Chapter Text
“Why did you call me out here? This is really not the time,” She folded her arms across her chest, her tone of voice firm and her posture stiff and formal.
“You’re jealous, aren’t you? Jealous that you aren’t the one allowed to join the magnificent legacy of Hououin Kyouma!” The tone was boastful, but somehow he still felt awkward over it. He held his hand out to her.
She sighed, not looking at his offered hand but at his entire form. “I...don’t care that much. We got older. I honestly didn’t think you’d be the one with difficulty truly moving on,” She shot him a smug smile, foreign on her features. “Now go back inside. It’s her special day as well, and you don’t want to keep her waiting,”
###
Rose glanced once more at the picture displayed on her phone, then back up at the building in front of her, then back down.
Yes, that was definitely the place. The bus that had dropped her off a few blocks away had long since drove off, and the driver gave her the strangest look out of the other passengers; first to confirm that she really did have that famous red-brown hair, second to make sure she was serious about her intended stop.
It had been twenty years, roughly, but the outside of the building looked just as it did when her future mother spent frequent days there in the past. She had it committed to memory from her mother’s stories and thus, would probably quite literally kick herself if she had somehow gotten the address wrong.
But that was the outside. What did the inside look like?
Rose slipped her phone into her pocket and crossed her arms as she awaited the rest of the group; best friends and pseudo-sisters both as each of the seven girls had been practically inseparable since birth. They had done everything together, and today would be no exception. Their parents wanted all seven of them to look over the place together.
“Ugh, is this really it? It looks like such a dump. Did Mama really have to cry so hard when I told her about it?” A nasally voice reached Rose’s ears, and she gave a nice smile to one of those girls; this one named Poptart. “Are you sure the address is correct?” Her hands were already on her hips as she surveyed the building from afar.
“Yes, I checked the coordinates about five times now,” Rose confirmed.
“Ah, I actually quite like it. It has a certain sort of old-fashioned charm to it. And besides, buildings always look dreadful on the outside. I am sure the inside will be quite delightful,” Rose heard the heavy footsteps of combat boots several seconds before their owner arrived, which was to be expected.
“He-“ Rose tried to raise her hand in greeting, but the slim black-haired girl opted to pull her best friend into a tight hug, smiling happily. “E-Eh?!”
A camera shutter flickered just as Rose pushed Mari off of her; that camera signaling the arrival of yet another girl.
“Oh my, early today? That is a first!” Mari tittered. “That picture you took, was it a good one?”
Kiyomi ignored both of her comments, instead choosing to stare intently at the picture she just took.
“Not in a talking mood today, huh?” Poptart snickered, her mouth turned upwards in a very cat-like grin.
“Stop,” Rose warned both girls.
“Yay! Looks like the gang is all here!” Hanako announced happily, bouncing over to the group with her identical twin sister Kanako in tow. “Oh, wait, I think we’re missing someone!” She stood on her tiptoes, scanning everyone’s faces.
“Is it your siblings? Are they coming?” Kanako addressed Kiyomi, Poptart, and Mari, who all shook their heads.
“Mother is taking them to the park today,” Mari answered politely, covering her mouth with her kimono sleeve.
“Fenris wanted to work an extra shift at work today...for whatever reason,” Poptart huffed.
“He...did not want to come today,” Kiyomi answered, a bit uncertain in her words.
“Oh crud, I’m late, aren’t I?” The last member of their group, as well as the second-oldest, skidded her bike to a full stop as the rest of the girls’ eyes met hers.
“I say you’re just in time. After all, we couldn’t start this until we all arrived,” Rose reassured her.
“Good,” Suzuha sighed and slid off her bike, looking down at the dirt on her white Mary-Janes. “These things have no traction...”
After making sure everyone was ready, Rose took the lead and slowly climbed up the stairs, being quiet so as not to accidentally disturb anyone on the first floor. The stairs were steep and unstable, and Mari gasped a bit and tightened her grip on the railing.
“Curse these boots..!” She mumbled under her breath.
Rose said nothing, but silently agreed. Even with her light statue, a few stairs were shuddering at her weight. How old even was this building?
Finally, she came to the door and pushed it open, each girl leaning in curiously to take a peek inside. They all stared at the empty space in confusion.
Poptart was the first to speak up, pushing her way inside and huffing. “I just knew it’d be worse on the inside! It’s even smaller! This is the great, amazing place all of our parents raved about?! The one they all ordered us to rent out this summer? It absolutely sucks! It’s a total dump! Geezh...” She whined, standing in the center of the room. She was quite a petite girl with curly pink hair tied in a single high ponytail and matching eyes. She currently wore a ruffled orange sundress with off-shoulder sleeves and brown sandals with a matching brown headband. She was seventeen, somewhere in the middle when it came to ages in their group, though the girls were so close they barely paid much attention to those things.
Mari walked in next, eyeing the fridge and empty desk space in particular. “Hm, please pardon me if I sound shrewd, but I actually quite like it,” She offered a smile to the younger girl. Mari was the third-oldest in their group at eighteen; born a month after Suzuha was. She had wavy black short hair pinned back with a violet skull barrette and deep violet eyes. Her clothing always found a way to be outlandish and rebellious; that day she wore black combat boots with fishnets and a very short violet furisode with a black skull pattern and choker around her neck. She also wore matching fishnet gloves.
“Your dad isn’t here, you know. You can drop that formal tone,” Poptart sneered.
“I am perfectly aware of that, but there is just something so exciting about having mundane conversations in this fashion, is there not?” Mari tittered before scowling. “Besides, that man has to dictate literally every other second of my life. I much prefer the illusion that I can control at least my speech patterns,”
“Yeah, yeah, ‘Daddy Dearest’ is so strict on you because he wants you to inherit his shrine as his oldest daughter. Woe is you! At least you know who he is,” Poptart glared at her.
Rose cleared her throat. “I actually agree, I don’t think this place is too bad,” She cut in. “It’s going to take a lot of work to make it liveable, but I think we can all manage. Clean it up, decorate it a bit, even get some food in the fridge, and I could easily see this becoming our new hang-out spot,” She had chestnut hair tied in a high ponytail secured with a ribbon topped with a rose; her namesake. She also had light violet eyes. Her current outfit was of a simple green frilly blouse, jean shorts, black tights, a baggy tan coat that she wore half-hanging off her shoulders, and sneakers. No reason to get overly dressed-up for a house hunt, after all. She was the ‘middle child’ of the group at sixteen.
“This place was special to our parents. They made many memories here,” Hanako added, staring at the empty corners in awe. “We should make it our special place too. In their memory!”
“Goodness, don’t sound so morbid! They’re not dead!” Mari gasped.
“Yeah! We could each have our own corner and fill it with our favourite things! Big Sister Kiyomi can have her photo corner, and Big Sister Rose can have her science corner, and Big Sister Poptart can have her game corner, and we can have our cosplay corner! Big Sister Suzuha and Big Sister Mari can join us there!” Kanako grinned widely. Both her and her sister had short black hair styled neatly into a bob and vivid green eyes. They also dressed the same quite often; only differing in colours. That day they both wore European-style school uniforms with pleated skirts; Hanako in blue and Kanako in red. They had little pieces of lace in their hair as well. They were collectively the youngest in their group, only being fifteen.
“I think I’d much rather have a sports corner,” Suzuha teased. She wore her hair up in a fancy braid-bun and wore a cream-coloured lolita dress patterned with teddy bears. She was the second-oldest of the group at eighteen; Kiyomi was two months older than her and Mari was a month younger.
“But cosplaying is in your blood!” Kanako gasped.
“Yeah! I’m so jealous of how your parents dress you. I mean, one parent cosplayer is fine, but two?” Mari had stars in her eyes. “I’d be even more fashionable than I already am!” Mari, Suzuha, and the twins all had former cosplaying mothers who made all of their current outfits by hand just for them.
“I’m sweltering just looking at you,” Rose commented. “We’ll definitely need to get some AC for this place too,” She looked over at Kiyomi, silently still shooting pictures of the empty space with her phone. “Let’s split into groups. Kiyomi-san and I will be in charge of everyone. Hanako-chan and Kanako-chan, you two shall take Mari-san with you and go shopping for furniture. Poptart-san and Suzuha-san can help us unpack our things. Who wants to inform our parents we found the place?”
“...I can,” Kiyomi offered, already dialing a number on her beige phone. She was a tall and intimidating person, with dark wavy locks and eyes and a stern expression constantly on her face. She wore black boots with grey jeans tucked in, a white T-shirt and green hoodie. She also wore silver glasses. Not only was she the tallest, but also the oldest of the group at eighteen.
Why did none of her friends feel as hot as she did, Rose mused. Almost all of them seemed dressed for autumn, or a cosplay shoot in the twins’, Suzuha’s, and Mari’s cases.
“Yes, we found the location just fine,” Kiyomi softly relayed. The girls all huddled in close to try and figure out who she was speaking to on the other line.
“I knew you girls would. Never forget, you all were born from the wombs of destruction, the seeds of evil! You seven were chosen specifically to be the next generation of terror and chaos unveiled on the unsuspecting world! And you will do so right there, from the safety of the same room your forebearers did before you!”
Rose rolled her eyes at the pretentious talk. All of that rambling on and on about being bred for destruction wasn’t even cool to her when she was younger and spoonfed it daily. It most definitely wasn’t cool now.
Mari chuckled. "We should totally have a party for everyone once we get all settled in! It could celebrate us all coming together again!"
“I would of course be delighted to attend alongside your parents, my dear Mariko!” Hououin Kyouma; the name of the persona he was clearly in now, announced. Mari perked up.
“I’ll look forward to it then, Uncle Okabe!”
“That is not her name, and you know it,” Rose grumbled into the other line.
“It’s her crime-fighting name! Just like yours, Rosaline!” He laughed as Rose gasped in annoyance and hurried off.
Mari hurried the other way, towards the door. “Let’s get this show on the road!”
“Yeah!”
“Yes!” The twins echoed in unison, and soon the three girls had raced off, thundering down the stairs. Rose winced at all of their unnecessary noise. Kiyomi exchanged a few parting words before turning her phone off.
“Dad told me a lot about this place,” Suzuha began. “Mostly about how they never really cleaned much of it out after they moved out, so there should be tons of their old stuff in one of the closets,” She started to look around the lab.
Kiyomi remained where she was, but Rose started to explore a bit too, feeling antsy.
The fridge was empty, as she had expected. Nothing hung on the walls and even the dim couch, the only piece of furniture in the room, retained little life.
“A huge party is going to be held here later this week...can we really get it all ready in time?” Rose questioned herself. The place was quite small; a tiny bathroom was attached to the hallway with an even tinier room meant for just a cot. The largest room was the combined kitchen-living room area. Her mother told her they threw lots of parties and events in the building, but somehow that seemed impossible to believe right then.
“I don’t see why not! If we really work at it, nothing is impossible!” Suzuha beamed as she tossed down a large box full of junk. “I found this!” It hit the floor with a large rattle as some objects crashed around inside.
Kiyomi snapped a quick picture. “...What....are those?”
“It looks like junk to me, frankly,” Poptart spoke up, making the other girls all jump. The pink-haired girl walked over and bent down, hands firmly on her hips as she peered inside. “I mean, why even keep any of this? What is it?”
“This looks like a drone,” Rose picked out a broken mess of wires attached to a green propeller. “Look,”
“....Science Invention 2.300?” Kiyomi blinked as she held up a feather duster with the feathers replaced by a knife with a yellow wire snaking up the top.
“One of Dad’s earlier inventions,” Suzuha nodded with pride. “Both of them are!”
“Ya know, I don’t get your dad. He’s a super genius hacker and pretty smart too, who could invent weird stuff like this. Why’d he just give it up? Why didn’t he keep going?” Poptart kicked the box gently.
“If he kept going, he would’ve reached an end point eventually.” Rose pointed out.
“I think it was just a hobby for him as a teen,” Suzuha said, shifting a bit uncomfortably. “Um, maybe we should put this stuff back. It seems wrong to just be going through this without permission,”
Kiyomi nodded in agreement, while Rose tilted her head.
“We could sell this stuff on Amazon or something,”
“Who’s going to buy junk like that?!” Poptart demanded.
“You’d be surprised,” Rose shrugged. “Mom certainly would on her better days,”
“Well your mom is weird.”
“...All of our mothers are weird,” Suzuha slid the box back onto the top shelf. “And our fathers are too, for that matter,” She added quickly.
“I want to...go back home. Get my pictures...hang some...up...” Kiyomi motioned to the blank walls, and Poptart perked up.
“Finally! Some excitement! I’ll go right with you!” She jumped up and headed straight for the door while Kiyomi lumbered after. The other two girls waved to their pseudo-sisters before looking at each other.
“Let’s start planning that party! First things first, the food!” Suzuha grinned, running over to one of the windows. “I think it should be takeout so we’re not stuck waiting forever for people to cook,”
“Agreed,” Rose nodded. “How about pizza? Or spaghetti?”
“Both! Oh, and a fruit salad, and regular salad, and lots of chips with dip, nachos...” Suzuha was all but drooling as she listed off potential party foods. Rose sighed.
“I think we should keep things simple, and think about everyone. What about Aunt Mayuri? She dislikes a lot of messy food,”
“Right! Chicken tenders!”
She hung her head and sighed. “I think pizza would be good. We could get something for everyone,”
“Alright! How about chips, or fries?” Suzuha leaned with her back up against the window.
“Fries.”
“Drink?”
“Dr. Pepper!” Rose exclaimed, stars in her eyes. “The best drink in the world!”
Suzuha smiled nervously. “Yeah, and you make fun of my habits,” She then walked back to the closet. “There’s already some furniture here. That coffee table and couch, plus that fridge and big empty computer desk...I wonder if one of our parents swung by earlier and spruced it up a bit,”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Rose walked to the very back of the building, turning the light on in the last room. Size of a closet, with a nicely-made cot in the center. Shoved into one corner was a white microwave, which Rose stared at curiously. “Hm?”
“Found something?” Suzuha hurried over, pausing at the microwave. “Oh, what’s that doing here?” She laughed nervously and placed the microwave on a small end table beside the fridge. “Does it even work?”
Rose shrugged. “Maybe not, since it was shoved away in that room,” She had the overwhelming urge to touch it and reached her hand out slowly.
“Don’t,” Suzuha roughly grabbed her wrist, making her blink a few times. “It might be shorted,”
Rose nodded slowly. “Right...” Why did her head suddenly hurt so much?
####
Mari and the twins had eventually decided on just getting some knickknacks to spruce up the place due to the furniture already inside. If they needed anything else, they could just ask their parents about it that night.
“Dadadata!” Hanako exclaimed happily to her twin.
“Susuzhi!” Kanako nodded back in reply, while Mari just stared at them curiously.
“I wish you two could stop doing that,” She commented more to herself as they kept walking. She briefly reached for her phone in her kimono folds, but winced a bit when she remembered she had left it at Uncle Okabe’s house the last time she visited. At least it wasn’t lost.
The sun was just beginning to set, painting the sky in rich orange and muggy gold. Cicadas buzzed noisily. Mari sighed a bit and walked faster once they started to pass the steps leading to her house and shrine. She hoped the trees were dense enough so that she could-
“Mari-chan!”
Crud, there went that idea.
“It’s Uncle Luka!” Both twins smiled at once before smiling at Mari. “Why don’t you stop by?”
"No," Mari tried to quicken her steps once more until she heard the familiar sound of boots hitting the ground. She forced herself to stop, keeping her back turned.
“Mari-chan!” Luka sighed in exasperation, out-of-breath. “Is your phone off? I tried calling you numerous times earlier,”
“I think so,” She blinked. “I actually think I left it at Uncle Okabe’s,”
“Oh, good thing it’s not lost then,” Luka smiled. His hair had grown out quite a bit and was brushed into a neat ponytail, and he currently wore a kimono in earthly colours. He was quite tall and a bit muscular, though he still often was mistaken for a girl.
“He’ll probably give it back to her at the party later this week!” Hanako added.
“A party?” Luka’s wife, a very sweet and quiet woman with long black hair named Kaede, asked nicely with her hands folded in front of her. “Do tell me, we’re all invited too?” She wore a cerulean kimono patterned with white flowers.
“Yeah, it’s for all of the parents!” Kanako reassured her. “So you can come, and your kids too!”
“That’s wonderful!” Kaede turned to look at Mari, who had already taken off running, her bags swinging widely around her arms.
“Mari-chan....” Luka sighed and rubbed his head. “She’s my heiress...my only one, and she keeps me at such a distance...” He suddenly teared up and raced off. Kaede’s smile never wavered.
“I’ll go take care of him. I look forward to the party,” She waved.
“You should! There’s probably going to be candy there!” Kanako called after her, then looked to her twin. “Abooga hoofa?”
“Boots boots!” The twins giggled before they started walking after Mari, looking forward to helping their pseudo-sisters set up the apartment.
###########
By the time Mari had arrived with the twins, Kiyomi and Poptart had been in the middle of hanging up several pictures while Suzuha and Rose had finished pushing the large empty desk into one corner of the room.
“You two did that all by yourselves? I am very impressed,” Mari chuckled.
“You’re so strong!” Hanako gasped in awe.
“But now...we have to figure out what time and day we want this party to take place,” Rose sighed a bit, sitting herself down on the couch. “All we’ve said is that it’ll be sometime later this week,”
“Saturday!”
“Friday!” Hanako and Kanako both shouted at once.
“I quite like the idea of it being on Saturday,” Mari nodded.
“Same here,” Suzuha agreed. “They’ll all likely be taking a break from their jobs, so it’ll be perfect. And of course we’ll have a few days to prepare,”
“Time?” Rose pressed.
“I dunno, like seven thirty or something,” Poptart shrugged.
“...I think....eight....eight sounds good...” Kiyomi was staring at the screen of her phone.
“Alright! So, Saturday night at seven thirty or eight! Perfect!” Rose jumped up. “I think we’ve done more than enough work for today. We should go home and brainstorm more ideas for how to improve this area,”
The girls all nodded in agreement and pulled each other into a giant hug, laughing before they all went their separate ways.
Rose stared down at the ground as she awaited the bus, her mind still on the microwave she found. Looking at it filled her with curiosity and illness both. Why? Did she even want to know the answer? Was she even allowed to know?
The bus honked at her and she graciously bowed her head before hurrying on, sitting near the middle. For the whole ride, she just mulled over her thoughts. What to do next?
####
Kiyomi simply walked home, arriving at the large apartment complex and walking up to the seventh floor. She walked right in and looked around, snapping a photo of her mother and younger brother in the kitchen.
“Dinner?” She asked slowly, pointing to it.
“Yes, but I’m afraid it’s nothing home-cooked today,” Kiyomi’s father smiled at her. He was a tall man with reddish-brown hair and sparkling blue eyes, a bit of stubble on his face. “Are you fine with that?”
She just nodded at Mr. Yamada and silently took a seat on the couch in front of the TV. All around the living room were collages of photos of not just their life, but various other interesting things as well. Most were taken by Mr. Yamada, a famous photographer.
“I got the plates!” Mamoru, her younger brother, announced happily, setting out several paper plates and silverware. “Let’s act like it's gourmet tonight!” He also had the colourings of his mother and sister but was far more cheerful than them. He was seventeen; a year younger than her.
“....Burgers...?” She asked slowly as her father brought the bag in, carefully dolling out what everyone had ordered. It was strange to see a sad-looking burger propped up on a paper plate like that.
“Let’s watch the news!” Her father suggested, turning it on. Mamoru pouted at that, shoving some fries into his mouth.
Their mother walked in last, her hair up in pigtails. She wore a cream-coloured business dress with a navy jacket tossed over it. She sat on the other side of the couch and began eating.
“Rough day?” Mamoru piped up.
“....No. Just tired....” Kiryuu shook her head, looking away. She worked as Rintaro’s personal secretary and had for almost two decades.
Kiyomi remained silent as she ate her food, watching the news. After a while, though, she spoke up again. "This weekend....party...we found....place..."
"Use your words, darling," Mr. Yamada gently coaxed his daughter.
"Your old place," Kiyomi continued, looking over at Kiryuu. "So we...wanted to have a party....this weekend....you all can come..." She sighed and looked at Mr. Yamada for clarification.
"You did quite nicely," He nodded happily.
"I'd love to come!" Mamoru grinned. "I'd love to get into another arm-wrestling contest with Suzuha-chan! She beat me last time and I promised her I'd get her back for that!"
"I as well would like to come and chat with the other adults. Poor me, I always feel so out-of-the-loop. It's like having a super close-knit family that you marry into!" Mr. Yamada laughed.
"We...we have a lot of....memories. Been through a lot..." Kiryuu sighed. "I'll come...too."
Kiyomi nodded. "I want to take pictures...of everything."
####
Suzuha panted a bit as she skidded her bike to a stop in front of her house, having pedaled very fast. She lived in a tiny but quaint green house on the nicer part of town; it even had a backyard. She walked her bike over to the garage and placed it next to it, then darted up the porch stairs and inside the house.
“I’m home!” She announced happily, looking around.
“Welcome back! Oh, your hair is a mess!” Yuki gasped in surprise as she took in her daughter’s appearance. “Were you biking really hard?”
“Yeah...” Suzuha smiled sheepishly. “Oh, are you making dinner? What is it?”
“Oh, just some beef stew. I didn’t want to go too crazy tonight,” She smiled back. Her hair was cut shorter and she wore a light pink off-shoulder striped top with grey jean shorts. A pink headband pulled her hair back.
“A family favourite!” Suzuha nodded in agreement. “Where’s Dad?” She started to follow her mother back into the kitchen.
"Oh, probably holed up in his office again, like always. Why don't you go be a true sweetheart and go get him for me?" Yuki picked up a ladle and started to gently stir the pot on the stove. Suzuha nodded and ran down the hallway, pulling open the door to Daru's office without knocking.
"Dad! You in here? Mom said dinner's ready!" She called out.
Daru jumped in surprise, looking over from his computer. "Yes! Tell her I'm coming!"
Suzuha shook her head slightly. "Dad, at least turn a light on while you work. It'd help your eyes not get any worse," She teased.
"No can do! My work is very detailed, and it's integral that the lights remain off!"
"Uh-huh," She and Daru headed back to the dinner-table, where Yuki was in the middle of serving everyone.
"Right on time!" She smiled happily, putting away the excess food and sitting down next to Daru. Once they clasped their hands together, they started to eat, Yuki smiling eagerly at Suzuha. "So, tell us all about it. Did you find the right place?"
Suzha nodded, eating her soup rapidly and getting some noodles on her face. "Yup! And it looks just like how it did when you two hung out there as teenagers,"
"Oh, that's delightful!" Yuki beamed.
"Well, I can see why. It's not in a popular part of town, and I don't understand who'd want to rent out a shack like that," Daru commented, making Yuki playfully slap his arm.
"Well, Poptart-chan fussed about it. Said the closet was full of useless junk and the place in general was a dump. She didn't understand why Aunt Faris cried so much when we told her we were going to rent the place out for the summer," Suzuha continued.
"That girl is such a spoiled angel! A cream-puff!" Daru rambled.
"I think she'll come around once the place is fixed up," Yuki reassured her daughter.
"Oh yeah! We all agreed to have a party Saturday night to celebrate us getting the place set up. We're inviting all of our parents, including you two,"
"Well, we'll definitely be there! What's the theme? Ooooh, cosplay?"
"Yeah, just think of her and Kaede-san and Mayuri-chan and maybe even Luka-kun, all dressed cutely...!" Daru drooled a bit.
"Oh, you'd have to dress up as well!" Yuki gently teased her daughter.
Suzuha chuckled. "No way. Unless I get to be a badass soldier or something. I can already tell the twins and Mari-chan will dress in something super fancy and over-the-top,"
Her parents laughed as well. "It's to be expected, knowing who their mothers are. My bestest friends, but they wouldn't know the word subtle if it hit them in the head," Yuki added.
The family of three continued to eat their dinner, happily laughing and chatting with each other about their respective days.
######
Mari headed back home to her temple, walking up the stairs and sitting in the entrance-way, beginning the long and daunting task of untying the laces on her boots.
"Big Sister is home!"
"Oh, hello," Mari's younger brother and sister perked up upon seeing her. She smiled happily at them.
"Hi yourselves. Is dinner ready?" She asked, yanking off the first boot with a sigh.
"Mother said she was waiting for you to come back," Hikari answered; her fifteen-year-old sister. She was a splitting image of their mother with long black hair and matching brown eyes. Her ten-year-old brother; Satoshi, had brown eyes as well; only she inherited her father's vibrant violet eyes.
"Are you going to help her?" Satoshi asked curiously, blinking his eyes.
"Nah, I don't think she'll need my help," Mari finished untying her laces and set the boots down neatly on the mat next to her family's. "Where's Father?"
"Cleaning up," Hikari answered. "But it's probably best not to bother him because he's not in a good mood,"
Mari ignored her younger sister and ran foreward into the house, finding Luka in the middle of setting the table. "Hi Father!" She yelled, making Luka jump and nearly drop the silverware. She laughed.
"Don't startle me like that..." Luka pouted, setting the silverware down. Chopsticks for everyone with deep bowls. "Why don't you go help your mother cook?"
"Scaring you is far more fun!" She snickered. "Oh, speaking of which, we found the old hangout spot of you guys,"
"Really? Is it just like how I remember it?" Luka asked in excitement, clasping his hands together. The noise from the kitchen briefly ceased before continuing again, and Mari knew that meant Kaede was listening as well.
"Indeed, everything is exactly as you described. The place is empty though. I would love to set up a cosplay corner or something in there," Mari nodded as Satoshi and Hikari ran into the room, taking their seats.
"You guys should have a party to celebrate once you all fully move in!" Kaede suggested with a smile, carrying in a tray full of steaming rice and vegetables.
"Actually, we are. We bounced some ideas off each other and decided we would hold it later this week," Mari took her seat, fluffing out her kimono.
"Ah, your barrette is crooked!" Luka gasped, reaching his hands out and gently straightening the violet skull barrette in her hair. Mari waved him off in annoyance.
"That sounds lovely! Are we invited?" Kaede asked. "Actually, now that I think about it, the twins mentioned it to me earlier. They said we were all invited; the siblings too," She started serving everyone.
"Yes, I believe that is indeed what we decided on," Mari nodded.
Luka finally took his own seat; all of them kneeled at their table, and after Kaede served herself, she took a seat next to him and they bowed their heads in gratitude before beginning to eat.
"Will there be a theme?" Kaede asked nicely. "I'd love to dress up again!" She flashed a grin over at Luka, who jumped.
"I don't think so. A lot of food though, which Uncle Itaru will likely be happy about it," Mari picked at her food slightly.
"He's been trying to lose weight!" Luka gasped. "Don't be so harsh on him!"
"It'll be fun to see Fenris-kun again," Satoshi said. "There aren't a lot of boys my age to play with in town, so..you know. I know even he's a bit older than me...but not by much! Uh, I love playing with Hikari-oneechan and they're the same age!"
Hikari giggled. "And I would be delighted to see Rose-chan again. We have gotten quite close since we recently learned we were accepted into the same high-school,"
"Your high-school intimidates me! Everyone there speaks English so well!" Satoshi gasped.
Everyone chuckled.
"Maybe when you get a bit older, I'll teach you," She smiled.
#####
Poptart sighed as she stepped into her mother’s cafe, feeling a hundred pairs of eyes on her.
“She’s so adorable and tiny!”
“She looks just like her mother!”
”Does she cosplay too?”
”Oh, I’d love to play her. Probably a better opponent than her mother,”
Poptart walked into the changing room, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Her mother glanced over at her and gave her a large cat-like smile.
“Poptart-nyan! You’re just in time. I’m just about to get off my shift, nyan!” Her mother didn’t look a day past her mid-twenties despite almost being forty. She still wore her hair up in curly, thick pigtails, her cat ears tightly secured on top. She was still wearing her maid dress, modified to flatter her new maternal body.
“Is Fenris still on-duty?” Poptart asked instead. “You better tell him to stop, otherwise he’s going to work himself to death!”
“Nyan? I’m not worried about him. He’s a hard worker just like his papa!”
”You don’t even know who my father is,” She accused just as a boy with brown hair and pink eyes walked into the room. He was wearing a tight butler suit with matching cat ears, which he promptly pulled off.
“We eating here or at home?” Fenris asked calmly.
“Ugh, please not here, Mom! Everyone stares at us!” Poptart whined.
“Everyone loves to stare at you because you’re so adorable, nya! Just like a little doll!” Faris laughed. “Actually, I’m going to stay here for a few more hours. Boring business stuff, nya. You guys can head home though,”
”I’ll call our driver,” Fenris nodded, pulling out his phone.
“What about those creepy old men?” Poptart pressed, not about to drop the issue.
“A customer is a customer, nyan!~” Faris smiled happily. “Speaking of which, some little kitty-cats told Faris Nyan-Nyan all about your adventure today, nya! What’s the place like? Everything just how I remember it?”
“You mean a dump? Because that’s what it is,” Poptart grumbled. “I want some coffee,”
”Awww, that place wasn’t such a dump when I was your age,” Faris pouted, her cat-ears drooping. “You planning anything fun, nya?”
“Just some party on Friday I think. Everyone’s invited. Including the siblings. That’ll get really loud really fast. Why does everyone have to have siblings!” Poptart walked into the back kitchen and started making a coffee for herself, bored with waiting.
“Oh, that sounds delightful, nya!~” Faris purred.
“Our ride is outside. See you later, Mom,” Fenris hung up his phone and Faris waved to him eagerly. Poptart gasped and hurriedly slapped a lid on her drink, chasing after him.
“Wait! Don’t you dare leave me behind!” She followed him into their limo.
Faris waved after her energetically as well. “Faris-Mama will join you two at home later! Nyan!~” She smiled to herself, adjusting her cat-ears and tail. She then walked into her office, which was a room off of the normal changing room for employees. A man was leaning against the doorway, grinning.
“I won your latest contest,” He reminded her as she shut the door.
“You sure did!~ Lucky man you are, Master! Is Master ready for his prize, nyan?~” She teased. He nodded and pulled her close. “I have to be home by nine,” She whispered into his ear firmly.
Meanwhile, Poptart and Fenris ate dinner themselves, talking about their day. Their meal was a formal ham dinner cooked by their personal chef. Poptart grumbled a bit.
“I just wish you didn’t have to come too. There’s going to be loud annoying children running around everywhere,” She twirled her fork around on her plate.
“I am not loud though. I am fifteen. I’ll just keep to myself,” Fenris blinked, then looked over at their butler. “Sorry to bother you, but this dinner is awfully dull. Could you please put some music on to lighten Older Sister’s spirits?”
The butler nodded and turned the TV on to a music channel playing pop songs. Poptart twitched a bit, loudly scraping her fork across her plate.
“It’s cutesy,” Fenris added.
Poptart sighed. “At least you attempt to understand me, unlike literally everyone else in my life!” She started to eat again, wiggling in her seat slightly to the beat.
After dinner was over, she was singing the song under her breath. Fenris subtly smiled at her.
####
Rose sighed as she walked from the bus stop to her own house, a small but nice one-floored house with a large yard and basement.
“Hello? Is anyone home? I’m here!” She called into the house, finding her voice bounced off the empty rooms. She headed down into the basement, glancing around and finding nobody there. “Huh. Even Dad is gone,”
She went back upstairs and headed to the kitchen, finding an uncooked cup of ramen placed on the counter alongside a small bottle of Dr. Pepper. A note attached to the ramen said: ‘Sorry, work is going to run a bit late for us tonight. Catch me on the television though as you eat, alright? I’ll be home around two. Your father will be home an hour after. Your mother,’
Rose shrugged. “It’s not the healthiest thing to eat, but at least there’s Dr. Pepper.” She began to cook the ramen in the microwave and settled down on the couch, finding the program her mother spoke of. It was still ongoing and featured Dr. Kurisu Makise; now wearing her hair in a bob, speaking confidently in front of a podium. Her current research was on how the brain processed and stored memories; it was how she met her current husband, Mr. Smith. She was on a research project in America.
And indeed, the blond man was standing on the edge of the stage, arms folded over his chest as he watched his wife work the room proudly.
“It is my belief that memories do not simply vanish when we cannot remember them anymore. Rather, they are just stored someplace else and we are not able to access them anymore. Unless we had some sort of key, if you would,” Kurisu was explaining seriously in the microphone.
The microwave beeped and Rose Makise-Smith jumped a bit and quickly got her noodles out, breaking apart her chopsticks and opening her Dr. Pepper as she watched.
According to her Uncle Okabe, Kurisu had an unrivaled intellect for her young age when he first met her. He always found it odd how she wished to pursue neuroscience after university and not more speculative sciences like time-travel. Rose just shrugged that off.
People’s interests changed. She also heard from Uncle Itaru and Aunt Mayuri that her mother used to be far more moody and closed-off emotionally. Staring at the confident woman on that stage, Rose couldn’t believe that either. Kurisu was a woman who knew exactly what she wanted.
She began to eat her noodles and thought of the random microwave she found earlier and gasped in slight pain, grabbing her head.
“Just don’t think about it. You have a migraine or something...” She sighed to herself.
###
Kanako and Hanako pushed open the door to their tiny apartment, finding their mother in the middle of stacking pillows up.
“Mommy?” The identical twins asked simultaneously, and Mayuri shushed them.
“I’m hiding from the mad scientist,”
The twins gasped and instantly began to help Mayuri, trying to contain their giggles at the thought of playtime so close to dinner.
Once the large pillow-fort was finished, the three quickly climbed inside, Hanako secretly peeking out to serve as a look-out.
“Where did my hostage go? It is time for her to succumb to my wills and make me a fitting feast!” Okabe, now in his Hououin Kyouma alias, announced as he stepped into the room. Kanako tried to contain her giggles and failed, making Kyouma glance at her. “Aha, I have found one of the servants! Trying to make her escape from me! But she should’ve been more clever!”
“No! I’m still hiding! You never saw me!” Kanako continued to laugh, easing herself out of the pillow-fort and trying to run past him, only to get pulled into a large hug.
“Muhahaha, I have caught the escapee! But where is her sister and their mother, the true hostage?” He looked around and found Mayuri peeking through the fort. “There she is!” He playfully tossed Kanako back into the pillows, making the whole fort collapse and all of the girls laugh.
“I am terribly sorry I tried to hide from you, Kyouma-san,” Mayuri bowed remorsefully, a smile still on her face. “I will make a great dinner for you to make up for it! How does chicken tenders and banana pudding sound?”
“Banana pudding!” Hanako nodded eagerly. “Bananas are squishy!”
”That they are, my servant. That they are,” Kyouma nodded in agreement as Mayuri walked into the kitchen to cook. She wore a long peasant blouse and matching skirt with a sunhat on. Her hair was to her waist and tied up neatly in a ponytail.
“May we please help you, Mommy?” Kanako asked softly, and Mayuri nodded.
“Guess what, Daddy?” Hanako asked Okabe, sensing he was back to normal.
“What?” He asked, starting to put the pillows back on the couch.
“Sim-sola Gil’s!” She laughed. “That means we went to the place you and Mommy used to live in when you were younger!”
“That’s wonderful! Has it changed?” Mayuri asked wistfully. “Oh, Mayushii has so many fond memories of that place. It’s where she met her best friends. It’s where she had lots of laughs. It’s also where Okarin proposed to her,”
“It looks just like how you always said it did!” Kanako confirmed, smiling.
“I’m surprised it’s remained intact all these years. But I guess that makes sense. Not much there to develop,” Okabe shrugged.
“And we’re also going to have a huge party this weekend! We’re all invited!” Hanako threw her hands up.
“We’re going to have chicken tenders!” Kanako added.
“Hopefully something else too?” Okabe prodded, making Mayuri pout.
“You like Mayushii’s chicken tenders!”
“Because only she knows how to make them right,”
The pillows all rearranged and the dinner finished cooking, the family sat down at the table and began to eat their meal. At one point Mayuri took the cookies out of her share of pudding and put them up to her eyes, making her daughters laugh.
“I’m a fish!”
“And I’m an alien!” Kanako placed her chicken tenders on her head and made them wobble.
Hanako laughed.
After they finished eating, the twins proceeded to tackle Okabe on the couch, holding him down.
“Yay! We took down Daddy!” Kanako cheered.
“We’re victorious!” Hanako added.
Mayuri laughed and gently helped her husband back up to his feet.