaulted.
     "That's... quite a bit of money," Robin stated.
     "The chief is going to kill us," Amon said under his breath.
     "We'll charge it," Doujima said, handing over the chief's credit card.
     On their way out of the store the same overly perky person said, "Thank you for choosing to shop at Takahashi Mart. We hope you have a nice day."
     "Thank you very much," Robin said, bowing formally yet again, "You have a wonderful day as well."
     "Hurry up Robin, or we'll leave you behind," Doujima called from the exit.
     "Coming," Robin called, bowing once more to everyone gathered at the door before running after Amon and Doujima.

     An hour or so later Robin, Amon, and Doujima, as well as the doorman, appeared in the chief's office, arms laden with bags bearing the Takahashi Mart name and logo. When the chief saw just how many bags they were carrying his jaw dropped.
     "How much did all of this cost?" he asked as Doujima handed him his credit card and the recipt.
     "I'd rather not say," Doujima said, smiling a little, "I don't think your heart could take the news."
     "What percentage was personal purchases?"
     "Very small percentage," Robin said, "Only some cold medicine for Amon."
     Amon blew his nose yet again, shaking the windows in the chief's office with the volume of the blast. The chief sighed and looked at all of the bags. "You're dismissed," he said. As the three filed out he added, "Thank you."
     "No problem chief," Doujima said, winking at him, "But we should add hazard pay for going to Takahashi Mart."
     "And travel pay," Amon added, "it's a whole other zipcode after all."
     "And cell phone pay," Robin added, "for roaming charges."
     The chief face faulted anew after each addition. He sighed and said, "All right, you'll get your pay in the next check."
     As soon as Robin, Amon, and Doujima were out of the chief's office, and Doujima had closed the door behind them, she counted backwards from five.
     "What's going to happen when you hit one?" Robin asked.
     Doujima smiled and winked. "You'll see," she said. "Three... two... one..."
     "DOUJIMA!!!" the chief's voice echoed throughout the entire building. The sound of Amon blowing his nose soon followed, scaring a few birds outside to the point that they took to the air. Following that was Doujima saying, "But chief, kids are expensive, especially the young ones. Isn't that right Hakumo?" with Hakumo giggling.

-End