Miku's Lullaby
It has been a year since Shido and Miku's wedding and in this time Miku has become pregnant with their first child. While she performed for three weeks after finding out, Miku decided to take maternity leave to make all preparations with Shido. Shido was happy when she told him and very supportive of her decision. He is currently shopping for a crib with Miku while she clings to his arm with a smile on her face. They look for one that they think will be both safe and functional, and are looking at a newer model that has recently been put into the market and Miku like the make it looks and says with excitement.
"Oh look darling, this one is new and it looks so pretty."
Shido looks at the crib, but decides to read the pamphlet about it and notices something that makes him concerned.
"Hold on Miku."
"What is it?"
Shido puts the pamphlet closer to Miku so she can read it.
"It says here that crib is still being tested for design flaws since the company that makes it is trying to make things more convenient for parents."
Shido presses a button on the crib, and suddenly a bunch of holders and mobiles shoot out of a bunch of places, but ultimately the crib falls apart. Miku is shocked by this but relieved that Shido read the pamphlet.
""Sigh" I almost made a terrible mistake. Good thing I have you darling."
Shido rubs Miku's head and explains.
"No, it's really not your fault Miku; they make these things flashy to get people to buy them."
Miku doesn't like the idea of people trying to take advantage of parents who only want the best for their children.
"Well that's just mean. They shouldn't sell things like this if they aren't safe."
"Yeah, I agree one hundred percent, but why would…."
Shido notices something peculiar among the cribs parts, a lollipop stick and thinks to himself with an annoyed expression.
"Oh she didn't"
In the skies of the city on the Fraxinus, Kotori is watching her brother and sister-in-law shopping for cribs and is annoyed that the prototype crib was put into circulation and shouts to the crew.
"Okay, who the crap put that crib in the store!?"
Reine confesses to doing it.
"I did, but the vice commander said he finished the final check on the structure."
Kotori clenches her hands and shouts at the top of her lungs.
"Kannazuki get your butt in here!"
Kannazuki enters the room since he was taking a nap from supposedly working hard to make sure the crib that the crew was making for Shido and Miku was properly constructed. Kotori is furious with him and asks while gritting her teeth.
"Kannazuki what happened with the crib we built?"
Kannazuki gets a nervous sweat since yesterday when he was supposed to be performing the final inspection, he was staring a Kotori figurine he was making in secret and had recently finished.
"Well, I…that's to say…"
Kotori grabs Kannazuki by the collar and drags him out the door to give him a punishment he won't forget, but he actually looks forward to it despite his initial look of fear. Back at the store, Shido and Miku decide to take a handful of pamphlets home and read them carefully and do research on the internet about the different cribs at their home. At the manor, Shido and Miku read some of the pamphlets for about a half hour in their living room, and then Miku asks Shido for something.
"Darling, I'm having a craving for…"
Shido finishes her sentence with a smile.
"French Onion Soup right?"
Miku nods her head with a smile.
"You know me so well."
"Hehe well I'll go make you some."
Shido leaves the room to go make his wife some soup. Miku has been craving French onion soup ever since she got pregnant and so to help with it, Shido learned how to make it from a book. He also makes homemade bread to have with it since he wants nothing but the best for his wife since she works very hard doing what she loves. Miku waits for Shido to return before reading more of the pamphlets and watches TV to pass the time. She flips through some channels and comes across a show that plays the interview she did when she publicly announced her maternity leave. Miku remembers that not long after the interview, about twenty percent of her fans had turned on her. However, since Shido has been with her the entire time, she didn't really care since she is very happy that she's going to be a mother soon. She is so happy she feels like singing but just begins to hum something new.
Shido enjoyed learning to cook new food for his wife and is always thrilled when he puts the finishing touches on his meals. When he finishes cooking Miku's meal, Shido walks through the hallway with the tray of food and passes by the toy room Miku had set up when they first found out. She went overboard when she filled it with stuffed animals and various toys for the baby and she even put a bed in it in case their child got tired while playing in the room and Miku herself greatly looks forward to playing with their child in this room. When Shido arrives back in the living room, he sees Miku warmly rubbing her stomach and humming a song he hasn't heard before. He places the tray on her lap and talks to her about her humming.
"Hey is that a new song Miku?"
Miku only notices Shido when she realizes that he placed a tray on her lap and just says.
"I don't know I just kind started doing without thinking about it."
"Well it kind of sounded like a lullaby to me."
"A lullaby…"
Miku thinks for a second then comes up with an idea that brings a smile to herself and starts humming again for a minute then tells Shido.
"I'm going to create a lullaby to sing to our baby."
Shido smiles and responds.
"I think that's an amazing idea."
Miku eats her soup and bread then starts thinking of ideas for lyrics. Shido reads pamphlets while Miku starts writing down her ideas. About two months later, Miku hasn't finished her lullaby since she hasn't found an idea to stick with. She hasn't done any interviews since she announced her leave and has been wearing a yellow dress to accommodate her stomach which has begun to swell a little. Naturally, the other girls visit frequently and today Kotori decides to visit and explain to her brother and sister-in-law about the crib. Kotori explains that her intent was to make sure that they would get a functional new fancy crib and get it as a customer special for free and that they had been working on it since the wedding. She also explains that Kannazuki is now in a wheelchair for the next six months after the punishment she gave him. Speaking of which, on board the Fraxinus, Kannazuki is currently talking to the crew about his punishment which he has been bragging about for the last few weeks and has been wearing bandages on his face.
"Oh and then she beat me with a club and then chased me down the street in a car and oh the memories."
He continues with various stories of abuse when Reine casually points out.
"Those things literally never happened, you were supposed dig for a hot spring and build a small resort by yourself out in the woods for the happy couple when a small tree fell on you and Kotori said you'd been punished enough."
Kannazuki gives Reine a casual look underneath his bandages as he says.
"Reine, don't kill my fantasies...(goes back to being happy) and then she…"
Kannazuki continues on with his fantasy while the crew does their best to ignore him. Back at their home, Shido and Miku listen to Kotori apologize about the crib and offers to build another one with a different inspector. While they appreciate the sentiment, Shido and Miku decline the offer. Miku places her head against Shido's shoulder with a smile as she says.
"We already found the one we want."
Shido starts rubbing his wife's head as he explains,
"We looked through pamphlets we grabbed, did so more looking, and ordered one about a week ago."
Kotori feels a little left and says.
"Well then at least let us handle the expenses."
Shido replies.
"We got it, but we really appreciate the thought. We don't need money or anything, it's enough when you come to see us and the same goes for the others."
Kotori smiles and tells them.
"Well, you better let me babysit then you got it."
Shido nods his head and says.
"That'd be great."
Kotori looks at a nearby clock and sees that it is five pm and decides to leave if only to shut Kannazuki up since she knows he's probably annoying the crew again. Once Kotori has left, Miku begins to rub her left eye a little and says with a tired look.
"Darling, I think I need to take a nap."
Shido responds softly.
"Sure, do you want me to escort you to the bedroom?"
"Actually I want you to lay down with me."
Shido doesn't think about it since he knows she really wants this and there is a TV in the bedroom he can watch. Once they arrive in the bedroom, Miku gets underneath the covers and Shido lay next to her as she snuggles next to him and closes her eyes. Shido waits a minute to turn on the TV so he doesn't disturb her turn much, and he looks her sleeping face and just thinks about how lucky he is to be married to this gorgeous woman and that she's going to be the mother of his child. Even while she sleeps, Miku still starts to hum the lullaby she's been working so hard on and Shido doesn't turn on the TV since her humming is too beautiful to not listen to and eventually falls asleep himself from just listening to her humming.
About a few hours later, Miku wakes up around nine pm and sees Shido sleeping next to her and she just looks at his sleeping face and smiles as she thinks.
"He looks like a sleeping angel."
Miku then gets up as she has an idea about her lullaby and grabs a paper and pen to write down her idea. A few more months later, Shido and Miku's daughter Shiori was born and Miku has been looking forward singing her lullaby to her baby. Currently, Shido and Miku are sitting together in the playroom while Miku holds the newly born Shiori in her arms with a yellow blanket wrapped around the infant's body. Shido looks at his baby daughter with loving eyes and says to his wife.
"She's so beautiful, just like her mother."
Miku kisses her husband and says.
"And she'll have a heart as loving as her daddy's."
Tohka, Yoshino, and Kotori are peeping into the room looking at the two since they don't want to bother them but still want to get a look at the baby who has light-blue hair and her mother's light indigo eyes. After a few more minutes of just looking at their child, it is time for Shiori to sleep and Miku gets ready to sing her lullaby for the first time. Miku then begins to gently rock Shiori and starts singing her lullaby which is a song about finding happiness and about the love people can give. Miku sings so soft and sweet that Tohka, Yoshino, and Kotori all fall asleep from listening to it. Shiori falls asleep in Miku's arms and Miku kisses the baby's forehead. Shido and Miku put the baby in her new crib inside the playroom and get ready to have dinner together with the other girls, but when they exit the room, they see the girls fast asleep on the floor outside and decide to put them into the guest bedroom. They put all three of their guests in the same bed and leave to have dinner with just the two of them.
A few years later, Shiori, now five years old, is playing the playroom with her mother and newborn brother Naoto when Shiori starts yawning and Miku says.
"Looks like you need a nap Saori."
Saori rubs her eyes and says in a tired tone.
"Okay, but will you sing your song mommy?"
Miku smiles and says.
"Of course Shiori."
Shiori snuggles next to her mother and Miku sings her lullaby for Shiori and Shiori falls asleep and so does Naoto so Miku sets him down next to Saori. Miku looks at her children with a warm smile and then Shiori snuggles with her baby brother and Miku immediately leaves the room to get Shido along with a camera to take a picture of the scene.