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She and her sister have had their differences over the years, but this? This is too much. Igarashi – nee Momobami– Kirari squinted down at the 2, almost 3 year old toddler judgmentally and observed her currently making a mess out of her own hand. In return, bright blue eyes stared up at her Aunt with an almost bored look in her eyes, thus irritating the woman further.
The two year old was, admittedly, adorable (but of course she was, she was Ririka's daughter after all and they were identical twins. Even Saotome's genes couldn't completely ruin the child). Saotome Megumi had bright blue eyes with specks of gold around her pupil. Her white eyelashes topped it off, making it impossible for the little girl to not catch anyone's attention. The hair on her head was a pale white and incredibly unruly, something she most undoubtedly inherited from her other parent. She had also seemed to have inherited Ririka's naturally pale complexion that seemed to have darkened a few shades from time in the sun. The freckles and red flush on her chubby cheeks seemed to further prove the theory as well as the fact that Ririka and Mary always seemed to be in the sun in some way, shape or form. Overall, when it came to looks, it seemed as if Ririka's genes had won by a long shot, but Kirari couldn't help but notice traits that weren't shared between the two. The shape of the toddler's eyes were more cat-like with slanted eyebrows, causing an almost angry pout to show on the child's face. Her nose as well was Mary's and so was the child's smile.
She had met the child on previous occasions, but this is the first time she was going to be alone with her as her wife was currently working a shift at the hospital and the child's parents were occupied by looking at an ultrasound of her future sibling. Sayaka would arrive in about an hour while the other two would arrive some time after. Usually, the toddler’s grandparents– Mary’s parents– would watch her, but the couple was away visiting extended family in Colombia, making it impossible for them to watch the girl for the day. This left a hesitant Kirari as the final option.
The first time she had met Megumi was the day of her birth and it was certainly one of her more favored memories. The moment she had (reluctantly) held her niece in her arms and took a good look at her, she couldn't help but immediately mess with her sister-in-law.
"Oh, thank goodness." She had said.
"What is it?" Her sister looked at her alarmed after going through hours of labor. Sayaka narrowed her eyes at her then-fiancé in warning.
Kirari's smile practically split her face. "Oh nothing. Just grateful she obviously looks more like us. Although I guess that was to be expected due to our dominant genes." She let out a cheeky laugh right after.
She could practically hear Mary's eye twitching from behind her and she couldn't help but give her credit for not immediately saying something other than a muttered word under her breath. She must’ve also been exhausted from the day's events.
Ririka, a very new and very tired mother did the only thing she could at that moment which meant she leaned over and yanked Kirari's ear hard, making her wince.
"Ow, okay, apologies, apologies. I am currently holding a baby. Please stop Nee-san." Ririka did, in fact, stop, huffing while taking her daughter from her sister. Kirari let out a relieved breath until Sayaka came from behind her and grabbed her other ear out of annoyance.
She could still hear the three women cackling over Kirari's pain, and yet it still ended up as a great memory that her younger self most likely never would've pictured. That memory had, in turn, led her to this situation.
She was not fond of small children, much less toddlers and infants, but she'll have to make due until her wife gets back from work. Sayaka had some previous experience with her decade younger maternal half-siblings from when she was a teenager, and if anything, the woman was great at figuring out a problem if the need arrived.
"Fishy play?"
Oh. She had forgotten about that. Megumi had recently begun to form words and even sentences. She had also, unfortunately, associated Kirari with the numerous fish in her aquariums. Instead of 'Aunt Kirari,' she had now been given the title of 'Fishy'. She had been baffled when her niece had first muttered the words at her while their family absolutely lost their minds over it. Saotome Mary even encourages it by pointing at Kirari and asking her daughter her name, in which she receives an overjoyed shout of 'Fishy!'
Letting out a tired sigh, the woman slipped her hand into her pocket before revealing a handkerchief. She bent down to the toddler and gently whipped the saliva off her hand and mouth with a grimace. Picking up the girl by her underarms, Kirari held her suspended mid air, afraid that the toddler would commit an inexcusable act like vomiting on her incredibly expensive turtleneck and outer coat. At this angle, she was able to completely take in the girl’s onesie. It was a basic white onesie, but it was the words on the front that caught her attention the most. With a comic sans font, the words ‘My Aunt Whale-y Loves Me” were printed on the front with a small cartoonish whale splashing water underneath it. Kirari audibly scoffed. The assholes did that on purpose.
Annoyed at being held in such an uncomfortable position for so long, Megumi began to squirm around, demanding a new position from her Aunt. “Fishy! Down!” Kirari’s eye twitched. Another thing to mention about her niece is the fact that she is already showing signs of a very Saotome-like personality.
“Not right now. Ririka– Your mother made me aware that you needed to eat, so we will take care of that first.”
“Ice cream?”
“No. Your parents would kill me if I gave you sugar before supper.”
“Have’ta listen to Mamas too?” The girl asked, curious.
Oh she's good. Maybe she did inherit some personality from Ririka after all.
“Absolutely not. I don’t take orders from anyone. Well… except maybe from your Aunt Sayaka. But only when she’s being scary.” Megumi nodded as if she understood Sayaka’s anger first hand. Kirari then paused, realizing that she’s really trying to defend her actions to a toddler, and let out yet another long sigh.
Now holding the girl with one arm, Kirari made her way to the kitchen as Megumi clung to her Aunt’s shoulder. “Let’s see now…” She rummaged through the bag that Mary had packed for Megumi, looking for baby food or whatever it is the kid could eat. When she only found diapers, clothes, and toys, Kirari let out a frustrated huff. Megumi seemed to find this amusing and mimicked her by letting out a full body huff, swinging her arms with the motion and whacking her suffering Aunt right in the cheek, making her wince.
“Oh. Sorry, Fishy.” The child seemed to show some remorse for hitting the woman, which soothed Kirari’s annoyance slightly.
“It’s fine. Just don’t do it again.”
Megumi already seemed to be on to the next topic and immediately started asking about the food situation. “Ice cream!” She squeaked happily, right into Kirari’s ear. The woman grimaced.
“I already told you. No ice cream.” Megumi pouted and started swinging her legs repeatedly, getting antsy from hunger. Kirari knew that both Ririka and Mary had told her what the kid could eat over the phone previously, but she had unfortunately only been listening half-heartedly as she had been… preoccupied with her handsy wife at the time.
She walked over to her fridge next, looking for something the kid could possibly consume. Leftovers from that fancy restaurant she and Sayaka had gone to the other night? No. Chocolate mousse cake? Once again, no sweets. A burger that Sayaka was too full to eat the other day? Kirari thought about it for a second, knowing that her sister had an odd obsession with burgers and fast food. She shrugged. At least it's not sugar, right?
After popping the food into the microwave for a minute, it was good to go. She walked over to the kitchen table, kid in her right hand while the food was in her left. Placing the food onto the table, Kirari pulled out a chair and leaned over to place the kid into it. Or at least she tried to. Megumi was still clinging to her Aunt, a look of pure despair on her face. “Iceeee creeeaammmm…” She drawled out dramatically.
Kirari squinted at her niece, annoyed. “No. Eat the burger.” Sayaka would have been incredibly amused if she was present as she would have seen her wife practically wrestling with a 2 year old child that refused to sit properly in her seat, obviously preferring to remain in her Aunt’s arms instead.
“Megumi.” Kirari said sharply, making the toddler pause in her fussing. She let out a relieved sigh, believing that she had succeeded in getting her niece to relax, until she heard sniffling. Kirari glanced down in alarm only to be met with wide, watery blue eyes. Megumi was upset at the fact that Kirari spoke to her in such a tone, making the toddler sob sadly.
It was incredibly rare for her to panic, and yet she found herself currently doing so as the child sobbed into her chest, loud wails beginning to break free from her small body. She tried to mimic what she had previously seen her sister and sister-in-law do to calm down the kid before and began shushing her while awkwardly moving her arms in a hopefully soothing motion. The toddler just cried louder. “Do you want ice cream, Megumi?” Kirari was desperate for the kid to calm down for the sake of her ear drums.
The wails stopped at the words, but small sniffles remained. “Ice cream?”
“Yes, ice cream.” Megumi nodded slowly, using her small hands to wipe her snotty face, making Kirari cringe and take out her handkerchief once more.
Fifteen minutes later, a small cup of vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles was delivered to the Igarashi home per Saotome Megumi’s request. Kirari, after putting away an uneaten burger, just stared defeated as a now perfectly fine Megumi sat in the chair she previously refused to sit on and happily swung her legs, making a mess of her ice cream with half of it getting all over her face. “S’hank you Fishy!” Kirari sighed and nodded her head. She just hoped the kid wasn’t going to bounce off the walls.
The kid was bouncing off the walls and Kirari could only watch in growing horror. The moment her ice cream was finished, the brat had immediately run off with sticky paws before she could wipe her down. She began rummaging through closets and dressers (somehow only managing to dirty Kirari’s clothes), knocking over expensive items, and climbing on furniture in ways that could be labeled as dangerous for a toddler. Kirari did her best to catch her while simultaneously trying to clean wherever Megumi’s hands had touched. And no, Igarashi Kirari was not running after her niece. She was just walking. Very fast. She was not running.
“Megumi, get back here! Let me clean your hands!”
The toddler tilted her head, her body half handing on the arm of the couch in the living room. “Take bath wit Fishy?”
“No. I need to clean your hands. No bath.”
Megumi nodded her head. “Bath with fishies!” She turned towards the large aquarium that rested as a decorative piece in the living room.
Kirari’s eyes widened. “Don’t you dare.” Megumi stared her Aunt down before making a beeline towards the fishtank, determined to take a bath with the fishies. Now , Kirari was running.
Just as Megumi climbed to the top of the tank, fully prepared to cannonball in, Kirari lunged forward with athletic ability she didn’t know she possessed, grabbing the brat by the back of her onesie and pulling her into her arms.
She just laid there on her back, chest heaving due to the adrenaline rush, with an over-excited toddler in her arms. While Kirari was having a terrible time, Megumi seemed to be having a wonderful time. Propping herself up on Kirari’s chest, causing her Aunt to let out a pained grunt. Megumi began giggling happily, little hands reaching out to her Aunt, patting her face with sticky hands. The woman couldn’t even bring herself to grimace at the mess due to exhaustion. “Again, Fishy, Again!”
Kirari could feel a migraine forming. How the hell does her sister do it everyday… And she’s willingly having another one ?! She thought the gay wine Aunt was supposed to be a fun role in which she didn’t actually have to watch said child and yet here she was, suffering. This was her karma for her past crimes.
She could already feel the kid getting antsy again, making Kirari execute her final plan in making the kid listen. She began talking… and talking, and talking. She began talking about all of the fish in the aquarium that Megumi tried to jump into. The toddler tilted her head, interested. Next, Kirari began talking about other sea life and fun facts. Megumi at that point began asking questions.
“Who’s the biggest fishy?”
“Leedsichthys problematicus.” The child parroted an awful pronunciation of it, but Kirari just nodded in acceptance. The woman continued telling Megumi stories of different fish and legends, even telling her about her own favorites as well as Sayaka’s. Eventually, Kirari’s voice seemed to bore the child to sleep as she curled up on Kirari who still had not moved from the floor. Seeing the girl sound asleep had her own eyes drooping slowly. She yawned before, closing her eyes for a few minutes.
Kirari woke up to delicate hands caressing her face. She was greeted by her wife kneeling down in front of her, head directly hovering over her’s. Sayaka was smiling at her softly with obvious amusement present in her eyes. Kirari blinked, before realizing that Megumi’s weight was no longer on top of her, causing her to panic slightly.
“Relax, I put her to bed in the guest room.” Kirari let out a sigh of relief. She then reached up and brought her hand to the back of Sayaka’s head before pulling her closer, letting their lips meet in a sweet kiss.
“How was work?”
“Wasn’t as hectic today, surprisingly. What about you? Looks like you had fun.”
“ Sayaka . The kid tried to jump into the fish tank.” Sayaka let out a choked out laugh, not expecting that.
“Well, I guess it’s confirmed that she’s related to you.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Mm. Nothing. Now get up before I have to hear you complain about your back from sleeping on the floor.”
Making their way to the kitchen, Sayaka was subjected to whines of ‘ I’m too old for this ’ as Kirari rubbed her back in which her wife responded with a quick ‘ You’re only twenty nine. ’ Kirari continued her complaints as her wife began making a pot of tea, her smile remaining on her face as her wife dramatically laid her head down on their kitchen table while cursing her sister and sister-in-law.
As if summoning the couple, the doorbell rang. Sayaka left the water to boil as she went to answer the door, seeing that Kirari wasn’t moving anytime soon. “Welcome back–” Sayaka’s jaw shut immediately after taking in the couple. Mary seemed normal minus the stress lines appearing under her eyes and frowning brows. Her posture was also tense as she kept glancing at her wife. Ririka, on the other hand, looked like a mess. Her eyes were red rimmed and she was looking down at the floor, refusing to look at Sayaka or Mary.
“What happened?” Sayaka’s eyebrows furrowed in concern, ushering the two in. “Megumi is asleep, so don’t worry about that, okay?” Mary nodded while biting her lip.
“One second, Sayaka.” She then put her hand on her wife’s waist and ushered her to where she saw Kirari laying. Kirari, after hearing her wife’s worried tone, had immediately sat up to look at the commotion.
Seeing Saotome approaching with her empty-eyed sister definitely made Kirari tense as she got up from her seat. “What happened?” She demanded, staring sharply at the blonde.
Mary didn’t even glare back at her sister-in-law, too worried about Ririka to care. “I– I think it’s best if you try to talk to her right now rather than me.” She looked at Kirari seriously, showing that she trusts her to help her sister. If there’s one thing the two ever came to an agreement on, it was Ririka.
Kirari nodded, taking her sister by the shoulder and ushering her to the master bedroom away from everything else.
Mary watched them leave before turning to Sayaka with a tired expression. “Where’s Megumi?”
In the guest room in which Megumi slept, Mary gently ran her hands through unruly locks of white hair. The toddler was gone to the world with slight drool falling from the corner of her mouth, making Mary smile softly.
“Mary, what happened?” Sayaka demanded, upset at being left in the dark. “Is the baby okay? Wasn’t it supposed to be a normal check-up?”
The blonde sighed, nodding her head. “Sayaka, they’re fine. I’m sorry for scaring you.” The black haired girl let out a sigh of relief, fixing her glasses as they were beginning to fog up due to her sweating from anxiety.
“That’s good. Now, if that's the case, what happened to Ririka?” She was concerned about her sister-in-law. It was rare for the twins to talk privately nowadays without their wives present as they rarely held secrets from each other.
Mary gave her a tired, yet sad smile. “You might wanna sit down for this one, Igarashi.”
In the master bedroom, neither Ririka or Kirari spoke. Ririka just stared into space as Kirari peered at her, waiting for her to talk about what was going on. It unnerved the younger woman to see her sister in this state after all these years. She shook her head, banishing childhood traumas from her mind as she sat next to her sister who was seated at the bottom of the bed.
“You know… your child is a menace.” That seemed to bring Ririka back to the present slightly as she looked up at her sister, eyebrow raised.
“Really? She must’ve learned it from you.”
Kirari let out a chuckle. “I’ve already been saying it for over 10 years, but Saotome Mary has been a terrible influence on you.”
“You would think that after all these years, you would be used to Mary’s influence on me.”
“I’m actually still waiting for you to tell me that your marriage to her has just been an elaborate joke that has lasted over 10 years.”
Ririka laughed lightly, glancing at her phone that just lit up from a random notification. Her lock screen was a picture of a 6 month old Megumi wearing one of her gardening hats as she gave the camera a cheesy grin. Ririka smiled at the picture. “I think I might be a little too deep into the joke if that was the case.”
“Yes, and now I have to deal with your bundle of love more than I’d like.” Ririka rolled her eyes. “Your child ran around my whole house, which is very big mind you, and touched everything it with her slimy baby hands after she ate.” Ririka let out a full blown giggle. Kirari did not mention the fish tank simply because Ririka may try to drown her in said fish tank if she did. “You have to stop having these monsters, Ririka. I don’t know how you do it.”
“It’s not my fault I enjoy the process of creating these so-called monsters, Kirari.” Ririka gave her sister a cheshire grin, wiggling her eyebrows as she watched her little sister process the words.
Kirari went from having an amused expression on her face to a disgusted one. She began gagging dramatically. “I’m going to kick you and your gremlin out of my house! I do not need the image of Saotome Mary defiling my elder sister in my mind. You are horrible.” Ririka just laughed at her sister’s mini rant.
Kirari let out a sigh, preparing to bring back their previous topic of conversation now that her sister was feeling better. “Now, will you please tell me what brought you to your previous mental state? Is the child alright?” She leaned closer to her sister, pressing her side into hers, showing physical support.
Ririka let out a distressed exhale. “They’re fine. Actually, the doctor said they were incredibly healthy. There haven’t been any complications spotted.”
“That’s good news.” Kirari raised an eyebrow. “So what brought on all of that? I know it isn’t just predominantly pregnancy hormones.”
Ririka clenched her eyes shut, hand cradling her stomach as she took in Kirari’s question. What Ririka said next made Kirari’s whole body stiffen in shock and something she may even describe as fear .
“Twins, Kirari. We’re having identical twin girls.” She now understood why Ririka had reacted the way she did, being forced into a mental state she hadn’t witnessed since they were children. Ririka was afraid. Hell, Kirari was afraid, even if it was only for a second.
“Oh.” Kirari clenched her fists in her lap, knuckles turning white as she remembered the past. They were just innocent babies incapable of choosing anything for themselves due to the greed of adults. Ririka was nothing but an empty puppet until Saotome barged her way into her life. “How ironic. Someone must be playing a trick on us.” Kirari let out a hollow laugh.
“You’re afraid, aren’t you.” Ririka looked away nodding. “Can you tell me what you’re mainly afraid of, Ririka?” After all of these years, the two of them had definitely improved in the communication department thanks to their wives. Despite this, there were still some bumps in the road due to their unstable upbringing. Hell, it took sox years for the siblings to contact each other after the clan fell and even that was an accident considering that Kirari had just happened upon a flower shop with the thought of buying Sayaka lilies. How was she supposed to know that it was Ririka’s shop?
“I was already uncertain about having another child after Megumi, but it had been going so well until this.” Ririka sounded exhausted as she spoke. “What if– What if I mess up, Kirari? What if I end up comparing them, even accidentally. Or always end up labeling them as one person instead of individuals? Or neglecting Megumi because I’m trying too hard to not neglect either of the babies? There’s just so much that could go wrong… I don’t know– I don’t know if I can do this.” She was already holding her head in her hands, eyes becoming watery as her mind conjured up the worst scenarios, all stemming from her upbringing.
Kirari let out an exhale. “Is that really what you think will happen? You may as well have just outright insulted not only yourself, but also your wife.” Ririka’s head snapped up, eyebrows frowning in confusion and anger.
“Wha–”
“Do you truly believe Saotome Mary would let any of those things happen? Have you ever met your wife? That woman and I have never gotten along, but even I am willing to admit that her morals are in the right place… And from what I’ve heard from you and witnessed with my own two eyes, she is a wonderful wife and mother. She would never allow any of that to happen” Ririka was staring at her with wide eyes, her face conveying an array of emotion.
“Kirari–”
“Let me finish, please.” She took a deep breath. “And when it comes to you, do you truly doubt yourself so much? Do you not remember how hesitant you were for me to be around when you were pregnant with Megumi? Our relationship was still rocky at that moment, even after healing together for about three years already at that time. You put your daughter first, unsure if you could trust me given our past.” Another breath. “I watched from afar and heard from second hand sources about your struggles. You had these thoughts the moment you were aware of Megumi. After what the clan did to you, you didn’t think you could be a full functioning parent, but you proved them wrong. I don’t think those people ever looked at us like you do Megumi. I remember when you wouldn’t shut up about the brat’s first word being ‘mama’ while reaching for you.” Kirari let out a soft chuckle at the memory before continuing. “You still hurt. You may always hurt even, but you’re growing around that hurt and healing what you can for not only yourself, but for Mary and your daughters. The adults in our lives would’ve never done that for us and in my humble opinion, you’re a great mom and I think Mary and Sayaka would agree, don’t you think?”
Ririka’s bottom lip was quivering as she stared at her sister with wide watery eyes. She didn’t speak as she threw her arms around Kirari’s shoulders, letting out quiet sobs into her sister’s neck. “Ew, please refrain from getting snot on me.” Despite her words, the younger woman wrapped her arms around her sister, hand gently rubbing circles on her back. Years ago, she would’ve never imagined Ririka being this affectionate with her, and yet here they are.
Ririka whipped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater, pulling away slightly, leaving her left arm resting on her sister’s shoulder in a half-embrace. “Kirari, you’re right, thank you.”
“Of course I’m right.”
Ririka pinched her cheek. “Watch it.” Kirari, like a mature adult, stuck her tongue out.
Ririka let out a soft laugh as she once again pulled Kirari into a full embrace. “You’ve changed as well, Kirari. You no longer let their teachings dictate your life.” Being free from the clan and ridding herself of the Momobami last name was the beginning of Kirari’s change. It was followed by a lot of reluctant therapy and a twenty one year old Igarashi Sayaka also allowing Kirari back into her life after focusing on her own growth and healing. “I’m glad I let you back into my life, Kirari. And I’m sure Megumi is happy to have her favorite ‘Fishy’ around as well.” She gave a cheeky grin which looked ridiculous with her eyes that were red from crying.
“Tell her the feeling isn’t mutual.” Kirari replied bluntly. Ririka laughed.
Pulling her sister to her feet, Ririka spoke, “Lets head back before our wives start debating about whether being a doctor or lawyer is more stressful again.”
Kirari stared at the back of Ririka’s head as she tugged her through the halls. Her jealousy towards Terano and Yumi, Miyo and Miri, and Rin and Ibara felt so long ago as she stared at her sister’s hand holding hers. Having a sister instead of a reflection was… nice. She was glad Ririka couldn’t see the beaming smile that had suddenly appeared on her face.
When they got back, Sayaka and Mary were sitting at the table, each holding a cup of tea. “Is everything okay?” Mary asked, standing up and walking towards her wife, worry clearly showing on her face.
Ririka let out a positive hum as she gently grabbed her wife by her waist and pulled her into a soft kiss. “I’m feeling much better.” Behind them, Kirari made a disgusted face. Sayaka, upon seeing this, laughed quietly into her cup of tea, shaking her head at her wife’s childishness. “We should probably get going before Megumi wakes up. It’s been a long day.”
Waving at her sister and sister-in-law as they departed, Kirari couldn’t help but let out a small smile as Megumi blearily looked at her as she waved her tiny hand at her as well. “Bye-bye Fishy.” She had said after her parents failed to keep her asleep for long.
“What did you two talk about?” Sayaka tilted her head, questioning.
“Hm. Just about the past. Everything is fine now.” Sayaka nodded
“Oh. I forgot to warn them about the ice cream she ate previously. Their ride home should be eventful.”
“Kirari!”