A/N: Okay, those of you who have been following the manga know that none of the Blade Children will be able to maintain their sanity after they turn twenty. Well, in this one-shot Ryoko and Kousuke are roughly about twenty-eight. You must asking, "How can Ryoko and Kousuke settle down and have kids when they are twenty-eight and supposed to be insane at this point of their lives?" Well, I suggest you continue reading if you want the answer, but you should be wary. This story contains major spoilers for the manga's ending as well as possible spoilers too. Enjoy at your own risk.
--+--
The Leading Life of "Ordinary"
Kousuke Asazuki got out of his car once he had parked it in the driveway of his house. He had been working two full-time shifts to cover for his boss and wife: Kiyotaka and Madoka Narumi. That's right. He had been working for Kiyotaka's organization ever since he got out of college. The reason why Kiyotaka and Madoka were absent was because Kiyotaka's little brother (or more properly, his clone), Ayumu, recently died from his biological complications. Kiyotaka and Madoka were taking off time to plan his funeral.
Ayumu was really a clone of Kiyotaka, and his other half, Hizumi Mizushiro was a clone of his older brother Yaiba Mizushiro. It was proven when Kirie Tsuchiya had matched Ayumu and Hizumi's DNA to their brothers. Hizumi had known all along, and he told Ayumu that they both were the first successful clones, but because of biological complications, their life span was limited. Ayumu and Hizumi were destined to fight as they held the fate of the Blade Children. In order for the Blade Children to survive, Hizumi had to die. With a final showdown on top of Tokyo Tower, Ayumu won without any help. Because Ayumu would not kill Hizumi, Hizumi threw himself off the top of the tower. He was hospitalized and died later from his biological complications. Before he did, he told Ayumu how to live longer than him.
Ah, yes. It had been eleven years since Ayumu Narumi had discovered the truth about the Blade Children and saved them by changing their fate with this answer: to live on, creating new opportunities and generating hope under their own power. Ayumu was hospitalized after giving his answer to the Blade Children. Because of his complications, he had lost the use of his left arm. When he was in his room, he continued to write music and play the piano. Now, the tide of death had finally caught up to him.
Kousuke opened the door of his house to find the place a mess as always. He could hear his wife shouting upstairs, and he could tell that it was way too late to have a leftover dinner. "Forget dinner. I'm tired. I'll just go straight to bed." He thought. He dropped his briefcase next to the door and began to carefully make his way around the mess of toys, toys, and toys.
Scampering down the stairs, were two little girls who looked alike. Both girls had long red hair that almost looked pink, but their eyes were different: one had green eyes and the other had brown eyes. "Whoa! Hey, hey! Watch it!" Kousuke yelled after the girls had practically shoved past their father causing him to nearly lose his balance and suffer a lot of pain from the toys lying around him.
"No! Get back here Aneko! You, too, Aiko!" Kousuke's wife, Ryoko screamed from the top of the stairs. Spotting her husband, she yelled after him, "Don't just stand there like an idiot, Kousuke! Help me catch them! They both need to take a bath!"
"No! I don't want to take a bath! You can't make me!" Aneko stated running away from her father. She was the older one of the twins Ryoko and Kousuke had together. She had the looks of her father, but the speed of her mother. Aiko laughed as she began running in a different direction than her twin.
"You can't catch us!" she chorused happily.
"Oh, just you wait!" Ryoko snarled as she chased after Aiko.
After spending four years of college together, Ryoko and Kousuke got married. Kiyotaka offered Kousuke a job in his organization after the wedding. No, actually, it was during the wedding feast. Something must have happened during the honeymoon because nine months later, Ryoko had her first son named Haruko. Two years later, the twins, Aneko and Aiko were born. Another five years later, another boy was born named Jiro. While Kousuke is away at work, Ryoko had to take care of Jiro and the house. The most running Ryoko ever did now was after the kids when they refused to do something they didn't like.
(The names of the kids were chosen based on their meaning. Haruko was the oldest and his name means, "first born." Aneko means "older sister". Aiko means, "little loved one", and Jiro means "the second male.")
Jiro began crying upstairs alerting his parents that he was now awake and wanted something. "Oh no. That's Jiro. I have to take care of him. Kousuke, please catch these two brats and force them to take a bath!" Ryoko pleaded as she abandoned chasing after Aiko and rushed upstairs to answer Jiro's cries. Kousuke knew that he didn't have the legs and the speed to chase after his daughters who inherited that form from their mother. He decided to use wits to challenge them.
"Aneko! Aiko! Head upstairs and go take a bath now!" He yelled.
"No!" Both twins answered at the same time.
"Better listen to me unless you want some serious consequences to happen." Kousuke threatened.
Aneko giggled. "I don't know what 'consquensisus' means so I don't care!"
"If you say so." Kousuke shrugged and grabbed one of the plastic garbage bags from the kitchen. "I was serious when I meant to take a bath, girls. If you don't, your punishment is that you get no TV, no dessert, and extra chores for a month."
"So? That's no punishment!" Aiko spat out.
"I also forgot to mention as well. No toys either!" Kousuke began picking up each toy that cluttered the entire living room floor and depositing it inside the garbage can.
Both twin girls screamed and howled with anguish as they began begging their daddy to stop. "No! Daddy! Stop it! Give us back our toys!" Aiko screamed.
"No! You both didn't do as you were told so you have to pay the price!" Kousuke answered over their shouting. He continued to gather up all the toys as both Aneko and Aiko latched themselves on their dad's legs. Kousuke knew he was a softy when it came to his kids, but he was tired from work, irritable, and he didn't want to be smacked around by Ryoko that night.
"What is all the commotion?" Ryoko asked as she appeared at the top of the stairs holding Jiro in her arms. He was still crying.
"I'd like to ask you the same thing." Kousuke answered as he began to climb the stairs with difficulty. After all, not only did he have a pile of toys inside a bag, he had twins crying hysterically as they were latched onto him. "Why won't Jiro go back to sleep?"
"I don't know! He doesn't need to be changed nor fed. I tried burping him, but he doesn't need to be. Whenever I try to sing lullabies to him, he won't sleep!" Ryoko said desperately. "What are you doing to the girls?"
Finally pulling himself up to the second floor, he answered his wife, "Even if I were able to catch them, they wouldn't take a bath so I had to improvise!"
"Improvise?" She yelled above Jiro, Aneko, and Aiko's loud crying. "Like what kind of improvise did you have in mind?"
"Threatening them by taking away their right to have TV, desserts, and their toys if they didn't do as they were told!" Kousuke exclaimed.
"Are you stupid? You can't do that to a child! That's like house arrest to them!" Ryoko said angrily. "Kousuke, just give the girls their toys back! They're upsetting Jiro even more!"
"No! They need to be taught a lesson! If they do something bad, then they ought to get something taken away!" Kousuke replied stubbornly.
"Idiot! I don't want to discipline our kids based on empty threats!" She answered exasperatedly.
"Who said that this was an empty threat?"
The volume to a TV suddenly began much louder down the hall. "Haruko! I said to turn the TV off already and get to bed! It's past your bed time!" Ryoko ordered.
"But mom! Tomorrow is Saturday!" Haruko whined poking his head out of his room. He looked most like his mom, except he had glasses like his dad.
"Saturday or no Saturday! I want you in bed now!" She demanded.
"Ryoko! Give the kid a break! He's starting his weekend!" Kousuke answered leniently.
"Oh, for the love of God! Must you be so lenient with the kids? They'll never learn their lesson if you are so soft with them!" Ryoko cried. She grabbed the bag of toys from Kousuke and dropped them on the floor. "Just give the girls their toys back and give them a bath. I'll get the phone!" Ryoko disappeared into the master bedroom.
With Aneko and Aiko still attached to him, Kousuke trudged his way to the bathroom. He pried both girls from his legs and made them sit at the edge of the bathtub. "Girls, that's enough crying." He ordered. "The next time you don't listen to anything your mother or I say there will be consequences. Do you understand? I will give back your toys, just as long as you promise to do as your told and to put them away in the toy box, okay?"
"Okay, daddy." Aneko sniffled. Aiko rubbed the tears from her face and nodded.
"Good. Now please be good girls and take a bath. No messing around." He kissed their foreheads and left the bathroom. He grabbed the bag of toys and dropped them inside Aneko and Aiko's room. He then appeared in the doorway of Haruko's room where he was still watching cartoons.
"You heard what your mother said, Haruko." He said sternly.
"But dad!" Haruko pleaded.
"No buts. I'm tired and I want to sleep, but your mom won't let me sleep unless all of you are asleep. So wash up and get in bed so I can."
"But--"
"I said get to bed or else you will be doing more chores that will take so long that you won't have a chance to catch a glimpse of TV. NOW." The redheaded Blade Child ordered crossly. There, he took his leave.
Kousuke was about to get ready for bed when he saw Ryoko coming out of their bedroom. "Kousuke, take Jiro." She replied handing the crying baby to her husband. That was Rio on the phone. We completely forgot that she was coming in from Russia and she's waiting for us at the airport. Can you please watch the kids while I go pick Rio up?"
"Why, why do I have to be the one to watch the kids?" Kousuke asked as he began bouncing from side to side to calm down Jiro. "I'll go pick up Rio!"
"No way! I spend the most time with these little rascals while you are at work and I want some time to myself. You'll be fine! Haruko and Aneko and Aiko will be in bed soon so you just have to worry about Jiro." Ryoko replied calmly.
"But--"
"When the kids are in bed, clean the mess up a bit, please? It won't take long." She kissed her husband before leaving.
Kousuke sat down on his bed and began bouncing Jiro on his leg. "Right. I'll be fine. Right, Jiro?" Kousuke began blowing raspberries on his son's belly. Slowly, Jiro's cries ceased as he began to giggle.
"Oh what? You like that?" Kousuke continued to make his son laugh with each raspberry he blew. Now his son was completely calm and taciturn. He took the baby into the nursery and laid Jiro in his crib. Covering him with a blanket, Kousuke watched Jiro slowly fall asleep.
Exiting back into the hallway, he saw a nightmare right in front of him. When he had gone to put Jiro to sleep, the second floor was completely clean. Now, an army of toys lay in his wake. More importantly, they were the twins' toys.
"Oh no…" Kousuke muttered.
Haruko came out of the bathroom and spotted the look of horror on his dad's face. "I didn't do it, I swear. You might want to check with Aiko and Aneko in the room next to mine." He said passively.
It took a while for Kousuke to get the words out of his mouth. "Haruko, your Auntie Rio is coming to stay with us for a while. Please do me a favor and clean up all the toys here while I go deal with your sisters." Kousuke begged.
Haruko sighed. "Fine."
"Thank you."
Kousuke began storming down the floor towards his daughters' room. Unfortunately, he didn't see where he was stepping. His foot came down upon an open bag of marbles. The pressure and weight on the marbles cause Kousuke's footing to go very uneasy. This caused him to slip and fall back onto a doll stroller, Battleship game board, and a bunch of Barbies.
"Ow…" He moaned. "I think this pain is worse than when Ryoko used to punch me in high school and college… Now that is saying something." Kousuke complained.
He slowly got up and reached for the doorknob of Aneko and Aiko's room. When he opened the door, he saw that the twins had made a "campout". The lights were shut off, but the girls had set up a tent on the floor. They had tied a corner of a blanket to the doorknob and another was underneath Aneko's bedpost. The middle of the tent was held up with an umbrella. By opening the door, Kousuke had yanked away the bed sheet.
"No! Haruko, you ruined our tent! We're going to get back at you for this!" Aneko yelled.
Kousuke turned on the light and stared at his daughters as they scrambled out from under the bed sheet. "Both of you are really asking for trouble." Kousuke commented. "I want you to fix your room and clean up the toys in the hall! Your Auntie Rio is coming over to stay! And I don't want your mother to hit me for not cleaning up!"
"Okay…" the twins chorused together. They began to fix their beds while Kousuke and Haruko continued to pick up the toys lying around in the hallway. When the girls were finished organizing their room (Kousuke made sure they were), they began to pick up all of the toys as well. Kousuke noted to himself to stop spoiling his daughters with stuffed animals and toys.
Haruko had his arms filled with dolls, but then he suddenly dropped them all on the floor. "My Battleship board!" he cried out. He launched himself to grab it, but his sisters were there to snatch it away. "That's mine! Give it back!"
"No!" Aiko yelled.
Haruko grabbed one end of the board and began to fight with his sisters in a tug. "It's my Battleship board! Dad got it for me for Christmas! It's mine!" he yelled.
"So what! You need two people to play, and Aiko and me always play with it!" Aneko screamed.
"Haruko! Girls! Stop this petty fight! It's better if you share the game!" Kousuke shouted.
Kousuke's own kids ignored him and continued to fight. "No, you don't! The both of you are always playing with those ugly Bratz dolls! After all, you both are brats!" Haruko roared over Jiro's loud cries.
"Take that back!" The twins said at the same time.
"No!"
"Take it back!" Aneko ordered.
"No!"
"Oh great! They woke up Jiro with this racket!" Kousuke muttered angrily. Before Kousuke could go to the nursery to calm down Jiro, the Battleship board collided with his face. The twins had yanked the board game from their older brother and thrown it aside, sadly, in the face of their own dad.
Aneko and Aiko jumped onto Haruko to hurt him, but Haruko was faster. He rolled away and grabbed his Battleship board game and sprinted down the stairs. He wasn't fast like his sisters, but he was smarter than them--MUCH smarter. Aneko and Aiko took off after their older brother, ignoring their dazed father on the floor.
Coming to his senses, Kousuke sat up with his face red and in pain. He readjusted his glasses on his face, surprised that they weren't broken yet. He could hear a lot of yelling and things flying through the air down in the kitchen. First thing for Kousuke to take care of was Jiro. Kousuke went into the nursery and calmed his youngest son down by making him laugh again. When Jiro was quiet again and in his crib, Kousuke hooked up the stereo from the master bedroom inside the nursery. He inserted a CD of classical pieces by Mozart. Kousuke had read before that babies become much smarter if they listen to classical music when they are sleeping. It was like killing two birds with one stone, Jiro would become smarter and he wouldn't be able to hear the commotion downstairs.
After slowly closing the door to the nursery, Kousuke stomped down the stairs and into the kitchen. This was one of his biggest challenges so far as a father: to get his kids to listen to him. The twins were on one side of the kitchen throwing ice cubes while Haruko was on the other side holding the Battleship game and a pot. Every time the girls threw ice cubes at Haruko, he would catch them in the pot and throw them back. It was almost like a bad game of lacrosse.
Dodging the ice cubes being pelted, Kousuke rummaged through a drawer for a whistle. It was the one Kousuke used to help Ryoko train for the Olympics when they were in college. Finding it, he blew it as loud as he could. All movement ceased except for an ice cube bouncing off of the side of Kousuke's head.
"Sorry daddy." Aneko apologized with a guilty stare.
"This is getting quite ridiculous! It is almost eleven! You three aren't even supposed to be up right now!" Kousuke yelled angrily. "Now go to your rooms and sleep! I'll clean up the mess so the house looks presentable at the very least."
Kousuke watched Haruko and the twin girls walk upstairs. Aneko tried grabbing the Battleship board game from her brother again, but he yanked it away and ran the rest of the stairs. When they were out of sight, Kousuke began mopping up all the melted ice cubes on the floor. He refilled the ice trays with water and put them back into the freezer. Finishing up in the kitchen, Kousuke headed for the second floor where he still had to clean up Aneko and Aiko's army of toys. To his surprise, the entire floor was clean of toys.
Kousuke peered into Haruko's room to find him asleep. Funny enough, he was also clutching his Battleship game board. "Looks like he's afraid Aneko or Aiko might steal it in the night…" Kousuke thought with an inward laugh. Closing the door to Haruko's door, he then moved onto his daughters' room. They, too, were quietly sleeping. Their army of toys covered the entire floor. Kousuke made another note to build another room so that the twins could have separate rooms one day. It really wasn't healthy to have them together at all times.
Finally, Kousuke slowly trudged his way back to his room. He took a quick shower and collapsed onto his bed. He was exhausted—VERY exhausted. He had come home late from work, not eaten dinner, and chased after his kids to discipline them. It wasn't one of the roughest days of his life, but it was one of the roughest days as a father. Ryoko was always taking care of the kids and disciplining them most of the time. Speaking of Ryoko, where was she? Kousuke didn't have time to think over the matter because his eyes couldn't help shutting close and…
--+--
The next time Kousuke woke up, it wasn't to his alarm clock. It was due to the fact that Ryoko had kicked him off the bed. Kousuke could hear Jiro crying once again. "It's your turn to take care of him, Kousuke." Ryoko answered calmly. Kousuke looked up to see that his wife was still sleeping, or at least she was half-conscious.
"But Ryoko! I have a big meeting tomorrow!" Kousuke whined. Ryoko said nothing and continued to sleep. It was hard to tell if she was feigning it or not.
Grumbling, Kousuke got up and slowly walked to the nursery. When he opened the door, he could see Rio cradling Jiro. "Rio?"
Rio looked up at Kousuke and grinned. She looked not much more different than she did eleven years ago. Her features were a lot more mature, but it looked like she could still pull off the innocent look. Rio was still short, but her hair was longer.
"Hey there, Kousuke. How have you been?" Rio asked.
"Pretty good. What about you?"
"I've had my ups and downs for the past eleven years. But those ups and downs have never been better." Rio replied. She nodded and laughed lightly. "You look tired, Kousuke."
Kousuke scoffed, "You have no idea how hard it is to keep a family in check."
"Well, no one said that raising a family was going to be easy, idiot." She answered. "But I think you and Ryoko are doing an excellent job raising Haruko, Aneko, Aiko, and Jiro."
"Do you think so?" Kousuke asked.
Rio nodded. "Yeah."
"You've had a long flight, Rio. Why don't you give Jiro to me, and I'll put him to sleep." Kousuke offered.
"No, that's okay. I have only sat in a plane doing nothing for hours. I am guessing that you have been working hard and chasing your kids around." Rio replied. "Why don't you go to sleep? You probably have to work tomorrow."
Kousuke wanted to argue with Rio, but he shut his mouth instead. "Okay then. Good night Rio."
"Good night Kousuke."
--+--
The next day began with a slow Saturday morning. Aneko and Aiko were watching morning cartoons in front of the TV while Haruko was on the couch reading an encyclopedia book. Rio and Ryoko were sitting at the dining table drinking coffee. Kousuke came running down the stairs all dressed for work. He grabbed his mug and filled it up with coffee. He took several pieces of toast and grabbed his briefcase. He kissed Ryoko on the cheek and quickly messed up Rio's hair. As he was putting on his shoes, he said to Rio, "I wouldn't drink coffee if I were you Rio! It might stunt your height growth." As he was taking off through the door, he yelled back, "Bye kids!"
"I'm already short, Kousuke! I can't get any taller, you idiot!" Rio screamed after the redhead.
"Bye dad." Aneko, Aiko, and Haruko said in a dull voice. Not once did they lift their eyes up from what they were doing.
"Aneko, Aiko. You girls are sitting too close to the TV screen. Scoot back or you will ruin your eyes. Then you will have to get glasses like Haruko and your father." Ryoko ordered. The girls still did not take their eyes off from the TV, but they did scoot back a couple of inches. "Further." Again, the girls moved back all the way so their backs were against the couch. "Thank you."
"How did Haruko get glasses?" Rio asked.
"From reading small print." Ryoko answered.
Rio looked over at Haruko and squinted at the title of the book he was reading. "Is he reading an encyclopedia!" Rio asked with shock.
"Yes. He always does." Ryoko said with a laugh. "He got most of his looks from me, but he got his brains from Kousuke. Haruko learns from reading books and encyclopedias. That's why he's the smartest in his class."
"Really? Then why don't you just take him out of his school and save some money? He could easily home school himself." Rio suggested. "Or what about having him skip a couple of grades?"
"No. I want Haruko to make friends and gain social skills. And I want him to be among kids his own age." The mother explained. "I don't think that older grades would be too happy if a seven year old could outsmart them."
Rio sighed. "I guess you are right. You and Kousuke must be pretty happy living such an ordinary life."
"We are. Don't you think we deserve it? You know we never did have one in our younger years." She said slowly.
Rio snorted. "'Younger years'? You make it sound like we are so old now!" She laughed.
"Oh stop it!"
"You know I'm only teasing, Ryoko. But onto more "serious" matters…don't you find it odd that we haven't gone insane yet?" Rio asked more seriously.
Ryoko shook her head. "No, not really. From what Kirie told us, Yaiba created the Blade Children so we would rise to the top of society and then kill everyone. When we would turn twenty, our "Devil's blood" would awaken and we would all go insane. I really doubt that. It wasn't like they injected us with blood from the devil." She replied.
"I know that. I think the title of "Devil's blood" refers to the fact that Yaiba Mizushiro was the devil and that we are his children." Rio pointed out.
"I know, I know. I just find the story hard to believe. Yaiba was human and being the "devil" was just a title! Sure, he was very intelligent, but I think that even he couldn't predict that we would all lose our minds at a certain age. Was there really a curse? Maybe only God knows if this really was our fate—to turn into murderers with no sense at all."
"There is no such thing as God." Rio muttered, but Ryoko ignored the comment.
"You have to admit though. He is a genius for handing down his intelligence to us." Ryoko responded.
"Okay, say that we don't go insane during our entire twenties. Does that mean we won't lose our minds in our thirties? What about our forties? We all age differently. We could go insane at any time." The short Blade Child answered.
"Kousuke tells me that Kiyotaka's organization is taking care of that. You remember the message on our eighteenth birthday, right?" Ryoko asked.
"Yeah, I remember. I find the idea of spending your birthday at any of the organization headquarters to be quite dull. What if you wanted to spend just one birthday with a loved one?" Rio said.
In order to secure the safety of surrounding people and the Blade Children, Kiyotaka issued an order and request to all Blade Children. On their birthday, they were required to head to the nearest headquarters of Kiyotaka's association. There were headquarters all over the world. All the Blade Children were supposed to stay there for a week beginning on their birthday. It was to make sure that they weren't going to go insane around others. Kiyotaka was just being cautious.
"You are right about that though. For just one year, I want to make Kousuke dinner for his birthday, or we just spend it together." The former runner replied. She lowered her voice down to a whisper and said, "It is getting to be so hard for Kousuke and I to lie where we are on our birthdays."
"You mean you haven't told them about the Blade Children yet?" Rio retorted.
"No! Rio! They are still kids! They won't be able to understand until they are older!"
"But Ryoko! We were Aneko and Aiko's age when we all realized our fate!" Rio protested.
"It's different now! They aren't cursed! Their seventh rib wasn't cut off. Hunters aren't after them!" Ryoko assumed. She took a sip of her coffee and began to run her fingers on the rim of her mug.
"And how do you know that Hunters aren't after them?" Rio questioned.
Ryoko's head quickly snapped up. "Are Hunters after my children? What? Why? Kousuke said that Kiyotaka disbanded the Hunters."
"No, calm down. It's okay. Hunters aren't after them, but you can't be too sure. After all, some crazy lunatic might try to reform them and hunt all surviving Blade Children and their children. If Hunters were after your kids, they should at least be able to defend themselves. Why don't you let me teach them a thing or two about bombs and guns?" Rio stated with a smile.
"No. No, no." Ryoko repeated. "I don't want my sons and daughters to learn how to kill."
"Not kill! Self-defense!" Rio pronounced.
"You sound like my husband now. He has been trying to convince me of the same thing for a while."
"You should listen to him. Who knows what fate has in store for us, nonetheless our children? You can't always be too sure."
Ryoko stared at the faces of her children. They were so young and so innocent. In the eyes of a Hunter, those were easiest to kill. She looked back at Rio and shook her head again. "No, I won't teach them. They deserve a normal life because we never had one. If the time ever comes that we have to run and then fight, then Kousuke and I will teach them the rules of survival." She answered sternly.
"Kill or be killed?"
"Yeah."
"It's our way of life! That's how we were all able to survive." Ryoko raised her eyebrow. "Except for you and several other Blade Children, of course."
Ryoko sighed. "That was our way of life." She pointed out.
"Yes. We now live to create our own opportunities and hope." Rio replied with a smile. Her smile dropped slightly as she said, "It's so sad to hear about Ayumu."
The brunette nodded. "Well, he had to pass on sometime. Like Hizumi said, they both had a limited lifespan." She clarified.
"He was able to hold out for twenty-seven years. That's truly amazing." Rio said.
"He was the creation of Kiyotaka Narumi. What do you expect? I think Hizumi would have lived just as long if he didn't throw himself from the top of Tokyo Tower. Then again, it was his fate to die…"
"So was ours. You know," Rio began, "I can't help but to think this as a theory. Everyone says that you can't change the tide of fate. Do you think that even all of our futile struggles to survive eleven years ago could have shifted it, even slightly?" She watched the twins turn off the TV and run outside. "We must have made a big difference."
The brunette smiled and said, "Is that so? In that case, tell me more. Will our descendents change the course of fate? Or will doing ordinary things in life change fate as well?"
Rio laughed and said, "I don't think that our future generations will want to change fate without knowing how or even why. A man created our destiny, but then again, another man also gave us a different one. Our future generations should always remember what Ayumu Narumi has done for us."
Both women smiled brightly just as Aneko and Aiko came back into the house. "Mommy! Can we get a kitty?" both girls asked.
"Kameko Suzumara down the street has a really cute one!" Aneko replied excitedly.
"It's black and its paws and face are white!" Aiko added.
"And it has a little bell around its neck!"
"And it's so adorable and tiny!"
"So can we get a kitty?" both girls repeated. They put very innocent, yet lively smiles on their faces. "PLEASE?"
Ryoko let out a small laugh and answered, "We'll see. I'll ask your father if it is all right."
"Yay!" Both girls cried before running outside once again.
Rio watched them go out and begin playing with the other kids. "The leading life of "ordinary" suits you and Kousuke very well."
"Kousuke and I are very far from ordinary. The least we can do is give our children the lives we never had."
--+--
Two weeks later was Ayumu's funeral. All the Blade Children and Ayumu's close friends and relatives had attended. Kousuke and Ryoko were there with their entire family in tow. Feeling the dark and gloomy atmosphere, the kids quietly stood next to their parents. Rio had her eyes closed as if she was trying to stop herself from crying for the Blade Children's savior. Eyes and Kirie stood next to each other, hand in hand. They were married now, yet they didn't have any kids. Eyes looked taller and more mature than he did eleven years ago. His hair remained as short as the time his mother had passed away. Kirie looked older as well, but her light pink hair still remained long. The only thing that did not change about her was the cigarette in between her fingers. Akira Uemoto was the real name of Hiyono Yuizaki. She was at the funeral as well. Her features no longer made her pass as a high school student. Her hair wasn't in braids, but instead, her blond hair was shorn to the point of her shoulders. Kiyotaka and Madoka were of course there. Kiyotaka's arm was around his wife's shoulder as she was the only one crying freely. Kiyotaka and Madoka's friends, Kuromi Kohinaia and Tohru Saiki were also there to pay their respects.
As the coffin passed by Ryoko and her family, she couldn't contain a lone tear that streamed down her face. Aiko tugged at her mother's sleeve and whispered to her, "Mommy, who is in that wooden box?"
Ryoko smiled through the tears blinding her eyes and answered quietly, "In that coffin is a very special friend of ours. He helped us a lot a long time ago."
"What is his name?" Aiko asked.
"Ayumu Narumi. Your father and I will tell you and your brothers and sister his story very soon." Ryoko promised. She wiped away her tears and smiled again. Aiko nodded and faced forward, holding her mother's hand.
The coffin was lowered into the hole dug in the ground, and the priest began to read a passage from the bible. Soon afterwards, he invited everyone to pay his or her last respects to Ayumu. Slowly, everyone silently paid his or her respects to Ayumu's final resting place before throwing a Japanese iris on the coffin. After the funeral, everyone conversed with each other.
Kousuke looked up at the sky and said grimly, "Why does it feel like the sky is mocking us?"
"Hi Ryoko. Hi Kousuke." Akira greeted.
"Hi Hiyono. I'm sorry. I mean Akira." Ryoko replied.
Akira shook her head. "No, it's okay. You know me by Hiyono, anyway." She replied coolly. She looked over at Kousuke and Ryoko's kids. "Are these your kids?"
"Yes! The boy is Haruko. Then those are the twins Aneko and Aiko. And in Haruko's arms is Jiro." Kousuke replied.
Akira smiled. "You both must be pretty happy."
"We are. No matter how much those kids drive us up the wall, we love them." Ryoko explained.
"Are you coming to Kiyotaka's apartment for dinner?" Kousuke asked.
Akira shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't. I begin my next assignment in a couple of hours."
"That is a shame. We could have caught up." Kousuke said.
"Are you working on one assignment after another, Hiy—Akira?" Ryoko questioned. "You really should take a vacation or settle down now."
"I really want to settle down, but I just haven't found the right person yet." Akira replied.
"I think you found him, but waited too long to tell him your feelings." Kousuke pointed out bluntly.
"Kousuke!" his wife yelled, elbowing him in the stomach.
Akira flushed deeply and laughed. "No, please, Ryoko! He's right. I did wait too long to tell Ayumu. I saw him two years after I returned from Germany, and I still didn't say anything." She explained. She looked over at Kiyotaka and the other Blade Children. "Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision in choosing my job over Ayumu…"
"Things would have turned out differently." The brunette pointed out distinctly.
"They would have."
"Hey! Are you having dinner with us or not!" Kirie yelled to the Asazuki family and Akira.
"I really shouldn't keep you and your family anymore. If I don't see you ever again, then please let me tell you that I think both of you are well suited for an ordinary life. Your kids will turn out very well. Good-bye." Akira ended. She bowed to both Ryoko and Kousuke before walking among the gravestones and out of sight.
--+--
"Aneko, eat your vegetables." Ryoko ordered at dinner several nights later. Kiyotaka and Madoka were back at work so Kousuke was spared the additional stress from working two full time shifts. He was happy to have dinner with his lovely wife and somewhat troublesome kids.
"Haruko, do you have to read at the dinner table?" Kousuke asked his oldest son.
Haruko adjusted his glasses and closed the encyclopedia. "Fine. I won't read during dinner." He grumbled, dropping the book on the floor.
There was a silence that overcame the Asazuki family. The only thing that could be heard in the dining room was the clinking and clanking of tableware. Kousuke and Ryoko looked at each other from across the table and grinned.
"Hey kids, do you want to hear the story of Ayumu Narumi now?" Kousuke asked.
"Yeah! Let's hear it!" the three of them responded. Ryoko's smile became a little wider as she began to clean up the mess of food Jiro had made.
"So Ayumu's story begins when he gets a mysterious phone call from his brother…" Kousuke began.
So, did you love it? Hate it? Did I make it too serious in the middle? Tell me what you think!