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"Philip, come hold Haruna," Akiko insisted, exhausted and triumphant and, as always, very much in charge.
"Can I, Aki-chan?"
"Of course!" She gave an imperious gesture to Terui Ryuu, who came forward with his daughter in his arms. "You and Shoutarou both need to welcome her to the family, and I need to be the one passing out for once."
Welcome her to the family.
Before Philip could ask how one accomplishes that, Terui Ryuu was already placing the squirming bundle in his arms with a stern reminder to support her head. Philip had never held a baby before, that he could remember. He had not expected her to be so tiny despite all that he had read about newborns beforehand.
Terui Ryuu stood by Philip's elbow, his eyes burning with pride and protectiveness and that look of astonished joy he had only ever directed at Akiko until today. Shoutarou, looking no more hardboiled than a puppy in a fedora, peered over Philip's shoulder at Haruna with glistening eyes. He rested a hand on Philip's other shoulder, gentle and reassuring. Akiko was already sound asleep in the hospital bed and giving a crystal clear description of her new role as Queen of Takoyaki Mountain.
This was Philip's family.
He looked down at Haruna with a bemused expression, watching her tiny face scrunch up as she fussed in his arms. What could he say as a welcome?
He wished he could take her into the Gaia Library, open up all the books he had ever read, and share the knowledge with her. He wished he could pull down the lovingly worn volumes about Terui Ryuu and Akiko and Shoutarou, and read to her all the details of their lives together. How much they had changed him. What they had given him.
Haruna's volume would have appeared on the shelves too by now, brand new and waiting to be written in. Philip had never seen a brand new book in the Library before - at least not one that he had noticed. With a thrill he thought of the potential lying in those blank pages, and a strange warmth filled his chest when he realized that one of the first things that would be written there was: Two hours, thirty five minutes, and eleven seconds after she was born, Haruna was held by Philip for the first time.
"Haru-chan," Philip said in a quiet voice, "I am very eager to read what will be written in your book each day."
He smiled and added, "Please follow in your mother's footsteps and ask me to look up as many intriguing topics as you like."